Lost in Roblox’s Fifa World – everything wrong with the metaverse in one place
This football-themed game is a ludicrous fantasy: a dystopian hyper-capitalist holiday park that illustrates how the virtual universe will really work
August 2022
Summer games previews
A midlife crisis in space: the Alters is a sci-fi comedy starring hapless clones
Featuring an astronaut trapped on a space station with only his alternate selves for company, 11 Bit Studios’ next game walks the line between comedy and commentary
July 2022
Pushing Buttons newsletter
Pushing Buttons: animal games that let the fur fly
Stray review – press paws for adorable life as a post-apocalypse pussycat
April 2022
In this game, vampires aren’t feral beasts – they’re the global elite
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong casts the figurative bloodsuckers of our world as literal night-stalking vampires, invisibly controlling the world
November 2020
'To say, I saved the world – that's the magic of games': Bethesda's Todd Howard
With a background including Elder Scrolls, Fallout and forthcoming epic Starfield, how does the acclaimed developer see games in the next five years?
May 2020
Lockdown culture
Fortnite Party Royale is the most fun you can have in the metaverse
The in-game party where you can listen to DJs, do cartoonish challenges or hurl burgers while dressed as a banana is a mass-participation godsend
March 2020
Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations
The futuristic adventures are both in 11 categories this year, with Disco Elysium and Untitled Goose Game also featuring highly
January 2020
2020 culture preview
Vampires, gangsters and Keanu Reeves: our games picks for 2020
A remake of a beloved classic, long-awaited sequels, alien shooting and Minecraft adventure lead our preview of this year’s most anticipated releases
April 2018
Zelda? Pokémon? Spyro? Players tweet their defining games
Under the trending Twitter hashtag #GameStruck4, video game fans have spent the day listing the four titles that defined their love of gaming. Some are predictable, others not so much
December 2017
Best culture 2017
The top 10 video games of 2017
Mario ran amok in New Donk City, a cat dropped out of college, and Angel Carter haunted What Remains of Edith Finch. But it was the mighty Zelda who took video gaming – and cooking – to a new dimension
September 2017
Autumn arts preview 2017
Gods, guns and gross-out: the best video games of autumn 2017
The South Park goons turn into caped crusaders, the Star Wars Death Star is avenged, Cuphead catapults players back to the ravishing 1930s, and Mario unleashes his super magic cap
December 2016
Observer critics' review of 2016
Simon Parkin: best video games of 2016
From the lush medieval world of The Witcher 3 to the touching narrative of The Last Guardian, let’s give thanks for rich escapes from a tough year
June 2016
Games reviews roundup: Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst; Sherlock Holmes: Devil’s Daughter; Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator
The dystopian free-running epic gets a fluid reboot, everyone’s favourite detective gets a new case and the weirdest beat-’em-up around gets physical
February 2016
50 best apps
Fifty apps that are reinventing mobile gaming
Solve a murder mystery, grow a tree, spend the day as a sailor, be a spider… mobile developers are rethinking everything
January 2016
Gaming’s next level? Tales of the unexpected
The future looks dim for film-style storytelling as more games allow you to plot your own adventures
November 2015
Meet Nina Freeman, the punk poet of gaming
Video games don’t have to be about death and warfare. Emotional, intimate and sexually frank, Nina Freeman’s relationship-led adventures are revolutionising the genre
October 2015
Games reviews roundup: Soma; Transformers Devastation; Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer
Unsettling undersea machinations inspired by Philip K Dick, enjoyably unadorned robot combat and… interior design
September 2015
Games reviews roundup: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture; Resident Evil: Revelations 2; Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians
A new walking simulator lacks gameplay, while Resident Evil’s new Vita incarnation skimps on the graphics
January 2014
Cicada 3301: I tried the hardest puzzle on the internet and failed spectacularly
No one knows who sets it or what the prize is at the end, but Cicada 3301 is back for its third year, and the internet has gone wild. By Alex Hern
