Latest Reviews
Go download this game
In an industry so focused on creating ever larger and more expansive experiences, there's something to be said about the power of focus. Lara Croft Go is a title that's not focused on wowing the player with a billion different features that create the illusion of depth, instead opting for a simplified, handcrafted feel that...
Review The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 2: Ties That Bind (Part Two) (PS4)
Oh, brother
Alright, the "twist" at the end of this episode is about as subtle as a meat cleaver to a Muertos' face, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is really moving at a breakneck pace. Having established a new cast of characters in the first half of this two-part premiere, Ties That Bind (Part Two) ratchets up the tension by plotting the fall...
Review The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 1: Ties That Bind (Part One) (PS4)
Family splatters
The first season of Telltale Games' comic book adaptation The Walking Dead propelled the episodic developer to superstardom; Lee's poignant tale of life after the apocalypse was lavished with end-of-year awards, and is looked upon fondly some four or so years after its original release – despite a laundry list of mechanical and...
Little indeed
Surprisingly, this new point and click adventure title from Irish indie, Pewter Games, is up against some stiff competition. The genre, long lost and relatively rare on consoles, has made a small comeback over the last few years, with titles such as Broken Age, King's Quest, and Armikrog all attempting to capture the interest of fans...
Shut up and drive
Final Fantasy XV is mostly a game about four guys driving around in a car. Sometimes, they get out and kill monsters. Other times, they don't want to drive at night and seek shelter around a nearby campfire, where they look over photographs and recall their journey so far. Lead character Noctis can be stubborn, moody, and lazy...
Flipping out for real
You could never accuse developer Zen Studios of being particularly selective about which platforms its pinball titles appear on. Thus, the number of people who'll be surprised to hear Pinball FX2 has arrived on PlayStation VR will probably be close to zero, especially since it provides a rare opportunity to do something a bit...
Will.i.am disappointed
Admittedly, we haven't watched The Voice much – all we know is that Tom Jones used to be on it and swivelly chairs are involved. The series, which has been going strong in many different countries, has finally decided to capitalise on the fact that there's only one other karaoke game releasing every year. But does it give...
Review The Last Guardian (PS4)
Animal magic
The Last Guardian doesn't much care for convention. Fumito Ueda's fantasy adventure may have taken the best part of a decade to deploy, but Team ICO's creative vision was never to blame. This bewilderingly brilliant yarn about a boy and a bird sticks so rigidly to a singular ideal that it's almost detrimental at times. And yet, it's...
Bark or bite?
This is what you wanted, people – this is what you voted for. No, not Trump or Brexit, but a city run by the Blume Corporation where absolutely everyone is constantly under the gaze of an advanced Big Brother surveillance system. This near future society is a Black Mirror-esque teched-up metropolis where ctOS2.0 connects everyone...
High in the sky
How We Soar is a wonderfully well-crafted virtual reality game that follows the journey of an author, through his struggles of trying to write his first novel. Although he has many ideas, he cannot decide on one over another, and so all of them are compiled together to form the environments of each level in the game. Although the...
Review Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (PS4)
The art of war
It's weird to think that since Darksiders was released in 2010, Vigil Games disbanded, THQ went bankrupt, and Nordic Games acquired the franchise. Not only that, but it has even reincorporated under the name THQ Nordic and overseen remasterings of both games. So while ex-Vigil Games employees are scattered around the place with...
Review Yesterday Origins (PS4)
Yesterday came suddenly
You might not know it in the modern era of gaming, but you can have an extensive and detailed narrative told on a much smaller scale than the open world blockbusters we've become accustomed to. It wasn't really that long ago that games such as the Monkey Island series or the Broken Sword games were the highlight of narrative...
Do you underSTEIN?
Imagine if we managed to create a working time machine? How long before the future, past, and present were altered irrevocably – and would it be fun and games or trauma and death? Steins;Gate was a massively acclaimed visual novel developed by 5pb. and Nitroplus back in 2009 telling of humanity's first time-travelling...
Review Small Radios Big Televisions (PS4)
Virtual surreality
Despite this review's subheading, Small Radios Big Televisions is not a VR game – at least, not in regular terms. Indeed, it's your in-game self that dons a headset in Adult Swim's exploration puzzler as you make your way through the empty halls of abandoned facilities. Quite why this is the case is very much a mystery, and...
Review Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization (PS4)
Full dive
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is the PlayStation 4's third Sword Art Online title, and it's the best one yet. Boasting an original story that takes place after the events of the various animes, Hollow Realization takes the property's cast of teenage gamers and throws them into an entirely new adventure. Fans of the franchise will...
Knife to see you again
Stealth. Games that do it really well don't come along all that often, with most choosing merely to dabble their toes in the murky waters where a knife in the dark is king. When looking back over those titles that made sticking to the shadows most satisfying, there was one thing that they all had in common: options. Whether...
Review Super Dungeon Bros (PS4)
Bros before foes
Super Dungeon Bros certainly has personality, we'll give it that. The title is shouted at you above a heavy soundtrack, the game tells you to 'Press X to rock', and you feel like you know how things are going to go from there. When you start the quest, an opening cut-scene begins, introducing the bros (all named after rock stars, of...
Review Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (PS4)
Mass defect
Microtransactions. Bleh. If there's one word that can put a foul taste in people's mouths, it's that. Disappointingly, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has them, and the game is much worse off for it. Whereas in previous entries you could spend money simply to get gun skins and cosmetic items in loot boxes, now you need to spend money on...
Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition (PS4)
Shout it louder
Like it or not, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim remains a landmark role-playing game. When it first arrived in 2011, it's no exaggeration to say that the last-gen version introduced a whole new audience to the genre. In many ways, developer Bethesda Game Studios had cracked it – Skyrim carefully walked the line between being an...
Swing king
The ability to amplify the emotional and physical reactions you have while playing a video game lies at the heart of what makes virtual reality so promising. In Windlands, a newly released first-person platformer, you'll be throwing yourself into the void as you grapple around a ruined civilisation high up in the sky, and it's safe to say...
Numa Numa nay
Just Dance: the worst part of every E3. Just Dance sometimes feels like the Ubisoft series no one can takes seriously – or even cares about anymore. This year's edition really doesn't add much in terms of gameplay or modes, but it's still solid. Firstly, the tracklist: there's a lot of variation this year, with modern hits like...
Review Superdimension Neptune VS SEGA Hard Girls (PS Vita)
To be this good takes AGES
Just when you thought that the PlayStation Vita had no new games, here comes a rather lovely RPG adventure which packs a ton of fun combat and exploration into a perfect on the go package. Superdimension Neptune VS SEGA Hard Girls is a spin off from the long running Hyperdimension Neptunia RPG series which sees various...
Review Hitman: Episode 6 - Hokkaido (PS4)
Peak
So, it's all over: seven months in the making, Hitman is finally finished and all episodes are released. From the heights of stunning Sapienza to the lows of crummy Colorado, it's certainly been a journey – but does Hokkaido end up being a fitting swansong to an excellent game or a bad note to end on? We say, wholeheartedly, the former...
Plodding along
Waddle Home is a puzzle game about penguins who have taken a spaceship to another planet which is inhabited by aliens. Unfortunately, they get captured by the extra-terrestrials and require your help to break free and return to their ship so that they can – ahem – Waddle Home. You begin by releasing the penguins from a cage, and...
Review LEGO Harry Potter Collection (PS4)
You're a LEGO, 'Arry
The two LEGO Harry Potter games proved a fun romp through the story of the seven books and eight films back on the PlayStation 3, and now Traveller's Tales has ported the experience as a complete package to the PlayStation 4. Initially released as Years 1-4 and Years 5-7, the LEGO Harry Potter Collection pulls both games...
Tunnel vision
Earth's Dawn is a 2D, loot-heavy brawler with a post-apocalyptic theme. It's got a lot in common with Vanillaware titles such as Dragon's Crown and Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, except it's keen to ditch pretty fantasy settings and settle for a ruined grey world complete with a gigantic underground tunnel system that's teeming with...
Tears for fears
As a dark comedy, Weeping Doll would be just about the most amusing game on PlayStation VR right now – and that's high praise considering that the platform already plays host to the genuinely hilarious Job Simulator and Headmaster. But somehow we don't think that Chinese outfit TianShe Media had funnies in mind when it made this...
Carry on my wayward son
Risk virtual life and limb exploring a mysterious floating fortress, as Wayward Sky puts you directly into the shoes of young Bess, a pilot whose father has been kidnapped. In order to rescue your dear old dad, you must guide Bess through various puzzles – it's a bit like playing with a toy figure who you can 'jump into'...
Review Carnival Games VR (PS4)
Infinite bore fair
Ah, this is just what PlayStation VR needed: a minigame collection. And not just any superficial smorgasbord of banal activities either, but the granddaddy of the genre: Carnival Games VR. Those of you who hold on to haunting thoughts like a manic depressive in a mental health institute may remember this 2K Games published series...
All tied up
Have you ever wanted to be as powerful as a God, looking over and controlling everything with a click of your fingers? Well, now you can. In Tethered you are tasked with taking care of adorable little creatures called Peeps. They are very hard working and you must use their skills to collect resources, build up their village, and fully...
