John-Paul Jones's Reviews
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.
Just about every aspect of DayZ is in dire need of some degree of polish, however, if you persist (and you should) a deep and ultimately ingenious title lay underneath that places a premium on player-made stories. All the same be aware that in its current state, it will take a remarkable degree of patience to get that most from DayZ - such quantities that more than a few folk simply won't have.
A sizeably riotous spin-off to Sega's Yakuza franchise, Judgment combines the series penchant for balancing seriousness and absurdity with a hyper-engaging central protagonist whose deeply charismatic persona freshens the whole affair up massively. Judgment is a toweringly good offering then, and one that we hope leads to its own series with leading man Yagami at the forefront.
A veritable playground of peerless violent ingenuity, My Friend Pedro is the Matrix, Max Payne and Tony Hawk three-way you never knew you wanted, it’s just a shame that an occasional wandering focus distracts the game from doing what it does best.
Wet Dreams Don't Dry brings Leisure Suit Larry into the modern era in a suitably awkward and entertaining fashion. It's a good point n' click adventure, and is funny on a fairly regular basis. Just don't expect too much to have changed with its horndog hero.
Not the big jump in quality we saw from the last Don Bradman's to Ashes Cricket, Cricket 19 is at least a small improvement on its predecessor, strengthening its modular gameplay options and packing in a bit more detail to the engrossing career and Ashes modes. It's fair to say more was expected of this latest willow-whacker, but it does manage to keep the series on the path to greater things.
Don't let the massively blocky visuals fool you - The Last Door: Complete Edition is one of the atmospheric titles to come out in quite some time and one of the very best point and click adventure games the PS4 can offer right now. Don't sleep on this one.
A visually resplendent sequel, Layers of Fear 2 is frequently terrifying affair - though it fails to capture the ponderous melancholy of its predecessor and boasts plot that is far too often disjointed. All the same for those willing to stick with it, there are no shortage of hair-raising and spine-chilling moments.
A charmingly old-fashioned crime epic, American Fugitive's ambitious intentions are summarily undercut by a raft of poor design decisions and technical issues.
A sublime, impeccably crafted roguelike card-battler that is absolutely without peer, Slay the Spire cements its place as one of the best games of this console generation. This. Is. Essential.
Though RNG issues can render it punishing and solo play is not hugely captivating, For The King nonetheless states a decent case for itself as a tactical, fantasy multiplayer board game that everybody can enjoy. Get the snacks in, get the friends in and away you go.
Though a touch short and overly streamlined in its vision, Bomb Chicken nonetheless offers up a tremendously entertaining, highly digestible and resolutely clever platformer that everyone will be able to enjoy.