Latest Reviews
Review NHL 21 - The Best Iteration of the Generation
Bardown? More like bar up
Sports games bring with them a certain expectation from fans. The titles get churned out every year, with relatively little difference, except maybe a few new ways to try and pry some extra money out of your hands with microtransactions. But you keep coming back because if you love a particular sport, there aren't any...
Review DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One - Much More of PS4's Best FPS
Back with a vengeance
If DOOM Eternal was the kick up the arse the gaming industry needed towards the start of this year, DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One will leave those buttocks raw. The Slayer himself has returned with the first instalment in a new expansion so utterly relentless that a rude awakening is in order for even those who...
Mini Review Ray's the Dead - A Flawed But Novel Zombie Adventure
I was a teenage zombie
Ray's the Dead has been in development for a long time, but it's now finally shuffled onto PlayStation 4. As the name implies, you play as Ray, brought back from the dead under mysterious circumstances. In order to discover what's going on in the 80s inspired town, Ray must use his zombie abilities to resurrect others, defeat...
Mini Review This Is the Zodiac Speaking - A Great Idea with Underwhelming Execution
Man is the most dangerous animal of them all
The Zodiac killer is one of the most infamous serial killers of all time, and for good reason. Whereas we generally know complete stories for most, we to this day, don’t actually know who Zodiac was, or perhaps is. This amount of unknowns serves as a perfect jumping-off point for Punch Punk Games’...
Mini Review Cloudpunk - Sci-Fi Noir Deliver 'Em Up Does Just Enough
UPSo-so
Cloudpunk is the name of a legally ambiguous delivery company that operates in the future city of Nivalis, delivering whatever — or whomever — the job requires and asking zero questions. They're a bit like Yodel, only they've got flying cars and they actually deliver your packages. Anyway, you play the role of Rania, a newcomer to the...
Review Amnesia: Rebirth - The SOMA Team Has Its First Dud
One foot in the grave
It really does feel like Frictional Games has come full circle. After redefining what it means to be part of the horror genre for the past decade, the Swedish team has reunited itself with the series where its name was made. That takes the shape of a proper sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent. However, this is no longer a match...
Mini Review Cake Bash - A Sweet Party Game with a Short Shelf Life
Just desserts
A party game about becoming the tastiest treat in a series of sugar-coated mini games? What's not to like? Cake Bash is a light-hearted multiplayer title for sweet-toothed gamers of all ages. Select an edible character and engage in a series of simple party games to determine the most delicious one of all. Get Tasty is the main mode...
Review FIFA 21 - A Step Up from FIFA 20, But Must Do Better on PS5
Tired legs
In the real world, Premier League football stadiums have no crowds thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In FIFA 21, these same stadiums are packed — packed with the exact same awkwardly animated, ugly crowds that have been a part of FIFA for over half a decade. We're not sure which is worse, especially when these virtual fans...
Mini Review Torchlight III - Torchlight Returns with a Familiar Dungeon Crawling Adventure
The owl or the retriever?
Torchlight III has had a somewhat troubled development. With original developer Runic Games, it was tooled as a free-to-play MMO called Torchlight Frontiers. After poor fan and dev reactions, Echtra Games — a team made up of Torchlight and Diablo luminaries — was formed. It acquired the license and rebuilt the project...
Review Vampyr - An Intriguing, Bloodthirsty RPG
Sucky combat
Republished on Wednesday 30th September 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. DONTNOD has so far released two games: 2013's often forgotten Remember Me and the breakout success Life Is Strange. Vampyr is the ambitious company's...
Review Need for Speed Payback - A Fine Racer Bogged Down By Microtransactions
Pay up
Republished on Wednesday 30th September 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. We’re not sure about The Fast and the Furious, but Need for Speed Payback sure will make you furious fast. Ghost Games has spent two years tuning up...
Mini Review The Walking Dead Onslaught - One for the Undead Fans
Building a new beginning
It’s been a good year for The Walking Dead fans on PlayStation VR. Having previously seen The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners back in May by Skydance Interactive, we now have The Walking Dead Onslaught arrive as an entirely separate VR adaptation. Developed by Survios, Onslaught takes us directly into AMC’s television...
Review Going Under - A Compelling and Comical Roguelite
Upstairs downstairs
Many roguelikes and roguelites follow a similar template, and if you've played one, it can feel as though you've played them all. However, they're not all cut from the same cloth; yes, they share some common design and gameplay choices, but others are true outliers that do things differently with the formula. Going Under is one...
Mini Review Budget Cuts - VR Stealth Action Has Never Been This Good
No cutbacks here
Corporate satire is common across gaming but rarely focuses on issues faced by automation. Taking this concept into an action stealth title with murderous robots, Budget Cuts finally lands on PlayStation VR two years after its PC launch and it’s been worth the wait. Developed by Neat Corporation, you play as a human employee of...
Mini Review Port Royale 4 - Dull Strategy Game Fails To Float Our Boat
Yo Ho Hum
Port Royale 4 starts well. The opening cinematic shows footage of shady piratey characters doing shady piratey business, and it's backed by a rousing soundtrack that makes you want to sail the seven seas looking for plunder. But any hopes you might have of swashbuckling adventures are almost immediately dashed after starting up the first...
Mini Review Crysis Remastered - A Poor Remaster of a Pretty Important Game
Not-so incredible Crysis
Everyone remembers Crysis, of course. But what’s easy to forget is Crytek’s PC shattering behemoth of a technical marvel released 13 years ago. The industry has changed rather a lot in that time. For example, 13 years ago, Crysis was a pretty good game. Now? Well, it’s complicated. Memes aside, the PS4 can mostly...
Mini Review Unrailed - Simple Train Survival Game Runs Out of Steam
Do the locomotion
Unrailed is a co-op survival game in which you must keep a train going for as long as possible. It's a novel twist on the genre that sees you and three other players protecting a locomotive rather than yourselves. It even has the usual trappings of survival games, such as procedural level generation and crafting, but it keeps it...
Review 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Excellent Visual Novel Is a Mind-Bending Experience
Lucky for some
Wow, what a ride 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is. Vanillaware — the talented Japanese developer behind impressive action games like Dragon's Crown Pro and Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir — is back, and it's trying something totally new with its latest release. 13 Sentinels is primarily a visual novel with some very light puzzle solving,...
Review Spelunky 2 - Rock Hard Roguelike Is a Superior Sequel
To the moon
Spelunky is the definition of "harsh but fair". A roguelike platformer with a myriad of moving parts, the procedurally generated underground worlds have a strict set of rules, and you must follow them, lest you be punished in surprisingly gruesome ways. It's of course very much the same with Spelunky 2, a sequel that builds upon the...
Mini Review eFootball PES 2021: Season Update - Football, Bloody Hell
Flying without Ings
If you want to know more about eFootball PES 2021: Season Update then you can simply read our review of eFootball PES 2020, as this is almost identical in every single way. To be fair to Konami, it’s been uncharacteristically upfront about the nature of this year’s soccer simulation, pointing out at practically every...
Mini Review Bounty Battle - A Truly Terrible Attempt at Indie Smash Bros
Wanted dead
In concept, Bounty Battle is the Super Smash Bros. of indie games. In reality, Bounty Battle is nothing short of a disaster. It's a terribly made brawler that, at its worst, is borderline unplayable. It's a joyless, almost baffling experience that'll make you wonder how the heck it even managed to secure characters from Owlboy, Darkest...
Mini Review The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon - A Solid But Very Safe Expansion
Welcome back, Captain
Bloody corporations, eh? They've only gone and done it again! Peril on Gorgon is The Outer Worlds' first expansion, and all told, it's a solid excursion. Your intrepid Captain and their crew find themselves travelling to the hellish Gorgon asteroid — a (mostly) abandoned testing site for dodgy space drugs. You're contracted...
Review Buried Stars - We Stan One K-Pop Mystery
A buried gem
Visual novel Buried Stars is an interesting one. With many saying online that the game has come from nowhere, its sudden release has surprised, and delighted, a lot of people. From Korean Studio Largo, Buried Stars follows the events of the titular reality show, which is set in the final stages of a K-pop talent contest. Unfortunately...
Mini Review Tamarin - Tonally Confused Monkey Business
Is that a monkey? He's got a gun!
Tamarin bears some striking resemblance to Jet Force Gemini — an N64 game in which you save a peaceful planet from an invading race of alien insects. The key difference, though, is that in the 1999 Rare title, you play as the titular group of galactic soldiers, while in Tamarin, you play as a tamarin. After a very...
Review NBA 2K21 - Perfect for Those in the Bubble, Good for Everyone Else
Ballers only
NBA 2K21 captures the see-saw flow of real-world basketball so well that you’ll feel at one with thousands of virtual fans when you nail a clutch corner three with seconds left on the clock. Visual Concepts’ simulation has, along with the MLB The Show series, always been a cut above the competition when it comes to broadcast-style...
Review Hotshot Racing - Cracking Arcade Racer Is a Constant Joy
Drifting into our hearts
It's no secret that arcade racers have sort of gone away for most of PlayStation 4's lifespan. Most of the generation's best racing games lean towards simulation, which is fine, but those looking for a more casual experience don't have nearly as many options. This is where Hotshot Racing slides sideways into view, with all...
Review Inertial Drift - Arcade Racing with a Twist
Neon dreams
It feels like ages since we’ve had a decent arcade racer on PlayStation. Quick thrills often take a back seat to realism and vehicle calibration. Thankfully, Belfast-based dev Level 91 has channelled the likes of Burnout and Ridge Racer for its neon-drenched title Inertial Drift. There are no comprehensive difficulty modifiers here;...
Review Control: AWE - An Intriguing Must for Alan Wake Fans, But No One Else
It’s not a lake, it’s a CONTROLcean
Alan Wake is a property of Remedy’s that has a pretty hardcore, dedicated fanbase. There have been promising signs by way of the spin-off American Nightmare or the more recent instance of Remedy buying back the right to the IP, but Control: AWE is by far the best indicator yet. Much like Control: The...
Review Wasteland 3 - Fallout Meets XCOM in This Engrossing But Slightly Buggy RPG
Power Armour Rangers
Wasteland 3 is one of those games that you can get completely lost in. Between its world building, its characters, and its player progression, it's an engrossing experience from start to finish. It goes without saying, but the veteran developers over at inXile really know how to make a role-playing game. Wasteland 3 is what...
Review Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series - Star Wars and VR Are Made for Each Other
Be proud of this technological terror
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series came as a bit of a surprise. We'd expected a bit of a cash grab, but the actual product is decent if unorthodox package. We get a campaign spread across three episodes plus three waves-based challenge modes. There’s actually a surprising wealth of content when viewed...
