Square Enix Game Reviews
Review Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4)
Royal rumble
It's time to dust off those slime-smacking weapons, because Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force is back for another stab at Square Enix's beloved Dragon Quest franchise. Once again, the Japanese studio offers up a colourful action role-playing game stuffed with charm and content. And as is usually the case with an Omega Force sequel,...
Review Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (PS4)
The keyblade to your heart
Not much more can be said of the venerable role-playing series born of two media giants and now more talked about for its mythical third instalment (it's coming guys, it has to be). Over the course of the last few years, Square Enix has retooled and repackaged the entire Kingdom Hearts canon, bundling the games into HD...
Review Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus (PS4)
All muscle
Final Fantasy XV's first real slice of downloadable content, Episode Gladiolus details a part of the story from the main game that was left frustratingly vague. A decent way into the adventure, burly bodyguard Gladiolus - Gladio for short - up and leaves the party with little explanation. He comes back later brandishing a fresh scar on...
Review Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - A Criminal Past (PS4)
Playboy
The entirety of A Criminal Past is set in the Penthouse, a sophisticated, maximum security prison for augmented ne'er-do-wells. It's a perfect location for a Deus Ex playground: there are tons of restricted areas, guards, security cameras, and turrets all begging to be sneaked past, exploited, and eliminated. The DLC is set between Human...
Too good 2B true
We'll probably never write a harder review. NieR: Automata is an enigma: a game with such contempt for convention that we can't even talk about two-thirds of it without spoiling the surprises that await you. This is a game that defies all expectations, flourishing with frequent playthroughs and building to a crescendo that breaks...
Review A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV (PS4)
King Regis takes to the Streets of Rage
Final Fantasy XV is anything but straightforward, both in terms of its development and how it's been presented and released to the public. The Kingsglaive movie felt like a mandatory aspect of the main game – a separately packaged alternative to the traditional Final Fantasy opening sequence, and an...
Review Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (PS4)
A sight for Sora eyes
It's baffling to consider that a new Kingdom Hearts hasn't been released on consoles in over a decade. The series' sappy emotion, bizarre juxtaposition of characters, and overly convoluted story may drive many away, but there's a stirring magic and innocence to it all that has never waned on us. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final...
Go download this game
In an industry so focused on creating ever larger and more expansive experiences, there's something to be said about the power of focus. Lara Croft Go is a title that's not focused on wowing the player with a billion different features that create the illusion of depth, instead opting for a simplified, handcrafted feel that...
Shut up and drive
Final Fantasy XV is mostly a game about four guys driving around in a car. Sometimes, they get out and kill monsters. Other times, they don't want to drive at night and seek shelter around a nearby campfire, where they look over photographs and recall their journey so far. Lead character Noctis can be stubborn, moody, and lazy...
Review Hitman: Episode 6 - Hokkaido (PS4)
Peak
So, it's all over: seven months in the making, Hitman is finally finished and all episodes are released. From the heights of stunning Sapienza to the lows of crummy Colorado, it's certainly been a journey – but does Hokkaido end up being a fitting swansong to an excellent game or a bad note to end on? We say, wholeheartedly, the former...
Review World of Final Fantasy (PS4)
Stacked
Billed as an accessible spin-off based on Square Enix's beloved role-playing property, World of Final Fantasy is a colourful and buoyant game with an emphasis on collecting and battling monsters. Featuring critters and characters from past Final Fantasy titles, existing fans of the series will get more out of the experience, but the game's...
Review Dragon Quest Builders (PS4)
New kid on the block
As far as world-building block-'em-ups go, Dragon Quest Builders has to be the most charming example of the genre that we've played. Perhaps that's to be expected of the long running property – which, throughout its many incarnations, has always been a delight to experience – but the Dragon Quest skin lends itself...
Review Hitman: Episode 5 - Colorado (PS4)
ColoRad
It's safe to say that Hitman has been excellent so far, but despite the variety of locations, every mission has been similar in that they've all been set in largely public places. The latest level – set in a militia-held apricot farm in rural Colorado – takes the game in a different direction, focusing more on stealth than previous...
Review Hitman: Episode 4 - Bangkok (PS4)
Too many Kooks
Like milk and cookies, fish and chips, and a copy of Ride to Hell: Retribution and the nearest volcano, hotels and Hitman go together very well. There's something about the maze of rooms, the abundance of staff, and the classy yet clandestine nature of these establishments that always make good missions for Agent 47, and the episodic...
Snow and steady
There's a real demand for more traditional Japanese role-playing games these days - experiences that call back to a time when turn based battles ruled and world maps were explored via airship. I Am Setsuna attempts to recapture that magic of the classic RPG, channelling the spirit of older Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest titles. It's a...
Review Adventures of Mana (PS Vita)
Magic moment
If you're on the market for an old school action role-playing game that'll keep you reasonably entertained for a good few hours, you can't really go wrong with Adventures of Mana. Released on mobile devices earlier this year, it's a remake of Game Boy title Final Fantasy Adventure – or Mystic Quest as it was known in Europe. Despite...
Review Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (PS4)
Lacking integrity?
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness gets off to a bad start. Text-based tutorials greet you from the off, and you're quickly shuttled from one place to another with very little reasoning or context. Early on you'll realise that this game wants things to move quickly, and this only becomes clearer as you progress through the...
Review Hitman: Episode 3 - Marrakesh (PS4)
Don't Morocco the boat
The beauty, complexity, and atmospheric brilliance of Sapienza was always going to be a tough act to follow for IO Interactive, but the bustling Moroccan city of Marrakesh provides ample room for innovation in this month's new episode of Hitman. With crowded markets, labyrinthine streets, and plenty of interiors to explore,...
Review Hitman: Episode 2 - Sapienza (PS4)
Bellisimo
The quiet, picturesque Italian seafront town of Sapienza is a retiree's dream. Bathed in sun, the cobbled streets are full of cafés, trattorias, and street performers – not to mention the diamond blue sea, and the quaint old church that sits next to it. How strange, then, that for all its serenity, Sapienza works exceptionally well as...
Review Just Cause 3: Sky Fortress (PS4)
Wingsuitably insane
One of the best things about Just Cause 3 was its traversal. Sure, there were cars to drive, planes to fly, and boats to... float (?), but when it came down to getting from A-to-B quickly, the ultra-responsive wingsuit was always the best answer. It felt perfectly weighted – tinkered with to the highest degree in order to make...
Review Hitman: Intro Pack (PS4)
Making a killing
When Hitman's release schedule was revealed, a lot of people weren't happy about its episodic nature. Many fans feared that the game would be a massive disappointment akin to the likes of Hitman Absolution, but that is most definitely not the case. On the surface, the Intro Pack may seem a bit steep at its £11.99/$14.99 price –...
Review Hitman Go: Definitive Edition (PS4)
Dio-drama
For a hit to go off successfully, assassins need to work with clockwork efficiency. Hitman Go: Definitive Edition, the PlayStation 4 and Vita port of Square Enix Montreal's mobile spin-off, takes that idea literally, polishing the shiny scalp of cold-blooded killer Agent 47 like it's made of resin – because, well, in this interpretation...
Review Final Fantasy VII (PS4)
All 7 fever
The game that made Final Fantasy a household name, Final Fantasy VII is now available on the PlayStation 4. Originally released in 1997, this is a straight port of the enhanced PC version, which boasts slightly better visuals and some tweaked dialogue. What's more, the title's return to PlayStation allows for full Trophy support, and...
Review Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PS4)
Prime slime
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is a name that we don't want to write more than once in this review. It's also the name of a very fun action role-playing game that sees the massively popular Japanese franchise step away from traditional turn-based battles and adopt a gameplay approach that's more akin to...
Review Life Is Strange: Episode 4 - Dark Room (PS4)
Dark side of the moons
French developer DONTNOD really kicked things into overdrive with the third episode of Life Is Strange. While the first two episodes were certainly divisive – even amongst the staff here - it would be hard to argue that the series wasn't in the process of carving out its own niche. Episode three was where proceedings truly...
Review Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PS4)
Just like heaven
Final Fantasy XIV has a history of improvement. Since its initial launch, it's already gone through a major revision titled A Realm Reborn, but now we're ready for its first expansion, Heavensward. Welcome to Ishgard, frozen battleground between knights and dragons. Since the cliff-hanger ending in patch v2.55, players have been...
Review Life Is Strange: Episode 3 - Chaos Theory (PlayStation 4)
Life is beautiful
Life Is Strange: Episode 3 – Chaos Theory marks the third of five planned story instalments in Remember Me developer DONTNOD's divisive high school story. We had our fair share of problems with the first two episodes, but left the door open for the developer to truly deliver on the glimpses of promise that it had shown thus far...
Review Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster (PlayStation 4)
Love in high definition
Spira's a colourful and inviting world, and it looks great on the PlayStation 4. The setting of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, it's a land that mixes nature, strange architecture, and ancient machinery, and it always feels interesting and engaging as a result. Indeed, the two titles that make up this remaster still...
Review Life Is Strange: Episode 2 - Out of Time (PlayStation 4)
Boyhood: The Game
On the surface, DONTNOD's divisive Life Is Strange seems to have a lot in common with Richard Linklater's Boyhood in tone and feel. Sure, there's the heavy sci-fi underpinning and a city with plenty of dark secrets – in a Twin Peaks kind of way – but it retains the feel that the aforementioned flick captured by incorporating...
Review Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PlayStation 4)
Emotion sickness
Final Fantasy Type-0 is a PlayStation Portable title that never made it outside of Japan, much to the dismay of many overseas fans. Boasting real time, action-packed combat and a mission-based structure, it's an example of the franchise stepping out of its comfort zone with a project that's not entirely what we've come to expect. In...
