⌚️🐶 Watch Dogs: Legion | Review | PS4 | "Nothing to get too hacked off about" ⌚️🐶

My history with Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs series is one of highs and lows, whilst the first game didn’t set my trousers alight and cause me to ingest it so that it remained a physical part of me forever, I enjoyed the hacking mechanics and remember the driving feeling weighty and substantial, this, combined with the functional narrative ended up being a pretty fun jaunt, overall.

The second game was a different beast, however. I really struggled to get any enjoyment out of it as it was not only riddled with busywork but I found every character unbelievably irritating. I played the game for a few hours but my patience wore thin and I moved onto other games, games in which dialogue wasn’t as infuriating as a Hermes parcel delivery.

This, the third game in the series was really, really hyped. It seemed to be everywhere in the months leading up to release and, coming off the back of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla – which made my end of the year list – it was not only on my radar but also a title I was looking forward to, brushing off my experiences with the second game and instead fondly remembering the good times I spent with Aiden Pearce all those years ago. 

Alas, I just couldn’t click with this one.

🌾🍚🍛 Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | Review | PS4 | "Rice has never been this much fun" 🌾🍚🍛 @XSEEDGames #IndieGames #GameDev

I dived headlong into Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin with no preconceptions of what I was about to be in for and it didn’t take long for its charms to win me over and its depth to pull me in.

A title that pulls off quite an astonishing balancing act that all holds together and feels not only rewarding but vital to the narrative.

👥 Shady Part of Me | Review | PS4 | "great puzzles, music and visuals let down by narrative and voicework" 👥 @ShadyPartOfMe #GameDev #IndieGames

A wonderfully designed puzzle game that hits real highs in terms of aesthetic, sound and mood but the whining voicework and obfuscated narrative leak through the game and wore me down to the point that I genuinely wished the game was purely music and puzzle driven with silent protagonists.

🎧 Headset review - Gioteck HC2 Decal Edition and XH100S by Lee Manuel 🎧 @GioteckArmy #GamingHeadset

Online gaming being the huge industry it is today, most people will need a headset if only to better hear what fellow COD players did with your mum last night. 

The big players in the market, like Turtle Beach, have been around for a long time and produce a staggering range of headsets, some of which cost in the hundreds. 

If you’re a pro, or stream to thousands, the feature set in that price range might be what you need. 

For most people though, a more budget solution is perfectly adequate.

Gioteck has come to market with a couple of great budget headsets – the HC2 clocks in at under £20 and the XH100S under £15.

🦹‍♂️ Kunai | Review | PC | "Kunai might win the prize for best/worst bad guy name" 🦹‍♂️ @TurtleBlaze #GameDev #IndieGames

Kunai might win the prize for best/worst bad guy name. 

The antagonist is an evil AI named Lemonkus. 

I know!

Anyhow, Lemonkus has pretty much achieved Bender's dream of killing all humans, leaving the planet mostly populated by robots. 

Your character is Tabby, a robot ninja with a tablet for a face, giving him a big range of expressions, from the default cheery grin to a full-on nutcase glare.

🧭 Britt’s Brief Bulletin | Nintendo Switch | Review | ORD | 7/10 | "A stark, experimental text adventure" 🧭 #IndieGames #GameDev @RatalaikaGames

A stark, minimalist text adventure based around groups of three words, Ord is one of the more unusual takes on the genre that I’ve played in some time and, whilst almost experimental in nature, the amount it leaves to the imagination ‘works’ in how its subtle changes of font colour and ambient sounds hint as to the larger scope and deeper meanings behind your choices.

🏎️💨 Britts Brief Bulletin | Nintendo Switch | Review | Ramp Car Jumping | 6/10 | "Does what it says on the tin" 🏎️💨 @BoomBitGames #GameDev #IndieGames

I must admit that the title alone of this one gave me doubts about its level of quality. It sounds like how a caveman would describe a game at its most fundamental level. 

A mobile port (which supports touch-screen controls); I must admit that I actually enjoyed the game far more than I thought I would… up to a point.

💰🏎️💨 Car Trader Simulator | PC | Review | Who would have thought the world of second-hand car trading could be so compelling? 💰🏎️💨 @livemotiongames @PixelHunted #GameDev #IndieGames

There’s a shiny new PlayStation 5 sitting under my TV with a copy of Demon’s Souls snugly nestled inside. 

A world of 4K, ray-traced, HDR goodness is just waiting for me… and here I am playing Car Trader Simulator.

😎🎮 Britt's Brief Bulletin | Mini Review | Pixel Ripped 1995 | 8/10 | "A joyous jaunt in a virtual, ‘90s world" 😎🎮 @PixelRipped #GameDev #IndieGames #PSVR

A PSVR title that sees you taking control of several vignettes in the life of a young boy, Pixel Ripped 1995 stood out as one of the better PSVR titles I’ve played this year. 

Moving through several segments from your home – where you must distract your mum with a rubber dart gun so that you can continue to play an 8-bit video game, much to her dismay -

to a scene set inside a video game store and a pretty thrilling car ride home that involves gunning down pursuing aliens, the VR is put to fantastic use here and the retro aesthetic is captured perfectly. 

A solid running time of 4-5 hours and a nice variety of genres on offer that feel like a highlight reel of ‘90s gaming, not since Astro Bot Rescue mission game have I been so drawn into a childlike sense of wonder, definitely one for your VR collection!

8/10

⚔️🛡️ Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm | Review | Nintendo Switch | "A solid title that just misses the mark, for me" ⚔️🛡️ @cornfox #IndieGames #GameDev

Game Title: Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm

Platform Reviewed: Switch

Rating: 6.5/10

I’m always dubious about mobile ports to the Switch, having been burned by some pretty lazy examples in the past. With Oceanhorn 2, however, I was so taken by the trailer that I had to have a crack at it, as I fancied an open-world adventure that I could play on the move (well…in bed). 

Whilst the game is pretty, runs well and appears to tick all the boxes, it, unfortunately, felt a touch bland and as such, I couldn’t get fully hips deep in the experience.

👾🛸 Space Invaders Forever | Nintendo Switch | Review | "Time To Blast Those Invaders FOREVER!" 👾🛸 #SpaceInvaders

Space Invaders Forever is out on the Nintendo Switch and I have been taking a look at it for Games Freezer. 

When I first saw this I thought here we go, another attempt to cash in on one of legendary video games franchises from the history of this wonderful medium. 

After playing this collection of 3 games I'm both surprised and a little disappointed with what is on offer here on the Nintendo Switch version of Space Invaders Forever.

🐲 Bubble Bobble 4 Friends | The Baron Is Back | Ten-minute Taster | "Pop Some Bubbles With Bub N Bob" 🐲 @TAITO

The popular Dragons Bub and Bob are back! Bubble Bobble 4 Friends is the latest game in the legendary Bubble Bobble series from Taito.

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends on the PS4 for around £36

BACK OF THE BOX QUOTE

"Pop Some Bubbles With Bub n Bob"

🧟‍♂️ Outbreak: The Nightmare Chronicles | Review | Nintendo Switch | "claustrophobic, early survival horror tropes return" 🧟‍♂️ @deaddropstudios #GameDev #IndieGames

Game Title: Outbreak: The Nightmare Chronicles

Developer: Dead Drop Studios LLC

Platform Reviewed: Switch 

Rating: 6/10

Having recently played the preceding titles in Dead Drop Studios LLC’s Outbreak series, I was keen to see how the third entry would play out. As it turns out, this is more akin to the first in the series – Outbreak: The New Nightmare – in that the fixed camera angles and more claustrophobic, early survival horror tropes return. 

This is a good thing, though, as the studio has improved on a lot of irritations from that early game, although some issues do remain.

🍕 Lunch-a-Palooza Review By Lee, A & J | "Although there's no shortage of colourful party games at the moment, I'm always up for another one." 🍕 @AlternSoftware #GameDev #IndieGames

Although there's no shortage of colourful party games at the moment, I'm always up for another one. 

In the far distant past when we were still allowed within a mile of our friends, a group of us would often get together and swear at each other while playing Heave Ho, Jackbox, and Wario Ware. 

So I approached Lunch-a-Palooza expecting another one for the rotation.

🏹 Foregone | Review | Nintendo Switch | "it plays like a more focused, 2D Metroidvania" 🏹 @BigBlueBubble #GameDev #IndieGames

 

Foregone 8/10

I really enjoyed my time with Foregone. Casting you as an Arbiter fighting her way through the city of Calagan against a horde of enemies, it plays like a more focused, 2D Metroidvania that doesn’t outstay its welcome at around 7-8 hours. 

☠️ GTFO | EARLY ACCESS | Review By Dr Congo Fighting "Work Together OR Die together" ☠️ @TenChambers #IndieGames #GameDev

OK, so let’s get the first bit out of the way. 

The game’s name is an acronym. I know what it stands for, you know what it stands for, but this is a civilised place, so let’s just keep it to ourselves, eh?

💰 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire | Review Switch | "Time To Phone A Friend!" 💰 @Microids_off #IndieGames #GameDev

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - 6/10

I love quiz games. From the arcade gold of Quiz and Dragons through Codemasters’ Pub Trivia to the numerous Trivial Pursuit games, they all feel timeless and fun, especially with friends and family. 

The last version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire that I played (for a good while) was the PS1 version hosted by Chris Tarrant. This game, however, has too much unnecessary extra baggage and combined with clear limitations, it, unfortunately, feels like a somewhat missed opportunity.

🐜 Britt's Brief Bulletin PART III | Flea! | Dreamcast Review 🐜 @Wallmasterr #IndieGames #GameDev

Game Title: Flea!

Developer: Lowteck Games

Platform Reviewed: Dreamcast (also available on Steam and NES)

Rating: 8/10

I absolutely adore new releases on older systems, especially when they are as great as this one. 

🤓 Britt's Brief Bulletin PART II | Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe | Nintendo Switch 🤓 @FreakZoneGames #GameDev #IndieGames

Game Title: AVGN1&2 Deluxe

Developer: FreakZone Games

Platform Reviewed: Switch

Rating: 9/10

As a casual fan of the Angry Video Game Nerd since around the late noughties, I was quite looking forward to the release of the game based on his exploits, although I had no idea what to expect. 

The 2013 AVGN game and 2016 sequel came out on PC and were very much what was needed, a tongue-in-cheek take on the platforming genre that was so well designed that it was clearly going to appeal to people outside of the AVGN fan-base, it was a great, challenging game that didn’t outstay its welcome. 

My lasting memories were of awesome music, frustration and satisfaction in perfectly equal measure and a sense of fun; I had an awesome time with them.

📯⚔️ Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Review | PS4 | "A Game That Definitely Gives Me The (Viking) Horn" ⚔️📯 @UbisoftMTL @Ubisoft_UK #AssassinsCreedValhalla

Game Title: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Platform Reviewed: PS4 (base)

Rating 9/10

My personal history with the Assassin’s Creed series is pretty chequered, I played the original but didn’t really click with it and, following this, the constant releases, spin-offs and other media just alienated me slightly as the lore seemed to get ever-more dense.

I did dip back in with Black Flag on the PS3 at a friend’s suggestion but it seemed to run pretty sluggishly and once again, I didn’t connect with it.

It was actually earlier this year during lockdown that the stars aligned and teased me once again with the franchise.

My brother mentioned how much fun he was having with Odyssey and heartily recommended it just as I was after an open-world RPG to lose myself in (after completing The Witcher 3 for the second time as well as Kingdom Come: Deliverance) plus my fiancée was somewhat obsessed with the various soundtracks on Spotify, I was being attacked from all directions and so I decided once again to give it a try, and I’m glad I did.