DLC can serve very different purposes, from filling in a missing part of a story to adding a handful of new experiences to an already established formula. These recent releases offer good examples of that range, taking players back to the criminal underworld of early-20th-century Sicily in Mafia: The Old Country, putting them behind the virtual conductor’s podium for two Attack on Titan themes in Maestro, and expanding Scott Pilgrim EX with three long-awaited members of Sex Bob-omb. None of these are massive expansions, but each has a clear reason to exist, whether that means bringing a memorable character into the spotlight, giving a familiar VR experience a striking new soundtrack, or adding fighters that can meaningfully change how the beat-’em-up is played. Here’s a closer look at what these three DLC releases have to offer. Continue reading “DLC roundup: Mafia: The Old Country, Maestro & Scott Pilgrim EX”
Category: addon
DLC roundup: Planet Coaster 2 & Darkest Dungeon
For players who have already spent countless hours building elaborate theme parks or sending ill-fated adventurers into the darkest corners of the Old Road, these two recent DLC releases offer very different reasons to return. Planet Coaster 2: Silver Screen Pack puts the spotlight on creative freedom, adding a lavish movie-studio theme alongside seven new rides and plenty of audiovisual flair, while Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge takes a more restrained approach by introducing two familiar faces from the sequel to the original game’s brutal turn-based combat. One expansion is all about giving builders more tools to play with, the other about finding fresh tactical possibilities in familiar misery, but both demonstrate how carefully targeted additions can breathe some life into games that already have plenty to offer. Continue reading “DLC roundup: Planet Coaster 2 & Darkest Dungeon”
VR roundup: Hyperstacks, Amelia’s Escape, Walkabout Mini Golf & Irusu Cricket VR
VR developers continue to prove that there is no single formula for making a great virtual reality experience, and this latest batch of releases takes that idea in several very different directions. From the kinetic mix of puzzles, parkour and combat in Hyperstacks to the more focused escape-room design of Amelia’s Escape, these games each explore a different way of putting players directly into their worlds. Walkabout Mini Golf adds another inventive course to an already dependable VR favorite, while Irusu Cricket VR demonstrates how surprisingly effective a traditional sport can become when the player is physically standing at the crease. Continue reading “VR roundup: Hyperstacks, Amelia’s Escape, Walkabout Mini Golf & Irusu Cricket VR”
Heat – Rocky Roads review
Heat: Pedal to the Metal was already a remarkably complete racing game, so the challenge for any expansion is not to fix what was never broken, but to find new ways of making us reconsider the road ahead. Heat: Rocky Roads, published by Days of Wonder and Asmodee, takes the familiar 1960s Grand Prix setting and adds two new circuits, a ninth racer, fresh upgrade and sponsorship cards, and another four Championship events. The result is very much an expansion rather than a reinvention, but that is hardly a problem when the underlying game remains as enjoyable as it was when we first reviewed it. The new content mostly succeeds because it understands exactly what makes Heat work: every extra rule needs to feed back into that wonderfully tense balance between speed, positioning and engine management. Continue reading “Heat – Rocky Roads review”
Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand review (PC)
Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand takes one of the defining real-time strategy series and strips away much of its traditional structure to concentrate on a simple question: how long can we keep our headquarters standing? There is no campaign to push through, no territory to capture and no elaborate base-building phase to worry about. Instead, we are dropped onto one of five battlefields, given a handful of tools and asked to survive twelve increasingly dangerous waves. It is a surprisingly natural fit for Company of Heroes, because while the format is different, the fundamentals remain intact. Positioning, cover, combined arms and knowing when to reinforce or reposition are still what separate a successful defence from a spectacularly expensive defeat. What is missing is a stronger sense of narrative, although the individual battles often compensate by creating their own little war stories through desperate last stands and unexpected reversals. Continue reading “Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand review (PC)”