Graham Banas

Graham Banas

Contributor

Author Profile

For over a decade, Graham has been writing reviews for Push Square. In that period, he's encountered an innumerable amount of high-quality experiences, and yes, several duds. With an encyclopedic knowledge of games and studios, it should come as no surprise that he's comfortable playing any genre. However, when it comes time to write a review, you'll probably find that he gravitates towards music/rhythm games, and in more recent years, VR. If you let him talk about games long enough, he'll definitely let you know that his favorite game is Kentucky Route Zero.

Username
gbanas92
Articles
465 (248 reviews)
First Article
Tue 19th, November 2013
Avg. Review Score
6.8
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  • #8 - Shadow of the Colossus

    23

    Game of the Year 2018 #8 - Shadow of the Colossus

    They call me the wanderer

    The odds are that if you have a conversation about the merits of video games as an art form, someone is going to bring up Shadow of the Colossus. Team ICO’s 2005 masterpiece is no stranger to re-releases, having been ported to the PlayStation 3 in an impressive package in 2011, but this time things were different. Rather...

  • The 10 Best PlayStation Soundtracks

    26

    Game of the Year 2018 The 10 Best PlayStation Soundtracks

    Life’s a happy song

    2018 was absolutely loaded with great games, and equally great music. The quality started all the way back in January and didn’t let up, offering top-notch content throughout the year. But, as with most lists of this nature, some truly incredible music had to be left off, including the likes of Dead Cells, Hollow Knight,...

  • Chatting About the Apocalypse with Darksiders III Composer Cris Velasco

    3

    Interview Chatting About the Apocalypse with Darksiders III Composer Cris Velasco

    From light, there comes darksiders

    Recently, we got the chance to sit down with long-standing game composer Cris Velasco, who has worked on big series like Mass Effect, God of War, and even previous Darksiders titles. We spoke with him about his work on the recently released Darksiders III, his approach to writing themes for the seven deadly sins,...

  • Best PS4 Music of November 2018

    12

    Feature Best PS4 Music of November 2018

    Heavy hitters

    For the final monthly music highlight before we discuss the best soundtracks of the year, we have one more month to work through, and boy what a month it was. This might have been the single strongest month of the year from a musical standpoint, and at least a couple of these are going to be appearing on the Top 10 list that’ll make...

  • SOMA (PS4)

    30

    Review SOMA (PS4)

    SOMAch to do, so little time

    Republished on Wednesday 28th November 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Horror games should be scary – but this is easier said than done. Sure, there have been some very successful examples such as...

  • Swan-Diving into the Music of Assassin's Creed Odyssey with Composers, The Flight

    5

    Interview Swan-Diving into the Music of Assassin's Creed Odyssey with Composers, The Flight

    A musical odyssey

    We recently had the chance to sit down and chat with the composer for the newest title in Ubisoft's long-running juggernaut of a series, Assassin's Creed. Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, known as The Flight, have lent their talents to many titles prior to this, including Horizon: Zero Dawn, Alien: Isolation, and even previous...

  • Déraciné - PSVR's New Narrative Gold Standard

    26

    Review Déraciné - PSVR's New Narrative Gold Standard

    FromSoftware with love

    Long before FromSoftware burst into the public consciousness with its Souls titles, it already had a large body of work to its name dating back decades. But after finding mainstream success with the likes of Bloodborne, its newest title Déraciné offers a glimpse to the past. And while this PlayStation VR foray is unlike...

  • Best PS4 Music of October 2018

    8

    Feature Best PS4 Music of October 2018

    The piano knows something I don’t know

    The big guns came out swinging this month, as the most noteworthy games for October include multiple blockbusters, including (obviously) one of the most anticipated games in arguably the history of the medium. And these titles of course brought with them some absolutely incredible music. So without further...

  • Best PS4 Music of September 2018

    8

    Feature Best PS4 Music of September 2018

    Music, muzak, music

    August was absolutely packed to the brim with good PlayStation music to treat your ears to, so it’s not terribly surprising that there are fewer highlights for September. Fewer highlights however doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about, as the stand-outs from this past month are some pretty special releases. Destiny...

  • CREED: Rise to Glory - Should Have Been a Knockout

    42

    Review CREED: Rise to Glory - Should Have Been a Knockout

    Sun’s out, guns out

    Boxing seems like a perfect area for virtual reality to explore. The tactile nature of beating the pulp out of another person seems ripe for the medium, and there have been relatively few PlayStation VR boxing forays thus far, making CREED: Rise to Glory stand out a little more than it otherwise might. CREED is a tie-in to the...

  • NHL 19 - Ice Hockey Deserves Much Better

    16

    Review NHL 19 - Ice Hockey Deserves Much Better

    Puck off

    The NHL series is a weird one. Years ago, when 2K had its own NHL series, there was a competition for attention between the two franchises that drove both series’ forward as time went by. But without the competition that NBA Live deals with or the massive install base of Madden, NHL usually comes off as the series that is generally...

  • Blind (PS4)

    4

    Review Blind (PS4)

    Are you afraid of the dark?

    When Tiny Bull Studios first announced Blind, they were, for the most part, ahead of the curve when it came to first-person titles based around using echolocation. However, in the ensuing years, that type of game has practically burgeoned into its own sub-genre, with titles like Perception and Stifled leading the charge...

  • The Gardens Between (PS4)

    3

    Review The Gardens Between (PS4)

    In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

    Puzzle games are a dime a dozen, so in order to really stand out, the game in question needs to do something special to garner attention. And The Voxel Agents’ time-manipulation puzzle game, The Gardens Between, happens to be one title that achieves this. The Gardens Between is a puzzler where all of the scenarios you encounter...

  • Best PS4 Music of August 2018

    4

    Feature Best PS4 Music of August 2018

    When it rains it pours

    While the music in July had us digging pretty deep to actually find more than one thing to talk about, August provided us with nothing short of an absolute flood. A huge amount of exceptional music accompanied some great - and not so great - games this past month, and we’re going to tell you about them. Dead Cells: First...

  • We Happy Few (PS4)

    35

    Review We Happy Few (PS4)

    Joy to the world?

    We Happy Few is a confusing game at first glance. It’s got the trappings, grand scale, and look of a AAA title. But dig a little deeper, and it’s really an indie title masquerading as one of the “big boys”. Given that just about everyone in the game wears a mask, this is a rather enjoyable double entendre, but the real...

  • Detached (PS4)

    5

    Review Detached (PS4)

    We are go for launch

    Virtual reality is at its best when it puts players in places that might otherwise not be attainable: space exploration, fantasy worlds – the possibilities are near infinite. And Anshar Studios Detached is one of those aforementioned space exploration games. Not only that, but it’s a good one, which are a bit harder to...

  • Best PS4 Music of July 2018

    4

    Feature Best PS4 Music of July 2018

    Down and Dirge-y

    June was a rather crowded month when it came to noteworthy soundtracks, which sees July come off as comparatively sparse. A bit of a low-key month before all the big guns come out swinging with their amazing soundtracks. Despite this, we were able to scrounge a couple worthwhile scores anyways, so let’s hop in. Shining...

  • Here They Lie (PS4)

    12

    Review Here They Lie (PS4)

    And here they’ll stay

    When Sony set out to launch its own virtual reality headset, one of the most important things that it had to do is make sure that it had lots of games released alongside it. Through the years, the games industry has seen many a peripheral fail miserably due to a lack of support. To combat this, an impressively large launch...

  • Flipping Through the Yoku's Island Express Soundtrack with Jesse Harlin

    1

    Interview Flipping Through the Yoku's Island Express Soundtrack with Jesse Harlin

    Bouncing around

    Hearing Yoku's Island Express described paints an interesting picture. It sounds like a weird game. A really weird game. Just listen to reviewer John Cal McCormick desribe the title: " Yoku's Island Express is a 2D, open world, Metroidvania, pinball game starring a dung beetle postman dragged into a battle for the fate of...

  • MXGP Pro (PS4)

    18

    Review MXGP Pro (PS4)

    MXGP Con

    Milestone releases a large number of racing games every year. Some of them aren’t half bad, such as Gravel, while others, chiefly its motorcycle games, leave something to be desired. Unfortunately, MXGP Pro is one of the motorcycle games, and while this is nowhere near as bad as the absolute debacle that was MXGP 3, it’s a definite step...

  • Best PS4 Music of June 2018

    2

    Feature Best PS4 Music of June 2018

    Hit the high note

    There was a lot to love with May’s slate of game music, including a couple games we may well be discussing when the end of the year rolls around (Detroit!), but June was no slouch either. Another solid month of games brought with it a solid lineup of music! Unravel Two: When Unravel released in 2016, it ended up being a...

  • Lumines Remastered (PS4)

    15

    Review Lumines Remastered (PS4)

    Lumines beings are we

    Rhythm games have a long and storied history throughout gaming, and Tetsuya Mizuguchi is one of the most important creators tied to it, having created such masterpieces as Rez, Child of Eden, the upcoming – and incredible looking – Tetris Effect, and of course Lumines. So it’s cause for celebration that the...

  • Illusion: A Tale of the Mind (PS4)

    10

    Review Illusion: A Tale of the Mind (PS4)

    Lobotomy

    Some games, no matter how much work the devs put into them, just never come together. While some elements could be great, the overall experience just doesn’t click in any meaningful way. Illusion: A Tale of the Mind, from Canadian dev Frima, is a title that suffers from this. While its virtual reality title Fated: The Silent Oath is one...

  • Remedy Pulls Back the Curtain on Control

    16

    E3 2018 Remedy Pulls Back the Curtain on Control

    Assuming direct control

    Despite Sony stressing they'd be bringing only four games with them to E3 this year, it was generally accepted there'd be something more on display, even if it was just small. Not only did Sony show off a plethora of trailers during what was sort of an intermission for the people there in-person, there were some pretty big...