John-Paul Jones's Reviews
Resolutely challenging without ever being unfair, frequently gut-bustingly humorous and stuffed with all manner of unexpected twists and turns, The Messenger one of the most essential platformers on PS4. It really is that simple.
An ultimately conservative though meaningful improvement upon the previous Division title in every way, Tom Clancy's The Division 2 stands as a sterling third-person loot shooter experience that is best enjoyed with friends and is one which plays host to an evocative setting that lingers in the memory.
Much like the setting that inspires it, Beat Cop is crass, dirty and morally reprehensible at times. Though it certainly isn't for everybody, there is a certain attraction that Beat Cop exudes which has you coming back, time and again, to its grimly framed world of corrupt cops, jobsworth toil and pressure-based strategy.
The sort of crushing disappointment that only comes around once in a while, Left Alive feels like an emaciated, innovation bereft meditation on Metal Gear Solid and in matching up so poorly with its inspiration, provides the Front Mission franchise with arguably its weakest entry in years.
Oozing heart, wit, charm and adventure from every digital pore, Ghost of a Tale is a beautifully crafted and warmly affecting adventure that deserves a place in the collections of PS4 owners everywhere.
A fiendishly compelling re-imagining of the gun-toting cop shows of yore, RICO is an effortlessly playable, highly enjoyable and deceptively clever roguelike FPS that is at it's very best when enjoyed with friends.
A superb, smart and taut detective thriller lay beneath the stack of technical and design issues that The Occupation has, it's just a shame that, in its current form at least, those shortcomings are at the forefront of the experience.
Though the setting is evocative, the poor combat, raft of bugs and meagre duration all conspire to ensure that Fimbul fumbles its setting and results in disappointingly poor roaming brawler.
The only offering of its ilk on PS4, Stellaris: Console Edition squeezes a galaxy of emergent strategy, discovery and story onto Sony's home console with very little compromise. Stellaris is certainly the biggest, if not one of the best pure strategy titles you can get on PS4 right now.
Easily one of the best visual novels available, Steins;Gate Elite is a stellar and beautifully framed retelling of its source material and one that is grandly suited to series newcomers and stalwarts alike.
Band of Bastards is a satisfyingly violent DLC for one Kingdom Come, and one that does a good job of making you feel like part of brotherhood of vagrants. Just don't expect anything that strays too far from the formula established by the core game.
Genesis Alpha One is an extremely rare beast. A confident marriage of FPS, space sim, roguelike and strategy elements, it is quite simply the first essential indie title of 2019.
Uneven pacing and a slumping middle act detract from a brutally action-packed cliffhanger that duly sets up the final ever episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead.
A stirring and often disturbing continuation of Telltale's final season of The Walking Dead, Suffer the Children is an effective episode that not only stands on its own merits but sets up a grand series finale too.
Though it boasts a resoundingly striking aesthetic, a haphazard save system coupled with a raft of glitches and a misjudged waypoint system all manage to tarnish what should have been one of the first major indie darlings of the year. Vane is simply too frustrating to recommend in its current form.
A thoroughly thoughtful re-imagining of The Long Dark which tightens everything up deftly, The Long Dark is making grizzly-sized strides in its evolution and is essential for fans of taut, survival adventures.
A true curio in the most literal sense, Mount and Blade: Warband will sharply divide PS4 players according to the premium that they place on aesthetics. For those who can look past such failings though, hundreds upon hundreds of hours of play awaits with a game that combines medieval combat, strategy and role-playing quite unlike any other. Just don't stare at it eh? It's rude.
Kingdom Two Crowns is an immersive and frequently surprising strategy game that is quite unlike any other. Fans of slow-burning, atmospheric strategy efforts with emergent discovery will find much to enjoy here - as would newcomers to the genre at large.
Warhammer Vermintide 2 doesn't just reinvigorate the template that Left 4 Dead established all those years ago, instead it stabs, sets it aflame and proceeds to kick it through the nearest wall. This is one of the best co-op games available and toweringly fine way to close out 2018.
Though mechanically unambitious, Silver Lining puts a workmanlike though effective capper on Spider-Man's City Never Sleep DLC series all the while paving the way for grander and hopefully more innovative adventures farther down the road.