It was all set to be the biggest game of the year, but Cyberpunk 2077’s release has been overshadowed by technical hitches and multiple controversies. Sam Brooks reviews. Before you talk about actually playing Cyberpunk 2077, there are a myriad of other things you have to talk about first. More internet ink has been spilled … Read more
In the mood for some good old fashioned pillaging? Then play Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. But if you want to have a good time while doing so, probably look elsewhere. As a New Zealander who hails from a different colonised nation, it should be some weird kind of reverse revenge fantasy to colonise Britain. To do … Read more
While musically and visually on point, much-anticipated indie game No Straight Roads is all sensory overload and little substance. I’ll give No Straight Roads one thing: I’ve never played a game where the title screen music was so good that even when I quit the game, frustrated, it lured me back in. No Straight Roads, … Read more
Another PS4 exclusive, another game about the cost of violence. Sam Brooks reviews Ghost of Tsushima, the last big exclusive of the console. A lot of gamers have been calling for a game like Ghost of Tsushima since Assassin’s Creed started moving into different time periods and locations across the globe. They wanted an Assassin’s … Read more
The cult 90s classic Sakura Wars is back after 15 years in hibernation, but has gaming left this dating sim granddaddy behind? Sam Brooks reviews. Sakura Wars, a series which debuted in the 90s, revolves around an army captain who is assigned to a secret unit in the Japanese military, comprised entirely of women who … Read more
After five years, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally appeared. Sam Brooks reviews the highly anticipated remake, looking back while leaping forward. Remakes have been around so long as we’ve been making art. We’re used to them, whether they’re new retellings of old myths, covers of old songs, or complete reimaginings of old films. … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Media Molecule’s Dreams, the game that allows you to turn your dreams into (virtual) reality, and share them with a likeminded community. Throughout my teenage years, I had dreams that my teeth would fall out, or that I had loosening teeth on the verge of falling out. Recently, these dreams of teeth … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the latest entry of the Trails of Cold Steel saga and finds the rarest thing in a video game: a whole lot of care. When you look at Falcom’s Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III from the outside, it’s not an enticing prospect. Firstly, it’s a game that promises (more like demands) … Read more
Another year, another twelve months full of video games that seem to exist only to drain your bank account – but which ones should you be hanging out for? Sam Brooks rounds up the most anticipated games of 2019. Anthem (February, PS4/Xbox One/PC) After the quiet failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem is BioWare’s attempt to go … Read more
You have to buy a gift for someone, and the one thing you know is that they’re into video games. But what the hell are you meant to buy them without looking like a fool? Sam Brooks has you covered with the gaming gift guide for non-gamers. Christmas is hard if you’ve got people to … Read more
Not only is Astro Bot: Rescue Mission a platformer on par with anything you’d expect from Nintendo’s moustachioed plumber, it’s also the first ‘killer app’ for PlayStation VR. Lee Henaghan grabs his helmet for the latest game of the year contender. Just as actors’ careers inevitably end up being defined by a particularly memorable role … Read more
An epic tale of Scandinavian myths and the father-son duo that fight them, God of War is a defining AAA game that pushes the boundaries graphically and thematically. Don Rowe reviews. I wrote last month about German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s theory of the sublime, and how a select few games have transcended the medium by embodying it’s … Read more
With the latest entry in the Far Cry series, Ubisoft has shown they can master open world gameplay – but when are they going to master telling a story? Sam Brooks reviews. Far Cry 5 starts off engagingly enough. Taking a well-worn page out of the Elder Scrolls book, you’re placed in a highly controlled and cinematic scene and … Read more
A game where two dudes break out of prison isn’t groundbreaking, but A Way Out still tries to play with expectations. But is it successful? Sam Brooks reviews. About a third of the way into A Way Out’s five hours there’s a classic co-op game moment. You and your heroes have to navigate your way up two opposing … Read more
Through clever manipulation of scale and mythos, the latest iteration of God of War makes the most of Immanuel Kant’s theory of the sublime to deliver a truly beautiful game. Don Rowe travelled to Sydney to gets his hands on a preview. German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s theory of the sublime, devised in what I’d imagine … Read more
The latest addition to the Metal Gear series, the non-canon zombie game Metal Gear Survive, is out tomorrow. The series has been around for an incredible 31 years – and oh boy, the things we’ve seen. The Metal Gear series is one of the most famous video game series for a reason. Mainly that the games are really … Read more
Little Red Lie is the misanthropic, dark-as-tar game from indie developer Will O’Neill. Gaming editor Sam Brooks played it – and was disturbed by what he found. Video games can get away with a lot that other media can’t. The interactivity and engagement with the content is unparalleled, and it creates an emotional investment that … Read more
Back by lukewarm demand On The ‘Reg is The Spinoff’s regular gaming session streamed live every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook and Twitch. This highlights package sees José Barbosa and Madeleine Chapman playing Crash Bandicoot: the N.sane trilogy. First published on 7 November 2017. Now the new 2017 cleaned up version of the Crash Bandicoot trilogy is out, … Read more
The Spinoff’s Blighty correspondent Hayden Donnell meets some UK game developers to find out why the US gaming industry might be better off shifting operations to the Motherland. Silicon Valley has given us a few good things. Windows 95. The time Bill Gates drank poo water. Atari. The TV show Silicon Valley. It’s not all … Read more
2017 has been a banner year for gaming. With massive hits like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds stealing a lot of the spotlight, there are many equally great games that players may have completely missed. Jessica Alouette and Ashe Yee highlight some of those games, just in time for the … Read more
Back by lukewarm demand, On The Reg is The Spinoff’s regular gaming session streamed live every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook and Twitch. This highlights package sees Sam Brooks and Geordie walk through the uncanny valley of death in collaborative noir crime drama Hidden Agenda. This post, like all our gaming content, comes to your peepers only with … Read more
This weekend Minecraft had its very own global live streamed convention, Minecon Earth, in which new developments and updates for the game were announced. Jessica Alouette talked to corporate VP Matt Booty about the big picture. Minecraft’s next evolution is called “The Update Aquatic” and will be focusing on the wildly popular game’s ocean environments to add coral, … Read more
Back by lukewarm demand On The ‘Reg is The Spinoff’s regular gaming session streamed live every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook and Twitch. Once again into the breach head Joe and José and this time they try out wrestling IP WWE 2K18. It’s a good whack of flying elbows, DDTs and brutal damage dealt out with folding chairs. … Read more
Our resident JRPG aficionado Sam Brooks submerged himself in Atlus’ Persona 5 and when he came up for air he had this happy, goofy look on his face. He reveals what made him bliss out. I got into videogames when JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) were huge. They were everywhere, thanks to the now inexplicable … Read more
Launching on March 1, Horizon: Zero Dawn is the next big AAA IP for the PS4. Josh Drummond has a hoon and finds a game that pulls from everywhere, but transcends its magpie tendencies. A girl, in a world very different to our own, is taken in by a strange tribe and raised as an … Read more
The newly released Journey Collector’s Edition features thatgamecompany’s flagship title, Journey, as well as two earlier indie titles, Flower and flOw, for the PS4. Don Rowe reviews a company changing the rules by which games are played. Journey The setting sun turned the sand to brilliant gold. Through the arches of an ancient balcony was … Read more
Josh Drummond of Bigpipe, our new Gaming section sponsor, on the fiendishly addictive and deceptively simple soccer/driving mashup, Rocket League. It goes like this: I’m in my second week at my new job at Bigpipe. Our product team – just three of us – are working on probably our most important project, and at the … Read more
One of my fondest memories from primary school is sitting cross-legged at my friend Elizabeth’s house, shrieking our way through the then-terrifying Nightmare VHS board game. As both an avid horror movie fan, and a fan of being yelled at by rotting middle-aged actors dipped in fluorescent paint, this was my absolute favourite activity. I’ve since bought … Read more