By Decide Push Square’s GOTM
Following on from a couple of quieter months in June and July, we’re really starting to see the release schedule kick into high gear on PS5.
At least for people like us, who are in the business of reviewing games, August was a much busier month. A selection of anticipated titles dropped on Sony’s current-gen console, and we ended up giving out a handful of very high scores.
Amongst the winners were games like Metal Gear Solid Delta, Sword of the Sea, and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. All three claimed ‘excellent’ 9/10 reviews, and all three offer something completely different from each other.
Let’s start with Delta, a remake that’s been widely praised for being both a welcome modernisation and an incredibly faithful recreation of an all-time classic title. To be honest, we’ve never been massively keen on giving Game of the Month to a revival — be it remaster or remake — but there’s no doubt Delta is a contender for August’s award.
Meanwhile, Sword of the Sea wowed us with its intoxicatingly smooth gameplay and gorgeous art direction. It’s a Journey-like that really manages to stand on its own as a meditative masterpiece.
And then there’s Shinobi, an action platformer that’s an absolute joy to slash through. As if July’s Game of the Month winner Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound wasn’t enough to satisfy our side scrolling needs, this superb return of SEGA’s classic series is arguably even better.
But August dished out some disappointment as well. Both Mafia: The Old Country and Lost Soul Aside struggled to hit as hard as they should have. Mafia’s dated design really dragged it down, and Lost Soul aside simply couldn’t match its inspirations, despite being in development for so long.
As always, though, you don’t have to agree with our assessments. It’s almost time to vote for your Game of the Month — but first, let’s recap our winners for 2025 so far…
- January: Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
- February: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
- March: Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- April: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- May: DOOM: The Dark Ages
- June: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- July: Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
So, what are you waiting for? Vote for your PS5 Game of the Month for August in our poll, and then explain yourself in the comments section below.
Voting closes on Tuesday the 9th September 2025, at 00:00 BST.
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.