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Potential flop saved firm and was actually fun
In 2025, video game reviewer Michael Robertson time-travelled, found joy in mainstream junk and missed the memo on how good Balatro is.
Gaming
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Video games better with friends
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Video games better with friends
Hayden Meikle has enjoyed a fair few years of video gaming. How did 2025 fare?
A lost soul of a game
A lost soul of a game
This hack and slash spectacle focuses on combat - but that’s all the game really has to offer, Michael Robertson finds.
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‘Death Stranding 2’ the pick of the bunch in 2025
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‘Death Stranding 2’ the pick of the bunch in 2025
The follow-up to the downright nutty Death Stranding stood out, amid an industry in crisis, for video game reviewer Ben Allan in 2025.
Super cool vibe in touched-up slopes game
Super cool vibe in touched-up slopes game
The irony of snowboarding games is that they appeal as much to gamers seeking a chill (excuse the pun) experience as they do to those who want a more wild ride.
The art of kung-fu(ture)
The art of kung-fu(ture)
Sometimes a game teaches you a valuable lesson about life, gives another insight into diverging viewpoints, or can even teach you a new skill.
Trapped in the map from hell
Trapped in the map from hell
Publishers Devolver are always bringing interesting stuff from the indy gaming scene to a wider audience — good one, Devolver, love your work — and on this occasion it’s Possessor(s).
Headset for the hardcore
Headset for the hardcore
George Elliott reviews logitech’s recently released headset, the Astro A20 X.
The more the merrier
The more the merrier
Midnight Murder Club is a first-person shooter stealth party game, where you and five others are armed with a revolver, knife and flashlight in a dark mansion.
Join the army, they said
Join the army, they said
I was never really a Battlefield player, despite having owned various series entries.
Intoxicating journey to unseen
Intoxicating journey to unseen
Ahead of the release of gaming sequel Ghost of Yotei, Ben Allan talked to the game’s co-creative director Jason Connell about crafting a follow-up to much-loved samurai epic Ghost of Tsushima.
Live by the sword once more
Live by the sword once more
It’s probably fair to say that 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima snuck up on the gaming world a little bit with just how darned good it was.
After years running with it, it’s a pass
After years running with it, it’s a pass
Here is a question this grizzled veteran of sports gaming never thought he would have to ask.
Not much to cheer
Not much to cheer
Rogue AI has taken over the Earth (topical!) and four space cheerleaders are on a mission to take it back in Ra Ra Boom, a side-scrolling beat ’em up with four player local co-op.
It’s show time once again
It’s show time once again
The great thing with gaming sequels, unlike films, is that you can essentially deliver an identical product, add a few bits and pieces, and still sell millions of copies.
Escape the world into the shire
Escape the world into the shire
Just when you thought the Lord of the Rings product train had run out of steam, Wētā Workshop has more, Bill Hickman writes.
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Residential hall recreated in the virtual world
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Residential hall recreated in the virtual world
Forget couch fires in Castle St.
Fun but needs (armour) polish
Fun but needs (armour) polish
I was recently given the opportunity to have a quick look at an alpha-build of a new game called Renown, alongside a small play session with Australian developers RDBK Studios.
Beached as, bro
Beached as, bro
Is Hideo Kojima the world’s last rock-star game developer?
Museum hosts exhibition blending arcade gaming, te ao Māori
Museum hosts exhibition blending arcade gaming, te ao Māori
Space Invaders, Pac Man, Donkey Kong - if you were a child in the 1980s or ’90s, the warm glow of a spacies machine at the local fish and chip shop was almost intoxicating.