Latest Reviews
Review Crimson Desert (PS5) - A Generational Open World Buried in Early Access Cruft
Kliff bracer
Crimson Desert is a fascinating video game. It's an open world adventure of frankly absurd scope, taking blatant cues from notable examples of the genre, like Red Dead Redemption 2, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and The Witcher 3. But where those three titles have a clear identity right out of the
Honoring the legacy of the Stars
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection continues Capcom’s streak of remasters, this time bringing attention to a somewhat overlooked era of Mega Man. The collection bundles together a trilogy of Nintendo DS RPGs: Mega Man Star Force, Mega Man Star Force 2, and (for the first time in some territories) Mega Man Star...
Mini Review Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers (PS5) - Revival Turf
Final delight
Even in its compromised home console format, few would disagree that Final Fight was the king of Super Nintendo brawlers. But the 16-bit system was bursting with beat-’em-ups, and we’ll always harbour a fondness for Jaleco’s kooky 1992 effort, Rival Turf – or Rushing Beat, as it was known in Japan. The title spawned two...
Mini Review 1348 Ex Voto (PS5) - An Intriguing But Disappointing PS5 Console Exclusive
Broken vow
With Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its stellar sequel gathering a legion of fans, and the Plague Tale games offering epic dark fantasy on a double-A budget, the medieval genre has found fresh momentum. 1348 Ex Voto (from the Latin ex voto suscepto, meaning "from the vow made") rides that wave with a tale of revenge sweeping across the...
Review Marathon (PS5) - Bungie's Extraction Shooter Is Truly Brilliant, and It Only Gets Better
It's a marathon, not a sprint
There’s been a lot of heat surrounding Marathon in the lead-up to its launch. Some say it’s not what they want from Bungie, others say it's a far cry from the glory days of Halo. But cutting through all of the noise, we think Marathon is actually a bold new adventure from Bungie. It may take you a little bit to...
Review Screamer (PS5) - Finally, a Racing Game Doing Something Interesting
In its own lane
Arcade racing games still exist, but only just. The only big budget series that's still around is Forza Horizon, which is fine if you're in the mood to zip around in a fairly safe open world. The full breadth of what arcade racers can be just isn't represented these days. Fortunately, Screamer is here to remind everyone that, yes,...
Holding hands is good for your health
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake is absolutely terrifying. Team Ninja delivers unequivocal, spine-chilling survival horror, if — and it’s a really big if — you’re willing to stomach a few familiar frustrations. In recent years, Koei Tecmo has attempted to resurrect the Fatal Frame/Project Zero...
Mini Review WWE 2K26 (PS5) - Grappling Sim's Championship Reign Holds Strong
It's clobbering time
13 years since he last graced the cover of a WWE video game, the controversial "Best In The World" is back on top, with World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk lending both his face to the box, and story to WWE 2K26's Showcase mode. Accompanied by video from the man himself, players are once again immersed in a playable documentary,...
Ranger danger
Our big take from playing Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is that this spin-off series has come an incredibly long way. It's gone from being a handheld RPG of relatively limited scope to being a big budget, borderline open world adventure packed with high quality cinematic storytelling. This could be Stories' true...
Mini Review Scott Pilgrim EX (PS5) - Fans Will Be in Lesbians with This Fun-Filled Brawler
Greatest hits
You probably already know if this is a game for you. If you enjoyed Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game back in the day, you'll absolutely love Scott Pilgrim EX, as it's simply a new and improved version of that same idea. When most of Scott's band, Sex Bob-omb, goes missing — along with all their instruments — it's down to him,...
Mini Review Tokyo Xtreme Racer (PS5) - Unapologetically Old School for Better and Worse
Back to the old grind
If you're weary of modern racing titles that are overstuffed or overcomplicated, Tokyo Xtreme Racer serves as a great reminder of simpler times. It feels like a relic of a bygone era, and we mean that as a compliment; Tokyo Xtreme Racer emanates old school energy to such a degree, you'll wonder if developer Genki was frozen in...
Review Resident Evil Requiem (PS5) - Two-in-One Horror Not Quite an All-Timer
Dual boot
Resident Evil Requiem takes all the best bits of Resident Evil 4 and most of the best bits from Resident Evil 7 to create a fantastic yet lopsided experience. A sequel to both and the series as a whole, it unites the survival horror gameplay of Capcom’s classic remakes and its more action-focused hits for one cohesive campaign...
Tings for the memories
Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition was expected from Ubisoft after leaking just days prior, but its contents weren't. This is a retro collection from Digital Eclipse, most recently known for their well-received Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection. The collection won't cost you an arm and a leg at just £17.99, but it's a strange...
Review God of War: Sons of Sparta (PS5) - Series' Boldest Bet Is Also Its Slowest Burn
For Sparta
For a while, the God of War series was incredibly tired. The straw that broke the camel's back was God of War: Ascension — a perfectly fine hack-and-slasher in its own right, but it was so similar to what came before it that fatigue for Kratos' angry adventures really started to settle in. It's exactly why the Norse games took a very...
Review Avowed (PS5) - Overlooked Xbox RPG Arrives with Some Big Upgrades
Green with Envoy
Avowed first released on Xbox and PC just over a year ago, and now having played through it ourselves on PS5, we can't help but think that it deserves a bit more recognition. This was Obsidian's attempt at making an RPG that would appeal to the Elder Scrolls crowd — a no doubt easy sell to the suits at Microsoft, especially with...
Review High on Life 2 (PS5) - Slick Skateboarding and Shooting Suffocated by Poor Performance
It'll be excellent after a few patches
High on Life was a Marmite game back when it launched in 2022. Your enjoyment of the game was almost entirely dependent on whether you enjoyed the Rick and Morty-style humour from Squanch Games’ now disgraced founder Justin Roiland. He resigned from the studio in 2023, but Squanch Games hasn’t lost any of...
Review Reanimal (PS5) - First-Rate Terrors Thrive in This Haunting Spectacle
Bigger and better nightmares
Reanimal is the best thing Tarsier Studios has ever done, and it’s not even close. While the Swedish outfit’s latest creation may look a lot like its previous series, Little Nightmares, it comfortably tops the two titles. The developer has fine-tuned its mixture of action and platforming to perfection, then...
Mini Review Dark Auction (PS5) - Compelling Visual Novel Makes Some Generative AI Missteps
X marks the trauma
In Dark Auction, it’s been three days since Noah last saw his dad His father is obsessed with collecting objects related to a World War 2 tyrant named Dictator X, and after setting off to take part in a mysterious auction he hasn’t been seen since. So, Noah decides to head to the castle where he was last seen only to get...
Review Romeo Is a Dead Man (PS5) - Absurd, Entertaining, and Tedious All at Once
Keep it that way
Suda51 games have a proud reputation of going against the grain, yet Romeo Is a Dead Man still manages to beggar belief. The latest effort from the No More Heroes lead is utterly baffling in some of the best and most frustrating ways possible. One minute, it delights with comical cutscenes and unique gameplay sequences. The next,...
Mini Review Aces of Thunder (PSVR2) - Immersive Spectacle Throws You to the Wolves
Chin up, you'll get the hang of it
If you’re familiar with War Thunder, you’ve got a good frame of reference for what to expect out of Aces of Thunder. In the broadest sense, this is a trimmed-down War Thunder, but in VR. Being a full-on simulation title, Aces of Thunder expects you to have a fairly thorough understanding of simulation aerial...
Review Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
Black Monday blues
For many fans, Yakuza 3 would have been their gateway to the series when it first released back in 2010 for the PS3 — but returning to it now, or even booting up the PS4 remaster, highlights loads of older design elements that have aged rather poorly. And so this classic Yakuza experience has been handed the Kiwami treatment;...
Review Nioh 3 (PS5) - Superb Action Fronts a New Team Ninja Gem
Ninja in more than name
If FromSoftware can do it, then Team Ninja believes it can too. Having established one of the best Dark Souls copycats in the Nioh series, the Japanese developer is chasing its own Elden Ring moment. Nioh 3 isn’t quite that, but it still marks a new highlight for the franchise. This is all the best bits of the...
Review Arknights: Endfield (PS5) - Automation Turns Busywork into Bliss
Come for the waifus, stay for the workflows
Did the PS5 need another all-encompassing live service gacha game? Probably not, no – and so our expectations for Arknights: Endfield prior to release were relatively low. While we’ve always appreciated its industrial aesthetic, we simply didn’t feel we had enough time in our schedule for another...
Review Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
Gone fishing
An infamously long RPG, Dragon Quest 7 has never quite been held up alongside the series' most revered instalments, but it's always been deserving of a second — or technically third — chance. Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined sets out to rework the adventure for a modern audience; many of its biggest alterations to the original formula...
Review Highguard (PS5) - Jack of All Trades PS5 Shooter Is Fine
Master of none
Have you ever played a game that has a nugget of something special in there, but just isn’t quite hitting the mark? That basically sums up our time with Wildlight Entertainment’s Highguard. This is a PvP raid shooter, which may sound like something new, but in reality, there’s a little something of most popular shooters stuffed...
Review Cairn (PS5) - This Uniquely Tactile Climbing Adventure Is Summit Worth Playing
Lonely mountain: uphill
Next to jumping, shooting, and dodge-rolling, climbing is an activity we spend an awful lot of time doing in modern games. It's sometimes surprising how few adventures dedicate themselves solely to this act, overcoming obstacles big and small by hauling yourself over them. While it's not the only game to ever do it, Cairn is...
Review Code Vein 2 (PS5) - Repetitive Vampiric Soulslike May Still Sate Your Bloodlust
Mostly mediocre
Code Vein 2 is the latest in a long line of action RPGs chasing the lofty heights of FromSoftware's immortal Dark Souls series, and like so many others before it, falls well short of the mark. Bland visually and uninspiring narratively, Bandai Namco's latest soulslike foray (previously publishing the aforementioned Souls series,...
Review Code Violet (PS5) - Gooner Shooter Can't Get It Up
Code Blue
Code Violet begins and ends with quotes by the renowned painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. That feels appropriate — not because this game will be remembered for time immemorial like the Mona Lisa, but because, much like one of Da Vinci's early flying machine sketches, the game is ambitious but never actually gets off the ground...
Review Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
Don't look back
Right, first things first, do not play Trails beyond the Horizon if you haven't already beaten Trails through Daybreak and Trails through Daybreak 2. Even by Trails standards, Horizon is ridiculously dense; the events of this long-awaited sequel rely heavily on you having intimate knowledge of past titles, and so even if you have...
Another trip to Pandora
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - From the Ashes is a surprisingly great offering of DLC. It’s a standalone story that takes place after the events of the main campaign, following the Dog Tag Warrior, So’Lek (a former side character), as he faces off against the villainous Ash Clan. The Kinglor Forest from the base game is...
