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Showing posts with label Melting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melting. Show all posts

15/02/2024

Rising Lords Review 6/10 "Medieval Mediocrity" ⚔️πŸ›‘️ #IndieGame #GameDev @argonwood

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Rising Lords Review

Life in medieval times was tough. The local lord or royal type wouldn’t think twice about forcing peasants to work for 28 hours a day in the fields, before sticking a spear in their hand and making them go and stab a peasant from a neighbouring village. All in the name of expanding the fiefdom and extending the empire of their glorious leader.

And Rising Lords lets you be that ‘benevolent’ ruler. This game has been loitering on PC for a few years, going through lengthy development stages before launching on consoles in its current form. A form honed and perfected to be a sleek mix of Risk-style battles and Civilisation-esque resource management, right? Right?


Wrong. Sadly. 

30/01/2024

Best Month Ever Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 "Looking for a unique game that stands out from the rest?" 🀰 @Klabater #IndieGame #GameDev

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Looking for a unique game that stands out from the rest? If so, The Best Month Ever! might just be what you're looking for. This game will take you on a journey back to the 1960s USA, providing an experience unlike any other. 

You will follow the character of Louise as she experiences the joys and challenges of motherhood while also discovering her true identity as a person. The Best Month Ever! is a click-and-choice adventure game developed by Warsaw Film School Video Game & Film Production Studio.

26/01/2024

Arizona Sunshine 2 Meta Quest 2 Review 6/10 πŸ• @pixelhunted #IndieGame #GameDev #VRGames

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The VR dream isn’t dead, but it’s starting to look a bit wonky. The Metaverse is a joke, PSVR2 is dying on the vine and, almost four years after the release of Half-Life: Alyx, there hasn’t been a title that comes close to its production values and ingenuity.

Enter Arizona Sunshine 2. The first game released in 2016 across multiple VR platforms and, while an utterly boilerplate zombie shooter, at least delivered on its promise of letting you mow down hordes of the undead with a variety of high-powered weaponry. 

We’re now eight years on and the sequel has finally arrived. So, what’s changed?

16/01/2024

The Kindeman Remedy PC 6/10 “Shock and awe, or shock and bore?” πŸ’‰ @_Troglobytes_ #IndieGame #GameDev

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“The most blasphemous, diabolical and insane management game ever created!” – a quote taken directly from the trailer of The Kindeman Remedy, and the main reason I wanted to play this game, now granted I’m not sure how blasphemous or diabolical other management games are, so I was just going to have to take their word for it. That said, it’s an interesting hook, and I was dying to see just how insane this game was.

06/12/2023

Dreamworks All-Star Racing Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 "As someone who grew up playing Mario Kart, I was excited to try this game" 🐼 @BamtangGames #IndieGame #GameDev

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Dreamworks All-Star Racing Nintendo Switch Review
I recently had the chance to play Dreamworks All-Star Racing, a new racing game that has hit the shelves. As someone who grew up playing Mario Kart, I was excited to try this game. I was also thrilled to be able to race as some of my favourite DreamWorks characters, such as Shrek and Hiccup.

Dreamworks All-Star Racing is a sequel to the 2011 title DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, and
features many of the same characters along with some new ones from the Trolls franchise.

The gameplay involves collecting keynotes that give you bonus items to use against other players, as well as collecting items from boxes. There are also various challenges you can complete to upgrade your vehicle and unlock new characters. One of my favourite features are the secret paths on each map that lead to a rainbow road, where you can come across high notes and other collectables.

14/11/2023

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Quest For Balance Nintendo Switch Review 5/10 πŸ’¨ @BamtangGames #IndieGames #GameDev

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The Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise is now almost two decades old, and Avatar: The Last Airbender - Quest for Balance is the newest video game release and follows the epic adventures of Aang and his friends on their adventure to master all elements -water, fire, air and earth. 

Before we dive into things, I wanted to point out that this content is geared towards younger audiences. The game is designed to be easy to progress through, and the fighting mechanics are very accessible and straightforward, so you might find this slightly less enjoyable if you want to revisit the beloved story in real depth or were perhaps expecting advanced combat mechanics.

22/10/2023

Wartales Nintendo Switch Review 6.5/10 "A GOTY Contender Crippled by Technical Issues" πŸ›‘️ @Wartales_Game @shirogames #GameDev #IndieGame

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Wartales Nintendo Switch Review
It pains me to write this review of Wartales, as I so desperately wanted it to be a better experience, I was clutching my ageing Switch and willing it to somehow have a burst of strength and run Wartales more smoothly and less clunkily, but alas, I was getting the exact same vibes I did when I played Dragon Age: Inquisition on my PS3 over a decade ago – either the Switch is showing its age, or Shiro games really needs to patch the game up ASAP, as what could be one of the best gaming experiences of the year is at present a mere shadow of what it could be.

02/10/2023

Daymare: 1994 - Sandcastle PS5 Review 6.5/10 "Backtracking to the ‘90s" 🧟 @transvaalgf @InvaderDevs #IndieGame #GameDev

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The original Daymare lives in infamy to me. When originally reading about it, the developer had published a list of features for the game and within said list was ‘backtracking’. I found it very amusing, as although I loved old school horror, I never had nostalgia for running back through areas I had already been through, but to my surprise, when I finally joined Twitter and engaged with Twitter horror gaming fans I found that yes, people did indeed love a bit of backtracking!

If you search for ‘horror game backtracking’ on Google, Reddit pops up with a lot of pro-backtracking articles, and the third hit is a thread entitled ‘I love backtracking (especially in horror games)’ so I realise that, although it is something I have never thought about, it was genuinely a feature to some and in the case of Daymare - a very important one, as the game is completely sold on nostalgia. Its biggest selling point is it’s going to try to take you back to the good ol’ days of survival horror.

19/09/2023

Rainbow Skies Nintendo Switch Review 6.5/10 “One For The Die Hard Fans” 🌈 @RainbowSkiesRPG #GameDev #IndieGame

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Rainbow Skies is a strategy RPG and a sequel to 2012’s Rainbow Moon. Rainbow Skies was originally released in 2018 but has now been ported to the Nintendo Switch. I somehow managed to miss both of these games on the PS Vita, which is weird as I’ve owned the console since 2012 and I’m a fan of JRPGS - and there are only about six games available for the Vita - so I’m bewildered at how they got past me!

I was a bit sad that I wasn't picking up my dusty old Vita and bringing it out of retirement, but instead, I picked up the Nintendo Switch and set out to see what I had been missing out on for a number of years. 

23/08/2023

Those Games (or, YEAH! YOU WANT “THOSE GAMES,” RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM!) Review 6/10 "A great send-up of fake game ads that lacks the key fun factor" 🀳 @D3_PUBLISHER #IndieGames #GameDev

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Designed as a series of actually accurate versions of games glimpsed in fake mobile gaming adverts in the days of yore, Those Games does a good job of representing the games that people who click on those ads assumed that they would play, but it’s a premise that – to me at least – is more fun in concept than in action.

17/08/2023

Classic Racers Elite Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 "A Very Simple Racing Game To Drop in and Play" 🏎️πŸš— @_VisionReelle_ #IndieGames #GameDev

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I have always enjoyed racing games – whether it’s circuit, street, or rally racing – I am there! Classic Racers Elite is a time-trial-centric racing game, and that's pretty much it! featuring 12 championships and various takes on iconic cars from the 1960s, it could have been a keeper, however, it doesn't quite get there.

09/08/2023

Layers of Fear Xbox Series X Review 6/10 “Constant corridors and predictable scares” 😱 @Layers_Of_Fears #IndieGames #GameDev

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Layers of Fear is an enhanced remake of - you guessed it - Layers of Fear, but it’s not just an enhanced remake of the first game, it also includes a remade version of the sequel as well as ‘The Inheritance’ DLC, and two new additional stories – ‘The Writer’, and ‘Final Note’.

I have never played any of the original series, although I have heard of them, and had an idea of what they were about - but I never went ahead and gave them a go, so with this release, it seemed a perfect chance to jump in and experience them in all their new Unreal Engine 5 glory.

08/08/2023

AEW: Fight Forever Xbox Series X Review 6/10 “Great in-ring action, but certain areas need more depth” 🀼‍♂️ #AEW

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AEW Fight Forever is the new wrestling offering from developer Yukes, upon its first announcement it was made clear that this game was going down a different path, it would not concern itself with the more simulation style of gameplay, instead opting for a more arcade-orientated approach. For me this was music to my ears, as  I’ve complained for years that arcade was the way to go, opting for fun over realism.

I’m happy to say that the gameplay is the game’s biggest strength; it’s fun, brutal, and packs a punch. Matches are about building momentum and damaging your opponent, you use a combination of strikes and grapples - strikes are a combination of punches and kicks, which can be chained together for maximum effect; grapples can be done in a variety of positions and take many forms, they are easy to execute and have a nice variety. There is a nice fluidity to all of the combat giving a fast pace to matches. 

07/07/2023

Last Labyrinth – Lucidity Lost XSX Review 5/10 "A Puzzle Missing a Key Piece" 🧩 @AmataTokyo #IndieGames #GameDev

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Originally released for VR platforms in 2019, Last Labyrinth – Lucidity Lost casts the player in the role of a mute, wheelchair-bound person that can only communicate by using a laser pointer attached to their head.

Assisting them through the labyrinth of deadly traps and tricks is a young girl who can be guided by the aforementioned laser pointer. Working together, both must solve puzzles and make their way through the labyrinth, in a bid to survive the deadly trials laid out before them.

05/07/2023

Brave Soldier: Invasion of Cyborgs XSX Review 6.5/10 "Cyborgs Schmyborgs" πŸ€– @eastasiasoft #IndieGames #GameDev

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Brave Soldier – Invasion of Cyborgs is a pretty direct run ‘n-gun shooter in a 16-bit style. The game sees – as you would assume from the title – cyborgs invade Earth, and (for some reason) only you can stop them.

29/06/2023

Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart XSX Review 6.5/10 "A Simple Racer, Perfect For Hatchlings" πŸ¦– @3DClouds @Outright_Games #IndieGames #GameDev

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Based on the French educational TV series Gigantosaurus, Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart puts the main characters of Rocky, Bill, Tiny, and Mazu – along with a  host of their friends – into various pre-historic kart-type vehicles and sets them speeding around their world through 15 different tracks, avoiding hazards such as steam blasts, chasms, rockslides and, of course – Giganto himself!

Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart is a game aimed at very young children, as is its TV show counterpart. So straight off the bat, it’s worth getting out of the way that this title – even on its hardest difficulty setting – isn’t going to be a challenge for those adult karting veterans out there.

That said, the way in which Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart caters to the younger demographic is impressive and made it possible for even my two-year-old to have enormous fun joining in the races.

12/05/2023

Arcana of Paradise - The Tower Nintendo Switch Review 6.5/10 “A game full of charm that just needs more variety” πŸ—Ό @TheTowerEN #IndieGames #GameDev

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I picked this game purely on the strength of its trailer and the interesting concept. Several children suffering from amnesia are stuck on top of a gargantuan tower, the top of the tower is in ruin and the kids are barely surviving, but in their minds lies a thought that if they can reach the bottom of the tower and escape - they will enter paradise. It’s an interesting set-up, so I was eager to play, I then learned it was a roguelike deck-builder, which are two words I understand but have never seen together, so I was excited to dive in.

Right out of the gate, Arcana of Paradise has a very ethereal feel thanks to its wonderful art style and gorgeous music. You feel you are in a strange - almost dreamlike - world, the combination of both really paints a vivid picture, and I was sucked into its vision very quickly. 

28/04/2023

King of the Arcade XSX Review 6.5/10 "A fun, mini-game-laden budget title" πŸ•Ή️ @SuperVillainDev #IndieGame #GameDev

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King of the Arcade casts the player as a once-adored arcade master that has now fallen to the lows of living in his mum’s basement, with zero cash and mounting debt. In a last-ditch attempt to get a job, he applies at the local arcade, where the owner recognises him from his glorious gaming past.

Sworn to a life out of the limelight, our protagonist is dragged into a situation where he must once again waggle his joystick better than anyone else, as he strives to best the thugs from a competing arcade at their chosen games…or not, as the case may be.

26/04/2023

Redemption Reapers Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 “A Decent SRPG, That Doesn’t Want To Take Too Many Chances” ⚔️ #IndieGames #GameDev

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Redemption Reapers opens with a very engaging cinematic, it’s very effective and does a good job setting up the narrative whilst sowing intrigue. It introduces us to our band of mercenaries, ‘The Ashen Hawk Brigade’ who have taken up the fight against The Mort - a destructive band of orc-like creatures who have swept through the land, decimating village after village.

It’s an interesting setup and I was definitely invested quickly, the problem came about three-quarters of the way through my time with Redemption Reapers, when I realised the opening had been the most impactful thing so far - and though I was enjoying my time in this world, it never managed to recapture that initial interest.

30/03/2023

41 Hours XSX Review 5/10 "An Initially Fun But Flawed FPS" ⏰ @ValkyrieInitia1 #IndieGame #GameDev

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41 Hours – despite being set in a pretty standard genre (FPS) – began in an oddly endearing way for me, the narrative kicks off in media res, with the protagonist – Ethan – having rescued a mysterious woman with whom he is apparently fixated and escaping from the facility in which she was kept.

The opening chapter is all about putting as much ground between you and the mysterious enemy forces as possible, as fragments of the narrative are laid out. It’s here that the game sets out its stock, and I was initially intrigued due to several aspects of the design choices made.