I am always down to review any game that needs playing. I rarely do any sort of preparation for my reviews. If the game’s title sounds interesting, I’ll give it a try. Obviously, there are games I keep my eyes open for and certain studios whose titles I know I always enjoy, but on the whole, I find something fun about the unknown. Rogue Explorer was one of these titles.
Visual novels are a niche genre that I have often struggled to truly enjoy. I have played (and reviewed) several over the years. They are not my favourite genre by any stretch of the imagination, yet something about Cross the Moon just spoke to me.
What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a classic question and one that is very special to each of us. For me, I wanted to join the police. I came close, but eventually, my career path took me down a different route. However, thanks to Rapid Reviews I still got my chance to achieve my dream. Famicom Detective Club puts you in the driving seat as a member of the Utsugi Detective Agency.
Who doesn’t love a good dystopian sci-fi affair? Growing up reading stories like 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, even stories like The Road or some of the more recent tales written by smaller name authors. I fell in love with the genre and write in it to this day.
Tales from the Borderlands is a classic TellTale Games title set within the world of the titular looter shooter trilogy. Of course, I knew about this series, and had dabbled for a few minutes in one of the titles when they came to PlayStation Plus some time ago. However, I had never truly played one of them. Yet, I was instantly drawn to this title when it became available. The graphics, the style of the game and its episodic nature spoke to me.
Who wouldn’t want to be a pirate? Sailing the seven seas, swashbuckling your way across the open waters. Sinking ships, plundering treasure, and trading stolen goods at various pirate friendly ports.
As a writer, I love it when a game has a solid story. This can be over multiple titles, and it could be through narrative alone or expanded upon by collecting notes or other items that tell the overarching tale. Either way, I appreciate a good story.
I love wrestling. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I watch more than my fair share every week, with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all taken by wrestling shows, and that’s not counting the McMahon empire of WWE. So, when I saw a game advert pop up while watching an episode of NWA Powerrr on YouTube about 18 months ago, I just knew I had to play it.
I don’t think there has ever been an age where there has been a larger global concern, understanding or recognition of mental health as there is right now. With everybody struggling from the long-running effects of Covid-19, the concept of mental health is no longer the large taboo it used to be.
I love playing horror games. When I saw Mundaun spring up on my Twitter feed I was immediately captivated by its look. I knew nothing more about the game other than it had hand-drawn pencil graphics, but I needed to play it. When I saw that it was a horror game, I was just over the moon.
I have vague memories of playing the original Ghosts n Goblins on my NES back when I was but knee-high to a grasshopper. I hated it. It was impossibly difficult, and I was a kid. Years later, when NES Online came along, Ghosts n Goblins was the first game that I fired up. It brought back so many memories, but also so many new experiences. I got further than I ever did as a kid, and the game was insanely good fun.
Injecting humour into games is nothing new. There is an easily recallable list of such titles for the Switch from the classic Undertale though to Thimbleweed Park and Jenny LeClue. Now, there is a new title to add to that list. Astrologaster is a comic look at the way certain people thought back in Shakespearian London. There are nods to all sorts of events and historic occurrences, both true and conspiratorial.
When is a Wrestling Game Not a Wrestling Game? The answer is when you’re playing Wrestling Empire. This game is unlike anything I have ever played before. Created by a single developer MDickie, this game is a strange testament to what can be achieved, while at the same time being an absolutely bizarre and unpredictable experience.
I am a big fan of the 2.5 horror format. Having played and reviewed both Coma games as well as thoroughly enjoying games like Detention, the thought of a zombie-based game was intriguing to me. There is a lot that could be done with this genre. Having read the premise to this game, I was definitely more than ready to give Red Colony a go.
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I picked up Professor Lupo: Ocean. However, a quick – spoiler-free – browse showed me a cute little puzzle game.
What a year 2020 has been. Who would have thought that we would be sitting here discussing Crysis Remastered being released on the Nintendo Switch? A game that pushed computers to their limits just a decade (or so) ago is now available to play in handheld mode.
DustOff Z is a shoot em’ up which does not present a deep narrative. Instead, the game is mostly a series of levels that will give the player better equipment and weapons. You’re asked to keep going until the end and beat the game with the highest rating in every level. Each of these is rated from 1 to 3 stars, depending on the time and accuracy with which the player completes them. The higher the rating, the better.
I am always a sucker for sports games. Yes, they are mostly repetitive, but it is precisely that element that appeals to me. I don’t play exclusively in the sports genre, but if I ever want to escape into something, then its sports that I often turn to. It’s like a comfy pair of slippers or a warm blanket on a stormy winter afternoon. You can nestle down and go with the familiar. You know what to do, yet there are still variances, none more so than in an (American) football game.
It’s tiiiiiiime, to take a look at UFC 4 from EA Sports. As a longtime fan of sports games, it was an honour to be able to review of copy of UFC 4. I put a lot of hours into UFC 4, and sadly never got a chance to play the third instalment but was all too eager to dive in again. I understand that sports games are not for everybody, possibly more so than any other genre out there. Yet, they do have a depth and a pull, but it is unlike many other titles.
I have played and reviewed a couple of visual novel games now, and I was then and still am entirely undecided on what I think of them. Then I saw Collar X Malice on the review list. Was I ready for another visual novel? I didn’t know, but I’d played a few hectic games, and the idea of something chilled out certainly appealed to me. Plus, I love reading and story-driven games, and what could be more story-driven than a game that is essentially a novel. So, I ventured into this title, recently launched on the switch after a run on other systems earlier in its life. I did not know anything about the game going into it, but what did I make of my time in the world of Adonis? Was it a real page-turner of a game, or was it one of those stories that weren’t ever as strong as its blurb?