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Last reviewed: Mina the Hollower · 6 days ago
Luna Abyss is a AA shooter that holds its own against some of the elite of the genre. Its enticing and ominous sci-fi world is a delight to look at artistically, even if its muddy graphics let it down on closer inspection. Its story is fine, but a slick sense of progression keeps its action and platforming interesting from start to finish.
Planet Zoo is, ironically, a relatively toothless park building game. It doesn't have the delicious chaos of the Jurassic World Evolution games or the thrills of building your own rollercoaster and then hoping it'll stay on the tracks in Planet Coaster. But it's a pleasant and charming game. There's an airy joy in creating a peaceful home for animals to live in, and the earnest conservationist slant of Planet Zoo is hard to fault.
Dead Cells has raised the bar for the rogue-lite genre going forward.
Sticking with Hello Neighbor takes a lot of patience and forgiveness. While the lure of the secret in the basement is a strong one, the glitches, complicated puzzles, and problematic AI all make for a giant slog. With improvements this indie could be a spine-tingling horror game, one which plays on deep childhood fears and leaves a lasting impression, but in its current state, we wish that we'd just stayed at home.
Castaway Paradise is one of PS4's more pleasant experiences, offering a tropical vacation that'll keep you busy for hours on end. Although the game's addictive qualities do wane over time, the process of steadily expanding and improving your island is both relaxing and satisfying.
The Banner Saga 3 is a fantastic tactical role-playing game that confidently concludes the overarching storyline of the series in a manner entirely befitting with what has come before. Little has changed on the combat front - although this game does perhaps feel a mite easier than first two Banner Saga titles - but it's the storytelling where the release truly excels. The stakes are high, and after two and a half games spent getting to know dozens of wildly different characters, watching their fates unfold during the superb finale can be both exhilarating and soul-destroying.
Games like Train Sim World will always benefit from a greater array of content: more trains, more routes, and more services. That said, learning how each of the trains in this title work and mastering the three main disciplines will take you hours at a time, and while it's very much an acquired taste, we derived a mixture of satisfaction and relaxation from our new role as a railway operator.
The Persistence cleverly blends Dead Space-esque outer-space sci-fi scares with the addictive arcade loop of rogue-lites like Rogue Legacy, resulting in a PlayStation VR campaign that's both gut-wrenching and weirdly replayable. It won't take you a million lightyears to complete the likeable campaign, but a hardcore mode awaits when you've finished, and clever co-op functionality adds a little longevity to the experience as well. With a compelling gameplay format as well as some great gadgetry, this is one survival mission we thoroughly enjoyed.
If this review hasn't convinced you to dash back in and get reacquainted with Mega Man X, allow us to state it plainly: Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 are must- plays for fans. With its new features, galleries, and tweaks, even total newcomers who have never experienced this groundbreaking series will feel welcome. A lot of love and care has been poured into this collection, allowing players of all skill levels to jump right in and enjoy. So get out there, dash and blast, and track down those mavericks, hunter.
Airheart: Tales of Broken Wings has potential but without a solid story powering it forward and lots of tedious grinding, you'll struggle to see it through to the end. While the game is visually stunning and at least exciting in principle, Airheart never quite takes flight.
Lost on Mars is a decent sci-fi distraction from the main game, but it fails to really introduce any new ideas. The irreverent story is fine but isn't particularly memorable, and the silly humour accompanying the action misses more than it hits. The combat can be fun and frustrating in equal measure, while the various things to do don't exactly inspire. It's perfectly serviceable, but despite being set millions of miles away on our neighbouring planet, it's hard to shake the feeling we've been here before.
Look, it's a fun game, filled with flashing lights and so much digital detritus you'll need a shower after one run. But the thing is, you've played this before – not in this form in 4K on this particular format, but Tempest is Tempest and Tempest 4000 doesn't really try to be anything else.
Mugsters may not hit all the notes of a fast frenetic party game, and it may not have the deepest story to suck you in and keep you playing for months and months. However, the endless variety and sense of curiosity we felt playing, exploring, and blowing stuff up was enough to keep us very, very busy. This is a game with no definite end in sight, and absolutely no boredom to be had.
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion is an enjoyable sail along the high seas that is ultimately hampered by being rough around the edges. The battle system and story are an enjoyable experience, but absurdly long load times, frame rate stuttering, a clunky menu system, and a poorly developed upgrade system hamper the experience. It's still an entertaining experience, and fans of the show will likely love it, but those looking for an incredible RPG experience here might be left a little disappointed in its squandered potential.
There's still a lot of potential to be realised in a Left 4 Dead-like experience, but Earthfall is a complete miss. It fails to build upon the foundations abandoned by Valve, with repetitive AI spawns and an arsenal of weaponry that does nothing to distinguish themselves from one another. And with just four hours of content to work through, you'll be left feeling short-changed by an experience that gives you no reason to return once the credits roll.
In conclusion, Mothergunship is more than the sum of its disparate parts, and definitely deserves your time. It's a big silly mix of destruction, synths, and sci-fi and a lot of fun to play through.
Insane Robots is a classy and fun new spin on a tried and tested concept. It runs like a dream on the PS4, looks nice, and is entertaining both solo or in local multiplayer.