Latest Reviews
Mini Review Backbone (PS5) - Escalating Mystery Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
A dog eat dog world
Backbone makes a great first impression. This is a noir, narrative-driven game in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, all living their lives in a dystopian city. Playing as Howard Lotor, a private detective who's barely making ends meet, you take on what appears to be a simple job, but it soon leads you to a much...
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 Youtubers Life 2 (PS4) - Trend Chaser Is Tedious
Swipe left
For many, the concept of Youtubers Life 2 alone will be enough to turn them off. This is a fairly straightforward life sim, which breaks the fourth wall and sees you assume the role of someone who beat predecessor Youtubers Life OMG and is subsequently invited to Newtube City to forge a new career as a social media superstar. You’ll be...
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...
Mini Review Horizon Chase Turbo: Senna Forever (PS4) - An Enjoyable Ode to a Sporting Icon
Super Senna
The career of Ayrton Senna transcends sports. Inspirational and tragic in equal measure, the Brazilian racer’s legacy will forever be etched into the annals of F1 history. Horizon Chase Turbo, the PS1-esque polygonal racer from Aquiris, pays tribute to the São Paulo native in its upbeat Senna Forever expansion – and even contributes...
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...
Mini Review The Caligula Effect 2 (PS4) - Rough but Intriguing JRPG Has a Lot of Cool Ideas
No regrets
If you're on the market for a rather unique Japanese RPG stuffed with reasonably interesting ideas, then The Caligula Effect 2 is certainly worth a look. You play as a high school student who comes to the sudden realisation that the world around them isn't real. In a Matrix-esque twist, it turns out that you're part of a simulation of...
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...
Review Crysis Remastered Trilogy (PS4) - A Franchise with an Identity Crysis
Squid game
Much like our own world, the Crysis universe changed irreversibly in 2020. We had the coronavirus pandemic, Crytek’s trilogy had an invasion of squid-like aliens called the Ceph. As depressing as it is to think the first Crysis represented 2020 as a far-flung future, it’s a wonder the series hasn’t been treated to a remaster until...
Mini Review Actraiser Renaissance (PS4) - SNES Remake Is a Game of Three Thirds
Generous, gabby god game
Praised for being "A Game of Two Halves" in issue two of Super Play, gaming magazines like CVG and Mean Machines were consistent in applauding SNES ActRaiser in the early 1990s for combining two contrasting gameplay styles. This effective structure is preserved in PS4 Actraiser Renaissance, as this remake retains the...
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 PGA Tour 2K21 (PS4) - Sim Will Suit Golf Fans to a Tee
Green screen
Republished on Wednesday 29th September 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. If you’re the type of person who prefers their country parks to have 18 holes, then you’ll no doubt be familiar with The Golf Club series...
Review Mortal Kombat X (PS4) - Get Over Here and Play This Skull-Cracking Fighter
Blood is thicker than water
Republished on Wednesday 29th September 2021: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of October's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Mortal Kombat X knows what it takes to keep you engaged. Cast your mind back to the early 90s, and series creator Ed Boon's garish...
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...