GameOnAUS's Reviews
I did enjoy playing Welcome to Elk and I’m glad I made it through the whole game. By the end I really felt for the main characters and their stories depicted, even more so for the real life people who tell the stories. The ending was a nice warm way to round out the whole experience.
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead is an awesome addition to the Bridge Constructor series given the added feeling of survival in The Walking Dead universe.
I enjoyed Shut In and whilst it was pretty dark and brutal in parts, it was balanced with challenging puzzles and good humour. I managed to complete the game in 1 hour 11 minutes but it’s a game worth experiencing if you like puzzle games. It’s also a fascinating glimpse for me into mental struggles of life in lockdown that many around the world have no doubt experienced or even still going through.
Space Crew is fantastic and insanely good fun, but also can be quite punishing. Whilst some of the missions were challenging, it drove you to do better each time, and with missions that only last about 15-20 minutes, it’s a great game to play in short bursts. Gameplay is super smooth with excellent sounds and space visuals, particularly in missions with asteroid fields.
Partisans 1941 is a very well designed and executed tactics and stealth game; arguably one of my favourites. The addition of encampment and troop management between missions is a great way to break up the sometimes intense combat missions. I really enjoyed this look into the Partisans fighting along the eastern front, a story which I was not too familiar with. Fictitious or not, it was a fascinating insight into the mindset of being a guerilla force in those testing times.
Re:Turn – One Way Trip is a great 2D side scrolling adventure with excellent tension-building music and a well-written spooky story that drives you forward. There are times where the back and forth to solve puzzles gets a bit tedious, but the story elements justify the player’s efforts. The pixel art softens the horror jump scares somewhat, so don’t be turned off if horror games aren’t your thing as this game is worth a play through.
The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos is a fantastic tactical RPG, made better with outstanding voice acting and hilarious puns. The humour is rife in this game and while it may not be for some, had me laughing constantly. The tactical combat gameplay is difficult but rewarding and the graphics are superb.
Ride 4 is an incredibly detailed racing game that will have motorcycle enthusiasts very pleased. Not being too interested in motorcycles myself, I’ve enjoyed learning how to race on them in this game. The difficulty of the game despite the racing assists is a bit too high for my liking, and it would have benefited from having some form of tutorial race to practice on before tackling real races. The graphics are extremely impressive and despite the difficulty, I can feel my skills getting better. I just wish I could at least finish the first cup and unlock more of the game.
Escape Simulator is a fantastic and challenging puzzle game that really makes you think. It’s one of the more challenging puzzle games and some of the puzzles are so bloody clever once you figure them out.
While aimed at younger gamers, Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers is great racing fun for the whole family. In single player or split-screen co-op, the familiar voices and vehicles from the TV show can be played in short and simple races to keep the kids’ attention.
PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night is a great video game adaptation of the TV show allowing you play out some new adventures as these characters. The levels are short but are appropriate for children aged 3-7 who have an interest in the show.
How great is it that we have games like My Friend Peppa Pig where kids can be watching the TV show, then jump straight into a game where they can have fun in this non-violent interactive sandbox within Peppa’s world. This is certainly aimed at those kids who are fans of the TV show with easy navigation and fun puzzles.
Pentiment isn’t going to be for everyone, but if you have patience for it and can appreciate what it’s trying to do (and I certainly did), it’s a rewarding and enlightening experience which I’m very glad I’ve had the ability to play and enjoy.
The mechanical amusement element of the game has been beautifully and vividly recreated – it really does feel like the sort of thing one might find in a seaside pier arcade around 1910. You can see the mechanical rigging working on the characters and backdrops, and the characters and enemies are visibly made of tin, with holes and sparks appearing at they take damage.
What I’d hoped for was a detailed but fun shooter which makes the most of its setting. What I got is Call Of Duty With The Soviets As The Bad Guys, albeit with about as much realism as an 80s straight-to-VHS action movie but without the self-awareness.
While from a gaming perspective it ends up a bit disappointing, from a “Games as Art” perspective there’s a worthwhile message here about the broader consequences of seemingly unrelated actions – messing with natural gas prices, for example, can cascade into triggering a civil war – and pointing out that the relentless pursuit of profit above all else is ultimately hollow and meaningless.
The new setting has plenty of charm and is just different enough to differentiate it from England, the story is well done and moves at a good pace, and there’s a lot to see and do.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 isn’t a must-buy at the moment – but keep your scope zeroed for it on sale down the track.
If you’re a fan of the series then you’ll find Bloodline is a worthwhile addition, but if Legion is your first foray into the Watch Dogs universe then you probably won’t get as much out of it as returning players.
On a next-gen console and an 8K TV, the dinosaurs look absolutely amazing and there is a surprisingly relaxing time to be had watching them going about their dinosaur lives, eating and drinking and wandering around. At least, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming – especially if you don’t keep your dinosaurs content or the power grid fails and the bigger, nastier, more carnivorous ones get out of their enclosures and decide to snack on some guests instead of the goats you’ve so generously been providing them.