Considering the rather lengthy journey Wreckfest took from early access to full release, I was quite surprised to find that it has a sequel, Wreckfest 2, now also in Steam early access.

This sequel has the backing of THQ Nordic, which helped developer Bugbear finish the first game after an extended development period.

Like its predecessor, Wreckfest 2 is a no-holds-barred racing game very much in the vein of the classic Demolition Derby on the original PlayStation. With physics-based impacts, cars become twisted metal, and the circuits littered with wrecks and debris.Even as an early access game, I found Wreckfest 2 to be a bit sparse, content-wise, at launch. Of course, I’ve been spoiled by the original Wreckfest, which, although it started much the same way, is now a very polished and fully featured banger racing game.

A couple of months in and Bugbear has started to populate Wreckfest 2 with more circuits and cars. There are currently seven track locations to choose from, offering fourteen circuit variations. Fincross is a banger racing track available as a circuit and a reverse circuit. Savalax Sandpit is a quarry banger racing track, again, with a main circuit and a reverse circuit. European Rally Cross is a banger racing circuit.Speedway can be selected as an oval, figure eight or as a demolition derby arena. Scrapyard has a main route, demolition derby arena and a criss-crossing circuit called bonebreaker.

UK Banger 1 has an oval circuit, a figure eight circuit and a demolition derby arena. Finally, there’s an area called Testing Grounds with all sorts of ramps and devices that show off the game’s amazing physics.

From the above, depending on the circuit, players can select from straight-up banger racing and last man standing or deathmatch demolition derby events. The game has eight vehicles from American muscle through European compact to a motorhome.Vehicles can be painted to create custom looks. Like the tracks, the variety of cars is likely to continue to expand. There’s the option from the main screen to select a quick match and jump right in with a single-player race around the Savalax Sandpit circuit or select the custom race option and make your own single-player event. Multiplayer races can be selected either by matchmaking or the server browser. There’s no indication of ping or location on the server browser, but I never had a problem with latency.

The races are bound to make you smile with circuits designed to encourage absolute carnage. From the figure of eight layouts to lethal trackside detritus, players can find themselves in the middle of a pile-up at any minute.Other racers, as well, see no problem in pushing your car off the road. But revenge is sweet, via the guilty pleasure of giving your opponents a little tap that’ll see them careen off the road and into the tyre wall.

Just as with the original game, the physics and spectacle make the game. Be it the superb handling of the cars or the bouncing tyres and other objects spilling across the tracks, Wreckfest 2 is a rather unique racing experience.

The visuals on PC are next level, updating the graphics of the first game and bringing them in line with the virtually photoreal look expected of modern racers. The game uses AMD’s FSR 3.1.3 upscaling but has no Nvidia DLSS. The game did tax the review rig’s Nvidia RTX 4090, with all the settings maxed out when things got busy.There’s plenty of visual customisation options that’ll get the game running smoothly even on more modest machines. When Wreckfest 2 first hit early access, it was a bit lean, but now with more tracks, it’s worth jumping in.

As the game develops, we will likely see more tracks, more vehicles and hopefully a campaign mode. If you like the first game or racing games in general, I certainly recommend jumping in early with Wreckfest 2.

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The latest PlayStation exclusive to get a PC port is 2024’s Stellar Blade, just over 12 months after its release on PlayStation 5.

Developed by Shift Up who were known for mobile games released thier first high profile title last year, which had been in development for around 5 years.

Stellar Blade sees you take on the role of Eve. An intergalactic warrior who finds herself in over her head, initially, with the deadly perils that face her.

Gameplay ushers you in, but quickly picks up pace, as Eve evolves in to the herione she is destined to be. During this you will also exerience combo-up and up-skilling.

Weaponry is a bit lax, but Stellar Blade most definitely sees Eve wielding one nasty sword.

And this game is all about the moves. There’s a skill tree where you can hone, fine tune Eve’s moves – the testing out of different fighting techniques makes Eve’s battling abilities unique to you and how you mix and match them.

Graphically, the game is stunning and and after having played through both an early preview and now this full game, I was still left wanting more monsters to slaughter.

Gameplay is a mix. Combat can be deadly if you’re not attentative or strategic.

If you’re not careful you’ll be annihilated over and over again, but making use of stealth, strategy and timed hits you’ll get through. Death places you back at your last checkpoint, depending on how far you progressed at the point you died this can be annoying, enemies all respawn, but you do not lose anything that you have earned.

While there’s definitely some recognisable influences within Stellar Blade, this is a stand-out JRPG, and is one to look out for PC gamers.

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PC gamers rejoice! Last year The Last of Us Part II Remastered dropped on PS5 giving fans more content and a new game mode. And now, Part II of this cult classic is finally available on PC. 

I was sceptical, considering the numerous issues players faced with The Last of Us Part I PC port in 2023. It launched with a myriad of issues, riddled with bugs and performance issues that took some time to fix. 

But this time, developers Naughty Dog brought on Nixxes Software to join Iron Galaxy for the PC port. I had all my fingers and toes crossed that this meant I was in for some smooth sailing – performance wise, at least. 

The Last of Us (Part I) leads players on a perilous journey across a post-apocalyptic United States as Joel and Ellie. The hardened survivor and the young girl – who may hold the cure – form a bond as they navigate their terrifying world. 

Part II shows life four years later, taking a darker, and somewhat controversial direction. It delves into the cycle of revenge and the moral complexities of a world where everyone is struggling to survive. 

As a PC gamer myself, I was thrilled simply being able to experience The Last of Us Part II. And I was even more delighted when the port ran rather well. It worked solidly across performance and fidelity options and the game only crashed once in my entire run through. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for me. 

If you’re comparing the remaster for PS5 to PC you might find slight differences in the minor details. But overall, the PC remaster holds its own. The Last of Us Part II features a wide range of environments, from claustrophobic interiors to expansive landscapes. The enhancements made to these landscapes may seem small, but did have a positive impact – especially with draw distance. 

The PC coloration is bright with solid rendering, resulting in sharper, more detailed characters. This helped further enhance the (spectacular) performance by Ashley Johnson as Ellie. 

The remaster includes three lost levels, each introduced by Game Director, Neil Druckman, and other fun extras to explore. You can also delve into some guitar free play to strum some tunes. 

But the most exciting addition is No Return – a roguelike play that lets you fight your way through a series of randomised combat encounters. Being narrative-heavy, replayability of the actual game is quite low, unless you wish to relive the trauma. But this new gameplay option gives those who have finished their campaign a chance to itch that clicker-killing scratch. Unlike it’s name, it’s the reason I will be returning to the game.

Despite the controversy this game (and now the HBO show) has faced, The Last of Us Part II is a gripping tale of revenge with edge-of-your-seat scenes and terrifying combat. While the PS5 remaster felt more like a patch update with bonus content, it paved the path for the PC release. And it was a pretty solid PC release at that. 

The post The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Drawing on the very real 1950s nuclear disaster at Windscale in the UK, Atomfall is a very British take on the post-apocalyptic game from Rebellion, the publisher of Sniper Elite.

The player awakens in bunker five years after a mysterious event in the nearby Windscale nuclear plant, echoing the real-life disaster. With the area placed under quarantine, the local population has, for years, had to fend for itself, creating various factions. Elements of the British Army, known as The Protocol, have commandeered the otherwise quaint English village of Wyndham.

Set across a series of interconnected open-world areas, the gameplay is very loose. Players must find leads and resolve investigations themselves to uncover what is going on. This may be off-putting for players who prefer more handholding and guidance. It’s easy to find yourself backtracking or exploring areas unnecessarily.

This makes the game more about exploring and surviving the somewhat inhospitable world than simply following points on a map. Instead, it’s up to the player to plot areas of interest and follow up on leads.

Every character seems to have a secret. Navigating the politics and alliances of the post-apocalyptic Lake District is fraught with challenges. There’s a lot of talking with NPCs to unravel the game’s mysteries. There are also a lot of choices to be made. You can accept tasks from the various characters, double-cross them and even kill them.

The game’s survival credentials are all on full display with ammo being scarce and the essential need to scavenge whatever you can. It’s a hostile environment with bandit patrols that won’t hesitate to attack on sight. Some genuinely scary moments will have you running through abandoned facilities hoping to outrun the seemingly invulnerable creatures that lurk within.

The AI isn’t bad, either. Of note, pointing a gun at an opponent armed with just a melee weapon will make them back away. But they are rarely alone, and it’s very easy to become overwhelmed.

Atomfall uses the same aging engine as the Sniper Elite games, which meant, for my PC gaming experience, a lack of anti-aliasing and shimmering distant textures, giving the game a rather dated overall look. It’s not a bad-looking game, but not up to the standard we really should be expecting.

The game has an oddball, almost clichéd sense of “Britishness”. This design choice is aimed, I think, at those not necessarily from the Sceptred Isles. It’s all a bit too quaint at times, with its atypical English village, red phone boxes, and cheery “Tommys”, for this British expat. The game does, however, benefit from the unnerving and rather bleak flavour of British horror/sci-fi offerings such as The Quatermass Experiment, Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos and even The Wicker Man.

Atomfall offers a fresh experience for players with the patience to discover the game’s mysteries for themselves. Visually, it is acceptable, if a little dated. The design style and quirky setting elevates the game. Overall, it’s fun to play, but falls just short of being great.

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CE-Asia has released the AI Limit ‘Accolades Trailer’, which showcases media reviews and the game’s 92% positive rating on Steam.

Meanwhile, the developers of AI Limit announced that a new DLC is in development. Havenswell will offer players more to explore. Stay tuned!

Set in the distant future, AI Limit is a post-apocalyptic wasteland sci-fi Action RPG. Players take the role of Arrisa, an immortal Blader, and explore the city ruins to find equipment, relics, and, most importantly, the hope of a new life. They can combine spells, skills, and weapons in unique and creative ways to defeat ferocious monsters and powerful factions.

Since its launch on March 27th, 2025, AI Limit has received 12,029 reviews, 92% of which are positive. Players commend the design of the levels, enemies, and combat system.

You can read our review of AI Limit here.

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What we’ve come to expect from an RPG, and the RPG gameplay sphere itself has evolved epically in the past twenty years, since Bethesda’s pioneering Oblivion.

Originally released in 2006 after Morrowind, an inpiration to any RPG video game that was to come after and now remastered, the adventure awaits once again in a richly detailed current gen remaster on Xbox and PC.

Playable in either first or third person, the story starts as Emperor Uriel Septim (voiced by Patrick Stewart) is killed by assassins, along with all his known heirs. Your goal is to find and protect his son, who has been brought up in secret and knows nothing of his heritage. The story will take you all around the game’s world, a province of Tamriel called Cyrodiil, through to Oblivion. 

The pace of play does an excelled job of guiding you from one point to another, with fast travel. You’ll come to rely on this often, if you didn’t play Oblivion back in the Xbox 360 days, the world is too large to go on foot if you need to revisit an area.

Absolutely nothing stops you, once the tutorial sequence is over, you can explore this vast world and take up the plot intermittently as you wish. 

Want to climb the ranks of the Fighters Guild or the Dark Brotherhood of Assassins? Go for it, Oblivion is your game. 

A huge amount of detail and time has gone into side-quests that most players may not even find nor finish. Wandering around a populated area is likely to turn up something to do at any given moment. Homes to rip off, people to annoy and job offers. Sniffing these out is all part of play. You can absolutely spend hundreds of hours just exploring and completing side quests, almost forgetting your main mission.

The combat system relies more on reactions and timing. Your stats affect your combat performance and you can assign spells or weapons to hot-keys so you do not have to pull up your menus constantly.

Stealth and archery are viable character choices just as much as the more traditional mage or warrior standbys and you can blend these aspects to suit yourself. Even the lock picking mini-game is still among the best of I’ve experienced.

Probably the most impressive part of this title is that ‘real world’ feel. Enter a bar in the evening, and you’ll be greeted by the hustle and bustle of the townsfolk relaxing. Oblivion’s towns are alive with genuine and individualistic activity. Sure we RPG players mostly expect this in any given game of this genre, but you have to realise that this game, although remastered, is two decades old.

Every location, no matter how irrelevant or mundane has books to read, chests to open, or loot to steal. Every little detail in the game feels hand-made. 

Visually we are greeted with a 4K masterpiece. A few months back I actually revisited the orginal Oblivion. It had aged, sure, graphically, but gameplay wise it still had the goods. The remastered version is a lot smoother and fluid, no jaggedness or in-game lag here and your distant horizons do not suddenly pop into view.

This is Oblivion how it was originally imagined. Now reimagined, remastered for those of us that loved the original, or for a new generation of Elder Scroll fans.

The post The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Xbox Series X|S) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is the sixth mainline instalment in Rebellion’s long-running WW2 sniper series. It’s the first to have an unnumbered title and only the second second game to revisit a previously covered theatre of war.

Like Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite: Resistance is set in Nazi-occupied France. But instead of playing as the series regular, Karl Fairburne, players take on the Germans as Harry Hawker. The campaign is set in 1944 running parallel to Sniper Elite 5.

For those not familiar with the series, the game is a third-person stealth shooter that uses an over-the-shoulder view for hip shooting and pistols, and the rifle optics when sniping. Taking out targets, one by one, from a distance is encouraged as going in all gung-ho with close combat can get a bit overwhelming. Using environmental noises to cover gunfire helps to keep Hawker’s location secret. Getting seen raises alarms and can result in an overwhelming number of reinforcements descending on the player’s location.

The game is broken up into a series of open-world environments each with sequential mission objectives, and optional targets. Players are required to move around the map, preferably avoiding direct contact with the enemy.

The open-world nature of the game promotes replay, as there are often several different options available to players to complete goals. Reaching certain points unlocks alternative start points for use in future attempts.

In previous games, I’ve felt that all the different approaches available to players have been equally curated to make for some exciting gameplay. This time, events seem a lot more random and haphazard and don’t fit together quite as well.

There are nine mission areas in the game. From dams to train depots, to open countryside and towns, the scenarios offer a variety of environments meaning that no mission area is the same. You could be infiltrating an enemy HQ surrounded by farmland or sabotaging an installation in the middle of a quarry. The are also occasional optional additional targets and objectives available for extra rewards.

These large open areas offer players plenty of variety. The freedom that the game gives players can be overwhelming at first, but this translates into opportunities to adapt according to the situation. Many a time, as I’ve been discovered and the enemy alerted, I’ve been able to traverse the map and lose my pursuers.

As well as the opportunity for some impressive long-range sniping, there are plenty of stealth options available for some up-close and personal guerrilla tactics. This is often the best way, with a bit of patience, to sneak about and clear the field, so to speak, when faced with seemingly overwhelming odds.

Multiplayer is catered for via the usual deathmatch (Free-For-All), team deathmatch (Team Match) and squad deathmatch (the four teams of four players Squad Match). No Cross is a mode that has snipers shooting at each other across a no man’s land. There’s also a co-op survival mode with a team facing off against waves of enemies.

The campaign can also be played multiplayer either as a two-person co-op or via the Axis Invasion mode. Invasion mode has a player-controlled enemy sniper entering your otherwise single-player campaign.

The visuals are decent if a bit dated, with the anti-aliasing on PC leaving much to be desired. Whilst the series’ signature x-ray bullet cam impressed back in the day, it doesn’t have the same impact now and looks a bit unrealistic.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is a worthwhile distraction for fans of the series who want more of the same. It does seem to be more of a recycle of Sniper Elite 5 than its own thing, like the publisher has just packaged up some of the last game’s potential DLC and made a standalone entry. Still, it is a fun game with plenty of replay value.

The post Sniper Elite: Resistance (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed saga visits feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Fans have long cried out for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan. The romanticised idea of ninjas and samurais, honour and battle, sits well with the series’ themes and gameplay.

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima had Sucker Punch Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment beat Ubisoft to it with a game that was Assassin’s Creed in all but name. Drawing more from a Westernised fantasy melded with films of Akira Kurosawa than historical accuracy, Ghost of Tsushima nevertheless set a high bar for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Whilst I’m a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed games, the rocky path of this latest game, with its lengthy delay and controversies during development, gave me cause for concern. With Star Wars Outcasts not being as well received as the publisher would have liked, Ubisoft has a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Thankfully, the extended development time seems to have paid off, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows being one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played and possibly the best Assassin’s Creed game in a while. But I didn’t find it instantly appealing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts slowly, introducing the character of Yasuke, the black samurai who has caused much of the game’s controversy. Controlling the powerful warrior, players unleash hell through a carefully scripted sequence that has none of the open-world gameplay that the series is known for.

Players then switch to Naoe, a young shinobi, the polar opposite of the brutal samurai. Again, players are led through a curated sequence. With this, the game tries to ingrain its stealth mechanics into the player via a rather unforgiving scenario. Whilst it had me cursing, it wasn’t too long before I got to grips with Naoe’s moves. By the end of the prologue, I appreciated what the developers were trying to do, even if it was a bit on the nose and a chore at times.

As a reward for my efforts, the game world then opened up. And what a world it is.

The game builds on the vast open areas of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla whilst not ignoring the back-to-basics intent of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s combat system. The result is a gorgeous-looking game that offers players enemy opponents that actually present a challenge. The enemy AI can sometimes be just as iffy as it has always been, allowing for some gaming of the system, by and large, though you’ll still need your wits about you.

The ninja/shinobi abilities of Naoe are totally befitting an Assassin’s Creed game. The animations as she leaps and runs across rooftops are straight out of pop culture references to the shadowy warriors. Whilst Naoe’s movements may be closer to Frank Miller’s depiction of ninjas in his Daredevil comics than historical reality, it ticks the box for me.

Whilst Valhalla’s Eivor gave me no inspiration for any finesse when dealing with fortified sites with multiple enemies (she is a Viking warrior, for God’s sake, a people not renowned for any subtlety), things are different with Naoe. Not only will attacks from multiple enemies quickly become overwhelming in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but Naoe’s abilities and movement also promote stealthy infiltration.

For players that have long given up on the stealth foundations of the series, there’s Yasuke, so you can continue to wage war, head-on. Whilst the powerful samurai isn’t really in keeping with the principles of Assassin’s Creed, most of the entries in the series of late have been straying far from the original premise, anyway.

Apart from the brief introduction at the beginning of the game, it was twenty hours in by the time I next had an opportunity to play as Yasuke, at the beginning of Act II. After this, players can switch between both characters. Some side missions and targets are available to both characters, but Yasuke and Naoe have their own story missions as well.

The game not only has a night/day cycle but also the turn of the seasons. This drastically changes the environment, with leaves turning orange and snow on the ground. Water also freezes, giving Naoe a fun slipping animation as she crosses the icy surface.

The game has a wanted system similar to the one in earlier games, and most recently in Mirage. This only comes into play after the first act. If guards ring a bell your character will be a target in that region and powerful guardian opponents will also spawn. The only way to remove a character’s wanted status is to wait for the season to change (or manually change it) or use scouts to remove it once your hideout has been upgraded. Switching characters also removes the wanted status, as long the other character isn’t wanted in that region as well.

Players can upgrade their hideout area with new buildings which add extra abilities. The forge allows weapon upgrades. The study and stables improve the abilities and number of scouts- which can be used to smuggle resources, reveal quest locations and remove a character’s wanted status. The Dojo allows players to train allies that can be called for assistance during combat. Other buildings increase experience multipliers and loadouts.

Probably the weakest part of the game is the story. That’s not because it is particularly bad, it’s just that the environment, the visuals and the gameplay all trump the narrative, which only really serves to move the player on to the next task. The Assassin’s Creed story has been a diminishing focus of the game since Ubisoft tied itself up in knots to such an extent that it had to kill off Desmond, back in Assassin’s Creed III. The emphasis since has been more on the vividly realised settings and the player’s interactions in those environments than a rigid story structure.

The game is every bit as packed with things to do as the previous Assassin’s Creed games to the point of being overwhelming. The vast environment is full of towns and villages, many offering ornate castles and fortifications with treasures to be unlocked once the daimyos have been defeated. There are also ronin that will attack on sight, creating a bit of mayhem if the local guards spot you fighting.

All this is tied together by visuals that look absolutely breathtaking. The game may use the same engine as previous Assassin’s Creed games, but this just makes for a more optimised experience. The atmospheric effects are incredible, with sunlight fighting through mist, and fog shrouding the landscape. Flowers blow in the wind as you run through them. In built-up areas, citizens go about their business. The world feels very much alive.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still very much in the same vein as Valhalla, offering players a fantastic, huge environment to explore that is beautifully rendered. The gameplay balances the stealth of Naoe’s shinobi with the brutality of Yasuke’s samurai to give players two very different ways to play.

The game is another hit for Ubisoft and one that they are no doubt in need of right now. The Assassin’s Creed saga continues to entertain with feudal Japan being a very fitting era for the franchise and one that fans are sure to enjoy.

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From developers Maschinen-Mensch comes a puzzle platformer, Mother Machine.

You are a gremlin like creature, filled with cuteness and determination, printed by Mother, who needs her satellites back online.

Using the force of burps and explosive farts you control your creature through the varying labyrinths of caverns and caves which are procedurally generated and multi tierred, powering up cables that activate satellites and more.

You can climb to reach those tricky areas, but your climbing is timed, so don’t try and climb to the heavens.

Swing, run and power up your abilities gaining some serious gas to help you through as you gain the ability to’ heal fart’, ‘power puke’, fire spikes from your body and more.

There are two vitals you need keep up, your stomach and health.

You will find berries to eat, or throw as a projectile. If your stomach is empty you won’t be able to use your additional abilities.

Health can drop surprisingly fast too. You’re not the only living critter in these caves, so there are moments of short combat bursts. Also if you’re climbing and the timer runs out prepare for some serious pain as you fall.

Mother Machine is a puzzle platforms done well.

While gameplay can get a little repetitive the puzzle element keeps you hooked as you develop a serious  determination to finish off the objective for the cave that you are in.

Mother Machine can be played solo, but it is best played with others as you both help eachother out, heal eachother and solve the satellite activations together.

Your creature can be customized to your liking, but this will cost you energy and you’ll need to find a machine on your adventure to actually apply those custom looks.

Mother Machine is a cute game with a tricky and complex play through.

Eat, burp, climb, swing and power fart your way through with friends or go it alone in this sophisticated yet simple game that’s as much fun as it sounds.

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