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The Fantasy Finds DLC is a great addition to an already great game. People who purchase it will absolutely love what it adds to the game. Two Point Museum: Fantasy Finds DLC receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
With the big machines taking to the small screen, you are in for a treat. WWE 2K25 Switch 2 Edition plays incredibly, and that alone is a feat of engineering. Add to it the comparative options and modes, you’re getting a great version of the game. Now, whether £60 is a bit too steep for you to pay, that is a decision for you to make. WWE 2K25 Switch 2 Edition receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
I am a big fan of the original Bee Simulator game. I’ve played it a couple of times on my PlayStation. There’s no doubt this game is a really good way of combining gaming with educational elements without feeling like you’re learning something. When I heard there was going to be a new release with new features, I was really really excited! But in all honesty, Bee Simulator: The Hive didn’t need to be a full release. Whilst it adds some really fun elements, they’re only accessible post-main game and it doesn’t really add all that much. It’s quite difficult to figure out what rating to give it. If you’ve played this game before then realistically I don’t think you’ll be massively impressed. If you’re a brand new player I think it does definitely add something to the base game. The bees keep buzzing and this continues to be a good game, ultimately I just don’t think it’s worth buying the game over again. With that I’ve given Bee Simulator: The Hive the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Ritual of Raven is a delightfully charming game that celebrates the wonders of both the arcane and the feeling of community, infused with the intricacies of coding. Colourful and cosy, it’s perfect for settling down for a quiet night in. Puzzles and conversations could be explored a little more, but with playtime in double figures and a unique take on farming, there’s enough to keep you coming back for more. Thus it receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award, charged under the sun for a vitality boost!
Doctor Life Simulator’s gameplay is terrible and lacks any depth. Meeting the same NPCs and instantly knowing what ailment they had quickly removed all joy. The large amount of bugs made playing the game a struggle with, especially that fourth day game over one! The game comes off as lifeless, and the A.I. voices don’t help at all. I would highly suggest leaving this game out of your backlog. Doctor Life Simulator is a perfect example of why I don’t agree with the use of certain A.I. tools. All you end up with is a hollow game that comes across as a cash grab. Other games I’ve reviewed in the past have minor parts, but this game overuses them. From the trailer to the voices in game, it feels wrong. I think this is the first time I’ll be giving a game the Thumb Culture Broken Award.
Overall, I’d say that Block Factory is just “okay”. The performance issues right from the start were a huge let-down and having to turn the sounds off also wasn’t great for immersion. I also had to restart some levels because of a bug that prevented me from loading into already started maps, which was pretty frustrating. The game can feel very tedious at times. In other similar games, it feels more rewarding to progress, but in this one, you’re just handed more complicated things to tackle with pretty much the same equipment once you reach a certain point. To me, the game is neither here nor there, but also not a complete failure. Ultimately, the game does what it promises, and that’s what matters. If you enjoy simple factory builders, or you like to fiddle with building bricks, you may still want to have a go at it, though I’d suggest getting it on sale, and overall waiting a few updates for them to patch out the stability issues. All that being said, today Block Factory will receive the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
The best way to describe Hungry Meem is rough around the edges. There are a number of great elements of this game that are overshadowed by some smaller issues. Watching time count down to the end of the day whilst the Meems are still struggling to pick up sticks and berries really just ruined the ease of playing the game. Overall this is a decent game but the never ending attempts to eat the different materials as well as the Meems just struggling to gather, regardless of their level, made it a hard experience to enjoy at times. Ultimately this has led me to giving Hungry Meem the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
The King is Watching is a strategic gem hiding behind cute sprites and a duck with nerdy specs. It’s a roguelite builder that dares to do something different, even if that sometimes means being confusing or needlessly punishing. There’s a joy in experimenting within the King’s Gaze; rotating your influence to power a barracks before the goblins crash the gates desperately, and a real sense of satisfaction when a plan comes together. While the lack of a save system and progression hurdles are definite thorns in the crown, Hypnohead still crafted a refreshingly weird and mechanically rich experience. With tinyBuild behind them, we’re hopeful for updates, tweaks, and perhaps a few more ducks. The King Is Watching receives a Thumb Culture Gold Award. A worthy kingdom, ruled with charm, chaos, and just a little quackery.
If you’re looking for an excellent and well-crafted world with small RPG mechanics, then Back to the Dawn is for you. I enjoyed the premise but fell in love with the wide cast of characters and amazing storytelling it offers. Although I botched my first run, taking what new info I had made it more interesting on my second attempt. The dice rolling is fair and offers a great variety of ways to improve them. Making Back to the Dawn is a great game for beginners to the RPG genre. Although there isn’t a lot of choice in-game, I never felt forced down a specific path. For example, having to side with someone to actually survive in the prison. You can keep to yourself and only befriend those you need to. It was great to have the deadline feel way more like a motivator. Rather than it being an actual time-restraint. Gameplay keeps you engaged, but doesn’t force you to do the stuff you hate. Which, for me, was some of the job mini-games. Bonding with the other inmates doesn’t feel like a chore, for filling their rapport bars. It is plain to see that the devs have put a lot of love and passion into Back to the Dawn. With its various Easter eggs and references for you to find. So, in the end, screw trying to bust out of prison. I’m going to need someone to help me out with putting this game down. That’s why I’m giving Back to the Dawn the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. I can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future!
My Friendly Neighborhood combines a number of elements from well-known, classic horror games and puts a fun twist on it. I think it is a perfect, easy horror game to get into without over the top gore and themes. It’s definitely worth trying out and you get a decent amount of game for £25. For comparison, Resident Evil Village was £60 on release and the story lasted around 8 hours. So this has a lot of game for a fair price! I’m giving My Friendly Neighborhood the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
In closing, I firmly believe that Lucy Dreaming is one of the best point-and-click games of the modern era. The game is utterly charming and packed to the brim with hilarious jokes and easter eggs. Its brilliant plot, cast of weirdly wonderful characters, and plenty of engaging puzzles make this an easy recommendation! If you’re a fan of the genre, you need to play Lucy Dreaming! For that reason, I’m giving Lucy Dreaming a Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 was really an enjoyable experience that anyone can get into. Its got easy understanding of how the button and combats work, so it’s beginner friendly. With the fact that we get to experience the game as if it’s the anime is wonderful in my eyes. Then again, it is CyberConnect2 we’re talking about here. A team who wholeheartedly respects the source material to make sure not to cut out the important and minor scenes in the show. Yet, with how much of the story we’ve already gone thru the game, I’m worried for the last game. Since the Infinity Castle arc will be short with the last bit even shorter, I wonder what they’ll pull out of their hats when the time comes. I give Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
As of right now, the game still feels a bit bare-bones, if I’m being brutally honest. There are only two boards to choose from, with minimal customization options, and I do mean bare minimum. Likewise, the avatar has surprisingly few options for personification. In a world where players enthusiastically throw money at companies through microtransactions just to add small personal items to their little digital characters on a screen, it is baffling how little content there is. Descenders Next is a fun game that I can see myself coming back to in the future. That is, when the game developers have added a bit of variety to the play modes, and more creative customization options beyond a black hoody or an open purple jacket (literally the only two options). The game has got some great potential, but something is missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. Developers RageSquid need to put in a bit more razzmatazz, add sauce, that extra something something. Right now, it’s missing attitude, or a personality, even. The game is good, I would love for it to be great! For now, the Descenders Next deserves a Silver. The Thumb Culture Silver Award, that is! But I still believe there is room for this game to improve and eventually get the Gold Award.
Playing Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate was enjoyable since I watched the trailer for this expansion. I literally let out a death scream and said, “I can’t believe Bungie pulled me back in!” I’m excited to see what the Renegade part of the expansion is going to be like. Yet, I don’t know if the story is going to be canon in the Star Wars universe or not. Wait … is the Force going to be considered a subclass at this point? Only time will tell. The the only question I have to ask is, will this new overhaul on the original system make or break this franchise. I give Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate the Thumb Culture Gold Award
I wish One-Eyed Likho leaned a little more into the horror aspect of things. Such as more attempts at scaring the player. But overall, the story telling was excellent and did really well with keeping my attention. Especially with the tales and puzzles within the game. I had some minor frame drops when entering a new area of the Refectory. But nothing that ruins the experience. Puzzles are fun and don’t require you to know all the world’s knowledge. Smith and Tailor are enjoyable as characters, and Morteshka has done a great job of bringing them to life. One-Eyed Likho deserves the Thumb Culture Gold Award for successfully breathing life into an old tale. I would have given it a platinum, but as I already mentioned, I wished there was a little more horror. Since that’s what grabbed my attention when playing the demo.
Occlude is an enjoyable, challenging-yet-beatable, puzzle game. It doesn’t shy away from telling you to expect to find it difficult. Equally, it encourages you to continue forward in the face of setbacks. The mechanics and general rules of play are easy to pick up, and the differing rules of each Ritual can be deciphered with trial-and-error. The story elements didn’t fully engage me, unfortunately, and felt like decoration to stop the game being simply a procession of levels. However, if you do play and want to explore more of the narrative, there may be additional secrets to discover, perhaps using the ‘Evidence’ that’s being released slowly on the Steam Community page. After all is said and done, Occlude is a tight, well-polished experience. I’d recommend this to players who enjoy a challenge where logic and deduction skills are essential. Occlude receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award. Happy dealings!
Let Them Trade doesn’t try to revolutionise the genre, it refines it into something approachable, adorable, and endlessly satisfying. It’s the kind of game you can play with a hot drink on a rainy afternoon, giggling at squirrel antics and smug kings as you expand your mellow little empire. It’s rare to find a game that’s this polished in tone, this generous in spirit, and this delightful to look at. Plus when that game includes a squirrel named Mr. Nuts whispering tax advice into a king’s ear, it deserves recognition. Let Them Trade gets the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES is just an amazing addition to the series. The fact they kept this hidden from us for so long until the Nintendo Switch 2 direct is amazing. When I saw that we were getting another entry into the AI series, I nearly fell out of my chair with excitement. I hope the developers go on to make a fourth game or by some miracle this series gets an anime like Danganronpa did. I give No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
To be honest, before installing the game, I wasn’t sure it would be my thing. I couldn’t see how the premise could make for an enjoyable experience. As a VR enthusiast, I really should have known better. This game simply wouldn’t work as well on a flatscreen. It thrives on atmosphere and immersing the player—things that just aren’t possible with a TV or computer monitor. But that’s exactly where VR shines. It’s a completely different medium and as such, needs developers to take risks on new ideas for gamers to experience something truly different and Cave Crave VR does that exceptionally well. I award Cave Crave the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
While it has its fair share of graphical and mechanical debris, Everdeep Aurora is an endearing little story of trying to find home and a sense of togetherness when the world is falling apart. Quests may be imbalanced in terms of rewards, but the characters are charming. The map lacks definition, but the stripped-back colour schemes are atmospheric. You won’t know where you’re going, but you’ll lose yourself in the sensational soundtrack along the way. Therefore, it digs up a Thumb Culture Silver Award from the deep!