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.
While just falling short of being towards the top of my favourite JRPG's, Bravely Default does a lot right. Its job systems and battle system are great fun and the sleep mode sailing game always gives you something fun to return to. The characters and voice acting, in parts, leave a bit to be desired and some of the environments are a bit fuzzy. On the whole you get a lot of game for your money, its an enjoyable, challenging experience and worth your time.
While sometimes skirting a bit close to the line between inspiration and clone, Rogue Heroes has a lot to love. If you have a few friends to take dungeon crawling with you, you will laugh together, you will loot together, and you will have to work as a team to succeed. My boys and I got a lot of enjoyment from playing Rogue Heroes, and I think most other players will do too.
Is it just me or are there not enough arcade shoot-em-ups these days? Back in the day, I used to adore these games. I needed nothing more to occupy my small child-like mind other than shooting baddies, collecting power-ups and dodging a screen full of projectiles. I miss them dearly.
Ratalaika are back with another easy platinum for the PlayStation 4, welcome to the Loot Hero DX PlayStation 4 review. I gave up buying these games for easy platinums a while ago but I am happy to review one now and again for the laughs. Sometimes they can be good but, in my humble opinion, they are mostly cash-ins for people wishing to bolster their imaginary trophy cabinet. I was once one of those people, now I can take a step back and view them from the outside.
There is a small slice of the gaming genre spectrum that I really find fascinating. It’s that miniature sector of games that are amazingly enjoyable but at the same time incredibly frustrating. I don’t know what it is about them, whether it’s the massive boost of joy I get when passing a deeply technical segment or the amount of love the developer has poured upon it to make it so challenging, there is something amazing about them. I’m thinking Dark Souls, I am thinking Celeste and I am certainly thinking about Super Meat Boy.
It’s not very often a video game captures the imagination of everyone in my household. We are a massive board gaming family so that may have helped somewhat, giving the themes of this interesting little Nintendo Switch title. Dicey Dungeons, as the title suggests combines two of the greatest things in gaming; dice and yes you guessed it, dungeons. It feels like someone has definitely been peeking at my Christmas list. With a lot of dice and random dungeons, count me in!
Star Renegades! Got your attention? Good. Just the title sounds great doesn’t it? Do you like multi-dimensional storylines, grand space battles, pixel-art and turn-based tactical combat? Well, today may be your lucky day, Star Renegades on the Nintendo Switch is all of these things with a couple of unique tricks up its old-school, rogue-lite sleeves.
Cubers: Arena is a strange game indeed. I had not heard anything about it before the review code was thrust into my lap. I could have guessed by the fact it had the word Arena in the title, that it was an Arena based game; little did I know what I was letting myself in for.
Ever wanted to build, manage and run your own dinosaur laden park? Well, now is the time. I had heard many good things about Jurassic World Evolution but for some weird reason, I’ve never got round to playing it. Since then it has had a vast amount of DLC, different editions and now, a portable Nintendo Switch version. This suits me down to the ground, I can now breed T-Rex while on the loo or build new dinosaur-related attractions while out and about. Show me the dinos!
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is fun, with its many activities and a rewarding gameplay loop. There is nothing better than rocking up to a monastery with your raucous crew and robbing them blind.
It seems like forever since we had a big Nintendo Switch exclusive and while Pikmin 3 Deluxe may not be a true exclusive, this port certainly has enough bells and whistles to entice players back in. Not only that, I am sure a lot of Switch players, due to not owning a WiiU, will be playing it for the first time, you lucky buggers. Pikmin is a very popular franchise and I will be splitting this review up into two halves, half talking about the game itself and half discussing its improvements from the WiiU version.