Latest Reviews
Review Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (PS5) - A Throwback Worthy of the Hayabusa Name
Clan of attack
The Ninja Gaiden series has been around for a long time, and it's changed a lot, moving from 2D action platforming to full-on, big budget, 3D adventures. While many will know the franchise from these later hack-and-slashers, the most recent entry, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, winds back the clock, taking us back to its side-scrolling...
Mini Review Time Flies (PS5) - You'll Get a Buzz from This Silly Insect Excursion
Living your pest life
Time Flies is a short but sweet adventure game about making the most of your life on planet Earth — even if it only lasts a matter of seconds. Playing as a common fly, the game detects your real-world location and uses that country's average life expectancy to determine the length of your fly's life in seconds. You can...
Review Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles 2 (PS5) - A Cut Above
Hashira highlights
Anime-themed arena brawlers have generally become a bad joke in the console space, largely due to their lazy adaptation of the source material and overall low quality. The wordy Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles from CyberConnect2 bucked this trend, though, leveraging the Japanese developer’s trademark...
Mini Review Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game (PS5) - One Cosy Game to Bore Them All
A half-baked Hobbit's life
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is a cosy Hobbit life simulator by Weta Workshop, set in the idyllic world of The Shire from JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. After creating your own character, you arrive in Bywater, but despite living in an epic fantasy world, swords are of no use here and your biggest...
Review Ready or Not (PS5) - Disturbing Co-Op Shooter Is a Tactical Must-Play
"Here I come"
Ready or Not is a slow-paced, uber-tactical first-person shooter. It’s a super serious PC release that’s finally made its way to PS5, offering up a darker and grittier co-op experience than anything else currently on the market. But does that mean it’s worth your time? While Ready Or Not won’t be for everyone, for us there’s...
Review Wheel World (PS5) - Open World Cycling Sim Is a Joy When It Isn't Chugging Along
On yer bike
Wheel World is an open world cycling title with a clear love for all things biking. While it's more of an arcade racer than some sort of bicycle simulator, it manages to capture the joys of pedalling like very few other games have. You play as the comically unbothered Kat, a silent protagonist who sets out on a quest to help Skully —...
Mini Review Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
Wu chang clan
The demands for fewer Souls-likes in the gaming release calendar make quite a lot of sense when they're as formulaic and familiar as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. From developer Leenzee, the debut effort is a mostly competent attempt at a Dark Souls experience, but it doesn't do nearly enough to stand out from its many, many peers...
Mini Review Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact (PS5) - Shonen Showdown Falls Short
Right idea, wrong budget
Hallelujah, praise the anime gods! Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact is a manga adaptation that’s not your average arena brawler, but instead an actual fighting game. Not only that but publisher Bushiroad has recruited Marvel vs Capcom 3 dev Eighting to transform the oft-on-hiatus shonen story into a three-on-three brawler...
Mini Review Golden Tee Arcade Classics (PS5) - Nostalgic Novelty Misses the Sweet Spot
All fore one
It’s perhaps a symbol of the current retro game boom that Golden Tee Arcade Classics exists at all. That’s not a slight, by the way – it’s just remarkable that these trackball titles, often nestled between claw machines in American sports bars and restaurants, now exist in fully playable form on a home console like the PS5. For...
Mini Review The Wandering Village (PS5) - A Colossally Good City Builder
Onbu we go
Set atop a colossal beast called an Onbu, The Wandering Village takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where poisonous spores have wiped out the world as we know it. Originally released on Steam in 2022, the popular city building simulation has now released on PS5. The Onbu itself is made up of different terrain where inhabitants can...
Review Shadow Labyrinth (PS5) - Pac-Man Meets Metroid in Strange Offshoot That Almost Works
Maze runner
Pac-Man has always been at home within mazes full of enemies trying to kill you, so the move to a Metroidvania doesn't feel like that big of a leap. Having said that, Shadow Labyrinth takes Bandai Namco's 45-year-old mascot in a wild new direction, placing him in a dark, sci-fi world that the casual onlooker may not realise is related to...
Review RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business (PS5) - Standalone Mini-Sequel Just Misses the Mark
Fun in the gun
When RoboCop's beloved police precinct is ransacked by a mysterious mercenary company, he has no choice but to hit up their hideout and put down the population of a small country. RoboCop: Rogue City is back, and it's still good fun — for the most part. Unfinished Business is basically a mini-sequel. it's actually entirely separate...
Review EDENS ZERO (PS5) - Breezy Anime Adaptation Is a Fun, Forgettable Action RPG
Happy space
If we had to use one word to describe EDENS ZERO, it would be 'basic' — but we don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. This is a very straightforward adaptation of the sci-fi manga and anime series, retelling the source material's plot across a rather rudimentary action RPG structure. Fortunately, if you're not familiar with...
Mini Review Patapon 1+2 Replay (PS5) - The Best Versions of Two PSP Classics in One Package
Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon
The PS4 remasters of Patapon and Patapon 2 did a sufficient job of reintroducing people to the quirky PSP rhythm titles where you direct tribes of warriors to the beat, but they definitely had their share of problems. Input lag and muddy textures put a dampener on the initial attempt. Bandai Namco has taken a mulligan here,...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 (PS5) - An Imperfect Remake, But a Great Skateboarding Game
Memory gap
A few years ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 brought back the iconic skateboarding series in fine form, presenting the first two games remade and in one package. It was so successful in what it set out to do that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 uses practically the exact same template. While the end result is another fantastic arcade...
Ghost in the machine
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is Nightdive Studio's tribute to the hugely influential 1994 original. Offering a much-needed technical upgrade, along with a bevvy of extras, System Shock 2 is still an impressive game, even if some of its forward-thinking mechanics feel quite quaint three decades later. Originally...
Mini Review Missile Command Delta (PS5) - A Radically Different But Successful Series Reboot
Top bunker
Missile Command Delta is a big departure from the original game that Atari fans are familiar with, and while we're sure purists won't enjoy the drastic changes, this modern spin brings the concept forward in a refreshing and imaginative way. A group of adventurous teenagers plans to spend the night in a creepy, disused bunker, only to...
Mini Review Anger Foot (PS5) - Chaotic Kick-'Em-Up Satisfies from Head to Toe
Foot you
You may have seen Anger Foot described as a first-person Hotline Miami — and that's probably a good comparison to, er, kick things off. Playing as the titular Anger Foot himself, you'll kick and shoot your way through the superbly named Shit City in search of your beloved sneakers. It's an unapologetically punk setting where just about...
Mini Review Into the Restless Ruins (PS5) - An Inventive Spin on Roguelike Dungeon Crawling
Deck of halls
Roguelike dungeon crawlers and deck builders are prolific these days, but many of them manage to stand out in one way or another despite sharing some similar elements. Into the Restless Ruins does just that by splicing the worlds of dungeon-delving and card-collecting together, the result being a unique, clever game where you literally...
Mini Review Ruffy and the Riverside (PS5) - A Cute Platformer with Missed Potential
Roughy
Ruffy and the Riverside has always looked rather striking with its 2D characters in a colourful 3D world, and while its aesthetic is a strength, the game itself doesn't really match it. This is an open-ended 3D platformer with a unique swap mechanic, which lets you copy certain textures and apply them to other objects — turning water into...
Review Death Stranding 2 (PS5) - A Masterpiece in Every Sense
Death can't tear us apart
The overriding feeling utterly coursing through the veins of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is confidence. Five and a half years ago, Kojima Productions released its first game after the Konami split to a somewhat mixed reception. Those looking for the next Metal Gear Solid did not find their new Solid Snake. However,...
Mini Review Rematch (PS5) - Fun, Fresh Football Game Holds Huge Potential
All hail FIFU
Rematch is very close to being a real blinder. An online multiplayer football game in which every player controls an individual person on the pitch, it's a totally fresh take on the sport that takes more than a little inspiration from Rocket League, and the result is fantastic. Playable in 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5 matches, Rematch plonks you...
Raidou or die
Given its vast PS2-era catalogue, Atlus' decision to revive Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army is a bit of a strange one. Something of an experimental foray into the realm of action RPGs, it's not necessarily a game that springs to mind when looking back on the developer's most prolific console generation. But maybe...
Mini Review Still Wakes the Deep: Siren's Rest (PS5) - Scottish Horror Loses the Magic
It dinny be the same
Still Wakes the Deep was one of our favourite releases of 2024, so the news of a slice of DLC dropping in the form of Siren’s Rest was music to our ears. This paid expansion, which picks up a decade after the events of the main game, sees diver Mhairi swim to the depths of the ocean to uncover the truth of the Beira D oil...
Mini Review TRON: Catalyst (PS5) - A Deftly Delivered Return to the Grid
How many cycles has it been?
Bithell Games returns to the world of TRON with TRON: Catalyst. Following in the footsteps of visual novel TRON: Identity, Catalyst is something of a different beast. Much more ambitious in scope across the board, this is an action-adventure brawler that incorporates light RPG elements. You play as Exo, a courier who...
Review FBC: Firebreak (PS5) - PS Plus Shooter Proves Remedy Should Have Stayed in Its Lane
Stick to what you know
FBC: Firebreak is a funny kind of game, especially from Remedy Entertainment. In an odd first, Remedy — the team behind single player games like Alan Wake 2 — has pivoted to multiplayer with its latest project. FBC: Firebreak is a first-person co-op shooter set within the Remedy Verse. And while there’s plenty to like...
Mini Review Date Everything (PS5) - Delightfully Silly Visual Novel Has a Lot of Heart
Including the kitchen sink
After finally gaining a degree in Customer Service, you begin your exciting new career as a customer service rep! Unfortunately, it only takes a single day before you find out that your job is being outsourced to AI. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as a mysterious hacker sends you some new technology – a pair of...
Review MindsEye (PS5) - GTA Producer's Latest Is a Futuristic Faceplant
Red Rock Bottom
Until we actually got our hands on MindsEye, we weren't clear what kind of game it even is. Is it an open world title? Is it linear? How does the user-generated Everywhere project fit into it all? We’ll get into all of those, but the most important thing to know about MindsEye is that it’s a disjointed and tragic mess of a game...
Mini Review The Alters (PS5) - Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi Caper Is 11 Bit Studios' Best Game Yet
Hope you're good company
The Alters plays like a mix of XCOM 2's base building, The Sims' personal needs management, and a third-person survival adventure. This sci-fi game begins with a ship crashlanding on a distant planet, leaving one survivor: Jan Dolski. During the day, you explore and gather resources outside the base to improve it. At night,...
Review Splitgate 2 (PS5) - Sleek Shooter Sequel Is Uninspired Fun
Bigger and better?
The Halo meets Portal shooter is back in the form of 1047 Games’ Splitgate 2, an ambitious sequel that aims to be bigger, better, and slicker than ever before. But has the developer managed to realise the potential of the first game with its bigger budget? There's certainly a fun and snappy shooter here that's technically...
