Control deserves its plaudits. A singular boss battle, offering a significant difficulty spike in an otherwise exemplary paced game, and a map that’s confusing at times are tiny blemishes on an otherwise astonishing game.
A few niggles aside, Headliner: NoviNews is a smart and impactful game with a tonne of replayability. While it’s set in a fictional land featuring fictional characters and fictional news, it’s easy to draw parallels with the news agencies of our own countries, holding up a mirror to the way news is reported and the spin that is applied to facts. Exploring the ramifications of your decisions and what information you disseminate to the public, whether that’s becoming a state sponsored outlet or sticking to your responsibilities to provide impartial news, is fascinating. Headliner: NoviNews is an easy recommendation to anyone who fancies something a little bit different.
Afterlife falls into those cracks between game and cinematic creations and is worse for it. Without a UI or any indication on how to experience its branching narrative without blindly stumbling through it, it fails as a VR game. Without the set cinematic frame, of the direction that all standard movies have, you can miss some of the better moments in the because it’s going on behind or to the periphery of your vision. The performances and the more powerful moments of this experience make it easy to see it has been nominated for a number of high profile awards – but for me, this virtual voyeuristic experience lacks the clarity provided by the staples of either medium to really capitalise on its more powerful moments.
What is here and working – the fantastic art style, the smart banter between Ted and Teddy, the first-person FMV’s – shows that Headspun has a tonne of potential but right now, too many rough edges and bugs mean it’s in need of further rehabilitation.
The combat, side missions and boss battled are all a triumph of that original pitch I was served a few years ago, combining the best of mobile gaming wrapped up in a highly polished and visually spending package without any adverts or micro transactions. Unfortunately, It’s just too short. Clocking in at 2 hours for a straight forward play through and ~6 hours for a 100% run, it feels like there could have been more before the formula had ran its course.
Riverbond breaks no new ground but is an enjoyable romp through a highly detailed and eye-catching voxel world that accommodates younger players better than most in this genre. The bosses, as menacing as they look, aren’t quite up to scratch and in co-op, you can easily lose yourself in the action, but if you’ve got a brood of kids to entertain and a few Dualshock 4 controllers handy, you can easily get 7-10 hours of fun out of this game before the repetition sets in. Perfect for a rainy day.
Roarr! Jurassic Edition on PS4 is a budget title for a budget price. It’s 5-6 hours of family friendly, repetitive button mashing in a clean but simplistic world set to a half-decent soundtrack. The occasional bug, the difficulty that goes from too easy to cheaply unfair and zero replayability beyond butting a dress on a T-Rex mean any potential the game has is squandered however.
PC Building Simulator on PS4 is an enchanting game, channelling creativity and problem solving through the medium of making and fixing computers that even a PC newcomer like I can get to grips with and wholeheartedly enjoy. I do wish the game had spent a little more time explaining 3DMark scoring and overclocking as these are areas that it skips over too quickly for my liking but otherwise, this is a game that's easy to access, even easier to lose an afternoon too and is a great translation of the PC version.
Bouncy Bullets is one of Petite Games’ better concepts but it’s a game that doesn’t make full use of its potential with its design. It’s a colourful game with an excellent soundtrack but the frame rate issues when using bounce pads, the thicker than custard AI and the shortness to the game relegate this to yet more Trophy Hunter fodder and little else. A real shame.
Horace is a very, very good game. A humour filled but emotionally charged plot delivered via beautiful and well-paced cut scenes, some of the most gorgeous pixel released this year, a smorgasbord of pop culture references and mini-games and a hand crafted feel to the platforming, as if everything has been placed with care and attention, combine into one of the most surprising games of 2019.
Nowhere Prophet is a stylish, slickly designed deck building adventure that’s one of the best in class. Combining narrative ties to the cards/Followers you collect has the surprising side effect (or maybe, desired effect?) to make you actually care about those brave enough to join you on this death road across a desert world where as they’d just be a culmination of numbers to use then discard in other games of this ilk.
Refunct is a short game but what’s there is well crafted. There’s layers of discoveries to be made in the way the game plays and how to overcome each puzzle and this title is designed in a way to make this as enjoyable and natural as possible. While it’s not the prettiest of games, it’s certainly not ugly either. There’s no innovation here, with everything gameplay mechanic on display appearing in other games in more intuitive ways, but if you’re after half an hour of relaxing, simplistic game play that feels as chilled as an ASMR video, Refunct will scratch that itch.
Sairento is one of the most comfortable PSVR games I've played, despite the high flying, high tempo nature of its content which is an incredible achievement and lays the groundwork for a sequel which can take this further. In and of itself though, Sairento needed a little more variety to its action (maybe focusing on first person platforming at times or adding more enemy types) to really send it to the top of its genre.
Despite their being a morbidly entertaining personality to this game which shows all the hallmarks and potential of a well designed treat, it's too broken to play in its current state. I've enjoyed what I have been able to play of Graveyard Keeper but until it's patched, this game is a tough one to recommend to anyone who isn't a PS4 error screen enthusiast.
Mini-Mech Mayhem isn’t the most innovative use of VR and it lacks a local multiplayer mode but these are small gripes with another exemplary, smartly designed and impeccably implemented title from Futurlab.
The intentions of Venture Kid are obvious – to pay tribute to the NES shooters of yore, Mega Man in particular. Via the level design and sound track, the game does this admirably. Unfortunately, at only 6 or so hours long, with bosses that are vanquished easily and with additional weapons divorced from the level design themselves, Venture Kid is a shade of the game it attempts to emulate, resigning it to an “also ran” in a genre that is seeing genuine innovation elsewhere.
Blood & Truth is a game that is leading the charge in smart, player centric, accessible and enjoyable VR games design. From the comfort of my couch, I’ve been made to feel like a highly skilled soldier for 5 whole hours (and more, thanks to the time trials now available), pulling off impossible feats while requiring just the right amount of effort to keep me immersed without making me feel like a passenger.
Visually splendid with a terrific art style, a surprisingly unique premise and a whole bucket full of charm makes Bow to Blood a very entertaining and worthwhile game. While it’s not quite an essential title, feeling a little clunky at times, it’s certainly one I’d recommend to any PSVR owner who’s in the mood for something a tad different.
While The Padre does an admirable job of resurrecting the survival horror tropes of the 90’s, it brings with it a number of the flaws those games had too. If you’re itching for those retro Alone In The Dark vibes, The Padre delivers them alongside an odd side salad of pop culture references – but compared to the modern day peers, there’s aspects of this game feel like they should have been left in the grave.
Blood Waves would have been an adequate mode tacked onto another full game, a tiny side dish to a main meal elsewhere that could kill 2 hours. Unfortunately, as a standalone experience, it’s lacking in depth, excitement and personality. The trap building, the most interesting aspect of the game, is not enough to make this anything more than an also-ran in a genre that’s seen genuine quality over the years.