Latest Previews
December2024
Hands On Final Fantasy 16's Clive Is Ridiculously Well Realised in Tekken 8
The only fantasy here is yours
Clive Rosfield, of Final Fantasy 16 fame, is the first guest character in Tekken 8 — and the final part of the game's first season pass. Armed with his trusty blade and a slew of Eikon-based superpowers, Clive would feel far more at home in SoulCalibur than Tekken. But much like Noctis in Tekken 7 — also a DLC...
November2024
Hands on with four hours of series reboot
Tomohiko Sho is humble about his personal accomplishments when we meet him in a swish Parisian hotel basement after several hours of hands-on time with Dynasty Warriors: Origins. “I practiced martial arts,” he casually informs us, moments after admitting he’s practically a scholar of 14th century...
Hands On PS Plus Cloud Streaming Is a Game Changer for PS Portal
Sony's surprisingly successful PS5 handheld gets even better
Sony made a surprise update to the PS Portal today, enabling PS Plus Premium cloud streaming on the device. <related ids="158279,174730"> This effectively transforms the Remote Play peripheral into a full-blown handheld, although it comes with some caveats. First, you’ll obv
Hands On Spider-Man 2 All in on Ray Tracing for PS5 Pro
Fidelity Pro vs Performance Pro
Given that Insomniac Games only just released Marvel's Spider-Man 2 one year ago with fantastic graphics and options for frame rate enthusiasts, the chances the studio would be able to tap into an entirely new level of visual quality on PS5 Pro were slim. Therefore, it has taken a different route as it looks to...
Hands On PS5 Pro Injects More Magic into Hogwarts Legacy
Ray tracing the star of PS5 Pro update
Due to the sheer amount of content open world titles generally have to render at any one time, it's a lot more difficult for them to be deemed visually spectacular. Many on PS5 are more than competent, but pit them against the linear, story-focused experiences of Sony's first-party teams and they will almost...
Hands On The Last of Us 2 Marries Visuals and Frame Rate in PS5 Pro Game Changer
Best of both worlds on offer
The very first game Sony chose to market its upgraded PS5 Pro console alongside during its short reveal video was The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which at the time, felt like a double-edged sword. Its outstanding quality means hardcore PS5 owners are always open to a replay of the Naughty Dog game, but from a visual...
Hands On The Crew Motorfest Has Never Looked Better Thanks to the PS5 Pro
The Fast and the Glorious
We’re big fans of The Crew Motorfest here, so we were pleased to see a PS5 Pro Enhanced version announced alongside Sony’s new console. With the Pro finally here, we took to the well worn roads of Hawaii to see if the upgrade was up to much. Ubisoft’s racer was already a looker on the base PS5, but it asked the...
Hands On Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy 16, and Metaphor: ReFantazio All Get a Boost on PS5 Pro
Frame raters
We've spent the last couple of days putting games like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth through their paces on PS5 Pro. Those titles have been handed dedicated updates so that they can take advantage of Sony's supercharged system — but what about popular PS5 games that haven't been Pro-patched? In theory, unpatched titles...
Hands On Serious Pop-In the Only Problem with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Massive PS5 Pro Boost
Cloud nine
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was plagued by an astoundingly blurry performance mode when it first released on PS5 in February of this year. Obvious graphical limitations were put in place so that the RPG could run at 60 frames-per-second; it played just fine, but it could look rough outside of cutscenes. With the PS5 Pro, Rebirth has gained...
Hands On $700 Later and Dragon's Dogma 2 PS5 Pro Performance Is Still Far from Perfect
The cycle continues
Touted as a game that could greatly benefit from the PS5 Pro's arrival, Dragon's Dogma 2 takes advantage of Sony's new system through several graphics settings that were recently added via an update. Those familiar with Capcom's open world RPG will know that the title has struggled to attain smooth technical performance since...
October2024
Preview LEGO Horizon Adventures Is Looking Like the Best LEGO Game Yet
A-toy
LEGO, the versatile Danish toy, has been converted into dozens of great games. Most recently, we’ve enjoyed LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and the Minecraft-inspired LEGO Fortnite. But if we’re being brutally honest, after just shy of 90 minutes of play, LEGO Horizon Adventures is already looking like a standout for the blocky brand...
Preview Planet Coaster 2 Pulls Back the Curtain on PS5 Theme Park Magic
Tricky but rewarding
There’s a thrill to roller coasters. As you clunk, clunk, clunk up the track, you start to contemplate your life. You should have asked that cute person out, should have called your mum more, shouldn’t have gotten on this terrifying contraption. And then, as you crest over the apex of the climb and see the world below you,...
September2024
Preview PS5's Sparking! Zero Feels Like Dragon Ball Z, But You May Need Super Saiyan Reflexes
We speak to producer Jun Furutani and play for over three hours
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero producer Jun Furutani’s smile is as wide as Goku’s chest when we tell him the game feels like an interactive anime; it’s clear this has been Bandai Namco’s goal from the beginning. Having played the latest entry in the acclaimed Budokai Tenkaichi...
Preview Unknown 9 Awakening Plays Like a Long Lost PS3 Remaster on PS5, PS4
Invasion of the body hopper
Unknown 9 Awakening feels like a remastered PS3 game, and we mean that in the nicest possible way. This cross-media debut from Montreal-based studio Reflector is part of a wider push into comics, books, and more. But its largely linear level design and small-scale combat skirmishes feel like they were designed over a...
Preview Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Seeks to Create a Version of the 90s That Never Existed
A memory of a dream
Memories are weird: we think of them as very stable things, these absolute truths of what we experienced in the past, but even a cursory glance at research on the topic will let you know that memories are malleable and often incorrect, exaggerated by emotions or warped by time. DON’T NOD’s newest game, Lost Records: Bloom...
August2024
Preview Cairn PS5 Proves Much More Impressive Than Just a Realistic Version of Only Up
See that mountain...
When you work as a journalist, you train yourself to not be too effusive about a preview build of a game. We’re not fanboys, we’re not here to hype your product. We’re professionals. We are here to play your game and evaluate it. That said, by the time we finished playing Cairn and left the tiny booth in the French...
Preview Capcom's Fighting Game Crossovers Will Take You for a Ride in 2024
Hands on with Terry Bogard in Street Fighter 6 and Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection
Capcom has always been one for a crossover battle, but the stars have now aligned in such a way that Capcom fighting games are crossover-central for the rest of 2024. We just had the re-release of SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos, and now SNK poster boy Terry Bogard is...
Preview Metaphor: ReFantazio Won't Blow You Away in Its First Hour
An odd Gamescom demo detailed
Huge JRPGs from Atlus are at their slowest and most basic at the very beginning, so playing the first hour of Metaphor: ReFantazio at Gamescom wasn't exactly the most impressive 60 minutes we've spent with the game pre-release. Full of tutorials and cutscenes, we wouldn't have encountered a single battle if we didn't...
Preview Slitterhead Has Its Jank, But Also Promise and Heart
45 minutes of play at Gamescom
Enough time has passed that a reverence for the jankier, AA games of the PS3 generation is now starting to appear, and for the horror genre at least, Slitterhead is about to be its poster child. Gamescom provided us with the chance to check out 45 minutes of the debut title from Bokeh Game Studio, playing the full...
The humans behind the hunt
It is hard to describe how excited people were for Monster Hunter Wilds at Gamescom in Köln last week. If you have attended the show as a member of the public, you will know that lines to play anything can get pretty damn long. Up until this year, the longest we had ever heard of was the infamous four-hour queue to play...
He may be edgy, but without him we wouldn't have I am... All of Me
Let's just get it out of the way: Sonic Generations is the best game in the series, and if you disagree, you're a coward (or just have a different opinion than us, either works). The 2011 entry into the series was a celebration of the blue blur's best and worst adventures across nine...
Preview Civilization 7 Makes Some Bold Changes, and They're Probably for the Best
A new Civilization revolution
Sid Meier’s Civilization has remained a constant across its 33-year run; each of the mainline games has been at the very least pretty great. Even spinoffs like Civilization Revolution were excellent for what they were. But there is an argument that when you’re that consistent, it’s pretty easy to play it safe, and...
Preview PS5's Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Is a Fiercely Loyal Remake
Hands on with the Virtuous Mission
There are faithful remakes, and then there's Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. A full one-to-one re-release of the PS2 stealth masterpiece from 2004, Konami and co-developer Virtuos are going so far as to re-use the original voice lines in their visual refresh 20 years later. It's an example of how the two...
Preview As Uncharted Rests, Xbox Provides PS5 Adventure in Indiana Jones
We tune in for the Gamescom briefing
So, here we are: because of Microsoft's expanding multi-platform efforts, we're now in a position where we can provide an official Preview of an upcoming first-party game before it's even released on Xbox Series X|S. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches for current Xbox systems and PC this December, and...
Preview Directive 8020 a 'Huge Step Forward' for the Dark Pictures Series on PS5
Narrative IP levels up for next entry
Supermassive Games generally releases its trademark style of story-focused horror games at such a consistent rate that it might come as a surprise its premier franchise, the Dark Pictures Anthology, has now been missing in action for two years. That's normal for any other developer, but the Guildford studio...
Preview Double Exposure Stretches Life Is Strange Across Two Gripping PS5 Timelines
Max returns in 30-minute Gamescom demo
The Life Is Strange franchise is at its best whenever Max Caulfield is around, so Double Exposure already has a leg up on its predecessors. The latest narrative entry on PS5 marks only the second time the popular protagonist has played the lead role, and Deck Nine Games isn't purely leaning on her welcome...
Preview Crimson Desert Is Real, Complex, and Potentially Great
One hour with the promising PS5 open worlder
After various "too good to be true" showcases during livestreams in the past, we can now officially confirm that Crimson Desert is an actual, real video game. In a 60-minute session on the Gamescom showfloor, we pressed all the buttons on a PS5 controller connected to a PC and things happened on-screen...
Preview Broken Sword Is Back in the Most Passionate Remaster Possible
Charles Cecil guides us through the labour of love
While there can be some variation, video game previews are generally handled in one of two different ways: we're either left to our own devices whilst playing or a developer will sit alongside us acting as a guide. The former is preferred, but sometimes, the latter can be handled with such genuine...
Preview Dying Light: The Beast Pulls a Lost Legacy as DLC Turned Full PS5 Game Impresses
30-minute Gamescom demo detailed
While it only has a single marketing beat to its name in the form of a Gamescom Opening Night Live reveal trailer, studio Techland might be selling its Dying Light 2 DLC turned full game a little short. Based on a demo played to us live at the German expo, Dying Light: The Beast wouldn't raise many eyebrows if it had...
Hands On Black Myth: Wukong PS5 Performance Isn't Perfect, But It's Perfectly Fine
No monkeying around
We've finally got our grubby hands on the PS5 version of Black Myth: Wukong. And while it'll still take us some time to construct a review, we can at least report on the game's PS5 performance, which has become a bit of a concern for potential buyers over the last few days or so. Just to reiterate, PS5 review code was not...
Preview Silent Hill 2 PS5 Grows in the Right Ways for Anticipated Remake
Going hands on with Bloober Team's PS5 remake
Bloober Team has asked fans of the PS2 classic Silent Hill 2 to give it a chance, as it looks to remake what's considered to be one of the greatest horror games ever made. The fanaticals' fears are based on the studio's previous titles (Layers of Fear, The Medium), where it's been accused of poorly...
Hands On Black Myth: Wukong Is Brilliant, But We Have PS5 Concerns
Monkeying around
Black Myth: Wukong is easily one of our most anticipated games of the year, and after spending over 10 hours with it, we’re glad to see that our hype is warranted. Game Science’s action RPG, which is steeped in Chinese mythology, is a whirlwind of finely tuned combat and exemplary graphics, but it may have put too many eggs in...
Preview Persona 3 Reload's Episode Aigis Remake Will Still Divide Opinion
Persona-l taste
Recently, we were given early access to a preview build of Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis on PC. And if there's one thing that we've learned about the upcoming expansion, it's that, just like Reload itself, this will be another incredibly faithful remake. Those expecting any kind of deviation from the rather divisive original will...
Preview Dead Rising Plays and Looks Like a Dream in PS5 Deluxe Remaster
To be Frank, it's excellent
In the near two decades since Dead Rising helped define the early years of the Xbox 360, there's never been anything else quite like it — not even Capcom's three follow-ups. All deviated from the structure set by Frank West in some way, whether it was removing the critical time mechanic or placing less emphasis on a...
Preview Space Marine 2 Is a PS5 Blockbuster That's Worth the Hype
I crave a bloodbath... or a blood shower
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is easily one of the best co-op shooters we’ve played in years. If you had fun slaying Terminids with friends in Helldivers 2, then you’ll likely enjoy the bloodier and arguably more epic battles against Tyranids here. Where Space Marine 2 differentiates itself from...
Preview Evidence Suggests Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Will Be a Good Time on PS4
But the jury is still out
We've played the first couple of cases in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection on PS4 and we've walked away pretty impressed. The collection comprises two games originally released on Nintendo DS — Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit — now playable on...
July2024
Hands On Visions of Mana Is Far From Revolutionary, But It Should Still Be a Rock Solid Action RPG
That's class
2020's Trials of Mana remake showed us that the series' classic formula can be adapted into a full 3D adventure — and Visions of Mana clearly intends to push things forward. A brand new instalment in Square Enix's longstanding franchise, Visions seems to retain the fantastical charm of its predecessors, while also expanding the...
Preview Star Wars Outlaws Thrives in Its Rewarding Open World
PS5 heavyweight comes together nicely
As part of last month's Summer Game Fest season, Ubisoft allowed press to play Star Wars Outlaws for the first time in a demo made up of three different parts, each designed to justify the game's core pillars. Reactions were quite mixed — unfavourable comparisons to PS Vita game Uncharted: Golden Abyss were...
Preview There's Nothing Super About Marvel Rivals on PS5
It's so over(watch)
Marvel Rivals isn’t quite what we were hoping for. In a time when hero shooters are questioned and criticised, we can’t deny that the Marvel meets Overwatch pitch is intriguing. Taking your favourite heroes like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and then pitting them against each other in 6v6 modes is a slam dunk on paper. Yet...
Preview EA Sports FC 25 Promises a Different Kind of Rush on PS5, PS4
Here we go
EA Sports FC 24’s transition away from FIFA did no harm to the Redwood juggernaut’s flagship football franchise, and you could argue the rebranding itself actually helped re-engage former fans who had previously fallen off. However, while the on-pitch action itself was fine, it wasn’t the revolution we were hoping for, delivering a...
Preview Ignore The Haters, Concord Is a Good PS5 Shooter We Can't Wait to Play More Of
This one struck a Concord
Ahead of its 23rd August launch, we finally got our hands on Concord, the live service hero shooter from Firewalk Studios. Sony’s big multiplayer gamble was not met with the best of first impressions when it debuted at State of Play, but now that we’ve had some time with the game, is this shaping up to be the next live...
Preview The Outlast Trials Proves It's a Live Service Gem in First Content Update
Going bonkers with Bambino
Four months since its release, The Outlast Trials is getting its first dose of post-launch content in the form of Project Lupara. This co-op take on the traditionally single-player horror series is a surprisingly fun time with friends but with its first seasonal update since its launch, is it doing enough to keep players...
June2024
Hands On Valorant's PS5 Beta Is Impressive and Unlike Anything Else on Console
Riot has pulled off a pretty tall order
For years, Valorant has been huge on PC, becoming a streaming hit, hosting massive esports tournaments, and inspiring tons of fan art and cosplay. After many job listings revealed the game could be heading to consoles over the last few years, Riot has finally brought the game to PS5 in beta form, and it's an...
Preview Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Is a Beguiling Mix of Strategy and Action
Hack-and-strat
Capcom's been doing such a brilliant job with its long-established franchises, but it's refreshing to see the publisher take a gamble on some brand new ideas, too. One such example is Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, something we've been intrigued by since its debut trailer last year. After getting some hands-on time with it, we can...
Round Up All of Our PS5 Previews from Summer Game Fest 2024
Big previews for big PS5 games
Summer Game Fest has come to a close, and now it's time to reflect on everything that we've seen. Push Square's ever-intrepid assistant editor Stephen Tailby was shipped off to Los Angeles in order to cover Geoff's big event in person, and the lucky git got to go hands on with a whole bunch of blockbuster games...
Preview Tales of the Shire Lets You Live a Homely Hobbit Life Set Before Lord of the Rings
Cosy little hobbitses
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are grand fantasy adventures laced with intense action, dramatic moments, and complex characters. When it comes to video game adaptations, most try to capture the feel of the films, or riff on the war at the centre of Tolkien's works. But what if we did away with all of that, and just...
Preview Hello Kitty Island Adventure Could Be the Best Alternative to Animal Crossing on PS5, PS4
A new horizon
The likes of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons have ushered in a new era of the life sim, thanks to their low-pressure gameplay and seemingly unending content. While PlayStation has seen a fair few examples of these cosy titles the last few years, there aren't too many standouts, with ConcernedApe's influential indie...
Preview Black Myth: Wukong Could Finally Be the Game Journey to the West Deserves
Monkeying around
Developed by Chinese studio Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong has garnered a lot of attention since its unveiling back in 2020. After years of unbelievable trailers and gameplay footage, it's now just a couple of months away. Such is the excitement around this title that, after emailing the team as soon as we were able about a...
Preview Playing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero with Zero Knowledge of the Series
Oh, you played Dragon Ball? Do Gohan
This author has to be straight up with you: he’s never engaged with Dragon Ball in any real way. Playing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero at Summer Game Fest Play Days is the most he’s ever interacted with the iconic franchise, and that’ll certainly be heresy to some. However, before you crucify the poor guy...
Preview New World: Aeternum Gets a Fresh Start on PS5, But Can It Stand Out?
A whole new New World
With New World: Aeternum, Amazon Games is bringing its action RPG MMO to consoles after several years exclusively on PC. This new version of the game is essentially a relaunch for the title, making many quality-of-life improvements and including a brand new onboarding process, ensuring new players get off on the right foot. At...
Preview Star Wars Outlaws on PS5 Has a World of Possibilities, But Is Let Down by a Rough Demo
It's easy mm'kay
Despite the overabundance of Star Wars in the last few years thanks to all of those middle-of-the-road Disney+ shows, there’s always been a bit of a white whale for those old enough to remember the pre-Disney era — that being LucasArts’ cancelled Star Wars 1313. While we have an endless number of games where you play as...
Preview LEGO Horizon Adventures Is an Unexpected But Very Pleasant Surprise
The building blocks of civilisation
LEGO Horizon Adventures is a fascinating project from Studio Gobo and Guerrilla Games. As the latter developer's narrative director, James Windeler, recalls, "conversations about the game began around the same time" as the LEGO Tallneck set. Apparently, a lot of the senior staff at Guerrilla are huge LEGO fans,...
Preview Astro Bot on PS5 Could Be the Best 3D Platformer This Side of Nintendo
Robot rock(s)
As we grabbed an Astro blue mocktail and ventured down into Sony's basement dwelling at Summer Game Fest Play Days, Astro Bot came into view, and we immediately knew we were in for a good time. Team Asobi's cutesy robot hero is finally getting the full-length, full-fat platforming game he deserves, and even just the artwork adorning...
Preview Monster Hunter Wilds on PS5 Is Everything We Expected and We Couldn't Be Happier
Keep it up, Capgod
Of all the games we saw at Summer Game Fest Play Days, we were probably most confident in Capcom's hotly anticipated action RPG, Monster Hunter Wilds, and it didn't disappoint. We were led into a viewing room with an enormous screen, showing the game off in a way the franchise deserves. What we saw of Wilds — about 30 minutes of...
Preview Assassin's Creed Shadows' Two Characters Will Satisfy Both Old and New Fans on PS5
Action or stealth?
The Assassin's Creed series got its start with a heavy emphasis on stealth, and while it stuck with that formula for many games, it eventually pivoted to a full-on action RPG. Whether you're into the earlier titles, the larger-scale RPGs, or both, this shift has resulted in a somewhat split fanbase. Assassin's Creed Shadows, with...
Preview Dragon Age: The Veilguard Leans Hard into Companions, Choices, and Consequences
Decisions, decisions
Companions and choices have always been at the heart of Dragon Age, and that looks to be no different in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. In fact, the game recently picked up its new subtitle in order to emphasise how important your party of pals will be during the adventure. From what we saw at Summer Game Fest Play Days — hosted...
Hands On They're Rough Around the Edges, But It's Awesome to Have PS2 Games Back on PS5, PS4
Retro revival
Let’s try this again, eh? Sony originally released a batch of PS2 games on the PS4, but they were buggy, performed poorly, and lacked quality of life features. Now, with its well-established PS1 and PSP emulator, it’s giving the strategy another go – and including the releases in its PS Plus Premium subscription. But how are its...
Preview Unknown 9: Awakening Shows Real Promise, Once the Story's Out of the Way
Stepping up
As we entered the furthest corner of Bandai Namco's space at Summer Game Fest Play Days, we were introduced to the world of Unknown 9, a multimedia story spanning comics, novels, podcasts, and soon, a video game. It's a super ambitious project, and admirable effort has gone into building this intriguing universe, but it's once all the...
Preview Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Slashes Through Soulslike Tropes for Pure, Cutthroat Action
Devil may die
Action games in the mould of Devil May Cry are becoming rarer in this age of the Soulslike, but developer S-GAME is bringing them back with real style. Phantom Blade Zero is one of our favourite games we played during Summer Game Fest Play Days, and that's thanks to its refreshingly expressive battles — despite what it looks like...
Preview Metaphor: ReFantazio Is Already a Contender for RPG of the Year
No metaphors here
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a lot. We were only allowed to spend around an hour with Atlus’ upcoming RPG at this years’ Summer Game Fest, but in that time, we ran into egg enemies wearing boots; we acted like an ass to our other party members; we made kebabs with one of or companions; we also fought squid Jesus which had a heart...
Preview Marvel Rivals Is Overwatch with Superheroes, But Can It Live Up to Either?
Our thoughts after getting hands-on
Marvel Rivals feels like it should be the most sure-fire success in the current gaming landscape. It stars just under 20 heroes and villains (at launch, anyway) from the comic book house's extensive roster, and they're thrown together into a free-to-play third-person shooter that, despite the perspective change,...
Preview Elden Ring Promises a DLC Masterclass in Shadow of the Erdtree
Our three-hour journey to The Land of Shadow
They say it's possible to have too much of a good thing, but nobody knew of Elden Ring when they coined the phrase all those centuries ago. An outstanding winner of copious Game of the Year accolades, the experience remains relevant to this day — and that's even without this month's huge Shadow of the...
Preview Gran Turismo Meets NFS in Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown
Two hours spent racing across Hong Kong
Gran Turismo and Need for Speed are two opposing extremes of a spectrum that, on the whole, isn't that wide. Yet, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown appears to have found a pleasing middle ground between the two. The first series entry in 13 years, the upcoming open world game blends a fairly arcadey approach...
May2024
Preview Trails through Daybreak Is Set to Push Falcom's Fantastic RPG Series Forward
Ad-Van-tage
It seems to be a universal rule that whenever we write about the Trails games, there's at least one person in the comments asking where they should begin with Falcom's long-running RPG series. Naturally, the ideal answer to this query is "with the first game", but not everyone has the time — or patience — to play through at least...
Hands On Will Wuthering Waves Really Replace Genshin Impact on PS5, PS4?
A new challenger enters the arena
Wuthering Waves has released worldwide amid a global marketing campaign likely to have HoYoverse’s higher-ups in cold sweats. The game has seen wall-to-wall promotion here in Asia, where the release’s anime promotional material can be glimpsed in every baseball commercial break, inside most subway stations, and...
Hands On Stellar Blade Does PS5 New Game + the Right Way
A great reason to replay
Stellar Blade is a fantastic game that deserves your attention – but it actually got better after the review embargo lifted with the addition of New Game +. One of the only minor criticisms we had of the Shift Up title in our Stellar Blade PS5 review was that it felt like a game that deserved to be replayed, but during the...
April2024
Preview Luna Abyss Is the Thrilling Bullet Hell Demonspawn of DOOM and Returnal
Bullet heaven
It feels like it's been a while since we've had an exciting new single-player FPS on PS5. Sure, there've been a few releases here and there, like last year's Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, but nothing has really had the same impact as when DOOM Eternal or Metro Exodus released. However, Luna Abyss could be that next game with its...
Hands On Fallout 4 Next-Gen Runs Great on PS5, But Some Old Problems Persist
Fall in, Fallout
Ah, the Commonwealth. A great example of dense open world design, Fallout 4 still has its charms almost a full decade after its original release in 2015. We've spent a good ten hours or so with the game's freshly launched PS5 version, and we're here to report on our findings with regards to technical performance. For the record,...
Preview Tails of Iron 2 Adds Monster Hunting, Undead Bats in Scaled Up Sequel
Fight fur survival
The original Tails of Iron was quietly a big success for developer Odd Bug Studio. The action RPG about a kingdom of rats has drawn in a lot of fans thanks to its sketch-like art style, deliberate combat, and explorable world. We suppose the fact it's narrated by Doug Cockle — voice of Geralt in The Witcher series — may have...
Preview Sand Land Could Be a Surprise PS5 Hit, But the Grind Has to Be Good
Demonic influence
Sand Land, the open world adaptation of Akira Toriyama's standalone manga, has real potential. And honestly, that surprised us, because we had this game (perhaps unfairly) tagged as another somewhat underwhelming Bandai Namco tie-in. But now, having played through several hours of the adventure ourselves, we think this could be one...
Preview MechWarrior 5: Clans Wants to Make the Hardcore Series More Accessible Than Ever on PS5
Mech it happen
Targeting a PS5 release at some point this year, MechWarrior 5: Clans has a clear goal in mind: to expand its audience beyond the hardcore fans of this long-running series. Indeed, MechWarrior has always been a fairly demanding franchise — which has largely stuck to PC — but Clans is built to be the most accessible entry to date...
March2024
Hands On Dragon's Dogma 2 Update Improves Frame Rate on PS5 at the Cost of Ray Tracing
30fps option feels pointless, though
Dragon's Dogma 2 has been blessed with some notable improvements via its first post-launch update. With patch 1.050, Capcom has implemented several graphics settings on PS5, and we're happy to report that the open world RPG has taken a decent step in the right direction. To start with, let's go over the options...
Preview Stellar Blade Is the PS5 Exclusive Enthusiasts Have Been Praying For
Finally some good f*cking food
If you were raised on a diet of Japan Studio oddities and quirky PlayStation published exclusives, then Stellar Blade is the game you’ve been praying for. Developed by Korean studio Shift Up – the infamous outfit behind the wildly popular smartphone shooter NIKKE: Goddess of Victory – this single player PS5...
Preview TopSpin 2K25 Might Be Worth the 13-Year Wait
We (40) Love this game
It’s been over a decade since we last smashed a killer serve in the TopSpin series, but 2024 will see the confident re-debut of TopSpin 2K25. This is a bombastic return that easily stands alongside its 2K brethren with a flashy, fun, and packed experience that has steadily become our most anticipated sports title of 2024 —...
Preview Rise of the Ronin Shows Promise, But It's No Showstopper Yet
Our thoughts after four hours of play
After honing its craft across the Ninja Gaiden series, two Nioh games, and the recent Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, you can hardly call Rise of the Ronin a coming-out party for Team Ninja. This is a vastly experienced developer that knows what it's doing, and has done so to good success for almost 30 years. The...
