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I like to think of myself as an open minded and non-judgemental kinda guy. But I’m forced to admit that I make assumptions based on first impressions and visuals all the time. Be it reading the blurb on the back of a book or while selecting which sandwich to buy for lunch. I won’t deny that when Zero Zero Zero Zero first fell into my review pile, I unfairly judged it and was in no rush to play it. However, first impressions are often wrong, qualities are sometimes well hidden.
Let me start by saying, there are not nearly enough monster-catching games around, and it’s no real surprise with the likes of the Pokemon series, I guess it can be a little intimidating. That’s why I was so glad to hear about Nexomon: Extinction. But does it stand up against the best? Let’s see. Nexomon: Extinction is an adventure RPG game that almost mimics Pokemon exactly. The gameplay, battle system, creature types – it’s almost uncanny. But, there are areas that Nexomon takes and then excels on such as its storyline. It has some depth to it, you’re not just wanting to be the best tamer (Nexomons version of a trainer), this is a story of destruction.
Playing CARRION on the Nintendo switch reminded me so much of one of my favourite science fiction horror films from the ’80s by John carpenter: The Thing. Crawling about and feeding on the human population in a military facility, all while searching for bio-capsules to gain new abilities which allow you to gain access to new areas and lay siege to them is engaging and fun, albeit with a frustrating omission of the map screen which makes navigation difficult at times. Let’ take a trip into the twisted world of CARRION to see if this is a title worth owning.
I have played and reviewed a couple of visual novel games now, and I was then and still am entirely undecided on what I think of them. Then I saw Collar X Malice on the review list. Was I ready for another visual novel? I didn’t know, but I’d played a few hectic games, and the idea of something chilled out certainly appealed to me. Plus, I love reading and story-driven games, and what could be more story-driven than a game that is essentially a novel. So, I ventured into this title, recently launched on the switch after a run on other systems earlier in its life. I did not know anything about the game going into it, but what did I make of my time in the world of Adonis? Was it a real page-turner of a game, or was it one of those stories that weren’t ever as strong as its blurb?
Some games you can talk about for a long time but other games you may find little to talk about. Grimvalor, originally a mobile game, is one of those games. Not because it is bad but because there isn’t much to talk about. Despite that, what did I think of Grimvalor? Was it good or bad? Let’s find out.
Blind Men did not seem like the typical type of game I would enjoy at first glance. However, you don’t find new things by sticking inside your comfort zone. So, in the interest of broadening my gaming horizons, I took the plunge and tried something out of my usual taste range.
The granddaddy of the real-time strategy genre returns with the original two games straight from the ‘90s. Armed with cheesy FMV sequences and a doggedly faithful recreation of every nook, cranny and wart, all wrapped up nicely with a textural coat of military-grade paint (up to 4K resolution), classic Command & Conquer is back.
Picture an old woman with a love of gardening followed around by cute, chubby mushrooms as her loyal army. Sounds pretty cute, right? Well, in Terrorarium, this granny uses those adorable mushroom creatures, Moogu, as her expendable pawns in alien gardens filled with murderous plants and hazards. Not so cute.
Dirt Rally 2.0 Game of the Year Edition is the most complete version of Codemasters’ excellent rally simulator that comes to solve one of the biggest defects of the original version, the lack of content. In this game, you will compete in some of the most iconic locations in the world, using both current vehicles and other well-recognized classics from the competition. Like the original version, it’s a very demanding title that requires a lot of practice on the part of the players, this edition incorporating several updates that refine the experience, and lots of content that has been released through the season passes together with other extras.
Rocket Arena exploded onto consoles and PC in early July, although you may not have felt the shockwave. EA released this new 3v3 online shooter with very little fanfare. I think I saw maybe two adverts for the game during its month of release. It may have had a short fuse but does Rocket Arena pack enough punch to make you take shelter?
Binding of Isacc meets Enter the Gungeon when Neon Abyss struts into town. This spectacular Roguelite has you literally falling into the abyss whilst hurling an endless stream of bullets, lasers and bubbles at a never ending supply of squishy monsters.
Dark Souls has become such a popular and influential series in video games that it inspired its own genre aptly named “soulslike.” Nowadays, these types of games are a dime a dozen, and Hellpoint is the latest game to follow the trend. Developed by Cradle Games and published by the cult favorite tinyBuild, Hellpoint garnered a lot of anticipation from gamers, and the day of its release has finally come.
As a kid of the 90s, I cut my big boy gaming teeth on games like Ion Fury. Futuristic, fast-paced shooters that were filled with gore, or at least indistinct red blobs that were meant to be chunks of scorched meat. Ion Fury was one of many games out in my youth, and while I never got a chance to play the original, I was delightfully surprised to be able to take this reboot/remaster/re-release – I’m not sure what they are terming it – out for a spin.
DISTRAINT 2 is an interactive, visual novel, horror game that deals with some deep issues. I don’t want to give too much away about the story in this review because part of the beauty of this game is riding the highs and lows of the plot. However, I feel it would be remiss of me to write any more about it without first giving a content warning: this game’s events centre on a suicide attempt and past trauma.
I’m a big fan of platform-adventure games such as Metroid and Castlevania. Their simple yet challenging gameplay has always been a lure to me ever since I first discovered Super Metroid and Super Castlevania IV way back in the 90s on the SNES. The Bloodstained series is considered to be the spiritual successor to Castlevania with both series being developed by Koji Igarashi. Igarashi conceived the idea of Bloodstained after his departure from Konami in 2018 and was prompted by many requests by fans for him to produce another “Metroidvania” style game. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is the third game released in the Bloodstained series so how does it compare to its already well received brethren?
The first imagery we ever saw from our initial glimpse at Death Stranding, was a naked Daryl Dixon cradling a baby. No explanation, no story detail. But it was from Hideo Kojima, so naturally, hype arose. However, for me, I never really pushed to find out what the game was about or watch any more trailers over the years. It was for PS4, and as an Xbox player, I was never going to play it, so why bother?
Sky Racket is a game which combines two classic arcade genres: “Shoot’em Up” and “Brick Breakers”. The world has been taken over by the evil “Korgg” and it’s up to RacketBoy and RacketGirl to defeat enemies and save the world! It’s always good to play a mix of genres but did the combination leave me with a smile on my face or was it all just a loud and annoying racket?
Puzzle games can either be hit or miss. Either they are easy or way too hard, and quite a few barely hit the middle. With Pode I believe a perfect balance was hit, and while I was afraid of what was coming up, I felt like the game did it great. How was it able to manage that? Read and find out.
Every once in awhile, Nintendo has an ace up its sleeve, an unexpected surprise that flutters from nowhere. Rewind a few months and our Kyoto based friends decided in May 2020 to unfold a brand new addition to the beloved Paper Mario series… oh and by the way it will arrive this summer! Cue the media frenzy, and excitement in the lead up to the arrival of The Origami King.
Catherine: Full Body is to an extent both an expanded and a remake to the 2011 game Catherine. Developed by Atlus, Catherine is a tale of one man and his incredibly complicated love life. It’s a bizarre game filled with Demons, Sheep and a love triangle. While Catherine is a fine game and doesn’t necessarily need a reboot or remake, Catherine: Full Body takes everything from the main game and improves on it in every way.