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 …
You may have a good idea of what to expect from something called Priest Simulator. We’re going to be listening to confessions, standing solemnly at funerals, putting on fundraisers to fix the church roof, and performing exorcisms, right? Well…yes. But you also play as a demonic vampire who finds themselves caught in a holy war …
Long time PlayStation fans may recall Namco’s Cyber Sled – an arcade sci-fi tank shooter that came to Sony’s brand spanking new console not long after the publisher’s own Ridge Racer. While Cyber Sled will likely gain an Arcade Archives re-release at some point, Hamster has chosen to release this 1994 follow-up first. Considering Cyber …
Even though I worked weekends at a newsagent while in college, I was a little worried that inKONBINI’s unique brand of nostalgia would be lost on me. It takes place in a Japanese convenience store during late 1993, and as such, features products and imagery inspired by that era – from magazine racks lined with …
The name “Adorable Adventures” may not inspire much confidence, sounding uncannily similar to Switch eShop shovelware, but you only need to play it for a minute or two – or perhaps even just glance at the screenshots – to discover that it has been blessed with a modest budget. This is evident not just in …
True to its name, this Lovecraftian-inspired horror commences on a shoreline. Setting the tone of dread and despair, the shore is peppered with wreckage from small fishing boats, skeletal remains from former crew included. Such sights no longer faze protagonist Andrew, the last inhabitant of this accursed island. Every attempt to return home has resulted …
When Vampire Survivors launched to critical acclaim, it ushered in a wave of imitators. The first of these weren’t up to much, cobbled together with various recycled assets and mostly relying on their themes (sci-fi, primaeval, steampunk, etc) to stand out. Today, things are a bit different. The roguelike auto-shooter genre has proven itself not …
When the all-conquering PlayStation launched in 1994, it arrived with some of the most impressive games around. By the time it was superseded by its successor and entering its twilight years, circa 2003, the release roster couldn’t have been more different. Amongst the tired annual sports updates, Platinum reissues, and the moderately big name releases …
Due to being described as a retro style survival horror, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from Malformation Games’ debut release. While it definitely makes good on its promise to provide an experience recalling Capcom’s 32-bit era horrors – with a little bit of Silent Hill and Parasite Eve …
Finally, a relatable video game. Way back in middle school, every pupil was encouraged to dress up for a charity fun run around the school field. The next evening was then spent crudely creating a robot outfit using two cardboard boxes taped together and wrapped in tin foil – think Eric Cartman’s Awesom-O. While other …
Back in 2024, a Kickstarter launched to fund this brand new Mega Drive shooter – one intended to push SEGA’s humble 16-bit system and delight dedicated fans who still have a Mega Drive (or Genesis) hooked up to a dusty CRT somewhere. News of ZPF’s campaign spread through the retro gaming community, helping to smash …
The saying “There’s no smoke without fire” rings true in this Slavic folklore-filled fantasy adventure. Playing as an Asher – a fire mage able to see and alter memories of the past – you’re tasked with restoring the timeline, ergo altering the fate, of an entire village. This is achieved by trekking across the Finnish countryside …
Much like 2024’s puzzle platformer The Meating, this side-scrolling action game resembles a NES classic of yore, but isn’t something that could have existed during the NES’ heyday. This isn’t so much to do with looking and playing like a NES game on steroids – with numerous sprites on screen at once, fast action, and …