Bloons 5 TD used to be my favourite tower defence game yet now I tell everyone it's Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten DX. It just goes to show that not everything has to look all glamorous and pretty in order to be a solid game. Personally, I'm not a fan of the pixel art style in general, but with this game, I found it to be very charming and shows that the vast amount of development work went into its gameplay rather than the visuals – which still look good but it isn't going to win an award for them.
Symmetry is a very unforgiving and hard survival game which will have you screaming at the TV when you accidentally send someone to their death. It's very addictive with it's an interesting story and solid gameplay which always leaves you with a "one more try" attitude once you inevitably die. If you like survival games or micro-management ones like This War of Mine, then I can't recommend it enough. There is enough here to challenge anyone and even though the gameplay is a bit repetitive, your experiences from one game to the next wont be.
True Fear: Forsaken Souls – Part One is an amazing breath of fresh air into the Hidden Object Game genre and I would personally rank it up there as one of my favourite titles within it in the last 12 months. From the creepy realistic atmosphere to the confusing, yet solvable puzzles, True Fear had me hooked from beginning to end and even had me turning on the lights at one point…
This is a tricky one, Pure Farming 2018 has its moments with the Farming challenges and the vast amounts of statistics, information, and analytics on offer. However, I can only see the hard-core farming simulation enthusiasts being excited over such features as the casual among us may find it too overwhelming. The lack of multiplayer also furthers the point that you're in this on your own, with only your in-game emails for help and guidance. On top of various performance issues and no clear objective other than a glorified tutorial, it's hard to recommend this game over games such as Real Farm and Farming Simulator 2017.
Flynn & Freckles is a great little 3D platformer based around the late 90's games such as Spyro, Gex, and Croc. As such, it does inherit some of the frustrating aspects, such as looping music, not much guidance, and pixel-perfect jumping, but it delivers it in a much cleaner package in terms of visuals and art-style. Due to the nature of the game, with its lack of blood, easy puzzles, and cute cartoony characters (Flynn not included), I can see this game being enjoyed by people of all ages, especially younger children.
I have a fear that the gameplay style of Titan Quest may put off all of those who don't have nostalgia for the title. I imagine it was a case of cater for the fans or cater for the mainstream and with that in mind, I applaud their bravery and courage to stick with the original formula and cater for the fans. As such, this isn't a game for me, but if you liked the original on PC in either 2006 or 2016, then this will certainly be a great remaster/re-release for you.
Tesla vs. Lovecraft is yet another amazing twin-stick shooter from the team at 10Tons. I honestly don't think anyone is going to dethrone them of their crown at the top of this genre! It's so familiar yet different at the same time, especially if you have tried out their other games like JYDGE, which is great for people who love this genre and want something fast-paced to play through without having to earn stars to progress through the levels. Throw in the local Co-op mode and the daily challenges and you'll find a game that's hard not to recommend to everyone.
Attack on Titan 2 improves on the first game in every way, even though we are treading on very similar ground for a large part of the game. If you didn't pick up the first game then I would strongly recommend this one without hesitation, if you have played the first one then I would still recommend this but with the warning that the majority of the story is going to be almost the same. Omega Force has added enough new features, content and modes to keep everyone busy for many hours and the fact everything is explained and not presumed you already know about things, is a great way to bring in new players. It's clear to see that they have taken on board all of the criticisms from the first game and used that to their advantage to create the definitive Attack on Titan game
Pop-up Pilgrims is a fun little puzzle game for PSVR with cute graphics and a delightful soundtrack. The controls/hints/guide could have been a bit better presented, maybe with a short tutorial video or a bit more obvious for the player. Regardless, I realised my mistake and from then on I loved playing the game. It ran perfectly, I had a great time feeling like I was a god overwatching all these silly Forest Gumps who can't stop moving (albeit a lot slower than Forest was), and I can't wait to see what the studio brings out next. Highly recommend this for people who like puzzles, Lemmings, and even those with younger ones who want to dabble in VR.
As a fan of Suda51 and a gamer in general, the fact we can play The 25th Ward: The Silver Case in English after all these years and the fact it's been saved from digital hell makes me thankful and happy. The narrative of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is both crazy and unique, offering you a lot to think about and probably a lot you won't understand – yet the story really sticks with you after playing and keeps you thinking. True, the game does have some flaws and the controls aren't as modernised as they could be, but once you are used to them and deep within the tri-layered story you really do begin to appreciate how crazy Suda51 can get.
Blasters of the Universe is a great PSVR shooter for the more active users out there. The controls are among the best in terms of responsiveness and retaining full control over within VR, plus the shooting feels fun and not like a chore. The 80's art style, story and music all work really well and brings up a faux nostalgia for the era the game is set in and also fits perfectly with the neon-coloured bullet hell the game provides.
The Raven: Remastered is a great point-and-click adventure game with an enticing story which will have you hooked through all it's twists and surprises right until the final scene. The soundtrack and voice acting are easily on-par with a certain Belgian detective's films and TV shows, with each actor coming across as genuine and believable and you're always rooting for and hating the people the game intentionally wants you too. I'm hoping we see more from both THQ Nordic and KING Art Games Games moving forward as they clearly love what they do and are masters of the genre. Can't recommend enough to fans of murder mysteries, point-and-click, and adventure games.
Rangi is one of the best PSVR Puzzle games which fully immerse you in its world with all of the cultural aspects and an amazing soundtrack. The puzzles are quite ingenious and progressively get more involved and harder the further through the game you get. I wasn't a massive fan of the 'timed' segments where you must move quickly, but they do help break the game up and offer variation between puzzles so you always have something new to look forward too. Highly recommend to people new to VR who want a game which won't cause nausea and to those who love puzzles.
The Council is probably the best example of how to do a narrative, choice-based story which actually changes based on your actions and personality. The implementation of an experience system which allows for you to pick and choose which traits to obtain and upgrade offers a lot of depth and originality into a genre which has become stale with the 'interactive storybook' titles out there. The story is interesting, the events that happen will keep you questioning and the promise of finding out new things based on playing the game differently each time really adds to the replayability of this masterpiece. Don't be put off by the issue with the lipsyncing or the lacklustre accents, the narrative is great, the atmosphere is perfect and the mystery and suspense is up there with the best of games!
Deiland is an adorable little farming simulator which will appeal to lovers of games such as Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley. The game does have it's fair share of monotonous grinding/farming for resources so you can sell them for money in order to buy more things – so whether you'll like it will probably come down to if you like simulation games like this. Other than the aforementioned titles, Deiland is a great farming simulator on the PS4 which is accessible by people of all ages as there isn't anything too difficult involved.
Abo Khashem isn't a bad game, it's built to be a comedic action-RPG game so a lot of the broken or stupid mechanics are there to simply poke fun at various aspects and other games. What I can't forgive though is the amount you are overwhelmed with because of the various mechanics and abilities which shouldn't have been present in such a simple game. It feels like over the three years it took to develop, every time a game came out with something the developers liked they simply opted to include it in their game also. This process can work for bigger studios on a larger budget, but for a smaller indie project I think it's safe to say that "less is more".
Fear Effect Sedna may not be the true sequel fans were looking for, but it still delivers an enjoyable story along with creative puzzles and detailed environments. If you take the time to learn how to fully utilise the tactical mode, or you just love micro-managing things, then the combat may work out better for yourself than it did for me. If you don't mind the issues the game currently has and you are a fan of the original games then you may want to try the game out in order to see Hana and friends on their new adventure, however gamers new to the series may not enjoy the story and the setting as much as the fans.
Moss has simply raised the bar on all PSVR games going forward. Among its beautiful landscapes, pleasant music, clever puzzles and great narration is a story about a cute mouse name Quill who you will instantly fall in love with and be willing to do anything for by the end of the story. Some say we have been waiting for the definitive game to buy a PSVR for, I believe Moss has just stood up and taken that position. Be aware though, this is only part one of Quill's tale, so don't expect a grand finale as I'm sure we have plenty more still to come; however, what an introduction! I'm a #Quill4Life guy now and I believe you will be too as we eagerly await the se-Quill…
de Blob 2 took everything that was popular and iconic about the first game and expanded on just about every aspect for the sequel. In terms of the remaster, this one looks a lot nicer with higher resolution cutscenes and sharper visuals. Fans of the original game will be happy with all the new mechanics in play and those seeking a challenge will love the Blob Party mode. Even though the camera is a new enemy which you must constantly face off against, the game was still a joy to play and impressed me in every other way.
Perfect Angle is a clever little puzzle game with enough puzzles, mechanics, variations, and trophies to keep you busy for a long time. Some of the puzzles are almost impossible without first spending a hint to see what you're looking for but are always satisfying if you work it out for yourself. The story isn't amazing but the voice acting really holds it together and delivers an enjoyable story in a game which would usually be shipped without one.