Latest Features
Hands On The New PS App Is a Humongous Upgrade
There's an app for that
Hands up if you use the PlayStation App? It was pretty rubbish, right? We had it installed on our iPhone, but we barely used it because it was slow and functionally quite poor. All of the messaging features were contained in a separate app, and the PS Store effectively booted a Safari page. Yeah, you could see what your...
Talking Point Happy 20th Birthday, PlayStation 2
A toast to the most popular console ever
There's no other way to describe it: PlayStation 2 was an absolute beast. Sony followed up the popular (and industry-changing) PlayStation with a more capable console in the year 2000, and little did we know it would go on to become the best-selling gaming machine ever. It's a record the PS2 holds to this...
Round Up Watch Dogs Legion Reviews Show Mixed Reception to Ubisoft's Latest
London's burning
The first batch of reviews for Watch Dogs Legion are coming online right now, and they make for interesting reading. The open world hack-'em-up seems to have divided opinion to an extent, with some singing the praises of the everyone-is-a-playable-character formula, while others are far more critical. We've gathered a handful of...
Hands On The Watch Dogs Legion Gimmick Can't Hide Tired Gameplay
Three hackers on the shirt
After an entire generation of Ubisoft open-world titles, Watch Dogs Legion looks and feels bland. That descriptor is the word we kept coming back to following 10 hours with the PlayStation 4 experience launching on 29th October 2020, and we could never truly shake it off. There are high points here and there where you...
Next-gen starts when we say so
We’re happy to confirm that this morning we received a PlayStation 5 from Sony, meaning that you can expect tons of coverage over the coming weeks. It’s been a year unlike any other really, meaning that this morning was our first opportunity to touch the next-gen console and its controller. We’ve obviously got...
Hands On Touring the Isle of Wight by Train Is the Most Relaxing Gaming of 2020
Train Sim World 2's latest expansion offers some escapism
You can’t travel many places at the minute, for reasons we don’t need to repeat. To be honest, it’s all a bit depressing, isn’t it? We feel you. That’s why we had such a fantastic time travelling across the Isle of Wight by train this weekend. It’s a new addition to the evolving...
Talking Point What Free November 2020 PS Plus Games Are You Hoping For?
When will November 2020's PlayStation Plus games be announced?
What’s the November 2020 PlayStation Plus lineup? When will the free November 2020 PS Plus games be announced? October 2020's PS Plus lineup brought two relatively big names to the subscription service, between Need for Speed: Payback and Vampyr. However, all eyes will be on the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 347
One weekend closer
Another week comes to a conclusion, and you know what that means? PlayStation 5 is now one week closer to release! Of course, only a select few will be playing the next-gen console this weekend, so let’s talk about which PlayStation 4 games we’ll all be enjoying to pass the time. Sammy Barker, Editor: Having successfully...
Hands On Ghost of Tsushima New Game+ Is a Great Addition That's Well Worth Playing
Back in the saddle
Thanks to update 1.12, Ghost of Tsushima now boasts New Game+ — a way to replay Jin's epic adventure with all of your skills, equipment, and cosmetics from a previous playthrough intact. New Game+ was pretty much the community's most requested feature, and we're happy to report that Sucker Punch has done a brilliant job of...
Interview Transforming with Metamorphosis Composers Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman
Spaceball One has now become Mega Maid
Recently, we got the chance to sit down with the composing duo responsible for the soundtrack in Ovid Works' latest curiosity; Metamorphosis. A fascinating puzzle-adventure title inspired by the Franz Kafka novella of the same name. So buckle up as we do a deep dive with composers Mikolai Stroinski (The Witcher...
Feature The Joy of Painting PlayStation 2
Hearts For Hardware
Over the last few years US based artist Randy Gallegos has been painting his way through the history of video game hardware and has recently applied his brush to Sony's PlayStation 2. We interviewed Randy over on Nintendo Life back in 2016 about his Hearts For Hardware series but this time we'll be talking PlayStation. It's...
Hands On Ghost of Tsushima's Free Co-Op Update Defies All Expectations
Legendary
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has arrived courtesy of Ghost of Tsushima's free 1.12 update, and it's shockingly good. We had reasonably high expectations for this co-op excursion, but Sucker Punch's efforts have still blown us away. This isn't some throwaway multiplayer mode — the kind that we used to see bolted onto everything back in the...
Quiz How Much Do You Know About the PS5 UI?
Interface intelligence
Earlier this week, Sony finally unveiled one of the most important PlayStation 5 elements: the user interface. We had been waiting a seriously long time to get a glimpse of the UI, so when it did arrive, it set the internet ablaze with excitement all over again. Having digested all it has to offer though, how much do you...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 346
Another weekend closer to PS5
As another week concludes, we’ve learned a bunch more about the PlayStation 5 and its various features. Gone are the days where Sony kept us in the dark, because it’s had quite a rhythm these past few weeks, and we now know all of the essentials about Sony’s console. Good stuff! Sammy Barker, Editor: I dived...
Reaction PS5's User Experience Is Made for Modern Games
The way we play
Sony occasionally gets criticised for being a bit out of touch with the wants and needs of gamers, but we don’t think you could lobby that criticism at the company when it comes to the PlayStation 5’s user experience. Announced today after months of enthusiastic speculation, it’s alarming that we’re still learning new things...
Live Watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire (15th October) Livestream Right Here
City life
Still feel like you need to know more about Cyberpunk 2077? CD Projekt RED has one more Night City Wire episode scheduled before launch, and you can enjoy it live right here. The digital event starts at 9AM PDT / 5PM BST, so hop into the live chat and let's see what unfolds. Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire Livestream: <liveblog...
Poll What Do You Think of the PS5 UI?
What's your favourite feature?
Sony has revealed the PS5 user interface, with an in-depth video demonstration giving us a pretty good idea of how the next-gen system will operate. Obviously we all need to go hands on with the PS5 before jumping to any complete conclusions, but in our humble opinion, the UI is looking impressively slick. But of...
Poll How Often Will You Use PS5 Backwards Compatibility?
Flashback or flashforward
Now that Sony has confirmed virtually every single PlayStation 4 title will be playable on PlayStation 5 except for a list shorter than 10, we can start to work out how often we'll take advantage of the feature. Select current-gen games, such as Ghost of Tsushima, will run even better on the next-gen console with
Quiz How Closely Were You Watching the PS5 Teardown Video?
Get your head in the tech game
Sony took us one step closer to knowing anything and everything about the upcoming PlayStation 5 with a full teardown video earlier this week. While there wasn't a long, long list of new next-gen details to unpack, we still learned a couple of interesting pieces of information. So, as all of that was digested, how...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 345
The week after all the PS5 news
That concludes an absolutely colossal week of PlayStation 5 news. Are you feeling more knowledgeable than you were this time last weekend? We hope so! There’s almost a month until the system launches now, so let’s WAYP. Sammy Barker, Editor: I’m playing Mortal Kombat 11 and FIFA 21. Unfortunately, I keep...
Poll What's Your New PlayStation Trophy Level?
Level up
Sony’s made the first meaningful change to Trophies since the system was introduced on the PlayStation 3, altering the way level progress is calculated in order to make it feel more rewarding. Previously, you could spend months – sometimes even years – on the same level, but now the math has been altered in order to give you a greater...
Interview What Does a Professional Trophy Hunter Think of the New Levelling System?
"I'm genuinely excited for this"
If it hasn't already done so, your PlayStation Trophy level is about to dramatically increase. That's because Sony is deploying an update to the ranking system that sees the former maximum grade of 100 escalate to 999. New Trophy icons will be associated with them and your original level will be modified to fit the...
Feature Best PS4 Music of September 2020
Another corker
What’s one more month but another excuse to talk about game music? And in what’s becoming one of the only happy trends of 2020, we have another month absolutely crammed full of great game music! This is a particularly unique month in that we have three games to talk about, each of which has released in some form before these...
Guide Vampyr: Tips, Tricks, and All Collectibles
Your ultimate Vampyr resource
Vampyr is a PlayStation 4 game released in June 2018 by developer DONTNOD Entertainment. Best known for the Life Is Strange series, this is a new IP that has just hit PS Plus as one of October 2020's free PS4 titles. We awarded the game a 6/10 in our Vampyr PS4 review, describing it as an experience with "a ton of...
Poll Are You Happy With Your PS Plus Games for October 2020?
Plus or minus?
October's PlayStation Plus games have been announced, and, well... The reaction hasn't been brilliant. For starters, we've got Vampyr. By most accounts it's a decent game (we gave it a 6/10), but it's the kind of semi-forgotten title that you'd expect alongside a blockbuster. Except there is no blockbuster — there's only Need for...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 344
It's about time
It’s been a much quieter week in the PlayStation Nation after the theatrics of the Bethesda buyout last time around, so there’s no real need for escapism this time around. Nevertheless, with the weather turning bad, we’re looking forward to some time inside with our favourite games. Sammy Barker, Editor: I can't seem to...
Round Up Crash Bandicoot 4 Reviews Show the Mascot Marsupial Is Back on Form
Woah!
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is the first totally new game in the series in over a decade, following the success of the N. Sane Trilogy. Like that collection of remakes, this new game is sounding very good indeed — that's according to the first batch of reviews, which have just gone live. The general consensus from critics is that...
Guide Upcoming PS5 and PS4 Games and Accessories for October and November 2020
Crash Bandicoot! Assassin's Creed! PS5 launch!
We're entering the final quarter of 2020, and man, there's a lot happening. Not only does PlayStation 4 have plenty of exciting software lined up in October and November, but the PS5 is due out in a matter of weeks. There's so much to pack into the next couple of months, so we'll keep this brief. If...
Poll Which Peter Parker Face Do You Prefer in Marvel's Spider-Man?
Original, or Remastered?
When Insomniac Games said that Peter Parker's model would be updated in Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered on PS5, we didn't think that the nerdy protagonist would be getting an entirely new face — but here we are. A quick and easy poll for you, then: which Peter Parker face do you prefer? There's no doubt that the new face...
Hands On Genshin Impact Is a Very Impressive Free-to-Play Action RPG
Add to library
Straight to the point: Genshin Impact has pretty much ripped our expectations to shreds. The game that many have been calling a Breath of the Wild clone is actually really, really good — and it doesn't have to cost you a penny. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play, open world action RPG. It has a story, interesting characters, quests,...
Talking Point Are You Worried About the Future of Western RPGs on PS5?
A new era
With Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, and therefore Bethesda Game Studios, the PS5 has potentially lost out on a Western RPG powerhouse. Now that Bethesda joins inXile and Obsidian Entertainment under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, the team in green has established something of a genre monopoly. Granted, it's going to be a while...
Soapbox The Week After PS5's Showcase, Sony Told Us Nothing About Its Next-Gen Console
And it's getting boring now
Sony’s big PlayStation 5 Showcase Event was an entertaining watch from a software perspective last week, but we said at the time that it’d need to kickstart a flow of constant communication from the Japanese giant. I’d expected it to take the momentum from its livestream into this week, as it utilised the remaining...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 343
And breathe
It’s been a pretty – how shall we put this? – tense week, hasn’t it? Between the whole Bethesda buyout, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered mishaps, and general mood online, we’re all due a bit of downtime. What are you playing this weekend? Sammy Barker, Editor: I wanted to finally beat Grand Theft Auto V over the next week or...
Talking Point What Free October 2020 PS Plus Games Are You Hoping For?
Subscriber hype
What’s the October 2020 PlayStation Plus lineup? When will the free October 2020 PS Plus games be announced? September 2020's PS Plus lineup was met with a mixed response, as many felt there was too much of an emphasis on multiplayer with the addition of both Street Fighter V and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Regardless, it added...
A dish best served remastered
We had the chance to sit down and have a chat with composer Jesse Harlin recently about his work on the upcoming ground-up remake of Mafia, Mafia: Definitive Edition. We got to chatting about how an infamous car chase turned into a confidence bolstering music track, what influenced the operatic framing of the...
Interview Crytek Talks Crysis Remastered and PS5 Ray Tracing
"The most important" PS5 feature
Crytek has always been at the forefront of pushing gaming technology to its very limit, no matter whether that's all the way back in 2007 with the classic Crysis or today with the remaster of the very same game. Crysis Remastered is the first PlayStation 4 title to support ray tracing, a feature that is talking a big...
Reaction Spider-Man PS5 Debacle Shows Sony Is Out of Touch
Read the room
You know you’ve done goofed when you’d get a better response by not doing anything at all. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, the PlayStation 5 re-release of 2018’s open world smash hit, has been handled atrociously by Sony – and it’s emblematic of a disastrous week for the Japanese giant, that’s seen it scramble from one...
Interview How PS5 Makes Planet Coaster Better Than Ever
From the DualSense to the UI
While it hasn't been confirmed for launch just yet, Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a PlayStation 5 game you can look forward to playing this year. The console release of this 2016 PC title has received a full overhaul to accommodate for the DualSense controller soon to sit in our very hands, meaning developer...
Poll Has Xbox's Bethesda Buyout Made You Reconsider a PS5 Purchase?
Fus Ro Damn
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of days, you'll know that Microsoft has purchased Zenimax Media and all of its studios for a whopping $7.5 billion. They now belong under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella and so the release of future Bethesda titles on PlayStation 5 is no longer a sure-fire thing. Microsoft suit...
Interview Asking After The Procession to Calvary, One of the Strangest Games on PS4
Classical conversation
The Procession to Calvary is easily one of the most unique games we've seen in some time. When it was announced for a PS4 release last month, we simply had to know more, and so we got in touch with Joe Richardson, the game's developer. We asked Joe about the game itself, how it was developed, and the inspiration behind it...
Guide When Is Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online?
Dates and times for various streams
The annual Tokyo Game Show is still happening this year — it's just gone digital. Like most other events in 2020, TGS has no physical venue, meaning you'll have to tune in online if you want the scoop on Eastern gaming news. But when is Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online? Which publishers are taking part? Let's go...
Reaction Bethesda Acquisition Is a Kick in the Balls for PS5, But Sony's Goals Won't Change
Content is king
Xbox has acquired Bethesda for a frightening sum of money, putting that oft-referenced Microsoft warchest to use at last. The purchase price, an eye-watering $7.5 billion, eclipses the sum Disney spent on Marvel and Star Wars combined – it’s a frankly flabbergasting figure. It’s also potentially a giant blow for the PlayStation...
Hands On Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Couldn't Be More Different
A step back from Modern Warfare?
Despite the fact that some will undoubtedly scoff at the idea, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War might be the biggest deviation the franchise has made in quite some time. That's in terms of both feel and gunplay inside its multiplayer suite, and we don't think the change is for the better. Last year's Call of Duty:...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 342
The weekend after the PS5 showcase
We go into this weekend knowing the PS5’s price and release date, which was information we had no idea about last time out. As such, we can’t help but feel some sense of relaxation, as we settle down for our Saturday and Sunday gaming sessions. Sammy Barker, Editor: I don’t expect to be doing much gaming...
Soapbox Screw Sony's PS5 Game Pricing, I'll Just Wait for Sales
For the payers
The price of games is going up. Sony, along with 2K Sports, may be an outlier right now, but make no mistake: other publishers will follow. It means the widely accepted price point of $59.99 in the United States is coming to an end; in Europe, you’re looking at price points of up to €79.99 for blockbuster PlayStation 5 gam
Live Watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire (18th September) Livestream Right Here
Are you RED E?
Want to learn the latest about Cyberpunk 2077? CD Projekt RED has an all-new Night City Wire episode scheduled, and you can enjoy it live right here. The digital event starts at 9AM PDT / 5PM BST, so join in the live chat and let's see what unfolds. Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire Livestream: <liveblog id="1809_Cyberpunk_2077"...
Reaction The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Today's PS5 News
What Sony's doing right and wrong
Sony peeled back the PlayStation 5 curtain a fraction more today, confirming the PS5 price and PS5 release date, as well as its selection of launch games and more. It was a strong showcase overall,
Round Up What Was Announced at the PS5 Showcase Event?
All the latest PlayStation 5 news
Sony’s been dreadfully quiet in the build-up to the PlayStation 5, but with its PS5 Showcase Event it gave us all the information we need to know about its next-gen system. The manufacturer started with games like Final Fantasy XVI and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and also confirmed the
Talking Point Did the PS5 Showcase Event Deliver?
Happy or not?
Sony’s just closed the curtain on its PS5 Showcase Event, where it confirmed that the console will launch on 12th November from $399.99 in the United States. The showcase also included full gameplay demonstrations of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls, and confirmed Final Fantasy XVI. There were also surprise...