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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.
What one item would you take with you to a desert island? It’s a question frequently asked and one with many answers. Some say they would bring their mobile phone or their favourite book. But in The Survivalists, the question is as irrelevant as these items would be on a remote island. You will start the game stranded, starving and scared on a beach with no connection to civilization; you know, just like in real life. In this sense, The Survivalists is fairly realistic in its setting. However, the morbidity of being stranded on a desert island is whisked away by a cool breeze, sun-soaked beaches, and a wealth of resources to help you survive in the middle of paradise.
In the magical, musical realm of Balan Wonderworld, you’ll discover endless possibilities waiting for you! But if that sounds too good to be true… then you just might be onto something. If you’ve done any searching into Balan Wonderworld, you’ve probably already run into its less-than-stellar reception. An unpopular demo, dismal sales, and a (since-patched) bug that could trigger epilepsy… the list goes on.
Summer Catchers will bring players on an epic road trip where, thanks to their wooden cars, they’ll be able to travel to distant lands full of mystery, strange creatures and exciting races in your quest to finally experience summer. As you’d expect, it won’t be easy. As you’ll drive through shadowy forests, dark swamps, vast valleys, and underground cities, you’ll encounter a bevy of obstacles and difficult situations.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, known as Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding in Australia, first saw the light of day in 1999 on Sony’s first PlayStation console. It was also subsequently ported to a handful of platforms such as N64 and hell even the Nokia’s N-Gage (remember that phone/portable console hybrid?). The goal of the THPS series is pretty simple: throw players into a 3D environment and have them pull off crazy scores and complete objectives as real-life pro skateboarders. The game was met with critical acclaim which prompted Activision to start producing more games in the series by releasing a new game every year from 2000 to 2002.
The room is spinning, I feel queasy. Who am I? What am I doing here? Where the hell is here? Where are my bloody shoes? Welcome to Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, a game about a gruesome murder, amnesia and copious amounts of alcohol but more importantly, a game containing a web of choices. Choices that will lead you down memorable paths, into hilarious situations and wittily written conversations.
The story in Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is about a small little farm that is ransacked by a stampede of Tooki’s who steal all the corn from the farm for some reason. By some sort of magic a lone scarecrow is brought to life and immediately gives chase to retrieve what’s been taken. The story is very bare bones but sets the scene for the adventure ahead. It has a very similar premise to the Donkey Kong Country Returns plot that sees a strange group of Tiki’s stealing all of Donkey Kong’s bananas.
I used to love the original Plants vs Zombies game on the Xbox 360, planting my plants and killing those zombies, as you do. The game has evolved so, so much since then and the feud continues today with Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition on the Nintendo Switch.
Before Your Eyes is a movie-length story-driven adventure that uses blink-tracking to control the game’s events. But is this a narrative deserving of your focus? Find out in this Rapid Review.
There’s a wide spectrum of old-school retro-style games out on the market that are waiting to be discovered. Being a gamer with thirty years of experience has taught me that graphics don’t always make a game and that some of the classics remain fun even today.
For years, my younger sister has been forced to a secondary position when it comes to couch co-op experiences. From playing as Mario’s Cap to a mere Star Pointer, when she saw the equal gameplay from the initial trailer of Hazlelight’s latest game It Takes Two, it was my sister who asked to play the game for review. Find out our thoughts in this Rapid Review.
All Walls Must Fall is an isometric tactics game that’s set in an alt-future Berlin. As a time-travelling secret agent, it’s up to you to travel through time to stop a rogue element deploying a nuclear device that destroys Berlin in the future. With only a single night to avert the attack, you’d best get those dancing shoes on…
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an action RPG that first saw the light of day in 2012 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. It was developed by Big Huge Games and 38 Studios and published by everyone’s favorite company: Electronic Arts, or EA. The game averaged 80.66% across all three platforms as it was known to be a game for RPG aficionados and newcomers to the genre. After 38 Studios went belly up, THQ Nordic snagged the rights in 2018 and announced Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning for last-gen consoles along with PC. While the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions released last September, fast-forward to March 2021 where we finally have the Switch version. Given that we’ve already had a full review of the Xbox One version here, this article will cover how the Switch version stacks up.