PS5 Game Reviews
Mini Review The Thing Remastered (PS5) - A Polished Up Horror Gem with Some Rough Edges
I’ll show you what I already know
One of the earliest articles this author ever wrote for Push Square was about Computer Artworks’ terrifying 2002 horror shooter, The Thing. A decade later, Nightdive Studios has worked its magic on a remaster, breathing new life into this rough-around-the-edges gem. Being a direct continuation of the greatest...
Review Behemoth (PSVR2) - Great Concept, Poor Execution
Behemoths, bandits, and bugs
Skydance’s Behemoth is one of the biggest PSVR2 releases of 2024. Coming from the developers of The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners franchise, Skydance is switching out revolvers and walkers for swords and cursed beasts, promising one of the largest scale fantasy outings in the VR medium. However, Behemoth is proof...
Mini Review Naiad (PS5) - A Cosy, Stunningly Beautiful Experience
Koyaanisqatsi
Naiad is a beautiful puzzler made by a solo developer under the name HiWarp. In it, you play as Naiad, a river spirit tasked with helping animals as you navigate your way through a series of interconnected rivers on your quest to reach the ocean. This visually stunning game is spread out over 16 episodes, each in its own biome. For...
The soul remains
When you think back on the Soul Reaver games, you think about their atmosphere, their tone, and that often immaculate voice acting. What you don't necessarily think about, is how awkward and clumsy they were to actually play — and ultimately, those same ups and downs apply to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. To...
Mini Review Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind (PS5) - A Short But Sweet Nostalgia Trip
That witch came from the moon
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is almost exactly what you want it to be. An arcadey beat-'em-up that brings back memories of the show, this has one or two rough edges but ultimately delivers a potent dose of fun. Playing as any of the original Rangers (plus the Green Ranger after completing the story...
Review Fantasian Neo Dimension (PS5) - Delightful JRPG Comfort Food Let Down by Uneven Combat
Final Fantasian
Fantasian Neo Dimension is a little like Japanese role playing game comfort food. There's the slightly androgynous amnesiac hero. He'll go on a quest to reclaim his memories and along the way he'll meet up with a slightly kooky orphan mage with secrets of her own to uncover. They'll befriend the sassy princess, the lovable rogue, the...
Mini Review Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PS5) - Grim Horde Shooter Is Frantic Fun
Rough around the edges, but one hell of a ride
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is developer Fatshark's take on Games Workshop's grimdark universe and a refinement of the combat and gameplay of its earlier Vermintide titles. A first-person multiplayer cooperative game, each Darktide mission will see squads of four players (or, in their absence, AI bots)...
Mini Review Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (PS5) - Bring a Notebook for This Dense, Compelling Puzzler
Eye caramba
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of those games you shouldn't read too much about before playing it. By design, it's packed to the rafters with layers upon layers of puzzles, and discussing this web of head-scratchers — or even its story — would be to undo a little bit of its magic. Initially, all you know is that you've arrived by...
Mini Review Nine Sols (PS5) - The Best Metroidvania on the Market
Nine Sols/10
Rather than waiting impatiently for Hollow Knight: Silksong, you should play Nine Sols, a Taiwanese Metroidvania that just got ported over to PS5. It beautifully blends the philosophy of Taosim and the styles of East Asia with a sci-fi flair to deliver a thoughtful story told in a vibrant and deadly world. The plot follows Yi, a cyborg...
Mini Review Trombone Champ: Unflattened (PSVR2) - Ridiculous Rhythm Game Is Top Brass Nonsense
Let it slide
Following Trombone Champ's viral success on flat screens last year, it's now come for the virtual reality crown too, and if anything, the format elevates the silliness even more. Trombone Champ: Unflattened successfully brings this ludicrous rhythm game to PSVR2, building on the unwieldy hilarity already present by having you mime the...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube152k Watch on YouTube Mini Review 8-Bit Adventures 2 (PS5) - Don't Sleep on This Superb Tribute to Old JRPGs
Better than OK, Computer
Many an indie developer has tried to recapture the magic of formative Japanese RPGs — but few have managed to pull it off with such charm and confidence as Critical Games. The Australian studio has delivered something quite special with 8-Bit Adventures 2 — a title that doesn't sacrifice its own identity in pursuit of...
Review Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (PS5) - A Timeless RPG, and a Gorgeous Nostalgia Trip
Golden oldies
You always know what you're getting with a mainline Dragon Quest game. The series is pretty much the epitome of consistent, having stuck to its timeless Japanese RPG formula for decades. But that comfy feeling of familiarity somehow hits even harder with Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake — a powerfully nostalgic rebuild of a true classic...
Review LEGO Horizon Adventures (PS5) - Dull Design Lets Down This Gorgeous Spin-Off
Abridged too far
Nobody could've expected LEGO Horizon Adventures, a playful, plastic take on one of PlayStation's most popular franchises. Aloy's main games are laden with thick sci-fi lore, serious themes, and complex mechanics; squeezing all of that into an all-ages spin-off has always felt like a tall order. The result is a game that delights us...
Block party
Tetris was and is a global phenomenon that remains pick-up-and-play perfection to this day, and its history is lovingly chronicled in Digital Eclipse's latest: Tetris Forever. It charts the franchise's entire history, from the brainchild of Alexey Pajitnov to its popularity explosion as a Game Boy pack-in and beyond. A far cry from the...
Review Metro Awakening (PSVR2) - One of the Most Immersive VR Games Ever
Make your bullets count
Metro Awakening is arguably the biggest PSVR2 release of 2024, but it’s also a big shift for Vertigo Games, the team behind the Arizona Sunshine series. While the wacky and bloody antics of zombie slaying are an easy fit for the VR format, the Metro series is all about stealth, bullet counting, and that dread-inducing...
Mini Review Metal Slug Tactics (PS5) – Some of the Best Tactics Since Into the Breach
Hooked on a Fio
From the moment it was announced Metal Slug Tactics was a winner in our eyes. Marrying the SNK classic with the turn-based tactics genre is a golden idea on paper. Hearing it’s a roguelike in the vein of Into the Breach was the coup de grâce for this game being anything but a banger. And we’re happy to say it lives up to those...
More death loops than Deathloop
Nobody expected a spinoff to 2022’s The Callisto Protocol and so Redacted — a fast-paced, twin-stick shooter roguelike — comes as a pleasant surprise. Set in CP’s Black Iron prison on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto, you take on the role of a prison guard who is not only in a race to reach the last remaining escape...
Mini Review Empire of the Ants (PS5) - A Confused RTS That Shines in Its Multiplayer
Jack of all trades, master of none
Empire of the Ants is a victim of its own ambition. It burrows into the undergrowth offering a fresh perspective on the lives of critters dwelling on our forest floor and raises some interesting environmental questions during its campaign, but spreads itself too thin trying to be both an RTS and a platformer...
Review Slitterhead (PS5) - Inventive Horror Is Essential for Japan Studio Fans
Smells like Shibito spirit
Slitterhead – directed by Japan Studio veteran Keiichiro Toyama – feels like a spiritual successor to Siren, Gravity Rush, and Soul Sacrifice all at the same time. This inventive, unusual survival horror is far from perfect, with inconsistent visuals, repetition, and some unrefined gameplay systems. But if you’ve...
Mini Review Planet Coaster 2 (PS5) - Improved Sequel Offers a Ride Well Worth Taking
Splashtastic
Much like its predecessor, Planet Coaster 2 is a theme park creative management game which lets you design and run your own amusement park and offers new features compared to its predecessor. The biggest and most obvious change to the sequel is the addition of water parks. You can now add swimming pools, lazy rivers, and a variety of...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PS5) - The Strongest Return to FPS Form
Gulf in class
Nobody likes a quitter, and last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is proof of what can happen when you get your head down and work to right one’s wrongs. Heavily criticised as a glorified DLC, a year of unmatched support has seen the game rise from the ashes as one of the most robust, content-rich multiplayer offerings the...
Review Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (PS5) - A Sublime Remaster of a Modern PlayStation Classic
Aloy-al to the original, but better
Dutch developer Guerrilla seemingly achieved the impossible with Horizon Zero Dawn. After a decade slaving away over first-person shooter series Killzone, the studio effectively retooled itself as a maker of open world RPGs, and sold tens of millions of copies in the process. The intellectual property has since...
The sins of our fathers
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a remake of the influential, Japan-only, 1993 original JRPG of the same name. Square Enix has modernised the experience, which holds its own even in a year which has proven extremely strong for the genre. With a classic design, exciting twists on well-worn systems, deep combat, and...
Review Phasmophobia (PS5) - A Hilariously Horrid Co-Op Experience
Welcome to the Spook Squad
Cult co-op horror game Phasmophobia has finally made its way to PS5. This is one of those games we’ve watched from afar, somewhat jealous of all the hilarious clips that have spread since its initial launch on PC back in 2020. Now on PS5, along with PSVR2 support, have the spooks been worth the wait? While Phasmophobia...
Review Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (PS5) - Hallmark Series Loses Its Charm
Hella disappointing
After taking over development duties from Don’t Nod, Deck Nine really made the Life Is Strange series its own with 2021’s True Colours. Now heading up Double Exposure, the developer is reaching into Don’t Nod territory by bringing back everybody’s favourite hella awkward teen, Max Caulfield, now as an adult. With a...
Review Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
Let them Rook
It's been close to ten whole years since Dragon Age: Inquisition, if you can believe it — and it's fair to say that developer BioWare has endured a difficult decade. The studio effectively tanked its once industry-leading reputation with Mass Effect: Andromeda and ANTHEM — two titles that fell so far short of past standards that...
Mini Review Starship Troopers: Extermination (PS5) - Not Just a Helldivers Clone
Thrilling, retro bug killing
You might think you're familiar with Starship Troopers: Extermination because you've played Helldivers 2. They're both satirical games where you take up arms as an indoctrinated foot soldier in a fascistic army and fight endless hordes of terrifying bugs, but Extermination has a well-implemented base-building twist and...
Mini Review MechWarrior 5: Clans (PS5) - An Obsolete Model
Grinding gears
If you're a fan of mech games, there are different subgenres to choose from. There's the difficult twitch combat of Armored Core and the beat-'em-up brawls of Gundam Breaker. MechWarrior 5: Clans doesn’t fit into either of those categories. You pilot slow, lumbering machines, and it's more like a mecha XCOM than anything else. While...
Mini Review Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered (PS5) - A Hella Good Update
A dish best served hella remastered
It’s been a long time since Shadows of the Damned dropped — 13 years, in fact. The game industry has changed substantially in that time, but a good game is still a good game. And that’s what we’re lucky enough to encounter here with Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered. Narratively, this gonzo world...
Mini Review Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake (PS5) - A Gorgeous Return to Series' Roots
“I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me”
Koei Tecmo is almost single-handedly keeping the niche historical simulation strategy subgenre alive at this stage, which is fitting, as back in 1985, when the company was just Koei, it was primarily responsible for creating it. Not to be confused with the series' latest, PS4's Romance...
