The savviest games industry critic could not predict just how good this year would be for videogame fans. It was destined to be a year where everything was overshadowed by the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6. What we instead got was a watershed year for gaming, with some of the best titles we’ve seen… Read more »
To say that expectations were high for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond may be the biggest understatement of gaming in 2025. The title went through arguably one of the most tortuous, protracted development processes ever seen with a videogame. Originally allocated to developer Bandai Namco, Nintendo scrapped their full build of the game in 2019, and… Read more »
It’s one of the most absurd ways to end a videogame. In the original The Outer Worlds, the fastest way to finish is to fly a spaceship into the sun. To do this, you need to create a low-intelligence character, and then when prompted insist that you personally – instead of an AI – will… Read more »
Most of this year’s Game of the Year nominees are missing basic accessibility features, exposing how industry layoffs and budget cuts are pushing inclusion to the sidelines. Five years ago, former Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé’s smiling face was projected onto a large screen at The Game Awards as he presented their very first… Read more »
Of all the games to make me question the Nintendo Switch 2 ecosystem, I never could have guessed it would be remake of Yooka-Laylee. Made by some of the team behind the Nintendo 64 classic Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Replaylee has been on my radar for a while now. I felt the original was good, but needed a… Read more »
If there’s one thing PlayStation exclusives tend to nail it’s a game about revenge. Some of the console’s greatest hits — God of War, The Last of Us Part II, even the original Ghost of Tsushima — focus squarely on this theme. In games, this generally sets up a final boss fight, and then the… Read more »
Valve sure knows how to blow up the internet. Less than a couple of weeks, stories are still flowing thick and fast about every available ounce of information on Valve’s new gaming machine. The latest? It’s confirmed (more or less) that it won’t bundle a new Valve original game, like Half-Life, with the device. For… Read more »
I’ve often wondered why October feels so bloody busy. Every year, without fail, a cavalcade of major games are launched around late September and early October. They often smother one another; before you can finish one, another blockbuster is already out. You could argue that it’s a fantastic launch window for the run-up to Christmas,… Read more »
If only I’d waited. A year on from purchasing a Steam Deck, and it now seems like Valve has launched a device specifically targeted at gamers like me. This time last year, caught up in the hype, I purchased a Steam Deck OLED. I was elated when it arrived in the mail; finally, a device… Read more »
Watching the credits roll on The Outer Worlds 2, it dawned on me: I had beaten this game in a single long weekend. Purchased on Friday, finished on Cup Tuesday night. All while fitting in family and friend commitments, too. It wasn’t a short title either, taking around 20 hours to complete to a level… Read more »
Powerhoof’s Dave Lloyd has a new rule for his next project: never spend six years on a game again. His latest game, The Drifter, a dark point-and-click adventure, took more time to pull together than the studio’s two prior games, and one year shy of the extended development time we saw with Hollow Knight: Silksong.… Read more »
What started off as a nice idea for an easy column each year is getting progressively harder. As I covered recently, there were over 100 games on display at PAX Australia -every genre was just about covered, and most were impressive in their own right. It makes singling any of them out an agonising decision.… Read more »
If you ever needed a sign that indie games are becoming the focus Australia’s largest gaming expo, PAX Australia, look no further than Melbourne’s Cult of the Lamb. In years past, Massive Monster’s unique rogue-like occupied a small stall as part of the PAX Rising indie game section of the exhibition. Last year, the game… Read more »
With a few thrusts of the needle, it was done. After a gruelling 40 hours with Hollow Knight: Silksong, piloting Hornet as she navigated its world and defeated unique bosses who demand precision, I had beaten its final boss and the game. Or so I thought. Delighted with my achievement, I quickly posted a note… Read more »
It wasn’t until late on a Wednesday afternoon, three days into the Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) conference that the penny finally dropped. Sitting in on an industry veteran discussion – or as they put it, “survivor’s panel” – I got an inkling as to why there was such a sense of business-as-usual for the… Read more »
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