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Dragon Quest Builders gives the genre's heavy hitters a run for their money with its charm, character, and accessibility. A streamlined crafting experience that's always happy to provide you with purpose, it offers a delightful adventure that's packed with discovery. Even though a couple of wonky design choices prevent proceedings from being totally watertight, this is still one of the most downright addictive titles available on the PS4.
The silly simulation gag has long outstayed its welcome, but Job Simulator's biting writing and intuitive gameplay means that the punchline plays one last time. Owlchemy Labs' launch title won't keep you occupied like real labour, but if work was always this entertaining then we'd never pull a sickie ever again.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood does nothing to sully Supermassive Games' fledgling series, and in fact it delivers an enjoyable rails-shooter that overcomes its lack of originality thanks in part to the novelty that virtual reality provides. It's not a long game, but there are different routes to explore, and multiple difficulty settings with online leaderboards to entice you back. As with the main game, though, it's the jump scares that are the real stars here – and they help this likeable launch title live up to its name.
How much would you pay to be Batman for an hour? If your answer sits somewhere in the region of £15.99/$19.99, then Batman: Arkham VR is a virtual no-brainer. With the exception of the finicky motion tracking and brief running time, this is an exceptional short story that eloquently demonstrates many of the advantages of virtual reality. But perhaps the most impressive thing here is that, in transforming you into the Dark Knight, it illuminates both the pros and cons of being a masked vigilante. And while the former interactions will make you feel downright awesome, it's when the Caped Crusader slowly begins to unravel that it comes into its own.
PlayStation VR Worlds is messy attempt at repurposing tech demos into a retail package. While there's no doubt that The London Heist is among the best that Sony's headset has to offer, Ocean Descent is short-lived and Danger Ball won't hold your attention much longer. VR Luge is a nice idea that demands a more precise control scheme, while Scavenger's Odyssey will leave you reaching for your sick bucket. There's some amazing presentation and tech on display here, but despite London Studio's best efforts, it never really comes together as a complete, cohesive package. And while it's undoubtedly left us excited to see which worlds the developer will take us to next, it's hard to shake the feeling that these ones are nothing more than proof of concepts.
Minor tracking issues aside, Tumble VR builds upon its PS3 predecessor by augmenting extra variety and an interesting asymmetrical multiplayer mode. The depth enabled by the stereoscopic image makes positioning that little bit easier to judge, and thus it's more entertaining than ever to assemble colossal towers. The attempts to inject humour fall flat, and the presentation is still cold and clinical as a result, but this shortcoming isn't anywhere near large enough to rock the release's sturdy foundations.
While the occasional technical issues might hamper the experience somewhat, XCOM 2 remains a superb strategy game that expertly weaves stellar mechanics and emotional story-telling into an engrossing campaign in which every choice that you make feels genuinely important. It can be both brutally difficult and depressingly ruthless, but the scant moments of joy that you'll experience in your attempts to overthrow the alien regime should provide more than enough incentive to keep fighting the good fight.
The patient, cunning mindset Aragami puts you in with its strictly stealth gameplay is something we long for with more titles. With simple yet smart level design and mechanics, it proves to be a focused title with heart and soul that has learned much from its old masters. But the game does lack polish in its performance and appearance, and the AI can be irritating at times. Fortunately, the release's story, visuals, and sound design ultimately help lift it out of the darkness.
Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is a niche release for sure, but it's also a solid RPG experience which is ideally suited to the Vita. If you've got Sony's handheld device and an open mind regarding how female fighters should be motivated, then this is a slice of good quality JPRG that can provide many hours of battling pleasure. Just take our advice and try not to play it in public.
Hitman: Episode 5 - Colorado may not be as impressive or vibrant as Sapienza or Bangkok, but it brings its own new take to the game. With a newfound focus on stealth, sniping, and uniforms, this latest mission does well to bring back memories of the sneakier Hitman of old, but some frustrations and annoyances due to the difficulty are present.
Lichtspeer's saving grace is its exceedingly satisfying aim-and-throw gameplay. Simple and yet devilishly compelling, it's the one trick up the game's sleeve that'll keep you coming back for more, despite some very challenging sections and so-so bosses. Arcade gamers that are looking for something new will have a ball with the flinger's fast-paced action, but for most, this will likely only entertain for a short while. It's not the best arcade game around, then, but it's also by no means the wurst.
The Journey is FIFA 17's headline act, and it's a surprising success. The story of Alex Hunter is this year's centrepiece, and adds yet more value to the already robust and rock solid footie offering that we've come to expect of the series. What's more, the jump to the Frostbite engine has worked wonders as far as presentations is concerned. As accessible as it is comprehensive, FIFA once again proves that it's still a top performer.
Jazzpunk: Director's Cut is a wild ride from start to finish. If you mesh with this style of humour, it's a barrel of laughs, and the game is just downright fun to play. Your experience will only last a few hours, but that just makes sure Jazzpunk never loses steam and is always hurtling forward at a million miles an hour.
Unlike The Taken King, Rise of Iron isn't an essential reincarnation of Destiny, but it is an expansion that delivers on its promise of rejuvenating Bungie's shooter – even if it does refuse to step outside of the game's well established comfort zone. A few fun story missions, a great new Raid, and a suite of fresh reasons to get back to the grind for better loot should be enough to keep the ever-present darkness at bay.
The mentioned faults do knock NHL 17 down a little, but it would be harsh to do anything other than praise what is a very different and much improved game to last year. New modes, impressive tweaks to the AI to make things more competitive, and that stellar in-game presentation that does a darned good job of simulating the real thing mean that there's more than ever for the puck nuts to get their teeth into this time around.
The Dead Rising Triple Pack represents the perfect opportunity to revisit this divisive series. While it's a bit disappointing to see only a cursory effort being invested into presentation improvements, it feels as if enough time has passed since the titles were originally released that series evangelists will enjoy returning to the zombie mayhem found in these faithful ports. Newcomers, however, must be warned that any enjoyment you find here may be regularly overrun by a shambling horde of questionable design decisions.
As the industry gears up for another bumper holiday season, The Bunker offers something a little different. It doesn't attempt to give you a bulk of gameplay or mechanics, but it makes up for this and more in its plot and characters. Don't let this experience pass you by if you're looking for an interesting and superb story, because we think this is the FMV genre at its very best.
The NBA 2K series has always been a hard one to improve upon since the revolutionary 2K14, but 2K17 still manages to better its predecessors, vastly improving the MyGM and MyLeague modes while refusing to tamper with a winning formula. MyCareer is once again a very enjoyable story, and general gameplay is as strong as ever. Simply put, NBA 2K17 is a trailblazer.
Variable State's Virginia is by and large an unsuccessful attempt to make something interesting. An absolutely incredible soundtrack and great environmental art fail to lift the game from a bog of issues. There are some severe technical issues here, but real criticism should be pointed in the direction of the oftentimes incomprehensible narrative, which needed to be much stronger given the general lack of interactivity elsewhere.
Slain: Back from Hell has one of the very best pairings of stunning visuals and amazing audio that you'll find on the PS4. Unfortunately, it's let down by a dull combat system and a horribly unfair level of difficulty, meaning that the game never picks up the momentum that it should. Wolf Brew Games had an awesome idea here with stacks of potential, but the complete package is hell to play through.