Latest Reviews
Review Control - Remedy's Return to PlayStation Is Worth the Wait
Take back control
Republished on Wednesday 27th January, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Control could, and probably should, have been something worth shouting about. It’s been 16 years since Remedy Entertainment last released one of...
Review Cyber Shadow (PS5) - A Stylish, Challenging Action Platformer
Ninjas vs. robots
If there are two things commonly found in retro games, it's robots and ninjas. Having one game throw the two archetypes together just makes sense, right? Cyber Shadow manages it rather well. Developed by Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games, this is a side-scrolling action platformer about saving a futuristic...
Mini Review Memoranda (PS4) - Surreal Point and Click Adventure Inspired by Haruki Murakami
One to remember
Memoranda is inspired by the short stories of renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami and so you can expect plenty of odd characters set in a world that mixes realism with a kind of dreamlike fantasy. You’ll need to help the game’s protagonist, Mizuki, with her crippling insomnia and selective memory problems by pointing and...
Review Hitman 3 (PS5) - The Ultimate Stealth Sandbox
Greatest hits
It’s almost impossible to review Hitman 3 as a standalone game. While this brooding conclusion to Danish developer IO Interactive’s excellent World of Assassination trilogy can be purchased individually, it’s intended to be enjoyed as a compilation: a collection of sublime stealth sandboxes spanning a glamorous red carpet event...
"You are incorrigible"
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is finally back after years removed from digital shelves. The 2D beat-'em-up translates the story of the graphic novels and movie well, with each stage culminating with a boss fight against one of Ramona's evil exes. It's a highly entertaining title, but with no real changes in this new...
Review MXGP 2020 - The Official Motocross Videogame (PS5) - Not Just Another Scrub
Jump the gate
The MXGP titles have been slowly inching their way forward through the years, generally only seeing minor changes with each iteration. Luckily, Milestone has crafted a pretty solid bedrock upon which to build its racing titles, and this latest entry — the series’ first foray on the PlayStation 5 — represents the franchise’s...
Mini Review Maneater (PS5) - Shiny Bits and Bobs Make for a Fin Time
Let’s fin-ish this
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. One of a number of free next-gen upgrade titles being offered on Sony’s newest hardware, developer Tripwire has returned to its undersea all...
Review Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Sloppy Story, Fun Puzzle Platforming
Bigger? Check. Better?
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Lara Croft makes one last attempt to prove to us she has what it takes to become the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Taking a backseat as a...
Review GreedFall - Spiders on the Cusp of RPG Greatness
Smooth sailing
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Spiders has been busy this generation. The French developer has released two role-playing titles up to this point: Bound by Flame in 2014, and The...
Review Cyberpunk 2077 (PS4) - The Single Biggest Disappointment of the PS4 Generation
Night Sh*tty
Good God. Over seven years since that first CG trailer, and this is what we get? We always thought that writing this review was going to be difficult, but CD Projekt Red has made it a lot easier than we had ever imagined. Why? Because, as of v1.05, Cyberpunk 2077's a damn mess on PS4, PS4 Pro, and yes, even PS5 via backwards...
Review When the Past Was Around - A Loving Embrace in Game Form
Feed the birds
A gorgeous point-and-click hidden object title, When the Past Was Around packs a lot of emotional engagement into a reasonably small package. You witness a collection of memories – some happy, some not – being revisited by the main character, Eda. Despite the sombre moments being expressed in the title, the game is able to convey...
Review Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (PS5) - Multiplayer FPS Is Only Let Down by Its Community
Intentional team kill
As of December 1st, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege is five years old. Yes, you read that right. But how to celebrate such an incredible milestone for one of the only true Games as a Service success stories? Well, how about a shiny new version of the game that offers an array of improvements? Sure, there are still plenty of...
Review Destiny 2 (PS5) - A Solid Update for Hardcore Players
No time to explain
A lot has changed for Destiny 2 in the three years since release. After launching as a full-priced product, it decided to take the free-to-play route in late 2019. After teaming up with Activision to bring both the original game and this sequel to market, Bungie cut ties with the publisher to do it alone. And after expanding the...
Review No Man's Sky (PS5) - Divisive Survival Game Plays Best with This Next-Gen Upgrade
Galaxy brain
No Man's Sky is not the same game it was when it launched in 2016. The PlayStation 4 generation has seen the emergence of evolving software, and Hello Games' ultra-ambitious space survival adventure is a shining example of that. After enormous excitement, what we had on day one failed to live up to expectations. While the sense of...
Review Empire of Sin (PS4) - Gangster Strategy Game Is a Broken Mess
The Sopran-oh-noes
What do you know about multiverse theory? We Wikipedia'd it before writing this review and we played BioShock Infinite a few years ago so we're practically scientists now. From what we've learned there's a good chance that there's alternate universes out there much like ours only different choices made along the way have altered...
Mini Review Monster Sanctuary (PS4) - A Monster Taming Marvel
This one's a Keeper
Here's the elevator pitch for Monster Sanctuary: It's like Pokémon, but it's structured like a Metroidvania. It boasts a reasonably large map of interconnected corridors and rooms, complete with some light puzzle and platforming elements. The world itself is a bit unremarkable, but it's the in-depth and addictive gameplay that...
Review Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (PS5) - Everything's Falling into Place
One line at a time
Puyo Puyo Tetris was a revelation when it first launched. Giving us an unprecedented bridge between these puzzle franchises, Sonic Team created one of the smoothest gameplay crossovers we’ve witnessed in recent years. Originally released in 2014, it never received a western localisation until a few years later for PlayStation 4...
Review Madden NFL 21 (PS5) - Three and Out for Tired Football Sim
The NFC East of sports sims
It’s hard to find any optimism in the Madden NFL 21 community, but a few football fans with a glass half-full of Gatorade had hoped that this year’s PlayStation 4 game was so disappointing because EA Sports was all-in on the next-gen upgrade. Now the PlayStation 5 version is readily available, we’re afraid to say...
Review FIFA 21 (PS5) - Now This Is a Next-Gen Upgrade
Mmmmmbappe
When EA Sports announced that FIFA 21 would be getting an upgrade on PS5 — which is free if you already own the PS4 version — we kept our expectations low. We enjoyed FIFA 21 on PS4, but the footie sim was really starting to show its age. Compared to other heavy hitting sports titles like MLB The Show 20 and NBA 2K21, it was rough...
Mini Review Twin Mirror (PS4) - Yeah, This Exists
Man in the mirror
The more games DONTNOD Entertainment puts out, the more it feels like Life Is Strange really was just a fluke. The developer’s latest effort, titled Twin Mirror, is the worst of the lot as a nonsensical story, flat and uninteresting characters, and poor performance riddle this narrative-based adventure with flaws. Protagonist...
Review Immortals Fenyx Rising (PS5) - Formulaic Open World in Ancient Greece
Gods & Monsters aplenty
Immortals Fenyx Rising is what happens when Assassin's Creed Odyssey meets The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. There are some ideas the latest IP from Ubisoft can claim as its own, but it's impossible to deny the comparisons between it and the two open-world juggernauts. As such, it feels like the French publisher has...
Review Haven (PS5) - A Refreshingly Romantic and Unique Sci-Fi Adventure
Yu and me forever
Very few games attempt to tell stories about established romantic relationships, but it's this angle that sets Haven apart. It's easily one of the more intriguing indie titles that we've played in some time, telling the tale of two lovers who have essentially ran away from home together. The sci-fi setting sees them stranded on an...
Mini Review Worms Rumble (PS5) - Simple But Successful Spin-Off Proves the Series Has Wriggle Room
A new species
The Worms franchise has more or less stayed the same across its 25-year history, so it was due a shake-up. Worms Rumble is an offshoot that ditches the strategic turn-based gameplay in favour of more immediate, real-time action. Fans may well wrinkle their noses at this, but honestly, it works better than you might think. Up to 32...
Mini Review Phogs (PS4) - Two Heads Are Better Than One in Cute Puzzle Platformer
Co-pup
Phogs is a deliriously happy game about a double-headed dog. Playable alone or in co-op, the two sides of the conjoined canine are controlled separately, and must work together in a short series of colourful levels. You'll collect bones, eat treats, stretch out, and bark at everything while you solve basic puzzles. It's a very simple game,...
Past, present, future
Already a colossal adventure clocking in at over 100 hours, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age just got even bigger, and, crucially, even better. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition adds to and reshapes the game with new character-driven stories, substantial gameplay features, and more. It's...
Mini Review Tesla Force (PS5) - Twin-Stick Roguelite Needed More Time in the Lab
The greatest minds in history cannot save this game
In an already bizarre year, Tesla Force’s absurd concept of pulling famous people from history and making them fight monsters seems right at home. Tesla Force is a roguelike twin-stick shooter starring Nikola Tesla and Marie Curie, fighting waves of monsters with over the top guns and powers...
Mini Review Esports Life Tycoon (PS4) - Manage Virtual Athletes in Moreish Strategy Game
Repetitive strain injury
With last year’s YouTubers Life, Spanish studio U-Play Online transformed content creation into a kind of arcade strategy game, where your objective was to grow your subscriber count across a variety of different disciplines – from gaming through to cooking. Esports Life Tycoon is a similar sort of experience, marrying...
Mini Review Rocket Arena - Competent Shooter May Be Fun for Free
Quake live
Republished on Wednesday 25th November, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December 2020's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Electronic Arts put out a new PlayStation 4 game earlier this week and there's a pretty good chance you never even knew it existed. Rocket Arena is a 3v3...
Review Just Cause 4 - An Explosive Open World Romp
Just bores
Republished on Wednesday 25th November, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December 2020's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. There's moments playing Just Cause 4 when you'll almost certainly find yourself grinning from ear to ear in much the same way that you might watching a...
Review Observer: System Redux (PS5) – A New Coat of Paint Can Do Wonders
What’s old is new again
Observer was a polarizing title for us when it originally launched on the PlayStation 4. It was an experience that was maybe a little too bloated and more importantly it was absolutely littered with technical problems that made playing it a chore. This time around, we have some bad news for you and some good news. The bad...
