Gray Dawn review

It’s the end of January and the dust has settled on last Christmas, with UK supermarkets currently clearing out leftover stock at rock bottom prices. If you’re eager to extend the yuletide season a little longer, Gray Drawn presents a unique proposition – it’s a horror adventure with a prominent biblical theme, taking place during …

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Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, Hitman: Blood Money, Hidden Through Time 2, and The Legend of Steel Empire hit the Switch

The Switch misses out on Tekken 8 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but it’s a busy week regardless, with the usual mixture of multi-format games, system exclusives, and retro re-releases. Capcom’s Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is one of the bigger games of the week, featuring 16 episodes to play through, along with extras …

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Turnip Boy Robs a Bank review

Much to developer Snoozy Kazoo’s credit, it takes a while to work out the combination of genres this sequel to the Zelda alike Turnip Box Commits Tax Evasion skilfully blends. After taking in the daft premise, learning its mechanics via the amusing tutorial, and being introduced to its oddball cast of sentient foodstuffs, it reveals …

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Hidden Through Time 2: Myths and Magic review

Publisher Artifex Mundi regularly releases hidden object mystery games on Xbox One. As most have a free trial, I’ve played the vast majority – somewhere in the region of fifty(!) to date. These are, understandably, very samey, combining light puzzle solving with single-screen hidden object mini-games. I’ve never reviewed one, but I’ve always felt that …

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Battle night terrors in Parry Nightmare, out on PC this March

Modern-day life has taken its toll on an unnamed young woman, resulting in restless sleep and bad dreams – dreams that just so happen to resemble a bullet hell shoot’em up. Playing as the girl’s soul, it’s a case of parrying attacks to weaken enemies before finishing them off in the guise of Honno-Chan, the …

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Another Code: Recollection, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, DreadOut 2, and Choo-Choo Charles hit the Switch

Both Sony and Nintendo launch first-party games this week. Whereas The Last of Us: Part II Remastered involves splattering brains, Another Code: Recollection aims to test your grey matter, taking the form of an investigative adventure with puzzle solving and clue collecting. As the name suggests, it’s a collection of older titles – specifically Another …

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Nephenthesys review

Play through the tutorial for this vertically scrolling shooter and you’ll be duly informed how to move, shoot, and unleash a smart bomb. Then, mere seconds later, you’re abruptly thrown back to the main menu. This sets the tone for Nephenthesys perfectly, with this being an incredibly straightforward entry in the genre that has little in …

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UK retail chart sees a double-whammy of Mortal Kombat

This week’s UK retail is a peculiar one, with several unexpected re-entries. It’s EA Sports FC 24 that takes the top spot this week, knocking Hogwarts Legacy to #2. Then at #3, it’s the return of Mortal Kombat 1, thanks to a price cut. The bloody brawler is currently available for £25.99 at Amazon and …

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SHINORUBI review

This vertically scrolling shooter makes itself known by its stylish presentation that packs more shades of pink than the recent Barbie movie. It also quickly becomes evident that developer Last Boss 88 knows what makes for a rich experience, with around a dozen modes available from the outset ranging from Caravan Modes to a Super …

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Out this week: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Another Code: Recollection, Palworld, more

Turning Prince of Persia into a Metroidvania isn’t a concept particularly ‘out there’ considering the original was a side-scrolling adventure with labyrinth-like levels. It is peculiar that it’s arriving before the troubled Sands of Time remake, however. You’d think that project would take priority. Reviews for The Lost Crown went live a few days ago …

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Prison City review

By 1993, developers had long maxed out what was possible on the humble NES. Prison City resembles a game from this era – something that would have dazzled late NES owners alongside such gems as Kirby’s Adventure, Batman: Return of the Joker, and Mighty Final Fight. Although, it would have definitely required a few additional …

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