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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.
Outward may aim high but is most definitely flawed, constituting a game just above par that's most ideal for RPG enthusiasts.
Xenon Racer isn't a terrible racing game, but in order to enjoy it you need to overlook the game's atrocious handling, horrible difficulty spikes, and general mediocrity. Not having big ambitions is fine for a game as long as it's fun, but developer 3D Clouds is wide of the mark on both counts.
Space Junkies is an incredibly competent multiplayer arena shooter that dodges the VR matchmaking bullet by flexing its cross-play capabilities, but it suffers from inadequate implementation. There's plenty of bullet-blasting action to keep you engaged, but the limited control options only let you partake in a fraction of the fun when compared to your PC brethren.
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemist is a wonderful celebration of past Atelier games, all while bringing something genuinely new and different to the table. While many of the RPG elements have been greatly toned down, the town-building aspects are so addictive and entertaining that you can forgive the simplicity. A light and breezy atmosphere topped off with so many charming character interactions make Nelke's story an undeniably pleasant adventure.
Clementine and AJ's - and by extension, the player's - story comes to a fitting end here, as the creative efforts of Skybound and Telltale bring the story of the beloved series to its satisfying, largely open-ended conclusion. A plethora of emotional punches, varied and surprisingly engaging gameplay - even if the frame rate chugs - accompany wonderful music and impressive cinematography. Despite a couple of narrative hiccups, with one or two scenes that would have benefitted from some retooling, the conclusion to Telltale's most beloved series is not just good, it's satisfying.
Assassin's Creed III Remastered brings far more to the table, seeing otherwise frustrating mechanics heavily tweaked and polished to make them less of an annoyance in the shadow cast by the likes of Origins and Odyssey.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a fiercely challenging, yet highly compelling action adventure. The posture-based combat is tricky to learn but wonderfully rewarding to master, and all the nips and tucks to From Software's usual tropes make for a game that's surprisingly accessible for new players. Despite some slightly ropey traversal and occasionally dodgy performance, this game will keep you hooked from start to finish with its built-in "one more go" death mechanic and a bleak yet gorgeous world to explore. This is a fresh new spin on From's formula that fans and newcomers alike should definitely give a stab.
The Surge had potential, but its excellent combat systems are baked into a game that can't do them justice. The repetitive and drab environments are a huge hindrance, and when combined with a confusing network of corridors, hallways, and ledges, it's easy to become frustrated, misled, and lost. You may find some fun experimenting with your attack options and the smooth framerate on the PS4 Pro does help to make that a better experience, but expecting anything more than that will only set yourself up for disappointment.
Even if you're in love with its concept, Generation Zero is an experience you should avoid at all costs. Thanks to archaic co-operative design, an open world that feels sparse at even the best of times, and an inventory system that routinely works against you, disappointment takes centre stage here. You may catch one or two beautiful vistas along the way, but as the framerate drops into the single digits, you'll wish you never bothered.
Skyworld is a somewhat charming title of two halves. On the one hand, its real-time battles for territory make for some mindless fun, but on the other its turn-based grab for resources and progress is nothing short of baffling. Along with clunky controls that frustrate all too often, you've got an experience that will struggle to please.
SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is essential for game historians and recommended for anyone that wants to experience some old-school charm without the annoying difficulty gates. The titles themselves are hit and miss, but the good outweighs the bad by a healthy amount.
Right now, The Division 2 stands strong as an addictive, well designed, and complete looter shooter. For how dynamic and intricate it is, its open world sets the bar for the genre, and its tense, tactical combat is, for the most part, a real joy.
The Messenger is a rock solid action platformer that balances out its retro stylings with modern touches and brilliantly slick controls. Blasting through the lengthy story is compelling, as new story beats and abilities are thrown into the mix. It perhaps flies a little too close to the sun later on as you hunt down the final few collectibles, but by and large, it's a cloud-stepping joy. Fans of 2D action games should have a blast with this, and that's a message we're happy to pass along.
As far as Warriors-style action games go, Fate Extella Link is near the top of the pile on PS4 -- it's a robust and refined sequel that fans of the genre shouldn't miss out on. The process of levelling up, collecting skills, and bonding with your favourite Fate characters is both satisfying and rewarding, and although repetition does become a factor later on, the flashy combat has enough kick to keep you engaged. While it could be argued that Link should do more to evolve beyond its predecessor, it's still hectic hack and slash fun from start to finish.
One Piece: World Seeker is an unfinished game. Its open world is shockingly barren, its gameplay is clearly undercooked, and its presentation is placeholder. Eventually, Luffy's skill tree does allow for a little more fun, but the title still ends up feeling like an in-house development build that's used for playtesting, not a full price retail release. As a One Piece game it's bad enough, but as an open world title in 2019, it's borderline unacceptable.