🚀🐟 G Darius HD | Nintendo Switch HD | Review | 7.5/10 | "Laser Duels With Hulking End Level Bosses .... YES PLEASE!" 🚀🐟 @ININ_Games #Retrogaming #SHMUP

G-Darius HD comes in all guns blazing on my Nintendo Switch and once again we have another absolute classic SHMUP gunning its way through new audiences on the Switch as the list of legendary Shoot Em Ups on the console grows longer and longer.

Flying through a level on this beautiful conversion of the arcade game on your switch is a joy to behold as you pivot and swivel through enemy waves with pinpoint accurate controls and classic arcade visuals. 

🔶 Super Hiking League DX | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7.5/10 | "An 8bit Styled Vertical Climbing Platformer" 🔶 @bitinkstudios @qubytegames #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Super Hiking League DX is an 8bit styled verticle climbing platformer, with a jump swinging mechanic that sets it apart from the pack. You can race to the top - against a friend with local play, or you can take on the AI in Story mode and see who reaches the summit’s diamond first.

🎴 🧟 Cards of the Dead | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "A Halloween Title Shambles into the Fold" 🧟🎴 @BoomfireGames #IndieGames #GameDev

Just in time for Halloween, Cards of the Dead bursts from the deck to eat our brains. A fun, well-presented and accessible title that only really falls short when it comes to the balancing act.

☢ Chernobylite | Xbox Series X | 7.5/10 | "A mystery wrapped up in a beautiful misery" ☢ @ChernobylGame #GameDev #IndieGames

I’ve always enjoyed titles by developers from Eastern Europe, there’s a way in which they embrace darkness and struggle with a twist of idiosyncratic humour that appeals to me.

From the well-meaning but overreaching Boiling Point: Road to Hell, White Gold: War in Paradise and Precursors to the...well, also well-meaning but over-reaching Hard Truck Apocalypse – which has a gorgeous acoustic guitar-led soundtrack that yearns to be released on vinyl.

The games were janky and tough to run on PCs of the day but they had such flair and character that I always got excited when I picked one up.

Of course, a game from that area of the world that was one of the most influential – and is currently coming back with a sequel – was S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, which remains one of the most intense gaming experiences I’ve ever had - alongside Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth - and Chernobylite continues in that vein – a vein that very much scratches an itch that I didn’t even know I had in modern gaming. Good.

🏁🏎️💨 Cruis’n Blast | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7.5/10 | "I Have Very Fond Memories of The Cruis’n Series" 🏁🏎️💨 @rawthrills

I have very fond memories of the Cruis’n series, both in terms of the original arcade versions and homeports – well, some of them.

Originally released in 1994, the first game in the series – Cruis’n USA – was a fixture in a lot of arcades I visited in my teens and I was instantly drawn to the twitchy handling, energetic music and pure arcade gameplay.

The home ports were decent and got better with each iteration, meaning that Cruis’n Exotica was the highlight for me, despite the pop-in, smoothness always wins the day!

🎨🖌️ Paint the Town Red | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "I’m a Big Fan of Voxels" 🎨🖌️ @SouthEastGames #IndieGames #GameDev

I’m a big fan of voxels. I’ve been introduced to some fantastic games over the last couple of years that made awesome use of them and Paint the Town Red can very easily be added to that list.

A first-person title with a heavy focus on melee combat, Paint the Town Red’s multiple game modes mean that it can be used for either brief blasts of bloody bashing bonkersness or delved into for a deeper, more RPG-ish experience. The one thing that really feels like it’s missing from the console versions is some sort of multiplayer mode. The game would really come to life with friends - although the PC version does offer it so perhaps it’s a possibility for consoles down the line.

🤖 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "Lock & Load" 🤖 @PiranhaGames #IndieGames #GameDev

My history with mech games seemingly peaked in 1996 with Earthsiege 2. Prior to that, the only ‘big robot’ games I’d played were things like Cyborg Justice and Mazin Saga, I didn’t realise that there was an element of the genre that embraced the slower, weightier and more strategic element of piloting a skyscraper-sized behemoth.

Upon playing Earthsiege 2, I vividly remember thinking that it was the absolute zenith of ‘lifelike’ tactical combat and, even though it was a genre that was not on my radar at all, I was completely hooked and played through the entire campaign multiple times, something I rarely do (even now!).

I also remember playing the original MechWarrior on the SNES and finding it a pale imitation of the shining diamond that was Earthsiege 2, it seemed more arcadey, slick and, to be honest…I was never a fan of Mode 7.

Admittedly, in the quarter of a century since, I’ve rarely returned to the genre and when I have, nothing has captured my imagination in the way that Earthsiege 2 did *wipes away a single tear*.

🥋 Samurai Shodown | 7.5/10 | Xbox Series X | "A Solid, if Familiar Bout" 🥋 #BrittsBriefBulletinPart3

Originally released in 2019 on PS4 and Xbox One, the newest incarnation of the long-running Samurai Shodown series (known as Samurai Spirits in Japan) continues the 2D one-on-one weapon-based fighting style that it’s known for.

All the usual and expected modes are here - story, versus, arcade and the like as well as sixteen characters to initially choose from with others featured as paid DLC.
Whilst the game plays well and loading times are swift, it doesn’t offer anything new and feels like a bit of a stepping stone in the series as opposed to a milestone. One that will please its fan base without winning many newcomers over, I’d imagine.

Samurai Shodown is a solid fighter with satisfying combat, responsive controls and rewarding wins but it feels too familiar to really stand out, Haohmaru’s journey for perfection continues.

🚀 1993 Shenandoah | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7.5/10 | "A Great Game To Pick Up For Those Fans of Old Amiga Shooters" 🚀 @1993SpaceMachin #IndieGames #GameDev #RetroGaming

It was only a few days after I’d reviewed (and subscribed to) Amiga Addict that I came across 1993 Shenandoah.

A game originally designed for the Amiga that was abandoned but has now been completed and released on Switch?

SIGN. ME. UP.

💥 Speed Limit | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7.5/10 | "Live. Die. Repeat" 💥 @gamechuckretro #GameDev #IndieGames

Speed Limit is a game that takes the player on brisk journeys across classic genres ranging from side-scrolling shooters to racing games and even isometric flight.

It's a game that works great in both single-player mode, ‘pass-the-pad’ party fun and I can also imagine is a keeper for the speedrunners out there.

🕵️‍♂️ Disjunction | Review | Nintendo Switch | "Cyberpunk is a Genre That Always Makes My Bronzed Fists Vibrate" 🕵️‍♂️ @soldout #IndieGames #GameDev

Cyberpunk is a genre that always makes my bronzed fists vibrate. You know there’ll be achingly beautiful music, towering cityscapes lit at night and a moody tale to tuck into, populated by shadowy characters.

Whilst stealth has often been a part of this, I believe that Disjunction is the first Cyberpunk game that I’ve played with such a heavy focus on the stealth aspect.

Whilst Disjunction is a solid game with a great, pixelated aesthetic and music, I couldn’t help but wish the focus was more on narrative as opposed to stage-by-stage sneakiness as I enjoyed the setting, audio and presentation so much.

🎃 Pumpkin Jack | Review | Nintendo Switch | "A treat for Halloween, Christmas and beyond" 🎃 @thepumpkinjack #GameDev #IndieGames

Pumpkin Jack is a game that’s been on my radar for a while, a 3D platformer in the vein of MediEvil – with whom it also shares a graphical style – I sadly missed the opportunity to play it around Halloween but was delighted to find, upon receiving it for review in the run-up to Christmas, that a Santa costume has been implemented for Jack to sport throughout his quest, making things festive as well as fiendish!