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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...
Mini Review Unplugged: Air Guitar (PSVR2) - An Entertaining Rhythm Game, Warts and All
This game’s got the beat
Originally released on the Meta Quest, Unplugged: Air Guitar is a rhythm game where you, well, play an air guitar. You strum with one hand and move the other to different parts of the neck according to a note chart similar to games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero. With a core track list of 20 plus tracks from across the...
Mini Review Puzzling Places (PSVR2) - A Lovely Game with a Few Problems
Puzzle me this, Batman
Puzzling Places is absolutely lovely — that’s the best way to describe it. A puzzle game best described as a 3D jigsaw, this is far and away the most relaxing time you can have with your PSVR2. The game leans into its unique appeal, allowing you to put together 3D dioramas of things that under normal circumstances would be...
Mini Review Pistol Whip (PSVR2) - Still One of the Best VR Games You Can Play
Whip it
Upon its PSVR launch, we found Pistol Whip to be a sublime experience, brilliantly blending rail shooter and rhythm mechanics. How does the upgraded version fare? Well, even better. Unlike some of the PSVR2 upgrades, Pistol Whip doesn’t make a huge impression graphically. It was a stylized title with a solid aesthetic on first attempt, so...
Mini Review Rez Infinite (PSVR2) - PSVR Classic Remains a Must-Play on PSVR2
To Infinite and beyond
Rez Infinite was a transcendent experience on PSVR. A game originally from the PS2 days, the title seems at home in virtual reality to such a degree that it might as well have been made with that in mind. And the PSVR2 glow-up actually makes things even better. First and foremost, the graphical upgrade is immediately...
Mini Review Moss (PSVR2) - Charming Adventure Gets Some Major Upgrades
Quill power
Returning with mouse companion Quill to Polyarc’s lovely fantasy world is a delight. Moss is a game we were quite fond of back when it launched in 2018, and it’s only gotten better here. Though the sequel, Book II, remains the superior title, Moss’ Redwall-esque world and environments are as lovely as ever with PSVR2. One of our...
Mini Review Synth Riders: Remastered Edition (PSVR2) - Back and Better Than Ever
Ride the wave
Synth Riders was a highlight of PSVR: we loved it back when it launched in mid-2021. For a more explicit explanation, you can check out our original review, but know that this is a rhythm title played on a “note highway” and it’s excellent. One of the strengths of the game the first time through was its exceptional soundtrack,...
Mini Review Ragnarock (PSVR2) - Viking Rhythm Game Has Just Enough Fun to Fill a Stave Church
Tempest rising
Ragnarock is PSVR2’s other launch title about drumming — alongside Drums Rock — though it approaches things differently. Developer WanadevStudio has crafted a rhythm game about Viking boating crews racing each other. The more notes you hit, the farther your rowing team travels as you compete against bots, or more excitingly,...
Mini Review Drums Rock (PSVR2) – A Pretty Fun, but Uneven Experience
A snare drum in the plan
Ever wanted to play the drums, but never had the musical inclination? Developer Garage51 has you covered, providing a virtual space to prove that you’ve got the beat. The presentation of the game, while not bad, is familiar territory. Lots of demonic and cartoonish imagery abound, giving the title a Guitar Hero aesthetic...
Mini Review Thumper (PSVR2) - A Return to the Music Visualiser from Hell
Things that go Thump in the night
Thumper was a highlight of PSVR's launch lineup back in 2016 — check out our review through the link to learn why. It's a relentless, frantic rhythm title that has you racing through space, matching actions to the beat of the heavy soundtrack. The game is just as excellent this time around, if not better. While...
