Diofield has all the elements that should make it a great tactics RPG, but it squanders them on a bland story, simple combat, and unengaging characters. [Issue#20, p.86]

Starts promisingly, but becomes frustrating the further you progress. Are you prepared to spend dozens of hours and untold reserves of patience for a good story? [Issue#16, p.129]

Serious skaters will appreciate the impressive commitment to realism, but a serious lack of polish stops Session from sticking the landing for a wider audience. [Issue#20, p.82]

Neither particularly exciting nor even safe, Superstars’ greatest Sonic sin is being really quite boring, and not very suited to multiplayer antics at all. [Issue#34, p.70]

It’s a game that can feel unfair and frustrating; most of it would work better if you had full control of movement and momentum. SMB Forever is ultimately a victim of its own legacy – the first game demonstrated that a Meat Boy game can, and should, be much better than this. [Issue#2, p.73]

By far the biggest flaw, however, is the lack of fully translated text. There’s no translation for what’s written on key items for solving puzzles, such as the compass, so you’re left doing a quick Chinese language lesson or brute-forcing your way through. It’s a shame, as Paper Dolls has promise, but it’s an ectoplasmic mess in its current state. [Issue#12, p.75]

So, what keeps us on board to the end? The story. It has a fun (but cheesy) sense of humour, is unafraid to touch upon deeper subjects, and Achtli undergoes substantial personal growth. There’s plenty to like in this six-hour campaign, and we commend Aztech for exploring Mesoamerican culture, something rarely seen in gaming. It’s packing great ideas, but rough execution hampers it. [Issue#12, p.85]

It’s a shame as there’s charm to this time travel adventure. Cartoony takes on all the usual suspects – a haunted graveyard, a wild west town, pirate ships, and so on – are pleasing to hop around. While many jokes fall flat, often thanks to stiff animation, some do elicit a chuckle (vampire boss Vlad The Impala, for instance, is a terrific pun). But sadly this platformer doesn’t quite stick the landing. [Issue#25, p.83]

Away from the strategic elements, the game offers the frenetic combat we’ve all come to expect from the Warriors series. Unfortunately, a range of performance issues in the PS4 version and a general lack of variety lessens the impact of otherwise serviceable action. In the end, this is fighting a losing battle. [Issue#12, p.85]

Nice idea, shame about the game. The 5 shop’s quite fun but the fantasy world is frustrating and boring – if anything, shouldn’t it be the other way around? [Issue#2, p.89]

Slighty improved over the PS4 edition, and featuring the fun Infiltrator DLC, Terminator: Resistance Enhanced never makes use of PS5’s power. A missed opportunity. [Issue#2, p.88]

Constructing harder builds becomes frustrating owing to the controls. The camera and cursor both are unwieldy at best, verging on nightmarish when you’re 50 bricks deep. There’s no way to view the underside of your work, making top-down builds more guesswork than science. Worst of all is the inability to move multiple bricks simultaneously; you’ll experience pain akin to stepping on a Lego brick upon realising you’ve built something just one grid notch too high. It’s a shame as the concept is strong, a throwback to playing with the bricks as a child. Unfortunately, this is not the videogame realisation of those halcyon days, as it’s hamstrung by finicky systems, and too mechanically inept to achieve the laid-back vibe it aims for. [Issue#21, p.88]

It’s got promise and plenty of atmosphere, but with unlikeable characters, lacklustre story development, and average activity, The Chant hits a bit of a bum note. [Issue#22, p.76]

While there are some highlights in the visuals, sound, and accessibility, this never breaks free of its inspiration to do something interesting and fresh. [Issue#21, p.78]

Though the battle system is refined, the lacklustre structure feels needlessly slow and repetitive. We’d rather play the first one – not a good omen. [Issue#44, p.86]

Admittedly, it is refreshing to see this classic style of game brought back to modern consoles, and some players may even appreciate the way this feels like an at-times-terrifying ’90s throwback. But even if you can look past its unoriginality, the lack of polish in stiff voice acting, character animation, and numerous bugs break the immersion. Retro revivals are cool, but if a game brings nothing new to the table and ends up worse than the existing ones it’ll inevitably be compared to, you may as well just dust off the old PlayStation and play those instead. [Issue#6, p.88]

A compelling gameplay loop is held together by glue sticks and masking tape, with a mix-and-match art style that barely conceals its fragile foundations. [Issue#44, p.90]

Battles present a good amount of challenge from the off, too. You constantly have to weigh up which troops to recruit and swap in depending on the enemy you face. Sadly, while both the combat and character work are decent, the PS4 version of the game struggles with framerate at almost every camera turn – to the point that it never stops being a distraction. King’s Bounty II simply lacks much of the visual flair and polish we’ve come to expect from modern high-fantasy epics. [Issue#6, p.88]

Great performances and some good writing, but never tops the opening scare of how much money it’s asking for four hours of frustratingly limited activity. [Issue#32, p.89]

Neat zombie bashing mechanics are woefully under-served as it loses its way more with each hour, making the shiny hyper-violence yawnworthy by the end. [Issue#27, p.68]

The enhancements aren’t enough to save this rather unique mystery game from being washed away, like tears in the rain. If anything, they bring a downpour. [Issue#17, p.88]

The character designs are charming and the different locations are nicely presented with some pretty music for each different type of area. There are a few characters who can fight alongside Yuu, but, as useful as they are, they don’t bring a huge amount to the two-person party in the way of substance or uniqueness. The visuals really are the bulk of the game’s appeal and it’s hard to think of another RPG where even the enemies are so darn adorable. If you’re looking for something light and sweet, The Cruel King And The Great Hero certainly fits the brief. But so does a nice pavlova. [Issue#13, p.79]

A fairly basic collection of ports that we’re glad exists, but these aren’t must-play classics so much as curios for the gaming palaentologists only. [Issue#37, p.92]

The story keeps you guessing, and the twisty plot is the main highlight. From the moment you meet Zed, you’re drawn into a heart-wrenching and humorous tale, and the strong narrative and whimsical characters will draw you to stick it out to the end. But you need to get through an awful lot of battles, and with a combat system that takes too long to show its good side, the Complete package may be too much. [Issue#17, p.89]

Technically unstable, the writing and performances carry things. Disappointing, but perhaps a springboard to better things. Sam and Max deserve better. [Issue#13, p.78]

Fun visuals aside, this is a bland and boring shooter that pales in comparison to both Doom and its own predecessors. Back to the shadows with you. [Issue#13, p.91]

Lana might be pretty but there isn’t much going on under the surface. Play Inside, Celeste, or the criminally underplayed The Last Guardian instead. [Issue#41, p.85]

Adds so many ingredients to the proverbial pot that ultimately you can’t really taste any of them, resulting in a forgettable dish on an already crowded table. [Issue#41, p.88]