PS4 Game Reviews
Review Batman: Arkham Knight - Rocksteady Ends Its Trilogy on a High
Arkham night, night
Republished on Wednesday 28th August 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Branded as the apparent finale to London-based studio Rocksteady's gritty affair with the world's greatest detective, Batman: Arkham Knight...
Review Black Desert - Ugly Technical Issues Hamper Pretty MMO
Black Sheep
For the uninitiated, Black Desert is an MMO that supplants the standard combat that you'd expect to see in a game like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV with an action-based battle system more akin to a really low-budget God of War. It takes place in one fairly sizeable open world map rather than lots of smaller ones joined together...
Review Oninaki - A Dark and Intriguing Action RPG That Loses Its Edge
Break the cycle
Oninaki is developer Tokyo RPG Factory's third game. Like I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear before it, Oninaki is fundamentally a role-playing title, but it differs greatly in that it takes more inspiration from Diablo than it does Final Fantasy. This is a dungeon crawling action RPG with randomised loot, expansive character progression,...
Review Knights and Bikes - Girls on Bikes Take a Delightful Nostalgia Trip
On your bike
Every close knit group of childhood friends inevitably spawn their very own local legend. These stories are birthed not only by a child’s unique perspective of the world, but probably a bit too much sugar in their diet as well. For this reviewer, it was an ominous looking house that could just be seen over the treeline on my walk to...
Review Decay of Logos - An Action RPG for Those Who Love to Explore
Discover the truth behind this ruined realm
A burning village, a dark abomination harassing a noble looking elk, and a sword at your feet. These are the opening moments in Decay of Logos. No tutorial, no lengthy exposition of the world’s lore, just you and a sword. This opening is a sign of things to come. This is not a game that’s going to hold...
Review RAD - Mutant Roguelike Madness in a Dystopian Future
The New Mutants
Combining addictive roguelike gameplay with a rocking 80s aesthetic and an assortment of flesh altering power-ups, RAD more than lives up to its name. Throwing you into a world clinging to life after not one, but two apocalypses, your character is tasked with purifying the desolate land. By locating respirator machines, you’ll...
Review Ancestors Legacy - An Impressive, Robust Console RTS
Generational talent
As recent as last console generation, an RTS on console – with the exception of Halo Wars – was pretty much guaranteed to be a nightmarish experience. There are just too many systems and too many things to monitor to be able to successfully transfer the genre to a controller. Fast forward a few more years and now it’s...
Review The Copper Canyon Shootout - A Fun, Compact Light Gun-Esque Experience in VR
Once upon a time in PSVR
The Copper Canyon Shootout's name evokes a specific image. What kind of game might it be? Some sort of Western, maybe a cowboy shooter is probably your first thought. If you pictured that, you’d be partially correct. Does it make you think of robots? Probably not, but as it turns out, all of your enemies are made of metal...
Review Madden NFL 20 - Personality Traits Add X-Factor to Annual Update
King of the fling
What makes an NFL superstar stand out? For the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback Cam Newton, it’s his ability to scramble out of the pocket, picking up essential yards for his team without needing to fling the pigskin or hand the ball off. Meanwhile, the New York Giants’ Rookie of the Year running back Saquon Barkley...
Review Bear With Me: The Complete Collection - Surprisingly Deep Film Noir Point & Click Action
Paw-fully good
On the surface, Bear With Me appears to be little more than an amusing, story-driven, point and click adventure, infused with the tone and style of noir classics like The Maltese Falcon. However, there's much more at play within this clever episodic tale. The plights of Amber, Flint, and (collective sigh) Ted. E Bear amidst the...
Review Tetsumo Party - An Unusual Party Game That's Shorter Than a Sumo Wrestler's Mawashi
Bring on the wall
If you've ever watched Hole in the Wall, the game show based on the Japanese phenomenon, you'll know roughly what to expect in Tetsumo Party. This odd little game sees up to four players surviving for as long as possible against a constant wave of panels with sumo wrester-shaped holes in them. It's your job to get your character in...
Review Metal Wolf Chaos XD - Former Xbox Exclusive Brings Its Bonkers Plot to PS4
"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich"
Who would have thought that after Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software’s next project would have you sitting in the driver’s seat of a mech in an attempt to rescue the United States of America from the wrath of the vice president? We’re only half-joking: Metal Wolf Chaos XD is an updated version of...
Review Forager - A Refreshingly Simple and Fiendishly Addictive Adventure
Living off the land
Forager is a wonderfully apt name for this curious adventure game. Not only does it tell you immediately what you'll be doing - foraging for resources with which to build up the world - it also hints at the game's many borrowed elements. It's a potent mix of classic action games and the gathering/crafting/farming trend that's...
Review The Church in the Darkness - Cult Simulator Devoid of Depth
Not so holy
It feels like The Church in the Darkness has bitten off a little bit more than it can chew. Packed full of ideas, themes, and a handful of mechanics on top, it’s the infiltration of a cult whose ocean spreads far and wide but only goes a couple of inches deep. There are things to like in Paranoid Productions’ latest effort, but...
Review Doughlings: Invasion - Fun But Forgettable Space Invaders-esque Action
Dough and steady wins the race
In a surprising shift in genre, Doughlings: Invasion, the sequel to last year’s Doughlings Arcade, moves past its brick-breaking routes, now acting as the indie scene’s answer to Space Invaders. Though at a glance its seemingly rudimentary gameplay appears to match its unappealing visuals, there’s a surprising...
Review Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot - An Unexpectedly Impressive PSVR Excursion
I, robot
Machine Games and Arkane Studios’ Wolfenstein collaboration spans two titles, but much of the emphasis during marketing was on the cooperative shooting of Wolfenstein: Youngblood. The PlayStation VR title, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, has hardly gotten any attention. It was shown – briefly – at this year’s E3, and apart from the odd...
Review Sniper Elite 4 - Yet Another Ball-Busting Sniper Adventure
Italia snipey
Republished on Wednesday 31st July 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Elite operative Karl Fairburne has busted more balls than Sasha Grey during a particularly intense bukkake session, and he's back to scope out more in...
Review WipEout Omega Collection - An Ultra Slick Update to the PlayStation Racing Icon
Need for speed
Republished on Wednesday 31st July 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. One of PlayStation’s most iconic brands also happens to be one of its poorest commercial performers – it’s for that reason series creator Studio...
Review Wargroove - Pixel Art Turn-Based Tactics Finally Invade PS4
Beware the groove
Like a pikeman deployed long after a battle gets underway, it feels like the arrival of Wargroove on PlayStation 4 is more than a little late. Launching nearly six months after its initial release on PC and Nintendo Switch, the cutesy strategy game is here at last, but we can't shake the feeling the war is already over. That's not...
Review Kill la Kill - If - Stunning Visuals Can't Mask a Sloppy Anime Fighter
Fan serviceable
If there's one thing Kill la Kill - If gets right, it's capturing the relentlessness of the source material. Even outside of combat, well made cutscenes do a great job of replicating the madness of the anime, right down to the completely over the top facial expressions of its crazy characters. From the word go, the story mode is a...
Review Wolfenstein: Youngblood - What Happened Bethesda?
Daddy issues
A few years back, Bethesda couldn’t stop boasting about its line-up of purely single player titles. The space for solo players was never in any real danger of disappearing completely, but in the age of online looter shooters and the rise of the games as a service concept, the commitment was appreciated. Fast forward to 2019, however,...
Review Telefrag VR - A Slight But Slick PSVR Arena Shooter
Quake-ing in our boots
When a shooter is at its best, everything just feels right. Controls are snappy, shooting is satisfying, the environments are fun, and getting a “frag” is appropriately rewarding. Keep each of these elements in mind, and then toss PlayStation VR into the mix, and that’s how it feels to dive into Telefrag VR. Telefrag VR...
Review Etherborn - Admirable Environmental Puzzler That's Over Too Quickly
Living it up
It can’t get much better than making an impact with your very first title as a studio. Etherborn, from developer Altered Matter, is an environmental puzzler that makes impressive use of its simplicity while looking good in the process thanks to a neat visual aesthetic. It’s a great example of our initial statement, and so we can’t...
Death from above
With this third and final episode in Assassin's Creed Odyssey's The Fate of Atlantis saga, the story of Alexios or Kassandra comes full circle. Judgment of Atlantis ties everything together more effectively than we thought it would, and although we can't say the same for the modern day stuff -- more on that later -- this is a...
Review Stranger Things 3: The Game - Just Watch the Show
Stranger danger
We're pretty big fans of Stranger Things, the hit Netflix series about spooky shenanigans in small town America. The sumptuous visuals, wonderful characters, and compelling story keep us hooked, and we're always left wanting more. However, as much as we enjoy spending time in Hawkins with Dustin, Eleven, and the whole gang, the game...
Review Dragon Quest Builders 2 - A Rock Solid Sequel That's Every Bit as Addictive
Build it higher
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a delightful sequel that -- pardon the pun -- builds on its predecessor in a lot of welcome ways. This isn't a huge leap forward by any stretch, but if you enjoyed the first Dragon Quest Builders, then you're probably going to love this. Right off the bat, Builders 2 does a great job of easing you into...
Review Sea of Solitude - Gorgeous Graphics, Generic Gameplay
Message in a bottle
The EA Originals program has been going strong these past couple of years. As its most high profile release, A Way Out was a fairly major success thanks to its unique take on co-operative gameplay, while smaller titles such as Fe and Unravel have helped to somewhat diversify EA’s portfolio beyond sports titles and Battlefield...
Review Sairento - A Fun, Kinetic Ninja Action Game for PSVR
Be a slicer and dicer while wearing your visor
PlayStation VR is seeing quite the resurgence recently; it seems like every month in 2019 we’ve been treated to an excellent new game or experience to enjoy when we put on our headset. Sairento looks to continue that hot streak, and offers a short but sweet burst of ninja justice on PSVR. Do you...
Review Heavy Rain - Moody Narrative Thriller Loses Its Edge in PS4 Release
Rain dunce
Republished on Tuesday 2nd July 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Love it or loathe it, Heavy Rain is an important game. The drizzly depression session certainly didn't invent the idea of interactive drama – developer Quantic...
Review Detroit: Become Human - Quantic Dream's Android Adventure Is Its Finest Yet
Cage against the machine
Republished on Tuesday 2nd July 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Despite its all-new setting and story, Detroit: Become Human’s unlikely to surprise Quantic Dream fans. While this interactive adventure sticks...