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Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition need a re-release on the new gen consoles and PC? I always say yes when talking about remasters of much loved games, as it serves to introduce them to a new generation of gamers. Improvements have been given to the game to bring it right up to date and to make use of the newest tech. This game still remains a firm favourite in the gaming community, and it’s great to see it given a polish and offered up looking better than ever. I award this game the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Fruitbus is the perfect addition to any cozy gamer’s library with a lovely atmosphere, welcoming graphics and adorable characters lining the story. I have sunk so many hours into this game and I plan to keep playing it! As mentioned, the only off-putting thing I experienced was the disappearance of coins and my shovel and having to rebuy it every few days. As a result, I am happy to give Fruitbus the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my play-through of Prim. The gothic hand-drawn monochrome art style is lovely. The entwinement of Greek mythology puts an interesting spin on the setting and storyline. The characters are all enjoyable and bring the narrative to life while the aforementioned skill of puzzle-solving is at just the right level of difficulty in my opinion. Kudos to Jonas Fisch and his team for bringing Prim to life.
Steel City Interactive have crafted exactly what they aimed to do. An authentic boxing experience that allows lovers of the sport to take to the ring and fight with their favourite boxers. With great graphics and fun gameplay Undisputed definitely is a welcome return to the ring for the genre. Will it be the start of a great franchise, or will it just be updated constantly with new boxers? Only time will tell I guess, hopefully the bell doesn’t ring too soon on this one.
What I most enjoyed was the fact that you not only experienced the stories of Cliff and Nora, but also the other patrons. Getting to experience the protagonist’s plight but also the secondary characters reminds me of games such as Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy for the PlayStation 2. You experience everyone’s point of view, which aids you in the choices you make. Without any spoilers, the game almost feels like you play through the canon events or core memories of the patrons, which range from a variety of emotions and personal traumas, and you offer advice in the hopes that it eases them. The idea of setting this story in a diner works extremely well, as whether or not you are a stranger or a regular, something is comforting in divulging the intricacies of life to random strangers you may never meet again. The world is ending, but everyone’s problems are bigger than that and it’s all-consuming. For psychological horror gamers this is a must-buy. It’s easy to get into, and quick to complete but is also budget-friendly with a £4.49 price tag. I am happy to award While We Wait Here a Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
I have adored Just Dance games since I was dancing to “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga from Just Dance 2014. It is a game I tend to buy most years and something that me and my younger sister bond over. Just Dance 2025 is no exception to this. The first thing I did was invite my sister over to play. I would implore you to buy this year’s version, whether this be to play by yourself or with friends and family.
The thing that I appreciate the most about this game is the effort that’s put into making everything consistent. From the start menu to the end of the game you are forced into this supernatural world and the devs spared no efforts in making everything encapsulate the story. When you look at modern AAA games, you can almost guarantee that the menu will be just a list of options on a background image. With FAITH you’re met with a Latin menu that shifts with you. It doesn’t make sense and had me confused at first but it ultimately just made everything feel more connected. You can see the amount of love and care that went into crafting this game. Putting it on Nintendo Switch has just made it easier to play. I’ve got more demons to hunt and more story to uncover so this will definitely be taking up space on my Switch for the foreseeable future! There was 0 hesitation from me when it came to the awarding FAITH the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
I have to admit; that I was sceptical about how they would achieve making A Quiet Place a game without being too dull. The gameplay is engaging and having you open everything manually adds a certain depth to the horror elements. The story is okay and provides a nice setup, however, I lost interest rather quickly and the plot feels too predictable. I felt the notes didn’t add much, maybe they talked more about the early days of the Invasion. From the ones I found it felt like just ranting. Pacing was also an issue for me as well. I understand you aren’t able to run, but walking does become gruelling after a while, especially after dying from minor mistakes. I didn’t use A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead’s microphone feature, as I have dogs and I would have been dying a lot more. Overall, I’d say the game provides a great experience and catches the atmosphere and tone of the movies but makes it better with you being at the wheel. I would definitively say it’s worth playing at least once, even more so if you enjoy the films. This is why I’m awarding it the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
As always 2K Games have created an incredible homage to basketball. If you are a fan of the series then you will no doubt be picking this one up to add to your collection and I don’t blame you for doing so. With so many modes to get stuck into you will likely focus on one or two for the entirety of your gaming sessions. Again, I don’t blame you for doing so. My only concern for newcomers to the series is that there is too much to do. Too much that may cause a bit of gaming paralysis for some and they may turn off and go back to another game.
Whilst Hot Wheels: Monster Trucks Stunt Mayhem may have been designed for the younger gamers, there is still plenty of the grown-ups to enjoy. Will it be a title that you will be playing in weeks to come, probably not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun right now.
Playing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has reignited my desire to play through some of the other older Zelda games. It has been an absolute joy to play through and honestly I really hope that we get to play as Zelda more often because that Princess can slay! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Yass Queen (Princess) The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gets the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
What a game! I didn’t know what to expect when looking into the details of Beyond Galaxyland. Although its charm, beautiful graphics, and characters soon won me over. I will definitely continue playing through this game. I’d recommend anyone with a love of narrative-based pixel games to try this out. It’s such an enjoyable game full of challenging combat, and puzzles but mostly heart and character. I award Beyond Galaxyland the prestigious Thumb Culture Gold Award!
So is this a ground-breaking VR experience? While it may not completely revolutionize the Gundam formula, Silver Phantom does deliver a unique experience with some highs and lows. As a big Gundam fan I did enjoy this game. Had I not already been a fan, I’m not sure this would have captured me in the same way. If they choose to make more Gundam games, I hope the developers use this game as a stepping stone. I wish I could award this game a gold but I can’t given the issues I ran across. However, given more polish I would definitely up my review score. For now I award Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom the Thumb Culture Silver Award
Ok, so how do I sum up Maestro? I think I can do it in a few simple words. Pure, Brilliant, Indulgent Fun. There, that’s it, I had so much fun playing through the different songs and getting to grips with all the hand gestures. It’s firmly in my repeat play VR games! With probably the easiest award I’ve ever had to give, Maestro receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
The entire time I was playing Game Builder Tycoon, I couldn’t stop thinking about Game Dev Tycoon which came out a few years ago. All I could focus on was how much of an improvement this game was to games in the past. Despite its heavy inspiration, it does so much more that felt a little lacking in earlier attempts at this sort of game. It’s a game that you can pick up and put down whenever you want. Check out the Game Builder Tycoon trailer below to see whether there’s a space for it in your library. As it can be a little overwhelming at first and the scenarios can get a bit repetitive, I’ve given Game Builder Tycoon the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
So Europa is a stunning experience, a calming adventure of exploration leading to one of the most engaging storylines I’ve experienced in a long while. It is my pleasure to give Europa the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Whether your a fan of the original story or new to Wonderland the game provides a captivating journey. The story touching upon mental health was a really interesting take I hadn’t expected. I loved each and every puzzle too. There is very little to pick apart with Escaping Wonderland. You can tell the developers have really took there time to polish this game to give you the best experience. I recommend this game very highly and will definitely be giving Down the Rabbit Hole a try! Escaping Wonderland gets the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
At the time of reviewing, which was pre launch, there were some minor issues with Amber Isle. For example, some of the menus wouldn’t work when I clicked them. I also saw eyes sometimes meshing into characters models. Not the cute look the devs were going for I’m sure. Like I said these are minor issues and they can easily be addressed with a patch on release. Another quality of life improvement would be info boxes for items when attempting to recommend a product to a customer. The image is okay, but becomes hard when the client wants something small. For example, at one point I tried to give a customer a pencil and it was the wrong choice. As the icon was small and there was no info box this was a repeated mistake and it did become tedious. I also found the filter option didn’t work and using the sorting function could be better. I understand these may actually sound like major issues, but they didn’t break my gameplay experience. They were just minor nuisances. With all that said, Amber Isle is both fun and adorable to play and, just like the island, it needs a few fixes. The creative choices you can do for the shop and island feel like Animal Crossing (although not so in depth with custom designs). The inhabitants are quirky and entertaining with their personalities. That’s why I’m giving Amber Isle the Thumb Culture Gold Award. Now excuse me, if you need me I’ll be on Amber Isle completing my island fix up.
At it’s core Exploding Kittens VR is a party game, so it can potentially last a long time. As long as you have enough people to consistently play the game with and have fun, the time is endless. I did however experience a slight bit of discomfort when the transition between the loading screen and gameplay screen occurred. It wasn’t enough to make me nauseous but it was definitely a moment where I found myself reeling at the animation. It is almost a corkscrew circular transition from the centre of the screen and it just isn’t very smooth. Now don’t get me wrong its a small thing, but each time it happened I found myself a little discombobulated for a second or two. Final Thoughts Exploding Kittens VR lives up to the expectation set from the physical game as well as the ever popular Netflix series. With its comical graphics and gripping gameplay you will be able to lose hours of time while having fun with friends and strangers alike. Exploding Kittens VR receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
This game is amazing. I truly wish I had more time in the day to sit down and play for longer sessions at a time. I’ve barely touched on all the great things in this review. (I didn’t even mention that there are vehicles too until just now!) There’s always something that I am looking to do next. Just knowing how much time I’ll eventually put into it drives that even more. Satisfactory has become a modern gem from where it started five years ago in early access. It is well-deserving of the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.