DDilettante

The Binding of Isaac is an amazingly rewarding game for its "randomly generated dungeon-looting" theme, which is somewhat unique in the larger gaming universe of today with standard RPGs and MMOs flooding the scene. Definitely worth the price with countless hours of replay value.

Darkness can be a frightening thing. It was certainly a factor for my childhood; anything beyond the crisp reaches of light was out of bounds, and I’d do everything in my power to stay in. Anything could be lurking in those shadows. What if there was only perpetual night, and there really were dark creatures out there? In the town of Bright Falls, that’s exactly what happens. Alan Wake is a psychological thriller which draws the majority of its inspiration from darkness, and what happens when those with an active imagination are thrust into it. The titular character - a famous horror writer – escapes with his wife to Bright Falls for a holiday, and to help write his next novel. Things turn south when his wife goes missing, and he is haunted by an evil supernatural presence. It goes from bad to worse when he then realises that he is now the protagonist of a horror novel he cannot remember writing. My impressions after roughly halfway through the game were not positive. I had a massive break from the game, because when I left it, it just wasn’t engaging enough to return to. It felt like the creators got together in the back corner of a cinema lobby: “Hey, how many cliché horror references do you think we can get thrown into to one game?” The swarms of crows, the axe through the door (here’s Johnny!), and the plot twists (was it all his imagination?) were all just collected from other sources, mainly Stephen King. Which they certainly don’t deny; in the very first monologue, his name is mentioned, and it isn’t the only time. The gameplay mechanics, although initially fresh, began to feel repetitive as you run through the dark woods from generator to generator, hoping to step under that pool of light before the “Taken” reached you. Shining your torch on these Taken until they’re rendered vulnerable and shooting them is the only way to take them down. Flares and flashbangs were fun to get out of that sticky situation, too. Anyway, this was before I left the game for a year. My recent impulsion to finish all those incomplete games brought me back, and I’m glad it did. The plot, although a little complicated and brandished with a few pot holes, did turn in the right direction. The challenges in the game did gradually increase (dang haunted bulldozers), and the game wasn’t afraid to have a little fun on the way, most notably when defending a music stage on an old farm, blasting the Taken while the rock plays on. While the graphics weren’t pushing the boundaries when the game was released, the visual direction was excellent. Stalking through darkness only to have an old trawler boat land metres in front out of nowhere is hard to see coming. It wasn’t Game of the Year material, but it was fun to escape into the Darkness.

Bastion is a beautifully-crafted indie platformer, which sets itself apart from the rest with its constant variety and unique gameplay. You play as The Kid, who wakes up suddenly as the world around him is ending. They call it the “Calamity”, which basically results in the ground around him falling apart. Under the Kid’s feet, blocks of land rise up to settle beneath him, which is the main way for getting around throughout the game. He sets off for the Bastion; a large homely mechanism floating in the sky, which was where everyone was to meet when the world ends. Lucky it was there! You initially only find one old man there, Rucks. He slots himself in as the gruff narrator of the tale, speaking in metaphors and eloquence, detailing your actions at every turn, and providing the backstory as you go. The narrator is essentially the centrepiece to the story, which is what most of the praise for this game (mine included) aims at. As you hop from area to area, you find more unique weapons. You can equip two at a time, which leads to an incredible amount of variety in your attacks (which Rucks comments on each time you leave the armoury). This is where much of the fun is; the gameplay itself. Each area, you can try a different combination of weapons, and not grow bored of it. Especially when you throw in a secret skill slot, which has limited uses, but opens up for even more variety. The soundtrack is amazing, and sets the tone for each cut scene and level you come across. The world itself looks like an oil-painted artpiece, yet at each point you know what your objective is, and pick out what is harmless scenery, and what is potentially life threatening. The story itself flows nicely, and even brings about a couple of choices in the final moments. These choices have real emotional weight, and what you choose will depend on the kind of person you are. As an indie game enthusiast, this is one that must be in your Library.

Aka: OH GOD WHY DO I GET SO ANGRY WHEN I FAIL? Bit.Trip Runner is the third in the Bit.Trip series, which makes a break from convention of the previous two. This time, you actually play as Commander Video in a side-scrolling platformer. The screen moves at a cracking pace while you run constantly in a 3D retro 8-bit inspired world. Your basic functions are to jump, slide, and kick your way around/through obstacles, while collecting gold and powerups, to reach the finish line at each stage. While this seems simple enough, and it is easy early on, it quickly delves into devious territory, requiring the utmost attention and rhythm. As with the previous Bit.Trip titles, the gameplay is heavily dependent on the music. As you collect powerups, the music becomes more and more intense, so you know after a few of them (and when that glorious rainbow trails behind you), you’re close to the end. It’s often much easier to time your jumps with the music, rather than looking at when obstacles are coming up. But if you fail; fall down a gap, hit a wall, etc, it immediately carries you all the way back to the beginning, and starts straight away in that dull pre-powerup music. It’s incredibly demoralising, to know that you were so close, only to go right back to the start music. Particularly on the longer levels (damn you, Odyssey). Because of the instant reload times, much like Super Meat Boy (who also gets a sneaky cameo), it forces you to keep trying, and keep trying, until you finally triumph. And you will retry. A lot. Only one other game has ever made me more frustrated than this (you’ll keep, Dark Souls). I’d have the final powerup, rainbow trailing behind me, knowing the end is near, only to miss-time an easy jump and go all the way back to the start. My desk is not fist-pound rated, but it should be. What makes it frustrating, is that on paper, it is so simple. All it is, is timing and reflexes and knowing the right inputs. There’s no other tactics that that. But the timing here can be unforgiving. Makes it all the better when you do finally complete a level you were stuck on forever. This is the best of the Bit.Trip series; if you want to start somewhere, this is the game to buy.

I give this game the award for Best Game Title. Trying to say it sounds like a 1950s busted alien spaceship trying to take off. VVVVVV is actually a really fun ultra-retro style puzzle platformer. With its unassuming story and gameplay, it turned into quite the challenge. In essence, you are Captain Viridian, who is lost in an alternate dimension aboard his spaceship, and is trying to locate the other members of his crew (all with names starting with V. There you go). Instead of jumping around, you can control the direction of gravity. This presents some interesting and unique gameplay when trying to traverse this basic, fluoro, and incredibly dangerous landscape. The music is entirely chiptune, to fit in with the retro style, and is extremely funky and addictive. Grab this one. It's great fun, even if for a short while.

Oh boy. Where can I start with this one. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a small Adventure game based on two brothers, who after losing their mother, must go on a quest to retrieve something to help their sick father. A usually simple premise. However, the gameplay is unique in that it's co-op... with yourself. You control both brothers; with a controller, the analogue sticks and triggers are dedicated to each brother, while if playing via keyboard, the WASD keys control one and the arrow keys control the other. There is very much a sense of trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time, using these controls. At first, while travelling the world is relatively easy, you may struggle but soon you get used to it. The world itself is beautiful to wander around. It looks like an oil painting come to life, with many inhabitants and objects available to interact with in both humerus and very moving ways. They breathe a certain kind of life in this game that only few games actually achieve. The landscapes become more and more epic as you progress. One certain area (and how you manoeuvre this area) left my mouth agape for it's entirety. You'll know which one this is. Although it starts out almost child-like, the themes become very dark, quite quickly. You'll stumble across some helpless individuals, which require assistance. The story-telling of these, even though the dialogue is not a known language, can be an emotional experience. And emotions run very high in this game. I completed this in one 3 hour setting (recommended), and 3 days later, it is still sitting with me. Towards the end, you might even find it hard to continue due to it's emotionally draining circumstances. Definitely one of the best Indie games I've played.

Art. If given one word to describe this game, that is what I would use. Loading up this game is like stepping into a watercolour painting, in a room filled with poets. The question you'd most likely be asking at this point is; "would that really be my kind of thing?" It's not really a major selling feature for most people. But, even though this game at it's core is an artpiece, it is wrapped in extremely good gameplay. You play a young Austrian girl called Aurora, who awakens in a strange world touched by darkness, in 1895. You'll explore the vivid landscapes, interact with the colourful characters, and slowly transform from a naive young girl into a bold warrior. This is aided by soon finding a sword. And you'll need that sword, because there are always enemies lurking. These encounters is where this game really shines. It's a pseudo-real-time-turn-based-strategy combat, where each thing is represented on a time bar. When you near the end, you're in a "Cast" zone, where you choose your attack/defense. These have different speeds; higher powered attacks will take longer to complete. If you hit something that's in this zone before they hit you (or vice versa), then they will be interrupted and sent back along the timeline. I cannot express how deeply satisfying it is to overtake an enemy by the smallest margin and send it back. There is an edge-of-your-seat level to this that I was immensely addicted to. Enemies can be tough, and attack in packs, so you know you shouldn't be alone. You'll find controllable companions along the way, who will join your party. Each of them are experts in certain types of combat; you'll find a jester which helps with healing/reviving, and a wizard that deals great elemental damage, to name just two. However, you can only battle using two at a time, but switching mid-battle is possible. You'll also have a small luminous droplet following you, which when controlled by the mouse, can aid in many ways, such as blinding enemies to slow them, or heal your party members. My best advice is to play this on expert initially, unless you want to easily win each battle. I did have to dial it bask to casual after a while, though. Aurora also soon gets the ability to fly, which greatly helps with the exploring aspect. And explore you will; there are chests and goodies everywhere for you to pick up, most importantly the Oculi. These gems, when assigned to your party members, give certain attack and defense buffs which can be critical for particular enemy types. They are also craftable, opening even more types of buffs. The sheer amount of combinations means you'll spend a lot of time here. The story is charming, with lots of humour sprinkled throughout. And although the dialogue is spoken entirely in verse, I find it refreshing.

Limbo is a simple yet incredibly atmospheric puzzle platformer. You wake up as a young boy, lost in a confusion of deep blacks and blurred greys. You're there to find your sister - but you wouldn't know it with no dialogue (spoken or written). This just adds to the dark mood of the game, which is already dark enough due to the many heart-breaking ways you can die; skewered by giant spiders, crushed between moving platforms, drowning... and the camera lingers just a little too long on the dead body of the child, which makes you that little more distraught. Luckily, it has a near instant reload/checkpoint scheme similar to that of Super Meat Boy. The puzzles throughout this world are mostly straightforward, and scale in difficulty pretty evenly. You may come across a few speed bumps, but perseverence is the key. Perhaps my only gripe is that it ended fairly abruptly, after a relatively short time.

It's hard to judge this as a game, as technically it isn't. It is, as IGN puts it; "a piece of interactive visual storytelling". This is due to it's lack of goals, weapons, puzzles, or basically anything you would see in a traditional game. Expect a "game", and you'll come out confused. But let's judge it based on what it actually aims to do... This tells the story of a shipwrecked castaway on an island. As you walk around, from scenic view to scenic view, the protagonist will speak in delicate yet disjointed prose. What first starts out as analogies drawn from the current landscape you're in, he will slowly reveal who this Esther is, while becoming more and more passionate in his outbursts. You'll walk along beaches, through luminous underground caves, and along jutting cliffs, which are all beautiful. I had to stop several times, just to take screenshots. I was basically a tourist. Even though there is no interactivity, after completing the game in two hours, I was quite emotionally moved. Without giving away any spoilers, the revelations in the dialogue which lead upto the powerful conclusion left me contemplating it for many days after. As an experience: 8/10 As a game: 4/10

Antichamber is what happens when puzzle game designers strip away all tradition, get drunk, and decide to see how cruelly they can mess with gamers' heads. Then, when they sober up the next day, there's a hint of remorse as they patch over it with a few words of inspiration on the walls. To be fair, their minimalistic game design it expertly crafted, to bring highly innovative challenges which really make you think. Much is based on perception and pre-conceptions. You may wander down a hallway, stop and turn around, only to find that the way you came has totally changed. You may also look a little closer through a viewing window, step back, and find yourself transported into a different room. This is all completely seamless, which messes with your head that much more. This game teaches you that trying something new will be rewarding. It almost always knows which way you'll tackle a challenge first, then give you one of many reassuring messages alluding to the task, or life in general. It gives you motivation to try and try again, in different ways. And you will want to, because finally overcoming a challenge that left you stuck for ages, makes you feel like the smartest man alive! I will admit that I sometimes asked for help from a gamer friend smarter than I, but I implore you to hold out on walkthroughs for as long as possible. It would ruin the rush of completing the harder puzzles. The lack of story and strange ending might remove you from being enveloped in the experience, but that's not what it's all about. It's about overcoming bizarre and difficult puzzles not like any other game out there.

I need to open by admitting the truth; I am not, and never was, good at management/tycoon type games. All those needs, requirements, wants... why can't everyone and everything work well together, without my constant vigilance? But I suppose, that's not the point, or the game wouldn't be challenging! This game starts you in your humble basement, at the beginning of the video gaming era. You work with what you have, making small games with minimal hardware, hearing the announcements roll on by; consoles are slowly released, murmurings within the industry heard, trends are identified. You pour your efforts into parts of the games you feel are going to give the best reviews, and thus generate the most revenue. Want to make a Medieval-Action game? Sure. Invest more time in the gameplay, but you're going to have to cut back in other areas, perhaps dialogue. Eventually, you'll make enough to move out into your own office. You can hire a team, each with different stats. You can train them (and yourself) up as you release more hopeful winners, while keeping up with the technology curve. With enough time and money, you can even make your own consoles, and have an R&D department. Because of my ineptitude towards tycoon games, I initially felt underwhelmed. The Farmville-esque graphics deterred me, and I kept needing bailouts from the bank. But then I hit my first winner. An overall 9.5 rating for a particular game. My bank account swelled. I suddenly knew what I was doing. I was hooked, trying to get that perfect 10 game (I never did, sadly). Watching those thought bubbles rise from your workers, seeing your game get more and more tech-design points was addictive. Wanting to try all the combinations of games. Trying out all the witty Pun-related game titles. Add all of the mods currently available on steam, and this could warrant several playthroughs (the story goes through 35 years of the gaming industry). Game Dev Tycoon is great if you like this sort of thing, and even if you don't normally go for these, it's still worth a try. It got me.

World of Goo is one of those games that fill a category hole you never thought existed. "A comedy-structure building 2D platformer? You know what, I do need that in my life!" However, under its simple premise as a 2D puzzle-platformer, it also harbours a fantastic mix of an up-beat and atmospheric soundtrack, and great landscapes. The story is minimal, but it is relayed to you from the witty and notorious Sign Painter, who always has something to say, either about gameplay hints, or about philosophical musings of the goo-balls themselves. These goo-balls are guided by your mouse, as you pick them up and place them strategically to form beam-like structures, to be able to reach your goal (a suction pipe in a difficult to reach place, most often). You'll come across goo-balls that behave differently, in changing environments. It will test your resolution towards the later areas of the game, and there are the harder challenges in each level for the completionists out there. 8 goo balls out of 10.

Trine 2 is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle platformer, featuring 3 very distinct adventurers; Amadeus, the Wizard; Pontius, the Knight; and Zoya, the Thief. Each have different useful abilities, such as the Wizard being able to conjure blocks, or the Thief being able to grapple onto wooden platforms. You'll run from left to right, switching between characters instantly if in Single Player, or in the case of Multiplayer, having up to 3 people in the same game. The first thing that will strike you, however, is the absolutely stunning visuals. Never have I seen such incredible depth in a side-scrolling platformer. The main game, which slowly progresses through dark forests, to dawn-struck beaches, is certainly something to catch your eye. If you're lucky enough to have the Complete Story, you'll traverse through even more dynamic environments such as bleak deserts, eastern-inspired cloud temples, and even through the innards of a large beast! Trine 2 isn't just a pretty face (thankfully), as it does have some challenging puzzles to solve along the way. You can set how long you want before one of the characters voices a hint, but for most of the time, you'll be able to nut it out. There are generally multiple ways to go through a section, depending on what character you use at the time. Although this doesn't lead to replayability, it does make for some great emergent gameplay. All in all, a good (and usually cheap!) game to have under your belt as completed, especially for those who love to take a screenshot along the way.

Papers, Please gets the stamp of approval. This game straddles somewhere between a Spot-the-Difference and a Puzzler, and despite the purposefully simplistic pixelated graphics, it portrays a grim and desolate world, while also offering the faintest glimmer of hope. You work as an Immigration Official (probably the first game ever that tries this), just trying to do your job on the border between Kolechia and Arstotzka, amidst the threat of smugglers, terrorists, and basically anyone the Arstotzka officials deem unworthy at the time. Initially, you'll be tasked with just checking out if the immigrants have the correct papers, and the details within them check out, and so on. The amount of things to check up on steadily increase by the day, which adds to the stress of time management. Do you quickly rush through stamping APPROVED or DENIED to most people without a cursory glance? Or do you fret over every detail, ensuring that you're doing the right thing and letting no scum in? The problem with the latter, is that you have a family to care for back home, which you'll manage at the end of each day. Food, heating, medicine; this all requires money, which you'll only get from admitting worthy people into the country. This is difficult to prioritise, especially if you make it later into the game when less genuine people are admitted. Thankfully, there is some great humour sprinkled in to offset the cruel conditions, mostly from the lovable old man Jorji Costava... damn you, you old sneaky rascal. Overall, there is some replay-ability, due to the harsh set-up which may take an attempt or two to get the hang of. Also there are many different endings that are possible, depending on the choices you make. Glory to Arstotzka.

Thomas Was Alone is what I believe to be the perfect game to start a non-gamer on, or to represent how good platforming games are these days. You'll start out as Thomas, a curious red rectangle which is meant to represent a rogue bit of AI. As you progress through the levels, a smooth voice will narrate what Thomas' thoughts and surroundings are, giving a relaxing feel of someone just roaming about, guided by a sense of curiosity. Gradually, you'll meet (and be able to play as) many different characters, all personified with names. It is the interactions of these shapes, told solely through the narrator, that gives this game heart. Who'd have thought that you could be rapt in the interactions of such simple quadrilateral and monochromatic shapes? They all seem to represent a different mental state; Thomas, the optimistic observer; John, the love-struck grump; and Laura, the cautious outsider, to name a few. It's also pretty funny at times, with humour that sometimes breaks the fourth wall. Soundtracks are incredibly important to me, as a great one can ensure you're fully immersed in the game, putting in as much emotional investment as you can. Gladly, Thomas Was Alone perfectly captures an environment that ranges from the serene, to the fast-paced. Apt music at every stage. For the completionist, there's also additional challenges, mostly involving reaching difficult places, that can squeeze a bit of replay-ability out of you. Unfortunately, once you've had one play-through, there's not much else cause to boot it up again. That being said, it is a game that must exist in your Library, because what it does, it does extremely well.

War-based games have been frequent over the years, but the majority seem to skip over the personal story aspect, favouring an "us-vs-them" mechanic that doesn't go too deep. Valiant Heart: The Great War is a puzzle-adventure game that changes our perception on perhaps the least covered war in Gaming; World War I. The story centres around the interwoven destinies of five characters, inspired by actual letters in that war. Each character has their different motivations, and it is through their camaraderie that they can act upon them. Each story is compelling, and you'll definitely be whole-heartedly immersed. The art direction and animation style is probably what you'll find the most striking. The 2D comic-style art doesn't attempt to hide the gruesome and brutal truths from the Great War, which is very important. These are incredibly sombre themes they were trying to tackle, and the fact they didn't skirt around or trivialise the horrors, is admirable. Its not all horrible, however. There is some great humour in parts, which eases up the tension. When travelling through each area, which is usually a famous setting or turning-point in the war, you can bring up war facts about the area, the conditions the soldiers lived in, etc. In addition, each level has collectables to find, which sheds further light in retelling what life was like at those times. This experience wasn't only immersive, but also educational. I learned far more here than I probably would in a lecture environment. Maybe, in future, games like these can be used for more formal educational purposes. The orchestral soundtrack was perfectly fitting to each scenario. Haunting when trudging past piles of corpses, yet delightful when in a car chases (to the music of the can-can, to name one!). The puzzles themselves have a perfect difficulty curve as you progress. In no point did I get truly frustrated, yet you feel pretty clever when you get it right. The tasks range from going on scavenger hunts, trading with several people until you get what you need, to digging your way around trenches, to safe-cracking. Plenty of variety. Overall, this small-scale human perspective of the war is an excellent way of not only retelling an important time in history, but also producing a heartfelt story that resonates with you for a long time after completion.

FEZ is a quirky little indie-platformer with a simple yet completely fresh gameplay mechanic. Gomez, the little protagonist, lives happily in a 2D world, with 2D folk, until he suddenly comes across a third dimension. Well, pretty much a third dimension. You now have the ability to rotate the world 90 degrees at a time, being able to see and interact with previously hidden objects and platforms. Initially, the gimmick of a new perspective isn't too challenging. See a platformer too high to jump? Rotate the world to see a platform you can can get to. That ledge much too far to jump? Again, rotate the world and the gap is much less. Eventually, though, the platforming challenge becomes greater, but not impossible. The level designs are ingenious, but not overly taxing. But if you want to solve the more subtle puzzles, and collect more of the cube-pieces scattered about the world, you'll want to break out the notepad and pen. This is where FEZ really calls back to it's retro roots. The codes, passwords, and clues in some areas need to be jotted down to be used in other areas, just like the games of old. It teaches us to be classic gamers again. And the amount of humour that classic gamers will get, is always a treat (what, your companion is supposed to know what things mean?). The integration of modern mechanics is interesting as well. At times, QR codes can be found, and provided you've got a smartphone with the right app to unlock some collectables! I like this because it's not a DLC-aspect thing, it grounds you into reality. Breaking down the 4th wall, which is understandable since in the game they only just discovered the 3rd wall. The pixellated style is fantastic and varied, all of the areas have something different about them. Oh, and just be prepared for a psychedelic ending. I was not, and felt like I was falling through a rabbit-hole. If I were high, I would have been trippin' hard. Regardless, a great small game with many collectables and a fresh perspective on gaming.

Games developers these days are becoming more self-aware. They are utilising those perceptions from inside and outside the gaming community, using sarcasm and wit to incorporate them into their games. Think back on Borderlands 2; half of the quests are a parody of quests and ideas from other games. The Stanley Parable makes a mockery of choice, and the illusion of it in most games. The Narrator (with hilarious dialogue) tells you to go one way. You may want to go the other. Instead of blocking you from doing so, The Stanley Parable thrives on this, with about 20 possible endings to choose from. And because the play-throughs are so short, you'll want to find them all, and see how snarky you can make the Narrator. Go on, buy it. You don't have a choice.

Chime takes me back to the days when Lumines on the PSP was massive... possibly in some small sections of the PSP Puzzle Strategy community. Ok, so Lumines probably wasn't all that well known outside of the PSP, but essentially you had 2x2 different coloured squares come down, much like tetris. You'd clear the board and score points when you build up 2x2 blocks of the same colour, when a line would slide across the screen and take them out. In Chime, you don't need to worry about colour, but the pieces are all different configurations of 5 squares connected, much like tetris' 4 squares. You can move, rotate, and place them anywhere on the grid. The 'beatline' will move in time with the music, setting off events when it hits the shapes. If you have a solid blocks of 3x3 or more, they will disappear after a short while, give better music samples, and stamped down a completed section on the grid. The aim is to get 100% coverage on these grids before the time runs out. This game is great if you want to fill in time, or if you're into mixing a few tunes with samples based on how well you play. Probably a small cult following for that. In the end, since there are only 6 or 7 level/songs to play, it only becomes a grind to try to get 100% coverage on each level, not really much more than that.

What is there to say about Wolfenstein that you don't already know? It's the grandfather of 3D PC Shooters, and it paved the way for iconic games such as Doom, Rise of the Triad, and Quake. It defined the run-and-gun genre that lasted for many years. I completed it countless times in the 90's on my humble PC (along with 200+ other DOS games), and never tired from it. And seriously, who wouldn't want to face a pixelated **** as the final boss? Not this guy.

"Hey there, so I like to play games that scare me." Oh cool, well you've picked the right ga- "Like, pants-****ingly scary. I don't want to be able to sleep." Y-yeah, sure. Like I was saying, this game would be perfect for y- "And I also like the odd puzzle or two to complete in the story" Okay, well you're in luck, because this has that t- "While I'm simultaneously ****ing my pants" You have issues. So yes, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is quite a scary game. The scariest, in fact, that I have come across. You play as Daniel in this Survival Horror game, who wakes up in a castle with no memory of how he got there (bing! title!). Unlike horror games such as F.E.A.R, where you can defend yourself against monsters; here, you have no means of fighting back. It's a frightening game of hide-and-seek. And the fear trickles in. It doesn't reveal everything straight away, so the anticipation of running into a monster really eats away at you. It's not just your health that you have to keep track of, but your sanity. If you remain in the dark too long, or look at something that doesn't make any rational sense, your sanity starts to deplete. This makes your screen blurry, and your controls less responsive, making for a harder experience. Thankfully, you've got a lantern and can find oil and tinderboxes along the way to keep you in the light. The story is actually compelling, the Gothic art-style is perhaps outdated now, but fits the game perfectly. You may quit due to fear and frustration from the few puzzles you come across, but this is definitely worth pushing through to reach the end, where there are some rather confronting torture chambers.

ROTT. What a childhood defining game this was. Cannot recall how many hours I put into this on the family PC running DOS. I can still hear the sound-bites and see the pixelated and absurd enemies of the original. It was perhaps the best game in our 150+ library for years. Which is why it pains me to say that this doesn't quite match up to the original. Unfortunately, it is a game that is designed for two decades ago, with graphics from one decade ago. The quick-paced, rocket-jumping, ludicrous gibs-inducing play-style of this just seems like it doesn't fit in today's AAA game library. Enemies often bugged out, you'd glitch into a wall, or take phantom damage and stroll around on 0%. Almost seems rushed. However, what does save it for me, are the throwbacks to the original, which I'd imagine is what this game is aiming for above all else. The remixed soundtrack, the ridiculous weapons, the coin collecting, and the throwbacks to classic enemies. And for those die-hard completest, there are heaps of achievements to keep you occupied. After beating this game, I learned it does have a spot in Steam, if you've played the original. It'll standard and quick level designs makes it the "McDonalds" of the Steam Library. Cheap, unremarkable, but you get a quick high.

The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is certainly a game wrapped inside it's own niche little genre. If you want a Zombie Type-em-up / B-Grade Horror Movie / Reboot of a 2000 Dreamcast game, then this is your only option. But it's not a bad option at all. What it does, it does very well, while being very tongue-in-cheek about it. If you've ever played any House of the Dead game, then you'll feel right at home. This game is ported from the remake; House of the Dead: Overkill. There's one "key" difference, in that you swap out your light gun for your keyboard. I know, right? I've always thought words were more powerful than weapons. As you progress through a level (on the rails), you'll see various zombies ambling their way towards you, accompanied with words or even long phrases. All you gotta do it type a word/phrase at a time to kill the zombies. Easy. But, when they start to pile up on screen, getting ever closer, panic starts to settle in. You can easily be overcome. Not only that, but you could get distracted by the chuckle-worthy phrases that do pop up. I don't want to shoot a zombie that has the words FREE HUGS under it! This game could aim for an educational purpose, helping people to touch-type, if only it wasn't for its non-family-friendly look. The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is an overall good game with a unique mechanic. Just don't come looking here for a deep story or compelling drama. Just expect to type words at zombies for a few hours. And hey, there's nothing wrong with that.