Techland Game Reviews
Review Dying Light: The Beast (PS5) - The Series at Its Best
Beasty Boys
Dying Light: The Beast is the DLC turned full-blown release from Polish developer Techland. Technically the third entry in a zombie-killing franchise that debuted a decade ago, The Beast brings back original protagonist Kyle Crane, tosses him into a new setting of Castor Woods, and dials up the horror for something much more aligned with...
Review Dying Light 2 (PS5) - Good Sequel Hurt by Expectation
Mirror's undead
Sequels are a tricky thing to handle. Do you iterate slightly and deliver more of what fans loved the first time around, or reach for the stars with new ways to play and mechanics? Both approaches work, but Dying Light 2 finds itself in the strange situation where it was pitched as the latter but actually resembles the former...
Review Arise: A Simple Story - Time Manipulation Strengthens the Beauty of Simplicity
Back to the future
Spanish developer Piccolo Studio's debut title is one that wears its heart on its sleeve. Pitched from the outset as an uncomplicated experience, it embraces that nature to tantalizing effect with a collection of levels that is sure to pull on even the tightest of heartstrings. It's a game that refuses to dabble in complex...
Review Pure Farming 2018 (PS4)
Corny
The mainstream success of the farming genre may be attributed directly to a certain YouTube video showing tractors breakdancing to dubstep, but agricultural adventures are big business these days. Case in point: Techland’s Pure Farming 2018 is the latest in a long line of pretenders attempting to cull Giants Software’s ripened crown. But...
Review Dead Island: Definitive Collection (PS4)
Six feet under
Arriving as one of the more unexpected remasters of the year, Dead Island: Definitive Collection sets out to resurrect the popularity of the series in the run up to its troubled second instalment. The question is: has the series already been buried too deep for this remaster to restore its reputation? The collection certainly offers...
Review Dying Light: The Following (PS4)
Not that sort of buggy
Released a little over a year ago, Dying Light turned out to be a satisfyingly brutal zombie murder sim that eschewed a lot of what you expect from such titles. By making speed and evasion stronger weapons than any of the sharp objects that you acquired, when you were stuck at ground level you couldn't help but feel incredibly...
Review Dying Light (PlayStation 4)
Run to the kills
Unlike a zombie bite, Dying Light gets better with time. You'll feel a little underpowered during the undead-'em-up's opening exchanges, but as you gradually cross quests off your multiplying mission log and sink your teeth into the title's story, Polish developer Techland's parkour-inspired escapade really comes into its own. This...
Review Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (PlayStation 3)
Once upon a time
Ditching the divisive Call of Juarez: The Cartel's modern-day setting, and sauntering into the Wild West once again, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is a real return to form for Techland's underrated series. Boasting over-the-top arcade action, stripped back weapons of yore, and a Tarantino-inspired visual style, this downloadable...
Review Dead Island: Riptide (PlayStation 3)
Better off dead
Dead Island: Riptide brings you back to the unfortunate backdrop of the Banoi archipelago where 2011’s flawed Dead Island left off. The infection has spread to a neighbouring island, forcing the four survivors of the previous game and one newcomer (John, a rude ex-soldier) to try and make it through another tropical apocalypse. As...
Review Mad Riders (PlayStation 3)
You drive me crazy
A title like Mad Riders conjures up all sorts of wild possibilities. Alas, you might be disappointed to discover that this game does not, in fact, involve racing rollerskate-wearing elephants down rainbow highways, nor does it include oversized hammers to swipe at foes. It's actually a rocket-powered ATV racer, the promised...
Review Dead Island (PlayStation 3)
Holiday of the dead
Developer Techland is beginning to make a name for itself as a progressive, forward-thinking studio with some lofty ideas but not enough resources to realise them. Dead Island does not buck the developer's burgeoning trend. Part Borderlands, part Fallout, part Diablo, Dead Island is an inventive first person survival horror with...
Review Call of Juarez: The Cartel (PlayStation 3)
There are some great ideas in Call Of Juarez: The Cartel, but misdirection and sloppy execution let the package down
While the game's emphasis on mindless action can be thrilling at times, a slew of technical mishaps lessen the appeal of the title's more bombastic moments. Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood was one of our favourite games of 2009...
Did you know that ATV stands for all-terrain vehicle? If nail'd is to be believed, thin-air is a form of terrain
As the title's improper spelling suggests, this is a game made by people who spent their youth listening to Papa Roach records and drawing tattoo designs on their food technology exercise books. nail'd is the very definition of the phrase...
Review Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood (PlayStation 3)
Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood is the prequel to the similarly titled XBOX 360 release
It follows the early lives of brothers Ray and Thomas McCall, soldiers for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. The tale of the McCall's is told via Tarantino style time-leaps, an inviting technique which leaves the plot open to a lot of twists along the...
