Press Start Australia's Scores

  • Games
For 808 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 57% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 38% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 4.4 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score: 100 Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2
Lowest review score: 30 Back in 1995
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 6 out of 808
822 game reviews
    • 94 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will go down as one of the best launch titles of all time. Yes, technically it's a Wii U game that was ported over to the Nintendo Switch, but Nintendo made the right decision in holding this game back. It perfectly compliments the Nintendo Switch and highlights why it has the potential to be such a great and versatile console. Many have doubted Nintendo's ability to bring this series into the modern age of gaming, but they've done that and taken it one step further in creating one of the best open-world action-adventure games ever made.
    • 95 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild's robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might've missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild's debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you'll ever have.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a triumph for BioWare in practically every way. It brings together the best bits of all the games that have come before it, pairing an intricately woven narrative ripe with genuine choice and consequences with a fast, frenetic and endlessly satisfying combat system. The Veilguard is, without a doubt, Dragon Age at it’s best.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    It’s a brilliant expansion that is a must-play for anyone who’s a fan of the original game, and for anyone who hasn’t dipped their toes into what the series has to offer. I thought that Monster Hunter World was the best that the series was ever going to get, but Iceborne effortlessly proved me wrong, time and time again.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Monster Hunter Wilds is more proof that Monster Hunter is one of CAPCOM's biggest franchises. Despite its sheer size, both in popularity and legacy, CAPCOM aren't afraid to jump head-first into new ideas. Wilds is a different kind of Monster Hunter that feels like a natural evolution of the formula. I have no doubts it'll go down as one of the best games in the series, and of 2025.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Horizon Forbidden West is an exceedingly clever sequel, a deep and addictive action RPG, a dense world that unfolds with an impeccable sense of pace, a visual tour de force and the masterful delivery of a promising concept. Somehow, by some sheer creative force a big, blockbuster open world game about post-apocalyptic tribal warriors with AR headsets fighting robot dinosaurs works even better the second time around. If you have access to a PlayStation you owe it to yourself to play this right away.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Doom Eternal is a bigger and better sequel in practically every way. It has fast and frenetic combat, an unrelenting horde of enemies and some truly epic moments throughout its well-paced campaign. It’s everything a sequel should be and easily one of the best shooters I’ve ever played. Make no mistakes, Doom Eternal is Doom at its best.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Playdead’s Inside is a masterpiece from beginning to end, and its Switch port is as good as you could hope for. It’s another must-play title on Nintendo’s hybrid, and is unlike anything I’ve ever played before.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Microsoft Flight Simulator is a game that you have to play to understand just how incredible of an experience it is. It's an incomparable adventure that consistently surprises and delights. The game provides you with all the tools necessary to conquer the unthinkable task of flying the plane. Asobo has laid an incredible platform that will provide hours upon hours of joy for both casual gamers and flight experts alike, and it's only upwards from here.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Baldur's Gate 3 is a landmark achievement for CRPGs and gaming at large. The only thing more staggering than its immense scope and density of systems is the quality in which it's all presented. Its unwavering flexibility and accommodation for player choice is intoxicating, and the replay value on offer here will no doubt cement Baldur's Gate 3 as a timeless and regularly revisited masterpiece. For a game as rich and complex as this, it also works surprisingly well on console.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    With Donkey Kong Bananza, DK is back in a big way. It blends new tech with old-school Nintendo charm for a destructive experience that is both intoxicating and addictive. While Pauline's storyline is underdeveloped, this is easily Donkey Kong at his absolute best. Regardless of some minor blemishes, Donkey Kong Bananza deserves a place in any self-respecting Switch 2 owner's library and, much like Super Mario Odyssey before it, sets an incredibly high bar for all that will follow.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Unpacking is proof that a pixel tells a thousand words. Through simple, zen gameplay and a startling attention to detail a story unfolds in this tiny, pixelated world in a way that just wouldn't have been possible in another medium. That's truly something special on its own – a wholly unique and original narrative experience – and the fact that it's wrapped up in an incredibly cathartic and tangible puzzle game makes it all the more praiseworthy. Witch Beam has something incredible on their hands with this one.
    • 97 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Red Dead Redemption 2 is a triumph in world-building, character craft and downright skulduggery. Being bad has never felt so good as Rockstar toe the realism line while still keeping their sharp, trademark tongue in cheek. It’s the keen attention to detail where Rockstar succeed and this outlaw prequel comfortably outperforms their best works and in time, I believe, will be regarded as a once in a generation game.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Bayonetta herself is one of the sassiest characters in gaming and the combat is simply better than any hack and slash action game that I've ever played (and still is to this day). The game is only made better by the enhanced performance and portability provided by the Nintendo Switch and it's one that every Switch owner should have in their collection.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Microsoft Flight Simulator is a game that you have to play to understand just how incredible of an experience it is. It's an incomparable adventure that consistently surprises and delights. The game provides you with all the tools necessary to conquer the unthinkable task of flying the plane. Asobo has laid an incredible platform that will provide hours upon hours of joy for both casual gamers and flight experts alike, and it's only upwards from here.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    It’s hard to fault Marvel’s Spider-Man in a lot of areas as Insomniac has taken their game to the next level. As a developer, they have gone from strength to strength and Spider-Man is a culmination of their past hits. There’s a stunning verticality that compliments the game’s watertight mechanics and, despite the literal boundaries, still makes the city seem boundless. If you’re a Marvel die-hard, there’s enough fanfare here to sink a ship as Spider-Man emerges as the new gold standard. Spider-Man is, without question, the best superhero game ever.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    On the back of Phantom Liberty, along with a really substantial rebuild of all of the game’s core systems, Cyberpunk 2077 manages to wash its hands of its past failures and emerges as the genuine article. At last, it’s the intoxicating escape I once thought it was and stands out, to me, as the premiere role-playing resort in what might very well be a modern golden age for the genre.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Death Stranding 2: On The Beach does everything it can to eclipse the original in practically every way, improving on the systems surrounding the already solid core of the original. The result is a livelier world to explore, an engaging story to experience and an overall much better paced adventure through Australia that I struggled to put down. It's well worth your time and more respectful of it too.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Super Mario Bros. Wonder is just that. A wonder. It leverages tight and concise platforming with a robust set of power-ups and skills to offer a degree of flexibility to players like never before. While it’s still slightly easier than I’d like, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an incredibly engaging Mario game and one of the best platformers available on the Switch, if not ever.
    • 91 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Resident Evil 4 translates a game already revered into an absolute masterpiece. The tension is heightened and the combat is stronger than ever, all while still maintaining the corny dialogue and humour that the original game was known for. While there are a few minor aspects missing, Resident Evil 4 is a strong example of what any remake should be and is well worth your time.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Mixtape, through its expertly curated catalogue of songs, pulls together a genuinely heartfelt and nostalgic story about all of the friends we make, and invariably lose, in our formative years. As a cross-section between music and wasted youth, Beethoven and Dinosaur’s sophomore title is undeniably special. It’s an ode to the importance of music, how it shapes us and reminds us of who we are, all wrapped up in a bow and delivered through playable vignettes that are all killer, no filler, and a stark reminder of how fucking fun it was to be a kid.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered on PC is still the fantastic experience that it was on PS4, but now with a little bit of extra polish and shine from a graphical standpoint. If you haven't played this game, jump in, and if you played it on the PS4/PS5 it might just be time to get swinging once more.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom builds upon Breath of the Wild's robust systems to offer an experience that eclipses the original in practically every way. Not only that, but it works incredibly hard to restore some of the things lapsed players might've missed from the traditional Zelda experience, and it pays off in droves. While the novelty of its design will never be as impactful as Breath of the Wild's debut, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the best Zelda experiences you'll ever have.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is ultimate in every sense of the word. World of Light is fantastic, Challenge Mode is satisfying and there's so much love and detail in absolutely everything in the game... Whilst having 60+ characters and 100+ stages sounds overwhelming, it's the perfect celebration of everything Nintendo and will be hard to top going forward.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Resident Evil 2 takes a masterpiece and twists it until it resembles something completely new without betraying the spirit of the original. There’s some very, very minor cuts that’ll no doubt upset some fans; but these are ultimately unnoticeable as what Capcom has offered up is an absolute triumph. Resident Evil 2 provides a new way to experience a classic and a very welcome reminder that the old style of Resident Evil is not dead. If anything, it’s finally back.
    • 92 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is yet another masterpiece by FROMSOFTWARE. It doubles down on all of the best parts of Elden Ring and bolsters them through an inviting new world, an engaging story, and a ridiculously moreish gameplay loop. It won't change your mind on Elden Ring if it never clicked for you, but will undoubtedly wow you if it did.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    Unicorn Overlord isn't just another slam dunk for Vanillaware, it's perhaps their greatest title yet. A comprehensive understanding of what makes tactical RPGs click at a fundamental level in combination with meaningful improvements to the formula makes for one of the best tactical RPGs of all time. 2024 is already off to a great start for RPGs, but don't let this sleeper hit slip under your radar.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    While it feels like the impact of Breath of the Wild is waning as the open world genre starts to stagnate again, Elden Ring stands out as not only an achievement in FromSoftware’s hall of fame, but also as an open-world RPG. Elden Ring is without a doubt, FromSoft’s most ambitious undertaking yet, and like Dark Souls before it, I believe it will leave a permanent mark on both the open-world genre and the games industry in general.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is the crown jewel of this spin-off series. It builds on the best elements of Stories that make all of its core systems even more appealing, creating more depth and complexity that'll keep you coming back till the credits roll, and perhaps even beyond.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 95 Critic Score
    The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom elegantly bridges old and new Zelda with grace and gusto. The Echoes system is inventive, the dungeon designs are strong and the whole experience feels like everything a classic Zelda experience should be. While minor performance issues hold Echoes of Wisdom back from being everything it could be, they're only minor blemishes on an otherwise stellar adventure fit for a princess.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

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    • 79 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    It’s easy to argue that Star Wars: Squadrons doesn’t offer quite enough. Players get what is essentially an eight-hour tutorial which acts as a prelude for the game’s multiplayer, a limited but fun offering of modes with some potential for great staying power. [Review in Progress Score = 70]
    • tbd Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Card Shark succeeds at establishing wild stakes within its wonderfully weird take on 18th century France. It serves up a memorable cast, a story that rewrites history in a fantastical way, all the while arming the player with tricks of the trade that’d make Penn and Teller blush. For a game that’s more about playing your opponent than your cards, Card Shark is a memorable adventure.
    • 75 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit provides a fresh and unique gaming experience, which feels hard to come by these days. The kart is cleverly designed and well put together, responding to every precise movement. Whilst the core gameplay might get a little repetitive, the technology has a bright future, and it's guaranteed to provide fun for the whole family.
    • 72 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Nintendo Switch Sports feels familiar, yet still remains fun after all these years, especially when played with groups of friends. Whilst the offline offering is a little bit basic, we're hopeful that what's on offer online will take advantage of the easy to play, hard to masters gameplay mechanics. [Review in Progress]
    • tbd Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Grounded 2 is shaping up to be another win for Obsidian Entertainment in the survival space. Despite some difficulty worries, this early access launch is a confident showcase of Obsidian's newfound familiarity with the survival genre.
    • 67 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    I’ve had a great time levelling and fighting with my Necromancer so far, and am super excited to be able to play the game with friends when the game is released for everyone very soon. As long as the monetisation strategy doesn’t get in the way of the game being fun to play, I think this could be a game I get hooked on for a while.
    • 63 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Outside the co-drivers, I enjoyed my time with Drive Rally. While the career mode is bare bones, the actual rally driving is wonderful. It strikes a balance between being approachable and having the depth to keep you playing and improving. Well worth a look if you miss the glory days of 90s era rally games. [Early Access Provisional Score = 75]
    • 86 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Cyberpunk 2077 is staggering, overwhelming, and even surprising at times in its spectacle. Although my first dozen hours with the game has been marred by easy-to-fix problems, Nighty City, along with all it offers and all that call it home, makes for an intoxicating escape. Here’s hoping the next one hundred hours are as utterly compelling.
    • 75 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    It feels like it’s still got some room to grow in certain places in order to reach its full potential, but, unlike real world F1 in 2024, it’s pretty damn fun. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]
    • 73 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Wrath of the Druids is a great addition to Valhalla’s already well-bolstered package. Visiting Ireland, learning about its rich history and mythology is something I’d never thought that I would be interested in. But Wrath of the Druids is so engaging that it’s hard not to recommend to people who enjoyed Valhalla. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the wheel, but instead, bring a few more.
    • 76 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    All in all, Vaas: Insanity paves the way for some stellar downloadable content for Far Cry 6 that is already more conceptually interesting than anything in Far Cry 5. Vaas' experience, while perhaps telling us a little bit too much about the ambiguous villain, co-opts the idea of a rogue-like competently to offer a new twist on the formula, but lead by a familiar face.
    • 82 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    Marathon is a special game that, like Destiny before it, is firmly rooted in the team’s focus on shared communal experiences, immaculate gun feel, and just straight-up vibes. I hope it finds enough of a foothold to exist in the live-service space longer than some of its contemporaries, because if death is the first step in Marathon, I can’t wait to see what the next one is.
    • 77 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    As a sequel to the Modern Warfare reboot, Modern Warfare 2 feels like both a celebration of the series’ original trilogy as well as “the team” at its core. The party is spoiled somewhat by inconsistent pacing, technical issues, and incongruous mechanics, shoehorned in from what will ultimately be the game’s multiplayer suite. Through it all, the referential nods to Call of Duty of old stitched the experience together for me. [Campaign Review = 70]
    • 85 Metascore
    • Critic Score
    As a next-gen update then, Control does a decent job of taking advantage of both the power and unique features of the new generation of consoles, especially if you happen to be playing on a PlayStation 5. While the ray-traced effects might not make this a must-replay, it’s still a far better and (crucially) more stable experience than the game has ever been on consoles, not to mention the joy of playing with the 60fps option instead.

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