🐲⚔️ Souldiers Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "A Lot of Dungeon for Your Dollar" 🐲⚔️ @souldiersgame @plugindigital #IndieGames #GameDev

I’m not a completist. I’m not all about getting 100% on games. I didn’t even think about trying to hunt down all TWO HUNDRED pigeons hidden across the vast map of GTA4, for example, just for the sake of a fleeting smirk of satisfaction and a digital plaque on my avatar’s wall. 

🕵️ American Theft ‘80s PC Review 7/10 "I’ll never get bored of going out nicking" 🕵️ @NobleMuffins @Play_Way #GameDev #IndieGames

I have been LUCKY whenever I dive into the PC goody bag of The Mighty Games Freezer. As I primarily focus on console releases, twice now I’ve been in situations where I can cover some PC action, and it’s been just the ticket! The first game was Aground - one of my all-time favourites - and now I get to talk about the follow-up to Thief Simulator, American Theft ‘80s. Good.

🚀 Remote Life Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "Insert Me Into The Mother Ship" 🚀 @NextGameLevel #IndieGames #GameDev #SHMUP

Remote Life is a classic side-scrolling shoot 'em up. Think of an updated version of R-Type and then some. Despite having an oddly forgettable name, Remote life is actually a cracking old-school shooter with super tight levels and great visuals that will appeal to all shmup heads out there who love a good ol' challenge.

🛹🪨🪓 WONDER BOY ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "Get Good At Skateboarding & Axe Throwing" 🛹🪨🪓 @ININ_Games #Retrogaming

My Wonderboy is Wonder Boy In Monster Land on the SEGA Master System. Wonder Boy has always been an intrinsic part of my video games origin story. I remember the first time that I played a Wonder Boy game was in a Video Rental Shop back in the 80s. There was an original Wonder Boy arcade machine just cosying up in the corner of the store in between a Cardboard cut-out of a Gremlin and a stack of Arnie VHS tapes. My overriding memory of playing that arcade game was that it felt quite tough to control and that the skateboard pick-up item was a pain in the arse.

👁️ The Dark Eye: Memoria Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 “A gorgeous but at times frustrating experience” 👁️ @daedalic #GameDev #IndieGames

The Dark Eye is a German fantasy tabletop role-playing game created in 1984, it is so popular in Germany that it actually outsells Dungeons and Dragons. Unsurprisingly, in being so popular, The Dark Eye series has spawned numerous video games including two point-and-click adventure titles from Daedalic Entertainment, these are - The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, and its direct sequel The Dark Eye: Memoria.

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️ Deadcraft Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "Dead and Kinda Loving it!" 🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️ @marvelous_games #IndieGame #GameDev

Beginning with your character (Reid) having his arse handed to him and getting kicked out of a city and quite literally down into the dumps, Deadcraft is a game that really gets you working from the ground up.

A half-human / half-zombie hybrid with powers from both sides, Reid must balance the human side of himself – that allows acceptance from other humans – with the undead, zombie side that grants superpowers in combat. Admittedly, the sheer amount of in-game items and upgrades that can swing the pendulum both ways mean that it’s never really a massive concern, although it does allow the player to loosely approach the game as they wish.

⚔️ Samurai Riot Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "The Pause Menu Is Your Friend" ⚔️ @wakofactory #GameDev #IndieGame

Samurai Riot is a side-scrolling 2D Beat’em up where you control one of two chosen warriors in a single-player mode or you can team up with a buddy in local co-op.

Once you begin playing this game you will immediately feel like a badass warrior with an array of attacks at your disposal. The music is great and gives me Wu-Tang Clan vibes with its ancient Japan in the near future loops that play whilst you're taking on the hordes of enemies in a classic side-scrolling beat 'em up style.

☢️ Chernobylite Xbox Series X Review 7/10 "Events of 1986 Resulted in Far Weirder Things Than Just Nuclear Fallout..." ☢️ @ChernobylGame #IndieGame #GameDev

Coincidentally, I was given Chernobylite to review the same week I finished the brilliant Chernobyl mini-series, so I was in the perfect frame of mind for this. Saying that you get about five seconds into the game before it diverges far, far from reality and into a world where the events of 26th April 1986 resulted in far weirder things than just nuclear fallout.

📐🟥🔴 Flat Kingdom Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "poke a circle with a triangle" 📐🟥🔴 @FatPandaGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Square Beats Triangle, Triangle Beats Circle and Circle Beats Square.

Remember this and let that be your mantra and you’ll go far in the Flat Kingdom.

Flat Kingdom was originally released by Fat Panda games in 2016 and now it’s found its way onto the Nintendo Switch and it truly feels at home on Nintendo’s handheld beauty.

🏎️💨 Agent Intercept Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "No, I exSpectre you to die" 🏎️💨 @PikPokGames

A racing game with mobile roots that has now blasted across to consoles, Agent intercept casts you in the role of a spy that has been given control of the Spectre, an ultra-high-tech machine that has the ability to transform into other vehicles, fire missiles, turbo boost and generally be very, very saucy.

As you work your way through the missions, getting ever closer to taking down the evil CLAW – which reminded me of Inspector Gadget, good – you’ll take down submarines, helicopters, leap into airborne carriers... and blow up a lot of henchmen in jeeps. 

🧟 Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies!" 🧟 @ZingGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Pinball. Who doesn’t like pinball? The clanking, the bumpers, the desire to be on that top score leaderboard, the dreaded tilt. Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies! Who doesn’t like zombies? Well, obviously I’d rather they weren’t in my house or attempting to eat what little brains I have left, but as a cultural concept, zombies are great!

So naturally, when I heard that there was a zombie pinball game, I wanted in. Then I looked a bit closer... zombie pinball roguelike with tower defence elements, kinda?! WTF?! (Note to parents and younger readers – by this I mean Wow, That’s Fun?!). 

Naturally, I was fascinated and needed to know more. If you’re fascinated and need to know more, well, read on.

That’s kind of the point of me sitting here.

🤼 WWE 2K22 | XSX | Review | 7/10 | “Bad Times Don’t Last, But Bad Guys Do” 🤼 #WWE2K22 @WWEgames

I've always said that WWE games’ motto could be, ‘one step forward, two steps back’, every year they would add something new… while removing other modes, matches or making other aspects worse.

Now, it's almost impossible to make a game worse than WWE 2K20, it was a completely broken and buggy mess, so, like many - after a two-year hiatus I was excited to see if they could rejuvenate the franchise and clean up the mess that had plagued the previous entry.

I'm going to go through the modes in the order of how I played them, as I think it gives a good insight into the game and what makes it good, as well as what needs some more attention in the next entry. 

⚔️ Edge of Eternity | PS5 | Review | 7/10 | “A Love Letter to Final Fantasy” ⚔️ @EoeGame @MidgarStudio #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Edge of Eternity started life as a Kickstarter project, the small French developer ‘Midgar Studios’ clearly took inspiration from Final Fantasies of old - I mean, the clue is in the name of the studio. Now, I have talked in a few reviews of how ‘love letters’ can go one of two ways, they can wonderfully create a new but familiar experience, or they can just be a carbon copy with little identity of their own.

Edge of Eternity has flaws that are revealed very early on. Technical issues were clearly visible, you can see that Edge of Eternity is made on a small budget, character animations are awkward, draw distances and texture pop-in occurs, but despite all the technical flaws, I found the game quite charming with a lot of interesting ideas. I will say that not all of them land, but on the whole, it was an experience I enjoyed, and I feel that the game captured the magic of older JRPGS, whilst still feeling fresh.

📷 Martha is Dead | XSX | Review | 7/10 | "The Lady of The Lake" 📷 @WiredP #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Set in Tuscany during wartime (1944), Martha is Dead is a dark and sinister rural horror title that covers a lot of ground that will have players clearing their throat or possibly adjusting their spectacles in discomfort, as this isn’t a game that shies away from visceral thrills.

🧟🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️ Heaven Dust 2 | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "A charming but flawed love letter to Resident Evil" 🧟🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️ #IndieGames #IndieGame #GameDev

Over the past twelve months, I’ve played several games that are effectively love letters to Resident Evil, only one really captured the essence of the early survival horror. Heaven Dust 2 does capture some of the spirit and certain aspects do make it stand out, but at its core, it sticks so closely to the Resident Evil formula that it just becomes a facsimile without its own identity.

🚂 Nostalgic Train | XSX Review | 7/10 | "A Mystical and Relaxing Walking Simulator" 🚂 #IndieGames #GameDev

Being a person that spends a lot of their time covering video games and the various paraphernalia that comes along with them, sometimes I really like to kick back and let games wash over me. I’d say that every month or so, I actively seek out a new walking simulator, a game that I can casually breeze through, relax and enjoy. Amata Games’ Nostalgic Train coasted into view and – as it was ‘that time’ – I really looked forward to getting in a bottle of wine and spending an evening or so getting lost in its charms.

🦗Flea! : Special Edition | SEGA Dreamcast | Review | 7/10 | "On the face of it that sounds quite grim" 🦗 @WaveGameStudios #GameDev #IndieGames #SEGA

Flea! is an upbeat little platformer that was originally released by its developer Lowtek Games with a very limited run for the NES and Dreamcast in 2020. This month saw the game re-released for the Dreamcast as a ‘special edition’ by the Norwich-based publisher WAVE Game Studios, complete with a separate soundtrack CD and all wrapped up in a jewel case with a PAL-style design. 

⚔️ Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – Fatesworn DLC | Xbox Series X | Review | 7/10 | "It Began As A Mistake" ⚔️

It began as a mistake.

I first played Kingdoms of Amalur almost a decade ago, whilst I enjoyed it – I had expected something with a darker edge after learning of Todd McFarlane’s involvement, something with a more bite and personality. That said, it has often popped up in my mind over the years, and I occasionally felt the inkling that I should revisit the game without my initial prejudices, now knowing that the game was light in tone – I’d clearly approach the game more fairly and take more from the experience. Thus, when I was offered the DLC, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity – I’d get to dive back into the world of Amalur without replaying the base game, and so I began installing.

And thus began the mistake.

💀 Transient Extended Edition | Review | Xbox Series X | 7/10 | "A Healthy Dose of Cosmic Horror and Interdimensional Shenanigans" 💀 @StormlingStd #IndieGames #GameDev

As the resident HP Lovecraft nerd within the GF, er, massive, I got first dibs on this one, as if the answer would ever be no. 

Transient: Extended Edition exists in a Cyberpunk/Blade Runner-Esque future, but tops off the sci-fi with a healthy dose of cosmic horror and interdimensional shenanigans. 

The game comes to us from devs Stormling Studios and publisher Iceberg Interactive, who have a good line in Lovecraftian games, having released the Darkness Within series in the mid-2000s, as well as the well-received Conarium back in 2017. 

The original Transient was released back in late 2020 and is presented here with the bells and whistles we've come to expect for re-releases on Xbox Series S and X, namely 4k and 60fps. 

📸 Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water | XBOX Series X | Review | 7/10 | "Yes, This Game is D.A.R.K." 📸 @project_zero_kt @ShowMeMagic #IndieGame #GameDev #IndieGames

At the time of writing this, it’s Halloween season, a time to immerse yourself in anything scary; watch a few horrors, play a couple of spooky games - and this year is no different as I’ve been asked to review this Japanese supernatural game which is either a blessing or a curse, only time will tell.  I have always had a thing for Asian horror movies. They are so atmospheric and the separation from the Western world just takes it to another level. This game is no exception.