When looking at new games, it’s often the big blockbusters and triple A titles that steal the limelight, especially recently with hugely anticipated titles such as Cyberpunk 2077. However, there are always other games that can slip through the net and fly under the radar. Whether these are good, or bad. And that is exactly what has happened with the recent release of Ripstones Poker Club.

Some of the biggest poker platforms in the world on other systems such as PC have gone on to find huge success throughout the years by bringing two different markets together, but on a wider scale the consoles have typically struggled to do the same. This may be through a different audience, or just a different approach to playing. Online poker sites have also been extremely successful on mobile due to changing attitudes towards gaming and more places willing to be open to legal betting but can the latest console games live up to the growing hype?

Well, it seems this latest offering may be just missing the mark. Although it delivers Texas Hold’Em in a bit of a new way, as a popular game that often doesn’t garner as much attention as other tabletop titles, it falls short a few key areas. The slow-paced gameplay and goofy looking animations leave a little more to be desired, particularly for a game that boasts 4K and advanced ray tracing amongst other modern features. There’s also the multiplayer factor to consider too, as one thing that had made this game type so successful on the PC platform had come with the online play. Live chat and live reactions certainly make the game more enjoyable and playing with other players has certainly helped here on the console too, but it is at least a step in the right direction for these types of console games. With the next generation of console having already arrived, it may now be time to look how to develop these fan favourites in to bigger hits and more successful titles.

The most likely step forward is with VR. Consoles have been pushing a move to VR pretty hard over the past two years or so, as the dedicated hardware has improved a lot and the cost dropped significantly, and with the next generation consoles offering a lot more power behind them, they’re certainly able to deliver a little more in this front too. If Poker Club is anything to go by, it’s just a small tweaking in the gameplay required to get things to play a little more to pace and a little more enjoyable for things to work out.

Whilst it may be a little time before another big release like this is seen, there’s certainly an opportunity to be had. The console gaming community is changing, many are getting older, and many have changing tastes for gaming, and with the growth in the gambling genres over recent years, the first developer to land right can certainly hit it big in this widely untapped market."