John-Paul Jones's Reviews
Though the narrative setup did little for me and the occasional orientation issues mildly frustrated, Viewfinder still manages to shine through as a resolutely interesting, smart and enjoyable three-dimensional puzzler that feels like it was cut from the same, ingenious cloth as Valve's legendary Portal games. What's not to like?
As Soulslikes go, The Last Hero of Nostalgaia certainly boasts a neat hook on account of its smugly cynical narrative and frequent bouts of cheeky humour. However, the occasionally imprecise combat, uninteresting enemies and worlds coupled with a raft of frustrating bugs and a general lack of polish all serve to commit The Last Hero of Nostalgaia to an oblivion of mediocrity.
Overflowing with replay value, engaging characters and great writing, the end result is that Harmony: The Fall of Reverie offers up some of the most compelling storytelling Don't Nod has ever come up with and in doing so gives visual novel fans a superlative offering that is without peer.
If you've been holding off from picking up Mundaun, now is absolutely the time to jump in. Representing arguably the definitive version of a game that more people really need to play, Mundaun on PS5 brings a level of fidelity and smoothness to Hidden Field's superb horror effort that only serves to strengthen its ruthlessly engaging tale.
Convergence: A League of Legends Story doesn't just manage to stand on its own two feet as a gripping spin-off to the League of Legends property at large, but so too does it also craft an astoundingly accomplished Metroidvania that stands on its own two feet, tying together innovation and heart in one of the most welcome surprises of the year so far.
Chances are I'm not going to improve my take on "Euphoria" anytime soon, but Let's Sing 2023 makes it effortless to keep on trying and embarrass myself in front of my friends and family. And this is the central issue - if you're new to the Let's Sing then feel free to add a point or so to the final score as it remains a whole heap of fun and is both handsomely made and presented. However if you're a tenured veteran of the series, then the lack of innovation and the pay-walling of songs that you've already paid for before will likely grate more than the worst sonic assaults the Eurovision Song Contest has conjured thus far.
Though Company of Heroes 3 might lack some polish and its implementation of a console-friendly control system takes a good while to get used to, Relic Entertainment has nonetheless crafted a layered World War II RTS that combines meaningful tactical choices and consequences with compelling street-level strategy that just begs to be revisited time and again. Armchair generals should rejoice.
The best boomer shooter I've played in a long time, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is weapons-grade catnip for genre fans and Warhammer 40,000 fans alike. Indeed in retrospect, crafting a retro style FPS in the Warhammer 40,000 universe feels like something we should have had long before now - so perfect is the fit of form and function. In the Warhammer 40,000 universe there is only war. Apparently there are also supremely great shooters too. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is a riotously violent and thoroughly entertaining shooter that everybody needs to play.
With a potentially boundless universe of characters, worlds and more to tap into, Disney Speedstorm could conceivably provide fans of the House of Mouse with a steady diet of endless Disney themed content to get stuck into. Gorgeous to look at super satisfying to play, Disney Speedstorm's pay to win mechanics aren't sufficiently weighty to substantially detract from everything that it does right and for fans of both all things Walt Disney and kart racing, Disney Speedstorm will likely prove to be an irresistible proposition that could largely mitigate the grind of its longer term prospects.
Though short and certainly limited in a number of ways, Saga of Sins nonetheless leaves an indelible impression. With no shortage of imagination and a solid grasp of action platforming fundamentals, Saga of Sins not only impresses but provides an eye-opening blueprint for where a hopefully much more content stuffed sequel could go next. As it is, Saga of Sins is a breathlessly stylish, though overly brief action platformer that boasts a compelling setting that everybody should check out.
For better or worse, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is simply more Horizon Forbidden West and for fans of the game and also its detractors, that will be to their joy and chagrin respectively. As it is, Burning Shores is an impressively spectacle stuffed, though routinely unambitious expansion that does little to address the weaknesses of the core franchise but still manages to provide an effective bridge to the third game in the Horizon trilogy.
At just over five hours long with scope for additional playthroughs depending on whether you're sympathetic to Petrian regime, rebel against it or fall somewhere in-between, Road 96: Mile 0 belies its budget price with a surprisingly choice-stuffed narrative that doesn't match the broad calibre of Road 96 but is nonetheless still worth playing all the same.
Curse of the Sea Rats is a perfectly fine Metroidvania effort. The hand-drawn art is gorgeous for the most part and the combat together with the platforming are both well executed and ultimately satisfying. However coupled with the absence of some odd quality of life features, a general lack of polish and a lack of any real ambition, Curse of the Sea Rats arguably struggles to elevate itself in an increasingly competitive genre filled with top-tier efforts.
Absolutely overflowing with evocative characters, situations and stunning world building, Citizen Sleeper effortlessly punches its ticket as one of the best narrative adventures on PS5. Sure enough, the lo-fi presentation and plodding tabletop mechanics won't be for everyone, but for everyone else Citizen Sleeper is a beautifully written, often emotional cyberpunk adventure that will linger long in the mind long after completion.
Puzzling Places unexpectedly evokes that early childhood memory of connecting my first two Lego pieces together, not least because it deftly leverages the haptic feedback capabilities of the PSVR2 to replicate that sensation from those halcyon days many years on. Wholesome, relaxing and never anything less than totally satisfying whenever I need a break from the world, Puzzling Places is puzzle solving zen distilled into its finest form on PSVR2 that everybody can play.
The same notion applies here as it does for Tetris Effect: Connected in that Rez Infinite on PSVR2 is arguably leagues better than its OG PSVR predecessor and confidently makes its mark as one of the best games you can get on PSVR2 right now. With super sharp and buttery smooth visuals, arresting 3D audio, deftly implemented haptic feedback and a brilliant use of PSVR2's eye-tracking capabilities, this is as good as Rez Infinite gets.
Tetris Effect: Connected is as essential as it ever was and its PSVR2 debut adds yet more polish and immersive features to what was already the best Tetris game money can buy. I would award Tetris Effect: Connected more than ten out of ten I could, but I can't, so here we are. Buy it.
Though savagely undercut by performance issues, The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice still remains a stellar RPG and a muscular content offering despite its technical problems. Nonetheless, the unstable framerate coupled with frame pacing issues results in the tarnishing of the definitive version of The Outer Worlds that really should have been so much polished than it is here.
A fitting way to celebrate the first year anniversary of Gran Turismo's resurgence, Gran Turismo 7 on PSVR2 is a tour de force showcase that not only brings the vast gulf that exists between the original PSVR and PSVR2 into stark relief, but also how provides a masterclass on how racing can and should work in VR. A triumph that elevates the core experience, I couldn't imagine playing Gran Turismo 7 any other way from now on.
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder is a tremendously fun, roguelike adventure with a hugely compelling neo-western, dieselpunk aesthetic that is best played with friends, so long as you can ignore the current choice selection of glitches and repetitive nature of its core gameplay loop. If you've ever wanted to play a SteamWorld Dig game in VR, this is currently the closest you'll get to it.