PS5 Game Reviews
Mini Review LEGO Bricktales (PS5) - Solid Puzzler Taps into the Creativity of LEGO
If you build it, they will come
LEGO Bricktales is the latest attempt by LEGO to diversify its gaming portfolio beyond the formula popularised by TT Games. While some of these attempts have been worse than others, LEGO Bricktales is the latest in a line of successes. This is a puzzle game about a young minifig on their way to visit their...
Review Overwatch 2 (PS5) - More 2.0 Than a Full Sequel
Heroes reunite
It's better to think of Overwatch 2 as Overwatch 2.0 instead of a full sequel. While many of its playable Heroes have undergone significant changes — alongside the introduction of three brand-new ones — this is essentially the same game you've been playing for the past six years. Activision Blizzard has (quite literally) stuck a...
Review No More Heroes III (PS5) - A Suda51 Sequel Full of Surprises
Start the game
Grasshopper Manufacture and its founder Goichi Suda are infamous for their oddball ideas, and the No More Heroes games are prime examples of their unorthodox proclivities. The first two games are schizophrenia-fuelled mania operating under the guise of hack-and-slashes, while Travis Strikes Again utilised its smaller team and budget...
Mini Review Airoheart (PS5) - Flawed Zelda Clone Has Some Nice Ideas, But Stumbles
Broken Link
Indie games don't have to do their own thing to be successful (just look at something like Prodeus), but Airoheart, a 2D The Legend of Zelda clone through and through, never feels confident in its structure or design when it isn't directly aping Nintendo's timeless series. The action adventure title tries to set itself apart by...
Mini Review Potion Permit (PS5) - Time to Play Doctor in a Charming But Buggy Town
Che-missed the mark
Potion Permit throws you in the deep end. The town of Moonbury needs a chemist, and as a fresh graduate from the capital you’re shipped in to cure the mayor’s daughter who has succumbed to a mysterious illness. Moonbury residents don’t have a great track record with chemists, however, and that will become apparent as the...
Mini Review Prodeus (PS5) - Old School Shooter Is Derivative But So Damn Good
From hell with love
The so-called 'boomer shooter' is a common sight these days — retro-styled blast-'em-ups that promise the pixelated thrills of early DOOM games and their ilk. Prodeus is one such project — a straightforward take on the genre that can set its stall with a single screenshot; this is the definition of a boomer shooter. But what...
Review Mini-Review: Circus Electrique (PS5) - Not Quite The Greatest Show On Earth
Roll up, roll up
Young journalist Amelia has the circus in her blood; her uncle runs the titular Circus Electrique and her mother was a former circus performer who died in an accident ten years prior. Amelia has been given an assignment to report on the reopening of the circus, but disaster strikes as London is plagued with a mysterious incident...
Review FIFA 23 (PS5) - Series Ends on a High, But Familiar Frustrations Remain
Touch grass
After an incredible 30-year run, FIFA 23 had to go out on a high – and to be fair, we reckon it just about has. Fans of EA Sports’ flagship football franchise will be familiar with the formula: this is more refinement than revolution, but FIFA 22 threaded through some of the best virtual soccer we’ve seen from the juggernaut...
Mini Review Tunic (PS5) - Cute But Tough Action Game Is Cunning As a Fox
Page turner
Tunic is more than it appears. It treads familiar ground to classic Legend of Zelda-style adventures, with simple combat, a large overworld, and a selection of bosses and dungeons. However, it's what's added on top that really shines. To start with, the foxy hero doesn't even have a sword, but throughout the game you'll slowly accrue...
Mini Review Let's Build A Zoo (PS5) - An Absorbing and Quirky Tycoon
A crocoduck?
Don’t let the cutesy pixel art style fool you; managing a zoo is more than just a walk in the park. Let's Build A Zoo wastes no time to allow the player to establish a living hell or a haven for both your visitors and animals. The game excels at two main mechanics which make it stand out from its tycoon competitors — the morality...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube150k Watch on YouTube Review Valkyrie Elysium (PS5) - Quality Combat Elevates Drab Action RPG
Par for the Norse
There's something distinctly old school about Valkyrie Elysium, and we don't mean because it's part of a long-running franchise; a series that started with the turn-based JRPG Valkyrie Profile way back in 1999. This is a game with an almost PlayStation 2 style design philosophy, for better and worse, and what you're here for will...
Review Hot Wheels Unleashed (PS5) - Fun Toy Car Racer Makes the Most of Its Licence
Beat that
Republished on Wednesday 28th September 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. After years spent fine-tuning its various motorcycle racing titles, developer Milestone has taken a significant detour with Hot Wheels Unleashed...
Mini Review The DioField Chronicle (PS5) - Dull Characters in an Intriguing Strategy RPG
Fleeting foxes
Its disjointed reveal trailer didn't exactly heighten our expectations, but we're happy to report that The DioField Chronicle has turned out reasonably well. It's a real-time strategy RPG topped off with some very pretty artwork and some effective gameplay design — but it's not without its (often obvious) flaws. Set against a...
Mini Review XIII (PS5) - Improvements Can't Save This Remaster Redo
Isn't 13 supposed to be a lucky number?
Considering the XIII remake's original launch was a disaster, it's admirable that publisher Microids tried to fix things. Following the launch from developer PlayMagic, a new team, Tower Five, has been brought in to try and rework the release into something more appealing. The results are mixed, but it's...
Mini Review Session: Skate Sim (PS5) - A Realism Focused Love Letter to Skating, For Better or Worse
Need's more CKY
This time five years ago, skateboarding games were in a rough place. The last major skateboarding game was the truly awful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 and EA’s Skate series had been dormant since 2010 despite fervent fan demand for a new entry. Around that time Montreal-based developer Creā-ture Studios first showed off Project...
Mini Review Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PS5) - Slow But Satisfying Ship Scrapping
Job's a goodun
In these uncertain times of economic instability, what better way to unwind than to play a game in which you're an indentured labourer, working off an impossible debt? Hardspace: Shipbreaker has you scrapping gigantic vessels to chip away at a huge financial obligation to the Lynx Corporation. This clearly shady conglomerate has you...
Mini Review Metal: Hellsinger (PS5) – Brilliant Gameplay Surrounded by Banality
For those about to rock
The concept behind Metal: Hellsinger is simple enough: marry the classic shooter gunplay of DOOM with a rhythm game. And developer The Outsiders absolutely nail this element of its game: the gunplay feels fantastic. Shooting, dodging, cycling weapons, it all feels great. You can do just about everything in the game to the...
Review Isonzo (PS5) - A Solid WW1 Shooter with Some Rough Edges
With leather skin, these eyes designed to haunt you
The FPS is a densely packed genre, so standing out is a must if you want to gain any traction. That's exactly what M2H and Blackmill Games have done with their WW1 Game Series. Following in the footsteps of Verdun and then Tannenberg, Isonzo introduces the Italian front to the series. WW1 games are...
Review Temtem (PS5) - A Refreshing, Modern Take on the Monster-Battling RPG
Gotta catch Tem all
Temtem has technically been available on PS5 for the best part of two years, but with the game now out of its early access phase, it's time we gave it a proper shake. The RPG is now fully featured, and while some might hand-wave it off as some unholy imitation of Pokémon, the game does enough to stand on its own two feet...
Review NBA 2K23 (PS5) - Not Even Microtransactions Can Ruin Revolutionary Franchise Mode
Find out what all the hoopla is about
NBA 2K23 is absolutely enormous. Look, we know that’s not necessarily what you expected to read: you thought we were going to tell you it’s another copy-and-paste basketball sim from 2K Sports – but this is so much more than a roster swap. The game has age-old issues when it comes to gated progression and...
Mini Review Wayward Strand (PS5) - A Short But Sweet Airborne Adventure
All aboard the airship
A floating hospital with a mystic grandma as a patient? Narrative adventure Wayward Strand offers this and many other mysterious tales to uncover as 15-year-old journalist Casey Beaumaris. Given three days to wander around and write your paper on the flying hospital's history, the game soothes you into the calm and mellow...
Review Disney Dreamlight Valley (PS5) - An Irresistibly Charming Life Sim
Your dreams come true?
You'd be forgiven for taking one look at Disney Dreamlight Valley and writing it off as a microtransaction-laden mobile port designed to occupy your attention in the bathroom. You're presented with a mashup of Disney properties in a cutesy life sim wrapper, and it's developed by a studio that historically has worked on mobile...
Review Train Sim World 3 (PS5) - Dovetail's Best Railway Simulation to Date
We choo-choo choose you
It’s been a year since Train Sim World 2 invited fledgling railway aficionados to master its Rush Hour scenarios on the PS5, making the sudden arrival of sequel Train Sim World 3 more unexpected than a London Northwestern cancellation. With crucial engine and user interface improvements, however, this is the best simulation...
Review F1 Manager 2022 (PS5) – Frontier's Management Sim Takes Pole Position
Stroll in the park
Let's get one thing clear: if you’re searching for a high-speed simulation racer that puts you toe-to-toe with Max Verstappen, F1 Manager 2022 isn’t for you. Marking the first entry in a new F1 Manager series, Frontier Developments takes a different approach from Codemasters’ F1 22, swapping the driver’s seat for the pit...
Mini Review LEGO Brawls (PS5) - An Embarrassing Multiplayer Outing for LEGO
Back in the LEGO bin it goes
For years, LEGO games have carried around a reputation for being quality, kid-friendly titles that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. From classics like LEGO Star Wars to the recent LEGO Builder's Journey, there's hardly a modern LEGO game you can call downright bad. That is, until LEGO Brawls released on consoles,...
Review Steelrising (PS5) - French Souls-Like Is Almost Great
Robotic revolution
After years of mediocre RPGs and second-rate detective titles, Spiders Studio finally began to realise its potential in 2019 with GreedFall. A genuinely good role-playing game with rich world building and solid combat, it was proof the French team had the capabilities to produce something special. Three years and a genre change...
Review Madden NFL 23 (PS5) - EA Sports Settles for Another Safe Five Yard Gain
Thanks, coach
The story goes that John Madden refused to sign off on EA Sports’ original football sim until it put 22 players on the field. The rest, of course, is history – and the Madden NFL franchise has been striving for realism ever since. That ambition comes in the form of a few buzzwords this year, including the distinctly marketing-led...
Error error error error error!
A remaster complete with additional features, characters, and combat adjustments, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R remains an excellent adaptation of the popular anime and manga property at its core. The attention to detail is often outstanding, with the game referencing all kinds of interactions and events...
Mini Review Inscryption (PS5) - The Most Unique Game You Will Play All Year
Heart of the cards
Inscryption is one of those games where the less you know the better. A card battling roguelike on first impression, it's what happens outside those duels where the true magic lies. Daniel Mullins has crafted a deceiving title full of layers and surprises; pulling them back and learning how they tick is what makes Inscryption...
Review The Last of Us: Part I (PS5) - A Better, More Beautiful Remake of a Modern Classic
It wasn't for nothing
The Last of Us: Part I feels like how you remember Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed 2013 survival horror, which is both a blessing and a bit of a curse. In many ways, this PS5 re-release blurs the lines between remake and remaster, overhauling the original in almost all areas, without tinkering with what made it so great...
