Latest Reviews
Mini Review Parcel Corps (PS5) - A Speedy Dispatch, Not a Special Delivery
Fragile Express
Delivery games vary drastically from simple delivery driver simulators to more complex titles such as Death Stranding, where you traverse treacherous terrain to complete your daily drops. However, Parcel Corps, the cel-shaded, extreme sports delivery game from Billy Goat Entertainment, sticks to a more familiar concept, providing the...
Angel fleeced
The life of a sports game reviewer can be a miserable one, but while much of Visual Concepts’ culturally colossal NBA 2K series is recycled year-on-year, it rarely settles for raw iteration. This is a developer that, for all its faults, genuinely appears committed to creating the best sports sim on the market – and it tends to lap...
Review Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) - Brilliant, Memorable RPG Is One of Atlus' Finest Works
More than meets the eye
Spearheaded by a trio of veteran developers best known for their outstanding work on the Persona series, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the dawn of a brand new IP from Atlus. In its structure and mechanics, it feels comfortingly familiar, but in its fantastical setting and bold style — both in terms of visuals and audio — it...
Review Until Dawn (PS5) - Killer Teen Slasher Snags a Pricey New-Gen Remake
Graveyard shift
Ballistic Moon’s remake of Until Dawn is proving one of our most difficult review assignments of the year. Here’s the rub: Supermassive Games’ cult interactive movie is still very much one of the best examples of the genre you can find on any console, and we highly recommend you play it. However, the PS4 version is just...
Review Silent Hill 2 (PS5) - The Horror Great Remains So in This Excellent Remake
It's always like this
Silent Hill always has been and forever will be considered one of the greatest horror franchises ever made, but ask anyone under the age of 20 nowadays what game Pyramid Head is from and they’re perhaps more likely to name Dead by Daylight than the series’ legendary second entry. A few dire side games (PS3’s Downpour and...
Mini Review SUNSOFT Is Back! Retro Game Selection (PS5) - Archaic But Interesting 80s Bundle
The sun always shines brighter
Before you shell out for the SUNSOFT Is Back! Retro Game Selection, you need to understand exactly what you’re getting. This trio of archaic 8-bit adventures has never been officially localised in English before, so it carries inherent value for that reason alone. But it’s worth noting that these titles are...
Mini Review Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns (PS5) – DLC Add-On Is Mostly Unfunny and Overpriced
Back in the Havik
For those who missed it, following the bloody finale of Mortal Kombat 1's story, which saw Liu Kang and the gang dispatch the Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, a version of PS2-era jobber Havik discovered that not only do other timelines exist, but that they could all use a little more chaos. This brings us to the new...
Mini Review Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition (PS5) - Still a Series Highlight 25 Years Later
Garden warfare
Despite countless sequels, Team 17's turn-based strategy series has struggled to better 1999's Worms Armageddon. The developer knows it, too; Worms WMD is based on the fan-favourite game's source code, and the Steam release of Armageddon has been consistently updated, most recently with a major patch in 2020. Now, Worms Armageddon:...
Mystery mayhem
Spike Chunshoft is known for its incredible work on the Danganronpa series, a collection of visual novels that saw critical acclaim for its interesting characters and dark yet comedic writing. Following on from such success is a difficult feat, yet in June last year, the release of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code on Nintendo...
A kingdom with heart
Once upon a time, legendary game director Warren Spector asked Disney to help him make a science fiction game. The house of mouse wasn't interested in his pitch, but it gave him the keys to the forgotten magic kingdom instead. Spector's Junction Point Studios was given unfettered access to archival materials and tasked with...
Mini Review Reynatis (PS5) - Beautiful Action RPG Is Far Too Repetitive
Shibuya showdown
Reynatis is an action RPG set in the vibrant ward of Shibuya, Tokyo, but it’s a very different place to the one we know. In this version, magic is real, very dangerous, and feared by the non-magical population. Magic users either hide their abilities or join a government organisation called M.E.A. to hunt down rogue witches and...
Mini Review Mister Mosquito (PS2) - Sony Classic Sucks in All the Right Ways
Buzzin'
You only need to press the start button to know Mister Mosquito graduated from an era of PlayStation that’s long been lost. As the camera pans around the densely detailed exterior of the Yamada family’s estate, a dramatic voice over does its best David Attenborough impression, describing the precarious lifecycle of a mosquito. Your goal...
The G.O.A.T.
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is a sacred text in the history of point-and-click adventure games, and new remaster Reforged is the best version of the game that's ever been released. Quality-of-life improvements mean players who just want to enjoy the story without too much lateral thinking can do so, while veterans of the genre...
Mini Review Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP (PS5) - A Sweet Return with a Bittersweet Bite
Burst bubble
Let’s get one thing straight: Lollipop Chainsaw is amazing. This seminal, subversive monstrosity from the minds of legendary developer Suda51 and Hollywood big-shot James Gunn (in his PG Porn era, no less) is as amusing today as it was over a decade ago; it’s outrageous, ridiculous, obnoxious, garish – we absolutely love it, and...
Mini Review Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis (PS5) - Expensive Expansion Is a Flawed Affair
SEES the day
Episode Aigis is an epilogue to Persona 3 Reload — a remake of the additional scenario that first appeared in Persona 3 FES on the PS2. Much like Reload itself, this expansion is pretty much a one-to-one recreation in terms of core narrative and structure, but it's bolstered by all of the remake's quality of life and combat system...
Review The Plucky Squire (PS5) - Joyful, Inventive Adventure on Every Page of PS Plus Gem
Jot what the doctor ordered
The Plucky Squire leapt out at us from the very first moment we saw its debut trailer, teasing the dimension-hopping capabilities of its central storybook hero. We're pleased to say the full game delivers on this core premise handsomely; Jot's journey across the pages of his book and beyond is full of unique moments and...
Review Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (PS5) - Capcom Classic Still Shines 18 Years Later
Being Frank
There’s a certain charm to the Capcom of the PS3 generation; a time when its releases were just as likely to land as they were to heavily miss. For every Devil May Cry 4 or Dragon’s Dogma, there was a Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City to set it back to square one. Nowadays, those extreme gulfs in quality have been reduced to...
Review Train Sim World 5 (PS5) - A Solid Update Stuck on Familiar Tracks
Chugging along
If you’ll forgive a veteran virtual train driver a moment of indulgence, Train Sim World is one of the few series this writer has returned to over and over again. There’s something deeply soothing about commandeering a hunk of metal through an otherwise uneventful afternoon, making passenger stops as you soak up the scenery...
Mini Review Funko Fusion (PS5) - Bland, Cryptic Nostalgia Bait Lacks LEGO's Charm
Pop! your card back in your wallet
We figured Funko Fusion could have been fun — or even a surprise gem. Except Funko Fusion isn’t either of those things. Much like the figurines the game is based on, it feels soulless and a poor approximation of the pop culture it's trying to represent. The main point of comparison with Funko Fusion is the...
Mini Review Caravan SandWitch (PS5) - A Delightfully Relaxed, Atmospheric Adventure
Life's a witch
If you're on the market for a relatively stress-free adventure with a focus on exploration — and a surprisingly engaging story — then Caravan SandWitch may be the game for you. Set on a mostly deserted planet, protagonist Sauge returns to the place she once called home in order to track down her older sister, who's been presumed...
Mini Review Wild Bastards (PS5) – Way More Bastards, But a Lot More Void
It’s not swearing if it’s in the game’s title
Void Bastards was a lovely surprise when it first launched back in 2019 thanks to its comic book aesthetic, great sense of humour, and a satisfyingly immersive, sim-inspired approach to the roguelike genre. Rather than stick to its blasters, and go with a safe sequel, developer Blue Manchu has...
Mini Review Crossy Road Castle (PS5) - Addictive Mobile Game Struts onto PS5
King of the Castle
Rather than crossing roads, Crossy Road Castle sees players traversing different castles, level by level, battling bosses and encountering uniquely themed environments in each location. You have three lives per run, and the aim is to get as far through a castle as you can. Every 10 levels there’s a vending machine where you can...
Mini Review Rugrats: Adventures In Gameland (PS5) - Fun and Frustration in This Nostalgia Trip
It's 4 o'clock in the morning, why are you playing this game?
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a flawed throwback to platformers of days past. Aesthetically, the teams at The MIX Games & Wallride have absolutely nailed it. If you grew up watching Rugrats, you’ll be swimming in nods to the cartoon, ranging from characters, to environments, to...
Mango Sentinel out of Curly Moustache
“Capcom presents...” When you hear those words while booting up a game, you know for sure you’re about to be taken for a ride. And while the Marvel vs. Capcom series has been shockingly dormant for the last seven years thanks to the painfully underrated Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (which had incredible...
Review Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (PS5) - Magical PS Plus Sporting Sim Is a Winner
Glory Seeker
The wizarding world of Harry Potter is home to many fan-favourite moments, yet nothing has quite managed to surpass the magic of Quidditch, a fictional sport where the students of Hogwarts and Wizarding World alike engage in a competitive goal-based game, while riding broomsticks. A video game adaptation of Quidditch is nothing new, as...
Review Antstream Arcade (PS5) - Instantly Add 1,300 Retro Releases to Your Console Collection
Livin' the stream
Retro gaming is big business these days. Products like the Evercade have proven there’s a market for a curated collection of physical cartridge-based compilations, while various Chinese manufacturers are making a fortune on Android-powered emulation portables. Even Sony has acknowledged there’s value in its back catalogue,...
Beta Test Drive
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown isn’t just a racing game, it’s a lifestyle game. Developer Kylotonn has endeavoured to recreate Hong Kong Island along with its opulent luxury and underground street scene, and while the driving is where Solar Crown truly shines, it's the lifestyle and technical aspects of the game hold it back...
Mini Review Castlevania Dominus Collection (PS5) - A Fantastic Bundle of DS Classics
Touching the classics
Anyone who had a Nintendo DS back in the day knows that it boasts a little selection of Castlevania games that are some of the very best in the series — and the latest collection from Konami finally gives PlayStation loyalists a chance to sample their delights. Dominus Collection brings together Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of R
Mini Review TimeSplitters (PS2) - A Fantastic Foundation with Flaws
Running out of time
Despite releasing just two years prior to TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters finds itself noticeably lacking in a number of key areas. It’s not dissimilar to how the gap between 2 and Future Perfect felt, though that was of course three years. Just as Future Perfect pulled a lot of content from its predecessor, 2 would in turn...
Review Astro Bot (PS5) - One of the Greatest PlayStation Platformers of All Time
Ace-tro Bot
PS5 pack-in Astro's Playroom was a taster dish, teasing players with a short but sweet experience; Astro Bot, then, is the full three-course meal. Developer Team Asobi has been delivering brilliant 3D platformers since PSVR's Astro Bot Rescue Mission, so it should come as little surprise that this latest entry in the young series is...
