PS5 Game Reviews
DLC Review God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla (PS5) - An Essential Epilogue for Fans of the Series
Rogue to redemption
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is the best kind of DLC — it makes an already fantastic game even better. Available for free to all who own God of War Ragnarok itself, this is an epilogue to the main story that gives you a very good excuse to dive back into the action. Not only does Valhalla contain some valuable narrative beats...
Mini Review The Lord of the Rings: Return To Moria (PS5) - Survival Adventure Not Worth Treasuring
And they call it a mine, a mine!
Free Range Game's hairy spelunking simulator comes hot on the heels of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a low point of the year and a horrible adaptation of Tolkien's IP. While it isn't as abjectly awful as Daedalic's folly, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is, sadly, also a disappointment. This is a survival...
Review Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (PS5) - A World We Don't Want to Leave
Pandora Hunting Simulator
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a game this writer has been waiting a long time for. In many ways, it is the Hogwarts Legacy for fans of big blue folk and vibrant alien worlds. But with that apt comparison and Ubisoft Massive at the helm, does it do enough to stand on its own two feet? Or is it nothing more than a pretty...
Work death balance
There are so many roguelikes and roguelites now that it's getting harder and harder to stand out, and that's something Have a Nice Death doesn't quite overcome. By and large, this is a perfectly decent side-scrolling action game, but it doesn't reach the upper echelons of this competitive niche. You play as Death, fatigued by his...
Mini Review Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen (PS5) - A Short But Explosive Dungeon Run
Tower power
We're weren't totally convinced that Final Fantasy 16 needed story-based DLC, but now that we've played through Echoes of the Fallen — the first of two promised expansions — we're actually glad it's happening. If nothing else, this additional slice of adventure is a welcome reminder of how flashy and downright fun 16's combat can be...
Review Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Review (PS5) - An Expansive CRPG Worthy of the Setting
For the Emperor
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader offers a rewarding roleplaying experience set in the grimdark far future of Games Workshop's storied sci-fi universe — something fans have been screaming for forever. Developer OwlCat Games has learned plenty of tricks from its Pathfinder series, and while still a little rough around the edges,...
The grass could do with a cut
Arashi: Castles of Sin Final Cut is a stealth, action-adventure, virtual reality title from developer Endeavor One and publisher Skydance Interactive. You take on the role of deadly assassin Kenshiro, setting out across feudal Japan in the hopes of defeating six terrorous bandit leaders who have devastated the lands for...
Review Arizona Sunshine 2 (PSVR2) - A PSVR2 Must-Buy
Brutal, bloody, and utterly brilliant
There’s something inherently entertaining about bashing a zombie's brains in. We’ve enjoyed it in shows like The Walking Dead, and we’ve certainly enjoyed it in video games like World War Z, Days Gone, and even Sony classic The Last of Us. However, Arizona Sunshine 2 takes the prize for the most...
Review Pinball M (PS5) - A Devilishly Cohesive Horror Pinball Platform
You're already dead
Pinball M launches at a time when creator Zen Studios’ reputation has been dented. For well over a decade now, the Hungarian developer has dominated the virtual pinball market with its beautiful table layouts and feature-packed apps. But this year’s Pinball FX crushed consumer confidence by failing to carry forward previous...
Mini Review The Last Faith (PS5) - Competent Metroidvania Scratches That Bloodborne Itch
Provided you have the appetite
The Last Faith is a solid gothic fusion of Metroidvania and Souls-Like, mashing mechanics from two relatively crowded subgenres into something that stands out thanks to gorgeous pixel art. Fans of tough, 2D platformers will likely find a lot to like here, doubly so if you are one of those tortured souls afflicted by a...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube150k Watch on YouTube Mini Review Flashback 2 (PS5) - Disastrously Buggy Sequel Diminishes 1992 Classic
From Con-rad to Con-traversal
Flashback fans curb your enthusiasm, because Microid's 2023 Flashback 2's not even a 2D cinematic platform game. This PS5 pseudo 3D adventure doesn't have any of the subgenre's gameplay traits that Push Square noted when reviewing a title like Another World. It also doesn't continue in the tradition of great sci-fi...
Review SteamWorld Build (PS5) - A Steam-Fresh Take on the City-Building Genre
If you build it, they will come
The SteamWorld games have successfully bounced around a number of different genres including Metroidvania-style mining games and turn-based tactical stealth. With SteamWorld Build, developer The Station has brought those adorable robots into the city-building genre, with a bit of dungeon exploration thrown into the...
Mini Review KarmaZoo (PS5) - Co-Op Is Key in This Novel Multiplayer Platformer
Going loopy
KarmaZoo from Pastagames says that online co-op with strangers needn't be the painful exercise it usually is. A co-op platformer you play online with random players (or friends if you like), groups of up to 10 must work together to get through a short series of levels, and it works a treat. The design is pretty ingenious. After grouping...
Connect more
With its gigantic character roster, original story mode, and fairly expansive 'History' mode, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections just about manages to justify its existence — even though, at its core, this is pretty much a repackaging of previous Storm titles. Featuring every playable character from past games alongside...
Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS5) - Bloated, Undercooked, and Outdated All at Once
Nostalgia trick
We've reached a point in time where one can be nostalgic for the PS3 generation, and Activision is banking on that with all its might to sell Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Rather than a new line-up of multiplayer maps, this year's entry is a strange amalgamation of the past, as all of the weapons and playable characters from 2022's...
Review Persona 5 Tactica (PS5) - Quality Combat Sends the Phantom Thieves Out in Style... Hopefully
One last hurrah
From turn-based to Musou to tactical, Atlus isn't at all interested in resting on its laurels when crafting the gameplay systems fuelling the Persona 5 series. It's impressive how the developer is able to reinvent those familiar mechanics and character abilities in a new light, making them fresh once more for a different take on...
Mini Review Astral Ascent (PS5) - Fight Your Star Sign in Robust, Pretty Roguelite Actioner
Zodiac killer
Astral Ascent is a roguelite, side-scrolling action game that places you in an attractive, fresh fantasy world. Held inside an astral prison, you need to defeat your jailers — the 12 Zodiacs — in order to break free. It's a clever setup; we're surprised it's taken this long for the star signs to be turned into a series of boss...
Mini Review Teardown (PS5) - Delightful Voxel-Based Destruction
Train go boom
Teardown lets you loose in ridiculously destructible environments with impressive physics and a sizeable arsenal, all while performing remarkably well on PS5. It takes mere seconds in the directionless sandbox mode to get the appeal; watching these detailed destruction systems do their thing is immediately captivating. For those...
A Grend old time
The year is 2023, and formulative 1970s anime UFO Robot Grendizer has just been revived as a modern action game. Developed by French studio Endroad, UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves has a clear reverence for the source material, and although it's an undeniably rough product in terms of technical performance, fans of...
Review Jagged Alliance 3 (PS5) - Dormant Series Returns with a Solid Tactical Offering
Honour among thieves
The Jagged Alliance series still has an imposing reputation in strategy gaming circles, despite the last mainline entry launching 24 years ago and the spin-offs being generally not great. Jagged Alliance 3, thankfully, does an excellent job of modernising the series while introducing engaging new elements, crafting a genuinely...
Mini Review Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (PS5) - A Tighter, More Focused Platform Fighter
Super Smash Bros Brawl 2?
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 is a follow-up to 2021’s one-to-four-player Nicktoon platform fighter of the same name. This time with a fully-fledged roguelike campaign and a weighty overhaul to the combat, the Nicktoons must rescue their fellow fighters from Vlad Plasmius’ mind control and restore the Nickelodeon...
Review Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn (PS5) - Solid Expansion Treads Very Familiar Territory
Arise again
Right off the bat, the biggest problem with Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is trying to remember how to actually play Tales of Arise. The (largely fantastic, in our opinion) action RPG launched what feels like an eternity ago back in September 2021, and now, over two years later, we're getting a full-on post-game expansion. But the DLC...
Mini Review Little Goody Two Shoes (PS5) - A Flawed But Unique Spin on the Life Sim
Little red dying hood
The first thing you'll probably notice when booting up Little Goody Two Shoes for the first time is its distinct art style. If you grew up watching 90s anime such as Sailor Moon or the original Pokémon series, the game does an excellent job at lovingly recreating that specific vibe in its presentation, narrative, and overall...
Review Football Manager 2024 Console (PS5) - Lacking Console Edition Is on a Losing Streak
Sacked in the morning
Football Manager is, and always has been, the ultimate virtual footballing experience. It leans into the simulation genre much more than the other top games on the market, such as EA FC or eFootball, as it allows you to control almost every aspect of the club, aside from the players themselves. It is so effective at judging...
Review EA Sports WRC (PS5) - Don't Swerve This Intense, Well-Rounded Rally Racer
Get a Loeb of this
When EA acquired Codemasters a couple of years ago, the UK-based racing specialist came with a couple of extra perks. It already held the licences to produce official games for Formula One, which it had been doing successfully for a good while, as well as World Rally Championship, which had yet to bear fruit. The latter always...
You know my name
Taking place before, during, and just after the events of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the intriguingly titled Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name tells us all about what Kazuma Kiryu was up to in that time — and it's fair to say he was busy. But before we dig into the details, it's important to note that in its latter...
Review The Talos Principle 2 (PS5) - An Excellent Philosophical Puzzler
What is a human?
Ever wondered what it's like to be human? Ever wondered what makes us human and a toaster a machine? Ever wondered what makes us more than just biological goop wearing clothes? Neither have we, but The Talos Principle 2 is making us think about some of these philosophical questions with its excellent writing and complex conundrums,...
Review The Invincible (PS5) - Hard Sci-Fi Adventure Tells a Good Story
Operation hopeless
The Invincible is one of those games where the less you know the better — to a degree. A story in the stars that adapts the Stanisław Lem novel of the same name, it plays quite a lot like a sci-fi Firewatch. While your actions don't extend much beyond walking and operating gadgets and machinery, an intriguing plot and many...
Review Thirsty Suitors (PS5) - An Authentic, Entertaining Tale of Self Discovery
Time to battle some evil exes
In Thirsty Suitors, protagonist Jala has had a bad break-up and moved back to the hometown she left under the shadow of darkness, and back to the people she left high and dry. Realising her allies are few and far between, Jala sets about making amends with her family, while her previous exes show their faces to stir...
Review Star Ocean The Second Story R (PS5) - A Near Perfect Example of a Remake Done Right
Integrity and faithfulness
Many would argue that Star Ocean: The Second Story — originally released for the PS1 all the way back in 1998 — is the pinnacle of the long-running RPG series, and we'd be tempted to agree. In some ways it does feel like it nails the core themes of the franchise, as sci-fi technology clashes with medieval fantasy —...
