Latest Reviews
Bustin' makes me feel... Okay
By now we all know what horrors lurk in the game-to-movie adaptation genre - it's an stained black spot on our beloved medium’s history. Movie-to-game adaptations, however, aren't quite as consistently terrible - some are quite the opposite. For every instance of shovelware licensing (hello, Spider-Man 3), there are...
Review Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Looter Shooter Comfort Food and Not a Whole Lot More
Moon's haunted
Ever since splitting from Activision, Bungie has been talking a big game. The launch of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep represents the moment where the developer fully embraces the MMO concept, clearly defines its core pillars, and lays the groundwork for a better looter shooter experience. It’s a series of promises that transforms the base...
Review NHL 20 - A Slightly Improved Version of the Same Game
Video game misconduct
Sports games have a tendency to change incrementally year-to-year. This applies to the bigger sports franchises, let alone the smaller ones, which is what NHL 20 falls under. NHL 19 was an absolute disaster of a product, underwhelming in almost every way possible, so it's with optimism that we say this is a step forward, though...
All-in-one
Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is a difficult game to review. Sometimes it's great fun, sometimes it's an incredibly banal but weirdly addictive grind. Other times it's a buggy mess. Our enjoyment of Breakpoint has fluctuated so much over the review period that we had to sit down and carefully consider whether we actually think it's worth...
Review Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - A Great Example of Less Is More
Going batty
Yooka-Laylee was born out of a desire to return to the 3D mascot platformers of the mid-nineties. The initial game by Playtonic, a studio that has several ex-Rare staffers in its ranks, found a degree of success in this mission statement, but it didn't quite measure up to expectations. It's a cutesy, colourful collect-a-thon with nice...
Review Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game - A Golden Return to SEGA's Arcade Origins
Bolt from the blue
It’s nice to know the spirit of SEGA still burns brightly. The legendary Japanese company may have made a conscious transition to PC-based strategy titles in recent years, but Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The Official Video Game sees the organisation make a temporary return back to its Model 3 best. This is an arcade-inspired...
Review Castle Crashers Remastered - This Zany Brawler Is Chaotic, Ridiculous Fun on PS4
Cartoon violence
Castle Crashers Remastered is a pretty straightforward update to the cult hit beat 'em up, but that doesn't mean it's any less fun. The PlayStation 4 re-release has been refreshed with higher resolution visuals and a rock solid, 60 frames per second performance, but it's otherwise the same cartoonish brawler you know and love, warts...
Review Tropico 6 - Dictator Simulator Brings The Goods
It's-a me, Tropico
Tropico 6 is a political strategy game that puts you in control of a tropical island nation, and asks you to maintain power by any and all means necessary. Assassinations, bribes, rigged elections - it's pretty much a Kim Jong-il simulator, only with an irritating-at-first-but-you'll-be-humming-it-later mambo soundtrack. Perhaps...
Review FIFA 20 - Seriously Shoddy Career Mode Almost Results in an Own Goal
Wide of the post
FIFA 20 has three core modes of play: Ultimate Team, Career Mode, and the all-new Volta. However, only one of these modes stands strong as a rock solid time sink -- care to guess which one? If you said anything but Ultimate Team, then you haven't been paying attention. Once again, EA Sports bolsters the mode that makes FIFA one of...
Review Code Vein - A Friendlier, Fashion-Conscious Japanese RPG in the Vein of Dark Souls
Cure your thirst
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 character creators we’ve seen since City of Heroes was a thing, Code Vein lures your inner weeb into a chocolate factory of choice and customisation. Marry this with its anime gothic...
Review Sayonara Wild Hearts - An Emotional Journey Inside a Neon-Filled Music Video
Sayonara bye bye
If you’ve ever been watching a music video, and thought “wow, listening to this is cool, but I wish I could play it,” look no further. A literal emotional journey that takes you through the highs and lows of falling in and out of love, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a vibrant and creative rhythm game. Using tarot cards as a framework...
Review Contra: Rogue Corps - Bargain Bin Isometric Shooter That's Easy to Forget
Corps, blimey
Contra – or the infinitely more extravagant Probotector, as it was originally known in some European territories – is a revered name in video game fame; Contra: Rogue Corps, the franchise’s first non-pachislot outing in almost a decade, does not live up to the property’s illustrious legacy. This artistically inconsistent...
Review MLB The Show 19 - Sony's Flagship Sports Series Keeps Getting Better
The Bryce is right
Republished on Tuesday 24th September 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. With no competition and an unexciting elevator pitch [Poor pun intended – Ed], we were ready to pinch hit on MLB The Show 19 until next...
Review The Last of Us Remastered - Naughty Dog's Masterpiece Is Even Better on PS4
About a girl
Republished on Tuesday 24th September 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Success comes with scepticism. From the second that first-party outfit Naughty Dog’s survival horror experiment The Last of Us was compared...
Review The Surge 2 - Great Combat, Genius Ideas, and One Too Many Issues
Walls of Jericho
Developer Deck 13 is so, so close to putting out a good video game. After failing to capitalize on the clear potential of The Surge, the studio is back with a sequel that is bigger and better in almost every way, but it continues to slightly miss the mark in one too many key areas. The Surge 2 will satisfy those looking for their...
Review Mutazione - A Human Story Told by a Cast of Mutants
Dramatic reading
"Mutant soap opera" is an odd phrase to describe an adventure game, but it does a good job of summing up Mutazione. You play as a young girl named Kai who travels to the titular island to help her grandfather, who has fallen gravely ill. However, once you arrive in the sleepy setting, it's not long before you're introduced to each...
Review Utawarerumono: Zan - A Hack and Slash Retelling That Feels a Little Flat
Fan service
It's not often that we see games get remade in an entirely different genre, but that's essentially what Utawarerumono: Zan is. The Utawarerumono (you better believe we have that name copied and ready to paste) series typically focuses on strategic, turn based and grid based combat, but with Zan, Utawarerumono steps into unfamiliar action...
Review The Sojourn - This First Person Puzzler Is No Walk in the Park
Taking a scroll
The Sojourn seems to have emerged from nowhere, but it's a pleasant surprise. It's a tranquil first person puzzle game that appears to be inspired by The Witness, with a similar art style and attitude to its storytelling. In practice, this puzzler has more in common with Portal; both are about reaching the end goal by cleverly...
Review Borderlands 3 - Looting and Shooting Is Back and Better Than Ever
Don't forget to like, follow, and obey
Borderlands 3 is one of those rare games where you most likely knew if you would be purchasing it or not the moment it was announced. Its unique brand of looting, shooting, and humour divides the room, with those who manage to get a good laugh out of its referential comedy on one side and those who can’t help...
Review Yakuza 3 Remastered - Rough Around the Edges, But Still a Great Yakuza Game
Return of the Dragon
Yakuza 3's infamously slow start sees series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu enjoying a relatively quiet life managing an orphanage on the sunny shoreline of Okinawa -- but it's not long before our hero is dragged into yet another dramatic feud between yakuza clans. Yakuza 3 was an ambitious jump forward for the franchise back in 2009,...
Review Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son - Time-Looping Puzzler Can't Live Up to the Iconic Movie
Phil Connors simulator
In Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son, a virtual reality sorta-sequel to the classic movie, you play as Phil Connors Jr. -- the cocksure son of Bill Murray's character and social media influencer on the rise. He's back in Punxsutawney to see his family and celebrate the unveiling of a statue in his father's honour. It's meant...
Review Bus Simulator - Public Transport Shouldn't Be This Much Fun
On the buses
The simulator sub-genre has become something of a joke, and Bus Simulator seems to recognise that it’s part of the punchline. This cunningly self-aware public transport affair from StillAlive Studios straddles the line between silly and serious, blending arcade action with obsessive attention to detail. It plays a little bit like if...
Review eFootball PES 2020 - Same Shirt, Different Name
If it ain't broke, don't match-fix it
Just when you thought PES was getting old and stale, it gets a new name. That’s right, for a franchise that began as International Superstar Soccer, changed to Pro Evolution Soccer, and sporadically adopted and rejected the name of Winning Eleven, Konami has decided 2020 will mark the new era of eFootball PES...
Review Rebel Cops - Intense Turn-Based Tactical Response
Police brutality
Rebel Cops is what would happen if you crossed Lethal Weapon with XCOM. It’s a hard-boiled cop drama that plays out in isometric, turn-based confrontations between the criminal underworld and the only cops in the town of Ripton that haven’t yet been bought off or slaughtered. Set in the nineties, you’ll foil bank robberies,...
Review AI: The Somnium Files - Top Notch Visual Novel Tainted By Flawed Puzzle Solving
Dream machine
What a weird and wild ride AI: The Somnium Files is. At its heart this is a detective thriller styled as a visual novel, but that basic description sells this consistently bonkers title very, very short. The characters, their interactions with one another, and the world around them are all over the top and comical to some degree, yet...
Review Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered - Level-5’s Masterpiece Is Tidier Than Ever
A whole ‘nother world. Beautiful, en’t it?
Oh, how we could fling superlatives to describe how utterly wonderful Ni no Kuni is. Forgive us, then, for choosing the word tidy. Yes, tidy is the right word to open our review of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered. Not just because this is clearly the tidiest edition of the game so far,...
Review Headspun - A Buggy FMV Adventure with a Decent Story and Little Else
Inside nout
The brain is a complex thing; vast, mysterious, and packed full of drones in ties controlling our thoughts. Or, so says Headspun, a disappointing FMV/management hybrid that has you rebuilding the functions of a man’s mind following an accident. It’s a neat concept, but one marred by glitches, outdated mini-games, and irritatingly...
Review Agatha Knife - A Sweet Natured and Deeply Disturbing Adventure
All the little animals
Agatha is a little girl who loves animals. She also likes to kill them, because stocking her mother’s struggling butcher shop makes her happy. She hates that her furry friends look sad when they face their end. Agatha tries to quell her sadness and insomnia by creating a religion in the hopes of revitalising her mother’s...
Review Smoots Summer Games - Daley Thompson's Decathlon Is Better
Run away
Tokyo 2020 is about a year away and the popsicle section in your local supermarket has likely been scaled back, but that ain’t stopping Smoots Summer Games from bringing some sunshine to the decathlon post season. This ugly sports game looks like it’s stepped straight off a smartphone and into the stadium, but it’s aiming to make you...
Review Blasphemous - An Unholy and Triumphant Metroidvania
King of the castle
Perhaps ‘Dark Souls-vania’ is a bit of an overstatement, but there’s no denying the plethora of influences, both modern and contemporary, in this gorgeously sacrilegious metroidvania. Blasphemous is dripping in grim atmosphere and stuffed full of macabre religious iconography, bloody combat, and enough lore to fill the Old...
