PlayStation Universe
HomepageThe Sinking City is a flawed gem, marred with technical issues and repetitive gameplay. The interesting worldbuilding and story elements are insufficient to carry the game in the face of poorly applied mechanics. The Sinking City could have benefited from an additional delay and a tighter game play loop.
Samurai Shodown returns, and it's just as great as it's ever been. Casual fighting game fans will have a hard time adjusting to the mechanics of Shodown. Those who stick with it will find a deep and rewarding fighter that makes every strike and every move as important as the finishing blow.
A sprawling and beautifully executed monument to the Castlevania titles of old, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night feels like a promise delivered for fans of not just the series, but intricately structured action adventures too. The king has returned.
Whether you are a fan of Ark, voxel-based construction games, or survival games in general, you will find something to hate about PixARK. A wild mess of a game, PixARK is one of the most off-putting experiences on PlayStation 4. Avoiding PixARK is imperative.
Just about every aspect of DayZ is in dire need of some degree of polish, however, if you persist (and you should) a deep and ultimately ingenious title lay underneath that places a premium on player-made stories. All the same be aware that in its current state, it will take a remarkable degree of patience to get that most from DayZ - such quantities that more than a few folk simply won't have.
With its captivating and highly-original setting, engrossing story, and eye-catching visual style, We. The Revolution is without question one of year's more intriguing titles. If not for the lack of polish and depth of its courtroom sections, coupled with a handful of minor issues, We. The Revolution would be well deserving of a place on anyone's 2019 must-buy list.
A sizeably riotous spin-off to Sega's Yakuza franchise, Judgment combines the series penchant for balancing seriousness and absurdity with a hyper-engaging central protagonist whose deeply charismatic persona freshens the whole affair up massively. Judgment is a toweringly good offering then, and one that we hope leads to its own series with leading man Yagami at the forefront.
A short and satisfying dungeon crawler with a litany of skins and crazy weapon designs to unlock and slash at a variety of enemies with. Co-op makes it a great family game when you combine it with how easy the game is. It may be a little long for how simple it is, but there is still a great five-to-eight hour experience here.
Mini-Mech Mayhem has all the trappings of a fun game. The colorful visuals, cheery gameplay, and online representation of the player are all top-notch. But the core gameplay is somewhat questionable, due to the fact that it forces the player to strategize on unstable ground. There is a fine line between "anticipating" other players moves and "guessing", and in Mini-Mech Mayhem, that line is fuzzier than PSVR's graphics.
Dollhouse takes good ideas and puts them behind clashing mechanics. The randomly-generated landscapes all look the same, causing many issues with navigating and retrieving much-needed items. This pool of ideas lacks cohesion, and the minuscule payoff makes the tedium feel like a complete waste of time. Very little works in Dollhouse's favor.
Without its flaws, Super Neptunia RPG manages to depict the whimsical appeal of Neptunia in a new, approachable way for newcomers. However, these same flaws bring many aspects of the game down. Combat and character development also lack a whole lot of depth. Conversely, that lack of depth comes with an ease of access that works for this silly endeavor. Consider this title a between-games RPG curiosity.
Wet Dreams Don't Dry brings Leisure Suit Larry into the modern era in a suitably awkward and entertaining fashion. It's a good point n' click adventure, and is funny on a fairly regular basis. Just don't expect too much to have changed with its horndog hero.
Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted is a great introduction to the franchise, packaging a number of levels from various games in the series. Though the first three games are the strongest, some of the other levels are fun in their own right. Less fun is wrestling with the controls, particularly since a giant demonic chicken is going to scream in your face if you mess up. The scares are there, but the controls could use some additional polish.
Dauntless comes bursting out of early access with one of the best, most original, and most polished games in the free-to-play space. With tons of content, amazing battles, a great matchmaking system, and endless room to grow, Dauntless is going to be around for a long, long time. Beyond highly recommended, Dauntless is compulsory, obligatory, required gaming.
Not the big jump in quality we saw from the last Don Bradman's to Ashes Cricket, Cricket 19 is at least a small improvement on its predecessor, strengthening its modular gameplay options and packing in a bit more detail to the engrossing career and Ashes modes. It's fair to say more was expected of this latest willow-whacker, but it does manage to keep the series on the path to greater things.
Effie is good 3D Platformer that left me with a big smile on face. The Red Plains are a beautiful location to explore, especially given that you have an awesome hoverboard to do it with. The combat does hold it back a bit but the overall package is one that fans of 3D Platformers should definitely experience.
This is the best way to play The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II. Visuals remain relatively the same as the PS3 version, albeit upscaled to higher resolution. The biggest changes come from perfect performance and Turbo Mode. Both add the kind of quality-of-life an epic-sized RPG such as this needs in order to feel as fresh as the first time you played it.
Warhammer Chaosbane is a great start to a new ARPG, but it definitely feels like a "start". The skill system feels too restrictive, the loot drops come too slow, and the environments and enemies are repetitive. That said, the game still manages to be fun to play, but more development is needed to make Chaosbane one for the ages.
Don't let the massively blocky visuals fool you - The Last Door: Complete Edition is one of the atmospheric titles to come out in quite some time and one of the very best point and click adventure games the PS4 can offer right now. Don't sleep on this one.
Trover Saves the Universe is slick, unexpected, and vulgar beyond belief. You likely already know if the sort of humor in Trover is for you, and if its not, you should give Trover a wide berth. But if you are the sort of sicko that likes this sort of stuff, there is a surprisingly solid game lurking beneath the rapid-fire jokes and bizarre imagery.