Latest Reviews
Review Two Point Museum (PS5) - Laugh Out Loud Tycoon Title Is Well Worth the Entry Fee
Curated chaos
The true brilliance of tycoon titles like Two Point Museum is their ability to keep you occupied. In this sequel to Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus, there’s always something to do: a new interactive exhibit you need to research, a staff member you want to educate, or an expedition you have to send your experts on. If...
Review Monster Hunter Wilds (PS5) - A Timeless Formula Refined to Near Perfection
Wilds thing, I think I love you
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne introduced the Guiding Lands — a dynamic, borderline sandbox map that had monsters of all shapes and sizes come and go as players investigated its more open environments. Monster Hunter Wilds is essentially the Guiding Lands, but spread across an entire Monster Hunter title. And as a...
Mini Review Warriors: Abyss (PS5) - A Decent Descent into Hell for Roguelike and Warriors Fans
The Enemy of my Enma
Truthfully, Warriors: Abyss feels like Koei Tecmo tried to cook up its own budget Hades from the leftovers of last night's Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. That's not to say it fails to sate the appetite, though. Despite being a bit rough around the edges, Abyss is a solid and successfully addictive foray into the...
Review Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 1 (PS5) - Slow Burn Opener Means Part 2 Must Deliver
Stand by me
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 is the first in this intriguing two-parter, and an ambitious undertaking from the original creators of Life Is Strange. Establishing two timelines, both in the mid-90s and present day, Bloom & Rage is a return to Don’t Nod’s roots with a killer setting, lovable characters, and plenty of...
Review Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (PS5) - Madcap Majima Does the Job
Noah's arc
RGG Studio hasn’t been entirely upfront about Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. More of a side game in a vein similar to 2023’s The Man Who Erased His Name, the developer has suggested in the lead-up to launch it’s quite a bit bigger than Kazuma Kiryu’s tear-jerking interlude. Every bit of that is indeed true, but it still...
Review Sid Meier's Civilization VII (PS5) - Legendary Strategy Series Builds a Brand New Foundation
Settle down
Firaxis' flagship series returns with Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, and, for the first time in the series’ history, it;s released simultaneously across all platforms, including the PS5. For the uninitiated, Civilization (Civ for short) is the quintessential 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXplot, eXterminate) game where the objective is to...
Mini Review Afterlove EP - Musical Odyssey Emerging from Development Tragedy Is Worth the Trip
All you need is love
Considering the real-life tragedy surrounding the development of Afterlove EP, it would have been easy to forgive developer Pikselnesia for not moving forward with work on the title. To its credit, it's powered forward and delivered a poignant, prescient experience worth your time. You play Rama, a musician who returns to his...
Gods, angels, and mummies
Storied developer Aspyr has been knocking it out of the park recently. It followed the first three Tomb Raider remasters with an update of the beloved Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver games. More recently, the studio threw a satisfying curve ball with Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles, a remaster nobody knew they needed. It now...
Bear the nightmare
Taking place mere months after the events of Trails through Daybreak, its sequel — simply titled Trails through Daybreak 2 here in the west — often feels like a character-driven epilogue rather than a full-blown follow-up. The first Daybreak told a complete tale; the kind of storyline that Falcom usually splits across two...
Mini Review Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip (PS5) - A Simple, Delightfully Silly Sandbox
Joyride
Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip is a short but sweet open world adventure about one kid's ambition to drive into space. After acquiring a car to call his own, Terry's main objective is to make it go so fast it can escape his planet's gravity, and to do that, he'll have to explore every inch of his hometown and help out the locals. It's refreshingly...
Mini Review Luck Be a Landlord (PS4) - Simple Roguelike Is a Bit of a Gamble
The art of spin
Luck Be a Landlord lets you fight the evils of rental accommodation by using a customisable slot machine to generate cash. It's a daft premise, but sets up a simple game that's all about finding synergies to maximise your score. Each time you spin, the symbols on your slot machine randomise and reward you with coins, depending on...
Mini Review Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PS5) - Fun Slasher Shows Its Age
All slice, no dice
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is like a time machine back to the halcyon days of PS3, featuring over-the-top violence, ridiculous action, and a globe-trotting campaign. Black sparkles up those graphics for PS5, and while fun, it isn’t quite enough to counter how much this hack-and-slash experience has aged. With the threat of demonic...
Review Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (PS5) - Immersive Knight Sim Makes for a Peerless RPG
Fortune favours the brave
With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Czech developer Warhorse Studios demands a seat at the table of role playing masters with a dangerously immersive WRPG that, almost disappointingly, is polished to mirror-brightness, like a dazzling suit of tourney plate. Armed with a bizarre mixture of mechanics seemingly inspired by...
Mini Review Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist (PS5) - Peak Metroidvania Action
Bloomin' brilliant
There must be something in the water during January, for after Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown got the Metroidvania genre off to a flyer in 2024, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is doing the same 12 months on. The follow-up to Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights refines what co-developers Adglobe and Live Wire achieved four...
Mini Review Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (PS5) - Don't Sleep on This Deeper RPG Sequel
More space
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector successfully builds on what was achieved in the original to deliver a compelling and challenging sci-fi RPG. It's a tricky game to discuss without spoiling things, but it's safe to say if you liked the first, you'll want to check out the sequel. Playing as a sleeper, an android with an emulated human...
Mini Review Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter (PS5) - A Simple Tail of Bigger and Better
Doesn't rat-tle the cage
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter is your classic sequel — a bigger, better game than the inaugural animal action RPG. Playing as a new character in a different part of the world, this follow-up builds on the groundwork laid by the original game, with bigger scope and deeper systems as you hunt down the bats that...
Review Sniper Elite: Resistance (PS5) - Much More of a Good Thing
Henry Hawkeye
Sniper Elite: Resistance is a lot like a sequel out of the PS2 generation. Rather than building on and expanding what it achieved in Sniper Elite 5, developer Rebellion has gone with more of the same. The old-school TV advert practically writes itself: eight new levels, a returning playable character, and more weapons and gadgets to...
Mini Review Tales of Graces f Remastered (PS5) - Classic Tales Game Is Better Than Ever
Aging gracefully
In this modern era of games getting rereleased, it’s crazy to think it’s been over 12 years since Tales of Graces f was released on western shores. Thankfully you no longer need to dust off your ancient PS3 to play, as Bandai Namco has spruced up this classic RPG for modern consoles with Tales of Graces f Remastered. As you’d...
Review Dynasty Warriors: Origins (PS5) - Peak Dynasty Warriors Is Back with an Almighty Bang
Wei to go
What a difference seven years makes. In 2018, the dismal Dynasty Warriors 9 effectively put Koei Tecmo's storied hack and slash series on ice, but Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a completely different beast. For the first time in generations, the franchise feels fresh again — a genuine evolution of what's come before. To be clear, Origins...
Proceed directly to jail
Freedom Wars Remastered is the triumphant return of the fan-favourite, fascistic Monster Hunter-style action game, originally published by Sony for the PS Vita in 2014. As the PS Vita (sadly) never achieved the breakout success it deserved, we always felt this forward-thinking title didn't get a fair shake. With "volunteers"...
Review Wuthering Waves (PS5) - Anime-Inspired Open World Has Timed Its PS5 Release Perfectly
A whole Carlotta love
Genshin Impact has changed the console gaming landscape. Once solely the fancy of smartphone gamers, free-to-play gachas have become big business on PS5 and PS4, with many of the format’s most played titles subscribing to the business model. Wuthering Waves is the latest contender to launch on Sony’s system, an...
Review Infinity Nikki (PS5) - Impeccably Presented Fashion Sim Is an Open World Essential
Breath of the styles
The long-running Nikki series – not to be confused with Stellar Blade dev Shift Up’s saucy mobile shooter NIKKE: Goddess of Victory – has been styling smartphones across various iterations for several years. This version, available on console for the first time and introducing an enormous whimsical open world, is by far...
Review Alien: Rogue Incursion (PSVR2) - A Solid First VR Venture into an Iconic Sci-Fi World
Get away from her you glitch
The Alien franchise has never had the most consistent track record when it comes to video game adaptations. For every Alien: Isolation, there’s an Aliens: Colonial Marines. One thing is for sure, though: gamers love to simply exist in this world whether it’s for the clunky CRT monitors or the iconic rattle of the...
Mini Review The Thing Remastered (PS5) - A Polished Up Horror Gem with Some Rough Edges
I’ll show you what I already know
One of the earliest articles this author ever wrote for Push Square was about Computer Artworks’ terrifying 2002 horror shooter, The Thing. A decade later, Nightdive Studios has worked its magic on a remaster, breathing new life into this rough-around-the-edges gem. Being a direct continuation of the greatest...
Review Behemoth (PSVR2) - Great Concept, Poor Execution
Behemoths, bandits, and bugs
Skydance’s Behemoth is one of the biggest PSVR2 releases of 2024. Coming from the developers of The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners franchise, Skydance is switching out revolvers and walkers for swords and cursed beasts, promising one of the largest scale fantasy outings in the VR medium. However, Behemoth is proof...
Mini Review Naiad (PS5) - A Cosy, Stunningly Beautiful Experience
Koyaanisqatsi
Naiad is a beautiful puzzler made by a solo developer under the name HiWarp. In it, you play as Naiad, a river spirit tasked with helping animals as you navigate your way through a series of interconnected rivers on your quest to reach the ocean. This visually stunning game is spread out over 16 episodes, each in its own biome. For...
The soul remains
When you think back on the Soul Reaver games, you think about their atmosphere, their tone, and that often immaculate voice acting. What you don't necessarily think about, is how awkward and clumsy they were to actually play — and ultimately, those same ups and downs apply to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. To...
Mini Review Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind (PS5) - A Short But Sweet Nostalgia Trip
That witch came from the moon
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is almost exactly what you want it to be. An arcadey beat-'em-up that brings back memories of the show, this has one or two rough edges but ultimately delivers a potent dose of fun. Playing as any of the original Rangers (plus the Green Ranger after completing the story...
Review Fantasian Neo Dimension (PS5) - Delightful JRPG Comfort Food Let Down by Uneven Combat
Final Fantasian
Fantasian Neo Dimension is a little like Japanese role playing game comfort food. There's the slightly androgynous amnesiac hero. He'll go on a quest to reclaim his memories and along the way he'll meet up with a slightly kooky orphan mage with secrets of her own to uncover. They'll befriend the sassy princess, the lovable rogue, the...
Mini Review Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (PS5) - Grim Horde Shooter Is Frantic Fun
Rough around the edges, but one hell of a ride
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is developer Fatshark's take on Games Workshop's grimdark universe and a refinement of the combat and gameplay of its earlier Vermintide titles. A first-person multiplayer cooperative game, each Darktide mission will see squads of four players (or, in their absence, AI bots)...
