Nostalgia is one hell of a drug and my fondness for Pac-Man World knows no bounds. Come 2022 and suddenly Namco throws this out of the blue with shiny new graphics, some slight re-jigging of some mechanics and burying Mrs Pac-Man in an unmarked grave and replacing her with Pac-Mom.

And honestly its fine. Its a breezy fun little game but it honestly just suffers a little from being Pac-Man world which already was a pretty easy game, now made even easier with the game's fixes to slopes and added accessibility options.

And yes, plowing through each stage from beginning to end is incredibly charming and endearing but its also over and done with too quickly. Its far too easy to 100% everything speedily and makes the whole thing feel a bit lacking, especially when stacked up against the likes of the Crash and Spyro trilogy remakes.

Makes you wish they had put in some new levels or added Pac-Man World 2 into the mix or.... Something! On sale though? Its a fun jaunt. On full price? Not enough here.

I admit, I'm a sucker for games that make you work your way around escape rooms and videogame escape rooms just hit that sweet spot where you feel like the most clever person ever for solving whatever nonsense the game is throwing in front of you, while also avoiding the real world escape room nonsense of having an uninterested person curse your existence as you fail to spot a small key in the open for half an hour.

Here there's a big attempt to coat everything with a horror aesthetic that wants to repeatedly straddle the line between Saw style deathtraps, Cabin in the Woods style claustrophobia and underground organisations and Cthulthu-esque horror. Sadly because of it flicking wildly between all three of these ideas at any given time, it never quite nails any of these, the Saw elements don't feel personal enough, the underground organisation stuff is constantly steered around and the Cthulthu stuff just raises more questions than answers.

As for the puzzles themselves they... are pretty decent with a few that had me genuinely stumped for a bit but most of them generally fall under similar rules which means most puzzle fans will burn through this quite quickly, possibly replaying a couple of times to see what would happen if you got some of the more critical puzzles incorrect.

Oh yeah critical puzzles. As you progress through the game, you'll come across several tasks where, if you get the solution to what the game wants incorrect, will kill off a character permanently for that run (unless you save/reload a lot like a true adventure game fan). This should lead to some interesting elements, surviving characters interacting or being sad at others passing but because none of the characters have any association with each other, theres never anything meaningful going on. Even when hanging out together, theres barely any interaction and barely any dialogue of worth. Its all a bit hollow.

Overall I cant help but just feel if they had focused in on one style or two horror-wise and snuck in either a few harder more complex puzzles, or used a few randomly generated ones, there would be a case to call this a hidden gem. As it is, its merely 'there'.

I wasnt sure what I was expecting when I went hunting for something short but weird and... Well no I got exactly that. I just wasnt quite expecting just how hard I would be laughing at some of the really ridiculous moments in this silly little adventure.

Its honestly a bit of a blast to play through and feels like the sort of game thats perfect for Games Pass since its over with quite quickly and doesnt wear out its welcome. While some of the jokes are a bit hit and miss (as to be expected), its not that much of a problem given the speed of the game and the general buffoonery that ensues at every corner.

Fashion Police Squad is very much one of those games where for everything it does well, it also does badly in equal measure.

On the surface, its a gleefully camp as heck throwback shooter filled with jokes, fast paced battles and colourful levels. More than once I laughed a bit as a new enemy was revealed or I spotted one of the many punny store names. Moving around is fast and the whip/slingshot mechanic feels super natural super fast and if old-school style shooters are your thing, you'll feel at home very quickly.

At the same time the levels are mostly pretty linear which, while it doesnt really hurt the game too much, makes exploration a bit of an afterthought. This especially is the case when it comes to finding secrets as most of what you'll find through secrets are jokes with the main character wearing various 'gag' outfits.

Also while some of the humour works, some of it already feels quite dated and boring (such as Karen jokes). I get that is the danger of having certain internet based jokes in but some feel more lazy than others.

Also while some of the fights are fun, frantic and tense affairs, you often get ones that feel unfair, pokey and clumsy. Having each enemy have specific ways to defeat them sounds fine in theory and works often but you'll still get those odd moments where you're stumbling through weapons trying to find that one specific way of beating somebody. Its a little messy.

Overall its a decent enough old-school shooter with some new-school camp but you feel the levels and gameplay could have been expanded just a bit more from what it is.

People say this is the best one in the series. People do not lie here. What you have here is a much tighter and cleaner mystery than previous games with a sheer emphasis on cultish horror and perception of reality. The theming and overall atmosphere is top notch, all topped off with the lead no longer being a 'Im an everyguy cool guy' mary-sue and instead showing someone whos more afraid, scarred and prone to mistakes.

Its still very short and quite easy to plow through thanks to the few rooms... and some of the 'scares' the series likes to use are starting to feel a little old hat at this point. Its still good none the less.

Out of all the League of Legends clones, SMITE has been one of the only ones to actually do anything approaching well. Part of that is down to having some more unique and active battle mechanics and modes. Part of this is down to actually having a proper option to actually get all of the gods available for a reasonable pricepoint. Its pretty fun.

Though its F2P nature does poke through too much at times. The sheer amount of expensive outfits, passes and special events that exist solely to make you spend stupid amounts of money on gems. It feels almost insulting at times.

Outrun Coast 2 Coast feels like summer. The music, the colours, the carefree attitude and the journey, passing through sunlit jungles, neon cities and peaceful villages. It all just feels uniquely summery and joyful. Its bliss.

As for the actual game fully, its also pretty good. Sumo Digital know their arcade racers and this is no exception thanks to pinpoint drift mechanics, fair but difficult level design and an absolutely addictive heart-mode where you rush to complete a variety of driving based objectives.

The sheer amount of content here as well cannot be understated. From having two distinct set of tracks, multiple things to unlock and two large extra modes based around vs racing and said heart-attack mode, theres just a LOT to do and see and it all feels so fulfilling. Weirdly I feel the best way to play this is on the PSP. Sure theres a slight downgrade in graphics but the pick-up and play nature of Outrun is perfect for short bursts on handheld.

Now. I wanna go far away!

zooms

Well that sure was a something huh? I have something to admit, I didn't care for Her Story. I didn't find the plot interesting, nor did I really like the way the 'game' worked. Immortality on the other hand? I was very much more into this thanks to a much more dynamic set of actors and an interesting mystery that unfolds as you go.

Toss in a real feeling of age as the game cycles through three quite different feeling film-making styles and a set of plots where you cant quite work out where the characters and actors begin and end and its a really intriguing display.

But then why is this a 3.5 and not a 4 or a 4.5? Well its the game mechanics getting in the way. As unique and odd the mechanics of shifting from scene to scene by picking out actors and objects from each clip, it leads to a general feeling that you're really not accomplishing much for the first hour or so. Then when you do hit that first accomplishment, probably by chance, you realise what you need to do to find more.

That alone would be fine, a lot of games do this and truth be told, the first time this happens its actually quite exciting, but the game just cant help itself and soon you'll actually be stumbling across HUGE plot reveals by casually clicking something innocuous and it slightly ruins any accomplishment in the process. After all, who needs to solve a mystery when a misclick accidentally leads you to the answer.

Without spoiling too much (I'm trying so hard), the end reveal does maybe justify that feeling but it still doesn't quite stop those moments of 'Oh. Right...' from spoiling the overall questions the plots throw up.

Dont get me wrong, its still very much a game worth playing through and if you happen to have games pass, its one of those titles thats best going in as blind as possible with the minimal of plot information on hand... I just wish it wasnt so eager to spill its secrets on a whim.

Samurai Warriors feels like a lot of experiments from Koei in regards to the Warriors series. While at its core, this is basically a reskinned Dynasty Warriors 4, theres a lot more going on in the trunk than it first seems.

Firstly is the overall characters. Each character feels unique in a way the Dynasty cast never managed to before thanks to a heap of real personality that isn't shackled to a particular faction. Having each character have different move set styles and unique abilities really makes them worth playing as too. Having each character have a significantly altered extra costume too is very fun.

The main musou modes too also feel much more individual that Dynasty Warriors never managed. Again, partically because characters are defined across an era with their own actions forming the story vs being strung along a set faction path. Theres also different endings and alternate musou story paths available if certain conditions are met. On paper this is a great idea but in reality its a pain thanks to some of the conditions being so finicky and precise. Its not all that fun.

Also not fun is the incredibly dark graphical palette for the game. The series has never had the best draw distance but coating everything in a layer of muddy blacks, grays, deep blues/purples and such just isnt that pleasant to look at. I also have to complain that because this is based off the Dynasty Warriors 4 engine, the lock-on mechanic I hated in that game is here too. Its still bad. Boo.

I do have to mention the rather fun survival mode (Abyss/Tower) where you race through floors of enemies, bosses, traps and other surprises. Its a really fun side mode that I normally would have expected in an Xtreme Legends expansion.

Talking about Xtreme Legends though.... It again feels like Koei was locking off stuff in preparation for this as theres several characters present (like Keji) who are in the game fully but unplayable, unlocked only through the Xtreme Legends addon disc. It feels annoying for this era.

Overall Samurai Warriors is a fun experiment of a game which worked very well (hence all the sequels/spinoffs it got) but its just held back by tedious branching path requirements, muddy graphics and obvious expansion content.

In many ways this game is a warm bath of cozy gameplay. From its cute and detailed pixel art style and its soothing music, thats a great start but to have a game tell so much story with barely any dialogue to carry it is great. In this game you unpack a series of boxes, putting items away in relevant places and sorting out each move the main character makes from place to place.

As you go along, there's certain items that carry along with wear, tear and repair, certain items that hint and later outright weave a tale about the main characters hobbies, career, love life and more. You get the feeling of a whole live lived and as each move arrives, you wonder what's been added, what's changed and why and it feels incredibly rewarding. Its a charm.

The game isn't without its pitfalls though. One is item recognition. Sometimes the game can be incredibly picky in where it wants certain items. Sometimes this is fine as its story related (like a certain awkward photo...). Other times it feels arbitrary and you can occasionally be one item off moving along with little clue as to why. Its also difficult to sometimes get what an item is supposed to be. I wish the game had a little way to just quickly say what items are as that would solve some of the item location confusion.

Finally I have to mention the price. I get this is a controversial topic but the content here is 'just' not quite enough and while its a lovely experience, its not quite a £20 experience. I get that feels a bit on the mean side but I can probably say if I did buy on full price vs getting it on games pass, im not sure I would feel quite as charitable towards it as I do. £12-14? I would consider that a more reasonable pricepoint for whats offered here. £20? Pushing it a little over the line.

That said, if pricing isnt an issue for you and you just want the gaming equivalent of a nice hot scented bubble bath then this is perfect.