As a single player experience, Sine Mora EX is a great modern day shooter that keeps the tradition of the coin-op alive. The collaboration between Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality has been a solid one. The controls are tight, the sound is great with plenty of replayability to be had. There’s plenty of challenge for the hardcore shmup fan and a surprisingly approachable title for newbies to start off with. Some may not grasp the hook quite as strongly due to the high difficulty and repetitive nature that these games are known for nowadays.
88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition is a hilariously fun, yet tough little title that will keep you entertained for a few hours at least. It has some great ideas at play here with a charming personality in its presentation. It’s also nice to see a few cameos appear from other rising star published games such as Rusty from SteamWorld Dig and the dodgy looking fella from Conga Master Party! to name a few. However, once the comedy and novelty start to wane so does it’s mediocre gameplay. Which may leave you pretty underwhelmed within a very short time, and £29.99 poorer.
With my time spent on this little platformer, I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Pankapu. We have been through a great deal together. The world of dreams ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it.
Just Dance 2018 does the job it intends to do on its annual basis. The minor additions don't really warrant a full purchase as the Just Dance Unlimited feature is starting to make the rest of the content feel a little redundant. However, it's a great little party burner and the kids seem to love it.
In a nutshell, Neon Chrome does set out what it aims to do by giving you a decent top-down shooter that is fulfilling enough to play through at least once. The randomised level layout keeps the action diverse and can drive some to keep playing a long time after you first see the credits roll. It may look very low budget in presentation but what it lacks in visuals, it makes up for in atmosphere.
On the whole, I found DOOM quite difficult game to score. It’s a port that looks completely and utterly underwhelming on the TV and yet probably stands as the best first-person shooter out there that can be played natively and conveniently so well on the go. Some will either love or hate the Metroid Prime-style platforming and losing track on where to go next, but one thing’s for sure is that the game itself stays very faithful to the series and makes old-school first-person shooter feel predominantly new and fresh again. Even cranking up the difficulty feels extremely rewarding when you finally learn to successfully ride the angry waves of its kinetic flow. Bag all that up with tons of upgrades, stacks full of secrets, easter eggs, toys, and the tricky yet hopelessly addictive rune trial challenges and you have an immersive shooter that you can rock out to whilst sat on a rooftop.
Perception is a game that holds all the basic elements to make for a decent horror game. The idea is unique, the sound is atmospheric, and the story does have potential. It’s everything that’s in between that, sadly, lets the whole experience down. The gameplay hook that it rides upon never really feels as interesting as it wants to be and the stalking mechanic just slows down what is already a laden-footed ordeal. If you are into your ghost hunting TV shows then this may very well be up your street, but, if not, then there’s a chance that you may find the adventure to be underwhelming.
Transcripted can get very tough, even on the medium difficulty, but the more casual settings can provide well for those who doesn’t want to be punished. With 25 levels, 10 online score challenges, and medals to earn on each level, it is pretty good value for its low price point. Just don’t go in expecting it to be a particularly exciting shooter.
Finally, a true sequel that stands on the same playing field as Worms: Armageddon. It’s the most customisable game in the series yet with added mechanics that actually improve the gameplay. The experience is great regardless of how you play it, but nothing quite beats a room full of mates in stitches after you completely miss-time a Holy Hand Grenade. If you don’t have any mates around, then you can always take your little army online to rank up or earn a new gravestone in the campaign. Either way, it’s safe to say that Worms W.M.D is the best sequel the genre has had in years. Let’s just hope Team17 doesn’t break the experience by bombarding it with paid downloadable content.
Time Recoil is a fun game that feels rewarding in triumph and moreish in failure. Sure, the graphics are rubbish and the plot seems written by an eight-year-old after a newfound discovery of 80s action films, but there is a fun and rather stylish shooter contained underneath its overall cheap presentation.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is quite a hard game to actually recommend but, at the same time, it’s worth a dabble for a cheap laugh. While the original was praised for its interesting proof of concept, this rendition of trying to flesh out the idea further can feel a bit stretched. However, there is a charm to this game and its very short length ensures that it doesn’t outstay its welcome too much, and, if you want, you can always try and coordinate the lovable protagonist with a friend for some squits and giggles.
Dimension Drive takes an interesting concept and implements it well to separate itself from the many other shooters out there. The split gameplay mechanics may be a bit too much for the majority of the casual market, but anyone with a bit of thirst for a challenge could quite easily get to grips with its structure. It feels a bit like a fast-moving Tetris run at times, creating a somewhat puzzle element within its core when swapping between screens in the more maze-like sections of the game. It's also very well priced for what it is, and more importantly, it plays considerably well as a portable time killer.
Embers of Mirrim is a gorgeous little title that can be easily overlooked until you actually see it in motion. It has the atmosphere of Journey, with a hint of Ori and the Blind Forest wrapped with scenic landscapes that wouldn’t look out of place in Pandora. The splitting mechanic sets up some fun puzzling sections with a subtle push to ease you into its control system. Combine that with boss battles that you have to think about along with a fantastic musical score and you have a brief but memorable experience that feels nicely at home on the Nintendo Switch.
As a whole, Battle Chef Brigade puts a refreshing spin on the match-three puzzler. It manages to do for cooking sims what Phoenix Wright did for the courtroom adventure. The cook-offs are tense, the level of polish is fulfilling and it all looks glorious when played in Handheld Mode. I would go as far as saying it’s one of my favourite games this year and one of the better games to come out of a Kickstarter campaign. In fact, it has even tempted me to take charge of Christmas dinner this year. Although I very much doubt that my better half will let me.
The End Is Nigh is a simple but brilliant platformer. It doesn’t want to be your friend and it doesn’t care if it offends you. However, its tough love will certainly draw out your platforming potential if given a little perseverance. Everything looks and plays great regardless of your screen preference and with so many secrets to uncover it’s also excellent value for money. Just bear in mind that The End Is Nigh is probably not one for the kiddies…
All in all, Pinball FX3 maintains its crown on delivering a stellar virtual arcade experience. While there are a few missing features and tables from previous versions, this title still remains as top dog. You can easily lose many hours just on one table, especially if you are planning to take advantage of the levelling up system and the extra challenges. With promises to iron out the early niggles found in Handheld mode, this great little title can only get better as it evolves.
All in all, Stern Pinball Arcade is a decent pinball package. While its presentation and visuals are quite lacklustre compared to Pinball FX3, the recreations themselves are decent enough to have fun with. There’s plenty of hours to kill depending on your approach to the format, and future plans to update some of the more important issues could eventually strengthen the overall experience. It’s definitely worth a download, even if it is just to take advantage of the free table. Whether you decide to dive into it further, is entirely up to you.
Human: Fall Flat is a fun-filled experience that is best played with others. While you can pursue the journey of builder Bob alone, there’s just no comparison in sharing such an adventure with a friend. Think Snipperclips and Gang Beasts stirred in an alcoholic punch before trying your hand at parkour. This may give you an idea of the clumsy capers that await in this side-splitting unconventional little title.
This is what Slain: Back From Hell suffers most with. While it’s blatantly attractive to look at, the reliance on being too old-school in the hack ‘n’ slash department makes the game struggle to feel anything above mediocre. This doesn’t mean that I found it terrible by any means. There are a few decent surprises present and I am sure Slain: Back From Hell can be that guilty pleasure for some in its own right. I just didn’t find it nearly as fun as I had hoped it would be, especially considering the potential that can be seen within the half a dozen hours it takes to beat it.
If any of the references above tickle your taste buds, then Furi is a no-brainer. It’s a high octane blast of a game that will leave you feeling like a space samurai with a force to be wrecked with. It certainly isn’t for everyone, and by Odin, it can be quite the challenge, but its simple controls and fair but brutal learning curve definitely provides a rewarding learning experience. And, once you finish it for the first time, play through it again and see how far you have come. It may even tempt you into speed running the Furier mode.