November2023
Mini Review Flashback 2 (PS5) - Disastrously Buggy Sequel Diminishes 1992 Classic
From Con-rad to Con-traversal
Flashback fans curb your enthusiasm, because Microid's 2023 Flashback 2's not even a 2D cinematic platform game. This PS5 pseudo 3D adventure doesn't have any of the subgenre's gameplay traits that Push Square noted when reviewing a title like Another World. It also doesn't continue in the tradition of great sci-fi...
A Grend old time
The year is 2023, and formulative 1970s anime UFO Robot Grendizer has just been revived as a modern action game. Developed by French studio Endroad, UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves has a clear reverence for the source material, and although it's an undeniably rough product in terms of technical performance, fans of...
October2023
Mini Review Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (PS5) - Murder Mystery Kills It
Fresh like a Daisy
A timeless classic, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express is one of the best-loved and most famous murder mysteries of all time. Originally released in 1934, the story has been refreshed and updated for this 2023 release — think Poirot with Internet access. The acclaimed detective finds himself aboard the Orient Express...
November2022
Mini Review Arkanoid: Eternal Battle (PS5) - Retro Revival Can't Overcome Sticker Shock
Breakout
Taito’s Arkanoid may not have been the original brick breaker – that accolade, of course, rests with Atari’s Breakout – but it’s probably the best. With the addition of weapons and power-ups, as well as 3D enemies recompiled as sprites, it took a primitive concept and completely reinvented it. Now, over 35 years removed from its...
September2022
Mini Review XIII (PS5) - Improvements Can't Save This Remaster Redo
Isn't 13 supposed to be a lucky number?
Considering the XIII remake's original launch was a disaster, it's admirable that publisher Microids tried to fix things. Following the launch from developer PlayMagic, a new team, Tower Five, has been brought in to try and rework the release into something more appealing. The results are mixed, but it's...
December2021
Mini Review Beyond a Steel Sky (PS5) - Classic Adventure Game Sequel Is Held Back by 3D Design
Union City limits
Beyond a Steel Sky is the long, long awaited sequel to Beneath a Steel Sky — the critically acclaimed 1994 point-and-click adventure game. This return to Union City — a towering metropolis surrounded by wasteland in a distant future — manages to recapture the wit and charm of its predecessor, but its move to 3D environments...
November2019
Review Blacksad: Under the Skin - A 1950s Whodunit with More Bugs Than Mysteries
Feline rough
Blacksad: Under the Skin is an adventure game set in 1950s New York where all the characters are anthropomorphic animals. It’s based on a gritty comic book series created by Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, but you don’t need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy the game. There’s a definite film noir style going...
December2018
Review Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission: Las Vegum - Well Done But Well Expensive
Asterix and what now?
Nothing about Asterix & Obelix XXL2 seems attractive at all from an outsider’s perspective. It’s a remaster of the second game in a duo of licensed PlayStation 2 and PC games based on a series of French comics – and that’s not even getting into that complete mess of a name. Given how inaccessible it all seems from...
April2017
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,...
November2016
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...
February2016
Review Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders (PS4)
Elementary, my dear Hastings
If you go into Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders expecting the next LA Noire or Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you pick up this police procedural with the hope of a slightly charming puzzle whodunnit with some good game mechanics, you may be pleasantly surprised. Like all...
