GamePitt's Reviews
Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not, Vader Immortal is a brilliant experience to show off the immersion which can be created within VR. The story itself is interesting and has enough interactive moments and combat to keep you engaged and active, yet the optional Dojo modes are where you’ll probably spend the most time. This game allows you to live out your childhood fantasy of wielding a lightsaber and using the force to take out those who oppose you, even if the battles are over quite fast. If you’re looking for an immersive, surreal, and visually stunning experience, you need to pick this game up today – If you’re a Star Wars fan, you should already have this downloaded on your PS4!
Although the game has a number of flaws and runs really slow in comparison to alternative racing games, Kandagawa Jet Girls was fun to play thanks to the intertwining arcs and multitude of customisation options – I also enjoyed the mini-games. The character models are all well-done and the physics on each of the six limbs are very realistic and nice to watch in motion, but the game itself is far too slow. I was hoping for Mario Kart and Wave Race speeds but we ended up with Mario Kart at 50cc with four flat tires. No, that’s a bit unfair, maybe three flat tires? If you play it in chunks and enjoy the stories being told, you’ll get more out of the game rather than expecting a fast, exciting arcade racer.
If you can look past the few occasions of framerate issues and the absurd pricing difference for the digital PS4 version, New Super Lucky’s Tale is a magical adventure game which will suck you in and immerse you within its whimsical and adorable world. The gameplay is about as solid and responsive as you can get, offering various ways to play the many missions and mini-games, all held together with an interesting narrative which is told through imaginative characters and playful bosses. It’ll bring back nostalgic memories of games such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, yet presented as a much more polished and vibrant experience. Don’t sit on this game, New Super Lucky’s Tale is a hidden gem which should be played by everyone, even if you played the original version three years ago (or should that be: especially if you played the original version three years ago!).
If you’re looking for a wholesome and genuinely cute and adorable game to play, Giraffe and Annika is for you. Instead of defeating enemies and brutally barging your way past anyone who stands in your way, Annika is all about avoiding the foes and dancing in order to overcome the bosses who are trying to prevent her from leaving this dream world. It’s a charming and innocent adventure which is great for people of all ages, delivering a fun and delightful story for young children and a challenging platinum for those who wish to try and pursue it. I’m now eagerly awaiting a sequel where I get to experience another adventure with both Giraffe and Annika.
Although it’s not the longest or most immersive game out there, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a brilliant mix of puzzles, strategy and time-manipulation which will keep you hooked for hours. Taking control of each individual then swapping so that you can work in conjunction with your past self is very creative and the whole process works seamlessly. The lack of voices is a shame, as it loses some immersion due to this, but I enjoyed the narrative and dialogue, it held the game together nicely and linked all ten levels into one long story. As far as TV show tie-ins go, this is one of the best I’ve played for a while and will be enjoyed by puzzle and strategy fans whether you’ve actually seen the show or not.
Fans of Souls-like games will love the challenge and unforgiving gameplay within Mortal Shell – those with little patience should maybe give it a miss! For quite a small-scaled game, there’s a lot of variety within the enemy types and locations you have to venture through, making each Gland quest even more exciting. Pick your Shell, your weapon, your accessories, and your skills, what happens next is all up to you as the game has no direction and no strict order of completion, you’re free to do whatever you want – some will find this enjoyable whereas others may get confused and overwhelmed. So far, this is 2020’s best Souls-like game, one which people who love the genre must buy.
Through the Darkest of Times gives players a glimpse of what life was like under Hitler’s rule within the heart of Germany. The gameplay is very strategic, requiring you to pre-plan events as you work towards your goal of helping those who can’t help themselves, yet the stories will test your morality and judgement of others. Despite knowing that history is written in stone, you’ll find yourself determined to try and help as much as you can, not because it’ll change the narrative, but because it’s something you feel you have to do. A second playthrough may not have the same impact as the first one, due to the strict timeline that holds the game together, but you’ll still find yourself drawn back into this dark narrative as you try to help those who you failed the first time around.
The title ‘Lovingly Evil’ already tells you everything you need to know; Evil villains are romanceable within this inclusive dating simulator. If that’s not already enough of a reason to give this game a try, the comedy is splendid, the visuals are lovely, and I couldn’t help but complete a full playthrough in one sitting. I really appreciate light-hearted games and this one was definitely an entertaining title I couldn’t stop playing. Besides all the interesting facts for each villain, you can even participate within a variety of mini-games with your chosen love interest in order to create a stronger bond with them.
Little Town Hero is a charming RPG with gorgeous art design and very unique combat mechanics, resulting in a very strategic and tactical experience. Although it may take you a few hours to become accustomed to the gameplay during the boss battles, the satisfaction of taking down the enemies by utilising a long-winded chain of combos and pre-planned set-up is glorious. For a game set within a ‘little town’, there’s a lot of adventure and excitement to behold, introducing new characters and unravelling secrets the further and stronger you get. By the end of the game, I was very satisfied and came to appreciate the unique nature of the game along with the challenging gameplay and intriguing story – I’d certainly recommend giving Little Town Hero a shot if you like games which try something new.
Despite the combination of the scorching heatwave and the confusing puzzles giving me the biggest headache of all time, Relicta is one of the best looking and most complex first-person puzzle games I’ve ever played. Although the game is built around a single concept – magnets and no gravity – each puzzle introduces new mechanics and rules to keep you thinking and experimenting for the solution. The narrative holds the game together nicely, giving you a reason for why you’re actually trying to solve the puzzles, yet there’s a lot of backstory and exposition to be found in the optional PDA collectables which are scattered around as well. This isn’t a puzzle game for those who get confused easily, but it’s a massive challenge for those who are looking for something unique and special to sink hours into.
I enjoyed discovering the world in Death Stranding and although the gameplay didn’t seem ‘special’ at first, it ended up being much more complex than I initially thought. Sadly, the story does take a while to pick up, however, as soon as my confusion got untangled it became more enjoyable for me. My favourite thing about this game is the stunning environmental and character graphics which made it a joy for me to traverse through the areas, even if I was mostly simply delivering cargo. That being said, Death Stranding is an entertaining game, with an interesting premise, which I recommend to anyone who is looking for something more unique to experience.
pixelBOT EXTREME! is a very addictive ‘one more go’ retro-inspired shoot ’em up with a colourful twist. Despite the game making me rather frustrated and constantly in a panic, I found that I couldn’t stop playing it due to being determined to make it to the end and cross the flag, even if it meant bypassing most of the collectables. There are three difficulty modes (four if you include the unlocked Extreme levels), and a few assist options to make the game a little easier for those new to the genre, but if you’re going for 100% trophies then good luck – it gets quite tricky and really tests your reaction speeds. Also, if you have someone else in your house to play with, the co-op mode sounds fun as you really do need to co-operate in order to win.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Myth: Infinite Combate is an enjoyable dungeon crawling visual novel with an end game that’s longer than the main story! Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of the simple combat and limited amount of customisation, I found the story very enjoyable and the bonus dating and ‘sexual’ events very entertaining. I imagine fans of the franchise will enjoy experiencing these events more, as they’re unique to the game, but you will have to play through the entire story before they’re unlocked. The gameplay does get a little monotonous and spike in difficulty, but I never got bored thanks to the visual novel-like narrative holding it all together.
Despite the frustration and anger which Skully built up within me, this challenging puzzle-platformer is very addictive and one of the most visually stunning indies I’ve played this year. Utilising three different clay-based Forms to solve the multitude of environment-based puzzles was fun and tricky at times, often requiring you to combine their various abilities to come up with a solution. The game is quite brutal and unforgiving, especially if you’re going for the platinum, but as long as you have enough patience and perseverance, you’ll make it through to the final cutscene. It has a few flaws and questionable choices, but the journey is worth it in the end.
Maid of Sker scratched my horror itch for the year so far for sure. Despite some of my criticisms, it’s not a bad game, far from it. It’s just let down by a very few glaring issues that stop it from being a truly great game. I still really enjoyed my time with it, mainly due to its incredible setting and references to folklore. The story progresses in a very natural way and feels just about the right length at around four hours. The Quiet Ones are an interesting enemy type and their presence in the game is explained brilliantly through the excellent world-building that’s throughout the floors of the hotel. The only problem is that the story of them limits the gameplay experience somewhat to a repetitive sneaking trial and error game and that can get very frustrating, especially when it’s let down by strange AI problems. The puzzles in the game are very fun to work out and feel just as fun to do as the puzzles in a Resident Evil or Silent Hill game. The visuals and sound design are really quite something and lift the experience somewhat, which tells me that there’s potential for a fantastic horror experience to come from Wales Interactive.
I went into Deep Sky Derelicts with the knowledge of it being the company’s second title, I was expecting a cookie-cutter dungeon looter within a saturated market populated by the likes of Torchlight, Diablo, Borderlands, and many other more well-known franchises. However, Deep Sky Derelicts goes toe-to-toe with the AAA games within this genre, it offered deep levels of customisation, deck building, an interesting dungeon exploration method, and a vast array of freedom, just falling a tad bit short with some polishing needed and more end-game content. That being said, Deep Sky Derelicts will be a title I will not forget about, but a game I hold others in comparison to, despite the minor gripes I had with it.
What Happened was confusing, shocking, depressing, and increased my anxiety, which I believe was its goal from the start. Step into the shoes of a young mentally ill teenager who has just lost his father and finds comfort in drugs, it’s an experience unlike any other as you delve into his thoughts and emotions, visualising his fears and paranoia as disturbing manifestations. Although I found it hard to understand what was happening at times, the game made me feel lost, confused, helpless and alone, pulling me further into the world of Stiles and how he was feeling. The story felt like it was a little too long as there were a few sequences which dragged out the game without adding context, but overall it was a thought-provoking game which I can’t wait to re-experience on consoles in the near future.
As someone who hasn’t seen a single episode of Fairy Tail, I bloody loved this game! It felt like a re-skinned Atelier game, minus the synthesising, with enhanced combat and a whole host of addictive mechanics, such as the rebuilding of the guild. I wasn’t impressed with how they used the source material (the anime), but the expanded interactions, character stories, and unique game-only events made up for the lack of animated anime segments and chunks of the game reduced to the storybook-like narration. Fans of the franchise will enjoy playing as their favourite characters and reenacting various arcs from the series, and newcomers will enjoy the interesting stories and solid gameplay mechanics.
Despite my hate of the unfair and borderline impossible speedrun trophy, Superliminal is easily one of the most ingenious and clever puzzle games I’ve ever played. The way the game messes with your head as it introduces new mind-boggling puzzles is incredible and the first time you play the game you’ll be left in awe at how much the game plays with you. The experience itself isn’t very long and will leave you wanting more puzzles and maybe a little more variety in the solutions, but it’s an experience you’ll not forget due to how entertaining and unique the journey is. Fans of puzzle games will simply love this game and everything it has to offer.
Megadimension Neptunia VII has that genuine nostalgic ‘Neptunia’ feel we’ve all come to love and expect. Progression is growth though and for the few alterations VII makes to the formula, it isn’t enough to say it’s a big enough step forward in the right direction. The goofy slapstick characters, fan service, humour, and the strong narrative is still prevalent, but it feels more like a continuation rather than a breath of fresh air for the Neptunia franchise. Despite all that, being able to pick up and play it on the go makes it all worth it.