succeeds in adapting Housemarque's trademark style of fast, action-packed, arcadey action to the 2D platformer genre, but it feels like a puzzle half solved. There's virtually no content here after you finish its exceptionally short campaign, outside of some harder difficulty modes and a global...

Matterfall is a challenging and engaging arcade shooter.

Sci fi fo fum

Matter and Striking are great mechanics; Shooting is satisfying; Great to look at

Checkpoints can be far apart

It's another gorgeous shooter from Housemarque.

Still, this is a fine Housemarque game, and a decent shooter on its own merits. There's a personality and character to the developer's games that you can't find anywhere else, and given how Sony's moving away from its former indie darlings (the arrival of Matterfall, a PS4 exclusive, has been met...

A strong, confident warrior dons her power suit. With an energy blaster augmented to her arm and the silent confidence of countless victories, she is humanity's salvation against the invading alien hordes. It might sound familiar, but it probably isn't who you're thinking.

Amazing Graphics; Easy/Unique Controls; Excellent Soundtrack; Replayability

No Visual Customization; Too Short

Masters of the indie game, Housemarque and Sony Computer Entertainment have gone hand-in-hand in recent times. Following the commercial success with Resogun, Dead Nation and Alienation, and keeping in the spirit of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", Housemarque hits their stride with the latest...

Matterfall is another game in developer Housemarque's particle-effect-heavy catalog. Drenched in neon and engulfed in a thumping techno soundtrack, it posits itself as a game for those interested in tackling challenging side-scrolling action and chasing high scores.

Strike is a great addition to Housemarque's suite of mechanics; Riveting soundtrack meshes perfectly with the chaos on screen; Captivating presentation replete with sci-fi flourishes and impressive particle effects

Long load times interrupt the live-die-repeat style of play; Fails to use tried-and-tested mechanics in meaningful ways; Stiff controls don't mesh well with challenges built to test your agility; The important dash ability feels unreliable without a proper cooldown indicator

As with Nintendo, Sony has been at the forefront of producing great console-exclusive titles that rank among the best in the business, and one only needs to take a glance at Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, or Heavy Rain to see what we mean by that.

Despite developing some of the most revered titles on the PS4, I'd actually never played a title from Finnish developer Housemarque before Matterfall ; although the universally high review scores for their recent output certainly piqued my interest, in all honesty the shoot-em-up bullet hell genre...