Skate Story: PS5 Review

Developed by Sam Eng
Published by Devolver Digital
Platform: PS5

The skate sim has run its course.

In truth, while the likes of Tony Hawk made it a profession to skate, the genre has become too fixated on popping the perfect ollie or grinding away for points.

Enter Skate Story, a game that within its opening moments flips the genre on its head and makes the concept of a skating sim and its tutorial feel fresh and vibrant after years of tedium and similarity. 

In this game, from Sam Eng, you're a demon who yearns to escape the underworld, trapped as he is by the sight of the glowing moon, hanging full in the sky. An opening prologue tells you the moon keeps the demons down - but that one is fed up of the oppression and looking for a way out.

That way out, is to become glass, skate and consume the moon. Yes, it sounds bonkers but within the opening moments of chasing a rabbit through portals, popping ollies and kick flips, Skate Story had singlehandedly changed the game in more welcome ways than one.

Visually, it's a psychedelic, abstract affair. Colours refract through the character as if they were a prism, a demon on a quest with easy controls to boot, Skate Story visually soars. Yet it never changes away from the mechanics of a skating game as the story progresses and while you'll need to remember combos, the game's way of integrating those in feel smart, clever and above all, fluid.

There's a narrative adventure here than propels Skate Story along, rather than a skater sim that's a slave to its mechanics. It's a vital distinction and one that makes Skate Story a joy to play, not a chore to grind.

It's also best to enjoy the story as it unfolds in its weird touches and its surrealist edges. This is where Skate Story excels - the creativity that Eng has brought to the genre is nothing short of admirable and while 2025 may be racing to a close, this is once again proof that indie titles have freshened the game immensely this year - and Skate Story is a welcome addition to the brilliant pantheon of great games of 2025.

F1: The Movie: Apple TV Movie Review

Cast: Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Damson Idris

Director: Joseph Kosinski

In many ways the racing film has become largely narratively redundant.

An underdog story in whatever form it takes with the inevitable mix of racing and a diabolical crash that threatens everything, its beats are obvious to all.

So it is with F1 the movie, a film that brings nothing new to the genre and despite the promises of its director to take you further into immersion than you've ever been before and yet somehow offers nothing different to donning a VR helmet and playing PlayStation's Gran Turismo series.

What it does have - aside from a fawning approach to glamourising the world of the track so much that it becomes a corporate video extolling its brilliance - is the laconic charm of Brad Pitt as washed-up racer Sonny Hayes.

With his surfer sunglasses, physique and laid back attitude Pitt exudes calm - albeit too much for a man whose demons are supposed to haunt him early on in the film.

Offered a chance by former colleague and now struggling team owner Ruben Cervantes (Bardem) to recapture his glory days and slay that white whale of defeat once and for all, Hayes finds himself embedded in the world of Formula 1 and in a team that doesn't want him complete with a rising star colleague who resents him.

But as Hayes brings his own unique style of maverick (and somewhat underhand) behaviour to the sport, is he doing what's best for him or for the team?

F1 the movie is cliché riddled with perfunctory dialogue that is as shallow as it comes. From exposition spouted by commentators as track voiceover and races that are reduced to truncated moments rather than a full-on event, the film finds itself saddled with elements of shallowness that are hard to shake.

And while the action is immersive enough and as high octane as you'd expect from a production scared to upset its endorsers, there's little tension on the track to warrant real suspense.

Off track doesn't fare much better unfortunately.

But in scenes where Pitt engages with others  - chiefly love interest and team head technician Kate, played by Kerry Condon with warmth and heart there's a hint of what this redemption story could have been, rather than a cursory once-over the tropes of the genre.

Sadly though this is a film less interested in those vignettes and keener on impressing petrolheads revved up on Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

Consequently this Pitt stop ends up feeling like nothing new, like a race has been run many times before and with results that are obvious to see from anyone who's ever watched any sporting underdog movie ever made.

F1: The Movie begins streaming on Apple TV from December 12.

Kaku: Ancient Seal: PS5 Review

Developed by BingoBell
Published by Microids
Platform: PS5

2025 has been a great year for creativity to reign in the gaming world.

With indie games and less-bloated titles ensnaring more players than ever, the push has been more about smaller teams getting their hooks into players.

The latest to do so is the open-world styling is Kaku: Ancient seal. You take the role of Kaku, a boy on a mission to restore balance in the world.

Living in the snowy mountains, he finds himself suddenly involved in a legendary adventure by a forgotten prophecy. and saddled with a helpful flying pig companion.

With a world shattered into four pieces, it's up to you to save the day. Armed with a club and a slingshot, Kaku must face battles and enemies by either stunning them or clubbing them outright. Coupled with Piggy's additional abilities, the game finds surprisingly charming ways to keep you engaged.

With a simplistic level of presentation and a solid flow, the game's open world and ease of play make Kaku a charming game to play along and to engrossing yourself in. Along with different environments, from mountains, to deep blue oceans, or from sandy cliffs, or lush forests, there's plenty to visually appreciate. Along with puzzles that sit in differing settings, the game has plenty to offer casual and hardcore platformers.

Along with simple skill trees and a gameplay that is easy for anyone to pick up and play, Kaku Amcient Seal once again shows that smaller games really do signal the future of the industry.

Ella McCay: Movie Review

Cast: Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Kavner, Woody Harrelson, Albert Brooks, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani
Director: James L Brooks

Ella McCay is a film that likes its words.

But rather than revel in language and enjoy the witty uses of language, it's one that likes to saddle its characters with dialogue full of word salads and ways that people would hardly ever speak.

Supposedly wise beyond her years, the ever-brilliant Mackey's Ella McCay is on the cusp of greatness within the small town political world. A second-in-command to Governor Bill (a grounded and earnest Albert Brooks) she suddenly finds herself thrust into the top job after he's given a position within the Senate.

But as what should be Ella's pinnacle reaches its nadir, her estranged father (Harrelson) reappears, and a potential scandal involving her and her husband Ryan (Slow Horses star Lowden) emerges throwing her into crisis.

Ella McCay doesn't seem like it's sure of what it wants to be. Drowning in overly wordy dialogue with word salads falling from every characters' mouth, there's a distinct feeling of other worldliness here as characters speak in ways rarely witnessed by normal people.

As a result, the film seems at pains to keep its audience at arms' length as it pushes on with his Obama-hope-filled edges and tale of a sister reconnecting with her agoraphobia brother.

There are some tender moments within and Curtis' screentime with Mackey feels lived in and real, their disappointment at how family have treated them feeling realistic and natural- as opposed to every other bit of dialogue throughout this.

And Julie Kavner aka Marge Simpson is a brilliantly human presence as Ella's long-suffering PA, confidante and friend - and narrator of proceedings.

There's a nonsensical ending too which wraps up everything in an unwanted bow, but with such abruptness you'd get whiplash - if you were so invested.

Ultimately Ella McCay is a flailing film, one which talks about hope coming from trauma. Unfortunately, the trauma is so great here, the only real hope is that the movie will soon end.

Eddington: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone
Director: Ari Aster

Ari Aster's latest plunges us back into the world of lockdowns, division and isolationism.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe Cross, the sheriff of smalltown Eddington, a petty-minded man who lives at home with his wife who abhors his touch and his conspiracy-filled mother. 

Refusing to wear a mask despite a state-wide mandate enforced by Eddington's mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal, woefully underused), Cross decides after a confrontation in a supermarket where he defends a maskless inhabitant to launch a bid for the mayoralty.

What happens after is a growing schism and farce as things begin to spiral murderously out of control.

Aster's desire to go back to late May 2020 is supposedly about satire, but all this occasionally rambling story does is simply present a "remember when" mentality, rather than delving into the issues. Throwing in Black Lives Matter as well serves a much similar purpose.

While most of his back catalogue has seen hysteria and paranoia involved in some shape or form, Eddington simply becomes another entrant rather than a stunning addition.

(It's also telling perhaps how divided we still are that of all the insane conspiracy theories put up on screen, not everyone in the entire audience laughs).

Phoenix is insanely watchable as the desperation sets in and his behaviour at the 90 minutes mark is deeply shocking. Yet it's never clear he's anything but immersed in his small man mentality beforehand so there's no sense of a descent into it. However, that doesn't stop him being from anything less than compelling throughout a bloated run time.

Aster is more impressive when the film heads into darker territory with his eye for unsettling comes to the fore and the blood begins to flow.

But while large swathes of Eddington compel, the ultimate lack of coalescing hurts this - a film about how insanity pervades, how big tech sneaks through when nobody's looking and how those mired in their echo chambers have become amplified in their ignorance.

It's got the trappings of something very interesting, but much like any conspiracy theorist when confronted, it doesn't have as much to say as you'd hope.

Dangerous Animals:Blu Ray Review

Cast: Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston
Director: Sean Byrne

An unashamed B-movie that knows exactly what it wants to do and does it with a degree of glee, The Loved Ones' director Sean Byrne's latest is all about twisting the norm.

A swaggering Courtney plays Tucker, the owner of a swim with sharks boat who hides a deadly secret. However, when Harrison's surfer drifter Zephyr crosses his path, she's suddenly in a fight for survival.

Courtney's rarely been better, mixing charisma with menace in the opening scenes with equal aplomb. It helps that he's clearly decided to throw caution to the wind and embrace everything that's asked of him - from espousing speeches that drip with sarcasm to dancing around in underpants and kimono, he burns up the screen, keeping things on just the right side of what's needed.

But it's not just his film - Harrison's Zephyr is a "final girl" who does more than what's needed for her arc, where she goes from having nothing to live for to someone fighting for survival. The script keeps things on the right side of grounded as well, and while there are a few moments where there are lulls given the fact it's a four hander film, there's much to keep audiences invested.

There are also some beautifully shot sequences of sharks as well - Byrne's clearly got an eye for what works in the water. And while the peril's largely on the boat, this film's barely at sea at all - it does exactly what it needs to do and does it with its eye squarely on the prize.

Rental Family: Movie Review

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hara, Mari Yamamoto
Director: Hikari

Rental Family has potential - an idea inspired by a side of Japanese life barely seen on screen and a story that could have teetered on exceptional.

Unfortunately, it falls into the mawkish side of things, and led by a Brendan Fraser who just falls back on looking glum in parts when the story demands it.

Fraser plays lost American actor Philip Vanderploueg, who broke through with a toothpaste commercial seven years ago and failed to reach any further heights. When his agent calls the jobbing actor, offering him a role that requires a sad American and pays well, he finds himself thrust unexpectedly into a funeral.

Afterwards, offered more work because the agency needs "a token white guy", Philip signs up, unsure of what he can give to the job and soon finds a connection he'd been missing in Japan. However, when he's asked to be the absent father of a young girl, whose mother wants to get him into a prestigious school, he finds himself in the toughest role he's ever had.

As an idea, Rental Family makes great fist of the need for connection in a world that sometimes shuns it. From plenty of interstitial shots of a busy Japan, swarming with people to scenes of Philip in his lonely apartment watching the lives of others, there's plenty of moments which mark out his inability to be accepted into life there.

Yet Hikari's story becomes one that dwells on its sentiment and makes its improbability stand out because of its narrative weaknesses. It's obvious that Philip is ill-equipped to be part of this world and the naivete that turns things around later on almost feels like an unabashed white saviour story.

Fraser is fine in the role, but the character development does evolve past a walking sad emoji in parts and as such, it holds back the film from excelling where it should. A more subtle approach and a building on the idea that he'll never fit in or understand (as one character tells him at one point) would have made this a more compelling and less mawkish watch.

As it is, Rental Family is a disappointment - it has its heart in the right place, but its execution leaves too much to be desired. And what could have been truly unmissable simply ends up feeling a syrupy mess that sadly sticks in the throat.