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 …
Have you ever walked past a corporate building and wondered what’s inside? After curiosity strikes, Ayana lines herself up for an interview with tech firm Helios. They’re heralded as the saviour of mankind after creating an unlimited energy source that now provides the entire planet. This evaluation to become a Helios agent goes incredibly well, …
It’s often easy to pinpoint the spark of inspiration that led to a game’s creation, indie releases especially. In the case of this latest release from Unbound Creations (Rain on Your Parade, Just Crow Things, Leaf Blower Man) it’s harder to spot. It has a distinct tech-demo feel due to featuring countless pieces of discarded …
Becoming absorbed in a good book while soaking up the sun at the beach is a joyous pursuit. Sure, you could take a Kindle or similar along, but that’s risky business knowing sand gets everywhere – charging ports included. Noticing a demand for a book at the beach, Tiny Bookshop casts you into the role …
Considering its relative obscurity, Jaleco’s Goal! series has quite a confusing history. Different regions gained versions under different branding, with examples including Super Goal! rebranded as Super Cup Soccer for the Japanese market, and the Famicom sequel ditching the ‘2’ in the title – making it appear the same as the US original. Then there’s the …
Billed as the lovechild of Metal Slug and Earthworm Jim, this side-scrolling shooter makes good on that fascinating fusion. It has the explosive weaponry of Metal Slug along with hostage saving side-quests, while from Earthworm Jim it borrows not just its warped sense of humour – with our hero being a human haphazardly fused with …
From fixed camera horror games to retro-style first-person shooters, indie developers have successfully brought back numerous previously defunct genres over the years, all of which were once deemed no longer profitable or popular by the biggest publishers out there. One genre indie studios don’t get much credit for reviving is the humble single-screen platformer. There …
Do you know why so many Marvel video games were released during the ‘90s? The answer is…video games. Rather than buying comic books, American youths started spending their precious quarters playing the likes of Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II in the arcade, while buying mags such as EGM, GamePro and Nintendo Power to keep …
Acclaim of yore cast their net wide when it came to publishing deals, putting out a diverse range of products. There was no ‘house style’ – which led to a varied catalogue of wrestling, arcade racers, children’s licensed platformers, and even rugby sims. Modern Acclaim, which relaunched last year as an indie label, are clearly …
I was on the cusp of adulthood when Neopets hit the internet in 1999, and so I wasn’t exactly in the target demographic despite owning a Tamagotchi just a few years earlier. That said, I was following the development of a late (2003) PS1 3D platformer based on the franchise. It was running so late …
What’s in a name? A lot in this case. During the early ‘90s, Jaleco released a trilogy of scrolling beat’em ups for the Super Nintendo. This series could have been poised as their answer to Capcom’s Final Fight or SEGA’s Streets of Rage, but pesky regional localisation meant that each entry was given a unique …
Even as a console owner in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, I knew that the Last Ninja trilogy was held in high regard amongst owners of the C64 and ZX Spectrum. It was often championed in the multiformat magazines of the era and could be seen riding the UK sales charts high. Even when the …