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There’s a good game underneath the issues I had, and plenty of fun to be had. My concern is that the issues with graphics, AI and the in game bugs will unfortunately put a lot of people off. I award Tracked: Shoot to Survive the Thumb Culture Silver Award. Just as I submitted my review, Meta store confirmed that Patch 1.1.0 is live and the patch notes show it’s a big one. Hopefully, it will mean some of my concerns have already been addressed, but it does show the devs are taking on the feedback and working through it. Hopefully, we will see this game go from strength to strength with this and future patches, and I’ll be keeping a keen eye on its progress.
Each level is a visual feast for the eyes, game-play is simple and what you would expect of a jigsaw in real life. If you do so happen to get stuck, then a hint system is available. Personally, the asking price seems fair for how detailed the designs are, and I’d happily return to this game if they add additional levels in the future. My biggest issue with the game… it made me hungry for something sweet. UMAMI offers a fun time with cute levels, that you will probably finish in an afternoon, like I did. Congrats UMAMI, on earning the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Contraband Police has certainly surpassed my expectations. Never would I have thought that looking through documents and searching through contraband outside of my job would be fun. I am excited to experience the DLC mode Crimson Fall, which is due to come soon. I will therefore be awarding Contraband Police with the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Coffee Bar Simulator lacks depth or complexity. The game is too simplistic and doesn’t dig deeper into any of the aspects that could have made this game at least somewhat interesting. From an entrepreneur’s point of view, it doesn’t challenge players to take business-savvy decisions to stand out from the competition. Things like lower prices compared to market averages, better indoor decor and seating to create a better atmosphere, higher-quality products, and cleanliness all have zero impact on customer behaviour. The same five NPCs will come back to your coffee shop, no matter how dirty it is, no matter if you have the most expensive coffee in the city, no matter if you decorate your coffee shop or not. Coffee Bar Simulator gets monotonous and dull after just 15 minutes of play. It feels more like a demo, a Beta, or an Alpha, even, rather than a complete game. Accordingly, I can’t rate it, and I won’t dignify it with any of our Thumb Culture Awards.
Dreams has delivered another great VR title, as it’s an impressive showcase of what VR action-adventure can be. It’s a combination of great movement, cinematic storytelling, and finely tuned combat. The environments are rich and atmospheric, and the spatial audio pulls you deep into its world. The voice performances bring real emotional weight to the journey. While it’s not the longest game out there, every hour feels purposeful — packed with discovery, danger, and beauty. The intuitive controls and strong sense of momentum make exploration genuinely exhilarating, and the narrative balances mystery with heart. Reach receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award. I really wanted to give the Platinum, but with the bugs and glitches was hard.
Overall, Truck Driver: The Dutch Connection is a disappointing attempt at a truck simulation game. Sure, it has its moments, but it just isn’t in-depth enough. If you’re looking for something that’s a bit less strict when it comes to playing by the game’s rules, then you may enjoy this. Unfortunately, it’s not a title I can recommend, with so many other great sims already out there. So, for those reasons, I’ll be giving Truck Driver: The Dutch Connection a Thumb Culture Bronze Award!
Syberia Remastered feels like someone bought a shack, added a new sign, and called it a renovation. The smoother controls are welcome, but leaving the CGI untouched and no new voice acting means it never escapes the early-2000s feel. It’s a shame as there’s a wonderful atmosphere buried beneath and with a bit more care, it could’ve been special. Instead it a decent effort that polishes the past but never fully revitalises it. Even so, I still found a curious mix of old and new that’s easy to appreciate for it’s time but hard to love through modern eyes. For its half-baked execution, I’m just about awarding Syberia Remastered the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Honestly, my experience thus far with Skopje ’83 has been tedious, at best. My confusion trying to find any type of gear pick up, and lack of any direction, led to time looting sparse areas when I should have been trying to explore as much as possible. I don’t expect games to hold my hand, but some indication of where items and gear improvements could be found would have been helpful. For many reasons, Skopje ’83 is getting the Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
Whilst, yes, it does feel like a slightly less-polished version of a Burnout game, there’s no doubt that this is a lot of fun to play. As someone who put countless hours into Criterion’s long-dormant franchise, it’s refreshing to be able to play something familiar, yet with its own unique mechanics. With that being said, I’ll be giving Wreckreation the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
It’s great to see more studios bringing cosy, fun, couch co-op titles to players. It’s been a fairly neglected genre. I feel many publishers focus on MOBAs, Military Sims, and Hero Shooters as the main multiplayer attractions. Thankfully, Studio Mantasaur have seen fit to grace us with a game for gaming couples, friends, or even parents and children. I was impressed with the puzzle design throughout. Especially how different mechanics are introduced and eventually combined to make longer solutions which managed to stay pretty intuitive. If you can look past the slightly calloused skin, you’ll find yourselves in comforting hands. Don’t let this one slip through your fingers. All Hands On Deck grabs itself a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Dispatch is honestly an amazing piece of storytelling. Probably the best we’ve had about superheroes in a long time. The game honestly had me gripped. I have been fully invested in the story and characters since first playing episode 1. For some that statement might mean nothing, but to those who played episode 6 it hits hard. I can’t wait to see where this will end and hope we might get a sequel. All I have to say to all our readers is, Keep Up. Here’s to more amazing storytelling games from AdHoc Studio in the future. In the meantime, I give Dispatch the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Satisfactory is genuinely a marvel of a game. The idea of building up a factory and slowly making it automated didn’t really appeal to me on paper. However, playing this game has opened my eyes to a rather niche genre. Not that I’ll have time to go looking for something new, as I’m now hopelessly addicted to draining this alien world of all its resources and creating my own little industrial utopia! If the issues pertaining to the crashing and pop-ins were a non-issue, the game would easily get a Platinum Award from me. As it stands, though, I’ll be giving Satisfactory a well-deserved Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Jurassic World Evolution 3 isn’t just a bigger sequel; it’s the series finding its stride. It blends the managerial satisfaction of a city builder with the cinematic thrill of a monster movie, and for the most part, it succeeds beautifully. Sure, there are occasional rough edges, the odd pathfinding glitch or camera hiccup, the occasional overcomplicated menu, but those are small fossils in an otherwise living ecosystem. The game’s attention to detail, freedom of creativity, and pulse-pounding moments of chaos make it a worthy evolution of the franchise. For players like me who loved Evolution 2, this is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for. For newcomers, it’s the ultimate entry point, a perfect storm of management, beauty, and barely-contained disaster. So, build your park, open the gates, and pray the fences hold. Because in Jurassic World Evolution 3, life doesn’t just find a way, it finds every way. I give Jurassic World Evolution 3 the prestigious Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Whether you’re a long-time fan of the series or a complete newbie, Simon the Sorcerer Origins has plenty to enjoy and will make you smile aplenty. Brimming with care and love, the game keeps its puzzly sarcastic roots. Whilst also bringing it warmly into the modern adventure game world. It has a number of jarring elements, but they are spaced out and rarely frustrating, giving way to its undeniable vibrancy and charm. Therefore it receives the Thumb Culture Silver Award! Be sure to share it with Swampling, eh Simon?
Bounty Star is a game with an interesting concept but age-old storyline that reads as dry as the desert outside. I came into the game looking for more intense combat than what I have encountered thus far. A lack of openness to the world to go out and explore hits pretty hard too. I’d much rather travel via foot than go instance to instance. It’ll be the Thumb Culture Bronze Award for this one.
I had a great time with Strange Antiquities, as it delivers an engaging and detailed story. Definitely more than I expected for a casual shop sim game. The plot was easy to invest in as Jupiter and I solved the puzzles and identified the numerous antiques. The puzzles are fun to solve once the game clicks, and they add layers to maintain the challenge level. It keeps the game from feeling repetitive and makes it so you can’t brute force or cheese your way through. I really enjoyed the detailed visual design, which somewhat alleviates that seeing the same perspective could get old quickly. However, the audio design was a little disappointing, with no audible character voices. The music and environmental sounds worked well, especially together. The replayability benefits from alternate endings and going back to see what you may have missed the first time around, and also having almost 2 dozen achievements to unlock. I am giving Strange Antiquities the Thumb Culture Gold Award and look forward to seeing what Bad Viking bring us next.
Becastled is one of those games that reminds you why the RTS genre deserves more love. It’s approachable without being shallow, charming without being twee, and strategic without drowning you in spreadsheets. Yes, a campaign mode and a few quality-of-life tweaks would make it even stronger, but the foundations here are solid. From its delightful soundscape and inviting art style to its satisfying loop of daytime planning and nighttime panic, Becastled offers hours of fun. It’s a game that makes you smile even as your walls crumble and your villagers scream. If you’ve ever wanted a cosier take on medieval defence, Becastled is absolutely worth your time.
Well, I think that it’s clear I enjoyed Borderlands 4. It brings the tried and tested formula behind every other game of the franchise. It just ramps it up a little bit for the current generation of gamers. Giving you more content than you will ever need, the game aims to bring something new as well. The open world is gorgeous, and with the addition of it being seamless just increased the immersion for me. The last snippet of information I will leave you with is that when you see a dome appear… get in there! Borderlands 4 receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
GODBREAKERS is hands-down one of the best games I’ve had the pleasure of playing this year. It embraces the core genre mechanics without succumbing to the pitfall of a monotonous game loop. Quests that play alongside the story for things as simple as different cosmetics and abilities provide ample objective-driven gameplay. With its own namesake ability system, and not another character spewing bullets/abilities everywhere, this beautiful addition to the roguelite cabinet deserves the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. Be sure to check it out for yourselves!
All in all, the game absolutely nails the cosy, calming vibe it is going for. The core gameplay loop is fun and never really gets repetitive, even as you move through new islands doing basically the same thing as before. I do wish there was a bit more furniture available, but maybe that’s just me. While the price of £14.29 feels a little steep to me, the sheer amount of gameplay you get can make it worthwhile if you enjoy this type of gameplay, and it will probably go on sale eventually, too. Despite a few of its annoying quirks, Twinkleby is a very solid game that delivers what it promises, even if I still really feel like a little more content would have been nice. Here is hoping that some more furniture will be added down the road! But for today, I am giving Twinkleby the Thumb Culture Silver Award.