Latest Reviews
Review Tomba! Special Edition (PS5) - PS1 Oddity Remains a Fun, Fresh, and Unique Platformer
Pigs will fly
So, who remembers Tomba!? Also known as Tombi! in Europe, it was a distinctly Japanese platformer that charmed many a PS1 player all the way back in 1997. Often bizarre but almost always bright and cheery, Tomba! offered something very different to the genre's blockbusters, like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro. It was a curious blend of...
Mini Review SteamWorld Heist 2 (PS5) - More Mechanical Tactical Magic
A life of delightment
Ditching the space exploration of the original, SteamWorld Heist 2 is a swashbuckling tactics adventure that places you in the shoes of Captain Leeway. He takes to the Great Sea with his ragtag group of Steambots to solve the water crisis, deal with the oppressive navy making things worse, and prove he can live up to his...
Mini Review Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (PS5) - Retro Remaster Is Faithful to a Fault
I find your abundance of faith endearing
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a remaster of the 2002 action platformer. You play as Jango Fett when he's still a bounty hunter, before the creation of the clone army. He's voiced by his live-action actor, Temuera Morrison, and the story is an interesting and surprisingly funny look into the life of one of the...
Mini Review The Star Named EOS (PS5) - Memories Worth Experiencing
Snapshots in time and space
Heartfelt, poignant stories are more common these days, thanks to more indie games than ever being released. Able to tell stories and make smaller experiences that larger games from big publishers won't touch, they can often be diamonds in the rough. For the most part, The Star Named EOS is one of those diamonds. Across...
Mini Review Deadlink (PS5) - Breakneck Cyberpunk Shooter Is an Absolute Blast
Hell in a shell
If you're a fan of fast and furious, DOOM-esque shooting on PS5, Deadlink earns itself an easy recommendation. This is a cyberpunk-themed blast-'em-up with a roguelite structure, where the goal is to run through preset levels that dish out randomised rewards upon completion. It's frantic, often sweat-inducing fun, held together by...
Mini Review Monster Train (PS5) - Another Addictive Card Game for the Deck
Leaving on a hell train
As heaven threatens to extinguish the flames of Hell once and for all, it's down to you, some demonspawn, and a handful of cards to allay the danger. The stakes are high in Monster Train, a roguelike deckbuilder that throws in a teensy bit of tower defence for good measure. It's a mix that works remarkably well, delivering...
Review Killzone: Liberation (PSP) - Top-Down Shooter's a Bit of a Slog
Muddy aiming mars some nice ideas
The PSP was many things to many people, a delightful little slice of hardware that ended up with a pretty stellar library of ports and new games — but one thing you could never say about it was that it had a second analogue stick. That sole little control nub on its left had to do a heck of a lot of heavy lifting,...
Mini Review Thank Goodness You're Here! (PS5) - An Utterly Ridiculous English Excursion
Reyt good, this
Thank Goodness You're Here! is best experienced knowing as little as possible, but what you should know is that it's one of the most roundly absurd games we've yet played. As a diminutive businessman, you're sent out to meet with the mayor of Barnsworth. Turns out he'll be unavailable for a while, and so, with a few hours to fill,...
Mini Review Exhausted Man (PS5) - Perfect for Putting Yourself to Sleep
Wake me up when it's over
As an adult, being tired is an aspect of everyday life. Everyone has something sapping their energy. Whether it's work, school, or any other circumstance, we’re all just pushing ourselves until we can go to sleep again. That being said, it’s a bit of a surprise to see a full game focused on that subject. Exhausted Man...
Review EA Sports College Football 25 (PS5) - Stunning Sim Worth the 10 Year Wait
She's cheer captain, we're all on the bleachers
While EA Sports College Football 25 is likely to prove an enigma for anyone outside of America, the PS5 game is already well on its way to becoming one of 2024’s best-sellers in the USA. Its release ends a decade-long wait for a new licensed NCAA title, after a protracted legal dispute pertaining to...
Review Earth Defense Force 6 (PS5) - More of the Same Insectoid Mayhem, and We Love It
Kill 'em all... again
Earth Defense Force feels like a relic of a bygone era. An era of arcade shooters with the sole purpose of throwing shapes, colours and sounds in your general direction. Ever since 2003’s Monster Attack, franchise dev Sandlot has gathered a faithful fanbase, who ignore the technical shortcomings and revel in a varied class...
Review SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (PS4) – A Barebones Port of an Arcade Curiosity
We have Capcom vs SNK at home
Capcom has always had a bit of an uneven relationship with its partners when it comes to crossover fighting games. We got Street Fighter X Tekken, but Tekken never returned the favour; plus, Marvel and Tatsunoko aren’t game developers, so there was obviously no return trip there. Naturally, we’re leading up to say...
Review Jeanne d'Arc (PSP) - Long Awaited Strategy RPG Remains Divine
The Maiden has arrived
Jeanne d'Arc is a pseudo-historical retelling of the story of Joan of Arc from developer Level-5, released on PSP in 2007. It always had a reputation as a rock-solid turn-based strategy RPG, but as publisher Sony never released the title in Europe and other territories, it was one many that players outside the U.S. and Japan...
Review Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure (PS5) - This Unique Puzzle Game Never Stands Still
Going on-grid
Jemma is a self-proclaimed mess of a person. Thanks to her unique way of getting around, with all tiles on the same row or column moving in step with her, she's always found it hard to fit in with those around her. Feeling limited by her quiet life among people who don't really understand her, it's no wonder her main goal is to venture...
Mini Review Let's School (PS5) - School Management Sim Fails to Make the Grade
See me after class
Let’s School is a management simulator which will have you rebuilding a school back to its former glory. Once a student of the educational institution and now its headmaster, it only makes sense that the first ever school you manage will be one days away from financial ruin. The game misses out on any humanity by treating the...
Review Nobody Wants to Die (PS5) - Film Noir Meets Cyberpunk in This Stylish Detective Thriller
Who wants to live forever?
What would happen if humans created a way to make death optional by transferring consciousness from one body to another? Nobody Wants to Die answers that question in the most realistic way possible: the rich live forever, and the poor barely live at all. Set in New York in 2329, Nobody Wants To Die tells the story of...
Mini Review Asphalt Legends Unite (PS5) - Over-the-Top Arcade Racer Serves Up Some Free Fun
Simple and silly
The era of outrageous arcade racers is all but dead these days. The likes of Forza Horizon and The Crew Motorfest have picked up the mantle, but we miss the days of sliding our Ferrari F50s around corners at right-angles, with retina burning SEGA blue skies and pumping c*ck rock providing the perfect backdrop. It’d be a criminal...
Mini Review Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn (PS5) - Yeah, It's Pretty Good
Use axe to grind
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is the textbook definition of a good video game. You probably won't think of it much after rolling credits, but in the moment, there's enough in its roughly 12-hour campaign for a fulfilling time. A quick hit of comfort food for the Souls-like audience, it succeeds with fun combat and movement abilities...
Mini Review Flock (PS5) - Hohokum Meets Pokémon in Relaxing Collect-'Em-Up
Ready and woollen
If you're looking for a game to just chill out to, Flock will definitely meet that criteria. From the minds behind Hohokum, I Am Dead, and Wilmot's Warehouse, to name a few, this laidback adventure is all about finding and documenting dozens of unusual creatures, and that's more or less it. The open world expands as you progress...
Review Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (PS5) - An Absorbing Action-Strategy Hybrid
Active tower defence
Capcom is absolutely dialled in right now; everything it touches seems to turn to gold, from major releases to smaller experiments. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess certainly fits into the latter category, and it's a terrific time for fans of real-time strategy with a twist. Being able to control a hero character in amongst...
Mini Review Darkest Dungeon 2 (PS5) - Road Trippin' Roguelike Not for the Faint of Heart
Highway straight to hell
Like its predecessor, Darkest Dungeon 2 is about making the best of a bad situation and enduring unspeakable horrors. Unlike the original Darkest Dungeon, it's a faster-paced roguelite meant to be played repeatedly instead of a traumatic, lengthy dungeon crawler. As massive fans of the original, getting over that fact was...
Mini Review Spy x Anya: Operation Memories (PS5) - A Cute But Repetitive Slice of Life
Elegant?
Mercifully, Spy x Family was never going to work as a cut-and-paste anime arena brawler. Tatsuya Endo’s laugh-out-loud slice-of-life manga sensation is effectively a comedy, and while it does have its fair share of spy action, you were never going to see expressive infant Anya flying across a 3D environment performing Kamehamehas –...
Mini Review Schim (PS5) - Adorable Platformer Doesn't Quite Stick the Landing
Beast of the shadow
Schim is a stylish platformer with relaxed vibes and a charming soundtrack. Its world is filled with the eponymous little critters. These adorable shadow frogs are the spirits of living things or objects, and everything that can make a shadow has one. The game follows one schim in particular, in this case one attached to a young...
Review Zenless Zone Zero (PS5) - Characterful Character Action Makes for Another Gacha Great
Gotta have Phaethon
Live service may as well be a curse word among some enthusiast circles, but Chinese titan HoYoverse has the model on lock. The company’s cringey corporate motto exclaims “tech otakus save the world”; in truth, it just wants to take over the world. Indeed, with the introduction of Zenless Zone Zero, its current cadence will...
Review The First Descendant (PS5) - A Mindless and Repetitive Grind
What’s the point?
In The First Descendant, Nexon's new looter shooter, each character has their own set of abilities and gimmicks. Bunny, the first one you can unlock, has to keep moving to charge up her electricity which she can then use to fire off attacks. She does more damage the quicker she runs, so you barely shoot your gun, relying instead...
Review Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail (PS5) - Another Superb Expansion for an Excellent MMO
Dawn but not forgotten
Final Fantasy 14 is in a transitional period. The 2021 expansion Endwalker was effectively the finale to a story that began with 2013's A Realm Reborn way back on PlayStation 3. It was a sort of Final Fantasy meets Avengers Endgame; a story that capped off eight years, four expansions, and over 200 hours of story content in a...
Mini Review Spin Rhythm XD (PS5) - Superbly Slick Arcade Rhythm Action
Positive spin
Spin Rhythm XD feels like the cool younger sibling of rhythm classics like Amplitude. With its bright presentation and smooth, satisfying gameplay, this indie arcade rhythm title has both style and substance, always leaving us wanting to play one more song. Notes head towards you on a track, and you control a wheel featuring two...
Mini Review NeoSprint (PS5) - Simple, Fun Racer Isn't Always a Smooth Ride
Bumper cars
Sprint is Atari's latest retro series to receive a modern coat of paint, and it's arrived in the form of NeoSprint. This fresh spin on the publisher's old school racing game comes out of the workshop with a pleasant look and feel and some neat new features, but there are still a few spots that needed a little more attention. This is an...
Review Trails through Daybreak (PS5) - A Strong Step Forward for Falcom's Fantastic RPG Series
The Van with a plan
Kicking off a whole new saga in Falcom's storied Trails series, Trails through Daybreak represents a step forward for the franchise in so many ways. Boasting an updated game engine, fairly significant gameplay additions, and a completely new setting, this is probably the freshest that Trails has felt since the original Trails of...
Mini Review #BLUD (PS5) - Amazing Cartoon Aesthetics Elevate a Decent Action Adventure
Fangs for the memories
We'd normally refuse to review a game with a hashtag in its title, but #BLUD is ultimately worth writing about. This is a top-down action adventure with a superbly realised aesthetic, evoking strong Cartoon Network vibes. If you're a fan of the highly stylised shows that helped define the 90s and 2000s for many a millennial,...
