March2024
Review Rise of the Ronin (PS5) - A Safe, Outdated Open World Game
A whole Nioh world
By trying to do so much, Rise of the Ronin feels like an inferior version of everything it's inspired by. With an open world populated by map markers and side activities, it’s a worse Assassin's Creed. With a historical Japanese setting, it's a worse Ghost of Tsushima. With a combat system that prioritises parrying, it's a worse...
Ballin'
MLB The Show 24 may not be the best-looking sports game on the market anymore, but San Diego Studio continues to lead the field by pushing the boundaries of the genre overall. This year’s release may feel largely familiar when you’re at the plate, but the expansion of narrative-based experiences in the Storylines section demonstrates how...
February2024
Review Helldivers 2 (PS5) - The Best Co-Op Shooter on PS5
For Super Earth
Helldivers 2 is some of the best fun we've had with friends on PS5. It's a simple and broad statement to start a review with, but in many ways Helldivers 2 is a simple game. This satirical bug-squashing shooter has its upgrades and customisation, but it's at its best when you're holding the trigger and not letting go. This game knows...
January2024
Review The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PS5) - A Near Perfect Package for New and Returning Fans
So… is it everything you hoped for?
The Last of Us: Part 2, in the eyes of us here at Push Square, is a masterpiece. Naughty Dog’s divisive sequel surpassed the hype and then some with a shocking, heart-wrenching, and visceral tale of revenge that subverted sequel expectations in a bold and brazen way. So with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, a...
December2023
DLC Review God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla (PS5) - An Essential Epilogue for Fans of the Series
Rogue to redemption
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla is the best kind of DLC — it makes an already fantastic game even better. Available for free to all who own God of War Ragnarok itself, this is an epilogue to the main story that gives you a very good excuse to dive back into the action. Not only does Valhalla contain some valuable narrative beats...
October2023
Review Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - A Familiar But Fantastic Superhero Sequel
Heal the world
With Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games knocked it out of the park on its first try. While structurally it's a fairly standard open world action adventure, it's elevated by a great cast of characters, a solid story, and some of the best traversal in the business. It ticked all the boxes, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a...
August2023
Review Firewall Ultra (PSVR2) - Flawed VR Shooter Misses the Mark
Tactical tedium
It felt a little strange booting up Firewall Ultra for the first time. It's a game that simultaneously straddles the line of reboot, remake, and sequel, all whilst selling the best features that the PSVR2 has to offer. As a result, it has steadily become synonymous with Sony’s headset, even though we knew very little about it prior...
April2023
Review Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores (PS5) - Aloy's New Chapter Is Essential for Fans
Quen-tessential Horizon
For us, Guerrilla Games' Horizon series has been brilliant from the very start, but it's getting better each time we return to it. Horizon Forbidden West is an excellent sequel that builds upon the first game in practically every way — a larger, more varied open world, a better ensemble cast, more interesting side quests,...
March2023
Review MLB The Show 23 (PS5) - Netflix Documentary Inspired Negro Leagues Mode Is the Real MVP
Jazzed up
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the developers of sports games to offer transformative new experiences in annual releases. With budgets soaring, deadlines looming, and a demand for live service support all season long, franchises like MLB The Show 23 feel like they’ve been caught flatfooted. But San Diego Studio’s baseball...
February2023
Review Horizon Call of the Mountain (PSVR2) - Pretty Platformer Reaches New Heights
Just don't look down
Ever wondered why Aloy has abs so rippled they’d make a Greek statue blush? It turns out surviving the tribal world of Horizon is tough – as PSVR2 launch title Call of the Mountain can attest. This next-gen virtual reality effort from The Persistence developer Firesprite and famed first-party Guerrilla Games is unflinchingly...
Review Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - Aloy Returns in Superior PS5 Sequel
Red Head Redemption 2
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. With Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games set the bar very high for itself. Its first attempt at an open world action RPG...
December2022
Mini Review Pinball Heroes (PSP) - First-Party PlayStation Time Capsule in Pinball Form
Ball saver
Pinball Heroes feels like a strange snapshot of time, and we mean that in the best possible way. Originally released for the PSP in 2009 as eight digitally downloadable tables, it launched just prior to PlayStation rediscovering its mojo. The context is key here: the PS3 was getting its butt stomped by the Xbox 360, and PS Studios was...
November2022
Review God of War Ragnarok (PS5) - A Dazzling Crown Jewel in Sony's Catalogue
The boy is back in town
At one point or another, Santa Monica Studio was thinking about spreading Kratos' new saga across three games — a trilogy that would mirror the original adventures of the vengeful god. This is worth bringing up because God of War Ragnarok feels like it could have been split in half and sold as two separate pieces. It...
October2022
Review Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection (PC) - Treasure Hunting Never Looked So Good
Nathan Drake ventures to a brand new platform
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection has washed ashore on the beaches of a new platform — one that allows us to dial the technical aspects of series' most recent instalments up to 11. But with the PS5 receiving its own remastered collection just earlier this year, is this PC port another big step,...
August2022
Review The Last of Us: Part I (PS5) - A Better, More Beautiful Remake of a Modern Classic
It wasn't for nothing
The Last of Us: Part I feels like how you remember Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed 2013 survival horror, which is both a blessing and a bit of a curse. In many ways, this PS5 re-release blurs the lines between remake and remaster, overhauling the original in almost all areas, without tinkering with what made it so great...
July2022
Party animals
Republished on Wednesday, 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. ReadySet Heroes, the dungeon crawling party game from Robot Entertainment, arrived two weeks ago, but doesn't seem to be as prepared as its title...
April2022
Review MLB The Show 22 (PS5) - Baseball Sim Plays Great But Doesn't Do Enough
Diamond in the rough
For those who’ve spent the past year embedded in MLB The Show 21’s bullpen, Sony San Diego Studio’s slight but specific improvements in MLB The Show 22 will be welcome. This is an annual instalment where one of its headline tweaks includes adjustments to trade logic, preventing teams from swapping their star players for...
March2022
Review Gran Turismo 7 (PS5) - The Real Driving Simulator Makes Its Grand Return
Back to basics
There are labours of love, and then there's Gran Turismo 7. From famed developer Polyphony Digital and series creator Kazunori Yamauchi, it's abundantly clear every single member of the studio has a passion for cars. In fact, we might even be selling them short. Gran Turismo 7 is a game born out of love. It's just as much about the...
January2022
Fortune favours the old
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is a damn good time. It bundles both Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy into one PlayStation 5 package, boasting new graphics modes, a complete lack of load times, and DualSense functionality. Both games are more than a few years old now, but as far as we're...
September2021
Review Death Stranding Director's Cut (PS5) - Kojima's Walking Simulator Is Best on PS5
A long hike
This is a game that needs very little introduction. In 2019, Hideo Kojima returned with Death Stranding on PlayStation 4, and that name alone made the game an important one. As it so happened, the game was unlike anything else released at the time, mostly eschewing violent conflict in favour of a quest to bring people together. While we...
Review Predator: Hunting Grounds (PS4) - Multiplayer Experiment Falls Wildly Short
Time to bleed
Republished on Wednesday 1st September 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Predator: Hunting Grounds is the first major multiplayer-only video game Sony has published since MAG on PlayStation 3. And while Friday t
August2021
Sharpened steel
Before we begin: If you're looking for an overview of the base game, check out our in-depth Ghost of Tsushima PS4 review. All of the points that we made in that review also apply to Ghost of Tsuhima: Director's Cut. In this review, we're concentrating on what's new. Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut revitalises Sucker Punch's open...
June2021
Review Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) - Intergalactic Stunner Puts PS5's Power on Display
Lombax for good
If the Earth was in peril from intergalactic invaders and needed a game developer to save its ass, governments across the globe would turn to Insomniac Games. You can practically bank on the Burbank-based developer to deliver top-notch titles these days, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is no exception. TL;DR: this PlayStation 5...
April2021
Review Returnal (PS5) - Housemarque's Deep, Dark Shooter Is a PS5 Must Have
Selene Die On
Returnal is a much, much bigger game than you think it is. For all the noise surrounding the game's price point, Housemarque has produced its largest, most ambitious project by a country mile. This isn't a small scale title with a premium cost; the studio has made something on a whole new level. There's an awful lot of game here, and...
Review MLB The Show 21 (PS5) - A Lead-Off Double But Not a Home Run
Ace of base
Sports games, for all the ire they attract, subscribe to some of the most brutal development cycles in the industry. Spare a thought, then, for Sony San Diego, which has not only transitioned from one platform to four with its annual baseball simulation MLB The Show 21 – but it’s also done it during a global pandemic. There are clear...