inFamous: Second Son

The inFamous series peaked during the PS3 days with inFamous 2, and while inFamous: Second Son was well-received by critics – it didn’t really have the same magnitude of an impact as its brothers. And that’s quite a shame because Second Son is a well-made game that makes good use of the PS4’s capabilities to render a beautiful open world alongside some solid gameplay mechanics.

The Last Guardian

Fumito Ueda is widely considered to be a video game auteur thanks to his work on Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian is a project that had been in development for a long time. But when it was released in 2016, the game was met with a divisive critical reception – primarily because the companion dog would refuse to listen to your instructions at times, which made it a really frustrating experience at times. To be honest, those aren’t technical problems but a conscious decision on the developer’s part – and that combined with the unique world and themes of the story makes The Last Guardian a truly special game that deserves to be experienced by a lot more people.

Days Gone

Days Gone was Sony Bend’s take on a post-apocalyptic open-world game, and it turned out to be one of the more disappointing first-party games of its time. It would be an utter lie to state that Days Gone is a spotless masterpiece, but it’s also a game that perhaps got a lot more hate than it deserves. The bike riding mechanics are pretty good for the most part, and the Freaker horde mechanics are fun to interact with – even though the game holds that particular part hostage until the very end. It’s not a life-changing game by any means, but it is a fun open-world nevertheless.

No Man’s Sky

Hello Games’ CEO Sean Murray created a lot of headlines with his brief on how No Man’s Sky would be a game of endless possibilities, but those claims were turned to dust when the game finally came out in 2016. No Man’s Sky took place in a bland world where there wasn’t anything interesting to do, and the procedural generation of planets felt like a faint shadow of the big promises that he made pre-release. Fans were understandably upset which made it a disappointing game back then, but the team has put in the hard work to turn the game into a much better version through consistent content updates and overhauls. As it stands now, No Man’s Sky is easily one of the best space exploration games on the market – and is absolutely unmissable for genre fans.

Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush 2 thrusts players into a fantastical world and takes them on a journey like no other, and an interesting gravity shift mechanic sits at the epicenter of everything you do. It’s a beautiful game that excels in more aspects than one, but it’s a shame that not many people actually played it in the first place. A lot of that could be blamed on the incompetent marketing by Sony, and that limited exposure ultimately turned Gravity Rush 2 into a cult classic.

Sniper Elite 4

Sniper Elite 4 puts us back in the shoes of Karl Fariburne as he embarks on increasingly difficult missions behind enemy lines. The series has always never been so polished in terms of its mechanics or story, which is perhaps why Sniper Elite 4 never really got much mainstream attention. But if you are able to look past those flaws, you will find a truly dynamic stealth game where you can make some really creative use of your toolset and come up with unique solutions for your problems.

Just Cause 3

The Just Cause series has been in a downward spiral following the success of Just Cause 2, and Just Cause 3’s rather tepid commercial reception is proof of that theory. Just Cause 3 did a good job of building upon the concepts of prior games, and critics generally liked the game. But many fans weren’t really interested in its brand of chaos-driven open-world gameplay, and that’s disappointing news because creatively wreaking havoc in this game continues to be an extremely satisfying activity even after dozens upon dozens of hours.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a game built to showcase the capabilities of PSVR, and you might be forgiven for discarding it as a glorified tech demo of sorts. But that’s not really the case, because Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a really polished and fun platformer that is more than the sum of its parts. It makes good use of the VR capabilities to really immerse you in its world, and there are plenty of smart touches peppered throughout this adventure that makes it so charming.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

Supermassive Games’ The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes follows a group of soldiers exploring an ancient temple, and coming face to face with the many horrors that lie within. The story is well-written, and it can take some sharp turns depending on the choices that you make at critical points in the adventure. Between this flexibility and a strong visual presentation, The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes is a very solid horror game that fans of the genre should definitely check out.

Concrete Genie

Developed by PixelOpus Studios, Concrete Genie is a charming game about using your creative powers to bring a murky town back to life. The gameplay is simple yet works well within the context of the experience, and that combined with the wonderful story makes it a game worthy of your attention. It’s a sad state of affairs that it never got the audience it deserves, and a lot of that can be blamed on poor marketing from Sony.

Alienation

Alienation comes from Housemarque, the team that recently released Returnal to some excellent critical and commercial acclaim. Alienation is a twin-stick shooter that tasks you to control different kinds of supersoldiers – each with their different sets of strengths and weaknesses. The gameplay is an absolute blast through and through, and the developer has done a good job of adding even more content to the experience.

The Surge 2

The Surge 2 takes what worked in the original, and cranked it all the way up to eleven – which resulted in an experience that’s big in almost every regard. The Surge 2 takes players to wonderfully well-realized locales and pits them against brutal bosses, but the game wasn’t really able to capture much of an audience when it released in 2019 – most likely due to an oversaturation of Souslikes at that point. If you were one of the people who skipped it back in the day, give it another try and you might be really surprised.

Yakuza 0

The Yakuza series has started to gain a lot of traction in the West, and recent entries like Yakuza: Like a Dragon have been widely praised by fans. Yakuza 0 didn’t get the praises of the same intensity, and that’s a shame because it is a really great open-world game that condenses a ton of varied content within a rather small virtual district. It seamlessly switches between serious moments and goofy antics at the flip of a button, and that adds a really distinct charm to it all.

What Remains of Edith Finch

What Remains of Edith Finch is a moving tale about the tragedies that happened to the Finch family. It’s a simple game that looks like a walking simulator on the surface, but it features some really interesting level design that expertly uses mechanics and visual imagery to tell its engaging stories. It’s also a really snappy experience that doesn’t waste much time with exposition or filler, so you could blast through it all in just a couple of hours.

Infamous First Light

inFamous First Light is a surprisingly fleshed-out standalone expansion that puts players in the shoes of Abigail Walker from the base game. The gameplay is largely based on the same foundations as Second Son, which is to say it’s an absolute blast through and through. It’s a great excuse to explore the many corners of this beautifully recreated fictional Seattle, and it’s unmissable for fans of the franchise.

Housemarque’s latest game, Alienation, will be getting some rather extensive post launch support, the developers announced today in a blog post on the PlayStation Blog. The post launch support will be available in the form of the Survivor Pack DLC, as well as a Season Pass, for the Survivor Pack, and future content- and both of these will be available on the PSN Store to purchase starting July 5.

July 5 will be a big day for Alienation, because in addition to the start of official paid post launch support for the game, Housemarque will also be releasing a free update, and it will be a substantial, big one. The new update will be adding a local co-op mode, tournaments in the form of Leagues (which will consist of five ranks), harder enemies, better loot, an Arkship with new rooms, Expert and Master Difficulty levels, new Hero Levels, as well as a bunch of new Trophies.

Whew, that’s enough content for an expansion- or a full fledged sequel! The best part is, this update will be available to everyone for free, so you can get a whole lot of out Alienation without spending a single penny on the DLC (but that’s all still there if you want even more from the game). The game is available now, exclusively on the PS4.

Complete Alienation with help of this HD video walkthrough and game guide. Alienation features three classes which includes the Tank, the Bio-Specialist and the Saboteur, RPG like progression system, online leaderboards, loot system, 4 players drop-in/drop out online co-op and PvP, and according to the developer the “most colorful game world” they have ever pulled off.

Alienation is now available exclusively for the PlayStation 4. The game was developed by Housemarque and published by Sony. 

Check out the video walkthrough of Alienation below and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below. For video game guides, tips and wikis, check out our gaming portal here.

Rather than those previous twin stick shooters, Alienation goes with a more story and gameplay based route. Aliens have invaded Earth, a world government called the UNX formed to fight them, but resistance is seen as an increasingly lost cause. You’re then sent to a world where you’ll have to choose one of several hotspots to attack or defend using an array of upgrades and a leveling system.

If any of that sounds familiar, it’s because Alienation is a complete rip-off of XCOM Enemy Unknown in every way. The only difference is the lighter focus on strategy, and the emphasis on Housemarque’s age old twin stick shooting gameplay. That’s all it has going for it, as the rest of the game plays like a lazy clone of not only XCOM, but every popular 3^rd person shooter that crammed in unnecessary RPG elements.

"While XCOM’s story wasn’t the most innovative or in-depth narrative in gaming, it felt like the developers at least tried. Here, the story is as barebones as you can imagine."

While XCOM’s story wasn’t the most innovative or in-depth narrative in gaming, it felt like the developers at least tried. Here, the story is as barebones as you can imagine. There are aliens trying to take over the world, and you – a random person with a gun as far as we know – must stop them. A government agent and a scientist constantly talk to you throughout missions, serving only to spit clichés with as much enthusiasm as you’ll have before long.

The gameplay, meanwhile, is equally paint by numbers. There’s a leveling system in which you can acquire certain abilities like healing, stronger melee attacks, and increased speed. These abilities are split between active and passive levels, and you gain points for them separately. You can also collect materials in the field or by scrapping extra weapons to get other unique abilities. There’s no reason to ever keep weaker weapons though, as each new weapon is objectively better than the previous. There isn’t much variety amongst the abilities or items to create either, and more often than not it feels like a waste of time.

There are three classes to choose from at the start of the game. There’s a basic tank unit that deals a lot of damage and can equally take a lot, a medic/specialist class that’s fast and has all kinds of unique abilities, and the basic soldier class. Each class has their own abilities and general weapon loadouts that can be boosted and added to as you progress through the game. But level ups are slow, even early on, and none of the abilities are necessary to use. As a result, each class feels the same, except for the tank soldier, if only because they have slightly more health.

Because of this, you’ll stick with your basic weapons and maybe one or two abilities like healing throughout the game. There are also other power ups you can find like any other game in the genre that’ll make leveling up almost pointless, like health packs, new weapons, and speed boosts. You’ll need those pickups too, because the game is not well balanced. It’s not unusual to walk through an empty area, picking your nose, and suddenly be surrounded without any idea where the aliens came from. They can spawn anywhere, behind cars, scenario, and off camera. They’re faster than you as well, so it’s difficult to outrun them.

"The AI leaves a lot to be desired. Most enemies will run straight at you, and the ranged enemies will stand in place."

You can see Housemarque was at least trying to bring some balance however. Basic aliens go down in one hit, and the bug-like enemies that burst out of eggs can be destroyed before they hatch. There’s also a speed reloading mechanic like in Gears of War, in which you can reload faster if you time it right. There’s no penalty if you fail though, you’ll just reload as you normally would. Enemies go down fast, most going down in a single shot, and the toughest can only take three or four shotgun blasts. It doesn’t matter when you’re not surrounded, but when you are it can feel like you spend more time reloading than shooting, even when you do time things correctly.

When you’re not totally surrounded, it can be very easy to shoot down one or two enemies that get in your way, or bypass whole groups entirely without them noticing you. Sometimes hordes of enemies will approach you from one side, and whenever this happens the best strategy is to lead them in a conga-line to the nearest car and blowing it up.

The AI leaves a lot to be desired. Most enemies will run straight at you, and the ranged enemies will stand in place. This kind of AI is a staple of the genre, where enemies are more akin cannon-fodder than a strategic threat. But in a game that’s trying to masquerade as something more, it defeats the point of the upgrades and leveling. No matter what you do, you’ll eventually be surrounded so the stealth upgrades are pointless, and since most enemies go down in a single shot, there’s no need to invest in dealing more damage.

The difficulty seems to change arbitrarily and at random. Bringing up the menu is the only way to change your primary and secondary weapons and to level up. However, the game doesn’t pause when you go into the menu, even in single player. Thing is, there’s no indication of this, because the menu will obscure the entire screen. When you play the game for the first time, you’ll have no idea the game is still going in the background until you hear your character screaming in pain. Even when you do find an isolated area to perform item management, it’s not at all unlikely that enemies will appear out of nowhere and swarm you, leaving you dead before you realize what’s going on.

Enemies respawn whenever you die, and if you didn’t activate a respawning station you’ll be thrown back to the beginning of the level. You’ll keep your experience however, and your ammo will refill, not that it’s ever a problem anyway. Having to plow through the same waves of enemies in the same uninspired levels using the same weapons proves just as tedious as it does difficult.

"There isn’t much to say about Alienation. It’s an uninspired shooter that’ll kill an hour or two before tedium sets in."

That’s the main flaw with this game. The core of it isn’t fundamentally broken, it’s just boring. You play in levels that all look the same, fight the same enemies that have the same two kinds of attacks, using the same basic weapons. With no new gameplay variations ever presenting themselves and the pointless leveling system, you’ll see all there is to see of the game in the first two levels. It’s the kind of game you stop not long after you start and wonder if you’ve played it before and forgot about it. It tries to make itself more difficult to compensate, but its arbitrary up and down nature is more frustrating than fun.

There are a few bugs and glitches and other technical problems too, though nothing major. I was going through one level when I died near the middle of the stage. Instead of spawning at the last respawn point I unlocked, I somehow teleported to the next objective near the end of the level. There were also a few instances of my bullets clearly going through enemies without doing any damage.

Audio balancing is another issue. The dialog from the bored sounding scientist and government agent is at a low volume and can barely be heard, even as the rest of the game’s volume lowers. Your gun also beeps every time you reload as well, and the sound comes from both the TV and the controller’s speaker. The beeping is incredibly high pitched and very loud, and due to the high amount of enemies, you’ll be reloading constantly. Eventually the beeping will drive you to listen to U2 if only it’ll stop. Or you could turn off the audio from the controller speaker.

There isn’t much to say about Alienation. It’s an uninspired shooter that’ll kill an hour or two before tedium sets in. It’s a game made to attract a larger audience with RPG elements, but it also wanted fans of Resogun and Super Stardust, so those RPG elements were made almost optional. The final product is a watered down toy box lacking both the charm of Housemarque’s previous titles and the depth to attract new fans. It might be more fun to play with friends, but what game isn’t?

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Alienation got a brand new trailer that showed off even more of the crazy action that makes up this game. Developers Housemarque have released a number of videos already that talk about the different classes but the this one talks about the importance of choosing the right class for your team.

The video, dubbed Armor Up talks also talks about the importance of picking the right armor when going into battle. Alienation, which looks an awful lot like Helldivers in this video is one the developers have said can be played on your own, but has a focus on team play in order to get through some of the levels.

The teams at the heart of the multiplayer mode will need to be chosen wisely in order to fight off the waves of alien enemies players will face. Check out the trailer below and get ready because Alienation comes exclusively to the PS4 on April 26, 2016.

Quantum Break

The time-bending adventure is finally arriving amidst multiple delays and a long development cycle. Remedy’s Quantum Break isn’t just about fancy moves and even fancier kills – the live-action TV show challenges you to make important decisions and watch the future change with your every move. What does the future hold for our beloved Ice Man? Find out when Quantum Break is out on April 5th for Xbox One and Windows 10.

Ratchet & Clank

Insomniac Games isn’t just remastering the original Ratchet & Clank – it’s reimagining it in a whole new way with gorgeous visuals. The remake is actually based on the upcoming film and will feature plenty of new planets, levels, weapons like the Groovitron which causes enemies to dance or the Pixelizer which takes your foes back to the 8-bit era and much more to play around with. Ratchet & Clank arrives on April 12th for North America and April 20th for Europe. The film is out on April 29th in the United States.

Dark Souls 3

Death comes for us all but in Dark Souls 3, it won’t stop hounding you until you’ve snapped your controller in half. From Software’s hack and slash dungeon crawler will be the most significant entry for the series, debuting for current gen consoles on April 12th. However, something is different this time around. What awaits the player in his battle with the Lords of Cinder? Will the Dark Soul make its appearance once more?  Find out on the 12th and don’t forget to practice those breathing exercises.

Bravely Second: End Layer

Japan has been enjoying Bravely Second: End Layer for the past year now on the Nintendo 3DS. Europe has enjoyed it for almost two months. On April 15th, it’s the turn of North America to continue the tale of Tiz Arrior as he fights to save Agnès Oblige and explore the world of Luxendarc. Combined with the awesome soundtrack and anime-esque art style, Bravely Second: End Layer promises an awesome finale.

The Banner Saga 2

The follow-up to the amazing tactical RPG from Stoic sees you once again commanding your caravan of Vikings and doing everything to stay alive. The story this time is shrouded in mystery but you’ll still have numerous ancient threats and make difficult decisions, some which determine the lives of your clan. Just remember that there are no second chances in The Banner Saga 2 when it arrives on April 19th for PC and Mac OS X (PS4 and Xbox One releases are scheduled for later).

Star Fox Zero

Star Fox has finally returned with its classic gameplay intact. The arcade shooting, return of classic Star Fox (and Star Wolf) characters and the ability to control your Arwing with the Wii U Gamepad make this the most enticing combination of new and old yet. And hey, with transforming vehicles and Platinum Games at the helm along with returning locations like Zoness and Titania, Star Fox Zero should be a treat for fans of the series. Look out for it on April 22nd worldwide.

Dirt Rally (XB1, PS4)

Codemasters has returned to grace with Dirt Rally, delivering off-road rallying with 17 cars and 36 stages across three locations. The clash of realistic racing and arcade excitement makes Dirt Rally one of the better rally racing games in this modern era. It will finally arrive on PS4 and Xbox One on April 5th along with a Windows retail release and Codemasters is promising some interesting updates for console gamers.

Star Fox Guard

If you’re looking for something a little different from the usual arcade space shooting, then maybe Star Fox Guard will be more up your alley. This tower defense title will be downloadable through the Wii U eShop and has you managing several cameras on the GamePad to shoot down invading robots. There’s quite the variety on display as robots can obscure your vision, steal cameras and shield their allies. Star Fox Guard releases alongside Star Fox Zero on April 22nd.

Alienation

Housemarque has been quite busy with Alienation. It also has Matterfall in the pipeline but Alienation has seemingly been delayed forever. It appears to be worth the wait though with intense action and four player co-op that will push players to the limit. If isometric shooters are your things – and Housemarque is damn good at making them – then you may want to pick up Alienation on April 26th for PS4.

Hitman: Sapienza

IO Interactive’s Hitman has had a rough first month but now that most of its online kinks have been worked out, all that’s left is an influx of content. Fans will be getting just that when the next major city Sapienza arrives on April 26th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. What could await Agent 47 and his victims in the beautiful south Italy city? We’re not sure but fans should have their hands busy, cleaning up after each kill.

Housemarque, the guys who brought us some brilliant PlayStation games like Resogun and Dead Nation, are bringing us their newest title- it’s called Alienation, and it looks pretty cool. And today, they shared a brand new trailer for the title.

The trailer shows us a fair bit of footage from the game, as well as introducing us to the game’s co-op mode, and the playable classes. The co-op mode can support up to four players, and there are three different playable classes. The game can be played single player as well, but Housemarque says that it has been designed for a co-op experience, and it is best experienced that way.

So, you guys need to go out and make yourselves some friends, then.

Alienation launches exclusively on the PlayStation 4 on April 26. You can pre-order it now, and get 10% off. Check out its trailer below, and tell us what you think in the comments section.

Alienation, the next game from Housemarque, the makers of the hit PlayStation 4 launch title Resogun,  will be launching on April 26, the developers confirmed on the PlayStation Blog today. The game will be, like most of Housemarque’s games, a shoot ’em up game, though this new title resembles Housemarque’s older hit Dead Nation more than it does Resogun.

Alienation appears to be the most technically ambitious game that Housemarque have ever attempted. Ilari Kuittinen, one of the founders of Housemarque, was recently quoted as saying, “We’ve always been a tech centric company and now we have the chance to prove our capabilities to the world in our most ambitious project ever”.

Housemarque is available to pre-purchase on the PSN Store starting today. If you buy it now, you will get 10% off on the launch price. Check out the new trailer for the game that was made available on the PS Blog below.

Two PS4 exclusives that were due to hit the market in the next few months have apparently had their release dates pushed back. Both Shadow of the Beast and Alienation have had their ship dates changed in the PlayStation store, though Sony has not made an official announcement for either game. Shadow of the Beast now shows a release date of March 2, 2016 while Alienation now has a ship date of March 23, 2016.

It seems that Shadow of the Beast has been pushed back five weeks, since it was originally supposed to be launching at the end of this month. Alienation has now had its release date pushed back about three weeks from when we expected it to go live. Since Sony has not yet talked about the delays, we’re not sure exactly why the changes were made. Considering the releases weren’t pushed back all that far, it’s likely the developers just feel as though they need to have a few more weeks to iron out some details.

If you want to learn all there is to know about these games while you know wait a bit longer to play them, you can check out the wiki for Shadow of the Beast here and the wiki for Alienation here. With the new dates, Shadow of the Beast is now due out March 2 while Alienation will not be hitting your PS4 until March 23, 2016.

Resogun and Dead Nation developer Housemarque’s next top-down shooter Alienation will be out next year on PS4 but it won’t feature one of the most important features for a game of its type, namely local co-op play.

The developer confirmed this in a recent tweet, stating that, “We’re focusing on online co-op for now.”

This isn’t to say that there won’t be any local co-op support at all for the foreseeable future. The developer further stated that it, “might look into it after release, but first things first.”

Alienation functions a lot like Dead Nation but with a host of angry, hungry aliens and some high-powered futuristic weaponry to unleash on them. It wouldn’t quite feel the same without local co-op but Housemarque wouldn’t be the first developer to opt for online co-op out of the box.

Alienation is out on March 23rd 2016 for PS4. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.