Rapid Reviews UK
HomepageRapid Reviews UK's Reviews
Huntdown is set in a dystopian future, in a city where gangs run rampant and the police have resorted to hiring bounty hunters to deal with the worst of the worst. Choosing from one of three possible hunters, players can enforce law and order on the streets as Ana Conda, John Sawyer or Mow Man. Each will start with a unique gun and projectile, and they all come fully loaded with quick-witted replies and catchphrases ripped right out of an action movie script. This game can be enjoyed in both single and multiplayer, but for the sake of this review, only the single-player experience has been covered.
Against the Moon is a turn-based roguelike deck builder with gameplay being a blend of Plants vs Zombies and Slay the Spire. As a big fan of Slay the Spire, what did I think? Find out in this Rapid Review. Against the Moon has detailed and complex lore which, to be quite honest, I struggled to comprehend. From what I could grasp, the moon is against you and some of the moon’s friends also stand in your way. To aid in the battle against the moon (see what I did there), there are some powerful heroes called “Ultori” who offer unique abilities and are the last line of defence.
There’s a very simple premise to Isle of Spirits; survive long enough to escape. You must use the available resources on the island to keep yourself fed, warm and protected from the elements whilst also constructing your escape raft. It’s worth getting some sleep every once in a while too, or you’ll find yourself taking impromptu naps – wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!
Gaming and exercise. These two words tend to collide a lot – gaming is usually associated with the opposite of fitness, as fitness tends to be seen as physical, outdoor activity. With the outdoors being very limited this year, alternatives are sought, and fitness games have seen a rise in popularity. In the past, fitness games have been seen as a sort of ‘gimmick’. They’re the types of games you play for a couple of months and then drop off once you’ve seen everything the game has to offer.
26 years is a very long time for Streets of Rage 4, especially when it comes to the video game industry. To put it into perspective, in 1994, Rare and Nintendo released the first Donkey Kong Country, Sony was putting the finishing touches to the Playstation which was due to release in Japan in that December, and Sega released Streets of Rage 3 worldwide in June. Most series that haven’t had an entry in that amount of time is long considered dead.
Do you remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid? Probably not, most people reading this are a lot younger than me and were probably on Snapchat or something instead. They were books that at the end of certain points in the story, you chose what to do and turned to the appropriate page to see what happened. There are parts of Crown Trick that are like that but the only difference is that Crown Trick repeatedly kills you and I cant then turn back to the other page to rectify my mistake as I could in the books I once adored.
In 2018, First Contact Entertainment released Firewall Zero Hour, a realistic team-based shooter, for the Playstation VR. First Contact have now released the pre-season of Solaris: Offworld Combat. Whilst this shooting game does share similarities to the previous title, Solaris takes a much more arcadey approach, ditching realism for accessibility. Find out my thoughts in this pre-season (early access) Rapid Review.
When Embracelet popped up in our games list, I immediately fell in love with the art style. Reminiscent of the design in Untitled Goose Game, the low-poly art looked utterly charming. There was something about the characters with their beady eyes and little mouths that captured my heart. However, I thought the story sounded a little cheesy. I’m all for magic and fantasy, but a bracelet with magical powers? I thought it was perhaps a little childish. But as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover, as I soon found out I was wrong!
Crash is back. Like seriously back. No remasters on show here, just an original story riding the tailcoat of success that the N Sane trilogy & CTR has brought to the current gen platforms over the last couple of years. Crash Bandicoot is a name synonymous with the founding of the PlayStation. He has long been the official mascot of Sony’s iconic brand. His journey to 2020 however, has been something of a bumpy ride following a winding path of hit after hit after hit after…. miss.
Another Ratalaika game, another short romp to a platinum trophy. I have played many Ratalaika games over the years and at one point bought loads of them for easy to grab platinum trophies. I have since stopped that but don’t mind reviewing one now and again. Their quality is very variable, let’s see where Prehistoric Dude on the PS4 sits in the Ratalaika quality spectrum, shall we? So, Prehistoric Dude, which is a very uninspired title by the way, is about, well, a Prehistoric Dude. What has the world come to when you can’t even have a meal eating your favourite food in peace? Your massive piece of ham has been stolen and that is basically the plot here. Your job is to track down the large dinosaur-shaped fiend who stole your dinner from you. Good luck with that one!
The Great Perhaps throws up some interesting scenarios and as it released during the summer period, during peak “lockdown”, it did feel somewhat strange to think of the parallels between the world you’re playing through and the one we live in. Playing as an astronaut you come across a strange artefact; a lantern. The lantern enables you to see glimpses of the past but also lets you switch back to the present time, you’re tasked with finding out what has happened to the post apocalyptic world you’re living through in the hope you can save the planet. In terms of the story it’s fairly slim on the explanation front and it’s clear the developers wanted to focus more on the gameplay element. You have an internal guide who will help you out on your journey as you travel through the different areas and as you get used to the lantern and it’s function you’ll become more accustomed to solving the games puzzles.
Fan or not, we are currently in an age of remasters with games such as Resident Evil 2 & 3 and more recently, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 receiving the remaster/remake treatment. What has come as a total suprise to everyone is the release of a Commandos 2 & Praetorians: HD Remaster Double Pack. With gamers currently screaming out for other remakes such as the long rumored Mass Effect Trilogy, how do these two relatively unheard of strategy games fare now they are thrust back into the spotlight?
“A love letter to ‘90s classics for the Amiga and PC” is how developer Studio Evil refers to Syder Reloaded. Hot off the tails of the Steam release, known as Syder Arcade, Syder Reloaded allows players to experience high octane shoot ‘em up action to a pumping soundtrack and flashy visuals. Does this game have what it takes to bring back the glorious shmup days of yore? Or is Syder Reloaded a love letter that gets lost in the post?
To lead an original Avengers story, to take some of the most beloved characters in the multi-verse and to build something that attracts new enthusiasts as well as respect and engage the super fans alike is bold, brave and sadly just a little out of reach for this developer. Yet, there’s enough on show here to keep the audience playing and exploring the world created by Shaun Escayg and the writing team at Crystal Dynamics.
I think all of us can relate to having that one tycoon game that left us staring at a screen for hours, completely unaware of the time passing. There’s something about management games that draws many of us in and becomes addictive, whether that be running your own theme park or building your own city. I’m not sure what this power lust and control says about humans… When I saw Chef in our games list, I was happy to review it, having spent many hours on titles such as Rollercoaster Tycoon and Planet Zoo. A restaurant sim was something I’d never really played before, besides old flash games on the family PC on rainy days. But was it a recipe for disaster or the creme de la creme of restaurant tycoons?
Superhot is the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years… Or have I just been programmed to say that? I can’t be sure myself. What I can say for sure is, Superhot: Mind Control Delete made me feel like a bullet-dodging, katana-wielding, Tron-esque John Wick and I loved every second of it!
Regardless of what the date is, the internet is always full to the brim with video game industry rumours and news. On one day in particular it is important to remember (more so than usual) that not everything you read online is true. April Fool’s Day has given us some brilliant gags over the years from IGN’s 2008 trailer for a movie based on The Legend Of Zelda, to Valve putting Half-Life 3 on the Steam store. These types of pranks always provide a great laugh but usually lead to nothing.
It’s the 19th Century in this roguelike expedition simulation game where you will need your wits about you and a strategy to survive perilous expeditions. In Curious Expedition take control of one of history’s most famous characters on a grand quest to the unexplored far reaches of the world. Race around the world against your fellow explorers in a cut-throat competition to gain fame and fortune, all of course in the name of science. Will you strive to raise your reputation by donating your discoveries to the museum or will greed motivate you to sell those discoveries for a fortune?
Waves of enemies, unique skills and tactical gameplay coupled with exploration, dungeon crawling and flexible character development. Tower of Time is a game that takes a mix of tower defense combat mechanics with some classic tactical elements and adds them to a dungeon-crawler set, in a tower. Seems interesting enough in concept but does it work?
Road to Guangdong is a game about the importance of family and how traditions get passed down throughout generations. Set against the evocative backdrop of 90s China, we take on the role of Sunny. Sunny has just inherited the family’s restaurant, which has fallen on hard times. As a last ditch attempt to save the restaurant, Sunny and her Great Aunt, Gu Ma, set off on a road trip in search of long-lost relatives that hold the secrets that could reverse the restaurant’s failings and bring the customers flooding back. As Sunny and Gu Ma set off on their journey they have to contend with not only the generation gap between themselves, but also their choice of transport – Sandy, the family’s old beat-up car.