Xbox Series X/S News, Reviews, Videos, Opinions – Big Boss Battle (B3)

The Marvel MaXimum Collection puts the deserving X-Men front and centre

Matthew Smail — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:00:10 +0000

Marvel MaXimum Collection on Xbox is one of the most sought after retro throwbacks that I can remember. It’s far from just a bundle of old ROM’s, and much more a curated archive of some very specific slices of Marvel’s gaming history. Limited Run Games pitches Marvel MaXimum Collection as “one of the most comprehensive […]

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Valorant Bind Map Overview, Best Agents and Callouts

Preferred Partner Posts — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:07:16 +0000

If you’re queuing into bind in VALORANT and the round feels like it’s going off in the first 15 seconds of the match, then you’re not going crazy. Bind is a map that’s all about quick decisions, tight choke battles, and teleporters that can turn a kill into a fake in the blink of an […]

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Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown Review – There’s Coffee in That Nebula

John Hobkinson — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:00:21 +0000

“There’s coffee in that nebula.” Few lines capture the spirit of Star Trek: Voyager quite like that one, and it’s a fitting starting point for Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, a strategy game that puts you in command of the legendary USS Voyager as it attempts the long and dangerous journey home across the […]

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Battle Puzzle 2048 Queens of the Abyss – Technically a Puzzle, but not fit for Royalty

James Wilson — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:00:26 +0000

EpiXR Games is at it again with another technically playable game with little to no instruction. Battle Puzzle 2048 – Queens of the Abyss (By the grace of the editors, now shortened to BP2048) is a reimagining of the 2048 game everybody was obsessed with a few years ago. If, like me, you were somehow […]

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Zumba Marble Candy Rush – Sweet Surprise, or Gut Rot?

James Wilson — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:00:30 +0000

I was a huge fan of the Zuma titles back when they first released, so when Zumba – Marble Candy Rush (ZMCR, please Ed?) crossed my desk I was excited — despite the obvious copycat behaviour. A good game is a good game, right? Even when the title is a smattering of buzzwords and search […]

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Forgive Me Father 2 is an incredible throwback that hits all the right notes

Matthew Smail — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:00:07 +0000

Forgive Me Father 2, developed by Byte Barrel and published by Fulqrum Publishing, is a blood-soaked, Lovecraftian boomer shooter that builds on the foundations of its predecessor with sharper combat, deeper madness mechanics, and a more refined visual identity. It’s a sequel that builds upon what worked the first time around and tries to push […]

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Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is the anthology this classic series deserves

Matthew Smail — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:00:18 +0000

For the first time in what seems like years of reviewing remakes, rehashes and “classic compilations” I am delighted to report that Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is more than just a cash-grab retro compilation — it’s a curated, interactive museum that chronicles the rise of one of gaming’s most iconic and controversial franchises. Even better […]

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Republic of Pirates is a steady but unremarkable take on city-building and RTS

Matthew Smail — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:00:12 +0000

Republic of Pirates on Xbox One is a promising blend of city builder, light strategy, and basic real-time naval combat, wrapped in a breezy Caribbean aesthetic that often feels about as crusty as Barnacle Bill. Developed by Crazy Goat Games, it’s a game that feels like it’s reaching back to the early 2000s for inspiration […]

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Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is an ambitious tactical roguelite

Matthew Smail — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:00:22 +0000

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is a bold and atmospheric spin-off that reimagines the tactical RPG framework of its predecessor through a roguelite lens. Developed by Ocean Drive Studio, it trades the sprawling narrative and persistent campaign of Lost Eidolons for a leaner, more modular experience — one that’s built around iterative runs, strategic […]

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Jurassic World Evolution 3 is the torchbearer for Spielberg’s JP legacy

Matthew Smail — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:00:28 +0000

Jurassic World Evolution 3 is the most ambitious and feature-rich entry in Frontier’s dinosaur park management series to date — it’s a visually stunning, mechanically deep sandbox that finally delivers on the fantasy of building your own living, breathing Jurassic World and corrects the (admittedly quite minor) issues that appeared in Frontier’s second outing. The […]

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All Will Rise is a conversation-based card battler about avenging a murdered river

Dann Sullivan — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:00:48 +0000

When it comes to picking apart an enemy, or defending the indefensible, sometimes you have to change the battlefield in order to win. All Will Rise is a narrative courtroom deckbuilder that puts you at the helm of a team of idealists who are trying to challenge the law for the betterment of the public. […]

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Frostpunk 2 expands macro-survival into post-apocalyptic civilization builder

Matthew Smail — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:00:31 +0000

The original Frostpunk was a masterclass in moral compromise. It asked players not just how they would survive, but what they were willing to sacrifice to do so. Now, Frostpunk 2 arrives with a colder heart and a broader scope, trading the intimate desperation of a single community for a sprawling and complex political landscape […]

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The Alters – Me, Myself and I

Dan Gillett — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:00:30 +0000

Have you ever had a moment in your life that you look back on and thought about how you could have done things differently? If you were given the chance, would you want to see how much your life would change if you altered a significant event in your past? Would the alternate versions of […]

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Sunderfolk – Sundertale?

Rob Covell — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Control works very nicely too, with everything being done on your phone screen. When moving, you drag your finger across your screen and you can see the path your character will take, following your finger around the hexes. It’s a little clunky at first, but doesn’t take long to get the hang of, though it is better on larger screens than smaller phones.

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Snowsquall Grip – Frostbite

Rob Covell — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:00:54 +0000

You can’t be away from a heat source for more than thirty seconds before your display starts getting distorted as you suffer from the effects of the weather. I can understand why this is done when the play area is so small, but trying to find a small item on the ground with a distorting screen is very irritating.

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Moving Houses – Changing rooms

Rob Covell — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:00:20 +0000

But then the house changed, with rooms being added and entirely new floors appearing. The first time this happened, I genuinely started second guessing myself and thought I simply hadn’t spotted that door, but then more and more turns up, and the friendly instructions become more passive aggressive, and then overtly aggressive.

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Hi-Fi Rush – Keeping the Beat Two Years On

Rhys Davis — Thu, 29 May 2025 13:00:11 +0000

Just as you become familiar with one mechanic, it offers you the next one with a subtle cough and a thrash of a power chord.

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Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 is an incredible modern take on the classic JRPG formula

Matthew Smail — Tue, 20 May 2025 13:00:19 +0000

From the moment Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 boots up and almost without fault across its 25 to 50 hour runtime, the player will be treated to a modern masterpiece that wows with its visual and aural delight — often in spite of its macabre theme. This is a game that reminds me of the very […]

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CarGo! – Car Gone?

Rob Covell — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:00:21 +0000

In CarGo!, you and your co-op buddies are tasked with delivering goods from location to location, with a goal of selling a product for profit. Make enough profit and you’ll earn stars that will unlock more levels for more silliness. You’ll drive to a venue, pick up an item, and deliver it somewhere else, which is as simple as it sounds until it isn’t.

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Wanderstop – Put the kettle on

Rob Covell — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:00:22 +0000

There’s a lot to unpack in the story, and I feel that a lot of people, particularly in my age bracket, will get something from it. You have elements of loss of youth, acceptance of failure, and what I felt was the concept of mid-life crisis. Alta feels as though she goes through the stages of grief during her time at the tea shop as we learn about her past and she learns what happened to her in the forest before she arrived.

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Atomfall might just be the Bioshock of 2025

Matthew Smail — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:00:57 +0000

Immersive Sims like Thief, Deus Ex and later Bioshock and Dishonoured used to be some of my very favourites. First person games with non-linear ways to make your way through large, complex levels — often driven by a compelling narrative. Over time these games have become less open and more streamlined, and Rebellion’s Atomfall feels […]

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Amerzone is a fitting tribute to a much loved writer and designer, Benoît Sokal

Matthew Smail — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:00:54 +0000

When Amerzone landed in my inbox, I could hardly believe it. Not only was it only just a few months ago that Microids published a plush, incredibly well-crafted remake of the thirty year old Empire of the Ants, but now they’ve gone ahead and done the same thing with Benoît Sokal’s Amerzone. For those who […]

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Dog Man: Mission Impawsible fully captures the energy and character of the comics

Dann Sullivan — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 14:00:40 +0000

I’ve been playing platforming games for most of my life and my daughter Robin loves Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man comic series. So, what could go wrong with the two of us giving Dog Man: Mission Impawsible a shot? As it turns out, not much. Dog Man: Mission Impawsible looks like a pretty barebones platformer when […]

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A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a great stealth-horror tie-in

Dann Sullivan — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 12:00:21 +0000

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead has the advantage of having one of the best Astral Horror properties at its back, and in a time when horror is having a moment it couldn’t have better timing. When I say Astral Horror, I mean that A Quiet Place slots into that beguiling section of horror where the […]

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Empire of the Ants is an epic, approachable modern classic

Matthew Smail — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 22:26:17 +0000

A couple of months ago when I previewed Empire of the Ants, I was excited by several things — the amazing graphics, the focus on gamepad based control and the kind of things the game had me doing. There were reservations though — a couple of missions felt a little out of kilter with the […]

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Empire of the Ants proves many small things can make a big package

Matthew Smail — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:00:21 +0000

Sometimes, the most straightforward ideas are among the best. Empire of the Ants takes an idea so simple — that of the tiny, highly social and surprisingly intelligent insects referred to in the title – and transforms it into an almost photorealistic real-time strategy game with a likeness to Creative Assembly’s Total War series. Consider […]

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Axis Football 2024 continues the series’ fascinating evolution

Dan Taylor — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 14:00:36 +0000

Axis Football 2024 is a groundbreaking American football game, looking to take Madden‘s crown. When it comes to American Football games we aren’t exactly spoiled for choice, much like football/soccer major franchises and yearly releases eventually squeezed most competitors out of the top spots, reducing other survivors to fringe titles that struggle to reach a […]

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Tin Hearts is much more than a simple puzzle game about toy soldiers

Dann Sullivan — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 14:00:29 +0000

Tin Hearts is a puzzle game all about time. Its story revolves around technologies ahead of their time, features a story told out of time, and you, yourself, have the power to pause, speed up and reverse the passage of time. When people first think of little tin soldiers in a video game they probably […]

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Sonic Frontiers EGX Hands on – A Brave New Adventure

Matt Fuller — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:00:41 +0000

Since its gameplay reveal back in June, Sonic Frontiers had fans understandably concerned for the blue blurs’ newest outing with what looked to be a lacklustre new addition to the storied franchise, and I count myself amongst those people. During my visit to EGX this year, I was lucky enough to sit down and try […]

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Silt — Dark Dreams in the Deep

John Mulcahey — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 09:00:10 +0000

Silt is a strange thing — written up as a surrealist adventure horror, where you’re tasked as a mysterious diver sent to uncover equally mysterious things in the depths of the ocean. It’s more or less a really bizarre version of Ecco The Dolphin. Which in and of itself, was already quite a strange game. […]

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Sopa is a magical story about growing up, loss and frog people

Dann Sullivan — Fri, 20 May 2022 18:00:43 +0000

Family recipes are very important things, often passed down through the family and frequently wrapped up in memories. Sopa follows Miha, a young boy who is suddenly whisked away to a magical world while helping his grandmother with ingredients for a soup. Sopa is two different stories smashed together. The first is a beautiful adventure-puzzle […]

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Pinball FX is Zen Studios’ Early Access relaunch, and its off to a strong start

Dann Sullivan — Sun, 15 May 2022 11:00:39 +0000

In Early Access over on the Epic Games launcher, Pinball FX is Zen Studios’ latest release. With it they’ve tried to change up and enhance the way that people collect tables, but it comes at a strange time and in a strange way. Zen Studios have been the most visible face of video game pinball […]

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Submerged: Hidden Depths — What Lays Beyond?

Hira — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 14:00:41 +0000

Uppercut Games’ standalone sequel to Submerged — Submerged: Hidden Depths tells the story of the protagonist Miku alongside her younger brother, now a teenager in this third-person "relaxploration" game.

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Sable — Gliding Into the Sunset

LEVST3R — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 12:00:53 +0000

So much of Sable can be boiled down to gliding and climbing. It’s much more than that; you’re in pursuit of purpose; As I played it, it sparked moments of self-reflection. Sable sets out on her gliding, which is a sort of extended internship. She meets all different types of doers and thinkers. I’ll be remembering Sable’s dunes tinted by the time of day and the somber sweet soundtrack well beyond its release.

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Blood Bowl 3 is quite Literally Fantasy Football

Matt Fuller — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 14:00:35 +0000

I’ve learned to temper my expectations when it comes to new releases with Games Workshop IPs. Having now played and reviewed multiple Warhammer titles, I often find their releases to range from slightly underwhelming to buggy and near enough incomplete messes on release. But here I am again diving back into the world of Warhammer, […]

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