When it comes to arcade-style shoot ’em ups, there are around a dozen I can distinctly remember playing for the first time, all of which left a lasting impression with their lavish visuals and rich mechanics. Truxton, Radiant Silvergun, Gradius V, Ikaruga, and Deathsmiles all fall into this camp. Psyvariar also makes this list, released …
So vast is Jaleco’s back catalogue that dozens of games contained within it are rarely mentioned nowadays, not even gaining the occasional screenshot post on social media along with the obligatory prompt asking if anyone remembers them. Heck, even covering news of this mecha shoot’em up remake required extra research, with the 1984 arcade original …
Around the time Enslaved: Odyssey to the West launched, I drafted a feature looking at every game inspired by the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West. Despite having a fondness for Monkey King and co, this planned piece didn’t come to fruition. We’ve seen so many recent releases based on the novel, including Black …
First impressions can change in mere moments – either for better or worse. Playing an anticipated new release to find that it suffers from poor performance and input lag can be disheartening. Conversely, you may play something that doesn’t look too hot only to find a new favourite – and that’s always a minor pleasure …
It’s always nice to know what you’re getting into. Lord knows that I would have appreciated knowing that some of the pixel art RPGs I recently reviewed were 20-30 hours long, and not the 8-10 I foolishly assumed going in. First-person horror Village of the Curse makes its intentions clear within moments, noting that it’s …
Christmas 1993 was my introduction to Accolade’s furry mascot, with the first Bubsy gift-wrapped under the tree alongside the Super Nintendo Mario All-Stars bundle. While Bubsy earned a few positive reviews in the gaming magazines of the era and was certainly presented nicely, it didn’t take long for adolescent me to realise something was off. …
Inti Creates, of Mighty Gunvolt and Bloodstained fame, returns with this fusion of an action RPG and a city builder. You increase your level and gear in 2D hack ‘n slash platformer stages, before heading home to spend your hard-earned rewards on building a city, complete with taverns, shops and more. It’s a nice idea, …
Predictably, this physics-based puzzler starts off simple, giving players a chance to learn its controls and mechanics. More unpredictably, this grace period lasts far longer than it needs to. It isn’t until twenty minutes in that the first puzzle with a ‘fail state’ appears, and even then, the difficulty level thereafter remains low. In fact, …
Welcome to the abyss. This moonbase megastructure was abandoned after being consumed by a force known as The Scourge. Now a prison, those incarcerated can knock a few years off their stay by taking on missions considered too dangerous for anyone else. This proposition tempts our heroine, Fawkes, a jailbird with a hefty sentence. It …
There’s something very appealing about slot machine roguelikes. The mechanics of a gambling device translate well to the genre, lining up matching reels perfectly either for a huge payout or a damaging blow. The flashing lights, pitched sound effects, and chinking of coins are all pleasing to the senses too. Recently, CloverPit and Luck Be …
Back in 2021, the relaxed town-building art tool (of sorts) Townscaper hit PC and Switch, and more crucially, Xbox Game Pass. Now, five years later, comes SUMMERHOUSE – a similar chilled experience centred around creating cosy neighbourhoods, with a special focus on sun-drenched locations. While it isn’t available on Game Pass, which is the ideal …
Many indie games in the roguelike genre can be considered unassuming. Rune Dice fits that bill, predominantly featuring a single screen consisting of a dice pit and little else. The same could also be said for the smash hit Vampire Survivors, with its diminutive crudely animated sprites. It’s not until playing these games for a …
Without wanting to sound like a broken record, there was a time in the late ‘90s and early noughties when 2D visuals had fallen out of fashion. Some ‘90s critics even scoffed at the PS1 and Saturn versions of In The Hunt – a precursor to the almighty Metal Slug, sporting a similar art direction. …
Do you believe it’s okay to judge someone entirely on their taste in music? American teen Stacy Rockford thinks so. She also believes that life should be accompanied by a bespoke soundtrack, full of transcendent highs and melancholy lows. When the time comes to move home and say farewell to her closest friends – the …
I can’t remember exactly what I was into at the age of five, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say the delightfully clashing worlds of He-Man and Postman Pat. As for video games, I almost certainly knew of them, but still had a couple of years to go until owning a vastly …