It’s not very often I get sent physical copies of stuff, so you can imagine my joy when I was offered a physical copy of Ikai to review. Having not known anything about it, knowing nothing of its form or function, I was happy to give it a bash. Unfortunately, this is where most of my joy ended.
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.
There was a point in my life I would gobble up all these small Ratalaika games; they usually have easy platinums you could complete in under an hour with very little effort whatsoever. They are of variable quality, usually very simple and mostly bought by budding trophy hunters. I do not buy them anymore but thought I would jump on this review because it included the word ‘golf’. I like golf, in video game form anyway.
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.
Another Ratalaika game, another short romp to a platinum trophy. I have played many Ratalaika games over the years and at one point bought loads of them for easy to grab platinum trophies. I have since stopped that but don’t mind reviewing one now and again. Their quality is very variable, let’s see where Prehistoric Dude on the PS4 sits in the Ratalaika quality spectrum, shall we? So, Prehistoric Dude, which is a very uninspired title by the way, is about, well, a Prehistoric Dude. What has the world come to when you can’t even have a meal eating your favourite food in peace? Your massive piece of ham has been stolen and that is basically the plot here. Your job is to track down the large dinosaur-shaped fiend who stole your dinner from you. Good luck with that one!
A hollow, crude experience with very little to do or see. I found it quite boring and unrewarding. Its saving grace was the fact it was free and a small amount of fun can be found when playing online with friends. There are far better games within this genre, even if it means spending a small amount of cash on them.
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.
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.
I wanted Crisis VRigade to be the VR Time Crisis I have always wanted, unfortunately, it wasn’t. It’s not terrible, it’s just very repetitive and bland. Dying often, sometimes from one shot gets old, fast. Especially when you have to trudge through the same rooms with identical enemy layout every time, it’s too predictable and static. I am not one for shying away from difficult games, I do love a challenging game but this title sometimes felt somewhat unfair and the gameplay was not enjoyable enough to work through it.
Repetitive, endless grinding and a lack of rewards spoil what could have been a fun experience. Its presentation is nice and its VR implementation is good; otherwise, there are better culinary titles on the platform. Unless you are starving for VR food-based content, spend your hard earned cash elsewhere. There is fun to be had but it's in very small doses buried under monotonous, basic food preparation.
After seeing the trailer for Dungeon Munchies on the Latest Nintendo Direct Indie Showcase I thought it looked like a fun game that may be right up my street. Unfortunately, even though Dungeon Munchies does have a few things going for it, I found it hard to get through and found myself, in the end, forcing myself to play. I am, however, glad for games like this. The indie space is where the developers can push the boat out and try new things, even if sometimes they don’t quite come off.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Never has a game title been more fitting. Struggling is, well, a bit of a struggle. Imagine the abstract movement and control system of Octodad paired with some platforming feats that require a modicum of precision. It’s a recipe for frustration and turmoil. There were a few things though, when I looked past the struggle, that I quite liked.
While being very similar to its predecessor, Devious Dungeon 2 does do a few things to improve its overall gameplay. Mini-bosses, classes and quests do improve the game overall but I don’t think it’s enough to differentiate itself from the first title. The gameplay, while being fun does eventually start to wear thin. A lot of enemies were taken from the first game and I would have liked a lot more fresh and intricate enemy designs, especially on the bosses.
Spuds Unleashed was not a bad game, in fact, I grew to somewhat enjoy it. I just feel it took too long to get to grips with the controls and the aiming was sometimes too inaccurate to be enjoyable. If you persevere you can get over this issue, I just feel most people will be put off well before then.
The Doctor Who fan in me loved his time with this title. From a non-Who fan, video game standpoint though, its negatives weigh heavy on the overall experience. Its short, too easy and sometimes cumbersome. If your a Who fan though you will love parts of it, as I did. Maybe wait for the title to go on sale.
Even though Telefrag VR is fun at times, it mostly turned out to be a repetitive experience that's light on modes and features. I rarely found human players online and with barely any progression at all, I found the whole experience deflating. Its unfortunate, there are some good ideas buried underneath the surface of this VR shooter.