April2023
Review Dead Island 2 (PS5) - A Surprisingly Refreshing Zombie Slasher
A Zom-pocalypse worth the wait
Nine years ago, Dead Island 2 entered the public zeitgeist with a vibrant and funny reveal trailer. It teased a new, colourful setting in L.A. whilst doubling down on that irreverent tone of the original game. However, as the years passed on, the rumour mill began to churn out tales of internal struggles, with the...
August2022
Review Saints Row (PS5) - Seriously Dumb Fun Outweighs Dated Open World
The old dusty trail
Believe it or not, it's been nine whole years since Saints Row IV, and to be honest, not much has changed (minus the superpowers and alien invaders, obviously). The simply titled Saints Row is a reboot of the series, sporting an entirely new setting, new characters, and a fresh story — but the gameplay structure that the...
Mini Review Metro Exodus (PS5) – A Greatly Improved Version of a Pretty Awesome Game
Time to leave the metro
Republished on Wednesday, 10th August, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. 4A Games is one of the most talented teams in the industry, but the PS4 version of Metro: Exodus – as noted in our original review...
July2022
Review Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (PS4) - More Silly Sandbox Action
Damned if you do
Republished on Wednesday, 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell isn't actually a PlayStation 4 game. Right from the word go, the now-zany...
Review Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (PS4) - Ridiculous Open World Is Dumb Fun
You got the power
Republished on Wednesday, 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. Saints Row IV is the definitive sandbox game for anyone who's a bit tired of the more serious attempts like Watch Dogs,
May2022
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...
December2021
Mini Review Chorus (PS5) - Stunning Space Exploration with Slick Combat
Sing it with me
If there's one thing developer Fishlabs knows well, it's space combat and exploration. Despite little previous experience with PlayStation hardware, its PS5 debut Chorus shares many similarities with its long-running mobile series Galaxy on Fire. As a result, Chorus is a confident first stab at a high profile release for the team,...
December2020
Mini Review Maneater (PS5) - Shiny Bits and Bobs Make for a Fin Time
Let’s fin-ish this
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. One of a number of free next-gen upgrade titles being offered on Sony’s newest hardware, developer Tripwire has returned to its undersea all...
September2020
Review Wasteland 3 - Fallout Meets XCOM in This Engrossing But Slightly Buggy RPG
Power Armour Rangers
Wasteland 3 is one of those games that you can get completely lost in. Between its world building, its characters, and its player progression, it's an engrossing experience from start to finish. It goes without saying, but the veteran developers over at inXile really know how to make a role-playing game. Wasteland 3 is what...
May2020
Review Maneater - Underwater Far Cry Is Fintastic
Get in the sea
Far Cry’s formula may be feeling a little shallow these days, but Maneater breathes new sealife into the open world collectathon concept by setting its action underwater – and putting you in control of a bloodthirsty shark. This moreish aquatic action RPG is a modern incarnation of PlayStation 2 cult classic Jaws Unleashed, and...
That one was for you, Johnny
Hearing Troy Baker shout "get the **** out of here!" as you punch a policeman square in his privates is still pretty funny. In fact, Saints Row The Third in general is still pretty funny — at least, some of the time. The game's almost nine years old, yet Saints Row The Third Remastered is a welcome reminder of just how...
December2019
Review Shenmue III - An Impossible Sequel That's Enjoyable Against All Odds
Lost in time
The fact that Shenmue III feels like a direct continuation of the cult SEGA Dreamcast classics is testament to veteran director Yu Suzuki’s unflinching ambition. There may have been almost two decades between this long-anticipated PlayStation 4 instalment and its predecessor, but developer Ys Net isn’t afraid to pick up the plot...
September2019
Review Metro Exodus: The Two Colonels - Satisfactory Action Down Under
Sound of the underground
After pitching itself as the series' big, breakout, open-world moment, it's almost comical that the first piece of downloadable content for Metro: Exodus immediately returns to what it was originally known for. The Two Colonels is a short, linear, claustrophobic experience that's not much more than serviceable in any...
April2019
Review Outward - An Unremarkable Yet Charming Nod to Old School RPGs
Onward and outwards
Devoid of any innate ability to absorb dragon souls or lacking the experience and training of a ruthless Witcher, Outward instead sends you packing into a hostile world as a feeble adventurer with little but the clothes on your back for protection. Even set in the fantasy realm of Aurai, this open world RPG prides itself on...
February2019
Review Metro: Exodus - Technical Limitations Subdue an Otherwise Solid Shooter
Rusty Russia
Metro: Exodus feels like it should be the series’ coming-out party. After two fairly niche releases on the previous generation of consoles, the third instalment is quite clearly positioning itself as the best post-apocalyptic experience from developer 4A Games yet. It’s a grand promise, but the finished product doesn’t manage to...
February2018
Review Kingdom Come: Deliverance (PS4)
Deliver us from evil loading screens
It doesn't feel right to describe Kingdom Come: Deliverance as an RPG – at least not by modern standards. At first glance, you'd be forgiven for comparing it to the likes of Skyrim or The Witcher. It's a first person adventure set in a vast medieval world with swords, danger, and intrigue lurking around every...
August2017
Player agency
Watching Saturday morning cartoons as kid, there was always one thing that bothered us about shows focusing on paramilitary groups such as M.A.S.K. and G.I Joe. No, it wasn’t the fact they were designed primarily to sell toys to impressionable young minds, it was the way none of the teams ever showed up en masse to foil the plans of...
May2017
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...
June2016
Review Deadlight: Director's Cut (PS4)
Flickers of hope
Arriving in 2013 as part of Xbox's Summer of Arcade, Deadlight reinvigorated the zombie horror genre with its classic 2D platforming and a uniquely bleak dreary tone. With the release of its next project RIME seemingly in development hell, Tequila Works has decided to revisit its esteemed debut to bring it glossier graphics, tighter...
Mighty big shoes to fill
From the moment that the Kickstarter for Mighty No. 9 was announced, there were enormous expectations placed upon it, and it was always going to be impossible to live up to them. The hype came from Keiji Inafune and a team of Mega Man veterans being at the helm of what appeared to be a spiritual successor to the classic...
Review Dead Island: Definitive Collection (PS4)
Six feet under
Arriving as one of the more unexpected remasters of the year, Dead Island: Definitive Collection sets out to resurrect the popularity of the series in the run up to its troubled second instalment. The question is: has the series already been buried too deep for this remaster to restore its reputation? The collection certainly offers...
May2016
Review Homefront: The Revolution (PS4)
Viva la revolución
The nightmare that surrounded Homefront: The Revolution's development is no secret. After being passed between two different publishers and changing its gameplay in favour of a non-linear style, the title has finally staggered its way towards the finish line after a series of setbacks. But has the extra time and attention poured...
January2016
Review This War of Mine: The Little Ones (PS4)
The first casualty of war is innocence
Braving the sniper fire of Call of Duty-loving console players, anti-war-'em-up This War of Mine: The Little Ones brings the civilian side of conflict to the PlayStation 4. 11 Bit Studios has created a heart-wrenching experience of a game, one that puts you in charge of a group of adults and children stuck in a...
August2015
Review Risen 3: Titan Lords - Enhanced Edition (PS4)
Still rolling with it
Dug up from the last-gen graveyard, the PlayStation 4 version of Risen 3: Titan Lords shares one big similarity with the unnamed hero at the heart of its own story: everyone thought that they were both dead and buried. Unfortunately the similarities end there, as only one's been resurrected to sail the high seas, in a quest to...
August2014
Review Risen 3: Titan Lords (PlayStation 3)
Roll with it
For any series to make it to a third entry is quite an achievement, especially when it’s a perennial underachiever like the Risen games. After leaning heavily into the more piratical aspects for its first sequel, developer Piranha Bytes has doubled down on this approach for Risen 3: Titan Lords, letting you once again sail the high...