FiveFootNinja

Agreed. As I said for me in performance mode it was rock solid 60, but with the full ray-tracing mode on 30 was more of an aspiration than a reality a lot of the time.

No water flickering, dropped frames (or at least as far as I could tell in performance mode) or crashes on my PS5 either. Only bug I had the entire play though was a weapon I needed falling behind a piece of scenery and being unreachable. It does seem a bit luck of the draw though as I know some have had some issues (but less than PC based on comments here).

Nah, I’m not having that this time around. Best sound, music and VFX is in the bag. Best film/director are quids in, probably best supporting for Rebecca Ferguson. I can’t see a reality where it doesn’t do well. It’s that good.

Saw this on IMAX last night and was absolutely blown away. One of the most satisfying cinema experiences I've ever had, which says something given my expectations were so massively high. Almost the perfect imagining of 'my Dune' I would say, awesome. I hope Denis takes a big old box along to the next Academy Awards, I suspect there are going to be many Oscars to cart home.

Totally forgot I had preordered this but it just arrived today!

Something to note - as I'm not sure it has been mentioned much before and sort of ties into some of @Jamie John's comments earlier in the week. Don't feel like you have to play every time slot of every day, the loop mechanic is there to be looped. If you feel like on one day there isn't anything meaningful to do until the evening just skip the time slots ahead. Similarly, if you pick up a piece of equipment or slab you really want don't feel you have to battle through levels and risking death, just skip to the end of the day to infuse it and loop again. I religiously played each slot to begin with but after a while I was much more selective about which bits I played each time and found it eases any sense of meaningless repetition. Re: Bugs... @Jamie John Sorry to hear you've had issues. The PS5 version was rock solid for me the entire play through so not sure why you are getting such a different experience.

6... 6... Please tell me we're getting some sort of Walking Dead style mid-winter break and the other half will be airing in Jan/Feb?!?!

22. Omno (XB1) - A short (3-4 hours ish) but sweet chilled out environmental puzzle game with vibe that feels very much inspired by thatgamecompany/Giant Squid games like Journey and The Pathless. You work your way through 5 biomes on a pilgrimage of light with a cute flying squirrel cat type creature at your side, each time learning a new ability and then putting that to use in the puzzles before you unlock the route to the next zone. It's lovely to look at, has a great soundtrack and despite a little repetition does keep things fresh with each biome offering different wildlife and ambiance. It isn't perfect, I had some big old frame rate issues on my OG XB1 (it's pretty tired in fairness) but my main gripe was some control/QA issues. For a game that does sometimes ask for some pretty precise timing/platforming/combos the edge detection was miles off in places and more than a few times I was left feeling my button presses just hadn't worked. However for a game that was made by one person (Jonas Manke) it is an absolute triumph. If you have Game Pass go play it. - 8/10

And done. I won't go over old ground with it, but on balance I had a lot of fun and would recommend it. It never clicked quite like Dishonored for me (but that is possibly because in of itself that was such a homage to one of my all time favourite games, Thief: The Dark Project) but my 20 odd hours (according to my PS5 timer, I thought it was more) felt well spent here. I do think they need some difficulty settings patched in at some point though, I only got the "you died in the loop" trophy by going for it deliberately while wrapping a few missed ones post-ending which in a game with a lot of killing seems a bit off. Ultimately I think the press 10/10's are a bit strong, but from my point of view it is a solid 8/10 all day long and worth a play when the price is right for you.

21. Deathloop (PS5) - As a huge Dishonored fan I was really looking forward to Arkane's latest first person action/stealth "immersive sim." Ultimately I wasn't disappointed as what you end up with is a slick mechanics driven game that gives you a load of choice merged with the 'Groundhog Day' style loop structure which open up your murderous objectives to similar sandboxing once you get into the game proper. The setting is like a mad mash-up of Dishonored's Dunwall and Bioshock, with some fantastic (but expletive filled and sometimes messily delivered) writing and performances. It looks and sounds stunning though and on the PS5 I got rock solid 60fps performance throughout with no bugs, glitches or crashes to report (some PC users have complained about this though). The gameplay feels very much in the Dishonored zone (with guns) but with less emphasis on stealth, in fact at times a little too much as some of the powers/mechanics are identical. There is also a sprinkling of online in there too if you want it (but it is optional). Combat is both very easy and very brutal depending on how you go about it, especially in the early hours where you have less tools at your disposal. All in all I think it has some flaws but I ended up having a really good time with it over about 20 hours. I definitely think a more hardcore game was in there somewhere which I probably would have preferred, but as it is - and for something that is obviously targeting the mainstream AAA game market much more than their previous titles - it offers a solid single-player action game with something a bit different to the norm (basically Dishonored merged with elements of some other great games, a little bit of Soulsborne here, a pinch of Metroidvanias there, etc...). Mileage will definitely vary but I would recommend giving it a go when the price is right for you. - 8/10

20. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 (XB1) - Following on this years theme of playing Lego games with my 5 year old. This one has bigger levels, more characters, more mechanics, slicker performance and crazier plot and is a lot longer than the first one. None of that really makes it any better to be honest. Some of it was so mad neither my son or I really knew what was going on, and in places the puzzles are really obscure, with little guidance, and felt like a big leap age wise compared to the rest of the game (and the others in the series). There were also some just plain frustrating bits where the game overreaches itself and fails with things like camera angles/scenery getting in the way of quite hard platforming bits, etc... On the plus side all the save issues from the previous titles have been resolved so no lost play time, however I think we were both kind of glad it was over when we finished the final boss fight. Having now played the trilogy the Avengers movie tie in game is definitely the strongest of them all. We are now moving onto Lego Jurassic World. - 6/10

Doh! Just went to put the disc in this morning (for the first time as I've been saving it) and realised I've lent it to a mate

Sorry you didn't like it. It may be that Villeneuve just isn't for you. Blade Runner 2049 certainly indulges in some sections of cinematically spectacular slow burn at times which I think can be a bit marmite (I loved pretty much all of it but a mate of mine I went to the cinema with absolutely hated it and also nearly walked out). Prisoners, Arrival and Sicaro (the others I've seen) all have a bit more pace about them but even so there is a certain air of subtly to his work which I could understand some people not clicking with. Personally I think he's a genius but we all like what we like (I really didn't rate Nomadland despite all the accolades).

Quick question on the ClassPass (spoilered for those that don't know about them)...

I think we all get that you didn't enjoy it @Moz I'm not done with it yet but the 10/10 scores do seem a bit generous, however to pour scorn on it and label it as 'rubbish' feels equally off the mark too. At it's absolute base level it's a fun to play, slick and stylish action game, with the loop giving some nice twists on the traditional level-by-level linear format, and the opportunity for some sandboxing along the way with the variety of powers/routes/etc... you can use. The plot delivery is a bit disjointed and it may not be what exactly what some gamers wanted from Arkane's latest IP, but as a mainstream game (which is ultimately how it's being pitched verses things like Dishonored and Prey) I think it's decent.