March2023
Review Mato Anomalies (PS5) - Surreal Turn-Based RPG Falls Flat
Neo-future Shanghai is about to explode
Mato Anomalies is a hodgepodge of ideas and motifs that works, for the most part, but suffers from trying to do too much with too little. It's aspirational, but the experience as a whole suffers from poor pacing and repetition, and comes off feeling like just another mediocre JRPG as a result, despite some...
February2023
Review Scars Above (PS5) - Ambitious Sci-Fi Adventure Fails to Launch
Less isn't always more
With an intriguing set-up, likeable lead, and aspirations of grandeur, Scars Above is a sci-fi adventure game that we really wanted to like. Unfortunately, the experience is held back by lacklustre combat, abysmal map design, and a central narrative that ultimately fails to launch. After a mysterious alien artefact known as...
November2022
Mini Review Gungrave G.O.R.E. (PS5) - It's Definitely a New Gungrave
2022? More like 2002
If you asked us to guess which PS2 game would get a sequel in the year 2022, there's no chance we'd have said Gungrave. The original launched back in 2002 and was the brainchild of mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow, best known for writing the critically acclaimed Trigun. The original Gungrave was a stylish, albeit incredibly basic,...
Review Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (PS5) - Long Live the King
A storm of steel
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is an intricate feudal relationship simulator set in a dynamic sandbox world dominated by six medieval kingdoms roughly analogous to cultures from our own. It features massive-scale battles, deep character customisation, action-based melee and ranged combat (on horseback or afoot), a living,...
Mini Review The Chant (PS5) - Nothing Special Whatsoever
Kum Ba Nah
With the horror genre going through a sudden but welcome revival, a bang-average title isn't really going to cut it anymore as The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space loom on the horizon. Unfortunately, The Chant is exactly that. It's an okay game, but it's going to be forgotten about just as quickly as it comes. A third-person title about...
October2022
Review Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Enhanced Edition (PS4) - A Roleplaying Renaissance
We live in a CRPG Golden Age
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the kind of game that can take over your life if you let it. Its intricate mechanics, engaging combat, and gritty narrative combine to create a heady experience, provided you're willing to put in the time to learn its specific eccentricities. It can be unwieldy, and its depth and...
