no mans sky – Trekking with Dennis

End-of-Year Awards 2025

A Lord of the Rings-themed spoiler warning.

Spoiler Warning: Beware minor spoilers for some of the productions discussed below.

You know what I find silly? When magazines, websites, and media outlets publish their “best of the year” articles and awards in early December or even November! I mean, at that stage there’s still a month or more of the year left! That’s why, here at Trekking with Dennis, I always publish my End-of-Year Awards at… the end of the year! What a novel concept, eh?

In 2025, I reviewed more films here on the website than in any prior year. But, to tell you the truth, I didn’t watch as many TV programmes or play as many games this year as I think I’ve done in years gone by. There are still more than enough to win some made-up trophies, don’t worry, but there are a few that I originally planned to get around to this year that I just… didn’t. Partly that’s because it’s been a pretty busy year for me, on the whole – you can see more on that by clicking or tapping here! And partly that’s just because I’ve been feeling pretty tired, sometimes, or I just haven’t felt up to starting a brand-new story.

Who will win the ultimate honour of a Trekking with Dennis End-of-Year Award?

As always, a few important caveats.

Firstly, and most importantly, all of this is *subjective, not objective.* If I give an award to a film, game, or TV show that you despise, or if I skip over one of your favourites that’s already won all of the other big awards… that’s okay. There will always be a broad spectrum of opinions on works of media and entertainment, and these are mine – and mine alone. We don’t need to get into a shouting match over a made-up statuette!

Secondly, there are a bunch of popular movies, games, and TV programmes that I didn’t get around to in 2025. For reasons that I hope are obvious, they won’t be entered into consideration for an award. Finally, I might include one or two titles from the tail end of 2024 as well, as I may have only got around to them in 2025.

Alright then! With all of that out of the way, let’s hand out some awards.

Best Web Series:

🥈 Runner-Up🥈
Mugthief

I don’t watch a lot of “gaming content” online, but there are a few content creators I still regularly tune in for. One of those is Mugthief, a YouTube-based video game reviewer and video essayist. I occasionally disagree with his takes, but I like the way he presents his coverage, and he always comes across as fair, even-handed, and not like someone seeking out games to “hate on.” I also appreciate the distinct lack of clickbait in videos, titles, and thumbnails!

There isn’t always a lot to be positive about in gaming, and Mugthief isn’t shy about criticising games and gaming companies when they deserve it. But he can also be passionate and positive about titles he enjoys, which is always great to see. I’ve had fun and learned about a few titles from Mugthief in 2025, and I just wanted to celebrate his channel and his content as the year comes to an end.

🏆 Winner 🏆
Quiet Nerd

I’m not someone who’s very good at engineering, electricals, or really doing anything hands-on! But I like to live vicariously through others, and YouTuber Quiet Nerd has taken me on some wild adventures with his self-made drivable camper, boat, and more. I’ve really come to enjoy videos about people building things like this – camper vans and caravans have always felt cute and cozy to me, and the idea of building one from scratch just seems like it must be a huge amount of fun. Quiet Nerd is one of the best in the business for that kind of content, in my opinion.

Some of the vehicles Quiet Nerd has built are incredible. Using electric batteries, tracks, steel beams, and a whole lot of knowledge that I do not possess, he’s constructed sturdy, drivable, livable camping vehicles that he then takes on adventures in the wilderness. It’s just a lot of fun. And as someone who doesn’t get out a lot due to my health – let alone go camping – it’s been hugely entertaining to be taken on those adventures with him.

Most-Improved Web Series:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Binging With Babish

I’d unsubscribed from Binging with Babish at least a year ago. The show seemed to have descended into – for want of a better term – slop, with videos like “I tried eating 100 different kinds of ramen!!” replacing the recipes that I’d originally tuned in for. By the end of my time as a subscriber, only Babish collaborator Alvin’s videos were of any interest to me at all, and they were so outnumbered by low-quality, low-effort nonsense that I felt sure I was done.

But in 2025, I was pleasantly surprised to see Binging With Babish make somewhat of a comeback. There’s still slop, but there are once again genuine recipes in the mould of Babish’s earlier content, and I’m glad to see the show’s pivot. Many creative folks get burned out doing the same thing over and over again, and I can empathise with the desire to branch out and try different things. But I’m very pleased to see what I consider to be a return to form from what had been a fairly unique and well-produced web series.

The “Too Early For Early Access” Award:

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
inZOI

After the disappointing cancellation of Life By You about a year ago, I was still hopeful that a genuine competitor or “spiritual successor” to The Sims series might be in the offing. The Sims 4 is catastrophically over-monetised, and Electronic Arts has shown no signs of developing a new entry in the series, either. And all of that was before the EA buyout situation that we discussed earlier in the year. So I had hopes that a game like inZOI might be the challenger that The Sims has needed for a long time – as well as a fantastic game in its own right.

But, as you may know by now, inZOI launched into early access far too early, in a near-unplayable state. Basic game features were missing, and I just got the impression that publisher Krafton was pushing the game’s developers too hard before inZOI was even close to being ready. Early access is hit-and-miss, and you have to understand that when you jump in. And I get that, believe me! But even for an early access title, inZOI felt horribly unready, and needed at least another year-plus of development time. I hope that the game’s difficult early access release hasn’t damaged its reputation too much ahead of its full launch.

Worst DLC:

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
The Oblivion Remaster’s “Deluxe Edition”

DLC "horse armour" for the deluxe edition of TES IV: Oblivion.

Remember Bethesda’s infamous “horse armour” debacle in 2006? Well, how would you like to pay extra money to Bethesda, again, for *more* horse armour in the remastered version of Oblivion? Because that’s what the shitty “Deluxe” version of the Oblivion remaster gets you. Paid horse armour. In Oblivion. In 2025. As I said back in June: piss off, Bethesda.

If this was meant to be a joke, I didn’t find it funny. If it was a freebie, a little nod-and-wink to longtime fans to say “hey, wasn’t this silly back in the day?” then sure. Add it in as a free DLC and we can all chuckle to ourselves about how Bethesda’s greed led directly to paid skins and other crappy DLC in single-player games. But as a *paid* feature in the Oblivion remaster? I was shocked at how brazenly Todd Howard and Bethesda were just taking the piss.

Best DLC:

🏆 Winner 🏆
No Man’s Sky: Voyagers

Promo image for No Man's Sky: Voyagers DLC.

I didn’t play very much No Man’s Sky this year, but I loved what I saw of Voyagers. Hello Games has added almost a decade’s worth of content to No Man’s Sky completely for free – making a mockery of companies like Bethesda who want to charge for every weapon skin, outfit, and even individual quests in games like Starfield. And Voyagers is the biggest and most expansive No Man’s Sky DLC to date, introducing ship-building, among other features.

At this stage, No Man’s Sky is basically what I hoped Starfield could have been back in 2023. The seamless exploration, the ship- and base-building, and the sheer sense of *scale* that Starfield lacked are all present here. Maybe in 2026 I’ll jump back in and really get stuck into it! I know it’s a bit of a “hot take,” but I felt the launch version of No Man’s Sky was decent for what it was. But comparing that version to this one? It’s literally an entirely new game. If you missed it, or you wrote off No Man’s Sky after launch… fire it up again. I really don’t think you’ll regret it.

The “Stupidest Own Goal” Award:

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
Microsoft and Xbox

Photo of Phil Spencer announcing the Xbox Series consoles.

In 2025, Microsoft and Xbox hiked the prices of their consoles. Twice. But even then, I’d still have said that an Xbox Series S and a Game Pass subscription were a good-value way to get started with current-gen gaming. And then what did Microsoft do? Hiked up the price of Game Pass by a massive amount. On PC, Game Pass went up by 70% in the span of thirteen months. And on console, the price of the top tier of Game Pass – which is now the only way to get same-day releases of big titles – has basically doubled in just over a year.

As I said at the time, the subscription model is *a perfect fit* for gaming. And Microsoft, until now, has had the best service in town. But no one should accept price hikes of 50%, 70%, or more – and that’s why so many people went to cancel their Game Pass subscriptions that the website crashed. I cancelled Game Pass this year, and I doubt I’ll pick it up again. At these prices, it ain’t worth it. And with Microsoft’s consoles failing… Game Pass was all they had.

The “Most Unfriendly Company” Award:

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
Nintendo

Still frame from the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct broadcast showing three of Nintendo's executives.

For what it is, and considering which games are available for it, Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is overpriced. Nintendo Switch 2 games, at £75 or $80, are also overpriced – and worse, this threatens to normalise the second rise in the standard price of video games in less than five years, with other publishers now starting to follow suit. Nintendo is still embroiled in a frivolous lawsuit against Pokémon competitor Palworld and its developers. And, on top of all of that, Nintendo has tried to patent vaguely-defined in-game systems and mechanics, including the ability to have summonable allies fight alongside you in battles.

Nintendo’s well-trained legion of super-fans may not like to hear it, but Nintendo is an ugly, greedy, predatory corporation that behaves no differently from Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and others in the industry. In fact, in some ways, Nintendo is *worse* than all of them, suing competitors when it feels a game is doing well, failing to innovate and move with the times, and just behaving in a horribly anti-consumer manner. I had hopes for both the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World… but Nintendo was just awful in 2025, and left me very disappointed.

Best Hack-and-Slash Game:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Screenshot of Dynasty Warriors: Origins (photo mode) showing the protagonist fighting a horde of enemies.

I had a blast playing Dynasty Warriors 2 with a friend a long time ago, but that had been my only real exposure to this long-running series. Origins hadn’t been on my radar at the start of the year, but something in the game’s marketing material just… called out to me, I guess. And I felt I needed to give the game a shot. I’m so very glad I did, because I had a blast with this game and its fantastic soundtrack!

I’m someone who usually plays games for their stories, with gameplay being a secondary consideration much of the time. But Dynasty Warriors: Origins was just plain *fun* to get stuck into, with hordes of enemies to slice through and bosses to whittle down. The game’s incredible soundtrack also feels like a throwback, with up-tempo rock and electronic-inspired music that’s obviously totally anachronistic to its ancient China-inspired setting. But I adored it, and I just had a wonderful time playing this game.

Best Mario Kart Game:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a fantastic kart-racer. It was ballsy of Sega to release it just a few weeks after Mario Kart World… but I think it’s fair to say that the risk paid off spectacularly, because this is genuinely one of the best arcade racing games I’ve played in the last few years. Its signature “CrossWorlds” mechanic guarantees that every race is going to be different – and gives you a reason to keep pushing to stay in the lead. Obviously I can’t compare it directly to a game I haven’t played, but I believe CrossWorlds would’ve given Mario Kart World a real run for its money if I’d picked up a Switch 2 this year.

There are some fun additions to CrossWorlds, bringing characters and settings from Minecraft and SpongeBob to the racetrack, and there’s more to come from the game in 2026, with new inclusions planned. The racing is fast-paced and fun, items add a lot of chaos to the game, and the CrossWorlds idea shakes up every single race and keeps things from feeling boring. All in all, a fantastic kart racer.

Best Strategy Game:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Civilization VII

Screenshot of Civilization VII (Civ 7) showing a Medjay unit near the Grand Canyon wonder.

This is somewhat of a reluctant award, to tell you the truth. Civilization VII is good, and it’s getting better now that we’re almost eleven months post-launch. But Civ VII is not as good as I wanted it to be or hoped it would be, and it takes this award basically by default. I want to see many more improvements to the game in 2026, and I hope I won’t come to regret giving the game this award by this time next year if they don’t come.

That being said, Civilization VII is my most-played game of 2025, and it would feel wrong not to at least acknowledge that achievement with an award. There are things that I enjoy about this game, and I don’t think it’s the total failure or dumpster fire that some reviewers have tried to claim. There are interesting ideas in the mix, some really fantastic graphics, and a good mix of new civilisations and leaders to play with. But the game is in need of a lot more work, and was arguably released too early. Perhaps in six or twelve months, it will truly live up to its potential.

Worst Game:

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour

Promo graphic for Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour.

Let’s get something straight: if Welcome Tour had been the *free* pack-in that it was clearly supposed to be, it wouldn’t be anywhere near this award. But by choosing to sell this non-game, this overblown manual, for $10/£8, Nintendo invited it to compete with actual, bona fide *games*. See, I don’t hate Welcome Tour for what it is. As a concept, a basic programme that explains some of the features of a brand-new console is not a bad idea. The Switch 2 – being so derivative and similar to the original Switch – arguably didn’t need this kind of software, but that’s somewhat beside the point. An interactive manual is a fun concept.

But something like that *needs* to be included with the console for free. Welcome Tour isn’t a game. It isn’t even a tech demo – it’s an interactive manual which goes over, in brief, what the console can do and how its controls operate. Nintendo used to be the company that gave away free copies of Tetris with the Game Boy, and that created Wii Sports as a free pack-in title to show off the Wii’s motion controls. And now? They’re the greedy, predatory company that tries to trick their own fans into buying a glorified manual. I don’t hate Welcome Tour – I hate what it stands for and what it says about how far Nintendo has fallen.

Video Game – Honourable Mention:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Indika

Screenshot of Indika showing the title character walking through a snowy village.

Indika was released in 2024, but I missed it when it was new. It can’t be entered into contention for “game of the year” because it didn’t come out this year, but I was gripped by Indika when I played it. The game has an intense story set in Tsarist Russia, following the story of a nun as she undertakes a harrowing journey. For an indie title made by a small team, the game was absolutely fantastic, and I went on an intense and emotional journey with Indika that really hit close to home.

Mechanically, Indika brought a lot to the table, too. In addition to being a “walking simulator,” there were quick-time events, and several beautiful pixel art sections, including a 2D platformer, a racing mini-game, and even a rhythm game of sorts (that I was terrible at!) Indika also had some beautiful and bleak landscapes that really captured the look and feel of the era and place in which it was set. Just a thoroughly fantastic indie game, well worth playing.

Game of the Year:

🥈 Runner-Up🥈
Mafia: The Old Country

Promotional screenshot for Mafia: The Old Country.

Someone online said that Mafia: The Old Country “could’ve been a movie,” intending for that to be a criticism. I agree… only, I mean it in the best way possible! For decades, I’ve sought out games with fantastic stories, great world-building, and engaging characters, and that’s exactly what this prequel to the long-running Mafia series delivers. So yeah, it could have been a movie!

Mafia: The Old Country was recently given a free update which opens up its beautiful and detailed world quite a bit, making it feel less linear and closer to the open-world adventure that I think some folks were hoping for. Gameplay isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s fun, competent, and tightly-managed, keeping Enzo’s story on the rails. I had a good time with the game, and I thoroughly enjoyed stepping back in time to The Old Country’s neat recreation of Sicily.

🏆 Winner 🏆
South of Midnight

Screenshot from South of Midnight showing Hazel with a waypoint.

South of Midnight is a truly wonderful game. An adventure title with some difficult boss fights and fun platforming, South of Midnight also had a truly engaging story as protagonist Hazel sets off on a quest to find her missing mother. The world has a dark “Southern Gothic” style, and draws inspiration from the mythology of the Mississippi Delta region and African American folklore. The story was emotional, and Hazel made for a fun and relatable protagonist.

South of Midnight weaved its gameplay and story together with practised ease, ensuring that Hazel’s growing powers never felt out-of-place, and every level or fight was perfectly attuned to her new skills. Crouton, her sidekick, was adorable, and though the story was dark in places, I had a whale of a time with it. The game’s art style was beautiful, too, with its much-hyped stop-motion effect being especially notable in cut-scenes. A thoroughly fantastic adventure that I’m happy to crown my “game of the year.”

Best Film Soundtrack:

🏆 Winner 🏆
KPop Demon Hunters

Still frame from KPop Demon Hunters (2025) showing Huntr/x (Zoey, Rumi, and Mira) singing.

I cannot stop listening to Golden and This Is What It Sounds Like! Those two songs have been living rent-free in my head for *months,* and I’m not even mad about it. KPop Demon Hunters was a fantastic film, and its soundtrack was exceptional. I’ve never considered myself a fan of K-pop, nor had I listened to any Korean songs since Gangnam Style a few years ago… but these songs absolutely stunned me with how good they were. I’m admittedly not a music critic, but I know what I like when I hear it!

I bought the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, and I’m pretty sure I’m single-handedly responsible for Golden topping the charts here in the UK, as I was streaming the track so often! I know the film’s meant for kids, but come on! These songs are outstanding, and I really can’t find a bad one amongst them. The sooner we get a sequel to this fantastic film, the better!

Best Film:

🏆 Winner 🏆
KPop Demon Hunters

Still frame from KPop Demon Hunters (2025) showing Derpy the tiger and a plant pot.

A very rare two-for-two this year, as KPop Demon Hunters also nabs the award for best film! As I was saying, the film and its soundtrack are both absolutely fantastic, with Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix absolutely wiping the floor with Disney’s sequels and live-action adaptations. Who knew that making a good, original film with a fun cast of characters, a unique setting, and a great soundtrack would be… a really good idea? Not Disney, obviously.

KPop Demon Hunters had an easy-to-follow story that was surprisingly deep and emotional. Its central characters kept things grounded, even amidst a story about popstars saving the world from demons, which is no mean feat. I found myself getting thoroughly invested in the story and its great cast of characters, and KPop Demon Hunters is the first film in a long time that I’ve voluntarily watched more than once – and not just to take notes for my review! I returned to the film several times this autumn and winter, and I daresay I’ll watch it again in 2026, too.

Worst TV Series/Miniseries:

🥈 ”Runner-Up”🥈
Earth Abides

Promo image for Earth Abides showing the main character sitting at a table.

I saw some ads for Earth Abides on social media earlier in the year, and the post-apocalyptic miniseries seemed like it would be worth a look. But I bounced off it hard after about three episodes. Earth Abides just couldn’t decide what kind of show it wanted to be: a post-apocalyptic tale of survival and mystery, or a dense philosophical take on the structure of civilisation. It ended up being neither, overladen with tired tropes of the post-apocalypse, and just… boring.

The protagonist (whose name I’ve already forgotten) wakes up from a coma to find the world has collapsed. He runs to a supermarket – where the lights are still on and cars are still in the parking lot – to stock up on supplies. He goes to Vegas, where he meets a couple of other survivors who are debauching themselves before the last of the power runs out. And… I’ve seen this all before, done way better, in other shows. Earth Abides was based on a novel, and maybe the novel is better than the show turned out to be.

🏆 “Winner” 🏆
King and Conqueror

Still frame from King & Conqueror showing Edward and Lady Emma.

I don’t necessarily think that King & Conqueror was significantly worse than Earth Abides. I mean, I actually made it to the end of this one! But in terms of raw, unbridled disappointment… this is by far the worst I experienced in 2025. I had really high hopes for this big-budget retelling of a story all British kids learn about in school: the Norman Conquest of 1066. But what I got instead was a Game of Thrones-ified, over-dramatised, totally fictitious let-down.

If you don’t care about historical accuracy, maybe King & Conqueror works. But when you have such blatant silliness as William and Harold wrestling half-nude in the mud, and total transformations of major historical figures like Harold’s brother Tostig, Edward the Confessor, and Edward’s wife… I can’t forgive it. King & Conqueror should have kept closer to the real story, because there’s more than enough excitement and drama there. This fictional account may as well have been called something else, and dropped the pretence of “real history” entirely. What a disappointment.

Best Animated TV Series:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Phineas and Ferb
Season 5

Still frame from the premiere of Phineas and Ferb Season 5 showing most of the main characters.

I was eagerly awaiting Phineas and Ferb’s revival this year, and in true summer vacation style, it arrived in June! I felt that the season – which isn’t totally complete, as there are still three or four episodes remaining – was pretty good, on the whole. Perhaps it was closer in quality, much of the time, to Season 4 of the original run than to Seasons 1-3, but there were a good mix of classic adventures and new stories.

A revival of any long-running show after a long break has to do more than just be “more of the same,” and Phineas and Ferb’s writers found some great justifications for bringing the series back. New character groupings and new storylines went a long way to keeping things feeling fresh, but there were also plenty of classic adventures, inventions, and evil schemes which harkened back to the show’s original run. All in all, a solid revival.

Best TV Miniseries:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Zero Day

Still frame from Zero Day showing George on the phone.

Zero Day was good fun for what it was. I think it leaned a bit more on the political side of things than I’d been expecting at first, and there was a lot of “post-9/11” security stuff that, arguably, feels a bit outdated in 2025. But Robert De Niro put in a spectacular performance as the conflicted ex-President, and the series shone a light on the vulnerability of society in general to this kind of cyber attack. I think the show’s focus was a bit split, in places: it wanted to be a kind of “dark mirror,” warning America about the dangers of giving unchecked power to agencies and political figures. But parts of it, with a focus on a “good man doing bad things for virtuous reasons,” felt a bit… flag-wavey.

That being said, I binge-watched the show in a couple of days, and I had a good time with it. The main character was complex and believable, the threats it depicts seem totally plausible out here in the real world, and I’m always a sucker for a good political thriller.

Best TV Series:

🥈 Runner-Up🥈
Alien: Earth

Still frame from Alien: Earth showing a Xenomorph.

Alien: Earth feels like a great foundation to build on. It took the Alien franchise in a bit of a different direction while remaining true to the original film’s themes of out-of-control corporate greed and the very alien nature of extraterrestrial life. The show’s best episode by far was In Space, No One… which managed to recapture much of the tension and fear factor of 1979’s Alien in a way that practically none of the sequels, with their more action-heavy tone, managed to.

Alien: Earth also did something that the Alien franchise has desperately needed to do for a long time: introduced new and different extraterrestrial creatures. The eyeball alien in particular could be a massive part of the series going forward, and with the Xenomorph kind of being a one-trick pony, there was a sense that Alien as a whole might be beginning to run out of steam before Alien: Earth came along. As I said in my review, I’d rank Alien: Earth only just behind the original film, and well ahead of any of the sequels and spin-offs.

🏆 Winner 🏆
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Season 3

Still frame from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (3x10) showing Pike and the crew on the bridge.

Season 3 is arguably not Strange New Worlds’ best. But there are some fantastic episodes in the mix, some great standalone and semi-standalone stories, and some wonderful moments of characterisation, too. Strange New Worlds has been, for me, the absolute high-water mark of modern Star Trek, and I was so disappointed earlier in 2025 when we learned – prematurely – that the series will end after a truncated fifth season. There should still be so many stories to tell with Captain Pike and the crew… ending it so soon feels positively criminal!

But I had a fantastic time with the season as a whole. Not every episode was perfect, but the good ones outnumbered the bad, and even the “worst” of the season still had a lot to offer. Strange New Worlds remains a largely episodic project, with the Enterprise able to warp away to a new destination – and a new kind of adventure – every week. That format suits Star Trek so perfectly, and it feels like the very best kind of throwback to the franchise’s heyday.

Best Star Trek Episode:

🏆 Winner 🏆
Terrarium

Still frame from Star Trek SNW Terrarium (3x08) showing the control panel of a shuttlecraft.

Terrarium was the “Ortegas episode” that fans had been clamouring for for three seasons! And the Enterprise’s pilot got a genuinely fantastic and emotional outing that really made the wait more than worth it. After taking on a solo mission aboard a shuttlecraft, Ortegas finds herself crash-landing on a desolate world, and is forced to survive alongside someone she couldn’t communicate with – and might’ve considered an enemy. There were echoes of stories like The Enemy from The Next Generation, and the episode isn’t just one of Strange New Worlds’ best – it’s one of Star Trek’s best.

Terrarium also packs an emotional punch! There was a callback to The Original Series that, while potentially interesting, didn’t actually add a lot, and felt a little unnecessary. But all things considered, this was absolutely one of the best things I watched in all of 2025. It’s an episode that I’d show to even the most aggressive haters of “nu-Trek,” to prove the point that modern Star Trek can, and does, still get it right.

So That’s It… Till 2026!

Photo from the 3rd Academy Awards (1930) showing presenter Jack Cunningham and Best Adapted Screenplay winner Frances Cunningham. — We’ve handed out some imaginary statuettes!

So there you have it! The End-of-Year Awards have been distributed for another year, and now there are just a few hours left to go until we’ll be ringing in 2026. Whatever you’re up to tonight, I hope you have a great time! And I hope my silly little awards show has been a bit of fun, too. It’s always nice, at this time of year, to take a step back and think about some of the highlights of the year as we prepare to turn over the calendar.

The website isn’t going anywhere in 2026. And in the next couple of days, I’ll be sharing some of my predictions for the new year, as well as looking ahead to some of the TV programmes, video games, and films that I’m most looking forward to. So please join me here on the website for some of that!

So all that’s left to say, really, is this: Happy New Year! Thanks for showing up this year, and I hope to see you again in 2026, where I’ll still be geeking out about gaming, Star Trek, and so much more!

All titles discussed above are the copyrights of their respective developers, studios, broadcasters, distributors, etc. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

You can find individual reviews, articles, and essays about some of these award-winning titles by following the links below:

Ten games to play while you wait for Starfield

Fri 16.06.23Fri 16.06.23Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There may be minor spoilers ahead for some of the titles on this list.

Are you as excited for Starfield as I am? Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi role-playing game had been on my radar, of course, but the recent showcase has absolutely got me hyped up! Although I’m trying to restrain myself and not get overexcited, especially with Bethesda’s track record and 2023 having already seen some truly awful game launches, I just can’t help myself! I want to play the game now now NOW!

So what’s a wannabe Starfield-er to do? With three months to wait until the game’s launch – assuming it won’t be delayed again – what should we play? Today I thought it could be a bit of fun to pick ten games that might scratch part of that Starfield itch!

I can’t wait to build and pilot my very own spaceship!

I’ve picked games for this list that are either in the sci-fi realm, the space-sim or space-adventure genre, the role-playing genre, or that have expansive open worlds. Those are the key traits that Starfield has, so it seems logical to look for games that exist in a similar space – even if they won’t be on the same scale!

As always, a few caveats. Hype can be a dangerous thing, and as I said in my recent look at Starfield, it’s a game that has firmly earned its place in the “wait for the reviews” category! I shan’t be pre-ordering it, and while I’d never want to tell anyone else what to do, I think it’s sensible in most cases to avoid pre-ordering games in order to see what state they’re in when they arrive. Such is the nature of the video games industry in 2023!

Ship customisation in *Starfield*. I cannot wait to get stuck into this!

Everything we’re going to talk about today is the subjective opinion of one person. If you don’t care about Starfield, if you hate all of the games on this list, or if I don’t include a title that seems blindingly obvious to you… that’s okay! There are myriad opinions on Starfield and video games in general, and all I’m trying to do is offer my personal suggestions for games to play while we wait.

I have no “insider information,” and I’m basing my list on information that has been publicly revealed about Starfield.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!

Game #1:
X4: Foundations

I have to confess that I’m not terribly familiar with either X4: Foundations or the X series as a whole. But looking in from the outside, X4: Foundations seems to have many of the space-based elements that players might be looking for in Starfield. It’s possible to become the captain of a ship, to trade with a variety of factions, and to participate in combat, piracy, and more. There are dozens of ships to control with different specialities, from small mining craft to large freighters.

X4: Foundations is the kind of game that looks quite complex, but could be a blast to really get stuck into. The X series has a dedicated community, and X4: Foundations has received four DLC expansions since its initial 2018 release, with more supposedly in the pipeline.

Game #2:
The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is smaller in scale than Starfield will be, but it brings many of the same elements to the table. Players have their own ship, can recruit companions for their quest, and can create a custom character. The game’s developers Obsidian once worked alongside Bethesda to develop Fallout: New Vegas, and some commentators hailed The Outer Worlds as Obsidian’s “spiritual successor” to that game.

Though The Outer Worlds is much more linear than Starfield aims to be, it’s still a ton of fun. Gunplay and combat are exciting, there’s an engaging main storyline, and some memorable characters to meet and interact with. A sequel is also in the works – but with Obsidian currently working on Avowed, it might not be coming any time soon!

Game #3:
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

If you have a PC and can play with mods, Morrowind can almost feel like a brand-new experience even more than twenty years on from its release. It’s a fantastic role-playing game, one that actually has a lot more to do than either of its sequels. There are some fantastically diverse locations to visit across its open world, a multitude of factions to join, and more side-quests than you can shake a stick at!

I played and adored Morrowind when it was first released in 2002, but to this day there are still quests I haven’t completed and skills I’ve yet to master – that’s how overstuffed with content this game is! Whether you want to be a sneaky assassin, a powerful wizard, a brawling brute, or anyone else you can imagine, you can do it in Morrowind’s fantasy world.

Game #4:
Fallout 4

Fallout 4 may not be Bethesda’s best-ever game, but it’s plenty of fun for what it is! Many of the in-game mechanics and systems that Starfield will employ are present in some form in Fallout 4, such as settlement-building. The game has an engaging main questline, and its post-apocalyptic setting has a unique Americana charm thanks to its ’50s inspiration.

There are several pieces of DLC for Fallout 4, too, two of which are major expansions that add new areas to the game world. For PC players there are also a ton of mods to get stuck into – including some absolutely massive ones that completely change the game and add new features. For my money, Fallout 3 is probably superior… but Fallout 4 is still fun to get stuck into.

Game #5:
No Man’s Sky

Starships, a space station, and a suspiciously red sky!

I’ve seen a lot of commentators and analysts comparing Starfield with No Man’s Sky, and there are some superficial similarities. Both are space-adventures, both use procedural generation to create planets, and both have exploration, mining, resource collecting, and crafting elements. No Man’s Sky is a different kind of game, though, with a focus on exploration rather than factions, questing, and storylines.

This may be a bit of a “hot take,” but I felt that No Man’s Sky was decent when it launched. It wasn’t buggy or broken in the way some titles are, and the problem really was that expectations weren’t appropriately managed due to some poor marketing decisions. There’s definitely an element of dishonesty in the way the game was sold, too. But to the credit of Hello Games, No Man’s Sky has received a lot of ongoing support and free updates – and it’s now much closer to that original vision.

Game #6:
Cyberpunk 2077

Another game that suffered a rough launch was Cyberpunk 2077. Though I’d absolutely argue that its core gameplay is nothing special, Cyberpunk 2077 has a visually beautiful open world set in a sprawling dystopian city, and an engaging main story to follow. Non-player characters can be fantastic, brought to life with some great voice acting and motion-capture, and there’s fun to be had here.

By the time I got around to fully playing through Cyberpunk 2077, most of the worst bugs and glitches had been patched out. The game is in a much more stable and playable state today than it was when it launched, and it’s well worth a second look for anyone who hasn’t picked it up since then. An expansion pack, titled Phantom Liberty, is due for release the same month as Starfield.

Game #7:
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
(and Jedi: Survivor if it ever gets fixed)

I cannot in good conscience recommend Jedi: Survivor right now. At least on PC the game is in poor shape, with serious performance issues even on higher-end machines, and one questline that’s so utterly broken that it literally cannot even be played at time of writing. EA has been slow to respond to these issues, too. Once Jedi: Survivor is eventually fixed, however, I daresay I’ll get stuck into it! I just hope that the fix comes before September!

In the meantime, though, Jedi: Fallen Order is an exciting adventure game. Set in a galaxy far, far away, players get to take on the role of Cal Kestis, a former Jedi padawan, and join the crew of the Stinger Mantis on an adventure that spans several planets. It’s a great game with an incredibly fun story.

Game #8:
The Mass Effect trilogy

The Mass Effect games are a blast – though the first entry in the series is beginning to show its age gameplay-wise. If only there’d been some kind of remaster that could have addressed those concerns… oh well! The original Mass Effect trilogy tells a phenomenal and engaging sci-fi story, and if you haven’t experienced it for yourself – or if it’s been a while since you last played – it’s definitely a great way to get ready for Starfield.

Some commentators have noted what they perceived to be similarities with Mass Effect in some parts of Starfield’s design. I confess that I don’t really see that, at least not in terms of the game’s visual style. But as another role-playing game in the sci-fi space, it’s not hard to see how Mass Effect may have been an influence on Bethesda.

Game #9:
Star Trek Online

Promo art featuring Seven of Nine and Michael Burnham.

Oh, how I wish I could find a way to enjoy Star Trek Online! As a huge Star Trek fan, I really wanted to like this game and I gave it my best shot… but I just can’t get on with massively-multiplayer games for the most part. But if you can, or if the MMO scene is your jam, Star Trek Online could be worth a look. It has plenty of story missions to play, starships to buy and customise, and crew members that can be recruited. Quests can take place both in space and on the ground – and so can combat.

Bethesda once held the license to make Star Trek games, and I can’t help but feel that in another world we might be about to play Starfield Trek… or Star Trekfield! At the very least, I think it wouldn’t be totally unfair to say that there’s been some kind of Star Trek influence on Starfield, particularly with the exploration-focused Constellation organisation.

Game #10:
Red Dead Redemption II

Bethesda executive producer (and Starfield’s director) Todd Howard compared Starfield to Red Dead Redemption II in a recent interview, suggesting that the depth of the game’s open world is comparable to Rockstar’s wild west masterpiece. If that’s even close to being true, we’re in for a whale of a time – because Red Dead Redemption II is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Red Dead Redemption II has an incredible open world, packed with characters and locations that truly succeed at capturing the look and feel of the United States at the end of the 19th Century. It has some fun customisation, too, with weapons and outfits befitting the time period. The game’s story also packs an emotional punch!

So that’s it!

I hope I’ve given you some ideas or inspiration for games to play over the next three months while we wait for Starfield with bated breath!

As I said at the beginning, this is a title that has rocketed up my list of most-anticipated games… and try as I might to slam on the brakes, the hype train has already left the station! Bethesda has a reputation for rough launches, and we’ve seen some recent disappointments from Xbox, too. There are reasons for scepticism – and I will certainly be checking out reviews and technical breakdowns before I commit to Starfield in September.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to once again encourage Bethesda and Microsoft to consider delaying the game if it needs more time in the oven. Sure, it will be disappointing in some ways if Starfield can’t be ready for September… but I’d rather play it six months later in a better state than struggle to enjoy it because it was released prematurely.

So there really isn’t much more to say! I’m really excited to play Starfield, and I’ve been considering my options for games to play in the meantime while I wait. Though I included one title each from Bethesda’s Fallout and Elder Scrolls series, I tried to avoid making this list too lop-sided and too heavily-dominated by one company and one genre.

I had fun, anyway, and if even one person comes away from this list thinking to themselves “oh, I’d never have thought of that!” or “yeah, that seems like a good game to try,” then I’ll have done my job!

All titles discussed above are the copyright of their respective developer, studio, and/or publisher. Starfield will be released on the 6th of September 2023 for PC and Xbox Series S/X consoles. Some screenshots used above courtesy of Bethesda and/or IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Some great Steam Summer Sale deals for PC gamers!

Thu 24.06.21Sun 13.11.22Dennis

Important: The Steam Summer Sale has now ended. Prices listed below will no longer be accurate. Check back in December for my next Steam Winter Sale list.

It’s that time of year again! For the next fortnight, PC gaming powerhouse Steam is running its annual summer sale, meaning there are some pretty great deals to be had for PC gamers. For the last few major Steam sales I’ve put together a list of a few titles that I think look like excellent value while they’re discounted, and this time is no different!

As I always say, events like the Steam Summer Sale go a long way to making PC gaming good value for money when compared to consoles. PC gaming can be pricey to get started with – especially at the moment thanks to major component shortages – but sales like this go a long way to making up for it, and over the lifespan of a PC or a single console generation, it’s quite possible to see how a PC player is able to save money compared to a console gamer!

The creation of Xbox Game Pass works counter to that, of course! And if you’re new to gaming and want to get started with a library of titles for relatively little money up front, a Game Pass subscription with either a pre-owned Xbox One or an Xbox Series S is honestly hard to beat.

But we’re not here for Game Pass on this occasion! Let’s take a look at twenty games currently on offer in the Steam Summer Sale.

Important: All prices and discounts were correct in the UK at time of writing. Prices and discounts may vary by region and are subject to change at any time. The Steam Summer Sale runs from today (24.06.2021) for two weeks (08.07.2021) after which prices listed below will no longer be accurate.

Number 1: Jade Empire: Special Edition
75% discount, £3.74

If you’ve been playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and are craving another BioWare roleplaying game, you could do a lot worse than the overlooked Jade Empire. Released as an Xbox exclusive in 2005, the Chinese-inspired title made its way to Steam a few years ago. Most gamers are aware of the likes of Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, but Jade Empire never quite made it to the same level.

Its graphics are certainly less shiny than modern titles, but if you can look beyond that you’ll find solid gameplay that’s easily comparable to other BioWare titles.

Number 2: Fall Guys
40% discount, £9.59

I’m not sure how long Fall Guys will remain available on Steam following a buyout by Epic Games, so if you want to get this fun obstacle course-battle royale title, now might be a good time. Fall Guys had a moment last summer before an issue with cheating and the rise of Among Us saw it slip progressively further down the rankings. But developers Mediatonic have continued to work on the game, fixing the cheating problem and releasing a number of free updates.

In mid-2021 Fall Guys is in a much better place. With Switch and Xbox releases still hopefully coming soon, the game is set for a second bite of the cherry and may see renewed interest from players. Cross-play is now enabled between PC and PlayStation at least, so getting into a game is easier than ever.

Number 3: Evil Genius 2
25% discount, £25.64

I took a look at Evil Genius 2 when it was first released earlier in the year, and it’s a lot of fun! If you’ve ever wanted to live out your Bond villain/Dr Evil fantasies, this is about as close as you can get while staying on the right side of the law! Building a secret base for your evil empire while also managing the casino used as a “front” is challenging, but if you get hooked it’s easy to sink hours into Evil Genius 2.

I’d happily recommend Evil Genius 2 to any strategy enthusiast or fan of spy thrillers. The cute, cartoony aesthetic adds to the experience as well.

Number 4: Snowrunner
20% discount, £20.79

The sequel to Mudrunner, Snowrunner is all about driving big vehicles – trucks, four-wheel drives, etc. – through difficult terrain. There really isn’t anything quite like it, and it’s a different kind of driving challenge when compared to titles like American Truck Simulator, but with a similar focus on the simulation aspect of driving.

I think Snowrunner would be absolutely cracking to play with a proper sim setup – wheel, pedals, and gearstick. But even just using a control pad it’s a lot of fun.

Number 5: Control: Ultimate Edition
60% discount, £13.99

I think I picked up Control in the last Steam sale, and just recently got around to playing through it. Control is weird, and I mean that as a compliment! I think the best way to describe it would be a psychological thriller mixed with an action game. There aren’t many true horror aspects, but there’s a lot of Lovecraftian weirdness that gives many parts of the game a creepy vibe.

Players take control of Jesse as she explores the Federal Bureau of Control – a mysterious government organisation headquartered in a very unique building! I had fun with Control, but I would caveat that I did encounter some issues with performance – poor frame-rate in particular.

Number 6: Banished
66% discount, £5.09

A mainstay of my gaming lists, Banished is an amazing city-builder. Not only must you construct buildings, but you’re also in charge of managing the citizens of your town. Ensuring that they have enough food, medicine, firewood, and other supplies is deceptively tricky, and this is a game that’s hard to master.

Banished was made by a single person. I say that every time I bring up the game, because I find it astonishing. Even if Banished had been produced by a whole studio I’d have enjoyed it, but knowing it was all programmed by a single person completely blows my mind.

Number 7: Saint’s Row 2
75% discount, £2.49

Saint’s Row 2 to me represents the pinnacle of the series, before this Grand Theft Auto-clone completely veered into the outlandish and wacky storylines that would dominate its third and especially fourth entries. If you’re bored of Grand Theft Auto V, and with a sixth entry in the series nowhere to be found, for less than the price of a coffee you could play through a game that’s as close as you can get to that experience.

Comparisons to other games aside, Saint’s Row 2 offers a ton of player customisation, even having different voices for the player character. The open world is fun to mess around in, and though the story is hardly unique it’s more than deep enough to be an enjoyable way to waste a couple of dozen hours.

Number 8: Pac-Man (Arcade Game Series)
50% discount, £1.39

Can you even call yourself “a gamer” if you don’t own at least one copy of 1980 arcade classic Pac-Man? This is one of the best-known video games of all time, and it’s quite literally a piece of gaming history. There have been many versions released over the last forty years, including some that take the basic Pac-Man concept and really mix it up. This version stays true to the 1980 original.

Gamers of a certain age have a fondness for Pac-Man, but there are a lot of younger players who’ve never tried their hand at the original. For anyone in that situation, I’d recommend giving it a shot. You’ll be experiencing a piece of video game history in the process!

Number 9: Yooka-Laylee
80% discount, £6.99

Yooka-Laylee was criticised upon release… for being a 3D platformer in the style of classics of the genre like Banjo-Kazooie. I genuinely do not understand what people were talking about if they meant that as a negative point. Yooka-Laylee was literally designed from the ground up as a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie and those types of games!

Maybe it isn’t the world’s greatest ever 3D platformer, but it’s solid, cute, and a lot of fun, and if you liked those games in their heyday on the Nintendo 64, give it a shot. If you know what you’re getting into and you aren’t asking for a life-changing experience – as some critics seemed to be – you’ll have a whale of a time.

Number 10: Death Stranding
60% discount, £21.99

From famed Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding is a game that a lot of people didn’t know what to make of when it originally launched on PlayStation 4. Is it an action game? A horror game? A walking simulator? Death Stranding is a mixture of different genres and different styles of gameplay. There’s a lot of walking and exploration, and in some respects it’s a slower game as a result.

I’d tentatively put Death Stranding in a category alongside titles like Beyond: Two Souls and others by Quantic Dream. It’s interactive, and there’s a story to follow. And there is third-person action gameplay. But it’s very hard to pin it down and say what it actually is. The visuals are gorgeous, though!

Number 11: Lego City Undercover
75% discount, £6.24

Originally released as a Wii U exclusive, Lego City Undercover eventually made its way to PC. Unlike other Lego games, which adapt an existing entertainment product, it’s an original story featuring a police officer on the hunt for a vicious criminal. Weirdly for a Lego game there are some Grand Theft Auto-esque open world elements, and the story is surprisingly fun.

Lego games have always had a sense of humour, and while you won’t find anything extreme or offensive – this is a kids’ game, after all – it’s still got some real laugh-out-loud moments. I had fun with it when I was one of seven lucky people who owned a Wii U, and developer Traveller’s Tales did a good job adapting the game for PC.

Number 12: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
60% discount, £13.99

I had a lot of fun playing through Jedi: Fallen Order last summer. After the disappointment of The Rise of Skywalker I needed something to rehabilitate the Star Wars brand, and Jedi: Fallen Order delivered. As I wrote at the time, I genuinely felt like I was having my own adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

The game has a strong story with great characters and succeeded at getting me truly invested in what happened to protagonist Cal Kestis and the friends he made over the course of his journey. Coupled with great visuals and fun lightsaber-swinging gameplay, Jedi: Fallen Order was a great time all around. Not only that, but it proved once again that linear, single-player games are still viable as a concept for big publishers.

Number 13: Hades
30% discount, £13.64

Hades isn’t my usual kind of game. But having heard nothing but praise for the indie title I decided to give it a shot, and I can see why people are raving about it! Hades is a difficult rogue-like dungeon-crawler, one that gives players a degree of choice over how to set up their character before proceeding through the randomly-generated levels and tackling monsters inspired by Ancient Greek legends.

It’s a game where failure and defeat are inevitable, yet not one that punishes failing. Though dying in a game never feels great, Hades has found a way to take the sting out of defeat. It’s strangely compelling, and I found myself continuing to play long after the point where I’d have put other games down.

Number 14: Serious Sam 4
50% discount, £15.49

I played the first Serious Sam back in the early 2000s, and I found it to be an incredibly funny send-up of the first-person shooter genre at the time. Though I’m yet to play the latest instalment, which spent years in development hell before being released late last year, everything I’ve heard so far is good and I can’t wait to jump in and give it a go.

Serious Sam 4 feels like a blast of nostalgia; a throwback to when games were less about story and more about shooting as many monsters as humanly possible.

Number 15: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
33% discount, £10.04

In early 2020 I really got stuck into Age of Empires II, replaying one of my most-played games of the early 2000s. Microsoft put a lot of work into Definitive Edition, bringing in a new graphics engine and continuing to add to and adjust the game even now, more than eighteen months after its launch. It really is the ultimate way to play Age of Empires II.

Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game with a medieval setting, and Definitive Edition has introduced new gameplay modes, new factions, and a bustling online multiplayer scene for when you’re done practicing against the AI. It’s a time-sink, and it’s easy to lose dozens of hours here!

Number 16: No Man’s Sky
50% discount, £19.99

No Man’s Sky will forever be defined by the criticism it received at launch for failing to live up to the lofty expectations developer Hello Games set. And that’s absolutely fair enough; the “release now, fix later” business model deserves all of the hate it gets. But in the five years since, No Man’s Sky has received a number of free updates and expansions, and has grown to be the game that was promised.

A rare success story for a game that deserved all of the criticism it got, it’s actually easy to recommend the game in its current state. It’s the space exploration and adventure game that folks thought they were signing up for five years ago. It’s a shame things went down the way that they did; had No Man’s Sky been released today, it would be celebrated.

Number 17: Far Cry 5
85% discount, £7.49

Stepping away from tropical islands and murderous dictators, Far Cry 5 saw the first-person open world series head to the United States. The game is undeniably politically charged, looking at political extremism in the American heartland, but it retains that Far Cry over-the-top action and is fun to play through.

If you can’t wait for Far Cry 6, which is due for release in October, it could be worth re-playing Far Cry 5 – or playing it for the first time if you missed out when it was new.

Number 18: Forza Horizon 4
50% discount, £27.49

If you don’t have Game Pass, Forza Horizon 4 is still good value at half price. I signed up for Game Pass specifically to play this game, and it’s been well worth it! It’s a really fun, semi-arcade racer set in an open world based on my native Britain, and there are a ton of different cars and different ways to race. I’m 100% there for all of it!

The Forza Horizon series is a half-step between arcade racers and “serious” racing sims, and if you want a game that’s designed to play just as well with a control pad as a racing wheel, this could be it.

Number 19: Terminator: Resistance
40% discount, £20.99

Terminator: Resistance flew under the radar when it launched in 2019, and a lot of folks missed out on this fun first-person shooter. Set in the world of the Terminator franchise, Resistance succeeds where several recent films failed and actually told a fun, engaging story. It’s not exactly a full-blown “AAA” game, but it’s plenty of fun nevertheless.

If you missed this one a couple of years ago, give it a shot. Any fan of the Terminator franchise ought to at least try it, and if you like first-person shooters with a slight horror vibe, you’ll have a great time.

Number 20: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
75% discount, £3.24

For me, Morrowind still represents the high-water mark of the entire Elder Scrolls series. It has more to do than Oblivion or Skyrim at practically every level: more NPCs to engage with, more factions to join, more quests, more types of magic, and even more weapon types to master. Some people are put off by its lack of voice acting and text-based interface, but to me that just adds to the experience.

Morrowind is outstanding. It’s one of the best and deepest role-playing experiences ever made, and with a few select graphical mods it looks visually stunning almost twenty years on from its original release. If you haven’t played it yet, but you loved Skyrim, you’re missing out! With The Elder Scrolls VI still years away, why not step back and play – or replay – Morrowind while you wait?

So that’s it!

If you were to buy all of the titles on the list above, you’d have spent £250.30, which I reckon is pretty good going for twenty games! I tried to get a nice mix of new and older titles, as well as perhaps one or two less well-known games that you might want to try for the first time. In addition to sales like this one offering pretty significant savings, another of the advantages of PC gaming is that the end of a console generation no longer means leaving games behind. Sure, consoles offer a degree of backwards compatibility, but for my money you can’t beat having everything in one place like you can on a PC.

So all that’s left to say is I hope you found this interesting, and perhaps found a game or two to consider picking up! There’s two weeks to get your purchases in before the sale ends, but if you miss out or you can’t participate on this occasion don’t despair! There will almost certainly be a Holiday Sale in the days leading up to Christmas, and I’ll be sure to cover that here on the website too.

All titles listed above are the copyright of their respective developer, publisher, and/or studio. Some screenshots and promotional artwork courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Fifteen games worthy of a second look in Spring 2021

Sun 28.02.21Mon 06.02.23Dennis

Spoiler Warning: Though there are no major spoilers, minor spoilers may still be present for a few of the titles on this list.

Anthem is gone, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a stinking mess, and there are delays aplenty across the games industry as the pandemic rolls on. What’s a gamer to do? Well, I might have the answer for you! Tomorrow will be the first day of March, and to me March has always meant the beginning of Spring. There are small snowdrops beginning to bloom in my garden, and the nights are getting shorter. A few times this past week I’ve even managed without the heating on in my house – much to the dismay of the cats!

There are still plenty of great games that – all being well – will be released this year. If you missed it, I put together a list just after New Year of ten of the most interesting titles! But considering the delays and that this time of year is typically fairly quiet in terms of releases, I thought it would be a great moment to consider a few games that deserve a second look. I’ve limited the list to titles that are readily available to buy on current-gen platforms and PC, so no out-of-print games this time.

Without any further ado, let’s jump into the list, which is in no particular order.

Number 1: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch, 2017)

Nintendo’s most recent karting game is a ton of fun. It’s the kind of arcade racer that has a very low bar for entry – anyone can pick up and play this fun title. But mastering Mario Kart 8 – especially if you choose to head online – is no small task, and there’s a surprising amount of skill involved to be truly competitive with the best players! I’ve adored the Mario Kart series since its inception on the SNES, and this version is the definitive Mario Kart experience… at least until they make Mario Kart 9!

Number 2: Fall Guys (PC and PlayStation 4, 2020, coming to Xbox and Nintendo Switch this summer)

Among Us gained a lot of attention not long after Fall Guys was released last summer and stole at least some of the cute game’s attention! The fact that Fall Guys isn’t on mobile probably counts against it as far as finding a broader audience goes, but despite what some have claimed, the game is by no means dead. Season 4 – which promises to bring a new set of futuristic rounds – is being released soon, and for less than £15 (at least on PC) I honestly can’t fault Fall Guys. It’s an adorable, wholly unique experience in which your cute little jelly bean character runs a series of obstacle courses in a video game homage to the likes of Total Wipeout. Each round lasts only a couple of minutes, and it really is way more fun than words can do justice to! I’ve recently got back into playing after taking a break, and there’s plenty of fun still to be had.

Number 3: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC and Xbox, 2002)

You can find Morrowind on PC, and despite being an older title it’s compatible with Windows 10. There has been an active modding scene for almost twenty years at this point, so even if you’ve already played the base game it may still be worth going back for more. In my subjective opinion, Morrowind is the high-water mark of the Elder Scrolls series. It certainly offers players more to do than its predecessors or sequels – more NPCs to interact with, more factions to join, more types of weapons to wield and spells to cast, and so on. Especially if you hit Morrowind with some of the visual/graphics mods that are available, it can feel almost like a new game!

Number 4: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, 2002)

Another older title that you can find on PC, as well as on iOS and Android, Vice City was one of three Grand Theft Auto titles released between 2001 and 2005. Remember when Rockstar was able to put out more than one game per decade?! If you’ve had your fill of Grand Theft Auto V by now – and it’s been out for eight years, so I wouldn’t blame you if you were ready to play something else – maybe going back to one of the older games will be a nostalgic blast. Many fans of the series consider Vice City to be the best entry, and while I don’t think I’d go quite that far, I had a ton of fun with it back on the original Xbox.

Number 5: Banished (PC, 2014)

There are some great city-builders out there, but one of my favourites from the last few years is Banished. The game was built entirely by one person, which never fails to amaze me! It would still be a fantastic title if it had been made by a full studio, but the fact that the game and all its complex systems were programmed by a single developer is an astonishing achievement. Banished isn’t easy, even on lower difficulty settings, and it will take a little time to get into the swing of how to plan your town and manage your resources. But if you’re up for a challenge it’s a wonderful way to lose track of time!

Number 6: Skully (PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One, 2020)

Skully is a game that I’ve been meaning to write a proper review of since I picked it up last year, but it keeps slipping down my writing pile. From the moment I saw the trailer and heard the game’s premise – a 3D platformer in which you play as a disembodied skull – I was in love, and the game did not disappoint! The environments are beautiful and the game is plenty of fun. It manages to feel at points like an old-school 3D platformer of the Nintendo 64 era, and at others like a wholly modern experience. It’s also an indie title, and it’s great to be able to support indie developers wherever we can!

Number 7: Jade Empire (PC and Xbox, 2005)

If the demise of Anthem has got you missing the “golden age” of BioWare’s role-playing games, make sure you didn’t skip Jade Empire. The Xbox exclusive was overlooked by players in the mid-2000s, and while other BioWare games from that decade, like Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age Origins are all held in high esteem, the Chinese-inspired Jade Empire is all but forgotten. When Steam has it on sale you can pick up Jade Empire for less than the price of a coffee, and for that you’ll get what is honestly one of the best and most interesting role-playing games of all time.

Number 8: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC, 1997)

Starfleet Academy is unique among Star Trek games because it features the cast of The Original Series in video clips recorded especially for the game. These aren’t scenes from films or episodes of the show; you literally will not see them anywhere else. Starfleet Academy is a starship simulator, and while its visuals obviously don’t look as good in 2021 when compared to other titles, the overall experience is fantastic. You won’t find another game quite like it – especially because ViacomCBS has all but given up on making Star Trek games since the release of Star Trek Online!

Number 9: Forza Horizon 4 (PC and Xbox One, 2018)

I signed up for Game Pass in order to be able to play racing game Forza Horizon 4 – and it was totally worth it! The Forza Horizon series attempts to find a middle ground between true racing sims and arcade-style titles, and generally manages to do so quite well. Forza Horizon 4 has a map which represents parts of Great Britain, and that’s something unusual! I didn’t see my house, but it’s always nice when a game uses a familiar setting. There are plenty of fun cars to race in, and different kinds of races too, including going off-road.

Number 10: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Multiplatform, 2013)

Is it just me, or has every subsequent game in the Assassin’s Creed series struggled to hit the highs of Black Flag? Origins and Odyssey were decent, but even in 2021, I think that Black Flag is the definitive title in the franchise! There’s something about its pirate setting and the wonderful crop of NPCs that make Black Flag a truly enjoyable experience from start to finish. For a game that’s approaching its eighth birthday it still looks fantastic, too!

Number 11: The Last Of Us (PlayStation 3, 2013)

Despite its severely disappointing sequel, The Last Of Us is fantastic. If you’re looking for a game with amazing characters and a deep, engaging story, it simply can’t be bettered. I put The Last Of Us on my list of games of the decade as the 2010s drew to a close, and for good reason. Joel and Ellie’s trek across a hauntingly beautiful post-apocalyptic United States was absolutely one of the gaming highlights of the last few years. The characters are so well-crafted that they feel real, and every twist and turn in the intense storyline carries emotional weight. The game is being adapted for television, and I’m interested – cautiously so in the wake of The Last Of Us Part II – to see what will happen when it makes the leap to the small screen.

Number 12: Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (PC, 2018)

Though I know Age of Empires II is the title most folks prefer, I’ve always appreciated what the original Age of Empires did for the real-time strategy genre. If you’ve been enjoying the recent remake of the second game, it could be a great time to give the original a try as well. Age of Empires didn’t invent real-time strategy, but it was one of the first such titles I played after its 1998 release – and I sunk hours and hours into it in the late ’90s! There’s something about building up an army of Bronze Age warriors to smash an opponent’s town that’s just… satisfying!

Number 13: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, 2019)

I played through Jedi: Fallen Order last summer and documented my time with the game here on the website. Suffice to say I had a blast; the linear, story-focused title is exactly what the Star Wars franchise needed after the Battlefront II debacle! Having just seen the dire Rise of Skywalker I was also longing for a Star Wars story that I could actually enjoy for a change, and Jedi: Fallen Order did not let me down! I had a great time swinging my lightsaber across a galaxy far, far away… and I think you will too.

Number 14: No Man’s Sky (PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, 2016)

No Man’s Sky was incredibly controversial at launch. The pre-release hype bubble got wildly out of control, egged on by a marketing push that oversold the game. Remind you of any recent titles? But despite the backlash in 2016, Hello Games has since put in a lot of hard graft, and five years on No Man’s Sky genuinely lives up to its potential. Had it been released in this state I think it would have been hailed as one of the best games of the decade – if not of all time. I understand not wanting to reward a game that was dishonestly sold, and that the “release now, fix later” business model is not one we should support. But there’s no denying that No Man’s Sky is a great game in 2021, and if you haven’t picked it up since its 2016 launch, it could be worth a second look.

Number 15: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, 2020)

A full remake of the definitive skateboarding game is hard to pass up! In the Dreamcast era, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater launched an entire genre of skating games, and its amazing soundtrack is a nostalgic hit of late ’90s/early ’00s punk rock. The remade version, which you can pick up on Switch and the two new consoles later this year, is great fun, and has managed to do something rare for a remake: genuinely recapture the look and feel of the original title. Obviously the visuals are brought up-to-date, but the feel of the game and the way tricks are performed are fantastic. I was able to slip right back into playing as if I’d never put the Dreamcast controller down!

So that’s it. Fifteen games that I think are worth your time this Spring.

There are plenty of fun titles on the horizon, but some of the ones I was most looking forward to – like Kena: Bridge of Spirits – have recently been delayed, prompting me to look at my library and put together this list.

I hope this has inspired you to find something to play over the next few weeks! If not, stay tuned because there will be plenty more gaming-related articles here on the website. Happy gaming!

All titles listed above are the copyright of their respective studio, developer, and/or publisher. Some screenshots and promo artwork courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Five games that prove “release now, fix later” doesn’t work

Fri 05.02.21Sun 13.11.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are minor spoilers ahead for the titles on this list.

One of the most annoying trends in the games industry over the last few years has been the “release now, fix later” approach taken by companies. I’ve looked at this problem before, but suffice to say that the internet and digital distribution have led publishers and studios to release their games in an unfinished state, with a plan to roll out patches and fixes after release.

A few years ago – even as recently as the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 generation – this wouldn’t have worked. But with so many people buying games digitally nowadays, companies seem to think that they can get away with it. However, there are many examples over the last few years of games that failed to live up to their potential – or failed entirely – because of this attitude.

Yes, we’re going to talk about *Cyberpunk 2077* again…

The few days either side of a game’s release are incredibly important. Reviewers get their hands on a copy and play through the game, getting their reviews ready in time for launch. Then players who pre-ordered and those who got the game on day one get to play the game for themselves, and within hours of release a game’s reputation is pretty much set. It takes a lot of hard work to change anyone’s first impression – so if the game was in a bad, unfinished state, that will be the headline. And once that becomes the prevailing opinion, it’s very difficult to change minds and convince people to give it a second look.

As a result, releasing a game too early can kill it – even if subsequent patches and hotfixes bring it up to code.

Let’s look at five games that fell victim to this “release now, fix later” phenomenon.

Number 1:
Destiny (2014)

One of the first big games to suffer because of this was Bungie’s Destiny. After departing the Halo series following 2010’s Halo: Reach, Bungie struck out on their own to make what they promised would be a “ten-year experience” called Destiny. Less than three years after Destiny’s 2014 release, though, Destiny 2 would launch.

There was a lot of interest in Bungie on the back of the success of the Halo series. Halo: Reach had been hailed as the best entry so far, and there was nothing to suggest that Destiny would be anything other than fantastic. In a way we can call this a case of overhyping, but Bungie actually did a reasonable job of setting appropriate expectations for what Destiny would be. The finished game was just not very interesting to many players, and after beating the main campaign, most didn’t stick around.

If Destiny had been released in a complete state instead of promising updates and expansions, perhaps more players would have stuck with it. But this is precisely the problem with games that go down this route – an underwhelming experience puts players off. Why would they bother coming back to Destiny to see the latest update(s) when the game was only okay the first time around? Games need to be good when they release – not average with the promise of becoming good later, and that, in a nutshell, was Destiny’s problem.

Number 2:
No Man’s Sky (2016)

No game is more synonymous with “release now, fix later” than 2016’s No Man’s Sky. I actually felt that, for what it was, the game was decent even at launch, but I hadn’t bought into the hype and went into the game with moderate expectations! There’s no denying that No Man’s Sky was missing many promised features at launch, and while it wasn’t plagued by bugs or glitches in the way some games on this list were, it felt threadbare to many players.

No Man’s Sky is a classic example of overhyping. Studio Hello Games and its head Sean Murray seemed incapable of saying “no,” promising players that No Man’s Sky would be an infinitely pleasurable sandbox in which they could do just about anything they wanted. A key part of marketing in the games industry is reining in hype and knowing when and how to set accurate expectations – something that Hello Games completely messed up.

Hello Games put in a lot of hard work to bring promised features to No Man’s Sky in the years after its release, and in 2021 the game actually does meet many of those lofty expectations. But even so, many players who were burned in 2016 have not returned, and the game’s reputation is still in the gutter in many people’s minds. There’s even a sense that Hello Games should not be “rewarded” for fixing the game after its release, and I know folks who refuse to buy it on principle.

Number 3:
Fallout 76 (2018)

Fallout 76 may be the worst game on this list. It was certainly the most disappointing to me personally. Not only did it launch in a crappy, broken state riddled with bugs, but it was also threadbare. A double-whammy, if you will.

The heart of any role-playing game comes from great, memorable characters. And the Fallout series has always provided plenty of interesting people to engage with, triggering quests and storylines that are easy to get invested in. Fallout 76 had precisely zero non-player characters at launch, making its world feel empty and its quests uninspired and meaningless. Aside from wandering around, looking at the pretty (if decidedly last-gen) environment and battling a few buggy monsters, there was literally nothing to do in the game.

There were other problems which don’t stem from the game being forced out the door too soon, such as Bethesda’s reliance on a massively out-of-date game engine and a crappy shooting mechanic that single-player Fallout games had managed to cover up with the VATs system. But the core of Fallout 76′s problems came from being released in an unfinished state. The game’s reputation tanked and has not recovered, and Bethesda, which had already been on a downward trajectory, is now held in especially low regard.

Number 4:
Anthem (2019)

BioWare released two games in a row in the mid/late 2010s which both suffered this exact issue. After Mass Effect: Andromeda was ridiculed on release for being a buggy mess, Anthem likewise had issues at launch. Though there were fewer bugs than in Andromeda – or at least, fewer egregious ones – Anthem was nevertheless unfinished.

For a live service title, Anthem was missing a lot. There were few customisation options, not enough interesting loot, and the final act of the game, which is the most important part as it’s where players will spend most of their time, was described as being just plain boring. In addition, the enemies were repetitive, the story – something BioWare is usually good at – was lacklustre and uninspired, and the game was just mediocre.

Mediocrity is not good enough when there are so many other competing titles to play, and Anthem soon lost the small number of players it initially picked up, dropping more than 90% of its playerbase within a few weeks of launch. What happened next is typical of underperforming live services: its “roadmap” of planned updates was cancelled. Though Anthem technically limps on and its servers are still active, in reality everyone knows it’s dead.

Number 5:
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

Cyberpunk 2077 is unusual in the sense that, unlike the other entries on this list, it’s a single-player game. It isn’t the only single-player game to ever release too soon, but it’s certainly the most significant one in recent years. CD Projket Red appear to have been desperate to release the game before the end of 2020, and whatever the reason for that may be, the end result was a game so riddled with bugs and glitches that many described it as “unplayable.”

Sony took the unprecedented step of withdrawing Cyberpunk 2077 from sale on the PlayStation Store – a move which has not yet been undone. CD Projekt Red, which had been one of the most popular games companies in the view of the general public, saw its reputation collapse – and its share price took a nosedive too.

Even now, almost three months on from release, Cyberpunk 2077 is still in a bad state, especially on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is simply not optimised to run well on those consoles, and it will take many more months of work to get it anywhere close to playable. However, in some ways the bugs and glitches have covered up what may come to be seen as Cyberpunk 2077′s worst failing: the game underneath the bugs certainly does not live up to the pre-release hype. Far from being a genre-busting once-in-a-lifetime experience, what players who stuck with the game through its issues have found is an okay first-person-shooter/role-playing game, and little else.

So that’s it. Five games which prove unequivocally that the “release now, fix later” concept simply does not work. The sooner games companies come to realise that a delay is better than a bad launch the better. There is a much-overused quotation from Nintendo legend and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto: “a delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.” Despite all of the games above promising fixes, they remain, in the eyes of most gamers, bad.

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has a thing or two to say about this!
*Picture Credit: Vincent Diamante from Los Angeles, CA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons*

That’s the fundamental problem with this approach. It’s very difficult to overcome first impressions, and if a game launches to mediocre reviews and online criticism, that will be the only thing most people remember. No Man’s Sky has worked incredibly hard to overcome its launch issues, and the game is in a state today that genuinely lives up to the expectations players had and the pre-release hype. Yet the game will always come with an asterisk, and when people remember No Man’s Sky in ten or twenty years’ time, the fact that it was a colossal disappointment will be first and foremost in people’s minds.

As more and more games release in an unfinished state and go on to underperform – if not fail hard – I hope that games companies and publishers will come to see the folly in this approach. Maybe the 2020s will see more delays and better games as a result. We can only hope, right?

All titles listed above are the copyright of their respective studio, developer, and/or publisher. Some screenshots and promotional artwork courtesy of IGDB. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.