John-Paul Jones's Reviews
A charmingly well-crafted marriage of co-operative play and Metroidvania esque mechanics, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is quite unlike any PS4 game currently available and is absolutely worth the price of admission for those looking for their next long-term co-op fix.
A toweringly charismatic twin-stick blaster that expertly marries retro shooter beats with roguelike game mechanics, Enter the Gungeon is one of the cleverest and most enjoyable shooters money can buy.
Occasionally stupid AI and the lack of split-screen play aren't enough to dull the formidable lustre of Warhammer End Times: Vermintide as one of the most entertaining and flat out enjoyable online co-op games you can get on PS4. Killing rats has never been so much fun.
A relentlessly savage take on survival that puts players in control of the fleshy collateral damage that other war games merely gloss over, This War of Mine is a bleak, grim and ruthlessly entertaining affair quite unlike any other.
With Tales from the Borderlands, Telltale Games has struck gold. Easily its best effort since the first season of The Walking Dead, Tales marries the series cheeky humour and laugh-out laughs with some properly touching and poignant moments. This is as essential as it gets.
Multi-layered in its sophistication while being drenched in aesthetic bombast and effortlessly entertaining, Nuclear Throne isn't just Vlambeer's finest work to date, it also happens to be the best twin-stick shooter since Helldivers; even in light of its relatively minor transgressions.
A fiendishly cunning effort that oozes challenge and style, DEADBOLT is a must-have for fans of stealth puzzlers everywhere.
A stunning and hugely satisfying digital representation of Pool, Cherry Pop Games has done it again with Pool Nation, this time providing PS4 with the finest take on the sport seen to date. This is essential.
In every way that a remake of a classic property can be, Pac-Man 256 soars. By enshrining the classic gameplay beats of the 1980 original and thoughtfully augmenting it with new tweaks and changes to keep the game perpetually fresh, few could have perhaps envisioned that back in 1980 Pac-Man would still prove to be one of the most enjoyable and arguably essential gaming experiences you can buy some thirty-six years on.
A fiendishly constructed zombie mashing roguelike with a veritable mountain of stuff to do, Death Road to Canada is the hilarious, ever-compelling road trip odyssey you never knew you wanted.
Lara Croft GO is that rarest of beasts; a puzzle effort that not only elegantly distills the core essence of the franchise with which it shares its namesake, but one which is equally at home on PS4 as it is on PS Vita. There's no getting around it; this is one of the best puzzlers of the year.
PSVR feels like it was made for this simply because Superhot VR is indomitable proof of life for Virtual Reality as a gaming platform. If you have PSVR this needs to be your next game.
The latest in arguably Codemasters cornerstone racing franchise; rally racing on PS4 just doesn't get better than Dirt 4. It simply doesn't.
The PSVR update to Dirt Rally not only serves to considerably refresh Codemasters consummate 2016 racer, but also give PSVR owners their next must-have purchase. Dirt Rally on PSVR is utterly essential.
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.
Reinvigorating the twin-stick shooter like few before it with a veritable masterclass of design, you absolutely do not want to sleep on Iron Crypticle.
Simultaneously a great introduction to the Yakuza series and one of its better entries, Yakuza Kiwami is precisely how you remake a classic.
An epic adventure in absolutely every sense, Pillars of Eternity arrives on PS4 in highly impressive form and confidently stakes its claim as one of the best RPGs of the year.
The Pillars of the Earth Book Two carries on the great work established by the previous episode, providing a beautifully written narrative, interesting characters and meaningful player choice against the backdrop of some of the most sumptuous locations ever depicted in an adventure game. If you haven't already, now is the time to stop sleeping on The Pillars of the Earth.
Though the remastering effort is perhaps not as extensive as some might like, Dark Souls Remastered is without a doubt the best way to play one of the finest action RPGs ever and is nothing short of essential for newbies and stalwart Dark Souls fans alike.