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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is not going to appeal to all tastes, and nor does it try to. As a character action game, it has decent if underdeveloped combat and a mixture of some excellent and some overplayed puzzles. But it's the way that the title utilises the unique attributes of the medium to raise awareness of mental health that elevate this release beyond the sum of its parts.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows sacrifices depth to tell an intriguing story. Its incredibly linear design keeps things moving, but between unremarkable combat and an over-reliance on exposition through a bloated codex, it's never able to fully capture your imagination. Masquerada is a stunted RPG that's entertaining enough while it lasts, but you probably won't be coming back to Ombre once it's over.
Graceful Explosion Machine is a gorgeous and innovative take on a now ancient genre of arcade shooter. The weapon system brings an element of combo juggling to the combat and challenge runs are addictive and, crucially, not too punishing. Simply put, this is another top-notch PS4 shmup.
Patapon Remastered is a decent port of the madcap PSP title. It's a unique, challenging game with real personality that fans of rhythm and/or strategy will have fun with over its ten hour campaign. Difficulty spikes and some well hidden key items can put a dampener on things, while the audio mix isn't quite up to scratch. Fortunately, the fun, simplistic gameplay is compelling enough that you won't be too worried about its flaws. Fans will love the trip down memory lane, but we also hope newcomers will drum up the enthusiasm to give this a go.
ChromaGun is a title that nails its core concept, but fluffs its lines in a few too many other areas. The colour-based puzzles brought to the table are a joy to solve with the surprising amount of depth mixing things up enough to never make you feel like you've seen the same brain-teaser twice. However, the punishment for failing a puzzle feels far too harsh at times and coupled with the constant load times, an air of frustration can set in.
The Long Dark is a strong survival title, possibly even the strongest of the entire genre. A beautiful, but dangerous Canadian wilderness provides the backdrop to a challenging, but largely satisfying fight for survival. While micromanaging every facet of your well-being while trying to survive might sound tedious in description, it actually ends up being fun, satisfying, and even tense. With three more episodes to come for this title's story mode, there's already tons of content to chow down on. Just watch out for the wolves.
Dino Frontier's fun for the few hours you'll wring out of it, but it could have been so much more. The game is bursting with brilliant ideas, but it never really evolves any of them, leaving an experience that expires long before the cold clutches of extinction have had an opportunity to arise. It's a shame because with a bit more time in the saloon this could have been a classic – but you may want to wait until it's half-price before pulling the trigger on this release.
CastleStorm crops up everywhere, so chances are you've already played this game before. To be fair, the PlayStation VR version improves on what's come before, by leveraging the technology to give you a better view of the battlefield before you. The game's still a little overcomplicated for our tastes, but those who like multitasking may enjoy that aspect. And if you do, then the addictive reward loop and customisable castles will probably keep you hooked longer than you anticipate.
Leaving Lyndow has some promising aspects, but overall it's a frustrating experience. The puzzle sections are poorly thought out and mostly implemented to impede the player's progress and extend the running time for a little while longer, while the technical hiccups shatter your story immersion.
Sundered is a Metroidvania that's left us with mixed feelings. The gorgeous environments and enemy design help to make the title a visual treat. Unfortunately, the game doesn't really offer enough downtime to actually enjoy that element. It instead serves up near-constant enemy encounters and frustrating hordes of enemies that end up irritating rather than exhilarating. While the game controls very well, and the upgrade tree is incredibly impressive, its light procedural elements still end up being the most unique feature.
Demetrios is a valiant effort from one-man developer COWCAT at reviving the witty point and click adventure game, but ultimately its selling point - the humour - is its downfall. The gameplay is fun and puzzling, the graphics are quirky, and occasionally the dialogue does get a giggle, but the characters are too unlikable and the jokes too obnoxious to make all ten hours (a good amount for a game of this genre) enjoyable.
Conga Master ensures pulling shapes on the PlayStation 4 is an entertaining past-time – even if you've got two left feet. Like any party this title eventually outstays its welcome, but while it's in full-swing it's hard not to get swept along.
Smashbox Arena's knockout gameplay is entertaining online – assuming you can find a match. While there is a small community on the servers right now, it's difficult to predict how long that will persist, and thus purchasing is a bit of a risk. Unless you can convince friends to pick up the package, then be warned that the single player content is thin, even if the core gameplay loop is undeniably fun. More work in the art department could have elevated the release enormously, so ultimately you're left with an ugly but enjoyable multiplayer game that will be defined by the number of people who stick with it beyond launch.
A mental genre mash-up that fuses the best of idle clickers with actual gameplay mechanics, Vostok Inc probably should come with a health warning. This may not be the best twin-stick shooter you'll play on the PlayStation 4, but by mixing and matching mechanics from different titles it unleashes a beast that's greater than the sum of its parts. Play responsibly – but most importantly, play.
A welcome return to a type of stealth-strategy that hasn't been seen on PlayStation for many a moon. The period setting forms a great backdrop for the action, missions are steeped in atmosphere, and the central characters are just plain cool. Lack of co-op is a missed opportunity, but the addictive challenge badges will keep you coming back for more. Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun is a serious tactical treat..
Pyre marks Supergiant Games' third consecutive masterpiece. A bizarre blend of genres creates an excitingly original title aided by incredible world building and one of the most consistently interesting casts of characters we've ever seen assembled. This is all further enhanced by some outstanding artwork. Framerate issues and the odd difficulty spike detract from the overall experience, but can't prevent this outing from achieving excellence.
When Aven Colony is at its best, it's making a strong case for the viability of the real-time strategy genre on console via an addictive mix of easy-to-grasp city building mechanics, a surprisingly intriguing sci-fi story, and a tight campaign that offers variety and never outstays its welcome. Unfortunately, it has a number of annoying technical issues which -- while they might not affect every player -- are persistent enough to undermine the experience depending on your tolerance for slow down and hard crashes. If you can weather the storm of technical shortcomings Aven Colony throws at you, you'll find an impressive, accessible strategy game that feels right at home on PS4.
Infinite Minigolf provides the tools needed to cultivate an endless arcade game – it just needs the algorithms required to ensure that its one you'll actually want to play forever. The core golf here is fun, and the pre-designed courses show that there's potential for some great puzzle-like levels. It's now down to the imagination of users to wield the title's intuitive Course Editor to create some high-quality stages – and the title itself to ensure that they get promoted ahead of the inevitable procession of low-effort Bogeys.
Ariadne wouldn't fall in love with Theseus in this state, but Forge Reply's virtual reality adaptation of a classic story isn't an unmitigated disaster. The combat and platforming disappoints and there's not enough meat on the release's bones, but it proves that third-person adventures can work with PlayStation VR – and it looks pretty nice to boot. It's a bit of a missed opportunity, then, as there is value in what's presented here – it's just far, far too expensive to recommend and isn't as fun as it should be to play.
Tiny Trax is a beautifully presented arcade racer which leverages PlayStation VR in an original and intelligent way. Clever use of layers gives the illusion of impressive depth to its dozen or so courses, and smart game design means that the title's extremely accessible but still challenging to master. Our only gripe is that we wished there was more of it, but the release is fairly priced and honestly a must-have if you want to experience something a little different in virtual reality.