It’s always neat when a demo of an upcoming game has more to offer than just a level or two. I’m not referring to things like ten-hour trials, as beneficial as they are, but rather when a developer turns a demo into a standalone product, such as a prologue. That’s the case with KIBORG: Arena, …
When I play games, I play with the experience gained from other games. I might mess around with the combat system to see how it differs from similar titles. I might look at the responsiveness and intuitiveness of the controls and compare them to genre standouts. With Endless Ocean Luminous things were remarkably different; I …
The Official PlayStation Magazine UK was renowned for putting the biggest and most anticipated PSone games on its front cover, usually alongside a demo disc with a playable teaser. A winning combo to help that month’s issue fly off shelves. Whatever was tipped to become the PSone’s next big hit almost certainly took the cover …
Every month of this year, including the typically quiet months of January and December, has seen a handful of must-play releases. An assault not just on gamer’s wallets, but their spare time as well. Browsing through 2023’s release lists, it soon becomes apparent that dozens of positively reviewed games failed to generate much of a …
Christmas is fast approaching, and social media is awash with recycled memes. Yes, even more than usual. In addition to guff about Die Hard being a Christmas movie, UK retailer GAME’s infamous Christmas Tinner appears to be doing the rounds again. Back in our day, it was only rubbish BBC Christmas specials that were repeated. …
On paper, Wanted: Dead puts a lot of ticks in a lot of boxes. Originating from Japan, it’s a gory third-person shooter with hack ‘n slash elements, blessed with a smattering of silliness and a bunch of mini-games that wouldn’t look out of place in SEGA’s Yakuza series. It also reminded me of SEGA’s overlooked …
After observing a Japanese salaryman playing with a calculator while travelling, Nintendo’s R&D director Gunpei Yokoi was left feeling inspired. An idea for a handheld toy sprung to mind, not for children but rather for adults to play discreetly in the palm of their hand to pass time. Nintendo’s president Hiroshi Yamauchi realised the potential …
There aren’t many games around that allow you to re-live the innocence of being a child. Unless those games are ones you previously played as a youngster, you’re hard pressed to find something that awakens the inner child, knocking at the door of long forgotten memories and emotions. However, there is a fine line between …
Three years after the coronavirus pandemic hit Japan, resulting in the closure of hundreds of arcades nationwide and even SEGA selling its chain of game centres to Genda, you’d think few companies would be willing to invest in new arcade software and hardware. Yet here we are with Chase Chase Jokers, a brand new release …
If you’ve played Nintendo’s monochrome marvel Zelda: Link’s Awakening, then you may feel a sense of familiarity with Time on Frog Island. Specifically, Link’s Awakening’s optional trade quest that entailed swapping items with certain characters, starting with a Yoshi doll won from a claw machine. Time on Frog Island takes the concept of ‘trading …
I have in my mitts the first festive issue of Sonic the Comic, dated November 27th1993. It wasn’t the closest issue to Christmas, but it did come with a cardboard tree decoration. Now seems a good time to talk about this issue, the history of Sonic the Comic, and my relationship with Fleetway’s fortnightly publication. …
It’s time once again to talk about games that were overlooked or have perhaps become forgotten about as the months went on, with this year’s list featuring two titles that launched as far back as January – almost a year ago. Funny, that. A handful of honourable mentions seems like a good idea. Our recommendations …
If you read our weekly new release round-ups, you’ve likely noticed that Square-Enix releasing a new RPG almost every week has become a running joke. The joke being most RPGs tend to be vastly timing consuming, while aimed at a certain audience. It’s a mystery how anybody could possibly find the time to play them …
Games Asylum contributors Jay and Zayne are about to release NekoNecro, a hand-drawn 2D platformer with a three-year development and lots of fine-tuning. Obviously, reviewing it would be considerably shady – a huge conflict of interest. We even stepped back from a preview. But we still want to get the word out of its imminent …
With the exception of Rich, who has been busy playing Blade Runner on Switch while traveling, the team’s plan to beat the summer heat seemingly involved staying indoors while playing console games. With a freezer full of choc ices nearby, it’s a plan that’s hard to fault. Games with Gold freebies – Matt I’m …