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HomepageWorld War Z has all the makings of a good co-operative experience thanks to its comprehensive class and weapon variety, but its objective-based gameplay can't quite live up to the same standard. You're sure to find enjoyment in fending off swarms of the undead and the multiplayer is a real highlight, but it's unlikely to pull you away from better multiplayer titles for long.
Luckily, the more time you spend in Portia the more the world will reward you. The game is effortlessly simple, but it excels in almost everything it aims to achieve. It's one of the most relaxing indie life-simulation games out there, and yet it still offers enough adventure and addictive crafting opportunities to keep you hooked. A totally new spin on the post-apocalyptic experience, My Time At Portia is vibrant, relaxing, and brimming with charm.
Heaven's Vault will satisfy budding archaeologists and linguistic fanatics in fits and starts, but the overall experience that brings those mechanics together leaves a lot to be desired. Alongside technical frustrations and tedious movement between locations, this is hardly a game we can recommend with any sort of confidence.
FAR: Lone Sails is a lovely title. Remarkable environments and a strong art direction anchor a brief but compelling title. While the puzzles and amount of resources never really hit a point to make anything truly challenging, the resource management loop is more satisfying here than it usually is in more survival-focused titles.
Ghost Giant belongs in the conversation for the very best PSVR game. Its utterly phenomenal series of scenes will live long in the memory, complemented by a narrative that demands immediate investment. Louis is a wonderful companion, too – a relatable character who you'll quickly learn to care for. Outstanding presentation that rewards exploration is the cherry on top of a title we won't be forgetting about any time soon. If you own one of Sony's headsets, you absolutely cannot miss out on this special experience.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is some of the most pure, unadulterated fun we've had in 2019 so far. It's not pretty and it's not stable, but if you're able to look past its technical drawbacks, then you're in for a supremely wacky, boisterous, and delightful takedown of humanity's greatest threat. Earth Defense Force is proud of its simplistic nature, and that's probably the best thing about it.
Falcon Age is a genuinely impressive achievement in the VR space. The unprecedented amount of interactivity between you and the bird plays host to the build-up of a worthy friendship, as well as an essential partner once the going gets tough. Alongside a deep and meaningful narrative, this is yet another PlayStation VR experience that belongs among the elite.
Phoenix Wright has finally made his debut on a PlayStation console in the form of the Ace Attorney Trilogy, and you'll have absolutely no objections from us. This collection of three brilliant games is well worth the attention of adventure game fans, visual novel aficionados, or budding lawyers. The mind-bending, labyrinthine murder plots are far-fetched but engaging, the writing is consistently pithy and amusing, and the characters you'll meet are charming and unique. It's an open and shut case – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy rocks.
Zanki Zero is a really entertaining blend of visual novel and survival RPG gameplay. The story is just as eccentric and zany as the Danganronpa series and features that grittiness fans have come to expect. The combat system is a little simplistic, but the human cloning makes it a really unique experience. However, the title doesn't quite hit the same deliciously dark heights as Danganronpa.
Dangerous Driving is a decent effort to bring back the boisterous, fast-paced racing of Burnout, and while it somewhat delivers on that promise, it's not without its fair share of problems. Technical issues hinder the experience, and one or two issues with handling stop the game from being a top arcade racer. However, the chaos and tension within the various event types makes for some good, old fashioned, adrenaline-fuelled action, and fans of this breed of racing will likely be able to burn a few hours here.
Between Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition and the updates to the Handsome Collection, Borderlands is back in a big way, and that's to say nothing of the main attraction coming in September. Unlike more recent entries in this space, Borderlands doesn't hinge on fragile in-game economies or being stingy with loot. Instead, it's a game that just wants to have fun – silly, brash, play-it-with-friends kind of fun. Welcome back old friend, you have been missed.
Although short lived, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs is exactly what you'd expect from the title; a 3D version of Angry Birds that keeps the same formula and adapts it slightly to fit into virtual reality. The game runs smoothly and, although it looks simplistic and there's nothing revolutionary about it, it's an enjoyable experience all the same. If you were a fan of the 2D mobile games and are looking for more Angry Birds mayhem, this is well worth a shot.
MLB The Show 19 doesn’t appear all that enticing on paper, but step up to the plate and its gameplay is still pretty much unparalleled.
Outward may aim high but is most definitely flawed, constituting a game just above par that's most ideal for RPG enthusiasts.
Xenon Racer isn't a terrible racing game, but in order to enjoy it you need to overlook the game's atrocious handling, horrible difficulty spikes, and general mediocrity. Not having big ambitions is fine for a game as long as it's fun, but developer 3D Clouds is wide of the mark on both counts.
Space Junkies is an incredibly competent multiplayer arena shooter that dodges the VR matchmaking bullet by flexing its cross-play capabilities, but it suffers from inadequate implementation. There's plenty of bullet-blasting action to keep you engaged, but the limited control options only let you partake in a fraction of the fun when compared to your PC brethren.
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemist is a wonderful celebration of past Atelier games, all while bringing something genuinely new and different to the table. While many of the RPG elements have been greatly toned down, the town-building aspects are so addictive and entertaining that you can forgive the simplicity. A light and breezy atmosphere topped off with so many charming character interactions make Nelke's story an undeniably pleasant adventure.
Clementine and AJ's - and by extension, the player's - story comes to a fitting end here, as the creative efforts of Skybound and Telltale bring the story of the beloved series to its satisfying, largely open-ended conclusion. A plethora of emotional punches, varied and surprisingly engaging gameplay - even if the frame rate chugs - accompany wonderful music and impressive cinematography. Despite a couple of narrative hiccups, with one or two scenes that would have benefitted from some retooling, the conclusion to Telltale's most beloved series is not just good, it's satisfying.
Assassin's Creed III Remastered brings far more to the table, seeing otherwise frustrating mechanics heavily tweaked and polished to make them less of an annoyance in the shadow cast by the likes of Origins and Odyssey.
Even if you're in love with its concept, Generation Zero is an experience you should avoid at all costs. Thanks to archaic co-operative design, an open world that feels sparse at even the best of times, and an inventory system that routinely works against you, disappointment takes centre stage here. You may catch one or two beautiful vistas along the way, but as the framerate drops into the single digits, you'll wish you never bothered.