Latest Reviews
Mini Review The Colonists (PS4) - A Nice and Chill Civilisation Building Sim
Human after all
The Colonists is an addictive little world-builder featuring cute robots. And while it doesn't do much to set itself apart from its strategic peers, it's a relatively accessible game, complete with step-by-step tutorials and a gameplay structure that's easy to understand. In a genre where complexity can be a serious hurdle, The...
Review Resident Evil Village (PS5) - Capcom's Best Horror Game for 16 Years
Goth punk
If we're being brutally honest, Resident Evil Village puts Resident Evil 7: Biohazard to shame. That's not to say we've soured on Ethan Winters in the four years since his introduction, but rather what Capcom has done next goes way above and beyond the events of the Baker incident. Resident Evil Village is incredible. By borrowing the best...
Mini Review Skate City (PS4) - Lo-Fi Beats to Kickflip To
Ollie-oop
From publisher Snowman comes Skate City, a port of a 2D mobile game that focuses on trick mastery and moody visuals. The translation from mobile to console isn’t exactly seamless, and performing tricks can be a pain, despite the simple controls. Skate City only rewards absolute precision. Landing what should be rudimentary tricks can...
Mini Review R-Type Final 2 (PS4) - One of the Greatest Shmups Ever Gets a Timely Sequel
Blast the Bydo, again
When you’re taking time to consider the true greats of the shmup genre, a few names tend to crop up with alarming regularity. Darius. Gradius. Space Invaders, if you’re feeling particularly bookish. However, few shooters have had the same degree of impact that R-Type achieved when it hit arcades way back in 1987. The savvy...
Review Returnal (PS5) - Housemarque's Deep, Dark Shooter Is a PS5 Must Have
Selene Die On
Returnal is a much, much bigger game than you think it is. For all the noise surrounding the game's price point, Housemarque has produced its largest, most ambitious project by a country mile. This isn't a small scale title with a premium cost; the studio has made something on a whole new level. There's an awful lot of game here, and...
Mini Review Battle Axe (PS4) - Top-Down Mix of Brawler and Run-'n'-Gun with Henk Nieborg Pixel Art
Not an old battle-axe, a new Battle Axe
Considering that Makoto Uchida's work on Golden Axe was inspired by combining a fantasy backdrop with Double Dragon's gameplay — alongside the fact that Golden Axe was originally going to be named as Battle Axe or Broad Axe instead — the greatest compliment we can give Numskull Games' PS4 Battle Axe is...
Mini Review Hitchhiker (PS4) - Intriguing Concept Can Be Monotonous
A Hitchhiker's guide to philosophy
In a world of fast-paced action and strategic decision making, sometimes it is nice to play the role of a bystander. Hitchhiker is a game that prides itself on taking you through a journey, instead of letting you create your own path. The end result is a monotonous but thought provoking journey that is closer to an...
Review Wreckfest (PS4) - Technical Issues Fail to Void This Great, Destructive Racer
It's daa-bee, not dur-bee
Republished on Wednesday 28th April, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Racing games have been seemingly few and far between this generation. DriveClub will cease to exist at the end of this month, Codemasters’ GRID...
Review Battlefield V (PS4) - Multiplayer Mayhem Excuses Shallow Launch
V for victory
Republished on Wednesday 28th April, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Battlefield V's road to release hasn’t exactly been smooth, nor typical of an EA product. After a delay for further adjustments to gameplay and the setback...
Soul survivor
NieR always deserved a second chance, and you could argue that the very well received NieR Automata was exactly that. The tale of 2B touched the hearts of many a player back in 2017, but for a while, it felt like the original NieR had been left behind and largely forgotten. After all, the NieR that we got here in the West — the one...
Review Judgment (PS5) - A Truly Gripping Detective Thriller, and One of the Best Yakuza Games
Another day in Kamurocho
We loved Judgment on PlayStation 4, but over time, our appreciation of this Yakuza spinoff has only grown. Upon reflection, we actually think that our Judgment PS4 review was a bit off the mark, and having now played the game's remaster on PS5, we're fully convinced that this is, hands down, one of the best Yakuza-style...
Deluxe treatment
Koei Tecmo has re-released yet another Atelier Trilogy, this time giving the Mysterious series the ‘Deluxe’ treatment. Unlike the Arland and Dusk trilogy, this threesome is already on PlayStation 4, so it does seem a little strange that they’re being released again on the same console. However, this is now the most complete...
Mini Review Buildings Have Feelings Too (PS4) - A Management Game Lacking Solid Foundations
Bricking it
Buildings Have Feelings Too is essentially a city-building management game without the people. Instead of keeping a growing population happy, you instead have to please personified houses, office blocks, industrial chimneys, and more as you work through Victorian times to the modern age. It's an odd but likeable premise, and certainly...
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...
Review Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds (PS4) - Icy Expansion Is Excellent
Winter wonder
Review republished on 20th April, 2021: With Horizon Zero Dawn primed to be offered for free as part of Sony's Play At Home initiative, we're bringing our original review back from the archives. If it wasn’t for a couple of Nintendo franchises doing what they do best, Horizon Zero Dawn would be a front-runner for Game of the Year...
Review Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) - An Outstanding Open World Debut
Bloody Nora
Review republished on 20th April, 2021: With Horizon Zero Dawn primed to be offered for free as part of Sony's Play At Home initiative, we're bringing our original review back from the archives. Horizon Zero Dawn is both unusual and excellent. Killzone maker Guerrilla Games' first stab at the ever-popular open world genre lifts ideas...
Review Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (PS5) - A Hauntingly Brilliant RPG That Lives Long in the Mind
Killer moves
Disco Elysium is one of those games that you think about even when you're not playing it. Even just a few hours in, you'll find that this strange and at times absurd role-playing title has claimed a space in your mind. In truth, it's like nothing else on the market — and reviews like this one don't really do it justice. But, this is...
Mini Review Cozy Grove (PS4) - A Relaxing Little Life Sim That's Worth Sticking With
A beary nice time
Cozy Grove is a relaxing little game in which you're tasked with helping out friendly ghosts on an abandoned island. There's a definite hint of Animal Crossing about it, but the game's generally less involved than Nintendo's life sim juggernaut. You'll spend most of your time running rather simple errands for the aforementioned...
Mini Review DOOM 3: VR Edition (PS4) – An Improved Version of a Solid Game
Go to hell
Games not designed with VR first have a tendency to be rather hit-or-miss, but the PSVR adaptation of DOOM 3 – the black sheep of the esteemed shooter franchise – is most definitely a hit. A shooter lives and dies by how the gunplay is, and DOOM 3 VR’s shooting is spectacular. While using the PSVR Aim Controller is definitely the...
Review Oddworld: Soulstorm (PS5) - A Tough Game to Love
It's an odd, odd world
It's hard to know where to begin with Oddworld: Soulstorm. The series has definitely had its ups and downs, but it's always felt like part of PlayStation's flavour, so it's nice to have it back after so many years. It's a reimagining of Abe's Exoddus, a sequel to New 'n' Tasty, and in some ways it's one of the better entries...
Mini Review Star Wars Republic Commando - One of Star Wars’ All-Time Classics Has Still Got It
Initiate radical restructuring, commando
When Star Wars Republic Commando launched in 2005, it was ahead of its time. It found a perfect balance between the tactical, detail-intensive gameplay of shooters like Rainbow Six and the cinematic bombast of Call of Duty. It nailed this so well, that now, 16 years later, the game holds up shockingly well...
Review Outriders (PS5) - Great Combat? That's a People Can Fly Game
Ridin' dirty
You know what? Outriders is pretty good. Torn apart during our first impressions piece based on the demo, the final version proves developer People Can Fly hadn't put its best foot forward during those opening hours. It's still that same style of game, but the Polish studio cunningly saved a few tricks up its sleeve for the full...
Review Balan Wonderworld (PS5) - One of the Worst 3D Platformers of the Past Decade
There is no wonder in this world
Gamers have been treated to a 3D platformer renaissance over the past few years. The likes of Yooka-Laylee and A Hat in Time have shown the world that 3D platformers aren’t just a genre of the past, but a formula that can still be iterated upon. Enter Square Enix and legendary game designer Yuji Naka, best known...
Mini Review Root Film (PS4) - An Enjoyable, If Standard, Visual Novel
Lights! Camera! Inaction!
While it might not be as compelling as its predecessor, Root Letter, Kadokawa Games’ follow-up visual novel Root Film is still worthy of your time. You’ll visit a bevy of locations and witness the culture of Shimane Prefecture while trying to solve an ever-increasing number of murders. As the title of the game suggests,...
Review Zombie Army 4: Dead War (PS4) - Rebellion's Best Game Yet
Fast and Führious
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. For the best part of the PlayStation 4 generation, UK-based studio Rebellion has been improving, tweaking, and fine-tuning its co-operative offering...
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...
Mini Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS5) - Still a Skateboarding Great with Decent Upgrade
Keeping the combo going
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, in case you weren't aware, is an excellent remake of the first two games in the legendary series. It originally launched last year on PlayStation 4, and it's a fantastic reimagining of these skateboarding classics. While it looked great on the older hardware, Activision has seen fit to develop...
Mini Review I Saw Black Clouds - Interactive Thriller Won't Be Winning Any Oscars
Thank you for supporting interactive drama
I Saw Black Clouds begins with a warning that tells you that the game features graphic depictions of suicide and then about four seconds later someone commits suicide. The deceased is a troubled girl named Emily and we move swiftly on to her funeral where we're introduced to Kristina and Charlotte who are...
Mini Review Narita Boy (PS4) - 80s Soaked Action Adventure Is a Digital Delight
Narita Booooooy
Narita Boy is a side-scrolling, 80s VCR-soaked pixel adventure. You play as the titular Narita Boy, a chosen hero of sorts who's tasked with saving a digital dimension from its all-powerful creator. There's a lot more story here than you might think — most of it told through lengthy dialogue boxes — but the gist of it is that...
Mini Review UnderMine (PS4) - Addictive Rogue-Lite Strikes Gold
Good work, peasant
Look, UnderMine might not be the most original game in the world, but it prospects the best bits from rogue-like classics and wraps it all up in a neat new way. The result is an addictive, challenging adventure we struggled to put down. The main thing that makes this rogue-lite so compelling is its steady progression. Playing as...
