The Pokémon series has seen just as many spin-offs as mainline entries, crossing into the puzzle, pinball, fighting and even photography genres. One area untouched by Nintendo and Game Freak is the Survivors-alike auto-shooting genre. The obvious reason behind this is neither wants to be seen as a trend chaser; they’re innovators, not imitators. Here …
Mechaconda comes to us from Brazilian solo developer NATO Games, aka Renato Gomes Marcacini. Do you see? They have a limited back catalogue to use as a barometer of quality, with their one prior game being Deep Deep Deep Nightmare. Going by the lack of reviews online, it didn’t generate much buzz. Fellow Brazilians QUByte …
Capcom’s classic Mega Man series provides unlikely inspiration for this vertical shoot ’em up. After being presented with a brief introduction to a rogue’s gallery of animalistic villains, including a mole known as Toby Topside, you’re shown a familiar stage select screen that uses character portraits. From here, you can tackle stages in any order, …
Whatever fortunes are amassed in this medieval city builder, a cut must go to the king. Somewhat cheekily, this goes far beyond gold, even extending to pieces of the finest peasant clothing from the local tailor, and honey from your hives. Not even the bees are safe from zealous taxation! The time soon comes to …
Sunsoft are arguably best known for their range of quality 8-bit licensed games, second only to Konami when it came to delivering the goods with the likes of Batman and Looney Tunes. We can’t ignore how cherished their own IPs, such as Blaster Master and Hebereke, are either. One thing they aren’t remembered quite so …
Can you recall playing SEGA’s seminal Jet Set Radio for the first time? Don’t worry if you can’t, as Denshattack is here to recreate that glorious experience, more than able to jog your memory. It sports a similar vibrant cel-shaded aesthetic, has identical themes of teen rebellion, and likewise embraces graffiti culture. It’s time to …
Developed by Kalisz-based Polish developer Pixel Perfect Dude, #DRIVE Rally is an appealing arcade racer with rally stylings done in a cel-shaded manner. It’s also a loose follow-up to #DRIVE, which was originally released on mobile devices in 2019 before power-sliding onto the Switch. Now, everyone has the chance to drive recklessly around tight corners, …
It has been said that we’ll never see a generational leap like the one we saw in the mid-‘90s, going from two-dimensional 16-bit games on cartridge formats to polygon-based games on CD-based systems. While that may be true, one leap often ignored is when we progressed from the PS3 and Xbox 360 to the PS4 …
Originating from Spain during the mid-90s, this 2D run ‘n gunner is often compared to Metal Slug due to its fast pace, meaty weaponry, and focus on rescuing hostages. While it’s true that a handful of other games from publisher Galeco were brazen with their inspirations, this isn’t a case of one developer trying to …
Before wireless tech arrived, we had to make do with wired joypads, forcing us to either sit nearer the TV or pull the console out further, turning it into a trip hazard in the process. Nintendo inadvertently gave us a taste of this simpler time by packaging the NES Classic with short, wired controllers. Now …
When the almighty PS1 launched, Takara’s Battle Arena Toshinden gained a lot of press attention, even taking the front cover of various gaming mags. With its vibrant visuals, anime-style characters, over-the-top special moves, and upbeat music, this early polygon-based beat ’em up managed to dazzle. Then, just a few months later, Namco’s Tekken made the …
Clarity, or to use its full name, Clarity: The Seven Demons of Vanguardia, from developer Team Quantum Games and publisher eastasiasoft, is pretty descriptive. It’s down to you to defeat the titular seven demons across a sprawling map in the grand Metroidvania style, even if it is actually not much more than an ordinary platformer. …
Now is a great time to own a Switch 2. In addition to Nintendo putting out new releases regularly, publishers are porting the cream of the past generation’s crop to the system, often at enticingly low prices. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a great example: a rich and varied third-person narrative adventure, with a …
I love me a turn-based game, having cut my teeth on UFO: Enemy Unknown (aka XCOM) on PC and the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on GBA. That last one is still resident in my GBA SP, as it happens. Though I should probably get an IPS screen conversion as that display has aged …
Decades ago, almost every publisher going took a stab at establishing a football franchise, licensing individual clubs and players to lend brand recognition. By the time the Xbox 360/PS3 generation rolled around, EA and Konami had the genre under tight control with FIFA and PES, eventually becoming untouchable to competition. This still rings true today …