Latest Reviews
Review WRC 9 (PS5) - Haptic Feedback Helps Bring the World Rally Championship to the Next Generation
Good vibrations
WRC 9 is a superb rally sim. We said as much when we first reviewed it on PS4 three months ago. Bringing keen improvements to handling, lighting, and graphical fidelity – in addition to a selection of new rallies in Japan, Kenya, and New Zealand – such refinements in key areas helped define it as one of the best rally sims of the...
Review Katamari Damacy Reroll (PS4) - Roll 'Em Up Remake Rocks
Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'
We're sorry for the Limp Bizkit lyric in the tagline. But if we had to think about them while trying to come up with puns on rolling then it's only fair that you think about them too. If, by chance, you don't know who Limp Bizkit is then all you need to know is that the early 2000s weren't kind to rock music, but...
Review Assassin's Creed Valhalla (PS5) - Next-Gen Upgrade Is One of the Best Games in the Series
The raven's call
Assassin's Creed Valhalla was a disappointment on PS4. Plagued by a constant and unending stream of bugs, an otherwise great open world adventure was held back on Sony's last-gen console. Thank the Norse gods for PS5, then. The new system improves Valhalla massively, to the point where we could actually sit back and enjoy the game's...
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered (PS5) - Next-Gen Makes Insomniac's Superhero Romp Even Better
(Be) greater than ever before
It has been just two years since the original launch of Marvel's Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4, yet Insomniac Games has been hard at work improving the core game. Since then we’ve had three DLC packs, a Game of the Year edition, and a brand new console launch, which explains why Insomniac Games felt this was the...
Review NBA 2K21 (PS5) - An Ambitious Effort That Excels on the Court
Green release
Sports games go hand-in-hand with console launches like LeBron James and retweets. Except this hasn’t been an ordinary year at all: the basketball season only just concluded after being played in an empty gym in front of virtual crowds and NBA 2K21 is the only sports simulation available on the PlayStation 5 for now. That will change...
Review The Pathless (PS5) - Giant Squid Avoids the Sophomore Slump
They call me the wanderer
Giant Squid Studios’ debut title ABZÛ was a stunning debut for the studio founded by former thatgamecompany art director Matt Nava. Given how great that debut title was, surpassing it was never going to be an easy task. However, the team – with the help of one of the best publishers in the business, Annapurna – has...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS5) - A Very Safe Entry for the New Generation
Out of the Woods
It was always going to be tough for Treyarch to follow up on both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. The twosome has created a powerhouse for the past 12 months, providing the franchise's devout fanbase with some of the best and most consistent content drops ever seen. But such is the Activision statement that...
Review Watch Dogs Legion (PS5) - Bland Open-Worlder at Least Looks and Runs Better
Rude Brittania
Technically speaking, at least, Watch Dogs Legion is an objectively better game on PlayStation 5 than PlayStation 4. It runs better, it looks better, and it loads much faster. That all does wonders for creating a much smoother experience on Sony's latest console, making sure you spend a lot more of your precious time in the thick of...
Mini Review Lair of the Clockwork God (PS4) - A Witty and Effective Blend of Genres
Point n' click platformer
Lair of the Clockwork God presents itself predominantly as a point and click adventure game, but doubles up as a 2D platformer. Ben and Dan, who respectively personify these two disparate genres, are the stars of this quirky game, and they must work together in these opposing styles to help save the world from multiple...
Mini Review King Oddball (PS5) - Weird Physics Puzzler Is Still Addictive
Royal rumble
Odd by name, odd by nature – and even odder when you consider it’s on a next-gen console now. King Oddball baffled us a billion years ago on the PS Vita, but now this bizarre physics-based puzzler has hooked us with its over-extended tongue for a second time. We can’t believe we’re playing this on a PlayStation 5 – but it’s...
Review Demon's Souls (PS5) - Cult Classic Becomes PlayStation's Best Ever Launch Game
So the world might be mended
Long have the cacophonous cries for a remake of FromSoftware’s PlayStation 3 cult hit Demon’s Souls reverberated through the Internet. Those wishes were undoubtedly amplified after the game’s servers were shut down back in 2018, turning a once-bustling bastion of experimental online interactions into just another...
Review Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5) - Lovely Launch Game Revives LittleBigPlanet Protagonist
Material world
Sackboy is too good a character to sit on the sidelines, but for the last six years that’s exactly what the LittleBigPlanet protagonist has done. With creator Media Molecule turning its attention to the outrageously ambitious imagination simulation Dreams, it’s been six long years since we saw the smile of Sony’s only knitted...
Review Astro's Playroom (PS5) - The Perfect PlayStation 5 Pack-In
U R not Red E
Is there an argument that Asobi Team is the most inventive Sony studio right now? The small sector of Japan Studio is certainly getting the most out of the platform holder’s hardware, as Astro Bot Rescue Mission proved by completely reinvigorating the classic 3D platformer on PlayStation VR. With its latest project, free PlayStation...
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5) - A Sublime Superhero Spin-Off
Be greater. Be Yuleself
Insomniac Games came out swinging with its first foray into the world of Marvel’s iconic wall-crawler, but this spin-off has even more vigour and verve than its PlayStation 4 predecessor. Booting – in less than 10 seconds, we’re eager to add – with a shot of protagonist Miles Morales on the subway, the release takes...
Mini Review Five Dates (PS4) - Interactive Romantic Comedy So Bad It's Almost Good
Daters gonna date
"I've got a surprise for you," says Vinny to his friend Callum over a video call: "I've joined a dating app!" Callum reacts with such glee, one would be forgiven for thinking that Vinny had just announced the reformation of The Beatles. Surely everyone uses dating apps in 2020? Who wants to awkwardly wander up to someone in a bar...
Review Assassin's Creed Valhalla (PS4) - Epic Viking Adventure Buckled by Countless Bugs
The Raven still beguiling
Picture the scene: you and your battle-hardened Viking clan are storming a huge Saxon fortress. You've smashed through the main gate, torn your enemies to pieces in the courtyard, and now you're racing towards the central keep. A degenerate king waits inside, surrounded by his finest warriors — but they're not going to...
Review Fuser (PS4) - A Bold New Frontier for Rhythm Games
A real banger
Harmonix, through the years, has carved out a huge niche as the head of the rhythm game movement. One of, if not the only constant for music games, Harmonix has created an impressive array of revolutionary titles. Starting with Frequency and Amplitude, running through the Guitar Hero and Rock Band craze, and Audica last year, we now...
Mini Review Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (PS4) - Gorgeous Action RPG with Deep Farming Mechanics
Have a rice day
In Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, you’ll be playing as a young goddess, called Sakuna, who spends her days being lazy and drinking in the home of the gods. After a small mishap involving a fire and some sacred offerings, she ends up being banished to the Isle of Demons and told that she can only return once all the monsters are...
Review Bugsnax (PS4) - An Enjoyable Treat That Packs a Unique Flavour
Talkin 'bout Bugsnax
Yes, we've all heard the catchy song, and yes, we've all had a good laugh about that ridiculous game with the food creatures. Bugsnax might have achieved viral status back when it was announced, but we're here to tell you this surreal adventure is more than just a meme. Developer Young Horses has made a proper game that manages...
Mini Review Slide Stars (PS4) - You Have to Unlock Holly H
Like, comment, share
We just wanted to play as Holly H really. The gregarious 20-something TikTok-er from Guernsey stars alongside several other influencers in this irreverent Trials-style platformer, but she requires 46 tokens to unlock and we’re rubbish at the game. So, we spent several hours playing as a Hungarian cosplayer, avoiding dynamite...
Review Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered - An Okay Remaster of a Great Arcade Racer
I've got to get away
Need for Speed diehards might not agree, but Criterion's Hot Pursuit was a triumphant arcade racer back in 2010. A slick handling model and a choice selection of vehicles led to epic police chases through miles of winding roads, and the Autolog feature brought addictive asynchronous multiplayer to the forefront. A decade later,...
Review The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope - So Much Better Than Man of Medan
There's hope yet for Supermassive
We don't need to tell you what game The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope will immediately be compared to, so let's get it over and done with straight away. The second instalment in Supermassive Games' compendium series is the closest it has come to replicating the success of Until Dawn. It finally feels like the...
Mini Review Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ - Great Writing Lifts This Average Dungeon Crawler
Zombie road trip
Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ is part-visual novel, part-dungeon crawler, and is very entertaining despite being a little rough around the edges. You’ll play as Reggie who, thanks to a spiked drink, manages to sleep his way through the end of the world. He takes the news pretty well, even though it’s delivered by his...
Review Watch Dogs Legion - The Dullest Ubisoft Open-Worlder Yet
Dear Old Blighty
Watch Dogs Legion could, and probably should, be so much better than this. Following two entries that introduced and refined the open-world hacking concept across the PlayStation 4 generation, Ubisoft has stagnated in an effort to heavily promote a new feature it hasn't managed to capitalise on. The result is an experience that...
Mini Review Stories Untold - Uneven Horror Anthology Frustrates More Than It Frights
Be afraid. Be marginally afraid
For the uninitiated, Stories Untold is a creepy collection of four stories, each taking no longer than an hour or so to finish, and each with different gameplay elements. The first and by the far the best episode pays homage to the old school text adventures that you might have played if you grew up in the '80s. The...
Mini Review Pacer - Anti-Gravity Racer Comes Surprisingly Close to WipEout
Smooth sailing
We don't want to make too many comparisons to its clear inspiration, but rest assured that if you like WipEout, you'll probably enjoy Pacer. Having said that, it definitely puts its own stamp on this racing sub-genre that gives it a unique identity. The on-track action is where it really shines. Familiar controls mean you're...
Review Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition - A Splendid Knight's Crusade
Breaking souls at its finest
Republished on Wednesday 28th October 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of November's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Take a deep breath before you take on this deceivingly simple game because Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition everything but an empty...
Review Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Another Great Showcase for the Nemesis System
Shelobs me, Shelobs me not
Republished on Wednesday 28th October 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of November's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Middle-earth: Shadow of War takes the best parts of its predecessor and gives them room to breathe. It's a sequel that opts to expand...
A Class VII act
Have you played through Trails of Cold Steel III? If not, take our advice and don't even think about trying Trails of Cold Steel IV. Apparently, the two games were originally meant to be just one big instalment in Falcom's long running The Legend of Heroes franchise — but the sheer scope of the saga forced them apart. Put simply,...
Mini Review Carto - Map-Manipulating Puzzler Is an Adorable Adventure
Mo maps mo problems
Carto has a unique gameplay hook — you can rearrange the world map in real time to solve puzzles — but it smartly doesn't rely solely on it. You play as a small girl who's separated from her airship-flying grandmother, and must use some map-altering abilities to reunite the pair. However, this simple task has you traversing...
