I finished Banisters: Ghosts of New Eden for the second time making different choices - I spared everyone this time around, and it was emotional for me to experience both sides of the story. I kinda look like the Scotsman and my wife kinda looks like Antea, and it is very much an adult drama, so it was difficult NOT to relate.
Next up, I booted AC: Mirage also on PS Plus. Great game and it is AC as I liked it back in the day of the ones based in Italy. Immediately after completion I restarted a New Game + where the game ends if I die. The first playthrough had its fair share of (cinematic) moments and immersion, and it is ramped up in a no-die playthrough where everything you do has to be deliberate. Make no mistake, I will die eventually, but so far I'm a couple of cases in.
Because of Mirage, I also booted up Dishonored 2. I thought it was time to see why it was so well liked. Also, a good game that stands the test of time.
I found my PS5 Pro online at a retailer demo-clearance completely fortuitously.
By selling my Digital edition-model I ended up paying as little as about 150 USD (estimated guess converting from my currency).
The increase in storage alone made such a trade-in an irresistible good deal. I have liked the results put together with a budget (but still voted best LCD screen later that year by a trusted media outlet) TV can be a wholly satisfying experience.
I am wondering, though, what the results would look like with a top-tier TV like LG's C-series.
I understand it has 250 gb of storage for gaming offline, or is it mainly a low-graphics game machine and streaming machine? But what storefronts can it access?
The Retroid goes for a fraction of the price of the portable PC handhelds, so it seems like a too-good to be true-deal like the Portal.
The impact of this change will be more apparent in a year. Obviously, there is a huge library both in essential tier and extra, and changing the libraries takes time.
Also, the 'focus' on PS5 is promotional at this state - your write-up of how many are playable on PS4 demonstrates that. Let's see how the actual execution of their intent plays out.
I'll wait for reviews to pass judgement, but no doubt that Arc Raiders is a competitor. Also, as I understand it you really need to team up or you are at a disadvantage. Lastly, if people are expecting a story, they might be turned away from picking this one up.
Somewhere in the world, the CEO of Microslop Satire Denada, is scared out of his mind now that Sony has begun cracking down on his newest business idea. He now has to make a bald decision about where Microslop now will turn.
You mean an ol' clonk like the PS4!? routinely performs up to your PS5 Pro in your opinion? That's shocking to me. Kinda wanna try to see if you're right... Are you talking both PS4 games running on PS4 and 5 (pro) or even a game like Tsushima (PS4) versus a PS5 exclusive like Yotei?
I could think of a world where the small price of PS Plus Premium gave you just 1 of the 6-7 benefits it adds. I understand the context: People are only expressing disdain for the addition to the growing library and maybe they don't stream, play games from the library, watch movies from their selection or make use of the trials.
But if you do some or all of the above, you are getting a good deal. For me, it also prevents me from using money. That's probably "girl math" 😁
Damn - that's the biggest developers of VR NOT catering to the PSVR 2!
One can hope that it somehow benefits Sony and it's competing platform PSVR 2, but it does seem like it could also be time to accelerate through my VR centric backlog to sell the headset off and cut my "losses" investing into PSVR 2. I don't think, I'll actually do that, but I just recently got PSVR 1 back from my sister's kids. I could sell that to start off.
It looks really good in your presentation and article.
I am tempted, even though I ought not need more gear and there's very awesome competition from Steel Series and others. It simply looks like it is a quality headset and if sound and mic is as good as you say.... Well done. I love tech😁
I just had to send in a Sony gen. 4-headset due to the axel broke for no reason. Hopefully, they'll honor the warranty and I can keep going with my current setup which is Pulse Elite for gaming and Sony XM-4 for everything else.
Well, I didn't plan on it, but Vanisher's: Ghosts of New Eden has already commanded my attention in a second playthrough where instead of sacrificing everyone to try and resurrect Antes, I am now saving as many as I can to help her ascension.
I really didn't think I'd return so soon. But the story and the graphics are strong enough for me to enjoy it a lot.
In KCD: 2, I am after some card players that tried to drown me in *****. I knocked one out and threw him in a pond of ***** and piss. He wasn't happy upon waking up, but collapsed like a milquetoast after one punch. Into the ***** pond you go again!
Technology has made advances so quickly that what first seemed like an advance suddenly feels like a retreat.
I am so bored of generative AI slop, and I predict they'll find their audiences among the less fortunate. Hopefully, I can buy art made by teams of talented people of many crafts and arts.
Like Liam, I've bought a lot of bundles and cheap games like Sherlock, Ace detective, Persona 4 and 13 Sentinels. And whilst I have dipped my toes, there's an ocean to tread.
Use the PSVR2-headset even more I cleared 1 game (and tried others) whilst the library of VR games were on Plus, but the truth is the most substantial part of my backlog is actually unfinished VR games.
Live and breathe KCD 2 and BG3 Seeing as I am deep into my first playthrough in both games, I will continue enjoying two of the very best games ever made. They are peak RPG, and it balms my soul that I have hundreds of hours left in such good company. My special goal is to complete my first run with all Sir Brunswick armour pieces in tact for my battle gear (You have different outfits at the ready if you're smart. So my Henry plates up for battle).
I bought DLC for Alan Wake II, so the playthrough is taking longer than I thought it would. I've been playing it on and off.
I think the sections with Alan Wake drags out with a lot. I love myself some postmodernism, but dear God the writing in places are too much.
I think it is the combination of the same lines/points repeated again and again that wears me out. Also, the story about the cult is too disjointed, too contorted to carry the game.
The puzzles could also be better, as in the Sherlock Holmes games you get to deduct things yourself - here everything is resolved for you as you drag a piece of evidence to the only place it fits.
That is all of my criticism, check out the review on here for a complete rundown on ALL its merits.
Drumroll p..., no wait, no thanks actually. Let's go with triumphant trumpets!
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 This incredible achievement that absorbed me through many a gaming night is the gaming knight turned beggar, Henry of Skalitz, portrayal in KCD2. It is a strong contender for best RPG ever and game of the generation for me, so it couldn't be any different.
I haven't heard any of it so it is definitely possible, and before the mass psychology event of the award season I heard from my brother that he was surprised how people praised the game's soundtrack. He didn't rate it highly. That was a few weeks after launch long before the award season.
But I personally think there are some great music coming out of this year's games. For example, KCD or Ghost of Yotei. When Ghost of Yotei premiered on Spotify, I added the whole album to a 'best soundtracks compilation' and I haven't even played the game yet which usually helps the liking along.
The first Death Stranding is amusing in its absolutely bizarre composition of nonsensical components. Luckily, he has the workforce to somehow pull it all together in a game.
Truly, a postmodern phenomena designed to resist sensemaking, and I can't wait for him to get on with it and deliver a stellar stealth entry for PS. Because, you know, that never turns bonkers!
My game of the year hasn't been made this year necessarily and I haven't finished all of the games, but one I did finish and really adored for its Sci-Fi story is
My game of the year nominee #7?
The invincible
The author wrote a hard science book about exploration, survival, evolution and what could happen if two world powers keep reaching for outer space colonisation. It is a walking sim similar to Still Wakes The Deep and Firewatch.
I read that as slop every year - I am quite thankful for those that saw the potential in VR and gave us 4, 7 and 8 which all rank very high in the charts of best VR games for the PlayStation.
I have very little interest in the series if VR isn't scaled into production. I tried some of them remakes on PS Plus and I just don't care for that type of flat screen game.
The sales are just not there to justify porting games to PC.
For every person buying a game, there's maybe ten that pirates the game, and those 11 people go about their lives. In comparison, don't port the game and three or four of those people might get a PS5 and will not only pay for the game but every game they pay for will fill Sony's pockets.
Sure, if a Sony storefront is needed and pirating becomes impossible then the equation might be better.
Oh, by the way I need to recommend the Quarry which is also like this game.
I "played" the Quarry in a VR headset and chose for the game to randomly choose different actions.... It was the weirdest film I've ever seen - NOTHING made sense and it was completely hilarious to see the disjointed conversations, wacky actions and absurd outcomes that followed from random dialogue choices and random outcomes clashing everywhere.
Maybe it was one of the funniest things I ever saw....
To see the game of my European dreams come true and so far I've played about a 100 hours worth of the game. It is so big it has two beginnings and two ends. I've started on the second half, and even Henry has to tell the characters what happened in the first part.
To see it occupy a worthy seat at the PushSquare table is super satisfying.
The design of your award season is so entertaining. And I've made a handful or two games part of my curated wishlist which is as long as my backlog.
MGS3 is absolutely amazing, my 15-year old me can attest to that! 😍
My Game of the Year Nomination #6
Still Wakes The Deep It came with recommendations from Push square and is part of the PS Plus sub: It delivers a great, short experience and indulges in its Scottish voicework. I would describe it as a Lovecraftian descent into madness with bodily horrors abound - it is like that movie The Fog coupled perhaps with The Descent. If you have access to it, it is so easy to pick up and enjoy.
#7 Blue Prince I respect the hell out of this game, and I suppose I am terrible at it and haven't even reached the last room I think. I've made it outside, but don't know what to do from there. So, it is this and KCD2 that I haven't exhausted/finished, but I think they should definitely be given their flowers 🌺
Every 'act' of AI generation is theft of others as it CANNOT create - it can only steal. I have zero respect for AI or people's push for AI.
I won't touch Level 5-games as I would rather support others that look for people to make their games, and I think it is telling that a majority of Push square doesn't view Sandfall as 'indie' and a smaller part might be disappointed with their use of AI and their, to my interpretation, unwillingness to share their wealth in scaling up their production after the industry lavished them with the single greatest act of marketing in the history of gaming. I'll wait to see if they actually remain as small, before I pass final judgement on what kind of business they have. I remember instantly liking their reveal video in TGAs of yore.
But I can help to notice the cracks in their underdog story - this is a Microsoft, publisher and government-backed studio with a skewered corporate structure with external developers and workers making their 'small' team literally hundreds.
I respect Warhorse Studios so much - they scaled up and shared the wealth and created a seminal entry, and have done SO MUCH research and mechanics-building to create the first KCD.
They have had too push against people that criticized the genius of their design (like Katherine Castle, Eurogamer gave the newest game 3 out 5 because it was too demanding!? She soon left Eurogamer which was fine by me) and people who questioned their morals and tried to delegitimize them (for example, most of the editorial line of Kotaku and then-Polygon before the purge.)
Fair counter point! I can only say that your opinion is always valued...
(I don't know if it is disrespect of the game, more like I was exasperated by the sheer volume of marketing for this game - but let's drop the mincing of words and get back to gaming)
Congrats on the Pro! Can you see / feel any difference compared to the regular PS5?
I have the best LCD screen of 2024 and the pro, and I could swear that Days Gone Remastered is the most beautiful game I've ever seen because of that combination!
I can tell you 1 game that I definitely will not be playing anytime soon after an incredible year of dozens of high quality games my award season was completely reduced to one singular boring expression - except for PC Gamer which is worth a look - and that is ... I simply can't remember the name... was it chiaroscuro 69...
But I have been playing KCD 2 as I try to progress the story, even though I forget how to work the forge and I forgot how to fight like a lion. Well, I found my skills returning quickly and are done with the main story missions in an area and are thrust on to a new one. I have to assemble an A-team of Z-people, looking forward to that!
Even though I'm a hundred hours in, I still feel like a tourist in this world finding new places every way I turn.
I played through this game with the goal of getting my girl back to life for selfish reasons. It has never happened before that I could make myself do the "evil playthrough" and so, I am very much interested in playing through it again just to do right by the people I was supposed to help.
My game of the year nomination #5 God of War: Ragnarok
Somehow, I enjoyed the first entry but thought it wasn't as good as people made it out to be. But Ragnarok blew me away - maybe because it was one the first games I played on the PS5 Pro. I especially enjoyed the culmination of the story and how the lore is faithfully adopted from Norse mythology and in particular the poem Völuspá.
A great Don't Nod production, weaponizing 90's nostalgia and it has this gorgeous setting in the midst of the world of a couple of teenage girls, in a small town-setting, who look like real teenage girls, perfectly imperfect. It is a great and stylish game with an interesting magical realism that accentuates the themes of the game.
The art design innovates the game play: you use a 90's camcorder to 'play' the game and I won't say anymore. Furthermore, it is a frame narrative meaning the older women meet up to look back on that fateful summer.
It is a game that attracted a lot of haters, but I liked it and Don't Nod are known for Banisher's: Ghosts of New Eden which also is an awesome game that were offered as part of 2025's PS Plus subscription.
Cheers, buddy, that's for you to decide. I thought I'd give it a go, though. You see I teach old dogs new tricks for a living🐶
And besides, I used to be just like you - but then I took an arrow to the knee. That arrow was KCD. It will kick you off the saddle, sure enough, but if you keep on, you'll soon find yourself not as the knave but the shining Knight in white armour.
Like, one mission you're supposed to flee a battalion of soldiers combing through the woods for you - and by using poisoned blades and tactical movement as well as my knowledge and skills in the deep sword fencing mechanics I managed to kill. every. single. one. of. them.
Anyways, I also like the more fantastical RPGs, but KCD just KEEPS surprising me hundreds of hours and multiple playthroughs later (still on the first playthrough of kcd 2, but I'd recommend you playing the first of course).
You push a button to eat every now and then and then it is 4 real hours before you need to do it again. You can't go to the toilet or clean anything except for yourself.
It is like a tough version of Skyrim where you start out really weak and poor. There's communities with morality systems just like Skyrim, and you level everything up by doing it, or by training. You can even study and buy tutoring lessons for pretty much everything. There's potions that raise your affinity in certain skills for a short time too.
Everything they put in the game is documented and explained in an in-game tutorial that unfolds as you play or that you can access via menus. Also, there's a substantial codex with hundreds of entries explaining pretty much everything in game making it an educational experience if you seek it out.
I get that it might be daunting, but what do you want your RPG to be? Maybe KCD is for you, and you've mistakenly internalized it wasn't for you!
PushSquare, you have a host of talented writers that keeps fueling the best website for gaming.
You have a huge community of interesting people that care about gaming, and that is indicative of your skill and prowess. (With all that success, you also attract the haters, trolls and blatantly dishonest people and somehow make space for that too.) Like a church for gamers, you attract high and low, thick and thin.
I agree that the year 2025 has offered a plethora of games - if I had to keep up with everything that I found worth playing, I would need to stop working, leave my family and clone myself a few times to keep up.
There's never been so many games, and whilst it is sad that there's not enough (paying) gamers to keep every studio or employee afloat, gaming are indeed experiencing a veritable golden age of excellency and abundance. Would I like to get rid of forever-games and predatory game design for the good of humanity? Sure, I'd nuke 'em from orbit in an instant, but overall the quality of games out there is, as you say, unfathomable and incalculable.
Sony as a platform is an enticing place to be. They're in somewhat good shape, and even though the prices on the PS Store are, for me, too high and the backlog too substantial to warrant (many) new purchases, I keep trying new games because of an insanely high value subscription service.
Merry Christmas to everyone in staff and in comments!
Comments 1,657
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 617
I finished Banisters: Ghosts of New Eden for the second time making different choices - I spared everyone this time around, and it was emotional for me to experience both sides of the story. I kinda look like the Scotsman and my wife kinda looks like Antea, and it is very much an adult drama, so it was difficult NOT to relate.
Next up, I booted AC: Mirage also on PS Plus. Great game and it is AC as I liked it back in the day of the ones based in Italy. Immediately after completion I restarted a New Game + where the game ends if I die. The first playthrough had its fair share of (cinematic) moments and immersion, and it is ramped up in a no-die playthrough where everything you do has to be deliberate. Make no mistake, I will die eventually, but so far I'm a couple of cases in.
Because of Mirage, I also booted up Dishonored 2. I thought it was time to see why it was so well liked. Also, a good game that stands the test of time.
Re: Despite Its Price, PS5 Pro Enjoyed a Very Respectable 2025 in USA
@CRASH64
What's the difference between the G and C?
Re: Despite Its Price, PS5 Pro Enjoyed a Very Respectable 2025 in USA
I found my PS5 Pro online at a retailer demo-clearance completely fortuitously.
By selling my Digital edition-model I ended up paying as little as about 150 USD (estimated guess converting from my currency).
The increase in storage alone made such a trade-in an irresistible good deal. I have liked the results put together with a budget (but still voted best LCD screen later that year by a trusted media outlet) TV can be a wholly satisfying experience.
I am wondering, though, what the results would look like with a top-tier TV like LG's C-series.
Re: PS Portal Peaks in USA with Highest PS5 Console Attach Rate Yet
@LikelySatan
The Retroid Pocket 6? You made me go look it up.
I understand it has 250 gb of storage for gaming offline, or is it mainly a low-graphics game machine and streaming machine? But what storefronts can it access?
The Retroid goes for a fraction of the price of the portable PC handhelds, so it seems like a too-good to be true-deal like the Portal.
Re: PS Portal Peaks in USA with Highest PS5 Console Attach Rate Yet
The media should be focusing more on how the PS Portal + PS Plus Premium makes for one hell of a games console.
You have three libraries of Plus-games and your self-owned library to choose games to play from.
It is by far the cheapest option to get into gaming. It is insane value. It beats everything else in the market by miles.
Re: Death Stranding Is So Multi-Platform That It's Now Going on Game Pass
Removed
Re: Death Stranding Is So Multi-Platform That It's Now Going on Game Pass
For the million of people out there with GamePads for Exbox, this is huuuge!
Re: PS4 Games Are No Longer a Focus for PS Plus
The impact of this change will be more apparent in a year. Obviously, there is a huge library both in essential tier and extra, and changing the libraries takes time.
Also, the 'focus' on PS5 is promotional at this state - your write-up of how many are playable on PS4 demonstrates that. Let's see how the actual execution of their intent plays out.
Re: Marathon's PS5 Release Date Looks Like It's Leaked
I'll wait for reviews to pass judgement, but no doubt that Arc Raiders is a competitor. Also, as I understand it you really need to team up or you are at a disadvantage. Lastly, if people are expecting a story, they might be turned away from picking this one up.
I wish them success!
Re: Here's Your First Look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft for Amazon's TV Show
I'll never watch it with that her in that role.
She can't act and yet she's everywhere....
It looks like cheap cosplay....
Re: Sony Nukes Thousands of Shovelware Games from PS5, PS4
Somewhere in the world, the CEO of Microslop Satire Denada, is scared out of his mind now that Sony has begun cracking down on his newest business idea. He now has to make a bald decision about where Microslop now will turn.
Re: Rumour: PS5 Pro's Big PSSR Update Releasing by March, Improves Graphics and Performance
@DogPark
You mean an ol' clonk like the PS4!? routinely performs up to your PS5 Pro in your opinion? That's shocking to me. Kinda wanna try to see if you're right... Are you talking both PS4 games running on PS4 and 5 (pro) or even a game like Tsushima (PS4) versus a PS5 exclusive like Yotei?
Re: 9 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for January 2026 Announced
I could think of a world where the small price of PS Plus Premium gave you just 1 of the 6-7 benefits it adds. I understand the context: People are only expressing disdain for the addition to the growing library and maybe they don't stream, play games from the library, watch movies from their selection or make use of the trials.
But if you do some or all of the above, you are getting a good deal. For me, it also prevents me from using money. That's probably "girl math" 😁
Re: PS3's Sly Cooper Team Shut in Oculus Layoffs, Two Other Devs Closed
Damn - that's the biggest developers of VR NOT catering to the PSVR 2!
One can hope that it somehow benefits Sony and it's competing platform PSVR 2, but it does seem like it could also be time to accelerate through my VR centric backlog to sell the headset off and cut my "losses" investing into PSVR 2. I don't think, I'll actually do that, but I just recently got PSVR 1 back from my sister's kids. I could sell that to start off.
Re: Hardware Review: Sony INZONE H9 II - The Perfect Gaming Headset?
It looks really good in your presentation and article.
I am tempted, even though I ought not need more gear and there's very awesome competition from Steel Series and others. It simply looks like it is a quality headset and if sound and mic is as good as you say.... Well done. I love tech😁
I just had to send in a Sony gen. 4-headset due to the axel broke for no reason. Hopefully, they'll honor the warranty and I can keep going with my current setup which is Pulse Elite for gaming and Sony XM-4 for everything else.
Re: Former PS4 Exclusive Detroit: Become Human Has Now Sold 15 Million Copies
Most likely, the studio has been coasting off the success of the game ever since it launched.
An active studio would have released something new by now.
It was a good game, but I feel like something was missing in all of my playthroughs that somehow eluded me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 615
@UltimateOtaku91
Are you good or evil in Banishers?
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 615
Well, I didn't plan on it, but Vanisher's: Ghosts of New Eden has already commanded my attention in a second playthrough where instead of sacrificing everyone to try and resurrect Antes, I am now saving as many as I can to help her ascension.
I really didn't think I'd return so soon. But the story and the graphics are strong enough for me to enjoy it a lot.
In KCD: 2, I am after some card players that tried to drown me in *****. I knocked one out and threw him in a pond of ***** and piss. He wasn't happy upon waking up, but collapsed like a milquetoast after one punch. Into the ***** pond you go again!
Re: Sony May Be 'Planning Its Entire Calendar' Around GTA 6, Says Jason Schreier
Any news on how they treated their employees?
It got quiet after the PM was quoted...
Re: Rumour: Fallout 3, New Vegas Remakes Reportedly Happening as Fallout 5 Is 'Greenlit'
A remake would be cool.
I am the weird one who enjoyed (and played) Fallout 4 the most of all the offerings.
I've started many Fallout New Vegas runs and completed only one confused playthrough. I would definitely return to a new, modernised package.
Re: The Year Starts Off with the New Game+ Showcase, Presenting 45 Games This Week
Don't Nod is a great studio.
PS Plus has enabled me to play through their two recent games Banishers and Lost Tapes. Excellent games!
Re: Microsoft CEO Really Wants You to Stop Calling Generative AI 'Slop'
@nomither6
Oh, my sweet summer child. For you to write that tracks super well with my general understanding of your cognitive processes.
Look up the Düning-krüger effect if you please - it's ironic for the both of us.
Re: Microsoft CEO Really Wants You to Stop Calling Generative AI 'Slop'
Technology has made advances so quickly that what first seemed like an advance suddenly feels like a retreat.
I am so bored of generative AI slop, and I predict they'll find their audiences among the less fortunate. Hopefully, I can buy art made by teams of talented people of many crafts and arts.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your PS5 New Year's Resolutions?
My "goals" in gaming...
Play games from the backlog
Everyone related to that.
Play more visual novels on the Portal
Like Liam, I've bought a lot of bundles and cheap games like Sherlock, Ace detective, Persona 4 and 13 Sentinels. And whilst I have dipped my toes, there's an ocean to tread.
Use the PSVR2-headset even more
I cleared 1 game (and tried others) whilst the library of VR games were on Plus, but the truth is the most substantial part of my backlog is actually unfinished VR games.
Live and breathe KCD 2 and BG3
Seeing as I am deep into my first playthrough in both games, I will continue enjoying two of the very best games ever made. They are peak RPG, and it balms my soul that I have hundreds of hours left in such good company. My special goal is to complete my first run with all Sir Brunswick armour pieces in tact for my battle gear (You have different outfits at the ready if you're smart. So my Henry plates up for battle).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 614
I bought DLC for Alan Wake II, so the playthrough is taking longer than I thought it would. I've been playing it on and off.
I think the sections with Alan Wake drags out with a lot. I love myself some postmodernism, but dear God the writing in places are too much.
I think it is the combination of the same lines/points repeated again and again that wears me out. Also, the story about the cult is too disjointed, too contorted to carry the game.
The puzzles could also be better, as in the Sherlock Holmes games you get to deduct things yourself - here everything is resolved for you as you drag a piece of evidence to the only place it fits.
That is all of my criticism, check out the review on here for a complete rundown on ALL its merits.
I am at least on a 8/10 for this one.
Re: Game of the Year: #1 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Winner of my Game of the Year 2025
Drumroll p..., no wait, no thanks actually. Let's go with triumphant trumpets!
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
This incredible achievement that absorbed me through many a gaming night is the gaming knight turned beggar, Henry of Skalitz, portrayal in KCD2. It is a strong contender for best RPG ever and game of the generation for me, so it couldn't be any different.
Happy New Year!
Re: PS Plus Essential Games for January 2026 Announced
It is an almost complete dud for me as well.
I'll still claim them, especially the Mickey game might be something for my daughter and I. She's only three at the moment.
I wonder if they sell dumbed down kids' controllers?
Re: Game of the Year: Top 10 PS5 Soundtracks of 2025
@TheArt
I haven't heard any of it so it is definitely possible, and before the mass psychology event of the award season I heard from my brother that he was surprised how people praised the game's soundtrack. He didn't rate it highly. That was a few weeks after launch long before the award season.
But I personally think there are some great music coming out of this year's games. For example, KCD or Ghost of Yotei. When Ghost of Yotei premiered on Spotify, I added the whole album to a 'best soundtracks compilation' and I haven't even played the game yet which usually helps the liking along.
Re: Game of the Year: Top 10 PS5 Soundtracks of 2025
There was a performance at TGA which sounded absolutely horrendous - I had to skip it, so I didn't even discover what game it was.
It wasn't
or
which are my top three.
Re: Game of the Year: #2 - Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
The first Death Stranding is amusing in its absolutely bizarre composition of nonsensical components. Luckily, he has the workforce to somehow pull it all together in a game.
Truly, a postmodern phenomena designed to resist sensemaking, and I can't wait for him to get on with it and deliver a stellar stealth entry for PS. Because, you know, that never turns bonkers!
Re: Our PS5 Predictions for 2025 - Results Revealed
In my opinion, PS5 Pro is popular among its users, and it seems to attract a lot of attention from people that compare it to 2000$ machines.
If the metric of success is that it sells better than base PS5 I don't think you understand the market or the state of the world.
Maybe it'll be 2026 that PushSquare recognizes the PS5 Pro, but please SIGNAL IN ADVANCE what the criteria is.
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Developer of 2025
Warhorse and Bend for me.
Re: Game of the Year: #3 - Split Fiction
I love that the two games from the dev are so good co-op experiences just waiting for my daughter being old enough.
Re: Game of the Year: Sammy's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
My game of the year hasn't been made this year necessarily and I haven't finished all of the games, but one I did finish and really adored for its Sci-Fi story is
My game of the year nominee #7?
The invincible
The author wrote a hard science book about exploration, survival, evolution and what could happen if two world powers keep reaching for outer space colonisation. It is a walking sim similar to Still Wakes The Deep and Firewatch.
Was this the last personal list?
Re: Silent Hill Producer Aims to Release One New Game Per Year
I read that as slop every year - I am quite thankful for those that saw the potential in VR and gave us 4, 7 and 8 which all rank very high in the charts of best VR games for the PlayStation.
I have very little interest in the series if VR isn't scaled into production. I tried some of them remakes on PS Plus and I just don't care for that type of flat screen game.
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Believes Exclusives Make Consoles 'Sing'
The sales are just not there to justify porting games to PC.
For every person buying a game, there's maybe ten that pirates the game, and those 11 people go about their lives. In comparison, don't port the game and three or four of those people might get a PS5 and will not only pay for the game but every game they pay for will fill Sony's pockets.
Sure, if a Sony storefront is needed and pirating becomes impossible then the equation might be better.
Re: Game of the Year: #5 - Dispatch
Oh, by the way I need to recommend the Quarry which is also like this game.
I "played" the Quarry in a VR headset and chose for the game to randomly choose different actions.... It was the weirdest film I've ever seen - NOTHING made sense and it was completely hilarious to see the disjointed conversations, wacky actions and absurd outcomes that followed from random dialogue choices and random outcomes clashing everywhere.
Maybe it was one of the funniest things I ever saw....
Re: Game of the Year: #5 - Dispatch
Wishlisted!
The concept of this is just as strong as Invincible which I can highly recommend for the two people that haven't watched it yet.
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 RPG of 2025
To see the game of my European dreams come true and so far I've played about a 100 hours worth of the game. It is so big it has two beginnings and two ends. I've started on the second half, and even Henry has to tell the characters what happened in the first part.
To see it occupy a worthy seat at the PushSquare table is super satisfying.
The design of your award season is so entertaining. And I've made a handful or two games part of my curated wishlist which is as long as my backlog.
Re: Game of the Year: Liam's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
MGS3 is absolutely amazing, my 15-year old me can attest to that! 😍
My Game of the Year Nomination #6
Still Wakes The Deep
It came with recommendations from Push square and is part of the PS Plus sub: It delivers a great, short experience and indulges in its Scottish voicework.
I would describe it as a Lovecraftian descent into madness with bodily horrors abound - it is like that movie The Fog coupled perhaps with The Descent. If you have access to it, it is so easy to pick up and enjoy.
#7 Blue Prince
I respect the hell out of this game, and I suppose I am terrible at it and haven't even reached the last room I think. I've made it outside, but don't know what to do from there. So, it is this and KCD2 that I haven't exhausted/finished, but I think they should definitely be given their flowers 🌺
Re: 'It Has the Power to Enrich the Creative World': Level-5 Boss All-In on Generative AI
Every 'act' of AI generation is theft of others as it CANNOT create - it can only steal. I have zero respect for AI or people's push for AI.
I won't touch Level 5-games as I would rather support others that look for people to make their games, and I think it is telling that a majority of Push square doesn't view Sandfall as 'indie' and a smaller part might be disappointed with their use of AI and their, to my interpretation, unwillingness to share their wealth in scaling up their production after the industry lavished them with the single greatest act of marketing in the history of gaming. I'll wait to see if they actually remain as small, before I pass final judgement on what kind of business they have. I remember instantly liking their reveal video in TGAs of yore.
But I can help to notice the cracks in their underdog story - this is a Microsoft, publisher and government-backed studio with a skewered corporate structure with external developers and workers making their 'small' team literally hundreds.
I respect Warhorse Studios so much - they scaled up and shared the wealth and created a seminal entry, and have done SO MUCH research and mechanics-building to create the first KCD.
They have had too push against people that criticized the genius of their design (like Katherine Castle, Eurogamer gave the newest game 3 out 5 because it was too demanding!? She soon left Eurogamer which was fine by me) and people who questioned their morals and tried to delegitimize them (for example, most of the editorial line of Kotaku and then-Polygon before the purge.)
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
@Marquez
Fair counter point! I can only say that your opinion is always valued...
(I don't know if it is disrespect of the game, more like I was exasperated by the sheer volume of marketing for this game - but let's drop the mincing of words and get back to gaming)
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
@Marquez
I guess it flew past you that the name I chose instead is a time-honored technique in painting.
Check out "Narcissus at the Source" by Caravaggio and call it moronic one more time, I dare you.
Edit: Marqie chose to edit 'moronic' into 'nonsense'.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
@Shinnok789
Congrats on the Pro! Can you see / feel any difference compared to the regular PS5?
I have the best LCD screen of 2024 and the pro, and I could swear that Days Gone Remastered is the most beautiful game I've ever seen because of that combination!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 613
I can tell you 1 game that I definitely will not be playing anytime soon after an incredible year of dozens of high quality games my award season was completely reduced to one singular boring expression - except for PC Gamer which is worth a look - and that is ... I simply can't remember the name... was it chiaroscuro 69...
But I have been playing KCD 2 as I try to progress the story, even though I forget how to work the forge and I forgot how to fight like a lion. Well, I found my skills returning quickly and are done with the main story missions in an area and are thrust on to a new one. I have to assemble an A-team of Z-people, looking forward to that!
Even though I'm a hundred hours in, I still feel like a tourist in this world finding new places every way I turn.
Re: Game of the Year: Stephen's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
My game of the year nomination #4
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
I played through this game with the goal of getting my girl back to life for selfish reasons. It has never happened before that I could make myself do the "evil playthrough" and so, I am very much interested in playing through it again just to do right by the people I was supposed to help.
My game of the year nomination #5
God of War: Ragnarok
Somehow, I enjoyed the first entry but thought it wasn't as good as people made it out to be. But Ragnarok blew me away - maybe because it was one the first games I played on the PS5 Pro. I especially enjoyed the culmination of the story and how the lore is faithfully adopted from Norse mythology and in particular the poem Völuspá.
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Art Direction of 2025
I had to go with
My Game Of The Year Nomination #3
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
A great Don't Nod production, weaponizing 90's nostalgia and it has this gorgeous setting in the midst of the world of a couple of teenage girls, in a small town-setting, who look like real teenage girls, perfectly imperfect. It is a great and stylish game with an interesting magical realism that accentuates the themes of the game.
The art design innovates the game play: you use a 90's camcorder to 'play' the game and I won't say anymore. Furthermore, it is a frame narrative meaning the older women meet up to look back on that fateful summer.
It is a game that attracted a lot of haters, but I liked it and Don't Nod are known for Banisher's: Ghosts of New Eden which also is an awesome game that were offered as part of 2025's PS Plus subscription.
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Open World Game of 2025
@Titntin
Cheers, buddy, that's for you to decide. I thought I'd give it a go, though. You see I teach old dogs new tricks for a living🐶
And besides, I used to be just like you - but then I took an arrow to the knee. That arrow was KCD. It will kick you off the saddle, sure enough, but if you keep on, you'll soon find yourself not as the knave but the shining Knight in white armour.
Like, one mission you're supposed to flee a battalion of soldiers combing through the woods for you - and by using poisoned blades and tactical movement as well as my knowledge and skills in the deep sword fencing mechanics I managed to kill. every. single. one. of. them.
Anyways, I also like the more fantastical RPGs, but KCD just KEEPS surprising me hundreds of hours and multiple playthroughs later (still on the first playthrough of kcd 2, but I'd recommend you playing the first of course).
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Open World Game of 2025
@Titntin
You push a button to eat every now and then and then it is 4 real hours before you need to do it again. You can't go to the toilet or clean anything except for yourself.
It is like a tough version of Skyrim where you start out really weak and poor. There's communities with morality systems just like Skyrim, and you level everything up by doing it, or by training. You can even study and buy tutoring lessons for pretty much everything. There's potions that raise your affinity in certain skills for a short time too.
Everything they put in the game is documented and explained in an in-game tutorial that unfolds as you play or that you can access via menus. Also, there's a substantial codex with hundreds of entries explaining pretty much everything in game making it an educational experience if you seek it out.
I get that it might be daunting, but what do you want your RPG to be? Maybe KCD is for you, and you've mistakenly internalized it wasn't for you!
Re: We Wish You a Very Merry Christmas
PushSquare, you have a host of talented writers that keeps fueling the best website for gaming.
You have a huge community of interesting people that care about gaming, and that is indicative of your skill and prowess. (With all that success, you also attract the haters, trolls and blatantly dishonest people and somehow make space for that too.) Like a church for gamers, you attract high and low, thick and thin.
I agree that the year 2025 has offered a plethora of games - if I had to keep up with everything that I found worth playing, I would need to stop working, leave my family and clone myself a few times to keep up.
There's never been so many games, and whilst it is sad that there's not enough (paying) gamers to keep every studio or employee afloat, gaming are indeed experiencing a veritable golden age of excellency and abundance. Would I like to get rid of forever-games and predatory game design for the good of humanity? Sure, I'd nuke 'em from orbit in an instant, but overall the quality of games out there is, as you say, unfathomable and incalculable.
Sony as a platform is an enticing place to be. They're in somewhat good shape, and even though the prices on the PS Store are, for me, too high and the backlog too substantial to warrant (many) new purchases, I keep trying new games because of an insanely high value subscription service.
Merry Christmas to everyone in staff and in comments!