Alone in the Dark Review (PS5) | Push Square

Publisher Atari has been bringing back all kinds of old school series lost to the annals of time, and its latest is soon to leave its stint in early access with a full launch. That game is NeoSprint, a modern take on the company's top-down, multiplayer racing series, coming this summer to PS5 and PS4.

Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has shared what the studio has planned in terms of post-launch support for its soon-to-be-released PS5 exclusive. In a recent interview with bbs.ruliweb.com, it revealed the title will receive free updates that bundle in new costumes for protagonist Eve to wear alongside a New Game+ option. It's also stated «DLC has not been determined» separately to the free content drops, which could suggest there'll be a larger Stellar Blade expansion in the future also.

Foamstars! Remember that? Well, it's still going, and Square Enix is gearing up for the game's third seasonal update. Titled Mysterious Swing, the new season debuts on 12th April, and you can see some of the new additions in the above trailer.

It’s been a huge 12 months for Final Fantasy, and Square Enix is seemingly just getting warmed up. Following on from the reveal of Final Fantasy 16 add-on The Rising Tide earlier this weekend, the publisher has now confirmed MMO expansion Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail will deploy on 2nd July. This all follows the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth last month, of course.

Dragon's Dogma 2 has been blessed with some notable improvements via its first post-launch update. With patch 1.050, Capcom has implemented several graphics settings on PS5, and we're happy to report that the open world RPG has taken a decent step in the right direction.

Grandia HD Collection bundles together two classic JRPG adventures from the tail-end of the genre's golden age, a series that has long since fallen by the wayside. Grandia, initially released on the SEGA Saturn, would make its way to PS1 in 1999, and its narratively unconnected but mechanically superior sequel, Grandia II, first came to Dreamcast before arriving on PS2 in 2002.

Although it's yet to be officially announced, we all know that the PS5 Pro is real, and it's likely dropping later this year. A mid-gen upgrade on the PS5, Sony will probably position the refreshed console as another premium product — something that it's been doing throughout the generation so far, with stuff like PS Portal and the DualSense Edge.

Shadows Of The Damned launched during a fascinating part of the PS3 era, where EA suddenly started publishing smaller titles, like the equally iconic Alice: Madness Returns. The business model didn’t last long, but we’re still grateful for the aforementioned third-person shooter, which was co-designed by industry icons Suda51 and Shinji Mikami. And as previously reported it’s getting a PS5 and PS4 remaster, due out later this year.

Rise of the Ronin, the latest tentpole PS5 console exclusive from legendary Japanese developer Team Ninja, has been subject to a colossal marketing push in Asia, where posters and billboards have been spotted around cities such as Taipei for several weeks now. That’s all culminated in an Edo period art exhibition in Huashan 1914 Creative Park – coincidentally, the former home of a Japanese sake manufacturer– where Sony has installed several 19th-century props inspired by the game.

By trying to do so much, Rise of the Ronin feels like an inferior version of everything it's inspired by. With an open world populated by map markers and side activities, it’s a worse Assassin's Creed. With a historical Japanese setting, it's a worse Ghost of Tsushima. With a combat system that prioritises parrying, it's a worse Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. At no point is it a bad experience, but the game's so run of the mill, so formulaic that attempting something new and ultimately failing would have been a more tantalising sell. You've already played better versions of Rise of the Ronin — what it's attempting is just fine, which is probably the most boring outcome possible.

Without Alone in the Dark, quite simply, there is no survival horror as we know it today. Way back in 1992, when the original game led us down the haunted hallways of the Derceto mansion for the first time, the impact that ill-fated journey would have on the landscape of video games could not have been fully understood. 

Alone in the Dark is the definition of slow burn horror – something that’s pretty much a given when playing, reading, or watching anything that takes heavy inspiration from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. A modern take of the 1992 classic created by Infogrames, it’s easy to see why THQ wanted to take a punt at reanimating the series, especially when you consider the back-to-back successes Capcom has enjoyed with its recent string of Resident Evil remakes. After all, it was Alone in the Dark that inspired Shinji Mikami in creating the very first Resident Evil all those years ago. Both games took place in a sprawling manor complex teeming with jump scares and puzzles, though Alone in the Dark veered more towards the occult and committing to a period setting.