PS4 Game Reviews
Review Wattam - Katamari Creator Returns with Another Gleefully Weird Playground on PS4
Kaboom it
The most common question we see about Wattam is quite a big one: what is it, and what do you do? You may be surprised to learn that the answer is pretty straightforward. This is a game helmed by Katamari creator Keita Takahashi, so a degree of whimsical weirdness is to be expected. However, as with his other games, all the bright colours...
Mini Review Untitled Goose Game - 2019's Most Popular Indie Waddles Onto PS4
Honk Fuzz
Untitled Goose Game has finally migrated to PlayStation 4, and it's every bit as wonderful as you've heard. You play as the titular antagonistic avian with the sole intent of causing as much misery as possible. The residents of the small English village are going about their day, and it's your job to stick your beak where it's not wanted...
Mini Review Ashen - One of the Best Souls-Likes Around
Ruined beauty
After a year of exclusivity, one of 2018’s best indie titles has finally been given its chance to shine by way of a glorious PlayStation 4 port. Ashen is a Souls-like in every sense of the word, but it’s one of the few which comes close to matching the quality of From Software. With a gorgeous open world to explore and deep,...
Review Shenmue III - An Impossible Sequel That's Enjoyable Against All Odds
Lost in time
The fact that Shenmue III feels like a direct continuation of the cult SEGA Dreamcast classics is testament to veteran director Yu Suzuki’s unflinching ambition. There may have been almost two decades between this long-anticipated PlayStation 4 instalment and its predecessor, but developer Ys Net isn’t afraid to pick up the plot...
Mini Review Fight'N Rage - One of the PS4's Best Retro Beat-'Em-Ups
Mutant mash
Fight'N Rage is a fantastic brawler that manages to capture the spirit of classic arcade beat-'em-ups. It's fast, it's punchy, and it's packed with vicious mutants. As soon as you boot it up, it's clear that developer Seba Games Dev has a passion for old school brawlers, but that's not to say the game's lacking an identity of its own...
Mini Review Tools Up! - An Entertaining Co-Op Game That Almost Captures the Overcooked Magic
Job's a goodun
Tools Up takes the manic multiplayer of Overcooked and gives it a DIY makeover. Instead of things getting heated in the kitchen, up to four players are instead renovating an apartment block floor by floor. You'll be laying down flooring, painting walls, moving furniture, and more as you aim to achieve three stars in each of the 30...
Review Blair Witch - Limp Horror Game Doesn't Play to Its Strengths
99 problems but a witch ain't one
The Blair Witch Project was a smash hit found-footage horror movie released in 1999, followed by a crummy sequel in 2000 that eschewed much of what made the original popular in the first place. There was a second sequel in 2016 -- confusingly titled Blair Witch -- which we'd forgotten about until we Wikipedia'd the...
Mini Review Lost Ember - This Game About Shifting Between Animals Is a Bit Ruff
Walkies simulator
The big gameplay hook for Lost Ember is the ability to swap from one animal to another. Doing so allows you to view the game's big environments from different perspectives, but more importantly, allows you to utilise each beast's unique abilities in order to advance. It's a novel idea, but the game built around it feels...
Review Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - Too Much Monkeying Around in This Ambitious Survival Sim
Money see, monkey don’t
Set 10 million years before the dawn of humanity, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is the story of ape to proto-human evolution, with particular emphasis on the dangers that forced our fuzzy forebears into learning the skills that ensured the human success story. Taking place in prehistoric Africa, Ancestors throws the...
Mini Review Simulacra - FMV Chat Logs Worthy of a Phone Contract
Find My iPhone
Losing a mobile phone has to be one of the biggest first-world problems, but it becomes an entirely different ball game when its owner also disappears off the face of the planet. Anna's smartphone has just been delivered to your door, and in Simulacra, you'll need to work out what has happened to her. Taking place entirely on the...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube152k Watch on YouTube Review Arise: A Simple Story - Time Manipulation Strengthens the Beauty of Simplicity
Back to the future
Spanish developer Piccolo Studio's debut title is one that wears its heart on its sleeve. Pitched from the outset as an uncomplicated experience, it embraces that nature to tantalizing effect with a collection of levels that is sure to pull on even the tightest of heartstrings. It's a game that refuses to dabble in complex...
Mini Review Story of a Gladiator - A Simple But Surprisingly Addictive Little Brawler
Thumbs up
Story of a Gladiator is a deceptively decent indie beat-'em-up. Crafted by the tiny team over at Brain Seal Ltd, it puts you in the blood-soaked shoes of a warrior who fights for glory in a trio of equally blood-soaked arenas. At a glance the game looks a little cheap with its stiff animation and basic interface, but once you're swinging...
Mini Review GRIS - This Simple 2D Platformer Paints a Gorgeous Picture on PS4
GRIS is the word
GRIS is beautiful. From the very moment the game begins to its emotional end, you could push that Share button at any time and have a frame-worthy screenshot. What makes this 2D platformer so striking and so captivating is its minimalistic visuals, using limited colours, hand-crafted animation, and breathtaking backdrops to great...
Mini Review Gas Guzzlers Extreme - Nothing Extreme About This Ropey PS4 Racer
Put it in reverse
Gas Guzzlers Extreme is a bad name for a pretty bad game. A combat racer that looks and feels like a title from generations gone by, it fails to really impress on any level. PlayStation 4 is a platform that's suffered a lack of arcade racing games, but this one can't hold a candle to the few decent examples available. One of its...
Review Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame - A Disappointing Ride
Road rash
Republished on Wednesday 27th November 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Racing games are dime a dozen, but while most focus on cars or more “extreme” sports, it’s relatively slim pickings when it comes to motocross and...
Review Titanfall 2 - One of PS4's Most Inventive First Person Shooters
Mech heaven
Republished on Wednesday 27th November 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Sometimes a game will come along and blow away any expectations you held for it. DOOM is a prime example from earlier in the year, with a sublime...
Mini Review The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets - An Adorable But Brief PSVR Puzzler
Animal magic
The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets is a PlayStation VR puzzle game in which you swivel a handful of dioramas around in search of hidden animals. There's not much more to it than that, but it gets away with such a simple idea by presenting it wonderfully. It's an absolute walk in the park, but there's still a satisfaction to solving...
Mini Review Doctor Who: The Edge of Time - A PSVR Game Only Whovians Could Love
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey
It's always felt like BBC's campy sci-fi show should be a home run in video games, but it's rarely translated well to an interactive format. PlayStation VR adventure Doctor Who: The Edge of Time is an effort to change that, but it's ultimately a bit flat, leaning a little too heavily on fan-pleasing moments instead of...
Mini Review Sparklite - A Sparkling Rogue-Lite Adventure
Shine bright like a diamond
Weaving the charm of 2D Zelda games with rogue-lite mechanics, Sparklite is quite literally a gem to be uncovered. Set in the ever-changing land of Geodia, and the balloon powered hub-ship above, you play as Ada, a sky-refugee turned Titan slayer tasked with collecting all the Sparklite she can. The titular currency...
Review Civilization VI - The Best Strategy Game on PS4
Everybody wants to rule the world
In the year 1886, Greece was a world superpower thanks to unparalleled scientific discovery and widespread cultural influence. Sparta was home to great scientists like Sir Isaac Newton, and world wonders such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Edgar Allen Poe wrote The Raven there, while gazing out of his hotel...
Review Blacksad: Under the Skin - A 1950s Whodunit with More Bugs Than Mysteries
Feline rough
Blacksad: Under the Skin is an adventure game set in 1950s New York where all the characters are anthropomorphic animals. It’s based on a gritty comic book series created by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, but you don’t need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy the game. There’s a definite film noir style going...
Mini Review Bee Simulator - A Good Natured Game, But It Still Stings
More like half-a-bee
There's a simulator for all kinds of weirdly specific things these days, to the point where it's a bit of a running joke. Some really are trying to portray a true to life experience, while others use the moniker ironically. Bee Simulator flies closer to the latter camp, although instead of aiming for cheap laughs, it's hoping to...
Review Golem - The World Is Not Enough to Save This PSVR Title from Itself
Rock slide
Have you ever had one of those games you were really excited for, but once the game finally comes out you end up not just disliking it, but actually kind of hating it? Enter Highwire Games’ Golem. Despite being delayed over and over since 2015’s announcement, it doesn’t feel like a stretch to say more delays may have been the right...
Mini Review Audica - Harmonix's PSVR Rhythm Game Is Right on Target
Rock n' roll is king
PlayStation VR isn’t hurting for good experiences, but it’s time to throw another on the stack. Rhythm kings Harmonix are back with Audica, a VR music experience where you shoot at notes as they fly towards you. While its gameplay may be more comparable to the Persona dancing games, the gameplay loop is every bit as...
Mini Review Last Labyrinth - PSVR's Most Baffling Experience
At least it's the last one
Every so often, a video game will come along that seemingly defies all preconceived logic and common sense. That can be a good thing, or it can go the way of The Quiet Man. Unfortunately, Last Labyrinth is a PlayStation VR title that very much belongs in the latter category. Its core mechanic is sound enough, if a little...
Review Terminator: Resistance - Schwarzenegger Spin-Off Betters Rambo in Every Way
Fall of man
Coming off the back of 2014's Rambo: The Video Game, it's easy to see why expectations for Teyon and Reef Entertainment's next joint venture were not at an all-time high. The twosome has finally arrived on the current generation of consoles with a whole lot of negative baggage and yet another movie property in their palms, but can they...
Mini Review Valfaris - Heavy Metal Headliner Is Hellishly Worthy
Go to Hell, for Heaven's Sake
Valfaris isn’t interested in pleasantries and introductions. The Slain: Back From Hell spiritual successor is a headbanging romp across an alien planet that lets the action do the talking. Teeming with the Devil’s deadliest associates, it’s 2D shooting mayhem that manages to match impressive enemy designs with...
Review Death Stranding - Hideo Kojima's Latest Masterpiece Has Arrived
I'm not that Fragile
When Hideo Kojima stated that his next project would bring about an entirely new genre, he wasn't joking. Death Stranding may feel familiar in minor mechanical means, but it's also wholly unique among a sea of AAA titles eager to take advantage of the latest RPG levelling system. It's a social experience where you never see...
Mini Review Antigraviator - This Anti-Gravity Imitator Wipes Out on PS4
So-so, speed racer
WipEout is an excellent target to aim for, but rarely do attempts at recapturing the series' magic get it right. Unfortunately, that's the case with Antigraviator, a newly released, high speed, anti-gravity racing game. It features a handful of different customisable ships to pilot through a few different race types, and swaps out...
Mini Review Yakuza 4 Remastered - Uneven Storytelling Holds Back Another Solid Yakuza Title
Four's a crowd
When it originally released back in 2010, Yakuza 4 was defined by its four playable characters -- a first for the series. Alongside mainstay protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, players got to experience the stories of charismatic loan shark Akiyama, escaped convict Saejima, and street-smart cop Tanimura. In Yakuza 4 Remastered, all four...
