PS4 Game Reviews
Just beat it
If you're a fan of Japan and its wonderful culture then you'll probably be aware of Akihabara, a district in Tokyo filled with all manner of delights that will get any otaku salivating at the thought of it. It's a haven for geeks with plenty of shops filled with anime, manga, collectable cards and figurines, as well as maid cafés for...
Virtual insanity
There’s an urban legend of an arcade game so addictive that physical fights would break out over who would get to play next. Its mind bending gameplay managed to induce insomnia, amnesia, and hallucinations in those that played it, and just one month after it supposedly showed up in Portland arcades in 1981, every single machine...
Review LocoRoco Remastered (PS4)
Roll up, roll up
Whether we really needed a remaster of an 11-year-old Japanese PSP game is debatable, but we’re elated Sony decided to update one of the platform’s greatest hits nonetheless. LocoRoco Remastered brings the joyful 2D side-scroller (or side-roller, if you will) to a whole new audience, and the best news is that its still as fun...
Basket case
The Silver Case is one of the early titles developed by renowned auteur Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture. Unsurprisingly, the ticks and quirks that have come to define his recent output are present in abundance. Indeed, this is a profoundly strange game, and one that – for both better and worse – often feels...
Baller?
NBA fans have been spoiled in recent years, being treated to arguably the most accurate virtual sporting experience with the NBA 2K series. However, the rise of realistic sims has seen arcade basketball games become a thing of a bygone era. The 90s were jampacked with these types of games, while the early 2000s saw its fair share of titles...
Resurrection of evil
Last year's fantastic DOOM reboot nailed the energy and relentless forward motion of id Software's industry defining FPS, stripping out any sort of meaningful narrative in favour of a lighting-fast funhouse ride. Yet where DOOM 2016 gave old fashioned mayhem a shiny new coat of paint, Transhuman Design’s BUTCHER keeps the...
Faceplant
Human: Fall Flat is a physics puzzle platformer that gained a lot of popularity through YouTube last year. Its excellently wacky character movement, similar to that of Gang Beasts, can create some hilariously funny moments which make it a brilliantly entertaining experience. You play as Bob, who’s just your average guy: he must solve...
Would Yu kindly?
2017 has been a magical year for games thus far. The first few months were crammed with more amazing titles than we’ve seen in entire years before. But this hot streak must end sometime, right? Well, Arkane Studios – specifically, the company's second studio in Texas – has ensured it's not the ones to end this streak, as...
Review Super Rude Bear Resurrection (PS4)
Not brrrap
2D platformers are an ancient genre, so it can be tough to keep new additions to this category feeling fresh. However, Super Rude Bear Resurrection brings a very interesting mechanic to the table, which sets it apart from the glut of platformers available to gamers these days. What makes Super Rude Bear Ressurection unique compared to...
Review Birthdays the Beginning (PS4)
Life finds a way
Birthdays the Beginning is a pretty strange title for a pretty strange game. It’s a god game in which you manipulate a cubic world in order to create new lifeforms. As far as elevator pitches go, it doesn’t sound terribly interesting, but it does just about enough to hold your attention – if only for a short time. You...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube145k Watch on YouTube Review Dreamfall Chapters (PS4)
Dream on
–Dreamfall Chapters begins with protagonist Zoë Maya Castillo trapped in a coma, a predicament arguably more appealing than slogging through the interminable opening sections of this game. You're charged with wandering around a dreamscape while your physical body remains in a hospital bed, using powers that are barely explained to...
Use your GNOGgin
PlayStation VR is still a young peripheral, and with that we’ve come to expect some growing pains. Dating back to the headset's launch, there’s been a surprisingly high volume of worthwhile titles offered, including some truly great games. But alongside that, there’s also been a glut of high-price, low-quality "experiences"...
Mr Tumble
Tumbleseed is a procedurally generated, roguelike game in which you take on the role of a seed on its journey to the top of a mountain. Along the way you must survive many enemy encounters and overcome the various obstacles thrown your way. You control your seed in a very unusual way, using a horizontal pole that extends the full width of...
Review Symphony of the Machine (PS4)
Mirror, mirror
Symphony of the Machine is one of many virtual reality puzzle titles to hit the PlayStation 4 over the past few months, and it still amazes us how varied these games can be. This time around you'll be directing light using mirrors to solve the conundrums in a short but beautiful ninety minute experience. The game begins in a deserted...
On the right light track
Rhythm is your weapon in Aaero, a new high-speed fusion of music, light track running, and weapon combat that blazes across the PlayStation 4 in an attempt to reignite the music game genre. Created by independent two-man studio Mad Fellows, Aaero synthesises frantic sci-fi shooting action with solid rhythm game dynamics,...
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,...
Top of the pops
In a year that's continuously exceeded expectations, you weren't going to bet against Puyo Puyo Tetris being anything less than outstanding, were you? SEGA's gaudy puzzle-'em-up is a real joy, blending the breakneck brick building of Tetris with the more methodical splotch popping of the less-popular Puyo Puyo – sometimes on the...
Thinking outside the box
Statik is a PlayStation VR puzzle game similar in style to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. You awaken in a strange room as a test subject with both hands locked inside a puzzle box while your captor Dr Ingen observes you from afar. You must solve these puzzle boxes in order to uncover why you are being tested and learn how...
Get hooked
Flinthook is a prime example of how the execution of an idea is often more important than the idea itself. At first glance, it seems like any other modern roguelike, running from one procedurally-generated, 16-bit era inspired room to the next, shooting enemies for cash that you use to buy supplies and power-ups along the way. But under...
Review The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 4: Thicker Than Water (PS4)
Batsman out of Hell
You'd be right to assume that the title of Episode 4 in Telltale's latest The Walking Dead story A New Frontier is a reference to disgraced baseball star Javier Garcia's biggest decision: family or friends? Thicker Than Water explores whether the everyman would be better off siding with his brood or buddies, and it prompts plenty...
Review Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 (PS4)
Ghost in the hell
After our multiple hours with Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, we don't see it stalking much besides the bargain bin. Obviously this property has no relation to the sniper games created by Rebellion (Sniper Elite and Nazi Zombie Army), and after just a few minutes anyone can realise it definitely doesn't deserve to be riding the coattails...
Review Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4)
Royal rumble
It's time to dust off those slime-smacking weapons, because Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force is back for another stab at Square Enix's beloved Dragon Quest franchise. Once again, the Japanese studio offers up a colourful action role-playing game stuffed with charm and content. And as is usually the case with an Omega Force sequel,...
Deer God
A 2.5D platformer set in a mysterious forest, The Deer God sees you playing as the titular majestic mammal - among other animals - which you have been reincarnated as after getting mauled by wolves on a hunting trip. Despite the interesting setting and background, however, developer Cinopt Games' first foray onto console is an...
Review Full Throttle Remastered (PS4)
Asphalt and trouble
Never has the fallibility of memory been clearer than when revisiting video games from the past. It can be surprising just how big the gulf between recollection and reality can be, leaving you to wonder if your brain just might be responsible for some of the greatest video game remasters of all time. As with last year's...
Outside help
The Inner World is a fun and charming experience set in an imaginative world, but it's held back by a number of all too common flaws of the adventure game genre. You play as the naive Robert, an apprentice who has spent his whole life living in a castle under the watchful eye of Conroy, a wind monk in charge of ensuring wind continues...
Review Guardians of the Galaxy: Episode One - Tangled Up in Blue (PS4)
Marvel?
Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy seems to assume that you're already familiar with the titular team of loveable rogues after the success of the 2014 smash-hit movie of the same name, as there is very little in the way of introduction for any of the characters involved. This is simultaneously Episode One's greatest strength and greatness...
Minimum wage
Towards the back end of last year, we were pleasantly surprised by a full-motion video game named The Bunker. The first of its kind on PlayStation 4, its story, characters, and acting performances were the driving factors in what was a short but sweet experience. Publisher Wales Interactive is now back with a second foray into the FMV...
Review Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom (PS4)
Shiny happy people
Life can sometimes feel like waiting for the proverbial bus. While everyone has been patiently anticipating Yooka-Laylee, it actually isn't the only colourful Kickstarter game to make its way to the PlayStation 4 this month: somewhat lesser known is Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom. This is an action role-playing game, but it's not...
Review The Disney Afternoon Collection (PS4)
The collection that flaps in the night
The early-to-late nineties were a renaissance for Disney: the company was not only producing some of the most memorable and innovative films it would ever produce but also releasing spectacular original animated television series. Ducktales, Goof Troop, TaleSpin, Gargoyles, and Darkwing Duck were just some of...
Review Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (PS4)
High above the mucky muck
The Wonder Boy series was one of the Master System's most beloved franchises, though its cult-classic status hasn't prevented it from falling by the wayside. A convoluted history, including a tangle of complications regarding the rights to the series, meant a comeback would be virtually impossible. In spite of this, a tiny...
