PlayStation Universe
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A real labour of love, Masquerada is a highly enjoyable RPG effort that is absolutely drowning in audiovisual style and spectacle, even if the overly linear structure and sometimes convoluted world building detracts from the final result.
The team behind Saints Row showcase their balls of steel by taking the plunge into the deep end and taking you along for the rough and ready ride that is Agents of Mayhem.
To have Cities: Skylines on PS4 is wholly welcome. It may suffer slightly for the transition, but what makes it a wonderfully accessible and engrossing city builder is still there. It may be a touch simple for the sim enthusiast, but it has the ability to draw a wider audience into the genre, and that's something to be happy about.
Lawbreakers has a decent foundation with high-action gameplay, but many fundamental things go amiss, and many decisions sacrifice its universality.
Sonic Mania successfully takes Sonic back to the formula that saw him become a big deal to begin with. That means it does bring along the flaws in that design as well, but there's no denying this is as good as the Blue Blur has been for a long time.
The first episode of Batman: The Enemy Within marks a strong start for the second season of Telltale's DC-centric series.
Hellblade is one of my favorite titles this year. Its incredible use of sound and visual manipulation to completely immerse you in its experience is a credit to Ninja Theory. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a prime example that you don't need a massive budget to create something extraordinary.
The second Mega Man collection is a touch light on content, and by this point the formula has grown tired. That doesn't mean there isn't joy to be had though, as what is on offer remains as solid, colorful, and stimulating as ever.
Patapon Remastered most certainly looks and plays the part, shining beautifully on the PS4 with zero hiccups in gameplay during my experience. Due to the repetitive grindy nature, however, it is best left bookending longer play sessions of other games, and is ill-suited to a home console, unless you could take it on the go as well, as with the Switch.
A great new use of the PSVR. The Monkey King is a great example of taking advantage of PlayStation VR to do something other than play games. Digital Domains first incursion could use some improvements but it's a great first attempt.
The Long Dark is a shot in the arm for the survival game. The story mode is a decent addition, adding some mystique to the cold wilds, yet it currently doesn't trump the personal stories you create outside of it in survival mode, where joy, hope, dread, terror, and despair come in unpredictable waves. The game's harsh, grounded style will divide opinion, but it truly feels like a fresh perspective that incorporates the risks and rewards of survival and exploration.
If you've got the patience and understand that Euro Fishing: Urban Edition is a challenging true simulation of the popular sport, then there's no doubt that you'll get a kick out of catching fish in its beautiful waters. Personally, we found it a bit boring.
Smashbox Arena is a fun PSVR title that has some great gameplay but can be short-lived.
While its individual parts aren't anything particularly special, Vostok Inc. melds those parts into a unique, amusing, and compelling whole. The manner in which developer Nosebleed Interactive has fused a clicker game to a twin-stick shooter and made sense of it is impressive. A rather nice surprise.
Overall, Eastshade Studio has a good setting primed ready for their main game, Eastshade. The environments are beautiful and the interactions are cleverly done, let's just hope that they sort out the mouth masks, the stuttering, blurring, and the framerate before Eastshade arrives.
When Super Cloudbuilt clicks, it's platforming at its best. That only comes once you've spent a decent amount of time learning its ways however, because the learning curve towards that nirvana is riddled with plodding, awkward discovery. In the meantime, the dreamlike locales and intriguing story serve as motivation to push through.
Sundered is a grandly accomplished Metroidvania effort that is complimented by some of the most beautiful 2D visuals to date.
One of the most satisfying and fulfilling games i've played this year. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is a great game that makes you think three steps ahead. I was hooked from the very first kill to the very last.
As a seasoned city-builder, Aven Colony is a solid game that has translated remarkably well to the PlayStation 4.It's incredibly fun and challenging and optimising your colony to no end will keep you entertained.
There's a lot of potential with Archangel, but when so much potential is unrealized, then the end product loses its luster. Archangel is exactly that, starting off with a bang and tapering off too quickly to maintain its level of initial intrigue.