John-Paul Jones's Reviews
In every way that it can be, Horizon Forbidden West is Horizon Zero Dawn 2.0 and while I might crave some more variety in its open-world activities, Guerrilla Games has nonetheless crafted a triumphant sequel that earns its place among the very best that PlayStation Studios has to offer.
Whether you're experiencing these stunning games for the first time or are returning for another playthrough, emboldened by the technical facelift that the PlayStation 5 provides, Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection brings together two absolute banner PlayStation exclusives into a delectable and unmissable package that serves as a timely reminder that Nathan Drake and company have been long missed.
With some seriously neat moments that echo some key scenes from the first two films and at just over five hours in length, is a neatly digestible morsel that doesn't surprise or innovate in any sort of meaningful way, but instead gives us more of that Terminator: Resistance goodness. Essentially, if you're a Terminator fan and played Terminator: Resistance through to completion, enjoyed it and wanted to stay in that world, then Annihilation Line is absolutely your ticket.
I really wanted to like Twelve Minutes, but by playing through it multiple times I've come to understand that in order for the timeloop to concept to really work in videogames, it needs time to breathe - both in physical game world terms and also in the various elements that it requires players to solve and master in order to progress. As it is, Twelve Minutes is an undeniably stylish looking and sounding thriller that finds itself summarily undone by poor writing, unwieldy controls and a shoddily frustration execution of its overarching timeloop concept. A shame.
Much like Manual Samuel and other titles of that ilk, Heavenly Bodies certainly feels tailor-made for the streaming scene. With its penchant for generating knee-slapping laughs and red-faced moments of white hot anger that are both best enjoyed with friends and in front of a captive audience (not to mention the speedrunning mode that would arguably garner a fair audience), 2pt Interactive have certainly crafted a commendably enjoyable co-operative yarn that should last well into the holidays and beyond.
Easily the best entry in the long-running series to date, though Farming Simulator 22 might not have a picture perfect PS5 debut, it does augment the series already robust strategic and micro-management fundamentals with a number of new additions and features that make it an erstwhile choice for series veterans. Though newcomers will likely struggle with the tutorial and learning curve, Farming Simulator 22 soon becomes an engaging time sink that not only taxes the brain duly, but helps to provide a modicum of insight into the sheer amount of hard graft that goes into one of the most challenging occupations in the world.
As it stands now, Battlefield 2042 is a formidable and enjoyable shooter that once again delivers on the series promise of peerless open world combat theatre in a way that no other series or franchise has managed to match. It's just a shame that while Battlefield 2042 looks to the future for its setting, so too must players for the short-term as EA and DICE scramble to fix what could potentially be the best Battlefield in years.
If you can get through the relatively humdrum, lifeless and unneeded open world of Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One you'll uncover a whip smart detective adventure that is up there with the series best. It's just a shame that a smattering of technical issues and poorly executed combat sections detract from what should have been the Pride of Baker Street's triumphant return to PlayStation.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars cloaks a very traditional JRPG in an alluring tabletop veneer. Sure, it doesn't really shake up the genre in any real meaningful way, but the unique presentation and laid back approach to player engagement all combine to make one of the more relaxing and easily accessible JRPG offerings to come along in a good while.
Between all three games, the Crysis Remastered Trilogy effectively provides something of a microcosm of how the first person shooter genre has evolved over the years, with the completely freeform open world beats of the first game soon being replaced by the linear opulence of the final game in the trio. That said, if you're a fan of the genre in general or have been hankering to play Crytek's impressive trio of shooter offerings for sometime now, there really is no better place to jump in than with the Crysis Remastered Trilogy.
Though well-intentioned as an interactive educational documentary about the spectacular lives of sugar gliders, AWAY: The Survival Series simply isn't sufficiently sophisticated or well designed enough to pass muster as a videogame that will keep you coming back. As it is, AWAY: The Survival Series is an attractive, if clunky edutainment title that only the youngest and most inexperienced PlayStation gamers will truly enjoy.
A strangle little blend of god sim and hack and slash genres, Actraiser Renaissance is extremely uneven to say the least in almost all facets of its design and yet despite that, it's also oddly compelling and enjoyable. A proper little curio indeed.
One of the most intense and authentic feeling shooters to come along in a long while, Insurgency: Sandstorm prides itself on realistic gunplay and tactics to fashion one of the better online shooters that PlayStation platforms have seen in a good long while.
KeyWe is more than just an adorable concept, it actually backs it up with a thoroughly enjoyable co-op experience that always seems to know when to change things up in its formula without ever losing sight of what makes it tick. It's possible to enjoy it solo, but honestly, that pales in comparison to joining friend or family in a round of buttslamming boxes and pecking papers to deliver the mail as the fuzziest little postal workers around.
A deeply thoughtful, eminently accessible and cleverly crafted bite-sized puzzler, Bonfire Peaks has more subtle emotion, charm and smile-cracking ingenuity than most of the games that have released this year. If you want to hone your logical senses and embolden your spirit concurrently then Bonfire Peaks is certainly one summit worth conquering.
Clearly meant for those who have long been ingratiated with the BattleTech universe, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is an appreciably deep mech stomper that needs a lot more polish a better storyline and cast of characters before its appeal can reach beyond the outer limits of its dedicated fanbase.
Though the additions to this newly reinvigorated version of Death Stranding might be considered to be superfluous by die-hard Kojima fans, there's no denying that Death Stranding Director's Cut is the definitive version to play Kojima's most recent opus on console, thanks to an opulent visual makeover and a wealth of quality of life improvements. Though still remaining divisive at its core, Death Stranding Director's Cut is absolutely the best way to see the hype surrounding Kojima's most esoteric work.
Odd inventory design niggles aside and shopworn concepts aside, Tails of Iron is beautifully presented and a roundly entertaining, surprisingly grim action RPG that boasts a grandly enjoyable combat system. Fans of punishing action RPGs and grimdark fairy-tales will find much to love here.
A fantastic action adventure that taps directly into the root DNA of the Yakuza franchise, Lost Judgment not only manages to simultaneously boast both the darkest and the goofiest storylines of any title in the series to date, but it also stuns the player with an absolute avalanche of hugely entertaining side quests and activities. More than that though, Lost Judgment also provides solace for those who found themselves turned off by the turn-based combat system that the mainline Yakuza series now seems to favour, while welcoming newcomers to one of the best new Japanese franchises of the last two decades.
Deathloop is not only one of the most conceptually ambitious and well executed games ever made, but Arkane's PlayStation swansong also has a boundless energy and ingenuity that no other game can match. Quite simply, Deathloop is an unparalleled synergy of first-person shooter design, explorative bliss and narrative complexity that we likely won't see again for a very, very long time.