Author Profile
John has been an avid gamer since the late '80s and has been playing primarily on PlayStation for as long as PlayStation has been around. Since starting to write for Push Square in 2016 he's penned over a hundred reviews and most of them were pretty good. He's a huge fan of JRPGs, likes Kiryu Kazuma more than he likes most people he knows in real life, and spends an absurd amount of time coming up with cute outfits for his character in Final Fantasy XIV.
Latest Reviews
La-Li-Lu-Le-Love it
When compared to the first Master Collection, it's easy to see why you might draw the conclusion that Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 feels a little undercooked. The first volume consists of the first three MGS games — all games you would reasonably expect to see on any list of the greatest ever PlayStation games —...
Review Brigandine Abyss (PS5) - A Tactical RPG That's No Fire Emblem, But Still Mildly Entertaining
Conqueror's Bad Fur Day
Brigandine Abyss is a tactical role-playing game that requires little tactical nous, and in its early hours bombards you with menus and systems, many of which feel superfluous and fiddly. It doesn't make a great first impression. It begins with you choosing which campaign you want to play. There are six, and each puts you in...
Review Code Violet (PS5) - Gooner Shooter Can't Get It Up
Code Blue
Code Violet begins and ends with quotes by the renowned painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. That feels appropriate — not because this game will be remembered for time immemorial like the Mona Lisa, but because, much like one of Da Vinci's early flying machine sketches, the game is ambitious but never actually gets off the ground...
Atelier what I want what I really really want
While the Atelier series has been steadily evolving and tweaking its winning JRPG/craft-'em-up formula across 30 years and 20-plus games, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land perhaps represents the most radical shift yet. But that doesn't mean existing fans should be...
Review Fantasian Neo Dimension (PS5) - Delightful JRPG Comfort Food Let Down by Uneven Combat
Final Fantasian
Fantasian Neo Dimension is a little like Japanese role playing game comfort food. There's the slightly androgynous amnesiac hero. He'll go on a quest to reclaim his memories and along the way he'll meet up with a slightly kooky orphan mage with secrets of her own to uncover. They'll befriend the sassy princess, the lovable rogue, the...
The G.O.A.T.
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is a sacred text in the history of point-and-click adventure games, and new remaster Reforged is the best version of the game that's ever been released. Quality-of-life improvements mean players who just want to enjoy the story without too much lateral thinking can do so, while veterans of the genre...
Hung jury
Ace Attorney games are traditionally composed of two types of gameplay. A crime is committed, and you investigate by collecting evidence, speaking to witnesses, and conferring with your partner. Then you go to court to defend your client by presenting evidence and finding contradictions in witness testimonies, before ultimately unravelling...
Rob it Raccoon
Sly Cooper returns! Everyone's favourite kleptomaniac raccoon is finally here on PS5, albeit in port form rather than in a brand new title. Still, we'll take what we can get when it comes to Sly, and so it's a pleasure to see the first game in the series, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, as a PS2 Classic, available for a...
Review Ghosthunter (PS2) - Overlooked Supernatural Shooter Should Be a Cult Classic
The ghost with the most
What a difference a twenty years makes. When Ghosthunter released in 2004 for PS2 it was met with poor sales and mixed reviews from the critics of the time. Generally, reviewers thought it looked great, but it was too linear and at a mere ten hours or so in length it was far too brief. Today, Ghosthunter looks like a bag of...
Review Nobody Wants to Die (PS5) - Film Noir Meets Cyberpunk in This Stylish Detective Thriller
Who wants to live forever?
What would happen if humans created a way to make death optional by transferring consciousness from one body to another? Nobody Wants to Die answers that question in the most realistic way possible: the rich live forever, and the poor barely live at all. Set in New York in 2329, Nobody Wants To Die tells the story of...
Latest Feature Articles
Confessions of an ex-SEGA kid
I was a teenager in the middle of the nineties and like any other teenage boy in the middle of the nineties I cared about just one thing and it was f****** disgusting — Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, it’s confession time, oh readers of Push Square. Growing up I was a SEGA kid which is probably the root cause of around 85%...
Preview Evidence Suggests Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Will Be a Good Time on PS4
But the jury is still out
We've played the first couple of cases in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection on PS4 and we've walked away pretty impressed. The collection comprises two games originally released on Nintendo DS — Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit — now playable on...
Game of the Year John's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2023
Re-enter the Dragon
Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2023. Today, it's the turn of reviewer John Cal McCormick. 5. Venba: What a treat this game is. From the wonderful music to the heartfelt narrative to the enticing crackling and sizzling each time you...
Game of the Year John's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2022
Put an Elden Ring on it
Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2022. Today, it's the turn of reviewer John Cal McCormick. 5. Cult of the Lamb: I really enjoyed my time with Cult of the Lamb. I 8/10 enjoyed it according to my review. It’s grisly, and dark, and...
Game of the Year John's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2021
Point of no Returnal
Our individual Game of the Year articles allow our lovely team of writers to share their own personal PS5 and PS4 picks for 2021. Today, it's the turn of reviewer John Cal McCormick. 5. F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch: Oh baby, you had me at steampunk-metroidvania-starring-an-anthropomorphic-bunny-with-a-giant-metal-fist. I...
Game of the Year John's Top 5 PS5, PS4 Games of 2020
Bah humbug
Alongside our staff-voted Game of the Year awards, each of our writers have crafted their own personal lists, covering their top five PlayStation 5 and PS4 titles of 2020. Today, it's the turn of reviewer John Cal McCormick. 5. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition: Ultimately, I found that I enjoyed Kentucky Route Zero most at the...
Game of the Year John's Top 5 PS4 Games of 2019
Strand up
Alongside our staff-voted Game of the Year awards, each of our writers have crafted their own personal lists, covering their top five PlayStation 4 titles of 2019. Today, it's the turn of reviewer John Cal McCormick. 5. Observation: Observation was one of the unexpected gems of 2019, for me. The unique selling point for this...
Hands On Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy Has No Objections from Us So Far
Pre-order in the court?
We're a mere three cases into the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on PlayStation 4, so we're not quite ready to give you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help us Shuhei, the jury is still out. But we have seen enough to allow us to make a pretty compelling opening statement before we render our...
Game of the Year 2018 #7 - Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
All cel and good
Aside from the thoroughly charming cel-shaded aesthetic and good-natured storytelling, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom bears little resemblance to its 2011 predecessor: the cast of characters is entirely new, the battle system has been completely revamped, and there’s huge focus placed on a city building minigame. It’s one of...
Game of the Year 2018 John's Personal Picks
Boy!
The annual Push Square Towers tradition is back, as we sit down our scribes and pester them once more for their five favourite PlayStation games of the year. With such a strong assortment of software in 2018, it’s always tough deciding upon the cream of the crop. We threatened John with a David Cage shower scene before he dropped his list...
