Some games hand you the reins. Brigandine Abyss hands you a rulebook, points at a warring continent, and expects you to get on with it. It’s very enjoyable once it clicks, but getting there took hours of playtime and a couple of YouTube sessions. Reviewing games is only a hobby for me, not a career, …
The original No More Room In Hell debuted in 2011 as a Half-Life 2 mod in the grand tradition of Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead. Where NMRIH differed from Valve’s zombie shooter was in its eight-player cap, as opposed to the tightly curated gang of four. Also setting it apart was the fact that you …
If it wasn’t for the fact that this is a sequel, I could believe that the Marsupilami licence was added to this platformer mid-development. Like its predecessor, it showcases platform mastery usually associated with Nintendo and its carefully chosen partner studios. That’s to say, there was clearly a desire here to make a polished platformer, …
All is not well in this titular lagoon. A storm has torn through the tropical archipelago, ruining the lives of the oddball critters that live on the various, otherwise calm, islands. Lou, a kind soul many are proud to call their friend, has also gone missing, believed to be somehow connected with the storm emerging …
In a rare departure for this reviewer, I’m reviewing a Switch game. Other than the fact that screenshots are a huge pain to copy off the system one at a time via the smartphone transfer, or bulk copy via the microSD card, it has been quite fun to dust off my Switch to play something …
Wasting no time, this gooey fusion of a visual novel and a rhythm action game explains its premise in the first few seconds of play. You’re cast as the young witch Claire, who enters the Doggie Underworld in search of her missing prized pooch. There’s no drawn-out opening cut-scene or backstory-expanding prologue; Claire makes her …
Last year saw the release of A Game About Digging A Hole, a self-explanatory minimalist experience that became a surprise hit, spawning countless clones. Berry Bury Berry presents a similar concept – you’re tasked with throwing berries into an ominous, growing hole in return for a shower of coins – but its presentation and means …
When modern-day Acclaim showed off its inaugural sizzle reel around a year ago, a few games stood out more than others, showcasing elements from the typical output Acclaim of yore was associated with. HYPERyuki: Snowboard Syndicate appears to be a fusion of SSX and Trickstyle, while survivors-like Ground Zero Hero features Matt Groening-esque character designs. …
The ‘Commander’s Edition’ subtitle makes it clear that this WWII tank shooter is an expanded version of an older game, similar to how complete editions often re-release on newer formats with obligatory upgrades. While playing Panzer Knights’ tutorial, I found myself trying to guess its original release year and platform. The flat, occasionally smudgy textures, …
It says something when you find yourself bringing a game’s protagonist to a standstill just to pan the camera around and gawp at the visuals. Open platformer Duskfade is a fine example of this, with many of its fantasy locations leaving an impression. Spanish developer Weird Beluga has managed to employ every Unreal Engine 5-powered …
Are you terrible at retro sports games, or even sports games in general? Pro Jank Footy is here to make you look like the gaming equivalent of Bobby Charlton. Its main gimmick is a collection of randomised perks and power-ups designed to level the playing field, quite literally, as one of these can reset the …
From New Zealand-based husband-and-wife outfit Eat Pant Games comes Teeto, a fun, brightly coloured 3D platformer that at first glance recalls Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie. A shout-out goes to the misquoted Simpsons reference. The titular Teeto is an amorphous blue lab experiment, technically called T33-T0, while the Kazooie equivalent is Nory – though rather than a smart-talking …
Never take your work home. For young motel worker Emma, who has a pleasing penchant for retro gaming, there is really no choice. After catching the bus home following a long introductory shift, she starts to notice peculiarities in and around her small apartment. The assumption is made that a disgruntled customer, whom Emma called …
At first glance, Viking Frontiers is the kind of game I tend to steer clear of, resembling a typical job simulator. Cut down trees, smash apart stones, tend to your cabbages, etc. Fortunately, it reveals itself to be more of a survival game. You wake up stranded on a distant island among the ruins of …
Here’s a short story. Around the turn of the millennium, when retro gaming was in its infancy, I was at a house party, attempting to mingle with people I barely knew. A few hours in, someone turned up with a bulging carrier bag. It wasn’t full of cheap booze as you may expect, but rather …