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We all love a relaxing game from time to time, don’t we? A game that requires no thinking, just easy, mindless gameplay. Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition is a great relaxation game and I’m here to tell you why.
In Death: Unchained is a procedurally generated game for the Oculus Quest that originated on PCVR in 2018. Focusing on archery with a bow and then later a crossbow, you will work to kill enemies and navigate around various levels taking down hordes of enemies. In Death: Unchained makes you traverse through the world using a teleport mechanic as you shoot arrows at the ground. This allows you to zip towards or away from them while targeting or running away from battles. Traversing the levels can be a bit of a dance in ways as lining up your shots from a distance can be rewarding albeit difficult to accomplish.
I think most of us can agree that none of us like a nightmare in our routine of sleep. However, some of us might all enjoy a point and click game that mimics a bad dream. Bad Dream: Coma has been on the scene for quite some time originally launching way back on 9th March 2017. Bad Dream: Coma was developed by Desert Fox and published by Ultimate Games. Finally, the title makes its mark on the Xbox family of consoles. For the purpose of this review, I’ll be playing using an Xbox Series X.
In this review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the “out-of-the-box” (non) point and click puzzler from developer Draw Me A Pixel which was (not) announced and then (not) immediately released in the latest Nintendo Indie Showcase. Reviewing this experience almost seems redundant. After all, There Is No Game.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a party game for 1-4 players. It includes both Overcooked and Overcooked 2, as well as a little additional content. Tasked with receiving a certain level of income, players will attempt to prepare food while the kitchen and other chefs cause chaos around them. Prepare to test your friendships before entering the kitchens in Overcooked! All You Can Eat.
Star Wars: Republic Commando has finally made its modern console release. The Star Wars-themed squad-based FPS was originally released back in 2005 for the Xbox and PC. Star Wars: Republic Commando follows a clone spec-ops team through a story set within the Star Wars Legends expanded universe. As Delta Squad you have to endure increasingly difficult missions set through the Clone Wars. But does the once much applauded FPS still hold up? Find out in my Rapid Review…
In 1999, Pokémon Snap was released for the Nintendo 64. One of the first console-based games as a spin off for the Pokémon series, and featuring Pokémon rendered for the first time in real-time 3D, it remains a fond memory for many. It was something unique and much different from the mechanics in the main line titles, with first-person rail shooter gameplay.
Have you ever looked at a game and thought it was going to play one way, but it plays another? Well, that is my opening thought with Evergate. When I first saw it at the end of the August Indie World of 2020, I thought it looked like the Ori games because it had a similar art style. Needless to say, I was completely wrong. What followed was a surprise though, as even though it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, it still stunned me.
Ashwalkers feels like several games in one, incorporating various unique gameplay elements pulled from the survival and choose-your-own-adventure genres. But where this may seem like cause for concern, it expertly brings them together to create a special experience unlike anything else. My time with Ashwalkers was brief, but enough to leave a lasting impression that has me yearning to go back and play it all again.
Rain on Your Parade is the weather-based equivalent of Untitled Goose Game. You play as a mischievous cloud – aptly named “Cloudy” – whose goal is to annoy anyone and everyone who happens to be standing under them. If you think raining on people is a little dull, when you add in thunder, snow, and copious amounts of acid, petrol, fire, and even a little “Tactical Espionage Action” then Rain on Your Parade brings a whole new meaning to “cloud-based gaming”.
Inter-dimensional puzzling isn’t new to video games, but there’s something about World Splitter’s take on it that just feels so satisfying. Having a screen split into two different worlds with the player able to constantly change up the split-ratio to traverse each challenge they offer? It just works.
In my early days of playing adventure games on my Xbox 360, one series always had my heart. As campy and ridiculous as it was, the Saints Row series has and always will be one of my favorite series of GTA-like games. I often call Saints Row “Goofy Grand Theft Auto,” a perfect parody of practicing crime while also shooting obscene mascots with a Dubstep gun (yes, that’s a real weapon in this series.) If you’d like to read our past review of Saints Row The Third: Remastered, check it out here!
You play as Lilly Witchgan and her various personalities. Levels are either puzzles (where you control two of Lilly’s personalities at once) or story interludes where you may also learn a new skill to be used in future puzzles. The difficulty lies in having to control two characters at once as you try to avoid the obstacles to get to the end of the level. Characters may move in different directions. For example, pushing ‘up’ on the directional joystick may move one of the characters up and the other down. Obstacles also appear in different locations for each of the characters.
Now and again, not too often mind, I do like a bit of a sim style management game. It has been a while since I had played one so thought I would have a bash at Buildings Have Feelings Too!. I did not know a lot about it before playing but I did love the presentation and art style I saw in the trailer. It looked very different from other games of this style. Little did I know, this was not your stereotypical management game.
Ah, can you smell that? It smells like another Ratalika easy platinum trophy. Birthday of Midnight, which is a sequel to Midnight Deluxe, is a game about whacking a little funny shaped fellow into a hole. Think of golf but instead of a ball it is a little chap that seems to have a weird fascination with pain and holes.
How many of us go through life saying yes to people’s demands or requests? It may be a family member, a friend, or even a work colleague. It’s easy to slip into the habit of trying to please everyone and being too nice, even if it’s detrimental to our wellbeing. You can end up burnt out, or in an uncomfortable situation. Do you find it hard to tell others no, out of fear of upsetting them?
When I see Kalypso Media stamped onto a game, I immediately think of strategy titles such as Tropico, Port Royale, Dungeons and Commandos 2. They have a huge catalogue of amazing RTS experiences which span several years so I was delighted when Starbase Startopia emerged onto the scene. Developed by Realmforge Studios and launched at the back end of March 2021, you can acquire the game on PC, Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch.
If you’re a fan of titles such as Yakuza and Shenmue then there is a great chance you may just enjoy The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa. Developed and published by yeo, The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa is an existential open-world beat ’em up with some school sim elements.
Heal: Console Edition is a point and click, puzzle adventure which made its original release on PC (Steam) in April 2020. It comes from Jesse Makkonen, the developer of the Distraint series. The port onto consoles is by Ratalaika Games. For fans of Makkonen, does this offering live up to the standard of his previous releases? There’s only one way to find out, read this Rapid Review!
Savage Halloween is an arcade action platformer, reminiscent of games like Contra. Play as one of three distinct monsters to flee Earth’s eternal party and return home.