Skautfold: Usurper | PS5 Review

Red Art Games, and their onboard developer Pugware bring to us what seems to be a continuation of the ongoing, and evolving Skautfold indie series. Unlike the first game though, "Skautfold: Usurper" goes the 2D metroidvania and soulsborne route. Taking the player on an action packed adventure as the villainous character Waltham who finds himself malformed, and tossed amongst London's corpses in some ungodly cesspit. Reeling from some previous encounter Waltham possesses the dead body of a knight to survive. The poor unfortunate soul that is Sagart has no choice, but to do the bidding of his new parasitic partner lest he returns to rot. Thus in a joint effort Sagart, being guided by Waltham, reluctantly pursues a fleeing Navigator who is the only way off of London. 

Army of Ruin | PS5 Review

Army of Ruin is Milkstone's resounding answer to the growing craze that is auto-shooters. While "Vampire Survivor", the OG auto-battler/shooter, held the crowd's attention for a while I think this creative take on the new genre is the definitive Usurper of the throne. It is a modernized budget priced new-gen game built for the PS5. Taking the genre to new heights with innovative features. The visuals are 3D in nature with a whimsical fantasy appearance accented by enhanced lighting and special effects. Not only is it a step above the competition visually, but content-wise it is also something more robust.

Centered around five fantasy realms with unique biomes, and mythical creatures 'Army of Ruin' has you taking on insurmountable odds against swarming mobs with experience gained abilities. Within these realms lie challenges that must be met in order to unlock more heroes, weapons, trinkets, and features which are the core offerings of "Army of Ruin". Against ranked play that rewards accordingly the higher the rank, and 10 waves per playthrough you will either come out of the fray victorious, or fail miserably attempting to survive. Thankfully all is not lost upon death, and coin earned during a gameplay session can be put towards permanent upgrades meant to make each following undertaking easier.

Brave Soldier - Invasion of Cyborgs

Aliens only want one thing, and it's disgusting. All joking aside the aliens or cyborgs in this run 'n gun action platformer actually want to steal Earth's resources, and destroy it after they're done ... which is pretty disgusting ...

As a lone gun toting soldier aware of this impending doomsday scenario you take up arms and face the threat as the would be savior of the world. Hence the title, "Brave Soldier - Invasion of Cyborgs". Spanning 30 stages of various terrains, and hazards you are tasked with clearing out the enemy, their explosives stockpile, and the bosses that lie in wait at every 10th stage. It's an undertaking made difficult by approach, bullet range, and limited health. Thankfully death is not the final nail in the old coffin though, and die as you might you can still pick back up with previous score in tow at the latest checkpoint. The reward for doing so? Saving humanity, and looting some priceless PlayStation trophies in the process ...

Raiden III x Mikado Maniax | PS5

NISA once again brings to us an impressively enhanced port from the popular Raiden shoot'em up series. This time in the form of "Raiden III x Mikado Maniax" for the PlayStation 5 console. As with "Raiden IV Mikado Mix" this latest rerelease returns with extra features not included in the original arcade cabinets. It includes a fully customizable soundtrack featuring three different styles along with different artists whose newer songs can be unlocked in the main mode of play simply by reaching score milestones. This in addition to applicable wallpapers earned in a similar fashion as well as art gallery entries, demonstration videos, and the ability to switch between TATE mode and other screen orientations are options tailor made for a player preferred experience. 

Beyond all that, the core game and it's 7 stages remain intact, but visually upgraded for the PS5, and more content rich than ever before. It is a bullet hell experience from yesteryear that caters to the gamer with features aplenty.