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News Synth Riders Spooky Update Adds Yet More Free Content
A new song, and a few extras
The parade of new content for VR rhythm game Synth Riders continues! To celebrate the first Halloween since the launch of PSVR2, Kluge Interactive is once again celebrating the scariest time of year with free content. The 2023 Spooky Update includes one free song, Nightmare Cure by DanyloM & Electro Swing Thing...
Mini Review Tennis On-Court (PSVR2) - Solid Gameplay Surrounded by Technical Issues
Double fault
The first thing that happened to us upon launching Tennis On-Court was a hard crash. Even before we saw the main menu, we were on the error report screen. The game would only crash a couple more times, but it was a worrying start. Worse than the crashes is an annoying bug where, if you hit the tennis ball at just the right angle, it'll...
Review NHL 24 (PS5) - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Haven't we done this?
When it comes to reviewing sports titles, it can often feel like being trapped in a time loop. Much like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, you may find yourself feeling as if you’re playing the same thing over and over each time you pick up a game. This sensation of déjà vu is very much present when it comes to EA Vancouver’s...
Mini Review Scorn (PS5) - A Brilliantly Disgusting Puzzler with Gameplay Woes
Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility
Scorn was announced by Ebb Software way back in 2014, so we've been waiting a while. After a successful (if critically mixed) launch on Game Pass last year, the game is ready for PS5, but is that a good thing? The answer to that is mostly a "yes". Inspired by the visual style of legendary...
Mini Review Ad Infinitum (PS5) - An Intriguing Horror Premise, Poorly Executed
All average on the Western Front
Ad Infinitum is a survival horror title that sees you play as a German soldier trapped in the claustrophobic trenches around No Man's Land. Sometimes. The game is split down the middle between the horrors of the Western Front and your family's mansion. While the war half of the game is a compelling and refreshing...
Review Goodbye Volcano High (PS5) - Wonderfully Written, But Stumbles on the Rhythm
Not the mama?
Canadian developer KO_OP has been away from Sony's ecosystem for quite a while. Its first game, GNOG, launched on PS4 back in 2017 and is a fun, colourful puzzler that works great in PSVR. Fast forward a number of years, and they’ve returned to PlayStation with Goodbye Volcano High, a visual novel about the hardships of discovering...
Mini Review Quake II (PS5) - A Remastered Classic with Real Bang for Your Buck
Quaking in our boots
The updated re-release of Quake was a rousing success, so there was no shortage of excitement when an updated version of Quake II suddenly dropped during QuakeCon 2023. And much like the first title, it's quite an impressive package. The first thing to note is the sheer amount of content you get. You get the base game of Quake...
News NHL 24 PS5, PS4 Gameplay Trailer Puckers Up with Improvements
The times are a changin'
Fresh off announcing the cover athlete for NHL 24, EA Vancouver has offered a glimpse at what to expect from this year’s hockey title with a breakdown trailer showing off changes as well as a peek at the gameplay. Annual sports titles in the industry have a tendency to fixate on changing three or four things per release,...
News NHL 24 Pulls Back The Curtain on PS5, PS4 Cover Athlete
All hail Cale
With the autumn approaching, it's time for information about this year's edition of the NHL franchise to start trickling in. And the first thing out of the gate is course the cover athlete. Last year, we saw not one, but two firsts, with Trevor Zegras making the first member of the Anaheim Ducks to appear on a cover, as well as...
Mini Review Marble It Up! Ultra (PS5) - Colourful Arcade Game Is a Marble Blast
It’s marblin’ time
Marble It Up! Ultra can trace its lineage all the way to the classic Marble Blast titles from the turn of the century. A sequel to Marble It Up!, this new entry follows the old adage of "bigger is better" by expanding the amount of content on offer. Marble games normally offer a fairly standard mix of momentum and...
Mini Review The Room VR: A Dark Matter (PSVR2) - Exquisite VR Escape Room Beckons You to the Past
Pricey but nice
Escape rooms are a great fit for VR. You can craft fantastical scenarios and achieve more convincing environments, all while allowing the experience to take place at home. And this is an idea developer Fireproof Games has taken to heart, as the fifth title in The Room series is VR-only. The Room VR: A Dark Matter was previously...
News Synth Riders Celebrates 5th Anniversary With New DLC
New synthwave coming in hot
With its compelling gameplay loop, incredible soundtrack, and constant support by devs Kluge Interactive, Synth Riders is one of the best games you can play on PSVR or PSVR2. And now, if you boot the title up, there'll be even more music to try out in the game's extensive library of tunes, as there is new DLC available...
Mini Review Gylt (PS5) - Ex-Google Stadia Exclusive Is Serviceable Survival Horror
Innocent until proven Gylty
Finally freed from the purgatory of Google Stadia exclusivity, Gylt is a title from RiME developer Tequila Works. While that previous adventure takes the brunt of its influence from titles like Zelda, Gylt veers in a decidedly scarier direction. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Silent Hill, Gylt is a solid title...
Mini Review Synapse (PSVR2) - Some Incredible Gameplay But Not Enough Content
Make it Synapsey
While Fracked, the last title from nDreams, wasn’t flawless, it had great gameplay and a lot of style. And that’s largely what you’re going to get from Synapse, a rogue-lite shooter where you have to break into a mind to steal memories. Rogue-lites are all about incremental improvement. You have to walk, so that eventually...
Review Layers of Fear (PS5) - A Collection That Brilliantly Reframes the Series
A new coat of paint
Bloober Team has had a time of it when it comes to making games. The original Layers of Fear was a resounding success upon launch back in 2016. However, that success has been much more elusive in the following years, what with Blair Witch, Observer, and even Layers of Fear 2 receiving mixed responses. So why not return to that...
Mini Review Pixel Ripped 1978 (PSVR2) - Atari Adds Impressively to Newest Nostalgic Treat
A matter of time and place
Gaming heroine Dot is back for her third adventure, and this time, developer ARVORE has gone even further back in time than with Pixel Ripped 1989 or 1995. Now, we travel back to 1978 and bask in the glory of the era of Atari. Not only does the game deify and lampoon all manner of Atari projects, but with 1978, the title...
Mini Review Red Matter 2 (PSVR2) - Soviet Sci-Fi Sequel Makes for an Exquisite Follow-Up
In space, no one can hear you solve puzzles
Vertical Robot has delivered a stellar follow-up to its 2018 puzzler, Red Matter. Stepping into the shoes of Sasha, it’s up to you to chase down and locate your friend — believed dead — before uncovering an SOS message. This message leads you to a Soviet space station orbiting Saturn. One thing...
Mini Review Beat Saber (PSVR2) - A Serviceable Port of One of VR's Best Games
May the force feedback be with you
Beat Saber is one of the best VR experiences you can play. The king of the VR rhythm scene and a constant presence on top-seller lists, Beat Saber finally makes its way over to the current generation with PSVR2. To read our initial thoughts on the PSVR game from 2018, you can view that here. To see how the port...
Review After Us (PS5) - Big Swings and Some Big Misses in This Artsy Platformer
The Last of After Us
When developing a game, having lofty ambitions in mind for your project can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if everything involved works in concert to execute on a well-defined creative vision, the results can be magical. However, if any of what you strive to accomplish misses the mark, each failure shines that much...
Mini Review Another Fisherman's Tale (PSVR2) - A Charming VR Sequel to a Charming VR Game
A whale of a tale
The first Fisherman’s Tale was a clever puzzler that made use of a recursive lighthouse as the crux of its problem solving. Now, in the sequel, you assume the role of the titular fisherman’s daughter. You have a cluttered basement loaded with some elaborate dioramas. It turns out that when you were a kid, your Dad would use...
Mini Review Afterlife VR (PSVR2) - A No-Frills Horror Experience
This is your life
While Afterlife VR is a barebones experience not really doing anything new, there’s a certain charm to it that caught us by surprise. You play as Adam Bernhard, a police officer who arrives at Black Rose Mental Hospital in hopes of locating your missing sister. However, something is clearly amiss as you navigate the facility...
Mini Review God of Rock (PS5) - A Decent Fighting Game Which Shares Similarities with Rock Band
Rock of ages
Punching is cool, but what if punching was instigated by musical notes instead? Well, developer Modus Studios liked that idea, and the result is God of Rock, a fighting game that pits rival musicians against one another. Mechanically, God of Rock is solid. While it's a fighting game, the core of the experience relies on note charts a...
Mini Review Road 96: Mile 0 (PS5) - A Tonal Nightmare with Some Interesting Moments
Talk about whiplash
Road 96, the procedural hitchhiking game, was a title with an interesting presentation and a slew of good ideas. Developer DigixArt took that great foundation and spun things off into Road 96: Mile 0, a narrative-focused prequel that strips away the procedural elements, replacing them with rhythm gameplay. The world presented in...
Review The Light Brigade (PSVR2) - Solid Rogue-Lite Doesn't Need to Reinvent the Wheel
Look for the light
Developer Funktronic Labs is no stranger to crafting interesting, meaningful roguelike experiences. Look no further than Nova-111, a fantastic game released back in 2015. Fast forward a handful of years, and the developers have revisited this ever-fruitful well, delivering the rogue-lite The Light Brigade for Sony's new headset...
