philhornshaw's profile

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Destiny 2: The Final Shape Review - Becoming Legend

With a character-driven story and a focus on enhancing its gameplay on nearly every level, The Final Shape feels like what Destiny 2 has been trying to be all along.

7

Good

Fallout (Amazon Show) Review - Of The People, For The People

A great cast and interesting characters make the Wasteland a fun place to visit in Fallout, but a thin world means you wouldn't want to live there.

7

Good

Rise Of The Ronin Review - Long-Term Investment

Though it has a somewhat steep combat learning curve and some dated open-world ideas, Rise of the Ronin does a great job of rewarding your time in its world.

8

Great

3 Body Problem Review - Unpredictable

Netflix's series adaptation of Liu Cixin's trilogy of novels focuses on the emotional stakes of the twisting sci-fi mystery.

9

Superb

Shōgun Review - Game Of Ronin

With a focus on political intrigue in medieval Japan across a big cast of characters, Shōgun will scratch your phantom Game of Thrones itch.

8

Great

Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora Review - The Good Blue Man Group

Though it includes a lot of familiar open-world elements, a minimalistic user interface, fun movement mechanics, and a gorgeous setting make it a blast to explore Pandora.

9

Superb

The Talos Principle 2 Review - Machine Learning

Expanding and improving on the original in every way, The Talos Principle 2 is a brilliant puzzler that's most compelling during conversations with its characters.

5

Mediocre

Lords Of The Fallen Review - Dark Slog

While Lords of the Fallen has all the right Souls-like elements, its disjointed pacing and painful checkpoint system make much of the game a slow and frustrating march.

8

Great

Rollerdrome Review: Skate Or Die

Developer Roll7 excellently mixes high-scoring skating gameplay with shooter ideas to make a hybrid game that's tough to put down.

8

Great

Thymesia Review - Hunter Homage

Drawing from Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Thymesia creates a Souls-like experience that iterates on what's most important about From's beloved titles.

8

Great

OlliOlli World: Void Riders Review - Extra Dimensions

Void Riders is mostly more OlliOlli World, and while its new challenges won't blow you away, more of a good thing is a good thing.

7

Good

Outriders: Worldslayer Review - Pleasantly Altered

With an expanded endgame, new difficulty tiers, and new story content, Worldslayer adds a lot to Outriders, even if none of the additions are mind-blowing.

7

Good

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review - Almost Supersonic

The Sonic sequel is more disjointed than its predecessor but makes up for it with strong humor and fun character dynamics.

7

Good

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Review - Chaos Incarnate

There's a lot of meme potential in Stranger of Paradise thanks to its willingness to be aggressively confusing, but fun, varied combat carries its most WTF moments forward.

9

Superb

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Review - Queen's Gambit

Bungie continues to improve its shooter MMO with the best story campaign it has yet produced and a whole lot of great additional content to keep players engaged.

7

Good

Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier Review - Straining At The Seams

Though it offers fun additions to the battle royale formula, The First Soldier struggles with being too much game for the mobile medium.

7

Good

Uncharted Review - Familiar Territory

The film adaptation of the popular Uncharted game series feels like another Uncharted story, but has little to add that fans haven't seen before.

8

Great

Horizon Forbidden West Review - Squad Goals

Horizon Forbidden West sometimes packs in so much that it gets in its own way, but the many well-drawn characters populating its quests keep it compelling.

9

Superb

OlliOlli World Review — Half-Pipe Heaven

Developer Roll7 has improved on every aspect of the OlliOlli franchise to create a huge, fun arcade skating game that's easy-going, but just as challenging as its predecessors.

9

Superb

Rocket League Sideswipe Review — Pocket Rocket

The miniaturized version of Rocket League maintains the chaos, fun, and intensity of car-based sports, while perfecting a bite-sized approach.

6

Fair

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City Review - Sometimes Tasty, Often Itchy

So concerned with cramming in references and Easter eggs, Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City fails to produce many scares or capitalize on its good ideas.

7

Good

Battlefield 2042 Review — Character Development

Although some specialists can feel a bit useless at times, tweaks to the formula with Battlefield 2042 add a lot of interesting gameplay variety.

7

Good

Call Of Duty: Vanguard Review — Personnel Problems

Tweaks in multiplayer and Zombies advance the Call of Duty franchise overall, and an emphasis on distinct characters makes Vanguard's story fun, but it doesn't always mix well with the ...

7

Good

Far Cry 6 Review - Less Than Revolutionary

Though it can be really fun, especially when it descends into absolute chaos, Far Cry 6 is overstuffed and disjointed, with so many ideas that it's tough to focus.

8

Great

Alan Wake Remastered Review

Creepy atmosphere, fantastic combat, and clever storytelling make Alan Wake's quest thrilling from beginning to end.

9

Superb

Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review - Don't Fear The Reaper

Kena: Bridge of Spirits uses a different perspective on familiar gameplay ideas to create tons of exciting combat and a deep emotional connection with its world.

8

Great

Ghost Of Tsushima Iki Island Expansion Review - Sins Of The Father

The new chapter of Ghost of Tsushima adds to Jin's backstory in a way that makes it feel essential, while adding even more of the best stuff from the vanilla ...

7

Good

Sea Of Thieves: A Pirate's Life Review - Dead Men Tell Five Tales, Actually

The Pirates of the Caribbean tie-in content for Sea of Thieves offers a whole lot to do, and while it can be buggy and a bit frustrating, it's still pretty ...

7

Good

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Intermission Review - Half-Measure

The new episode in Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a few fun character beats, but ultimately feels like a thin, unnecessary stopgap for the next real installment.

10

Essential

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Review - Materia Improvements

Square Enix tells a smaller, more personal Final Fantasy 7 tale and marries it with a smart mashup of action and RPG gameplay to deliver a must-play experience. Its PS5 ...

9

Superb

Resident Evil Village Review -- Shapeshifter

The sequel to Resident Evil 7 leans heavily on Resident Evil 4's brand of action, but adds its own sensibilities to the mix.

8

Great

Outriders Review

People Can Fly's Outriders mixes a lot of well-worn shooter and RPG elements to create something that feels fresh, if you can get used to its balance.

9

Superb

Hitman 3 Review — Perfect Execution

Hitman 3 doesn't make changes to the World of Assassination formula--instead, it refines it through excellent level design.

8

Great

Destiny 2 Beyond Light Review - Time Loop

With Beyond Light, Destiny 2 can still get cyclical and repetitious, but its new abilities and improved storytelling make it feel much more alive.

7

Good

Control: Ultimate Edition Cloud Version Review

Control in the cloud is a solid way to experience one of 2019's best games, even if it's not the prettiest.

8

Great

Amnesia: Rebirth Review

The follow-up to Frictional Games' seminal 2010 horror game tightly hones the developer's approach to story, frights, and frustration.

7

Good

Marvel's Avengers Review – Infinity War

Avengers feels like two separate games smashed together, and while they don't always sync up, both parts are linked by deep, intelligent combat spread across varied heroes.

6

Fair

Control AWE DLC Review – Haunted Oldest House

AWE is full of fun lore tidbits linking Control to Alan Wake, but it underwhelms as an addition to both the latter's universe and the former's weird game world.

8

Great

Mortal Shell Review

Developer Cold Symmetry's budget action-RPG is a love letter to From Software's work, but Mortal Shell's take on similar ideas feels aimed at those who struggle to get through Soulsborne ...

4

Poor

Liberated Review

Liberated wants to be a playable V for Vendetta, but despite a beautiful hand-drawn art style, it can't match the quality of its inspirations.

Phil Hornshaw / Staff

philhornshaw's Reviews

Destiny 2: The Final Shape Review - Becoming Legend

Fallout (Amazon Show) Review - Of The People, For The People

Rise Of The Ronin Review - Long-Term Investment

3 Body Problem Review - Unpredictable

Shōgun Review - Game Of Ronin

Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora Review - The Good Blue Man Group

The Talos Principle 2 Review - Machine Learning

Lords Of The Fallen Review - Dark Slog

Rollerdrome Review: Skate Or Die

Thymesia Review - Hunter Homage

OlliOlli World: Void Riders Review - Extra Dimensions

Outriders: Worldslayer Review - Pleasantly Altered

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Review - Almost Supersonic

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Review - Chaos Incarnate

Destiny 2: The Witch Queen Review - Queen's Gambit

Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier Review - Straining At The Seams

Uncharted Review - Familiar Territory

Horizon Forbidden West Review - Squad Goals

OlliOlli World Review — Half-Pipe Heaven

Rocket League Sideswipe Review — Pocket Rocket

Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City Review - Sometimes Tasty, Often Itchy

Battlefield 2042 Review — Character Development

Call Of Duty: Vanguard Review — Personnel Problems

Far Cry 6 Review - Less Than Revolutionary

Alan Wake Remastered Review

Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review - Don't Fear The Reaper

Ghost Of Tsushima Iki Island Expansion Review - Sins Of The Father

Sea Of Thieves: A Pirate's Life Review - Dead Men Tell Five Tales, Actually

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Intermission Review - Half-Measure

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Review - Materia Improvements

Resident Evil Village Review -- Shapeshifter

Outriders Review

Hitman 3 Review — Perfect Execution

Destiny 2 Beyond Light Review - Time Loop

Control: Ultimate Edition Cloud Version Review

Amnesia: Rebirth Review

Marvel's Avengers Review – Infinity War

Control AWE DLC Review – Haunted Oldest House

Mortal Shell Review

Liberated Review