Mike

About Mike

Mike gets all the racing games because he understands that stuff even though he doesn't drive.

I’m never really sure what to do with kids games. I can’t review them from a child’s perspective and it’s not like I can fetch some kids to play it for me. Even so, I wouldn’t trust a kid’s opinion on anything. Kids have no sense of taste, no sense […]

Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake – PS4 Review

January 30, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged bubbles / cartoon / combat / jellyfish / nickelodeon / platforming / purple lamp / seahorses / spongebob squarepants the cosmic shake by Mike

I’ve often wondered how to view games that don’t carry a lot of challenge. I can feel like a passenger throughout but some of my most memorable experiences have also felt very trivial to complete. It’s a quandary I’ve had to keep in mind whilst playing Wavetale, an adventure platformer […]

Wavetale – PS5 Review

December 27, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged adventure / apocalypse / exploration / narratively-driven / platforming / thunderful / waterworld / wavetale by Mike

I think few games have left a mark on open-world design than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Elden Ring has taken the lessons to heart but, prior to that, Sable took a shot at keeping the world fairly quiet and letting players do the map marking. Originally […]

Sable – PS5 Review

December 11, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged adventure / climbing / coming of age / masks / open world / platforming / puzzles / rite of passage / sable / shedworks by Mike

Sometimes it’s good to be late to the party. When Sifu originally released I was knee deep in review mania and I always have trepidation tackling a game where the difficulty is a keen selling point. Sloclap’s been tinkering with combat systems since their debut Absolver. Whilst that focused on […]

Sifu – PS5 Review

December 4, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged Beat em up / brawler / chinese / kung fu / martial art / pak mei / revenge / sifu / sloclap by Mike

All good things have to end and Kylotonn’s stint with the World Rally Championship license is coming to a conclusion. As a swansong, WRC Generations consolidates all the previous content under one tidy package. Whilst they’re not pushing the boat out, there is plenty here to admire and, with the […]

WRC Generations – PS5 Review

November 6, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged co-op / kylotonn / motorsport / online multiplayer / racing / rally / split screen / time trial / wrc generations by Mike

I do love a good souls-like but there is a sense that taking them into the second dimension can limit combat and exploration. There’s no shortage of triers and Third Sphere Game Studios are the latest to give the stripped down experience a shot. Released on steam in January, a […]

Watcher Chronicles – PS5 Review

October 16, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d platforming / catacombs / crypts / exploration / magic / melee combat / ranged attacks / soulslike / third sphere game studios / watcher chronicles by Mike

It’s been a long while since I reviewed Dakar 18. I found that game to be ambitious but really difficult to breach with some clumsy navigational tools and a game that didn’t look all that hot. Time has passed and now Saber Interactive Porto have delivered a follow-up. It’s a […]

Dakar Desert Rally – PS5 Review

October 9, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged dakar desert rally / motorsport / navigation / online multiplayer / orienteering / rallying / saber interactive porto / saudi arabia / time trial by Mike

It must be train simulator season. No sooner have I finished reviewing Train Sim World 3, another one pulls up to the station. Train Life: A Railway Simulator is an effort more concerned with management and a wider world than authenticity and accuracy. With a lenient attitude, Simteract are looking […]

Train Life: A Railway Simulator – PS5 Review

October 3, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged cargo / european tourism / job / management / passenger trains / postage / simteract / train life a railway simulator by Mike

It seems like forever since I’ve played a roguelike platformer. A few years back, they arrived more frequently but that drought has now been broken. Chenso Club is a fast-paced, 2D platformer that combines forgivable platform challengers with some simple but swift combat. Swedish developer Pixadome are at the helm. […]

Chenso Club – PS4 Review

September 27, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 16-bit / 2D Platformer / chenso club / melee combat / pixadome / roguelike by Mike

Attempts to make World War I’s trench warfare compelling have been made before but I’ve never really seen them as great successes. At best, they recreated the meat grinder nature of an attritional conflict and, at worst, they become a lesson in frustration. Taking a more vertical approach with less […]

Isonzo – PS5 Review

September 20, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged astro-hungarians / blackmill games / class warfare / first-person shooter / isonzo / italians / mustard gas / online multiplayer / trench warfare / verdun / world war i by Mike

I think annual sports games run a perpetual tightrope of trying to freshen up a familiar series on a limited development cycle. Visual Concepts have certainly rose and stumbled over the duration of their seminal basketball series. NBA 2K23 enters the court with a lot of historical content and a […]

NBA 2K23 – PS5 Review

September 16, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged basketball / historical content / larry bird / magic johnson / michael jordan / nba 2k23 / sport / sports management / visual concepts by Mike

I do love a bit of digital tourism. There’s a great swath of the world I just wouldn’t visit if it wasn’t for public transport. Train Sim World 3 looks to scratch that itch with another edition of Dovetail Games’ series. It feels very familiar to me with some new […]

Train Sim World 3 – PS5 Review

September 13, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged digital tourism / dovetail games / freight / job simulator / passenger / steam engines / train sim world / trains by Mike