I play more games than I probably should. And, like most of us, I don’t have enough time to review them all. I’m sure many who write about games on Substack or elsewhere can relate.

That’s the challenge. And as I’m in transit this week: here’s the solution. Micro-reviews that cover a breadth of games that allow me to give a verdict and say something interesting about them but not go into too much detail.

My first three are below. Let me know what you think of this format in the comments.

Dispatch

Pro tip: There are no good options. Source: Adhoc Studio

Why did this have to come out late October? I would have easily dedicated a whole review to this game had it not released amid a glut of other titles.

A spiritual successor, made by many of the same developers as Telltale games (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us), Dispatch sees you manage a group of down-and-out superheroes working for the Los Angeles hero dispatch unit.

A lot of the game is spent watching cutscenes, shaping the story with dialogue options, interacting with quick-time events (I turned them off) and then managing the dispatching minigame. You try to marry heroes to 911 calls, selecting them based on their attributes and abilities. Despite its superhero trimmings, this is a really adult story with excellent humour to boot.

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The voice acting performances and story here are on point. In fact, the weakest part for me was actually the minigame? One of the few videogame components of the title. But don’t let that discourage you.

How is the actual game, the worst part of the game? Source: Adhoc Studio

Dispatch has a brilliant story that will hook you after the first episode. It’s a great one to play with friends or partners. Even better if you are running the game simultaneously and comparing notes, as your decisions do impact the overall story arc. Well worth around 7 hours of your time. I’m keen to give it another go and choose the path I didn’t take when it releases on Nintendo Switch 2.

And for those who have played, I picked Invisigal.

Hell Is Us

Well, they did put “hell” in the title. Source: Rogue Faction

What’s the best way to get me to play a videogame? Target my friends. This one came to me from a mate who said it was the “best game he’d played this year [2025]”. So I had to give it a go.

I finished it, but I can’t say I agree. That’s not to say it’s bad though. Hell Is Us is a remarkable game that’s doing a lot. To start off with its dealing with some heavy themes around war, genocide and vengeance, in some of the most extreme ways imaginable. Some of the stuff you hear from non-playable characters in beggars belief.

This game also doesn’t hold your hand. Most objectives and goals are delivered to the player cryptically, and it’s up to you to learn the environment and figure them out. There’s been comparisons between this and Dark Souls (I feel like every third person game gets this). But it’s not quite the case. This plays a little closer to Nioh if we had to compare, set across several big levels instead of one big world. The gearing system is similar too.

Most of the areas in Hell Is Us are bleak and grey. This is the one exception. Source: Rogue Faction.

For me, the game is a little let down by its enemy design, which largely remains unchanged throughout. You face the four same enemies a lot, with some variation. This game actually has me excited for a sequel from developer Rogue Factor.

There’s some great ideas here, and this is a daring game that pulls no punches. But, sorry to my friend, it didn’t make my best games list for last year. But the next one could?

Arc Raiders

The real Arc Raiders experience: fleeing for your life from killer machines. Source: Embark.

If targeting my friends isn’t working, your next best bet to get me to play a game is to hit up my barber. Yes, I was convinced into trying Arc Raiders mid-haircut.

Let’s say this from the outset: I’m not into modern shooters. I’ll nuance that: I actually really enjoy shooter games, they are a blast. But anything competitive? I’m out. Shooting games somehow encourage a level of toxicity across players that I’m not really into.

Arc Raiders kinda felt like the exception to the rule and that’s what hooked me. It’s a resource-gathering extraction shooter. You gather resources on the surface, while being hunted by AI-controlled robots. You get out, gather stuff, then head back to a lift to the underground for extraction. Unlock items, and then go again. It’s a neat little loop.

While you can target and assassinate other players for their loot; playing solo, the rule of thumb is to help them out. And for the most part, that’s how people played. I can count plenty of moments where other players saved me from the bots, and I paid it forward too.

Don’t let this promo shot fool you. You would not take these bots on like this. You will die. Source: Embark.

Yet, every so often, there were instances where players camped by the lifts and picked me off while I was waiting for it to arrive. Arc Raiders system apparently penalises players for targeting one another and matches them in servers with other players with the same mindset? Perhaps that why it was — for the most part — a wholesome experience.

There’s recent reports that Arc Raider’s player base is down 80% from its peak. I can understand it. The game was a blast, but somewhat got old fast. The randomness of the loot, and no real sense of progression wore down my enthusiasm within a month.

So what does this game need? For my money: A story! It built a fantastic world, but doesn’t really go anywhere with it and I think that hurts its appeal more broadly. If there is a revamp or relaunch of any kind, that would be a step in the right direction.

Have you played any of the games I’ve mentioned here? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

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