Simon Fitzgerald
Heart&Slash has some enjoyable moments. The weapon and armour unlocks coupled with the randomly generated levels will keep you coming back, but ultimately, the experience is let down by unfair encounters and repetitive combat. It's a quirky combination of roguelike and brawler that will leave fans of either genre disappointed.
Manual Samuel is a short but interesting title, however its gameplay gets very repetitive and infuriating quickly with the constant blinking and breathing. The game's controversial approach to humour also dampens the experience and makes it difficult to enjoy the best bits without feeling guilty for laughing at something you feel like you really shouldn't.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes utilises the PlayStation VR headset superbly to create an excellently immersive, couch co-op experience, with tight controls that make it easily accessible for new players. The gameplay is enjoyable, and there is plenty on offer in terms of replayability to keep you coming back for more.
The Playroom VR is a good collection of couch co-op mini-games that demonstrate the capabilities of the VR headset superbly. Although a few of the games you'll play once and never touch again, Robots Rescue is a standout experience that you'll wish was a fully-fledged game in itself.
SportsBarVR is a solid collection of multiplayer sports bar games, with pool and darts being the stand out experiences. However, the other experiences on show seem to have been rushed a little to hit PlayStation VR's release date, and the small pool of online players detracts from the overall appeal of the package a little.
Tethered is an excellent God-like strategy game with tight controls, superb gameplay mechanics, and great presentation. If you're looking for a calm, relaxing, and enjoyable virtual reality experience with plenty of hours of content, then this is the perfect title for you.
Waddle Home is a below par puzzle game at best, and the addition of VR fails to change that. The repetitive gameplay, simplicity of the puzzles, and the sheer lack of content shows that this game was rushed out for launch. P-p-p-p-pick up something better for your PlayStation VR headset.
Some minor iffy moments aside, How We Soar is a beautifully relaxing game, with tight presentation and some sound controls. A lovely concept that's really well executed, this is another wonderful example of why virtual reality gaming represents the way forward, and you should certainly check it out if you haven't done so already.
Bridge Constructor is a simplistic physics puzzle game that will keep you busy for more than a few hours. Its simple presentation, controls, and accurate physics make the release an enjoyably addictive experience. If you enjoy physics or have ever stopped on a bridge and marvelled at its sturdiness before, then this game is definitely worth a go – even if it's just to cross a gap between bigger releases.
Momonga Pinball Adventures is a very simplistic pinball game with a very short story, pick-up and play controls, and ball physics that require a bit of tweaking. There's nothing here that stands out, but it'll still be good for keeping the children quiet for an hour or so, with it's not too taxing difficulty.
The Flame in the Flood is a superb rogue-like survival game with a deep crafting system, charmingly beautiful presentation, and challenging gameplay that entices you back time and time again to try and best your previous run. If you're a survival fan and you're in a dry spot for games at the moment, we suggest you jump right into this one. Well, assuming that you can swim of course.
Forma.8 is an aesthetically pleasing, exploration title with a great variety of environments and enemies to discover. Its presentation is wonderfully abstract, with ambient noise and a sense of loneliness creating a mysteriously enjoyable game that we recommend.
iO is a solid physics puzzler with simple controls, minimalistic visuals, and challenging gameplay that comes together as an overall decent experience. The tough difficulty spike and puzzles reliant on trial and error and good luck prevent this from being an excellent title, but if you are looking for a game to roll you over to the next big release then this is certainly worth a punt.
Korix is a good strategy, tower defence title for PlayStation VR with solid gameplay, bright and vibrant visuals, and outstanding motion control tracking. Unfortunately, there are some issues with guidance for new players, and only having a small online community means the multiplayer component may go underutilised. Still, this title is definitely worth picking up if you have a few friends who you want to nuke.
The Sexy Brutale is a very different type of game to anything on the PS4 currently, taking up a Groundhog Day-style in gameplay that is excellently executed. The game is perfectly presented with outstanding audio and visuals that are able to switch the tone of the story from being joyfully upbeat to a very dark within a matter of moments. The story does a great job of keeping you fixated on looking for answers from beginning to end and its conclusion will leave you more than satisfied with your time spent solving its interestingly intricate puzzles.
Statik is an excellent PlayStation VR puzzle game: it's cleverly designed puzzles with subtle environmental elements keep your mind ticking from start to finish. Accompanied by impressively detailed visuals, it puts most virtual reality titles to shame, and is a must buy – even if it's a bit on the short side.
Symphony of the Machine is far from the best puzzle game available on PlayStation VR. Although the puzzles are enjoyable and challenging and the ever changing environmental aspects make for a beautiful setting, it is ultimately let down by its short length, fiddly controls, and pesky bugs. Unless you're an entomologist in desperate need of examining some bugs, we'd suggest you check out some of the other VR puzzlers – there's plenty to choose from.
Tumbleseed is a very unique title to say the least. The controls require an indescribable amount of patience to get used to and the difficulty will make you want to bang your head against a wall. However, if you are willing to battle your way past these issues, you will find a pleasantly presented roguelike unlike anything else.
Human: Fall Flat is a reasonably enjoyable puzzle platforming experience – especially if you bring a buddy along for the ride. Although its wacky controls and simplistic visuals may trip it up along the way, its solid variety of puzzles and beautiful music stop it from falling flat on its face.
Although Ancient Amuletor has all the core mechanics and functionality of an excellent PlayStation VR title, the pure lack of content will leave you yearning for all of the extras that are currently locked out. Factor in the barren online multiplayer community, and this title really squanders its very real potential.