When Ski Lifts Go Wrong is a fun and intuitive take on the construction genre, with both creation and Trials-like gameplay. In terms of the core mechanics, it’s not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination. There are multiple types of construction type games out there to choose from. However, the thing to remember is that the game keeps it simple and gives the player the freedom to solve the puzzles as they see fit. This is great as it means that everyone of all ages and skill levels can jump in and enjoy the game without any issues or difficulty spikes.
Sphinx and The Cursed Mummy is a fun puzzle platformer which works really well on the Nintendo Switch. As far as the remaster is concerned, THQ Nordic did a great job with taking a game that is 16 years old and bringing it back to life for a new generation. The game is not necessarily for everyone though as fans of the original game will be delighted by the visual upgrades the game received, but I don’t see any other big draw to purchase the game if you never played it before.
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 was a delight to work my way through and a joy to play. I like playing these older games sometimes because if I do get stuck, I can easily find a guide online, though the puzzles in this game are not hard most of the time. This is a game that you will be able to play at any time and it will hold up due to the art style presented within it. I loved being absorbed by the whimsical story and fantastical locations, it’s a very relaxing game with a lot of eye candy and tonnes of pop-culture references ranging from films to games.
I don’t hate Crackdown 3. There are certain design flaws in the game and it is clear that perhaps the end product is still not exactly what people were wanting to see. Graphically it is heavily underwhelming, but the gameplay itself is very fluid and the game offers a lot of stuff for you to do, almost too much. This is a game that Crackdown fans will enjoy, but I would say it’s best to either wait for a sale or utilise Gamepass to get the game for at least a month.
Rad Rodgers: Radical Edition sets out to be a product that us 90s kids can look at in nostalgic joy. In some ways, they really capture that with the Earthworm Jim type gameplay with more adult humour (you can turn off blood and swearing in the menu!). Unfortunately, they also captured some of the more annoying parts of those games as well. I think the game has good ideas, but I did not feel like it was executed well enough for modern gamers wanting a nostalgic trip or those looking for a solid platformer.
Personally, I would strongly advise everyone against picking up Blood Waves, even if it’s featured within a sale. The game is not worth time and money you will put into it. If the game was updated with more locations, better combat, less-spongy enemies, a decent soundtrack, more original and define enemies and protagonists, and maybe allow for fantastical weaponry and abilities – then it MAY be worth trying out and re-visiting. However, until that happens, I don't see myself returning to the game any time soon.
The Messenger is without a doubt a game that gamers should not pass up on. I very much enjoyed every aspect of the game from the hilarious banter between the Messenger and the shopkeeper to the platforming and the boss fights. I cannot see any one aspect of the game I did not enjoy. If this is the first game made by Sabotage Studio, then I would say that they have a bright future ahead of them in the games industry.
There’s not much to say about Path to Mnemosyne as it is a very simple and short game. I know I have detailed how there are multiple aspects that I was not a fan of, but at the end of the day, it is excusable. Path to Mnemosyne really is special in other ways. The artwork is fantastic and it’s also nice to play a game that gets you to think about things, rather than just mindlessly shooting zombies.
I went into Super Blood Hockey thinking it was just a homage to Nintendo’s ‘Ice Hockey’ but I quickly realised that it was much more than that! It was as if the developer took the classic title and used it as a starting point to create a much bigger and bloodier game than I could ever imagine. I love the progression you get via completing the various challenges to unlock all the special options and the Franchise Mode was something that I simply did not see coming. Come for the hockey and stay for all the shenanigans!
I really enjoyed my time with Marble it Up!, bringing back fond memories of games such as Super Monkey Ball and Marble Madness. However, the game only took me an evening to beat all the levels which come as part of the game (at least once). The beauty of having the time-based medal rating system is that I know that I will want to keep coming back until I have all the Diamond medals. I hope that Bad habit productions continue to support the game as well as all of the talented creators out there who have put together enough downloadable courses to last a very long time!
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a fine assortment of games, presented in a way that I hope more developers mimic when compiling collections of classic games. The bonus book that is included with the game is probably one of the neatest digital books I have ever seen. The only issues I had with the game was the very little work put into porting the games themselves, as they came off as simple ROMs within an emulator. Regardless of how they’ve been placed upon modern systems, the games are just as hard as they used to be and they’re sure to challenge old and new gamers, even with save states. Relive this classic franchise today and pick up both this and the Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood collections today.
Should you buy Resident Evil 4 again? If portable Resident Evil 4 is something you are even mildly wanting, then yes. If you have never owned Resident Evil 4 before, then yes. If water is something you can't live without, then yes. See what I'm trying to say here? Sure, there is nothing new added to the game, but does it really need anything new? This may be the eleventh time that Resident Evil 4 has been re-released, but that's fine. The game still holds up great today and plays perfectly on Nintendo's console, albeit without motion controls.
Dollhouse had me from the get-go with its fascinating ‘Noir’ design and interesting story of mystery. Creazn Studio went into this game with amazing ideas, and where some of them paid off well, others seemed to have fallen on their face. I felt that by the time I was up to the third chapter, everything felt very repetitive, the visuals may be different but the core gameplay mechanics of what to do in each level was very much the same. I do feel the game could be salvaged with updates but it would take quite a bit to turn this into a game which is solid from start to finish.
After all these years of not playing any of the SAMURAI SHODOWN games, it was really neat to finally get my hands on one. At first, I was playing the game all wrong and didn’t really enjoy playing it. However, after realising the error of my ways, I re-approached the game and had a much better experience. I love that they took the game in a different direction with the cel-shaded graphics and I truly feel like it will do a service to the game’s longevity down the line. I personally didn’t get too much out of the story of the game, but that’s fine for me considering I don’t go to fighting games for epic stories.
Despite not being the most original horror game out there, Silver Chains is a nice combination of tropes from various influences. It may not the most inspiring story in a game, but what it lacks in that, it makes up with decent visuals and some good jump scares. Normally most jump scares don’t get me, but there are a few in Silver Chains that got me to jump and say words I shouldn’t say in front of my innocent children! I personally want to give kudos to Cracked Heads Games – I encountered some issues whilst playing the game pre-release yet they were able to fix them immediately, ensuring the final version which went live today runs great for everyone with no progress-blocking occurrences.
I can’t stress enough how much fun Friday the 13th: The Game Ultimate Slasher Edition is. Each round you play online is unique from the last one, offering hours of replayability and exciting experiences. I don’t know how many times I would sit down to play the game and find myself saying “Ok, just one more round” multiple times as my wife would yell at me to go to bed – “Oh, I’m sorry dear, I’m just decapitating counsellors because they suck!!”. The Nintendo Switch version of the game is great as it has all the DLC and you can play it on the go.
Shadows 2: Perfidia was an interesting game to play because there was a lot of good things which I really enjoyed, yet there was a number of negative aspects as well. You can clearly see that the developers wanted to make an interesting and scary game, which I feel was accomplished perfectly as they managed to make me jump a few times even though I’m almost immune to jump scares at this point! The graphics do feel a bit dated, although the small screen of the Switch does help to hide this a little, and although the enemies terrify you as you’re being chased, they do look rather funny if you see a still image of them.
After you decide your character, you will go thru a short intro, and before you know it, you will be in Fyrestone, and that is when the game opens up to you. My suggestion is to try and not do only story missions.
Playing Creature in the Well was great because it combined several game styles that I never would’ve thought to combine. After about four hours though, some of the game’s charm started to wear off as the difficulty level started to really spike and the level designs started to become all too familiar. That being said though, I really hope this is not the last we’ve seen of this type of game! With some different characters and locations, I can see this type of game thrive in the long run.
Some games don’t really age too well, even after a touch up from the developers; Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered isn’t one of these – it’s a timeless classic which has only got even more beautiful and enchanting with age. Don’t let this brilliant remaster go into your backlog.