God of War Ragnarök is in a similar situation as God of War II, as both were preceded by genre-shaking titans that cast long shadows. Following up greatness of that caliber is a tall task and Santa Monica Studio has had to do it twice with the same franchise. Whereas God of War II was an outstanding yet traditional sequel, Ragnarök is so much more, as it builds upon the 2018 entry, exceeds it in unexpected ways, and is a masterpiece that beautifully wraps up this godly saga.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1245667-god-of-war-ragnarok-review-ps5-worth-buying

Horizon Zero Dawn not only proved that Guerrilla Games could make an open-world action role-playing game but also showed it could make a great one, too. The post-post-apocalyptic green wastelands were a far cry from Killzone‘s fascist dystopia and better for it. While sequels can often fail to hit with the same impact as their surprising predecessor, Horizon Forbidden West improves upon that debut in nearly every way, cementing Guerrilla’s strength in this genre in the process.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1210106-horizon-forbidden-west-review-ps5-ps4

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was a total surprise and one of Ubisoft’s best and most creative games from the last couple decades. It’s a fantastic foundation to work from, but a tough act for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, its sequel, to follow because its quality is no longer as shocking. That novelty was a key part of its appeal and even though Sparks of Hope is slightly inferior in that regard, it’s a great follow-up that builds upon its predecessor’s gripping tactical gameplay.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1243786-mario-rabbids-sparks-of-hope-review-switch-worth-buying

The single-player first-person shooter has become somewhat of a lost art. Risky trends have pushed the genre into multiplayer territory where they all fight to the death to be the last one standing. It's a battle royale of battle royales. Bethesda Softworks has been almost the sole arbiter of the bigger budget solo shooter, a club that Ascendant Studios is joining with its first title, Immortals of Aveum. Trading AK-47s for mystical gauntlets has not forfeited its identity as a first-person shooter, as this clever swap has allowed it to become one of the freshest debuts the genre has seen.

Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/889984-immortals-of-aveum-review-ps5-worth-buying/

Dambuster Studios was formed to finish Homefront: The Revolution, a terrible and buggy shooter that undershot the low bar set by its aggressively mediocre predecessor, after financial woes forced Crytek off the project. Dambuster has been tasked once again to pick up the pieces of another game with Dead Island 2, a title that infamously ran through multiple studios in the nine or so years since its announcement. Although instead of once again buckling under the weight of expectations and messy development cycles, Dambuster has created an appropriately scoped zombie-slaying RPG with silly, yet rewarding physics that highlight its impressive gore technology.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1280345-dead-island-2-review-ps4-ps5-worth-buying

When Joel upgrades his shotgun at any of the workbenches in The Last of Us Part I, he meticulously scrubs it, unscrews certain parts, and replaces others as he works to make it a more deadly killing machine. It’s an involved process that’s highly specific to each type of upgrade on every weapon, one that was merely a generic tinkering animation consistent across the game’s arsenal in the PlayStation 3 original and PS4 remaster. This painstakingly crafted upgrading mechanic is, coincidentally, symbolic of The Last of Us Part I’s many upgrades, as it gets the same job done, but does it with a heightened attention to detail and more impressive visual presentation. By carefully tending to the right parts, this remake makes one of the best games of all time even better.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1235721-the-last-of-us-part-i-review-ps5-remake-worth-buying

The Assassin’s Creed theme swells in the intro montage for Assassin’s Creed Mirage that celebrates the franchise’s 15th anniversary. Bayek readies his bow. Eivor sprints into action. Arno is there out of a contractual obligation. It’s a collection of hooded figures that has taken millions of players to a few dozen historical settings and gotten the series where it is today.

But that is not an enviable spot to be in. Assassin’s Creed has become more and more bloated over the years and substituted innovation for more. More empty square miles. More meandering DLC. More looping storylines about an endless modern day conflict. The churn has meant Assassin’s Creed has long since lost its ability to lead and is merely content to follow dated trends and have shallow worlds as others like Sony, Nintendo, and Rockstar Games push forward. Mirage is meant to be the antithesis of this with its smaller scope and callbacks to the 2007 original, but is instead a slimmer version of all the same annoyances the franchise just can’t shake.

Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/892982-assassins-creed-mirage-review-ps5-ps4-worth-buying/

Dogs are often said to be man’s best friend, but the one in tha and Enhance’s Humanity is more than that. This bizarre puzzler stars a lone and ethereal Shiba Inu as they guide humanity to the light, serving as a godlike figure who also undoubtedly enjoys the occasional belly rub. It’s a premise that seems like it would almost solely rely on its quirkiness to the detriment of its gameplay, but while its goofy charm is endearing, it’s a mostly engaging puzzle game full of brain-bending yet easy-to-grasp mechanics.

Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/882775-humanity-review-ps5-worth-playing-buying/

Overwatch’s explosive success can’t be understated. Even though it helped usher in loot boxes, its vibrant art style and personality-driven characters in the online arena helped inspire many others, but few could even come close to what Blizzard Entertainment established. The studio spent the following years honing that incredible debut before transitioning to Overwatch 2. While Blizzard is known to make even better sequels, Overwatch 2 is a bewilderingly misguided follow-up that loses sight of what made the original such an industry-shaking title.

Read the full review here:
http://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1242832-overwatch-2-review-ps5-switch-worth-playing

Roguelikes have invaded a ton of genres from management sims to card battlers to shooters to rhythm games, so it’s only natural that sports games would get in on the trend. And since Electronic Arts won’t make a golf game where the golfers are actually stuck in an endless purgatory, Chuhai Labs has taken to the course itself and done exactly that with Cursed to Golf. This stylized roguelike is a clever spin on the typical golf game, but it’s also sometimes difficult enough to snap a club in two.

Read the full review:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1235180-cursed-to-golf-review-ps5-worth-buying

Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 were from another time. Resident Evil 3 was anemic and disappointing yet deserving of a second chance. But Resident Evil 4 is the classic that reinvented a whole genre and revitalized a series with a gameplay loop so endlessly rewarding that it still warrants a replay every few years even almost two decades later. Those first three made cases for their remakes — ones rooted in their age — but Resident Evil 4 can’t claim to be geriatric when it still suplexes most of its competition into submission. The Resident Evil 4 remake, however, is a carefully considered reimagining that more than justifies its existence by keeping the skeleton of the original and thoughtfully improving it without sacrificing the brilliant Las Plagas-ridden heart at the center of it.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1274282-resident-evil-4-remake-review-ps5-worth-buying-re4

After a long yet relaxing day of catching cod and tracking mackerel, you reel in the latest catch only to see that one gilled monstrosity has fanged teeth and three heads. It’s an otherwise normal catch, but this aquatic perversion sticks out. Although before this abnormality and the grim implications it might have can sink in, the moon rises and the peaceful ocean sights turn into a waking hallucinogenic nightmare. This half-calm, half-stressful scenario is what playing Dredge is like, as it mixes the tranquility of fishing with the tension of horror. And as strange as that mix is, it’s quite a great hook.

Read the full review here:
https://www.comingsoon.net/games/reviews/1278641-dredge-review-ps5-worth-buying

Insomniac Games‘ Spider-Man has butted heads with The Rhino, gone toe-to-toe with fellow half-mechanical octopod Doc Ock, and survived a near-fatal trip against Scorpion, but none of those climactic showdowns have pitted the web-slinger against his greatest enemy: himself. Peter Parker’s insecurities have been made flesh with the symbiote, a goopy alien suit that gives him incredible powers at a heavy mental cost. When Spider-Man wins, Peter Parker loses.

It’s a layered mantra that is only part of what makes Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 a deeper and more nuanced experience when compared to the original. This superior sequel expands upon the foundation set by the prior two titles with added levels of complexity in nearly every area that take this pair of superheroes to new heights.

Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/893422-marvels-spider-man-2-review-ps5-worth-buying/

Synapse throws platoons of standard soldiers, behemoths with couch-sized miniguns, a conga line of exploding goons, and Psycho Mantis-esque flying freaks at players at a relentless pace. It’s a constant barrage of gunfire, explosions, flying debris, and — in some cases — lasers from the sky. But despite those odds, they’re still no match for the player in Synapse — an engrossing power fantasy built around PlayStation VR2‘s intricacies.

Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/886162-synapse-review-psvr2-ps5-worth-buying/

Blending genres is a popular trend because, when successful, it can result in a fresh experience with the best of both worlds. Disjunction is one of these hybrid games as it attempts to fuse a stealthier Metal Gear-type title with the top-down action of Hotline Miami. But this Hotline Miami Gear is far less than the sum of its disparate parts because of its imbalanced, tedious, and repetitive design.

Read the full review here:
https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/673136-disjunction-review-ps4-xbox-one-pc