Game Reviews scoring 1, 2 or 3/10
Deer God
A 2.5D platformer set in a mysterious forest, The Deer God sees you playing as the titular majestic mammal - among other animals - which you have been reincarnated as after getting mauled by wolves on a hunting trip. Despite the interesting setting and background, however, developer Cinopt Games' first foray onto console is an...
2Bad
In 2Dark you play as Smith, a man with a tortured past. On a camping trip many years ago his wife was murdered and his two children kidnapped. In response to these tragic events, he dedicates his life to not only finding his own children, but also saving other kidnapped youngsters. To this end, the game will see you sneak into various areas of...
Tonight, Mathew
Dying: Reborn's one of those games that, as a reviewer, makes you feel a bit rubbish. It's not a good game – in fact, it's pretty bloody bad – but you can tell that a tiny studio has tried its very best to make something cool. Also available on PlayStation VR and the Vita (either individually or as part of a three game bundle),...
Bounce
We suppose it is a bit silly getting excited over a virtual reality ping pong simulation when most recreational centres have real tables of their own. Nevertheless, this author has always enjoyed a spot of video game table tennis, with Sports Champions (sorry, Rockstar) being the best adaptation thus far. But does PlayStation VR title VR Ping...
Exit stage left
Knee Deep is an odd game. Its particular brand of narrative-driven gameplay is hard to categorise: it's not quite a point-and-click adventure and not quite a walking simulator. If anything, it sits clumsily on the outskirts of the former, not really offering much in the way of pointing or clicking. Originally an episodic PC game, it...
Oh dearoid
Spheroids is a 2D platformer made up of pixel-art environments. We understand that that's about as off-putting as an opening line of a review can be, but that's what Spheroids is – and it doesn't do very much else. Set in a world in which circular aliens called – get ready – spheroids have invaded Earth, it's up to our protagonist...
Null and void
Dungeon crawlers are a popular genre of games these days and there are plenty to experience on the PlayStation 4: The Binding of Isaac, Rogue Legacy, and Spelunky to name a few. However, none of these are as unique in style as Crystal Rift, which takes a very old-school approach to the experience. You control your adventurer from a...
Tears for fears
As a dark comedy, Weeping Doll would be just about the most amusing game on PlayStation VR right now – and that's high praise considering that the platform already plays host to the genuinely hilarious Job Simulator and Headmaster. But somehow we don't think that Chinese outfit TianShe Media had funnies in mind when it made this...
Review Carnival Games VR (PS4)
Infinite bore fair
Ah, this is just what PlayStation VR needed: a minigame collection. And not just any superficial smorgasbord of banal activities either, but the granddaddy of the genre: Carnival Games VR. Those of you who hold on to haunting thoughts like a manic depressive in a mental health institute may remember this 2K Games published series...
Half baked
One of PlayStation's crowning achievements is its diverse range of software. From the original grey box of magic right through to now, Sony's consoles have always been platforms that champion the weird and the wonderful as well as more popular fare. PaRappa the Rapper, a rhythm game with a zany, colourful art style about a dog that loves...
Review The Huntsman: Winter's Curse (PS4)
Winter's worst
The Huntsman: Winter's Curse is a PlayStation 4 game based in the same universe as The Huntsman film series. Billed as an "episodic role-playing game with card collecting elements", the game follows the story of a girl, Elisabeth, who goes on a quest in an attempt to save her brothers from the corruption of the Ice Queen. The story...
Review Gal*Gun: Double Peace (PS4)
Between a rod and a hard place
The last time we strutted through a school targeting ladies with our love shots, Interpol got involved. In fact, we're not sure whether penning this review is a violation of our parole conditions – we try not to let legal proceedings get in the way of our quest to bring you the best PlayStation coverage available,...
Give up the ghost
The hubbub surrounding the new Ghostbusters movie has been so well documented that even the Internet-deprived people of North Korea have likely heard about it. The response to the first trailer for the 2016 reboot of the supernatural comedy franchise has been nothing short of vitriolic, to the point that it's one of the most hated...
Swing when you’re winning
It's been 12 long years since Activision dangled Spider-Man 2 in front of our eyes, and we lapped it up like the Kingpin at an all you can eat buffet. Treyarch's memorable open world outing is widely considered as the web-slinger's finest hour on a games console, and Insomniac will have its work cut out if it hopes to...
Kill me
The premise behind 7 Days to Die is strong: it's an open-world zombie survival horror game smashed together with the crafting and building elements of Minecraft. That description sounds compelling, but the final product doesn't come anywhere near to being fun. Before you jump into the actual game, you are given a plethora of options to...
Review Professional Farmer 2017 (PS4)
Cull the crops
It's never nice comparing a game to an infinitely superior peer – especially when that title scored an uninspiring 6/10 on this very site. Professional Farmer 2017 is so mind-bogglingly bad, though, that it makes Farming Simulator 15 look like Game of the Year in comparison. This is a cynical cash-grab trying to capitalise on the...
Corps party
Being loyal to a franchise's roots and formula is a tricky thing to manage. Veer too close and people will cry out concerns of stagnation and lack of innovation. Stray too far and they'll say it isn't worthy of the series' name. Whether this involves direct sequels or spin-offs, the amorphous goal of striding between faithfulness and...
Review Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival (PS4)
The beautiful lame
Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is the latest attempt to resurrect the classic football franchise that began way back in 1989 with the original Kick Off. Back then, games came on cassette tapes a
Shatwen
Shadwen is a third-person stealth-action game that begins with the implied murder of a king at the hands of a skilled female assassin. As the monarch's crown falls to the ground, we see the face of a young girl travelling with the killer, and the game flashes back to a
Six feet under
We'll be straight with you on this one: Coffin Dodgers is not a good kart racer. Sadly, all it really has going for it is a darkly amusing premise. Sunny Pines retirement village is where the Grim Reaper himself has decided to hang up his scythe after a lengthy career of soul collecting – but not before claiming a few more from his...
Knocked for six
How did this happen? No, really – how did this happen? Resident Evil 6, the most recent numbered entry in Capcom's iconic survival horror series, is an unmitigated mess – a real turd of a game that's so downright bad that it beggars belief. You'd think that with the series celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the publisher...
Cold bore
The stealth genre is one that's often hard to get right in a game. It has to have a balance of patience and action, combat and hiding, and – most importantly – it has to be open and varied. Somehow, Alekhine's Gun fails at all of these things, missing the mark more than a Stormtrooper after drinking five cans of Red Bull. Set during...
Review Ninja Senki DX (PS Vita)
No-go ninja
Tribute Games has been churning out unremarkable indie games for quite a while now. Each illuminates a finer aspect from all of those 8 and 16-bit titles we grew to know and love but always does so in a negative way. Wizorb is unique but trite in its presentation. Mercenary Kings is what Metal Slug would've looked like after a bout with...
Review Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 2: Assembly Required (PS4)
Missing a few pieces
Now that Tales from the Borderlands has concluded, it seems like Telltale may be working a little harder to release its games with shorter gaps between each episode. This marks the second Minecraft: Story Mode release of October, a paltry two weeks after the opening episode. Unfortunately, even with such a quick turnaround, the...
Review MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore (PS4)
Dirty
The MX vs. ATV series has been around for quite some time, and Rainbow Studios is no stranger to the source material. Ever since it marked its seal with the PlayStation 2 exclusive series ATV Offroad Fury, the developer has been pumping out off-road racers with regularity. But while its games have always entertained fans, the last few entries...
Review Goosebumps: The Game (PS4)
Say cheese and die
The title screen for Goosebumps: The Game issues a warning to players in a cute nod to R.L. Stine's corny but effective "reader beware" slogan – but there's more than just Monster Blood to fear here. Novels like It Came from Beneath the Sink and Stay Out of the Basement were enormous in the early to mid-90s, and this author...
Review Giana Sisters: Dream Runners (PS4)
In your dreams, kid
Essentially, Giana Sisters: Dream Runners is a game in which you race against a handful of other players across a looping stage, with the goal being to try and stay in first place until the current 'lap' comes to a close. If you're in the lead when it does eventually end, then you'll be awarded with a gold star. Collect three of...
Like being forced to eat your greens
Yasai Ninja is a hack-and-slash game set in feudal Japan, where the two controllable characters are vegetables. You heard it correctly: an onion seeking revenge from his former sensei, and a hungry broccoli. No matter how many different ways you say it, it doesn't get any less weird. That's okay, right? A game...
Review Arcania: The Complete Tale (PlayStation 4)
Archaic adventure
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a man sets out on a quest for revenge after his idyllic life is shattered by the destruction of his home at the hands of a marauding army. On his journey for retribution, not only does he become a great warrior – who handily ends up saving the world – but this nameless hero even manages...
Review 5 Star Wrestling (PlayStation 3)
Lie, cheat, steal
After the latest disappointment in the colossal WWE series, wrestling game fans may have found solace in the knowledge that a fresh contender was on the way to challenge for the genre's crown. Pitched as the wrestling equivalent of Pro Evolution Soccer, Serious Parody's 5 Star Wrestling intended to offer a fun alternative to...
