Author: Jay Allsopp

When it comes to affordable VR, it’s fair to say that Meta has the market somewhat cornered. Meta Quest devices are among the cheapest and most widely-available VR headsets on the market, and they’re also pretty respectable in terms of specs, meaning that anyone who has an interest in VR technology can start on the ground floor with Meta Quest. The Meta Quest 3 was officially announced earlier this year, but the device is finally here, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to take a look at its price, spec sheet, and more. Here’s everything you need…

Being a Mac gamer can sometimes be a rather difficult proposition. While PC gamers get a ton of options and lots of ways to upgrade their machines, Apple has traditionally been much more reticent with allowing Mac owners to fiddle under the hood, and many newer games just aren’t supported on Mac. That’s not to say that nothing is coming out in 2023 that you can play on your Mac, of course; if you know where to look and you’re happy to leave your comfort zone to try out new genres, there are some great Mac games you can play.…

Some video games engage on a cerebral level; they’re all about challenging your intellect and your powers of deduction, observation, or logic. Others, meanwhile, are all about the visceral thrill, the simple adrenaline rush of a core gameplay loop executed perfectly. Into this second category falls the humble racing game, or so you might think. Whilst Mac might not have anywhere near the same amount of games as PC, there are some great games to play on Mac. The fact is that racing games are actually a lot smarter than many give them credit for. They’re about pure thrills, yes,…

If you’re a fan of VR, you’ll know that it’s a great way to enhance the immersion of pretty much any game you play. Skyrim is an incredible RPG outside of the VR ecosystem, but strap a headset on and it suddenly becomes an entire living, breathing world that feels totally real. There’s no doubt that VR is becoming more and more of a talking point in the gaming world, but we’d argue it has yet to reach its true potential, and that there are plenty of games that would still benefit from the VR treatment. Here are 15 games…

VR is an excellent tool when it comes to introducing kids to the world of gaming. Of course, most kids don’t need any help in this regard; just let them loose on Minecraft or Fortnite and you’ll know exactly what we mean. However, VR adds another layer of immersion to the gaming experience when it’s done well, and it can be truly magical to watch a kid’s face light up as they explore a virtual world as if they were really there. Naturally, not every VR game is appropriate for kids, so if you’ve got kids and want to know…

It’s fair to say that Lioden is one of the more unique and interesting game concepts to debut in recent years. Lioden is a browser-based game in which you raise a pride of lions, fighting off enemies and levelling up your pride’s king until you’re ready to take on some of the tougher threats to your family. Since Lioden is so unique, you might think that there aren’t too many games out there similar to it, but if you’re looking for ways to scratch that Lioden itch, you’ll find plenty of options. Here are the best games like Lioden to…

Battlestate Games’ Escape from Tarkov is a rather unique prospect when it comes to games (which does rather hamstring us when it comes to assembling a list of similar games!). The first-person shooter is an innovative blend of player-versus-player and player-versus-environment combat, with players contending with both bandits roaming the map and fellow players looking to emerge victorious. As you can imagine, playing Escape from Tarkov is a tense but thrilling experience, and there aren’t too many games that can come close to offering a similar adrenaline rush. Thankfully, though, you do have options if you want something similar but…

If you’ve ever had a party where the guests are primarily millennials, then you’ve almost certainly played Cards Against Humanity before. This card game is hugely popular among younger folks, and for good reason. The basic premise of Cards Against Humanity is pretty simple: players must match up a statement on their card to a prompt, and the funnier the result, the better. Naturally, Cards Against Humanity can be extremely subjective; if you’re playing with the right people, it can be an absolute riot, but play with the wrong crowd and it can be excruciating. If you’re looking to branch…

Vampire Survivors launched in late 2022 after having been in Early Access for a year or so, and it proved to be an instant hit on release. Mixing simple arcade-style gameplay with roguelike elements and a raft of unlockables, Vampire Survivors’ deceptively deep core gameplay loop brought thousands upon thousands of players into its coven. Of course, it stands to reason that such a successful game would attract imitators, and luckily, if you’re done with Vampire Survivors, there are tons of games you can try out in its place. Here, in no particular order, are the best games like Vampire…

Battlestate Games’ Escape from Tarkov is a rather unique prospect when it comes to games (which does rather hamstring us when it comes to assembling a list of similar games!). The first-person shooter is an innovative blend of player-versus-player and player-versus-environment combat, with players contending with both bandits roaming the map and fellow players looking to emerge victorious. As you can imagine, playing Escape from Tarkov is a tense but thrilling experience, and there aren’t too many games that can come close to offering a similar adrenaline rush. Thankfully, though, you do have options if you want something similar but…

If there’s one gaming genre that can convince non-converts that the genre isn’t just for kids, it’s probably the erotic adventure genre. With beginnings all the way back in the early days of gaming, erotic video games have established a niche for themselves, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Perhaps one of the most popular and well-known games in this niche is Degrees of Lewdity, a text-based erotic RPG that allows you to engage with its seedy world in whatever way you see fit. There are, of course, plenty of games out there that are doing similar things to…

When Untitled Goose Game was released in 2019, it became an instant hit, largely thanks to the meme potential of its main character. The adorable little goose that runs around causing mischief and mayhem quickly found itself being incorporated into memes of all stripes, from nihilistic comedy to political satire. All of this exposure overshadowed the fact that Untitled Goose Game is great fun in its own right, but if you’ve played it, you’ll probably already be aware of that. Untitled Goose Game is a pretty unique proposition, but if you’re willing to branch out a little, you’ll find games…

If you’ve ever had a party where the guests are primarily millennials, then you’ve almost certainly played Cards Against Humanity before. This card game is hugely popular among younger folks, and for good reason. The basic premise of Cards Against Humanity is pretty simple: players must match up a statement on their card to a prompt, and the funnier the result, the better. Naturally, Cards Against Humanity can be extremely subjective; if you’re playing with the right people, it can be an absolute riot, but play with the wrong crowd and it can be excruciating. If you’re looking to branch…

Castle Crashers is arguably one of the best games of its genre. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a side-scrolling beat-’em-up with a distinctly cartoonish art style and a sense of humour, and what’s more, it’s built around multiplayer, so you can enjoy it alongside friends. Of course, if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ve probably already made your way through all of the content Castle Crashers has to offer, and you’re hungry for more of the same. If that’s the case, you’ll be pleased to know there are tons of great beat-’em-ups out there, and you won’t have to look…

On October 13th, Microsoft finally completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition that it initiated all the way back in early 2022. Announcing the news on its blog, Xbox promised to keep gamers first and foremost in its mind going forward, and it also pledged to implement Activision Blizzard games into the Game Pass lineup, although it may be a little while until we see the fruits of that particular labour. This is officially the largest gaming acquisition ever completed, and as such, it’s difficult to know what kind of impact the deal is going to have on the industry at large.…

VR has many potential applications, but perhaps one of the most exciting is its ability to immerse us in massive virtual worlds. The potential of VR when it comes to MMORPGs has arguably not been fully realised yet, but developers are already starting to take advantage of the capabilities of VR to create massively multiplayer games with the tech in mind. Many of these games are still on the horizon, but some are available right now. There aren’t a huge amount of VR MMORPG experiences to play at the moment, but we’d like to take some time to look at…

Rockstar is officially working on Grand Theft Auto 6. It will arrive in 2025, and we couldn’t be more excited. We still don’t know what to expect fully yet, but Vice City is returning! At time of writing, it’s been ten years since the release of the last tentpole Grand Theft Auto release (not counting various GTA Online updates and content drops, of course), and that’s far too long as far as we’re concerned. 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2 gave us the traditional Rockstar-style sandbox we’d been hoping for, but any GTA fan will tell you that Red Dead simply…

If you’ve tried VR and found that it gave you motion sickness, even if you didn’t spend too long in the headset, you’re not alone. Motion sickness is a problem that afflicts upwards of 70% of VR users, and what’s more, it only takes around 15 minutes before the symptoms start setting in. The problem happens because your brain can’t square the difference between what your body is doing in real life and what your character is doing in VR. You’re essentially sending two conflicting signals to your brain, and it’s struggling to deal with them, resulting in motion sickness.…

The thrill of playing a great tycoon game is unmatched by any other genre, as fans will attest. There’s just something inescapably compelling about building your very own empire from scratch, overseeing everything from construction to political policies and watching your carefully-laid plans come to fruition. Equally, though, it’s just as fun when tycoon games go wrong, and everything you’ve built comes crashing down in a single instant thanks to some errant natural disaster or revolutionary uprising. The Mac might not be the best platform in the world for gaming, but tycoon games for Mac do exist, so without further…

As the spooky season drifts away and the holiday season rolls into view, Xbox gamers will probably be looking for something else to play that isn’t Starfield. Bethesda’s RPG may be a mammoth prospect, but those who love Starfield have probably seen much of the content it has to offer already, while those who were disappointed are likely seeking fresh entertainment. Luckily, the holiday season is usually a pretty rich time for new releases, and such is the case for November 2023, where you’ll find major franchise instalments and indie curios alike. Let’s take a look at the best Xbox…

In 2013, EA released SimCity, the latest in the long-running series of the same name. Immediately, fans expressed disappointment and anger with the game for its always-online requirement and server problems, as well as its mechanics’ perceived shallowness. City-builder fans were crying out for something new to pick up the slack left by SimCity, and in 2015, Paradox Interactive answered that call with Cities: Skylines, which essentially played like an enhanced version of SimCity’s glory days. If you’ve played Cities: Skylines, you’ll know just how absorbing it can be, but it’s far from the only city-builder out there. Here are…

It’s time to take another look at the upcoming slate of PC games, and this time around, we’re focusing on the holiday season and all the joy it brings. Whether you’ll be picking up a brand new graphics card to soup up your rig this Christmas or you’re just looking for some great games to put your existing machine through its paces, you’ve got tons of options. Huge mainstream releases, indie curiosities, and PC-specific launches are all scheduled for this month, so without further ado, let’s take a look at the best PC games making their way to the market…

Another year has almost gone by, and at time of writing, there’s still no sign of a potential Nintendo Switch successor. The console is still going strong, and Nintendo probably doesn’t want to rock the boat; the sales figures for the Switch are phenomenal, and a successor could detract from that. Still, it is fair to say that when the Switch becomes the topic of conversation now, many people want to know when a new machine might be on the way, so hopefully, Nintendo announces something soon. In the meantime, though, the Switch is still riding high, and there are…

The ninth console generation is well underway, and although there are likely to be a few more years left before Sony starts thinking about where it’s going next, we’re betting that a next-gen machine is already in the planning stages. Don’t get us wrong; the PS5 still has plenty of life left in it, of course, and the latest mid-generation refresh sees Sony’s current-gen console freshen up before the PS6 starts setting the rumour mill spinning. However, the PS6 is almost certainly at least a glint in Sony’s eye, if not an already-existent prototype in the PlayStation offices, so we…

If there’s one thing that’s setting the rumour mill aflame in the gaming world right now (not to mix metaphors), it’s the Nintendo Switch 2. Whatever Nintendo ends up calling the successor to the Nintendo Switch, it’s got some huge shoes to fill; the Switch is sitting at almost 130 million consoles sold worldwide at time of writing, and that number is only going to increase with time. Of course, that hasn’t stopped gamers and pundits alike looking ahead to what the Switch 2 might look like. After all, the Switch is a wonderful machine, but it’s also somewhat underpowered,…

October 2023 is shaping up to be an excellent month for the Nintendo Switch, not least because we’re finally getting a new game from one of Nintendo’s longest-standing mascots. The arrival of side-scrolling platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder in October is just one of the many highlights Switch owners have to look forward to in what is turning out to be a jam-packed month for the little console that could. Here are the best Nintendo Switch games coming to the console in October 2023. If you’re not a Mario fan, don’t worry; there’s plenty more to check out besides! …

The launch of Starfield on Xbox in September represents something of a watershed moment for Microsoft.  The company had arguably been struggling for bona fide exclusives, and although Starfield is playable on PC as well, if you’re a console gamer, you can only enter the world of Bethesda’s newest RPG on Xbox Series X/S. Could this be the beginning of a revival for Microsoft’s fortunes? In the long run, that remains to be seen, but October is looking like another great month for the Xbox ecosystem. Let’s take a look at the best Xbox Series X/S games heading your way…

“Underrated” is a very strange word indeed. It has different definitions for different people; some define it in terms of reviews, while others look to sales to justify calling a game underrated. We’re about to take a look at the 10 most underrated Xbox Series X/S games, and our definition of “underrated” may seem somewhat nebulous, but in essence, if we feel that a game has been unfairly overlooked in any terms, it fits the bill as far as we’re concerned. With that in mind, take this list of the 10 most underrated Xbox Series games as a chance to…

PC gaming is arguably getting more difficult these days.  With graphics cards reaching exorbitant prices and games demanding more and more exacting prices from users’ hardware, it’s getting tougher to reach the kind of visual and performance heights for which PC gaming used to be known and celebrated. That said, thanks to mods, a strong user community, and modular and flexible systems when it comes to customising your experience, many still think that PC gaming easily trumps consoles, especially when both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S have struggled to achieve their 60fps target in many modern games. With…

Many of us have fantasies about joining the police force when we’re kids. We think of the police as bringing in the bad guys, stopping society from falling apart, and keeping all of us safe at night. Of course, the reality is much more complicated than that, as we’ve learned recently, but that doesn’t mean there is no room for good police simulator games to teach us about the realities of policing or just plain fun experiences in which you play as a police officer. Are you ready to discover the best police simulator games to play? Below, we reveal…

Rare’s 2006 life sim Viva Pinata is a unique beast, which, we admit, is not the strongest start for an article discussing similar games. The principle is simple: you must attract pinata animals to your garden, and you’ll do so via a variety of different means, including planting grass, adding ponds, or even letting them eat other pinatas that have taken up residence. Viva Pinata and its sequel, Trouble in Paradise, espoused a strange atmosphere that balanced adorable pinatas with brutal kill-or-be-killed food-chain simulation. It stands to reason, then, that there aren’t too many games out there that are strikingly…