Crimsonland

If you like retro shooters and relax by blowing stuff up, Crimsonland is an easy way to spend a few afternoons as long as you don't expect anything groundbreaking. Some of you may want to stay away unless you have constant access to couch co-op, as it can overstay its welcome after every mission is said and done.

It's unpretentious and straight-forward in its delivery, and yet, underneath its façade rests an addictive top-down shooter with solid mechanics and a hardcore slant.

Crimsonland feels like an incomplete game. It has all the gameplay mechanics in place, but its backgrounds, character assets, music, and general presentation look and sound like they were put in for testing purposes while awaiting the real art and music to arrive. The twin-stick shooting at the core is fun, but the experience can’t help but be diminished by nearly every other aspect of the game.

An average but fun 2D Arena Shooter that provides some fun distraction.

While it makes an excellent party game, I’m not sure that I see Crimsonland having much longevity beyond that. It will definitely come out from time to time when I want to coordinate with friends or family to kill all the things, but it’s not particularly memorable as more than a retro action shooter brought back to life on PS4.

Basic. Old-school. Basic. Challenging. Basic. Repetitive. Oh, and did I mention basic?

Crimsonland's antiquated, cookie-cutter gameplay doesn't break new ground at all, but beneath the copious amounts of blood saturating the screen, you'll find that there's still some fun to be had in this mindless mutant massacre fest.

Crimsonland is a fun game to sit down with two or more players while trying to compete for a spot on the leaderboards, but it ultimately feels more like a distraction itself, than a twin-stick murderfest without distractions.

Hard on the thumbs but just as hard on the eyes and ears. Wait for a markdown and play with friends. [November 2014, p77]

With fun gameplay, cool weapons and interesting combat tactics Crimsonland seems like an entertaining 2D Arena Shooter game but you feel like it is incomplete.

Crimsonland is exactly one video game: a perfectly competent twin-stick shooter, and nothing else. Unfortunately, the title’s quests feel a bit half-baked, and the whole thing could do with a facelift.

There is a lot of thought that has been put into this game's survival modes, and people will enjoy that side of things. It's just a shame that thought couldn't be put into the rest of the game.

Based on the 2003 game of the same name, Crimsonland is a fun four-player dual-stick shooter with 60 levels and a nice variety of baddies. Unfortunately, it's also insanely dull.

In its current state the game should have been a £1.99 PlayStation Mobile title, not a £7.99 PlayStation 4 game. The title is coming to PS Vita this week and will be cross-buy but not cross save, and is certainly more suited to short bursts of gaming on a bus.