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
462 (245 reviews)
First Article
Tue 19th, November 2013
Avg. Review Score
6.8
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  • The Lost Bear (PS4)

    7

    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

    5

    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)

    29

    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)

    26

    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

    10

    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)

    15

    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)

    33

    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

    6

    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)

    3

    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

    3

    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

    4

    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

    16

    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

    2

    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

    11

    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...

  • Life Is Strange: Episode 5 - Polarized (PS4)

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    Review Life Is Strange: Episode 5 - Polarized (PS4)

    Say goodbye to the Strangerhood

    Republished on Wednesday, 31st May 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June 2017's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Well, the moment is finally here. After nine months and five episodes, the first season of DONTNOD's Life is Strange has...

  • Stephen Cox on the Sounds of PlayStation VR's Farpoint

    10

    Interview Stephen Cox on the Sounds of PlayStation VR's Farpoint

    Survivors keep moving

    When developer Impulse Gear’s Farpoint releases, it will come a few days after Sony’s PlayStation VR headset celebrates its seventh month on the market. With anticipation high for the virtual reality shooter, we caught up with composer Stephen Cox to learn a little more about its soundtrack. Push Square: Audio design in VR...

  • PREY (PS4)

    42

    Review PREY (PS4)

    Would Yu kindly?

    2017 has been a magical year for games thus far. The first few months were crammed with more amazing titles than we’ve seen in entire years before. But this hot streak must end sometime, right? Well, Arkane Studios – specifically, the company's second studio in Texas – has ensured it's not the ones to end this streak, as...

  • GNOG (PS4)

    16

    Review GNOG (PS4)

    Use your GNOGgin

    PlayStation VR is still a young peripheral, and with that we’ve come to expect some growing pains. Dating back to the headset's launch, there’s been a surprisingly high volume of worthwhile titles offered, including some truly great games. But alongside that, there’s also been a glut of high-price, low-quality "experiences"...

  • Samuel Laflamme on Scoring Outlast II's Scares

    4

    Interview Samuel Laflamme on Scoring Outlast II's Scares

    Sounding off

    Outlast II from Red Barrels is one of the most anticipated titles of the year. A follow-up to one of the best horror games we've had the chance to play, we got the chance to ask composer, Samuel Laflamme – who also scored Outlast, as well as the expansion, Whistleblower – a few questions about his process, how the soundscape for the...

  • Old Time Hockey (PS4)

    2

    Review Old Time Hockey (PS4)

    Shorthander

    V7 Entertainment's Old Time Hockey is a bit of an odd duck. After 2K bowed out of making hockey games with NHL 2K11, the market for hockey games has consisted of EA's annual release, and, uh, that's it. This hasn't exactly been beneficial for people who want to play hockey games, as it's allowed EA to grow complacent with its releases...

  • Fated: The Silent Oath (PS4)

    33

    Review Fated: The Silent Oath (PS4)

    Silent but deadly

    The launch of Sony's virtual reality headset served up an impressively strong start for the as-of-yet unproven technology. A large number of games, offering a rather impressive variety alongside some quality exclusives, made for an intriguing entry into the VR space. Unfortunately, since the exceptional launch, the PlayStation VR...

  • Rain World (PS4)

    12

    Review Rain World (PS4)

    Singin’ in the rain

    The second title of Sony's indie Spring promotion, Rain World offers a drastically different experience from Everything, the initiative's first offering. Developed by Videocult and published by Adult Swim, this newest in the long enduring Metroidvania genre offers something rather unique from its ilk: Rain World is more a...

  • Ruiner’s Challenging Cyberpunk World Shines Bright

    6

    Hands On Ruiner’s Challenging Cyberpunk World Shines Bright

    Repli-can

    One of the more exciting publishers on the gaming scene is Devolver Digital, a company that always seems to have a slate of interesting looking games on the way. And one of those games is cyberpunk shooter Ruiner. From developer Reikon Games, the title that appears to be a Hotline Miami clone at first glance is anything but. We got to sit...

  • She Remembered Caterpillars Is A Wonderfully Clever Puzzle Game

    0

    Hands On She Remembered Caterpillars Is A Wonderfully Clever Puzzle Game

    And it’s headed to the PS4

    The Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2017 was full of an abundance of cool indie games vying for everyone's attention on the show floor. While some of them went by unnoticed, one that stood way out to us during the convention was Jumpsuit Entertainment's She Remembered Caterpillars. She Remembered Caterpillars is a gorgeous...