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
472 (251 reviews)
First Article
Tue 19th, November 2013
Avg. Review Score
6.8
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  • Discussing the Music of Call of Duty: WWII with composer Wilbert Roget II

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    Interview Discussing the Music of Call of Duty: WWII with composer Wilbert Roget II

    Answering the call of music

    Recently, we got the chance to sit down and discuss the process behind composing the soundtrack for Call of Duty: WWII’s soundtrack, with its composer Wilbert Roget II, who's no stranger to working on games. We dove deep into some of the finer points of the score, and got a glimpse behind the curtain at his process and...

  • Best PS4 Music of October 2017

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    Guide Best PS4 Music of October 2017

    Push it to the limit

    As we start getting into the holiday season, the releases of big name games are ratcheting up as they do every year, which also means some major soundtracks are going to accompany these games. October offered a lot of quality music, most of it courtesy of the big budget stuff, but on any given month, if you dig deep enough, you...

  • Top of the PS4 Pops – Issue 6

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops – Issue 6

    Rock 'n' roll

    Coming off such an extraordinary month for game music in August means September was a little underwhelming by comparison, but that doesn’t mean there was nothing worth paying attention to. Some big names released this past month, and brought some significant music with them. And some lesser known titles brought great music into the...

  • Yakking About Knack 2 with Composer Anthony Willis

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    Interview Yakking About Knack 2 with Composer Anthony Willis

    Knack is back, Jack

    Shortly before the release of Sony’s Knack 2 we got the chance to sit down with the game’s composer, Anthony Willis, and discuss with him some elements of his process for crafting the score for the latest in Sony’s platforming series. Anthony has previously worked on many film projects such as How to Train Your Dragon 2,...

  • Expand (PS4)

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    Review Expand (PS4)

    Rapid expansion

    Sometimes a game just doesn’t land regardless of its quality. Expand, an indie title from Chris Johnson and Chris Larkin, fits the bill. It hit Steam back in 2015 with relatively little fanfare, and the same seems to be happening again. This lack of buzz around the game says nothing of its quality, however, as it's actually rather...

  • Amnesia: Collection (PS4)

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    Review Amnesia: Collection (PS4)

    In the mouth of madness

    Republished on Wednesday 27th September 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Usually when people strike up a conversation about the best horror games ever made, you're going to hear someone bring up...

  • Ruiner (PS4)

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    Review Ruiner (PS4)

    Buy this game, puppy

    Ruiner marks the first title from Polish developer Reikon Games – and the latest release under Devolver Digital’s publishing initiative. The game fits comfortably alongside the other types of games that the label likes to put its name on, and this is one outing that stands out among an already impressive portfolio. At...

  • Radial-G: Racing Revolved (PS4)

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    Review Radial-G: Racing Revolved (PS4)

    Round and round

    Radial-G: Racing Revolved is a PlayStation VR zero-grav racer that quite literally revolves around a track. Most of the tracks consist of tubes, with you clinging to the outside, able to freely rotate around, trying to reach that next boost or power-up. It makes for a lot of fun, even if you want to just simply spin around the tube a...

  • Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 5

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 5

    Swingin’ through the stars

    Another month of game releases brings with it another month’s worth of game soundtracks, and running through the releases of August provides a particularly strong lineup. So many intriguing indie titles released this month, including at least one title that could be in the conversation for one of the best game...

  • Redout: Lightspeed Edition (PS4)

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    Review Redout: Lightspeed Edition (PS4)

    Fast and furious

    The anti-gravity racing genre may not be as popular as it once was, but that doesn’t mean developers aren’t still creating games for the genre. WipEout Omega Collection recently launched on the PlayStation 4, and while it was a fairly impressive collection, the fact that it focused squarely on the past held it back in some...

  • The Lost Bear (PS4)

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    Review The Lost Bear (PS4)

    Grin and bear it

    Sony’s VR headset has had a reasonably consistent release schedule when it comes to new software. Some of these titles have been rather good, while some have been less than stellar. The Lost Bear is a new side-scrolling platformer by indie team The Odd Bug Studio, and it’s another of the smaller VR titles worth putting your...

  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Announced by Annapurna

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    News Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Announced by Annapurna

    Releasing in early 2018

    Annapurna Interactive already has a rather impressive portfolio of indie titles to its credit. After launching its first title – What Remains of Edith Finch, which we gave a perfect score – a few months ago, it lost no time in adding another notable title to its repertoire: Cardboard Computer's...

  • Observer (PS4)

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    Review Observer (PS4)

    Either a benefit or a hazard

    Bloober Team is a fascinating developer. The Polish outfit has released a couple of games this generation: its first, Basement Crawl, was so poorly received that it had to be remade, and was reborn as Brawl. Its follow-up to this was Layers of Fear, a Victorian-themed horror title about painting, and it remains one of...

  • The Long Dark (PS4)

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    Review The Long Dark (PS4)

    At wit's end

    When Steam introduced Early Access, it opened the flood gates for games like Rust, The Forest, and Hinterland’s The Long Dark. We’ve spent some time with each of these, and though they all have their merits, The Long Dark is the best of them.  The Long Dark has a bit of an odd distinction as being one of the only survival...

  • Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 4

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 4

    Surfin’ on a sound wave

    This year’s slate of releases has been a dream. But alongside many of these phenomenal games have been equally phenomenal soundtracks. And to be frank, we’re starting to get scared about that “soundtracks of the year” list come December. Between Persona 5 a few months back, Pyre this month, and Undertale next month,...

  • Sundered (PS4)

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    Review Sundered (PS4)

    Torn asunder

    Sundered, the most recent release from Thunder Lotus Games – makers of Jotun – is another in a long line of successful Kickstarter ventures. While there have been some crowd-funded stinkers, others have been rousing successes, like the incredible Hyper Light Drifter. Sundered lands somewhere in the middle of those two as it does...

  • Pyre (PS4)

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    Review Pyre (PS4)

    Rites of Spring

    Supergiant Games has made its name as one of the most dependable indie teams. Its first two titles Bastion and Transistor are two of the best games released on digital storefronts, and excitement for its third venture Pyre has been high for some time. Most impressive is the fact that all three of the developer's titles are...

  • Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 3

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 3

    Hitting the right notes

    Issue 3 of our frequent music feature comes alongside an abnormally strong June slate of releases. Between some massive games, and some long dormant familiar faces poking their heads out for us to fall in love with all over again, June had a lot to love. These games also brought with them some great soundtracks, and these are...

  • MXGP 3 (PS4)

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    Review MXGP 3 (PS4)

    Crash and burn

    In 2014, Milestone – a dev with a very long history working with motorcycle games – launched a new series with MXGP: The Official Motocross Videogame. While it was an alright title, it didn’t exactly blow us away. Skip ahead to present day and Milestone has released the third entry in the series. During that time, has...

  • Sidescrolling VR Title Star Child Revealed

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    E3 2017 Sidescrolling VR Title Star Child Revealed

    Shining bright

    Sony rather welcomingly dedicated a decent chunk of its E3 presser to its virtual reality headset, showing off a spate of new titles. Among those was an intriguing Space-themed side-scroller from developer Playful. Playful is no stranger to VR having worked on Oculus launch title Lucky's Tale as well. Hopefully, this prior experience...

  • The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti Secures New Trailer

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    E3 2017 The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti Secures New Trailer

    Rock and roll

    Microsoft's E3 press conference was packed with fascinating indie titles. One of the standouts is a game that comes from Australian dev Beethoven and Dinosaur, The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti . Backed by publisher Annapurna Interactive, Francis Vendetti is a game we actually got some hands-on time with at PAX East this year,...

  • 4A Games Unveils Metro: Exodus

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    E3 2017 4A Games Unveils Metro: Exodus

    Are you ready for an Exodus?

    4A Games, the Ukrainian dev responsible for both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, showed off their next entry in the Metro series, Metro: Exodus, at Microsoft's E3 conference. The trailer st

  • Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 2

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 2

    Rocknrolla

    While the first episode of the new Push Play series focused on interesting soundtracks released in April, the follow-up issue is going to deal with releases from May. A wide range of styles of game was on offer this month, and with it came some incredibly varied soundtracks as well, including a surprising goldmine of VR music. GNOG:...

  • Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 1

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    Push Play Top of the PS4 Pops - Issue 1

    Dropping the beat

    Push Play is a new monthly series that will take a look at some of the interesting video game music releases recently. We hope to dig deep and find some interesting things you might not otherwise hear. It is by no means a comprehensive collation of every soundtrack, but rather a hand-picked group of what we think are the most...