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The script is sharp and remarkably funny. Even with the frustrations of the game’s technical shortcomings, we couldn’t help but laugh at many of the quips, getting a good hearty chuckle at least a dozen times across the three hour adventure. The characters and the insane world they exist in stand the test of time, and it’s a lone bright spot in an otherwise frustrating endeavour.
Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 is the game that PlayStation fans should have been playing in 2020. While it still falls short when measured against the immense expectations that surrounded its release, everything that Cyberpunk gets right is so much easier to enjoy when the game isn't crippled by technical issues. The main story's a thrill ride, the combat's a blast, and Night City is an incredible open world setting. And the best part is that CD Projekt Red finally has a stable foundation to build upon. It took 14 months to get here, but the future of Cyberpunk 2077 actually holds a lot of promise.
There's an interesting story here and the horror-JRPG vibe is much appreciated, but whatever enjoyment they could bring you is utterly annihilated by the outrageous, egregious amount of grinding you'll need to do to see the game through. Monark is gaming reduced to a thick, treacly sludge to wade through, no cutscene or story beat or reward ever feeling like it was worth the struggle. Just play Shin Megami Tensei while listening to Nine Inch Nails and you'll have a better time.
Overall, Horizon Forbidden West is a huge improvement on its predecessor.
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a definite improvement on its predecessor - but that's not saying much. The return of set maps and straightforward objectives is welcome, and in typical Empires fashion, there's so much potential for interesting player-driven storylines. There is an addictive hack-and-slash loop at work here, and it's tempered by some decent tactical tweaks. But to fully enjoy it, you've got to wade through a mire of shockingly ugly visuals and boring battlefield design.
For a game made by a small team it’s very ambitious — but that’s also the problem. Environments are far larger than they need to be, and the title struggles to load in textures and has a fair amount of pop-in. There are also loads of systems, such as party energy levels or crafting, which are never fully explained or seem to be particularly useful... It definitely feels like developer Midgar Studio should have reduced the scope of both the story and some of the gameplay systems, because this may have allowed it to add more polish to the areas that work well. It’s a shame, as the game does have plenty of potential, but it’s a little bit too rough around the edges to fully enjoy.
Sifu doesn't pull any punches. It's a consistently challenging and demanding beat-'em-up, but persistence pays off. You'll be hard pressed to find a more rewarding game on PlayStation - especially one that's so visually striking and polished. Some quibbles with combat mechanics aside, Sifu is a knockout.
Maglam Lord's got heart, but it's encased behind some disappointingly shoddy design.
OlliOlli World is a huge leap forwards for Roll7's skating series. Lovely new presentation, a fun location filled with personality, and that all-important, ever-addictive gameplay align to make for a super fun take on the sport. While it's been made more approachable to new players, it still offers quite a stern challenge, and not all the dialogue and characters nail it. However, any nit picks easily melt away when it all clicks. Heaven really might be a halfpipe, after all.
A brilliant first effort from Original Fire Games, then, and a racing game rather unlike anything else out there on the virtual shelves. This intoxicating, content-rich, and yet fascinatingly accessible racer is liable to get its hooks into gamers looking for something a little less knockabout. You may struggle to get the hang of things at first but we promise this little journey through racing history gives as good as it gets.
Dying Light 2 is a super solid follow-up to the 2015 original, building upon its fantastic gameplay loop with new traversal options for even more parkour fun. It's extremely disappointing, however, that the narrative and open world promises Techland made in the lead up to launch haven't been realised. Your choices don't have nearly as much impact as we would like, and the map is much more rigid than pre-release footage would have you believe. Still, Dying Light 2 feels awesome and empowering to play, and that can go a long way.
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection bundles together two of the PS4's greatest games. Both Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy remain brilliantly crafted thrill rides, and their blend of cinematic action is still best-in-class.
The adventure does ultimately end up being a worthwhile one, with interesting characters, an incredible art style, and great music. But if there were more to the gameplay, the game – and its world – could have offered so much more.
Rainbow Six: Extraction's core gameplay is decent, and its level variety is great, but the game definitely has some blind spots. While a zombie title focused on stealth and tactics makes for an interesting experience, anytime the game strays from that, it's less successful. It draws extra attention to weak spots, like unimpressive AI and an obnoxious RNG progression system. Go in with a couple of friends, though, and you will get some fun out of this. All the levels are visually distinct and interesting to look at, and three squad members stealthing their way through a field of enemies can be immensely rewarding. It's just unlikely to hold your attention in the long term.
Windjammers 2 is an almost perfect revival of a classic 90s franchise. The sequel strikes an immaculate balance between new and old ideas, and presents the classic sports gameplay so vibrantly that it's hard not to be captivated by it all. There could, admittedly, be more meat on its bones – but it's online, with the gameplay's high skill ceiling, where the longevity will be found. We still want to spend a little more time testing this component, but our early impressions of the rollback netcode are positive to say the least.
If you yearn for the days of, say, Camelot’s Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color, then the fusion of sports and statistics may hold your attention here. But it’s best enjoyed in short bursts, as the tedium sets in quick, and will take a slice at your interest.
If you're looking for your next co-op addiction, Deep Rock Galactic could well be it. Brilliantly balanced character classes and engaging, emergent missions make for highly enjoyable underground antics, particularly with pals. Some networking issues and perhaps overly complex design decisions could frustrate, but it's a game worth sticking with for the moments where it all comes together. With replay value through the roof and satisfying gameplay at its core, this is one rock solid game to dig into.
Not all of the gameplay translates perfectly to the DualSense, as it’s clearly been designed around either touchscreens or mouse-and-keyboards. It’s not a big deal, though, and once you find a good lobby with a friendly group this is one of the better party games you’ll find on the PS5. It’s just finding said people can be a bit of an exercise in trial-and-error, so be aware that you will be at the mercy of the release’s unchecked community unless you have a guaranteed group of pals to play with.
We're not sure every Amalur fan will appreciate Fatesworn's central storyline. It's nothing crazy — Fate, meet Chaos! — but you could argue that the developer is a little sloppy in its handling of the game's established cast and lore. But for what it's worth, we do think Fatesworn is heartfelt — a genuine homage to a game that would have been undeservedly forgotten, had it not been for THQ and Kaiko's efforts.
The biggest downside, then, is just the underlying lack of budget: cricket is popular enough, but it’s not baseball, and it’s clear that Big Ant Studios just didn’t have the resources to nail key gameplay mechanics, like fielding, which feels flat and unrealistic due to the limited selection of animation cycles in its library.