PS4 Game Reviews
Mini Review Ebenezer and the Invisible World (PS4) - Gorgeous Metroidvania Burdened by (Bah Hum)bugs
Nightmare before Christmas
Ebenezer and the Invisible World is a 2D Metroidvania-style platformer based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You explore London as Ebenezer Scrooge, on a quest to return the industrial capitalist, Casper Malthus, to his good-natured self after a visit from the Ghosts of Christmas appear to have corrupted him. In...
Mini Review Everhood: Eternity Edition (PS4) - A Truly Unique Musical Adventure
Bizarre hero
Everhood: Eternity Edition takes the cult hit indie game and brings it to PlayStation with some exclusive new battles to master. For those out of the loop, Everhood is an adventure game with disarmingly basic presentation that quickly pulls the rug from under you, subverting your expectations with outrageous visual flair, fantastic...
Lost and bound
The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is an action RPG with platforming elements that started life on the PSP all the way back in 2012. And as is the case with so many of Falcom's lesser-known titles, it was never released outside of Japan. This new PS4 version, then, is a remaster of what some would consider to be a bit of a...
Mini Review The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo (PS4) - A Short Burst of Point & Click Madness
Through the hourglass
The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo is a strange point-and-click adventure game that gives a great first impression with its hand-animated presentation. The titular Mr. Coo finds himself in a surreal, Wonderland-esque realm in which he's unceremoniously chopped into three pieces. All he wanted was an apple. Characters are hand-drawn...
Mini Review Chants of Sennaar (PS4) - A Terrific Translator Puzzler
Get lost in translation
Chants of Sennaar is a language translation-focused, puzzle adventure title from Toulouse, France-based developer Rundisc. You take on the role of a lone traveller that has been foretold will reunite the people of the Tower by translating their dialects and breaking down their language barriers. For eight to 12 hours,...
Mini Review Anonymous;Code (PS4) - Exciting Visual Novel, But Lacks Character Depth
Hacker's paradise
Anonymous;Code is the latest visual novel in the Science Adventure series. It takes place in 2037 Tokyo and focuses on Pollon Takaoka, a young hacker who's part of a group called Nakano Symphonies. Pollon doesn’t particularly enjoy being a hacker and isn’t even that skilled at it, but he does it along with his friend Cross to...
Mini Review Red Dead Redemption (PS4) - Classic Open World Western Deserves Better
There's always a choice
Red Dead Redemption. What a classic. The treacherous tale of former outlaw John Marston helped define the PS3 generation, and the game's storytelling, complete with crazy characters and typically tense western vibes, still holds up today. From the dusty beginnings of Armadillo to the bear-infested forests of Tall Trees, this...
Review Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening Review (PS4) - The Demon King of Owari Rises
No-man's fool
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening is the sixteenth entry in the venerable strategy franchise (which celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year) from Koei and its most accessible yet. While still convoluted compared to even another strategy title of this scale, the love and dedication to Japan’s iconic Sengoku era and the...
Sissel be good
If you like Ace Attorney, you should play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. It's as simple as that. You may already have done so, since the point-n'-click visual novel hybrid originally launched over a decade ago. However, this remaster is the perfect opportunity to either revisit the cult hit on modern hardware, or discover it for the...
Review Amnesia: The Bunker (PS4) - WW1 Terror Marks an Upgrade for Frictional Games
The darkest descent
After effectively pioneering a new type of horror experience in 2010's Amnesia: The Dark Descent, developer Frictional Games hasn't shown much willingness to create something wholly authentic all over again. Two sequels followed the revolutionary original — with a few years of production set aside for SOMA — but with little...
Mini Review The Tartarus Key (PS4) - Quality PS1 Horror All About Puzzles
SAW loser
If games paying tribute to the low poly graphics of the PS1 era are going to be this good, then long may the renaissance continue. The Tartarus Key is a lot like classic Resident Evil without any of the combat or the undead enemies, told from the first-person perspective. You've woken up in a booby-trapped mansion, and a series of...
Mini Review Loop8: Summer of the Gods (PS4) - Shallow RPG With a Repetitive Time Loop Mechanic
Let’s do the time warp again
Part visual novel, part RPG, Loop8: Summer of the Gods is an interesting idea which unfortunately ends up stuck in a bit of a rut. It all starts off well enough, with the game’s protagonist Nini moving to a small town and one of the few safe havens left on Earth. Humanity has been driven to the brink of extinction...
Mini Review Glitch Busters: Stuck on You (PS4) - Co-Op Platforming Shooter Doesn't Stack Up
Stuck on the environment
Glitch Busters: Stuck on You is a one to four player, cooperative, platforming shoot-'em-up from developer Toylogic. In a far-flung future, you play as four AI Tubers that can only be described as emoji-faced Smarties with magnets for legs. They're on a mission to cleanse Interland of Badface's bugs and glitches, with the...
Mini Review Zool Redimensioned (PS4) - Blast from the Past Packs Neat Modern Features
Return of the ninja
Gremlin Interactive has a storied history, dating back to the early days of console gaming. Developing titles for Commodore 64, marshalling the Premiere Manager series through several generations, and later heading to PlayStation (anybody remember cult isometric shooter Loaded and its sequel?) — it's safe to say it has a varied...
Mini Review Nuclear Blaze (PS4) - Short and Basic Pixel Platformer
Fire Starter
Nuclear Blaze is a firefighting, 2D pixel platformer from Sebastien Benard, lead developer and game designer for Dead Cells. As a firefighter, you are tasked with extinguishing an out-of-control forest inferno, but while doing so you stumble upon a mysterious military facility and head inside to uncover the source of the ferocious...
Mini Review Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster (PS4) - One of the Greatest 2D RPGs of All Time
Locke it in
Final Fantasy VI arguably perfected the 2D Final Fantasy formula. Ahead of the series' shift to 3D graphics in Final Fantasy VII, the sixth instalment delivered previously unparalleled drama through breakneck plot pacing and a diverse cast of interesting characters. The storytelling that's so often revered in titles like Final Fantasy IX...
Mini Review Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster (PS4) - Oft Forgotten RPG Deserves Another Chance
V has come to
Final Fantasy V is probably the most overlooked instalment in the mainline series. It didn't come West until years after its original release, and by the time that it finally got a PlayStation port, it had been left in the dust by its genre-defining successors. What's more, V never really received the retroactive attention that was...
Mini Review Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster (PS4) - The Gripping RPG That Rocked Square's Series
Go ahead and jump
Final Fantasy IV is the game that put Square's series on a new path, one that prioritised dramatic, character-driven stories — something that would define the franchise going forward. It tells the twisting tale of Cecil, a skilled knight who starts to question his country's militaristic ambitions. Even 32 years after its initial...
Mini Review Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster (PS4) - Job System Stars in a Solid RPG
Job's a good 'un
Where Final Fantasy II felt like it was really trying to branch away from the original Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III almost feels like a retread of the very first game. In both its storytelling and its core gameplay systems, the third instalment in Square's series has much in common with its progenitor — although it does well...
Mini Review Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster (PS4) - The Best Version of a Flawed Final Fantasy
The Empire strikes back
Final Fantasy II has long been considered one of the weaker mainline entries in Square Enix's series. While it did attempt to push the property forward in terms of storytelling, its intriguing but deeply flawed levelling system has left many a player unimpressed over the years. In Final Fantasy II, you play as a group of...
Mini Review Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (PS4) - Series Originator Is Still Hard to Fault
It wasn't final after all
Ah, the game where it all began. The original Final Fantasy is an incredibly basic (and relatively short) RPG by today's standards, but there's still an inherent charm to its no-nonsense adventuring. It's light versus dark, good versus evil, four heroes standing against the end of the world — and that's just about all...
Review Trails to Azure (PS4) - Amazing Sequel Has Some of Trails' Best Storytelling
SSSpecial
The second and final game in the 'Crossbell' saga, Trails to Azure executes on everything that Trails from Zero meticulously built up. It immediately goes without saying that you simply must play Zero before jumping into this direct sequel — but don't let the daunting prospect of playing two 60-hour RPGs put you off. When viewed as two...
Review Code Vein (PS4) - A Friendlier, Fashion-Conscious Japanese RPG in the Vein of Dark Souls
Cure your thirst
Republished on Wednesday, 1st March, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows. For the first few hours of Code Vein, you don’t really play anything at all. No, instead you create your character. With one of the most robust...
Mini Review WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros (PS4) - Balling Arcade Baseball Costs Less Than a Buck
Swing when you're winning
Konami’s long-running Power Pros franchise – perhaps better known by its Japanese names PawaParu or Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu – has received Western releases in the past, but has generally remained exclusive to Asian territories over the years. The release of WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros is noteworthy because it’s...
Review Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line (PS4) - Solid Rhythm Game Is a Love Letter to a Legendary Series
Kefkaesque
Even if you're a casual observer of Final Fantasy, this isn’t one to miss. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line collects 385 songs (or 402 if you own the Deluxe Edition) across countless Final Fantasy games, spin-offs, movies, and concerts to create the ultimate celebration of the 35 year old franchise. Final Bar Line is the fourth Theatrhythm...
Mini Review Tales of Symphonia Remastered (PS4) - Barebones Remaster Distracts from a Classic RPG
Lloyd Irving, wake up!
Still one of the most highly regarded instalments in Namco's long-running series, Tales of Symphonia could be considered a classic. Indeed, it's easy forget that the game's almost 20 years old — and Tales of Symphonia Remastered shows that the adventure actually holds up surprisingly well. The storytelling's a little...
Review Borderlands 3 (PS5) - Looting and Shooting Is Back and Better Than Ever
Don't forget to like, follow, and obey
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. Borderlands 3 is one of those rare games where you most likely knew if you would be purchasing it or not...
Mini Review Ten Dates (PS4) - A Much Improved Rom-Com Sequel
Seven out of ten dates
Has humanity ever had a worse idea than speed dating? Once you forget all the obviously terrible stuff like biological weapons and motion controls, speed dating must be right up there. Five minutes of pish banter with a person who isn't laughing at any of your killer jokes before you half-heartedly ask for contact information...
Review Mafia: Definitive Edition - This Is How You Do a Remake
Scarf ace
Republished on Wednesday, 1st February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows. After the complete and utter disaster that was Mafia II: Definitive Edition, the only way was up for its prequel. Mafia: Definitive E
Review SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake (PS4) - Old School Platformer Is One for the Fans
You're ready, kids
Aficionados of Nickelodeon's iconic square-panted hero will largely agree Battle for Bikini Bottom is the best SpongeBob game. Nearly two decades later, developer Purple Lamp Studios brought it back with a full remake, and it was clear fans were hungry for something fresh. The team's response is SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic...
