Review Category: Games

PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Here’s a curious one. Created by a team that was set up by a former Rockstar employee who was – at least in part – responsible for Grand Theft Auto‘s meteoric rise to fame, sci-fi action/adventure cover shooter MindsEye was greeted with what we’ll politely call “less than stellar” reviews upon its release in June 2025. Now, after months of behind-the-scenes tinkering, the game’s seventh major update has been released, along with the announcement that this latest iteration is intended to serve as a “brand reset” for the game. So, how’s MindsEye doing these days? Worth a look?

Despite its pedigree, MindsEye‘s similarity to GTA pretty much begins and ends with its open-world setting. The Las Vegas-esque desert city of Redrock, with its futuristic skyscrapers and neon-soaked streets, appears at first glance to be a very enticing playground that evokes fond memories of exploring San Andreas back in 2004, but although you’re able to drive around and take in the sights, there’s little else to do other than follow the story. Apart from a handful of side missions, MindsEye is a very linear experience that pushes you through its single-player campaign without concerning itself with distractions, mini-games, encounters, collectibles or anything else that might get in the way.

Some distractions would be very welcome, as although the campaign is very short (around 8-10 hours), it gets very repetitive very quickly. The first two thirds of the game mostly involve driving or flying almost unreasonably long distances, shooting a small amount of baddies, then travelling all the way back to where you came from. The driving does feel decent enough, but there’s not so much as a single radio station to keep you company – the only soundtrack is lengthy exposition dumps from your colleagues, none of whom are especially endearing or interesting.

Between drives, gunplay is similarly limited, allowing you to swap between around a dozen weapons with only a handful of meaningful differences between them and no upgrades or mods to change things up in any way. MindsEye positions itself as a third-person cover shooter (think Uncharted or Gears of War), but its cover mechanics are so restrictive – you’re not able to fluidly move around corners or between cover, for instance – and inconsistent (some walls just won’t let you take cover against them) that playing the game as intended is sometimes more difficult than it should be.

Elsewhere, visuals are often fuzzy and seem out of focus, both in the distance and at close range, although the endless catalogue of bugs and glitches that reportedly plagued the game at launch do seem to have mostly been taken care of. A couple of hiccups were encountered during this review playthrough which required a full game restart to fix, so there’s definitely still work to be done, but it’s pleasing to see that some progress does seem to have been made.

MindsEye is an intriguing proposition. For every positive, there’s a frustrating negative that pulls the game right back down. Driving feels great, but there’s so much of it that the eventual appearance of a “skip journey” button feels like a godsend. Your drone abilities are super useful and fun to use, but their long cooldown times and clunky controls take the enjoyment out of using them. The campaign builds to a handful of genuinely tense and challenging final missions, but the journey to reach that point is still a fairly rough ride. It isn’t beyond hope – the basics are all in place, and it would be fantastic to see the game turn things around, utilise its environments more effectively and become something much bigger and more well-rounded than it is now. For the time being, though, a generous two stars for the campaign’s final couple of hours is the highest praise we can give.

 

 

PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

In this fourth (yes!) instalment of the Ebola series, players assume the role of Marina, a young divorcee who wakes up from a nap to the rather harrowing news that an outbreak of ebola is sweeping the planet at an alarming rate. A TV broadcast advises everyone to stay at home, but Marina decides to ignore this and instead sets off to a nearby village to check on her mother. When she arrives, she quickly realises that the situation is much worse than she could have imagined, and it’s going to take all of her skill and determination to get herself and her mother out alive.

Touted as a homage to ’90s survival horror, Ebola Village takes the familiar Resident Evil formula and… well, pretty much copies it, in all honesty. You’ll explore six small locations containing ten or so buildings, solve simple puzzles, and hunt for clues and items that will allow you to access locked areas which lead to more puzzles, more clues and more items. Restrictive inventory space means that you’ll be stashing items in storage chests to retrieve later on, and the “homage” continues even further in the hordes of infected villagers, some of whom will throw gardening tools at you while others will sprout a terrifying parasitic entity from their heads, just like in Resident Evil 4.

Which all sounds great in theory, but in practice, things don’t always quite go to plan. The technical side is fairly solid apart from some occasional graphical glitches and a lot of texture pop-in, the environment is nicely grimy and unsettling, and some of the visuals are really quite impressive. On the other hand, the way the game is structured leaves a lot to be desired, often leading you on what feels like one wild goose chase after another as you endlessly traipse backwards and forwards between locations while you try to figure out which particular items the game will actually allow you to collect at any given moment. A few of the places you’ll visit seem to only exist as a reason to house certain items, with the farmhouse, church and swamp being severely underutilised despite the appearance of what appear to be a handful of potential boss-like characters who are quickly forgotten about, never to be seen again outside of their introductory cutscenes.

Although there are a lot of questionable design decisions and shall we say “less refined” ideas that make for quite a confusing and messy experience (made even more bizarre by the English subtitles that translate the dialogue from its native Russian language), Ebola Village still somehow manages to be strangely playable. It’s unlikely to bother any of the heavy hitters in the survival horror genre, but those with a higher tolerance (or even fondness) for quirky European fare are likely to get a decent enough evening’s worth of entertainment out of it.

 

PLATFORM: SWITCH | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Metroid Prime fans have had a heck of a long wait for a new instalment. Prime 3 was released all the way back in 2007, and although a further entry did appear on the 3DS (the much-maligned and oft-forgotten Federation Force) in 2016, for a long time it seemed like the series might be on an indefinite hiatus as far as major home console releases were concerned. When Metroid Prime 4 was announced in 2017, fans were hoping that it would appear sooner rather than later, but a troubled development period saw some behind-the-scenes reshuffling lead to the project being completely restarted in 2019, now with the team responsible for the original Prime series back at the helm. Finally, six years later, Metroid Prime 4 is in players’ hands, arriving a whopping eighteen years after its predecessor.

 

MP4: Beyond once again asks you to take control of the intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran, during a mission that goes awry within the opening moments of the game. While attempting to prevent the Space Pirates from stealing an important artefact, Samus encounters the Pirates’ leader, Sylux, whose actions result in Samus being teleported to the unknown planet of Viewros. Here, she discovers a holographic recording left by a priest of the planet’s now-extinct race, the Lamorn, who talks about their plans to preserve their legacy on a new planet. Resolving to help the Lamorn with their final request, Samus must now explore several distinct locations around Viewros to acquire new abilities and psychic powers that will allow her to complete her mission and find a way home.

 

Gameplay is very similar to previous Prime titles, although maybe a bit more linear than fans of the wider Metroid series might expect. After travelling to a location, you’ll explore the area, pick up as many upgrades and abilities as you can find, take down a boss, then move on to the next location. There are five main places of interest, all with sections that are inaccessible until finding abilities in later areas, meaning you’ll be revisiting each place at least one more time, but there aren’t really any hugely massive areas that you’ll get lost in. The smaller locations, combined with advice from the handful of NPCs you’ll meet along the way, make MP4 feel much easier and straightforward than its predecessors. The locations you need to visit are placed in the four corners of the in-game map, you’ll spend a lot of time driving through the desert (on a new arrival for the series, a motorbike equipped with combat capabilities) between each area. Apart from a few shrines here and there, all of which contain puzzles that lead to handy upgrades, the desert is mostly a barren wasteland that perhaps could do with a few more activities to liven things up a bit, in what is really MP4‘s only underwhelming aspect.

 

There are plenty of inventive puzzles to solve, almost reminiscent of old-school Legend of Zelda, particularly when using the new psychic powers that give Samus a handful of new ways to interact with her surroundings. Combat is simple but satisfying – as is series tradition, Samus is able to lock onto her enemies and then blast away with single bullets or charged shots, while also utilising a variety of elemental missiles for extra damage. The inclusion of NPCs might be a bit jarring at first, particularly when your first “colleague” appears to be overly quippy and chirpy, but they settle down quickly and are nowhere as overbearing as they initially appear. MP4 is absolutely at its best when your companions leave you alone though, allowing you to embark on a solitary adventure through some really quite stunning and atmospheric locations, with only the sound of your weapons and the game’s excellent OST to accompany you. All in all, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an absolute treat for longtime fans of the series who perhaps thought the game might never arrive!

 

PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A daft little adventure for you here, straight from the fictional Yorkshire pit village of Barnsworth where a diminutive chap – usually not much taller than the average person’s ankle, but sometimes appearing to be almost waist-height – spends his days sorting out problems for the local simpletons in all manner of increasingly strange and bizarre ways.

A simple game to play, your only tasks are either walking, jumping or interacting with objects by giving them a quick slap. Rather than gameplay, the focus is very much on humour, encouraging you to explore the village and immerse yourself in the residents’ daily troubles. It all seems innocent enough at first glance – an old lady’s lost dog, a poorly bed-ridden boy, and shop owners with broken or missing equipment – but everything quickly becomes ridiculous, sending you to places you’d never expect. It never feels like it’s trying too hard with the jokes, either – it’s effortlessly funny, and manages to pull off running jokes with some fantastic punchlines throughout its 2-3 hour duration.

Thank Goodness You’re Here might not be traditional STARBURST fare (there’s a complete absence of aliens, monsters, zombies or elves), but it’s exactly the kind of absurd and surreal nonsense that goes down a treat around these parts. The dialogue and humour, laden with innuendo, lands somewhere between Wallace and Gromit, The League of Gentlemen and Last of the Summer Wine, which makes for a pretty great combo, and the short runtime makes it feel more like you’re playing an animated movie. Anyone looking for a couple of hilariously unhinged and demented hours’ worth entertainment need look no further!

 

PLATFORM: PC | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

With gameplay inspired by FPS classics of yesteryear and visuals straight from 90s cartoons and the early days of internet-based Flash animations, Captain Wayne puts players in the shoes of a shotgun-armed pirate who’s on a mission to reclaim his ship from the Killer Whales, a bunch of nefarious mercenaries which also includes a number of mutated animals amongst their ranks…

The game’s 8 levels find the Captain zooming around at breakneck speed with some impressively fluid movements, and juggling his explosive arsenal of melee and projectile weaponry while pounding rock music attempts to blast your ears off the sides of your head. Most enemies behave differently from each other, forcing you to constantly stay on the move and consider how to approach each combat situation, but you’re given plenty of ways to overcome the odds. Punching and shooting is fine for dealing with weaker foes, but soon enough you’ll need to start kicking enemies away to break their guard, toss explosives at anyone out of reach, and start hunting around for stronger weapons like the Cell Shocker, an electrified combination of a rocket launcher and railgun with two fire modes that can wipe out weaker enemies almost instantly.

It won’t take too long to complete – around 3 or 4 hours at most – but those who want more can enjoy an endless mode that keep things going beyond the campaign. Ridiculous, noisy, chaotic, eye-searingly colourful and unforgivingly difficult at times, Captain Wayne perfectly captures the essence of the 90s in pretty much every way. Excellent fun!

PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX ONE/SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Marking its first console release since it first arrived on PC in 1997, Blood is a first-person-shooter that followed in the footsteps of heavy hitters like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. Set in an unspecified time period that mixes influences from the first half of the 20^th century with more “modern day” (to 1997, that is) references and futuristic technologies, players take on the role of Caleb, an undead gunslinger who was once the supreme commander of a cult known as The Cabal. After being betrayed and killed by the demon Tchernobog, Caleb rises from the grave to seek revenge…

Refreshed Supply is an updated version of 2019’s Fresh Supply, with the developers Nightdive Studios aiming to create the absolute definitive edition of the game. Rebuilt using the original source engine and with newly-remastered cutscenes, Refreshed Supply contains all 42 levels (including two previously-released expansions) along with mod support, a host of customisation options, and the promise of additional newly-created levels to be added in early 2026.

Blood might not get mentioned as often as some of its contemporaries, but it’s just as much fun to play today as it was 30 years ago. The graphical overhaul adds plenty of shine and polish to make the original game look more appealing for today’s audience, and the in-game vault contains plenty of trinkets and treasures to entertain long-time fans or those with an interest in what goes on behind the scenes. The inclusion of multiplayer is also welcome, allowing up to 8 players to team up either locally or online in co-op, PvP or 4 vs 4 modes. Fresh Supply owners might find that there aren’t too many tweaks and differences to justify another purchase, but it’s great to know that console owners are finally being given the chance to experience the game for the first time. If cultish Lovecraftian boomer shooters are your thing, Blood: Refreshed Supply will do the job very nicely indeed!

 

PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Total Chaos is the latest release from Trigger Happy Interactive, the solo developer behind Turbo Overkill, a game that STARBURST recently described as “a truly unbelievable experience” and “one of the best in its genre”. High hopes for this one, then! Moving away from Turbo Overkill‘s manic fast-faced FPS gameplay, Total Chaos started life as a mod for Doom II, before being turned into something entirely different – a brutal survival horror that takes inspiration from a variety of sources within the genre’s storied history. Set on the gloomy and foreboding Fort Oasis, where you wash ashore after your ship crashes in the ocean, you find yourself alone with no possessions and nothing to guide you other than an unknown voice on a radio. Following his instructions, you venture into the Fort and quickly discover why its former inhabitants have fled (or perished) – the island is now overrun by savage groups of monstrous entities who make their homes in the darkest corners of the Fort’s crumbling and decaying buildings, ready and waiting to defend their territory against any perceived intruders (ie. you).

The game eases you in gently during the course of the first two or three chapters, allowing you to learn how to manage your inventory, craft weapons and other items, and generally figure out what the game expects you to do – you’re not given a map to begin with, for example, but you’ll soon learn that by thoroughly exploring your surroundings, you’ll usually be able to pick one up somewhere along the way. You’re encouraged to carefully scour the corridors for crafting materials too, along with various other items that will either make your life a little bit easier or help to fill out the story so that you can figure out what’s actually happening around you. Combat also takes a little bit of getting used to, often requiring you to get a couple of hits in before backing away, at least in the early going while you’re only equipped with (breakable) melee weapons – you’ll find some firearms soon enough, but limited ammo means that you’ll definitely need to master hand-to-hand fighting. A wide variety of enemies hiding in the shadows means that not only do you never quite know when or where they might appear, but you can never really be sure what might appear or how you might need to deal with it, constantly building tension and apprehension as you try to second-guess what the game might throw at you at any given moment.

If you can imagine a cross between Silent Hill (whose composer worked on Total Chaos‘ soundtrack), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and, given its origins, a dash of Doom thrown in for good measure, you’re getting close to the sort of thing you can expect from Total Chaos. You’re likely to find some rough edges here and there, like enemies getting stuck in place, occasional encounters that seem grossly unfair (invisible exploding enemies, anyone?), and a slightly cumbersome and unwelcoming crafting system, but Total Chaos does so many things right that it’s easy enough to look past a few shortcomings. Without giving too much away about the story, its protagonist’s predicament is handled incredibly well – those with a penchant for well-written narratives in their spooky horror games are well-served in that department – and, elsewhere, there’s some cracking sound design and visuals along the way too. A fantastic throwback to what many would consider the golden age of survival horror!

 

PLATFORM: PC, PS4/5 (REVIEWED), SWITCH, XBOX SERIES | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Given the insane success of Terrifier over the last few years, it was only a matter of time before Art the Clown was given a videogame of his very own. Terrifier: The ARTcade Game is a side-scrolling beat ’em up that takes hefty inspiration from the genre’s heavy-hitters like Splatterhouse and Streets of Rage, based around the idea that a movie about Art’s exploits is being made, but Art and his pals are out to stop the production by slaughtering everyone in sight.

There are four playable characters to choose from – Art the Clown, his diminutive sidekick the Little Pale Girl, demonically-possessed Terrifier 1 survivor Victoria and, because why not, Adam Burke, the psychiatric hospital orderly – but the gameplay is very much of the simple and straightforward variety that those of a certain age will remember from their days back in the arcades. Your only task is to work your way through each of the game’s eight stages, battering the oncoming enemies to a pulp using either your fists or any weapons you might find lying around. Each playable character is equipped with little more than two attack buttons that can be combined with a dash or jump, and one special move, with no room for nuances or intricacies. It’s incredibly easy to get to grips with, but feels like it becomes a bit repetitive sooner rather than later. Your chosen maniac does at least have their own unique attacks, including two executions, and it’s possible to swap between characters when you run out of lives, so if things start to feel a bit stale you can always try another character to change things up a bit.

While the game’s mechanics might be a tad shallow, The ARTcade Game makes up for this with a cracking soundtrack, over the top pixelated gore, and countless references to its source material that fans of the Terrifier movies (and, indeed, Art’s pre-Terrifier appearances) will enjoy. It takes a while for any of the enemies or bosses to overtly tie in with the films, although some of the bosses are based on members of the real-life Terrifier film crew, which is a nice touch. A handful of additional modes including Arcade, Wave and Boss Rush are available for those who haven’t quite had their fill by the end of the story, too. Terrifier: The ARTcade Game might not be troubling the top end of the “best beat ’em ups” list any time soon, but fans of the series should get a few hours worth of entertainment out of this.

 

PLATFORM: PC | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (EARLY ACCESS)

Since its initial release all the way back in January 2024, Enshrouded has made a name for itself as something of a “Minecraft for grown-ups” – a crafting/survival game that follows the same sort of blueprint as Mojang’s all-conquering block-builder but sets itself apart through its more involved combat, fantasy setting, prettier visuals, and generally more serious tone. Featuring one of the most impressively robust crafting / base-building systems in the genre, satisfying combat and an addictive hunt for increasingly better loot in a world covered with a mysterious fog (“it’s “enshrouded”, you see), all entirely playable either solo or in co-op with other human players, it’s one of those games that you can easily lose dozens upon dozens of hours to if you’re not careful.

With its recent “Wake of the Water” update (free to existing players, or included as standard to newcomers), Enshrouded has become even bigger and more complex than before. The jungle-like surroundings of Veilwater Basin are best suited to high-level players, so those just dipping their toes in for the first time might not get to visit for quite a while, but the update contains a wealth of new additions for veterans and newcomers alike to get to grips with. The biggest and most welcome arrival is water, one of the most-requested features since the game first launched almost two years ago, with players now able to swim, go fishing, use water as a crafting / power source, and even build their own underwater base, with water now appearing all across the land of Embervale for all to experience. But there’s also a new race of enemies, the Drak, who make their home under the waves and might not be so welcoming towards any perceived intruders… Elsewhere, the level cap has been increased, new weapons, armour, magic spells and other items have been added, and a colossal range of mechanics have been either added or altered to make your time with the game as pleasing as possible.

Still in Early Access, this won’t be the last we hear of Enshrouded over the coming years. Showing no signs of running out of ideas, and indeed offering glimpses of new elements that are likely to be improved and expanded upon in future updates, the developers clearly have much more up their sleeve to be revealed when the time is right. If you’ve enjoyed survival games like Ark, Valheim or DayZ, Enshrouded absolutely needs to be added to your library at the earliest opportunity!

 

PLATFORM: PC | RELEASE DATE: 19TH NOVEMBER (EARLY ACCESS)

2018’s Moonlighter cast players in the role of Will, a dungeon-delving shopkeeper who spends his evenings roaming nearby caverns to collect monster parts and relics that he can sell during his shop during the day. Its sequel, The Endless Vault, follows the same structure but makes some big changes to shake things up a bit. While the gameplay loop – fighting monsters, collecting loot, setting prices, making money to spend on upgrading your gear, then heading out for more – remains the same, Moonlighter 2 adds side quests, new combat mechanics, a completely different look, an expanded puzzle-like inventory system, and allows players to choose their route through the rooms of each dungeon.

All of the materials that you find in the dungeons, and subsequently sell in your shop, now have a quality value that acts as a multiplier, affecting the price you can sell them for. Some items are cursed, and will affect other items in your backpack (inventory) depending on where you place them. Item placement was always a factor in the previous game, but the variety of effects has been massively increased in the sequel, so managing your limited backpack space to maximise the quality of your loot and make sure you don’t accidentally destroy any precious items is always an absolute priority.

Inside a dungeon, you now choose your path from a randomly-generated grid that allows you to plan which rooms you want to visit. Some contain treasure chests, combat perks or other useful items, while others have difficult “elite” enemies or bosses. There’s a huge amount of temporary perks and upgrades (applied to your current run only) that work together in some well thought-out ways, adding bonuses to different attacks or adding status effects that can be boosted by using specific attacks, making combat a little bit deeper and more satisfying than before. You’re also given a couple of extra tools to play with, so you’re not just swinging your weapon around and hoping for the best – projectile attacks, with limited bullets that are replenished by landing melee attacks – are extremely handy for taking down far-away enemies, while a hefty swing with your backpack can send dazed foes flying off the screen.

Back in town, you’re able to visit a few shops to create new weapons and armour from the materials you collect in the dungeons, as well as upgrading your healing flasks and acquiring new decorative items for your shop. While some of the items are purely cosmetic, others affect the price that your customers will pay, making them worth investing in. Completing side quests by bringing back specific items from the dungeons will earn some decent rewards, and there’s an overarching quest from the mysterious Endless Vault, a magical cube that bestows useful tools upon the villagers when you’ve sold a certain amount of money, allowing them to create stronger gear that to help your dungeoneering escapades. There are seven of these treasures, but only four are available in the current version of the game – the rest are to be included with the eventual full release, whenever that may be.

As with many Early Access titles, the initial release of Moonlighter 2 has a lot going for it but will absolutely leave you wanting more. The game has launched with six dungeons which will amount to around 10 hours of playtime, but even after “finishing” the currently-available areas there will likely still be plenty of upgrades to be purchased and weapons to find. It certainly whets the appetite for whatever comes next. Moonlighter 2 is off to a great start and seems like it could turn into something truly special when more content is added.