PS5 Game Reviews
Mini Review Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (PS5) - Remaster Is More of a Trick Than Treat
Camera shy
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water wasn't anything special back in 2015 on Nintendo Wii U, and it's no better six years later. A sub-standard remaster ports the horror title to PlayStation 5 to conveniently coincide with Halloween, but for as creepy as it can be, it's not a particularly enjoyable game to actually play. If we were offered...
Mini Review Gleylancer (PS5) - Solid 1992 Mega Drive Shmup Shines Again
Bust out the Busterhawk for two easy Platinums
From its July 1992 release, Masaya's Gleylancer didn't initially shine as a single player shoot-'em-up. It received a mixed reception, with Issue 2 of Mean Machines SEGA magazine describing it as unoriginal and tedious in a 48/100 scoring review. For years Gleylancer was more renowned for its reputation...
Review Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (PS5) - Faithful Take on the Guardians Really Rocks
Groot work
You never quite know what you're going to get with superhero games nowadays. The likes of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series and the more recent Marvel's Spider-Man are proof famous comic-book faces can set the standard for the industry, but then we all remember how Marvel's Avengers went. Unsurprisingly then, there's some apprehension...
Mini Review The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes (PS5) - The Best Game in the Series So Far
Trapped between Iraq and a hard place
After the crummy Man of Medan and the better-but-not-quite-there Little Hope, The Dark Pictures Anthology has finally started hitting its stride with House of Ashes. Set in Iraq in 2003, the invading United States army is looking for weapons of mass destruction wink wink. Satellite imagery has alerted them to a...
Mini Review The Good Life (PS4) - SWERY's Latest Is Baffling, Broken, and Brilliant
Life is beautiful
In an industry that champions violence and gore, it's always refreshing to play something that favours nature and nurture instead. Sure, punching a goblin in the back of its weird head is great. Cathartic, even. But sometimes, just for a change, it'd be nice to have a lovely wander down a quiet English lane before enjoying a...
Review NHL 22 (PS5) - A New Shine Applied to a Familiar Experience
We've been here before
New console generations can prove rocky for sports franchises: performance issues, bugs, and a reduction in features are routinely guaranteed. Certainly, that's the fate that awaited EA's NHL series when it transitioned to the PlayStation 4 – after all, we still have nightmares about the abysmal NHL 15. Surprisingly, EA...
All aboard the Mugen Train
Given the immense popularity of Demon Slayer, particularly in Japan, it was only a matter of time until it got a video game adaptation. And who better to head the project than CyberConnect2, the talented Japanese studio that crafted the largely fantastic Naruto Ninja Storm series? The studio's flair for adapting anime is...
Mini Review Art of Rally (PS5) - Proof You Don't Need to Reinvent the Wheel
Not a burnout
Not every game needs to reinvent the genre. Sometimes, a game’s hook can be as simple as gently tweaking the preexisting formula. Instead of turning rally racing on its head, Art of Rally uses its great atmosphere to stand out from the crowd. Upon booting up the game, the game grabs the player with its incredible visual style...
Review Far Cry 6 (PS5) - The Best Game in the Series, Sort Of
Chorizo style
If you've played any one of Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, Far Cry 5, or Far Cry: New Dawn, then you already know exactly what to expect from Far Cry 6. Ubisoft is back with yet another course of comfort food in its exotic open world FPS franchise, and this review feels almost inconsequential in its effort to explain what's what for a fifth...
Mini Review KeyWe (PS5) - Two Birdbrains Are Better Than One in Quirky Co-Op Title
Birds of a feather work together
KeyWe has about as left field a premise for a game as we've ever heard, but somehow, this co-op game about running a postal service as a pair of kiwi birds makes it work. Two players control Jeff and Debra, new recruits to the Bungalow Basin telepost station who also happen to be New Zealand's native flightless...
Mini Review Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (PS5) - Sony Potassium 5
Ooh, chimpanzee that, Monkey Reviews
These monkeys have a problem. Well, a succession of problems, really, but the main one is that they've been trapped inside giant spheres for no reason. And they're beloved, these monkeys: since the GameCube days, Super Monkey Ball has been (perhaps bafflingly) popular, with increasingly diminishing returns across...
Mini Review AWAY: The Survival Series (PS5) - Life Finds a Way, Far Away
Sweet and sour
On paper, AWAY: The Survival Series sounds like a really interesting experience. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has died out and only pockets of life remain. You get to play as an adorable young sugar glider who is trying to survive in a dangerous and hostile environment with his family. It all sounds like...
Review Diablo 2: Resurrected (PS5) - This 21-Year Belated Console Debut Still Impresses
From Hell with love
The loot game effect is a creeping obsession with which we all must contend once in a while. Click. Click. Click. Just a few more enemies. Click. Click. Click. Maybe one more dungeon. Click. Click. Click. Might as well run through the entire game again just once more. Click. You get it. You've played games like this, possibly...
Review Jett: The Far Shore (PS5) - Atmospheric Sci-Fi Adventure Ultimately Falls Flat
Nasty weather we're having
Jett: The Far Shore sets a dramatic and grandiose stage. You play as Mei, one among a team that aims to preserve humanity by following the call of the mysterious "hymnwave" to a new world. The game's first moments set an emotional and epic tone as you and your group say goodbye to loved ones, climb aboard a ship, and fall...
Review Alan Wake Remastered (PS5) - Compelling Thriller Derailed by Tedious, Repetitive Combat
Alan Wake-me-up-when-it-gets-to-the-good-bit
Over a decade after the original release, former Xbox exclusive psychological thriller Alan Wake is finally making its way to PlayStation consoles as Alan Wake Remastered. For existing fans, this is an opportunity to soak in the nostalgia and revisit a beloved title from yesteryear, now looking better...
Mini Review A Juggler's Tale (PS5) - Unravel Meets Limbo in Pleasant Platformer
No time to Playdead
The PlayStation Store could be considered overflowing with 2D puzzle platformers at this stage in its lifespan, and yet A Juggler's Tale from developer Kaleidoscube has still managed to find a teeny tiny feature to call its own. It's Punch and Judy come to life, with strings that both save protagonist Abby's life and get in the...
Review Astria Ascending (PS5) - Beautiful 2D RPG Falls Flat
Descending into mediocrity
Astria Ascending is a beautiful hand-drawn RPG set in a vibrant world and has a twisting narrative filled with plenty of sacrifice and betrayal. It’s definitely been influenced by classic Japanese RPGs, which is not a surprise when you consider that some of its development team have previously worked on the Final...
Mini Review Aragami 2 (PS5) - Nin-Jolly Good Stealth Action
What we do in the shadows
It may seem obvious, but stealth games tend to live or die on their clarity. Not just that of your protagonist as they sink their blade into an enemy’s jugular, but of their systems, the rules that govern the whole experience. There’s nothing less enjoyable in a sneak-‘em-up than getting caught without knowing why, so...
Mini Review Nexomon (PS5) - A Cheap and Mostly Cheerful Pokémon Clone
Pocketed monsters
The original Nexomon has arrived on PlayStation consoles, and right off the bat, we can tell you that it's a better monster catching RPG than its strangely structured sequel, Nexomon: Extinction. The original Nexomon has you follow a linear path through its world — much like you would in a traditional Pokémon game — catching...
Review Lost Judgment (PS5) - Immense Side Content Makes Up for Sequel's Surprisingly Sloppy Story
Too cool for school
We absolutely love Judgment — especially on PlayStation 5. Despite being the starting point of a spinoff franchise, we'd go as far to say that it's hands down one of the best Yakuza games — and so its sequel, Lost Judgment, comes saddled with high expectations. There's no doubt that this is a bigger, and arguably more...
Review Death Stranding Director's Cut (PS5) - Kojima's Walking Simulator Is Best on PS5
A long hike
This is a game that needs very little introduction. In 2019, Hideo Kojima returned with Death Stranding on PlayStation 4, and that name alone made the game an important one. As it so happened, the game was unlike anything else released at the time, mostly eschewing violent conflict in favour of a quest to bring people together. While we...
Review Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5) - A Gorgeous Adventure with an Old-School Approach
Hot to Rot
Kena: Bridge of Spirits was positioned by Sony as a key game coming to PlayStation 5. While it's great that the company puts some indie titles on the same level as triple-A experiences, it can sometimes lead to inflated expectations. Developer Ember Lab's debut game has always looked fantastic in the lead up to launch, but does its...
Review NBA 2K22 (PS5) - Basketball Sim Is At Its Best on the Court
That's a rap
For as much as fans complain about annual sports games playing the same, NBA 2K22 genuinely does feel dramatically different. A complete rewrite to the defensive gameplay means no longer can you ghost past 7-foot interior beasts like they’re made of paper, as you’ll have to actually work to engineer open looks and lanes to the...
Review Deathloop (PS5) - Arkane Does It Again in Confident Shooter
Loop Hero
For as much as Deathloop presents itself as a complex game, asking you to work out how to break a time loop upon the island of Blackreef, it's actually a somewhat simple one. Arkane Studios has designed the opening hours of the game it made after Dishonored and PREY to be overwhelming, introducing mechanic after mechanic and sprinting...
Review Lost in Random (PS5) - Quirky Card-Based Adventure Set in a Dark and Gothic World
Time to Even the Odds
The purpose of the EA Originals publishing label is to bring forth unique and memorable experiences from independent studios. Swedish developer Zoink Games has definitely fulfilled the brief with Lost in Random: a card-battling adventure game that feels like it’s stepped straight out of a Tim Burton claymation movie. In the...
Review Life Is Strange: True Colors (PS5) - Lame Story Saved by Great Characters
Chently please
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm has always felt like a well-kept secret; forever playing second fiddle to the two mainline entries that released either side of it, but quietly better than them both. We have Deck Nine Games to thank for that, which now finds itself at the helm of the franchise's next big game as original creator...
Review Tales of Arise (PS5) - A Fantastic JRPG, and the Strongest Tales Game in a Long Time
Blazing a Tale
Big budget, Japanese role-playing games are a rarity these days. Outside of obvious mainstays like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, it's a genre that often has to make do with more cost-efficient production. You either get your breakout hit — like Atlus did with Persona 5 — or you go underappreciated for what feels like an...
Mini Review F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch (PS5) - Awesome Metroidvania Punches Above Its Weight
Show me the bunny
The absurdly titled F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch begins in Torch City; a dirty, dieselpunk dystopia, inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, and a few years prior to the beginning of the game invaded by the robotic Legion and their 'Iron Dog' army. Our hero is a gruff rabbit named Rayton - a former ace pilot in a slump,...
Mini Review Kitaria Fables (PS5) - Charming Animal Adventure Combines Action with Crafting
The cat that crafted the cream
Kitaria Fables is a charming action RPG with an emphasis on crafting of all kinds. It takes place in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic characters, and the whole thing would be incredibly cosy if it wasn't for the fact that monsters roam the countryside. There is a story here — one that involves an empire, the...
Review WRC 10 (PS5) - Rough-Edged But Robust Rally Racing
Don't cut
Developer KT Racing has found its footing with the WRC series. After last year's WRC 9 made significant improvements to the officially licensed rally racer, WRC 10 iterates on the winning formula, presenting another fantastic experience — even if it is a little rough around the edges. The driving itself is of course the most important...