Includes PushSquare
Last reviewed: Mina the Hollower · 7 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.
Incredibly bland gameplay and some overly frustrating chase sequences make Silent Hill: The Short Message a chore to play much of the time. While there are some intriguing full-motion cutscenes and heavy story details, they're not worth pushing through the dull sequences in between to experience them. Silent Hill: The Short Message is completely free, though, so all it's asking for is 90 minutes of your time to see if you enjoy it more than us.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a complicated game. It's tough not to think about what could have been if Rocksteady opted for another traditional single player title - especially since the split personalities at this game's heart stop it from reaching the heights of the developer's previous works. That said, despite all of our complaints, we can't deny that the game's fun. The story lacks the payoff but remains engaging throughout, the traversal-tinged combat is genuinely fantastic, it's a blast to play with friends, it's one of the best looking games on PS5, it runs like an absolute dream, and, as far as live-service games go, it's shaping up to be a meaty and generous offering. There is a bittersweet feeling surrounding Suicide Squad, and that sentiment will remain for a lot of players, but it's hard to say that Rocksteady entirely missed the mark with this big gamble.
Big Ape Productions' presentation is lovingly respectful to its film source with deliberate details, and glorious John Williams' music compositions, including dialogue choices through a mix of original and a replacement voice cast that affect minor gameplay events. A distant camera depicts Otoh Gunga and outdoor Coruscant in a more favourable light, but close-up chunky models and uncanny valley CGI have been hit with the 32-bit ugly stick.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is one of the PS5's best action RPGs - but you need to know what you're getting into. The story campaign is excellent, but its relatively short length means that most of your time will be spent with the game's optional quests, which rarely reach the same heights. Still, whether you're playing alone or in co-op, there's a real thrill to Relink's combat system, which combines precise hacking and slashing with underlying RPG stats and mechanics. If you can embrace the grind, a fantastic character roster and some amazing boss battles await.
Persona 3 Reload is a brilliant remake. In terms of gameplay, it's easily the best incarnation of a classic RPG, boasting countless quality of life and mechanical adjustments that place it alongside the outstanding Persona 5 Royal. Storytelling enhancements make the plot even more impactful, and the remade visuals are a joy to behold. Reload is borderline essential if you're yet to experience Persona 3, while also providing a near perfect way for existing fans to relive a seminal release.
As much as this engages as a sobering alternative to the likes of Two Point Hospital, a large chunk of it just sees you cycling through familiar motions. The rich atmosphere and worthy setting are compromised by a narrow vision.
It sounds ridiculous, but as we got sucked into Immortality's tangled web, there were times we forgot the movies we were watching weren't real. It's an astonishing accomplishment, really, and one we can't recommend highly enough.
Like a Dragon fans will turn up in their droves for a new Yakuza story regardless of overall quality, but never has one been as utterly essential as Infinite Wealth.
Tekken 8 is a modern fighting game masterclass. It doesn't skimp on single-player modes, its online offering is robust, and it's a serious visual spectacle. But most importantly, the battles are brilliant; accessible yet deeply technical, and supremely satisfying to be a part of - perhaps more so than ever before. There's no fighting game series quite like Tekken, and Tekken 8 is the franchise at its bombastic best.
It's very hard not to love Ace Attorney, and that trend happily continues with the Apollo Justice trilogy. The games themselves are steeped in charm thanks to well-written, melodramatic stories and a great ensemble cast. They've been treated with respect, too, with lovely visual improvements and an enjoyable array of extras. While some weak spots here and there are inevitable, and some of the series' flaws are still present, overall there's little to object to.
It makes for an experience maybe just half a step above average. You have played many games just like The Cub before, but you've never played one that looks or sounds like it.
Looking upon the whole package, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is an excellent upgrade. In many ways it's a sublime treat for fans of the series, with behind-the-scenes content that we lapped up, a survival mode worth the purchase price on its own, and small, albeit present visual and performative upgrades to one of the best games to come out of the PS4 generation.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown puts its best foot forward with rewarding and satisfying gameplay at its core. Combining the series' 2D past with the time-bending powers from later games, this Metroidvania is a brilliant blend that brings the franchise back in a fresh new way. While it can sometimes look a little underwhelming, and the sheer size of the game threatens to slow its own momentum, the fluid, challenging platforming and combat are so fun that any shortcomings fade into the background. This is an overall great action adventure with a lot to offer.
The writing is fun too, though the sound design can often undercut things by blaring over the top of dialogue on default settings. We missed some jokes early on before making corrections. It's great that the title is so fun though, because it also happens to be quite a bit longer than we’ve grown accustomed to with VR titles. Clocking in at nearly 10 hours, Vertigo 2 is a PSVR2 must-play. This is achieved through a combination of great gameplay, fun, often insane boss fights, a playful tone, and oh so much more.
Rising is the game that the original Granblue Fantasy Versus should have been, and while it's a bit cheeky that players are being asked to pay for it all over again — with yet more DLC characters incoming — it's hard to argue with the overall package. This is a gorgeous fighter that feels great to play.