If you read our weekly new release round-ups, you’ve likely noticed that Square-Enix releasing a new RPG almost every week has become a running joke. The joke being most RPGs tend to be vastly timing consuming, while aimed at a certain audience. It’s a mystery how anybody could possibly find the time to play them …
It must be risky pitching a comical experience to a publisher. Humour is vastly subjective – it can take all sorts to make an individual laugh, be it something clever, droll, sarcastic, or crude. Then there’s the matter of humour not travelling well, or being impossible to translate into different languages. Indeed, the fact that …
The UK Christmas chart always boils down to a battle between FIFA and Call of Duty. 2022 just so happens to be a FIFA year, something the World Cup no doubt played a key part in. FIFA 23 being available on Switch likely helped too. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II settles for #2 while …
It’s Christmas week! What treats can we expect other than gift cards, selection boxes, and shower gel sets? Not much more than a few retro re-releases and a handful of belated conversions, it would seem. Square-Enix’s has one final re-release for RPG fans – the PSP’s Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth for PS4/PS5, with quick saves, a …
I sometimes wonder how familiar today’s gamers are with the past. Gori: Cuddly Carnage reminded me of Trickstyle on Dreamcast and, consequently, its spiritual successor AirBlade on PS2. These games are now over two decades old, and neither is frequently mentioned nowadays. But when it came to thinking to think of a more modern counterpart, …
This short space-themed adventure is billed as an experimental experience. What that means, in this instance, is that it doesn’t look or play like a conventional video game. Think of it as an interactive abstract art museum, or a virtual kaleidoscope filled with particle effects and deep space scenes. If the sound of that doesn’t …
If our email inbox is anything to go by, January is looking surprisingly busy for new releases. We can now add the Anniversary Wonder Boy Collection to that ever-growing list. A digital-only release from Bliss Brain, it’s an expanded version of Wonder Boy Collection, which we awarded a 7/10 back in June. It’s set to …
Square-Enix’s Core Crisis: FFVII Reunion could possibly be the last major new Switch release of the year. If this is the case, then we’re about to go out on a high – this PSP remake has been very well received, with the Switch version gaining 8/10s from Nintendo Life and Pocket Tactics, along with a …
Film reviewers don’t have this issue. When film critics talk about ‘challenging’ films, they’re usually talking about films that have shocking content, ones that have disconnected dreamlike narratives, or ones that touch on difficult subjects. Mulholland Drive is a challenging film. But I still managed to watch it all the way through. Donut Dodo on …
This week’s UK top 40 sees two new arrivals. Possibly even three if we count Just For Games’ Instant Sports, which launched in May 2021 but has somehow belatedly entered the top 40 at #38. IAM8BIT’s anticipated physical release of Cuphead took #18, putting it one position higher than the recent NFS Unbound at #19. …
While we’re grateful for Obsidian’s Pentiment, it has ended up being the only first-party Xbox exclusive for the holiday season. In place of a new Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable or a Rare IP revival, High On Life steps in as a replacement. This comical first-person shooter – set in a world where weapons can talk …
We’ve seen half a dozen simulators arrive on consoles this past month. Because it’s hard to tell who the majority are aimed at, it seems that publishers are simply hedging bets on their titles becoming the next surprise success. PowerWash Simulator cleared 3 million sales recently, so you can see why developers are keen to …
If variety is the spice of life, then this week is a Boxing Day turkey curry – with cranberry sauce and a few pigs in blankets thrown in. Delicious. Big name releases hitting the eShop include stealth horror game Hello Neighbor 2 – which promises advanced AI that learns from your behaviour – and Square-Enix’s …
Looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer for Space Giraffe 2. Atari has revealed that Jeff Minter’s latest project is an Akka Arrh revival. Unfamiliar with Akka Arrh? That’s understandable. Released in 1982, this arcade shoot’em up never entered full production, only receiving a market test. Players found it too difficult, so Atari …
This combat-free third-person adventure introduces us to Mia Lorenson, a young female researcher employed by a science facility. After waking in a hospital, with only a hazy recollection of events prior, Mia begins to explore the empty wards and labs while slowly piecing together recent events. Her colleagues are nowhere to be found. In fact, …
