PS4 Game Reviews
Review Escape Goat 2 (PlayStation 4)
Just kidding around
The puzzle platform game has become a staple of console indies over the last generation. You can’t swing a cat without hitting plenty of examples, all looking to test your brain to the limit with fiendish puzzles, that’ll have you spending more time scratching your head than jumping around. With the arrival of Escape Goat 2...
Review Natural Doctrine (PlayStation 4)
Doctorate encouraged
Most strategy games have consistent traits, from the required line of sight to turn-based attacks and environmental multipliers. Natural Doctrine takes these basics and develops them beyond recognition. This is a devilishly intelligent title that’s perhaps a little too clever, and it alienates itself somewhat as a result...
Review Race the Sun (PlayStation 4)
Flight to freedom
Race the Sun is a very simple game. That isn't meant as a criticism – indeed, the title's focus is arguably its greatest asset. After a successful Kickstarter, this unique take on a popular genre has made its way onto Sony's systems with almost non-existent fanfare. But, do its straightforward systems make for a satisfying...
Review Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PlayStation 4)
Technologic
Set around 40 years from now, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare attempts to show us a world that's more reliant on technology than ever. It's a fictional period that has its roots in reality, and it's a premise that's relatively believable. While armies and private military corporations with access to walking tanks and hulking mech suits...
Review Minutes (PlayStation 4)
Bullet heaven
Minutes’ key art may draw comparisons to Countdown, but in Channel 4 game show terms, this is way more Rachel Riley than Des O’Connor. An energetic arcade experience, this blistering bullet hell-inspired escapade is a real breath of fresh air. And while it may not silence the anti-indie crowd, it’s a shining example of how good...
Review Fluster Cluck (PlayStation 4)
Cluck up
The plethora of indies gracing the PlayStation 4 keep on coming, and while not every single one of them is a knockout, there have been a few stunners over the past year. To add to the ever growing list is a game with a name that isn’t afraid to play with words. Enter Cluster...Er, Fluster Cluck – a four-player competitive twin-stick...
Review The Unfinished Swan (PlayStation 4)
Placeholder strapline
Back in 2012, when indie startup Giant Sparrow released The Unfinished Swan, we were bowled over by it, awarding it a rare 10/10 in our review. Understandably, we were subsequently ecstatic when Sony announced earlier in the year that it was bringing the curious campaign to the PlayStation 4 alongside fellow digital download...
Review Costume Quest 2 (PlayStation 4)
Trick or treat?
Costume Quest 2 is the latest game from lauded developer Double Fine, and is actually the firm’s first full-blown sequel to boot. The title depicts the continuing adventures of twins Reynold and Wren, as they combat a time travelling delinquent dentist determined to destroy Hallowe’en and its teeth-decaying deeds. Much like the...
Review Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut (PlayStation 4)
No longer alone
Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut is the latest indie title to make the jump from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4, and with great seasonal timing to boot. The question is: is the game’s special brand of horror still capable of sending shivers down your spice on Sony’s next-gen machine? In short, of course it is. The...
Review Lords of the Fallen (PlayStation 4)
Harkyn and soul
With the spawn of the Souls series, gamers around the world have developed a soft spot for controller breaking games with horrendously difficult barriers of entry. Lords of the Fallen is Polish studio CI Games' first attempt at imitating the franchise's success – but does it stand up to its competitors? While the Souls series...
Review Pix the Cat (PlayStation 4)
Feline fine
At first glance, Pix the Cat appears to be a relatively simple arcade experience. However, this unassuming exterior belies its innovative and addictive mechanics, as well its surfeit of surplus content. Make no mistake, this is an insanely infectious indie which absolutely deserves your attention. At its core, Pastagames’ latest is an...
Review The Legend of Korra (PlayStation 4)
Elemental breakdown
For years, Avatar fans have been asking for a good game that represents a franchise with so much potential – but does The Legend of Korra live up to these expectations? For those not familiar with the animation of the same name, it's a television series that's the sequel to Avatar: the Last Airbender. In this world, some people...
Review Shadow Warrior (PlayStation 4)
Crouching tiger, hidden Wang
Take those old kung-fu movies that get repeated endlessly on daytime cable channels, add a dash of retro shooter and whatever random bits of supernatural plot you have lying around, and that’s Shadow Warrior. An overpriced product of a bygone era, its attempts to highlight the way that things used to be do little but...
Review Just Dance 2015 (PlayStation 4)
Because I’m happy
Another year brings another instalment into Ubisoft’s multiplatform dance juggernaut, predictably entitled Just Dance 2015 this time. The aim of the game is as simple as it gets: you have to replicate the dance moves that the on-screen silhouette dancers perform in time with the music and as accurately as you can. The ethos is...
Review Peggle 2 (PlayStation 4)
Ode to joy
Peggle 2 is, as its name suggests, a sequel to PopCap’s incredibly popular mobile game, which sees you using a ball to clear a board of pegs in an almost pinball-esque fashion. This simple mechanic makes it incredibly easy to pick-up and play – but its accessibility also enables an addictive experience, meaning that it can be hard to...
Review The Walking Dead: Season Two - A Telltale Games Series (PlayStation 4)
Once bitten, twice shy
The first season of Telltale Games’ story heavy zombie game, The Walking Dead, spooked the PlayStation 4 earlier this month, and we liked it very much – even if it didn't run that much smoother than its PlayStation 3 predecessor. Fortunately, The Walking Dead: Season Two is a far superior port. On previous generation...
Review Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes - 2.0 Edition (PlayStation 4)
Infinity just got bigger
Disney was never going to let Activision control the NFC figurine market, and so last year it delivered Disney Infinity – a family friendly title featuring themed Playsets and a LittleBigPlanet-esque Toy Box mode. Disney Infinity 2.0 improves upon many aspects of the original, as well as bringing the franchise to the...
Review DriveClub (PlayStation 4)
How fast do you wanna go?
It’s been a long wait leading to a bumpy road for racing fans, but DriveClub is finally here. A curious lack of pre-release code and online connection issues has forced us to hold back our thoughts on Evolution Studios' cursed exclusive for a couple of weeks longer than we expected, but having now had a chance to see...
Review Samurai Warriors 4 (PlayStation 4)
Ronin around at the speed of sound
The Samurai Warriors franchise has always played second fiddle to sister series Dynasty Warriors, especially over here in the West. Where the latter is now up to its eighth main instalment, without counting any spin-offs, Samurai Warriors has only just reached its fourth incarnation. To the inexperienced, there...
Review The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series - The Complete First Season (PlayStation 4)
Long road ahead
Telltale Games had been around for quite some time before it deployed the first instalment in its episodic The Walking Dead tie-in way back in 2012. The Californian company had previously enjoyed varying levels of success with its Sam & Max series, but was still looking for a smash hit at the time. That changed when it introduced...
Review MXGP: The Official Motocross Game (PlayStation 4)
Scrubs up fine
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s the mentality that MotoGP maker Milestone appears to be adopting with MXGP: The Official Motocross Game following March’s somewhat unspectacular PlayStation 3 outing. Having been on the receiving end of a bit of a critical soiling, the Italian outfit has now opted to port a...
Review Pier Solar and the Great Architects (PlayStation 4)
Pierless
Pier Solar and the Great Architects (or Pier Solar HD) is an updated re-release of a game that launched on the Sega Mega Drive in 2010, and in truth, that tells you just about everything that you need to know. This unashamedly stodgy RPG trades in genre tropes with wild abandon, while brazenly attempting to tug at your nostalgia. And in...
Review NBA 2K15 (PlayStation 4)
Three-peat
There’s no question that NBA 2K has become the gold standard when it comes to basketball simulators, raising the bar year-after-year with great modes such as ‘My Career’ and ‘My GM’ that allows fans of not only the sport but also the league experience to fashion their own careers. Where this franchise has made its money, though,...
Review Skylanders: Trap Team (PlayStation 4)
Money trap
Whether you’re a seven-year-old or a 30-year-old, there’s joy to be found in the Skylanders series. Whether it’s the cheesy humour and cute visuals, the simple puzzles and combat, the imaginative heroes and villains, or perhaps the detailed collectible figurines, this uber-popular property has you covered. And capturing your...
Review The Evil Within (PlayStation 4)
Clair de Loony
The Evil Within knows how to make you sweat. Tango Gameworks’ disgusting debut outing will leave you teetering on the precipice of failure with every twisted encounter, causing you to curse your shortage of resources or your character’s lack of superhuman strength. This is a game that, like its survival horror superiors, isn’t...
Review Dust: An Elysian Tail (PlayStation 4)
Elysian feels
You wake up in the middle of a field with no idea who you are, or what you’re doing. A totally foreign winged creature flitters about, its aggravatingly chipper voice flinging questions at you incessantly. The ornate sword at your feet can also talk, but thankfully its voice is mercifully sombre. It informs you that you need to go on...
Review Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4)
Dim same
In a gaming sphere that currently adores sandbox and open world games, too few gamers would recognise the name Wei Shen. Sleeping Dogs' lead is a troubled character who makes the likes of Aiden Pearce seem annoyingly lacking in the personality department, and the aforementioned title that our chaotic cop comes from is often similarly...
Review Chariot (PlayStation 4)
Chariots of fire
Quebec-based Frima Studio is no stranger to indies on the PlayStation brand. For those who aren’t familiar, the developer made the entertainment Young Thor and A Space Shooter for Two Bucks for PlayStation Minis. It’s now crafted its very first PlayStation 4 title called Chariot – a physics-based, 2D platformer. In the game, a...
Review Fibbage: The Hilarious Bluffing Party Game (PlayStation 4)
Sweet little lies
If you’ve got a poker face like Lady GaGa, then Fibbage is for you. This is an intriguing bluffing game for two to eight players, which takes an interesting twist on the typical quiz genre, prompting you to enter ridiculous, silly, or downright rude pieces of trivia, with the aim being to convince your pals that they’re true...
Review Defense Grid 2 (PlayStation 4)
Ivory tower
Tower defence is a tricky genre to get right: it must strike the perfect balance between simplicity and challenge to avoid any dullness. Add in a home console controller that allows less inputs than a mouse and keyboard combination, and you have yourself a disaster waiting to happen. Defense Grid 2 seems to get the formula just right,...