October2023
Review Forza Motorsport (Xbox) - The Next Generation Of Racing Is Here
All revved up with lots of places to go
It's been a long time coming, but developer Turn 10 has finally rounded the bend to deliver its vision for next-gen racing on Xbox Series X and S - yep, Forza Motorsport is here. We've been waiting for this one since 2017's Forza Motorsport 7 brought gorgeous 4K / 60FPS racing to Xbox One X, but the question...
April2023
Review Minecraft Legends - The Action Strategy Spin-Off That's Even More Fun With Friends
Rise up against the Piglins and save the overworld
Reflect on Minecraft and you’ll likely find yourself thinking about the original crafting, building and survival sandbox title which has gone from strength to strength over the past decade – becoming one of the greatest video game IPs of all time. Since Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang in...
March2023
Review Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure - A Love Letter To Rally
Eat dirt in this latest expansion
Rally has played a significant role in the automotive industry over the years, and Forza Horizon 5 is now acknowledging this important history (and the many rally games over the past few decades) in its latest ‘Rally Adventure’ expansion. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time there’s been a rally add-on...
February2023
Review Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition - Microsoft's PC Classic Makes Its Debut On Xbox
RTS historical battles…with a controller
Where do you start with Age of Empires 2? It’s arguably the greatest RTS (and perhaps one of the best games) of all time. When it made its debut back on Microsoft Windows in 1999, it received absolutely huge levels of praise for not only taking the series to the next level, but also bettering the genre in...
November2022
Review Pentiment - Obsidian's Medieval Murder Mystery Is A Game Pass Delight
A narrative adventure most unexpected
We've been really looking forward to getting our hands on Obsidian's Pentiment ever since it was first announced back at the Xbox & Bethesda Summer Showcase in June of this year. A uniquely stylised narrative-driven murder mystery, it ticked all the boxes for us in terms of presenting a game world so...
July2022
Review Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels – Back For An Enjoyable Second Lap
The skies above Mexico are calling
There was definitely some confusion when the first Forza Horizon 5 expansion was leaked on the Steam Store – indicating it would be Hot Wheels (again). While it was thought to be placeholder artwork for something else at the time, it was in fact another Hot Wheels expansion. This announcement received mixed...
Review As Dusk Falls - A Cracking Crime Thriller On Xbox Game Pass
Free fallin'
Going into As Dusk Falls we were a little apprehensive. Xbox's marketing push has been somewhat light with this one considering it's an Xbox Games Studios effort, and we've only just seen Road 96's similar tale of loss and hope through to its fantastic conclusion. As it turns out, we needn't have worried at all; As Dusk Falls is a...
December2021
Review Halo Infinite - Master Chief's Latest Outing Was Worth The Wait
Hail to the Chief
After a couple of weeks' worth of blasting around the same ten maps in its excellent multiplayer component, Halo fans are about to get their hands on the next part of their early Xmas present, the campaign component of Halo Infinite is finally here. It's been six whole years since our last mainline Master Chief experience and this...
November2021
Review Forza Horizon 5 - An Amazing Game, But One That's A Little Too Familiar
We feel like we've been to Mexico before...
When the Forza Horizon series originally showed up on Xbox 360 in 2012, it was quite a surprise for fans of the racing genre and was perhaps the first real competitor EA’s Need for Speed series had faced in a long time. The Xbox Game Studios franchise has since gone from strength to strength and is now...
October2021
Review Age Of Empires 4 (Xbox for PC) - The Return Of The King
RTS is back on the menu
Long before MOBAs hit their stride with titles like DotA and League of Legends, one of the most popular genres on PC was real-time strategy. We may no longer be in the heyday of RTS, but there are still many series from this period that remain an important part of video game history. One of the standouts alongside classics...
August2021
Review Psychonauts 2 - Bigger, Better And Crazier, Another GOTY Contender
Absolutely mental
Replaying the first Psychonauts this year felt as though we'd slipped back into our younger selves, sat in front of the TV on a Saturday morning watching cartoons. It has such a wonderful atmosphere, with characters we love, a world that's a delight to explore, and a beautiful insight into mental health that's portrayed with ease...
July2021
Review Microsoft Flight Simulator - Taking The Xbox Series X To New Heights
Come fly with me
Updated review (Xbox Series X version, July 2021): Microsoft Flight Simulator has finally arrived on Xbox Series X|S, and following on from our review of the PC version last year, we've had a chance (thanks to Xbox Game Pass) to get hands-on with the Xbox Series X edition over the past few days. Simply put, Flight Sim makes a...
November2020
Review Gears Tactics - Top-Notch Tactical Action On Xbox Series X
Let slip the cogs of war
Just over six months since it originally released on PC back in April, Gears Tactics finally makes its way to both the Xbox One and Microsoft's brand new Series X/S consoles. This really is an excellent - and very well-timed - addition to the console's Game Pass offerings, a thrilling top-down tactical effort that manages to...
August2020
Review Tell Me Why - A Memorable And Thought-Provoking Mystery
Ain't nothin' but a heartache
It appears as though the creative masterminds behind Life is Strange took the criticism about the second game's widely spaced out episodes to heart. This time around, Dontnod Entertainment is releasing all three chapters of its brand-new IP Tell Me Why across a three-week period (published by Xbox Game Studios) from...
Review Battletoads - A Hilarious And Hugely Entertaining Adventure
Grip it and ribbit
We’ll be the first to admit that the trailers for Dlala Studios’ reboot of Battletoads didn’t fill every member of the Pure Xbox team with confidence. Battletoads is an iconic series for many generations: older gamers remember playing it back in the day and enjoying it because of (or despite) its extreme difficulty, while...
May2020
Review Minecraft Dungeons - A Delightfully Breezy Action-RPG
Diablocks
It may seem like a somewhat risky move to make a Minecraft game that strips out Mojang's signature gameplay loops of digging, building and crafting endlessly in an infinite open world, but Minecraft Dungeons' shift to a Diablo-esque focus on looting and hack-and-slash combat against the many mobs that roam its blocky lands pays off...
April2020
Review Bleeding Edge - Lacking Content, But Packed With Potential
A good idea in Theory
Given that Ninja Theory has established itself as a studio with a pedigree for fantastic single-player games, it’s interesting that its latest title is a strictly online multiplayer affair. With the outstanding Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice still lingering in the minds of many gamers and its sequel on the way, Bleeding Edge...
March2020
Review Ori And The Will Of The Wisps - The Best Platformer On Xbox One
Over the moon
There's a quest quite early on in Ori and the Will of the Wisps that neatly encapsulates pretty much everything that's so wonderful about Moon Studios' superlative sequel. Charged with making your way through a windmill in order to get its great big wheels turning again so the poisoned waters of Niwen may run clear once more, you find...
Review Gears 5 - Brings The Series Kicking And Screaming Into The Present
Swarm and cosy
Once upon a time, back when then the Xbox 360 was just a babe, the original Gears of War was a much-needed dose of adrenaline. Third-person shooters were all the rage back then, but it wasn’t until Epic Games came along and created its own line of bulky space marines that the genre finally stepped up a gear (if you'll pardon the...
