Don’t set your heart on Rise of the Ronin being a carbon copy of The Witcher 3 or Assassin’s Creed, though. It’s an amalgamation of plenty of games — Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and Nioh prominent among them — all smushed together to create something special and most importantly: unique. Oh, and lest we forget the intricate Dark Souls-like difficulty this game features.

Our preview is limited to the game’s first couple of hours (though we took around three and a bit to get to where Team Ninjas wanted us to be). That’s plenty, honestly. Rise of the Ronin doesn’t mess around. We got a great sense of the scale Team Ninja is going for, an introduction to the somewhat intriguing story and an urge to keep playing and exploring the world conjured up by the makers of Nioh (history helped, we guess).

Blurred around the Veiled Edges

Rise of the Ronin kicks off in 1853 Japan. Players don the kegetsu of two young samurai regularly referred to as Blade Twins. These ‘Twins’ are believed to have suffered a traumatic past — your childhood village burning to the ground will do that to you — before being inducted into the ‘Veiled Edge’ and trained as hardcore, katana-wielding killing machines.

Blade Twins are exactly that — proficient with a blade. At least, until we got our hands on them. They’re described as two peas in a pod, two halves of one whole, yin and yang, unable to go on without each other. You’ll be tested in this regard a little sooner than you might expect.

It’s here, after the game’s first “mission”, that the story starts to carve a path for itself. It’s a path we’re eager to see the tail-end of down the road. It’s an experience somewhat dampened by our expressionless main character — an issue with most loosey-goosey open-world RPGs. It’s not all for naught — the subtle worldbuilding Team Ninja’se infinitely more energetic NPCs and semi-rich open world provide make for an experience we wanted more of.

Rise of the Ronin is an RPG at heart. You’re not just role-playing a samurai as they cut down countless soldiers in their way (at least not all the time). Occasionally, you’ll make a decision or two. Major ones. We, for instance, chose to fell one of the game’s earlier bosses rather than spare their life, only to discover that the character could have returned as an ally down the road, massively simplifying future encounters.

We respected the gravity of our decisions a little more after that one.

Patience is a virtue

It doesn’t take Rise of the Ronin long before it starts handing you deadly weapons. You’ll whip up a character in the thorough character creator, choosing your character’s ‘Blade Sharpening Origin’ which essentially determines the style you’ll be playing, weapons, and stats, before jumping into the thick of things before you can blink.

If you’re at all concerned about committing to a set of stats and their recommended weapons, don’t be. Rise of the Ronin gives you plenty of testing time before it’ll be locked in. Our ‘Killer’ origin recommends a loadout consisting of katanas and ōdachis. We’re here to be samurai, dammit.

Anyone who’s bosom friends with Nioh will be instantly familiar with Rise of the Ronin’s impeccably smooth combat. The dense array of weapons each features specific stances and movesets, requiring effective use of Ki (basically a stamina gauge) to unlock their full potential. Altercations regularly consist of players whittling down their enemy’s Ki to throw them off balance and deliver an often final crushing blow.

Like any Souls-like worth its salt, rolling, parrying, and stamina management are key to making Rise of the Ronin work. Pull it off though, and you’ll be front-row to some of the flashiest and at times, vexatious, combat encounters we’ve seen. After you’ve had your ass handed to you ten, twenty, or fifty times, pulling off a perfect counter-spark (parry) and proceeding to return the favour delivers a high we rode for several hours.

Rise of the Ronin: Tears for the Open World

Like a Mormon who isn’t married yet, Rise of the Ronin does a lot of hand-holding once you enter the open world. It won’t be particularly long before that happens — but you’ll soon miss the tighter sequences found in the game’s intro. Don’t get us wrong — Rise of the Ronin’s open world is fine. But in a universe where Red Dead 2 and The Legend of Zelda exist, fine counts for less and less these days.

It’s not that there isn’t anything to do. Rise of the Ronin’s open world is flooded with content, but nothing is left to the imagination. You’ll come across small towns, villages, and even larger cities — eventually tiring of the seemingly infinite fetch quests and the like littered around the place. There is the occasional sidequest to break the monotony, but they’re few and far between. Cherish them.

If it wasn’t obvious, Rise of the Ronin is a blast. Apart from a slightly too unvaried open world and graphics that could have looked better (we prioritize FPS above anything else), everything the samurai RPG does perfectly shines through. Weighty, meaningful combat, solid RPG mechanics, and a story that has us invested to keep going. Not too shabby.

Rise of the Ronin releases 22 March 2024 on the PlayStation 5. Stay tuned for Stuff’s full review about that time.

It isn’t just rehashing the past for a quick buck, either. At least, that’s not the whole idea. Newcomers to what’s now considered the ‘definitive edition’ of the game — something you’ll hear us repeat — will need to pay R900 for the privilege of owning it, though returning players who already own the PS4 version can make the upgrade for $10 (roughly R200). Would we have preferred Naughty Dog to follow in the footsteps of The Witcher 3’s next-gen upgrade? Sure. But you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck here, with an entirely new No Return roguelike mode, and even a guitar free-play mode *cue applause*.

It’s always the same story

If you’re able to pick up the remaster at that heavily discounted price, the story won’t be hiding anything new. If you’re a newbie looking for a review on that brilliant yet extremely controversial story – you best believe we won’t be subjecting ourselves to any cry-baby Twitter DMs. Instead, we’ll direct you to our original review from back in the day (also known as 2020).

Whether or not you’re new to the story, you’ll be experiencing it with some next-gen graphics including a native 4K resolution and a heck of a whole lot more frames – even more if you’ve got a TV that supports VRR (variable refresh rate). Nice as those upgrades are, it’s not like the original game ever looked ugly – especially if you had a PS4 Pro back then or already have access to the PS4 version on a PS5.

You’ll only have two graphics modes to mess around with: fidelity and performance. The former targets 30fps and 4K resolution, while performance takes the hit on resolution, rocking up with a 1440p output and a more satisfying 60fps. Despite spending most of our time with performance mode – which offers the more fluid and precise experience so essential for taking down zombies – there’s a life to be had in fidelity mode if you have a TV that supports VRR and don’t mind not quite hitting 60fps.

Honestly, all that other stuff aside, we reckon it’s our OLED TV that’s appreciating the upgrade more than anyone.

If you’re tired of being dragged through The Last of Us Part II’s story like a lollipop that’s been rolled around in some particularly traumatising dirt before you can get to the game’s director commentary, too bad. Inexplicably, Naughty Dog reckoned that the only new bits of story content (aside from the Lost Levels – more on those later) should be hidden behind the feat of beating the game. A game that’ll take someone at least twenty hours – more if you’re a rusty gamer.

When you do eventually muster up the bottle (physically or mentally) for a second (or even third) run-through of the game, that Director’s Commentary will come in handy more than you think. It features almost all of the main cast and Neil Druckmann himself. We won’t get into all that here – it’s worth discovering something new for yourself.

A second (or again, third) playthrough will reward you with more than just some commentary, at the very least. Head over to the settings and you’ll find a couple of gameplay modifiers – Matrix bullet-time, infinite ammo – that sort of thing waiting for you to make the game a bit easier for those just looking to experience the story without all the palpitations that come with the combat. Our settings remained unfiddled, but it was nice to have the option. Oh, and you’ll be able to play through with new skins for characters and camouflages for weapons.

For players looking to experience the opposite and want to endure as much pain as possible, Naughty Dog’s added speedrun and permadeath modes that we strayed right away from.

No Return (unless we’re talking about Joel)

It’s no secret that combat is one of The Last of Us’ best features, and that’s only exemplified in this remaster’s biggest newcomer in the form of No Return. An entirely new mode – a roguelike – thrusts players into a series of tight, randomized skirmishes that show off the game’s exquisite combat chops.

Story is non-existent here. You’ll start wearing the skin of the main characters, Ellie and Abby, collecting new weapons, gear, and even characters along the journey. One of those includes Joel, which should be enough to assuage the feelings of any new or returning players sniffing the air for something that’ll keep them away from that character’s ace of a story.

There’s plenty of variety in No Return’s extensive journey, but it’s worth noting that it’s only ever going to be as interesting as combat is to you, specifically. There’s nothing to emotionally glom on to here – unless hearing Joel Miller’s voice is enough to keep you going – and it’ll get repetitive faster than you’d like. It’s a roguelike. You’re getting what you paid for.

Whether that’s an issue is, again, something you’ll need to decide for yourself. For us, No Return was a large enough addition that kept us satisfied whenever we had a spare twenty minutes of free time. It also helped us branch out a bit, personally, and approach these new encounters in entirely new ways that might not “fit” the vibe we’re going for where the main story is concerned.

Lost (Levels)

Concept art in remasters is great in theory, but we’ll be damned before we accept it as a genuine “feature” when it’s our money that’s on the line. Fortunately, it feels like the developers agree and threw in Lost Levels – a feature that does exactly what it says on the tin. Lost levels that never made it into the original game – all backed by the same sort of director commentary we can toggle in the main story.

You won’t have much to do, as there are only three levels to conquer – each in varying states of finishedness. You’ll be able to “play” each after listening to a short video featuring Druckmann, explaining why the level was left in this state and didn’t make the cut back then. They’re… playable, but calling them levels feels like a misnomer. They’re more akin to ‘experiences’ that still managed to keep us entertained for the handful of minutes it took to beat the things, regardless.

While the feature isn’t locked behind a first playthrough of the story, we’d recommend keeping away if you’re new to the story at all. Each takes place at various spots in the story. Spoilers.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered verdict

Is this a remaster worthy of whipping your wallet out for? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is sort of. Anyone returning to the game likely already owns the thing and can — and should — pick up the remaster for a whole lot less cheddar than anyone unfamiliar with the game.

There’s no denying that the remaster is the “definitive” version of the game for newbies and should be the one you pick up if you’ve got the necessary R900 to drop – but we have no qualms about directing you to the R720 PS4 version if all the game’s extra features — No Return in particular — hasn’t grabbed your attention. Considering the game’s 2020 release date, it’s an already fantastic-looking game that won’t show its age until you start nitpicking. You can always make use of the PS4 game’s cheaper upgrade route if it compels you enough to play it for a second time.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered releases today, 19 January.

Look the part on the grand-ish stage

The major draw for most major sporting games is its licensing. Cricket 24 is by far the most licensed cricket game to date. It boasts over 300 photogrammetry player and bat models from the largest men’s and women’s teams around the world. You can also play in some of the world’s biggest cricketing tournaments such as The Hundred and BBL. It’s difficult to deny that Cricket 24 is the closest we’ve come to the real thing since the Electronic Arts titles of the 2000s.

Where Cricket 22 struggled with lighting, shadows, and shiny accents are accurately lit in the latest iteration.

Unfortunately, the photogrammetry models don’t go beyond the licensed competitions and teams. So while the likes of Aiden Markram can be found in his IPL franchise on the Sunrisers Hyderabad team sheet, you’re still stuck with AI-generated Yusuf Vogel in South Africa’s World Cup squad. Speaking of the IPL, while Cricket 24 has eight of the ten IPL teams available, the tournament itself isn’t licensed. There are also over 300 players on the world cricket so while some players may have their likeness in the game, some designs aren’t the most accurate.

There is hope though. Cricket 24’s community is your best chance of getting as close as possible to what you expect the premiere cricket game to be. It takes a significant amount of downloading but you can all your favourite teams and their kits to give you an authentic cricket experience. Downloads can also be a little tricky to get right. Some teams will have the official World Cup kit, for example, but they might not have the licensed players. 

Read More: From Hawk-Eyes to Snickos – all the tech used in cricket

As handy as the community may be at providing more realistic teams, it isn’t the only way it’s done. Developer Big Ant Studios regularly releases patches to update their games. Among other additions, more player likenesses such as Dane van Niekerk of the Oval Invincibles were added to the latest one. As undercooked as Cricket 24 may seem out of the box, it certainly has the potential to be the premium cricket game you’d expect it to be. 

Familiar feelings

Cricket 24 brings back the same game gameplay experience from its predecessor, Cricket 22. The arcade controls make the game accessible and enjoyable for anyone who started watching cricket at either of this year’s World Cup tournaments. Much like the game in reality, batting is the more fun of the two disciplines. The colour-coded delivery point makes the ball easy to understand which helps you choose from a gratifying selection of shots. Orthodox shots are crisp with a few more added to Cricket 22’s range of strokes on the leg side.

Bowling may not be as regularly gratifying but when you strike, it is satisfying. Pace bowling took the longest to get the hang of with a wider array of shots to bowl. We started finding success the more crafty we got with aftertouch. Spin was simpler to pick up, with fewer variations per bowler and the ability to add flight, bounce, and drift to your standard delivery. Pro controls previously seen in Cricket 22 and Cricket 19 are also options you can choose from so players of those games will have no issue adjusting to the new game

Fielding still has a lot of room for improvement which is nothing new for cricket games. On one end of the spectrum, manual fielding is difficult to pick up. The other side of the spectrum has engaging mini-games for catching and running out your opponent,  but they’re sometimes overpowered. If you pick an end and get the ball out fast enough, you’re almost guaranteed a direct hit even if the fielder is throwing the ball in the opposite direction.

Cricket 24 definitely takes strides forward in the visual department but it’s also stuck in the past in some places. Where Cricket 22 struggled with lighting, shadows, and shiny accents are accurately lit in the latest iteration. The game is still plagued by glitches that you’d expect from a game made twenty years ago. Little issues, like cameras looking inside players during replays, feel insignificant but the braindead fielding AI is absolutely infuriating. Then there are balls that hover around like a nervous bee on its first nectar outing. The misfiring commentary from (the legendary) Adam Gilchrist also contributes to the experience of being in a simulation from the early 2000’s.

Cricket 24 does however promise to be the most authentic cricket gaming experience to date.

All other game modes are carbon copies of Cricket 22. The career mode gives you a similar trajectory from club cricket player to international star. You create a custom player, by introducing them to your coach and selecting attributes and playing style. On your way to the top, you play training minigames to improve your player’s rating and manage fatigue for stamina. The Hundreddraft is the closest we’ll get to the now scrapped ‘Pro team’ move we were promised in the initial announcement. It seems like Big Ant Studios has focused its efforts on securing licensing for this game and may look to add to the gameplay in the game’s next iteration.

Does Cricket 24 lift the trophy?

Players of Cricket 24 will have a strong sense of deja vu from Cricket 22. Gameplay is identical in the two games and easy to pick up for beginners. Batting has a slightly bolstered and gratifying selection of shots but bowling could be more rewarding. The marathon career experience can feel repetitive and is difficult to justify if you’ve been through the Cricket 22 career mode. The licensed tournaments are the major highlight, giving you the opportunity to play with your favorite players and teams. The experience is however unfortunately plagued by glitches from the Playstation 1 era and AI fielding on par with u/10 cricket.

With a R1049 price tag (PS5/PS4/XBSX/XB1) Cricket 24 is a few hundred rands away from the latest football game. The patchy nature of the game’s main attraction (its licensing) makes the price seem steep straight out of the box. With that said, Australia’s men’s team showed that you don’t need to start well to win the tournament.

Nintendo has proven that the Switch is the perfect console to keep the Mario series alive. It pulled off something truly brilliant with 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, a game that set the bar so high, Nintendo spent six years at the drawing board cooking up Wonder. Just as well the company likes to take its time, or we might have missed the privilege of playing the next best Mario game to date. 

Seriously, there were times throughout Wonder’s nine-ish hour playtime that we couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off our face. Nintendo’s made that a habit for most of its games at this point. It’s got charm, enough vibrancy to give a blind man a seizure and some superb couch co-op. We’re not saying it’s got the minerals needed to be a real contender for Game of the Year, but it definitely deserves a mention in that conversation. 

Act surprised: Bowser is back, again

Wonder’s best quality is its constant flow of action, right from the game’s opening credits where – massive spoiler – Bowser injects himself into the story as the game’s ‘main’ villain, taking over the Flower Kingdom’s Wonder powers, before Mario takes it upon himself to sort him out. Were this any other game, we’d call that a weak attempt at a ‘story’. When it’s a 40-year-old plumber that’s never not facing Bowser, we’re not so fussy when the introductions are skipped and we get to the action sooner. 

Which there’s no shortage of in Wonder. There’s hardly time for introductions before players are thrown into the deep end and told “Go nuts” in the game’s first level ‘Welcome to the Flower Kingdom’. From the moment Nintendo says go, you’re running through the most colourful Mario game and creative levels we’ve ever seen. It’s got all of what makes Super Mario Bros. so iconic but throws in a ton of fresh ideas (over 2,000 of them, apparently) that keep the formula from going stale. 

Case in point, the second level is a musical, complete with singing piranha plants that’ll serenade you before trying to put you six feet under. And that’s just the second level. Wonder has so much more lurking in its later levels that we won’t spoil for you. Just take our word for it that Wonder is pure, unadulterated fun that’ll keep children and adults alike entertained for hours. 

We mean that literally, we beat the main ‘story’ in just under nine hours, but perfectionists can expect to spend at least a few more delving into Wonder’s numerous hidden rooms and a million other little secrets. It’s also got six different worlds to play through with a modest number of levels to conquer in each. 

That’s all without even doing a second or third run-through with your friends if you have the necessary controllers and a couch big enough to accommodate up to four players. You’ll also need four friends.  

A who’s who of who’s who?

It might be a Super Mario Bros. game and yes, we’ve spent all our time as the titular character, but Nintendo’s got options for everyone. Enter Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Yellow Toad, Toadette, a variety of colourful Yoshis and Nabbit – the purple rabbit thief – who’s a recent addition to the lore.

You’ll be picking who to play as – swapping as often as you’d like if you want a generous rotation. It might not seem like a major decision – all the characters handle the same – but it is. Players picking a Yoshi or Nabbit are condemning themselves to the game’s ‘easy mode’ with those characters not being able to take any damage other than fall damage. They’re also prevented from picking up the game’s million different power-ups that can turn players into elephants, flame-throwing weapons of mass destruction or bubble-spouting heroes.  

It’s a small problem that’s clearly designed to give younger kids a fighting chance, but we’d have preferred the invincibility mode be a toggle for each character rather than limiting the already quite small pool of characters. 

On top of choosing a character, players are left in charge of the sort of powers they’ll be using for each level. We’re not talking about the fire- or bubble-fied power-ups but rather Badges – collectables that’ll let Mario turn his hat into a parachute or gain the ability to jump up walls. You’ll be collecting (or buying) them for most of the game with most levels requiring specific powers to beat or find the secrets within. It’s a well-executed addition and something we’re hoping Nintendo won’t chuck out the window by the time the next 2D Mario debuts.  

Wonderful levels

Your main objective in Super Mario Bros. Wonder isn’t just being the quickest over the finish line. That might work in the beginning, but you’ll soon find yourself returning to levels to reach the game’s real goal: the aptly named ‘Wonder Seeds’. They’re the key to everything – new levels, story progression, and a sense of accomplishment that’ll finally make your parents proud of you… we think. We might be confusing that last one for medical school. 

Whatever the case, you’ll want them. Wonder hands out a seed just for turning Bowser’s flag red at the end of a level, but those are gimmes. The others require a shade more skill to get hold of and can only be earned by activating each level’s Wonder Flower – essentially short bursts into the psychedelic – and drastically changing up the level’s hierarchy. Suddenly you’re at the mercy of Wonder’s developers, wading through something new every time in search of a level’s Wonder seed. 

It might be something as simple as catching a ride on an extremely fast (and flying) Bulrush stampede with goop threatening to swallow you whole or traversing through desert areas with the world quite literally turning on its axle. It gives players a break from the regular Mario gameplay by encouraging experimentation to find all the seeds.  

That’s all made more difficult by the game’s overwhelmingly vast influx of new enemies. We won’t get into them all here, but you’ll never get bored of looking for something to fight. Whether it’s the blue-feathered straw-shooting birds or the Hoppos that aren’t exactly hostile but don’t mind squishing you into the floor if you get in the way.  

Super Mario Bros. Wonder verdict

We were never going to have a bad time playing a Mario game, 2D or otherwise. Nintendo’s pretty much got the formula nailed on the head, even if that formula does occasionally go flying out the window in Wonder. It’s overflowing with creativity that’ll keep anyone playing on their toes for hours. 

Where Nintendo’s kept the formula alive is in all the stuff you’d expect (and want) to remain the same; plenty of stages with differing personalities, a visually explosive art style that we never grew tired of and some of the best couch co-op we’ve had. We’d have liked the difficulty to be turned up a smidge, though that problem does abate in the latter half of the game’s levels.  

If you’re a Mario fan who somehow doesn’t already have Wonder installed, we’d advise changing that as soon as possible. It’ll cost you R1,100 to own, sure, but when you compare it to something like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, it’s quite a steal. 

Sonic Superstars is an updated take on the original trilogy of games (plus Sonic and Knuckles) that hopes to recapture that blue lightning in a bottle. We know what you’re thinking. Hang on, you’re describing Sonic Mania.  Yeah, kinda. That’s a proper throwback, right down to the pixel art characters and levels. This one’s attempting to appeal to the kids these days a little more.

You need a story?

There’s a story of sorts in Superstars but you’ve heard the beats before. Jim Carrey Robotnik (always Robotnik, never Eggman) is out to… something or other, we’re never really sure what that is. It involves wreaking mayhem on the titular blue hedgehog and his mates while kidnapping all manner of woodland critters and using them to power his robots. That’s why Sonic is actually evil (he doesn’t bother to liberate every single trapped creature in a stage) but that’s another conversation.

The point is that this is a classic storyline for a classically-structured game. Sort of. Each area is divided by theme and you’ll have to complete one to head to the next. There are a few optional stages and a couple that are locked until you get a random piece of fruit (after defeating bosses — you’ll see). There’s no consistency in the number of levels in each act — maybe you’ll get three, maybe there’s one but it’s an absolute bastard to finish. The difficulty scales upward as you progress but that… could have been handled better. You’ll see why in a moment. What’s important for now is how close Sonic Superstars comes to emulating the original three-and-a-half games.

Reigniting the spark

This is most apparent in the early levels but it continues past the Pinball Carnival and Lagoon City, all the way up to Egg City and the end of the game. Sort of. But Bridge Island and the other early sections are slower-paced (slower for a Sonic game) and give you a chance to appreciate the attention to detail. This includes old-school skidding and balancing animations that translate well in Sonic Superstars‘ new 3D graphics. Purists will argue that pixel art is essential and they may be right. But the new look manages to convey the same wonder the first games provided way back in the late 20th century.

This impression continues as you blast your way through the stages. If you were around back then, you’ll find that muscle memory handles navigation and control rather handily, even though it’s your first time on a level. The sets of powerups, pickups, and hazards have more in common with Sonic 2 than any of the later games. The same goes for the checkpoints, which still generate a little portal if you pass one with more than 50 rings in your pocket. But that’s not the only secret to be found.

That’s just super, Sonic

The Chaos Emeralds and their attendant ability to turn the blue ‘hog into the iconic Super Sonic have returned but that’s not their only point. Each Emerald, which is attained by hopping into a cunningly concealed gigantic gold ring (you’ll know it when you see it) and making like Tarzan to catch the blasted thing, confers a new ability on Sonic. Superstars reuses this bonus area to tempt you into catching Medallions (more on those in a second), except you’re leaping into a giant blue ring for these.

There are some nifty abilities. One populates the screen with fake versions of your character — Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles are playable from the start and you can do the same-screen multiplayer thing if you hate yourself. Another reveals hidden platforms, still others let you boost and deal elemental damage. These abilities are all temporary but are recharged when you hit a checkpoint. They’re also… afterthoughts. Using them slows the game down, which isn’t supposed to be the point, and they’re not terribly useful. Well, sometimes.

Certain abilities will let you absolutely paste bosses, zipping you past their attack patterns while barely having to lift a finger. It’s a question of timing and it doesn’t work on every boss but you can slam-dunk Robotnik a few times as you progress if you’re annoyed at those repetitive attacks that you can’t quite dodge.

That’s another thing — Sonic Superstars features the same sort of difficulty the first games were famous for. If you can’t remember them or never played them, it was a painful experience. You rarely hear about Nintendo Thumb these days but you could also get it on a Sega console. Sonic Superstars keeps the difficulty but removes the consequences.

You’ll never run out of lives or see a Game Over screen, which wastes the point of that wicked difficulty. If you know you can just restart and restart and restart forever, a madly difficult part ceases to be a challenge and just starts being annoying. If you bang your head against the wall long enough, you’ll pass it. But the game never stops and tells you how much you suck. We missed that.

Battling to see the point

And then we come to the Medallions. Sort of. They’re an incidental resource intended for the other game mode — Battle. There’s also a Time Attack, which is exactly what it sounds like, but Sonic Superstars has added something grinding and resources and multiplayer. Not the same-screen multiplayer from the campaign but competitive multiplayer which takes place online or on the couch. Or against bots, which is useful for practice. Battle mode requires that you buy the parts you need, and an individual paint for each part, using Medallions.

The trouble is that this mode isn’t especially attractive. The minigames aren’t compelling enough to send you hunting for the resources to create and upgrade a custom robotic combatant, but maybe we’re the wrong audience for this. But the younger ones are playing Fortnite while running around as Pickle Rick or Nicki Minaj or something. They don’t have time for the weak effort Sonic Team has presented here. Still, it’s there if you want it. Someone probably does. They probably still have a secret Sonic OC somewhere.

Sonic Superstars verdict

Sonic Superstars really could have replicated the feel of the first games almost entirely. One addition and a few subtractions would have managed the job rather neatly. Add lives and a continue screen, scrap the Medallion grind and Battle Mode, and deemphasise the multiplayer campaign (because there’s always one bugger who is far too slow) and the all-new areas, threats, bosses, and even the story would have shone that much brighter.

The game still would have had its faults. The Chaos Emeralds powers thing is just weird but we’re also fine with it because we get to cheese poor old Robotnik from time to time. There are late-stage shenanigans to contend with that’ll have you torquing your controller, infinite lives or not, and some of the enemies just suck. That’s normal for a Sonic title, though, so it should probably go into the Plus column.

It’s become the thing to take a giant dump all over EA Sports’ latest effort – and rightfully so – whether it’s Madden, NBA 2K or FIFA. That’s (mostly) EA’s fault for failing to come up with an original idea since Ultimate Team’s inception, though some of that blame lies with the fanbase. We’re not admitting to victim-blaming, but we also won’t deny it.  

That’s not to say there isn’t anything new here. It’s got the usual hallmarks of a FIFA game; a slightly slower pace for ‘realism’, new teams, and a couple of additions to the Ultimate Team mode that could’ve been achieved through an update. Hyperbolism aside, our general sentiment still stands that EA FC 24 hardly does enough to justify the triple-A price. 

Slowing things down (again) 

Before we dive into any of FC 24’s modes, it’s worth looking at any football game’s most important aspect: gameplay. From a technical standpoint, FC 24 is definitively the most realistic football sim out there. That’s not a compliment, it’s expected – what with EA’s stranglehold on the sports-gaming industry and $7.4 billion+ in annual revenue. 

So, what does all that moola mean for EA’s next unfortunate victim in the perpetual cycle that is FC 24? Not much, apparently. Poor AI, extremely detailed overworlds, and some stylish flair. Just what you always wanted, right?  

We didn’t think so. Sure, we were impressed by the game’s deluge of new player animations – it’s always something to look forward to in this never-ending dance – but it’s severely lacking any changes with substance. Instead, you’re met with the same superficial changes that do a lot for the shiny exterior, like the game’s generally slower pace that, if history repeats itself, will be hot-swapped out for something a little speedier (you know, for ‘realism’) pretty soon.

All the usual changes to everything but the football have wiggled their way in too. EA’s gone out of its way to make off-the-ball interactions more realistic, rather than evolving its on-the-ball gameplay. Those involve sitting through the rigamarole of post-match interviews or the ref’s bodycam footage when handing out yellows and reds. You might love it, but it barely managed to hold our attention after the first few times. 

What did illicit a worthy reaction was the introduction of PlayStyles, a new ‘mechanic’ that does a great job of highlighting each player’s strengths. There are 32 PlayStyles in total, spread across six categories: shooting, passing, defending, goalkeeping, ball control, and physical. It’s not a mechanic you actively have to use like some sort of Elden Ring Ash of War, but something meant to organically improve gameplay with a fresh layer of individuality. Most of the game’s world-class players will get a + added to their PlayStyle to help them stand out even further from the rest. It’s a decent feature that we hope doesn’t get booted in favour of something more… EA-flavoured. 

Ultimate waste of time (and money)

Like Ultimate Team – simultaneously the best and worst thing to hit EA’s long line of sports sims since it launched with FIFA 09. Things are the same as ever, with quantity, not quality, being the shining factor yet again. You’ll still find the same old SBCs, boring Squad Battles, poor servers, and the regular influx of sheeple that shell out thousands of bucks in the hopes of unlocking Erling Haaland but only scoring themselves a lifelong addiction to gambling.  

Admittedly, we did manage to have some fun with Ultimate Team. That feeling will have surely abated in a month or so, but for now, it’s… okay. It’s rough around all the same edges, with lag still infecting the menus and dreadfully boring squad battles that are mercifully shorter this time (4 minutes a side). Even so, EA’s done something to retain those non-spenders for just a little while longer, and for that we’re grateful.  

We’re talking about Evolutions, which gives certain cards the ability to upgrade for free if you’re willing to put in a bit of work. Evolutions lets you turn ordinary cards like Hudson-Odoi, whose regular card starts at 75, into something that’s worth keeping in the club. Not every card is eligible for Evolutions, but a fair few are – and rarely left us berating the game’s lack of representation. Any given card can have specific stats upgraded, which unlock through challenges pertaining to any skill. Improving a card’s shooting stat involves scoring X number of goals, or defenders making X number of tackles to earn their upgrades. You get the idea.  

Unfortunately, this is EA. For every good decision, two more appear like a money-hungry hydra. What was initially presented as an enticing gameplay loop for those that don’t spend, still manages to have microtransactions. 

Most Evolutions routes are free (except when they’re not), but there’s one that’ll see your 79-rated winger evolve into an 85-rated card for the measly cost of 50,000 in-game coins or the simple expedient of 1,000 FC 24 points (or R180). Spending isn’t a necessity, but it does make for even more unbalanced gameplay in a game already riddled with pay-to-win ideologies. 

And for the EA stans in the back shouting about the addition of women in Ultimate Team, that’s… correct. EA has discovered inclusivity. That’s generally a good thing for the player base but here it also means EA can reach more fans… all the way into their wallets.

We don’t mind suspending our disbelief that the women’s cards share similar physical stats with the male cards and that playing any women’s card upfront is going to give you an edge due to their smaller frame and often quicker builds. We’re just not a fan of the sheer volume of new cards diluting the pool and putting us further away from the Ronaldo, Messi, and Maguire cards out there, all so EA can pocket more money.

Shock horror: Career Mode is still a letdown

Luckily, EA hasn’t yet found a way to worm microtransactions into Career Mode – both a blessing and a curse. Not having to pay more within a game you’ve already bought is a win, but it comes at the expense of the mode’s early death every year.

The most notable change for players that like to, well, be a player, is Player Agents. An interesting idea that gives your character a list of objectives to help them stay in the team or get the transfer they hoped for. However interesting, we found its execution needs more work. That list of seasonal objectives slowly devolved into what you might expect from a game’s lifetime achievements. “Oh sorry, five of your 26 goals this season weren’t bicycle kicks…”  

As always, we enjoyed our time with Manager Career more than anything else. That’s not because any of the new features blew us away, but rather its consistency. It does have something new to fiddle with – new identities for your manager and their playstyles. You might pick ‘Tiki Taka’ or ‘Park the Bus’ or one of the other five choices on offer, hiring specific coaches to drill those ideals into your squad. On paper, it’s meant to give multiple playthroughs a different personality and feel. In reality, it steered us towards putting our copy down after one playthrough, with hardly any changes to the gameplay and effectively leaving us with FIFA 23‘s Career Mode. 

EA FC 24 verdict 

At the end of the day, EA FC 24 is better than its Federation predecessor, but not by much. For every step it takes forward – PlayStyles, Evolutions – it takes two steps backwards. Ultimate Team is still a sloppy excuse to push microtransactions, Career Mode is severely under-utilised, and the AI can be frustrating. Fun can be had if you know where to look. If you gave FIFA 23 a miss, we’d recommend giving this one a go. If you didn’t… we suggest giving your wallet a break this year. 

It begs the question; how does NetherRealm keep the Mortal Kombat series fresh while featuring the same faces, and that “Get over here!” line we’ve been hearing since 1992? The answer, apparently, is to reboot the universe (again) if the ‘1’ chucked onto the title wasn’t a big enough hint. Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a fine new story, some great mechanics, other-worldly graphics, and bloodier-than-ever animations that ultimately fail to live up to the highs of the series’ past. Or Street Fighter 6, for that matter.

Flawed Victory?

Mortal Kombat’s story has never been its strong point. It’s a who’s-who of all the same faces trying to keep Earthrealm out of the hands of The Bad Guys. Mortal Kombat 1 might avoid conventional numbering, but it’s the definition of conventional – oftentimes erring on the side of safe – where its story is concerned.

If you, like most, rarely see the tail end of a regular Mortal Kombat campaign, we’ll give you a quick refresher. Mortal Kombat 1 picks up where MK11 Aftermath left off, with Liu Kang assuming his position as the Keeper of Time, before eventually remoulding the world in his own image and setting the series’ familiar faces down some unfamiliar paths.

You’d think that an entirely new universe might warrant at least some new faces to play with here. That… isn’t the case. NetherRealm’s focused its energy on reimagining those familiar faces and turning them into something resembling new characters. Scorpion and Sub Zero, for example, spend their time united as brothers rather than mortal enemies, and Raiden has been demoted from all-powerful Thunder God to a… lowly farmer? You get the idea. Things are different. Sorta.

Much of the game’s early story relies on making the player perform their best Rick Dalton impression (may he rest in peace) every time a new character appears on screen, rarely doing much to further the narrative in a satisfying way. It does eventually shoulder some bolder creative decisions – some we even quite liked – closer to the end of the game, which does fill us with hope for a sequel more befitting our time.

Fortunately, Mortal Kombat 1’s monotony and poor writing is broken up by the game’s decent cast of voice actors, filling out a few hours of the nine-ish hour campaign that didn’t have us falling asleep quite as often as we thought it might. Like everything in life, nothing is perfect. That strong cast is let down by the odd casting of Nitara, with Megan Fox voicing the character, pulling off some of the worst acting we’ve seen since Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. 

Get over here!

Now for the fun bits of any Mortal Kombat game – everything else. That’s usually the case, with the core campaign offering up enough meat for a single run-through before your attention is forced elsewhere. This time ‘elsewhere’ involved traditional singe-player Arcade mode and something entirely new known as Invasions. Those stand alongside the online staples consisting of ranked, casual, private matches and King of the Hill.

Most of our time was consumed by couch duels — offering up some of the purest Mortal Kombat fun we’ve had yet – thanks to the combination of smooth gameplay, great visuals, and some of the most brutal moves we’ve had the pleasure (?) of seeing in a Mortal Kombat game.

Whether you’re playing against Xx_MomDestroyer_xX or someone offline, it’s all bolstered by the flurry of new combos, fatalities, and the new Kameo fighter system that’ll soon be as iconic as any of the characters it’s accompanying. Kameos are a clever way for NetherRealm to introduce characters that didn’t make the playable roster, such as Cyrax or Jax Briggs. They can be called upon three times during a fight to help pull off a cool combo, give you a second to breathe or absolutely humiliate your opponent.

As far as the Kameo system justifies its existence alongside a great roster of characters, it’s let down by a severe lack of engaging voice work, failing to match the bigger personalities you’re actually controlling. That being said, we’re excited to see what NetherRealm can do with the Kameo system in a sequel.

Once you’ve got to grips with the Kameo system, it’s time to make use of the game’s extensive list of new mechanics, with aerial moves receiving the biggest overhaul. All the usual flourishes you’d find in a new Mortal Kombat are here, with fresh moves, combos, and a refined control scheme that might have more to do with the DualSense controller we played with than anything NetherRealm did. It’s generally more competitive and thrives because of it, though we routinely stayed away from the game’s online modes, which are still plagued with the usual one-move spammers.

Oh, and if you needed any convincing, the game’s signature fatality moves are just as gloriously gory as you’d imagine for 2023.

Finish Him!

Were this any other Mortal Kombat title, we’d probably be wrapping up this review up. The addition of a new story and the usual updates to moves, characters and graphics, while welcome, isn’t anything new. What is new is something called Invasions, a mode that falls into the same vein as the other MK mini-games like Deception’s chess-kombat or Test Your Might.

Whatever Watchdog-related ideas the name might invoke; Invasions is a single-player mode through and through. It’s sort of RPG-inspired, allowing players to traverse through a deceptive tabletop world and tackle the levels at different locations; consisting of one-on-one battles with the game’s AI that can either be extremely fun or woefully frustrating.

That’s all to do with the mode’s match randomizer, applying a different set of circumstances that you’ll have to put up with during each match. Sometimes it’s something simple; like raining fireballs or increased enemy armour to elevate the experience that little bit more. Other times… you’ll be stuck playing out the match in total darkness. Fun, right?

Invasions operates on a season-by-season basis, with the game’s first season still ongoing. It focuses more on Scorpion, with most of the rewards you’ll unlock pertaining to the character. We’re guessing the game’s future seasons will be designed to unlock different rewards for each character and keep the game alive until NetherRealm gets around to making a sequel.

Aside from the few occasions we didn’t have fun with Invasions, it did enough to hold our attention when we weren’t playing with friends on the couch or online. It’s certainly better than playing the campaign again, and something we hope NetherRealm doesn’t just toss out in lieu of some other half-baked mode.

Mortal Kombat 1 verdict

Mortal Kombat 1 is an enticing and much-needed reboot that does less with the brand-new universe than we’d have liked. Still, it manages to entertain through the series’ usual gimmes, with faster-paced gameplay, gorgeous visuals and bloodier-than-ever finishers. It stumbles during its campaign which doesn’t do enough in the way of good dialogue but redeems itself with voice acting that can’t be ignored (mostly) and a mini-game that we’ll probably return to.

In short, it’s a Mortal Kombat game that’s been updated for 2023 which will struggle to disappoint if all you’re looking for is a good time with your friends. If single-player is all you’re after, however, we’d recommend throwing your money Capcom’s way or hanging around until Tekken 8’s 2024 release.

A not-so-meticulously crafted universe

If you’ve played one of Bethesda’s many very successful role-playing games in the past, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and most of the modern Fallout series, then you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Starfield.

Stepping into the role of a voiceless protagonist, players will be given their own ship and allowed to explore the cosmos, completing an overwhelming number of quests as they look to complete the core objective of investigating a strange artefact that may point to the existence of intelligent life somewhere out in space.

It’s an exciting premise, even if it’s a little tried-and-testing. Starfield leans heavily into what Bethesda has described as “NASA-punk,” an aesthetic choice that places more emphasis on science rather than fiction. For a while, it’s a cool look. The game’s particular vision of humanity’s voyage into the stars is grounded and unique with ships and cities having a chunky look that doesn’t feel inauthentic to how they might look in a couple of centuries.

Starfield is at its best when players are walking around these made-up environments, the places that humans have crafted both in and outside of the world. Walking around Jemison, one of the game’s main cities, is a joy as the cacophony of sounds and sights weaves an image of a world that could exist. It feels genuine. Yet when we left these more built-up locations, reality quickly set in.

For a game that has so much detail in its more artistic elements, Starfield is unforgivably barren, a fact that only lead us to boredom. Sure, it’s possible to touch down on hundreds of different planets but once your boots hit the ground… there’s not much to it.

That’s not entirely fair. Players can scan the environment and build bases ala No Man’s Sky but beyond that, most of the planets don’t offer much in the way of unique experiences. There are only so many times a weird rock is interesting to look at. After venturing across a handful of planets, scanning and documenting our discoveries, we lost interest in that part of the game entirely and opted to approach the more crafted quest elements. Which are… better, but that’s not saying much.

Exposition overload

The writing in Starfield, and by extension most of the quests on offer, is intriguing at best and a waste of time at worst. Especially in the early hours of the game, players will be stuck in what feels like an endless string of conversations with talking heads. There’s nothing stopping you from just skipping the dialogue and getting right into the action, but this is Bethesda we’re talking about here.

In comparison to their previous games, wherein conversations with interesting NPCs were usually the main draw, Starfield is dull to sit through. Characters aren’t exactly riveting to chat with and many of them just seem to drone on with irritating exposition dumps. It’s like the game is terrified that players won’t understand what it’s trying to say unless it straps them to a chair, Clockwork Orange style, and forces them to sit through ages of talking that never really amounts to anything more than, “Go here, do that.”

Which is a pity because once Starfield gives the reigns over to the player there’s some genuine fun to bad. We encountered a particular highlight while we made our way through what we believed to be an abandoned mining outpost – only to find a clue that would lead us to the lair of someone called The Mantis. What followed was a detailed questline that involved investigating an infamous space warrior who had long since passed, resulting in the acquisition of a badass new spacesuit and starship. Whether by design or emergent, it was exhilarating.

For those wondering about the combat, the other major aspect of Starfield, it’s fine. It’s not broken but it’s not necessarily deep either. It’s engaging enough to be fun, but only for so long. It’s held up by an in-depth modding system that allows for all kinds of fun and interesting tweaks to the surprisingly robust amount of weapons that can be found in containers and bodies scattered around.

Starfield verdict

We’re just not entirely sure who this game is made for. One half seems to be appealing to the explore-and-discover loop of No Man’s Sky, but that aspect is too often interrupted by grating dialogue and tedious menu navigation. The other half is likely targeting the role-players of Skyrim, but the abundance of loading screens and tacked-on guff is enough to destroy any semblance of immersion.

Starfield is an example of why being the jack-of-all-trades might not be the best approach to achieving a tight, concise product. Bethesda’s latest game feels bloated and dull which is all the more frustrating when genuinely excellent parts managed to shine through all the cruft. Almost like a promise one knows they can’t keep but do their best to anyway.

We knew we were in for a good time after the first few minutes of the game’s demo, which made the rounds on social media a couple of weeks ago. It provides a fantastical world where anything is possible, achieved with a ‘retro’ Polaroid camera that altered our preconceived thoughts of the surrounding universe with every shutter sound.

Did Valve make this?

At its core, Viewfinder is a puzzle game that reminds us most plainly of Portal 2, Superliminal, Braid and even the colour-blind person’s nightmare – The Witness. Don’t get us wrong, Viewfinder is very much its own thing. The most prevalent similarity involves its beautifully cartoonish cell-shaded art style and unique hook to get players through its varying levels of puzzlement.

Remember that Polaroid camera we mentioned? Viewfinder’s most interesting aspect is the one and only tool it gives you – the camera’s viewfinder. It allows the player to take two-dimensional images of the game’s floating-island puzzles and bring them forth into the third dimension, free to walk on, in and behind if you so wish.

You’ll be doing all that with the aim of reaching each level’s end goal, usually in the form of a teleporter. When you get there, it’ll send you off to a fresh new world begging to be explored. Sometimes, reaching a teleporter is as simple as snapping a picture of a bridge, and placing it within base reality to cross a gap. Other times, it’s about as difficult as restructuring the laws of physics. And that’s… good. This is a puzzle game after all.

Somewhere along Viewfinder’s nearly six-hour roving experience, though, it begins to subtly change the rules. Occasionally it’ll throw in the added incentive of powering up those teleporters with batteries, though it doesn’t always give you the right tools for the job. Say a teleporter needs two, three or sometimes even four batteries before it’ll put out enough power, just snap a picture and whaddya know – now you have two.

Other times, however, there might not even be a teleporter, instead asking the player to line up certain perspectives to unlock new pathways. Sometimes you won’t even have that trusty camera handy and will be forced to use the ready-made images scattered around the level. And even when you do have the camera in hand, there might be an artificial limit on how many images it can take, to throw a spanner into the works whenever things start feeling a bit too easy.

(And if you find yourself getting stuck, there is a hint system in place that’ll only kick in when you’re taking too long on a puzzle. Or so we’re told…)

Fizzling out

We weren’t quite as intrigued by the game’s story – oh yes, there’s a story – as we were with the perspective mechanics. It’s not the main attraction. That title’s awarded to the viewfinder and all the puzzling curiosities it brings with it. There’s still a story to be had, and a rather interesting one, though it’s left up to each player to seek it out.

It’s not a big spoiler to say that the world the player inhabits is one built by scientists, made as a place to carry out experiments in a world ungoverned by Earth’s usual limitations. Throughout the six-ish-hour campaign, you’ll come across post-it notes and voice recordings left by each of the scientists. You’ll slowly learn that the scientists are on the verge of something big, something that’ll change the outside world (AKA the real world) forever.

Each of those little snippets is unique to the scientists that left them behind, with each ‘world’ you find them in custom-built to their tastes, likes and personalities. One, for example, is a big plant-lover, evidenced by the world’s brimming plant life while another’s got a proclivity towards sweets, cakes and chocolate.

You won’t have to go about it alone. Players are accompanied by CAIT, an artificially intelligent feline that takes the form of a cuddly (and pettable) cat that’ll act as your guide and companion along the winding journey.

That’s all just there to give the levels something else to look at than the numerous batteries you’ll be duplicating to progress to the next level, and a story to tie it all together. We liked the sprinkles of information scattered throughout, though we doubt it’ll grip us as much on a second playthrough.

Viewfinder verdict

Despite the somewhat interesting story, which might not be every player’s cup of tea, there’s no dispute that Viewfinder is one of the best puzzle games of late and deserves a spot on the list among the genre’s greats. It’s a constantly evolving experience that we never grew tired of exploring and gave us enough tools early on that said ‘go on, do it.’

Providing the freedom to dream up their own solutions makes every player’s experience unique while still achieving the same end goal. That also makes additional playthroughs more appealing if you’re the completionist type. For a game from a lesser-known developer, and for the asking price – R230 on Steam and R450 on PlayStation – you can’t ask for more than that.

Today, we’re mostly concerned with Pam’s answer – Wordle. We’re sure we aren’t the only ones who think the internet is a slightly different place since the viral word-guessing game dominated watercooler chatter.

According to Progress Bar 2023, we’re just about halfway through the year so it’s about time for another sickenly-addictive browser-based time-waster. Enter The Password Game from New York-based coder Neal Agarwal.

Clear your schedule

Before we’d entered a single character we recognised the potential damage this game could wreak on our productivity so we promised ourselves we’d only go at it for 15 minutes or until we got stuck. 85 minutes later, after suffering an unthinkable tragedy, we closed the tab and were left with a strange mix of sadness, regret, and mild annoyance.

The game starts by politely asking you to “Please choose a password.” Entering ‘Password#1’ immediately satisfied the first four ‘rules’ like any good password should. It’s at least 5 characters long and includes a number, an uppercase letter, and a special character. So far so good.

Rule 5 is where things started to get weird. “The digits in your password must add up to 25” is not a password rule we’ve seen before.

Things quickly descended into absurdity and before we knew it we were adding Roman numerals, including one of the game’s “sponsors”, and making sure the Roman numerals we added previously multiplied to 35.

Then it took us off-site, forcing us to first solve and then include the current Wordle answer followed by the name of the country which you’ll have to deduce based on a random Google Street View location. Luckily you’re still able to ‘walk around’ to find clues. We’ll admit we also had to look up what the current phase of the moon is before finding and adding it as an emoji.

If you’re using a Windows PC, the emoji shortcut is the Windows logo key + . (period). If you’re on an Apple PC it’s a little more complicated.

Don’t give up on your password too soon

You might think, as we did, that you’re toast when you get to Rule 16 (or thereabouts) and you have to include the next best move of a given chess board in algebraic chess notation. But we’d encourage you to press on, whether that be through luck or with the help of nextchessmove.com a, uh, friend.

Then you’ll meet Paul. He’s just an egg that hasn’t hatched at first so you’re tasked with adding him to your password to keep him safe. We were really looking forward to getting to know Paul better once he’d hatched but sadly disaster struck.

We couldn’t scramble to douse the flames fast enough so Paul’s precious life, along with our last bit of patience, perished in the ensuing blaze.

Stuff says: 10/10 – Would play again while the editor isn’t looking.