I have a strange attraction to farming video games, well, the good ones anyway. Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and all that Jazz. It seems strange to a lot of people that someone who adores Monster Hunter, Dark Souls and Battlefield, can appreciate a finely grown turnip, but there you go
Let me start this review by saying I loved the Pixel Ripped games on PSVR. They were unique, brilliantly implemented and a boatload of fun. So when the opportunity to review ARVORE’s latest foray onto PlayStation’s VR headset dropped into my inbox, I jumped at the chance. I had also heard it was a roguelike, one of my favourite genres, colour me intrigued.
Oh boy, this one’s a doozie! I remember playing Metroid and Metroid II when I was a wee bairn, all those distant sepia-toned years ago. At the time they were revolutionary. Where am I going? What am I doing? It was all so novel. They were brutally brilliant and I remember scratching my head over and over, working out where to go next. Good times! I have really been looking forward to this one, welcome to my Metroid Dread Nintendo Switch review.
Two of my favourite things in the world are video games and board games and when they collide, woo-hoo, exciting times ahoy! I knew nothing about Dice Legacy going in but I knew it had dice and was a video game so most of the battle had already been won, let’s roll the dice and hope for an enjoyable video game board game mashup.
Ever feel like you are just playing the same day over and over? Feel like you are stuck in a rut? Well, in Deathloop from Arkane Studios on the PlayStation 5, you are. It’s like Groundhog Day with guns, supernatural abilities and murder. I had seen a little on the title before I slipped the disc into my PlayStation 5 but little did I know what I was letting myself in for.
Well, here we are, my first ever Xbox review and what an uncanny game to choose to start with. Golf Club Wasteland is an arcade-style golf game much like many others but its atmosphere, sound design and bleak narrative elevate it above other games of this ilk.
Everyone knows how much I love PSVR. It may be a bit outdated now but it is still a very enjoyable experience. The Move controllers are now three generations old but still, it was a great, affordable entry point to quality VR gaming. I used to write a monthly PSVR column and I really miss it. Anyway, enough of the pointless rambling, let’s talk about my Synth Riders PSVR review.
I had previously heard people talk about Monster Train First Class without really paying too much attention. Then I heard a review code was available for the Nintendo Switch version, so I gazed at it a bit closer. Deck-builder, rogue-like with a bit of tower defence sprinkled in, has someone been peeking at my Christmas list? Monster Train First Class sounds like everything I want from a portable Switch game, so, let’s get into it. All aboard!
You may be wondering why we are reviewing What The Golf? again when it was reviewed already over a year ago by our good selves. Well, it has had no less than one thousand new levels added in a recent update adding even more madness into this eclectic, uncanny package. I will cover the game a little because this is perhaps the first time you have heard of the game.
What would you do if you were a sentient AI? In I, AI by Satur Entertainment and Sometimes You tries to answer that question. You play an AI that is designed to create military-grade weapons on a space station. You manage to escape in the first level, which to be honest, is one of the weirdest levels I have seen in a shoot-em-up before. After traversing a circuit board, you get in a spaceship and proceed to shoot your way to freedom.
We all know about games from Ratalaika; massively varied in quality, cross-buy, trophy-filled, and sometimes even enjoyable. I liked the first Destronaut, so hopefully this follow-up will not be too far away in quality and entertainment. Super Destronaut DX-2 is akin to supercharged Space Invaders. While being a fairly simple game, it has some redeemable qualities and I think the sequel does bring along a few new bells and whistles to separate it from its predecessor.
When I first booted up Save me Mr Tako, my brain got dragged back to my youth. Where a younger me and a friend of mine were camped on his porch playing Gameboys. Those basic, crunchy chiptunes, the muted green and black colour palette, times were a lot simpler back then. Save me Mr Tako harks back to these simpler times, with its pure gameplay and classic presentation, it’s a breath of fresh air in this trying modern era of gaming.
Have you ever played a game that, at times, makes you want to hit yourself in the face with a cricket bat? Think of uncanny, wonky, physics-based games like QWOP or Getting Over It. These rage-inducing, weird games are cult hits but I am not sure they are that good or even that enjoyable. Welcome to the Rapid Reviews Balancelot PlayStation 4 review, sit back and prepare for disappointment.
Now and again, not too often mind, I do like a bit of a sim style management game. It has been a while since I had played one so thought I would have a bash at Buildings Have Feelings Too!. I did not know a lot about it before playing but I did love the presentation and art style I saw in the trailer. It looked very different from other games of this style. Little did I know, this was not your stereotypical management game.
Ah, can you smell that? It smells like another Ratalika easy platinum trophy. Birthday of Midnight, which is a sequel to Midnight Deluxe, is a game about whacking a little funny shaped fellow into a hole. Think of golf but instead of a ball it is a little chap that seems to have a weird fascination with pain and holes.
The room is spinning, I feel queasy. Who am I? What am I doing here? Where the hell is here? Where are my bloody shoes? Welcome to Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, a game about a gruesome murder, amnesia and copious amounts of alcohol but more importantly, a game containing a web of choices. Choices that will lead you down memorable paths, into hilarious situations and wittily written conversations.
Well, here we are people, the latest instalment of Capcom’s beast slaying RPG is here. Monster Hunter Rise is the latest in what used to be a niche series, that was until Monster Hunter World’s massive success. It is now seen as a popular household title and I could not be happier. I am no longer the black sheep that played Monster Hunter alone. Come with me people as I take you through the latest and maybe greatest Monster Hunter title to date.
Games in recent years are becoming more of a hodge-podge of genres and that, in my opinion, is a good thing. Take Dead ground, for example, layout a tower defence game, spread it with an even layer of rogue-like and sprinkle it with a little bit of twin-stick shooter. Hmmm, tasty. In all fairness, though I do like developers to try new things and I commend them for doing so. These weird, risky decisions mainly come from the indie space of video gaming and that is why I like indie games so much. They are not afraid to push the proverbial boat out.
It’s dark, it’s foggy and there is blood on the streets. Welcome to Black Legend on the Nintendo Switch, a tactical turn-based combat title with a few twists on the usual tropes of the genre. Think of it like ‘ye olde X-Com with an emo makeover.’ A strange, madness-inducing fog has crept over the city of Grant and it is up to you and a team of capable mercenaries to aid the struggling resistance and eliminate the devastating fog.
Journey of the Broken Circle is a story about friendship, loss, love and beauty. Most of all though it’s a story about a little circle who likes to stick random things in his mouth. How does he still talk when his mouth is holding a random object? Who knows, all I know is that this game hits some narrative tones that I was perhaps not expecting and perhaps are unheard of for a game of its ilk.