Annapurna Interactive Game Reviews
Mini Review Morsels (PS5) - This Gross Little Roguelike Is Tastier Than It Looks
Pet food
Morsels is one of those roguelike action games that feels impenetrable at first, but once you start learning its obscure language, it becomes more and more rewarding. You play as a mouse trying to fight back against the tyranny of feline overlords, and you do so with mysterious cards that transform you into various strange creatures...
Mini Review LEGO Voyagers (PS5) - A Short and Very Sweet Co-Op Experience
LEGO on an adventure
LEGO Voyagers might be one of the most adorable co-op games you can play, and it manages that with just a few plastic bricks. Only playable in co-op with a second participant (it has Friend's Pass functionality, by the way), this is a short puzzle platformer in which you play a pair of tiny, living LEGO pieces, on a mission to...
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 to a T (PS5) - The Most Joyful Game in the World
You're the perfect shape
It is borderline impossible to play to a T without a beaming smile plastered across your face the entire time. This is one of the most joyous, feel-good games on PS5, and all it takes is a teenager stuck in a permanent T-pose. From the Katamari creator Keita Takahashi and his team at Uvula, the quirky adventure is a bit...
Mini Review Lushfoil Photography Sim (PS5) - Deeply Relaxing Exploration Game Is a Sight to Behold
Oh snap
Sporting a fantastic sense of space and a clear appreciation for all things photographical, Lushfoil Photography Sim is a gorgeous indie escapade that's well worth checking out if you're looking to sit back and relax. The game's split up into a number of explorable locations based on real places of the world. There's no definitive...
Mini Review Wanderstop (PS5) - A Meditative Musing on Mental Health
Turning over a loose leaf
On first appearance, Wanderstop looks like your average wholesome, low-stakes indie game with easy-going objectives and enjoyable, soothing tasks to perform. While the game is exactly that, it layers on top a story that hones in on the central character's mental state, and it's an effective combination. Alta is a fighter...
Mini Review Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (PS5) - Bring a Notebook for This Dense, Compelling Puzzler
Eye caramba
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is one of those games you shouldn't read too much about before playing it. By design, it's packed to the rafters with layers upon layers of puzzles, and discussing this web of head-scratchers — or even its story — would be to undo a little bit of its magic. Initially, all you know is that you've arrived by...
Mini Review Flock (PS5) - Hohokum Meets Pokémon in Relaxing Collect-'Em-Up
Ready and woollen
If you're looking for a game to just chill out to, Flock will definitely meet that criteria. From the minds behind Hohokum, I Am Dead, and Wilmot's Warehouse, to name a few, this laidback adventure is all about finding and documenting dozens of unusual creatures, and that's more or less it. The open world expands as you progress...
Review Open Roads (PS5) - Mother-Daughter Road Trip Is a Leisurely Narrative Cruise
Driving down memory lane
Things haven't been easy for Fullbright, the company that most famously produced Gone Home back in 2013, a slice of indie narrative heaven that won plaudits. After the excellent (but less virally successful) Tacoma in 2017, it's now back with another long-awaited game, Open Roads — except, in fact, the name Fullbright has...
Review Thirsty Suitors (PS5) - An Authentic, Entertaining Tale of Self Discovery
Time to battle some evil exes
In Thirsty Suitors, protagonist Jala has had a bad break-up and moved back to the hometown she left under the shadow of darkness, and back to the people she left high and dry. Realising her allies are few and far between, Jala sets about making amends with her family, while her previous exes show their faces to stir...
Review Cocoon (PS5) - All Killer, No Filler in This Superb Recursive World Puzzler
Marble madness
Geometric Interactive is led by alumni from Playdead, the studio behind Limbo and Inside, and you can really tell. Its debut game, Cocoon, shares a lead gameplay designer in Jeppe Carlsen, and his expertise shines through in one of this year's standout releases — indie or otherwise. With an ingenious concept fuelling its myriad...
Mini Review Neon White (PS5) - First-Person Platformer Is Super Slick
Stairway to heaven
Neon White is an unusual hybrid that works so well in practice, but looks bananas written down. It's a first-person platformer in which guns are also traversal abilities, and it becomes an engaging visual novel in the downtime. The resulting game is slick, stylish, and modern, with its real strength being the compulsion to beat...
Mini Review What Remains of Edith Finch (PS5) – Still Immaculate All These Years Later
If these walls could talk
Back when What Remains of Edith Finch launched in 2017, we awarded it an elusive perfect score, lauding it as one of the greatest walking simulators ever conceived. But that was five years ago. How does it feel to step foot within Giant Sparrow’s lovingly crafted world now? With delight, we can say that the return to the...
Review Stray (PS5) - Atmospheric Adventure Is the Cat's Pyjamas
Feline good
Domestic cats are very funny. While they appear to be proud, graceful, independent creatures, they often destroy that image with erratic behaviour, clumsy movements, and affectionate headbutts. The poor things try so hard to maintain an air of superiority, but they're much more loveable and goofy than they want you to think. Stray, a...
Mini Review The Artful Escape (PS5) – A Visual Treat That's Light on Gameplay
This is button tap
When you first pick up Francis Vendetti’s acoustic guitar, you can tell you’re in store for something crazy. Approached by aliens to perform crazy cosmic rock concerts across the galaxy, The Artful Escape offers a visual feast of wild, cosmic insanity. Nervous about following in the footsteps of your uncle, a folk music icon,...
Mini Review Twelve Minutes (PS5) - Weird Twist Spoils an Otherwise Intriguing Story
Groundhog minutes
Twelve Minutes begins with you getting home to your shoebox-sized apartment after a long day’s work. Your wife has planned a lovely evening for the two of you, complete with romantic candles and your favourite dessert. After a small amount of pleasant chit-chat there’s a knock on the door; a police officer barges in and arrests...
Review Solar Ash (PS5) - Fast, Fluid Platforming Makes for an Entertaining Ride
Rei of hope
When developer Heart Machine decided to venture into 3D for its follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter, it didn't just change the perspective. While the two titles share the same universe, Solar Ash is a very different game in many ways. Essentially, this is a fast-paced platformer that puts the emphasis on movement rather than combat. The end...
Mini Review I Am Dead (PS5) - Posthumous Puzzler Is a Bittersweet Treat
Dead and loving it
I Am Dead is a quirky puzzle adventure game in which you play as Morris Lupton, the deceased curator of a museum in the island town of Shelmerston. It's an unusual premise, but it's one that developer Hollow Ponds pulls off with style and care. A game about tracking down ghosts and learning about inhabitants of the island could've...
Review Last Stop (PS5) - English Escapade Is a Cracker, Innit
Get the London look
Simulating the mundane and ordinary is usually something games give a wide berth. After all, how do you fit bullets and explosions into the run-of-the-mill careers most people use to support their families? It doesn't really work, but then there are those who don't conform to the rules. Virginia developer Variable State is the...
Review Maquette (PS5) - A First-Person Puzzler That's Just a Few Steps from Greatness
It's a small, small world
Maquette is a tricky game to explain in words, but here goes. This first-person puzzler is set in a recursive universe — meaning each iteration of the world contains within it a smaller version of itself. By extension, that means there are ever-larger worlds beyond your reach. It's one of those concepts that's easier to...
Review The Pathless (PS5) - Giant Squid Avoids the Sophomore Slump
They call me the wanderer
Giant Squid Studios’ debut title ABZÛ was a stunning debut for the studio founded by former thatgamecompany art director Matt Nava. Given how great that debut title was, surpassing it was never going to be an easy task. However, the team – with the help of one of the best publishers in the business, Annapurna – has...
Review Telling Lies - FMV Thriller on the Cusp of Greatness
Speech check
As the video game industry begins to accommodate more and more unique experiences, what we define as interactive entertainment expands. This is largely thanks to the boom in independent development over the past two generations, which as a result, has given rise to select genres once assumed dead. Full-motion video is just one example,...
Review Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition - An Adventure Unlike Anything Else in Video Games
Long journey home
Once in a while, you stumble upon a game that absolutely blows you away. Maybe the graphics set a new industry standard, maybe it’s really funny, or maybe it’s evocative of a mood you didn’t know you wanted in a game until it hit you. This is where dev Cardboard Computer comes in, with its fascinating journey more than seven...
Review Wattam - Katamari Creator Returns with Another Gleefully Weird Playground on PS4
Kaboom it
The most common question we see about Wattam is quite a big one: what is it, and what do you do? You may be surprised to learn that the answer is pretty straightforward. This is a game helmed by Katamari creator Keita Takahashi, so a degree of whimsical weirdness is to be expected. However, as with his other games, all the bright colours...
Mini Review Ashen - One of the Best Souls-Likes Around
Ruined beauty
After a year of exclusivity, one of 2018’s best indie titles has finally been given its chance to shine by way of a glorious PlayStation 4 port. Ashen is a Souls-like in every sense of the word, but it’s one of the few which comes close to matching the quality of From Software. With a gorgeous open world to explore and deep,...
Review Outer Wilds - An Engaging, Open Ended Sci-Fi Mystery
The great unknown
Rather than making space an endless slog to explore, Mobius Digital has condensed its starry sandbox down to a handful of small planets packed with secrets. Outer Wilds is an open ended sci-fi title with a time-twisting mystery at its heart, and it manages to do a lot with a little. It might take some getting used to, but this is a...
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 What Remains of Edith Finch - A Melancholic Masterpiece
This old house
Republished on Wednesday 1st May 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. It's been five long years since developer Giant Sparrow released its debut title The Unfinished Swan. We absolutely adored that game when it launched, giving...
Raccoon City
How many developers can say their game was inspired by a tweet from a parody Twitter account? Donut County's central premise of controlling a hole in the ground and swallowing up objects is wonderfully novel, and has resulted in a game that's more entertaining than you'd think. In the best possible way, it's one of the silliest...
Goro-go and buy this game
Have you ever played one of those games where it became immediately apparent that you had something special on your hands? Something so good that it may well fundamentally change the manner in which you play and think about games? Well this is Gorogoa. And it just so happens to be one of those games. Publisher Annapurna...
