Timeline
Monday3rd Nov 2025
News Think PS Plus Essential's Monthly Games Are Getting Worse? The Data Shows You're Wrong
Can't argue with numbers and charts
PS Plus — and since its introduction, PS Plus Essential — has been providing subscribers with a set of PlayStation games every month for years, but it's a benefit that often gets a bad rap. Sometimes, there's a sentiment among subscribers and onlookers that the monthly selection of titles is getting worse...
News After Xbox's Contraband Cancellation, Don't Expect Another Just Cause Game
Just Cause 5 a "no-go"
Avalanche Studios is best known for its Just Cause series, but has unfortunately been in the news lately because the game it was working on has been shelved. That game is Contraband, announced back in 2021 and pegged as a "smuggler's paradise" co-op experience. The Xbox exclusive is no longer happen
Preview Starsand Island Is a Cosy PS5 RPG Straight Out of a Studio Ghibli Daydream
Your new Spirited Away escape
We recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with Starsand Island, an upcoming cosy RPG developed by Seed Lab. This gorgeous anime-style life sim takes place on the titular Starsand Island which feels like something straight out of Studio Ghibli. Players create a character and explore the island paradise in an...
Exclusive Your First Look at Astro Bot in Lumines Arise, and How the Crossover Happened
It came down to a "cosmic coincidence"
Lumines Arise is set to arrive on PS5 on 11th November, and when developer and publisher Enhance announced the release date, it also unveiled a Digital Deluxe edition, which includes several special Loomii — in-game avatars — and name plates based on the studio's othe
News Persona 5 Games Won't Stop Selling, Series Tops 13 Million Sales
5 star
Persona 5 as a series — that includes the original game, its expanded re-release Persona 5 Royal, and its multiple spinoffs — has now surpassed 13 million sales. This is according to SEGA's latest business report, which highlights the total in a Persona-specific section. Previously, the publisher had pointed out that the Persona 5...
Public voting now open
Public voting for the Golden Joystick Awards 2025's most talked-about prize is now open. The annual awards show takes place later this month, on the 20th November, and features public voting across a wide range of categories. But as alluded, 'Ultimate Game of the Year' is the big one. 12 titles have been nominated, and...
News Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Becomes First Game Dev to Receive Japanese Government Award
Quest complete
Living Dragon Quest legend Yuji Horii just made history in his native Japan. The 71 year old has received the 'Order of the Rising Sun' — a government-issued honour that recognises outstanding service within a particular field. Horii's the first game developer to ever claim the award; in the past, it's been presented to prominent...
Mini Review 1000xRESIST (PS5) - Story-First Experience Is a Marvel
Fall of mankind
With one of the most fascinating narratives on PS5 backing it, 1000xRESIST is more of an experience than something you traditionally play. It’s more involved than a visual novel, as exploration and light platforming break up cutscenes and conversations. For all intents and purposes, however, everything the game does is in service...
News 'It Happens on PS5': New PlayStation Adverts Mark Five Years of PS5
You can't park there mate
Sony has revealed three new PS5-focused adverts it'll be broadcasting starting today that are designed to celebrate the current-gen console as it turns five years old. Those adverts are called The Greatest Stunt Jump Ever, The Unexpected Catch, and Everyday Problems in Extraordinary Vehicles. Vice president of global...
News PSVR2 Is Getting a Gundam Game as Silver Phantom Is Spotted on PS Store
Phantom gain
Gundam VR title Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom is headed for PSVR2, as evidenced by its own PS Store page. Apparently, said page has been there for about a month at this point — but we (and most other websites) completely missed it due to zero communication on the part of publisher Astrea. Very strange. The game first released...
News We Never Got Rockstar's Agent Because an Open World Spy Game 'Doesn't Really Work'
Dan Houser explains
Rockstar's open world espionage game, Agent, never came to pass — and now we have a little bit more clarity on why. Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games who has since left the company, shared his thoughts on the cancelled project during an interview with Lex Fridman. Houser brings up Agent as part of a broader...
News Arc Raiders to Be Packed Full of More Content Before the Year Is Over
Roadmap for the rest of 2025 revealed
ARC Raiders has made a strong start to life in its 1.0 state, following a series of promising alpha tests and betas. Team Embark isn't taking the rest of the year off after the full launch, though, as it's shared a surprisingly strong roadmap that covers just the final two months of the year. This month, a free...
Discounted PS5 and PS4 games we recommend
Sony has hit us with a double whammy of new sales on the PS Store, with a Halloween offer and a Planet of the Discounts sale running concurrently. Both of these offers conclude on 5th November 2025, meaning you only have a couple more days to take advantage. In order to help navigate this latest torrent of...
News Automation RPG Arknights: Endfield Could Be PS5's Next Big Thing
X-Factory
Imagine, for a moment, an RPG which marries the character-swapping combat of Genshin Impact with the automation aspects of Satisfactory. That is Arknights: Endfield, a game we played at Gamescom earlier this year and came away pretty impressed by. Since its initial tests, the title – which is officially due out in 2026 on the PS5 –...
News Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection Underfire for 'Atrocious' Input Lag on PS5
Over 100ms of lag
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is an outstanding celebration of an iconic franchise, but hardcore players are beginning to raise complaints about the compilation’s input lag on PS5. To be fair, despite Sony’s console generally being preferred for fighting games, it’s wrestled with higher-than-average input lag across...
News Don't Forget to Grab These PS Plus Essential Games Before They're Gone
Last chance
It’s your last opportunity to claim October 2025’s trio of PS Plus Essential games today. The lineup will expire on 4th November, when the available PS5 and PS4 titles will rotate. You can learn about November 2025’s offering through here. As a reminder, subscribers are currently able to download the following three games: Alan...
Guide These 14+ PS5, PS4, and PS Plus Games Are Coming Out This Week (3rd-9th November)
Football Manager! 1000xRESIST! Satisfactory!
Finally, a chance to breathe on the PS Store — there's just the 14 new games this week. They're mostly lower-profile titles, too, although there'll be a lot of interest in Football Manager 26 Console after it took a year off last year. These are all the PS5 and PS4 games coming out this week. New...
News Chun-Li Kicks Up a Fuss in Fatal Fury PS5, PS4's Best DLC This Week
Spinning bird kick
Chun-Li is such an enormously popular Street Fighter character she was always going to be a key addition to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. And now we’ve seen her in action in the SNK fighter, we can comfortably say she’s shaping up to be one hell of an addition. She’s due out later this year. Much like Ken she closely...
Sunday2nd Nov 2025
News Obsidian's Already Trying to Improve The Outer Worlds 2's Poor Presentation on PS5 Pro
Sony's proprietary PSSR replaced
PS5 Pro is supposed to be the best place to play console games, and it often is – assuming devs support it properly. Unfortunately, The Outer Worlds 2 released in a disappointing state on Sony’s supercharged system, with a shaky frame rate and an awful implementation of the Japanese giant’s proprie
News This Underappreciated PS4 Fighter Can Be Yours for Less Than a Dollar
Bargain bin
Tokyo-based dev ARIKA was founded by Capcom legend Akira Nishitani, who worked on iconic 90s arcade titles like Final Fight and Street Fighter 2. In his new company, he created the Street Fighter EX trilogy, a largely underappreciated twist on Capcom’s fighter franchise, which repurposed the franchise’s 2D action in 3D. These...
News If You've Never Played Fortnite, This Is the Season to Try on PS5, PS4
Evergreen menace
If, like this author, you’ve waited more than 15 years for a new The Simpsons game, then this latest Fortnite season may be the next best thing. Look, don’t just take our word for it, and check out the trailer: Epic’s done an outstanding job with this mini season, which is available now and will run all month long. The...
Saturday1st Nov 2025
#REMOVEKAGAWA returns
An ongoing campaign against the recasting of a character in Yakuza Kiwami 3 — a remake of the original PS3 game — has gained some additional momentum today, as SEGA's released a new trailer that focuses on the title's Japanese voice talent. Goh Hamazaki, one of the game's main antagonists, was recast for this remake, with...
Review Wreckreation (PS5) - Ambitious, Burnout-Inspired Racer Is a Near Miss
Crash out
Wreckreation is a game made by Three Fields Entertainment, a small studio led by Criterion Games alumni Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry. With their combined experience on the Burnout series, fans have been hopeful for a spiritual successor that can live up to one of the kings of arcade racing. Although this is the team's best and most...
Poll Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for November 2025?
Plus or minus?
Oh boy, we've got a particularly prevalent feeling that November 2025's PS Plus Essential lineup won't please everyone. Confirmed earlier this week, the latest selection is made up of three titles — and we've got a bit of a problem right off the bat. Indeed, the headline act is Stray, a very good game, by all accounts, but it was...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 605
One for the weekend
With the clocks already changed in the UK and the US catching up this weekend, we're very much diving head first into the slog that is winter. The cold months also happen to be the perfect period to play video games, so here's what's keeping us busy. Aaron Bayne: I've been waiting years, and ARC Raiders is finally here! That's...
Friday31st Oct 2025
Review ARC Raiders (PS5) - A Triumph in Multiplayer Immersion
See you topside, Raider
ARC Raiders is easily one of the best multiplayer games currently on PS5. This sophomore release from Swedish developer Embark Studios manages to balance all the hardcore elements of an extraction shooter while making it accessible, cinematic, immersive, and, most of all, just damn good fun. ARC Raiders is set in a...
Talking Point If Xbox Drops the Cost, Would You Be Happy Still Paying for PS6 Multiplayer?
Pay to play
Rumour has it that, with Microsoft's upcoming Xbox hardware, the company plans to drop the requirement to pay for access to online multiplayer. If that really is the case, Sony's PS6 could be the only next-generation console still charging for the privilege. Obviously we won't know for certain whether this will happen until it happens,...
News Silent Hill 2 Dev to Publish PS5 Indie Horror Game in January 2026
I Hate This Place gets a release date
Having worked on its own PS5 games in Silent Hill 2 and Cronos for the past few years, Bloober Team's new publishing label will properly kick into gear at the start of next year as it brings its first title to market. The developer's first project to launch on PS5, I Hate This Place comes from Rock Square...
News Dino Hunting Classic Turok 2 Gets an Upgraded PS5 Version
Priced at £15.99 / $19.99
Retro specialist Nightdive Studios has announced it's putting out a native PS5 version of its Turok 2 remaster today. It's the same price as the original version, £15.99 / $19.99, and you can see some gameplay from it in the trailer above. Having defeated the Campaigner, Turok throws the Chronocepter into a waiting...
News Final Fantasy 7, Expedition 33 Prove There's Only Love Between RPG Rivals
Art directors from each franchise join forces
The loudest fans of both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may insist on arguing on social media, but real ones know there’s an immense amount of respect between makers Square Enix and Sandfall Interactive. It’s perhaps not a surprise to see crossover art between the two...
News Retro Mario Kart Rival Races to PS5, PS4 in Street Racer Collection
Bundles four different versions
History knows Street Racer did little to disrupt the success of the Mario Kart franchise, but in 1994 it was very much marketed as a rival to Nintendo’s racer. With a cool cartoon aesthetic and combat mechanics bringing it closer to, say, Street Fighter, this was a relatively high-profile title at the time. In...
News Sony Stands with Japan's Creators in AI Copyright Crackdown
Anime giants unite against Sora 2
Sony’s anime subsidiary Aniplex is one of several major Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) members who’s requested the organisation write to OpenAI about the unauthorised training of its content by video generator Sora 2. Sora 2 allows users to write prompts in order to create short videos and...
Rumour Halo 2, Halo 3 Remakes Also Purportedly Planned for PS5
Flooding us with the goods
We reckon Halo Studios’ strategy for the future of Master Chief is beginning to emerge. Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming to the PS5 next year, but the developer has already said the future of the franchise is on PlayStation. So, what’s next, after its Halo: Combat Evolved remake? Well, fan account
News What If Kiki's Delivery Service Was a Cosy Parisian PS5 Baking Game?
Très bien
The Witch’s Bakery wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and that’s no bad thing. From the magical cat to the retro hand animated vibes, this upcoming PS5 effort is effectively Kiki’s Delivery Service in Paris – but with more pretzels than parcels. The game – due out in 2026 – is being described by Sunny Lab Games as a...
News As Sony's PS Plus Premium Expands Slowly, Another Dev Announces PS1 Emulation Plans
First three ports confirmed
While Sony’s own emulation efforts via PS Plus Premium continue to progress glacially, other organisations are getting in on the act. Brazilian company QUByte announced overnight that it’s upgraded its proprietary QUByte Emulation Engine with PS1 support, and it intends to release “many cult favourites” from the...
Thursday30th Oct 2025
Review Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection (PS5) - An Almost Flawless Victory for Fighting Game Fans
Get over here
Not every game in the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is a klassic, but dev Digital Eclipse’s ability to kontextualise kontent makes this a kompilation well worth owning. If you’ve played the excellent Atari 50 or any of the Gold Master Series kollections, then you’ll know roughly what to expect here: a playable timeline of...
News Shmup Fans, Sit Down and Pay Attention to This New PS5, PS4 Compilation
You're gonna want it
Phwoar, who likes a good ol’ 90s shmup, then? You’re in luck: H2 Interactive has announced that it’s bringing the Raiden Fighters Remix Collection to PS5 and PS4 worldwide on 26th February. That’s the same date as the Japanese release, so no need for imports or idle thumbs. For those who don’t know, this collection...
Poll Do You Play Horror Games Around Halloween?
Spook for yourself
The spookiest time of the year is upon us, but does Halloween actually impact your gaming habits? It's something we've always wondered... Of course, the PS5 is home to loads of really highly rated, horror-based games. The Resident Evil series will always be an option — a franchise packed with classics, many of which have been...
News Even More Cult SEGA CD Games Are Somehow Making Their Way to PS5, PS4
Another one?
Of all the systems enjoying a contemporary console renaissance, we wouldn’t have put money on the SEGA CD. But the “hits” just keep coming – this time FMV boxing game Prize Fighter, which first launched in 1993. Once again, dev Screaming Villains is handling the port, with Limited Run Games on deck to offer a physical version...
News Thief PSVR2 Game Gives VR Players Something to Look Forward To
Up for pre-order on PS Store today
Vertigo Games has confirmed its PSVR2 spin-off from the Thief franchise will release on 4th December 2025, alongside other headsets like the Meta Quests and Steam VR. Maze Theory, the developer of Thief: Legacy of Shadow, has collaborated with the series' original creators from Eidos Montreal to make the game, and...
News Acclaimed Skiing Adventure Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Finally Confirmed for PS5
No release date yet
We really enjoyed Lonely Mountains: Downhill on PS4, so we've been eagerly waiting to see if a PS5 version of its snowy follow-up would come along. Lo and behold, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is now officially confirmed for Sony's console. Here's the announcement trailer to give you an idea: Unfortunately, there are almost...
News Fortnite Introduces Sidekicks, Pet Pals That Join You Throughout the Game on PS5, PS4
Begins in November
If you're tired of playing Fortnite solo, fear not: you'll never have to play alone again when the new Sidekicks join the fun. Epic Games has announced Sidekicks for its evergreen free-to-play shooter, and they're essentially little animal companions that accompany you across various parts of the game. They don't offer any...
News Virtua Fighter 5 Arrives on PS5 with New Single Player Mode and a $10 Upgrade Path
Final, Final Showdown
Virtua Fighter 5 REVO World Stage is out now on PS5, and it's almost certainly worth checking out if you already own Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown on PS4. That's because existing owners can upgrade to World Stage for a fairly cheap $9.99 / £7.99 on the PS Store. The game costs $19.99 / £15.99 otherwise, although...
Raise the sails
Beloved, but undeniably hardcore strategy RPG Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord will soon be taking to the sea. Its previously announced War Sails expansion now has a confirmed release date, launching on the 26th November across all platforms — including PS5. Remember, Bannerlord was ported to Sony's system three whole years ago...
News Forgotten PS5, PC Game Lost Soul Aside Still Being Patched and Optimised
New update available to download now
After a decade of waiting and anticipation, the world has very quickly moved on from PS5, PC title Lost Soul Aside. The game released to disappointing reviews, and it's hardly been mentioned since that August 2025 launch. Still, developer UltiZero Games is working to improve its action-focused effort...
News PS5 Extraction Shooter Arc Raiders Is Looking Like a Hit as Servers Immediately Struggle
Raid unready
You know an online game's got potential when its servers seemingly crumble the minute they go live. That's what's happening with Arc Raiders right now. The new extraction shooter has just landed on PS5 (alongside Xbox and PC), and players are struggling to squeeze into any matches. And that's if they manage to get past the initial...
News PS5's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Draws Closer with Naughty Dog Recruitment Drive
Localisers and testers wanted
Naughty Dog is currently deep in development on its next big action adventure game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and it seems things are moving along nicely. When the sci-fi title was announced back at The Game Awards 2024, no release window was attached, so exactly when it's coming is up for debate. However,...
News PS5 Pro Adds Frame Rate Option for Metal Gear Solid Delta
New multiplayer mode looks mad
Man, the new multiplayer mode for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is really scratching our MGO and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood itch. This all-new online component – available as a free update for the PS5 remake from today – blends hide-and-seek gameplay with competitive deathmatch action. We think the...
News For Some Reason, 90s FMV Basketball Game Slam City with Scottie Pippen Is Coming to PS5, PS4
"You rocked his world"
We live in an era where even the most obscure retro games are getting modern re-releases, including SEGA CD monstrosities like Night Trap. And while it wasn’t panned as hard as its peers at the time, it’s crazy to see Slam City with Scottie Pippen – a first-person FMV basketball game starring the Chicago Bulls small...
News 'Fame Does Not Create a Trademark': Sony, Tencent's War of Words Over Horizon Rip-Off Rage On
Ready, fight
Tencent is not backing down in its fight against Sony over the alleged Horizon rip-off Light of Motiram. The two organisations have gone back-and-forth in the courts a couple of times now, with the PlayStation maker originally describing its Chinese rival’s effort as a “slavish clone”. It sought the complete elimination of the...
