March2024
Mini Review Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS5) - Anime Fighter Is Still Godlike, Despite Dodgy Online
Your wish is granted
When Dragon Ball FighterZ first released in 2018 for PS4, it was hailed as one of the greatest anime fighting games ever made — and rightfully so. Crafted by the genre experts at Arc System Works, FighterZ was and still is a masterclass in how to adapt an existing franchise. The team-based brawler is both highly accessible on...
February2024
Review Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash (PS5) - Cursed Trash Solely Exists to Grab Your Cash
Salmon woe
As arguably the biggest anime and manga franchise on the planet right now, all publisher Bandai Namco had to do was put together a serviceable adaptation of Gege Aktusami’s modern-day sensation and reap the rewards. Regrettably, the dismal Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash is the worst kind of tie-in: a vapid cash grab clearly developed on a...
January2024
Review Tekken 8 (PS5) - Next-Gen Tekken Is a Modern Fighting Game Masterclass
Heat haze hype
Tekken 8 has been a long time coming. Its predecessor, the unprecedentedly popular Tekken 7, launched what feels like an age ago; the original arcade release happened all the way back in 2015, before a much-updated version came to consoles in 2017. However, its shockingly long life cycle — perpetuated by an incredibly strong...
November2023
Connect more
With its gigantic character roster, original story mode, and fairly expansive 'History' mode, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections just about manages to justify its existence — even though, at its core, this is pretty much a repackaging of previous Storm titles. Featuring every playable character from past games alongside...
Review Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn (PS5) - Solid Expansion Treads Very Familiar Territory
Arise again
Right off the bat, the biggest problem with Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is trying to remember how to actually play Tales of Arise. The (largely fantastic, in our opinion) action RPG launched what feels like an eternity ago back in September 2021, and now, over two years later, we're getting a full-on post-game expansion. But the DLC...
August2023
Review Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon (PS5) - Great Mecha Action at Times Feels Stunted
Earth to Raven
Swapping swords and spells for mechs and missiles probably wasn't the first thing a FromSoftware accountant suggested following the absurd success of Elden Ring, but then the Japanese developer doesn't do things by the books. Having sold more than 20 million copies of the open world masterpiece, the studio has returned to a series it...
June2023
Review Park Beyond (PS5) - Shallow Park Builder Besieged by Technical Issues
Beyond a joke
At its heart, Park Beyond evokes memories of the Theme Park games from a couple of decades ago, and it's perhaps due to our nostalgia for those titles that we enjoyed our time with this as much as we did. There's something to be said for the simplified theme park builder, in which you don't need to worry about navigating a dozen...
Review We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie (PS5) - A Great Version of the Series' Highlight
Is it too on the nose to say We Love Katamari?
After the immense success of Katamari Damacy, The King of All Cosmos deems fit to send his miniature son back to the planet earth to grant the requests of fans of the original game. This bizarre fourth-wall destroying plot serves to kick off a suitably bizarre game: We Love Katamari. Following on from...
March2023
Review Code Vein (PS4) - A Friendlier, Fashion-Conscious Japanese RPG in the Vein of Dark Souls
Cure your thirst
Republished on Wednesday, 1st March, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows. For the first few hours of Code Vein, you don’t really play anything at all. No, instead you create your character. With one of the most robust...
February2023
Mini Review Tales of Symphonia Remastered (PS4) - Barebones Remaster Distracts from a Classic RPG
Lloyd Irving, wake up!
Still one of the most highly regarded instalments in Namco's long-running series, Tales of Symphonia could be considered a classic. Indeed, it's easy forget that the game's almost 20 years old — and Tales of Symphonia Remastered shows that the adventure actually holds up surprisingly well. The storytelling's a little...
Review Scarlet Nexus (PS5) - 'Brain Punk' RPG Gets a Lot Right, But Ends Up Feeling Stunted
Seeing red
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. Scarlet Nexus is quite a unique action RPG set in a world where the human brain has evolved. Most people are hooked up to a kind of...
January2023
Mini Review Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS5) - Accessible Action RPG Plays Best on PS5
Learn to fly
Whether you're an existing fan or completely new to the world of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot remains a relatively accessible retelling of Akira Toriyama's timeless series. Taking the form of an action RPG spread across large, fully explorable maps, this is a mostly accurate adaptation of the source material, hitting all of the...
Review One Piece Odyssey (PS5) - Anime Dragon Quest Is Oh So Good
Odyssey, ya see!
If you ignore the One Piece: Pirate Warriors sub-series for a second, the last title fans of Luffy and his eccentric crew had to look forward to was One Piece: World Seeker. A disaster of an open world game, it felt unfinished with horrible gameplay and visuals — enough to make any enthusiast sceptical of future projects. However,...
Review Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS4) - One of the Best Anime Fighters Ever
Super Saiyan Godly
Republished on Wednesday, 11th January, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows. Ever since Dragon Ball FighterZ was revealed, it feels like the hype train has never stopped rolling – and for good reason. A Dragon Ball...
November2022
Review The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me (PS5) - One for the Fans Lacks Ambition
I want to play a game
With four instalments under its belt, The Dark Pictures Anthology from Supermassive Games feels like a roller coaster. Following an underwhelming start in Man of Medan, the horror series was getting better and better with Little Hope and House of Ashes. It appears, however, the latter may have been the peak o
October2022
Mini Review Dragon Ball: The Breakers (PS4) - Janky Casual Fun In Familiar Setting
Is it worth surviving?
Dragon Ball: The Breakers breaks into unfamiliar territory for the franchise — a realm that'll be more than recognisable to avid Dead by Daylight players. This 1v7 multiplayer game is more than just a reskin of its inspirations, however. While it falters in several game mechanics, it uses the beloved manga and anime property...
September2022
Error error error error error!
A remaster complete with additional features, characters, and combat adjustments, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R remains an excellent adaptation of the popular anime and manga property at its core. The attention to detail is often outstanding, with the game referencing all kinds of interactions and events...
August2022
Review SD Gundam Battle Alliance (PS5) - Addictive Action RPG Is an Absolute Treat for Fans
Breakout hit
Every now and then, a licensed anime title comes along that goes above and beyond your expectations. Not just an ode to the source material, but a finely crafted video game as well. That's SD Gundam Battle Alliance in a nutshell — an almost dangerously addictive action RPG that franchise fans will likely adore. Despite its cutesy,...
Review Pac-Man World Re-Pac (PS5) - Solid Update On a PS1 Platforming Classic
Aw shoot, here comes Pac-Man
Following on from last month's release of Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series, Bandai Namco has come back with an update of another one of its PS1 classics: 1999’s Pac-Man World. Sadly, unlike Klonoa, this is a remake of just the first game, rather than a remastered collection including the two PS2 sequels. Thankfully,...
Review Digimon Survive (PS4) - Darker Digimon Story Carries Some Flat RPG Elements
A little help from my friends
Digimon Survive is not the RPG that some fans wanted it to be. Recruiting, training, and battling Digimon takes a backseat in favour of a very text-heavy story that unfolds through largely static scenes. In short, this is a visual novel first and foremost, to the point where some of the title's RPG elements almost start...
July2022
Review Little Nightmares (PS4) - Unsettling Puzzle Platformer Hits the Spot
The need for greed
Republished on Wednesday 27th July 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Much like LittleBigPlanet, the macabre puzzle platformer Little Nightmares includes sugar, spice, and all things nice – it just chooses to stir...
Review Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (PS5) - No-Frills Remasters of Old School Platformers
It's-a me, Klonoa
Back in the late '90s, the platforming genre was going through a bit of an identity crisis. The technological heft of consoles like the original PlayStation meant that, for pretty much the first time, our gaming worlds could be expanded into true three-dimensional spaces. However, this meant there was a whole new dimension of...
June2022
Review The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (PS4) - An Unexplosive Opening
Until yawn
Republished on Wednesday 29th June 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Maybe it's just because our Dad let us watch Jaws when we were six, but we've always been skeptical of the sea. It's wet, and there's weird things in there...
Mini Review Pac-Man Museum+ (PS4) - Meaty Compilation Provides Plenty to Chew On
Don't ghost it
Ignore all the Ms. Pac-Man legal issues – awkward! – and it’s hard to imagine Pac-Man Museum+ being much more comprehensive than it is. There are absentees, of course – long-time power pill poppers may lament the lack of, say, Pac-Man World from the PS1 – but across 14 titles, you’re effectively getting the career...
Review Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker (PS4)
Believe it
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. For the uninitiated, Naruto is a long running manga series published in the weekly Shounen Jump periodical straight out of the Land of the Rising Sun. Naruto...
