The Otterman Empire is a pretty simple game, both in terms of gameplay and design. With its simple character and level design, The Otterman Empire feels like a homage to the video game heyday of anthropomorphic animals appearing in everything. On the surface The Otterman Empire even feels like a Gamecube or PlayStation 2 game, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Those of us wanting a simple couch multiplayer game will find a lot of The Otterman Empire appealing despite its apparent flaws.
Dead Island 2 is a game that I was initially sceptical about. While I did enjoy the first title, it soon got to a point where everything seemed just to repeat. Quests would become bothersome, fetch this, fix that, and the glamorous opening of that beach resort playground essentially showcased just how the rest of the game would play. You were given a sense of freedom yet remained on a linear line of quests. And come the game’s conclusion – if you got that far – much like the game’s protagonists, I was willing it to end.
Created by indie developer FYQD-Studio, Bright Memory made its debut back in 2019 as part of Steam’s Early Access program. Originally released as Bright Memory Episode 1, the indie first-person shooter received great reviews, and to this day holds a 91% approval rating on Steam. Instead of releasing the planned Bright Memory Episode 2, FYQD-STUDIO have instead completed the game, and rebranded it under the new name of, Bright Memory: Infinite.
Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel is a game that has been on my indie-horror radar for quite a while. The location within a vast hotel that seemingly shifts through various realities, not only screamed out the desperate isolation of ‘The Shining’ but also adds quite a hook to its narrative.
When it comes to the humble arcade brawler, I’d like to think that I’m a bit of an aficionado. From high-flying titles of Streets of Rage, and Final Fight, to the niche of Knights of the Round and Alien Vs. Predator – my combo-button mashing prowess have saved countless worlds and cities from the forces of evil. Next in line is Final Vendetta, an arcade side-scrolling beat-em-up that’s just as much a homage to the genre’s greats as it is original.
When it comes to Battlefield I like to call myself a veteran of the series. My love of large scale combat started off back in 2002 with Battlefield 2 and has grown ever since. I like to say that I’ve seen it all. From the highs of Battlefield: Vietnam, to the lows of Battlefield: Hardline, I’ve been there and – for Battlefield 3 – gotten the t-shirt (RIP Gamestation).
Trigger Witch is the result of mixing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Bayonetta, and a twin-stick shooter. From the creators of Reverie, Trigger Witch features a mixture of simple 16-bit gameplay with plenty of bullets, explosions, and gore. In a world where magic has had its day, bullets reign supreme.
A Little Lily Princess is something of a rarity amongst video games. Where there has been plenty of games that have been adapted from films, comics, and television there hasn’t been many that have been inspired by a novel. The only title that springs to my mind is the original Rainbow Six. But even then the game was only loosely based on the Tom Clancy novel.
At first glance Guild of Darksteel can be mistaken as a typical side-scrolling action-adventure. Yet, it’s both and neither. What it is, is a pixel-based narrative adventure that’s been crossed with a rhythm-based game. If you think along the lines of Flashback and Guitar Hero then you’re not too far off track.
The term “grid-based” often brings up feelings of top-down RPGs or turn-based RTS titles. The ridged movement of these genres offer a somewhat tactical style of gameplay as your team moves between each tile on the map. Heading further back into gaming history, the grid style was fairly common in older PC titles – mainly games they allowed you to play is School. These educational games would often see you traversing a dungeon within a first-person viewpoint whilst solving reading puzzles or the dreaded mathematical questions. Vaporum: Lockdown is one of these games.
World’s End Club is a puzzle action-adventure game that takes you to the end of the world. Originally launched on Apple Arcade in 2020, the full experience has now landed on the Nintendo Switch. With plenty of ideas and a cast of likeable characters, is World’s End Club a club worth joining?
Rain on Your Parade is the weather-based equivalent of Untitled Goose Game. You play as a mischievous cloud – aptly named “Cloudy” – whose goal is to annoy anyone and everyone who happens to be standing under them. If you think raining on people is a little dull, when you add in thunder, snow, and copious amounts of acid, petrol, fire, and even a little “Tactical Espionage Action” then Rain on Your Parade brings a whole new meaning to “cloud-based gaming”.
The Zombie genre is an oversized bloated mess. With nearly every game under the Sun featuring Zombies or an Undead army of some shape or form. Then on the other end of the spectrum is the classic light-gun shooter. This genre that was mainly seen in Arcades has died a death and fell into the annals of history. Considering how the Nintendo Switch is designed, I’m surprised that more developers haven’t attempted to adapt the classic light-gun shooter to the console.
I’m a big fan of platform-adventure games such as Metroid and Castlevania. Their simple yet challenging gameplay has always been a lure to me ever since I first discovered Super Metroid and Super Castlevania IV way back in the 90s on the SNES. The Bloodstained series is considered to be the spiritual successor to Castlevania with both series being developed by Koji Igarashi. Igarashi conceived the idea of Bloodstained after his departure from Konami in 2018 and was prompted by many requests by fans for him to produce another “Metroidvania” style game. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is the third game released in the Bloodstained series so how does it compare to its already well received brethren?
Star Trek as a franchise has gone through quite the revival over the last few years. With shows like ‘Star Trek: Picard’, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, and ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ to entertain adult “Trekkies”. Not content with leaving Star Trek to the mature crowd, Alex Kurzman has delivered his extended universe to the younger generation too.
Pirates are a pretty versatile group. Whether it’s on the high seas, in space, or on a distant planet. If a pirate’s involved then you know what kind of adventure you’re in for. On its surface Black Skylands ticks many pirate boxes. You’ll be the captain of your own ship, travel to interesting places, go on grand adventures, tackle someone wanting to destroy your way of life, and even find treasure. However, rather than taking place on land, this adventure sees you heading to the skies – and your boat…it’s an airship!
HighFleet is a hard-core strategy title that’s been developed by Konstantin Koshutin and published by MicroProse. Combining a rich strategic element with tactical air combat, and resource management, HighFleet will either see you save your nation or watch its hope burn in the harsh desert sun.
When it comes to motorsport, gamers are spoilt for choice. Whereas the majority of gamers gravitate to platform exclusives such as Forza Horizon 5, or the recently released Gran Turismo 7, there’s also a wealth of multi-platform titles too. One such is GRID Legends which has been developed by the racing heavyweights over at Codemasters.
The first person shooter market is quite bloated. With FPS titles almost launching on a weekly basis, it’s easy for the odd diamond to get lost in the rough. With Call of Duty still being the FPS king, it’s also used as the benchmark for everything else. One title that’s aiming to take – or at least challenge COD’s supremacy is Insurgency: Sandstorm. Developed by New World Interactive, Insurgency: Sandstorm is a bare-bones multiplayer FPS that aims to highlight the brutal nature of modern warfare.
The original Actraiser was one almighty game. Originally released back in 1990 on the SNES (aka the Super Famicom) the game mixed action-platforming with a pretty in-depth world builder. Actraiser managed to capture your imagination and gave you the tools to literally play God. Since the initial release there’s been a less than memorable sequel – Actraiser 2 – then a few decades of slumber happened to our Lord of Light.