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An accessible and innovative shoot-‘em-up, Habroxia 2 does more than enough to stand out in a crowded genre. While it hasn’t turned the genre on its head and lacks leader boards, the combination of auto scrolling shmup, twin-stick shooter controls and RPG-lite elements make for a refreshing and exciting game.
Gods Will Fall should have been so much more fun. An average action-adventure with a few roguelike elements, it’s combat is both fiddly and too simplistic to engage. Its Gods fail to inspire, and its world lacks tangible reward, while hurting the player with its high-stakes warrior loss mechanic.
Ys IX Monstrum Nox may come from an established franchise, but it treads the line of least resistance, trying to be as safe as possible. While its painfully slow narrative ends strongly, combat remains its strongest asset. It takes no risks, ending up as an almost cookie-cutter version of the previous title in a different setting.
Turrican Flashback is a rose-tinted ride to the heady days of the Amiga. However you can’t help but think this is a wasted opportunity considering the lack of extra features.
It may not look like much to begin with, but when Olija gets going it’s a captivating experience. Pixelated violence paired with the minimalism of its peers, it’s as worthy as any other game with Devolver’s blessing behind it.
Project Starship X is a well put together retro shmup with tons of style. It’s simple and hones its small selection of moves into well-handled and white knuckle sections of gameplay. However it’s also relatively short, and lacks any real depth unless you’re a score-chaser.
It’s absolutely nails to begin with, but stick with Cyber Shadow and it will be your new favourite platformer. There will be tantrums and swearwords, but when a game looks this cool you can’t stay mad at it.
Bezier: Second Edition may hit or miss with its strange narrative, but push that aside and there’s a dazzling arcade shooter in there. Twitchy reflexes and a keen eye are needed if you’re to reach those high scores.
t’s so unfortunate that so much of Teratopia between the boss fights feels like monotonous, repetitive filler. The platforming is basic, the combat often feels like just mashing X and the frame rate can occasionally tank which makes it uncomfortable to play. There was certainly potential hidden in this game but it falls short of being realised.
It’s impossible to ignore the similarities to The Witness, and it’s disappointing that it’s so patchy from a technical standpoint, but The Pillar: Puzzle Escape was a short, pleasant and surprisingly enjoyable puzzle game that people should check out. It’s not overly taxing, so you might want to look elsewhere if you’re specifically looking for a challenge, but it’s a fine game for zoning out and killing a couple of hours.
Override 2 is a different beast compared to the original. It’s easier to grasp, much faster paced and far more dynamic. Fans of the first game might not gel with these changes which make it more akin to a traditional fighting game. Despite the tweaks and a lack of game modes, this game manages to bombastically portray destructive kaiju battles in a very satisfying way.
It’s a 3D platformer that takes inspiration from the classics in the genre but doesn’t demonstrate an understanding of what made them so fun. Littered with design issues, a few technical hiccups and a narrative which is laughable (even to my 7 year old), it’s hard to recommend this game when it’s a shade of the games it attempts to emulate.
As a beat ’em up, Fatal Fury First Contact is a cracking little game that shows off the power the Neo Geo Pocket could achieve. But as a port, it’s just too niche when there are far better alternatives from the same catalogue available.
A magical, meditative experience that blends a surrealist painterly art style with majestic choral music and an imaginative narrative delivery, Sunlight is quite a special game. It won’t be for everyone but if you’re looking for a 30 minute diversion from the trials and tribulations of modern day life, Sunlight is a fantastic diversion.
For a game about spirits, Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is pretty soulless. A by-the-numbers backtracking horror game in the vein of Clock Tower, it’s structure and content feel lacklustre and a little disappointing if you went in expecting cyberpunk themes.
Like trying to solve your way out of a puzzle box that’s persistently creepy and occasionally nightmarish, Darq is an artistic game that leverages perspective to have your cogs turning and your head spinning. There’s a number of puzzles that rely on trial and error and stand our as low points but the rest of the game, including the 2 additional chapters, make this an easy recommendation for puzzle game fans.
Offering no degree of hand-holding or tutorial, MXGP 2020 isn’t an easy ride. If it does take your fancy, however, you’ll fine a well-polished and authentic look at the world of motocross.
Neoverse is a deck-building roguelite with some impressive systems and lots of room for intricate strategy, however its presentation, lack of modes, narrative or personality really make it feel a few cards short of a full deck.
The quality of the mechanics, a cool take on those of 1982’s Pengo, are the star of Crawlco Block Knockers, a cheap, erotic puzzle game that’s only a few hours long. It’ll titillate its target audience and there’s some replayability here for them. For everyone else, a genuinely enjoyable puzzle game is combined with anime cleavage that’s poor, even for budget eroge standards.
El Hijo: A Wild West Tale’s focus on a non-combat brand of stealth, as well as its forgiving mechanics, serves as a very pleasant change to most stealth games on the market, and its overall style is cute without being cloying. It’s not perfect, with some roughness round the edges mechanically, but there are much worse ways to spend a few hours.