Video Game Lo-Fi: Super Mario 64 Vinyl Review 💽 @CuragaRecords @MateriaMusic #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #LoFi #VGM

There’s something about these lo-fi records that makes them feel oddly perfect all year round. The last time I covered one back in November, it was a very wintry  entry in the Curaga lo-fi series, matching perfectly with the change in weather.

As I listened through this Super Mario 64 record in quite bracing weather, it felt calming and warming, but I can just as easily imagine it seeming as mellow and engaging on warm summer days, adding a layer of groovy coolness to the proceedings.

Crashy Laps Xbox Series X (mini-review) 7/10 🏎️💨 @cheapeesoft @JanduSoft

Harking back to classic top-down / isometric racers such as Super Skidmarks, Crashy Laps by CheapeeSoft (which could have easily genuinely been a wonderfully 8-bit, British development house name back in the ‘80s!) is a budget title that aims to capture that vintage arcade-racing feel, with modern touches.

Uzzuzzu My Pet: Golf Dash (mini-review) Nintendo Switch 4/10 ⛳️ @RedDeer_Games #GameDev #IndieGame

Based on a popular South Korean franchise, Uzzuzzu My Pet: Golf Dash takes visual, stylistic and gameplay cues from What the Golf?

But it unfortunately fails to capture the charm and replayability that oozes from every pore of the game that it apes. 

Super Arcade Racing Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 🏎️💨 @outofthebit #IndieGame #GameDev

I recently covered Full Void by OutOfTheBit, and in requesting a code for reviewing purposes, I noticed their previous release, Super Arcade Racing.

As a fan of top-down racers, I thought it would be fun to do a mini-review of this, as I hadn’t heard of it before stumbling across it on the developer’s website, and it takes a slightly different approach to its gameplay when compared to games of a similar ilk, in that it’s much more of a fun, unfolding narrative than simply disjointed races.

Kingdom Eighties Summer of Greed – Original Score by Andreas Hald Vinyl Review 💿📀 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

I do enjoy diving into a soundtrack for a game that I have no context for, having covered Raw Fury’s previous OST Cassette Beasts – a game I was very familiar with – Kingdom Eighties is a game that I was aware of, but hadn’t yet played.

Written and performed by Denmark-based composer Andreas Hald, This soundtrack hurtled at me out of nowhere to become a real favourite due to the world conjured up by the rich production, emotive compositions and powerful melodies. There’s so much to take in here, with echoes of some of my favourite albums through the years from the wonderful, alien oddities of Chase Bethea’s work on Aground, through the wide-eyed synth innocence of Salvinsky’s Narita Boy, the cyberpunk expanse of Encodya, to name a few that come to mind – all popping with the expertise mastering at the hands of Adam Ayan at gateway Mastering Studios, a huge high-five especially in this regard as the album is so clear and bright, it makes for a glorious listening experience and completely brings the music to life.

The Kindeman Remedy PC 6/10 “Shock and awe, or shock and bore?” 💉 @_Troglobytes_ #IndieGame #GameDev

“The most blasphemous, diabolical and insane management game ever created!” – a quote taken directly from the trailer of The Kindeman Remedy, and the main reason I wanted to play this game, now granted I’m not sure how blasphemous or diabolical other management games are, so I was just going to have to take their word for it. That said, it’s an interesting hook, and I was dying to see just how insane this game was.

Blasphemous 2 Nintendo Switch Review 9/10 "Blasphemous 2, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways" ⚔️ @BlasphemousGame @TheGameKitchen @Team17 #IndieGame #GameDev

I’m going to start off by saying that the original Blasphemous is one of my favourite games of recent years. A difficult hack and slash platformer? Check. Monstrous religious cult storyline with Lovecraftian elements? Check. That’s one for me all day long.

I’m pleased to be able to say that the sequel has all of these elements in spades and may even be better than the first game. 

Gothic 2 Classic Nintendo Switch Review 7.5/10 "odd characters, amusing dialogue and locations" ⚔️ @gothicthegame @AlkimiaGameDev #IndieGame #GameDev

I’ve been a fan of Piranha Bytes since discovering the first Risen game back on the PS3. After completing that game, I was so taken by the rough ‘n ready (also slightly bizarre) style of the Piranha Bytes games that I worked backwards and picked up Gothic 3, also enjoying that title – but finding it a bit awkward to get to run on my PC, at the time.

Since moving on from both the Gothic and Risen series, Piranha Bytes are now working on their third ELEX game, a series that I’ve had a mixed opinion of, especially because of the game-breaking bugs I encountered when reviewing ELEX 2 last year.

Through all of this though, Gothic 2 is held as somewhat of a high watermark of their games in terms of narrative, quest design and atmosphere. Playing it on the Switch was my first time with the game, and whilst it is certainly showing its age in many areas, that janky charm and idiosyncratic approach to quests and dialogue does still feel fun and fresh, and kept me coming back for more, each evening.

Cookie Cutter XBOX Review 8/10 " My Cherry Amour " 🤖 @maxharvey79 @Rogue_Co #IndieGames #GameDev

Cherry was cheery. She was an android with a lovely girlfriend, and life was good. But you know the old story – girl bot meets girl bot, girl bots fall in love, bad guy steals girl bot and stomps the other to a pulp. A tale as old as time. And so it’s not surprising that Cherry’s demeanour switches from joyful to rageful pretty quickly. 

Full Void Nintendo Switch Review 7 / 10 "A Slice of Cinematic Cyberpunk" 👤 @outofthebit #IndieGame #GameDev

The cinematic platformer is a genre well-suited to Switch, as the impact of the pixel visuals works especially well in docked mode, when you can snuggle up in bed or in a comfy chair and dive into a genre that tends to never be overlong, by design, making them relaxing experiences over a night or two.

Developer OutOfTheBit Ltd have delivered a strong slice of such action, in a wonderfully wordless experience that clocks in at around a couple of hours, making it a breezy game to replay – in a similar vein to Devwill Too on MD, a game I routinely return to each year, for its brevity and melancholy.

Trust GXT490 Fayzo 7.1 Gaming Headset Review By Britt 🎧 @TrustGaming

We’ve covered several Trust products here at GF HQ, and they always deliver a quality experience at fair prices, the Trust GXT490 Fayzo 7.1 Gaming Headset is no exception to this rule in the quality, comfort and accessibility that it offers.

Horizon Forbidden West Vinyl OST Review By Britt "An album that has a world-building vibe to it" 💿 #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM

I’ve just covered another Sony Entertainment release – the God of War: Ragnarök OST – and the difference in presentation (visuals, not quality) is quite staggering. Whereas God of War: Ragnarök was filled with freezing blues and expansive whites, here Horizon Forbidden West is instead rich with almost alien tropical landscapes, and hot shades of orange. 

This is also a more ‘meat and potatoes’ release, on heavyweight black vinyl - but with no inserts such as art cards or the like – although there is a collector’s edition deluxe version of this release that is available on vinyl, but it’s the standard version that I’ll be covering today.

Fate/Samurai Remnant PS5 Review 8/10 “There can be only one” ⚔️ @FateSR_Official @TransvaalGF #IndieGame #GameDev

Fate/Samurai Remnant  is set in Japan during the Edo period (1600s), you play as protagonist Miyamoto Iori, a young Ronin who spends his time helping his town doing odd jobs in any way he can, but suddenly his life gets turned upside down. No, he doesn’t get in trouble and have to move to Bel Air, he is instead chosen to take part in the ‘Waxing Moon Ritual’, whereby seven fighters compete to the death, with the winning fighter getting to have a wish granted.

Christmas Massacre PS5 Review 8/10 “Bad Santa” 🎅 🔪 @PuppetCombo #GameDev #IndieGame @transvaalgf

Puppet Combo has been a revelation this year, Stay Out of the House and Night at the Gates of Hell have been real highlights of 2023, which is saying something when taking into account how great 2023 has been for gaming.

Seeing that Christmas Massacre had been ported to the PS5 was a nice, early Christmas present, one filled with screams, horror and a very eager, bloodthirsty Christmas tree.

ASTLIBRA Revision Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 ⚔️ @_KElZO #IndieGame #GameDev

ASTILIBRA Revision is a 2D action JRPG, with fantastic hack-and-slash combat and various
other elements to keep you engaged. You play as a young blonde boy who lost a dear friend
during an attack on his village, the last he saw of her was when she was near the demon that attacked, just before we cut to a block screen. He wakes up with no memory of his past or who he is, but he is greeted by a crow who eventually names itself Karon, this is the beginning of a long journey in search of answers.

God of War: Ragnarök – Vinyl OST Composed by Bear McCreary " pairs well with a horn of mead" 🐻 @bearmccreary #Vinyl #VGM #VideoGameVinyl

The much-loved God of War franchise has been rolling on, powered by a war-like bloodlust since 2005 on the PS2, and has been known for its award-winning, rousing scores, which – since 2018 -have been handled by American composer Bear McCreary – who also plays the role of Raeb in-game. This triple-vinyl release features 28 tracks, including a final song that features Irish songwriter HOZIER. Faroese songwriter Eivør also features on a handful of songs throughout the record, mainly appearing on the first disc.

Dredge Pale Reach DLC PS5 Review By Reeg 7.5/10 "The ambient sound work in this expansion is nothing short of amazing." ⛵️🪝 @BlackSaltGames #GameDev #IndieGame

I recently revisited a game that I love by trying out its newest DLC, Pale Reach. A quick recap of Dredge - you play the role of a sailor exploring local islands and fishing. However, this area is filled with strange and mysterious creatures, which gives the game a Lovecraftian feel.

Oxenfree 2 PC Review 8//10 "...this is a big winner for me and almost surpasses the first game" 🔭 @nightschoolers #GameDev #IndieGame

The original Oxenfree came completely out of nowhere for me. I picked it up on a whim and was glued to it for the whole eight hours or so it took me to complete it. So news of a sequel was more than welcome for me, as I couldn’t wait to get back to deepest, darkest, haunted-est Oregon.

Dreamworks All-Star Racing Nintendo Switch Review 6/10 "As someone who grew up playing Mario Kart, I was excited to try this game" 🐼 @BamtangGames #IndieGame #GameDev

I recently had the chance to play Dreamworks All-Star Racing, a new racing game that has hit the shelves. As someone who grew up playing Mario Kart, I was excited to try this game. I was also thrilled to be able to race as some of my favourite DreamWorks characters, such as Shrek and Hiccup.

Dreamworks All-Star Racing is a sequel to the 2011 title DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, and
features many of the same characters along with some new ones from the Trolls franchise.

The gameplay involves collecting keynotes that give you bonus items to use against other players, as well as collecting items from boxes. There are also various challenges you can complete to upgrade your vehicle and unlock new characters. One of my favourite features are the secret paths on each map that lead to a rainbow road, where you can come across high notes and other collectables.

The GAMEBOOK | Nintendo Gameboy Unofficial Companion Book "The Best Gameboy Book Ever?" 📕 @NintyMedia @PMurphy1978 #Retrogaming #GameBoy

Rich gets to grips with the GAMEBOOK from Ninty Media. This Kickstarted funded Gameboy book is a beautifully made book and Rich shows you a sneak peek of the one he was sent by the lovely folks at Ninty Media.