NEAR MISSES
Midnight Fight Express PC There’s a thrilling sense of weight and athleticism to the crunchy hand-to-hand combat in this isometric brawler. The thugs here have no sense of fight etiquette, and will often attack en masse, which leads to a number of satisfying counters when you pause whaling on one goon to parry an attempted blow from another and return it with interest. Alas, as the threat ramps up and vehicles and guns come into play, our interest wanes, the tight focus of the early stages devolving into constant dodge-rolling and lobbing of environmental objects.
Fashion Police Squad PC Fixing people’s fits is the name of the game in this non-violent shooter: your job, as one of the couture cops of the title, might involve extracting saturated colours from neon vests and shorts before splashing it out to zhuzh up dull suits, or lashing out with a belt to hitch up baggy pants. What could so easily be a onejoke novelty develops into an engagingly robust shooter, with new abilities factoring into traversal and fabulous specials that let you slap crowds into chic shape. This may be a game with a fixation on style, but it appears to have quite a bit of substance, too.
Lost In Play PC This gorgeously animated point-and-click adventure is a charming paean to childhood imagination, as two siblings’ everyday lives segue effortlessly into flights of fancy, in which they encounter a variety of strange creatures and even stranger scenarios. Its puzzles are simple, but more often than not the solutions prompt delightful animations, and the occasional bespoke minigame. We’re only halfway through but confident enough to say that if you’re a fan of Amanita Design’s work (and if you aren’t then please do keep that quiet), you’ll have a good time with this.