Latest Reviews
Review Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection (PS5) - Three Classics in One Messy Bundle
A thrill, in some ways
After an era of pachinko machines and sports clubs, Konami is back. Well, its old games are back. The Japanese company is on a mission to regain the fans it lost after abandoning the hardcore gaming space, and turning nostalgia into dollars was always going to be the first thing it did. A more expansive remake of Metal Gear...
Mini Review Wizard with a Gun (PS5) - This Co-Op Survival Adventure Is Worth a Shot
Machine gun Merlin
Wizard with a Gun is a one-or-two-player, twin-stick shooter, survival game from Galvanic Games and Devolver Digital. You play as a time-travelling wizard who's been tasked with preventing the Collapse, a cataclysmic event that split the world into pieces scattered throughout time. By exploring various procedurally generated...
Mini Review CRYMACHINA (PS5) - Interesting Worldbuilding Can’t Save This Dull Action RPG
It’s the end of the world as we know it
The end of humanity has finally happened; partly due to disease but mostly due to war over a scarcity of resources. In one of the last acts of a dying species they created a vast structure in space, known as Eden. Outfitted with eight self-evolving artificial lifeforms known as Deux Ex Machinas, the hope was...
Review EA Sports FC 24 (PS5) - Rebranded and Refined But Not Revolutionary
New era
The high-profile split between EA Sports and football’s governing body FIFA has resulted in a dramatic rebrand of one of gaming’s biggest franchises – but not an enormous amount has changed on the pitch. That’s not to say nothing is different in this refined soccer sim, however, which is ostensibly FIFA 24 in all but name. So,...
Mini Review Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (PS5) - Murder Mystery Kills It
Fresh like a Daisy
A timeless classic, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express is one of the best-loved and most famous murder mysteries of all time. Originally released in 1934, the story has been refreshed and updated for this 2023 release — think Poirot with Internet access. The acclaimed detective finds himself aboard the Orient Express...
Mini Review The 7th Guest VR (PSVR2) - Bugs Besmirch This Entertaining VR Remake
Stauf's toying with you
The 7th Guest VR is a virtual reality reimagining of 1993's puzzle title of the same name. Mysterious recluse and toy maker, Henry Stauf, has invited six guests to his gothic, puzzle-filled mansion for a party, offering a large sum of prize money. Taking on the role of an unidentified guest, you'll be exploring Stauf's...
Mini Review Hellboy Web of Wyrd (PS5) - Visually Striking, But Fails to Inspire as a Brawler
Don't mess with him, he's been drinking with skeletons
The tumultuous multimedia journey of Anung Un Rama continues with Hellboy Web of Wyrd — a roguelike brawler that might help wash away the taste of the abysmal 2019 cinematic reboot. Developer Upstream Arcade has attempted to transpose the visual style and narrative spirit of Hellboy from the...
Mini Review Lil Gator Game (PS5) - A Heartfelt Adventure That's Fun for All Ages
Don't stop believing
Lil Gator Game is a feel-good indie that'll take just a few hours of your time to get through. You play as the titular little gator, on a quest to convince your older sister to close her laptop and enjoy some fantastical playtime — just like in the good old days. It's not exactly subtle, but the game's all about growing up,...
Review Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - A Familiar But Fantastic Superhero Sequel
Heal the world
With Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games knocked it out of the park on its first try. While structurally it's a fairly standard open world action adventure, it's elevated by a great cast of characters, a solid story, and some of the best traversal in the business. It ticked all the boxes, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a...
Review Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (PS5) - A Fast and Furiously Fantastic Follow-Up
Magnificent modifications
We remember as kids setting up our Hot Wheels Octoblast and Shark Park race tracks every weekend, launching cars round them at high speeds while avoiding the giant creatures. It always brought such joy to our young selves back in the day, and so it's great to see that Milestone has captured the essence of that nostalgia and...
Review Sonic Superstars (PS5) - A Solid 2D Sonic Game, If You Play It Solo
Sonic Superstar
Sonic Superstars arrives as the iconic SEGA mascot is on an upswing. This brand new side-scrolling platformer follows Sonic Mania, a great throwback adventure that mixes old and new, and Sonic Frontiers, the best 3D entry in the series in a long time. The less said about Sonic Forces, the better. The point is, the character has had a...
Review Fate/Samurai Remnant (PS5) - Characters and Story Thrive in This Historical Action RPG
Saber toothed
There's an awful lot to like about Fate/Samurai Remnant — an action RPG set in 1600s Japan. With the country on the brink of unprecedented societal change, protagonist Miyamoto Iori finds himself at a loss. A diligent student of soon-to-be-outdated swordplay, Iori gets by on local busy work, but can't shake the feeling that his life...
Review Lords of the Fallen (PS5) - A Killer Mechanic Elevates This Average Souls-Like
It takes two (worlds) to tango
Imitating the infamous Souls-like formula is no small feat, and Lords of the Fallen knows it. You can’t just copy and paste Dark Souls and call it a day anymore, which is forcing developers to find new ways to innovate the genre. Already this year we’ve had the mechanically tinged take in the form of Lies of P, but...
Mini Review Saltsea Chronicles (PS5) - A Seaworthy, Choice-Driven Adventure
L'eau pressure
Saltsea Chronicles is another narrative-driven adventure from the makers of Mutazione, only this time, you're playing a whole cast of characters, not just one. With their captain missing, a group of friends set sail across the Saltsea archipelago to find her, only for the mystery to steadily grow much larger. This visual novel...
Review Honkai: Star Rail (PS5) - Impeccably Executed Live Service Where the Best Is Yet to Come
Honkai dory
Genshin Impact sent ripples through the gaming industry in 2020, and Honkai: Star Rail has already successfully repeated the same feat. Currently the biggest gacha game on the planet per Sensor Tower revenue rankings, this turn-based RPG takes many of the same systems from HoYoverse’s fantasy open world and bends them into a more...
Mini Review Cricket 24 (PS5) - A Below Par Score on a Flat Batting Pitch
Not so Stoked for this one
With 2023’s Cricket World Cup kicking off in India this month, Big Ant Studios has taken the opportunity to release Cricket 24 alongside. Similarly with EA Sports FC for football and MLB The Show for baseball, Cricket 24 is a yearly instalment in cricketing video games but on a much lower budget than its stablemates. In...
Strash and burn
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is a game of two halves: a surprisingly simplistic action RPG and an endless barrage of static, visual novel-style cutscenes. It bears the name Dragon Quest and is published by Square Enix, yet it feels entirely barebones; with basic gameplay and a poorly presented story, we're left...
Review Assassin's Creed Mirage (PS5) - A Solid But Slightly Dated Return to the Series' Roots
Blade Runner 861
You may remember Basim Ibn Ishaq from Assassin's Creed Valhalla — a seasoned killer who enlisted Eivor's help in tracking down key members of an ancient cult. Basim was one of the game's most intriguing characters — and one of its only actual assassins — and so the prospect of getting to relive his past in Assassin's Creed...
Review The Expanse: A Telltale Series (PS5) - Solid Sci-Fi Showing Signals Course Correction
Artemis ascending
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a positive step in the right direction for the newly reconsecrated developer, capturing the essence of what made its initial efforts so successful in the first place. It's sharp, well-paced interactive media that delivers on the expected premise, telling an original story set in an established...
Mini Review Scorn (PS5) - A Brilliantly Disgusting Puzzler with Gameplay Woes
Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility
Scorn was announced by Ebb Software way back in 2014, so we've been waiting a while. After a successful (if critically mixed) launch on Game Pass last year, the game is ready for PS5, but is that a good thing? The answer to that is mostly a "yes". Inspired by the visual style of legendary...
Mini Review Trepang2 (PS5) - Great Run-and-Gun Shooter Misfires Its Attempts to Be More
A mix of DOOM, F.E.A.R., and a hint of Max Payne
While Trepang2 has a name that makes absolutely no sense to us, this fast-paced, single-player FPS often gives us the same exhilaration you would expect from a game like DOOM. No matter what weapons you have equipped, the super soldier you play as, 106, is always the strongest person in the room...
Review Cocoon (PS5) - All Killer, No Filler in This Superb Recursive World Puzzler
Marble madness
Geometric Interactive is led by alumni from Playdead, the studio behind Limbo and Inside, and you can really tell. Its debut game, Cocoon, shares a lead gameplay designer in Jeppe Carlsen, and his expertise shines through in one of this year's standout releases — indie or otherwise. With an ingenious concept fuelling its myriad...
Mini Review Everhood: Eternity Edition (PS4) - A Truly Unique Musical Adventure
Bizarre hero
Everhood: Eternity Edition takes the cult hit indie game and brings it to PlayStation with some exclusive new battles to master. For those out of the loop, Everhood is an adventure game with disarmingly basic presentation that quickly pulls the rug from under you, subverting your expectations with outrageous visual flair, fantastic...
Review Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless (PS5) - The Crazy RPG Series at Its Best
To Hell with honour
The nonsensical turn-based strategy RPG series Disgaea has always marched to the beat of its own drum. With Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, this tradition continues, for better or worse. We can't imagine new converts will be won to the cause here, but if you've stuck with the series this long, you'll likely have a Hell of a...
Review Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PS5) - Ada Wong Fronts More Sublime RE Action
She did it her way
This year's Resident Evil 4 is one of the greatest remakes of all time, but purists — or at least those who had already played the PS2 version — will tell you it was still missing something. When the Nintendo GameCube original was ported to Sony's second home system, it came bundled with new campaigns all about side character...
Review PAYDAY 3 (PS5) - An Outdated Co-Op Heisting Experience
Clowning around
Payday 3 is the third entry in the always online, one-to-four-player, cooperative heist FPS series from Starbreeze Studios. Returning from retirement, the Payday crew have not only moved to terrorise a new city, from Washington DC to New York, but also moved game engine from Payday 2’s Diesel into the more robust Unreal Engine 4...
Review Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (PS5) - Excellent Expansion Is Cyberpunk's Blood and Wine
Reed between the lines
CD Projekt Red has a bit of a knack for crafting DLC adventures. The Witcher 3 was blessed with two outstanding expansions, and the Polish developer can now add Phantom Liberty to its list of incredibly high quality excursions. Cyberpunk 2077's first (and last) expansion is an emotional rollercoaster, and features some of the...
Review NBA 2K24 (PS5) - Stunning Sports Game Wants You to Spend
Dunkin' dough? Nuts
Visual Concepts came to an important but necessary conclusion with NBA 2K24: it needed to dial back the superfluous aspects of the series back. For the past two years, on PS5 specifically, the release’s popular MyCAREER mode has wanted to touch upon all aspects of basketball – including the cultural stuff, like fashion and...
Review The Crew Motorfest (PS5) - Third Time's the Charm in This Vibrant, Varied Racer
Don't bring me the Horizon, actually
Ubisoft's premier racing franchise, The Crew, generally gets a bad rap. Developer Ivory Tower had very strong ambitions right from the starting grid, providing drivers with an open world approximating the entire United States of America. It's a great idea; roam the entire country from coast to coast with your...
Review Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5) - Good But Not a Flawless Victory
Baraka in the habit
Mortal Kombat 1 represents a new era for the fighting game series. However, it also marks the first time in a while that a new Mortal Kombat title has been released where worthy competitors have been present. Games like Guilty Gear Strive and Street Fighter 6 have raised the bar for fighting games significantly since Mortal...
