PS5 Game Reviews
Mini Review OlliOlli World: VOID Riders (PS5) - Extraterrestrial Expansion Is a Fun Return Trip
A skate odyssey
We suppose you could argue OlliOlli World: VOID Riders is simply more of the same. That's not really much of a negative, though, when the game is already so great. This is the first expansion DLC for OlliOlli World, the wonderful skateboarding side-scroller, bringing a whole bunch of exciting new levels that spice things up with a...
Mini Review Redout 2 (PS5) - Eye-Meltingly Fast Racer Can Be Finicky to a Fault
Stick it
Redout 2 is a futuristic racer that demands perfection. It's basically WipEout if WipEout was even more difficult, and had a control scheme that, at times, made you want to punt your DualSense off the nearest wall. This is just about as hardcore as anti-gravity racing games get, and while we can appreciate the challenge — and the joy of...
Review Shadowrun Trilogy (PS5) - Great Value RPG Collection Is Rough and Ready
Let's run it
There's an awful lot to like about Shadowrun Trilogy — a chunky collection of three sci-fi-fantasy role-playing games available on PlayStation platforms for the first time. At its launch price of $39.99 / £34.99, you're getting good bang for your buck here, even if you'll have to endure some especially rough edges throughout all...
Review Sonic Origins (PS5) - The Genesis of SEGA's Mascot Revisited with Style
Past, way cool
Sonic the Hedgehog is like a 16-bit Skyrim: SEGA has re-released the Mega Drive classics on just about every platform you can think of, and it shows no sign of stopping. The latest effort is Sonic Origins, a collection that brings Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD to modern consoles under one banner. Even if we've...
Mini Review Gravitar: Recharged (PS5) - Good Glow Up for Iconic 80s Atari Shooter
It pulls you in
For as infuriating as it is to play today, no one could label Atari’s 1982 intergalactic excursion Gravitar – also known as Lunar Battle – as unambitious. Utilising the same “rotate-and-thrust” control system as the iconic Asteroids, designer Mike Hally – making his debut – added real gameplay depth, allowing you to...
Mini Review Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PS5) - Basic Upgrade for a Great Game
Bayou glow up
Of the three recent Resident Evil PS5 upgrades, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the most interesting. While the original PS4 version had very little in the way of graphical issues, it was the first title to utilise Capcom's RE Engine. The publisher really stepped up its game in later iterations (Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3), and...
Mini Review Final Vendetta (PS5) - Brutal Beat-'Em-Up Will Kick Your Ass
Oh my car
To be honest, there’s something comforting about a game that knows exactly what it is and who it’s aimed at. Final Vendetta doesn’t pull any punches: there’s been a kidnapping, and the title’s trio of rough-and-ready heroes are here to save the day. Replace notorious gang Syndic8 with the Mad Gear and you’ve basically got a...
Mini Review Resident Evil 3 (PS5) - Disappointing Remake Looks and Runs Much Better
Nemesis Inferno
Ah, Resident Evil 3. A PS5 version isn't going to restore all that cut content, but at least the game looks and runs better on Sony's new system. Just like Resident Evil 2, Capcom hasn't exactly pushed the boat out in terms of enhancing its remake of the underappreciated 1999 title. However, there's little to really complain about:...
Review Resident Evil 2 (PS5) - A Cheap and Fairly Cheerful Upgrade
Mr. X gon' give it to ya
More than three years later, Resident Evil 2 remains the blueprint for any developer looking to remake a classic title. Successfully modernising the 1998 survival horror game for fans and newcomers, there's no doubting its sustained quality. What we said in our Resident Evil 2 PS4 review rings true to this day, so our new...
Mini Review Super Perils of Baking (PS5) - Charming Old School Platformer Rises to the Occasion
Hell Soufflé
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, People of all gender persuasions, Cats and dogs and goldfish too, You join us on quite the occasion. We're here today for a Push Square first, A review written entirely in rhyme, A review for Super Perils of Baking, A two dimensional good time. The story of Super Perils of Baking, Is told in...
Mini Review Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (PS5) - Featuring Absolutely No Trace of Doug
Nicked from Nintendo
Republished on Wednesday 1st June 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. This is the best Super Smash Bros. clone we have ever played. Let’s lead with that, because it’s absolutely true. Developer Ludosity has turned in...
Mini Review Silt (PS5) - Deep-Sea Diving at a Premium Quality
Swim with the fishes
It's estimated roughly 80 per cent of the Earth's oceans remain unexplored, and Silt revels in that. An underwater puzzler from indie newcomer Spiral Circus, its outstanding visuals and unsettling sound design set the scene for a fascinating deep-sea dive into the unknown. You play as one such snorkeler, who has the power to...
Review Sniper Elite 5 (PS5) - Deeply Replayable Sandbox Shooter Is a Real French Fancy
C'est magnifique
Sniper Elite is a series so confident in its execution that Rebellion doesn’t really need to reinvent the wheel. The latest instalment, Sniper Elite 5, takes the gravel-voiced Karl Fairburne and his immaculately shaped short-back-and-sides to Nazi-occupied France, where he uncovers a MacGuffin plot called Operation Kraken which...
Review Kao the Kangaroo (PS5) - A Fun But Flawed Platforming Throwback
Bouncing back?
Like the world's slowest boomerang, Kao the Kangaroo has returned to PlayStation after nearly 20 years. The series made its arrival during the early noughties, back when everyone wanted a slice of the mascot platformer pie. This kangaroo with boxing gloves and a stretchy neck didn't quite reach the same heights as his genre...
Mini Review Soundfall (PS5) - Not Music To Our Ears
Failed to strike a chord
Discordians have infiltrated the world of Symphonia – the land where music is born. Protagonist Melody also happens to be there, though how is a mystery. Melody, or one of the unlockable characters, must defeat the Discordians and find her way home to the real world. Everything in Soundfall is done to the beat of its...
Mini Review A Monster's Expedition (PS5) - Chill Out with This Relaxing and Intelligent Puzzler
Logging on
All good puzzle games are built upon a simple, singular idea, and A Monster's Expedition is a perfect example of that philosophy. This game is all about pushing down trees and moving the logs in order to cross to the next island. However, doing so can be much tougher than that sounds, as developer Draknek & Friends gradually, and...
Mini Review Salt and Sacrifice (PS5) - Change Isn't Always Good in This Disappointing Sequel
We got salty, alright
We all played Salt and Sanctuary, right? It was a solid two-dimensional 'Soulsborne' style action RPG, with a high difficulty level but a strong sense of balance and consistent feeling of progress. Enthusiasm, then, was somewhat prevalent for this sequel, Salt and Sacrifice. Unfortunately, we're a little disappointed with this...
Transylvanian Families
Vampires get a bit of a bad rap, we think. Thanks to a few rotten apples like Dracula and Kristen Stewart we've grown accustomed to seeing vampires as insidious creatures of the night, but there's lots of fun vampires, too. Count Duckula, for example, and the one from Sesame Street that goes "Ah-ah-ah!" Anyway, what we're...
Mini Review Unpacking (PS5) - Making Chores Fun
What’s in the box? What’s in the box?!
Unpacking’s title marvellously — and succinctly — informs you of what to expect. You inhabit the life of a young woman across a number of years, living in her shoes solely through unboxing her worldly possessions. One year you might be decorating your college dorm room, the next moving back home to...
Mini Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (PS5) - Attractive Action RPG Struggles to Rise Above
On Runebarrowed time
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising acts as something of a prologue to the crowdfunded Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which is aiming for a 2023 release on PS5 and PS4. It's a side-scrolling action RPG with an emphasis on character-switching combat, but it also dabbles in Metroidvania-esque exploration and even town building. An...
Mini Review This War of Mine: Final Cut (PS5) - Sombre Survival Hits Hard
War, what is it good for?
Originally released on PC in 2019 for the original game’s fifth anniversary, the acclaimed survival game This War Of Mine: Final Cut has been repackaged in a for new-gen consoles. Hitting PS5s with remastered versions of the original and DLC locations, This War of Mine gives a harrowing and to the point view of war from...
Review Trek to Yomi (PS5) - Short Samurai Slasher Thrives on Amazing Atmosphere
Highway to hell
Trek to Yomi isn't much of a trek, to be honest. This tribute to classic samurai cinema is only a few hours long at most, taking place across just a handful of story chapters. But what Trek to Yomi lacks in longevity, it makes up for in sheer atmosphere and spectacle. It's a superbly crafted indie adventure from a visual point of...
Mini Review Chernobylite (PS5) - This Dark, Oppressive Survival Shooter Radiates Quality
Exclusion Zone, Act 1
Survival is difficult enough as it is, but doing so within the heavily irradiated grounds of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? That's a whole different kettle of fish, and you don't even have a kettle in Chernobylite. Or, indeed, any fish. And you're also able to open wormholes and travel through time in order to change the past...
Mini Review The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (PS5) - A Surreal, Hilarious Trip into Madness
Meta quest
Reviewing The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is borderline impossible. Not without spoiling everything that makes the game so unique, at least. We'll do our best, but know that this is absolutely one of those things you should experience with no prior knowledge. Frankly, you should probably stop reading this and just play it for yourself...
Review FIFA 22 (PS5) - Football Sim Makes Meaningful Strides on the Pitch
Beautiful game
Republished on Wednesday 27th April 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. The biggest compliment you can pay FIFA 22 is that it feels like real football for once. EA Sports’ soccer simulator still has its fair share of quirks,...
Mini Review LEGO Builder’s Journey (PS5) - Popular Mobile Game Turned Pleasing Console Puzzler
Another (LEGO) brick in the wall
Under ordinary circumstances, we wouldn’t blame you for hearing “mobile game” and immediately fleeing to the nearest forest, but this is one mobile-game-turned-console-title that’s worth your time. A puzzle game making the most out of everyone’s favorite plastic bricks, LEGO Builder’s Journey is a puzzle...
Mini Review Road 96 (PS5) - Political Trek Gets Our Vote
My way or the highway
At the height of an intense, fictional presidential election, Road 96 is about both escape and discovery. Procedurally generated scenarios dictate your objective to leave the country by crossing its northern border, but the characters you meet along the way make those journeys fruitful ones. While repetition does start to creep...
Mini Review Lake (PS5) - Mail Sim Stuck Between First and Second Class
Still better than Hermes
Death Stranding may not be considered the instigator of a new genre just yet, but the earnest mailing simulators roll on. Lake, from developer Gamious, is a much more grounded attempt at replicating the career path. There are the usual letters and parcels to deliver, and you interact with actual humans instead of holograms...
Mini Review Nobody Saves the World (PS5) - Fun, Unique Premise Shines Through the Cracks
Spoiler: Somebody does, in fact, save the world
Esteemed readers of Push Square, we present to you the first game review produced entirely through random generation. Quench. Sycamore. Lithe admonishment. Right, done. Seven out of 10. Hang on, that wasn't very satisfying, was it? See, that's the issue with anything randomly generated — it's about...
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...