Richard 
Ara Fell’s inspiration is obvious from the moment it begins – Super Nintendo RPGs. It’s how you remember 16-bit games looking whenever fondly recalling the ‘90s, but far more technically accomplished than any SNES game could ever hope to be. The number of sprites and detail within the backdrops would have made Nintendo’s much-loved` machine …
There’s no point in reviewing the new Animal Crossing. You’re already playing it. Everyone on your friend list is playing it. You’re probably reading this on your phone while casually fishing. But I do have some random thoughts i’d like to share. I’m really enjoying myself Animal Crossing is as fun as ever. It’s gentle, …
Travel Mosaics 2: Roman Holiday isn’t about mosaics and nor is it really about travel. It’s actually about nonograms – aka Picross – and it’s vaguely about Italy. A superfluous name, for certain. It’s like Nintendo naming the next Mario game Star Collect. That’s vaguely the aim. But not really the point. Travel Mosaics 2: Back 2 the Hood entails logic …
I am Sisyphus. Doomed to push a rock up a hill for all eternity, watch it fall and roll it back up. My rock is the Dual Brain series of games. I review one, scrambling to hit a word count whilst describing six simple mini games. Then they release a new one, and I go …
As you’re no doubt aware by now, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is great. It’s full of wit, beautiful to look at and unabashedly Nintendo. Sadly, it also shows just how convoluted Nintendo’s online functionality is. I wanted my friend to come to my town so we could swap fruit. My island is lush with pears; …
This follow up to Dual Brain Vol. 1: Calculation made me think of Radiohead, in the way that both make me think everything is pointless. Vol. 2: Reflex is a brain training game that makes absolutely no effort to justify its existence. Dr Kawashima would sell you some snake oil pseudoscience about making sure you’re …
Football games can be compared to clubs. FIFA is obviously Manchester United. A commercial juggernaut off the pitch, but a bit aimless on it. PES is Arsenal. Once great, underinvestment has turned it into a postcard of managed decline. Football Manager is Borussia Dortmund. It shouldn’t have the resources to compete in the big leagues, …
The Warhammer 40K universe is brilliant. Set in a world rippling with esoteric detail, it’s so quintessentially British. It brings together living-dead Emperors, weird Roman Christian iconography, and a bunch of eccentric green-skinned Orks. Moreover, there are no good guys and everyone’s a fascist. It’s just a shame that the tabletop game itself is finicky …
Maths and puzzles are great. Sudoku? Fun. Garam? Fun. Calculations? Fun. Dr. Kawashima knew this, and that’s why he put his name to Brain Training on Nintendo DS, which went on to sell over 19 million copies. That caused a lot of people to sit up and notice, including researchers who found the effects of brain …
Travel Mosaics puts a Parisian twist on Picross. For the uninformed, Picross puzzles are logic puzzles (also known as Nonograms) which provide a grid and a set of numbers to create a picture. The interaction of these numbers allows you to fill in the puzzle, before sitting back happy and smug while marvelling at the …
Imagine, if you can, that you’re an escaped convict who comes across an abandoned house in the dead of night. If you’ve ever played a game, watched a movie, or read a book you know what to do: run away fast. No good story started with finding an empty house. Even the abandoned abode in …
It’s a case of survival of the fattest in this cross between Snake and Feeding Frenzy. You play as one of three types of (monster) bugs, munching your way through vegetation, people and other bugs. Every chomp propels you up the food chain – eat something outlined in green or another bug, and you’ll grow …
In the distant future, the highest-rated TV show sees people jettisoned on a desolate planet and filmed as they try and survive for as long as possible. Billions watch as participants run and gun their way through alien hordes, in a desperate bid for survival. Still, things could be worse – it could be hosted …
Don’t judge a book (eShop release) by its cover (menu icon). On first glance, Spirit Roots appears to be a cute-as-a-button platformer. Quite literally, in this case – the main character is crafted from wool and buttons. But while its exterior might seem family-friendly, the language it caused me to shout definitely wasn’t. Let’s start …
What makes a game a game? I ask this because Winter’s Daydream has just launched on consoles and PS Vita, and it contains almost no interactivity whatsoever. Is it a game? Does it matter? A visual novel without choices or branching paths, it’s a linear experience progressed by either pressing A to move onto the …