Barely a month has passed since Konami announced Contra: Rogue Corps, yet our enthusiasm for the third-person shooter is so low that it had already faded from memory. It wasn’t until making good progress on this review that we remembered it exists, spoiling an intro in which we suggested Konami should give the developers of …
During the straightforward introduction stages, Grass Cutter lives up to its not-particularly-ambiguous name. You could even lazily describe it as a grass cutting sim, tasking you with casually mowing every square of grass within a small garden while avoiding hazards and keeping an eye on the battery gauge. This is the game at it most …
Although the name ‘Car Mechanic Simulator’ makes the premise obvious, we still weren’t sure whether to expect a serious and po-faced experience or something sillier in the vein of Surgeon Simulator. It’s not hard to imagine a game where engines catch fire and fountains of oil erupt while performing a routine service, prompting you to …
This platformer is of the monochromic variety, set within a stark, black and white world. You control a small black dot, able to change colour and move only at a snail’s pace. Getting around quicker involves changing colour to alter the direction of gravity – only objects of the matching colour support your weight, so …
Justice is a difficult thing. A young stable boy of limited cognition ties a saddle loosely. He doesn’t want to hurt the horse. His master yells at him for a job badly done, the boy pushes the master down the stairs. The master breaks his neck and dies. What verdict would you give? What about …
The ‘80s microcomputer scene saw many homegrown quintessentially British games, adapting the quirks of British life into every genre possible. Some even formed new genres during their creation – the sandbox-style Skool Daze took a typical day at school and allowed gamers to express their disobedient side, writing on blackboards and refusing to sit down …
Giving certain games the review treatment feels pointless. For instance, listen to this: It’s almost as if developers NG:DEV TEAM knew this musical piece alone would bring back fond memories of the Amiga 500. Going one step further, if you’re aware of Gunlord X’s existence you’ve probably handed over your hard-earned eShop credit already. For …
We can all agree old age comes on suddenly. For Galand, the hirsute hero of this action platformer, it comes on a little too sudden after a witch transforms the young adventurer into an elderly gent. Worry not, as he’s still able to fight, dash, and leap through the air like a youngster. A platformer …
The titular homestead refers to the cosy abode belonging to Tim, the protagonist of this first-person horror adventure. It initially seems the house is somewhere peaceful to spend downtime between chapters, looking for scattered pages of his missing girlfriend’s diary while taking in other forms of environmental storytelling. But after the first trip back home …
“The developers must be on drugs!†was a phrase uttered by many ‘80s and ‘90s journalists, usually when a game featured a nonsensical plot or an enemy assortment consisting of household objects and whatnot. During the early noughties, it was a phrase seldom seen, with publishers refusing to release anything that would easily confuse the …
2012’s SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed was an outright celebration of all things SEGA. Nobody can deny Sumo Digital didn’t go the extra mile when it came to fan service, resulting in something even one of SEGA’s in-house studios would struggle to top. What a difference seven years (and a lower budget, presumably) make. Team Sonic …
Browsing the menu for this eagerly awaited collection is akin to opening a ‘Mars & Friends’ selection box at Christmas time. With so many delectable treats on offer, it’s difficult to know where to start. There’s a trio of time-tested favourites – the Snickers, Twix, and Milky Way (the original NES trilogy), which instantly satisfy. …
We’ll be honest – we didn’t even realise an Xbox One release of SNK 40th Anniversary Collection was planned, believing it was destined for Switch and PS4 only. It may have arrived later than the other versions (and it’s also digital only, which defeats the point of video game preservation somewhat), but Xbox One owners …
Witch Thief is the latest attempt to take such classics as Smash TV and Robotron and update them with a 3D coat of paint, all the while colliding them with twitchy Japanese shoot ‘em ups. Question is, is it a Sabrina-style reimagining, taking something old and twisting into something new and fun, or is it …
This isometric auto-runner boasts a decent amount of content, easily able to justify its £8-£9 price tag – roughly double the price of Sometimes You’s previous titles. Once the tutorial world is out of the way you’re greeted by 125 stages spread across five worlds, including the occasional boss battle, plus unlockable characters all of …