Latest Reviews
Mini Review Startenders (PSVR2) - A Delightful Extra-Terrestrial Bartending Experience
Just the usual, please
In Startenders you take on the role of a mundane office worker who has accidentally been abducted and forced into working shifts at the Startenders Bartending Academy. This involves you serving weird yet wonderful concoctions to even stranger beings from galaxies far, far away. It all sounds simple enough, however with a wide...
Mini Review Kayak VR: Mirage (PSVR2) - An Immersive Yet Thin Experience
Paddle away the stresses of the day
A throwback to the early PSVR tech demos, Kayak VR: Mirage is one of those games you just need to try out on PSVR2. The premise is pretty simple: you're dumped on a kayak and will use the PSVR2 Sense controllers to explore varied exotic locations. That's really all there is to it, but its kind of the point...
Mini Review Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder (PSVR2) - A Rock Solid Cave Digging Roguelike
We can dig it
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder doesn’t beat around the bush much, so we won’t either. It’s a surprisingly solid cave spelunking roguelike. It’s not here to dazzle with unprecedented visual splendour or novel new gameplay ideas. It just provides some good old-fashioned gunslinging and money hoarding fun. Being a roguelike, Cave...
Mini Review Thumper (PSVR2) - A Return to the Music Visualiser from Hell
Things that go Thump in the night
Thumper was a highlight of PSVR's launch lineup back in 2016 — check out our review through the link to learn why. It's a relentless, frantic rhythm title that has you racing through space, matching actions to the beat of the heavy soundtrack. The game is just as excellent this time around, if not better. While...
Mini Review RUNNER (PSVR2) - Akira Inspired Arcade Shooter Will Put You Through the Wringer
Too wild for you to handle
Iconic 80s anime Akira serves as the inspiration for RUNNER, a breakneck sci-fi arcade shooter which arguably tries to do too much. As a smuggler in an aggressively hostile world, you must outrun robo-cops through seven dynamically generated stages, dual-wielding pistols while you issue a little justice all of your own...
Mini Review Tentacular (PSVR2) - Physics Puzzler May (Ten)tickle Your Fancy
Release the Kraken
Tentacular is a physics-based puzzler where you take control of a tentacled monster who's raised by the townsfolk of La Kalma, a small village in the middle of the ocean. You're on a journey of self-discovery, trying to find out how you came to be and where you belong. Using your long sucker-laden limbs to manipulate objects, you...
Review Song in the Smoke: Rekindled (PSVR2) - VR's Best Survival Sim Is Even Better with PSVR2
Smoke on the water
Now virtual reality has been around the block a bit and begun to age out of its awkward teenage years, the technology has gotten a deluge of games in a small morsel of genres. First-person shooters, puzzlers, and rhythm games have proliferated — undoubtedly due to how intuitively and painlessly they make the transition to the...
Mini Review Demeo (PSVR2) - Dungeons and Dragons Experience Is One Roll Away from Perfection
Critical hit
Demeo is a one-to-four player tabletop turn-based dungeon crawler that can be played on both the PS5 and in PSVR2, the latter being significantly better. You choose your role from a possible seven classes (Guardian, Warlock, Sorcerer, Assassin, Hunter, Barbarian and Bard) and must traverse three floors, using card abilities and rolling...
Mini Review Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator (PS5) - Fun But Not Quite Masterchef
You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties
You'd think given the countless hours we've spent watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares that we'd have picked up a thing or two about running a successful restaurant. Alas, it seems the only thing we've picked up is his proclivity for foul-mouthed tirades, which we discovered a mere couple of...
Mini Review 2MD: VR Football Unleashed All-Star (PSVR2) - Revamped Arcade Football Doesn't Fumble
Hail Mary
Who wouldn’t want to be an NFL quarterback? The fame, the adulation, the roughing the passer penalty flags – it’s the thing dreams are made of! 2MD: VR Football Unleashed All-Star is an upgraded version of Truant Pixel’s arcade-inspired two-minute drill simulator, and it’s come a long way since we reviewed it on Sony’s original...
Damn and blaster
As the classic commentator’s cliché goes, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Edition is a game of two halves. Originally released for the Meta Quest 2, this intergalactic virtual reality adventure bundles up the original campaign and its superior Last Call expansion. The result is a wildly inconsistent affair,...
Mini Review Akka Arrh (PS5) – A Psychedelic Curiosity from the Past
What a name
Akka Arrh is a contemporary re-imagining of a scrapped project dating back to the ‘80s. If that’s not an odd enough set-up to hook you, then maybe the rock-solid gameplay can do it instead. Developed by Llamasoft — the team behind the enigmatic Polybius — Akka Arrh is a unique wave shooter that tasks you with killing enemies...
Review Atomic Heart (PS5) - Alt History Shooter with an Identity Crisis
SovietShock
An alternate history set in the wake of World War II. A technological utopia hiding terrible secrets. A square-jawed, bloodthirsty protagonist. Mick Gordon spewing fire from the speakers. You'd be forgiven for thinking Bethesda just stealth-dropped another Wolfenstein. Alas, this isn't a new adventure for the Blazkowicz family, but it...
Mini Review WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros (PS4) - Balling Arcade Baseball Costs Less Than a Buck
Swing when you're winning
Konami’s long-running Power Pros franchise – perhaps better known by its Japanese names PawaParu or Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu – has received Western releases in the past, but has generally remained exclusive to Asian territories over the years. The release of WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros is noteworthy because it’s...
Review Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line (PS4) - Solid Rhythm Game Is a Love Letter to a Legendary Series
Kefkaesque
Even if you're a casual observer of Final Fantasy, this isn’t one to miss. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line collects 385 songs (or 402 if you own the Deluxe Edition) across countless Final Fantasy games, spin-offs, movies, and concerts to create the ultimate celebration of the 35 year old franchise. Final Bar Line is the fourth Theatrhythm...
Review Like a Dragon: Ishin! (PS5) - One of the Most Intense and Intricate Yakuza Games Yet
Blast from the past
It's finally here! It's been almost a decade since Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! released exclusively in Japan on PS3 and PS4, with Western fans begging for a localisation effort all the while. But back then, the Yak--, er, Like a Dragon series was nowhere near as popular as it is now, and so here we are with SEGA greenlighting a...
Review Octopath Traveler II (PS5) - An Immaculate RPG with Brilliantly Realised Characters
Eight times the fun
Square Enix’s 2018 hit Octopath Traveler sold over 3 million copies worldwide, but never made it to PlayStation. Now, the series heads to PS5 and PS4 for the first time with Octopath Traveler II. Still with the striking HD-2D graphics of the first game, the sequel takes what its predecessor did and builds on it, creating a...
Review Wild Hearts (PS5) - A Fast-Paced, Thrilling Alternative to Monster Hunter
Domo arigato Mr. Kemono
Let's get the boring paperwork out of the way quickly. Yes, Wild Hearts is a lot like Monster Hunter: World. The similarities are plain to see, both structurally and conceptually. However, far from being a Monster Hunter clone, thanks to mostly fantastic creature design and splendid, fast-paced combat with an emphasis on ad...
Review Horizon Call of the Mountain (PSVR2) - Pretty Platformer Reaches New Heights
Just don't look down
Ever wondered why Aloy has abs so rippled they’d make a Greek statue blush? It turns out surviving the tribal world of Horizon is tough – as PSVR2 launch title Call of the Mountain can attest. This next-gen virtual reality effort from The Persistence developer Firesprite and famed first-party Guerrilla Games is unflinchingly...
Mini Review Tales of Symphonia Remastered (PS4) - Barebones Remaster Distracts from a Classic RPG
Lloyd Irving, wake up!
Still one of the most highly regarded instalments in Namco's long-running series, Tales of Symphonia could be considered a classic. Indeed, it's easy forget that the game's almost 20 years old — and Tales of Symphonia Remastered shows that the adventure actually holds up surprisingly well. The storytelling's a little...
Review Borderlands 3 (PS5) - Looting and Shooting Is Back and Better Than Ever
Don't forget to like, follow, and obey
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. Borderlands 3 is one of those rare games where you most likely knew if you would be purchasing it or not...
Review Scarlet Nexus (PS5) - 'Brain Punk' RPG Gets a Lot Right, But Ends Up Feeling Stunted
Seeing red
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. Scarlet Nexus is quite a unique action RPG set in a world where the human brain has evolved. Most people are hooked up to a kind of...
Review Outriders (PS5) - Great Combat? That's a People Can Fly Game
Ridin' dirty
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. You know what? Outriders is pretty good. Torn apart during
Review The Quarry (PS5) - Maybe Until Dawn Was Just a Fluke
One foot in the grave
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. Whether it likes it or not, Supermassive Games will always have its titles compared to Until Dawn. The British developer...
Review Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - Aloy Returns in Superior PS5 Sequel
Red Head Redemption 2
Republished on Wednesday, 15th February, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February 2023's PS Plus Extra and Premium lineup. The original text follows. With Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games set the bar very high for itself. Its first attempt at an open world action RPG...
Mini Review Ten Dates (PS4) - A Much Improved Rom-Com Sequel
Seven out of ten dates
Has humanity ever had a worse idea than speed dating? Once you forget all the obviously terrible stuff like biological weapons and motion controls, speed dating must be right up there. Five minutes of pish banter with a person who isn't laughing at any of your killer jokes before you half-heartedly ask for contact information...
Review Wanted: Dead (PS5) - A Fascinating Mess of an Action Game
Dead, but not buried
Jeez, where do we even begin with Wanted: Dead? It feels like an action game from another age, harkening back to the many lower budget, madcap brawlers that found cult acclaim on the PS2 and PS3. It's also an extremely janky release, absolutely packed with dodgy character models, borderline unreadable combat animations, and...
Mini Review PowerWash Simulator (PS5) - Surprisingly Appealing, Deeply Satisfying
Good, clean fun
By now, you'll have made your mind up about PowerWash Simulator. It's been doing the rounds for a couple of years, winning hearts with its simple, inexplicably compelling gameplay. Yes, it's about blasting water at filthy buildings and objects. Yes, broadly it's quite repetitive and slow. Yes, you could get a power washer and hose...
Review Hogwarts Legacy (PS5) - A Harry Potter Dream Come True
Yer finally a wizard
For so many bookworms of the late 1990s to mid 2000s, Hogwarts Legacy is something of a dream game. After a long line of bang-average licensed titles, developer Avalanche Software is finally letting Potterheads realise their ambitions of attending Hogwarts, taking classes, and exploring the castle without restraint. It's a...
Mini Review World War Z: Aftermath (PS5) - Performance Issues Can't Stop XL Zombie Fun
More zombies, less frame rate
World War Z: Aftermath, the manic zombie shooter, has finally made its way to PS5 alongside its long-awaited XL version of Horde Mode. This movie tie-in has become a real sleeper-hit after it launched to middling reviews back in 2019. But several updates later, and we have a solid third-person co-op experience that has...