Joe Apsey's Reviews
Narita Boy feels like a completely unique experience and the first step for a new collection of games based around this digital aesthetic. The soundtrack here is flawless and the way everything plays into its setting and narrative is just as good. The gameplay might slog at times and not quite hit the mark, but Narita Boy is something you shouldn't miss.
Hazelight further hones its craft as ambitious creators of unique co-op experiences with It Takes Two. A clever, inventive procession of ideas and concepts that gel together to form a spellbinding co-op game.
Offering a spine-chilling and creepy setting and atmosphere, Mundaun is a great experience that doesn't feel like anything I have played before. Its gameplay systems all blend together surprisingly well and it is just the right length. The strengths help alleviate some of the issues I had, but even with those present, it is well worth a play for fans of the genre.
We Were Here Together suffers from puzzles that are not solvable through chatting with your co-op partner and instead feel like throwing darts while blindfolded, often being one or two steps too complex. Despite a bevvy of visual improvements and a great atmosphere, the third entry ultimately squanders what the previous two games helped build.
We Were Here Too is a great sequel and really elevates the unique mechanics the franchise offers. Despite a difficulty spike on one puzzle and some wonky looking cutscenes, We Were Here Too is worth a play and really shows the potential for this series and more co-op games in the future.
Maquette is just fascinating. It is a game that has one central mechanic and ties it into a narrative not often told by games and media. That unique blend of challenging, but mind-boggling recursive gameplay, jaw-dropping set-pieces, and heartfelt narrative moments really crafts an experience that mesmerises and stuns at every turn and is another great title from Annapurna.
Curse of the Dead Gods' mechanics work together and mesh excellently, with the dark oppressive narrative and atmosphere really creating a unique gameplay experience, with the features on offer. A lot of variation and the ability to tune your character helps it stand out during the less enjoyable difficulty spikes the game suffers with towards the end.
We Were Here feels like a first outing but its unique co-op puzzle-solving gameplay immediately gets its hooks into you and offers an experience unlike anything else on the market. A few blemishes from a restricted budget show themselves every now and again, but the gameplay is most important and We Were Here is a solid launching bed for the two sequels.
Little Nightmares 2 is a game that pulls together every aspect of a game's presentation and pulls it off miraculously. Everything here is amplified from the original and moments feel like true cinematic wonders, unlike anything you have seen before. Combat doesn't always work, but the whole package is truly impressive and a showcase of the talent Tarsier Studios possess.
Destruction AllStars is a clunky mess of a multiplayer experience, committing a few cardinal sins when it comes to its online experience and offering uninteresting and dull gameplay most of the time. Each character feels unique and their abilities and vehicles are fun to use, but when meshed with the rest of the experience, it doesn't work. Predatory microtransactions, a lack of lore and backstory into the AllStars, and poor single-player offerings make this the weakest PlayStation Studios title in a long time.
Control: Ultimate Edition is the definitive version of Remedy's adventure. Bringing together the worlds Remedy has created under one roof and looking stunning while doing so, Remedy has done a fantastic job of upgrading and improving the experience in meaningful, additive ways, such as the use of the DualSense controller and Ray-Tracing. There isn't a universe more worth exploring and losing yourself in than the one in Control.
Olija is a masterpiece, a graceful and gorgeous 2D action platformer that oozes style and substance, with engaging gameplay, fast, fluid action, and varied challenges to always keep you on your toes. An engrossing narrative and some truly incredible sequences make it one of the best indie games available on PS4.
Override 2: Super Mech League is a playable game, but almost all of its parts feel poorly thought out or are lacklustre to play. The gameplay is repetitive and uninspired and the few technical issues and lack of players mean you will just be fighting bots the entire time. Ultimately, this experience really isn't worth a look.
Cyberpunk 2077's Night City is one of the best sci-fi dystopias ever showcased in games. The stories it has to tell and the characters there are to meet are engrossing and terrifying. Despite some performance issues on PS5 backwards compatibility, it is still worth playing for the excellent character and narrative work. But, if you own a PS4, do not buy Cyberpunk 2077 as it is a technical mess that barely functions.
Empire of Sin is a poor and skeleton-thin management game at its core with complicated systems, menus, and tutorials that do a poor job at getting you acclimated to the experience. Add on top of that a library worth of bugs that force you to restart, ruin pivotal moments of the game, and just make the experience more frustrating and you have a game that is not worth even worth a slight bit of consideration. Empire of Sin is a massive disappointment.
Twin Mirror has one of Dontnod's most engrossing stories with a conclusion that reflects the moral ambiguity of living in a small community. However, this narrative and its characters are hurt by a frustrating Mind Palace gameplay mechanic that isn't utilised to its full potential until the end of the game. Twin Mirror has its strengths but the game staring back at you through the reflection of the screen isn't always reaching its full potential.
Warframe is made better by its release on PS5. The gorgeous glittery visuals jump off the screen and improved loading times get you into the action faster than ever. With a wealth of content to discover, unlock and find, Warframe on PS5 is a title everyone should check out and what was once one of the best looter-shooters on PS4 is now one of the best on PS5.
Just Dance 2021 contains one of the best tracklists the franchise has ever had and makes meaningful improvements to the World Dance Floor and communicating players' performance to them while they dance. However, some childish maps and poor choreographies bring this tracklist down slightly. The core gameplay here is still good and I hope next year Ubisoft is able to fix some of the key issues this game clearly had being developed under COVID-19 restrictions.
Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition may look great at 4K and run smoother at 60 FPS, but with no gameplay changes, barely any meaningful use of the DualSense, and a lack of gameplay improvements the indie-adventure doesn't offer much of a reason to play. This enhanced edition isn't bad by any means, but it just doesn't offer much of a reason to check it out for new or returning players, especially given the price increase.
Fortnite on PS5 is an improvement with a lovely 4K resolution and useful and accurate haptic feedback. Activity Cards help players get to the Battle Royale mode they want easily, jumping in quickly without wasting a moment. Adaptive Triggers disadvantage you in Battle Royale but are a nice addition in Save The World. Fortnite is still the same game, albeit with some nice quality of life changes on Sony's new console.