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Another day, another new release from the console porting experts over at Ratalaika Games (though eastasiasoft are publishing). This time around it’s for Mina & Michi, the top-down 2D puzzler that launched on PC late last year. The game does add a twist to its puzzling antics – players have to control both characters at the same time as they lead them on their little adventure. It’s kinda like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in a way… just nowhere near as good.
Who doesn’t love a good dystopian sci-fi affair? Growing up reading stories like 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, Brave New World, even stories like The Road or some of the more recent tales written by smaller name authors. I fell in love with the genre and write in it to this day.
If you’re like me and played many JRPGs, then you’d often know what to expect from them. A world-ending/dramatic plot, playing as some sort of chosen one, as well as a focus on combat. Well, throw your expectations away as that isn’t really the case here. The Atelier franchise, developed by Gust, is an expansive series that currently encompasses 22 main games. It sets itself apart from most others in the genre with its focus on alchemy, crafting, and time management.
We all know about games from Ratalaika; massively varied in quality, cross-buy, trophy-filled, and sometimes even enjoyable. I liked the first Destronaut, so hopefully this follow-up will not be too far away in quality and entertainment. Super Destronaut DX-2 is akin to supercharged Space Invaders. While being a fairly simple game, it has some redeemable qualities and I think the sequel does bring along a few new bells and whistles to separate it from its predecessor.
Tales from the Borderlands is a classic TellTale Games title set within the world of the titular looter shooter trilogy. Of course, I knew about this series, and had dabbled for a few minutes in one of the titles when they came to PlayStation Plus some time ago. However, I had never truly played one of them. Yet, I was instantly drawn to this title when it became available. The graphics, the style of the game and its episodic nature spoke to me.
The fantasy genre is one we’re all familiar with. Whether it be The Lord of The Rings or shows like Netflix’s The Witcher, the genre has found a dedicated spot in modern pop culture. But it’s Dungeons and Dragons that really brought the fantasy genre to the fore, finding favour among the nerdiest of youths and the most famous of Hollywood actors. For a franchise as massive as D&D, you’d think that its adaptations and spinoffs into modern media would hold up pretty well. It’s why I got quite excited about the recently released D&D: Dark Alliance, which seeks to throw players into an epic campaign littered with all the trimmings of D&D’s vast universe. It accomplishes this to some degree, but as a whole, it feels closer to a critical fail than booming success.
The Nintendo Switch is an excellent platform for puzzle games. The accessibility of a portable console works well with the short, fast-paced levels in them. Picross S6 is no exception. You progress through well over three hundred levels in this collection of puzzles.
Boomerang X is the latest release from Devolver Digital. In this first-person shooter, the player wields a boomerang and fights hordes of dark beings. This title focuses on movement and encourages the player to gracefully soar through the air while bombarding their foes with attacks. Is Boomerang X worth a shot? Find out in this Rapid Review.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is a remastered take on the original Sega Master System game Alex Kidd in Miracle World which first released all the way back in 1986. The game tells the story of the small but strong titular hero, Alex Kidd on his quest to defend his world, Radaxian, and his people, from the evil forces of Janken the Great. Are you gonna help our hero restore order to the once peaceful land of Radaxian?
Breathedge is one of those games that does its best to honour past games of the genre whilst also blazing its own path. The ride through space sure is a fun one, though ultimately your mileage through the vacuum of space may vary. You are “Man”, the last known survivor of a galactic wreck. You are tasked with taking your grandfather’s ashes to his out-of-this-world funeral. Once your spaceship crashes you must begin to find supplies to survive and scour space to find a way back home.
In February, I positively reviewed Inkle’s Heaven’s Vault so when the team announced and immediately released the “reverse whodunnit” Overboard, I was immediately interested. Are the mysteries of Inkle’s more grounded title worth solving? Find out my thoughts in this Rapid Review.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is about as wholesome a game as it gets. You play as young Alba, first taking steps as a toddler alongside her grandparents on a small island. You learn how to control Alba in this flashback sequence. There you learn how to walk, run, and take photos. At the end of each day, all Alba will need to do is shake her head in agreement or disagreement when asked a question. After the short tutorial sequence, you time jump and play as teenage Alba tasked with cleaning up the island. Along with clean-up, it is Alba’s mission to get enough signatures from neighbors to stop the building of a large tourist high rise.
Chess has long been a game played by millions across the world, dating back as far as the 1500’s; although the exact origins seem to be unknown. Knight’s Retreat is a puzzle game that brings together the elements of chess to create a unique experience on the Nintendo Switch.
Mighty Goose is a run and gun shooter featuring a bounty hunter goose. Fight your way through hordes of bugs and robots to prepare for battle against the Void King. Meet an adorable cast of battle-ready creatures and fight with high octane gameplay. Is this goose cooked all the way through? Find out in my Rapid Review.
When I first booted up Save me Mr Tako, my brain got dragged back to my youth. Where a younger me and a friend of mine were camped on his porch playing Gameboys. Those basic, crunchy chiptunes, the muted green and black colour palette, times were a lot simpler back then. Save me Mr Tako harks back to these simpler times, with its pure gameplay and classic presentation, it’s a breath of fresh air in this trying modern era of gaming.
Ratchet and Clank are PlayStation icons, with their futuristic escapades giving 3D-adventuring masterclasses ever since the PlayStation 2 days. I remember playing and loving the original game, whilst every entry since has been top class too. They have been welcome faces on the platform since 2002, with their adventures certainly standing the test of time.
When it comes to professions that cheeky Nintendo mascot Mario, and his band of chums seem to have done it all. From Kart racing, playing Doctor, and even dabbling with DIY – Mario has been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt. Now it’s over to golf with the recent release of Mario Golf: Super Rush. But does this all-star sequel head straight to the green? Or does it flounder in the fairway? Come with me as I find out.
“You cannot change the past, but you can always change your perspective”. It’s a quote that feels fitting for Maquette, both with its gameplay and its narrative. The puzzler from developer Graceful Decay doesn’t just give players a myriad of challenging enigmas to solve that requires them to use different perspectives to alter the objects around them, but it also tells a love story that’s somewhat bittersweet. That’s not a spoiler, by the way, but something that’s addressed in the intro.
I know what you’re thinking, Metro Exodus has been out a good while now but the version that has been optimised for Xbox Series S|X has recently released and so this will be a slightly different kind of review. Seeing as we already have a review of Metro Exodus (which you can read here), this will more be a review of the Xbox Series S|X version and how it differs from the original. Now that is out of the way, let’s get on with it.
Destroy All Humans! is a semi-open world game set in a fictional 1959 where Cryptosporidium 137 (or Crypto for short) is sent to Earth by his leader, Orthopox 13. His task is to find out what happened to his predecessor Cryptosporidium 136, who disappeared in 1947 after he was sent to Earth for a similar mission. Orthopox 13 (a.k.a Pox) asks our grey little protagonist to harvest human brain stems to prevent his Furon species from going extinct. Why do you ask? Well, a long long time ago, after an encounter between humans and Furon warriors, the human DNA now contains particles of the Furon DNA. Unfortunately, a shadowy government organization called Majestic, and led by Silhouette stands in the way of Crypto’s mission.