Latest Reviews
Review FIFA 23 (PS5) - Series Ends on a High, But Familiar Frustrations Remain
Touch grass
After an incredible 30-year run, FIFA 23 had to go out on a high – and to be fair, we reckon it just about has. Fans of EA Sports’ flagship football franchise will be familiar with the formula: this is more refinement than revolution, but FIFA 22 threaded through some of the best virtual soccer we’ve seen from the juggernaut...
Mini Review Tunic (PS5) - Cute But Tough Action Game Is Cunning As a Fox
Page turner
Tunic is more than it appears. It treads familiar ground to classic Legend of Zelda-style adventures, with simple combat, a large overworld, and a selection of bosses and dungeons. However, it's what's added on top that really shines. To start with, the foxy hero doesn't even have a sword, but throughout the game you'll slowly accrue...
Mini Review Let's Build A Zoo (PS5) - An Absorbing and Quirky Tycoon
A crocoduck?
Don’t let the cutesy pixel art style fool you; managing a zoo is more than just a walk in the park. Let's Build A Zoo wastes no time to allow the player to establish a living hell or a haven for both your visitors and animals. The game excels at two main mechanics which make it stand out from its tycoon competitors — the morality...
Mini Review Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space Remastered (PS4) - A Snappier, Funnier Sequel
Weird is an understatement
Santa, Hell, vampires? In any other game, this would be such an odd combination. However, this is Sam & Max we're talking about, and Santa's exorcism is just another typical case for the dynamic duo. Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space Remastered is just as enjoyable as Ozzy Osbourne's crazy train to experience...
Review Valkyrie Elysium (PS5) - Quality Combat Elevates Drab Action RPG
Par for the Norse
There's something distinctly old school about Valkyrie Elysium, and we don't mean because it's part of a long-running franchise; a series that started with the turn-based JRPG Valkyrie Profile way back in 1999. This is a game with an almost PlayStation 2 style design philosophy, for better and worse, and what you're here for will...
Mini Review Sam & Max Save the World Remastered (PS4) - A Classic with a Modern Touch
Chuckle like the good ol' days
The cheese was innocent! Or was it? The cheese is only the start of an absurdist adventure led by a cool wolfhound detective accompanied by a hyperactive bunny who might have a loose screw or two. A remaster of Telltale's episodic adventure which ran from 2006 to 2007, Sam & Max Save the World Remastered follows a...
Review SUPERHOT (PS4) - A Stylish, Truly Unique First-Person Shooter
You've got red dudes on you
Republished on Wednesday 28th September 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus Essential lineup. The original text follows. SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter we’ve played in years. We’re not saying that solely because the game tells us to...
Review Injustice 2 (PS4) - Super Superhero Brawling for DC Fanatics
Loot boxes among us
Republished on Wednesday 28th September 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus Essential lineup. The original text follows. Injustice 2 may be one of the most impressive fighting game sequels in recent memory. Following the release of Injustice: Gods Among...
Review Hot Wheels Unleashed (PS5) - Fun Toy Car Racer Makes the Most of Its Licence
Beat that
Republished on Wednesday 28th September 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. After years spent fine-tuning its various motorcycle racing titles, developer Milestone has taken a significant detour with Hot Wheels Unleashed...
Mini Review The DioField Chronicle (PS5) - Dull Characters in an Intriguing Strategy RPG
Fleeting foxes
Its disjointed reveal trailer didn't exactly heighten our expectations, but we're happy to report that The DioField Chronicle has turned out reasonably well. It's a real-time strategy RPG topped off with some very pretty artwork and some effective gameplay design — but it's not without its (often obvious) flaws. Set against a...
Mini Review XIII (PS5) - Improvements Can't Save This Remaster Redo
Isn't 13 supposed to be a lucky number?
Considering the XIII remake's original launch was a disaster, it's admirable that publisher Microids tried to fix things. Following the launch from developer PlayMagic, a new team, Tower Five, has been brought in to try and rework the release into something more appealing. The results are mixed, but it's...
Mini Review Session: Skate Sim (PS5) - A Realism Focused Love Letter to Skating, For Better or Worse
Need's more CKY
This time five years ago, skateboarding games were in a rough place. The last major skateboarding game was the truly awful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 and EA’s Skate series had been dormant since 2010 despite fervent fan demand for a new entry. Around that time Montreal-based developer Creā-ture Studios first showed off Project...
Review Trails from Zero (PS4) - Classic JRPG Finally Comes West, and the Wait Has Been Worth It
From Zero to hero
For the longest time, we thought that this review would never happen. Originally a 2010 title for the PSP, Trails from Zero never left Japan, despite plenty of campaigning by Western fans. Demand for Zero only grew following the Trails boom a few years back, when sequel series Trails of Cold Steel was localised on PS3, Vita, and...
Mini Review Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PS5) - Slow But Satisfying Ship Scrapping
Job's a goodun
In these uncertain times of economic instability, what better way to unwind than to play a game in which you're an indentured labourer, working off an impossible debt? Hardspace: Shipbreaker has you scrapping gigantic vessels to chip away at a huge financial obligation to the Lynx Corporation. This clearly shady conglomerate has you...
Mini Review Metal: Hellsinger (PS5) – Brilliant Gameplay Surrounded by Banality
For those about to rock
The concept behind Metal: Hellsinger is simple enough: marry the classic shooter gunplay of DOOM with a rhythm game. And developer The Outsiders absolutely nail this element of its game: the gunplay feels fantastic. Shooting, dodging, cycling weapons, it all feels great. You can do just about everything in the game to the...
Review Isonzo (PS5) - A Solid WW1 Shooter with Some Rough Edges
With leather skin, these eyes designed to haunt you
The FPS is a densely packed genre, so standing out is a must if you want to gain any traction. That's exactly what M2H and Blackmill Games have done with their WW1 Game Series. Following in the footsteps of Verdun and then Tannenberg, Isonzo introduces the Italian front to the series. WW1 games are...
Review Temtem (PS5) - A Refreshing, Modern Take on the Monster-Battling RPG
Gotta catch Tem all
Temtem has technically been available on PS5 for the best part of two years, but with the game now out of its early access phase, it's time we gave it a proper shake. The RPG is now fully featured, and while some might hand-wave it off as some unholy imitation of Pokémon, the game does enough to stand on its own two feet...
Review NBA 2K23 (PS5) - Not Even Microtransactions Can Ruin Revolutionary Franchise Mode
Find out what all the hoopla is about
NBA 2K23 is absolutely enormous. Look, we know that’s not necessarily what you expected to read: you thought we were going to tell you it’s another copy-and-paste basketball sim from 2K Sports – but this is so much more than a roster swap. The game has age-old issues when it comes to gated progression and...
Mini Review Wayward Strand (PS5) - A Short But Sweet Airborne Adventure
All aboard the airship
A floating hospital with a mystic grandma as a patient? Narrative adventure Wayward Strand offers this and many other mysterious tales to uncover as 15-year-old journalist Casey Beaumaris. Given three days to wander around and write your paper on the flying hospital's history, the game soothes you into the calm and mellow...
Review Disney Dreamlight Valley (PS5) - An Irresistibly Charming Life Sim
Your dreams come true?
You'd be forgiven for taking one look at Disney Dreamlight Valley and writing it off as a microtransaction-laden mobile port designed to occupy your attention in the bathroom. You're presented with a mashup of Disney properties in a cutesy life sim wrapper, and it's developed by a studio that historically has worked on mobile...
Review Train Sim World 3 (PS5) - Dovetail's Best Railway Simulation to Date
We choo-choo choose you
It’s been a year since Train Sim World 2 invited fledgling railway aficionados to master its Rush Hour scenarios on the PS5, making the sudden arrival of sequel Train Sim World 3 more unexpected than a London Northwestern cancellation. With crucial engine and user interface improvements, however, this is the best simulation...
Review F1 Manager 2022 (PS5) – Frontier's Management Sim Takes Pole Position
Stroll in the park
Let's get one thing clear: if you’re searching for a high-speed simulation racer that puts you toe-to-toe with Max Verstappen, F1 Manager 2022 isn’t for you. Marking the first entry in a new F1 Manager series, Frontier Developments takes a different approach from Codemasters’ F1 22, swapping the driver’s seat for the pit...
Mini Review LEGO Brawls (PS5) - An Embarrassing Multiplayer Outing for LEGO
Back in the LEGO bin it goes
For years, LEGO games have carried around a reputation for being quality, kid-friendly titles that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. From classics like LEGO Star Wars to the recent LEGO Builder's Journey, there's hardly a modern LEGO game you can call downright bad. That is, until LEGO Brawls released on consoles,...
Review Steelrising (PS5) - French Souls-Like Is Almost Great
Robotic revolution
After years of mediocre RPGs and second-rate detective titles, Spiders Studio finally began to realise its potential in 2019 with GreedFall. A genuinely good role-playing game with rich world building and solid combat, it was proof the French team had the capabilities to produce something special. Three years and a genre change...
Mini Review The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition (PS4) - New Improvements Can't Fix Everything
Back to work
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition is aptly named, rising from the ashes of the original, short-lived version. While largely the same game you remember from 2016, this iteration ditches the free-to-play structure, introduces new features, and refreshes the experience in various other ways. Whether those changes are enough to make...
Review Madden NFL 23 (PS5) - EA Sports Settles for Another Safe Five Yard Gain
Thanks, coach
The story goes that John Madden refused to sign off on EA Sports’ original football sim until it put 22 players on the field. The rest, of course, is history – and the Madden NFL franchise has been striving for realism ever since. That ambition comes in the form of a few buzzwords this year, including the distinctly marketing-led...
Error error error error error!
A remaster complete with additional features, characters, and combat adjustments, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R remains an excellent adaptation of the popular anime and manga property at its core. The attention to detail is often outstanding, with the game referencing all kinds of interactions and events...
Mini Review Inscryption (PS5) - The Most Unique Game You Will Play All Year
Heart of the cards
Inscryption is one of those games where the less you know the better. A card battling roguelike on first impression, it's what happens outside those duels where the true magic lies. Daniel Mullins has crafted a deceiving title full of layers and surprises; pulling them back and learning how they tick is what makes Inscryption...
Review The Last of Us: Part I (PS5) - A Better, More Beautiful Remake of a Modern Classic
It wasn't for nothing
The Last of Us: Part I feels like how you remember Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed 2013 survival horror, which is both a blessing and a bit of a curse. In many ways, this PS5 re-release blurs the lines between remake and remaster, overhauling the original in almost all areas, without tinkering with what made it so great...
Review Granblue Fantasy Versus - Superbly Crafted Fighter Is a Joy to Play and Behold
Sky's the limit
Republished on Wednesday 31st August 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. A fighting game adaptation of the immensely popular mobile title, Granblue Fantasy Versus stands as yet another shining example of developer Arc...
