PS4 Game Reviews
Review Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Nathan Drake's Swan Song Is Another Stunner
Greatness from small beginnings
Republished on Tuesday 24th March 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the leak of April's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will not redefine the gaming landscape like its predecessors, but Drake's latest adventure is undoubtedly his greatest...
Mini Review DOOM 64 - After More Than 20 Years, DOOM's Oft-Forgotten Third Instalment Packs a Punch
It's been 64 years
It’s easy to forget that DOOM 64 is not simply a port of the original DOOM to Nintendo 64, but a fully-fledged sequel that was developed Midway Games. It’s even easier to forget that this was actually a pretty impressive step forward. While aiming is still archaic – lateral aiming only – the level design represents a...
Mini Review Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure - A Fun Adaptation of Arkanoid
Beyond
Colin Moriarty has been one of the most prominent names in PlayStation fandom for over a decade now, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Lilymo Games’ alternate take on Arkanoid goes above and – ahem – beyond to squeeze in the heroes of the popular Sacred Symbols podcast. Accompanied by his co-host Chris Ray Gun, this arcade brick...
Review Paper Beast - Novel PSVR Experience Is Another World Worth Exploring
Paper view
The thing that's so great about virtual reality is that it opens up all new possibilities for video games. By putting you right into the world, PlayStation VR can provide experiences that a flat TV screen simply can't. It makes a game more tangible and believable when you can literally reach out and grab something, or throw a real punch...
Review My Hero One's Justice 2 - Disappointing Sequel Is Still Just an Average Arena Fighter
Less Plus Ultra, more Meh Ultra
My Hero One’s Justice 2 is the second fighting game based on My Hero Academia, arguably one of the most popular anime in the world. As its title suggests, My Hero One’s Justice 2 is the follow-up to 2018’s equally awkwardly titled My Hero One’s Justice -- and it's every bit as bland as its predecessor. My...
Review DOOM Eternal - The Best First-Person Shooter on PS4
Hell's Bells
After a dismal start to the year for new releases, id Software has issued the industry with the firmest kick up the arse imaginable. DOOM Eternal is absolutely incredible. In building off of a fantastic predecessor, the Texas-based studio has reached new heights as its equation of intense, fast-paced action and enjoyable exploration has...
Mini Review Hidden Through Time - Cute Hidden Object Game Is Harder Than It Looks
Find your way through history
Hidden Through Time is an ultra-simple game about finding objects and people in numerous busy scenes. If you've ever stared at the colourful pages of a Where's Waldo book, you'll feel right at home. The difference here is that you're not looking for just one specific character; each level gives you multiple things to...
Review Nioh 2 - Team Ninja Plays it Safe with Excellent, Action-Packed Sequel
Blood, sweat, and Yokai
As far as sequels go, Nioh 2 isn't the most revolutionary. Developer Team Ninja has built and iterated upon the strong foundations laid by a predecessor widely considered to be one of the best Dark Souls titles not made by From Software, but is that enough in today's world? The follow-up does introduce new mechanics, weapons,...
Review Overpass - Extreme Off-Road Racer Is a Rough Ride
Rocky road
As far as racing games go on PlayStation 4, Overpass offers something fairly unique. In this game from Bigben Interactive, it's you against the earth as you traverse harsh terrain as quickly as possible in ATVs and buggies. It's certainly a novel concept, but sadly the gameplay is about as refined as the craggy rocks that you're supposed...
Review The Division 2: Warlords of New York - Glitchy Expansion Is More of the Same
Press F to pay respects
It's been quite the fall from grace for The Division 2. After launching a year ago to widespread praise, the looter shooter all but disappeared off the face of the earth over the summer months as developer Massive Entertainment struggled to keep fans engaged with lacking content drops and controversial patches. Three minor...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube152k Watch on YouTube Mini Review Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions - Jigsaw Puzzles and Chill
Picking up the pieces
Who doesn't like a simple jigsaw puzzle every now and then? There's something wonderfully satisfying about fitting all the pieces together and seeing the end result. There are a handful of jigsaw style games on PlayStation 4, and one of the latest is Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions. This indie puzzler has around 30 stained glass...
Review One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows - You Too Can Defeat Any Enemy with the Press of a Button
One hit wonder
Starting life as a viral webcomic back in 2009, One Punch Man is a celebration and a send-up of superhero fiction. It’s creator, aptly named One, envisaged the story of a hero who was already the best. Tired of being able to defeat every enemy he faces with one punch, protagonist Saitama worries more about missing the supermarket...
Review Bloodroots - Edge-of-Your-Seat Action Puzzler Brings Wild Thrills
Wolf gang
Bloodroots is brilliant. This action puzzler from Canadian developer Paper Cult channels the violent energy of Hotline Miami, but sheds Dennaton Games’ synthwave aesthetic for cartoon conflicts that are every inch as intensely addictive. This is a graceful, rhythmic dance of death that encourages improvisation while simultaneously...
Review Sonic Forces - Hedgehog More Like Roadkill in Another Disappointing Misadventure
Hogs of war
Republished on Wednesday 26th February 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. In some ways, Sonic Forces is exactly what the younger fan base will want. Those who grew up playing Sonic Unleashed, Generations, and the...
Review Shadow of the Colossus - A Masterful Remake of an All-Time PlayStation Classic
World Wander
Republished on Wednesday 26th February 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. It’s fitting that one of the greatest games of all time should be graced with one of the best remakes of all time. For some years now the Texas-based...
Mini Review Ganbare! Super Strikers - Tactical Take on the Beautiful Game
You'll get a kick out of it
Think of Ganbare! Super Strikers not as a sports game, but as a strategy campaign a little bit like Advance Wars or XCOM. That’s how this fusion of football and tactics works, adopting a turn-based format where you need to move your players into position, pass the ball, and, fingers crossed, score some goals. There’s...
Review Hunt: Showdown - A Monster That Needs More Meat On Its Bones
"I'll hold them off, and Bayou some time"
A truly monstrous take on multiplayer shooters, Hunt: Showdown finally makes its way to the PlayStation 4 having already set hairs on edge elsewhere. Despite being in need of some more combat, the game is an unsettling experience that melds player-versus-player and player-versus-environment content to offer...
Review Two Point Hospital - Management Sim Is a Worthy Successor to Theme Hospital
Sick
Theme Park proved that big business could be big fun, and its spiritual successor Theme Hospital became something of a cult classic that kids from the era continue to quote even today. Given the legendary 1997 business simulation’s legacy, it’s curious that it’s taken this long for Two Point Hospital to make an appointment, but if...
Mini Review Knightin'+ - Zelda-Lite Is Too Simplistic with Just Dungeons
Trifine
Are we witnessing the origins of an all-new genre? Knightin’+ started life on itch.io and bills itself as a Zelda-lite. The gameplay is easy to describe: it’s Zelda in dungeon form only. This means that there’s no hub-world to explore, just a maze of rooms with keys to find, puzzles to solve, and bosses to beat. You’ll also happen...
Your inventory is full
Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story is an isometric dungeon crawling action RPG that, as its title suggests, branches off from the janky but fun Way of the Samurai series. Playing as a wandering swordsman who helps a blacksmith settle his debt, you're tasked with exploring a ghostly realm that appears in the night, looting...
Mini Review EarthNight - Gorgeous Auto-Runner Is Spiky as a Dragon's Back
Tread carefully
EarthNight has been a long time coming, and you can tell just by playing that it's been polished to within an inch of its life. It's a pretty simple game at its heart; you auto-run across the backs of invading dragons, hoovering up loot and stomping on baddies, until you inevitably die and start over again. However, it's been refined...
Mini Review Yakuza 5 Remastered - Biggest Game in the Series Is Still Brilliant
Five stars
It took three whole years for the original Yakuza 5 to come West on PlayStation 3, and by that point in 2015, the PlayStation 4 was gaming's dominant console. As such, Yakuza 5 often gets forgotten -- but it shouldn't be. Yakuza 5 Remastered is a potent reminder that this gargantuan game deserved so much better. The story's split between...
Mini Review Draugen - This Walking Simulator Takes a Fatal Tumble
Drab
Draugen feels like the opposite of Firewatch. Both games capture the imagination with a fascinating premise told against the backdrop of a stunning location, but instead of remaining rooted in reality, the Red Thread developed title gives way to lunacy at the first time of asking. It makes for an unsatisfying walking simulator which can only...
Mini Review Mosaic - An Intriguing Experience That Can't Stick the Landing
Big brother is watching
Much like with its previous title, Among the Sleep, developer Krillbite seems to have bitten off more than it can chew. Mosaic is an intriguing title with exciting ideas. Unfortunately, the ideas simply outpace the resources that the developer has available to realise them. But it’s not for lack of trying. Mosaic’s...
Review Bayonetta - The Umbra Witch Gets the PS4 Release She Deserves
Let's dance boys
Bayonetta was a disaster on PlayStation 3. Plagued by load times and frequent frame rate drops, it was by far the worst version of the lot when it took the world by storm in 2010. Since then, however, the franchise has gone from strength to strength away from Sony hardware as it blossoms on Nintendo Switch. The series' second...
Review Vanquish - One of PlatinumGames' Best Titles Knee Slides to PS4
Miss me, sweetheart?
Ever since its release 10 years ago, there hasn’t been anything quite like Vanquish. The fast-paced, stylish third-person shooter quickly became one of PlatinumGames' most memorable joints thanks to hectic action, impressive boss fights, and a whole lot of knee sliding chaos. It was an experience which went down well with the...
Review Dreams - Media Molecule's Magnum Opus Is a Dream Come True on PS4
What dreams are made of
If you've been following Push Square over the last year or so, it's likely you already know how we feel about Dreams. Media Molecule's latest title has been playable in early access for a number of months, and we, among others, have already laid down our thoughts on this most unusual project. However, after spending about 50...
Mini Review Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate - Hack and Slasher Finally Feels Like the Complete Package
Promoted
We weren't overly impressed with Warriors Orochi 4 when it launched in 2018, but Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate is definitely a cut above. Available as either a digital expansion or a re-release, Ultimate adds two new story chapters, a handful of new characters, and an endgame 'Infinity Mode'. It also brings a number of improvements to the...
Review Darksiders Genesis - Competent Prequel Lacks Originality
Then there was War
On the face of things, Darksiders Genesis is yet another example of the THQ Nordic-fronted franchise mixing things up to ensure one more fresh experience for its fans. Developer Airship Syndicate is at the helm this time around with a prequel which ditches classic third-person action for a perspective more akin to Diablo than...
Mini Review Rugby 20 - Grubby Sports Game Is Weirdly Addictive
Try hard
Rugby 20 doesn’t come packaged with a Ralph Lauren polo shirt or a pint of pale ale, but it does talk a big game as this year’s Six Nations gets into full swing. Promising the “complete experience”, this is a rare attempt at bringing the egg-shaped antics of Britain’s most popular back-passing sport to the PlayStation 4 – and it...
