Zen Studios Game Reviews
Review Pinball M (PS5) - A Devilishly Cohesive Horror Pinball Platform
You're already dead
Pinball M launches at a time when creator Zen Studios’ reputation has been dented. For well over a decade now, the Hungarian developer has dominated the virtual pinball market with its beautiful table layouts and feature-packed apps. But this year’s Pinball FX crushed consumer confidence by failing to carry forward previous...
Review Pinball FX (PS5) - Messy Monetisation Overshadows Enormous Pinball Package
Ball save up
You’d think Pinball FX – the rebooted pinball compilation from Hungarian developer Zen Studios – would be the least controversial release of the year, wouldn’t you? But this is the video game industry, and controversy is effectively its middle name. So, the studio has come under intense scrutiny for not allowing owners of its...
Review Mini-Review: Circus Electrique (PS5) - Not Quite The Greatest Show On Earth
Roll up, roll up
Young journalist Amelia has the circus in her blood; her uncle runs the titular Circus Electrique and her mother was a former circus performer who died in an accident ten years prior. Amelia has been given an assignment to report on the reopening of the circus, but disaster strikes as London is plagued with a mysterious incident...
Mini Review Operencia: The Stolen Sun - Old-School Dungeon Crawler with a Modern Feel
Praise the Sun
Zen Studios has crafted a delightful first-person dungeon crawler with Operencia: The Stolen Sun, giving strong nods to classic games such as Wizardry while also putting its own modern spin on things. This is a gorgeous looking game that places as much emphasis on its Central European folklore-inspired story as it does on exploring...
Empty chamber
On paper, Out of Ammo sounds like a good idea – but any positive notions are squashed almost as quickly as the game can boot up. Out of Ammo is a blend of real-time strategy and first-person shooter. You take control of a squad from above and build your base, with the ability to switch and control any individual on the ground at...
Flip the light fantastic
So, has Zen Studios finally settled on a name, then? Pinball FX3 is the successor to Zen Pinball 2, a game which itself was named Pinball FX2 on other platforms. The good news is that despite the adjusted moniker, you can import practically all of your tables from the previous version into this all-new release – although...
Castle crashers
Zen Studios must be contractually obliged to port CastleStorm to every viable platform, because it seems to get around like a king on a crusade. It’s a weird one because the game has never, in this author’s opinion, been all that exciting – but people must enjoy it otherwise it wouldn’t keep popping up like a bad smell...
Review Infinite Minigolf (PS4)
Tiger W∞ds
Infinite Minigolf may be a bad name, but it’s a potentially accurate one. Zen Studios’ follow-up to forgotten PlayStation 3 putt-‘em-up Planet Minigolf is packing some nifty cross-console features, meaning that its pool of user generated courses can be accessed regardless of your system of choice. This means that you could,...
Flipping out for real
You could never accuse developer Zen Studios of being particularly selective about which platforms its pinball titles appear on. Thus, the number of people who'll be surprised to hear Pinball FX2 has arrived on PlayStation VR will probably be close to zero, especially since it provides a rare opportunity to do something a bit...
Review Zen Pinball 2: South Park Pinball (PlayStation 4)
Sweet
Building up its repertoire of table tie-ins, Zen Studios has bizarrely added comedy hit South Park to its post-release Zen Pinball 2 purchasing roster. With two tables on offer in this double pack, does the satirical NSFW show make a successful transition to the more traditional silver ball structure? The staple Super-Sweet Pinball table is...
Review CastleStorm: Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4)
It's reigning Zen
Blurring the line between tower defense and real-time strategy, CastleStorm proved a surprise hit when we reviewed it last year. This time, Zen Studios’ clever mash-up is back on the PlayStation 4, with all of its previous DLC and a few new surprises up its sleeve. But how does this version stack up against the game that we...
Review KickBeat: Special Edition (PlayStation 4)
Kick it into touch
KickBeat: Special Edition is the re-release of Zen Studios’ rhythm fighting game for the PlayStation 4. Now, you may be asking yourself what a rhythm fighting game actually is – or you may not be. Either way, picture a fusion of Mortal Kombat and DJ Hero, and you’ll more or less have the right idea. Sadly, this game sounds...
Review Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within (PlayStation 4)
Sith grade
When Zen Studios started churning out Star Wars pinball tables a couple of years ago, it promised a total of ten would be available by the time that it had finished. So, with the release of its latest quartet of machines – titled Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within – it’s added the remaining four needed to complete the full set, and...
Review Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4)
Zen out of ten?
One of two pinball titles flipping onto the PlayStation 4 prior to Christmas is Zen Pinball 2, a game that previously graced both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. This next-gen version provides gamers with a chance to battle friends and strangers for the highest score on a range of tailor made tables, a number of which bear...
Review CastleStorm (PlayStation 3)
Shocking, in a manner of speaking
Building castles, slaying enemy troops, and launching farting sheep. CastleStorm is built around the idea of both building and destroying castles using a variety of customisable methods. You'll control a massive ballista, which you'll employ to send out a variety of troops, some awesome special attacks, and a...
Review KickBeat (PlayStation Vita)
Fists of melody
The concept of fusing fighting and rhythm games seems so obvious, as the act of combat already has a rhythmic feel to it. Timing is, of course, crucial to both pastimes, with complex moves requiring metronome-like precision, just like the beat of a song. KickBeat, then, is pretty much the perfect marriage of genres, and the Zen...
Review Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 3)
Worth a tilt
Zen Studios sure plays a mean pinball, from Nintendo DS' obscure Flipper Critters through to its Marvel-licenced efforts more recently. With the release of Zen Pinball 2, the developer hopes to unify its past work under one banner for the future. It's a term that's been flipped around a bit for a while, but Zen Pinball 2 is designed as...
Review Marvel Pinball (PlayStation 3)
Marvel Pinball's visual effects and gameplay frills are supported by a strong physics core and generally good table design
Zen Pinball was one of our most played PlayStation Network titles of 2009, so it was with some anticipation we got thrift of Zen Studios' impending Marvel Pinball — a stand-alone catalogue of four new Marvel themed tables...
Review Planet Minigolf (PlayStation 3)
Miniature golf, Move style
We've seen our share of minigolf releases of varying degrees of fun and price released on the assorted console download services offering gamers a few choices to make for their miniature golf fix. This obviously leads to the question of what exactly does Planet Minigolf offer up on PSN that sets it apart from the crowd,...
Review The Punisher: No Mercy (PlayStation 3)
Set in the gritty universe of The Punisher, No Mercy is an arena based shooter built with the Unreal Engine
The game is a multiplayer focused release, providing a single player story and co-op mode tied together with some comic-book style plot where the crux gameplay is still based around arena shoot-outs. There are a range of characters from The...
Review Zen Pinball (PlayStation 3)
Zen Pinball is the latest digital take on the classic past-time, giving players a choice of four tables to compete in a range of different modes
Each table varies in tone to the other; whether it be the automotive "V12" or the Honda advert inspired "Tesla". There's no standout here - each is as glorious as the last with DLC...
