Fans of Touhou games may find more enjoyment than others with Burst Battle. If you are looking for a hard-core fighting game with solid controls, a deep story and a very active online player-base then I wouldn't say this game was for you. If you don't mind clunky controls and a serious challenge in completing everything game has to offer, then this one may be for you.
SingStar Celebration was more of an afterparty than a celebration for me. The variety and number of songs included aren't great and the removal of the four-player mode seems like they have taken a step backwards. However, the social aspect and the community built within the game itself would be perfect for those who believe they are the next big star and want to show it off with fellow like-minded people.
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid could have been amazing if they had remembered to put in all the content! As a fighting game with only nine characters on launch, a mechanic where you have to pick 1/3 of the roster for your team per match, a season pass selling four skins for £12.99, and 8x less content than the developers mobile game, it’s unforgivable. The actual fighting, visuals, performance and fun you have whilst playing the game, all help try and redeem it, but it’s not enough to balance out the lack of content you get for your money.
Rollercoaster Tycoon Joyride is so close to being a game I would highly recommend, but it’s let down by a few issues. If you can overlook and get used to its cumbersome controls and you remember to set your PS4 Pro to 1080p output, then the game isn’t bad. You can create your own rides, ride them whilst participating in a mandatory shooting gallery, and then either play with friends locally or try out other peoples tracks online. It has a tonne of potential but it’s let down by a few things which appear to have been overlooked or ignored.
I don't hate Lunar Stone, I had a lot of fun playing it and I've still not jumped as much as I did when the skeleton was in my face! However, if you are looking for a game you can spend hours and hours on as you progress through various levels and unlock the trophies over a few hours based on unlockable criteria, then this isn't for you. If you are looking for a nice, quick 100% on your PSN account and enjoy cheesy dialogue, decent enough combat mechanics and some really cool looking bosses, then pick this game up.
Sonic Forces has come out at a bad time. Had it come out at a time where Sonic Mania wasn't a thing then I'm sure it would be seen as a decent iteration of the Sonic franchise. With that said, it isn't technically a bad game, it looks and runs great, it just tries too hard to be a bit of everything which in-turn results in it being forgetful and lacking in a lot of areas.
One More Dungeon is an interesting take on the roguelike genre as it offers it in a first-person perspective and via a pixel-art style. The game itself allows you to customise the game to your own playstyle and increase the difficulty accordingly but the core mechanics don't pull you in and scream 'replay me' once you have achieved your platinum.
Shenmue I & II is a fan service to those who have been asking SEGA to re-release the game for the last few years. They would regularly say “We don’t need a remaster, just re-release it” and SEGA heard you and gave you your wish. Aside from a boost in resolution and a few graphical touch-ups like bloom, you’re looking at the same textures, controls and voice acting used in the original games, games which haven’t aged well both visually and mechanically.
Although the game has a number of flaws and runs really slow in comparison to alternative racing games, Kandagawa Jet Girls was fun to play thanks to the intertwining arcs and multitude of customisation options – I also enjoyed the mini-games. The character models are all well-done and the physics on each of the six limbs are very realistic and nice to watch in motion, but the game itself is far too slow. I was hoping for Mario Kart and Wave Race speeds but we ended up with Mario Kart at 50cc with four flat tires. No, that’s a bit unfair, maybe three flat tires? If you play it in chunks and enjoy the stories being told, you’ll get more out of the game rather than expecting a fast, exciting arcade racer.
If you’re looking for a simple, yet dynamic VR application to relax within, ArtPulse is an easy recommendation. Even if you don’t feel like manually laying shapes in order to create your own dynamically-created beats, you can turn on the Cinematic Mode and sit back as the game randomly generates it all for you. Although the selection of tools and base music is currently not that large, the team does have plans on expanding the experience with updates – as they did with their previous title. ArtPulse is a very niche product for people looking for a particular release from the real world, it’s a very relaxing and therapeutic experience.
Where the Bees Make Honey is an interesting narrative puzzle game about childhood memories. It’s not the best looking or mechanically advanced game I’ve played this generation, but you can tell that the developer has put a lot of love into creating this game. I had fun throughout the whole experience, even though a few of the segments did frustrate me due to their control schemes and the lack of subtitles.
V-Rally 4 is suffering from a mid-life crisis and appears to be confused with what it wants to be. As an Arcade racer, there is too many adjustments and options you must go through in order to tweak your vehicle, as a simulator there isn’t enough depth and customisations to satisfy you. In terms of content, 22 regions with up to five tracks per region and a variety of weather and time options is a lot of content to keep you occupied for hours, not to mention it’s online and local split-screen multiplayer. However, until you obtain the best cars with all their upgrades, you’ll be spending more time getting accustomed to the slippy nature of each vehicle than actually enjoying yourself.
Audio Beats is a great example of what a music genre game in VR should look and feel like which is sadly let down by the limited amount of tracks on offer in the base game. This would have been resolved if there was confirmation of DLC coming to the game, but as of yet, nothing has been mentioned. The controls work perfectly, the music is a great fit for this type of game and the various difficulty settings will keep you busy as you try and learn the tracks and better your score.
Doom VFR is a good attempt but I feel the game fell short due to issues that could/should have been resolved. What makes an FPS game great isn't its story or the pretty graphics, it's the controls. You need to have rock-solid controls in a game like this in order to fully immerse yourself and control whats going on around you. Having the three methods with no way to customise them let the game down and really impacted on my overall experience.
Alteric was a fun little game to play and I would recommend it to trophy hunters purely for its quick platinum. If you sit back and play it from beginning to end without the guides that are out there then you will get more out of the game as you will have to figure out how to proceed on your own. As a whole, it's a short, challenging platformer which should last you a few hours under normal conditions and at times can really frustrate you
Spiral Splatter is a fun little puzzle game which will leave you both frustrated and satisfied once you have achieved all three stars on each of the levels. It isn't a long game and can be completed within a few hours, or less if you resort to looking up a guide online – however, I advise you to not bother doing that, just play the game and enjoy it for yourself, it's all about trial and error and getting used to the controls.
If you are purchasing Energy Cycle purely for the trophies then you can expect a very short and easy platinum with no skill required, however, if you are buying the game in order to play it correctly and refrain from looking at guides or cheating then you will receive a fun little puzzle game.
The Darius Cozmic Collection: Console edition is a collection of great games yet sadly lacks presentation and substance. If you’re a fan of the genre and/or the franchise then you’ll love the games on offer and the multiple bonus modes. However, if you’re not invested in the series though any form of nostalgia or fond memories, I don’t believe there’s enough here to justify the recommended retail price. I personally think they should have doubled up the Arcade and Console collections to create a single content-rich package, rather than two diluted experiences. Technically, the games are great, but I can’t really recommend the overall ‘collection’ to anyone but the biggest of Darius fans.
Gene Rain is a good attempt at a third person shooter from Chinese developers, Deeli Network. The game looks great for an indie title, with some high-quality textures, detailed character models, dynamic lighting, and a great use of particle effects. However, what lets the game down is its clunky controls, poorly translated and executed narrative, and the sub-par voice acting. I overcame the control issues by manually remapping my pad on the PS4, the script could be forgiven as it’s not their native language, and the voice acting was ambitious due to the fact all the actors are clearly Chinese. However, the story wasn’t explained clearly and it’s easy to forget what’s going on as you enter the next cover-based combat area.
Illusion: A Tale of the Mind is a fun puzzle-platformer with some very frustratingly strict timed segments and confusing puzzles. The overall story of the game, the setting, the audio, and graphics are all amazing and work really well together – It’s just a shame that our protagonist walks as fast as a snail as she takes in everything that’s around her. Issues aside though, the game was fun to play and interesting to follow. I’d recommend this to people who like puzzle platformers where the emphasis is on the story and the four puzzle types I mentioned in my review. I also love a good story with an emotional aspect, Illusion: A Tale of the Mind didn’t fail to deliver on this either.