Latest Reviews
Wobble makers
Odds are that you’ve at least heard of Gang Beasts, the multiplayer brawler from developer Boneloaf. It’s been available on PC via early access for years, not to mention its numerous appearances at gaming shows, so you may well have already played it, too. However, the game has now finally launched in full, and what great timing...
Review Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis (PS4)
Knife to see you
Square Enix saved the best party member episode for last with Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis. The latest add-on is another two-or-so-hour romp mostly made up of combat, but it slots into the existing story of Final Fantasy XV a lot more naturally than its predecessors. What's more, Ignis probably has the most enjoyable...
Review Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - End of Zoe (PS4)
Zoe mode
You’ve got to love it when developers conclude their post-release plans with something bonkers like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’s bizarre End of Zoe. As the title implies, this extra episode is designed to plug the final plot hole in Capcom’s survival horror story: just what happened to Zoe Baker after she went all anime and turned to...
Review Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Not a Hero (PS4)
You've got Redfield on you
Ex-BSAA agent Chris Redfield is back, but before you feel yourself getting flustered, be aware that this isn’t the beefcake from recent instalments. Instead the hunk has returned to his PSone days, trading rippling biceps for a silky soft quiff and designer stubble. Sure, you’re not going to find the veteran fighting...
Review Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PS4)
Another drop in the ocean
For a series that has seemingly always lived in the shadow of its publisher’s older siblings, we sure are getting a lot of Star Ocean at the moment; we’ve now had three series entries on PlayStation 4 within the last 18 months. Despite its obvious qualities, the PS2 classic re-release of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time...
Paint a celestial masterpiece in 4K
Some games are iconic, classics that are worth revisiting and bringing to a new audience. Okami is a prime example. Back in 2006 this was one of the PlayStation 2’s best games – a uniquely creative action, platform, and puzzle RPG with an incredible visual cel-shaded style. Now ten years later and...
Review Ultimate Chicken Horse (PS4)
Yeigh
2D platformers have a reputation for being good party games: on the PlayStation 4 alone we’ve had the likes of Towerfall, Duck Game, Rayman Legends, and many more. While Ultimate Chicken Horse doesn’t buck this trend in terms of quality, its twist on the genre makes for a unique competitive experience that should become a staple for any...
Wibbly-wobbly
One aspect of collectathon 3D platformers that has remained consistent over time is their unfettered imagination. Whether we’re talking about Spyro the Dragon or Ratchet & Clank, these games have crazy, colourful worlds that fill you with childlike wonder. Serious plots and realism go out the window because fun and...
Review LocoRoco 2 Remastered (PS4)
MuiMui bueno
We considered ourselves lucky to have received the original LocoRoco on the PlayStation 4 earlier this year, so to also have its sequel is a wonderful thing. Japan Studio’s roll-em-up platformers are relentlessly joyful, and serve as perfect palate cleansers to play between holiday season behemoths. The second title takes the core of...
Review Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris (PS4)
Curse is right
History repeats with Destiny 2 as its first expansion arrives on PlayStation 4. At this same point in its life, the original Destiny was also struggling to keep many of its players happy. Its endgame content was under constant scrutiny, developer Bungie couldn't seem to get anything right, and its first expansion,...
Veni vidi Avicii
With a string of hit singles and a Mike Posner nod, we suppose the next step for Swedish superstar Avicii is to get his own game. Step forward Gothenburg-based indie Hello There’s Invector, a saccharine rhythm action release set to the backdrop of 22 thumping electronic dance tracks. Your interest is probably going to be...
Review Dead Rising 4: Frank's Big Package (PS4)
Frank Best
Dead Rising has always been an oddball series, mixing in semi-serious takes on consumerism with absurdist humour and some downright disturbing moments. It may not have be the most polished or popular series, but it's always had a distinctive identity despite its moments of clunkiness and frustration. Dead Rising 4: Frank’s Big Package,...
Imp-ressive?
Bethesda sure are the good guys this Christmas, eh? After coveting controversy with its review code policy over a year ago, the publisher’s really recaptured the adoration of gamers this holiday, supporting fledgling new formats like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation VR. And following on from last month’s transformative virtual...
A Scottish haunting
Before Charlie Brooker came onto the scene, Black Mirror was more commonly known as a series of point-and-click adventure games released on the PC in the mid-2000s. Its initial three entries were fairly well received, and after a seven year absence, the name is back with a re-imagining of its story, themes, and a mix-up in the...
Review Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier (PS4)
Earth all along
Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier is set between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes – the two most recent movies in the franchise. With the power of PlayLink, up to four players can decide the fate of humans and apes alike, as we take control of Jess, the head of a human settlement,...
Review Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (PS4)
Death-initely worth it
Republished on Wednesday 29th November 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. When THQ went bankrupt two years ago, we feared the worst for our favourite franchise that the publisher produced:...
Where's 1-7?
Republished on Wednesday 29th November 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Forma.8 is an atmospheric, Metroidvania adventure game in which you take on the role of a spherical, flying alien. You are deployed...
Review Sky Force Reloaded (PS4)
Sky's the limit
For a remake of a decade old mobile game that liberally cribs from every other scrolling arcade shooter on the market, Infinite Dreams’ Sky Force Reloaded is a surprisingly addictive title. The similarities with PlayStation 4 classics like Resogun are apparent from the outset. A pumping synth score and digitised voices...
Review Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
Carp diem
You know Square Enix spent too much money making Final Fantasy XV when it releases a standalone angling spin-off for PlayStation VR. The Japanese company’s peculiarly malleable role-playing game has cast its net wide, but Monster of the Deep may just be its most successful diversion yet – even if there are inconsistencies in the...
Crime scene investigation
So far, Sony’s new PlayLink initiative hasn’t amounted to anything more than a decent selection of casual party games. Both Knowledge Is Power and That’s You follow the Jackbox Party Pack formula of wrapping up trivia questions within a fun and humorous setting, while SingStar: Celebration allows editor Sammy Barker...
Review Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode Three: Fractured Mask (PS4)
Ready, steady, crook
The best thing about Batman: The Enemy Within so far is how many different relationships you’re forced to manage. Playing as both billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and the Caped Crusader himself, Episode 3: Fractured Mask picks up where previous instalment The Pact left off, with the square-jawed suit right at the heart of...
Come on feel the (lack of) noise
Have you ever wanted to experience the harrowing act of sitting in a car teetering on the edge of a cliff? And while hanging from that cliff, have you ever wanted to breathe deeply, calmly look at nature, and befriend a deer? These are all things that form the backdrop for George Batchelor’s visual novel, Far From...
Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (PS4)
Fus Ro Dayum
The story of the Dragonborn is one endlessly retold. Quite literally, in fact – this is the third time that The Elder Scrolls V has released on a PlayStation platform in little over five years. But unlike last year’s strong yet safe PlayStation 4 remaster, Skyrim VR represents a seachange for Bethesda Game Studios’ gigantic...
Review School Girl/Zombie Hunter (PS4)
Zombie-kun, that's embarrassing
You should never judge a game by its title, but in the case of School Girl/Zombie Hunter, you'd be absolutely right to expect cheap Japanese schlock, complete with last-gen graphics, wonky gameplay, and panty shots. Similar to the Earth Defence Force series, this is a low budget release that's undeniably rough around...
Review SingStar: Celebration (PS4)
Bum note
Another year, another karaoke game. After a disappointing debut PlayStation 4 instalment, Sony’s London Studio is back with SingStar: Celebration, another title in the publisher’s new lineup of PlayLink games. Available to play with microphones, a PlayStation Camera (remember those?), or the Singstar Mic mobile app, this year's edition...
Review Tokyo Tattoo Girls (PS Vita)
Tattoo nightmares
Tokyo Tattoo Girls is definitely a strange game. If you’ve taken a look at any of the trailers for it then you can be forgiven for assuming that it’s going to be some kind of JRPG – even the opening cutscene feels like typical JRPG territory. But ignore your initial preconceptions, Tokyo Tattoo Girls is actually a...
Poor man's Splatoon?
Nine years after its appearance on the Wii, de Blob has rolled onto the PlayStation 4. While certainly an unexpected port, it isn’t an unwelcome one. This colourful platformer was a delightfully whimsical adventure nearly a decade ago, with a simple concept that exuded fun and creativity. Pleasingly, this holds true today...
Ben not-quite-10
Ben 10 first hit television screens way back in 2005 and quickly became a smash hit for Cartoon Network, spawning three spin-off series, four movies, and eight games. It centres around Ben Tennyson, a boy who discovers a watch called the Omnitrix which allows him to turn into various aliens. The franchise had been dormant since...
Review Final Fantasy XV: Comrades (PS4)
Inactive Time Battle
Unceremoniously tucked away under the downloadable content option on the game's main menu, Final Fantasy XV: Comrades is a full co-op-based expansion that takes place near the end of Final Fantasy XV's story. Without spoiling anything, it details the events of the world's darkest period, where humanity struggles to survive in a...
Cop a feel
Fun fact: did you know that L.A. Noire actually released closer to the 1940s than to 2017? If you used your detective skills to deduce that this is a lie, then Team Bondi’s noir classic could be your type of game. Newly remastered by Rockstar, the detective thriller is as confounding and cool as it was back in 2011, with a new lick of...
