Joe Apsey's Reviews
Decay Of Logos is the worst game I have ever played. It is filled with poor design decisions and mechanics that don't challenge the player and instead decide to punish them for no reason at all. The game actively tries to make your experience worse. The list of issues with Decay of Logos is long: a bad and jarring camera, no meaningful connection to the world or characters, framerate issues, pointless mechanics. I could go on. Just save yourself twenty dollars and don't buy this game.
Ultrawings Flat is one of the most repetitive and dull games I have played. Offering up tired and simplistic mini-games, poor controls, and a bland environment it isn't worth taking to the skies, even for just a few minutes, especially given the price charged.
A wholly unenjoyable experience, completely devoid of any fun and intrigue. Fishing Sim World couples that gameplay experience with ugly character models and environments, leading to a game that quite literally has nothing going for it.
Where The Bees Make Honey is a frustrating and boredom-inducing puzzle game that suffers from an unthinkable amount of technical issues, poor controls, unclear objectives, and bad level design. Any heart that is put into the narrative is wiped away by these issues and made me want to quit playing, minutes after starting the game up.
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.
The Blackout Club is what happens when a concept isn't executed well. Everything about the setting and lore should lead the game to be a surefire hit. But, with the lack of a main story path, painfully repetitive levels, and a torturously grindy progression system, The Blackout Club feels unbalanced, unpolished, and immensely unrewarding. The only thing saving it from being a complete waste of time is that communicating and working as a team, planning out your strategy can be enjoyable, although only in short bursts.
The Anacrusis’ Game Preview launch is plagued with performance issues. In its current form, it also lacks any kind of identity, punch, or vigour. It is one of the most lacklustre games of its genre right now and Stray Bombay has a lot to do to make this the refreshing co-op experience many expected it to be.
Despite a gorgeous world, stunning sketchbook visuals, and fantastic music, Stonefly is actively dragged down because of its frustrating and cumbersome combat mechanics that create situations that are a pain to tackle. Everything surrounding combat is great, but there is so much of blowing bugs off of platforms that I Don't recommend you give Stonefly a try.
Sometimes, Balan Wonderworld evokes a bygone era of platformers very well, but this is all too fleeting a feeling. All the creativity seems to have gone into the characters and music while the actual act of platforming leaves a lot to be desired. It's far from the worst modern platformer, but given the names involved, it's a thoroughly underwhelming one.
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.
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.
Tamarin has a quirky and fun concept (a monkey with a gun), but its poor 3D platforming, inability to inform the player properly about objectives and where to go, and dated look with bugs make it a title that few people have any good reason to play, especially when there are much better games of the genre out there right now on PS4.
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.
Despite some impressive DualSense implementation, the blemishes embedded into The Medium's gameplay and narrative still show on PS5. While The Medium is an intriguing horror game, it certainly isn't a great one.
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.
Crysis Remastered is still the same game you remember, but for the most part, this remaster doesn't sufficiently improve the game's visuals enough. The lighting can look good, but dated textures and gameplay, poor AI, and a number of bugs and glitches hold this remaster back. Crysis Remastered is only worth checking out if you haven't experienced the game yet.
Windbound is a serviceable survival game that offers a unique sailing experience to keep hardcore fans of the genre interested. But with simplistic and bland-feeling combat and an experience that doesn't engage with its narrative (despite promising to), Windbound isn't recommended at full price.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts is the most average game I have ever played. Nothing it does is particularly memorable or amazing, but it isn't broken or bad either. The gameplay can be both enjoyable and clunky depending on the situation. The story is forgettable and environments aren't appealing. But, the game's open-ended levels and tick box-style gameplay make it a great game to play whilst listening to a podcast. Overall, it is a half-step forward for the franchise, but much like the previous games, there isn't much reason to check this entry out.
Massira offers up nothing for an adult looking for a new narrative-adventure game to sink their teeth into. It's narrative is intriguing but has no payoff and its gameplay is bland and, at times, poorly designed. However, if you have a child, sit down with them and play Massira for a few hours. The game will give them an insight into the Syrian Refugee Crisis in an approachable and kid-friendly way.
No Straight Roads is an overambitious game that tries to do many things and fails to impress with any of them. Despite fantastic world-building, loveable characters, and great voice acting the game fumbles in the narrative department and suffers from noticeable and frequent technical issues. Lacking gameplay polish also makes No Straight Roads more of a flop than a surefire hit.