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I loved Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip. The story is great, and we should all admire and aim to emulate Terry’s focus on achieving his dream. Towards the end of the story I began to feel like there might have been a darker twist waiting to happen, similar to the Angelica Rugrats theory, but I think I was maybe being paranoid. I’m all about short, indie games that know exactly what they want to be and focus on delivering that vision with a tight scope and great polish. In a world where we are inundated with myriad video game releases each week, many of which demand insane amounts of play time and attention, I want to see more of these types of games. Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip receives a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Snezhinka: Sentinel Girls 2 delivers on its high-tempo action and presents an intriguing story with multiple branching paths. The combat is tight, the visuals are great, and the soundtrack is incredible. However, the lack of voice acting, tedium of replaying scenes, and frustrating progression system hold it back from true greatness. With a bit more polish, such as better explanations for mechanics, the ability to retain co-worker levels, and a refined skip function, it could have easily been a gold-tier experience. As it stands, it’s worth playing, but be prepared for some grind and, some frustration. Snezhinka: Sentinel Girls 2 earns a well-deserved Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Alien: Rogue Incursion is an excellent addition to the Alien franchise. One that introduces us to a new character and an entirely new experience. With elements true to the franchise it is a must for any fan of Alien. Alien: Rogue Incursion gets the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has sold an incredible amount already, and it’s clear to see why. Its rich immersive world is something to behold. Yes, it isn’t without its faults, but those can be overlooked for now when you realise what you have in your hands. Taking control of Henry once again and starting to become attached with the character, you fear death, but you strive to help him grow. With RPG elements that deserve a massive round of applause, you will revel in creating the ultimate Henry. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award, because it’s just so bloody addictive!
Moonlit Farewell was a game I was eager to get back to every time I had to stop playing. I couldn’t wait to find the next secret, or boss, and figure out what else lay ahead on the adventure. I’m really sad that’s it no longer an ongoing series. Hopefully, Bombservice use everything they learned while making the Momodora games and apply that to a new Metroidvania series. The team clearly have a great understanding of how to build an interesting, interconnected world that feels fun to explore, and contains exciting combat. The only things I’d really want improved are the difficulty and a few more reasons to backtrack through the world. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell receives a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
DEAD LETTER DEPT. truly turns atmosphere into an art form which only enhances the simplicity of the game. Previously, I haven’t picked up a typing games as I was sceptical on how much can be done in them. This has been an amazing introduction to the genre. In fact this game has made me excited to try out other games of the same style to see whether they all live up to this standard! Ultimately, I have to give DEAD LETTER DEPT. the Thumb Culture Platinum Award as it’s up there with some of my favourite horror games.
Overall, Blood Bar Tycoon is a great management game. I like how it’s simple and doesn’t become over bearing with tonnes of things to track all at once. The game itself runs great and I enjoy the various characters, animations, and visual themes it has. It reminds me of Two Point Hospital and if you’re looking for an easy to learn management, then Blood Bar Tycoon isn’t a bad shout. There are a few tweaks it could do with, however. For example, you can’t place furniture right by windows, especially when there is space. Some objects like the Cells placement square (the one where it shows the sizes) is a little off centre. And I wish we could place walls in already established rooms. Now, besides the stuff mentioned above, I am really enjoying it. That’s why I’m giving it the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
I had a great time playing The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon. Honestly, I am not sure if it would’ve been a game I would’ve picked up myself. But I am very happy I was allowed to play because I am now obsessed. Goblinz Publishing and Aniki Games have given us a great management game, which I implore you to give a chance. There is a lot to enjoy, and there is plenty of replayability – it would be hard to become bored! The Executive: Movie Industry Tycoon receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Hello Kitty Island Adventure is exactly what you think it is. A Sanrio character filled Animal Crossing. However, this isn’t a negative. There is comfort in knowing exactly what you’re going to be doing when you sit down to play this. Do some quests for people, fix up an island and make more friends. This game could fill the void the lack of a new Animal Crossing game has created. Especially if you’re a Hello Kitty fan. My only reservation about the game is its price point. Whilst I appreciate games have increased prices over the years I ultimately had to ask myself if I would have paid £36 for this one. And I’m not sure if I would have. I certainly wouldn’t pay the £54 for a non-physical deluxe edition. It’s cute, and fun, and I loved interacting with my favourite Sanrio characters, but the price still feels a bit high for a cosy game with such simple gameplay. Then again based on the “£1 per hour of gameplay” model, and with 80+ hours worth of gameplay you could well get your monies worth from it. Wait, did I just talk myself around? Ok so maybe the price isn’t that bad, but still, I do wonder if it would become a bit too much of the same thing over time. In any case, Hello Kitty Island Adventure receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
While the game has roots in becoming a successful cyberpunk game, it is unfortunately lacking in the detective area of the game. It seems that DeTechtive 2112 focuses more on the action, rather than the problem-solving associated with being a Detective. However, it must be said that those behind the game are a small indie company. And they have committed to continue to improve the game where problems have been identified. For now I will be awarding DeTechtive 2112 the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Now, A Game About Digging A Hole keeps it simple and fun. It doesn’t try to do anything too wild, which I’m okay with. The game knows what it wants to do and I Dig it. The only improvements (well, more like suggestions) are to add some secrets while digging or maybe bones. Other than that, the game is enjoyable and great for killing some time. So I would recommend it and I think it deserves A Thumb Culture Gold Award.
I had a great time playing While Waiting, which conveys the feelings behind these moments very well while gamifying them. And as someone in their 30s, a lot of the game did hit close to home. Optillusion has delivered a great game taking a relatively simple premise and crafting an engaging, funny and heartfelt story. I do wish there was more time for each scene for puzzles and being on keyboard and mouse it was less finicky but it does give an excuse to replay it. The visual design is fantastic and the audio works well enough with the game. A complete playthrough takes 5-6 hours but with plenty of scenes to unlock, there is plenty more. While Waiting has earned the Thumb Culture Gold Award! I’m looking forward to seeing what Optillusion bring out next.
Despite the few frustrations that I faced, I enjoyed Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter. I love to see small studios create games they’re passionate about, especially when the studio is close to home. Odd Bug Studios have carved out a great identity for their Tails of Iron series. I’ll be checking out the first title, and whatever they create next. If you’re looking for a medium length game, with tough as nails combat to test your metal, try this. Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter gets a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Overall, Human Within is a great experience, especially from a narrative point of view. The story definitely started to ramp up towards the end, and even though there may not have been a point to them, I felt that when completing puzzles I was on the clock. Which did have me fretting when I kept getting them wrong. Thankfully the storyline was such that it was relative. I felt that it was believable and if you are a tech head then you will probably see some elements of real life in there too. Human Within receives the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
The main issue with Ambulance Life is the amount of visual bugs/glitches. I’ve seen heads disappear during cut-scenes, hair be pulled across the screen. And full on buildings not loading in. These graphical glitches really need to be fixed. Gameplay wise, I haven’t had that many problems. I enjoy doing the treatments for patients and trying to figure things out, although I think I’m always messing up. But one thing that annoys me is heading to a scene and only being able to really help one patient. Yeah, you’re able to stop bleeding and do minor treatments. But when three people have the same injuries and you can only take one to finish the call, it seems pointless, especially for the Catastrophe Events. I had to treat 5 people, but since one was having a cardiac arrest, the other got ignored and the mission finished. All in all. Ambulance Life is okay, but I’d say try it yourself. This is why I’m giving it the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Overall, Codex Lost is a game that’s rough around the edges but has some pretty good content. Considering it’s not a triple A game, it does a lot well. The effort that the devs have put into creating it is clear from the offset. As I’ve said, I will keep going back to it because the premise has me locked in. Unfortunately, I can’t give it more than the Thumb Culture Silver Award as the issues I did face were enough for me to walk away for a bit.
I found that Cat Detective Albert Wilde is more of a playable film noir novel than a brain puzzler of a game. While the environment, story, characters and Albert’s inner monologue create a dark but humorous film noir experience. The music and lack of challenge I felt let it down. It was fun at first however I did find my attention slipping at times. As all I needed to do was simply click on the next place to go to on the map and talk to the next character. While the visuals are amazing, the game felt quite railroaded and simple. Perhaps I was expecting something more and am not used to flipping through a novel. Cat Detective Albert Wilde gets the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
If I told younger me that he hadn’t played the complete version of this game, he would ask me two things. First, “who are you?” and secondly, “got any sunflower seeds?” You thought he would call me a liar? Nah, he’s played enough Stein’s Gate to know slightly what’s up. But I digress, getting to revisit what I believe is number three in my list of best entry in the Tales of series was a great reminder of what I love and miss the most about the series. I know the people who played the original will enjoy going down memory lane when playing. While newcomers will see the peak of what the battle system for this series can reach. Now, got out there with you bag full of Purple Gels and don’t skip the skits….please. I give Tales of Graces f Remastered the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
The game still plays great for me, even after all this time. Combos take some getting used to. And learning to defend better is something you should learn very early on. There are times I feel that the game is tedious rather than challenging. One example is the Water Dragon (that is its name). But I’ve always remembered dreading that fight, anyway. I was a little disappointed that they had removed two bosses from this version. One is the giant Buddha on the first level and the Statue of Liberty. There were two fights I loved in NINJA GAIDEN 2 Sigma. And with all that said, if you’ve played it before, you won’t be disappointed. If this is your first entry into the franchise before 4 drops, then all I can say is if you like challenge, enjoy. If not, play on a lower difficulty and have fun. I was gonna be petty and give it the Gold Award for removing the fights mentioned above. But I just couldn’t. So instead I’m awarding NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black, the well-deserved Platinum Award.
Overall, Achilles: Legends Untold is a pretty decent game. Unfortunately, the Switch port does some injustices. The graphics aren’t the best and the longer-than-usual black loading screens leave little to be desired. I can’t blame the game devs for that but it does diminish the experience a little bit. As mentioned, the voice acting isn’t the greatest and can, at times, be off-putting. Aside from this, it’s a good game. I enjoyed the combat, despite it not being as souls-like as expected, and the devs did give an in-depth look into the Achilles story. As a game, I definitely recommend it to fans of RPGs and fans of mythology across all consoles, not just the Switch.