⌚️🐶 Watch Dogs: Legion | Review | PS4 | "Nothing to get too hacked off about" ⌚️🐶

My history with Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs series is one of highs and lows, whilst the first game didn’t set my trousers alight and cause me to ingest it so that it remained a physical part of me forever, I enjoyed the hacking mechanics and remember the driving feeling weighty and substantial, this, combined with the functional narrative ended up being a pretty fun jaunt, overall.

The second game was a different beast, however. I really struggled to get any enjoyment out of it as it was not only riddled with busywork but I found every character unbelievably irritating. I played the game for a few hours but my patience wore thin and I moved onto other games, games in which dialogue wasn’t as infuriating as a Hermes parcel delivery.

This, the third game in the series was really, really hyped. It seemed to be everywhere in the months leading up to release and, coming off the back of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla – which made my end of the year list – it was not only on my radar but also a title I was looking forward to, brushing off my experiences with the second game and instead fondly remembering the good times I spent with Aiden Pearce all those years ago. 

Alas, I just couldn’t click with this one.

🌾🍚🍛 Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | Review | PS4 | "Rice has never been this much fun" 🌾🍚🍛 @XSEEDGames #IndieGames #GameDev

I dived headlong into Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin with no preconceptions of what I was about to be in for and it didn’t take long for its charms to win me over and its depth to pull me in.

A title that pulls off quite an astonishing balancing act that all holds together and feels not only rewarding but vital to the narrative.

👥 Shady Part of Me | Review | PS4 | "great puzzles, music and visuals let down by narrative and voicework" 👥 @ShadyPartOfMe #GameDev #IndieGames

A wonderfully designed puzzle game that hits real highs in terms of aesthetic, sound and mood but the whining voicework and obfuscated narrative leak through the game and wore me down to the point that I genuinely wished the game was purely music and puzzle driven with silent protagonists.