GameSpew's Reviews
The puzzle-shooter gameplay and bizarre presentation of Children of the Sun make it utterly unique. And while your success in some levels unfortunately relies on trial and error, it doesn't stop it from being a highly rewarding experience on the whole.
Gorgeous, perfectly designed and utterly engrossing, Botany Manor is quite simply one of the best puzzle games of recent years.
Turbo Golf Racing is the most entertaining online multiplayer game we've played for a long while, turning golf into an exhilarating fast-paced sport played with vehicles. Its single-player time trial mode complete with leaderboards proves to be an enjoyable time sink, too.
Minishoot' Adventures is an absolute delight, combining intense twin-stick shooter gameplay with a charming world that begs to be explored.
Its creepy art style and unsettling atmosphere will immediately draw you into Buckshot Roulette — but it's its quick-and-dirty Russian roulette gameplay that will keep you coming back. It's easy to play, but to succeed you'll need to keep your wits about you, and that makes for a really successful little game.
Part roguelike, part horror, part puzzle adventure, we've not played anything quite like Withering Rooms before. It's a little scrappy, and we wish combat was better, but there's something about it that will keep us coming back.
Beat Slayer takes the gameplay of titles like Hades and adds a music rhythm twist, making it a treat for those with the skills to play along to the beat.
A strategy puzzle masquerading as a world builder, Planetiles is a wonderfully challenging little game that we can't get enough of.
Saviorless is a beautiful game: its 2D art style remains gorgeous throughout. It's just a shame that its gameplay doesn't stay as enjoyable. What starts out as a rather fun puzzle-platformer eventually devolves into an exercise in frustration thanks to one hit kills and too much reliance on trial and error.
Heavily inspired by the Kingdom games, Sons of Valhalla is great fun — if not a little too unforgiving at times. It's seriously rewarding though, and the sort of thing we can imagine jumping back into time and time again.
If you revel in a challenge and like the idea of a platforming game that offers something totally different, you’re going to absolutely love Pepper Grinder. When it’s all going right, few games feel as satisfying to play as this: there’s nothing quite like powering up your drill to dive through the ground, popping out to jump through the air before landing into a well-placed drill again. Sometimes it’s perhaps a little too tough, but even when Pepper Grinder’s not at its strongest, we couldn’t pull ourselves away, desperate to eventually succeed.
It’s clear that Open Roads is a passion project, one filled with personal touches, love and its team’s personality. But it’s also a triumph: Tess and Opal’s story is gripping, and you’ll eat up every minute of their road trip mystery, hanging onto every word of their conversation. Add to that a unique and beautiful art style, some incredible voice performances and so many nostalgia-inducing objects to nosy at, and you’re left with a truly memorable experience. It’s just a shame that it’s all over so very, very quickly.
South Park: Snow Day is, ultimately, a huge disappointment. This is so far removed from The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole that it really shouldn’t be considered to be related to them in any way. Sure, there’s a glimmer of trademark South Park humour here, but it’s not enough to make the repetitive, dull and painfully scrappy gameplay any more enjoyable. This is a snow day you can safely sit out of: stay home and play Stick of Truth again instead.
It’s safe to say that Rise of the Ronin is perhaps Koei Tecmo’s largest and most ambitious game yet. There’s tens of hours of fun to be had here, living out your fantasy life as a Ronin. Who you ally yourself with and how you develop your character is up to you, and with so many options, you could have a very different experience compared to a friend who is also playing. It’s just a shame that its open world areas aren’t a little more interesting; it ends up diluting the experience on the whole. Still, whether you love open world games, action RPGs or simply like the idea of being a samurai, Rise of the Ronin is worthy of your attention.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a huge upgrade over its predecessor, offering a grander adventure that’s full of choice, consequence and discovery. Every journey you make, big or small, has the chance to be full of wonder, whether it’s due to finding valuable loot or encountering a fearsome enemy that’s rewarding to combat. Its lack of hand-holding in some regards still might deter some players, but for those who value a sense of adventure, Dragon’s Dogma 2 might just end up being the highlight of 2024.
Alone in the Dark isn’t flawless, but it’s definitely one of the best entries in the series so far and an accomplished reimagining. Its story will keep you on your toes, even if sometimes you might feel like it could have a little more fleshed out. And while the game’s combat doesn’t impress, the oppressive atmosphere throughout is effective at keeping you on edge. Throw in a bucketload of enjoyable puzzles to overcome, and you have a survival horror that’s well worth spending some time with.
If you’re the type of person who gets a kick out of design and renovation, you’re likely going to love Hotel Renovator. It scratches that cosy simulator itch, providing you with repetitive but wholesome tasks to complete. Random events and the odd injection of humour aims to mix things up, but ultimately, Hotel Renovator is at its best when you’re knee-deep in redesigning a hotel room, making everything beautiful and just how you want it. Bliss.
Contra: Operation Galuga is a treat for both fans of Contra and run ‘n’ gun shooters in general. And thanks to its Perk system and multiple difficulty levels, it’s one of the most accessible entries in the genre. An absolute blast from beginning to end, Contra: Operation Galuga’s campaign might be quite brief, but with its additional modes and wealth of unlockables, there’s hours upon hours of arcade fun to be had here.
A true hidden gem, Bore Blasters has all the ingredients of an indie classic in the making. The gameplay loop here is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying that we’ve had the pleasure to play, and each new upgrade really does feel like an achievement. Simply put, we can’t get enough of Bore Blasters: we’re going to be returning to it time and time again. And each time, we won’t be able to pull ourselves away.
For much of Reveil we were worried that it was just going to be another bog-standard first-person psychological horror game, but it’s safe to say that its late-game twist saved it. And so while it’s not all that scary, and the voice acting of the main character somewhat ruins the atmosphere at times, it’s still very much worth a play if you’re a fan of the genre or just enjoy a good story that throws you a curveball.