PS Minis Game Reviews
Review Jetpack Joyride (PlayStation Minis)
Fun size
You are Barry Steakfries: Nate Drake look-alike, coin collector, and experimental technology thief. Bored of his life in the ‘Secret Underground Laboratory’, Barry makes a one-way bid for freedom. He’s doomed of course, but don’t tell him. It’d break his heart. One of the few iPhone apps to make the jump to PlayStation Minis,...
Review BreakQuest: Extra Evolution (PlayStation Minis)
Block bashing brilliance
Sprinkling innovation on top of what is ostensibly an Arkanoid clone is a tricky task, but developer Beatshapers has achieved it marvellously with the brilliant BreakQuest: Extra Evolution. Building on the original title from 2004, this PlayStation Mini lives up to its namesake by completely overhauling the block bashing...
Review Wizorb (PlayStation Minis)
Castin’ a spell on Arkanoid
It’s only been a few months since the internet was buzzing about the PS Mini service, because of the release of FuturLab’s fantastic title, Velocity. Well, Sony wants to keep the overlooked service on your mind with Tribute Games and Beatshapers’ latest release. Throwing the block-busting mechanics of old-school...
Review Velocity (PlayStation Minis)
High flyer
Sometimes a game comes out of nowhere and completely blows you away. Coconut Dodge – the first Minis endeavour from Brighton-based studio FuturLab – had that impact upon almost everyone that tried it. Simple in premise, but deviously addictive, the arcade mini-game was a captivating affair that still holds our attention today. Its...
Review Defenders of the Mystic Garden (PlayStation Minis)
Gnome mercy
Defenders of the Mystic Garden (DotMG) takes elements from the tower defence genre and tweaks a few aspects to help differentiate it from others. Like most entries in the genre, you’ll control a limited number of units to fight against hordes of incoming enemies, but DotMG has movement on its side. Instead of units remaining...
Review Floating Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims (PlayStation Minis)
Keep the faith
You get lots of things if you're a cloud god. Your very own personal, environmentally friendly air transportation, the power to smite the mightiest of demons with only the tips of your fingers and the undying devotion of as many little old men as you like. It's not all lounging on beds of water vapour and gobbling grapes, though...
Review Canabalt (PlayStation Minis)
Dashing desperado
The PSP is positively bristling with input buttons, yet Canabalt is a game you can play with just one. Originally conceived as a free-to-play browser game, it made the leap to iOS in 2009, and now graces the PlayStation Network as a PSP Mini. Canabalt’s premise is the ultimate in high concept. The planet has been invaded by...
Review Hungry Giraffe (PlayStation Minis)
Good grub
If gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, then Hungry Giraffe is heading straight to the pits of hell. The game’s titular greedy ungulate has a serious scoffing addiction that’s accentuated by the host of snacks left lingering in the sky. Laughing Jackal’s latest PlayStation Mini isn’t going to win any awards for its fiction,...
Review Mecho Wars (PlayStation Minis)
Don't wreck-o my Mecho
Turn-based strategy games are a natural fit for portable devices, their slow pace unhindered by the somewhat erratic schedule of playing games on the go. While the genre has spread far and wide in recent years with many games that look and play quite similarly to one another, Mecho Wars sets itself apart with unique mechanics...
Review Stick Man Rescue (PlayStation Minis)
Looks like an amateur product, but has some decent gameplay mechanics within
As far as game titles go, Stick Man Rescue couldn't be closer to the point. This is a simple, basically styled, erm, rescue game, in which you save a group of helpless stick men. We told you it was a good name. Its reasonable level design and a moreish campaign elevate the...
Review Trailblazer (PlayStation Minis)
A stellar reboot of a forgotten classic; Trailblazer's a fast-paced arcade game with a rich, vibrant style
It's become all too common for PlayStation Minis to drop onto Sony's digital storefront with little fanfare, but Trailblazer sets a whole new precedent. While developers such as Laughing Jackal, Futurlab and Mediatonic have actively coveted...
Review Orbit (PlayStation Minis)
As with all of Laughing Jackal's releases, Orbit is easy to pick up but impossible to put down
Laughing Jackal is the master of carrot dangling. Its previous PlayStation Mini — the gloriously stylish OMG-Z — hooked you into its underlying "one more go" philosophy by rewarding you with new upgrades at every opportunity. The British...
Review Where Is My Heart? (PlayStation Minis)
Where Is My Heart? is a deceptively intelligent PlayStation Mini, and by extension, one of the best experiences currently available on the platform
As far as gameplay concepts go, Where Is My Heart? is agonisingly slight: a simple puzzle-platformer dressed in a pastel pixel art-style, accompanied by an ethereal chip-tune soundtrack. But once it...
Review 1000 Tiny Claws (PlayStation Minis)
1000 Tiny Claws doesn't quite live up to the expectations carved out by Mediatonic's previous releases, but it's still a worthy arena-combat title with a handsome visual style and some genuinely laugh-out-loud gags
Given Mediatonic's previous PlayStation Minis titles involved chasing colossal monsters to the precipice of a monumental structure and...
Review Speedball 2 Evolution (PlayStation Minis)
Speedball 2 Evolution offers an alternative to the increasingly realistic sporting experiences available elsewhere on the various PlayStation platforms, delivering a futuristic competitive game with a complimentary throw-back core
It's just a shame that the actual gameplay itself is so over-complicated and unbalanced, even if it is impossibly...
Review The Impossible Game (PlayStation Minis)
The Impossible Game is designed around one key principle: stress
This is one of the most tense, frustrating, devious and, bafflingly, moreish PlayStation Minis we've played to date. The concept is simple: jump over hazards to complete the level. How hard can it possibly be? The clue's in the name. Controlling a straight-forward orange square you...
Review Hysteria Project 2 (PlayStation Minis)
In many ways Hysteria Project 2 is a step-backwards
In trying to flesh out the ideas established in its predecessor, BulkyPix has crafted a game with more ambition and less polish, resulting in a frustrating mess of trial-and-error puzzles. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. It's an idiom we couldn't stop thinking during our...
Review Revoltin' Youth (PlayStation Minis)
Open Emotion may have shed its trademark hand-painted visuals for Revoltin' Youth, but the developer has still managed to concoct a refreshing style that's complimented by some great audio work and solid level design
The game can feel tedious in places, but its still another solid entry in the Irish studio's growing catalogue of quality PlayStation...
Review Ducati Challenge (PlayStation Minis)
Ducati Challenge is easily the best racing game available for the PlayStation Minis platform
The game's impressive visual presentation is complimented by its accessible handling model and rich variety of content. The PlayStation Minis platform has played host to some fantastic two-dimensional games, but it's been less successful with more ambitious...
Review Fighting Fantasy: Talisman Of Death (PlayStation Minis)
Fans of the fiction will lap up Fighting Fantasy: Talisman Of Death, but though finely executed, it's also a niche proposition
In an era when video games such as The Elder Scrolls seemed as mythical as their subject matter, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's series of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks took geek culture by storm. Promising worlds filled...
Review Monochrome Racing (PlayStation Minis)
Despite having an interesting visual style and some neat ideas, poor execution leaves Monochrome Racing feeling completely unrefined
The games careless upgrade system and abhorrent AI leads to a flat, unsatisfying experience thats not even worth the budget asking price. Monochrome Racing is built around a delightful concept. The idea of four...
Review OMG-Z (PlayStation Minis)
Great pacing and a satisfying hook make OMG-Z difficult to put down
Some games are more fun when the odds are stacked heavily in your favour. Initial impressions will dupe you into thinking Laughing Jackal's latest PlayStation Mini is a puzzle game, but once you start to earn money and upgrade your equipment it becomes a much more chaotic...
Review One Epic Game (PlayStation Minis)
One Epic Game is a well presented, addictive autorunner that manages to present a surprisingly humorous slant on the current state of the video game industry
Autorunners are all the rage. Popularised by the iOS, the genre can be best identified by having a protagonist that runs from left-to-right at a perpetually increasing speed. In order to...
Review Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar (PlayStation Minis)
Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar can be a bit too dense for its own good, but its unique premise and lavish visual style make up for any initial gameplay complications
The premise of Cohort Studios' Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar is not too dissimilar to Pac-Man. In this arcade score-driven PlayStation Mini, your primary goal is to advance your character through...
Review Heracles: Chariot Racing (PlayStation Minis)
Who doesn't enjoy a good kart racing game? As we browsed through the PlayStation Store's roster of PlayStation Minis looking for something to occupy us during the summer drought, Heracles: Chariot Racing stuck out like glowing beacon of brilliance
"A Mario Kart clone featuring characters and stages from Greek mythology?" we exclaimed...
Review Ninjamurai (PlayStation Minis)
A brutal but trance-inducing platformer, Ninjamurai's breakneck sense of speed and macabre visual-style translate into an ambitious and occasionally frustrating PlayStation Mini with digestible level-design that's well suited to the platform
Open Emotion Studios make some of the most ambitious games on Sony's PlayStation Minis service. The ambition...
Review Mad Blocker Alpha (PlayStation Minis)
Mad Blocker Alpha mixes traditional puzzle gameplay with an outrageous visual style and haunting soundtrack
The game's bizarre presentation is destined to split opinion, but it also gives the game personality beyond its simplistic mechanics. We hope we're not the only ones that found SEGA's gem-matching puzzle title, Columns, a little bit...
Review Duael Invaders (PlayStation Minis)
Duael Invaders adopts an unusual mechanic that's difficult to master but extremely rewarding
Duael Invaders is a little bit like the video game equivalent of patting your head and rubbing your stomach. It takes an immense amount of concentration to master, but when everything clicks, it makes you feel like the greatest human being alive. If you...
Review MiniSquadron (PlayStation Minis)
MiniSquadron is an enjoyable dog-fighter with a moreish unlock system that's marred by one of the worst soundtracks we've ever encountered in a Mini
What's becoming increasingly evident is how much PlayStation Minis developers are in need of a good composer. Doodle Pool's music was bad, but at least it was original and catchy. MiniSquadron takes...
