The Good Great graphics, game looks and plays great on the Nintendo Switch Lite. A nice fun little platform game. The Bad No double jump! How dare you! The controls can be a bit fiddly at first, and unless you are running, the movement of the character feels very slow. So, you just end up constantly holding down the button to run. Overall Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is a well-made and engaging platforming adventure. With its beautiful visuals, diverse gameplay, and memorable characters, it provides a delightful gaming experience for players of all levels. Whether you're exploring the islands leisurely or seeking to conquer time trials and challenges, this buccaneering escapade is a must-play for Nintendo Switch owners. I score Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara a strong 7.5/10 Full Review at ****/2023/07/review-koa-and-five-pirates-of-mara-on.html
The Good A great looking game, that is easy to play but tough to master. Nice relaxing soundtrack. Easy to pick up and play either for a few minutes or longer. I played on the Switch Lite and it works well on the smaller screen. The Bad The menu to choose levels confused me at first, instead of automatically going to the next level after completing the first, you have to choose the next level by moving the block. This isn't clear at first and could do with the choose level system being simplified or automated. The game gets "challenging" pretty quick, and that toughness may put off some players who perhaps don't have the patience. Overall "Side Decide" is a testament to Brendan Votano's dedication and vision, capturing the essence of childhood nostalgia within its wooden block puzzles. With its harmonious blend of accessibility and challenge, a symphony of unique mechanics, and a treasure trove of levels, this game rightfully claims its spot as a captivating addition to the puzzle genre on the Nintendo Switch. I score Side Decide a solid 8/10 Full Review at ****/2023/08/review-side-decide-on-nintendo-switch.html
Spectrolite offers a fresh and distinctive approach to first-person platformers, delivering a blend of immersive atmospheric levels and adrenaline-pumping timed challenges. The game introduces reimagined traditional platforming mechanics, enhanced with powerful abilities that bring a new level of precision to the genre. Players will appreciate the expansive hand-crafted levels, each thoughtfully designed with diverse environments and accompanied by an original soundtrack that complements the gameplay experience. Additionally, the game's tight and precise controls ensure a responsive and smooth gameplay feel. For those seeking an extra thrill, Spectrolite presents bite-sized time trials that provide an opportunity to compete globally on leaderboards. Players can measure their skills against others and strive to improve their personal records in this mode. One standout feature of the game is the incorporation of ghost data from other players' speedrunning challenges. By observing these ghost runs, players can learn from mistakes and master each timed trial, enhancing the overall challenge and sense of achievement. At it's base this is a first-person platformer, get for the starting point to an end point, as fast as you can, and try not to die on the way. The game does its best to help guide you regarding the controls, but the first-person viewpoint is probably your biggest hindrance, which is a problem when that is the main point of the game. The Good Nice simple graphics, a strong sound track, and some well designed levels which present a decent challenge. The Bad As mentioned above the first-person viewpoint is a problem with precision platformers. This game I assume is out on VR? and would work well in that setting, but on a TV screen it struggles. The controls are a problem, the run and slide against a wall mechanic I simply couldn't get the hang over, when you fail 20 times at a simple jump, it becomes beyond frustrating, and left me looking at alternative ways to traverse the landscape. This is ok, but it totally takes you out of what should be a quick parkour type game. Instead of I walking slowly and carefully, trying to find the right spot to jump from, when in reality I should be zooming through the level. Overall The concept of the game is a good one, and in a VR setting this game should be great, but using a controller and playing it on a TV screen, the game ends up being more frustrating than fun. A tweak in the controls, and fixing the wall slide mechanic, and I think my enjoyment of the game would increase massively. I score Spectrolite a generous 7/10 in its current form.
Summertime Madness is a single-player first-person puzzle game. The game starts off with a nice intro. "The city of Prague was under siege, ravaged by war. Buildings were falling, churches were burning, and everything was to be washed away forever. A painter lived there, isolated from the outside world. The worse the terrors of war became, the more the artist obsessively painted beautiful landscapes as a contrast to the evil he had witnessed. One night, a mysterious figure appeared in the house seemingly out of nowhere. The stranger walked slowly around the room, inspecting the paintings. He then sat down in front of the artist; to offer him a deal. The chance to enter one of his own creations, far away and free of war. But he would have to find his way back out before midnight, or else his soul would become trapped in the canvas forever. Feeling alone, on the edge of madness, terrorized by the scent of death creeping in from the streets, the artist shook the mysterious man's hand, accepting the deal. A few moments later, the house was empty." Once the intro has finished, you get a choice of how to play the game. Classic Mode = 6 hours to finish the game. Advanced = 3 hours to finish the game. Explorer = No time limit. Once you have chosen which you prefer, your characters eyes open and you find yourself in a beautifully drawn 3D world. You play as the painter, now inside one of the paintings, who has seemingly made a deal with the mysterious figure, basically representing the devil. As you walk about you will need to solve puzzles and explore your surroundings. For a puzzle game, there is a lot of walking around, which seems strange, but I understand that the game makers want to give you a peaceful experience, but then why add time limits? The puzzles themselves involve a lot of running back and forth, and unfortunately the puzzles in general are really poorly thought out. And instead of a challenging feel, they will just make you frustrated. The first puzzle for example, run back and forth turning the wheel on a ship, open doors, close doors, pull a lever, ring a bell, it all gets a bit tedious. The exact puzzle mechanics tend to be very easy, but wrapped in ridiculous back and forth running about, that is just annoying and not much fun. The game doesn't hold you hand either in any way, some puzzles are just confusing and make no logical sense, and since you have no real idea what you are supposed to do, the feeling to just give up and turn the game off, grows and grows as you play. The Good The game is beautiful, the visuals and sounds are all of the highest quality. The Bad The puzzles are poorly thought out, and frustrate more than challenge. Overall The base **** game is there, it is just ruined by puzzles that are just terrible in their delivery. I score Summertime Madness on Xbox, a poor 3/10
Sheltered 2 is set 20 years after an apocalyptic event happened on Earth, wiping out most of the human race, what remains are splintered factions, all vying for their own land and resources. At first look the game will remind you of Fallout Shelter, and although there are similarities, Sheltered 2 is quite different and much more of a hardcore survival game. Your job is to run your shelter, grow your faction, all the while managing your resources, crafting items, exploring outside of your shelter, and generally trying to keep everyone alive. Now do not be mistaken, this is not an easy game, even on the easiest setting, the game is tough, it is probably a bit too tough, and the tutorial is about as much help as a Donor Kebab in a Vegan festival. With that said, each time you play, you do learn, and there is a lot to be said for just starting the game again, using what you have learnt, to help you make better decisions. Most of the gameplay will take place in your shelter, you need to keep an eye on your group, make sure everyone is happy and healthy, you will need to craft things like a toilet, a shower, beds, as well as expand downwards to make room for more things. When you are not in your shelter, you will need to keep an eye above land, set traps to catch rabbits, keep things powered, clean and working, plant seeds to grow food and so on. And when you are ready you will need to leave the area altogether and explore. You already control a small region, which is safe to explore on its own, gather more resources as well as grow the levels of experience of your group. But eventually you will want to explore outside of your region, and that is when you will come across other factions. The faction's system, is the main pull of this game, you will need to trade with other groups, forge relationships, and sometimes fight them, everything is a balancing act, choose who to fight and who to trade with and who to run away from. You will even complete quests, which become a big part of the game if you want your shelter to grow. The fights are all turn based, you can choose where to hit an opponent, what weapon or skill to use, and if you choose correctly, you will kill them, and then you can take everything they have. As you play, your characters levels will grow, you will get new skills and so on. Further into the game you will even find vehicles which you can fix up, to help you explore faster and easier. The Good This is a challenging survival game that fans of the genre should enjoy, the graphics are decent, and once you get the general idea of how to play, everything is pretty straight forward. The Bad The game is way too tough. When travelling around the map, interactions tend to have three options, Trade, Fight or Flee, and this can become a bit repetitive, and if you come across a rival faction, it is just fight or flee. A couple of lines of dialog and that's it. The whole crafting system is overly complicated, meaning a lot of back and forth, whether it is trying to see what ingredients you need to craft, then trying to figure out what you need to recycle, and so on, you will be left stuck pretty quick, forcing you to explore outside the shelter, which is fine, but this seems to happen way too quickly, not giving a new player chance to feel settled. There are way too many things to worry about in the Shelter, leaving a new player feeling overwhelmed. Bugs are being fixed pretty quick by Team 17, but this plays like an Alpha release and not the finished article. Overall There is a good game in here, but it takes time to find it, and restarting once you figure certain things out will help you, but the game still struggles to really grab you. There needs to be a simplified mode, and a tutorial that really explains things. With all my complaints, I just feel that there is a great game here, but it is stuck in some kind of hole, that the developers don't have the time to get it out of. I will keep an eye out for updates, and maybe they can improve things moving forward. As the game stands right now, I score it 6/10
Dyna Bomb is an arcade style linear platformer, run or fly (using your jetpack, that conveniently has unlimited fuel) around a level, collect diamonds, bombs and a key, then exit the level. Do this before the time runs out, and avoiding enemies. There are 8 worlds with 8 levels in each world. So, plenty of levels to complete. Throw in portals to move around a level too, and you have a decent little arcade platformer. Your character will start a level with 3 bombs that he or she can throw at enemies, you can collect more as well, but use your bombs carefully as they are strictly limited. And if you touch an enemy, level over. Dyna Bomb plays as a true arcade game, pick up and play, the game is not about exploration, it is purely about completing the goals, and getting to the exit as soon as you can without dying. And for an arcade game, isn't that what you expect? The Good Bright colourful graphics. Cool music. Easy to play. Plenty of levels. The Bad It is sometimes hard to see enemies due to the way the screen scrolls, and there is no way to manually look around a level. Overall As simple arcade games go, Dyna Bomb hits all the targets you would want, is it perfect? no, there are a few things that are frustrating, like as I mentioned above, not being able to see things as the screen scrolls, the hit mechanics when you come in contact with an enemy are very harsh. And it could be argued that the developers should have given more options, to play without time limits, to have the jet pack with limited fuel and so on. However, the game is pushed as an arcade game, it is a game you will pick up, play for 10 minutes, put down. And then the next day pick it up, play and so on. It can be challenging at times, there are plenty of levels and despite the problems, I do think that Dyna Bomb is a good addition to your Switch Library.
Set in World War 2, Fire and Steel is a proper old school arcade shooter, but instead of flying a plane, you control a young Dragon called Aiden, no idea who gave him that name, but it is not very Dragon like is it. A bit like calling a Doberman by the name Keith. Anyway, Aiden has been asleep for a thousand years, he wakes up to find the world at war, not choosing sides between the Axis and Allied forces, Aiden decides instead to just breathe fire and kill anyone who gets in his way. What results is a pretty cool game whereby you will find yourself breathing fire or shooting fire balls at everything, from people stood firing guns at you, to attack planes and helicopters, battleships, tanks, heavy artillery and everything else humanity has in a desperate attempt to stop you. Whether it is the Luftwaffe, RAF or the U.S Air Force, everything is open season for Aiden. The game itself plays in missions or levels, complete a level to progress to the next one. Aiden has the ability to detect the enemy using an Assassins Creed like extra vision, easily activated by holding down a button on the gamepad. This shows the enemy in red. And when Aiden gets hurt, and his health is going down, he can easily replenish it by swooping down and eating anything living, that might be humans, sheep, sharks or even birds in the sky. They appear green in Aidens extra vision mode. But always watch out for your health, and if you collide with a plane, that's it, game over. Between levels, you get some cool cinematic cut scenes, as well as TV broadcasts from the 1940s. All very cool and a really nice addition to the game. The game really is a lot of fun; however you need to get past a bit of clunky-ness at the start. For example, in the tutorial mode, the game never tells you that to finish you need to kill all of the humans, so after killing as much as I could see, while flying through a cave, I decided to head through what I believed was an exit in the roof, I found myself bouncing around and not progressing as my health went down. Eventually I figured out there was a few more humans to kill, I did so, and the level ended. The controls at first do feel a bit clunky, but you quickly get used to them, and outside of a few graphical glitches here and there, once you get past that initial feeling when you start playing, you quickly realise how addictive and good this game is. It really is a fun arcade game. Complete a level and move on, or replay the level to finish it quicker, get a higher score and so on. The levels are good enough that you will want to replay them. The Good Really surprised at how much I like this game, so much fun, the graphics are decent, sound effects are good, and the general presentation of the game is of a high quality. The Bad Control is a bit clunky at first, and there are a few graphical glitches here and there, but neither of these things are enough to detract from what is a great game. Overall Absolutely love it, all I can ask for is for the developers to fix a couple of the bugs I mentioned and release more levels. I score Fire and Steel on PC (Steam) a solid 9/10 Brilliant.
A simple arcade scoring game 4 coloured pipes. Animals of different colours, move pipes to match colour of animal. Super simple game, easy to play, hard to master. Think Fast Perhaps easier with touch screen devices. And keyboard controls would be nice, just clicking with a mouse is a bit tricky.
Scarf is a puzzle/3D platforming, narrative driven game, Not much of a storyline as such other than the taglines of "what it means to be a hero". The game's main gimmick is that your scarf is a living creature, when you first start it kinda looks like a dragon, then you collect an orb and make friends with it and it turns into a regular scarf that goes around your neck. Once you have merged with the scarf, you quickly learn that it is the child, and that the mother scarf, creature thingy, was ripped apart by bad souls, who then used her threads to make portals. Baby scarf tried searching for their mother to no avail. Finally, by merging with your character, the story can be told. You are then off and running, on a search to trap the souls who have created their own worlds. Look I was pretty confused too, so can we get past the nonsensical storyline? Each area has its own unique qualities, and as you play you will learn new scarf-based abilities, and you will discover the secrets of each area while solving puzzles, jumping to different parts, gliding and so on. Very generic stuff. The Good The game is quite pretty, everything looks and sounds fine. The Bad This is a short game, about 2 hours at most. The controls are clunky, and unfortunately a lot of the gameplay is quite tedious. At times it feels more like a walking simulator as opposed to a proper puzzle/platformer. And the fact you will complete it in one sitting and then have no need or want to play it again seems like not the best way to spend £12. Overall The game is not all bad, I just don't think any single element of the game is particularly good. It has value more as walking simulator, something to pass the time instead of something to challenge. I score Scarf on PC a 5/10. Could have been so much more.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is an open-world detective mystery with you playing a young Sherlock Holmes. You find yourself returning to your childhood home of Cordona, a 19th century, British occupied Mediterranean island, that I assume is made up. You return there as you learn that they may be more to the death of your mother, than originally thought. Since you are playing a young Sherlock, you have to accept that the game developers have to try something different, so Sherlock is a fresh faced, slightly brooding type character, and Sherlock even has an imaginary friend type deal, with a person called Jon, a pre-cursor to Watson I would assume. Seems strange that a man of logic would need an imaginary friend to throw ideas at, but like I said, this is a young Sherlock, so I suppose this could be akin to the older Sherlock having a mind palace. The main idea of the game is to solve crimes, and if you want, get into slightly pointless fights, all of which can be skipped if you want. However, the fights, if poorly implemented, do help break up the gameplay. While fighting someone you can use your observation skills to help you win the fight, see vulnerabilities, use the surroundings to help you win. It is a nice change to the usual punch, punch, kick, kick style of fightings we sometimes get in open world games. The graphics are amazing, and straight away you will be reminded of some of the Assassin's Creed games, sadly the freedom of those games is not available here, and although the game is "open world", you simply cant interact with as much as you might want to. You will however get the expected side quests, (30+), which are always a fun distraction from a main story of which there are 5 main parts. There are lots of people to talk to, stories to learn, and locations to explore. And there is plenty of variety in these, that means that things are never too reptitive in nature. We do need to talk about a few of the problems with the game, the investigations themselves, it almost seems like you cant really get anything very wrong, there is no real confirmation that you have made a right conclusion, in your case files, you have the documents and recaps, and a nudge in the right direction, but it does seem to be a strange way of doing things in what is a detective game, that you don't properly make wrong decisions. And as already mentioned the fight scenes are poorly implemented, they feel like an afterthought, and although they do break up the action, the fact you can completely turn them off, and skip them, kinda makes them a bit pointless in the game. The dialog is good, the story is also well written, the side quests are fun, and help give the game some longevity, as if you stick to the main story, the game can be completed pretty quickly. There are hidden coins to collect, which also add an extra element to the game. The Good The graphics and general presentation of the game is of an exceptional standard, really is glorious to see. The Bad The fights with bandits are terrible and pointless, and the game pales in comparison to similar open world games with investigative gameplay mechanics, think Batman or any Assassins Creed game. Overall A decent game in it's own right, but does have a few problems that game testers should have spotted early on. The sheer beauty of the game, and the decent storyline carries it further than it should. I score Sherlock Holmes Chapter One on Xbox a generous 7/10
Forgotten Hill Disillusion is a point and click puzzle game in the Forgotten Hill franchise. You do not need to have played any of the other games to get into this, and since I haven't played any of the other games, that's good. The game mainly consists of single screen areas, you navigate around using arrows on the side of the screen, and certain areas will have puzzles and riddles you need to solve, to progress in the game. When you first start playing, you might feel a little confused, and the puzzles can be quite hard, but just as you are about to give up, you may find as I did, that you are starting to get it, you are starting to understand how the game works, and the nature of how to complete the puzzles. This will probably happen when you first get stuck and realise there is an inbuilt hint system. The hint system usually comprises of about 3 stages, hint one gives you an idea of where to look, hint two tells you what you need to do, and hint three basically solves it for you. As I mentioned, the moment you start to properly understand the game, even if because of the hint system, that is the moment the game catches you in its hooks. And if you like a good puzzle game, then this is one you should add to your collection. There are 60 puzzles and riddles to solve, some will be about moving objects to match a pattern you have seen elsewhere in the house, or you might need to help someone with something, read a recipe book, find or craft the parts, everything is there right in front of you when it comes to solving the puzzles, you just need to keep your eyes open and think logically, and you can do it. If you get the hang of it, the game should last you between 2-3 hours to complete, the graphics are simple but well drawn, and help with the whole horror/grotesque atmosphere the game is portraying. The Good Well-crafted puzzles, nothing is too abstract or out of the box, meaning that everything is solvable if you are willing to spend the time. The Bad It may take you a bit of time to get into the game if you have not played any of the previous ones and already know how everything works, but stick with it and you will be fine. Overall I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the game as a whole, much better than I expected, and it is easy for me to recommend. I score Forgotten Hill Disillusion on Nintendo Switch a solid 8/10. A very good puzzle game.
Rawr-Off is a game which seems to be much better suited to the Switch Lite, than on the big screen. A party style multiplayer game, you hold the Switch Lite long ways, with one person at each end of the console. The aim of the game is to destroy your opponent by shooting "waves of power" at them. You have limited amounts of shots, so need to also collect the correct coloured "ammo" from the sides of the screen, along with power-ups, this tests your speed, and accuracy, and the person who is fastest and most accurate, will win. You can also take your opponent's ammo, and freeze them, giving you the ultimate advantage. There are various characters to choose from, each one has their own special ability, characters include such names as Sushi-senpai, Cosmic Dog Unicorn, Spaghetti Monster, Baby Cthulhu, Schrodinger's Cat and Zombie Laika. Just those names alone suggest to me the game's makers are staunch atheists! Rawr-Off is the kind of game you will sit down with a friend and have a quick bash at. You can practice in a solo mode, but this game really needs to be played face to face with a friend. And if you are of drinking age, why not set up a few shots and make it much more fun. The Good A simple to play, colourful game, that can only add to a night in with friends. The Bad After the initial excitement, there is not much more to the game. Overall Short bursts of fun, maybe even use the game to settle an argument, who knows, who cares, it is a fun little game that doesn't take up much space on your Switch I score Rawr-Off a simple 7/10
I like GRIP, this is a fun game, and it is fast, and by fast I mean insanely fast. This is a classic arcade type racer, that defies the laws of physics at every turn. You start off with your basic vehicle and then as you progress you can upgrade and get better vehicles. As you race you can race on almost any surface, which gives any race a whole new dimension literally. As I said the game is fast but you never feel like you are not in control. And despite going at hundreds and hundreds of miles per hour, you can always pick up a power up that will give you a further speed boast. And talking of power ups, you can collect various weapons too, homing missiles, shields and so on. The game play does however have a few flaws, some of the collision detection is annoying, you can go from 500 mph to 0 in an instant, and a couple of times from leading the race I hit the side of the finish line and ended up in last place. But this is nothing they wont be able to fix as various updates and bug fixes are released. The soundtrack is awesome. As are the graphics. This is a top game, a lot of fun, and I give it a strong 8/10
No Straight Roads is a strange game, it is an action adventure, rhythm infused, third person combat music game. Confused yet? Set in "Vinyl City" you play as two wannabe rock stars who are fighting against NSR records. NSR records controls the music in the city and also the power supply, so clearly they need to be stopped. You move from room to room and fight against the enemy in different musical genres. For example in Akushuka it is all K-Pop, in Metro District you fight against a boyband, and so on. The graphics in this game are superb, a very unique look and as you would hope the soundtrack is excellent. Although I was expecting more of a rhythm music game, this at it's core is an action adventure. The story is fine, you are the underdogs trying to over come a corrupt music industry and you fight from the bottom until you get to the top. It is a story that everyone can understand and be empathetic towards. Although the fighting system is simplistic, you avoid being attacked, and then you attack, it is fun how you judge when an attack is coming by listening to the music. This is a fun game, I think the problem many will have is that they will expect too much, sometimes you just need to turn the volume up, don't take things too seriously, and just enjoy the experience. A simple and fun game, I enjoyed playing, not going to set any records, but I give it a solid 7/10
Powertris is a puzzle game that seems simple, but is actually much more impressive than at first glance. What do you get if you cross the classic game of Tetris with a game like Pipemania? You get Powertris. Much like Tetris the idea of the game is to get a line of blocks that go from left to right, and once you do that the line disappears, but here is the twist in Powertris, they aren't blocks, they are pieces of a pipe. As the pieces drop, you can move and rotate them, better still you also have to notice the sides of the playing area, for these sockets are where the lines start, hence the Pipemania comparison. You can have a line that starts bottom left of the screen, but finishes top right. Place too many pieces which do not connect, hit the top of the playing area, and you lose. Throw in special pieces, like bombs, as well as obstacles, and you suddenly have a fast paced, quick thinking puzzle game that is as devious as it is simple. Now let's talk about the problems, the biggest one being that this is a port of a mobile game, and although the Switch version has been graphically improved, the mobile version is free, and plays in portrait mode, which is a better way to play. I cannot understand why they didn't make the play area wider on the switch version, since the space is there. The Good Nice concept, if not original (look up Tube it), it does work, and plays well. The Bad The mobile version is better, and it is free. Overall If you like Tetris style games, and want a simple puzzle game for your switch, you can't go wrong with Powertris. I score Powertris a realistic 6/10
Graviter is the latest puzzle game to grace the Nintendo Switch, and it has a lot of competition if it wants to stand out. The story is a bit ridiculous, but at least it has one, your cat has been taken, it is missing in the dark void of space, you have been left parts of a map to the galaxy, collect cat paw prints and find your cat. The game works on the idea of gravity, you control the size and position of planets, manipulate them so that you can fly around and collect the paw prints. On some levels the planets can be moved around, on others the planets sizes can be edited, sometimes you will be able to pause time after launching, and move planets etc, then restart time. Over 100 levels to complete, and you can change the graphic style to monochrome or normal colours. There are different ways to complete a level, so you are not stuck to just finding the one solution. The problems however arise pretty much straight away, the game is not at all user friendly, the control system is poor, and the levels can get ridiculously hard very quick, and instead of using logic to solve them, you will end up using trial and error, which is never a good thing to need to do in a puzzle game, as it totally takes away the whole puzzle element. The graphics and soundtrack are decent, the monochrome option is a nice choice to have, but doesn't really add anything to the game. The Good Everything looks decent and there is a challenge there for even the most hardened of puzzle gamers. The Bad Poor design, poor menu, and a learning curve that is off putting. Overall Fine idea, just poorly implemented. I score Graviter on Nintendo Switch a poor 4/10
Intruder on the bridge is an adult, visual novel, but it does go a bit further than the usual visual novel in that it actually has a few mini games, the main one of interest being a Galaga like minigame. Let's start with the story. "Intruder on the Bridge tells the story of Captain Dyce, a Galactic Union officer in command of the largest spaceship ever built: the Ventura. He will have to face a mysterious conspiracy that caused his brother's death. Unfortunately, all leaders of the Union seem to be involved in the conspiracy. " As with all visual novels, there will be a lot of reading and watching, so the story often needs to be very good to keep your attention, the advantage that adult visual novels have, is that they are adult in nature, so you will have nudity and sex scenes, and that adds an element of interest, since you will want to unlock all the scenes you can. Now the game is not just about sex, in fact that is not even the main interest of the main character. So if you think you will just start up the game and see "action" straight away, you will be disappointed, you need to play through the story to get to the good bits! You play as Captain Dyce, his twin brother has been killed, and you take his place, to try and solve the murder, you will need to talk to all the crew of The Ventura as well as cover up the fact you have switched places with your deceased brother. Along the way you will be faced with choices to make, different questions to ask, each in themselves will affect the story moving forward, this instantly gives the game that all important replayability factor. Especially if you want to unlock all the animations and scenes. The game as a whole is very "Star Trek" like, the look of the aliens, the characters, the machinery, the space ship's interior. You can tell that there is a lot of inspiration from Star Trek from almost the first moment you start playing. You could argue that Captain Dyce even looks a bit like William Riker! As well as having his interest in the ladies! There are a few minigames, the previously mentioned Galaga like shoot-em-up, this comes into play when your ship encounters an enemy, the mini game loads up, and you control the ship with your mouse, while shooting at waves of enemies, and eventually a boss. There are various weapon upgrades to collect as well as special weapons that last for a short period of time, rockets, lasers etc. You can of course skip the mini game, but where is the fun in that. Complete the level and you go back to the main game and the story continues. There is also a very simple combat mini game, whereby you are face to face with someone, and have to choose basic moves to fight with, this mini game is not the best, and you will get through it very quickly. The game boasts 3000 HD images, that really are incredibly rendered, full HD, and very impressive. There are also 50 separate animations, these are mainly part of the story, but also include various scenes that are adult in nature. I did read some complaints about the dialog from people saying the translations were poor. And as far as I can figure out, the developers "Space Samurai Studio" are Italian, however I thought the dialog although far from perfect, was fine, and nothing seemed particularly off for me. If you are playing an adult visual novel, and you are moaning about the grammar used, then you really are taking life too seriously. The Good The rendered images and animations are of a very high quality, everything looks incredible. The story is decent, and the mini game is a lot of fun. The Bad There is no voice acting as such, other than a few groans, so everything needs to be read, the sounds in general across the game are quite poor, and although I understand the reasons for not having voice acting, (Keeps the costs down), it can make a big difference in a game of this nature. Overall If adult visual novels are your thing, then I honestly don't think you can go far wrong with this game, the story is decent, the graphics, animations etc all look great, perhaps a little expensive at just under £12, but I am sure there will be a sale at some point. I score Intruder on the bridge a solid 7.5/10 with the total understanding of the context and genre that this game sits in.
Kickerinho World is a freestyle-football simulator, well that is what the game makers claim. In reality it is a "Keepie uppie" game. Originally released on mobile devices about 5 years ago, and downloaded 5 million times, it is your classic freemium mobile game, whereby you play a bit, lose, watch an advertisement, and start again. On Nintendo Switch it is basically the same, but since you have had to pay for it, the ads are gone. The aim of the game is simple, keep the ball in the air, do not let it touch the floor, the longer you do that, the more points you get. Each trigger on the controller controls a different foot, press the correct trigger at the right time and the ball will get kicked and stay in the air, every so often the ball will go high enough for you to head it, and you do this by pressing both triggers at once. You can also use the touch screen as well if you prefer. The game is pretty hard, despite sounding easy, the timing has to be almost perfect, miss by a fraction of a second and that's it, game over. And that is basically the game, a mobile port, that the main advantage is you won't need to watch ads, or pay microtransactions to purchase things. There are three characters you can play with, Raul, Violet, or Sydney. And various locations you will travel to, including Paris, New York, Dubai, Shanghai, Moscow, Rio, and Sydney, but these are purely cosmetic, think a change of background and that is it. Various customisations to unlock, balls to collect, and so on. Typical mobile game stuff. The Good It looks ok, I guess. You don't need to pay anything else once you have purchased it. The Bad Everything, it is a terrible game. Overall This is a game that should have stayed on mobile. No idea why they would want to have this ported to the Switch. If you really want to play this, go get it on the play store for free, and if you really love it, then and only then pay for it on Switch. I score Kickerinho World on Nintendo Switch an abysmal 2/10
There is an endless amount of strategy simulation type games out there at the moment, and "Make War" from No Gravity Games is another one to add to the pile. The basic premise of the game is that you place your army and weapons, press play, and see if your strategy can beat the enemy as the AI then plays out. You can play in various timelines, so from Viking Era to the 20th century and even cyberpunk and futuristic areas. When you start the game, you will be faced with a map, but since the game requires you to play one level at a time, it seems a bit pointless, and perhaps just a simple "Level 1, Level 2..." type map would be better suited. Beating an enemy on a level is itself not enough to progress to the next level, you will have "quests" that you need to complete, unfortunately the game doesn't really explain things too well, and the tutorial is a bit useless. So, at first you might find yourself wondering why you keep playing the same level over and over. Once you figure out there are quests to complete, you can try to then adjust your strategy to accomplish these goals. Before you press play on a level, you get to choose the layout of your army, you will have regular fighters, melee fighters, long and medium range fighters, mines, laser guns, portals and so on. The more you progress the more that is unlocked for you to use. One big problem with this, is that it seems strategy has very little to do with you winning or losing. Placing your fighters in one area or another doesn't make a great deal of difference, as they will still just run towards the enemy, and they will run towards you, all the while you just sit back and watch. As you complete quests, that may unlock more of a weapon, fighter or mine, so you then can place more, you will end up beating the enemy more through grinding to unlock things, than any masterminded strategy. There 160 missions to complete, 40+ weapons to unlock, 30+ fighting units to get, so plenty to do, but is the gameplay good enough to keep you coming back? The Good I liked the small pixel graphics, even on a Switch Lite i could see everything going on, but perhaps this game would prefer a larger screen. The Bad The lack of actual strategy needed, in a strategy simulation is a huge problem, and one that cannot be ignored. Overall There is potential here, but not enough for fans of strategy simulation games, who will get bored quick. For general gamers, Make War might find a place on your Switch as a game you can just play for ten minutes every so often. I hate to give low scores, but I have to be honest, and sadly I can only award Make War on Nintendo Switch a poor 4/10
Star Horizon is a 3D, on rails, space shoot-em-up. You play as John, a pilot, or more accurately the person shooting stuff. Most of the real control is done by the Artificial Intelligence known as Ellie, who will talk to you as you play. Since my name is real life is John, I must say it all felt very personal! There is a war between the Inter Galactic Corporation (The Federation), and the rebels. (This sounds familiar!). You are involved in an accident, whereby you are put into hibernation by the mothership, Ellie, the ships AI, wakes you up years later, and you have no idea where you are or what is going on. As you play, you will quickly learn that this is an on rails shooter, meaning that you go where the AI takes you, and with the exception of some quick time events, whereby you need to choose an option of what to do next, all directional activities are controlled for you. Your job is to shoot stuff. You have a few different types of weapons, as well as a cool roll/dodge manoeuvre. The targeting mechanics aren't the best, but you soon get used to how it all works, and you will quickly find out that accuracy isn't that important. As you destroy enemies, and complete sections, you will earn points, these points can be used in the hangar, between levels, to upgrade your ship. There are just 10 levels, and 3 main bosses to beat. You gain up to 3 stars for completing a level, and you will find that you will need to replay levels over and over to get points to upgrade your ship and weapons, so that you can get strong enough to progress, beat bosses and so on, this does bring some longevity to what would otherwise be a short game. The quick time events which affect the storyline, are a good idea, and give the game some replay options, to see what differences there is, if you had chosen differently, examples of choices are to help friends or ignore them, help a space merchant or fight them. The Good As this is an on rails shooter, it means that the developers have had plenty of time to make the 3D graphics look fantastic, the soundtrack is good, and the AI voice is also quite entertaining. The Bad Only 10 levels, and many people do not like "On Rails" shooters since they do lack the freedom of a regular 3D shooter. Overall A cheap game, that does entertain, and despite its limitations, looks good and plays well. I score Star Horizon on Nintendo Switch a fair 7/10
From the mind of David Wehle comes The First Tree. A 3rd person exploration / walking (galloping??) sim, that has you playing the part of a fox trying to find her missing cubs, which itself is part of a retelling of a dream that the narrator is talking to his wife about, but that also becomes a story of a son reconnecting with his estranged father in Alaska. That might sound slightly complicated, but it isn't really. You play as the fox, but as you progress through the game, you will hear the conversation of the narrator. The story he tells of reconnecting to his father, becomes a parallel story to that of a fox trying to find their missing cubs. As this is an exploration game /walking sim, this is more about the story, than the gameplay itself, you will explore areas, collect artifacts, dig up things that expand the story being told. And if you play with commentators' mode on, you can also find audio clips that further tell the story from the game makers perspective, and give insight into how the game was made, the thought processes and so on. I would highly recommend playing with the commentator's mode turned on. You will play through various landscapes, each one as beautiful as the last. The First Tree really is a game created by one man, and although his real-life wife is part of the narration, and a beautiful musical score, you can really feel that this is a creation by one man, and his love for the game shines through. The stunning cell-shaded graphics are gorgeous to look at, the music is great, and although a relatively short game, about 2 hours to complete, the meditative nature of the game will leave you feeling quite fulfilled. I was slightly reminded of Journey on the PS4. If you were a fan of that, then you will like this. There are puzzles to solve, and platforming elements, but nothing too difficult, mainly how to reach areas, powering up your jumps with butterflies, but in general this is more a game that you should play to really lower your heart rate, to relax to. The Good This is more of an experience than a game, and it's a good experience, a deep and meaningful story, mixed with beautiful music and stunning graphics. A truly meditative game. The Bad There are sometimes long periods of you just going in one direction without much else going on, but if you have headphones on, and are relaxed in the moment you won't notice. And also, the game is quite short. Overall The First Tree is a meditative experience, that is the best way to explain it. No enemies to kill or avoid, just a chill out experience. I score The First Tree a fair 8/10
Creepy Tale is a 2D puzzle game for Nintendo Switch, and it is quite different to anything I have played before. You start the game off walking through the forest with your brother, before you know it, your brother has been kidnapped by some weird creatures, and it is your job to find and save him, and become the hero. But watch out, if you get caught by any of the strange creatures that inhabit this world, then you will meet a fate worse than death. And by that I mean you will restart at the last checkpoint. As you play you will have to solve puzzles, which in turn will allow you to progress to the next area. As you do this, you will find out what caused the once peaceful forest to turn into a place of evil filled with weird creatures. Puzzles include collecting items, using them at the right time, avoiding evil creatures, sneaking about, but also luring enemies to traps and running away. The puzzles themselves can be quite strange, and solving them may not seem as straight forward as they first appear. There is not much to help you along the way, so you will have to use every inch of your brainpower to figure things out. Sometimes you will find yourself trying everything, until something works, which can be frustrating, but when you do finally figure out how to proceed you will feel pleasantly fulfilled. The Good Really beautiful graphics, and some very decent well thought out puzzles to solve. The Bad Some of the puzzles are a bit "out there", and you may need to seek help online if you get stuck. And the platforming elements can be a bit dodgy, falling off an area, or not making a jump etc. Overall Don't be distracted by the beautiful 2D artwork, this is a decent little puzzle game, a little short, but worth your time. I Score Creepy Tale a strong 7/10
Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry is a stand-alone game that was originally a DLC addition for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Set between the years of 1735 to 1737, you play as Adewale, a man who was born a slave but later found freedom as a pirate on Edward Kenway’s ship, the Jackdaw. Fast forward 15 years and Adewale is now a trained Assassin, shipwrecked in Saint-Domingue, off the coast of Haiti, with no weapons and no crew to help him, he has to find a ship in Port-au-Prince, and gather a brand-new crew, so he can free the slaves, and kill those who enslaved them. Although a short game at about 3-5 hours, considering this was a DLC addition, that is a fair amount of gameplay you get without having to purchase Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and enough to give you the taste of the main game, and perhaps help convince you to purchase that. The storyline in Freedom Cry is pretty good, as you would expect from any Assassins Creed game, lots of conspiracies to uncover, different gameplay modes including fighting enemies with a ship, the usual on land Assassins Creed activities, as well as deep dialog and cut scenes. I am a big Assassin's Creed fan, and I have most of the games, except Assassin's Creed IV, so when the cance came to get Freedom Cry I jumped at it, as to be brutally honest I still have a lot of other Assassin's Creed games to finish, so being able to play a 3 hour game was just about perfect. The Good Excellent Graphics that you come to expect from any Assassin's Creed game, the high quality of everything in this franchise is something that should be appreciated. The story on this game is great, and the gameplay itself is top notch. The Bad If you are a fan of the Assassin's Creed Franchise then there is no bad here. Overall Want a taste of the Assassin's Creed Franchise as a newcomer, then this is a perfect short introduction, experienced in the Franchise and want to play them all, then you cant miss this. I score Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry a strong 9/10
Beyond A Steel Sky is the sequel to classic cyberpunk science fiction point-and-click adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky, released on the Amiga in 1994. It has only taken 27 years to be made! So, it better be good. You play as Robert Foster, you live in a community in the desert wastelands, a child had been taken after a brutal attack, and it is your job to tracking them down and bring them home. You find yourself travelling to Union City, one of the last mega cities on the planet, a planet that has been ravaged from war and political strife. Union City is a seemingly perfect utopia, controlled by AI, everyone seems happy, everything seems wonderful, but with anything that seems so perfect, when you scratch beneath the surface, you find out that things are not at all what they seem. Instead of a 2-dimensional world, that the previous game lived in, the modern point and click adventures takes on a much more 3-dimensional appearance, and a feeling of more freedom with that. Beyond a Steel Sky is very much a cyberpunk thriller, but within the point and click genre, whereby you will have to solve puzzles, speak to people, find out what is really going on, and try to solve the abduction of a child. And while that is a very serious subject, the game does have a humorous side within its Cyberpunk world. One of the achievements you will want to get is to make a robotic butler fall over, to do this you need to hack into the laundry machine, and change some settings so that the water over flows. You then return to the butler, and ask him to do the laundry, follow him downstairs, stand back and enjoy the hilarity. Many of the puzzles will need you to hack machines, but often you will need to engage in a lot of dialog with people, to find out the information you need, sadly this can sometimes feel a bit tedious, when you just want to get on with the game, and not just listen to seemingly endless dialog. Early puzzles include helping people, who in turn reward you with things that will help you to solve the next puzzle. Similar in game mechanics to the Telltale games like Batman: The Enemy Within and Tales from the Borderlands, if you have played those games, you will instantly feel comfortable playing Beyond A Steel Sky. Although Beyond A Steel Sky does feel much grander in scale than those games. The Good The graphics are superb, everything looks and sounds great, and despite a few dodgy voice acting, overall, the acting and graphics are top quality. The game is easy to play, the puzzles are logical, and never too difficult. The Bad A relatively short game, and as mentioned earlier, some of the dialog can be a bit tedious. Overall If you are a fan of point and click adventures, or the Telltale series of games, then you will instantly fall in love with Beyond A Steel Sky, and feel right at home as you play, it is far from perfect, and a little short, but even so, it is a game you should consider adding to your collection. I score Beyond A Steel Sky a very strong 8/10
Destropolis is one of those rare finds, you start playing, thinking it will just be one of your run of the mill top-down shooters, and instead it is an awesome, nonstop punch in the face of awesomeness! The main idea of the game is simple, you control a blue diamond shape cube, that can also fire weapons, you are surrounded by a fully destructible environment, and wave after way of red cuboid enemies. And that is it. After reaching a score threshold, you pass the level, the game pauses and you can choose from upgrades, that may be an increase of your help, weapon cool down time, increase rate of drops and so on. As you play you can collect up to 15 different weapons designated in a blue light, you pick up by pressing A on the controller, you can hold 2 weapons at a time and switch between them. You will also be able to collect different power ups. From speed ups, to bullet time (which slows down time, giving you more time to think), to my favourite the NUKE! Which is exactly what you think it is. Airstrikes, Vortexes and so on. Eventually and perhaps inevitably, you will be overwhelmed, and you will die. But then you just restart, and off you go again. Played from an isometric/top-down view, with 6 main types of cube like enemies, "Obelisks shoot lasers at you. Bomb spheres explode on contact. Pyramids shoot at you from a distance with artillery rounds. Wrecking balls smash everything on their path. Big, hexagonal bosses wreak havoc with their massive machine guns." Although a minimalist type structure to the game, it gets hectic very very quick. Throw in some synth-wave music by LukHash, and you have a true diamond in the rough when it comes to top-down shooters. The Good The minimalist approach to the graphics, just works, and actually looks beautiful. Each time you play, you will be a bit better, and find yourself slowly climbing up the leader boards. The Bad Maybe some different areas to play in would be a nice addition to the game. Overall Destropolis was supposed to be a quick throw away type game, one I would play for ten minutes, get bored and forget about, instead it has entered my psyche and I absolutely love it. A real surprise find, and one I really recommend. Awesome game I score a strong 9/10
I seem to be playing and reviewing a lot of innovative puzzle / platform games recently, and Night Lights from Ratalaika Games & Meridian4 is another platform game that you can firmly put in that "innovative" catagory. You play as a tiny robot, your planet has been plunged into darkness, your job is to collect shards that will help resurrect a fallen star and restore light to the planet. Night Lights' main mechanic is that of using light to manipulate the environment, mainly through the movement or activation of lamps. So, for example you need to get to an area that is blocked off, move a light source so that it lights up the area and route will open up for you. Shadows and Lights have distinct effects on the environment, so you have to use both as a way to solve the puzzles of the level. You will also collect crystals that will activate various machines, tools and light sources. There are 45 levels in total, which increase in difficulty, as you would expect. The graphics are simple, but beautiful, and really put across the difference between the light and dark areas. Gameplay is pretty straight forward once you understand the mechanics of the game, and although there isn't much help, or anything to guide you along if you get stuck, the puzzles are pretty straightforward, even if they take some thinking. The Good Really nice, simple graphics and engaging gameplay that never feels too hard, but still gives a challenge for any fan of the puzzle / platformer. Just 91 mb download too which is great. The Bad I am not keen on the level select menu, it is a bit confusing as it uses stars in the sky, instead of a simple system of "Level 1, 2, 3, 4" etc. Overall An innovative concept, fun gameplay, and looks and plays great on a Nintendo Switch Lite. I score Night Lights on Nintendo Switch a solid 8/10
Imagine a game that is less than 10mb to download in 2021, it can't exist surely? Well, it does, and it is called Minimalism, and that truly is the perfect name for this game. At its base it is a platformer. 30 levels which get harder and harder. You control a square, and your job is to collect keys and reach the end point of the level which is a door. Sounds easy right? But it is anything but easy. The levels are maze like, with spikes to avoid, walls to bounce up, or slide down, there are weird letter things to collect as well, (giving lots of achievements), and that's it. For what sounds like a very simple and boring game, it is in fact incredibly addictive, and not at all simple. The Good A game like this proves that graphics really aren't the most important thing in a game, instead it is the gameplay, and this has that in spades. The Bad The music is a bit "meh" Overall A surprisingly addictive, fun platformer, that is very challenging, if a tad frustrating at times. For just 39p currently on Steam, this game really is value for money. I score Minimalism a truly impressive 9/10
Valkyrie: Journey To Midgard is a simple, old school RPG. Here is the basic story "A Dragon Orb has been stolen from Asgard. Valkyrie has been sent down to Midgard to retrieve the lost treasure. The goddess must not only overcome fierce monsters, but also to face a dark conspiracy that will affect all of nine realms." For a start, it sounds way more exciting than it actually is. You play as "Valkyrie", and you find yourself in a dungeon, sadly a pretty basic looking dungeon. You will die a lot in this game, and when you do die, you have to start at the beginning, luckily you will come across Save Crystals, so if you do die, just exit the game, and continue from a save point. Because not to confuse the save crystals (clear in colour) with red ones, which are a boss fight. Each room of the dungeon will contain multiple paths, and along the way you will find coffins that may contain helpful items, like armour or weapon upgrades. You will also find statues you can pray to; they may give you a positive benefit or a negative one. And you will also come across monsters. Battles are turn based, and pretty simple to figure out. There are boss fights that you can avoid for a while, and then when you think you are strong enough, the next time you come across one you can choose to take it on. The graphics are simple but fine, most of the time you are in the dungeons which are dark. The sound effects are ok for what they are. The Good Simple concept, easy to learn, fun to have a quick go on, and see if you can get further than you did previously. The Bad There's just not that much to the game. But for £1.69 what do you really expect. Overall Not the best RPG you will play, but also not the worst, perhaps a nice starter RPG for newbies to the genre. I give Valkyrie: Journey To Midgard a fair 6/10
From Rendah Games comes Hyperball Tachyon, a fast-moving 2D platform game, where you control a ball as you bounce and jump through increasingly difficult levels. The basic idea of the game is to get from the start point to the finish line in as fast a time as possible. At first things start out pretty simple, but soon you will face various obstacles including sand traps, water, spikes and so on. Your ball can do a basic extra jump, but in the differing levels you will find things that help you and things that hinder you. For example, a collectable that will allow you an extra jump, or columns of wind that will either push you along, or hold you down. This game is all about learning the physics of the ball, and using it to your advantage. There are lots of little hints while you play, and although the levels can be quite tricky, there is a strong feeling of accomplishment when you do finally get it right, and then the added interest of trying to beat not only your own score, but also trying to climb up that global leader-board and get as close to the top as you can. I notice that the game makers, Rendah Games, top every leader board. So, if you can manage to beat their time, then you know you have just completed a level in epic fashion. You can change the appearance of your ball, and there are secrets to collect. And with a small file size for a game, that will probably play on almost any computer or laptop, this is a simple platform game that you should seriously consider taking a look at. The Good Simple but fun graphics, easy control system, (much easier using a gamepad than the keyboard). Challenging levels with high replay-ability. The Bad I did notice a couple of graphics glitches, and the odd dodgy physics, but these are really small issues that will be fixed in future patches, I am sure. Overall A really fun, simple platform game, that is highly addictive. Definitely recommend this to your collection, if you are a fan of physics-based platform games. I score Hyperball Tachyon on PC a solid 9/10. I really enjoyed playing, and I am going to keep playing to beat those high scores!
The Legend of Tianding is a hand drawn 2D side-scrolling platform/action game, you play as Liao Tianding, a legendary Taiwanese Folk Hero. Set in the early 1900s in Colonial Japanese Taiwan, this is the type of game that instantly grabs your attention. Let's take a quick look at the official story. "Based on real events, real people and real situations, The Legend of Tianding is an exploration of a place and time often overlooked and presented in the style of Traditional Chinese Manga. Battle the colonial authorities in style with a tanto, waist sash, and fast paced Kung Fu in tightly tuned technical combat. Execute advanced aerial combos, steal weapons from your enemies, use your waist sash and grappling hook to fly around the battlefield, and strike fear into the hearts of your oppressors. Take on incredible bosses like deadly courtesans, greedy businessmen, and even military leaders, each one guaranteed to challenge you with their dynamic abilities and brutal attacks." You play in the Dadaocheng area of Taipei city, as mentioned earlier, everything is seemingly hand drawn, and although in general you play in a 2D manner, moving from cut scenes and menus, you do get a 3D view for a few moments, which is so well done. Everything is colourful and highly detailed. Although a platform game, fighting is a big part of the game, and you will quickly learn new styles and attacks as you play, as well as defensive techniques. You will explore underground as well as over ground, and even on moving trains, and not forgetting some pretty tough boss battles. The first boss fight you have is against Wang, now I have to come clean here, it took me a while to figure out how to beat him, as I clearly had not been paying attention, and didn't realise that when your health bar goes low, you can gain some health simply by pressing up on the d-pad. You will find save points throughout the game which also allows you to recover health, and store 3 health teas, or soups, not sure which, but you will take a sip of those in battle, and that will give you a health boost. Playing the game which is very much drawn in a "Retro Traditional Chinese Manga" style, at times it is like playing a comic book. Find talismans (talismen??) and upgrade your character, which in turn can also change your playstyle. The game does have a Robin Hood type element to it, steal from the rich, give to the poor, etc. The Good The graphics are outstanding, not enough can be said about that, just glorious to see. The gameplay is easy to pick up, the character easy to control, and you never feel overwhelmed as you learn new things. The Bad The text on screen you have to read through is a lot, conversations go on a bit, and sometimes you just want to actually play the game as opposed to reading a comic. Overall This is a really good action platformer, looks and plays brilliantly. Some great characters to interact and fight with. A good learning curve, and detailed story to be a part of. I score The Legend of Tianding on PC (Steam) a solid 8/10
Faraday Protocol is a first-person perspective puzzle game and walking simulator. I am playing this on a Nintendo Switch Lite. Let's take a look at the official story of the game. "You are Raug Zeekon: interstellar archeologist from planet Cunor. You have been sent by your company to investigate the source of a mysterious signal coming from an unexplored star. The Bia Tool, an ancient relic of an alien civilization, is the first mystery you uncover when arriving in OPIS. Unsure of its true purpose you start wielding it to solve the challenges on your path. With its ability to absorb energy and the option to redistribute it to different machinery, you start digging deeper and deeper into the temples, encountering even harder puzzles that will test your savvy and abilities in problem solving. Are you smart enough to solve every challenge thrown at you?" You find yourself on a seemingly abandoned planet, you head towards a huge structure, you pick up what appears to be some kind of laser gun. But you won't be fighting anyone today, for this is a puzzle game. Pretty quickly you figure out that you can use your gun (the bio tool) to absorb energy from one location and fire it elsewhere, and this is the general mechnic that you will be using to solve the puzzles. Each puzzle has a purpose of allowing you to proceed further into the structure. As you progress, the puzzles get harder and harder. The whole structure is seemingly a training guard, and as you play you will hear the voice of IRIS, an Artificial Intelligence that is there to help guard this ancient structure. The puzzles are described by the A.I. as tests. Hence the idea this is some kind of tarining ground. The main gameplay is about transfering energy around, connecting areas in the correct order, which in turn may open a door or portal, open a stair case, move walls, open new areas and so on. The puzzles themselves are logic based, and as such every puzzle if taken in a slow methodical way, can be beaten. That said, I found myself stuck pretty often, but not so much because of the game, but because I forgot to think in a logical way. The clues to solving a puzzle are always there, sometimes staring you right in the face, your job is to see them, and then figure out what you are supposed to do. For example in one room you might see 3 differently coloured lights, in a different room there may be 3 differently coloured pillars. Connect the pillars with energy collected from other areas, in the same order as in the first room, and voila, puzzle solved and next area unlocked. You will need a good memory at times, or take a quick photo of the screen with your phone, to remind you of what you are looking for. Unfortunately there is no hint system in the game, and as such you will at some point get frustrated enough to either give up, or look online for a walkthrough, something I did a few times, and as is always the problem with walkthroughs, as soon as you need to go use one, you will quickly go back to it the moment you got a little stuck. The game is relatively short, more so if you do use a walkthrough for regular help. The Good Despite playing this on a Nintendo Switch Lite, the graphics were all crisp and clear, I never once felt like it would be easier or better to play on a big screen. The puzzles are all well thought out, and although tough at times, they are all logical. There are also some secrets to collect along the way. The Bad The lack of a hint system, or any real kind of tutorial or help system, is a major issue for me, I get so frustrated when games are released without such things, for the moment someone gets stuck, they are either gonna just give up, or they are gonna go watch a walkthrough, and once you make that an option to the player, they are gonna use it, and as such that does spoil the game, because let's be realistic, if you get stuck, and you know you just watched a walkthrough on youtube 10 minutes earlier, you are going to go back to it. But a simple help system would keep the player in the gamer, nudge them in the right direction, and the eventual feeling of achievement would still be there. Also the game is relatively short. Overall A good puzzle game, with a unique mechanic, that being the gun. The whole game works well on Nintendo Switch. Despite the lack of a hint system, this game will entertain any puzzle fan, if only for a few hours. I score Faraday Protocol on Nintendo Switch a fair 7/10
BitMaster seems like it should be a game made for Nintendo Switch, it is a twin stick shooter, you shoot at enemies while skating around on a hoverboard. The game is described as being inspired by such classics as Geometry Wars, Crimson Land and Satellite Reign, but does it measure up? There are 100 waves of enemies to face (20 different kinds of enemy), after 20 waves you will face a boss, and then another 20 waves and so on. You can collect new guns and unlock new characters to play with, the environment changes colours, and different areas will benefit or harm your character. For example, in one area your shield will regenerate faster, in another, your weapon may fire slower rounds. As there are no levels as such, once you die, you die, you have to start from wave one again. With an average game time of anything between 5 minutes to half an hour, this is very much an arcade style, pick up and play type game, as opposed to one you will deliberately keep coming back to, to complete. The graphics are colourful, and the changes in colours from wave to wave is nice. The soundtrack is ok. The gameplay does seem to fit the Nintendo Switch well. Playing on a Switch Lite, this is very much a game that I could spend 10 minutes on which waiting for something else. Saying all that, the game does have some issues, the lack of proper levels means that you might get bored quick, and not see the point to start all over again. There is only one real game area to play in, and although it is relatively large, it is still the only one, and changing colours doesn't really make that much difference. The Good Bright colourful graphics and pick up and play gameplay, does mean that this game can have a place on your Switch. The Bad The game is limited, and perhaps overpriced on Switch, at around £5, it compares poorly pricewise to Steam, where it is under a pound currently on special offer. Overall This is a simple game, not one you will spend hours at a time playing, but if you want an addition to your Switch, that is good in short bursts then BitMaster is a game you should consider.
Too Many Humans is a Real Time Strategy game, but instead of controlling the army, or a private security force as is often the case in such games, this time you are controlling zombies! Sounds good right! Let's take a quick look at the official story. "You are Phthisis, the God of pestilence, decay and death. Humanity has degraded too far into greed and is causing irreversible damage to Gaia; your dear sister, and their planet. Something has to be done. But like every god, you have rules (omnipotence gets boring otherwise): you are not allowed to directly kill humans. But you *can* raise them back from the dead. And if the living ones die because of this... Eh *shrug*. Rise, mutate and unleash your Zombies into frantic battles against the treacherous humans. Fight every battle to break one by one the chains of avarice humanity has binded itself with." As mentioned above, you play as Phthisis, and no I don't have a lisp. Now because they are zombies, they don't take orders very well, so you need to be clever in how you control them. If you don't keep them under control, they will wander off. Before I go on, I have to say that in general I am not a big fan of RTS games, I tend to find them over complicated, and I get bored quick. However, with Too Many Humans, I found myself in a situation where I had to pull myself away from playing, everything in this game is set up perfectly for someone like myself, someone who is not a huge fan of the RTS genre. So, if you are not a fan of RTS games, then please keep reading, as this game might be one to finally grab your attention. How do you control zombies? Well, you have something called "Screamers" something like a scarecrow that screams, and where ever you move that, the horde will follow. If you plant it in a spot, te horde will stay there. Any stragglers can soon be summoned by setting the screamer to scream a little louder. A genius idea. You can use multiple screamers, and choose which zombies go where. I say "which zombies", as you soon learn that there are different types, that you yourself can create. Your regular boring zombie is what they start out as, you also have bomb zombies which surprise surprise, can explode, perfect for blowing up walls, you have smasher zombies that... erm... smash, and electrified zombies. Each type can be used in a horde, or for specific jobs. There are 7 missions, you start out on a beach, which is mainly to help you figure out how to use the controls, what various buttons do, and pretty much how to play, I found this first mission just perfect for allowing you to get to grips with things, as I said earlier, usually RTS games are overcomplicated, whereas in this one, it just feels right. If a Zombie is killed, you can resurrect them using the blood collected from killing people, at certain locations. Meaning that you can send in a horde to attack, knowing full well that they will probably lose, but that you can then unleash another wave. You will collect things like petrol, that in turn allows you to turn your zombies into the bomb zombies. Another neat touch. Of course, every time your horde kills a regular person, a cop, a military person etc, they then turn into zombies as well. Meaning your horde gets bigger and bigger. But it is not just about blindly attacking and killing people, there are puzzles that need to be solved too, for example activating generators in different locations at the same time to unlock a path to continue. I really can't say enough good things about this game, this truly is the first RTS game that I have genuinely enjoyed playing and want to keep playing after I have written a review. The Good The graphics are simple but detailed, the gameplay is just about perfect, everything is just done right. The Bad Could we have more missions please? Hopefully if the game does well, then the developers will release more missions, fingers crossed. Overall If you are an experienced RTS gamer, then perhaps this game will not offer the detailed, complicated gameplay you want, but for the rest of us normal gamers, I think that Too Many Humans gets everything just about perfect. I score Too Many Humans a 9.5/10, Absolutely loved, and still loving it.
As part of their the Bloober Team's 13 Years of Development celebrations, I got my hands on Observer: System Redux, a first person, investigative horror game. Your name is Daniel Lazarski, voiced by the late great legend that is Rutger Hauer. You are what is known as a "Neural Detective". You find yourself investigating crimes in a decrepit apartment building in Poland as well as looking for your lost son. Since this is a cyberpunk world, everything is technical, including how you investigate crimes. You can literally hack into someone's mind. This brings you to the scarier elements of the game, since physics go out the window if you are walking through someone's subconscious. But it does allow you to investigate a person's memories, look at things they interacted with, see what they saw. Since we are looking for a killer, reliving someone's last moments can be a challenge, and often you will find yourself in maze like situations, whereby you can feel very stuck in someone's memory. The first example of this is where you hack into the mind of a dying man who has been brutally attacked, after exploring for a while, you will find yourself in something of a walking loop. Any door you go through you end up back at the start. The only clue as to what you are supposed to do are the TVs that have switched themselves on. Now this took me a while to figure out. I had just been walking around and around for a while, before I even noticed the TVs and when I did, I still didn't realise that the clue to escaping the loop was what was being shown on the TVs in the first place. The game does not hold your hand and you will find yourself in seemingly inescapable situations. But a mixture of trial and error, as well as a crafty look at a walkthrough guide and you will soon find yourself back on track. Although hacking people's minds is a big part of the game, most of the time you will find yourself exploring the apartment building, you have two extra abilities that will help your investigations, "EM Vision" which allows you to analyse electronic equipment, and "Bio Vision" which allows you to identify biological materials, think blood and bodily fluids. This comes into use when investigating a crime scene, and trying to log everything, which in turn updates your systems which then gives guidance on what to do next. As you play, your character's stress levels grow, and you will have to take a pill to help lower the stress, we are never really told why you need to do this, but since we are in the future, and people have chips implanted into their brains, it is hardly surprising it might have some mental health side effects. There are no real combat situations, so no running away or hiding for most of the game, although towards the end there are some stealth elements needed to avoid a creature, sadly it feels like these segments of the game were thrown in, and kind of take away from what you have been doing for most of the game. Also, a quick mention to a mini game you will play on the various computers you access in the game, it is a simple game, and you will unlock a few levels on each computer you find and access. It is called Fire and Sword, and you have to move around a 2D map trying to avoid spiders, collecting gold. It is a simple but addictive game. The Good The game looks and sounds incredible, the slow build of tension and fear is perfectly done, and if you play with headphones, it makes the experience even better. The story is good, the "dream" sequences when hacking someone's mind really are interesting and add a true horror element to the game. The Bad The stealth segments towards the end feel out of place and become annoying instead of challenging. There is also an issue where you can find yourself in an impossible situation, for example I dropped a power cable that I then figured out I needed to plug into a computer, the cable went through a grate in the ground and then became impossible to reach. Luckily the auto save system meant I could just restart the area again, but it was frustrating. Also, EM Mode and Bio mode meant very different visual appearances on screen, and constantly switching between them as well as normal view, might cause eye strains to some people. Overall Although quite a linear game, I found myself getting very much into it, even after I had played for a while, I wanted to keep going. That is one of the most important things about a game, addictive to a point that is not destructive. I score Observer: System Redux on PC a strong 8/10
Destructivator SE is a 1990s style arcade run and gun shooter. Playing this brings me back to playing similar games like Contra on the original NES. Let's look at the story. "The year is 2145. Earth still burns. Zallagor and his army have been vanquished, but at great cost: the once great cities of Earth lie in ruin, its population hungry for revenge. Zallagor’s home planet of Zerkl has been located. Zallagor has gone, but somebody will rise to replace him. Maybe they already have. The Destructivator is ready – it is time to strike! Take on the role of a tiny super-solider decked out in lime green spandex! Blast and melee your way through hordes of alien soldiers, robots, spaceships, traps, bosses – and more! Fight on foot or commandeer an enemy ship to take out Zerkl’s defenses and ensure that the alien menace won't threaten Earth ever again." Sounds fun right!? Straight away for those of you old enough, you will think of Contra, and this game certainly pays homage to such great games from the past. But with clear graphics that despite being simple 2D, do really look great, everything is colourful without becoming overwhelming or blinding. There are 6 missions with over 50 levels to complete. The game starts off pretty simple, you have one gun, and you have to kill all your enemies, once you have killed everyone, you have "cleared" the level, and you move onto the next. As you move around the levels there are checkpoints that once passed, you will return to if you die, but you can return to a previous checkpoint, activate that, and then you will respawn there if you die. Of-course there are the obligatory boss and mini boss fights, and a decent learning curve. One nice touch is that you can steal mini flying ships, and use them to move about too, all the while watching out from fire from all angles. There are 3 difficulty levels, but it is worth noting that the game doesn't just throw enemies at you for the sake of it, even on the Brutal skill level, if you take your time, and think about what you will do, then you can still pass the level. I played this on the Nintendo Switch Lite, and at times the smaller screen wasn't the best to play the game on, however it did not become a hinderance, I do think perhaps playing on a bigger screen would be a benefit. Especially as the camera view point does feel quite far away, with a lot on screen. This is a decent old school run and gun shooter, which would satisfy the older gamer like myself, as well as younger gamers, well if they don't mind retro graphics that is. The Good A challenging game, that never becomes too frustrating, brings back great memories from the 1990s arcade, while also being a decent 2021 game in its own right. The Bad Some enemy bullets are tiny and hard to see, even more so on the small screen. Overall I enjoy classic run and gun shooters, and I am happy to add this one to my collection. I score Destructivator SE a healthy 8/10
Ghosts and Apples is an "action-puzzle" game that will test your reaction times as well as memory. Over 150 levels of hand drawn action. Are you hooked yet? You find yourself in a house of magic, there are ghosts looking through windows, an octopus acting as a coat hanger, ravens, evil potions, a vampire, and so on. It is all very fantastical looking and as mentioned all hand drawn. You play as a Puppet called Jack; your soul is trapped within him. You will soon find yourself looking up at paintings, which when you click will **** you into them, and that is how you access a level. The main point of the game is to catch ghosts and turn them into apples, yes makes no sense to me either, but neither did the octopus as a coat hanger. I am playing this on a Nintendo Switch Lite, and I found that playing using the touch screen was easier than using the controller, this is important as it really does affect the way you play. As you catch a ghost you have to decide where to put it, on either side of the screen is a capture device, with an input on the top or the bottom, in essence you have 4 points to put the ghosts. If you play with a controller then pressing up and down on the controller will send the ghost to the top or bottom of the containment device on the left of the screen, and pressing X and B will send them to the top and bottom of the right-side containment. This means you need to have your hands doing 4 separate actions. However, if you play with the touch screen, you only need to do one or two actions at a time as you just press where you want the ghost to go. This makes a difference as each ghost is a different colour, and you need to have 3 ghosts contained in a row together to change them into apples. And as more and more ghosts are caught you need to think very quick with regards to which of the 4 points you want to put them. Just putting them in the containment alone is not enough, so you can find a lot going on very quickly, and touch screen is just easier in my opinion. As you collect apples, this allows you to unlock further levels, a golden apple is given if you "perfect" a level, capturing and transforming all ghosts. These are the most important apples needed to progress to the later stages. Completing certain things will award you trophies which you can view in a room, and the challenge to get them all is one that should keep you coming back. I was unable to play multiplayer so can't comment on that aspect of the game The Good The graphics are really good, and the soundtrack is perfectly acceptable, the frantic gameplay will really test anyone, and I am sure over time would help anyone who wants to improve their hand eye coordination. The Bad Sometimes progress is stopped because you need more golden apples, and since they are relatively hard to get, I imagine this might put off some younger gamers when they get stuck. Overall A tough little puzzle game that has plenty of challenge, even for the most experienced of gamer. I score Ghosts and Apples a solid 8/10, one of the best puzzlers on Switch right now
I have played plenty of these types of games over the decades, mainly on PC, and the odd one on Xbox, but I thought that I would see how such a game would work on Nintendo Switch, and a Switch Lite specifically. The game plays like all Point and Click games, but with the Leisure Suit Larry games making a huge come back, and setting the bar very very high in this genre, does Lone McLonegan add anything to the genre? Firstly the controls, for some reason, you have 5 different choices for the cursor, and these are switched by pressing a button on the controller, you have a pointy finger, which is pretty self-explanatory, a fist which picks things up, an eye which examines/looks at things, a mouth (I think???) that allows you to talk to people, and a cowboy boot that allows you to kick things. For a start this is too many options. In these types of games, you should have 3 options at most, examine, use, and move. Adding the extra options just makes play slightly more frustrating, as you scroll through the options to find the one you need. Pretty early on in the game you will get hold of a map, now here is another big problem with the game, once you open the map, you have to choose a destination on the map, you cannot (as far as I can figure out) just exit out of the map. So, if you are in an area, where you speak to someone, and ultimately, they will add a location to your map, to do this you need to select the map and give it to them, the problem is that out of the 5 choices you may often find yourself accidentally opening the map, instead of selecting it, and unless you are in the opening area of the location on the map, you may find yourself back at the entrance of the area and not the place you just was, meaning you then have to go all the way back to find the person you was speaking to, to get them to add to the map. It is a small problem, but one I continually found myself doing. Also in nearly every modern P&C game I have ever played, there is always a button that allows you to highlight every interactive thing on the screen, this game does not have that, and especially using the small screen on a Switch lite, moving the little cursor around isn't the most accurate, so easy to miss things, and scanning the whole screen for things is a pain. And because you can't highlight everything you can interact with, you will sometimes completely miss locations, for example a side street, off screen. There is no indication of some locations at all, so unless you scan the whole screen with the cursor it is easy to miss things. With those issues aside, there are plenty of things you need to do within the game, plenty of characters to interact with, conversation choices to have, which in turn will help you proceed in the game. As with most games like this, sometimes trial and error is needed to figure out what you are supposed to do next, and you will find yourself going back and forth a lot trying to figure things out. Luckily the NPC have poor memories, so if you go down the wrong route in a conversation you can just start again and choose a different reply, until you get the desired result. The game makers are Spanish I believe, and as such some of the translated humour missed the mark slightly, but that is forgivable as this is their first game release. One thing to note is the graphics are all hand drawn and you can tell that a lot of care and time has been taken in making the game. Sadly, there are no voice acting, so all the dialog is via text on screen, but you can skip through dialog by pressing a button, which is great if you accidentally go down a conversation route you have already read. There are also stars hidden in the game, in various locations, click on them to collect them, and try to collect them all. There is no hint system in the game, so sadly when you become stuck, and you will, there is no way other than going to every location again and again, trying to combine inventory items over and over, and generally making yourself go mad with frustration. In the modern era you will find that you will either just give up, or find a walkthrough online, and the moment you do find that walkthrough you will find yourself repeatedly coming back to it the moment you get stuck. The lack of a hint system is a major omission from the game makers. The Good Great graphics, some fun puzzles and mini games lift this game above some others in the genre. The Bad The controls, the lack of a hint system and no way to highlight interactive objects lets the game down hugely. Overall This game doesn't really work on a handheld system, and probably not on a console at all. It will work much better on a PC with a decent sized screen. You can find the game on Steam. If you are a fan of point and click games, and want to add another to your collection, then Lone McLonegan is a perfectly decent one to add. I score Lone McLonegan : A Western Adventure a generous 7/10
Lake is what I would call a pallet cleanser game. It is a story driven game, whereby you play as Meredith Weiss, a graduate from MIT who has come back to her hometown of Providence Oaks, Oregon in 1986 to help out her father while he is on vacation. And how do you help out? well, you take over his job for a few weeks as postman (Mailman/Mailwoman) to the town that surrounds the lake. From working in the big city at a software company, to a sleepy town, driving a mail truck, and talking to the locals. That is the game. And this is why I call the game a pallet cleanser. This game is not so much about delivering mail, or even driving a mail truck, it is about talking to people, old friends you knew growing up, as well as new people. Helping people out, doing favours for people, you can even start a romantic relationship. As you meet people you are given choices of how to answer, no right or wrong answers. But since the whole point of the game is the story, if you just avoid conversations, meetings, or helping people, then the game will be very short and very boring. And at the end of the game, you have to make a decision, to return to the city, or stay in the sleepy town you grew up in. Driving the truck is nice and easy, you can't kill anyone, or be killed, you can't even drive into the lake. (I tried) You can even put the auto pilot on and just sit back and enjoy the view. This really is a game that is you, just taking part in the life of someone over a two week period. In many ways the game is boring, and it is supposed to be boring, but the word boring does have a lot of negative connotations to it. Sometimes just driving around a beautiful lake, with stunning views, is just fun to do. From playing games where you constantly feel either frustrated, stressed or exhilarated, here is a game you can just sit back and relax playing. It is the ultimate pallet cleansing game. Whether you sit and complete it in one go, or just play it for a few minutes here and there, it doesn't really matter. The Good The graphics are stunning, such a beautiful game to play. Easy to play, great soundtrack. The Bad I imagine people wanting more of an "gameplay" experience will be disappointed. Overall This is a tough one to score. If you know and understand what the game is about, what it is trying to give you, and that is something you want, then it is really quite a relaxing and enjoyable game. But if you just play it expecting it to be more of a "game" than a story, then you will be disappointed. Personally I enjoyed it, I liked the change in pace, and sometimes I don't need to shoot zombies, or drive off a cliff to have fun while gaming. I score Lake a solid 8/10
Loading up Effie I suddenly felt transported back to the time of the Nintendo 64, and some of the classic 3D action-Adventure games of the day. The kind of game that you could just play without needing to think too much, just a fun easy playing experience. Now despite the game being called Effie, she is in fact your daughter (or granddaughter, not sure), and you are telling her the story of what happened to you. How you were cursed by a witch when you were young, cursed with old age, and all because you never helped the witch out, mainly because you were lazy and then how you went off on a quest to recover your youth, by getting rid of all the black magic. You will travel through an area called Oblena, a city that is full of said black magic, which the witch conveniently cast everywhere, you have your magic shield, (strangely called the Runestone) a shield that is literally your only way of attack and defence, but it can also be used to surf on, to travel on the over ground! Well, it is a magic shield so needs to do more than just defend you. Effie is played in full 3D, you control your character with the left stick, and your view point with the right stick. You will fight foes, solve puzzles, and explore various locations. As you play your shield will grow in power, as you collect magic and you have a few different special attacks. The boss fights always involve the Witch, but each time the challenge will be a bit different. The game itself can be completed in a few hours, and is relatively easy. The Good A good old fashioned 3D action-adventure game, that does not take too much thought to play. Nice easy gameplay, for a younger crowd. The Bad There are quite a few graphical glitches, which I put down to this being a port from a PC game. Hopefully these can be fixed over time. Overall A fun game, perhaps lacking in challenge for the more experienced gamer, but perfect for the younger gamer. I score Effie a fair 7/10
Super Kickers League is a fun, arcade style football game. This is about as far from FIFA as you can get, this is not in any way a simulation, this is an arcade game, there are no referees to give you a yellow card, there are virtually no rules, other than who scores the most goals wins. This is the kind of old-fashioned arcade football game you could imagine playing for 10 minutes in an airport, or in an arcade on the side street of your town, (when they still existed). These days you can download them off the internet in a few minutes. The main gimmick of the game is that your "Captain" has a special power, that might be to a super jump, or stop time for opposing players, or cause a meteor strike. These special powers can be used for a set period of time, and can help make the difference between losing and winning. There are ten teams to choose from, various modes to play, from the usual exhibition game, to cups and leagues. To play certain modes you need to have completed previous ones to unlock, and yes this can be a problem, as I will mention later. "Kickers Mode : Play with 3 captains to get many powers while you play! Team Mode : Play with your favourite team and use your captain's power to win the match! Retro Mode : Pixel and Football are all together! Feel the 90's vibes in this retro mode!" You can play alone and local or online multiplayer. There are a few different camera angles to play with. The game itself can feel very frantic to play, you won't really be stringing together 20 passes before scoring a goal, and nor should you want to. This is an arcade game, so everything is quick and to the point. Whether that is sliding for the ball from kick-off and shooting and scoring within 3 seconds, or going on a mazey dribble and passing the ball into the goal. The different modes are ok, although not really that different, and the special powers although fun, I actually didn't bother too much with them, preferring to play regular football the best I could. Now I did mention a problem, that being that to play certain modes you need to unlock them by completing other modes, for example, to play the League you need to play and win the cup first, that is fine, however the game does not save your progress, so unless you want to sit down and play for a few hours to unlock everything, you are stuck with the basic modes if you just want to play for 10 or 15 minutes. This seems to be a problem that has existed for a while, and there is no sign of it being fixed unfortunately. Obviously, this mainly affects the single player mode. If you are playing against a friend, then this is less of an issue. The Good This is a fun game; graphics are bright and colourful, gameplay is easy to pick up, and does not take itself too seriously. The Bad The fact your progress is not saved is a big problem, fix that and the game is a pretty decent little arcade kick about. The play area is also a bit small, perhaps bigger pitches would improve things, but then we are going into a more standard footy game environment that is perhaps not what the game is about. Overall Despite the saving issue, I am enjoying the game, it is everything that you would expect from an arcade footy game, lots of fun arenas to play in, easy to pick up and play. I score Super Kickers League on PC a solid 7/10
Back in 1983 we were introduced to a game called Track and Field. Fast forward to 2021 and we have World CHAMPIONS: Decathlon. A true homage to not only Track and Field, but all of the Olympic type sports arcade games of the 80s. The graphics are full retro style, and the sounds are as if you were stood in an arcade in the 80s. We are back to button bashing greatness. There are ten events to choose from, which you can take part in one at a time, as well as all ten in succession in the Decathlon mode. You have...100 metres, Long jump, Shot put, High jump, 400 metres, 110 metres hurdles, Discus throw, Pole vault, Javelin throw and 1500 metres. You can play in single player mode, or person vs person mode, local and online, however when I tried online I couldn't find a match. The controls are simple, you have two buttons for speed, and then one for an action, for example to jump. And that is it, everything is super simple and easy to play. There are leader-boards and achievements to unlock. Each event will have at least 3 achievements to get. One will be to beat a certain score, then an elite achievement where you have to beat a better score, and of course an achievement if you get the world record. There are even a few bonus achievements you can get, for example, spot a UFO or complete the 110m Hurdles in a certain time, without jumping. And I will say that the 1500 metre race is gruelling, tapping buttons as fast as you can, non stop for 3+ minutes sounds easy, but your fingers are gonna get a workout that's for sure. The Good A proper retro Track and Field style game, it really does have everything you could want. The Bad This is a small complaint, but I think that when you have two buttons you need to press to run, they should have to be pressed alternatively, where as in this you can press both together, this makes things much easier than it should be. I also think that a lack of control on the jumping events, again makes things too easy. Overall I was a huge fan of Olympic style games in the 1980s. I love a good button bashing game. I think there are a few tweaks that could be made to this game to make it a bit harder which in turn makes it more of a challenge. That said I thoroughly enjoyed playing, and it brought back some great memories of my youth. I Score World CHAMPIONS: Decathlon a solid 8/10
Journey is a hard to describe game, but "Indie-Adventure" seems to be the common description used. Co-developed by Thatgamecompany and Santa Monica Studio, it was originally released on PS3 back in March 2012, and then re-released in July 2015 for the PS4. It has since been ported to Windows and iOS in 2019. You play as a mysterious robed figure, you find yourself in a huge desert, the only thing you know to do is head towards a mountain in the distance. You will see other players also on their own journey, but you can't communicate with them. As you play you will soon figure out that you need to "activate" seemingly dull pieces of cloth, into vibrant colourful ones. You will collect things that will allow you to jump, and almost fly for short periods, you will run along desert landscapes, and then find yourself almost surfing down the other side of a hill. When I say it is hard to describe, it really is. You will explore ancient caves, as well as activate those aforementioned pieces of cloth, that will allow you to reach high up ancient structures, which in turn allow you to activate relics, that allow you to progress through the area. Although the game is relatively short (a few hours at most), there is a feeling of wonder as you traverse through the landscapes, if anything this feels more like an emotional experience than a game. When you finally reach the mountain, it truly does give off a feeling of wonder and accomplishment. I won't spoil the ending, and I have been careful not to give away too much, as this really is a game that you should experience. The Good The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is beautiful. And if you were lucky enough to add this game to your account during Sony's "Play at Home" promotion, then you really do have a classic on your hands. I say this, as I did just that, back in July of 2020, Sony made a couple of games available for people to download and keep for free. I added the game to my account and then forgot about it, and only now have I started playing it. And I am happy I finally did, but annoyed I never played it sooner. The Bad The game is quite short. Overall Not many games can be sold on the experience it gives you to play, the emotion it provides, this is one of those games. It has won countless awards for being great, and I will also lavish praise on the game, a true classic I score 9/10
So there is an evil octopus, and he has minions, and they are playing cruel tricks on the creatures that live in the Undersea World. You play as a brave and beautiful mermaid called Alice, oh I cant be bothered with the story. Look it is a simple "Match 3" type puzzle game. You play through the puzzles, that "awakens" other characters, and you save the Undersea World from the Octopus. Every 10 levels you unlock another page of the story. There are 80 levels, which include your classic Match 3 type puzzles, for those unaware, you draw a line with your cursor connecting 3 or more objects of the same style and they disappear, your lines do not need to be in a straight line either, you can go diagonal, up, down, left and right, as long as the objects match, the more you get the higher the score. There also some other types of puzzles, jigsaw, and hidden objects, memory match stuff. But the main game is the Match 3 type puzzles. The problem with the game is that it is just not very good. I like that they made the effort to have a storyline, but the menus are too busy. The graphics are nice enough and the music is ok. But why you would pay money for this game when you can play similar games for free is beyond me. Not to mention that there are quite a few bugs. The Good Pretty graphics. The Bad A lot of bugs, and that you have to pay for the game. Overall In its current state I cannot recommend the game, I score it a poor 4/10
Happenlance is a pole-vaulting, jousting, climbing, fighting game. When you first start to play Happenlance, your first thought will be that this is just another climbing game, using your jousting lance to pole vault yourself and get as high as possible, and yes that is a major part of the game, but as you complete levels you will realise that there is much more to the game than just reaching as high as possible. As well as climbing mountains, and buildings, you will also face traps that need to be avoided, seemingly impossible climbs that will need you to pick up or throw objects like boxes or balls, which you can then use as a base to fling yourself up high. You will also come across enemies trying to shoot arrows at you, a nice firm stab with your pole will take care of them. You can even defend yourself from the flying arrows by using your pole to knock them out of the air. To say this game is tough might be an understatement, the controls are hard to get used to, I used a gamepad as I found that the easiest way, you control your character with the left stick, a small jump with one button, and your pole with the right stick. Alternatively, you can use keyboard controls and the mouse will control the pole. When I used the words pole vaulting, that really is how you fling yourself around. Luckily the physics aren't too realistic, and you can stick to certain surfaces, and pull yourself to safety. You will get frustrated if you play this game, you will shout at the screen, and you will give up out of sheer annoyance at the difficulty of a level, but you will come back, and you will keep trying. The graphics are fine for what they are, the backgrounds all look nice, the character is ok. The sounds however are terrible, if you have the volume up, your neighbour might thing you are watching something dodgy with the grunts and groans. The Good If challenging, climbing type games are your thing, then this will give you one hell of a challenge. The Bad If challenging, climbing type games are NOT your thing, then the difficulty of this game, might well put you off for good. Overall Ridiculously hard, and with tricky controls, leaves me feeling frustrated and not challenged. The game does have its moments, when you finally get past that seemingly impossible obstacle, you do feel great accomplishment, but the problem is that around the corner is another seemingly impossible obstacle, and unfortunately watching others play the game on YouTube to help you figure it out, will become way too common, and even when you know what you should do, that doesn't really help you. If you like a challenge, then give it a shot, but for me, it is just not something I could get to grips with. I score this game a frustrating 6/10
Some years ago, a simple puzzle game was released called Energy Cycle, well Energy Cycle Edge is a sequel to that game, if you played the original, then this new version will feel instantly familiar. The concept is the same as the original. You have different coloured "cells", when you activate one it changes colour, along with all adjacent cells in the same line as the one you activated. The aim is to make all cells on the screen the same colour, sounds easy right? WRONG. Think of how you would solve a Rubiks Cube, now instead of just having 9 blocks on one side to worry about, you have many more. Just when you think you have Energy Cycle Edge mastered, you will face a more complicated puzzle. Not only will you have a number of cells to activate on one side, things go fully three dimensional in Energy Cycle Edge, and you can change to a different side. Again, think of a Rubiks Cube and you get the idea. There are 44 levels to master, and a few graphical tweaks you can make, so that the game looks more like Energy Cycle if you prefer that style. The gameplay is simple, but also tough at the same time. It really will take some brain power. If you like puzzle games, then this might be one you should check out. The Good Great soundtrack, and easy to learn gameplay, that will leave you frustrated but also challenged. The Bad The concept is simple, and perhaps a few more modes could have been added. If you do master the technique, then there isn't much more to do. Personally, I am a long way from mastering it, and this game remains a challenge to me. Overall This is a tough puzzle game, that fans of the original, and the genre in general will enjoy. I score Energy Cycle Edge is tough 8/10
RAYZE is one of the first games I am familiar with that comes under the "Aim Racer" genre. Put simply an Aim Racer game is a simplified game when by you select points on the screen with your left mouse button, and upon clicking on a target point you will move towards that point, as you move towards that point you will need to click on another target to move towards that, the ultimate aim to reach an end point of the level. In RAYZE things are complicated by the fact that a successful hit of a target accelerates you, and a miss slows you down, hit a wall due to you not clicking on a target quick enough, and you die, level over, you have to start again. Find yourself going too fast and you can right click the mouse button and that also slows you down. Look for yellow areas to left click on to accelerate. (First speed you will reach is 120, and adds 60 for each new target you click on) Right button to slow down, and pressing the scroll wheel will restart the level. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the mouse too, which you will need to do, to find a speed of movement you are comfortable with. It is a simple, yet addictive concept. You play in first person viewpoint, there are 6 sectors, and each sector has 5 levels. Complete levels in order to unlock the next sector. The game itself attracts you completely the levels, but you will soon find that everything becomes a challenge to get the fastest score, there are leaderboards for friends only, or for global scores. Trying to get as close to the top is an attractive prospect, if only for your ego, and the more you play a level the better you will get, often there are multiple ways to find the end of the level, and keeping your speed up, and knowing where to click next becomes easier the more you play. So, you will want to replay levels over and over until you consider that you have done the best run possible. There is a cool electronic soundtrack by names like Lukhash and Buffout Boy, and others. And you can change the music playing, loop tracks and so on. There is even a YouTube safe mode, so you can choose copyright free tracks should you wish to stream your gameplay. The Good Aim Racing games are a new concept (to me anyway) and RAYZE seems to get things right. The soundtrack is great, the game play is easy to pick up, and the more you play, the better you get. Meaning that although frustrating at times, you KNOW you can finish the level, you just need to learn where and when to click, and how fast you can go. The Bad The graphics although bright and colourful might give some players headaches. I would have loved this concept to exist but playing in recognisable areas, or even down streets or house estates, just something different. Overall As Aim Racers go, this one is the best I have ever played. It is also the only one I have ever played, so it has one hell of an advantage. Enjoyable game, that I keep wanting to play to beat my own scores. I score RAYZE as solid 8/10
Ragtag Racing is a cheap, small file size, racing game on Steam, it is a super simple 3D Motorsport type game. You can play in two separate views, in the driver's seat, or from above/behind. I have never liked playing games from the driver's perspective, so straight away I chose the above/behind viewpoint. Race on a track, try to get from the back of the pack to the front and progress to the next track. Sounds simple! Well, it is and it isn't. The most important part of the game is your fuel level. Run out of fuel and you are done. Races are short, so you can't refill. Everything is about keeping up your speed, and using your boost at just the right time to help you win the race. But overuse it, or use it in the wrong place, and you will just end up coming up short and running out of fuel. And that is pretty much the gameplay. The computer-controlled drivers can be a pain in the behind, they will try to ram you and generally make things as hard as possible. One mistake and it really is it; you need to drive the almost perfect race to progress. The Graphics are super retro and simple, (hence the small download size), the sound effects are so-so, and the theme music is annoyingly catchy to say the least. The Good Small download size, quick pick up and play gameplay, relatively easy to get used to. Graphics are simple but fun. The Bad Can be a bit buggy, the game did crash a few times for me, and there is a lack of longevity, but for an Indie game it is what you would expect. Overall The game was made by one man on his own, it only costs a pound. If you hate it, you have only lost a pound, but you have helped out an Indie Developer. And there is a free demo you can download anyway to see if you like it before you buy. So, you really have no excuse, if you want a simple fun racer, give Ragtag Racing a look. I score Ragtag Racing a simple 6/10
The Black Heart is a gothic horror 1 vs 1 fighting game, think original Streetfighter 2 but with aesthetics from Mortal Kombat and you get the idea. Originally released on the "M.U.G.E.N engine" which was a freeware 2D fighting game engine, whereby "authors" would port characters from other fighting games into the engine, Andrés Borghi took a different route, by creating totally original characters and stages for his game The Black Heart Although moving on from that engine, it still plays in a similar way. And now gets an all-new official release on Steam with updated HD graphics and soundtrack. The controls are as you would expect, directional control over your character and 4 buttons for punching and kicking. Here is the story. It's about another world in a parallel dimension where the king and ruler has been murdered. A vicious creature called Final has ripped his heart where he stored all the power, he used to create that world. Six creatures, both from our world and the other one, chase this monster to steal the heart for their own purposes, since it's said that the bearer of the heart will wield an enormous power. Although only 6 characters to choose from, this is a true Indie game, everything made by just one man. The gameplay is similar in style to the classic Capcom fighting games of the 90s, you have combos, finishing moves and so on. The Good Simple graphics will take you back to the 1990s. A great soundtrack matches teh fun gameplay. The Bad Only 6 characters, and no online play. Overall The Black Heart is a true fighting game, made by one man, we should all try and support Independent Developers, for they are the real future of the Gaming Industry. I score The Black Heart a fair 7/10
Green Hell is an open world survival game from developers Creepy Jar. Played from a first-person perspective, you play as a researcher called Jake Higgins, you find yourself in the jungle in the amazon, your partner Mia left to visit a tribe in the jungle, she is a linguist and decided to make first contact with a tribe known as the Yabahuca. Now she is gone, you are alone, and you need to not only find her, but you need to survive. And this is the main idea of the game, survival. You will start off by learning how to do simple things, like building and starting a camp fire. You will need to learn how to craft items by collecting the raw materials, and combining them. But of course, things are a bit more complicated than that, you need to keep an eye on your health, not just physical but mental. As the environment around you changes, so will your need to build camps, find places to sleep. Everything you do matters. Find yourself thirsty and you decide to drink some water from a river, great if the water is clean, not so great if it is dirty. You will only make yourself more ill. Try and find and collect food, but what happens if you eat an unknown mushroom? Might be ok, might give you hallucinations, might make you sick. As you navigate through all of these problems, you will also need solutions, cut your arm and maybe use ants to close the wound, get an infection and use maggots to clean the wound. You see you will need to use such tricks, as bandages and medicine need to time to make. Luckily your notebook will help you keep track of things and you will slowly learn from your mistakes. And then there are the animals, think snakes, spiders and scorpions, as well as larger animals you can try to kill to eat. You might even find yourself in a fight with a native tribesman. Your watch will be a major benefit to your survival, it helps you keep track of your vitals, as well as acting as a navigation tool, you will also make good use of a map that you will find. As you do try to survive, trial and error really does become your friend. You will soon learn what does work and what doesn't. With all that, the question then remains, is the game any good? As survival games go, Green Hell is very detailed, and very tough, there is no hand holding here. Don't waste your time with the tutorial, as it is the same as if you just start the story mode. Which seems very strange. There is also a major issue that you cannot easily save your progress. You can only save when in a camp. So, if you are playing and need to stop quickly, you can't, you have to build or find a camp, and then save. You will find yourself easily losing a lot of progress due to this. There are 7 extra challenges you can attempt, these are away from the story mode, and are stand-alone challenges. When you have the main idea of how to play, it is worth playing the challenges to really help you figure out how to survive, the challenges include simple things like finding a camp and starting a fire, or building a raft, or killing and cooking an animal etc. The difficulty is pretty high in the game, and you might find yourself putting the game on the easiest setting on a first playthrough, but as mentioned earlier there is no hand holding here, early help and instructions soon disappear, and you really do need to figure out much on your own, this will put off newbies to the genre. Finish the game on the easiest setting and you will want to replay on a harder setting using the knowledge you have gained. The Good The game is beautiful, and despite the odd graphical glitch, everything looks and plays wonderfully. Any experienced survival game fan should feel right at home. The Bad This is not a game for newbies to the genre, it is tough, the controls at time feel a bit clunky, especially navigating the backpack. Overall For experienced survival game players, you will find yourself enjoying this game, the story and the challenges are all very rewarding. For newbies, this game is tough, really tough, with the clunky controls, you might find yourself put off early on, which is a shame, because if you stick with it, the game has a lot to offer. I score Green Hell on PS4 a fair 7/10
Before I start, as always with Early Access games, you must keep in mind that this is not the finished product. Game developers often will listen to feedback, update and change the game before a proper release, so any comments I give here are not on the finished game. Gravewood High is a stealth horror game, set in a high school. Seemingly set in the 1980s/1990s. The story goes that some students have gone missing at Gravewood High, but none of the teachers or parents have noticed. You are stuck within the school, and you need to escape, the problem is that the school is very much a maze that is constantly changing, and there is an evil teacher (Mr Hyde) looking for you. Although this is a horror game, it is a game with very cartoony graphics, but the big twist is that every time you get caught by the teacher, when you replay, things have moved, locations of objects you need to solve puzzles have changed, the very puzzles themselves may need different ways to solve. Puzzles might include finding objects to open a gate, connecting or disconnecting electrical devices. Entering or exiting a certain area. Early on one puzzle you need to complete is to power up an elevator, the power coupling outside is damaged, so you need to find an alternative way. You find an electrostatic generator in the science room, and soon realize you need to find metal trophies and place them along a route to the elevator to give it power. Sounds simple, but when you have Mr Hyde (The Teacher) looking for you, that is where the stealth comes in, you need to watch him from afar, and if he sees you, run to safety. As panic sets in you will make mistakes, and before you know it you have to start again. Luckily you have a friend on the other end of a walkie talking who will help you as you play. Each area of the school contains plenty of things you can pick up and move, things you might need to hold on to, spanners, bolt cutters, torches etc. And as you progress Mr Hyde gets smarter, transforms and develops new abilities as well as new ways to find you. One of the ways to win is to outwit the teacher, set up traps for him, maybe connect a wire cable to a patch of water and lure him to you to electrify him. The game has a decent plot, and the story is worth following and paying attention to. You will play for long periods without a checkpoint, so when you do get caught, the thought of playing a long area again, can be frustrating, more so because you know that the things you need will have changed location. Instead of this being a challenge, it just becomes an annoyance. Although you will lose things that were in your possession, you do keep hold of any keys picked up, so it is not all bad. Finding secret paths and areas is also a big part of the game, they are a great way to avoid Mr Hyde, as well as progress further. The puzzles themselves are all pretty straight forward, so the hardest part of the game is staying away from the teacher, so as soon as you figure out what you need to do in a puzzle, you need to figure out how you will avoid Mr Hyde while you do it. The Good A nice-looking game, that does have some genuine moments of excitement as you rush to solve a puzzle while Mr Hyde is on the war path. The Bad Sometimes feels more like a game of chase than it does of a puzzle solving horror, the frustration felt sometimes overruns the challenge, meaning that when you do know exactly what you are supposed to do, but keep failing, you might just give up. Overall As an early access game, many issues can be forgiven, there is a lot of potential here. The various story elements need to be further investigated in the gameplay, and perhaps help lessen the frustration to challenge ratio. For now, the game is worth checking out, won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it is decent.
