GamePitt's Reviews
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated is a very faithful remake of a beloved classic 3D platformer. Fans of the original game will love how they can replay this brilliant adventure with updated visuals that match their nostalgic memories, new gamers will love the playfulness and entertaining gameplay which still holds up today. Despite not adding anything new to the actual main story, the additional co-op Horde Mode allows you and one other to prolong the gameplay and fight against Robo Squidward, the boss which was cut from the original game. Sure, the game does get frustrating and annoying at times, with it’s early 2000’s design and mechanics, but it makes up for this with all of its charm and the addictive gameplay.
If you want to see how to correctly remaster a 2d point-and-click game, check out Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition. Not only are we given more polished and colourful visuals in a 16:9 aspect ratio, but the gameplay mechanics have been overhauled to make the experience much more fun and less frustrating. The level of interaction within the game goes far beyond anything I’ve seen from other titles in the genre, and the humorous dialogue and events continue throughout, even if the story does get a little dark at times. The lack of actual ‘anniversary’ bonus extras is a bit disappointing, but the overall package is brilliant and should be part of any point-and-click fan’s collection.
Desperados III is by far one of the best stealth-based games I’ve ever played, offering multiple ways to not only complete your objectives but also kill your targets. The brilliant Showdown mode further enhances the immersion and strategic gameplay by letting you simultaneously control all five protagonists in a synchronised string of events, single-handedly set up by the sole gamer. The very challenging badges, difficult goal criteria, and multiple routes will all have you replaying each mission numerous times until you know it like the back of your hand. Plus, once you’re done with the exciting and thrilling story, the Baron’s Challenges allows you to take on new mysterious and even more challenging missions – if you’re brave enough!
The new PlayStation 4 version of Ys: Memories of Celceta is a great upgrade over both the original and the PC versions. Despite having a single technical issue in Comodo Village and a resolution which doesn’t seem to be above 1080p, the game itself looks beautiful with it’s living and breathing world, unique characters, interesting enemies, and grand vistas. The combat is incredibly satisfying, the bosses are fun to face, and completing the numerous side-missions felt exciting and rewarding rather than repetitive and dull. If you’ve never played the game, or only partially completed it on the Vita, you have no excuse to not pick up Ys: Memories of Celceta today (or on June 19th in EU and Australia).
Totally Reliable Delivery Service is truly an enigma, what makes it so brilliant is what also makes it so damn frustrating. I would recommend the experience to all of my friends, as I really did experience laughs that I’ve never had before, but due to the frustration it caused me, I wouldn’t wish the game on someone I mildly dislike. The way to obtain the most fun is to simply mess around with other people and experiment with new and unique ways to deliver the packages, I definitely didn’t have the patience to be the postman it wanted me to be.
Atomicrops is a very addictive roguelike farming twin-stick shooter which is oozing with charm and colourful visuals. It’s a challenging game with a slow permanent progression system, yet each run feels unique and exciting due to the sheer amount of temporary boosts and abilities you can obtain, not to mention all of the animals you can free then enslave on your farm as free labour. Whether your growing crops, killing mutated veg, wooing your potential spouse, or exploring the hostile biomes, you’re sure to get hours upon hours of fun out of this unique indie game.
If you’re looking for a new psychological thriller which will make you jump (a lot), Those Who Remain is for you. Despite the pre-launch technical issues, which I believe will get fixed over the coming weeks, the game is held together by its interesting story, tense and exciting stealth segments, fun puzzles, and intriguing moral dilemmas. Although I personally got stuck and lost a few times, the fact the game doesn’t hold your hand and requires you to seek out clues and discover the next step in the narrative yourself is great and very satisfying when you figure it out – not many games do this these days. Thanks to the moral choices, lack of manual saves, and multiple ending trophies, replaying the game multiple times is a must to see everything the game has to offer.
Let’s sing 2020 is a fun party game and one we definitely need in these darkest of times. Stay home and spread some joy, instead of the virus, by singing to your heart’s content with your family. It’s super easy to get into, there’s a variety of ways to play, and there’s a pretty decent mix of songs for the average person who doesn’t listen to weird stuff like me. Subjectively, this isn’t a game for myself but I can also objectively see why it will have massive appeal. Playing solo is only half the fun, get everyone involved and I guarantee you will have a good time.
Q-YO Blaster is a very fun little shmup that I’ve put a lot more time into than I thought I would. It’s addictive and pretty, even if it’s clearly copied a bit too much from Cuphead. The “story” is a little baffling in its execution but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter as I doubt you’ll be playing it for a deep and enthralling narrative. The gameplay was tight and enjoyable, with some nice little nuances which are all that matters in this genre really. Also, I was impressed with the fact there’s a lot of characters, powers and replayability, all for the low price of £8.99 on the Nintendo eShop – you can’t fault it for the amount of entertainment you get.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is one of the best remasters in recent years, completely overhauling the visuals and performance. Almost everything has been updated and upgraded bar the engine underneath, a similar concept we saw with Outcast: Second Contact. The game is a mindless mayhem sandbox with a bunch of missions and crazy activities to work your way through at your own pace, offering tonnes of fun either playing on your own or with another player. The game was fun back in 2011, offering crazy non-serious GTA-style gameplay, and it’s just as fun playing it now, in 2020.
Despite the performance and realism issues I had with the game, Maneater is an incredibly fun and satisfying slaughter-fest shaRkPG experience. You must eat to grow, grow to fight, fight to survive, and survive to rip your mother’s murderer to pieces! The visuals are incredible, the gore is glorious, the story was funny whilst holding everything together, and the range of armour and abilities helps create a unique experience in this Adult-orientated Feeding Frenzy-a-like. If you’re looking to inflict some mindless carnage and earn a shiny platinum without too much issue, check out Maneater today!
As the third game in the DDU (Doctor Dekker Universe), Dark Nights with Poe and Munro was an original and creative FMV cinematic adventure I won’t forget. The episodic nature, which is presented as a TV show complete with title and credits, fits the experience perfectly, providing six self-contained stories of mystery and suspense. The music, dramatic camera work, humorous yet well-written narrative, and brilliant acting all combine into such a fantastic and enjoyable series of stories which I’m sure to replay numerous times.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is crammed with unlimited fun and awesome music, optimised for both playing at home and on the go. Despite the fewer number of songs in comparison to the PS4 counterpart, the Switch edition boasts unique features, modes and content, although there is a lot of day-one DLC which I feel should have been included. If you like Hatsune Miku, you’ll love this edition – it’s more of the same but playable on the go and at home – you can even opt to have PS button prompts so you can imagine you’re playing the Vita 2.0. Rhythm game fans and those looking for a private social-distancing concert in their own home should certainly check this out.
As far as Free-to-Play titles go, Island Saver is easily one of the best to play for a single-player Edutainment experience. Whether you’re saving up your money with NatWest so you can buy a new upgrade, or you’re washing the gloop off a tree so you can feed a depressed Bankimal, you’ll always have something to do as you explore the three Savvy islands. The education is subtle but presented in a way that children will understand, all whilst you’re playing a very enjoyable and fun game with solid gameplay mechanics and a very colourful visual design.
Someday You’ll Return is much more than a psychological horror game, it’s an immersive adventure which you’ll never forget. Although initially looking for your daughter, you’ll soon find yourself helping others and discovering secrets about yourself and the past, things which you forgot a long time ago. Despite my lack of interest in being chased and performing stealth mechanics, the ones within this game weren’t too bad, being rather forgiving and easy to complete after a few tries. It’s a beautiful digital trip to real-life locations, enhanced with fantastical and horrific events which will scare and disturb you.
Streets of Rage 4 is the perfect sequel, it builds upon the original trilogy whilst modernising it without alienating fans. Visually the game is gorgeous, all hand-drawn with brilliant lighting effects, visual styles, character designs, and original pixel-art protagonists and special moves. The music is just as good as I remember it, allowing you to alternate between the new music or classic tunes, this really is the perfect homage to the infamous Mega Drive games. Although not a very long game, you’ll get hours of entertainment out of Streets of Rage 4 thanks to the satisfying combat and progression-based rewards.
Book of Demons is a very interesting take on the hack-n-slash, dungeon crawling and action-adventure genres. Its unique gameplay mechanics, card-management abilities, and procedurally generated construction, all combine to make a never-ending experience which will surely entertain you for hours upon hours – even if you’re not interested in the platinum. Although rather simplistic to look at, there are more layers than an onion as you delve deeper into the customisation, levelling up, planning out your runs, and using the enemies weaknesses against them.
Whether you tackle the harsh weather conditions with friends, or you brave it alone, SnowRunner will challenge your determination, patience, and strategic thinking. Fans of the climbing and slow-paced movement aspect of Death Stranding will most likely find pleasure in the purposefully clunky, realistic, and heavy controls and mechanics within this game as well. Although the one key aspect of the game is to go from A to B (via very stressful pathways), it’s a very therapeutic and relaxing game in which you become both mentally and physically more adept the longer you play. This isn’t your standard no-physics simulation game, this is about as realistic as you can get without having your living room covered in mud, water, and snow.
Deliver Us The Moon is a thrilling sci-fi narrative adventure which touches on real-world issues with a hint of fantasy. Although I’ve played the game before, I felt the same rush of excitement and intrigue the second time around, discovering things I missed the first time as I now sought out the various trophies and Easter Eggs. The music, voice acting, sound effects, and gorgeous environments all combinate into an interactive adventure which fully immerses you and pulls you into this sad, apocalyptic world. If you’re a fan of story-driven experiences with simplistic puzzles and a great narrative you uncover as you play, Deliver Us The Moon is for you.
If you’re looking for a challenging and brutal strategy game to play at home and/or on the go, Tharsis is for you. With your entire world literally breaking down all around you, tough decisions must be made and your morality will be pushed to its limit, should you save the ship or sacrifice a crew member to prolong the life of those still alive? With its newly revamped difficulty modes, the Nintendo Switch edition makes it a little bit easier for newcomers whilst still being just as challenging as I recall on the PS4. Despite how frustrating and unforgiving the game can be, just remember; in space, nobody can hear you scream…