Curve Digital Game Reviews
Mini Review The Ascent (PS5) - Gorgeous Cyberpunk Shooter Is Enhanced on PS5
A steady climb
The Ascent was met with slightly mixed reviews when it launched on PC and Xbox platforms around eight months ago, but it arrives on PlayStation 5 a much improved game. A slew of updates have fixed bugs and rebalanced various gameplay elements since the title's 2021 release. What's more, new content — like New Game+, a transmog...
Mini Review Just Die Already (PS4) - This Game About the Elderly Is Juvenile Fun
Disrespect your elders
Abuse of the elderly is, as a rule, generally discouraged. So, despite belonging to a fairly unshockable generation, we were a little bit taken aback by the sheer gerontophobia of the wickedly funny Just Die Already, which effectively does for the elderly what Goat Simulator did for, well, goats. Pick your pensioner, get...
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 Peaky Blinders: Mastermind - Strategy Spin-Off Falls Short
Feeling a bit peaky
We can't quite remember when we got distracted by something else and stopped watching Peaky Blinders. All we can say is that Scarecrow was in it, Bane wasn't, and the nice palaeontologist from Jurassic Park was a rotter. We'll have to go back to it one day. Anyway, tie-in video game Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a prequel to the...
Review American Fugitive - A Decent Reimagining of Classic Grand Theft Auto
Bad boys
Grand Theft Auto III was one of the PlayStation 2’s most important early releases -- fully realising the potential of its genre with an interactive 3D open world that took the world by storm upon its launch in late 2001. It was a landmark moment for video games, but it also represented a shift in design away from the top-down perspective...
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...
Review Beholder: Complete Edition (PS4)
Fight the system
In a city governed by a totalitarian state, you play as Carl, one of the government's trusted members who, together with his wife and two children, relocate to a new tenancy. By order of the state, you’ve been tasked with spying on tenants to ensure that they're following the letter of the law, and you must punish those who...
Game of many colours
Republished on Wednesday 27th September 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Puzzle games often have a serious problem with striking an even balance between being challenging and fun. Too often...
Handle with care
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you had to do everything manually? Blinking, breathing, walking: what if your body just decided it wouldn't do them automatically anymore. Well, in Manual Samuel you are tasked with keeping Samuel alive for a whole 24 hours by completing automatic bodily functions manually. You...
Review Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (PS4)
Oh dear oh dear
The PlayStation 4 release of Dear Esther sits in a bit of an odd place. The game originally released in early 2012 on the PC and many players will have already experienced its spiritual successor, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. This new version, dubbed the Landmark Edition, does include a few extras such as developer commentary but...
Henk on a second
If we had a dollar for every platformer that's passed through the venerable doors of the Push Square Towers in the last few years, we probably wouldn't be writing about games on the Internet anymore. Instead, we'd be sitting on a private island somewhere, sipping on a liquid gold martini served to us in a solid gold martini goblet...
On yer bike
Ah, the iconic BMX bike – made a cinematic icon in the '80s thanks to E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, BMX Bandits, and erm, well, let's just leave it there. Anyway, here's a game that loves the "art" of BMX riding and has been developed by actual "BMXers" – and having been a hit on mobile devices, it hops onto the PlayStation 4,...
Super nova
Having impressed at both PAX Prime and IndieCade back in 2014, Nova-111 has finally been released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Vita. The quirky turn-based adventure is a fantastic title to bury your head in; it excels in providing lots of easily digestible levels as well as an intuitive control system. Nova-111 puts you in...
Robotic robbery
It's a well-known fact that, back when Britain had an empire, you couldn't step into the foggy London night without occasionally tripping over the odd robot here and there. Every house and factory had a small army for protection, complete with complicated computers and pressure-sensitive mines. Like a pair of Queen Victoria's...
Review Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones (PlayStation 4)
Patience test chamber
Office politics can be a killer. As anybody who has ever had to share a tuna salad baguette with Gina from accounting will attest, we're all just one wrong word away from snapping. Usually that takes the guise of making off-hand comments about a 55-year-old's fascination with leopard skin underwear and tight skirts, but what if...
Review Thomas Was Alone (PlayStation 4)
Lonely loner on the lonely road
Thomas Was Alone is the lovely little puzzle platformer by Mike Bithell, which was later ported by Curve Studios. While not a terribly long or challenging game, it released early last year on the PlayStation 3 and Vita, and was well received. In fact, it earned additional attention from us, landing a place in our Top...
Review Proteus (PlayStation 3)
Kaleidoscope eyes
On our journey through Proteus, we witnessed history, mythology, nature, industry, death, ascension, and enlightenment. We experienced all of these things, but there's a chance that you may not, because part of the appeal of the release is that it's entirely subjective. As such, this is one of the most thought-provoking titles on...
Review Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (PlayStation 3)
Out of sight
Fresh from a successful period on the PC – with a name too crude to be published here – Curve Studios has transposed its undercover espionage excursion to the PlayStation 3 and Vita. However, while its title may be slightly less colourful, Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark retains the assets that made its computer counterpart great:...
Review Explodemon! (PlayStation 3)
Explodemon
's</a> dewy-eyed regard for the 16-bit era is charming, but not endearing enough to subsidise the game's predictable level design and mundane boss battles. It's a miracle we got to review Explodemon! at all. The game's status in development limbo has long been depicted by the platform-hopping drama that's surrounded it since its...
