Taxi Chaos 2 Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 *A sequel that steps up to the plate* 🚖🚕 @currentgamers #IndieGame #GameDev

I covered the original Taxi Chaos back in 2021, and whilst the fundamental mechanics and visuals were top-notch; the grating music, irritating voice acting, and repetition of the gameplay loop in such a flat, bland world was pretty wearing, and I awarded it 5/10 at the time. Whilst this sequel doesn’t solve all of those issues, in terms of enjoyment and polish, it’s a far better game, and a worthy sequel to the niche genre of arcade-led taxi driving action.

Beginning with much more of a story than the original – not that a story is particularly what you expect from this genre – you are Vinnie, an old school taxi driver plying his trade in a bit of a junkheap through a futuristic city wherein AI-driven ‘Taxibots’ are taking over from the classic cabbies. 

Determined to prove that humans can do a better job, Vinnie takes it upon himself to pick up the customers scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas, leaping over obstacles, swerving around hazards, taking myriad shortcuts, destroying – or avoiding! – said Taxibots and ensuring his passengers get safely to their destination.

Static Dread: The Lighthouse PS5 Review 9/10 “Shining a light on Lovecraftian Horror” 🗼🐙 @StaticDreadGame #IndieGame #GameDev

I don’t think a game has ever come along at the right time for me more than this one. Last year I got hips deep into Arkham Horror: The Card Game, which - like Static Dread - draws from the works of one Mr H. P. Lovecraft. I got really into both his works and the lore of the world he created which meant whilst playing this title I not only got the references, but that I had a better understanding of what Static Dread: The Lighthouse was going for, that fear and dread play a larger role than outright scares. Some scares do crop up in the game, but it is the complete, unsettling dread creeping over you that is the real horror.

Gulikit – TT MAX Controller Review By Britt 🎮 @GuliKitDesign

A few short months ago, we covered the Gulikit Elves 2 Pro Controller, an awesome controller with a retro Sega Saturn vibe tied to modern requirements and sensibilities. Today, I’m taking a look at the TT MAX Controller, which Gulikit state is the world’s fastest wireless controller – quite the claim!

As with the previous Gulikit controllers that I’ve covered, the packaging and delivery were faultless, with the box containing:

• 1 x GuliKit TT Max Controller (with pre-installed TMR Joysticks and 4-way/8-way D-pad)
• 1 x Form-fit Plastic Carrying Case
• 1 x HyperLink 2 Wireless Adapter (2.4G dongle)
• 1 x Extra D-pad Set (Interchangeable, often called "Saturn style" or different shape)
• 1 x Extra Stick Cap Kit (Different height options, exclusive to the Max model)
• 1 x Back Button Set (4 metal back buttons)
• 1 x Xbox-style Button Cap Kit (For ABXY layout swapping)
• 1 x Tension Adjustment Tool
• 1 x Charging Cable (USB-C)

Everdark: Undead Apocalypse PS5 Review 7/10 “Staked through the heart and you’re to blame. Darling, you gave me a fun time” 🪦⚰️🧛 @everdark_undead #IndieGame #GameDev

The story starts with a car crash, you are driving when you get lost, and then all of a sudden… you crash your car in the town of Everdark, which - gosh dang it - is overrun by vampires. 

You now need to get the hell out of there before one of the those long-toothed beings takes a bite and drinks away, deciding if your blood is more ‘full bodied with woody overtones and hints of crushed cigars, or more of a lighter bodied sip with floral notes and just a few touches of vanilla.

The story is a simple one, and is not to Everdark’s detriment at all, as all you need to know is - there are a lot of vampires and you need to kill them, then leg it. Simplicity is probably what I got most from playing Everdark, it knows what it wants and does it throughout all aspects, the visuals, gameplay, and story are all simple, they are focused on what they want to achieve with what I would say is quite a good success rate. 

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.

Do You Know Gaming? A Card Game Review - By Britt ⁉️🃏🎴 @lostincult #BoardGame #CardGame

A dungeon-crawling trivia card game where you & your friends must use video game knowledge to slay monsters & escape the dreaded trivia dungeon!

We at GF have been big fans of the folks at Lost In Cult for some time, as they’ve consistently shown how hips deep they are in the high quality releases that they’ve been part of  over the years since their inception in 2021, with a special shout out to Ryan Brown, who is an incredibly passionate individual that I’ve known since my ‘Kingdomofcarts’ days (may they rise again).

Speaking of Kingdomofcarts, we released a quiz book several years ago, as we love both trivia and gaming – natch – and aside from the pretty standard basic question/answer card games that are kicking around, there was very little out there that combined the mechanics of RPG gaming itself with trivia – and CAPCOM’s Quiz and Dragons is showing its age a tad (although oddly, the recently released Jackbox 11 contains a game titled ‘Legends of Trivia’ that does this, albeit using trivia genres outside of video gaming itself, yet it’s still awesome fun, and a clear highlight of that Jackbox pack) and so the chance to dive into a card game that does this very thing is saucy, trouser-removingly saucy.

GX Trust 872 Xyra TKL Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review By Britt "Swap it like it's hot" ⌨️

Your Xyra, just the way you like it. With a hot-swappable TKL design, compatible with both 3-pin and 5-pin switches, easily swap out switches on the fly and find the ideal feel for your gaming setup

Creamy and Dreamy
Experience satisfying, creamy sounds with this gaming keyboard’s 5-pin LEOBOG Seiya linear switches. Tested for up to 60 million presses, it’s the perfect choice for gamers craving superb buttery precision.

Soak up the Sound
Specifically designed for a pleasurable gaming experience, this gasket-mounted mechanical gaming keyboard is all about dampened sound and soft-feel keystrokes – perfect for powerful (yet quiet!) gaming marathons.

Spice up your Style
Turn your desk into an RGB wonderland with the Xyra. With 12 Fn keys and full north-facing RGB, fully adjustable per-key with 16.8 million colour combinations, this is an RGB keyboard that truly matches your style.

Ready to Mod
Love to tweak your keyboard? Easily tailor your setup with this gaming keyboard’s included detachable coiled USB-A-C cable and handy 2-in-1 key & switch puller. Designed by gamers, for gamers!

Purchase Link

Blood: Refreshed Supply Xbox Series X Review 8/10 "Blood has been a constant in my life"🩸 @NightdiveStudio #GameDev #IndieGame

Blood has been a constant in my life, never far from my mind when favourite classic FPS titles crop up, and back in 2019 upon the release of Blood: Fresh Supply, a chunk of the team here at GF played through the game in local co-op format on hard mode in a single sesh for the glorious charity Special Effect, and what a bloody good day that was! I’m also personally a big supporter of games lost to the mists of time being released on modern consoles, so this is a great double-hander along with the recent Outlaws.

Once again telling the story of Caleb and his bullet-ridden path of revenge against his previous lord, Tchernobog and the cult of Cabal in his bid to rescue his former associates The Chosen, Blood begins with Caleb rising from the grave, pitchfork in hand to wreak havoc on his quest, which takes him through ghost towns, a circus, the arctic, hell itself, and even France (natch).

This new version features a wealth of updates, including:

• Source Code Rebuild: Built from the original code for greater accuracy and new possibilities.
• Visuals & Performance: 4K resolution, unlocked framerates (up to 120 FPS), remastered cutscenes, and optional weather effects.
• Gameplay Enhancements: Improved enemy behaviours, bug fixes, refined player movement, and support for CD/MIDI music.
• New Content: Includes Plasma Pak & Cryptic Passage add-ons, plus the Marrow episode at launch, with Death Wish planned for later.
• Multiplayer: Rewritten net code for up to 8 players, online/local co-op, and PvP modes.
• Modding & Controls: Extended mod support and fully customizable gamepad/keyboard controls.
• The Vault: A new area with cut content, concept art, unused sprites, and behind-the-scenes material

SUMMARY

The definitive way to enjoy Monolith Software’s classic, hopefully this will get a lot of folks into a game that I spent a lot of my teenage years enjoying.

I can’t imagine that Blood 2: The Chosen will get the same treatment and quite frankly, that’s absolutely fine, because it is – as the Aztecs used to say, “Not very good”.

8/10

🆒COOL🆒

(also available on PC, PS4/5, Xbox One, Switch – Switch 2 in 2026)

Developer / Publisher – Nightdive Studios

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.

Turtle Beach Rematch Wireless Controller: Mario Bricks Review By Britt "Ladies and gentlemen… we have a winner." 🎮 @TurtleBeach

I’ve covered a lot of controllers during my ten years here at The Mighty GF, and I really do have some favourites that are still with me, but the Turtle Beach Rematch Mario Bricks controller for the Switch (and Switch 2) is the controller so good that I would ‘accidentally’ drop it onto a bar just before closing time in front of a hot girl like it was the key to a Dodge Viper in order to seduce her instantly. And it would work.

In a world of so many options, wherein you can get lost in the sheer choice and amount of variables, Turtle Beach have honed in on the most appealing aspects of gaming, designing and delivering a controller that is a pure celebration of the Super Mario franchise itself. 

Put aside the fact that this features customisable back buttons, has a USB-C based rechargeable battery that lasts for up to forty hours of gameplay, and features up to 30-foot low latency wireless connection, or that the smooth thumb sticks and satisfying triggers and buttons feel like they would last years – I could say that about many controllers – but just look at it.

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

Neon Inferno X Box Series X Review 8.5/10 *never reload, never stop shooting* 🏍️🔫 @ZenoviaLLC #IndieGame #GameDev

There are a lot of genres in the world of video games that slide by, or don’t feel like they got as fully explored as they could have at the time of release on whatever systems they found their home on. 

Quite often I’ll go back to one of my favourite consoles and wonder why there weren’t more titles in said genre – Landstalker springs to mind! - as they nail a niche that feels like there are deeper depths to be plumbed. 

Back in 1990, Dick Tracy on the Mega Drive was the first time I played a game that melded both side-scrolling action and gallery shooter mechanics, and despite its flaws it remains a strong title in the MD library for me; not only because of its awesome music, noir atmosphere and presentation, but because it felt truly different on Sega’s awesome 16-bit machine.

Cue Neon Inferno. Yes, there have obviously been other titles in this dual genre over the years, but since the 16-bit heyday, I can’t recall too many games that blended these genres so well.

Citizen Sleeper 2 PC Review 7.5/10 "Cracked Dice N Glitches Means Stitches" 🎲🎲 @FellowTravellr #IndieGame #GameDev

Not many games embrace uncertainty as boldly as Citizen Sleeper 2. Following in the footsteps of its acclaimed predecessor, this narrative-driven, dice roller, sci-fi RPG once again places you in the fragile body of a Sleeper—a digitized consciousness fighting for survival in a hostile universe. But where many games punish failure, Citizen Sleeper 2 thrives on it. Every dice roll, every misstep, every imperfect outcome becomes part of a living story that adapts and grows around you.

At the heart of Citizen Sleeper 2 lies its signature dice system. Each cycle, you’re given a pool of dice representing your available actions. High rolls can be assigned to critical tasks—repairing a ship, negotiating with a faction, or uncovering lost technology—while low rolls might be relegated to riskier endeavours. 

Borderlands 4 Xbox Series X Review 8/10 *More shooty, less bang bang* 💥

I covered Borderlands 3 back in 2021, scoring it a 9/10 and celebrating the zany world of Pandora and its myriad denizens. Whilst there were hardly any immense leaps in terms of core gameplay between games, the series always delivered mindless blasting action, which ramped up gloriously when playing with friends. 

This newest instalment instead shifts the action to Kairos, a hidden planet run by ‘The Timekeeper’; a masked, golden, and seemingly immortal figure that plants chips in the minds of his subjects allowing him to control their will, or to drive them insane, if he deems necessary…which he does deem quite often, quite frankly.

I was hips deep in the initial unveiling and first couple of hours, everything that I enjoyed about the series had returned, and now it was tied to a story that - although basic - seemed slightly more serious and focused which was certainly refreshing. Starting the game off with an epic prison escape got my engine revving and my guns cocked and loaded.

Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 *Some Rootin’ Tootin’ Old School Shootin’* 🤠 @NightdiveStudio #IndieGame #GameDev

First of all, the game runs gloriously on the Switch - for some reason gyro controls were turned on automatically, so I kicked those off as fast as humanly possible - but there are a lot of accessibility options for you to tweak the game to your tastes as you walk – or glide, rather - in the well-worn boots of James Anderson, a retired U.S Marshal who is out to rescue his kidnapped daughter from the casually named ‘Slim’ Sam Fulton, and his associate, the more worryingly monikered ‘Dr. Death’ Matt Jackson.

Outlaws really felt apart from other FPS of the time as the slim, stark visuals almost echo the rangy James Anderson himself. The dusty soundtrack, satisfying weapons and combat take centre stage in the relatively empty-feeling levels that you will be blasting your way through.

Yes, the stages in Outlaws feel far more dated than a lot of other titles from around this time, and I can’t quite work out if I like that aspect or not. There seems to be a lot of big, empty rooms and outside space to roam through, but with only a handful of secrets in each of the nine levels (and five extra in the expansion, bringing it to a total of fourteen overall) the sparseness of each one will either appeal or be a detraction of your enjoyment. 

Marvel Cosmic Invasion PS5 Review 8/10 "It isn't a reinvention of the genre, nor does it need to be" @MARVELCosmicInv #IndieGame #GameDev

Marvel Cosmic Invasion doesn’t waste time pretending to be anything other than what it is: a loud, colourful, unapologetically arcade brained brawler where superheroes knock extra-terrestrial pests into orbit. It’s simple, it’s fast, and it wears its comic book heart proudly on it's sleeve, sometimes a little too proudly, but we’ll get to that.

What stands out straight away is the presentation. The game is a love letter to past Marvel fighter/brawlers like Marvel vs Capcom and the X-Men side scrollers. It has a punchy Saturday morning cartoon energy, all neon space vistas and chunky comic panel transitions. 

Every character, from deep cut favourites to headliners, move with personality. Rocket Raccoon scurries and blasts everything that looks vaguely flammable; Captain Marvel practically glows with stoic swagger; and even the grunts have expressive, over the top animations that make fights feel busy and chaotic in the best way.

Britt’s December Review Round Up! 🗓️🎮 #IndieGames #GameDevs

Pour yourself a large glass of Malbec and hook it up to your veins as Britt delves into the December Games Freezer games locker and digs for some Class A Indie Gold in his Brief Bulletin December Review Round Up!

Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit (8.5/10)

The new house in rural Cambridge wasn't exactly what the Nerd had in mind.

Platform Reviewed – XSX (also available on Switch, PS5, PC)

We’ve been AVGN fans in our household for almost as long as the man himself has been uploading videos to YouTube, and over the years I’ve covered his previous games as well as their soundtracks. The news that another game was on the way was very much welcomed. I also have to say that even though I sort of knew what to expect, there were some very cool aspects around the game itself that blew me away!

From developer Retroware, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit – whilst in the same genre as the previous games – feels a continuation of the genre as opposed to AVGN 1 & 2 a few years ago which came across as more of a highlight reel of it. This means that it feels like a lost game from the NES days as opposed to a purely modern spin on those classics. The music is as chiptune-tastic as you’d expect, and the difficulty ramps up nicely – in a Mega-Man-esque touch, you can also select the order in which you would like to play the game’s six stages,  each ending with a boss that will be familiar to fans of the show.

A huge boon here is the games lengthy opening cinematic that is basically a full episode of AVGN, it was such a great – and surprising! - way to kick off the game that I actually forgot I was playing one, and just sat back to enjoy the ‘episode’.

The game is available on all modern platforms with a NES physical edition en route. For fans of the AVGN, this is a no-brainer, and even without that nostalgia, this is a fun and solid 8-bit platformer with some hilarious moments and a challenge that is not shy.

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.

Lumines Arise PC Review By PixelHunted 9/10 *Lumines Arise is an incredible game played on any size screen* ⏹️🟥🟧 @enhance_exp #IndieGame #GameDev

Many of you will know what it’s like to feel the cold hand of Father Time on your shoulder when it comes to gaming. Such is the case when I booted up Lumines Arise and grimly realized I’ve been playing this game for… Christ. 20 years…. Where did the time go?

I picked up the original Lumines in 2005 along with my shiny new PlayStation Portable. After Rez on Dreamcast I’d become a firm Tetsuya Mizuguchi fan, and his stylish little puzzler had me hooked. A year later, I had Lumines II, and in 2018 I was pleased to see the game return in shiny enhanced form as Lumines Remastered.