🐕 Samorost 2 | Soundtrack (Vinyl) | Tomas Dvorak (Floex) | "Dvorak’s singularly idiosyncratic approach can be felt in full force here" 🐕 @Amanita_Design #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

https://merch.amanita-design.net/products/samorost-2-soundtrack-by-floex-double-vinyl

The work of Amanita Design often features somewhere in my end-of-year lists, such is the quality of their releases, and this soundtrack from Samorost 2 is no different in terms of the quality and talent that it brings to the (turn)table.

🎶 Yann Latour Interview 🎶 @_YannLatour #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VideoGameMusic

Following my recent coverage of Yann Latour’s -very good - ENCODYA soundtrack, I was keen to know more about him, as I’d not previously been aware of his work.

He kindly responded and our subsequent chat is below, enjoy!

🤠 Unavowed | Nintendo Switch | Review | 9.5/10 | "Taking The Crown" 🤠 @WadjetEyeGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

I was asked, “do you want to review a game called Primordia?” -which I did, and it was a great game – and then I had a message that read, “I got excited and grabbed an Unavowed code for you as well.” - so this game was a complete surprise for me, I knew it was one of my brother's favourite adventure games, which meant it had lofty expectations.

Having huge expectations is always a double-edged sword, it’s great that a game is held in such high esteem, but if you don’t enjoy it as others have, there is a huge let-down and that sometimes creates a bigger negative feeling towards the game - anyone who is on Twitter can attest to this.

Luckily, Unavowed is an absolutely amazing game, and now holds the crown of being my favourite graphic adventure game of all time, sorry The Secret of Monkey Island, it has been a good 31-year streak.

🪱 Tapeworm: Disco Puzzle | Dreamcast | Review | 8/10 "A game that will worm its way into your heart" 🪱 @LowtekGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #RetroGaming

Lowtek’s previous title, Flea! Was very much loved in the GF towers, especially by me. With addictive gameplay, crisp visuals, smooth animation and music that was of Bubble Bobble-level catchiness, it was very much a winner.

I’ve been following the development of Tapeworm for some time, and even picked up the t-shirt from Lowtek Games’ website as I loved the image and yes, the pun.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding….can the finished game stand up to the high quality of the pun-title, premise… and developer Alistair Low’s Tik-Tok videos?

Yes, yes it can.

📷 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.

💿💽 ENCODYA | An Original Soundtrack by Yann Latour | Vinyl Review 💿💽 @_YannLatour #vinylrecords #videogamemusic #videogamevinyl

I’ve covered a lot of records over the last few years, but ENCODYA stands out as one of the most memorable. An almost purely ambient release devoid -for the most part – of beats, drums or percussion, the layers of mood and scene are punctuated by guest spots of organic instrumentation that add character and identity whilst never deviating too far from the focus on melodic simplicity.

An album that really set me in a (much appreciated) zen-like state. Good.

🦖Elex II | XSX Review | 6.5/10 | "More RPG action from the team behind the Gothic and Risen series" 🦖 @Piranha_Bytes #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

When I came across Elex in 2017, it really made an impact on me. I resonated with the dry humour that was scattered throughout the game and, whilst it had technical issues, the sense of character that ran throughout made it stand out from the crowd, despite not being a graphical showcase.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this sequel and, whilst it retains the humour and fixes some problems that were present in the first game, I couldn’t quite relax fully, due to some vague mission design and implementation which ultimately marred the experience.

Review: Ancient Domains of Mystery "Up and ADOM!" ⚔️ #GameDev #ADOM #IndieGame @adom_dev

Ancient Domains of Mystery

Platform reviewed: PC (Steam)

Rating: Ice Cool

For the uninitiated (myself included) Ancient Domains of Mystery (or, ADOM) is a roguelike game that has been in development in some form or other since 1994.

In 2012 a crowdfunded project began that moved the game from its ASCII roots to a fully-fledged GUI and this version (3.05 as of December 2017) is the finalised version.