Persona Q2: The Cinema Labyrinth is a quirky little game, mixing the classic gameplay formula of Etrian Odyssey with Persona‘s ‘so hot right now’ shoot ’em up style. The blend works well for the most part, making Persona Q2 a fun and always interesting experience. You play as Joker, the ever popular protagonist of Persona…
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Gaming was a whole other world in 2011. Skyrim, Arkham City, Portal 2 and Dark Souls had arrived, changing the face of games as we know it. Open worlds were in vogue, indies were out, killing was cool and games were only for ‘true’ gamers. Saints Row: The Third was released in this strange hyper-masculine…
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I’m in a funk with The Elder Scrolls Online — and I’m not sure how to feel. Its latest expansion, Elsweyr, brings skeletons, zombies and dragons to the fore, it’s spooky, creepy and kooky. There’s a talking, alcoholic cat, a frighteningly tall Khajit and a homeless gentleman known for wearing a pot on his head….
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Blood & Truth is the game that PlayStation VR sorely needed. For a long time, the peripheral has been seen solely as a gimmick, and been defined by self-contained ‘experiences’ rather than meaty, involving stories. You can become Batman, save a little robot army, play soccer with your head — but at the end of…
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The Razer BlackWidow is hot. From its perfect, clicky-clacky keys to its shiny rainbow lighting and sleek design, everything about it is hot. In fact, you going to have to pry this keyboard out of my cold, dead hands because I’m in love. You’ve probably seen the BlackWidow before. It’s got fantastic pedigree as one…
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Sniper Elite V2 Remastered is pretty unimpressive to look at. After all, when you’re retooling an already murky shooter from 2012, there’s only so much you can do to improve things. Thankfully, Sniper Elite V2‘s gameplay surpasses its muddy visuals and pushes them to the wayside because looks don’t matter so much when you can…
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Final Fantasy XII is the latest in the iconic franchise to head to Nintendo Switch. This edition, The Zodiac Age, is an expanded version of an existing remaster localised for the first time in 2017 on the PlayStation 4. Like the majority of Final Fantasy remasters, ports and what-have-yous, the game looks slick, plays smoothly and…
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All Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez wants is to be happy. With an abusive father and an alcoholic mother, her life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows – but perhaps a bit of glitter will solve her problems. Little Misfortune is the newest game from Swedish studio Killmonday Games, developer of one of our favourite creepy point-and-click adventures,…
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Sometime in the last five years, the Big Dogs of the phone industry decided that it should be normal, good and acceptable to pay upwards of $1000 for a phone. We’ve somehow gone back to the ridiculous phone prices of the late 90s when mobiles were an emerging technology. Once a king of the mobile…
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Final Fantasy X is often spoken of in the same breath as the phrase, ‘the best game of all time.’ Released in 2001, it was the first Final Fantasy title to receive a sequel, and both games have since been remastered for new audiences in the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster bundle. Originally released for…
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Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown is the future of tabletop storytelling. It’s also one of the few games I’ve played lately that enthralled me so much I lost time. Coming from Melbourne studio Tin Man Games, this is just one in a long line of brilliant Australian games proving the depth and ingenuity of…
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Here at the AU, we love a good Aussie game, and Table of Tales is one of the shiniest and newest of the bunch. Developed by Melbourne studio, Tin Man Games, the game puts you in the shoes of a virtual reality tabletop adventurer as you discover a magical, living board game in your Aunt’s attic. The game will…
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My Time At Portia is a solid and inoffensive little farm sim. It has all the usual trappings of the genre – travelling to a new city, taking over a farm, building some things, farming other things. Remarkable moments are few and far between, and that’s okay too. Sometimes, a game can just be a…
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They say you always remember your first time, but the original Borderlands was determined to prove this wrong. With a muted colour palette, confusing map system and generic post-apocalyptic worlds, it was good – but not memorable. Borderlands GOTY Edition is memorable! The original game has been given a complete facelift with this remaster, and…
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Mars Underground is a fascinating and fantastic tale from Canberra-based developers Moloch Media. The first time I saw the game was at PAX AUS 2018, but in the hub-bub of the show floor, it was difficult to give it the time it deserved. I’m glad I was able to revisit Mars Underground so many months…
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Entering the world of Hob is a magical experience. With no dialogue, a minimalist soundtrack and a towering, robotic companion as your only companion, the world is beautiful – but empty. The wind whistles through the grass, trees sway and the earth breathes, but you appear to be the only humanoid around. It’s a world…
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Razer’s cornered the market on sleek gaming peripherals, and the latest Basilisk Essential mouse is no exception. It’s smooth, gorgeous and comfortable, with some great design that includes a soft little nook to rest your thumb in as you game. As is common with most Razer products, it’s also powered by Razer Chroma and features…
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I loved my first Razer Kraken headset. With its chunky earpads and lurid green colour scheme, it was the perfect thing to draw heads on buses — as if I’d only walked in to say ‘look at me, look at me!’ With its newest iteration, Razer improves on perfection, but you’ll have to look hard…
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I was sceptical going into Space Junkies. VR, I’ve found, can be hit-and-miss, and nearly every title I’ve played has led to dizzy spells and nausea. Not only that, but this was a title set in the cold vacuum of space with rockets, guns and jetpacks. If anything was going to cause me problems, it…
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Yoshi’s Crafted World has been made with all the love and care in the world – and it shows. From the subtle, crafty touches to the gorgeous soundtrack, cutesy worlds and stellar gameplay, everything about it screams wholesomeness. The game is so wholesome that it makes me want to be a better person. Story If…
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I’m not far into One Piece: World Seeker. It’s a solid game with fun mechanics and a great cast of characters – but I’m having trouble making progress. See, in the game, you play as Monkey D. Luffy, One Piece‘s long-serving protagonist (going on a good 22 years now). He’s got rubber powers, which basically…
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The Lego Movie 2 Videogame is based on a movie not yet released in Australia. Despite the heavy involvement of Australia’s Animal Logic animation studio in the production of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the release date is still firmly on March 28th, nearly two months after the official United States release. For…
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Kirby has always been the spark of joy in the occasionally cheerless games landscape. I mean, how can he not be? He’s a literal ball of cute pink fluff, and in this cotton-themed adventure, he’s every bit the pure, shining saviour of games that he should be. Kirby is wholesome, Kirby is brilliant, Kirby is…
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Devil May Cry 5 is a game that might never have existed without its vocal fanbase. While I enjoyed the DmC reboot of 2013, probably more so than most, I missed the original game series sorely. The announcement of the main franchise’s return had me drooling the minute I saw it, and after all this…
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Before I start this review, I’d like to begin with a eulogy. The last time I reviewed a Sims game, I told the story of the vampire Solomon, and the object of his affection – a cantankerous and evasive scarecrow. I had intended to continue their ill-fated love story in this article, but unfortunately, during…
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Most of us went through a Shonen Jump phase at one point or another in our lives, whether it was inspired by Naruto, Goku, Ichigo or any of the other dozens of characters that have shined in the magazine over the years. Jump Force brings their worlds back to life, leveraging the nostalgia and dedication…
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The Stillness of the Wind is a melancholy tale and one that frequently had me in tears, even if it was hard to articulate why. The premise is simple — you play as Talma, an old woman who lives on a farm. As the years have gone by, the people in Talma’s life have left…
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There was a time when point-and-click adventures ruled the roost, with companies like LucasArts churning out hit after hit between Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island Grim Fandango and Full Throttle. Since the 1980s, video game technologies have advanced unbelievably, opening up a diverse range of options for gameplay, allowing sprawling open world adventures…
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Over the last week, I’ve been playing God Eater 3. It’s a snappy, mayhem-filled romp where you take down titanic beasts called Aragami with your team of fellow God Eaters. The game is filled with cool swords, cool guns and cool combat. One might say it just oozes cool. But, I’m not actually here to…
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Pikuniku is an absurd, charming little game from the folks at Devolver Digital, and one that is absolutely fascinating. Styled after the whimsical platformer titles of the PS2 era like Loco Roco and Katamari Damacy, Pikuniku follows the struggles of a little red blob as he awakens in a strange land filled with shiny, happy…
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