Jenny has single-handedly been responsible for the downfall of many heinous villains and stops the destruction of the world on an almost weekly basis. Some may call her just another geek but others recognise her as the hero they deserve.
Review Unknown 9: Awakening (PS5) - Brand New IP Shows Plenty of Promise
Step into the Unknown
Unknown 9: Awakening is the debut game from studio Reflector Entertainment but not the first entry into the Unknown universe; so far there are novels, comics, and even a dramatised podcast. Thankfully, Awakening is a standalone experience and so you don’t need to delve into any of the other cross-media releases to understand...
Mini Review Reynatis (PS5) - Beautiful Action RPG Is Far Too Repetitive
Shibuya showdown
Reynatis is an action RPG set in the vibrant ward of Shibuya, Tokyo, but it’s a very different place to the one we know. In this version, magic is real, very dangerous, and feared by the non-magical population. Magic users either hide their abilities or join a government organisation called M.E.A. to hunt down rogue witches and...
Mini Review Schim (PS5) - Adorable Platformer Doesn't Quite Stick the Landing
Beast of the shadow
Schim is a stylish platformer with relaxed vibes and a charming soundtrack. Its world is filled with the eponymous little critters. These adorable shadow frogs are the spirits of living things or objects, and everything that can make a shadow has one. The game follows one schim in particular, in this case one attached to a young...
Mini Review Paper Trail (PS5) – Unique Origami-Style Puzzles Set in a Gorgeous World
Fold the line
Paper Trail is a puzzle game which takes a simple premise, folding and unfolding paper, to create a unique experience. You play from the perspective of Paige, a young woman who leaves home to pursue her academic dreams whilst meeting some weird and wonderful characters along the way. One of the first things you’ll notice about Paper...
Review SteamWorld Build (PS5) - A Steam-Fresh Take on the City-Building Genre
If you build it, they will come
The SteamWorld games have successfully bounced around a number of different genres including Metroidvania-style mining games and turn-based tactical stealth. With SteamWorld Build, developer The Station has brought those adorable robots into the city-building genre, with a bit of dungeon exploration thrown into the...
Mini Review Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue (PS5) - Slow-Burn Visual Novel Gets Going... Eventually
All filler, very little killer
The beginning of Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue feels very much like a Danganronpa-style death game. 11 strangers get abducted and sent to an abandoned tropical island resort where they’re forced to stay for six months. It’s all part of some twisted reality TV show where the abductees will be given €500,000 at...
Mini Review CRYMACHINA (PS5) - Interesting Worldbuilding Can’t Save This Dull Action RPG
It’s the end of the world as we know it
The end of humanity has finally happened; partly due to disease but mostly due to war over a scarcity of resources. In one of the last acts of a dying species they created a vast structure in space, known as Eden. Outfitted with eight self-evolving artificial lifeforms known as Deux Ex Machinas, the hope was...
Mini Review Anonymous;Code (PS4) - Exciting Visual Novel, But Lacks Character Depth
Hacker's paradise
Anonymous;Code is the latest visual novel in the Science Adventure series. It takes place in 2037 Tokyo and focuses on Pollon Takaoka, a young hacker who's part of a group called Nakano Symphonies. Pollon doesn’t particularly enjoy being a hacker and isn’t even that skilled at it, but he does it along with his friend Cross to...
Mini Review Loop8: Summer of the Gods (PS4) - Shallow RPG With a Repetitive Time Loop Mechanic
Let’s do the time warp again
Part visual novel, part RPG, Loop8: Summer of the Gods is an interesting idea which unfortunately ends up stuck in a bit of a rut. It all starts off well enough, with the game’s protagonist Nini moving to a small town and one of the few safe havens left on Earth. Humanity has been driven to the brink of extinction...
Farewell party
Reisalin “Ryza” Stout and her friends are back in another heart-warming RPG which closes out the 'Secret' sub-series. The long-running Atelier series is well known for featuring young alchemists who spend much of their adventure gathering ingredients, crafting new items, and beating up foes. Atelier Ryza 3 is no exception to that...
Review Deliver Us Mars (PS5) - A Thrilling Sci-Fi Adventure to Save Humanity
Welcome to the red planet
Deliver Us Mars takes place ten years after the events of Deliver Us the Moon and this time, as the game's title suggests, you'll be journeying to our neighbouring planet. You play as a young astronaut, Kathy Johanson, who is part of a team tasked with travelling to Mars to retrieve some vital technology in the hopes of...
Mini Review Sable (PS5) - Beautiful Coming of Age Adventure
Sable is not so stable
After a year of exclusivity over on Xbox and PC, Sable — a coming of age exploration game — has finally made its way over to PS5. The important question, as always, is has the wait been worth it? And the answer is yes, but only if you’re willing to overlook its technical issues. On a desert planet called Midden, when a...
Review Dusk Diver 2 (PS5) - Fast-Paced Combat Almost Makes Up for Lacklustre Story
Time to dive back in
It’s been a long time since this particular reviewer was a student, but if memory serves it can definitely be a bit of a stressful time. Keeping up to date with your studies, holding down a part-time job, whilst also hanging out with friends can be surprisingly tricky. Now just imagine how much more difficult it must be if you...
An AI for an Eye
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative [Good grief - Ed] is the sequel to the 2019 detective-themed adventure game and things are just as crazy and weird as ever. This time around you play as a detective called Ryuki as he tries to solve a series of gruesome murders known as the Half Body Serial Killings. Ryuki is a rookie but...
Cauldron of Dreams
The Atelier games are a somewhat niche Japanese RPG series so it might surprise some to know that it's actually been around for 25 years, with 23 games in the main series and a heck of a lot of enhanced ports and side games. To celebrate this impressive achievement, developer Gust has decided to go back and continue the story of...
Mini Review Edge of Eternity (PS5) – An Ambitious But Disjointed RPG
Down with the sickness
A war is raging on Heryon between an alien race and the native population, and from the opening moments of the game it’s obvious that things have not been going so well for the locals. Edge of Eternity’s protagonist, Daryon, is a young soldier who ends up deserting after his whole squadron is wiped out. He decides to...
Hands On Atelier Sophie 2 Seems Like a Very Promising JRPG Sequel
The story continues
Atelier’s Mysterious Trilogy was recently re-released on the PlayStation 4 but Gust has obviously decided that it isn’t quite finished with that story. Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream takes place in between the first and second games, and we were recently given access to the opening couple of hours on...
Mini Review Twelve Minutes (PS5) - Weird Twist Spoils an Otherwise Intriguing Story
Groundhog minutes
Twelve Minutes begins with you getting home to your shoebox-sized apartment after a long day’s work. Your wife has planned a lovely evening for the two of you, complete with romantic candles and your favourite dessert. After a small amount of pleasant chit-chat there’s a knock on the door; a police officer barges in and arrests...
Mini Review AWAY: The Survival Series (PS5) - Life Finds a Way, Far Away
Sweet and sour
On paper, AWAY: The Survival Series sounds like a really interesting experience. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has died out and only pockets of life remain. You get to play as an adorable young sugar glider who is trying to survive in a dangerous and hostile environment with his family. It all sounds like...
Review Astria Ascending (PS5) - Beautiful 2D RPG Falls Flat
Descending into mediocrity
Astria Ascending is a beautiful hand-drawn RPG set in a vibrant world and has a twisting narrative filled with plenty of sacrifice and betrayal. It’s definitely been influenced by classic Japanese RPGs, which is not a surprise when you consider that some of its development team have previously worked on the Final...
Review Lost in Random (PS5) - Quirky Card-Based Adventure Set in a Dark and Gothic World
Time to Even the Odds
The purpose of the EA Originals publishing label is to bring forth unique and memorable experiences from independent studios. Swedish developer Zoink Games has definitely fulfilled the brief with Lost in Random: a card-battling adventure game that feels like it’s stepped straight out of a Tim Burton claymation movie. In the...
Mini Review Cris Tales (PS5) - Enchanting RPG Inspired By the Classics
Let’s do the time warp again
Cris Tales is an absolutely gorgeous game that's heavily inspired by classic RPGs such as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, while also managing to put its own unique spin on things. The game’s protagonist, Crisbell, is a young orphan who acquires a magical time crystal which shows her a vision of the future where...
Mini Review Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed (PS4) - Remastered JRPG Is Fun But Flawed
Strip Tease
How time flies! The Akiba’s Trip series has been going for 10 years and to celebrate Acquire has remastered the first game in the series, which was previously only released on PSP in Japan. The game takes place in Akihabara, an area in Tokyo that is famous for its maid cafés and abundance of stores filled with manga, anime, and...
Deluxe treatment
Koei Tecmo has re-released yet another Atelier Trilogy, this time giving the Mysterious series the ‘Deluxe’ treatment. Unlike the Arland and Dusk trilogy, this threesome is already on PlayStation 4, so it does seem a little strange that they’re being released again on the same console. However, this is now the most complete...
