EGX Rezzed: first impressions

It’s halfway through day one, and the coffee has stopped working.

Getting ready for EGX Rezzed

I”ll be at EGX Rezzed for the whole weekend – but I’m already worrying how I’m going to fit everything in. If you’re going to be at the show, come say hi!

PlayStation 5? Noooooo, not yet!

It feels like I only just got my PS4. I’m in no rush to splash out on a brand new console.

Grainger Games in Bishop Auckland - interior

Grainger Games has gone – another tragedy for the already hard hit north-east

It’s all gone, just like that. Grainger Games has shut its remaining stores. And it’s another grim disappointment to add to the hardships of North-East England.

As Grainger Games teeters on the brink things are looking gloomy for video games on the high street

Grainger Games is in trouble – and there are worrying signs about UK video game retailers in general.

Monster Hunter World deserves its record-breaking sales figures

This game is just so damn good I can’t stop playing it.

Why Forma.8 is brilliant and you should play it

Forma.8 was recently given away on PS Plus, and this metroidvania-but-with-spaceships has quickly become a firm favourite in The Manor.

Beholder is a funny yet brutal satire of living under an oppressive regime

Collecting useless information about tenants, like whether they enjoy chess, seems comical at first. But then people start dying.

From The Armchair: Metroidvania Marathon

I’ve spent most of my life wishing there were more games like Super Metroid, and now there’s a ton of them. Bring it on.

Wizkid’s on the wall

Bob’s best is finally shown off in all its glory.

Bob Wakelin’s best piece of video game cover art

RIP Bob Wakelin. He created some of the most iconic cover art of the eighties and nineties, but there’s one cover in particular that stands out for me – Wizkid.

Nintendo Labo: that crazy old Kyoto company wrong-foots us all yet again

When I heard that Nintendo was making a new announcement, I never dreamt it would be interactive cardboard toys. But now I want all of them.

From The Armchair: Bye Bye Baron

‘Tis a sad day, for Baron Richenbaum Fotchenstein is leaving us. Which begs the question, who on earth is going to review all the scary games now he’s gone?

From The Armchair: 2017 Achievements Unlocked!

As the dying embers of 2017 fall into the grate and 2018 roars into life, now is a good time to reflect on the achievements of the past year.

Gaming Trends We Could Do Without

Pointless collectibles, gated story content, questionable DLC practices, so-called ‘free to play’… No, just no.

It turns out there are a lot of angry people on the internet

A Twitter post on a bizarrely proportioned character in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has generated a surprising amount of venom for something so trivial.

Amazon deal finally persuaded me to get PlayStation Plus

The Monster Hunter World beta finally persuaded me to join PS Plus – helped by the fact that Amazon is offering 1 year’s membership for £36.85/$39.99.