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Though there are occasional pangs for the dungeon-delving days, Rift of the NecroDancer dives fully into the rhythm genre and comes out in a blaze of glory. With a killer soundtrack, a winning art style, and plenty of different modes to keep things fresh, you’ll be rocking on long after the rifts are closed. A Thumb Culture Gold Award for this brutal but bopping musical masterwork!
Ultimately, Star Trek Legends doesn’t do enough to justify its existence on the Switch. While the UI is slick, and the game runs well on the Switch, there’s no escaping the feeling that this is still, at its core, a mobile game awkwardly forced onto a console. The long loading times, lack of voice acting, uninspired environments, and mobile-first design choices make it hard to recommend; even to die-hard Star Trek fans. If you’re looking for a turn-based RPG with Star Trek flavour, this might scratch a minor itch, but it won’t leave a lasting impression. The mobile DNA is impossible to ignore. The structure of daily tasks, resource collection, and character unlocks all scream “mobile-first.” It might have made more sense if this had been released as a free-to-play game with optional purchases. But as a premium Switch title, it feels like a hard sell—especially when better Star Trek experiences exist elsewhere. Set phasers to ‘missed opportunity’. This title gets a Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
If you saw Cuisineer release on PC and thought it would do great on the consoles, then you’d be right. Not only does every aspect of the game feel incredible to play, it looks and sounds it to boot. Taking Pom on an adventure in dungeoning, cooking and paying your taxes is one that I will continue to go back to time and time again. With ease, Cuisineer receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. Again.
Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector did all the right things to improve on the first game, they didn’t over do it either. There was no need to absolutely destroy the wonderful structure and solid foundation the series has. So instead they decided to innovate on this and make the game more challenging for those that seek it. While also bring a few new things in to keep interest. The idea of having your own crew and travelling the wonderfully crafted world is nothing short of perfect. Whilst it may not be to everyone’s taste, it certainly was mine. With all this being said I will be awarding Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Overall I have to say that Rally Mechanic Simulator is a simple but also complex, relaxing sim. It could be just a bit more friendly to the more casual or lacking of knowledge player. But learning as you go brings an oddly satisfying overtone of gameplay. For this I award Rally Mechanic Simulator the Thumb Culture Golden Thumb Award!
After the great success of Lonely Mountains: Downhill the bar will have been set very high and let me tell you, they developers have done a great job. Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders has a fun and challenging vibe. It really peaks at the constant supply or thrill just like Downhill did. I spent a solid 4 hours into the late night playing this and was completely frozen in! The only thing I would add as a slight negative is that the game started with a lower amount of content than I thought. But again with the amount of content Downhill got after release I am hopeful this will get the same incredible and loving treatment. I will always support a developer that throws their passion into the game. This is definitely one of those! With everything taken into consideration I will be awarding Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders with a Platinum Thumb Culture Award. Now I’m back off to the snow! See ya!
This time round, playing FREEDOM WARS, I wasn’t really enjoying the gameplay as much as I did back then. The game itself runs fine, and I only had one freeze that quickly stopped. Control-wise, it feels much better than it did on the Vita. The story isn’t captivating me and it just seems like it’s dragging. Missions take a bit too long for my liking. For later missions, enemies just seem like damage sponges, and no matter how much I upgrade my gear, it doesn’t change. It’s terrible commanding the A.I. bots since no matter what, it feels as if I’m doing everything. I command them to focus on reviving. They stop shooting all together, so I have to attack alone. Instead, I set them to focus on an enemy, then they ignore reviving allies and me. Now, that’s all said and done. The game just might not be for me. I’m giving FREEDOM WARS Remastered the Silver Award. Although I would add that I believe you’ll have more of a golden experience if you play the game with a group of people.
Tyrant’s Realm is a wonderful little gem. I enjoyed it so much it’s now a constant on my Steam Deck and I wil be playing it through to completion. The ability to try out different builds is one of the hit points for the game that will keep me returning. It really filled the everlasting void I have for soulslikes and roguelikes. With a roadmap in sight I cannot wait to see what the developer does and the updates they bring. The only constructive criticism I have would be the controls being there in the corner constantly. Wish there was an option to turn this off. Just gets a little annoying an distracting after a while but honestly that is the only thing that stood out to me in terms of any issues. So is Tyrant’s Realm worth it’s price? Yes. The game has incredible charm and really stood out for me. With everything outlined above I have decided to give Tyrant’s Realm the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
I think that Sniper Elite Resistance is a great follow-up and keeps the momentum built by Sniper Elite 5. The sniping is just as satisfying as ever and the open levels allow for everybody to play their way. The addition of Propaganda missions adds a level of difficulty for those who aim for 100% completion. A minor gripe is the loss of the iconic Sniper Elite theme. This is of course a personal preference as a fan of the series and does not affect the gameplay whatsoever. Out with the Fairburne and in with the Hawker, Sniper Elite: Resistance adds some fresh ideas. The new protagonist accordingly allows for a perfect jumping-in point for new players with minimum mentions of previous games. I’m going to stop (Hawk)ing on at this point and award Sniper Elite: Resistance the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Whilst it may have taken a little while and a couple of patches to get my review out. Stars In The Trash was always on my mind as a game I enjoyed. From the nostalgic graphics to the incredible animations, Valhalla Cats have hit the jackpot with this one. I just hope that they keep doing this sort of game and bring us more cats. Stars In The Trash receives the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
With whimsical art style, some cooky characters and a mystery so mysterious I still don’t really know what’s going on, I had a really good time with Follow The Meaning. It’s short but sweet and is different from most point and click adventures that I’ve played. It would be the perfect addition to mystery fan’s library. I’m giving Follow The Meaning the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
I feel like saying I enjoyed Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an understatement. The game is excellent and really brings back the same feelings I had as a child. Battles are way more epic than I imagined, even after playing the demo. Combat flows really damn well and makes pulling fun combos enjoyable. Using the different weapons brings a fun style of gameplay without seeming like a chore. My only minor complaint is that I sometimes felt levelling up weapon proficiency could seem like a chore. I confess, personally I don’t use the squad/army tactic skills enough, but that’s more on me. The overhaul of everything makes it feel like a brand new game without saturating what it used to be. My biggest source of enjoyment so far in the game (and easily the part that had me grinning stupidly) was the battle at Hulao Gate. It’s exactly how I pictured it in my mind when playing the older entries of the franchise. Tie that all in with an amazing soundtrack and simple yet fun level design, and I am awestruck. Now, I know it sounds like I’m preaching from a gospel, but honestly, if you love the franchise, I feel you will love this addition. And if you’re new to it, then you’re in for a great experience. That is why I’m awarding Dynasty Warriors: Origins the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
I am a fan of cozy games and when I first saw the video for Batography I knew I would enjoy it. I perhaps didn’t realise how much I would enjoy it though. Even writing this review I have stopped writing and dipped back into the game. Deciding to get just one more photograph, or trying out an idea that flashed into my head about where on earth that last mooncake is! The art is pretty, the music is a vibe and there was just enough puzzle my brain felt engaged without overly busy. My only gripe is that I want more. (If you’re reading this, SporkTank, please, please give us BaTWOgraphy.) I would love to explore the forest a little bit more or maybe even venture more into the city. But I realise that in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a real gripe at all. I award Batography the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
With an awesome track list, and a straight forward gameplay loop. Let’s Sing 2025 will quickly win the hearts of gamers who just enjoy singing. You could be the talk of every family party, especially if they enjoy karaoke. You could even take your Switch on holiday, and allow people to connect using their smart phones. You can literally sing anywhere! Let’s Sing 2025 receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Shattered is a game that I honestly believe all Quest 3 owners should have in their library. It’s both mesmerising and mind numbing at the same time. The only proviso I would add is make sure you enjoy puzzle games. Otherwise your time with Shattered will no doubt be short lived. Shattered receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Gameplay-wise, it’s fun and what you expect of a classic shooter. the weapons feel too samey and don’t look to have a difference in damage. My biggest issue is the lack of detail on level design. Most of the time it feels like I’m running through nothing but corridors with little to nothing to do. I didn’t finish the game because of being soft locked out of the exit on the Warehaouse level. I had the key but the door just wouldn’t open up even after restarting the level and playing back up to that point. Mekkablood: Quarry Assault’s levels are very much a maze, and the coloured corridors ended up messing with my eyes. There just wasn’t enough there for me to enjoy Mekkablood, and with the level design. That’s why I’m giving it the Bronze Award.
If you couldn’t tell by my review above, Road Maintenance Simulator 2 – Winter Services is not a good game. Through the years writing for Thumb Culture I’ve encountered games in Early Access that have more content than this game. Perhaps the gameplay is better on console, but for PC it just seems to be mostly broken and unplayable. Therefore, I have to award Road Maintenance Simulator 2 – Winter Services the Thumb Culture Broken Thumb Award. A sad day indeed.
With interesting stories and plenty of coffee to go around, Café Paris is a chill simulator game that will fit right into any simulation fans Steam library. Personally, it’s not something that I am going to be playing religiously. If I have no idea what I want to play, it’s definitely a good filler game that you can hop in and out of without feeling like you need to catch up. As a result of that I’m going to give Café Paris the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
The Spirit of the Samurai has a great art style, but the story itself needs fleshing out. I had a few major issues with input lag throughout the game, which led to many pointless deaths. The combat is okay, but I found the combo system useless and the same for leveling up. I didn’t really use the bow either, as most of the time it felt like I had to be near the enemy. I really hated the checkpoints in this game and more so in the end-game area. If you die, you go all the way back, which was annoying. Especially when you have to fight across a bridge before fighting a boss. Some areas go on for too long, especially with waves of enemies. Chisai’s segments are cute but felt like they could be removed from the game and it wouldn’t change anything. The biggest thing to really tick me off was the final boss fight. I had horrendous drops in the frame rate when against him. The boss himself wasn’t hard, but frames would screw me over when attacking. The game seems a lot more on the artsy side for me compared to the actual gameplay. I find it deserves the Thumb Culture Silver Award, maybe after a couple of updates to fix the frames and controls it could be bumped to a gold.
My feelings are mixed on Universe For Sale. As a point and click game heavily focused on narrative, it has an understandably light touch on gameplay. I enjoyed the mini-games, particularly the re-wiring activity in the market. The universe creation was my favourite aspect of the gameplay, though this was slightly marred by my buggy experience. In terms of the story, it’s serviceable. But I feel like sometimes certain elements were not explored far enough, and I was perhaps overly confused on my first play through. Especially in regards to the sequence of events. The art throughout the game is the most outstanding element. In fact it’s perhaps reason enough on its own to check the game out. Ultimately, Tmesis Studio’s first game has put them on my list of developers to keep an eye on. Universe For Sale signals that this team have the ability to create gorgeous games. They have some interesting world-building ideas floating around that just need a little more refining and some more room to shine. This talented group have a bright future, and I’m excited to see what they will move onto next. Universe For Sale receives a Thumb Culture Silver Award.