Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition is immense, tricky and certainly not a walk in the farm! There is a handy tutorial to set you on your way but be warned, you will lose many days if not months of your life to this game in order to perfect your farm. As a father of 4 boys I would personally struggle to sit down every day for a few hours to carry on what I was doing from the day before. That said this is the perfect form of escapism if you just need to go chill and take time out from your life, which let’s face it, we should all do from time to time. The attention to detail within the game as well as the amazing CLAAS vehicles that have been included in this edition really bring something to the table if you love your farming and engineering. I award Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
For a free-to-play game, Century: Age of Ashes is actually really fun and quite innovative really. It could be likened perhaps to Star Wars: Squadrons in its dogfight style however this is fire-breathing dragons battling it out across a variety of beautifully drawn arenas!
Model Builder is an amazing game. For a small indie gaming company, this game makes something enjoyable that I really thought wouldn’t be. With a whole host of free DLC and very good support, Model Builder still receives a Thumb Culture Gold Award from me.
GT7 is a must-have for anyone who loves racing games. It looks amazing and plays beautifully well. You can make it as easy or challenging as you would like it to make it enjoyable. Yes, I have brake zones and corner points showing but I haven’t learned the tracks very well yet!
I must say that I enjoyed my time playing Train Life – A Railway Simulator. Despite the initial simplicity of what I was required to do, I still managed to pick the wrong tracks and slam into buffers countless times causing no end of problems for myself. If you fancy playing a sim game that is chilled at times but can be a little more practical than the usual run-of-the-mill management games, then I would say this is for you. Train Life – A Railway Simulator scores a Thumb Culture Gold Award!
While some of the background graphics didn’t appear to be top-notch at times, the overall gameplay and welcomeness of PGA Tour 2K23 was an amazing experience.
Having been a VR port to Nintendo Switch, I found Jurassic World Aftermath Collection to play ok. The were times whereby I could see how the VR experience would have made the gameplay probably feel a lot smoother and less clunky. That said the puzzles were achievable. For me, it was more the quick pressing of buttons as you try and hide inside a locker and shut the door again where it sometimes went wrong! Probably my age. I have played some VR ports to console before and you can tell that something is off with the way it feels. Aftermath did not leave me with that feeling thankfully. If you want to play a challenging game that combines puzzles, stealth and the lore of Jurassic World then this is for you. I award Jurassic World Aftermath Collection the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
While each of the World Tour DLC adds a different flavour to your city, I felt that the Financial Districts DLC was the best out of the bunch. The main reason being that the implementation of the financial mechanics really added to your overall experience of running a city.
NFS Unbound feels fresh thanks to the urban hip-hop blend of graphical style and soundtrack. If you enjoy your driving games then it is one to pick up and have a play with. Customisation options are off the scale which gives you the ability to feel unique as you drive around
Maybe it is my age, but Golazo! 2 really struck a nerve with me. A good one that is. Its simple but fun nature means it is very easy to pick up and play.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake is a fun-to-play 3D platformer that gives a solid representation of the TV show. While I enjoy having a good family-friendly game to let the children play, there is no ground-breaking game mechanics as such, however, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had while trying to rescue all of your friends and restore Bikini Bottom.
The Town of Light, by LKA.it and Wired Productions is a first person story driven game that tells the chilling tale of Renée as she returns to her former home, the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum located in Tuscany, Italy, where she had spent much of her youth.
There is certainly a lot of ways to play both alone and with friends on NHL 18 with jam packed online and offline modes. Although there is not a single player story campaign as seen in the recent Fifa and NBA games, EA is trying to appeal to new players by offering a new training system to enable them to learn the skills to enjoy the game. If you have followed the NHL series of games for a while you maybe a little disappointed in the latest offering as it will feel a little samey however the NHL Threes mode is exciting and different enough to possibly tempt you into a purchase. One thing is for sure, EA need to refresh their NHL franchise for next year if they want to keep their players interested as this years "what's new" is certainly light on the ground.
If you love LEGO Worlds then you will no doubt absolutely love this game due to being able to free roam and more or less construct and destroy anything you wish, your imagination is the limit. For me it feels a little rushed and unrefined. It is as if somebody remembered that the film was launching soon and needed to get a game quickly ready, “oh yes lets reskin LEGO Worlds, throw in some movie cutscenes and away we go.” There is a degree of awkwardness and certainly clunkyness when playing the game that I can’t help feel could of been addressed through a bit more playtesting, resulting in a better quality of game that has been produced. If you are an inquisitive human, or a child, then buy this game. If on the other hand you detested the format of LEGO Worlds, then steer clear!
Renowned Explorers, by Abbey Games, is a turn-based strategy adventure game available on PC. Set in the 19th century, you are in charge of putting together a team of explorers each with their own skills and traits in a global search to seek out legendary treasures.
If you enjoy horror games like Outlast then Home Sweet Home is definitely for you, yes it sure made me jump and the story was intriguing however I did find sometimes the interaction with objects, particularly when trying to hide could be a little hit and miss, costing you your life! I award Home Sweet Home the Thumb Culture Silver Trophy!
I award Car Mechanic Simulator the Thumb Culture Silver trophy. What it sets out to do is really quite clever however I do not think the Playstation console shows it at its best due to the controller.
Let’s Sing 2020 seems more aimed at people in their early 20’s with a few token classics spuriously thrown in for the older generations. Based on the game’s current track listing I personally probably would not have bought it, however, the DLC packs provide an assortment of tracks that opens the game up to more people that are over the age of 25. Let’s Sing 2020 plays well and can easily be used to form the basis of a party when people want to get together and also compete to see who the best singer is! I award Let’s Sing 2020 the Thumb Culture Silver trophy.
Although only priced at £4.99, I can’t help but feel a bit let down by the Carnaval Streetwear kit. It does not bring the Brazillian vibe and instead looks like a summer range from Primark. If you are a die-hard fan of The Sims 4 feel free to expand your available items, however, sadly for me it missed the mark. The Carnaval Streetwear kit gets a Thumb Culture Silver from me.
It is great to see a free next-gen upgrade for a game. While I appreciate that some developers charge for their upgrades, you can see that their time and effort needs to be paid for somewhere.