Latest Reviews
Review Hitman: The Complete First Season - An Exemplary Assassination Sandbox
Phwoar-ty seven
Republished on Wednesday 30th January 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Hitman: Blood Money is the golden standard for IO Interactive's stealth franchise; we can all agree with that. Hitman: The Complete First Season,...
Review For Honor - Medieval Brawler Comes Out Swinging
'Tis but a scratch
Republished on Wednesday 30th January 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. The back and forth of a mano-a-mano sword fight rarely gets encapsulated effectively in video game form, and even the likes of Nioh or Dark...
Review The Hong Kong Massacre - Hotline Miami's Chinese Knock-Off
Wrong number
We were ready to like The Hong Kong Massacre from Swedish indie studio Vreski, but unfortunately it disappoints at almost every turn. This top-down, twin-stick shooter is clearly inspired by the excellent Hotline Miami, a game with brutally fast action, instant restarts, and an addictive rhythm to its gameplay. This title has attempted...
Review Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 - Rules Is Spirited But Slow
Smells like teen spirit
Life Is Strange 2 sure is living up to its name, with the direct sequel to DONTNOD’s surprise episodic smash bumbling under-the-radar like it doesn’t even exist. Since the release of the follow-up’s debut, Roads, popular developer Telltale Games has shut down, and the third instalment in The Walking Dead: The Final...
Review Resident Evil 2 - An Admirable Re-Imagining of the 1998 Classic
You've got Redfield on you
Attempting to remake what is considered one of the greatest video games of all time has to be both an incredibly exciting and intimidating prospect, but just over three years ago, that’s the exact promise Capcom made. Many consider Resident Evil 2 to be the pinnacle of survival horror after it capitalised on the...
Review A Fisherman's Tale - A Tale That's Short But Sweet
Who lives in a fish shanty over the sea?
Fishing in VR would be great, wouldn't it? While fishing video games have been around for decades, there’s a spirit to the sport that only VR could truly capture. Lounging around in a little wooden fishing boat and basking in nature while waiting for your next catch to nibble at your line would be made that...
Review Wandersong - A One-Note Adventure That Sings from the Heart
The little bard that could
A bard isn't the likeliest of heroes where saving the world is concerned, least of all one with such childlike optimism as the main character of Wandersong. In this side-scrolling adventure, you'll guide the nameless protagonist on his journey to stop a god from destroying the planet. Instead of searching for a weapon or...
Review Vane - Exploration Has Never Been Less Fun
You're so vane I'll bet you think this review is about you
We were something like six hours into Vane when we glanced down at our phone to see what time it was, and realised that we'd only been playing the game for forty-two minutes. How was this even possible? It was like when Matthew McConaughey visited Dr. Miller's Planet in Interstellar: a world...
Review Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown - Explosive In-Flight Entertainment
Aced it
It's been a while since we last made a trip to Strangereal on PlayStation. The Ace Combat series has a long and relatively complicated history of releases scattered across a wide range of formats, resulting in a somewhat fragmented state. Fans largely agree, however, that the PlayStation 2 entries - 4, 5, and Zero - are the collective high...
Review Smoke and Sacrifice - Dark and Rueful Survival RPG
Captivating amid chaos
Solar Sail Games steps forward with a new open-world action RPG called Smoke and Sacrifice. Dark and repentant but aesthetically pleasing, Smoke and Sacrifice is more than just a survival game. In fact, it’s a story about the unabridged love of a mother and her child. As bleak as it may be, this world captivates you like no...
Unfair in love
Adding another several hours of content and continuing the story that started in Episode 1, Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Legacy of the First Blade - Episode 2: Shadow Heritage (good lord!) is a solid follow-up. New quests, a new ability, and a couple of new legendary weapons await, but once again, don't go into this DLC expecting any...
Review YIIK: A Postmodern RPG - Party Like It's 1999
Let's all meet up in the year 2000
The '90s. It was a wonderful time to be alive. An era before TOWIE, before PewDiePie, and before Ed Sheeran. Sheffield United were in the Premier League (briefly). We had it all. Pulp Fiction at the cinema, Oasis and Blur being horrible to each other every day, Curly Wurly's were like twice the size. It was...
Review Onimusha: Warlords - A Welcome Remaster That Doesn't Get It All Right
Blast from the past
Whenever someone raises the question of which dormant game franchises need to be resurrected from the dead, it’s never too long before Capcom’s PlayStation 2-centric Onimusha series comes back as an answer. The tales of a Japan overrun by the supernatural failed to put in an appearance anywhere outside of the sixth generation...
Review Megalith - A Run-of-the-Mill PSVR MOBA
Mega death
Virtual reality has a way of breathing new life into established genres by dropping you into the protagonist’s shoes or by transporting you into the game’s world. This has been the case for a variety of games that have found extensive success on the PlayStation VR platform, and Disruptive Games is trying to replicate that success with...
Review Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - Still One of the Very Best Tales Games
The star still shines
When the topic of classic Japanese role-playing games is brought up, people tend to focus on a set few titles. Final Fantasy VII will forever be etched into the history of the genre for obvious reasons -- as is the case with several other entries in Square Enix's beloved series -- and most would probably give nods to properties...
Review Portal Knights - Likeable Minecraft-Esque Action RPG
Knight and day
It's no surprise that a global phenomenon like Minecraft has inspired countless other games in a similar style. Portal Knights is another title that borrows Minecraft's blocky art style and crafting system, but it manages to put a fresh spin on many things and in some ways outdoes those that have come before it. The most obvious way...
Review Steep - Chill Open World Winter Sports
Peak performer
Extreme sports of the wintry variety clearly aren't for the faint-hearted, and anyone that partakes in snowy slopes that have more in common with the vertical than the horizontal need their head examined. Not only is it dangerous but it also happens to be bloody expensive to boot, which means that most of us will only ever be exposed...
Review Kingdom Two Crowns - Enjoyably Minimalist Strategy
Regal action
Strategy games can be rather intimidating. Generally speaking, they're difficult by design, forcing you to think several steps ahead, and make decisions more carefully than you would in other genres. Occasionally you'll come across a strategy title that's a little easier to get into, and the Kingdom games are certainly in that ballpark...
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining - A Lukewarm End to the City That Never Sleeps Story
Every cloud
The release of Silver Lining marks the conclusion of the City That Never Sleeps expansion for Marvel's Spider-Man, and as a finale, it's a slight letdown. It's clearer now more than ever that a sequel is coming, but leaving so many narrative threads dangling makes for quite an unsatisfying ending to this extra story. Even so, this still...
Review Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack - A Trio of Delights
Atelier what, it's pretty good
The Atelier series is something of an acquired taste. The games tend to be a mix of super-relaxed storylines with anxiety-inducing time limit systems. The juxtaposition can be a bit off-putting to some, but once you realise that the time limits aren’t as harsh as they first appear then you can start to appreciate...
Review Borderlands 2 VR - A Handsome Adaptation
You don't know Jack
Sony’s not stupid, and it seems to recognise that titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Borderlands 2 VR need to exist in order to get potential PlayStation VR adopters through the door. While headset veterans will accurately argue that it’s the titles like Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Beat Saber that really shine in...
Review Subnautica - An Excellent Underwater Survival Game
Awe-inspiring as far as the eye can sea
Fear of the ocean is hardly an uncommon affliction. The disconcerting tension as you bob, completely vulnerable on the sea’s surface. Calming ripples of salty water lapping against your arms as you battle to remain afloat, all the while blissfully unaware of the strange horrors that lurk in the murky depths...
Review Nippon Marathon - Janky Japanese Japes
Takeshi's hassle
It does feel like there's some strange appetite at the moment for multiplayer games that are actually a little bit shoddy. Gang Beasts is kind of the poster boy for this brand of title, with its flailing, imprecise brawls leading to some golden moments. Nippon Marathon slots very neatly into this small but growing convention,...
Review Desert Child - A Fantastic Retro Racer That's Way Too Short
Eat my red dust
Desert Child is pretty special. Stylistically, it’s a magical experience, its ‘90s adventure game art style mixing well with an absolutely fantastic soundtrack. Set on Olympia, a city on a fully-colonised Mars, in a not-to-distant future, its world is an intoxicating mix of cultures, from Aussie beach bums to Middle Eastern...
Review Gungrave VR - Don't Rise from Your Grave
Grave Danger
“Not another virtual reality shooter,” we hear you sigh. Yes, another one, but this time with a relatively recognisable name tacked on: Gungrave. For those that don’t know Gungrave VR isn’t the first title in the series, as it debuted on the PlayStation 2 in 2002 and did well enough to get a follow-up title, Gungrave: Overdose...
Review Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - Some of the Best Writing You'll Find on PS4
Queen me
CD Projekt Red knows how to write a character-based story. For what is essentially a visual novel broken up by relatively brief card game battles, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales spins a seriously impressive yarn, and it's this gripping narrative that keeps you glued to your controller. Thronebreaker tells the story of Queen Meve, a stern...
Review Beat Saber - Guitar Hero Meets Star Wars
What's old is new again
Something exciting is happening on PlayStation VR right now. A couple of years into its life, we’re starting to see developers really get to grips with the hardware. It’s always the way – early titles are often the most experimental, testing the waters to see what can be achieved. With virtual reality, it’s a whole...
Review Override: Mech City Brawl - Fun But Flawed Giant Robot Fighting
Mech it count
Override: Mech City Brawl is a surprisingly fun time, at least, for the first few hours. It's a relatively simple brawler featuring big colourful robots, and when you're stomping around a destructible stage smashing your opponent through multiple blocks of skyscrapers, it's hard not to enjoy yourself. But look beyond its shiny...
Review Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden - Farmlife Tussles in Tactical Battles
What the duck
You know you’re about to be thrown in at the deep end when a game asks you to pick between the difficulty options of Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and a permadeath toggle for all three. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a brutally tough experience that will contuinally pull the rug out from under your feet even when you feel like you’ve...
Review The First Tree - A Deep and Meaningful Journey
The fox and the profound
The First Tree effortlessly intertwines fluid gameplay, silky visuals, and two heart-breaking stories. The game opens on a snowy mountain peak where a fox awakens to find her cubs that have vanished. At the same time, a troubled man awakens and begins to tell his partner a story about his youth, rebellion, and coping with...
