John-Paul Jones's Reviews
A much more inventive and thoughtful affair than the duo's previous outing, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is the closest you'll get to Donkey Kong Country on PS4 and you should embrace it with the accordant warmth.
Jedi Outcast then is still capable of delivering modest morsels of Star Wars infused fun, it's just a shame that while the lack of effort which has been made with the port justifies its budget price, it does not make magically make a 2002 title equally as compelling in 2019. Here's hoping that next year's remaster of Star Wars Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy is better, because the force is not quite so strong with this one.
A beautifully made score chaser which has that rarest of things - a soul. Sayonara Wild Hearts isn't just a game, it's an emotional band aid that feels like a warm phantom embrace. Absolutely essential stuff.
Sublime physical football with a tactical brain sees PES 2020 bring a successful gameplay refresh, but far more needs to be done about the list of problems that have been left untouched for much of this generation.
One of the most gorgeous and timeless JRPGs of the last decade has now been resurrected on PS4, and if you missed it the first time around you really have no excuse now. This is how you pay tribute to a classic.
The Bard's Tale IV is a sometimes awkward, often charming and never less than a thoroughly enjoyable RPG that with cheeky wink and a swig of Elven Wine presents itself as one of the most surprising adventures of the year.
A smashingly great side-scrolling battler that is overflowing with charm, stuff to do and faces to wreck, River City Girls is utterly essential for fans of the genre.
The lack of massive changes to The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors bears a naked truth - there wasn't much needing to be changed in the first place. A challenging and resolutely satisfying side-scrolling slasher, fans of the IP's vintage and retro actioners in the genre at large will find much to enjoy here.
A highly engrossing occult interactive adventure anchored by a great central performance and refreshing interactivity and non-linear storytelling, Erica is deftly curated bite-sized adventure that makes a compelling case as the best Playlink title available.
Providing an evocative look back at some of history's most visceral pre-modern battles and conflicts, Ancestors Legacy is a superb PS4 RTS that fans of the genre shouldn't miss out on.
A stunning and hugely satisfying digital representation of Pool, Cherry Pop Games has done it again with Pool Nation, this time providing PS4 with the finest take on the sport seen to date. This is essential.
A fascinating if overly lean meditation on the video game scene of old, 198X is a compressed, weaponised dose of nostalgia that deserves to be experienced by anyone whom professes a love for this greatest of hobbies.
Redeemer's combat is world class; revealing itself to be both hugely satisfying and wonderfully tactile. It's just a shame that there isn't enough game built around it and that the game which is there, appears so very unambitious. Nonetheless, Redeemer is more than capable of providing a barrage of violent thrills for a good few hours all the same.
The best Attack on Titan game available, Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle is everything that the 2018 release of Attack on Titan 2 should have been and is a compelling offering for folks who held off the original release. For everyone else that bought the base Attack on Titan 2 game however, the somewhat prohibitive price point of the Final Battle expansion makes it far less of an essential purchase than it should be.
Stranger Things 3: The Game is not a groundbreaking effort by any stretch, however it does great justice to one of the best TV shows of the past decade and throws a surprisingly sizeable and robust retro action puzzler into the bargain, and sometimes, that'll all you need.
A stumbling and flailing spectacle of a physics brawler, Gang Beasts might have all the poise and grace of a bar dust up on a Friday night, but it remains hugely entertaining when played with friends all the same.
A supremely well constructed RTS that feels right at home on PS4, They Are Billions sets a new golden bar for other genre efforts to try and match.
A welcome return for PlayStation's original superhero icon, Insomniac Games have not just given us another sublime PlayStation exclusive but also the best superhero blockbuster the PS4 has ever seen. Spider-Man is a thunderous, essential triumph that bleeds cinematic splendor from every digital pore. Every PS4 owner needs to have Spider-Man in their collection.
A sadly failed tribute to one of the greatest RPGs of all time, Underworld Ascendant is simply far too flawed to recommend to either fans of the original Ultima Underworld, or in-depth RPGs in general.
A sprawling and beautifully executed monument to the Castlevania titles of old, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night feels like a promise delivered for fans of not just the series, but intricately structured action adventures too. The king has returned.