The Last Case Of John Morley Xbox Series X Review 5.5/10 “An interesting mystery that stumbles in the darkness” 🕯️🫆🕵️

The Last Case of John Morley Review – Atmosphere, Intrigue, and a Faltering Middle Act

When Atmosphere Shines but Gameplay Falters

You play as John Morley, a private detective who has recently woken up in hospital. Remembering only a few things, you awake to find you've spent days in the hospital but are now healthy and free to leave. You head back to your office, where almost instantly you have a new client, an older woman who wants you to investigate the murder of her daughter. Decades have passed since the murder occurred – it was originally attributed to a pair of thieves, but she isn't satisfied with this conclusion and offers you an obscene amount of money to investigate the cold case. Liking both money and a good mystery, Mr Morley takes the case and heads to the Manor to begin his investigation.

Postal - Brain Damaged and These Sunny Daze DLC PS5 Review By Mike 5/10

Postal: Brain Damaged – A Flawed, Repetitive Shooter That Somehow Earned My Respect

From Crude Chaos to Unexpected Introspection

I wasn't planning on playing Postal: Brain Damaged. After Postal 4, I had done my tour of duty. I said I'd review it to make the Games Freezer team laugh and then, God help me, I had to play it. I ventured into the wilderness, stared into the abyss and discovered that the abyss occasionally got stuck in doorways and forgot to load its textures.

As far as I was concerned, the Postal series was locked in a 'race to the bottom' cycle of diminishing returns. A relic of a different era when shocking people was enough and a man urinating on strangers could somehow generate national headlines.

Enter Postal: Brain Damaged.

Pengilo PS5 Review 6.5/10 "A Pleasant Penguin Physics Puzzler" 🐧

Pengilo: A Simple Slice of Penguin‑Tossing Puzzle Zen

Verdict: Fun, Floaty, but Not Quite Stand‑Out

A simple and accessible physics-based game from developer Double Mizzlee and publisher Eastasiasoft, Pengilo is a single-screen puzzle title with fifty stages of circular penguin-chucking action.

A bright and colourful entry in the genre presented in 2D, Pengilo tasks the player with tossing a penguin into the air, collecting stars and keys to unlock the door in order to exit each stage.

A budget title that currently costs under a fiver, Pengilo only allows you to take control of your penguin for a follow-up directional shove after a single bounce; this means that you have to be accurate if you don’t want to fall off the screen, resulting in a retry of the stage. 

A.I.L.A Xbox Series X Review 6/10 “An interesting idea that's sadly front-loaded” 📺📼🐈‍⬛ @PulsatrixStudio #IndieGame #GameDev #Horror

A.I.L.A Review – Psyche‑Driven Horror With Big Ideas and Uneven Execution

A Postmodern VR Nightmare That Starts Strong but Loses Steam in the Final Acts

In A.I.L.A, you play as a video game play-tester in a postmodern sci-fi world. You get the new VR gaming system- AILA. It is a brand-new system that uses the user’s psyche to adapt the horror and give a unique experience.

The system uses an AI to guide you through the horror scenarios, the avatar of which is a little girl whom you talk to before and after you play through each of the scenarios, asking questions and guiding you through the experience, checking how you react and how you feel. 

Marvel MaXimum Collection Nintendo Switch 2 Review 6.5/10 "Welcome to DIE!"❌🦹‍♀️ @LimitedRunGames #RetroGaming

With some games featuring regional variations (JP, US, EU) and also archival details – as well as a ‘jukebox’ section – on the face of the matter, this looks like pretty decent ‘snikt!’ For your buck, but the age and design of some of the games, as well as a bare bones feel to the package in terms of the extras included does end up making things feel a little lacklustre overall, although you do get the usual save state and rewind features along with the choice of using a CRT filter.

A collection of six games from the early to mid-nineties starring beloved Marvel characters, Marvel MaXimum Collection puts the below games in one place:

1. Silver Surfer (NES)
2. Captain America and The Avengers (NES, Arcade, Genesis)
3. X-Men (Arcade)
4. Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade’s Revenge ( Genesis, SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear)
5. Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (Genesis, SNES)
6. Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety (Genesis, SNES)

Crime Simulator PS5 Review 6/10 *A Game That Almost Stole My Heart* 🦹 @ULTGames #IndieGame #GameDev

Back in 2024, I covered Thief Simulator 2 and whilst I had a lot of fun with, it was very clearly rough around the edges and needed refining. Fast-forward to 2026, and the newest release from Polish studio CookieDev has made its way to consoles, and it is a game that is frustratingly short of being a really unique gem in the stealth-thievery genre but has too many issues to really be a recommended title.

The game – a first-person affair - begins with your character locked up in prison and being bailed out to quite a princely sum by a mysterious cabal of insalubrious individuals that intend to make you steal and earn your way through your debt. 

Beginning in an abandoned warehouse, you only have a PC, a box to send over your stolen goods, and a wall chart to pan out your next nick-fest. There is only one neighbourhood available at the start, with you and your team – up to four players online – needing to rack up some earnings (via a percentage cut from what you steal, which gets higher dependent on the difficulty) in order to unlock heists and other areas to pillage.

Dead Format PC Review By Ayden 6.5/10 📼 "A 3-8 hour horror-action experience with character"

While I’m a fan of horror movies and books, I haven’t had much experience with horror games up until this last year. I put this down to it being easier to desensitise oneself to films and the written word, whereas with video games there is no option to mentally disengage. Your choices matter, when you move matters, and that is quite a bit more terrifying than simply watching a slide show of off-putting and uncomfortable scenes.

All this to say, I may have watched over 50 horror movies last year with a stony and dead eyed expression, but when it comes to games of the same genre, I’m a snivelling coward. So I can’t promise that what got me nervously pausing and gathering myself before I could again brave more of the Video Ghastlies will equally terrify you. What I will say, is that if the stress detector on my watch is to be believed, this game achieved what it set out to with me.

The game starts with scant details, other than you are on a search for your missing brother. You enter his flat and search for clues which ultimately leads you to uncovering the mysteries of a new and inexplicably dangerous VHS format, “Video Ghastlies”. After watching the first tape, you will find yourself stepping out of the flat and into its macabre reality. Whilst in these other realms, you will find new tapes and trinkets required to proceed. You do also at some point get a bone-gun that shoots teeth (don’t ask, I’m still not sure), so it’s not an experience entirely built on hide-run-hide-run. 

The Last Ninja Collection – Nintendo Switch Review | Retro Reborn or Bare Bones? 🥷 #RetroGaming

In today’s Rich's Rapid Review, I take a look at The Last Ninja Collection on Nintendo Switch — a bundle that brings three iconic System 3 classics back for a new audience. It’s genuinely great to play these games again, and the atmosphere, music, and isometric adventuring still hold up beautifully.

Dark Quest: Remastered Xbox Series X Review 6/10 *The boardiest of digital board games* ☠️⚔️ @brainseal #IndieGame #GameDev

I first got on board with the Dark Quest series back in 2023 with the third entry, which was a fantastic isometric title that relied on a blend of chance and memorisation as you delved ever further into its rewarding depths, as a man with a loud voice shouted numbers at you – good! 

More recently, I covered Dark Quest 4, which further evolved the formula with more classes and personalisation options – and so when I had the opportunity to go back to the start of the series and cover this remaster of the original Dark Quest – originally released back in 2015 for PC– I leapt at the chance, as Brain Seal have fast become a personal fave developer of mine – helped along by their recent explosive physics-based title Blow It Up. Although this remaster does feel a bit of a step backwards as opposed to a celebration and re-imagining of an earlier title. In the Brain Seal catalogue.

Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Review "Rayman Returns To His Roots" @RaymanGame #RetroGaming

Originally released in 1995 on the PS1, Rayman was soon ported to other systems, but it was that original PS1 release that most folks hold dear. Digital Eclipse have worked with Ubisoft to bring this 30th Anniversary Edition to life, including PS1, Atari Jaguar, PC (MS-DOS), Game Boy Colour, and Game Boy Advance versions, this collection is very much aimed at fans of the original, with a physical version also being available.

Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor Xbox Review 6.5/10 "A beautifully realised license frustratingly hampered by technical issues and design choices" 🚂 @dovetailgames #IndieGame #GameDev

I grew up with Thomas the Tank Engine, and now – a full generation down the line – my son has taken up the mantle of enjoying Thomas and his cast of friends making their way around the gentle island of Sodor. 

Developed by Dovetail Games – the folks behind the Train Sim World series of games, they know their way around a caboose! - this is a wonderfully realised world in which the characters are absolutely TV perfect and the voice actor from the show also appears to add class to the game.

There are several modes, with exploration (free roam) mode, and a more mission-centric being the main focus. I was intrigued as to how they would make a game in which you can effectively just go forwards and backwards interesting, especially when the sim element is removed or heavily simplified, but Dovetail Games have really worked some magic here with the chapter stories, voice work, and overall presentation being spot-on.

Roadwarden Nintendo Switch 2 Review 5.5/10 "A beautiful tale crushed by performance issues" 🗺️ @MoralAnxiety #IndieGame #GameDev

I actually received Roadwarden for review last year, but had an issue when playing on my Switch, whereby the game would judder along as if it was constantly buffering – I made contact with the relevant party to inquire if this was a known issue that would be patched shortly etc. – as it made the game unplayable - and received no response, so it fell off my radar. 

It was only upon installing games on our new Switch 2 that I spotted Roadwarden and wondered if it would run more smoothly on this new console, it is after all, a text-based adventure – hardly a genre that needs a technical powerhouse! And yet…problems remain, which is a real shame as the game has so much potential.

Gear Club Unlimited 3 Nintendo Switch 2 Review 6.5/10 "a fun, if slightly bland racing game"🛻🔥🔥 @Nacon @EdenGames #IndieGame #GameDev

I’m not familiar with the Gear Club Unlimited series, but after playing a few duff Switch racers recently (I look at YOU Fast & Furious) I had a hankering for a solid arcade racer, and so Eden Games’ Gear Club Unlimited 3 very much appealed, and whilst the fundamentals and moment-to-moment driving are fun with a few positive quirks, the package as a whole feels like a missed opportunity, although huge kudos up front for not trying make this a ‘hip’ game with needless bad language and cringe-inducing dialogue, ensuring that this can be enjoyed by racing fans of all ages.

Beginning with your character winning a race against his mentor and bagging a spot in the France-based racing series that make up the rest of the game, you choose your initial car from a small selection (although you can unlock 40 cars in the game) and begin your winning streak. I went with an Abarth as my wife drives a Fiat 500, so I was flying the family flag – which turned out to be a good choice for the highway sections of the game which I’ll go into later.

Wreckreation XBox Series X Review 5.5/10 *Burned Out?* 🛻💥 @ArcadeDriving #IndieGame #GameDev

It’s hard to write this review as Wreckreation is clearly a labour of love from some core developers behind the much-loved Burnout franchise, and you can feel where the game could be at. 

Admittedly my personal preferences lay back when Burnout was a more linear experience – I was never taken with the open-world Burnout Paradise - but there are moments in Wreckreation in which great ideas and choices shine through, yet they always seem to either be shot down by heavier duty issues, or design choices that appear to be opposing forces during development.

Mafia: The Old Country Xbox Series X Review 6.5/10 *va bene, va bene* 🍋 @mafiagame

I missed the boat when the original Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven was fist released back in 2002, instead getting hips deep into the sequel released in 2010, of which I have incredibly fond memories of following the trials and tribulations of Vito and Joe as they make their way through the murky underworld of Empire Bay. 

The game had an incredible soundtrack, looked fantastic and had a plot that pulled me in. The sequel – Mafia III (developed by the current team, Hangar 13 – initially impressed with its technological advances, atmosphere and characters – and again, a blinding soundtrack – but for reasons I can’t recall, I sort of…fell off it somewhere along the way.

Car Go! PS5 Review By Reeg 6.5/10 🚛 @CleversanGames #IndieGame #GameDev

Car Go! is a small, simple delivery game that keeps things light and accessible. With such a vast range of genres available, is this one worth picking up?

Upon loading into the main menu, you’re greeted with three straightforward options: Start, Arcade, and Settings. While functional, the settings menu feels a little bare, notably lacking an option to adjust sensitivity. Visually, the game adopts a cute, minimal style with a distinctly mobile-esque look and feel.

Detective: Rainy Night Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 *Care for a room, detective?* 🕵️‍♀️☔ @K148_GS #IndieGame #GameDev

I covered k148 Game Studio’s Detective: The Motel back in January, and whilst I relished the thought of the basic premise – a short detective title focused in a single location – the execution and layout of the game really hindered my enjoyment. Fast forward to the end of the year, and I got to tuck into Detective: Rainy Night, a title that moves away from tedious box-ticking exercises and instead more towards a supernatural, psychological horror bent. Good!

The POV adventure begins with your character arriving at a supposedly rural hotel (more on this later), with your character getting to briefly know the inhabitants of the scattered rooms, as well as the kindly motel manager. 

After a quick kip, you wake up to find that the heavy rain from the night before has now morphed into an impenetrable fog (again, more on this later) and to make matters worse, one of the temporary residents of the motel has been murdered, leaving you to don your detective cap and try to get to the bottom of what the heck is going on.

As much as I had fun with Detective: Rainy Night, there are a lot of caveats here. Whilst I enjoyed how stripped back and focused the narrative was – it’s a game that can be completed in a couple of hours – the game is very ‘assety’ and that does bite it on the arse somewhat.

For example, you are supposed to be in the middle of nowhere, but you can clearly see many houses around the motel, and at one point towards the ending, there’s a glitch (at least I assume its a glitch) in which you can openly leave the area and see the awkward surroundings/limitations of the street that the motel is plonked on. 

It doesn’t help that the burgeoning narrative really tries to drive home the fact that this motel is supposed to truly be miles out of town and almost unreachable. The sparsity of audio works with the unfolding tale, and I enjoyed how the story is set over five nights (shout out to the awesome Five Days a Stranger), with the creeping imminence of death closing in as the hapless residents get picked off one by one.

Again, as much as there are strengths in the interesting premise, the character models move like they are encased in cement, and the dialogue is less than ideal. The light environmental puzzles and brief fetch quests never slowed the pace down, and the character archetypes work insomuch as they fill a hole; you’ve got a moody young woman, an unhappy couple (the male is possible the horniest person I’ve ever encountered in a game, there should honestly be a copy of Readers Wives poking out of his jacket pocket), a miserable rich bitch, a chubby food-focused schlub, and an alpha male – but it all works in the sense that this is a trashy horror story.

SUMMARY
All in all, when playing Detective: Rainy Night, it’s best to keep in mind that this is the work of a single individual, and quite frankly this is light years ahead of their previous releases. 

Whilst I’ve only rated this a 6/10, I’m genuinely looking forward to what the developer hits us with next, as there really is something here, and I hope that in a year or two I’m singing the praises of their newest release to the high heavens. 

As it stands though, this is flawed, silly fun that will appeal to those that like to smash through a light-horror title of an evening, and there’s absolutely nothing at all wrong with that.

6/10 

🧊💦MELTING🧊💦

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(also available on PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S)

Developer – k148 Game Studio [SOLO DEV]

Publisher – Jandusoft

A Pizza Delivery Xbox Series X Review 6.5/10 *fancy a slice (of life)?* 🍕 @Dolores_Ent #IndieGame #GameDev

The first release from Spanish video game developer Eric Osuna, A Pizza Delivery is a game that overreaches its grasp, but is painfully close to being a glorious experience, blending as it does a scattered narrative with simple mechanics. 

Although, as much as certain sections of the game appealed to me, there were too many aspects that dragged my interest down, eventually making the game feel a bit meandering and light as opposed to being the vehicle to a budding realisation as the narrative would perhaps like me to believe.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master Xbox Series X Review 6.5/10 *Don’t let me drift away, babe* 🏯🚗💨 @GamingFactorySA #IndieGame #GameDev

Firstly, I have to say that whilst I didn’t fully click with JDM: Japanese Drift Master due to several issues that I’ll elaborate on below, this is clearly a game that’s been crafted with love, and has some real high points in the visual departments and world design. That said, there were too many issues to ignore and it all resulted in JDM feeling like a game that needed a bit longer in the oven to really make an impact.

The narrative of the game is told through Manga style comic imagery, a really cool touch that adds to the Japanese vibe of the game and bookends the chapters that make up the story in a fun way. The look and layout of the map is surprisingly varied as well, with some lovely touches and flourishes in the landscapes and environments that you’ll be whizzing through. 

Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition Nintendo Switch Review 5/10 "Not a (Raw) thrill to play" 🛻🔥@CradleGames @GameMillEnt #GameDev #IndieGame

I don’t usually directly compare games when I discuss them, but I do feel that I have to open this review by saying that you can currently get a physical copy of the infinitely superior Cruis’n Blast on Amazon UK for twelve quid, should you so wish (and you should wish so). 

Fast & Furious is a console port of the 2022 arcade title, which was originally developed by Raw Thrills – who were also behind the original arcade version of Cruis’n Blast – and whilst the port to consoles has some brief action, it’s far too insipid to be a recommendation beyond a few minutes of simple fun.

I’m not too au fait with the Fast & Furious franchise, but the links here seem pretty tenuous – there are a few recognisable cars, and each of the six stages (which last around two / three minutes each) set the task of reaching the finish line and thwarting various events such as a missile launching, a bomb being detonated or a plane taking off. You can choose from a handful of supercars, and play with up to two players, but the issues reveal themselves quite quickly as you dive in.