Out this week: Sker Ritual, Grounded, Harold Halibut, ArcRunner, Richman 11, Dave the Diver, PERISH, more

There’s something fishy about this week’s new releases, and we don’t mean the games themselves. Well, that’s not strictly true. The PlayStation formats gain the indie sensation Dave the Diver – a deep sea fishing RPG, with exploration during the day and restaurant management at night – while the stop-motion ‘future retro’ narrative adventure Harold …

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Thirty-six years later, Beyond the Ice Palace finally gains a sequel

Back in 1988, Commodore 64, Amiga and Spectrum owners found Elite’s action platformer Beyond the Ice Palace to be a more than sufficient alternative to Ghosts ‘n Goblins – which was also published by Elite on home computers. Today, PQube has a sequel. Beyond The Ice Palace 2 is coming to all current formats, and …

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RoadBlasters – from Atari coin-op, to a forgotten toy line

A few years ago, we looked at the partnership between SEGA and the radio-controlled car manufacturer Tyco, which resulted in Pocket Power – a unique line of pocket-sized toys, varying from launchable cars to glow in the dark skeletons. This wasn’t the only unlikely partnership between a toy car manufacturer and a video game giant, …

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1930’s cartoon shooter MOUSE powers-up with new arsenal

A new teaser for the 1930’s ‘rubber hose’ style cartoon shooter MOUSE has crawled out the woodwork, reminding us all to eat ‘five a day’ – in this case, cans of spinach. Yes, our gun-toting mouse will be able to ‘power up’ with cans of the green stuff and lay the smackdown to his fellow …

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Open Roads review

Whenever the term ‘road trip adventure’ is used, it’s easy to conjure images of unscheduled pitstops, backseat arguments, unforeseen accidents including vehicle breakdowns, drab motels, and gas stations frequented by dubious individuals. Open Roads is pitched as a road trip where a mother and daughter discover a startling family secret, and while it does include …

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Alchemist: The Potion Monger review

It isn’t clear where the recent trend of potion brewing-based games began, but we’d wager it’s a combination of Harry Potter reaching a new generation and the popularity of the Magic Mixies toy line – which may also explain The Potion Monger’s bright purple cauldron. It seems that the developers behind this unique genre are …

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Felix the Cat review

Now here’s a collection that’s equal parts fascinating and puzzling. Hudson Soft’s 8-bit Felix the Cat platformers are rarely mentioned, with the NES version being a reasonably late arrival on the system. One of the last NES games to feature on the cover of Nintendo Power, no less. The Game Boy version is expensive nowadays …

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Freedom Planet 2 review

When it came to their next project, the team behind Sonic Mania trekked into the intrepid world of 3D platforming and came out looking rosier than ever with the recent Penny’s Big Breakaway – a fun and capable platformer, with inviting mechanics. Galaxy Trail, meanwhile, has decided to brush up and refine their 2D talents …

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Set in the ’90s, ‘inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories’ involves running a Japanese store for a week

Back in 2020, Coffee Talk invited players to become a barista and listen to their customers’ stories while sipping a hot beverage. Over time, secrets and revelations started to spill about their day-to-day lives. inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories, from the Tokyo-based Nagai Industries Inc and fresh from an appearance in Famitsu, presents a similar proposition. …

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Nightdive are bringing back the forgotten 3DO FPS PO’ed

Nightdive Studios has waited until today, of all days, to announce PO’ed Definitive Edition. While many on social media brushed it off as an April Fool’s Joke initially, it’s definitely happening – and there’s a Steam page, with required PC specs and achievements, to prove it. It’s also very much in Nightdive’s wheelhouse, with retro …

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