PS5 Game Reviews
Smokin' hot psychogun
Originally inspired by Buichi Terasawa’s intergalactic action manga from the late 1970s, Space Cobra (or Space Adventure Cobra) was a 1982 anime series involving an adventurer named Cobra who found himself at the centre of all kinds of intergalactic battles. While relatively niche these days, the effort’s distinctive sense...
Review Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (PS5) - A Gorgeous, Triumphant Return for SEGA's Ninja Series
Ankou very much
SEGA's fan favourite Shinobi series is one that casts a long shadow, dating all the way back to the late eighties. Despite several beloved entries in the franchise, it's been sitting dormant since 2011, but that's all changed with the arrival of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. This brand new game, from the studio behind Streets of Rage 4...
Mini Review Discounty (PS5) - Shop 'Til You Drop in This Addictive Life Sim
Store-dew Valley
When it comes to the 2D pixel art cozy genre that Stardew Valley has owned over nearly the last decade, there are a ton of imitators. In the case of Discounty, we've got that focus on becoming part of a community mixed with addictive supermarket management that really stands out in this crowd. All of it comes together to make an...
Review Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (PS5) - The Best Version of an Undisputed Classic
What a thrill
As the lines between what constitutes a remake and a remaster become increasingly blurred, Konami and Virtuos have come along with the new definition of what a pure remake represents. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the most faithful, most loyal, most dedicated recreation of its source text since the Nintendo GameCube remake of...
Review Sword of the Sea (PS5) - Stunning Journey-Like Is a PS Plus Extra Hall of Famer
Surf's up
Giant Squid is one of the best developers in the biz when it comes to crafting beautifully breezy indie adventures. Sword of the Sea, its latest outing, will never escape the obvious Journey comparisons, but it still stands tall as the team's most refined game to date. Without wanting to strip the title of its elegance, Sword of the Sea...
Mini Review Heretic + Hexen (PS5) - Dark Fantasy Shooters Righteously Resurrected
Watch your profanity
First released in 1994, Heretic took DOOM's DNA and put a dark fantasy twist on it. A year later, Hexen took the reimagining further, opting for less linear level design, and sprinkling in a bit of RPG flavour by offering the player three different classes to choose from — warrior, cleric, and mage — each with their own...
Mini Review Hello Kitty Island Adventure (PS5) - Purrfectly Cosy, Slightly Clawed
Sanrio magic meets island life
Hello Kitty Island Adventure is finally available to play on the PS5. The game (whose title was presumably inspired by South Park almost 20 years ago) originally released on Apple Arcade in 2023 and then on PC and Switch last January. A mixture between a cosy life simulator and an adventure game, the player helps...
Review Mafia: The Old Country (PS5) - Historical Crime Story Runs Out of Ammo
An offer you maybe can refuse
At a time when games take the best part of a decade to make, Mafia: The Old Country presents an antidote with a more streamlined, story-focused single player campaign. Unfortunately, it also demonstrates the potential pitfalls of a project like this, with a largely repetitive romp that somehow manages to outstay its...
Mini Review Gradius Origins (PS5) - Impressive Collection Bundles Classics with Brand New Title
How did you get this far?
Gradius Origins is a seriously impressive package. Not only does it include six classic shoot 'em up titles — the original Gradius trilogy, two Salamander games, Life Force, and regional variants — but it includes the first brand new Salamander title in nearly 30 years. Salamander is, of course, the spinoff series of...
Review Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced (PS5) - Cinematic Spectacle Offers Little Else
I hear voices in my head
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is a game that’s not particularly good in a traditional sense, yet is still worth playing through. Picking up where the 2017 original left off, it’s a sequel that doubles down on the best and worst features of that first experience, leaning into cinematic storytelling, outstanding visuals,...
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Review Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PS5) - A Throwback Worthy of the Hayabusa Name
Clan of attack
The Ninja Gaiden series has been around for a long time, and it's changed a lot, moving from 2D action platforming to full-on, big budget, 3D adventures. While many will know the franchise from these later hack-and-slashers, the most recent entry, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, winds back the clock, taking us back to its side-scrolling...
Mini Review Time Flies (PS5) - You'll Get a Buzz from This Silly Insect Excursion
Living your pest life
Time Flies is a short but sweet adventure game about making the most of your life on planet Earth — even if it only lasts a matter of seconds. Playing as a common fly, the game detects your real-world location and uses that country's average life expectancy to determine the length of your fly's life in seconds. You can...
Review Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles 2 (PS5) - A Cut Above
Hashira highlights
Anime-themed arena brawlers have generally become a bad joke in the console space, largely due to their lazy adaptation of the source material and overall low quality. The wordy Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles from CyberConnect2 bucked this trend, though, leveraging the Japanese developer’s trademark...
Mini Review Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game (PS5) - One Cosy Game to Bore Them All
A half-baked Hobbit's life
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is a cosy Hobbit life simulator by Weta Workshop, set in the idyllic world of The Shire from JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. After creating your own character, you arrive in Bywater, but despite living in an epic fantasy world, swords are of no use here and your biggest...
Review Ready or Not (PS5) - Disturbing Co-Op Shooter Is a Tactical Must-Play
"Here I come"
Ready or Not is a slow-paced, uber-tactical first-person shooter. It’s a super serious PC release that’s finally made its way to PS5, offering up a darker and grittier co-op experience than anything else currently on the market. But does that mean it’s worth your time? While Ready Or Not won’t be for everyone, for us there’s...
Review Wheel World (PS5) - Open World Cycling Sim Is a Joy When It Isn't Chugging Along
On yer bike
Wheel World is an open world cycling title with a clear love for all things biking. While it's more of an arcade racer than some sort of bicycle simulator, it manages to capture the joys of pedalling like very few other games have. You play as the comically unbothered Kat, a silent protagonist who sets out on a quest to help Skully —...
Mini Review Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
Wu chang clan
The demands for fewer Souls-likes in the gaming release calendar make quite a lot of sense when they're as formulaic and familiar as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. From developer Leenzee, the debut effort is a mostly competent attempt at a Dark Souls experience, but it doesn't do nearly enough to stand out from its many, many peers...
Mini Review Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact (PS5) - Shonen Showdown Falls Short
Right idea, wrong budget
Hallelujah, praise the anime gods! Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact is a manga adaptation that’s not your average arena brawler, but instead an actual fighting game. Not only that but publisher Bushiroad has recruited Marvel vs Capcom 3 dev Eighting to transform the oft-on-hiatus shonen story into a three-on-three brawler...
Mini Review Golden Tee Arcade Classics (PS5) - Nostalgic Novelty Misses the Sweet Spot
All fore one
It’s perhaps a symbol of the current retro game boom that Golden Tee Arcade Classics exists at all. That’s not a slight, by the way – it’s just remarkable that these trackball titles, often nestled between claw machines in American sports bars and restaurants, now exist in fully playable form on a home console like the PS5. For...
Mini Review The Wandering Village (PS5) - A Colossally Good City Builder
Onbu we go
Set atop a colossal beast called an Onbu, The Wandering Village takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where poisonous spores have wiped out the world as we know it. Originally released on Steam in 2022, the popular city building simulation has now released on PS5. The Onbu itself is made up of different terrain where inhabitants can...
Review Shadow Labyrinth (PS5) - Pac-Man Meets Metroid in Strange Offshoot That Almost Works
Maze runner
Pac-Man has always been at home within mazes full of enemies trying to kill you, so the move to a Metroidvania doesn't feel like that big of a leap. Having said that, Shadow Labyrinth takes Bandai Namco's 45-year-old mascot in a wild new direction, placing him in a dark, sci-fi world that the casual onlooker may not realise is related to...
Review RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business (PS5) - Standalone Mini-Sequel Just Misses the Mark
Fun in the gun
When RoboCop's beloved police precinct is ransacked by a mysterious mercenary company, he has no choice but to hit up their hideout and put down the population of a small country. RoboCop: Rogue City is back, and it's still good fun — for the most part. Unfinished Business is basically a mini-sequel. It's actually entirely separate...
Review EDENS ZERO (PS5) - Breezy Anime Adaptation Is a Fun, Forgettable Action RPG
Happy space
If we had to use one word to describe EDENS ZERO, it would be 'basic' — but we don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. This is a very straightforward adaptation of the sci-fi manga and anime series, retelling the source material's plot across a rather rudimentary action RPG structure. Fortunately, if you're not familiar with...
Mini Review Patapon 1+2 Replay (PS5) - The Best Versions of Two PSP Classics in One Package
Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon
The PS4 remasters of Patapon and Patapon 2 did a sufficient job of reintroducing people to the quirky PSP rhythm titles where you direct tribes of warriors to the beat, but they definitely had their share of problems. Input lag and muddy textures put a dampener on the initial attempt. Bandai Namco has taken a mulligan here,...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PS5) - An Imperfect Remake, But a Great Skateboarding Game
Memory gap
A few years ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 brought back the iconic skateboarding series in fine form, presenting the first two games remade and in one package. It was so successful in what it set out to do that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 uses practically the exact same template. While the end result is another fantastic arcade...
Ghost in the machine
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is Nightdive Studio's tribute to the hugely influential 1994 original. Offering a much-needed technical upgrade, along with a bevvy of extras, System Shock 2 is still an impressive game, even if some of its forward-thinking mechanics feel quite quaint three decades later. Originally...
Mini Review Missile Command Delta (PS5) - A Radically Different But Successful Series Reboot
Top bunker
Missile Command Delta is a big departure from the original game that Atari fans are familiar with, and while we're sure purists won't enjoy the drastic changes, this modern spin brings the concept forward in a refreshing and imaginative way. A group of adventurous teenagers plans to spend the night in a creepy, disused bunker, only to...
Mini Review Anger Foot (PS5) - Chaotic Kick-'Em-Up Satisfies from Head to Toe
Foot you
You may have seen Anger Foot described as a first-person Hotline Miami — and that's probably a good comparison to, er, kick things off. Playing as the titular Anger Foot himself, you'll kick and shoot your way through the superbly named Shit City in search of your beloved sneakers. It's an unapologetically punk setting where just about...
Mini Review Into the Restless Ruins (PS5) - An Inventive Spin on Roguelike Dungeon Crawling
Deck of halls
Roguelike dungeon crawlers and deck builders are prolific these days, but many of them manage to stand out in one way or another despite sharing some similar elements. Into the Restless Ruins does just that by splicing the worlds of dungeon-delving and card-collecting together, the result being a unique, clever game where you literally...
Mini Review Ruffy and the Riverside (PS5) - A Cute Platformer with Missed Potential
Roughy
Ruffy and the Riverside has always looked rather striking with its 2D characters in a colourful 3D world, and while its aesthetic is a strength, the game itself doesn't really match it. This is an open-ended 3D platformer with a unique swap mechanic, which lets you copy certain textures and apply them to other objects — turning water into...
