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Sniper Elite III Ultimate Edition is an excellent port of the original game and feels right at home on the Switch. Unfortunately, repetitive gameplay prevents it from achieving greatness. Nevertheless, I would like to pin the Thumb Culture Silver Award over its heart.
Ghost Recon has moved far away from its tactical military roots, and if you are returning to the series after a long hiatus, you will be disappointed. However, if you’re a fan of Wildlands and modern open-world shooters, then you’ll enjoy this game. For me, it throws too much into the mix and doesn’t really nail any of it, and due to this you are left with a decent shooter which is far from the glory days of Advanced Warfighter. With that said, I award Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint a Thumb Culture Silver Award.
In conclusion, the game didn’t make me want to go back and play more, this was mainly due to the lack of a storyline. Because of this it almost made the game feel like an RTS Tower Defense cross over game that could be released on a mobile platform. I feel harsh saying that because the game isn’t by any means bad, If you are looking for a game that is a pickup and play whenever you have 30 minutes spare then this could be for you and due to this I am awarding the game a Silver Thumb Culture Award.
If everything I just said didn’t convince you, then maybe the coveted Thumb Culture Platinum essentials award will. Fight’N Rage deserves this award, as it is a masterpiece of a modern beat’em up stuffed with all sorts of retro-nostalgia, plus this port from the original PC version is outstanding. I know it won’t be coming off my switch any time soon. What are you waiting for? Go get it on the Nintendo Switch eShop!
Untitled Goose Game achieves, to my mind, what every good computer game should. It has been made with love and care, and it is witty, whimsical, and most importantly…fun. It’s the sort of game that is bound to bring a smile to your face, whether you’re a kid who is playing his first goose-related game or a handsome 32-year-old would-be ornithologist. You can keep your AAA game industry – I’m all about the GGG game industry now and, even if you think this review is just quackery [that’s not even a goose pun – Ed.], I urge you to try out Untitled Goose Game all the same. I’ve ended up in quite a flap about it. I mean, I get goose pimples just talking about it – it’s time to honk if you’re… [you’re fired – Ed.]. I award Untitled Goose Game a Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Super Mario Maker 2 is similar to other Nintendo titles in that it offers a level of creativity not seen elsewhere in the gaming industry but also misses the mark in a few areas which other developers more than often get right. In particular, the online play is brilliant in concept but lacking in execution, which is more of an issue now Nintendo is charging Switch owners to play over their network. That being said, Super Mario Maker 2 succeeds where the likes of Little Big Planet or Dreams have failed in offering creators a rigid framework on which to build their creations, something even a child can have fun with. The options are less varied, but nothing can be truly be broken and very few levels are painful to play. Super Mario Maker 2 is absolutely essential for Nintendo Switch owners and another jewel in the crown of what is shaping up to be Nintendo’s best console. I give it the Thumb Culture gold award, since I didn’t have any stars or coins lying around.
As with all FIFA titles, you can literally to continue to play FIFA 20 right up to the day “21” is released. With the addition of Volta is does give the game a fresh feel to the FIFA series. Is it enough to make you purchase this if you already are invested into the previous iteration…only time will tell. Overall its another solid football game and if you are a fan of the games, then no doubt this is already on your to-buy list. FIFA 20 receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award
If you’ve made it this far, you can probably tell that I absolutely love Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle and I think that developers Omega Force have outdone themselves yet again with this expansion. It’s difficult to create a fantastic game and even more difficult to drastically improve upon said game months later, but these developers have managed it. If the game had gone into a little more depth with the story then it would be a perfect game for me, so for that reason I’m giving this a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Wrapping up, The Church in the Darkness is a small well put together game. Personally, it’s not the kind of game I would play a lot. It is fun for a couple of hours, but with limited content and minimal rogue-like elements, it certainly won’t hold up in the long run. It’s not a bad game; it’s just not my type of game. For these reasons, I will objectively be giving The Church in the Darkness the Silver Award.
The Surge 2 is a fantastic addition to the PS4 library and will please fans of challenging action-adventure games. It offers satisfying and rewarding gameplay in spades and will melt through your time like a hot knife through butter if you let it. I have no reservations in giving this golden child the Thumb Culture Gold Award. Well done!
Well…Battlewake is a mixed bag. The campaign is disappointing and offers little replay value. It acts as an extended tutorial for each Pirate Lord rather than a meaningful experience for the gamer. Graphically it’s impressive, and it plays well, if you like the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag naval missions, but as a whole, it lacks the depth to stand out to be the next must-play PSVR game. Rather than the Black Pearl sailing the deep seas, it’s more like a turd floating in a puddle. Unfortunately, it’s shallow experience with some solid ideas, due to that I give this a Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
It was a strange decision for me to finally move on from Fifa over to PES as I said previously, I have been playing the Fifa series since 1994. But I know a 100% I have made the right decision. Fifa has in my opinion been a reskin of the same game for a number of years and quite frankly, there is nothing exciting about it anymore. If it wasn’t for “The Journey” mode, I would have moved over to PES a few years earlier. I am not the only one either. Reading a lot of the buzz on the internet & comments in forums, there’s a hell of a lot of people switching over too. All in all, I am extremely extremely impressed with eFootball PES 2020. Yes there are some irregularities in the game but Konami are already on top of these issues. The future for eFootball PES 2020 looks very exciting & I am glad to finally be a part of it. I am awarding eFootball PES 2020 a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
I was overall disappointed with Killing Floor 2 and Killing Floor Incursion, more the former than the latter. Whilst Incursion runs a bit better and has a few more gimmicks and mechanics to play around with, both games were still massive disappointments. I can see the games had quite a dedicated fanbase but they’re just simply not for me. I feel like the combat is weak, the voice acting is atrocious. The only real positive I can really spin from these games is that the environmental design is top-notch and both of them run extremely well, so for that reason I’m giving both games a Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
It’s no pleasure to be so critical of a title which innovates on the third person adventure genre while offering an engaging plot. The Sinking City was clearly created with a strong vision in mind, and its failings are largely technical. There is much to love, and I will be going back to experience more of the story, but given the current state of the Switch port, I cannot recommend it. Wait to see if Frogwares release a patch before sinking any time into this one. I’m giving it the Thumb Culture Bronze award.
The graphics were lovely, the audio was lovely, the game was absolute trash, I feel like I’ve had more brain-stimulating games from a free phone app, I probably won’t ever load this back up on my Switch because I can’t bear to play it any longer. In terms of buying Solo: Islands Of The Heart as it is, I’d probably not even bother doing that, get yourself some paint with the money and paint your walls, let it dry, watch it whilst it dries I promise you it’s much more fun. I’m going to give Solo: Islands Of The Heart a platitrash (trash) award, meaning it’s probably one of the worst games I’ve reviewed yet.
With some games, when a DLC drops it can sometimes feel like a half-arsed attempt to cash in on something that is already successful however Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil is refreshing as it introduces new plant-type enemies as well as a new character, new areas to explore and a continuation of an epic story. If you really want to challenge yourself and reckon you are strategic mastermind then I highly recommend departing with your hard-earned money as you will not be disappointed. I award Mutant Year Zero: Seed of Evil the Thumb Culture Platinum Trophy.
Creature in the Well is a carefully crafted game that combines two genres to create a truly unique puzzle action game. The gameplay loop is addictive, challenging and rewarding. It trusts the gamer to work out its mechanic, which is refreshing, but may frustrate some people. Although it may not have universal appeal, those who are interested won’t be disappointed with this game. Flight School Studios had an audacious idea but they stuck the landing. This hits the jackpot and is awarded the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
So what did you think of the Hotline Miami Collection on the Switch Callum? I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Hotline Miami Collection, I can now say I am a big fan and will easily be replaying this for some time. I think the Hotline Miami Collection really suits being on the switch and am a bit surprised it hasn’t come out sooner. I am already looking forward to playing it this weekend and to re-step back into the shoes of “Jacket”…wish me luck. All that said I will be easily giving the Hotline Miami Collection a Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Ninja Saviours: Return of the Warriors is a nice addition to the PS4 library for fans of Taito, or really anyone over 35 that could remember the original or the Super Famicom version. The inclusion of the co-op mode will make it more appealing to play with friends. It’s rather short and without the nostalgia factor it doesn’t really bring anything to the table that can’t be found elsewhere in abundance and as such I think it’s going to be overlooked by many people as ‘another arcade port’ Ninja Saviours: Return of the Warriors has earned the Thumb Culture Bronze Award, fun for a short play here and there but not a game to sink any real time into or boredom will strike from the shadows.
Overall, with a slightly higher than the expected price point of £19.99, I wouldn’t recommend you take a punt on the game if you’re slightly interested in the genre and/or theme. This game is for fans of the RTS genre who are looking for a challenge and I’m sure that the game will build a cult following of hardcore RTS fans, however with no tutorial and campaign to support newcomers to the genre, I’d give the They Are Billions a Thumb Culture Bronze Award.