Latest Reviews
Rage against the Mishima
It's been five whole years since we last had a Tekken game on a PlayStation platform – not counting the free-to-play and hilariously unbalanced Tekken Revolution. As such, Tekken 7 finds itself in a slightly tricky spot. Expectations are high when it comes to the series' latest entry, and with other big-name beat-'em-ups...
Crash bash
Danger Zone isn’t subtle and nor should it be. The latest from indie outfit Three Fields Entertainment doesn’t faff around with golf balls, instead slapping cars on a simulated highway and tasking you with smashing into as many of them as you can. This is Crash Mode in everything but name, and considering it comes care of...
Review Victor Vran: Overkill Edition (PS4)
Tricky Vick
Similarly to the Diablo series, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition is all about loot. Whether you're breaking open pots, opening chests, or buying from merchants, Haemimont Games' latest sees you stuffing your pockets with all the weapons, consumables, and items that you can find, from scythes and swords to destiny cards and demon powers. At...
Review Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 (PS4)
Can't stop the rock
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is a masterful fighting game, and if you've been hankering for more of Arc System Works' gorgeous brawler, then you probably won't want to miss Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2. An expansion to REVELATOR - which can either be purchased as downloadable content or as its own standalone release - Rev 2 adds a...
Review Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada (PS4)
Family values
To date, Samurai Warriors 4 has given way to three spin-off titles on PlayStation 4: Samurai Warriors 4-II, Samurai Warriors 4: Empires, and now, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada. Of the three, this latest release is the most original - at least in terms of structure and design. Spirit of Sanada takes numerous role-playing game...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Chronicles (PS4)
Pack-a-Punched
Nacht der Untoten was a bonus mode tacked onto Call of Duty: World at War. It had recycled assets, no voice acting, and a simple layout because Activision didn’t fund it. Nevertheless, Treyarch implemented the small map for the fun of it, which went on to not only become the underrated game’s defining legacy, but also a franchise...
Review Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island (PS4)
Hatchet & Shank
Don't adjust your screen: this isn't a brand new entry into the Ratchet & Clank series you somehow hadn't heard about. Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a 3D platformer that takes a serious dose of inspiration from Insomniac's incredibly successful series. Unfortunately, it's never able to reach the heights of...
Review World to the West (PS4)
A different kind of Westworld
What happens when a teleportation-mishap leaves four heroes lost in a strange world, each packing their own unique special powers? Teamwork, that’s what. From the makers of cool 2D puzzle-'em-up Teslagrad, Rain Games brings a new title to the same universe in the shape of World to the West. The big change this time...
Review Black & White Bushido (PS4)
Stab in the dark
The title says it all, really. Black & White Bushido is a monochromatic multiplayer game where samurai of light or shadow duke it out in two-tone arenas. Developer Good Catch has ported its game over to consoles after an 18-month stint on PC, and with its unique gameplay, it could well slot nicely into gaming nights with a few...
Just beat it
If you're a fan of Japan and its wonderful culture then you'll probably be aware of Akihabara, a district in Tokyo filled with all manner of delights that will get any otaku salivating at the thought of it. It's a haven for geeks with plenty of shops filled with anime, manga, collectable cards and figurines, as well as maid cafés for...
Review Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy (PS Vita)
Mission: Aborted
Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy is the follow-up to Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy - a dungeon crawler which arrived on the PlayStation Vita in 2015 to some fairly average review scores. Experience Inc. has released some really good dungeon crawlers on Sony's handheld, so you'd hope that for Operation Babel it would take some...
Virtual insanity
There’s an urban legend of an arcade game so addictive that physical fights would break out over who would get to play next. Its mind bending gameplay managed to induce insomnia, amnesia, and hallucinations in those that played it, and just one month after it supposedly showed up in Portland arcades in 1981, every single machine...
Review LocoRoco Remastered (PS4)
Roll up, roll up
Whether we really needed a remaster of an 11-year-old Japanese PSP game is debatable, but we’re elated Sony decided to update one of the platform’s greatest hits nonetheless. LocoRoco Remastered brings the joyful 2D side-scroller (or side-roller, if you will) to a whole new audience, and the best news is that its still as fun...
Basket case
The Silver Case is one of the early titles developed by renowned auteur Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture. Unsurprisingly, the ticks and quirks that have come to define his recent output are present in abundance. Indeed, this is a profoundly strange game, and one that – for both better and worse – often feels...
Baller?
NBA fans have been spoiled in recent years, being treated to arguably the most accurate virtual sporting experience with the NBA 2K series. However, the rise of realistic sims has seen arcade basketball games become a thing of a bygone era. The 90s were jampacked with these types of games, while the early 2000s saw its fair share of titles...
Resurrection of evil
Last year's fantastic DOOM reboot nailed the energy and relentless forward motion of id Software's industry defining FPS, stripping out any sort of meaningful narrative in favour of a lighting-fast funhouse ride. Yet where DOOM 2016 gave old fashioned mayhem a shiny new coat of paint, Transhuman Design’s BUTCHER keeps the...
Review Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (PS Vita)
Samurai lovin', had me a blast
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is the latest game in the Hakuoki series, and is billed by developer Idea Factory as a “remastered telling of the beloved 2008 series”. Set in historic Japan, the game follows the protagonist as she's taken in by a group of samurai while looking for her father who has gone missing. Being an...
Faceplant
Human: Fall Flat is a physics puzzle platformer that gained a lot of popularity through YouTube last year. Its excellently wacky character movement, similar to that of Gang Beasts, can create some hilariously funny moments which make it a brilliantly entertaining experience. You play as Bob, who’s just your average guy: he must solve...
Would Yu kindly?
2017 has been a magical year for games thus far. The first few months were crammed with more amazing titles than we’ve seen in entire years before. But this hot streak must end sometime, right? Well, Arkane Studios – specifically, the company's second studio in Texas – has ensured it's not the ones to end this streak, as...
Review Super Rude Bear Resurrection (PS4)
Not brrrap
2D platformers are an ancient genre, so it can be tough to keep new additions to this category feeling fresh. However, Super Rude Bear Resurrection brings a very interesting mechanic to the table, which sets it apart from the glut of platformers available to gamers these days. What makes Super Rude Bear Ressurection unique compared to...
Review Birthdays the Beginning (PS4)
Life finds a way
Birthdays the Beginning is a pretty strange title for a pretty strange game. It’s a god game in which you manipulate a cubic world in order to create new lifeforms. As far as elevator pitches go, it doesn’t sound terribly interesting, but it does just about enough to hold your attention – if only for a short time. You...
Review Dreamfall Chapters (PS4)
Dream on
–Dreamfall Chapters begins with protagonist Zoë Maya Castillo trapped in a coma, a predicament arguably more appealing than slogging through the interminable opening sections of this game. You're charged with wandering around a dreamscape while your physical body remains in a hospital bed, using powers that are barely explained to...
Use your GNOGgin
PlayStation VR is still a young peripheral, and with that we’ve come to expect some growing pains. Dating back to the headset's launch, there’s been a surprisingly high volume of worthwhile titles offered, including some truly great games. But alongside that, there’s also been a glut of high-price, low-quality "experiences"...
Mr Tumble
Tumbleseed is a procedurally generated, roguelike game in which you take on the role of a seed on its journey to the top of a mountain. Along the way you must survive many enemy encounters and overcome the various obstacles thrown your way. You control your seed in a very unusual way, using a horizontal pole that extends the full width of...
Review Symphony of the Machine (PS4)
Mirror, mirror
Symphony of the Machine is one of many virtual reality puzzle titles to hit the PlayStation 4 over the past few months, and it still amazes us how varied these games can be. This time around you'll be directing light using mirrors to solve the conundrums in a short but beautiful ninety minute experience. The game begins in a deserted...
On the right light track
Rhythm is your weapon in Aaero, a new high-speed fusion of music, light track running, and weapon combat that blazes across the PlayStation 4 in an attempt to reignite the music game genre. Created by independent two-man studio Mad Fellows, Aaero synthesises frantic sci-fi shooting action with solid rhythm game dynamics,...
Sy-bore-ia
You wouldn't be ignorant if you haven't heard of Syberia 3. It's a point-and-click adventure game developed by French studio Microïds, and it's part of a cult franchise known for its pre-rendered backdrops, distinct mechanical puzzles, and eccentric characters and settings. Syberia 2 was released a mere two years after the original,...
Top of the pops
In a year that's continuously exceeded expectations, you weren't going to bet against Puyo Puyo Tetris being anything less than outstanding, were you? SEGA's gaudy puzzle-'em-up is a real joy, blending the breakneck brick building of Tetris with the more methodical splotch popping of the less-popular Puyo Puyo – sometimes on the...
Thinking outside the box
Statik is a PlayStation VR puzzle game similar in style to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. You awaken in a strange room as a test subject with both hands locked inside a puzzle box while your captor Dr Ingen observes you from afar. You must solve these puzzle boxes in order to uncover why you are being tested and learn how...
Get hooked
Flinthook is a prime example of how the execution of an idea is often more important than the idea itself. At first glance, it seems like any other modern roguelike, running from one procedurally-generated, 16-bit era inspired room to the next, shooting enemies for cash that you use to buy supplies and power-ups along the way. But under...
