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I have had a great time with Garden Life so far and look forward to playing more. The game delivers an engaging story while having the freedom to play at your own pace. And with different approaches, you can manage the garden your way. The easygoing tone is strengthened by the graphics and audio. The setting is beautifully detailed and the soundtrack and voice acting go hand in hand very well. It feels like a small British village and a game you can spend many hours with. I am pleased to give Garden Life the Thumb Culture Golden Thumbs Up award! I am looking forward to what Still Alive Games develops next. If you enjoyed my review, you can find my thoughts on the preview of Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2.
Overall, even though Furnish Master is in an early access state, it is an amazing game. I am a lover of all simulation and interior design games, and I can say that Furnish Master is at the top of my list in terms of favourites. I am excited to see the changes that Alex Blinstov will implement to further improve the game. It is with all this in mind that I will be awarding Furnish Master the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
I adore the story of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. The characters have such distinct, realized personalities that made me love or hate them. While I’ll always cherish the goofy-serious writing of Life Is Strange, it’s hard to deny this is DON’T NOD’s strongest writing exhibit yet. Combat is dull and had me rolling my eyes every time I came across another forced encounter, with only a few of the fights being interesting. No matter how many features and mechanics were introduced, it still felt clunky and frustrating due to the camera controls, repetitive animations, and almost no enemy variety. Thankfully, the compelling narrative shines through, carrying the game along and making me a little more tolerable of the combat. Due to this, I’m awarding Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden, the Silver Thumb Culture Award. For fans of story games, this is absolutely a must-play if you can overlook its gameplay shortcomings.
The game is fun and is worth every penny. Great story, amazing execution and a fantastic story! The game made me question the decisions I have made in the game and how I played it as I have gotten to the end of it. The game left me wanting more answers and more stories. I loved every part of it and I still come back to play it after not having played it for a year or so.
As someone who loves detective games and finding as many clues as possible, playing Chronique des Silencieux was a breath of fresh air in the midst of Sherlock Holmes games. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, learning more about their stories and finding all the different ways that they linked together. The art style and the music made the game cosy and everything about playing the game was relaxing, even when I was scratching my head, stumped, unsure what to do. That being said, for players who enjoy games casually the game can be pretty overwhelming with just how much information is given to you. Everything gets down into the nitty gritty and when you first start you are more likely to fail then succeed. Sometimes the smallest piece of information can lead to the biggest breakthrough and it can be pretty disheartening if you spend forever going through the right document but not picking the right line. It’s a nice change of pace to the games that I’ve been playing recently and I think it’s something that you could easily dip in and out of if you had other games you wanted to play.
But, even if the knowledge from the past is slightly helpful, that can only take me so far. Getting to experience Persona 3 Reload practically through a clean slate felt great. It almost felt as if I was in high school on my PSP enjoying every single minute. Having the waves of nostalgia really reminds me of my first intro to the Persona series. Even with the auto function turning itself off even new cutscene does seem a bit weird. I’ll still love my experience through Tartarus and Gekkoukan High School in a new way. Though, I still wished they’d give the protag his ability to use all weapon types again. Another small note, the difference in OST when entering battle. The music changed from a sneak attack, a normal attack or getting caught off-guard.
I found Wrath overall to be a stellar game with tight movement and fun gunplay. The various weapons you acquire through the game are great to use, and I never felt like one was useless. My preferred gun ended up being the shotgun since I found the alternate fire very helpful when dealing with difficult foes. I was glad to see the blade can also be used for crossing gaps instead of becoming forgotten once you have guns. The maps in Wrath are fun to explore, with The Priory being my favourite. Each map gives way for exploration and secrets like in other retro-shooters. If I were to ask for anything in the full release, I would suggest making a weapon wheel when holding Q instead of just switching between the last two weapons. I was happy with what I played overall, and I look forward to what the game has to offer on full release. I hope they have some boss fights planned. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin feels right at home with other modern retro-shooters, such as Cult, Prodeus and Amid Evil. It aces what it sets out to accomplish as a retro-shooter with its great-level designs and fun weapons. I award Wrath: Aeon of Ruin the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Timberborn felt slow to start with however once you have grasped the fundamentals there is a lot to be focussing on. From gathering resources, and unlocking items through science, to building and looking after your furry minions, can you maintain your colony? For a game that has been developed by only a handful of people working from their homes, it is impressive to see such a well-refined game. The devs have been listening to the players and each update brings new concepts that have been based on feedback received. It is fantastic to see a company want to work with their audience and among other things, this has helped Timberborn be so successful. Timberborn receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Rising Lords is a standout strategy game that effortlessly captures the essence of medieval feudalism. Though some first-timers may find it a bit too hard as it doesn’t hand hold the tutorial alone may not be enough for some. The captivating visuals, intricate gameplay mechanics, and compelling political diplomacy make for a rich and immersive experience. They say fortune favours the bold, and in Rising Lords, your fate as a feudal lord lies in your hands. Will you rise to the challenge and conquer this medieval world?
For anyone looking for a particularly wacky yet grounded blast from the past, Twilight Oracle is one to check out. The settings are visuals are a joy to look at and there’s plenty of laughs to be had along the way. The voice-acting imbalance may be a little grating and the short length may deter players looking for something more substantial.
I had a blast with my journey in Granblue Fantasy Relink. When it comes to a great RPG, I will be engrossed and invested into their story to the point that I lose track of time. Having a bit of history with the franchise, I ate this story and its many flavors of mechanics as if it’s a meal made by Gordon Ramsey. I wanted and hoped for the story to keep going, but a part of me knew the end was coming sooner rather than later. Wishing for more of the story, Here’s to more for this series.
Through my time playing Tekken 8, I’ve gotten to reexplore a part of my that has been dormant for years. Getting the full use of my fightstick, experiencing the reason why Tekken is the best. With the customization of the characters, the wacky endings and even the characters is what makes Tekken, Tekken. Especially with how everyone speaks their own language and people understand it. Like people understand King’s jaguar roars and also Panda/Kuma’s roars as full on sentences!
Not only a commendable VR tactical shooter, it is the current pinnacle of the genre and the most polished that I have played. Despite obvious influences from Rainbow Six Siege, it manages to stray away from that title and do its own thing, while still carrying the DNA that created the formula. For all of these reasons, I am awarding Breachers the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. Expect to boot up this game every time you don the PSVR2 headset – I know I will.
At the end of the day, Offroad Truck Simulator: Heavy Duty Challenge just isn’t for me. However, I can understand and see where there is enjoyment in it. It’s a bit different to your run-of-the-mill truck simulator games. Not to mention it is very beautiful to look at. Although the other game modes seem like they could be a bit more in-depth, I think I still have to give Heavy Duty Challenge the Thumb Culture Silver Thumb Award.
I came away from Home Safety Hotline both pleasantly surprised with some aspects and disappointed with others, two contrasting tones can work together to create a compelling experience. However, Home Safety Hotline didn’t deliver on that for me. The captivating creature entries and engaging gameplay loop were highlights, showcasing the love poured into these creations, followed by the occasional fantastic performance. Beyond these aspects, the overall experience failed to resonate with me. That being said, there is an incredible amount of talent on display and I’m looking forward to seeing what the developer puts out next. Therefore, I am awarding Home Safety Hotline the Silver Thumb Culture Award.
Overall, War Hospital is an enjoyable game and does its job well. I would recommend it to people who regularly enjoy management simulators. However, some minor improvements would drastically improve the experience. I found it challenging to get more staff. The only way to get them is as a reward for events via Staff Permits (ordering them at the train station) or helping VIP patients. It made it hard to progress as sometimes I wouldn’t earn a staff permit from events or VIPs for long periods. Additionally, I wished events popped up more frequently so I would have more opportunities to get staff permits or other rewards.
In the end, I found Unstoppable to be quite dull & boring. The game fails to make anything it says on the Steam even appear. The “realistic” combat is nothing more than simply hitting the enemy repeatedly until they drop dead. Reloading Pistols is too slow, while shotguns reload really fast. I found the Bosses nothing but a joke, especially the final one. They can hit the player with a wide hitbox while you do nothing to them. The game could add more ways to attack to help with this issue by giving players weapons they can throw or grab/push enemies. Unstoppables’ story is non-existent, and the key plot points are told at the beginning when selecting a chapter. The idea the main character is looking for a cure is false, and there is no information about why everything is going down and why this outbreak had to happen.
Whilst there is a lot to criticize in regards to how Dreamlight Valley has been handled, especially in terms of scrapping the free-to-play model, the new expansion pack is a great extension of the game. Two things can be right at the same time, so whilst it is a fantastic addition to the base game, the choice that was made for this to exist is unfair. It captures the excitement that was initially there when players were first introduced to the valley. The previous free content updates were great at bringing new familiar faces, such as Belle and Beast, however, there was a sense of monotony with these updates. It mostly consisted of players just trying to increase their friendship to complete the quests. A Rift in Time has recaptured that sense of exploration with the inclusion of a decent library of new items and hopefully, a future of new locations. I hope there is more work being done on the multiplayer aspect, as its current state doesn’t give enough incentive to play online with others. One major request is that extra effort be put into releasing updates without major bugs, as for now many players like myself may wait till new patches are released before considering purchasing any more expansions. Disney Dreamlight Valley: A Rift in Time gets a platinum award, though the game is not perfect, many fans of Disney and the life sim genre will enjoy what this has to offer if they can spare the premium cost.
If you have had a bad day and what to let off some steam, Teardown is the game for you. Similarly, if you want to solve puzzles and pull off amazing heists, this is the game! I thoroughly enjoyed my playthru of the various modes and loved not only how simple it is to learn, but also how intricate and destructive it can be. The voxel graphics look amazing and the physics engine is a true marvel.
Honestly, with a pack such as this, there is not a lot to complain about. This pack is something the community has been asking for and lovers of The Sims will enjoy this pack. Although I have never agreed with spending £35 for an expansion pack, I will say that this is one of the first expansion packs that has changed my stance. This pack is well worth the money.