Eurogamer.net Alex Donaldson Feed

A love letter to Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, one of the best demos of all time (even if it isn't really a demo)

Alex Donaldson — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Last week marked 15 years since Dead Rising 2 made its debut. For my money, Dead Rising 2 is one of the best unlikely success sequels going, but whenever I think of it, I can't help but remember its prologue even more fondly.

As the Western games industry spirals, TGS 2025 showed Japan is resurgent - though you might not recognize that over live streams

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

It's fair to say that the Tokyo Game Show is back. This may have been the case over the last few years, to be honest - but this year marked my first post-pandemic return to Japan's premier gaming festival - and in honesty, walking around the venue, I was shocked.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2's ports bring two all-timers to the Switch 2, but I wish Nintendo made that just a little easier to celebrate

Alex Donaldson — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

While Super Mario Galaxy has appeared on Nintendo Switch before, via 2020's Super Mario 3D All-Stars, this week's re-release is still momentous. For one, 3D All-Stars was bizarrely only for sale for a limited time - so this will be the first time this game has a 'standard', ever-available Switch version. More importantly, this is the first time that Galaxy 2 is on Switch, meaning we now have one of gaming's finest duologies reunited and available on modern hardware. All of this is great news.

"It was really hard to publish on Xbox. It was our job to make it easier" - inside Xbox's increasingly vital indie publishing operation

Alex Donaldson — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:09:20 +0000

My first major memory of Indie Games on Xbox platforms is a pleasant one, and it's precisely the sort of memory I feel most appropriate for the medium. This was a tiny self-published affair - nary a publisher in sight, what I assume was a solo developer, and an extremely limited scope. I'm not talking about Hollow Knight, or Balatro, or Braid, or Limbo or what have you. I'm talking about Curling 2010.

I love Donkey Kong Bananza's new DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC - but should it have been in the base game?

Alex Donaldson — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 10:20:59 +0000

If you had to push me for criticisms of Donkey Kong Bananza, there aren't that many I can level at it. It's a smashing time - hur hur - and though it perhaps doesn't have that jaw-dropping impetus of a Mario Odyssey, it is nevertheless something special. Here's one, though: the post-game offering is over way too quickly. Nintendo has now addressed that with a new downloadable content, DK Island & Emerald Rush.

Developer IO Interactive on why Bond needs to "earn" his iconic theme music in 007: First Light

Alex Donaldson — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Getting your hands on an iconic and beloved entertainment property is surely a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you get the opportunity to mine the history of the franchise and its stories for your own gain, and get to leverage the interest of a dedicated congregation of existing fans. On the other hand… there's a lot of expectation. People know this franchise. They know this character like a friend. They know how they want it.

007: First Light is so much more than Hitman - with its 'breathing' structure, it looks like the ultimate composite video game

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 19:06:49 +0000

When IO Interactive first announced it was uptaking work on what was then known as 'Project 007', the internet collectively cheered. There was one practically unanimous reaction: this is a match made in heaven.

"He's the real deal" - Chatty, energetic, unpolished, but still the same man: Meet gaming's exclusive James Bond, played by Dexter's Patrick Gibson

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 18:48:55 +0000

While it admittedly was plainly obvious to anyone who has seen his face on TV or in film, Danish developer IO Interactive has now made it official: their video game exclusive iteration of the world famous Agent 007 is to be played by Irish actor Patrick Gibson.

"It's a classic title for the genre" Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles directors talk difficulty tweaks, new features, and preserving a seminal title's magic

Alex Donaldson — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

There's something special about Final Fantasy Tactics. It's one of those games where it's difficult to ascertain and harder to elucidate, but it just has… something. An X-Factor. A je ne sais quoi. I have vaguely fond memories of the game in general, but sitting down to play just 45 minutes of upcoming remaster The Ivalice Chronicles, it doesn't take long for that secret sauce to sink its claws into me. I should play this whole thing, I think. I hadn't really planned to play it in full again. But 45 minutes later, there I was - mentally rejigging my October weekend plans.

AI was a common theme at Gamescom 2025, and while some indie teams say it's invaluable, it remains an ethical nightmare

Alex Donaldson — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Gamescom is different from a lot of industry trade shows for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorite is how approachable it is. Even when you put the hundreds of thousands of public attendees to one side and consider only the more sterile business-to-business area, it has always been an easier show to gain access to - which has myriad benefits.

A love letter to that one time James Bond battled the villain in a crappy arcade game instead of at cards

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:00:03 +0000

Is there anything more British than turning on the telly at 11pm and finding an old Bond film on ITV? There's an opening that I probably couldn't get away with on any other major games site, hey. But, really: that moment of channel-hopping and catching the smirking visage of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or Pierce Brosnan as a bit of late-night terrestrial TV filler is as British as fish and chips, smashing up your shiny new alloy on a pothole, and needing to do a blood sacrifice for his majesty's government in order to send a DM on social media.

Depth, player expression, and years of iteration: Pragmata's producer on the key to nailing the game's weird and wonderful core mechanic

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

"I don't really want to delve into previous concepts," Pragmata producer Naoto Oyama tactfully offers, after I prod at the prickly topic of the lengthy development of Capcom's latest weird and wonderful offering.

Resident Evil 9: Requiem's director explains how in one crucial way, it is the "most extreme" title in the series yet

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Resident Evil 9: Requiem's director wants you to know that it may very well be the most extreme title in the series. But not in the way you might think. When he talks of extremities Kōshi Nakanishi isn't talking about blood, guts, and gore - he's talking about pacing. And your heart rate, for that matter.

Kirby Air Riders is a blazing assault on the senses where once you lock in, the magic cuts through

Alex Donaldson — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:00:00 +0000

Let's kick off with a confession: I never really rated 2003's Kirby Air Ride. I'm well aware that some regard it as a GameCube classic, but I'm not one of them. When a sequel, Kirby Air Riders, closed out the big Switch 2 blow-out Nintendo Direct, my reaction was rather apathetic. A sequel to that is their grand finale?

Nvidia's PS5 Pro GeForce Now gamescom comparison demo is one of the most audacious I've seen in years

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Games events are always packed with a shed load of marketing bluster. Companies figure out the most impressive way to showcase their wares and then, well, deploy that. Some of that is more strait-laced; other times the truth is stretched.

15 years ago, Kane & Lynch 2 took the crown as the most relentlessly miserable game of all time. It still is - and is still brilliant

Alex Donaldson — Sun, 17 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000

At first blush, it'd be easy to take Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days as just another third-person action shooter of the Xbox 360 era - a period absolutely replete with such games. To be honest, that description is certainly true of its predecessor - a game probably now more broadly remembered for its role in one of games media's largest scandals. But the sequel is something more - something special, unique, and worth remembering.

Mafia: The Old Country review

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 14:12:09 +0000

I hate to start a review with a cliché, but reader, I'm doing it. Mafia: The Old Country is that occasional sort of experience that is 'more than the sum of its parts'. On paper, I don't think I should like this game as much as I do. When I stop and really think about it - y'know, squinting a little with concentration - I actually think I really do like it a little less. But on balance, in my heart, I greatly enjoyed the whirlwind of mob tropes developer Hangar 13 has strung together here.

GeForce Now on Steam Deck feels like the remarkable streaming future once promised is still possible - but as a delightful and welcome option, not a replacement

Alex Donaldson — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 13:52:37 +0000

Every now and then, something comes along in my video gaming life that I feel the need to evangelise. Even if I’m super late to the party - as I am here. So picture me, knocking on your door. Or ringing the bell. Whatever. Ding-dong. Hello! Can I talk to you about GeForce Now on Steam Deck? It might just change your life.

Super Mario Party Jamboree has decent enough Switch 2 additions, but I'm truly baffled by its presentation

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:43:33 +0000

Let's kick this look at Super Mario Party Jamboree's new Nintendo Switch port off with a wonderful example of what Eurogamer isn't - a one-opinion monolith. So while I greatly respect the brilliant Katharine's opinion that Jamboree is fine and agreeable but equally compromised and frustratingly random, that respect comes with a head-shake of disagreement. I actually thought it was rather good!

Donkey Kong Bananza's monologuing villains have turned me: It's time Nintendo properly embraces fully voice acted characters

Alex Donaldson — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:38:10 +0000

As you might've read elsewhere on the site, I really rather like Donkey Kong Bananza. It's a tremendously creative and clever take on DK as a character, and does a great job of both expanding the existing DK universe and building something all-new for a younger generation - one that's also about to get to know DK's world properly for the first time, given this is all just in time for an upcoming movie. It's brilliant.

Donkey Kong Bananza review

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000

To properly encapsulate how I feel about Donkey Kong Bananza, you almost have to start at the finish. No spoilers here, obviously, but I have to say that I think this game has one of the finest finales of any Nintendo game ever. There's a delightful build-up of adrenaline as story beats and experimental mechanical evolutions are gleefully layered atop each other. It's difficult to not have a great big smile on your face as the game hurtles towards its finish. It's pretty masterfully done.

In one trailer, IO Interactive has totally proven it 'gets' Bond - and it's all about the salivating consumerism

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

When you think of James Bond, you probably think of product placement. You might not realize it, but this is an iron-clad fact: the world's most beloved spy is always associated with a product. You might think of the Walther PPK, a compact German pistol whose distinct profile is evoked in the '007' logo. You might think of Omega, or Rolex. Aston Martin, of course. Bond is a consumerist. He is what he uses.

Donkey Kong Bananza reaches for smashing variety and a Rare energy - hands-on

Alex Donaldson — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

When I first played Donkey Kong Bananza at the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal, I enjoyed it but was nevertheless left vaguely apprehensive. The core destruction mechanic was fun, I reasoned. I jokingly referred to the game as 'Red Faction Gorilla', referencing another destruction-driven game that is jolly good fun. But… was that it? Is that all - smashing stuff up?

Don't buy that cute Switch 2 Piranha Plant camera - it's rubbish

Alex Donaldson — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:06:27 +0000

While I'm yet to really appreciate any major benefit of the Nintendo Switch 2's GameChat feature, I'm nevertheless always hardware-curious. I'm a tech nerd; I want to know what companies are shipping and how good it is. With that in mind, let me sound the alarm with a warning: do not buy that cutesy Switch 2 camera shaped like a Piranha Plant. If you buy it, to be blunt, peripheral company Hori is absolutely pantsing you.

New fighting game Invincible VS has all the right foundations to be a barn-storming tag-teamer

Alex Donaldson — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000

I have next to no idea what Invincible is. I know of Omni-Man, though only through osmosis and crossovers and such - but that’s the extent of my knowledge. I admit this to one of the developers of Invincible VS when I sat down to play the new game based on the comic book series, just revealed at Xbox’s most recent showcase. Briefly, they look a little crestfallen.

How real life swordsmen and a search for realism has changed the face of Onimusha in Way of the Sword

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

It's arguably the perfect time for the return of Onimusha. If we're discounting remasters and strange Japan-exclusive spin-offs, it's been almost twenty years since the last entry in the series - and it does feel a lot like that time has seen the ground prepared for the return of Capcom's demon-slaying samurai series.

"10 years ago, we were fighting to survive. It's totally different now" - Sega's franchise guru on Sonic's redemption arc

Alex Donaldson — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:58:00 +0000

Sonic the Hedgehog has been on a redemption arc.

Pragmata is a fascinating genre mash-up, and Capcom at its experimental best - hands-on

Alex Donaldson — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

I love it when Capcom experiments. It's true that with a staple of franchises and characters like those it has, there isn't all that much pressure on Capcom to experiment. It has most of what it needs to make that corporate profit line go up, in truth. But every now and then the company nevertheless experiments with something new - and usually, backed up by those successful franchises, the company can strike gold.

I played Resident Evil 9 and they heard me scream in the booth next door

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:00:00 +0000

If you're well into following video game news, you're likely going to see a lot of new information about Resident Evil 9/Requiem today - to be clear, Capcom has done its usual trick of giving the game a title, but changing a letter (q in this instance) to the entry number in its reveal trailer. Over the weekend, hundreds of critics and influencers filed into a darkened theatre to witness a pre-recorded first gameplay video of Summer Games Fest's biggest reveal. But hidden just meters away was something even better: a hands-on demo that only a handful of people got to play.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might be the most mechanically rich kart racer ever made - hands-on

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:27 +0000

When I saw that the hands-on demo for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds at Summer Games Fest was a full hour long, I was sort of taken aback. An hour? For a kart racer? Our time is pretty limited at these events, and in the interest of trying to squeeze as much in as possible one always tries not to spend more time with a game than is strictly necessary to get a broad idea of what it's trying to do and how it's coming together.

A completely timely review of Nintendo's controversial, expensive handheld

Alex Donaldson — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 16:00:00 +0000

It's that most thrilling time, the dawn of a new hardware generation. It's gaming Christmas! As a critic, that means it's time for that finest tradition - an intense period of bedding in with a new piece of hardware, vigorously road-testing it so that we can inform you, our delightful readers, if this thrilling new piece of tech is worth your money.