John-Paul Jones's Reviews
Snappily paced, beautifully written and a visual treat, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest does apt justice to its sprawling source material and represents a great place for newcomers to the mythos to get started. Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest is the best visual novel to come along in a long time.
Absolutely dated in so many ways with crusty stealth gameplay, poor visuals and uninspiring environments, yet showing glimmers of innovation that are in turn bolstered by bouts of super satisfying werewolf combat, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is the first proper guilty pleasure of the year.
There's no getting around it, this is an astounding proposition. Bringing together two of the best action RPGs of the PlayStation 4 era with a range of eye-opening PlayStation 5 enhancements, Nioh Remastered: The Complete Collection is absolutely essential for anybody who has even the slightest interest in great action RPGs with hugely rewarding combat systems and hundreds of hours of challenging gameplay.
A commendably opulent remastering of one of the PlayStation 4's better action RPGs, Nioh 2 Remastered: The Complete Edition is the best way to play Team Ninja's furious, Soulslike sequel. That said, even on PS5 Nioh 2 Remastered still inherits the flaws from its original PS4 incarnation, such as overly punishing difficulty and repetitive design. Regardless though, for those new to Nioh 2, there really is no better time to get stuck into the game - just make sure that you've finished the first game beforehand; otherwise, you're in for pain. A lot of pain.
More so than ever before, Nioh is a great choice for players who have since exhausted the superb Demon's Souls. Sure enough, even in its remastered form, Nioh cannot hope to match the visual magic that developer Bluepoint Games performed with From Software's opus, but in every other way that counts Nioh Remastered is a tremendous action RPG that holds up strongly even today.
Much more than just a sterling evolution of arcade legend Gauntlet, Heroes of Hammerwatch melds superbly robust dungeon crawling gameplay together with ingenious roguelike design to create the genre's next must-have title. If like me you missed out on Heroes of Hammerwatch when it first release, now is the time to correct that mistake. You won't regret it.
Not quite the next-gen (currently gen, I guess) debut that motocross fans would have hoped for, MXGP 2020 nonetheless does a relatively commendable job of filling a distinctly motocross shaped hole in the PlayStation 5 library. It's just a shame that more hasn't been done to make use of the cutting edge technology that has brought MXGP 2020 to life - doubly so given the resoundingly solid core racing experience that developer Milestone has wrought and refined here.
Colt Canyon is really just what the doctor ordered to kick off 2021. A breezy and consistently satisfying twin-stick shooter roguelike with a surprising amount of depth and where gunfights, stealth murder and dynamite powered destruction go hand in hand, Colt Canyon is a smart, wild west shooter that's well worth saddling up for.
The Wild Eight is a fine survival and micromanagement simulator that is ably supported by decent crafting, exploration and a nuanced audiovisual presentation. However, the omission of the online multiplayer functionality which is arguably the cornerstone of the PC version, certainly stings much more than it should.
The real pity here is that Liftoff: Drone Racing actually manages to nail that the handling and feeling of control which should arguably feature at the core of any such title which aims to bring a drone racing simulation to console. It's just a shame that a real lack of inspiring content and a distinctly dated visual presentation do much to tarnish the overall package.
With its weaponized cuteness and deceptively deep physics platforming shenanigans, PHOGS! succeeds grandly as a hugely entertaining effort which truly shines when played with a local friend. PHOGS! is absolutely one physics puzzler that you should take for walkies.
Though the breadth of the upgrades that the PS5 brings to WRC 9 is expected and somewhat unambitious to an extent, the truth is that developer Kylotonn has provided a delectable coat of polish to what is already considered to be one of the finest rally games in years. If you've got a PS5 and you want a rally racing sim to cut your teeth on, they don't come any better than WRC 9.
Finally realising its potential, Borderlands 3 goes from great to essential on PlayStation 5, thanks to its new visual features, DualSense implementation and the ability to have up to four players blasting their way through the game locally. If you've been holding off playing Borderlands 3 until now, your watch has ended.
Attractive visuals and decent handling isn't enough to pull Red Wings: Aces of the Sky out of the doldrums of mediocrity, thanks in no small part to a distinct lack of variety in the mission objectives and uninspiring game design.
Twenty seven months worth of patches, content updates and a next-generation coat of visual sheen is enough to allow Dead by Daylight to realize its ambition as one of the most enjoyably terrifying online multiplayer experiences out there. If you've been holding off and waiting for Dead by Daylight to 'get good' or 'get fixed', now is the time for you to finally jump in. You won't regret it.
An absolute blueprint on how to remake a beloved title and meaningfully improve upon on it in ways that new cutting edge technologies make possible, Demon's Souls on PlayStation 5 is more than just the best launch game for any system in recent memory. Its re-emergence and digestible approach to its seemingly daunting challenge now opens the door once more to an all-new generation of PlayStation gamers to a kickstart a second coming for Souls subgenre. Demon's Souls is nothing less than a breathless triumph in every way.
Though the various visual modes require some work, Dirt 5 is nonetheless a breath of fresh air for the long-running rally racing franchise that widens the audience duly and marks a commendable debut for the franchise on PlayStation 5.
An astounding triumph of imagination, Sackboy: A Big Adventure isn't just one of the best platformers ever made, it's also a proper highlight of the PlayStation 5 launch line-up that is steeped in such fun and free wheeling creativity, that it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as other PlayStation platforming heroes such as Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered swings onto PlayStation 5 and brings with it a sterling remastering of one of 2018's best games. Though perhaps not quite essential for rabid players who have explored every nook and cranny of Insomniac's impeccably realised Marvel New York, Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered is must-have gaming for everyone who has yet to sample the heroic adventures of the original friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man.
An all-encompassing edition of Warhammer's latest foray into Diablo style dungeon crawling, Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition struggles to stand out with its grindy gameplay and poor use of the DualSense controller. That said, there is sufficient depth in its character build creation and near endless quest lines that those who can withstand its less agreeable aspects will find much to tide them over.