April2021
Review MLB The Show 21 (PS5) - A Lead-Off Double But Not a Home Run
Ace of base
Sports games, for all the ire they attract, subscribe to some of the most brutal development cycles in the industry. Spare a thought, then, for Sony San Diego, which has not only transitioned from one platform to four with its annual baseball simulation MLB The Show 21 – but it’s also done it during a global pandemic. There are clear...
March2021
Review Days Gone (PS4) - Open World Comfort Food with a Survival Horror Spin
Decent St. John
Republished on Wednesday 31st March, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of April 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. The world comes for you is an incredibly apt slogan for Bend Studio’s apocalyptic sandbox. The latest in a long line of Sony-published story-driven...
February2021
Review The Nioh Collection (PS5) - Backwards Compatibility Causing a Conundrum
Death defies Nioh
A collection of last-gen games gussied up to be re-released on a new console is nothing new. This particular Nioh collection is perhaps a bit more unique in that it includes a supposed remaster for a game that was released a mere ten months prior, but that’s not even the strangest thing about this Nioh bundle. The Nioh Collection...
Review Destruction AllStars (PS5) - A Confident But Flawed Start for Chaotic Car Combat Game
Dodgy ignition
Destruction AllStars is quite a frustrating game. Not really because of anything the game does wrong, but because it clearly holds a lot of potential. As an idea, it sounds great: a destruction derby style title that keeps you in the action with on-foot gameplay when you're between vehicles. In practice, while it does succeed in some...
January2021
Review Concrete Genie - Artsy Exclusive Is Worth Experiencing
Art attack
Republished on Wednesday 27th January, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Of all Sony's in-house developers, Pixelopus perhaps has the most to prove. Its debut game, Entwined, didn't set the world alight, and so its follow-up...
November2020
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered (PS5) - Next-Gen Makes Insomniac's Superhero Romp Even Better
(Be) greater than ever before
It has been just two years since the original launch of Marvel's Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4, yet Insomniac Games has been hard at work improving the core game. Since then we’ve had three DLC packs, a Game of the Year edition, and a brand new console launch, which explains why Insomniac Games felt this was the...
Review Demon's Souls (PS5) - Cult Classic Becomes PlayStation's Best Ever Launch Game
So the world might be mended
Long have the cacophonous cries for a remake of FromSoftware’s PlayStation 3 cult hit Demon’s Souls reverberated through the Internet. Those wishes were undoubtedly amplified after the game’s servers were shut down back in 2018, turning a once-bustling bastion of experimental online interactions into just another...
Review Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5) - Lovely Launch Game Revives LittleBigPlanet Protagonist
Material world
Sackboy is too good a character to sit on the sidelines, but for the last six years that’s exactly what the LittleBigPlanet protagonist has done. With creator Media Molecule turning its attention to the outrageously ambitious imagination simulation Dreams, it’s been six long years since we saw the smile of Sony’s only knitted...
Review Astro's Playroom (PS5) - The Perfect PlayStation 5 Pack-In
U R not Red E
Is there an argument that Asobi Team is the most inventive Sony studio right now? The small sector of Japan Studio is certainly getting the most out of the platform holder’s hardware, as Astro Bot Rescue Mission proved by completely reinvigorating the classic 3D platformer on PlayStation VR. With its latest project, free PlayStation...
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5) - A Sublime Superhero Spin-Off
Be greater. Be Yuleself
Insomniac Games came out swinging with its first foray into the world of Marvel’s iconic wall-crawler, but this spin-off has even more vigour and verve than its PlayStation 4 predecessor. Booting – in less than 10 seconds, we’re eager to add – with a shot of protagonist Miles Morales on the subway, the release takes...
July2020
Review Marvel's Iron Man VR - Armoured Avenger Flies High on PSVR
Put on the suit
Marvel's Iron Man VR represents another concerted effort from the comic book powerhouse to bring its characters to gaming in a meaningful way. Following the immense success of Marvel's Spider-Man, this PlayStation VR exclusive had a lot to live up to. The end result is a highly impressive action title that goes the distance to...
June2020
Review Erica - FMV Masterclass Worthy of Your Attention
Mambo number five
Republished on Monday 29th June 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. If you need any further proof that video games don’t have to be about the constant act of pressing buttons, then look no further than Erica. The...
Review The Last of Us 2 - Essential Sequel Is Naughty Dog's Best Effort
An eye for an eye
The Last of Us: Part II is a tale of obsession, and developer Naughty Dog clearly knows a thing or two about that. This is a painstakingly dense sequel, and it’s so tightly intertwined with the original that it’s effectively essential material for anyone who has reverence for the original release. While it continues to iterate...
March2020
Review MLB The Show 20 - The Biggest and Best Baseball Game on PS4
Ready for another chance?
The baseball season should be underway, but coronavirus is of course proving to be the biggest spoilsport of all time. Fortunately, you can always rely on Sony San Diego’s critically acclaimed MLB The Show series releasing like clockwork – but does this last ever PlayStation exclusive entry strike out or hit a home run?...
January2020
Review Firewall Zero Hour - Tactical PSVR Shooter Has Awesome Action, But Not Enough of It
You've been Tango'd
Republished on Wednesday 29th January 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. We’re not sure whether they’re brave or stupid, but developers will insist on releasing online-only multiplayer games for PlayStation VR...
October2019
Review MediEvil - A Successful Resurrection of a Flawed But Fun Adventure
Undead and loving it
Remakes of fondly remembered favourites always have a tough call to make: should they remain faithful to the source material, or make improvements and changes to modernise the old-school design? The answer usually lies somewhere in between. MediEvil is the latest PSone classic to be brought back to life, and it errs on the side...
May2019
Review Blood & Truth - Confident Cockney Crime Drama Is a PSVR Dream
Marks man
As far as tech demos go, the London Heist – which launched as part of London Studio’s varied compilation disc PlayStation VR Worlds – was a convincing one. The short, hour-long crime drama effortlessly captured the potential of Sony’s pricey PSVR headset, demonstrating how it can enhance immersion, story-telling, and interactivity...
Review Everybody's Golf VR - Hot Shots in a Different Dimension
Putt to the test
In the 2017 instalment of Everybody’s Golf, veteran developer Clap-Hanz – supported, as always, by Sony’s own industrious Japan Studio – attempted to reinvent the decades-old franchise, adding open world elements to the classic click-click-click arcade action of yore. Everybody’s Golf VR represents another stark change for...
December2018
Review Marvel's Spider-Man: Silver Lining - A Lukewarm End to the City That Never Sleeps Story
Every cloud
The release of Silver Lining marks the conclusion of the City That Never Sleeps expansion for Marvel's Spider-Man, and as a finale, it's a slight letdown. It's clearer now more than ever that a sequel is coming, but leaving so many narrative threads dangling makes for quite an unsatisfying ending to this extra story. Even so, this still...
