⚔️ Salt and Sacrifice | Beta | Preview | PS5 Tested | "Salt and Sacrifice will feel very familiar to those who played the preceding title" ⚔️ @transvaalgf @jamezila @iequalshane @skastudios #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Salt and Sacrifice will feel very familiar to those who played the preceding title - Salt and Sanctuary - as the 2D take on the Dark Souls formula is largely unchanged; it keeps the core mechanics but sprinkles in enough new flavour to keep the game feeling fresh.

🔴🟡🟠🔵 Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey | Boxed Retail Release 🔴🟡🟠🔵

ININ Games and Survios and under licence from TAITO Corp are delighted to announce the upcoming boxed retail release of Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey. 

This new entry in the classic Japanese action, puzzle-game franchise brings bubble-popping puzzle fun to the third dimension for the first time and can optionally even be experienced in virtual reality via PlayStation VR (PSVR). 

⚔️ 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.

🩸🌳 Blair Witch - VR Edition | PSVR | Review | 2/10 | "In 1999 I spent a summer working as a lumberjack" 🩸🌳 @PixelHunted @BlairWitchGame #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev

In 1999 I spent a summer working as a lumberjack in the mountains outside of Durango, Colorado. Each Saturday night we’d pile into a pickup and head into town to the multiplex. One visit, having exhausted most of what was on offer, we decided to roll the dice on The Blair Witch Project. None of us had heard anything about the movie, but a horror movie about a witch? Rad.

Turns out that The Blair Witch Project is the absolute worst film to watch if you’re camping out in the woods that night. With no evidence to the contrary I thought it was real and - though I still doubted the existence of actual witches - I spent the night sleeping in the backseat of someone’s car. The Blair Witch Project remains the most terrifying experience I’ve had in a cinema and makes me basically the prime target for Blair Witch VR.

⚔️ Tales of Arise | Review | PS5 | 8.5/10 | "A Tale As Old As Time" ⚔️ #TalesOfArise

Tales of Arise is one of the games that I've been most excited about all year, finally getting to play a JRPG on the PS5 from a long-standing series that I deeply adore.

My expectations were sky high, I was counting down the days to play it; frothing at the mouth, staring at my watch, screaming at time to move more quickly… ok maybe that’s hyperbole - but I couldn’t wait to finally load the game and start my experience. 

👻 Tormented Souls | PS5 | Review | 8/10 | "Like Early Resident Evil" 👻 @PQubeGames #IndieGames #GameDev

Before Tormented Souls, I had played two games this year where the developers’ goal has been to emulate early survival horror games such as Resident Evil or Silent Hill. One was bad, the other is my least favourite game of all time and contained design choices that still make me angry to this day.

I was very sceptical going into Tormented Souls, thinking that maybe this type of game should be left in the past, so I don’t have to watch my love and nostalgia being quickly eroded by games trying to recapture their spirit.

Luckily, I love Tormented Souls, it did exactly what it was supposed to do - first and foremost, allow me to enjoy the experience but also fired up my nostalgia and transported me back to the early days of survival horror.

🕺 Disco Elysium | PS5 | Review | 9.5/10 | "Bringing Disco back" 🕺 @studioZAUM #GameDev #IndieGames

The Disco Elysium opening tells you a lot about the game. First is a weird exchange between your limbic system and the void, and after that’s all done you awake in a trashed hotel in only your underwear, whilst hearing voices and with total amnesia. You proceed to find your clothes - which includes a talking tie - and it’s off to the races. It's interesting, it's surreal and it encapsulates the rest of the game.

🚀 The Persistence : Enhanced | Review | PS5 | 5/10 | "Sucked into a Black Hole" 🚀 @FirespriteGames #IndieGames #GameDev

I found this review hard to write. Jumping into this game with no knowledge; I looked at the cover art - which appeared to represent a horror game  - and leapt at the chance to review it, but within thirty minutes of playing it, I realized it does something that I am really not keen on and I especially don’t enjoy it when horror games, in particular, do it.

Truthfully, If I was playing this game without intending to review it, I would have stopped after forty-five minutes and put it down as ‘just not my cup of tea’. Though I do enjoy occasionally trying out games that I would tend to avoid -  to see whether the game can win me over and possibly change my view - this game sadly didn’t and in fact, further cemented my thoughts.

🧛‍♀️ Resident Evil: Village | Review | PS5 | 9.5/10 | "The Perfect Game to Celebrate 25 years of Resident Evil" 🧛‍♀️ #ResidentEvilVillage

Resident Evil: Village was always going to be interesting for me, as I thought six was too action-orientated and I found seven too heavy on the horror.

Now, I will admit that when I played seven, I had lost interest in both horror and gaming so I think that heavily skewed my opinion of the game, though I will say - even though I had issues with seven at the time, I understood that Resident Evil as a franchise needed a new direction in both story and gameplay, such as when four was released which moved to the over-the-shoulder camera with a story that was firmly tongue in cheek, accentuating the B-Movie horror qualities of the series. It was what the franchise needed and after six, it was clear they once again needed a new direction. 

So, enter Resident Evil Village. Was I going to feel it was too heavy on action/horror… or was it going to be like the tale of Goldilocks, and everything was going to be just right?

🕵️🔪🩸 Hitman 3 | PS5 | Review | 9/10 | "A Fitting End To The World of Assassination Trilogy" 🕵️🔪🩸 @Hitman @IOInteractive

The Hitman series is one that I've played and loved for about 15 years and the 2006 entry Hitman: Blood Money specifically is one of my favourite games of all time.

The series has always been about the creative kills; drop a piano on an unsuspecting criminal, poison the mob boss’ morning gin, dress up as a clown and beat a villain to death with a frying pan at his child's birthday party etc.

It’s a series about creativity, of how cunning or sadistic can you be? My strategy would always be - try to plan something clever. Fail. Panic, ending up with bursting into a room, shooting the target and then hiding in the nearest bin. 

💥 XIII Remastered | Review | PS5 | 3/10 | "A Very Unlucky Number" 💥

XIII was a game I had never played but it has always been on my radar. It’s a game I that I could see a screenshot of and instantly identify but never dipped my toes in, so when I saw it recently on sale, I thought - after 18 years, let’s finally give it a try and I picked up the remastered version.

Well, I was hoping for an action-packed, highly stylistic thrill ride… That is not what I got. This remastered version just feels soulless. It has a real emptiness and everything about it feels hollow. 

🤖 Terminator: Resistance Enhanced | PS5 | Review | 7/10 | "Saviour of humanity or just another game to be terminated?" 🤖 @Reef_Games #GameDev #IndieGames

I really love the Terminator franchise and by that I mean I really love the first two films, the rest of the franchise consists of a lot of lows but those first two films are such highs. This game sums up the franchise well, as it has great highs and low lows.

🎮 STEALTH SP-C100 V PS5 Twin Charging Dock (White) | Review by Transvaal | 9/10 | "At this price it feels like a must-have accessory for your PS5" 🎮 @StealthGameNet

The Stealth SP-C100 V is a very nicely made, high-quality accessory for your PS5 at a low cost. 

🎮 PS5: What We Know So Far 🎮 #PS5

Source

The Sony PS5 is one of the most hotly anticipated console releases of all time. We all know how successful the PS4 was, and it continues to lead the way in the current console generation battle. With incredible performance and a host of excellent games, the PS4 wowed people all over the world by providing what many saw as the ultimate gaming experience.