PS4 Game Reviews
Mini Review Signs of the Sojourner (PS4) - Chilled Out, Card-Based Conversations
Play your cards right
Signs of the Sojourner takes the concept of card-based battles and turns it into something much more tranquil. Playing as a travelling shop owner looking to stock shelves with produce from around the country, the game is about meeting a diverse range of characters and engaging in conversations with them. Rather than your usual...
Mini Review Star Renegades (PS4) - Rogue-Lite RPG Is Complex But Compelling
Breaking the timeline
Star Renegades is another rogue-lite indie game, but it differentiates itself in some interesting ways. It's a turn-based RPG where you fight a threat that spans multiple alternate realities with a ragtag group. Sporting a lovely pseudo-3D pixel art style, it certainly looks the part, and its multifaceted gameplay is complex...
Mini Review Kill It with Fire (PS4) - Enjoyable Chaos, But Not Much Bang for Your Bug
Spider-Manslaughter
Kill It with Fire channels your inner arachnophobe and tasks you with exterminating the world’s spiders. You’re armed with everything from a strimmer to a flamethrower in your quest to commit arachnid genocide. You’re also given a selection of non-lethal tools to attract the little blighters or slow them down with a fire...
Mini Review Taxi Chaos (PS4) - Crazy Taxi Clone Is a Write-Off
Lazy taxi
TAXI CHAOS! That could be the name of a game simulating the experience of loitering in a Newcastle taxi rank at 4AM drunkenly nursing a tray of cheesy chips, and if it was, we'd undoubtedly be more excited about it than we are about this game which is just a Crazy Taxi clone. If the game were good we'd perhaps be inclined to call Taxi...
Review Farpoint (PS4) - Basic FPS Papers Over Cracks with Compelling VR Action
Starship gloopers
Republished on Friday, 26th February, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Farpoint is both the most innovative and primitive first-person shooter you’ll play this year. The next tentpole PlayStation VR title, this sci-fi...
Review Yupitergrad (PS4) – A Cheeky VR Platformer That’s a Whole Bundle of Fun
To space, comrades
PlayStation VR games fluctuate wildly when it comes to motion sickness. Some of the simplest ideas can be incredibly disorienting if everything isn’t calibrated perfectly. But what happens when you go to the extreme other end of the spectrum? Yupitergrad is a first-person momentum-based puzzle platformer that takes place on a...
Mini Review Neptunia Virtual Stars (PS4) – 10th Year Anniversary Doesn’t Quite Reach the Stars
Virtually famous
Neptune and the other three goddesses from Gamesindustri are back in a brand new action RPG to celebrate Hyperdimension Neptunia’s 10th anniversary. This time around the characters are transported to Virtualand where they are asked to help save all of the nearby worlds from the nasty villains, called Antis. The story aims to...
Review Little Nightmares II (PS4) - An Artistic Exercise in Trial and Error
Maw than meets the eye
You can’t ignore the LittleBigPlanet in Little Nightmares II. Tarsier Studios may have turned to horror with its eerie 2017 puzzle platformer Little Nightmares, but the Swedish studio’s body of work largely involves Sackboy, and he hangs over this gloomy PlayStation 4 sequel like an ominous shadow. Mono moves like Media...
Mini Review Arrog (PS4) - An Extremely Short But Worthwhile Trip
30 minutes or less
We've typed out nearly as many characters for this review as there are seconds of gameplay in Arrog. Playtime isn't everything, though, and this half-hour long experience is well worth checking out. It's almost impossible to discuss without spoiling things, but this is essentially a bitesize point and click puzzle adventure...
Review Turrican Flashback (PS4) - Four Turrican Thrills in One No-Frills Package
X-Factor 5
16-bit home computer retro games are welcome on the PlayStation 4, especially as there has not been an abundance of Commodore Amiga games available, with a few exceptions being versions of Another World, Flashback, GODS Remastered, and Shadow of the Beast. Therefore, it's particularly pleasing to have the first two classic A
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Mini Review Habroxia 2 (PS4) - Retro Arcade Shooter Will Hold Your Attention
Beam me up
In an industry overloaded with choice, there’s a modesty to Habroxia 2 that’s easy to appreciate. The successor to Lillymo Games retro-inspired arcade shooter humbly thanks you for playing the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita release each time you load it up, and while cynics could hand-wave the gratitude and declare it disingenuous, we get...
Review Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PS4) - Adol's Darkest Adventure Doesn't Quite Hit the Highs of Ys VIII
This cursed city
There's something dodgy going on in the foreboding stone city of Balduq, and seasoned adventurer Adol Christin finds that out the hard way when he's abruptly arrested upon arrival. Our red-haired hero escapes his captors with the help of a mysterious woman, but her assistance comes at a cost. Now saddled with a curse that prevents...
Mini Review Bonkies (PS4) - Co-Op Construction Game Is Simple But Satisfying
Planets and the apes
Think you've played every local co-op game on PlayStation 4? Well, have you built structures in low gravity as an ape with a robotic arm? Didn't think so, but don't worry — Bonkies is here to fulfil that very specific need. Playable alone or up to four-player co-op, this unusual little game puts you in the boots of a...
Mini Review Olija (PS4) - A Lot Achieved with Very Few Pixels
Pronounced "oh-lee-ya"
Devolver Digital continues its love affair with moody pixelated action games with Olija. This one has you exploring a mysterious land after Lord Faraday and his crew are left stranded, and it's your job to find a way back home. Things become complicated once you come across a cursed harpoon that grants a sort of teleport...
Review Concrete Genie - Artsy Exclusive Is Worth Experiencing
Art attack
Republished on Wednesday 27th January, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Of all Sony's in-house developers, Pixelopus perhaps has the most to prove. Its debut game, Entwined, didn't set the world alight, and so its follow-up...
Review Control - Remedy's Return to PlayStation Is Worth the Wait
Take back control
Republished on Wednesday 27th January, 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Control could, and probably should, have been something worth shouting about. It’s been 16 years since Remedy Entertainment last released one of...
Mini Review Memoranda (PS4) - Surreal Point and Click Adventure Inspired by Haruki Murakami
One to remember
Memoranda is inspired by the short stories of renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami and so you can expect plenty of odd characters set in a world that mixes realism with a kind of dreamlike fantasy. You’ll need to help the game’s protagonist, Mizuki, with her crippling insomnia and selective memory problems by pointing and...
"You are incorrigible"
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is finally back after years removed from digital shelves. The 2D beat-'em-up translates the story of the graphic novels and movie well, with each stage culminating with a boss fight against one of Ramona's evil exes. It's a highly entertaining title, but with no real changes in this new...
Review Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Sloppy Story, Fun Puzzle Platforming
Bigger? Check. Better?
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Lara Croft makes one last attempt to prove to us she has what it takes to become the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Taking a backseat as a...
Review GreedFall - Spiders on the Cusp of RPG Greatness
Smooth sailing
Republished on Wednesday 30th December, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2021's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Spiders has been busy this generation. The French developer has released two role-playing titles up to this point: Bound by Flame in 2014, and The...
Review Cyberpunk 2077 (PS4) - The Single Biggest Disappointment of the PS4 Generation
Night Sh*tty
Good God. Over seven years since that first CG trailer, and this is what we get? We always thought that writing this review was going to be difficult, but CD Projekt Red has made it a lot easier than we had ever imagined. Why? Because, as of v1.05, Cyberpunk 2077's a damn mess on PS4, PS4 Pro, and yes, even PS5 via backwards...
Review When the Past Was Around - A Loving Embrace in Game Form
Feed the birds
A gorgeous point-and-click hidden object title, When the Past Was Around packs a lot of emotional engagement into a reasonably small package. You witness a collection of memories – some happy, some not – being revisited by the main character, Eda. Despite the sombre moments being expressed in the title, the game is able to convey...
Review Empire of Sin (PS4) - Gangster Strategy Game Is a Broken Mess
The Sopran-oh-noes
What do you know about multiverse theory? We Wikipedia'd it before writing this review and we played BioShock Infinite a few years ago so we're practically scientists now. From what we've learned there's a good chance that there's alternate universes out there much like ours only different choices made along the way have altered...
Mini Review Monster Sanctuary (PS4) - A Monster Taming Marvel
This one's a Keeper
Here's the elevator pitch for Monster Sanctuary: It's like Pokémon, but it's structured like a Metroidvania. It boasts a reasonably large map of interconnected corridors and rooms, complete with some light puzzle and platforming elements. The world itself is a bit unremarkable, but it's the in-depth and addictive gameplay that...
Mini Review Twin Mirror (PS4) - Yeah, This Exists
Man in the mirror
The more games DONTNOD Entertainment puts out, the more it feels like Life Is Strange really was just a fluke. The developer’s latest effort, titled Twin Mirror, is the worst of the lot as a nonsensical story, flat and uninteresting characters, and poor performance riddle this narrative-based adventure with flaws. Protagonist...
Mini Review Phogs (PS4) - Two Heads Are Better Than One in Cute Puzzle Platformer
Co-pup
Phogs is a deliriously happy game about a double-headed dog. Playable alone or in co-op, the two sides of the conjoined canine are controlled separately, and must work together in a short series of colourful levels. You'll collect bones, eat treats, stretch out, and bark at everything while you solve basic puzzles. It's a very simple game,...
Past, present, future
Already a colossal adventure clocking in at over 100 hours, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age just got even bigger, and, crucially, even better. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition adds to and reshapes the game with new character-driven stories, substantial gameplay features, and more. It's...
Mini Review Esports Life Tycoon (PS4) - Manage Virtual Athletes in Moreish Strategy Game
Repetitive strain injury
With last year’s YouTubers Life, Spanish studio U-Play Online transformed content creation into a kind of arcade strategy game, where your objective was to grow your subscriber count across a variety of different disciplines – from gaming through to cooking. Esports Life Tycoon is a similar sort of experience, marrying...
Mini Review Rocket Arena - Competent Shooter May Be Fun for Free
Quake live
Republished on Wednesday 25th November, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December 2020's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Electronic Arts put out a new PlayStation 4 game earlier this week and there's a pretty good chance you never even knew it existed. Rocket Arena is a 3v3...
Review Just Cause 4 - An Explosive Open World Romp
Just bores
Republished on Wednesday 25th November, 2020: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of December 2020's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. There's moments playing Just Cause 4 when you'll almost certainly find yourself grinning from ear to ear in much the same way that you might watching a...
