PS5 Game Reviews
Review Visions of Mana (PS5) - Classic RPG Series Returns with Good But Flawed Intentions
Branching out
There's always a degree of trepidation when a classic franchise returns with a brand new release. Down the years, we've seen countless properties attempt to reinvent themselves, either in a bid to reclaim a faded legacy, or to establish a fresh audience. Visions of Mana, however, feels like it's gunning for neither of these goals...
Mini Review Monster Jam Showdown (PS5) - Familiar, Enjoyable Monster Truck Madness
Show off your skills
The Monster Jam series is no stranger on PlayStation, with many entries. However, after Rainbow Studios developed the middling MTX vs ATV Legends, the licence landed with Milestone, which produced the recent Hot Wheels Unleashed series. With Monster Jam Showdown, the studio has brought its experience and racing finesse to the...
Review Concord (PS5) - Live Service Debut Beats the Hate with Stellar Presentation and Good Gameplay
Squad goals
Concord is not the disaster the discourse around it would lead you to believe. This online first-person shooter – a debut effort from Sony studio Firewalk – has outrageous production values, a fair business model, and a genuinely entertaining gameplay loop. Its biggest issue is its lack of identity: there’s no denying the developer...
Review Black Myth: Wukong (PS5) - A Spectacularly Creative Action Romp
Shock the monkey
Black Myth: Wukong is, ultimately, a game about boss fights. Tense, dynamic boss fights that'll have you gawking in awe one minute, and potentially spiking your controller the next. This is a challenging action title — a constant push against increasingly complex and deadly opponents, and there are no difficulty settings to fall...
Rob it Raccoon
Sly Cooper returns! Everyone's favourite kleptomaniac raccoon is finally here on PS5, albeit in port form rather than in a brand new title. Still, we'll take what we can get when it comes to Sly, and so it's a pleasure to see the first game in the series, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, as a PS2 Classic, available for a...
White lies
In White Day 2: The Flower That Tells Lies, you step into the shoes of Korean high-schoolers as they investigate the cause of a fire. The puzzles are challenging and the web of mystery surrounding everything is intriguing, but a lack of direction and several technical issues make the game more frustrating than scary. There are three...
Embalm for the soul
Whether you enjoy claustrophobic horror, or you simply always wanted to work in a morgue (no judgement), The Mortuary Assistant has something for you. Developer Darkstone Digital’s atmospheric puzzler has you engage in the macabre monotony of the embalming process, with added supernatural terror. You play Rebecca Owens, fresh...
Slime to grind
Aside from being a total pain in the arse to type, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Isekai Chronicles is an action RPG based on the popular anime of the same name. The adaptation offers a brief introduction to the source material, before plopping you into one of the property's later story arcs. Those unfamiliar with the...
Mini Review Valorant (PS5) - A Fantastic, One of a Kind Competitive Shooter
For the hardcore
At the end of June, we shared some impressions of Valorant on PS5 after it launched in closed beta. In those thoughts, we said that the game felt "unlike anything else on console" and that "a few more changes feel needed in order to really replicate that PC experience on consoles", but we were looking forward to how Valorant would...
Mini Review Love Is All Around (PS5) - Dumb Dating Sim Is Laugh Out Loud Funny
You love to see it
Gu Yi must be the luckiest man alive. The protagonist of FMV dating sim Love Is All Around is up to his eyeballs in debt, a bit of a creep, and a personality black hole – but he still has a group of drop-dead gorgeous girls competing against each other to pay his bills and invite him to stay in their multi-million dollar homes...
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube153k Watch on YouTube Mini Review Pepper Grinder (PS5) - Sprightly Platformer Is Well-Drilled
Drilling into the detail
What would you do if a load of pirates stole your hard-earned booty and the only tool you could find to get your stuff back was an oversized drill? Well, Pepper Grinder proffers an answer: you'd turn that drill into a sort of weapon-cum-vehicle and chase them down. Over the course of a short runtime, across four worlds that...
Review Cat Quest 3 (PS5) - Fun, Seafaring RPG Doesn't Quite Match Its Pawesome Predecessor
A whisker away
A new entry in The Gentlebros' all-ages action RPG series, Cat Quest 3 opts for a pirate-themed escapade, in which you play as a fearless seafaring feline. In search of a legendary treasure known only as the North Star, you'll explore an open map made up of ocean and islands, often aboard your trusty tub. As we've come to expect, this...
Mini Review CYGNI: All Guns Blazing (PS5) - A Stunning, Short-Lived Shmup
Blazing squad
Konami’s history is steeped in shoot-‘em-ups, from the 1985 arcade classic Gradius to so-called cute-‘em-ups like TwinBee. As the Japanese publisher slowly begins to embrace its past again, it’s picked CYGNI: All Guns Blazing, a nostalgic nod to the blasters of the past – albeit one developed by KeelWorks, a studio based in...
Shonen Jump to a blue square
Given its overwhelming popularity, it’s a surprise there aren’t more alternatives to Mario Party – especially on platforms Nintendo doesn’t support. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sweep the Board! may initially seem like a strange proposition, then, but it fills a niche on the PS5 that no one else has...
Review Tomba! Special Edition (PS5) - PS1 Oddity Remains a Fun, Fresh, and Unique Platformer
Pigs will fly
So, who remembers Tomba!? Also known as Tombi! in Europe, it was a distinctly Japanese platformer that charmed many a PS1 player all the way back in 1997. Often bizarre but almost always bright and cheery, Tomba! offered something very different to the genre's blockbusters, like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro. It was a curious blend of...
Mini Review SteamWorld Heist 2 (PS5) - More Mechanical Tactical Magic
A life of delightment
Ditching the space exploration of the original, SteamWorld Heist 2 is a swashbuckling tactics adventure that places you in the shoes of Captain Leeway. He takes to the Great Sea with his ragtag group of Steambots to solve the water crisis, deal with the oppressive navy making things worse, and prove he can live up to his...
Mini Review Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (PS5) - Retro Remaster Is Faithful to a Fault
I find your abundance of faith endearing
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a remaster of the 2002 action platformer. You play as Jango Fett when he's still a bounty hunter, before the creation of the clone army. He's voiced by his live-action actor, Temuera Morrison, and the story is an interesting and surprisingly funny look into the life of one of the...
Mini Review The Star Named EOS (PS5) - Memories Worth Experiencing
Snapshots in time and space
Heartfelt, poignant stories are more common these days, thanks to more indie games than ever being released. Able to tell stories and make smaller experiences that larger games from big publishers won't touch, they can often be diamonds in the rough. For the most part, The Star Named EOS is one of those diamonds. Across...
Mini Review Deadlink (PS5) - Breakneck Cyberpunk Shooter Is an Absolute Blast
Hell in a shell
If you're a fan of fast and furious, DOOM-esque shooting on PS5, Deadlink earns itself an easy recommendation. This is a cyberpunk-themed blast-'em-up with a roguelite structure, where the goal is to run through preset levels that dish out randomised rewards upon completion. It's frantic, often sweat-inducing fun, held together by...
Mini Review Monster Train (PS5) - Another Addictive Card Game for the Deck
Leaving on a hell train
As heaven threatens to extinguish the flames of Hell once and for all, it's down to you, some demonspawn, and a handful of cards to allay the danger. The stakes are high in Monster Train, a roguelike deckbuilder that throws in a teensy bit of tower defence for good measure. It's a mix that works remarkably well, delivering...
Mini Review Thank Goodness You're Here! (PS5) - An Utterly Ridiculous English Excursion
Reyt good, this
Thank Goodness You're Here! is best experienced knowing as little as possible, but what you should know is that it's one of the most roundly absurd games we've yet played. As a diminutive businessman, you're sent out to meet with the mayor of Barnsworth. Turns out he'll be unavailable for a while, and so, with a few hours to fill,...
Mini Review Exhausted Man (PS5) - Perfect for Putting Yourself to Sleep
Wake me up when it's over
As an adult, being tired is an aspect of everyday life. Everyone has something sapping their energy. Whether it's work, school, or any other circumstance, we’re all just pushing ourselves until we can go to sleep again. That being said, it’s a bit of a surprise to see a full game focused on that subject. Exhausted Man...
Review EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5) - Stunning Sim Worth the 10 Year Wait
She's cheer captain, we're all on the bleachers
While EA Sports College Football 25 is likely to prove an enigma for anyone outside of America, the PS5 game is already well on its way to becoming one of 2024’s best-sellers in the USA. Its release ends a decade-long wait for a new licensed NCAA title, after a protracted legal dispute pertaining to...
Review Earth Defense Force 6 (PS5) - More of the Same Insectoid Mayhem, and We Love It
Kill 'em all... again
Earth Defense Force feels like a relic of a bygone era. An era of arcade shooters with the sole purpose of throwing shapes, colours and sounds in your general direction. Ever since 2003’s Monster Attack, franchise dev Sandlot has gathered a faithful fanbase, who ignore the technical shortcomings and revel in a varied class...
Review Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure (PS5) - This Unique Puzzle Game Never Stands Still
Going on-grid
Jemma is a self-proclaimed mess of a person. Thanks to her unique way of getting around, with all tiles on the same row or column moving in step with her, she's always found it hard to fit in with those around her. Feeling limited by her quiet life among people who don't really understand her, it's no wonder her main goal is to venture...
Mini Review Let's School (PS5) - School Management Sim Fails to Make the Grade
See me after class
Let’s School is a management simulator which will have you rebuilding a school back to its former glory. Once a student of the educational institution and now its headmaster, it only makes sense that the first ever school you manage will be one days away from financial ruin. The game misses out on any humanity by treating the...
Review Nobody Wants to Die (PS5) - Film Noir Meets Cyberpunk in This Stylish Detective Thriller
Who wants to live forever?
What would happen if humans created a way to make death optional by transferring consciousness from one body to another? Nobody Wants to Die answers that question in the most realistic way possible: the rich live forever, and the poor barely live at all. Set in New York in 2329, Nobody Wants To Die tells the story of...
Mini Review Asphalt Legends Unite (PS5) - Over-the-Top Arcade Racer Serves Up Some Free Fun
Simple and silly
The era of outrageous arcade racers is all but dead these days. The likes of Forza Horizon and The Crew Motorfest have picked up the mantle, but we miss the days of sliding our Ferrari F50s around corners at right-angles, with retina burning SEGA blue skies and pumping c*ck rock providing the perfect backdrop. It’d be a criminal...
Mini Review Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (PS5) - Yeah, It's Pretty Good
Use axe to grind
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is the textbook definition of a good video game. You probably won't think of it much after rolling credits, but in the moment, there's enough in its roughly 12-hour campaign for a fulfilling time. A quick hit of comfort food for the Souls-like audience, it succeeds with fun combat and movement abilities...
Mini Review Flock (PS5) - Hohokum Meets Pokémon in Relaxing Collect-'Em-Up
Ready and woollen
If you're looking for a game to just chill out to, Flock will definitely meet that criteria. From the minds behind Hohokum, I Am Dead, and Wilmot's Warehouse, to name a few, this laidback adventure is all about finding and documenting dozens of unusual creatures, and that's more or less it. The open world expands as you progress...
