Lakeview Cabin Collection PS5 Review 8.5/10 “A Love Letter To Classic Horror” 🔪🏚️ #indieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, all giant staples of the slasher genre. Large, masked angry men on a mission to gut mostly teenagers - but they are happy to brutalise pretty much anyone. 

Whilst watching one of these films we've all thought, ‘what a stupid man, don’t drop your weapon, and then go into the basement blindfolded after just having sex while telling everyone “I’ll be right back’, that's a great way to get killed! 

I would definitely know what to do if a hulking, masked, machete-wielding maniac appeared suddenly in my house, I’m super smart and would not panic, or give into my fear, I would 100 percent survive, and would wipe the floor with those stupid hulking maniacs.

Bloodhound Xbox Review 4/10 "Bit of a dog’s dinner" 🐕 @knfproductions #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

I fear the word ‘retro’ sometimes. It can mean a loving homage to a classic release, or a genre. It can mean taking a game back to basics and focusing on great gameplay over Triple A graphics and presentation.

Bloodhound is retro in that it harks back to a golden age (for old gits like me) of gaming. Graphically it reminded me of games like Doom II/Quake and Duke Nukem , and even more so to the similarly titled Blood, from 1997. The trailer certainly piqued my interest with it’s fast-paced gameplay and throbbing rock soundtrack. When I was sent the preview copy I was EXCITED.

Just Crow Things Xbox Review 8/10 "Welcome to the Poopy Party" 🐦‍⬛ @UnboundCreation #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

I find real pleasure in diving into games that are suitable for all the family, especially those that have a humorous streak running through them. My three-year-old is a bit of a litmus test when it comes to the child-friendly titles I cover here at GF, and when Just Crow Things came on, he was intrigued, but when he found out there was a poop button? He was sold.

From Unbound Creations – the team behind Rain On Your Parade – Just Crow Things ostensibly casts you in the role of a young crow that is on a quest to get her sunglasses back from bullies, but the real meat of the game is just having fun and causing carnage throughout the game’s stages. 

High Rise City / Highrise City Vacation Season DLC Video Review 🏬🏣🏫🏨 @HRCGame #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich dives into the bustling skyscrapers and explore the Highrise City: Vacation Season DLC

The Highrise City: Vacation Season DLC recently graced our virtual metropolis on August 5th, and as a city-building enthusiast, I couldn't resist diving into this expansion. After all, who doesn't dream of managing their own thriving urban paradise? So, let's unpack this DLC like a well-packed suitcase and see if it's worth the £9.99 price tag

👇CHECK OUT THE GAMES FREEZER REVIEW VIDEO HERE: 👇

Bitmap Books: Run ‘N’ Gun - A History of On-Foot Shooters 📖📚 @bitmap_books #RetroGaming

Bitmap Books Purchase Link

From Dave Cook - the mind behind the awesome Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’em-Ups - comes this history of run ‘n’ gun shooters (think Contra, Metal Slug etc. and definitely think about Mercs and Rambo III on the Mega Drive, which are a couple of my personal faves), a genre of videogames that – to me at least – almost feels like the very essence of gaming itself.

The requirements of concentration, quick reflexes and (usually) saucy multiplayer action are timeless, and these quintessential essential ingredients allow for quick dip in ‘n’ out gameplay for blasts of fun, whilst requiring the players to lose themselves in the flow and design of the game to really get the most out of it…and the most 10p’s out of your pocket, natch!

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand Xbox Review 7.5 / 10 "Atlas falls, and rises again!" ⚔️ @Deck13_de @Focus_entmt #IndieGame #GameDev

Atlas Fallen is the newest release from Deck13 - the team behind Lords of the Fallen and the Surge series – and, whilst it was initially released in 2023 to mixed reviews, this free update to the Reign of Sand edition aims to fix some key issues that affected the initial release, namely:

• An expanded world
• New enemies and challenges
• Revamped progression
• New quests
• Reworked voice acting
• Additional difficulty mode and a New Game+ mode

I didn’t cover the initial release and so can’t really do direct comparisons; and so I’ll review the Reign of Sand version of Atlas Fallen completely on its own merits.

Fading Afternoon Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "A powerful game… for some" ⛅️ @shin_yeo #IndieGameDev #GameDev #IndieGame

Fading Afternoon was an oddly tough game to review because its unique blend of genres - life simulation & 2D brawling – and its player-driven gameplay (as opposed to narratively driven) can lead to a sense of aimless meandering as much as it can seem a deep and powerful experience.

Unfortunately, whilst I can see that this was a real underdog gem for some, I didn’t connect with the game in the same way some folks did, which was a shame. That said, I still found Fading Afternoon to be a memorable experience, clearly created by a developer that follows their vision, which is always something that I appreciate and fully support.

Super Woden GP II Review 9/10 "No Wooden Spoon for Woden 2" 🏎️ @maxharvey79 @ViJuDaGD #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

As a man of a certain age, and one who cut his teeth on Commodores rather than Nintendo's, my nostalgic heart belongs to isometric racing games. Super Cars, Super Off Road and Skidmarks (*titter*) all get my pistons pumping and having tried a couple again recently (prompted by this review), they stand up fairly well as the gameplay is solid and simple.

Super Woden GP II has a silly name, but we’ll not dwell on that. We will dwell instead on what this game brings to the modern racing table. It brings us something delightfully retro, is what it does. What I will say before anything else is that if you enjoyed the games mentioned above, there’s a very good chance you’ll love this. 

Retro Revengers Xbox Review 7/10 "Retro Revenge is Sweet" 🕹️ @shinyuden @RatalaikaGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

A short and snappy title that harks back to 8-bit platformers. Retro Revengers has a modern twist mainly through the narrative, and whilst it is a very brief title at around an hour or two, this brevity is what keeps the gameplay and somewhat snarky story fresh up to the end.

Princess Maker 2: Regeneration Nintendo Switch Review 0/10 "In summary, do not buy this game." 👎

Princess Maker 2: Regeneration is a game that should come with a content warning. How else am I supposed to approach a Nintendo Switch game in which you can feed your 13-year-old daughter pills that increase the size of her breasts and then marry her?

The 1993 original is, for a certain audience, a cult classic. In that as in this modernised remake you play a famed warrior who’s gifted a naked 10-year-old girl by the gods, and must raise her to adulthood. Will you up her combat skills and send her adventuring, make her the best cook in the land or, uh, force her to work in a sleazy bar and become a teen hooker? It’s your call!

Over Horizon X Steel Empire Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "An MD Fave Returns!" 💥☄️ @ININ_Games #Retrogaming

Ratalaika appear to have burrowed into my mind over the last couple of years and unearthed Mega Drive memories with which to delight me, as last year they re-released Gynoug and now they’ve turned their sights towards Steel Empire. 

What I’m enjoying about these is that whilst these aren’t super-rare, import-only hidden gems, they are games that were somewhat underdogs and may have been initially missed by fans of Sega’s 16-bit system – they are also games that hold up incredibly well today, and it’s great that modern audiences now have the chance to discover them – or rediscover them, as the case may be.

Project 13 PS5 Review 7/10 “Has that plant always been there?” 🪴 @DRYBREAD_games #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #GameDev

I’ve never had an easier time describing a game as I have with Project 13 - you are in an asylum and by ‘an asylum’ I mean ‘one corridor within it’, which you walk down again, and again, and again and again…you get the drift. But, each time something may change and it’s your job to find out what. 

There are 35 anomalies which can range from the obvious to quite subtle, so you have to examine the corridor with a fine-tooth comb. If you spot an anomaly, you have to pull down a lever and start again, simple. 

Except, every time you get it correct a counter raises - get to 13? You've escaped, and are rewarded with freedom, get one wrong and the counter resets back to 0… and you start back over, that’s right, 13 anomalies in a row, or that comb is coming back out! 

Thank Goodness You’re Here! Nintendo Switch Review 9.99/10 "Thank Goodness This Game Was Made" 🥟🥧 @coalsupper #IndieGame #GOTY #IndieGameDev #GameDev

Shining, golden, consistent comedy is rarer in the gaming industry than photographic evidence of a bottle of Clausthaler in Oliver Reed’s hand. It is because of this, that when a game like Thank Goodness You’re Here! (TGYH!) comes along, I treasure it dearly and immediately write the developers into my will – so there’s a brass figurine of a clown that weeps oil winging its way to them when I shake off this mortal coil.

Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III Xbox Review 8/10 "Twirl that parasol!" ⛱️ #Retrogaming

Released by Taito in 1991, Parasol Stars - the sequel to Bubble Bobble (1986), and Rainbow Islands (1987)– stuck closer to the formula of the original with single-screen action, this time with brighter visuals, larger sprites, and advanced audio – and yes, the soundtrack is absolutely as much of an earworm as the original!

Cursed to Golf (Original Soundtrack) Mark Sparling | Vinyl Review By Britt 💿 @blackscreenrec @Markymark665 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Purchase Link

The last time I came across Mark Sparling’s music was back in 2021 when I reviewed A Short Hike, Mark Sparling composed the – quite idiosyncratic – soundtrack, which was released through Stumpy Frog Records, and acted as one of my first forays into the word of VGM vinyl.

The artwork alone of Cursed to Golf makes a huge impression, created by Crisppyboat, it’s a great Claymation-style image of the golfer protagonist smashing his ball towards the viewer as various Claymation interpretations of in-game characters and scenarios surround him.

Rich with pastel colours, and devoid of any text, the whole front cover is purely dedicated to this striking image, as is the reverse, which acts as a continuation of the image, showing a trophy atop a pillar in a graveyard, the cartoonish spookiness of the game absolutely nailed here in a totally different – and very cool art style.

Abathor Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 "A golden throwback to 16-bit co-op classics" ⚔️ @Abathor_Game @JanduSoft

I’ve covered hundreds of games during my time at The Might GF, and some can pop up seemingly out of nowhere and blow me away, some can be stewing for months and months, as I hungrily follow every dev post on social media, my appetite whetting ever further...and then the final game gets slopped on the floor in front of me in a steaming mess, leaving me smoking enigmatically up at the night sky, wondering what could have been as Bohren & Der Club of Gore play sexily in the background, the minimalist jazz soundtrack to my burgeoning disappointment.

Sometimes, though – I’ll stumble across a game that looks funky – like Abathor – and each tease or online trailer will have me adjusting my tie as steam comically toots through my collar. Good. 

From the early days of its inception, developer Pow Pixel Games promised to deliver us a throwback platformer, and by Jove, did they ever!

Crow Country XBOX Review 7.5/10 "A throwback survival horror with narrative depth" 🐦‍⬛🌎 @SFBTom @SFBDim #GameDev #IndieGame

I’ve enjoyed the recent spate of games harking back to the visual style of the PS1 – albeit with the juddering, flat polygons and tedious loading screens removed – as it’s not only a style that feels as yet pretty un-mined but is also rich with nostalgia – as well as being suited to lo-fi horror with the low polygon vibes setting the imagination alight. 

With this in mind, getting my hands on Crow Country was a delight, and the fact that the game offers two primary modes – one more combat-centric, whilst the other eschews combat in turn of a more story-based approach – made the game even more appealing, due to its openness and accessibility for players who enjoy both styles.

The year is 1990, and we are introduced to the protagonist of the story - Mara Forest – approaching a seemingly abandoned amusement park called Crow Country, she claims to be a special agent with memory issues, and is determined to locate the missing owner of Crow Country… Edward Crow – for unknown reasons. 

What follows is a solid and intriguing few hours of pretty classic gameplay, in that you’ll find yourself scavenging for ammo, reading lots of lore, and working your way through both environmental and inventory-based puzzles. 

Whilst the crunchy polygons and incredible aural atmosphere (courtesy of composer Ockeroid) carry the game pretty far, as the combat and puzzles get a bit tired, it’s the narrative that will hook you through to the games’ end. 

That said, if you want the ability to play at a more leisurely pace, the aforementioned ability to remove the combat gives a breezier approach, leaving you to fully focus on the atmosphere and unfolding, twisting story. Don’t worry, there’ll still be some scares!

SUMMARY
A tasty PS1-esque survival horror title with a far more engaging and involved narrative than you’d expect, SFB Games have come out swinging with this, and for lovers of vintage survival horror, it’s time to get a ticket to Crow Country.

NeoSprint Nintendo Switch Review 7.5/10 "rev me up, buttercup" 🏎️ @HeadlessCG #GameDev #IndieGame

The newest release in the long-dormant Atari ‘Sprint’ series, this multiplayer (up to 8 players locally!) arcade racer is a welcome addition to the Switch catalogue for lovers of vintage, top-down racing.  

Sticking closely to its local multiplayer roots, NeoSprint features no online gaming component beyond the ability to download tracks created by other players, and whilst there may be some that lament the lack of online play, the fact that NeoSprint caters for up to eight players is a serious boon here, and perfect for gaming nights with friends. 

Justice League: Cosmic Chaos Xbox Review 7.5/10 "A fun, family-friendly title with surprisingly cool music" 🦇 @PHLCollective @Outright_Games #GameDev #IndieGame

As a fan of Batman in most of his incarnations through the decades, I’ve always leaned towards the darker interpretations of his character. That said, as the father of a young boy just discovering video games, the fact that I can get hips deep into some Diedrich Bader-voiced Batman action aimed at a younger audience is very, very fine indeed with me.

The story here is that life in Happy Harbor is turned upside-down by Mr. Mxyzplk, who usurps the current Mayor of the town by using Starro’s mind control powers to take control of members of the Justice League, leaving Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman – with a little help from some very super friends – to restore order to the idyllic town.

RoboCop: Rogue City PS5 Review 8/10 "Oh, how I miss squibs!" 🤖 @TeyonGames #IndieGame #GameDev

Oh, how I miss squibs. These days action movies simulate blood splatter from gunshots with CGI and, while now relatively convincing, it just doesn’t have the same visceral impact as detonating a small bag of fake blood. 

RoboCop: Rogue City developer Teyon clearly feels the same way. This is a game almost entirely about blasting sneering criminals with high-powered weaponry and every thumping shot sends beautiful fountains of the red stuff spiralling through the air and onto the scenery. If this somehow isn’t enough, the game offers a “More Gore” weapon upgrade to truly paint the town red. Paul Verhoeven would be proud.