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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.
Loot Rascals is an intriguing and infectiously charming roguelike. Its central mechanics are tense and engaging, and the meta-mechanic surrounding them provide a satisfying gimmick. Unfortunately, its card-based stat system offers little strategic variety, and its procedural generation can be frustrating.
There's a kernel of an idea buried within The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing that has potential. The son of a legendary vampire killer continuing where his father left off is at the very least a vaguely compelling starting point, and the action RPG genre could certainly benefit from some more humorous titles to serve as palette cleansers between all the hell and death and misery. Van Helsing's lighthearted tone certainly helps it to stand out from most games in the genre, but neither the battle system or the narrative are interesting enough to make it worth persevering with the other.
Night in the Woods is a truly magnificent adventure game. An eclectic array of different gameplay mechanics play off of a small American town vibe incredibly well. While the gameplay is fun and varied, the main attraction is the absolutely incredible writing. A college-aged life crisis story paired with some much darker and more sinister elements is used as the framework for developing some of the best-realised relationships we've seen in gaming. All of this set to an incredible soundtrack, while utilising a wonderful art style with exceptional use of colours that makes the experience that much sweeter. A few small complaints aside, this title offers a remarkable demonstration on how to write a game, and definitely stands out as one of the best Kickstarter releases we've encountered thus far.
For a free side course of Final Fantasy XV goodness, you can't go wrong with A King's Tale. It's nothing special – either as a new entry to the narrative or as a 2D brawler – but it provides some depth to a character that lacked development which, in turn, further expands upon the personality of Noctis and his relationship with Regis. Despite some lazy moments of design and unnecessarily repetitive combat sequences, there's a couple of hours of fun to be had here with a surprisingly good combat system and a nice, nostalgia-inducing presentation.
Ghost Blade HD is a brilliant entry into the shoot-'em-up genre for both newcomers and veterans alike. It strikes the tricky balance of offering a reasonable challenge to anybody who picks it up, but makes sure that the difficulty never gets out of hand. The deep gameplay and strategy allows for a variety of playstyles, and while the two-player co-op is a let down, the score attack mode will leave you coming back for more after you've bested the main game.
Some titles have the fortune of making their mark with a refreshing concept in spite of multiple problems, and Typoman: Revised is one such example. Its puzzles can be aimless and time-consuming. A lack of length and platforming quibbles are notable issues to point out, too, but its equally clever concept and atmosphere are worth a read despite some obvious misspellings along the way.
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin delivers a passable tale that manages to capture the quirky aesthetic and humour of the original game. But its high price point, pedestrian puzzles, and failure to do much of interest with VR makes it something of a letdown overall.
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.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk's fate is to be branded as yet another not-so-great initial effort from Omega Force. While the release does get a decent amount right – the story mode is nicely done in places and the fundamental combat mechanics are super satisfying – it stumbles on several fronts. Again, we're left with a Warriors game that's begging for a much improved sequel. Fans of Berserk will enjoy bathing in the blood for a good few hours, but it's hard to ignore the cracks at this sword's core.
Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is great way to wrap up the trilogy. This is a perfect choice for someone looking to try their hand at a JRPG, but still offers enough meaty battle challenges and huge crafting possibilities for devout fans of the series. This Plus version is one of the best entries in the series to date, and while Atelier as a whole may not quite measure up to the genre's classics, this is still a very enjoyable handheld adventure that will keep you coming back for more.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Banned Footage Vol. 2 is arguably an even better piece of DLC than its already excellent predecessor, but our excitement for the additions is tempered by frustration that they should have been included with the main game. We liked the core campaign as it was, but with these packs bolted on it could have scored higher. Still, what you have here is some truly inventive content that repurposes the game's main mechanics in a variety of interesting and exciting ways.
VR Ping Pong's a steeply priced simulation that mostly misses the mark. The presentation is rudimentary and the gameplay is awkward and unrefined. The developer may argue that we're just bad at table tennis, but we have no problem in real-life, so clearly there's something awry here. Factor in technical glitches and this is difficult to recommend.
By successfully meshing team based multiplayer with the sorts of mechanics you'd normally find in a fighting game, For Honor manages to offer an experience like no other on the PS4. While the skill barrier to entry will likely cause frustration for some, anyone who puts time into learning the extremely deep combat will find each hard-fought success immensely satisfying.
Kitty Powers' Matchmaker is a frequently enjoyable dating sim that nails its charmingly campy tone while providing a refreshing change of pace for those who fancy making love not war. It comes close to being a keeper, but the high cost of this version over its mobile counterparts, and a gameplay loop that struggles to keep it up for more than a couple of hours, means that Kitty Powers' Matchmaker just isn't quite relationship material.
Enormous, open levels augment Sniper Elite 4 with some of the best long-distance shootouts that the series has seen thus far. The under-the-hood improvements – paired with the idyllic Italian backdrop – do give this entry the edge over its predecessor, but if you've played one of these games before then you'll know more or less what to expect. Nevertheless, as far as ball busters go, it doesn't get much better (or wince-inducing) than this.
Double Dragon 4 plays the nostalgia card harder than most, but its narrow-sighted reliance on this has left it feeling like a relic that perhaps shouldn't have been disturbed. The combat can be simplistic fun but is ruined by cheap AI, and the trio of modes don't offer much to stick around for. The presentation is a cool look back at the 80s school of design, but once the novelty wears off, you're left with a frustrating beat-em-up that inadvertently highlights the leaps in gameplay, animation, and visuals that games have made over the last three decades.
Expansions are rare when it comes to fighting games, but Road to Boruto manages to add a reasonable chunk of content to a brawler that's already stuffed with things to do. Most of what's on offer is nothing new, but if you've been looking for an excuse to leap back into CyberConnect 2's super polished title, then this additional adventure is as good a reason as any.
Nioh is about as approachable as a game of this ilk can be, and while that may offend the hardcore sensibilities of some Souls fans, it's a title that will likely appeal to many players who want a gameplay challenge but are turned off by the obtuse nature of Dark Souls' storytelling and the murky explanations of its mechanics. The experience is marred by some unfortunate difficulty spikes and lacklustre bosses, but the rich loot, levelling systems, and fast, often thrilling combat do more than enough to justify Nioh as a worthy contemporary to From Software's efforts – and an impressive return to form for Team Ninja.
Hitman: The Complete First Season is an experiment gone right. How convenient, then, that IO's triumphant return is also all about experimentation. The canvasses and settings that Hitman provides allows for all kinds of hits, from the wacky to the professional – and the sheer amount of equipment at your disposal only furthers the possibilities. While lacking in story, Hitman has a glorious future ahead of itself – providing the inevitable Season 2 is as good as the first, of course.