Square Enix Game Reviews
Review Kingdom Hearts III - An Ending Worthy of the Wait
Believe in your hearts
For one group of devotees, Kingdom Hearts III is far and away the most important game of the generation. Announced all the way back at E3 2013, Square Enix’s latest Disney crossover attempts to conclude a story 17 years in the making, while also inviting newcomers along for the ride. The adventures of Sora, Donald Duck, and...
Review Hitman: The Complete First Season - An Exemplary Assassination Sandbox
Phwoar-ty seven
Republished on Wednesday 30th January 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Hitman: Blood Money is the golden standard for IO Interactive's stealth franchise; we can all agree with that. Hitman: The Complete First Season,...
Review Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 - Rules Is Spirited But Slow
Smells like teen spirit
Life Is Strange 2 sure is living up to its name, with the direct sequel to DONTNOD’s surprise episodic smash bumbling under-the-radar like it doesn’t even exist. Since the release of the follow-up’s debut, Roads, popular developer Telltale Games has shut down, and the third instalment in The Walking Dead: The Final...
Maxima-m Greatness
Square Enix celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise way back in 2016 with the release of World of Final Fantasy. The game reconciled the spanning generations of the illustrious and wildly loved RPG series in this celebratory title that flaunted a Poké-esque twist on its typical battle mechanics. The cutesy...
Review The Quiet Man - PS4's Most Baffling Game
Best kept on mute
We wrapped up The Quiet Man's conclusion no less than five minutes ago, and to say we’re baffled and bewildered would be an understatement. The bottom line is that Human Head Studios’ attempt at blending FMV with interactive combat scenes utterly fails in every conceivable way. In fact, everything about this project is truly...
Review Life Is Strange 2 - Episode 1: Roads Is Profoundly Political
A tale of two sons
Life Is Strange 2 is profoundly political, but that shouldn’t be a surprise. This is a tale about two Latino boys travelling across Trump’s America, and it plays out more or less exactly as you’d expect it to. The story’s much more grounded in reality than the original series ever was, and that means that it’s filled to...
Review Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4)
Timeless
For its first few hours Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is happy to just mosey along at its own pace. It's a typically pleasant jaunt through a colourful fantasy world, complete with supremely cute monsters that you whack over the head with big swords, but it's a bit... Boring. It looks lovely and everything's polished, neat, and...
Review The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (PS4)
The kids aren't alright
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a free first glimpse into the extended universe of Life Is Strange 2, which is set to debut later this year. Starring a 10-year-old named Chris several years after the events in Arcadia Bay, the entire episode takes place during a lazy Saturday morning several miles away in a new...
E for excellency
The debut title from developer ThroughLine Games, Forgotton Anne, has been lighting up industry conventions and expos around the world for the past couple of years now, as it attempts to create an experience that goes way beyond the simplicities of a standard 2D platformer. Equipped with an animated art style that has the potential...
Leap of faith
Octahedron isn't quite your regular 2D platformer. The strikingly colourful pixel art doesn't give a whole lot away in screenshots, but there are a couple of key points that afford this clever title a unique flavour. Firstly, you're not heading right, you're heading up. Secondly, and more importantly, you create many of the platforms...
Review Life Is Strange: Before the Storm - Bonus Episode: Farewell (PS4)
Friends reunited
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm’s final episode bids a fond Farewell to Max and Chloe before their story’s even properly began. Set days prior to Miss Caulfield’s departure to Seattle, developer Deck Nine promised this would be a happy send-off for series creator DONTNOD’s beloved teenage pairing. Well, it’ll leave you...
Review Fear Effect Sedna (PS4)
Real-time tragedy
It’s been 17 years since the last Fear Effect game came out, and thinking back, the one thing that always tends to come to mind about the series is the questionable marketing that surrounded the second game. Fear Effect was always touted as a more adult take on the Resident Evil formula, but the way in which Eidos – the...
Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I’m hunting rabites
Secret of Mana is a remake of one of the SNES’ best loved JRPGs. It was widely praised at the time for its fun hack-'n'-slash combat, beautiful music, and vibrant graphics. However this 2018 remake feels like its stripped away some of the magic of the original and instead made its shortcomings much...
Review Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (PS4)
Shut the hell up, kupo
There are few franchises in video gaming quite like Final Fantasy. After three decades, the series has spawned more iconic characters and cities than most other franchises could hope to achieve in twice as long. The appeal, therefore, of a game like Dissidia Final Fantasy NT should be self-explanatory: take a bunch of...
Memory is reconstructive
It's one thing to make a game in the style of a classic 90s role-playing title, but it’s another thing entirely to make one that matches the heart and focus of those beloved titles of yesteryear. Lost Sphear marks Tokyo RPG Factory’s second attempt at rekindling a spark of the past as the developer continues to pump out...
The empire strikes back
An old school Square role-playing game filled with funny looking sprites and turn based tactical battles, Romancing SaGa 2 introduces itself to a new generation on PlayStation 4 and Vita. Unlike Final Fantasy, Romancing SaGa was never able to find its footing here in the West, mainly because we didn't get a...
Review Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)
Divided we fall
Republished on Wednesday 27th December 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Like 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution, new-gen sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a jack of all trades, but a master of none...
Review Life Is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 3: Hell Is Empty (PS4)
Star crossed
Considering that Life Is Strange: Before the Storm's final instalment is all about the consequences lies can have on our lives, we'll be honest from the outset: Hell Is Empty is awkwardly paced. The third and final entry in Deck Nine’s prequel short story feels like it’s got a lot to say, resulting in an episode that tries...
Review Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PS4)
Another drop in the ocean
For a series that has seemingly always lived in the shadow of its publisher’s older siblings, we sure are getting a lot of Star Ocean at the moment; we’ve now had three series entries on PlayStation 4 within the last 18 months. Despite its obvious qualities, the PS2 classic re-release of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time...
Review Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
Carp diem
You know Square Enix spent too much money making Final Fantasy XV when it releases a standalone angling spin-off for PlayStation VR. The Japanese company’s peculiarly malleable role-playing game has cast its net wide, but Monster of the Deep may just be its most successful diversion yet – even if there are inconsistencies in the...
Review Final Fantasy XV: Comrades (PS4)
Inactive Time Battle
Unceremoniously tucked away under the downloadable content option on the game's main menu, Final Fantasy XV: Comrades is a full co-op-based expansion that takes place near the end of Final Fantasy XV's story. Without spoiling anything, it details the events of the world's darkest period, where humanity struggles to survive in a...
Review Life Is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 2: Brave New World (PS4)
What's past is prologue
Life Is Strange, with its unique brand of teen drama, was already a franchise with a very distinctive vibe – but developer Deck Nine has done a great job leaning into that with its prequel side-story Before the Storm. The game’s rip-roaring first episode saw rebellious protagonist Chloe Price playing a role-playing game...
Mist opportunity?
Final Fantasy IX is among of the best, if not the best entry in one of gaming's most illustrious franchises. It's a sweeping tale of adventure, friendship, war, loss, and oglops. It's a role-playing masterpiece produced by a studio that, back in the year 2000, was at the very top of its game. And now, the glorious PSone classic has...
Review Life Is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 1: Awake (PS4)
The Price is right
Despite us never meeting her, Rachel Amber played an enormous role in the inaugural season of DONTNOD’s teen thriller Life Is Strange. Very much the princess of Arcadia Bay, the original five episodes cast her as the coolest girl in school, and while protagonist Max Caulfield was only ever able to meet her vicariously in the...
Review Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto (PS4)
Bullet hell
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto is the second downloadable character episode for Square Enix's action role-playing release. Filling in yet another gaping hole in the main game's story, the two-or-so-hour journey plops you in the snow-filled shoes of Prompto as he attempts to reunite with Noctis and the boys after ending up in a...
A hankering for Scorpio
Republished on Wednesday, 26th July 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August 2017's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Just Cause 3 can be best described as a catalyst for fun. The huge array of tools at your disposal, the sheer size of the...
Review Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (PS4)
Absolute bangaa
Final Fantasy XII has aged very well indeed – and that's not something you can say about a lot of role-playing games that launched over ten years ago. Following on from the admirable remastered collection that is Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster, Square Enix has seen fit to rework one of the most divisive mainline Final Fantasy...
Black magic
The magic of an independent game is that one can come from pretty much nowhere and completely blow you away. Black The Fall, the debut game from developer Sand Sailor Studio that was successfully funded via Kickstarter back in 2014, is a perfect example of that. Pitched as a 2D puzzle platforming game, the title is actually so much more...
Review Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS4 / PS2)
The last hope?
You know you’re playing an older game when you’re forced to use the shoulder buttons to turn the camera. There’s no option to change it to the right analogue stick, either, presumably because that would have meant extra work. It’s a sure-fire sign that Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is just an emulated upscale of the...
Review Life Is Strange: Episode 5 - Polarized (PS4)
Say goodbye to the Strangerhood
Republished on Wednesday, 31st May 2017: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June 2017's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Well, the moment is finally here. After nine months and five episodes, the first season of DONTNOD's Life is Strange has...
