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As an educational tool, Beyond Eyes did a great job of teaching me of the struggles people face when their vision is impaired. Rae's way of seeing the world through memories and senses creates some fascinating insights, together with some genuinely appealing watercolour visuals and brilliant sound direction. As a game though, Beyond Eyes is about plodding through a maze with barely any meaningful plot until right at the end.
Toy Soldiers: War Chest brings its unique brand of tower defense to the new generation, and though there are some wrinkles caused by slight performance issues and questionable DLC practices, this is more of the same classic Toy Soldiers gameplay. There's a lot to enjoy here in a well-rounded package, with plenty of replay value thanks to the range of different heroes, collectibles and high-scores to aim for, as well as the online and offline multiplayer options.
Coming off the back of Thomas Was Alone, Volume is a much more ambitious and expansive project, and there's little sign of this being a difficult second album. It can miss the mark in a few areas, depending on how you play, but this is a clever distillation of the classic stealth genre wrapped up in an excellent retelling of a classic English legend.
Curses N' Chaos is a good arena brawler that throws you right into the action. It may not be the most graphical intensive games out there, but Tribute Games has created something that you can get engrossed in really quickly. You will die a lot to make progress, and that may not be for everyone, but if you like your brawlers, then Curses 'N Chaos is certainly worth a look.
While Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment is an enjoyable budget release that offers hours of anime adventuring, it's tainted by inexplicable performance issues that simply shouldn't have made it to the PS4 edition of the game. If you can look past them, and enjoy anime-flavoured RPG's with an interesting setting, then SAO Re: Hollow Fragment may just be for you, though fans of the TV series will certainly get the most fun out of it.
As light on gameplay as it is, Everbody's Gone to the Rapture is as beautiful as it is thought provoking. It's hard to find fault with its technical prowess, showcasing just how detailed interactive media can be, but on top of this we have a narrative that is disjointed yet somehow works wonderfully as it increases curiosity, and music that is poignant in all the right ways. If Dear Esther was pretentious, in my eyes, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture can only be described as enrapturing.
Whether returning to games of your childhood, or experiencing these titles for the first time, Rare Replay should be an essential purchase for Xbox One owners.
Funk Of Titans isn't a bad game but it doesn't do anything interesting either. It is an incredibly easy game to beat, and the gameplay itself is very, very repetitive. Given that the game's focal theme is about music there simply isn't enough variety in the tracks which is a shame. It looks good and plays fine for what it is, but at the same time it's likely that boredom will quickly set in.
If you can get over that though, there's a great game to be found here. It's visually pleasing, the audio is top-notch, the writing is good, and outside of a few technical hiccups here and there, it performs pretty well. It's not for the faint of heart, but Galak-Z offers enough depth and fun that it will likely keep you coming back, even after you've died for the hundredth time.
Blues & Bullets has a lot of potential and The End Of Peace is a glimpse of that. There is a foundation for a very good mystery thriller, as well as a basis for well thought out characters. The first episode comes across as being too eager to show you everything all at once, instead of taking things slower and allowing you to absorb what just happened. The script is good but has moments that don't seem that logical, but in spite of this The End Of Peace is a decent start to the series.
It hasn't been the easiest journey for Skullgirls to the PlayStation 4, but with 2nd Encore, Lab Zero have turned in the definitive edition of a high-quality fighting game that not only has bags of character but matches it with both technical and enjoyable action.
As much as I wanted to fall in love with Submerged, it's standing proof that a game needs more than good looks and a unique angle to win me over. With the 'emotional' story-driven approach slowly receding from the frontline of gaming, I'm left craving fun and challenging experiences that have us do more than haplessly roam within the confines of a digital sandbox.
Where episodic gaming has usually left me nonplussed, King's Quest has had an enthralling effect, leaving me in eager anticipation of the next chapter.
Victor Vran shows that Haemimont Games have more in their arsenal than just city building with dictators. As far as Diablo clones go, it isn't of the same calibre as Path of Exile due to its rather simplistic nature and the overabundance of the six primary enemy types, but it does feature some neat gameplay twists of its own. It's worth a look if you are starved of action RPGs, with the emphasis on action.
Q.U.B.E Director's Cut is a very good puzzle game that incorporates a decent story that keeps you guessing right until the very end. The minimalist design throughout the game allows the puzzles to stand out, and nothing feels wasted. Toxic Games have created quite a memorable experience with this game. There is some issue with the final portion of the game with a couple of spikes in difficulty, but overall Q.U.B.E Director's Cut is a fun and accessible title that offers a fair challenge. If you're into puzzle platformers then you should strongly consider picking this up.
Whether looking to relive a forgotten favourite or simply in the mood for an old school action platformer, The Legend Of Kay is more than just serviceable. It's a fun, inspired take on the genre that plays well despite its lack of ground-breaking features.
As the credits rolled at the end of the episode, I was left trying to digest not just the final few moments, but the episode as a whole. There were several very powerful moments, with Dontnod's mature approach to the subject matter and ambiguous decision making key, as they tackled the theme of life and death that ran throughout. Alongside some great puzzles and use of Max's time warping power, this is the best episode yet.
N++ is a further distillation and refinement of what made N and N+ cult classics in the first place. Rather than replacing those games, it expands upon them greatly, with a bafflingly vast array of levels that come to test you mastery of the game's pure platforming, and the tools to make even more.
They say that crime never pays, but in The Swindle you can come out ahead if you play your cards right. In this madcap steampunk rendition London, a city of ludicrous buildings filled with robots and traps, the key is learning how to quit while you're ahead. It's all too easy to slip up and foolishly get spotted – and yes, the occasional glitch or quirk of procedural generation can feel unfair – but it makes each success all the more tense and rewarding.
Road to Gehenna is perhaps not as deeply thought provoking as what I've experienced in the main game, but it's no less fascinating to visit a little commune of rejected thinkers, bringing with you the news that the world is coming to an end. And there's some excellently crafted puzzles, too.