Tag: PlayStation

The Marvel’s Wolverine Battle Yellow DualSense, Claw Marks and All

Hardware Review · Purchased September 16, 2026 · $114.99 CAD via EB Games

DualSense Wireless Controller, Marvel's Wolverine Battle Yellow Limited Edition
Photo credit: PlayStation.com

The Setup

I need to correct myself here: I originally had my eye on a third-party pro controller for this slot, but then Sony dropped the Marvel’s Wolverine Limited Edition DualSense lineup to coincide with the game’s launch, and that plan went out the window immediately. The Battle Yellow version, styled after Wolverine’s Battle Reborn suit with slash marks torn across the shell like his claws just raked across it, was too on-the-nose for me to pass up. I picked it up at EB Games about a day after launch, once the initial pre-order rush had died down.

Living With It

Underneath the paint job it’s a completely standard DualSense, adaptive triggers, haptics, the works, and it performs exactly as well as any other one I own. What sells this edition is purely the aesthetic: the claw-slash graphic cuts diagonally across the whole shell in a way that actually looks like damage rather than a printed decal slapped on top, and the bold yellow really does pop next to the muted grey and white controllers that make up the rest of my collection. It’s a genuinely striking piece sitting on a shelf even powered off.

Being a limited-run licensed controller, it commands a premium over a standard DualSense for zero functional upgrade, which is the same complaint I have with basically every special edition I buy and somehow never stops me from buying the next one. Stock also moved fast; by the time I got to a store a few of the other regional retailers carrying it were already sold out of the yellow version, so if a specific colorway catches your eye, don’t wait around.

Close-up of the claw-slash detail on the Marvel's Wolverine Battle Yellow DualSense
Detail of the claw-slash graphic. Photo credit: PlayStation.com

What I Liked

  • Claw-slash graphic looks genuinely sharp in person, not like a printed sticker
  • Bold Battle Yellow finish stands out on a shelf full of standard controllers
  • Same excellent adaptive trigger and haptic feedback as any other DualSense

What I Didn’t

  • Premium price for zero functional difference from a standard DualSense
  • Limited run means popular colorways can sell out fast

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

A great-looking tie-in controller if the design speaks to you, and it landed at exactly the right moment to catch me off guard and empty my wallet.

Where to Buy

The Astro Bot Joyful DualSense, Round Two of Buying a Controller for the Paint Job

Hardware Review · Purchased September 12, 2026 · $114.99 CAD via PlayStation Direct

DualSense Wireless Controller Astro Bot Joyful Limited Edition
Photo credit: PlayStation.com

The Setup

I already own the original Astro Bot DualSense from the game’s 2024 launch, so buying the newer Joyful Limited Edition when it showed up on PlayStation Direct this month was purely a case of not being able to resist a second colorway. This one leans into a brighter, more playful palette than the original’s launch design, tying into the game’s ongoing post-launch content rather than the base release itself.

Living With It

Functionally it’s identical to every other DualSense on the market, which is exactly what you’d expect and exactly what you want from a cosmetic special edition. The adaptive triggers and haptics work as well as ever, and the only real difference between this and my existing Astro Bot controller is the paint job and the accompanying box art. The new design does read as more vibrant and toy-like in person than the original’s cooler blue-and-white scheme, which fits Astro Bot’s tone better if I’m being honest with myself about which one I actually like more.

Buying essentially the same controller a second time purely for a different paint job is not a purchase I can really defend on practical grounds, and I’m aware of that. But between this and the original, I now have a small matched pair that looks great sitting side by side on my shelf, and sometimes that’s just the whole point of a purchase like this.

What I Liked

  • Brighter, more playful colorway than the original Astro Bot DualSense
  • Same excellent adaptive trigger and haptic feedback as any other DualSense
  • Looks great displayed alongside the original as a matched pair

What I Didn’t

  • Zero functional difference from a standard DualSense, purely a style purchase
  • Hard to justify owning two Astro Bot controllers on any practical grounds

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

A great-looking controller if you’re already invested in the aesthetic, but there’s no pretending this was a necessary purchase.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator 2: Same Great Grime, Better Toolkit

Game Review · Purchased October 23, 2025 · $37.50 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator 2
PowerWash Simulator 2. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

After an entire year of buying nearly every crossover pack the original PowerWash Simulator put out, picking up the actual sequel felt less like a purchase and more like an inevitability. The sequel drops the fictional town of Muckingham on players, with new locations including Sponge Valley, Power Falls, and Lubri City to scrub clean.

The Review

The core loop is exactly as satisfying as it’s always been, which is the correct instinct for a game this beloved for its simplicity, but the sequel adds real mechanical texture rather than just reskinning the original with new levels. Multi-stage jobs give individual cleaning tasks more structure than the original’s more single-note approach, and new tools like an abseiling rig and a cherry picker open up verticality that the first game never really had a good answer for.

The bigger structural change is multiplayer: split-screen co-op alongside online play for up to four people turns what was always a solo, meditative experience into something you can genuinely share with friends or family, and it works well without disrupting the low-stakes, relaxing tone that made the original a hit in the first place. Small additions like a customizable home base and a cat companion are the kind of low-effort, high-charm touches that this series has always been good at.

Coming off a year of buying five separate crossover packs for the original, this sequel makes a genuinely strong case that it will be worth doing the same thing all over again once its own crossover content starts arriving.

What I Liked

  • Core cleaning loop remains as satisfying as ever, with real new mechanical depth
  • New tools like the abseiling rig and cherry picker add welcome verticality
  • Split-screen and online co-op meaningfully expand how the game can be played
  • Small charm additions like the customizable home base and cat companion

What I Didn’t

  • Still fundamentally the same core loop as the original, for better or worse
  • No crossover content yet at launch, which was a huge part of what kept the first game interesting all year

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

A genuine improvement on a game that didn’t strictly need fixing, and the new co-op options alone make this an easy recommendation for anyone who enjoyed the original with a friend looking over their shoulder.

Where to Buy

Dying Light: The Beast, A Standalone Sequel That Earns Its Own Name

Game Review · Purchased October 18, 2025 · $89.59 CAD via PSN

Key art for Dying Light: The Beast
Dying Light: The Beast. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

Originally planned as DLC for Dying Light 2 before growing into a full standalone release, The Beast follows Kyle Crane, the protagonist of the original Dying Light, now carrying both human and zombie DNA after years of captivity and experimentation. Set in the new, zombie-infested valley of Castor Woods, it blends the series’ trademark first-person parkour with a new dual playstyle built around Crane’s monstrous abilities, plus up to four-player co-op.

The Review

The parkour, the series’ defining strength since the original game, feels as good here as it ever has, fluid traversal across a genuinely well laid out map that rewards momentum and vertical thinking over just running in straight lines. Bringing back Crane specifically, rather than a new protagonist, gives the story a sense of continuity the more recent mainline entry sometimes lacked, and the new beast abilities add a satisfying second layer to combat that goes beyond the usual crafting-and-melee loop.

Castor Woods as a setting strikes a good balance between the series’ urban roots and something a little more open and rural, giving traversal a different rhythm than the tightly packed cityscapes of past entries without losing what made the movement systems fun in the first place. Whether this fully justifies growing from planned DLC into a full-price standalone release is a fair question, but the amount of new content and the strength of Crane’s return make a reasonable case for it.

What I Liked

  • Parkour and traversal remain the series’ strongest asset, and it shows here
  • Bringing back Kyle Crane gives real narrative continuity
  • New beast abilities add a genuinely fresh layer to combat
  • Castor Woods is a well-designed change of pace from past settings

What I Didn’t

  • Started life as DLC, and the full-price ask reflects some growing pains from that transition
  • Newcomers without prior series context may miss some of Crane’s return’s emotional weight

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

For longtime Dying Light fans, this is an easy recommendation, sharp parkour, a satisfying new combat layer, and a genuinely welcome return for Crane. Worth checking current pricing before buying, since it launched at a premium for what began life as an expansion.

Where to Buy

PlayStation Plus Essential: The 12-Month Plan I Should Have Bought Last Year

DLC Review · Purchased February 21, 2025 · $106.39 CAD via PSN

PlayStation Plus Essential tier artwork
PlayStation Plus Essential. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

After reviewing last year’s single-month PS Plus Essential top-up and explicitly calling out how much worse the per-month math was compared to the annual plan, I actually followed my own advice this time and bought the full 12-month Essential subscription upfront.

The Review

The service itself is unchanged from last year’s review: online multiplayer access and a rotating monthly selection of free games, delivered exactly as advertised without incident. What’s different is purely the math, and the math is genuinely better here. Paying once for the full year works out to meaningfully less per month than the single-month purchase I made in December, which is the whole reason this review exists as a kind of quiet correction to last year’s entry.

There isn’t much drama to a subscription renewal done correctly. It’s the boring, sensible version of the same purchase, and boring and sensible is exactly what you want from a recurring cost like this.

What I Liked

  • Meaningfully cheaper per month than paying monthly, exactly as expected
  • Same reliable online access and monthly game claims as always
  • A rare case of actually taking my own advice from a previous review

What I Didn’t

  • A larger upfront cost, even though the per-month value is better
  • Locks you in for a full year rather than leaving room to cancel if your habits change

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

If you use PS Plus regularly, this is simply the correct way to buy it. Nothing new to report on the service itself, just a smarter purchase than the one-month top-up from last year’s list.

Where to Buy

PlayStation Plus Essential: 1 Month, The Subscription Top-Up That Taught Me a Lesson

DLC Review · Purchased December 19, 2024 · $13.43 CAD via PSN

PlayStation Plus Essential tier artwork
PlayStation Plus Essential. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

A single month of PlayStation’s entry-level online subscription tier, required for online multiplayer access and monthly free game claims, purchased as a short-term top-up rather than a longer commitment.

The Review

There is genuinely not much to review about a subscription service doing exactly what a subscription service is supposed to do: it granted online access and monthly game claims for the month I paid for, without incident. The real lesson from this purchase is entirely about math rather than the service itself: paying month to month like this works out to meaningfully more per month than committing to PlayStation’s 12-month plan, which is a common subscription trap across basically every service in this category, not unique to PlayStation specifically.

What I Liked

  • Does exactly what it promises, no complaints about the service itself
  • Useful as a genuine short-term top-up if you only need a single month

What I Didn’t

  • Noticeably worse per-month value than committing to a longer subscription term
  • Easy to accidentally overpay if you use PS Plus regularly but keep buying single months out of habit

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Only makes sense as a genuine short-term top-up. If you use PS Plus regularly, the 12-month plan is meaningfully cheaper per month than paying monthly the way I did here.

Where to Buy

Life is Strange: Double Exposure, A Solid Sequel That Does Not Quite Match the Original

Game Review · Purchased December 22, 2024 · $44.99 CAD via EB Games

Key art for Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

Double Exposure catches up with original Life is Strange protagonist Max Caulfield years after the first game, swapping the original’s time-rewind mechanic for a new parallel-timeline system: rather than rewinding a single reality, Max can shift her perception between two diverging versions of the same moment.

The Review

Having replayed the Remastered Collection earlier in the year specifically to prepare for this, I went in about as primed as a player can be, and the writing and voice work that made the original resonate are clearly still present here: grounded character moments, a strong sense of place, and performances that carry a lot of emotional weight. Where reception, and my own experience, landed more mixed was the central mystery plot and the new parallel-timeline mechanic itself, which several reviewers and I both felt was less tightly constructed than the elegant simplicity of the original’s rewind power.

It is a game that clearly wanted to evolve the formula rather than just repeat it, and I respect that instinct even where the execution did not fully land for me the way the original did over a decade of hindsight and cultural conversation behind it.

What I Liked

  • Strong writing and voice performances consistent with the series’ reputation
  • New setting and older Max give the story fresh emotional territory to explore
  • Genuine attempt to evolve rather than repeat the original’s mechanics

What I Didn’t

  • New parallel-timeline mechanic feels less tightly constructed than the original’s rewind system
  • Central mystery plot underwhelmed compared to the series’ past narrative highs
  • Best appreciated with real prior investment in the series

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

For existing fans of the series, this is a worthwhile continuation, but if you are new to Life is Strange, start with the Remastered Collection first rather than jumping straight into this one.

Where to Buy

The Casting of Frank Stone: A Well-Made Detour Into Dead by Daylight’s Universe

DLC Review · Purchased December 21, 2024 · $41.93 CAD via PSN

Key art for The Casting of Frank Stone
The Casting of Frank Stone. Photo: Steam

The Setup

A standalone narrative horror game set within the Dead by Daylight universe, developed by Supermassive Games in the same branching-choice, cinematic style that defines their Dark Pictures Anthology work.

The Review

The Supermassive DNA is unmistakable throughout: strong atmosphere, solid voice acting, and a branching-choice structure that gives individual playthroughs a genuine sense of consequence. As the last purchase of my entire 2024 spreadsheet, it closed the year on a reasonably strong note, atmospherically at least. Where reception, including my own reaction, landed more mixed was on how well the story actually capitalized on its connection to Dead by Daylight’s established lore, several reviewers felt the link to that wider universe was more surface-level connective tissue than a substantive deep dive worth the price of entry for existing Dead by Daylight fans specifically hoping for real lore payoff.

What I Liked

  • Strong atmosphere and voice acting consistent with Supermassive’s other work
  • Branching choices give real weight to individual playthroughs
  • A solid horror narrative on its own terms

What I Didn’t

  • Connection to Dead by Daylight’s lore feels more surface-level than substantive
  • General narrative-horror fans without franchise attachment may want to wait for a discount

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Reasonable for horror and Dead by Daylight fans specifically looking for more narrative context on that universe, general narrative-game fans may want to wait for a sale before jumping in.

Where to Buy

PS5 Pro: The Most Expensive Way to Notice a Frame Rate

Hardware Review · Purchased December 9, 2024 · $1,075.18 CAD via EB Games

PlayStation 5 Pro console
The PS5 Pro. Photo via Best Buy Canada.

This was the single biggest console purchase of my year, and it is also the one I have gone back and forth on the most while writing about it.

The Background

Sony announced the PS5 Pro in September 2024 with Canadian pricing set at $959.99 before tax, positioning it as a mid-generation refresh rather than a true next console: better and more consistent ray tracing, higher and steadier frame rates in supported titles, and a beefed-up GPU, all while keeping the same basic PS5 software ecosystem and game library rather than starting over. It also ships with a built-in 2TB SSD, up from the base model’s smaller drive, which mattered to me given how quickly modern installs eat through storage.

I picked mine up at EB Games in early December, and the total I paid ($1,075.18) reflects tax plus whatever accessory or bundle got attached at checkout on top of that base $959.99 price. By the time I bought in, launch week chaos had settled and stock was reasonably available, which was one small mercy in an otherwise expensive month.

Living With It

The honest starting point here is that the PS5 Pro is a real, measurable upgrade, but only in games that specifically support its enhancements. Sony calls this “PS5 Pro Enhanced,” and through the back half of 2024 that list was still filling in rather than covering the full library. In supported titles, the difference is genuinely noticeable: steadier frame rates during busy scenes, meaningfully improved ray-traced reflections and lighting, and in some cases the ability to run performance-mode frame rates at what used to be quality-mode resolution. In anything outside that enhanced list, you are playing the exact same experience as a base PS5, just on more expensive hardware.

The built-in 2TB drive is a genuinely welcome quality-of-life improvement on its own, and it means less immediate pressure to add an internal expansion drive the way base PS5 owners often need to.

Where this purchase gets harder to defend is the price-to-benefit math. Going from a base PS5 to a PS5 Pro costs roughly the same as buying a second console, for improvements that, outside of enhanced titles, you will not notice at all during actual play. This is squarely a purchase for people who already care about frame pacing, resolution, and ray tracing fidelity at a level most casual players simply do not track moment to moment.

What I Liked

  • Noticeably better and steadier performance in PS5 Pro Enhanced titles
  • Meaningfully improved ray tracing quality where supported
  • Built-in 2TB SSD solves the storage anxiety base PS5 owners deal with
  • No ecosystem changes, every existing game and save just works

What I Didn’t

  • Enhanced title support was still incomplete through the back half of 2024
  • No visible benefit at all in non-enhanced games, which is most of the existing library
  • At over $1,000 CAD out the door, this is priced like a luxury upgrade, not a necessary one
  • Requires you to already own or be replacing a base PS5, so the real cost comparison is steep

The Value Verdict

Rating: 3/5

I do not regret this purchase, but I also cannot recommend it to everyone. If you are the kind of player who genuinely notices frame pacing dips and resolution compromises, and you have the specific games in your rotation that support the Pro enhancements, this delivers real, tangible improvement. If you are a more casual player, save the money and put it toward the games themselves.

Where to Buy

Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale, More of a Formula I Still Enjoy

DLC Review · Purchased November 20, 2024 · $71.76 CAD via Xbox.com

Key art for Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale
Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Background

Disney Dreamlight Valley built a loyal audience by blending cozy life-sim mechanics (farming, decorating, friendship building) with actual Disney and Pixar characters and storylines, and The Storybook Vale is a premium expansion pack adding new realms, characters, including Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, and story content on top of that established foundation.

Living With It

This is the priciest DLC purchase in my entire 2024 spreadsheet, and coming in above the $70 mark puts it in a different category than the roughly $12 PowerWash packs and $21 currency bundles that make up most of this section. That price is more defensible than it might first appear, given how much new content the expansion actually adds: new realms to explore and decorate, meaningful character-specific storylines rather than generic filler quests, and enough new systems and content to genuinely extend the life of a game that some players had already worked through the bulk of.

Reviews at launch (and my own time with it) landed on similar ground: this is a well-produced, content-rich expansion that clearly understands what the existing Dreamlight Valley audience wants, more of the same core loop, done well, with new characters and settings to wrap around it. What it is not is a reinvention of the formula, and a small number of reviewers specifically flagged that as a minor disappointment given the price point, wanting the premium expansion to push the format somewhere genuinely new rather than expanding it along the same lines.

For someone already invested in the base game’s rhythm, spending an evening building out a new Rapunzel-themed area of the valley delivered exactly the kind of relaxing, satisfying progression loop that made the base game worth playing regularly in the first place.

What I Liked

  • Genuinely substantial amount of new content, not a thin premium reskin
  • Rapunzel and Flynn Rider’s storylines are well written and true to the source material
  • Extends the life of a game I was already invested in rather than replacing what worked

What I Didn’t

  • The priciest DLC purchase of my entire year, worth going in with clear expectations
  • More of the same established formula rather than a meaningful evolution of it
  • Value is heavily dependent on already being invested in the base game’s core loop

The Value Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Reasonable if you are already invested in Dreamlight Valley as an ongoing game, this delivers real, substantial content. Just know going in that this is a “more of what you already like” purchase rather than a must-have reinvention.

Where to Buy