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Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review – a matter of life and death

8:00 pm | February 12, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PlayStation 5
Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: February 13, 2024

A narrative-focused action role-playing game (RPG) set at the close of the 17th century, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is at its absolute best when the story takes center stage. The game follows the ghost-hunting lovers Antea Duarte and Red mac Raith as they embark on a perilous journey to lift a sinister curse afflicting the fictionalized region of New Eden, solving intriguing cases and slaying a wide variety of supernatural foes along the way.

The main duo is fantastically written throughout, with a believable and endearing relationship that remains fully engaging right up when the credits roll. Their complex romance is a fascinating focal point through which you tackle challenging moral decisions, which are even further elevated by two truly phenomenal voice performances.

There are some rough edges, however, including the combat which, despite some solid foundations, becomes tiresome through repetition. The uneven technical performance also leaves something to be desired from a current generation release. These shortcomings importantly never impact the quality of the storytelling, but undeniably hold the overall package back.

In two worlds

A Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden screenshot showing a conversation. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Traveling to New Eden after receiving a pleading letter from their long-time friend Charles, Antea and Red find themselves arriving at a settlement on its last legs. This corner of the world is wild, desolate, and brutal. Covered in an eerie fog, the landscape’s harsh mountains and wild forests form the perfect backdrop as it becomes clear that something very sinister is at play. Charles has been murdered by an evil spirit and, to make matters worse, his frail widow is being haunted by his ghost.

As Banishers, mercenaries who seek out and purge the lingering dead, Antea and Red’s first job is to investigate. Every ghost in the world of Banishers is motivated by an unfulfilled desire, or intent, and anchored to the physical world through a tie - an object connected to their death. Both an intent and a tie must be uncovered in order to perform an arcane ritual to make the ghost manifest and send their spirit off for good.

Interviewing those connected to the haunting visiting areas associated with the deceased in order to find evidence makes for an engaging detective formula but, just as you think you’re getting into the swing of it, everything is suddenly turned on its head.

A Banisher's Ghost of New Eden screenshot showing Red and Antea. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Antea is killed and the town is destroyed, with Red plunged into the freezing ocean and only narrowly avoiding the same fate. He awakes some time later on a distant beach having been rescued by a mysterious witch, who warns him of his pivotal role in the fate of the whole of New Eden. He is soon reunited with Antea’s ghost, who resents her new condition and battles an insatiable hunger for life essence but agrees to join him on his way back to the town.

It’s a gripping introduction that’s supported by brilliant two truly phenomenal voice performances. Amaka Okafor perfectly portrays the conflicted Antea, while Russ Bain lends a stunning emotional range to Red. They talk often as you explore and their dialogue is always a treat. While the frequently sarcastic Antea may initially seem prickly, she is the perfect foil to her more nervous and gentle partner. Their interactions are filled with a genuine warmth that makes them an instantly compelling couple and it’s hard to imagine anyone not immediately becoming invested in their struggle.

Haunting choices

A Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden screenshot showing a story decision. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

The first major decision in Banishers sees you choosing whether Red should vow to eventually resurrect Antea using forbidden dark magic or let her peacefully pass on from the world. You then journey out into a large semi-open world to investigate a series of haunting cases before eventually confronting Antea’s killer.

No matter your initial vow, each case ends by having you choose to whether to violently ‘banish’ a ghost, peacefully allow them to ‘ascend’ to the afterlife, or ‘blame’ and execute the person being haunted. While the first two choices allow you to reward or punish a ghost for their earthly deeds, it is only the third that will contribute to Antea’s resurrection.

These cases are also rarely straightforward, as characters are refreshingly multifaceted with grounded, complex motivations that keep you second-guessing as you investigate. Who is to blame is often not clear cut and, while it might initially be quite tempting to solely focus on bringing Antea back to life, you’re soon going to be faced with some extremely tough decisions.

Best bit

Red and Antea from Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden resting at a camp. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden manages to convey a lot of character in its more intimate moments. The fast-forward animation of the ghostly Antea restlessly patrolling around Red each time he sleeps perfectly encapsulates the dimensional divide at the heart of their relationship.

Many cases tackle some interesting ethical ideas too, with one memorable example forcing you to weigh up the survival of a larger settlement against the lives of a few. Another sees you discover the aftermath of a conspiracy to murder an abusive husband, with his furious ghost desperate to enact revenge. Characters react believably to your choices and deciding to sacrifice the husband’s killers rather than punishing his ghost is reflected in some less than enthusiastic remarks from Antea.

A small number of cases also affect the world itself. There are three main regions in Banishers, each embroiled in a tense leadership struggle. You can directly affect the outcome of these, determining who is in charge of each region in the future. While it doesn't result in much more than the presence (or absence) of certain characters and some unique dialogue options down the line, it makes each location much more interesting to revisit later.

They are certainly worth revisiting too. While there are a handful of mandatory cases, some of the best writing is reserved for the optional side ones. Every available case is tracked via a screen that shows your current progress in a region, alongside a convenient summary of the story so far and your key decisions - a fantastic quality of life addition. If you find yourself unexpectedly swayed from your initial vow to Ante (which can dramatically affect your ending), the opportunity to change your path at the halfway point goes a long way to eliminate the risk of being railroaded into an outcome that you’re unhappy with.

Rinse and repeat

Combat in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

Unfortunately, other elements in Banishers are noticeably less refined. Traversal and the odd environmental puzzle, which mostly sees you dragging obstacles out of the way or harnessing supernatural voids to travel great distances quickly, work well, but the on-screen compass can often make finding objectives trickier than it should be. It sometimes even points in completely inaccurate directions entirely, which can be problematic when the world seems to have been designed to be navigated in quite a linear fashion.

Accessibility features

The game's accessibility settings menu. — (Image credit: Focus Entertainment)

There are some accessibility features in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. This includes the ability to enable subtitles, alongside combat options like aim assist and a range of difficulty modes.

The few boss fights are varied and engaging, but the rest of the combat encounters eventually become quite repetitive. Generic ghosts litter the world and often emerge to ambush you without warning, forcing you into a fight. Being able to swap between Red and Antea instantaneously while you brawl, with Antea dealing more damage to certain enemies, is novel but there are just far too many encounters with basic hordes to stop it from simply devolving into mindless button-mashing.

Unlocking new skills and gear does introduce some variety in this regard, but it’s difficult not to conclude that these RPG mechanics often just get in the way of the far more interesting story. In particularly busy encounters, the performance can sometimes suffer on PlayStation 5 with a visible reduction in frame rates. While I can’t speak to the situation on other platforms, it’s disappointing for a title that has been developed exclusively with modern systems in mind.

Still, these are all minor complaints compared to the strength of everything else. If you’re searching for a more thoughtful take on the action RPG, then Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is easy to recommend.

If you’re after some superb games with great stories, see our guide to the best single-player games. For other worthwhile current-generation releases, see our guides to the best PS5 games or the best Xbox Series X games.

Ultros review – reap what you sow

11:02 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PlayStation 5
Available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC
Release date: February 13, 2024

In some faraway sector of the cosmos lies a strange spaceship, emanating colorful clouds of light and encircled by projections of swimming fish. There is a mystery surrounding this odd relic, and your job in the bright metroidvania game of Ultros, developed by Hadoque, is to uncover it and find a way out of the beautiful cycle in which the ship has you and all its inhabitants trapped.

After crash landing onto this strange ship, you soon find out that it isn’t really a ship but a giant cosmic uterus named The Sarcophagus that is holding an ancient, demonic being known as ULTROS. The only way to prevent this evil being from being unleashed on the universe is to relive a cycle over and over again, each time killing off one of the slumbering ancient beings that are found in The Sarcophagus, which gives the demon power.

Inside the spacecraft, you’ll find a vibrant ecosystem home to various strange beasts and flora. You can harvest fruit that is scattered around the multiple levels of the ship and use it to replenish health and acquire new skills. You’ll also come across various kinds of seeds that you can plant in fertile patches across the map. These will provide more food to consume and can give you a helping hand in all kinds of ways. For example, during my time navigating the maze-like levels in Ultros, I have found myself using berries to remove walls of mechanical cogs and give me a platform to access higher levels. Both are incredibly useful means to unlock new areas of the map to explore.

It’ll take you quite a while to explore everything Ultros has to offer with its expansive levels and sprawling tunnels - many of which hide secrets; there’s always more to find and plenty to do in this metroidvania. There are also distinctive sections that vary slightly in their appearance. For example, there’s the Geggamoja Refinery, which is full of sharp spinning blades, rivers of orange liquid, and industrial architecture. Then, there’s the Temple of Motherhood, which resembles a peaceful garden full of maternal statues and ancient relics.

Exploring everything that lies in Ultros is a joy; the art style is breathtaking, and the map design encourages you to make your own way around the ship, completing the main story and finding plenty of hidden secrets as you go.

Food or foe

Character fighting a massive creature — (Image credit: Kepler Interactive)

While it is lovely to wander around the levels in Ultros, it isn’t always easy. Almost every room is home to some kind of creature, and at the end of the day, these beasts are wild animals, so taming them isn’t simple. But killing them isn’t always the only way forward.

Equipped with only a small hunting blade, the ‘Unrest Tanto’, you have only a few ways to defend yourself. Early on, you are taught the basics of quick and heavy attacks, as well as how to dodge and strike in a combo move; these basics will see you through most of the fights. However, you can also access new combos like ground-pounds or jump kicks via the game’s skill web. Luckily, the controls are smooth and easy to master.

Best Bit

a conversation between two main characters — (Image credit: Kepler Interactive)

The lady in red, a huntress known as Vasa, is an integral part of you honing your abilities as a player. It took longer than I’d like to admit to defeat her, but once I did, I was proud of myself.

Oftentimes, it's easy to ignore using combo attacks in games, opting for button mashing as a substitute. But, instead of allowing players to take the easy way out, Ultros encourages combos for the sake of the animals that you kill. Killing creatures with the same attack over and over will poison them, making their death more painful. But if you can mix up your attacks using different combos, it will prevent the creature from becoming poisoned.

Sometimes, you are forced to kill animals to progress to the next room, to attain food and health, or just because if you let them be, they’ll kill you. The deeper you venture into Ultros, the more aggressive and powerful the creatures become. This also means that some of the weaker animals at the first stages become less of a threat, so you can leave them be. There’s even a skill you can acquire that masks your scent, meaning you can pass through hordes of low-level creatures unnoticed unless you begin attacking them.

Most of the creatures in Ultros aren’t too dangerous to handle; however, before you can enter the chamber of a sleeping ancient, the beings that power Ultos, you’ll have to defeat an enraged beast. These act like bosses in Ultros and boast their own special abilities. They'll often require new skills to be defeated. Maybe you’ll have to master quick and successive combo attacks, dodge incoming projectiles, or simply climb on the beast's back to access a weak point. Every time I encountered one of these animals, it took me a couple of body hits to figure out which patterns and strategies I could use to get the kill. After doing this, defeating the beasts became relatively straightforward.

The moral of the story

Character with red eyes — (Image credit: Kepler Interactive)

It’s easy to see the overarching theme of environmentalism in Ultros. Be it the respect that each creature demands or the fact that players are encouraged to sow seeds and not just take and devour resources, you can’t help but feel like you’re working with the ecosystem rather than against it.

Accessibility features

accesibility features — (Image credit: Kepler Interactive)

Developer Hadoque has ensured Ultros has a fantastic range of accessibility features. There are ways to blur the background or decrease the saturation of the vivid and bright colors, making it easier to focus on the character. There is also an option to change the subtitle font from cursive.

Ultros isn’t without fault. One of the tools you access towards the beginning of the game is an extractor. This item gives you the power to double jump and can have extensions added to it, which will help you traverse The Sarcophagus, whether that be cutting down plants or propelling you through the air. Unfortunately, the extractors felt finicky to use at times, especially when using a controller.

Some of the fights also felt relatively simple thanks to the heavy reliance on a small number of set pieces, which became predictable. However, it is still a fantastic metroidvania and a real credit to the imagination of the developers at Hadoque.

My time in Ultros was thrilling; it was immensely enjoyable to immerse myself in this mysterious and psychedelic world. Even after spending hours exploring The Sarcophagus, I’m ready to head back in, knowing that in some long-lost corner of the map, I’ve left a rock unturned.

For more games that will test your abilities, check out the best roguelike games and the best FPS games.

Foamstars review – don’t worry about foam-o

4:18 pm | February 9, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PlayStation 5
Available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Release date: February 6, 2024

The latest game published by Square Enix, Foamstars is a colorful party shooter available exclusively on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Included with a PlayStation Plus membership as a free monthly game from launch until March 5, 2024, the handful of interesting multiplayer mechanics on show might make it worth downloading if you’re a current PS Plus subscriber with literally nothing else to play.

It is simply impossible to recommend Foamstars in any other context though, as there is very little here to justify more than about an hour of your time at most. A lack of modes and maps lets down the PvP matches, while the unremittingly dull single-player missions are frankly painful to sit through. The PvE mode fairs a little better, with some unique power-ups to discover, but it is ultimately still far too repetitive to maintain interest.

To make matters worse, the game is awash with monetization, including a battle pass and shockingly expensive costume packs. Although this would be far more forgivable in a free-to-play title, it’s hard to imagine a future where the Foamstars bubble doesn’t pop once it fully transitions into a paid product.

Fear and foaming

A Foamstars screenshot showing online combat in a colorful arena. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Set in the neon-lit city of Bath Vegas, Foamstars is at its best when you’re competing in its fast-paced PvP matches. As a contestant in the Foamsmash, you’re armed with a surfboard and a foam-powered weapon that spews brightly colored bubbles across the screen. These bubbles damage enemies, lathering them up until they enter a vulnerable ‘Foamed Up’ state where they can be ‘chilled’ (the game’s rather patronizing term for an elimination) with a quick hit from your surfboard.

Best bit

A Foamstars screenshot showing online combat. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Sliding into a foamed up enemy on your surfboard to secure the chill is a treat and easily one of the strongest combat mechanics in Foamstars.

Your streams also coat nearby environments with a bouncy layer of team-colored foam, providing some cover, a small degree of vertical elevation, and, far more significantly, the ability to slide around on your surfboard at a greatly enhanced speed. Foam from the other team, in contrast, hinders your movement by slowing your surfing down to a crawl. Given their mechanical similarities, the comparisons between the foam in Foamstars and the ink in Splatoon seem almost inevitable.

Still, Foamstars contains some more unique ideas that help set it apart. For starters, Foamstars features a line-up of intriguing hero characters with their own distinct weapons and abilities. There’s a solid variety in the current roster of eight heroes, from the close-range dual pistol-wielding speedster Soa to the foam stream-spewing Rave Breaker. They all have very distinct, eye-catching designs and getting to grips with their unique quirks is surprisingly engaging.

My personal favorite of the bunch was Mel T, an adorable dessert-themed contestant who packs a powerful homing missile launcher. Sticking to the sidelines and foaming up opponents from a safe distance was a pleasant change of pace. Foaming up your opponents before smashing them out with your board has an enjoyable rhythm, but the bright colors and fast movement can make the action hard to follow in particularly hectic moments.

Hold the foam

Single player modes in Foamstars. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

It’s unfortunate, as matches in Foamstars use a very condensed 4v4 format that, in theory, should make things more easily understandable. There are three PvP modes available right now: Smash the Star, Happy Bath Survival, and Rubber Duck Party. Rubber Duck Party is a basic objective-based mode in which teams fight for control of racing a rubber duck - with the winning team successfully getting the duck to the finish line the fastest.

Smash the Star, on the other hand, is a bizarre take on a team deathmatch that sees the highest performing player named the star player. The first team to lose a star player is defeated, and keeping your star protected makes for quite a tense team-based challenge. Happy Bath Survival switches things up entirely by placing two players from each team outside of the arena, supporting their teammates with showers of colored foam. It takes place over a maximum of three rounds, with the team to win the most declared victor.

Happy Bath Survival is definitely the most engaging, but, unfortunately, matches in all three modes can feel extremely brief and often only last for a couple of minutes. While this does prevent them from ever seeming like a drag, being repeatedly booted back out into the small hub area in order to sit through a lengthy queue for a new game soon becomes grating.

It also pushes some of the more flagrant attempts at monetization to the forefront, with one of the few hub activities being staring at the various costume packs, some of which are priced at the almost comically high price tag of $44.99 / £36.99, available in the in-game store.

The fact there are only three PvP modes in total is also a shame. There are just a few very basic maps to master, which immediately detracts from the replayability of each mode. With the sole exception of a refreshingly unique casino-inspired map that features a giant spinning roulette wheel, the barrage of plain arenas quickly begins to blend into one.

A screenshot of a story cutscene in Foamstars. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Outside of PvP, there are also 18 single-player Foamstar missions to tackle. They each focus on different characters, but all follow the same laughably simple format in which successive waves of dull enemies slowly advance towards an unstable reactor in a literal straight line in a bland, boxy environment.

Accessibility features

Accessibility in Foamstars. — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Aside from the option to enable basic subtitles and change the button configuration, I could not find any dedicated accessibility features in Foamstars.

Irritating, awkwardly written dialogue plays out almost constantly while this is occurring and, aside from the odd appearance of a charming illustration and one highly concerning moment that seems to suggest the game’s foam is in fact a bodily fluid secreted by one of the characters, it all feels like pointless filler.

There are also incremental upgrades that can be bought using currency earned from each successful mission, but its benefits are so minor that the whole system can be safely ignored entirely. The online PvE mode thankfully fares better, as it brings three other players into the equation and introduces a much more engaging upgrade system that sees more substantial buffs awarded between waves. These range from small stat improvements to extra projectiles and even turrets, which, while nothing particularly special, mercifully reduces the sense of monotony to a more tolerable level.

On the whole, while the PvP component does have a few things to offer, I can only hope that future seasonal content updates will go some way to help bring the rest of the package up to par. Foamstars is, as it stands, a huge disappointment and a real waste of that multiplayer potential.

If you’re craving more games to play, see our guides to the best free games or the best FPS games for some top picks.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League review – friendship isn’t so magic

6:24 pm | February 6, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Tags: PC | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: February 2, 2024

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has a confusing opening. The superhero shooter’s tutorial starts you in medias res, leaping around with a full suite of abilities. It’s disorientating, and I found myself wondering if I’d accidentally been thrown further into the game by some sort of glitch.

Finish that tutorial, which gives you the basics on how each character controls as you guide them through the half-destroyed city of Metropolis, and you’ll be sent back to the actual start of the game, with your antiheroes stuck in prison and recruited for a secret mission. Brainiac has taken control of Metropolis, and you guys are the advance team, set to pave the way for a shadowy government agency to roll in and save the day.

The kicker? Brainiac has subverted the Justice League itself. And your collection of unpowered dweebs is going to have to go toe to toe with the biggest and best in the DC Comics universe to try and survive.

What follows is several hours of live service nonsense, punctuated with flashes of brilliance that don’t quite justify the investment. The end result is that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a dissatisfying experience, but, not to get too “release the Ayer cut” about it, will also make you wish that developer Rocksteady Studios had just been able to make the game they clearly wanted to make, rather than the slightly messy game that exists.

Jumping the (King) Shark

King shark in a hovercraft — (Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

The primary problem with Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is that most of the time is spent in an undercooked but overstimulating open world. At several points while playing co-op with another player, neither of us was entirely sure whether what we were doing was a main mission, a side activity, or just battling some of the Brainiac’s uninspiring purple minions hanging out in the open world.

The shooting itself is fine, but if you’re playing any character that isn’t my beloved King Shark, movement feels frustrating. Every character that isn’t King Shark also has a tiny health pool too, making the chaotic fights that much harder to survive.

Best Bit

Suicide Squad standing together — (Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

Your first encounter with Batman plays out like a horror segment. Each of your characters gets picked off one by one as Batman strikes from the shadows or tricks you. If this is how all of the criminals feel when they encounter The Dark Knight, I’m pro-crime now, poor guys.

The problem is that every character genuinely is completely different: the four heroes lift a collection of gadgets from the Justice League’s Hall of Justice headquarters in the prologue giving them different travel abilities. Harley can swing around using Batman’s suite of traversal tools, Captain Boomerang can teleport using some knockoff Flash tech, Deadshot has a jetpack and King Shark can… just jump really high. However, he can jump higher than the man with a literal jetpack, travel further than the person who can teleport, and just all around he has a much easier time getting from place to place than the other characters.

The characters also have their own strengths and weaknesses. Deadshot is a marksman, King Shark is happy leathering people with a pair of giant cleavers and a shotgun. There’s some variance in the game’s loot which is doled out after each mission and, like everything else in the game, is full to bursting with numbers that will overwhelm most players. However, there’s a good chance you’ll find a weapon class that works for you and just plug away with that.

In the storyline the characters also feel well-sketched out. King Shark gets a lot of the best lines, channeling James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad movie and just being wonderfully earnest even as the entire DC universe comes apart around him. The rest of the characters also get great lines (an early moment where Amanda Waller, wonderfully portrayed by Debra Wilson, declares that she’s the daddy now should get a Golden Joystick of some description), and the moment-to-moment beats are genuinely excellent, even if I’m not really into the rest of the story.

In blackest night

King Shark standing next to frozen people — (Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive )

I wince a little at the somewhat complicated canon, as Rocksteady and Warner Bros. have both been clear that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League sits within the timeline established by Arkham Asylum and its sequels. This means that the Batman lots of us bought into in those games is the same Batman that’s here massacring the innocent people of Metropolis. It’s a bold choice, but one that leaves me feeling a little uneasy. I wouldn’t be surprised if a late story addition introduced as part of the game’s live service roadmap rolls things back a bit, but I also recognize it’s just that I liked the Arkham games so much it’s a shame to watch them do Batman dirty like this.

Accessibility features

There’s a host of different controller options that include sensitivity adjustments, aim assists, input settings to allow you to auto-run, toggle aiming, and other tweaks. Three colour blind options and a custom option for you to tweak colours as you see fit and options to alter fullscreen effects make this a fairly comprehensive package on the graphics side, while detailed audio sliders allow you to alter things there too. Subtitles can be adjusted and there are text-to-speech options, too.

This is just me being a bit squeamish of characters that I have some affection for though, because this is the sort of superheroic deconstruction that we’ve seen with The Boys and even unsuccessfully in Jupiter’s Legacy Ascending. Here it’s done fairly well and the tentpole moments sing. An early encounter with Batman is legitimately terrifying, while seeing a lot of the heroes descend into unhinged madness is a treat with some inventive use of powers. However, outside of these moments, the game is done a disservice by the need to have a big open world filled with things to do. It feels like there are two different games squabbling here: the tightly scripted Suicide Squad; and the open-world live service Suicide Squad, and a lot of the friction comes from the games crashing into each other awkwardly.

You’re dragged from a tense situation where you try to remove the bombs jabbed into your neck and chucked into a quick section where you pilot a flying car around to try and blow up some of Brainiac’s crystals or something. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is consistently overwhelming, whether that’s the on screen UI, the loot you’re constantly faffing with or the byzantine skill trees.

It’s exhausting and hard to recommend when the flashes of brilliance in the game are so well obscured by everything else. So, in a way Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’s disjointed opening is emblematic of the whole game: an overstimulating exercise in confusion that has solid ideas you’ll have to dive deep to find. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.

If you're still searching for some thrilling games, check out the best multiplayer PC games as well as the best FPS games, which are available to play now.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior review – let’s do the time warp again

6:00 pm | February 5, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming PC Gaming | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PC
Release date: February 13, 2024

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is an impressive debut from Sand Door Studio and offers an interesting time-altering twist to the traditional hack’n’slash roguelike cross that has been popularized since the release of Supergiant’s Hades. Though the roguelike’s core loop does offer plenty of interesting tactical moments throughout the games eight to 10-hour run, the overall package lands short of the lofty heights reached by games of a similar ilk.

In Lysfanga, you take on the role of Imë, a mysterious warrior known as the “Lysfanga” who is sworn to protect the New Kingdom. However, when you are drawn to investigate rumors in the ancient Cities of Mayura, an old and evil enemy known as the Raxes re-emerges.

Hold your horses

Character getting struck by lightning — (Image credit: Spotlight by Quantic Dream)

The game starts with an opening exposition dump to set the scene. While credit should be given to the Sand Door team for attempting to develop the lore and history of the mystical land of Mayura, it can be a little much.

Best Bit

Character walking up stairs — (Image credit: Spotlight by Quantic Dream)

The time-loop feature is by far the most exciting aspect of combat. It allows the player to pull off impressive combos alongside getting visibly annoyed with their own past actions (at least in this reviewer's experience).

The names of people, cities, and enemies are thrown at you in a five-minute opening section to admittedly very pretty still images; unfortunately, in exposing so much early on in a bid to establish the world, the agency to then discover these stories is lost.

This apathy is condensed further by a story that has its twists and turns but never does enough to hook its claws in entirely. This problem, in part, is down to vocal performances that feel flat, with each line of dialogue carelessly shuffling to the next. But even if the performances were top-notch, the story serves only to get the player through to the next combat set piece - an excuse to move you forward rather than a compelling reason to. This lack of character is a shame, considering the craft and care that has gone into designing what is often a gorgeously detailed environment.

Battle-hardened

Character fighting enemies — (Image credit: Spotlight by Quantic Dream)

Thankfully, the core experience in Lysfanga is still incredibly solid, bordering great. When Imë arrives at a combat encounter, the game pauses and the top-down isometric view allows the player time to survey the scene.

This mechanic gives you time to spot where the enemies are, how to get to them, and what hazards might scupper them. This feature felt very similar to XCOM in that you have as much time as desired before the combat begins to work out your moves, which in turn helps add a healthy dose of control to hack’n’slash action that can feel chaotic and random in other games.

With each attempt, you have a specific time limit before you reset, and the attempt you just made is replayed via your Remnant; think time-trial ghost from a Mario Kart game but with more violence. Your previous Remnant’s actions carry across all corresponding runs. So if you took your first run up the left side, you can run up the right on your second, and all the Raxes previously slain will remain dead.

Accessibility features

town market — (Image credit: Spotlight by Quantic Dream)

Subtitles accompany the game’s fully voice-acted dialogue. The controls can be re-mapped to suit different controller configurations.

As the game progresses, levels play around with this more. Certain gates open and close when passed through. While some Raxes are psychologically linked, meaning they need to be destroyed simultaneously, and so on.

These compact battles, with increasingly exciting twists on the formula, are often brilliant. On top of this, there are recommended time challenges on each encounter. After the second act of the story, there's a whole new game mode that allows you to add modifiers to increase the challenge further and retry previous battles. For those players who are gripped by trying to find the optimal paths and quickest times, this will be the perfect hook and offers impressive replayability beyond the story.

There are some issues here also, however. Though the game as a whole runs wonderfully, some enemies feel twitchy, such as a Raxes that, when defeated, fires in a straight line and explodes. The level design clearly wants you to deploy this on the enemy, but getting this beast going in the correct trajectory often feels random. On top of this, the core fighting styles of standard, light, and heavy weapons don’t feel dramatically different from one another, and unlocked spells and runes do somewhat change the feel of the game but never really alter the encounters in any meaningful way.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior scratches the hack’n’slash itch successfully. The game is tight, the combat is slick, and it feels good to play. However, there isn’t enough content here, particularly in character build or within its story, that makes Lysfanga genuinely unmissable. Overall, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is fun and snappy; you just won’t be using your Remnants to replay it over and over.

For more thrilling games, check out the best roguelike games and the best indie games available to enjoy right now.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink review – an early contender for action RPG of the year

6:00 pm | January 31, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Tags: RPG | Comments: Off

Review information

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, PS4, PC
Release date: February 1, 2024

Granblue Fantasy: Relink is finally here, and regardless of whether you’re familiar with the franchise or not, it’s been worth the wait for what is ultimately an unmissable experience for action role-playing game (RPG) fans.

Relink’s flow is fast and energetic - something that you’ll feel throughout every aspect of the title. That goes for story progression, combat, side quests, and even cutscenes. The action RPG rarely feels like it’s dragging its heels, and this is accentuated by a compact 15-20 hour campaign that’s delightfully eager to get you to endgame content as soon as possible.

Even if you’re only staying for the story, you’ll still get an excellent slice of well-told narrative and blisteringly-paced combat that only gets better as you upgrade your favorite characters and weapons. However, you’ll likely find you want to stay with Granblue Fantasy: Relink for the long haul, as the base game has an exceptional amount of content before we’ve even had a whiff of post-launch extras or downloadable content (DLC).

Skies unknown

Granblue Fantasy: Relink takes the series’ protagonist (Gran or Djeeta, who you’re freely able to switch between) and their crew to the Zegagrande Skydom - a mass of floating islands in the sky - in their continued search for the fabled land of Estalucia, said to be a utopia among the clouds. It’s a tale that carries on the events of the original mobile game’s story. And while having some prior knowledge here is nice, it’s far from essential outside of understanding the occasional reference.

That’s because Granblue Fantasy: Relink boasts a newcomer-friendly narrative that’s still plenty entertaining. Plus, a fully-featured glossary will get you up to speed on any concepts or terminologies that may be foreign if you haven’t engaged with the series to date. Unsure as to what a ‘skydom’ even is, or want to learn more about the races that inhabit them? The glossary’s got your back. The pre-established lore can be daunting, but the game supports you entirely when it comes to learning about the wider franchise.

Regardless, Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s story is simple but effective. It’s primarily concerned with hopping the player from place to place and keeping a brisk pace while doing so. This focus means that its cutscenes and writing, while excellent on their own, don’t overshadow the best part of Granblue Fantasy: Relink; its phenomenal combat.

Steel resolve

Granblue Fantasy: Relink sees you taking a squad of four characters into its various missions, but you’ll only be controlling whoever’s in the lead slot. In single-player, your other party members are AI-controlled. This feature isn’t as much of a hindrance as it may sound, though, as you’re able to swap other characters into the lead slot any time during a mission. And you may want to, as the AI can often forget they have access to crucial buffs and skills and, occasionally, stand directly in front of oncoming attacks without even attempting to evade them which did lead to the occasional frustrating death.

Most characters have a suite of bread-and-butter combos, which are usually a string of basic attacks followed by a strong attack input. This attack style is universal across the cast, but each character also has their own traits and powerful skills to set them apart. The protagonist’s main gimmick, for example, is that their skills become stronger (up to four levels) as you dish out combos.

Most others on the cast are just as unique and interesting. Narmaya can swap between two unique stances for what is essentially two different move sets, similar to how she plays in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. Vaseraga, on the other hand, is a juggernaut who can land charged attacks to build up a gauge that lets him access even more potent abilities.

Best bit

Granblue Fantasy: Relink’s story boss fights are the highlight here. Often towering in scope, each brings forward unique mechanics that make learning every encounter feel satisfying and rewarding.

The main takeaway here is that Granblue Fantasy: Relink simply feels excellent to play. I had a blast playing with the immensely varied roster of characters and working out how their playstyles could best synergize with a party of four. There’s so much experimentation here that allows you to shape an ideal group. You can have dedicated healers and support characters among your ranks. Or if you’re feeling bold, go all-out offensive with powerhouse characters to rinse bosses quicker at the expense of the team being more vulnerable.

Completing quests and objectives affords you mastery points, which can be spent on every character's exhaustive skill tree, each of which is split into offensive and defensive skills and stat boosts. On top of that, characters’ weapons can be forged, leveled up, and affixed with items that add more stat modifiers. Then there’s sigils, which are essentially equippable motes that offer further stat upgrades. And these are essential for shaping character builds to your liking.

That said, Relink isn’t solely a numbers game. Stats help, of course, and beefier characters are required for more challenging quests. But evasive options like dodges, guards, and parries mean that skilled players are rewarded for getting right in a boss’ grill without backing down.

It certainly can be a lot to take in, though, especially as you begin unlocking new characters. It can take time to figure out where to invest your mastery points and upgrade materials best. Thankfully, Relink does a solid job of introducing all these systems over time. And quest rewards are typically plentiful, meaning you’ll be doing very little grinding even in the early stages of its endgame.

A picture worth a thousand words

Granblue Fantasy: Relink provides an excellent entry point for series newcomers, and presents slick combat with a moreish progression loop. To top it all off, the RPG is incredibly beautiful. Despite being fully 3D, Relink nails the painterly look of the mobile game.

Characters feature detailed cel-shading with hand-drawn touches like armor and weapon wear, and they’re brought to life by fantastic motion capture during cutscenes and superb voice acting across the board in both Japanese and English. The voice cast is also retained from the mobile game and Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, so if you’ve gelled with these characters for a while, you’ll feel like you’re being reintroduced to old pals in Relink.

Environments look similarly exceptional, with breathtaking vistas and skyboxes that offer an immense sense of scale, despite most maps being relatively small. It’s a wonderfully colorful game, too, really popping with HDR enabled, and bound to shine on any of the best gaming TVs.

Accessibility

There aren’t any dedicated accessibility options for Granblue Fantasy: Relink at launch. However, the game does feature a combat assist mode that helps more demanding combos and playstyles feel much more surmountable for those who need or prefer a more streamlined approach.

Performance is a big winner here, too. On PlayStation 5, there are options for fidelity (4K at 30fps) and performance (1080p at 60fps) modes. I primarily played with the latter and never once encountered noticeable frame drops. Even split-second performance dips are quite rare against the game’s most monumental boss fights.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy: Relink adds another quality product to the franchise that’s been steadily growing in popularity in the West. It puts forward a confidently fast-paced combat system with layers upon layers of customization and depth. Its extensive endgame will keep you coming back for more, long after you’ve rolled credits, with no shortage of challenging boss encounters. If you’re a series veteran or simply an enjoyer of action RPGs, Granblue Fantasy: Relink makes for essential play.

Looking to build up your gaming library? Be sure to check out our guides to the best RPGs and the best PS5 games for more titles like Granblue Fantasy: Relink.

SteelSeries Tusq gaming headset review – the best gaming earbuds for chatting

7:38 pm | January 30, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories | Comments: Off

The SteelSeries Tusq gaming headset ranks among some of the best gaming earbuds right now thanks to its superb detachable boom microphone. This offers clear communication in multiplayer games and while using online chat services like Discord with a useful secondary microphone if you prefer a more covert look. The headset’s overall sound quality impresses, too, with crisp and clean audio suitable for top titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Counter-Strike 2.

Its wide compatibility makes the SteelSeries Tusq easy to recommend no matter your choice of gaming platform, though the lackluster performance when watching movies or listening to music means that it falls short of being a better all-rounder.

There’s also the matter of the overall design, which is very compact and comfortable to wear but feels noticeably cheaper than other SteelSeries products overall. This is likely in an attempt to ensure that the headset stays a comfortable weight, but it’s still a little disappointing given the brand’s superb reputation and the product’s relatively high asking price.

Price and availability

The SteelSeries Tusq gaming headset costs $39.99 / £44.99 / around AU$74.99. This price is higher than competing products like the Turtle Beach Battle Buds, which are priced at $29.95 / £24.99 / around AU$44.99, but significantly cheaper than premium wireless options.

Compared to the Turtle Beach Battle Buds, you’re getting far better audio quality, a more streamlined design, and an improved microphone that makes the additional cost quite a compelling prospect if you have the budget.

The headset is available to buy via the SteelSeries website or at third-party retailers like Amazon in the US, UK, and Australia.

Design and features

SteelSeries Tusq gaming earbuds on a wooden table. — (Image credit: Future)

When it comes to gaming earbuds, the SteelSeries Tusq boasts a very understated design. The earbuds themselves are on the larger side but rest comfortably and securely in the ears thanks to a rigid section cable that doubles as an over-ear hook. This can be shaped to your liking with a small amount of pressure for a tighter or looser fit. This, alongside a set of alternate larger and smaller ear tips that are included in the package, ensures that they stay comfortable over extended periods of use.

Although the earbuds are plain, black plastic, the sides have a small shiny plate adorned with a SteelSeries logo which helps elevate the overall aesthetic. Unfortunately, this plate is also plastic rather than metal and leaves the earbuds feeling a little less premium in the hands than they might otherwise look.

The left earbud has a small jack on its front that allows you to attach the miniature boom microphone. While I never experienced the boom mic becoming detached or falling out of position while playing, its physical connection feels somewhat weak and could stand to be more secure. Luckily, the design of the microphone itself is much better as it’s constructed of a flexible wire which means it can be easily adjusted and positioned as you play.

In addition to a mute switch and pause button, the SteelSeries Tusq has a second integrated microphone for when you don’t have the boom mic attached. Although the quality of your voice will suffer with the boom mic removed, this greatly enhances the earbuds’ portability. Playing on the go with the boom microphone can be quite awkward, especially if you don’t want to stand out from the crowd on public transport, so the option to remove it while still being able to chat is welcome.

The package also includes a basic black carrying bag: a solid bonus that makes it easier to store the headset in a pocket without the risk of losing any parts.

Performance

SteelSeries Tusq gaming earbuds with their microphone attached on a wooden table. — (Image credit: Future)

The SteelSeries Tusq performs well across the board for gaming. The 3.5mm jack ensures plug-and-play compatibility with all major consoles in addition to PC, and I found that the light weight made them a very pleasant alternative to traditional wired gaming headsets.

The audio quality is high, delivering solid sound across multiple genres. Key audio cues like footsteps and voice communication are clear in first-person shooter (FPS) titles but there’s also more than enough bass for sound effects like explosions and gunfire to feel suitably punchy.

Thanks to the secure fit, the passive noise cancellation was effective and could block out much of the commotion when I tested them with the likes of Fire Emblem Engage and Pokémon Shining Pearl on the Nintendo Switch Lite during my commute.

It’s only when you attempt to use the SteelSeries Tusq for applications outside of gaming that any audio issues become apparent. While listening to music, the audio has almost sharp quality thanks to some very harsh midrange frequencies. This is not an uncommon configuration in audio products geared heavily towards gaming (as it allows certain sounds in games to be heard more easily) but it does negatively affect the experience if you intend to use the headphones for more general listening too.

Where the SteelSeries Tusq really cements its position ahead of the pack is in terms of microphone quality. With the boom mic attached, your voice is loud and clear with little background interference. It’s not flawless, but it’s easily comparable to a full-size gaming headset in the same price range (such as the Nacon RIG 300 Pro HX wired headset) which is an impressive achievement for such a small form factor. It’s also a substantial improvement on the crackly DualSense microphone, making this a very worthwhile upgrade for players who are currently relying on it.

On PC or mobile, it’s ideal for voice calls, and the all-black aesthetic means that it won’t look too out of place in a work meeting. The integrated microphone of the SteelSeries Tusq is less impressive, however, as it’s much quieter on the whole and does not provide close to the same level of clarity. It’s an incredibly useful backup option, but there are better all-in-one alternatives like the HyperX Cloud Earbuds if you don’t intend to make use of the boom mic most of the time.

Should I buy the SteelSeries Tusq?

SteelSeries Tusq gaming earbuds and a PS5 controller. — (Image credit: Future)

The SteelSeries Tusq is a fantastic choice if you’re searching for a pair of wired gaming earbuds. It's portable, widely compatible, and comfortable to wear. The boom mic provides superb audio quality considering the tiny size too, which more than makes up for some complaints regarding the build.

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How we reviewed the SteelSeries Tusq

I used the SteelSeries Tusq as my main pair of earbuds for over a week. In addition to attending meetings and taking calls with friends, this included plenty of gaming across consoles such as the Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch where I was careful to test compatibility.

I also used the headphones with my iPhone 13 Mini and a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter, playing mobile titles like PUBG Mobile and League of Legends: Wild Rift. I took the earbuds out and about with me on several occasions to test their performance in various public settings using both my phone and a Nintendo Switch Lite console.

For other gaming audio recommendations, see our reviews of the Sony Inzone H5 or the JBL Quantum 360X Wireless Headset.

Persona 3 Reload review – it doesn’t miss

4:02 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Consoles & PC Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

Review info

Platform reviewed: PlayStation 5
Available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Release date: February 2, 2024

Whether you’re wandering around the vibrant Iwatodai Strip Mall to grab a beef bowl, hanging out with quirky characters, or fighting fierce battles in the dead of night, it’s hard not to get fully absorbed into Persona 3 Reload. Atlus’ remake of its 2006 turn-based role-playing game is a triumph that successfully updates a slightly dated adventure into something that fans new and old won’t want to miss.

Persona 3 Reload puts players into the shoes of a quiet high schooler who moves to Tatsumi Port Island’s Gekkoukan High School as a transfer student. Upon arriving on the island, he becomes aware of the Dark Hour, an extra hour of the day that the majority of the population is blissfully unaware of. During this time, monsters called Shadows appear in the world, and only those who awaken to the power of Persona can fight and defeat them by summoning manifestations of their personality. Luckily for us, the protagonist is one of these people, and, alongside his fellow Persona-wielding friends, sets out on a quest to defeat the Shadows and uncover the mysteries of the Dark Hour.

At the heart of Persona 3 Reload is Tartarus - a sprawling, tower-like dungeon that emerges from Gekkoukan High School during the Dark Hour. More and more floors open up throughout the game’s lengthy runtime, which are filled with increasingly challenging foes and bosses to fight. Given that the floor structure randomizes each time you enter, revisiting old floors will never be quite the same. Don’t worry though; there are plenty of checkpoints, which you can transport to by using teleporters found throughout the dungeon (including the entrance).

Dangerous nightlife

Mitsuru Kirijo attacking an enemy in Persona 3 Reload. — (Image credit: Future / Sega)

Within Tartarus, players are able to use new consumable items known as Twilight Fragments. These shiny-looking objects can be obtained in Tartarus itself, as well as out in the world, as a reward for certain quests. You can use these to unlock special treasure chests containing particularly rare items, which are definitely worth cracking open whenever you can.

Using clock-like structures in Tartarus, players can spend seven Twilight Fragments to fully restore their party’s health and Spirit Points (SP), which is very handy for longer dungeon crawls. On top of that, spending Twilight Fragments can randomly spawn a special location which allows the user to select two allies to strengthen, instantly bringing them to the same level as the protagonist in the next battle they win. I can’t understate what a fantastic quality-of-life feature this is - it completely removes the need to grind EXP for any party members who’ve been keeping the bench warm, meaning you can comfortably switch the team around without any extra fuss.

Best bit

Koromaru's All Out Attack victory screen in Persona 3 Reload. — (Image credit: Future / Sega)

The fact that you can have an actual Persona-wielding dog on your team was incredible in 2006, and it still is today. Koromaru is the best boy. The fact that he runs around with a knife makes me laugh every time I see it, and yes, you can pet the dog.

The battle system itself has also been updated, perhaps most notably with the addition of the ‘Shift’ option, which is comparable to the Baton Pass mechanic from Persona 5. When one of the party knocks down an enemy (either by hitting them with something they’re weak to or landing a critical hit), they trigger ‘One More,’ giving them another action, which can be repeated by knocking down another enemy. Using the Shift mechanic, the attacking party member can provide this extra turn to a different ally, which is perfect for striking more weaknesses and building towards a powerful All-Out Attack, which can be initiated when all enemies are on the ground.

Also new to Persona 3 Reload’s combat is the Theurgy mechanic. Theurgy moves are unique to each character and boast various effects depending on the user. Junpei, for example, can unleash a powerful Slash attack on one foe, which ignores any resistances, while Akihiko can hit every enemy on the screen with a substantial Electric attack. In order to pull them off, you’ll need to fill a character’s Theurgy Gauge by landing attacks, knocking down foes, and performing ally-specific actions. For example, Yukari’s is boosted when she heals her allies. They’re instrumental in more challenging fights and look delightfully flashy, too.

Forging bonds

The protagonist speaking to Bebe in a social link in Persona 3 Reload. — (Image credit: Future / Sega)

Outside of Tartarus, your protagonist is tasked with keeping up a normal school and social life, attending lessons, completing exams, and hanging out with friends to boost your ‘social links.’ These power up the Personas you create and also provide a fantastic way to learn more about the people around you, such as those on your team and at your school - and they’re all fully voiced. Within your team, you can only complete social links with your female allies (more on that later), but special ‘Link Events’ have been added as a way to bond with your male friends. They’re time-limited, so it’s advisable to view them as they become available, and without spoiling anything, they’re well worth exploring for the extra background they can provide on Reload’s characters.

I’d also like to give a special shoutout to the new ‘Rewind’ feature, which has come in handy for me more times than I’d like to admit. Essentially, the game automatically creates a list of save states from throughout your in-game days, and you can reload the most recent few via your options menu, even if you’ve been playing a bit gung-ho and haven’t saved in a while. This feature is perfect for advancing social links effectively, as you can redo conversations as many times as you like until you choose all of the dialogue options that provide the most points. My only gripe here is that you can’t open up this menu in the middle of a conversation, so I’ve often had to fast-forward through the text until I’m finally given control again, knowing the whole time that I’ll be going through it all again in a couple of minutes.

Missed opportunities

Yukari Takeba holding an Evoker in Persona 3 Reload. — (Image credit: Future / Sega)

Accessibility features

Persona 3 Reload includes relatively standard accessibility options, with sliders to adjust the volume of background music, sound effects, and voices independently. Vibration can be switched off, subtitles can be toggled on or off for animated cutscenes, and the controls for the camera and mini map can be inverted.

Camera speed can be adjusted with a slider and set to center automatically behind the player as they move. The mini map can also be tied to the camera so that it rotates automatically depending on where you’re looking. Background brightness can be altered, too.

As a faithful remake of the original Persona 3, it’s challenging to find fault with Reload. However, it’s hard not to look at the female protagonist included in Persona 3 Portable and be disappointed that she’s not included here. Sure, this isn’t a remake of Portable, but, given that the protagonist is meant to be a self-insert, having a female character should never have been considered a bonus feature in the first place. It should have been the standard back in 2006, never mind in 2024.

Although not included in any of the previous iterations of Persona 3, it’s also a pity that the protagonist has no male romance options. While the mainline Persona series hasn’t included any same-sex romances since Persona 2: Innocent Sin, one scene in 2023’s Persona 5 Tactica allowed protagonist Joker to imagine his dream wedding with any of the main cast, including Ryuji and Yusuke, which was a promising sign of more to come. Unfortunately, Reload doesn’t follow in these footsteps, which is a real shame as it could have offered a meaningful improvement on the original. Moving forward in the series, I sincerely hope that this is something Atlus addresses.

These missed opportunities aside, Persona 3 Reload is a delight. Each area is a joy to wander around, battles are engaging, and exploring Tartarus never gets tiresome. You'll soon find yourself playing for ‘one more day’ to unlock a new social link, progress the story, or just go to your favorite eatery and live vicariously through your protagonist’s hectic social diary. The soundtrack is also fantastic, and players will potentially never hear the words ‘disturbing the peace’ without mentally bursting into song ever again.

For more games like Persona 3 Reload, be sure to check out our lists of the best RPGs, as well as the best story games.

Sybr Si1 Gaming Chair review – too limited, too expensive

6:13 pm | January 26, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming Gaming Accessories | Comments: Off

The Sybr Si1 Gaming Chair is the first gaming product from Sybr, a new division of The Senator Group - the home of the well-known furniture manufacturer Senator. While Senator’s office chairs have a superb reputation when it comes to comfort and quality, it’s hard not to conclude that its foray into gaming has started out on the wrong foot.

This is a seriously pricey seat that lacks many of the premium features found in gaming chairs for half the cost. The materials here all feel suitably robust, especially the superb castors that make moving the chair around an absolute breeze, but almost everything else disappoints.

The armrests are uncomfortable, difficult to adjust, and only capable of 2D motion. While the backrest provides adequate comfort, the headrest is awkward and hard with a static position that renders the chair completely unsuitable for those who are much taller or shorter than my height of around 185cm. The harmonic tilt, which sees the back automatically recline with your body weight across four adjustable ranges of movement, works well, but the inability to lock the recline in a static position leads to frustration.

These issues all culminate in a product that, despite some impressive qualities, seems to have been created without much real understanding of what consumers are actually looking for in a high-end gaming chair and cannot be recommended when you could easily spend less on one of the best gaming chairs instead.