Tag: Mini Reviews - Page 6
An AI for an Eye
AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative [Good grief - Ed] is the sequel to the 2019 detective-themed adventure game and things are just as crazy and weird as ever. This time around you play as a detective called Ryuki as he tries to solve a series of gruesome murders known as the Half Body Serial Killings. Ryuki is a rookie but...
Mini Review Gravitar: Recharged (PS5) - Good Glow Up for Iconic 80s Atari Shooter
It pulls you in
For as infuriating as it is to play today, no one could label Atari’s 1982 intergalactic excursion Gravitar – also known as Lunar Battle – as unambitious. Utilising the same “rotate-and-thrust” control system as the iconic Asteroids, designer Mike Hally – making his debut – added real gameplay depth, allowing you to...
Mini Review Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PS5) - Basic Upgrade for a Great Game
Bayou glow up
Of the three recent Resident Evil PS5 upgrades, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the most interesting. While the original PS4 version had very little in the way of graphical issues, it was the first title to utilise Capcom's RE Engine. The publisher really stepped up its game in later iterations (Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3), and...
Mini Review Final Vendetta (PS5) - Brutal Beat-'Em-Up Will Kick Your Ass
Oh my car
To be honest, there’s something comforting about a game that knows exactly what it is and who it’s aimed at. Final Vendetta doesn’t pull any punches: there’s been a kidnapping, and the title’s trio of rough-and-ready heroes are here to save the day. Replace notorious gang Syndic8 with the Mad Gear and you’ve basically got a...
Mini Review Resident Evil 3 (PS5) - Disappointing Remake Looks and Runs Much Better
Nemesis Inferno
Ah, Resident Evil 3. A PS5 version isn't going to restore all that cut content, but at least the game looks and runs better on Sony's new system. Just like Resident Evil 2, Capcom hasn't exactly pushed the boat out in terms of enhancing its remake of the underappreciated 1999 title. However, there's little to really complain about:...
Mini Review Super Perils of Baking (PS5) - Charming Old School Platformer Rises to the Occasion
Hell Soufflé
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, People of all gender persuasions, Cats and dogs and goldfish too, You join us on quite the occasion. We're here today for a Push Square first, A review written entirely in rhyme, A review for Super Perils of Baking, A two dimensional good time. The story of Super Perils of Baking, Is told in...
Mini Review Pac-Man Museum+ (PS4) - Meaty Compilation Provides Plenty to Chew On
Don't ghost it
Ignore all the Ms. Pac-Man legal issues – awkward! – and it’s hard to imagine Pac-Man Museum+ being much more comprehensive than it is. There are absentees, of course – long-time power pill poppers may lament the lack of, say, Pac-Man World from the PS1 – but across 14 titles, you’re effectively getting the career...
Mini Review Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (PS5) - Featuring Absolutely No Trace of Doug
Nicked from Nintendo
Republished on Wednesday 1st June 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of June's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. This is the best Super Smash Bros. clone we have ever played. Let’s lead with that, because it’s absolutely true. Developer Ludosity has turned in...
Mini Review Silt (PS5) - Deep-Sea Diving at a Premium Quality
Swim with the fishes
It's estimated roughly 80 per cent of the Earth's oceans remain unexplored, and Silt revels in that. An underwater puzzler from indie newcomer Spiral Circus, its outstanding visuals and unsettling sound design set the scene for a fascinating deep-sea dive into the unknown. You play as one such snorkeler, who has the power to...
Mini Review Cotton Fantasy (PS4) - The Shoot-'Em-Up Fan's Cute-'Em-Up
A tea-rrific time, or too much Silk cut?
You wait ages for a Cotton game, and then six arrive on PS4 at once, celebrating the series' 30th anniversary in 2021. Welcome to the Fairyland, where developer Studio Saizensen has in the cauldron boiled and baked Cotton Fantasy: Superlative Night Dreams (Cotton Rock 'n' Roll in Japan) as an all-star...
Mini Review A Monster's Expedition (PS5) - Chill Out with This Relaxing and Intelligent Puzzler
Logging on
All good puzzle games are built upon a simple, singular idea, and A Monster's Expedition is a perfect example of that philosophy. This game is all about pushing down trees and moving the logs in order to cross to the next island. However, doing so can be much tougher than that sounds, as developer Draknek & Friends gradually, and...
Mini Review Salt and Sacrifice (PS5) - Change Isn't Always Good in This Disappointing Sequel
We got salty, alright
We all played Salt and Sanctuary, right? It was a solid two-dimensional 'Soulsborne' style action RPG, with a high difficulty level but a strong sense of balance and consistent feeling of progress. Enthusiasm, then, was somewhat prevalent for this sequel, Salt and Sacrifice. Unfortunately, we're a little disappointed with this...
Transylvanian Families
Vampires get a bit of a bad rap, we think. Thanks to a few rotten apples like Dracula and Kristen Stewart we've grown accustomed to seeing vampires as insidious creatures of the night, but there's lots of fun vampires, too. Count Duckula, for example, and the one from Sesame Street that goes "Ah-ah-ah!" Anyway, what we're...
Mini Review Unpacking (PS5) - Making Chores Fun
What’s in the box? What’s in the box?!
Unpacking’s title marvellously — and succinctly — informs you of what to expect. You inhabit the life of a young woman across a number of years, living in her shoes solely through unboxing her worldly possessions. One year you might be decorating your college dorm room, the next moving back home to...
Mini Review Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (PS5) - Attractive Action RPG Struggles to Rise Above
On Runebarrowed time
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising acts as something of a prologue to the crowdfunded Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which is aiming for a 2023 release on PS5 and PS4. It's a side-scrolling action RPG with an emphasis on character-switching combat, but it also dabbles in Metroidvania-esque exploration and even town building. An...
Mini Review This War of Mine: Final Cut (PS5) - Sombre Survival Hits Hard
War, what is it good for?
Originally released on PC in 2019 for the original game’s fifth anniversary, the acclaimed survival game This War Of Mine: Final Cut has been repackaged in a for new-gen consoles. Hitting PS5s with remastered versions of the original and DLC locations, This War of Mine gives a harrowing and to the point view of war from...
Mini Review The House of the Dead: Remake (PS4) - Faithful Arcade Recreation Is a Bit of a Misfire
Goodbye, Curien
Playing the likes of Point Blank and Time Crisis on PS1 was a novelty unlike any other. Bringing these predominantly arcade experiences, often replicated immaculately, into your living room felt incredible at the time – especially if you were lucky enough to own a G-CON 45 or any of its alternatives. That magic was often enough to...
Mini Review Samurai Bringer (PS4) - The Price Is Right for This Randomised Roguelike
Bring it
Samurai Bringer exceeded our expectations. It's a fairly simple roguelike at its core, tasking you with hacking and slashing through procedurally generated stages. But in its skill system, which promotes a near ridiculous level of experimentation, Samurai Bringer can flourish into something that's seriously addictive. Defeated enemies drop...
Mini Review Chernobylite (PS5) - This Dark, Oppressive Survival Shooter Radiates Quality
Exclusion Zone, Act 1
Survival is difficult enough as it is, but doing so within the heavily irradiated grounds of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone? That's a whole different kettle of fish, and you don't even have a kettle in Chernobylite. Or, indeed, any fish. And you're also able to open wormholes and travel through time in order to change the past...
Mini Review The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (PS5) - A Surreal, Hilarious Trip into Madness
Meta quest
Reviewing The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is borderline impossible. Not without spoiling everything that makes the game so unique, at least. We'll do our best, but know that this is absolutely one of those things you should experience with no prior knowledge. Frankly, you should probably stop reading this and just play it for yourself...
Mini Review Curse of the Dead Gods (PS4) - Dungeon Crawler Lights the Way with Unique Mechanics
A curse and a blessing
Republished on Wednesday 27th April 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of May's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. In Curse of the Dead Gods, you explore randomly generated maps in a cursed dungeon. Light is your best friend, as you take more damage in the dark...
Mini Review Ganryu 2 (PS4) - A Brutal Tribute to Retro Side-Scrolling Action
Die by the sword
Ganryu 2 is an often brutally tough side-scrolling action title — the kind of game that harkens back to a simpler time when we'd be willing to smash our head off the hardest of challenges over and over again because we didn't know any better. And in that sense, this is a truly faithful sequel to the original Ganryu, which released...
Mini Review Road 96 (PS5) - Political Trek Gets Our Vote
My way or the highway
At the height of an intense, fictional presidential election, Road 96 is about both escape and discovery. Procedurally generated scenarios dictate your objective to leave the country by crossing its northern border, but the characters you meet along the way make those journeys fruitful ones. While repetition does start to creep...
Mini Review Lake (PS5) - Mail Sim Stuck Between First and Second Class
Still better than Hermes
Death Stranding may not be considered the instigator of a new genre just yet, but the earnest mailing simulators roll on. Lake, from developer Gamious, is a much more grounded attempt at replicating the career path. There are the usual letters and parcels to deliver, and you interact with actual humans instead of holograms...
Mini Review Nobody Saves the World (PS5) - Fun, Unique Premise Shines Through the Cracks
Spoiler: Somebody does, in fact, save the world
Esteemed readers of Push Square, we present to you the first game review produced entirely through random generation. Quench. Sycamore. Lithe admonishment. Right, done. Seven out of 10. Hang on, that wasn't very satisfying, was it? See, that's the issue with anything randomly generated — it's about...
Mini Review Slipstream (PS4) - OutRun 2022 Makes a Real Splash Wave
More than a Passing Breeze
Back in the mid-1980s, video game veteran Yu Suzuki went on a short sabbatical around Europe, researching the exotic backdrops for stylish arcade smash, OutRun. Almost three decades later, the series’ distinctive blue skies and sparkling oceans have become something of a racing sub-genre; much like WipEout, there’s a...
Mini Review Agent Intercept (PS5) - Modern Spy Hunter Is Shallow But Satisfying Fun
Mission absolutely possible
Agent Intercept is an extremely accessible game, but that's not to say it doesn't deliver some thrills and spills. This modern, Spy Hunter-esque title is an easy breezy good time that aims to put a smile on your face, and we'd say that's mission accomplished. Gameplay is very basic; you simply steer, boost and drift with...
Mini Review Paradise Killer (PS5) - A Wild Murder Mystery That Puts the Player in Charge
Nani the hell?
The core conceit of Paradise Killer is so brilliant and yet so simple: the player dictates how the whodunnit story plays out. This first person adventure title drops you into a fantastical island setting where you must solve a mass murder, but the responsibility rests with you. There's little guidance — you simply need to explore...
Mini Review ANNO: Mutationem (PS5) - Cyberpunk Adventure Is More Style Than Substance
Pixelated puddles
ANNO: Mutationem has always looked good, with its mix of pixelated characters and 3D environments. The question was, could it deliver an engaging experience to match that style? It sort of does, but it has a few too many rough edges. The game is a mix of two quite different parts. There's 3D adventure gameplay, in which you...
Mini Review Submerged: Hidden Depths (PS5) - Perfectly Fine Boaty Exploration
Keep Rowin' Rowin' Rowin' Rowin'
Submerged: Hidden Depths is a fine game. It's not fine as in a fine wine, nor is it fine like the little dog from the meme sat in his burning house saying, "This is fine." Submerged is fine fine. It's neither impressive nor offensive, never quite boring but almost certainly not exciting. There's nothing here that...
Mini Review A Musical Story (PS5) - A Charming Debut Rhythm Title with a Whole Lot of Heart
Movin' right along
A Musical Story is exactly what the title suggests. This debut release from French indie dev Glee-Cheese Studio depicts the journey of an upstart band on its way to perform at Pinewood. While it’s a rhythm game, things are presented with more of a visual novel flair, with individual chapters and vignettes inching you closer to...
Mini Review Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden (PS4) - Reshuffled RPG Is Largely the Same
Another round?
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is a bit like playing a tabletop game with a slightly altered deck; there are some noticeable differences, but you're ultimately still playing the same thing. This follow-up to The Isle Dragon Roars is extremely similar for the most part — including its faults — but small gameplay changes and a...
Mini Review Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual (PSVR) - Middling Ideas Propped Up by a Great Script
All Max'd out
The first brand new Sam & Max game since 2010 sees the famed duo welcoming a new recruit: you. To make sure you’re up to snuff, Sam and Max put you through a series trials as you prove your worth to the freelance police. The trials wind up being a series of minigames at an abandoned amusement park and periodically, you get...
Mini Review Edge of Eternity (PS5) – An Ambitious But Disjointed RPG
Down with the sickness
A war is raging on Heryon between an alien race and the native population, and from the opening moments of the game it’s obvious that things have not been going so well for the locals. Edge of Eternity’s protagonist, Daryon, is a young soldier who ends up deserting after his whole squadron is wiped out. He decides to...
Dicey Dungeons (& Dragons)
Republished on Wednesday 26th January, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2022's PS Plus lineup. The original text follows. Just in time to gear us up for the 2022 launch of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, one of the best Borderlands expansions ever is back to dazzle...
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 Among Us (PS5) - Social Deduction Sensation Is Best with Buddies
Sus'
Among Us is fashionably late to the PlayStation party. The game – which became a social sensation a couple of years back – has largely waned in popularity since exploding on streaming sites like Twitch, but with a price point less than a skinny latte and full crossplay compatibility, is there anything sus’ about this overdue port? Well,...
Mini Review Cricket 22: The Official Game of the Ashes - Not Bad But Won't Bowl You Over
A not-so sticky wicket
Ah, cricket. It’s a sport so steeped in tradition that when Australia and England come to blows, they compete not over silverware but a small urn. Cricket 22 has released just in time for the Ashes, and if Big Ant Studios was banking on an exciting series to drive sales for six, well, it’ll be scratching its head watching...
Mini Review Praey for the Gods (PS5) - A Commendable But Heavily Flawed Take on a Classic
A shadow of its inspiration
Praey for the Gods will no doubt look instantly familiar to PlayStation veterans. Developed by No Matter Studios, the team has always been open about the game's stark similarities to Shadow of the Colossus, one of Sony's most iconic games. It largely follows the same structure, tasking you with traversing a frozen...
Mini Review Aeterna Noctis (PS5) - A Solid Yet Familiar Metroidvania
Nothing hollow about this
Right away, Aeterna Noctis feels familiar. With its grim, dirty visuals, melancholy music, and deadly enemies, the overall vibe of the game is remarkably similar to Hollow Knight. There’s a temptation to label Aeterna Noctis as an overly safe homage to its inspiration and call it a day, but thankfully there’s enough...
Mini Review Gynoug (PS5) - Another Ratalaika 16-Bit Shmup with Two Easy Platinums
He's not the Masaya, he's a very Wor-ty boy
A distinctive art style can elevate a retro game into becoming engraved in our memories, for example many shoot-'em-up fans vividly remember the visual design of the Bydo Empire, with its biomechanical theme, and bosses like Dobkeratops as a defining part of R-Type. In 1991 magazines, like Issue 113 of...
Mini Review Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon (PS4) - A Puzzlingly Great Spin-Off
For Shovelry!
If you’re hoping for a platformer like Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, you won’t find it here. For Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon, Yacht Club Games and VINE have created a falling block puzzle game with roguelite elements. Working as a sequel/spin-off, Shovel Knight’s been transported into the Pocket Dungeon after encountering a...
Mini Review Serious Sam 4 (PS5) - Mental Breakdown
Seriously disappointing
Serious Sam 4 almost immediately disappoints. That’s not to say it’s bad — it's another generally playable slice of carnage in the long-running series — but it’s also yet another prequel, a fifth game in which the villain, the tastefully named “Mental”, does not make an appearance. It's another shooter much like...
Mini Review Heavenly Bodies (PS5) - Zero Gravity Adventure Frustrates as Much as It Entertains
Manned mission to madness
We shouldn't need to tell you how scary the dangers of things going wrong in zero-g are; the movie Gravity eloquently made that point already. Heavenly Bodies takes itself less seriously, but the peril of floating off into nothingness still looms over an otherwise goofy, intentionally awkward game. Playing alone or with...
Mini Review Chorus (PS5) - Stunning Space Exploration with Slick Combat
Sing it with me
If there's one thing developer Fishlabs knows well, it's space combat and exploration. Despite little previous experience with PlayStation hardware, its PS5 debut Chorus shares many similarities with its long-running mobile series Galaxy on Fire. As a result, Chorus is a confident first stab at a high profile release for the team,...
Mini Review Evil Genius 2: World Domination (PS5) - A Compelling, Cat-Stroking Tycoon Title
Excellent
Evil Genius 2: World Domination pairs traditional tycoon gameplay with tactics to create one of the more unique strategy titles on the market. As one of four cat-stroking wrong’uns, your task is to build an evil underground empire in a spy-fi thriller that, when executed effectively, will see the world bow to your reprehensible plans...
Mini Review Death's Door (PS5) - Indie Darling Is a Tightly Designed Joy
Open up
Death's Door released to rampant critical acclaim on other platforms earlier in the year, and it's easy to see why. This is a lovingly crafted isometric action-adventure, stacked with engaging exploration, tense action, and a wonderful atmosphere. It draws obvious inspiration from The Legend of Zelda as you journey across an interconnected...
Mini Review A Short Hike (PS4) - A Sweet, Simple, Animal Crossing-Lite Experience
A walk in the woods
A Short Hike's title does an awful lot of heavy lifting when it comes to describing this game. It truly conveys the core experience in a way many game titles don't. Playing as Claire, an anthropomorphised bird, you are tasked with, you guessed it, going on a short hike. You can jump, fly, and climb, all of which you’ll need to...
Dragon it out
Available as either a full release priced at £47.99 / $49.99 or as a discounted upgrade to 2016's Special Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Anniversary Edition is quite simply the best version of Skyrim to ever grace a PlayStation console. Although, admittedly, that's not saying much. The original game on PS3 was and still is a...
Mini Review Epic Chef (PS4) - Silly Culinary Life Sim Mostly Hits the Spot
Kitchen quest
Epic Chef mixes together varied ingredients to create something rather tasty. It's a story-based adventure game about a man named Zest moving to a new town and rising through the culinary ranks, but the gameplay isn't just about cooking. While you'll concoct numerous recipes using weird and wonderful ingredients, the game is as much a...