Latest Reviews
Review Ghost of Tsushima - One of the Greatest Open World Games of the Generation
Ghost with the most
When the Mongol Empire invaded the Japanese island of Tsushima in 1274, the occupation was nothing short of a massacre. The Mongol army had no reason to respect the island's samurai and their desire for traditional, honourable warfare, and so the natives were quickly and decisively overwhelmed. It was a brutal and bloody chapter...
Mini Review CrossCode - Fast-Paced Action RPG with Beauty and Brains
A game within a game, within a game
CrossCode is a fast-paced action-RPG for those who love old-school style adventures. It’s set in the distant future where MMO’s are played with physical avatars that get to run around in a sort of high tech theme park, complete with large dungeons to explore and NPCs giving out quests to every hero willing to...
Review F1 2020 - More Complete Than the Real Thing
Simulating
2020 has been hurtling down the grid in turbulent air. You know something’s gone awry when Codemasters release the latest in its annual Formula 1 series in line with the beginning of the real F1 season. Usually the developer’s fashionably late; this year, thanks to a worldwide pandemic delaying the start of the season, it’s...
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...
Mini Review Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 & 2 - A Basic Trip Down Memory Lane
Double trouble
Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 and 2 bring back classics in two separate collections, each offering 11 games. Titles originate from both arcade and home console, and span an acceptable range of genres, as well as including its most famous IPs, such as Pac-Man and Galaga. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both volumes lean into the shmup genre...
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 Rise of the Tomb Raider - Another Great Adventure with Lara Croft
There's no place like home
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. The most controversial exclusivity deal since the Xbox 360 release of Final Fantasy XIII is over: Rise of the Tomb Raider has finally launched on...
Review NBA 2K20 - Brilliant Basketball Sim Soured by Businessmen
Tank for Zion
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. There has to be tensions at NBA 2K20 developer Visual Concepts behind-the-scenes. We’re not ones to gossip, but the California-based team must be frustrated...
Mini Review Star Wars Episode I: Racer – This Old Favourite Still Has Some Magic
This is in fact Podracing
Star Wars Episode I: Racer is a downright classic. Launching on the N64 and PC nearly 20 years ago, the game was a brilliant realisation of one of the most compelling scenes from the deservedly lambasted The Phantom Menace. That doesn’t necessarily mean it would stand the test of the time, but luckily -- and with the help...
Review SpongeBob Rehydrated - Battle for Bikini Bottom Remake Is Rough and Ready Fun
Doing the Sponge
Say what you like about SpongeBob SquarePants, but there's a reason it's still one of Nickelodeon's most popular shows. The cartoon starring a yellow sea sponge and his starfish best friend is delightfully daft, and the first few seasons are full of ingenious episodes with genuinely funny writing. At the height of its popularity in...
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...
Review Disintegration - Squad-Based Tactical FPS from Halo Co-Creator Unfortunately Misses the Mark
Robot Wars
Marcus Lehto was the creative art director at Bungie for 15 years. During that time he helped create and grow Halo, a series that’s arguably as influential in the FPS arena as DOOM, Half-Life, or Call of Duty. Breaking away from Bungie in 2012 to form independent studio V1 Interactive, he began work on Disintegration, intending to...
Mini Review The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor - Return Trip to Skyrim Is Another Decent Adventure
Hey, you're finally awake
The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor is the MMO's big expansion for 2020. As with previous 'Chapters', players get access to a whole new zone that's yours to explore, complete with a new storyline, new quests, new dungeons, and fresh activities. It's yet another solid outing for those already invested in The Elder Scrolls...
Review Beyond Blue - An Ocean Exploration Sim with a Surprising Amount Below the Surface
The underwater world is your oyster
Following on from the likes of Endless Ocean and Subnautica, Beyond Blue is an underwater exploration game in which you control a human diver. That diver is Mirai and, along with a team of fellow marine scientists, it’s her job to investigate various underwater landscapes with the hope of better understanding...
Review Desperados III - Sneaky Cowboy RTS Mostly Delivers
Tactical Western? This is the best 'un
Desperados III doesn't have much competition for the title of best cowboy-themed real-time tactical stealth game on the PlayStation 4, but that doesn't mean developer Mimimi Games is happy to take the accolade by default. This is a well crafted strategy game and one that is easy to recommend to fans of the...
Mini Review Evan's Remains - Pretty Puzzler Has a Story Worth Telling
Lust for life
The puzzle-platformer and visual novel genres probably couldn't be further apart from one another, but Evan's Remains is proof that the two can live in harmony. While it is by no means perfect, Maitan69 Studios' first major title is one well worth experiencing if you have even a passing interest in either style of game. Told entirely...
Mini Review Project Warlock - A Slick Homage to the Retro FPS
The 90s are back, baby
Over 25 years after Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM blasted it into the mainstream, the 90s FPS is revived by Project Warlock, a slick genre homage that benefits from modern improvements that make it near impossible to put down. Such additions include a between-level workshop where RPG upgrade points can be used to improve stats,...
Mini Review 1971 Project Helios - A Tactical Title with an Interesting World
Don't get frostbite
A turn-based strategy game that takes a few pages out of XCOM’s book, 1971 Project Helios is a pretty solid excursion if you’re looking for a few hours of distraction. Presenting a post-apocalyptic world coated in ice and snow, you guide a collection of interesting characters through hordes of enemies to rescue a scientist...
Mini Review Monstrum - A Procedural Game of Horror Hide and Seek
Don't even breathe
Monstrum crafts a genuinely frightening game of procedurally generated hide and seek. As you awaken on a derelict cargo ship and explore its halls, it quickly becomes apparent something else is there with you. Monstrum falls under the run-and-hide genre of horror titles, giving you relatively little with which to defend yourself...
Review Ion Fury – The Shooter Throwback You Didn’t Know You Wanted
Keep strafing
Ion Fury, from developer Voidpoint, has quite the interesting story. Running on a modified version of the Build Engine -- most famously used for Duke Nukem 3D -- Ion Fury is the first commercial release made with Build in 21 years. So it's with some degree of trepidation that we wade into a shooter running on 20-year-old tech. But is...
Mini Review Those Who Remain - Horror Has Never Been This Dull
As above, so below
Those Who Remain is almost everything the horror genre has tried to get away from for the past couple of years. With gameplay that teeters between mundane, aimless puzzle-solving and the hide and seek loop which put Outlast on the map, this experience feels dated the moment it releases. It doesn't do anything terrible -- it's just...
Review Star Wars Battlefront 2 - Disappointing Campaign Is Bested By Entertaining Multiplayer
Iden Versi-oh no
Republished on Monday 28th May 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Star Wars Battlefront 2 has had quite the journey to release, hasn’t it? From the promise of more and better content at its E3 showing to the whole
Review Call of Duty: WWII - Safe FPS Is Still a Solid Historical Shooter
Right as Rhine?
Republished on Monday 28th May 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Each Call of Duty since Modern Warfare 2 has put the player in higher positions of power. Whether you’re the unspoken, do-it-all he
Review Mafia II: Definitive Edition - There's Nothing Definitive About This Awful Remaster
Throw away the key
Mafia II deserves better than this. Originally released for PlayStation 3 in 2010, it was by no means the greatest of its time. However, ten years later, anything the game got right has been thwarted by the technical disaster that is Mafia II: Definitive Edition. This remaster fails on all fronts. From an atrociously bad frame...
Review Maneater - Underwater Far Cry Is Fintastic
Get in the sea
Far Cry’s formula may be feeling a little shallow these days, but Maneater breathes new sealife into the open world collectathon concept by setting its action underwater – and putting you in control of a bloodthirsty shark. This moreish aquatic action RPG is a modern incarnation of PlayStation 2 cult classic Jaws Unleashed, and...
That one was for you, Johnny
Hearing Troy Baker shout "get the **** out of here!" as you punch a policeman square in his privates is still pretty funny. In fact, Saints Row The Third in general is still pretty funny -- at least, some of the time. The game's almost nine years old, yet Saints Row The Third Remastered is a welcome reminder of just how...
Review Gorn - A Satisfying, Comically Violent PSVR Brawler
Are you not entertained?
Gorn is one of those games you can describe in just a few words. It's a VR beat-'em-up where you engage gormless gladiators in a bloody fight to the death. That's kind of it, really, but that simple concept makes for a more engaging experience than you might think. One of virtual reality's first success stories on PC...
Mini Review Concept Destruction - Destruction Derby with Cardboard Cars
Crash dummies
Concept Destruction’s name tells you much of what you need to know about this pen-and-paper PlayStation 4 racer. It’s a combat game inspired by PS1’s legendary Destruction Derby, and it’s effectively a proof of concept. In many ways this feels like half a game, as you smash your way through Drawn to Death-esque arenas,...
Review Mafia III - Gripping Presentation Marred by Repetitive Missions
An offer you might want to refuse
Republished on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of Mafia III: Definitive Edition. The original text follows. 1968 was a turbulent year in United States history. With both the Vietnam War in full swing, and the assassination of Martin Luther King...
Review Mafia II - Stunning Period Setting Undone Only by Restrictive Open World
Godfatherly love
Republished on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of Mafia II: Definitive Edition. The original text follows. Protagonist Vito Scaletta is a typical mobster: he's a criminal, a low-life, and a murderer -- but you can't help but fall in love with him. Despite being...
