🐙 The Sinking City (enhanced) | Review | Xbox Series X | 8.5/10 (Ice Cool) | "The Best Lovecraft-Inspired Game Yet?" 🐙 @Frogwares #GameDev #IndieGames

Released to relatively positive reviews back in 2019, Frogwares’ The Sinking City wasn’t exactly a technical marvel, with most of the negativity focusing on the lengthy loading times and visual issues such as screen-tearing and an unreliable frame rate.

I fully intended to play the game upon its original release but it somehow slipped through the cracks and so I had no preconceptions of the title going into this review. I’m pleased to say that this enhanced version of The Sinking City really does seem to solve all the technical problems that it seems people had with the 2019 release and to me, stands up as one of – if not THE - best games based on Lovecraft’s works.

👍🚗💨 Hitchhiker | Review | XBOX SERIES X | 6.5/10 | "A Slightly Surreal Trip With Some Bumps in The Road" @MadAboutPandas 👍🚗💨 @Hitchhiker_Game #IndieGames #GameDev

Hitchhiker is a great premise; you are a mysterious passenger trying to piece together your past through surreal journeys with a mix of drivers. The enclosed space meaning that puzzles must be inventive to be interesting and the idea of working out your history and motives from rolling conversations that come from possibly unreliable narrators is a solid start.

Unfortunately, Hitchhiker unravels slightly around the halfway mark, meaning that the last ninety minutes or so don’t stand up to the initial intrigue that propels the game forwards.

❄ Protocol | Review | Xbox Series X | 6.5/10 | "A Test of Patience That I Failed" ❄ #BrittsBriefBulletinPart2

Protocol on XBOX Series X is a first-person comedic adventure that casts you in the role of a recently divorced special operative that has been assigned by no one less than the President to complete a gauntlet known as ‘The Protocol’ in the Arctic Circle.

📽️🎞️ What the Dub?! | Review | XBOX SERIES X | 8/10 | "A Simple Idea Executed Wonderfully" 📽️🎞️ @widerightgames #IndieGames #GameDev

What The Dub?! is a multiplayer party game where each player overdubs missing dialogue from hilariously awful B-movies, outdated PSAs, and bizarre industrial films, with their own witty (or plain stupid) dubs!

Over 300 so-bad-they're-good clips to dub. Supports up to 12 players!’

🤖 Narita Boy | Review | XBOX SERIES X | 6.5/10 | "Narita Boy Looks and Sounds Great With a Real Appeal to Those Fans of 80’s Tech" 🤖@studiokobaGAME #IndieGames #GameDev

Developed by Studio Koba and published by Team17, Narita Boy is a  2D platformer which casts you in the titular role as you traverse the Digital Kingdom to confront the Creator.

📝 Papa’s Quiz | Review | XBOX SERIES X | 7/10 | "Great Presentation and Fun Mechanics Let Down by Repetition" 📝 @oldapes #IndieGames #GameDev

We love a quiz here at The Mighty Games Freezer. Heck, I even wrote a quiz book!* It’s fair to say that I was uber-keen to have a goosey at Papa’s Quiz when it arrived at GF HQ. 

The first release from Swedish developers Old Apes – who focus on creating co-op games with a broad appeal – Papa’s Quiz is a solid quiz game with a great sense of humour but the rigidity of the inter-round banter is a shame as it makes the proceedings slightly mechanical after a while, although there is a ‘quick game’ option which removes all animations and between-round action, should you prefer.

🧙‍♂️⚔️ Hellbreachers | Xbox Series X | 5.5/10 | "Are You Ready To Go To Hell?" 🧙‍♂️⚔️ #GameDev #IndieGames

A 2D action-platformer in which you can choose your class of character and even switch between styles mid-game, Hellbreachers looks good and has some nice ideas but suffers in level design, control and repetition.

👒 Tales From the Borderlands | Review | Xbox Series X | 8/10 | "A Feisty-Heisty Tale" 👒

I was quite looking forward to covering Tales From the Borderlands as it was only a few weeks ago that I got hips deep into Borderlands 3 (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/01/borderlands-3-review-x-box-series-x-my.html) and also picked up the soundtrack on vinyl (Sanctuary 3 is an absolute blinder) so the thought of more Borderlands action was very much right up my Strasse.

🌟 Anodyne 2: Return to Dust | Review | XBOX Series X | 9/10 | "A Beautifully Realised World With a Wonderful Tale To Tell" 🌟 @analgesicprod #IndieGames #GameDev

It was only a few weeks ago that I noticed a comment on Twitter, lamenting how few games there were that were presented with PS1-era polygonal visuals.

Fast forward a few days to me watching a trailer for Anodyne 2: Return to Dust, a game which not only featured such visuals…but looked so interesting that I had to seek it out as soon as possible, it was my destiny.

🚕🚖 Taxi Chaos | Review | Xbox Series X | 5/10 | "A Missed Opportunity For Some Throwback Action" 🚕🚖 @LionCastleEnt #IndieGames #GameDev

A title that is very clearly explicitly based on Sega’s Crazy Taxi from back in 1999, Taxi Chaos runs well from a technical standpoint and is initially fun but then falls down quickly in almost all other aspects.

🛋️ Moving Out | Review | X Box Series X | 9/10 | "An extremely fun and silly party game that will clearly remain installed for a long time to come" 🛋️ @smgstudio #IndieGames #GameDev

Upon seeing the trailer for Moving Out, I initially assumed it was some sort of mobile port due to the top-down viewpoint and colourful aesthetic. 

I’m VERY glad that my intuition won out and I ended up playing the game, however, as it’s an extremely fun and silly party game that will clearly remain installed for a long time to come (especially as there is imminent DLC!).

⛏️ Aground | Review (revisited) | XBox Series X | "One of The Best Games I Have Ever Played 10/10" ⛏️ @WhiteThornGames #GameDev #IndieGames

I first reviewed Aground in its initial PC incarnation back in July 2020 (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2020/07/aground-pc-review-best-2-d-crafting.html) and I absolutely adored it. Rich (my hateful, drunken boss) tends to cover a lot of the PC games we receive for review and I lean more towards console releases.

I mention in my original review that it was totally by chance that I picked it out for coverage when my Switch was being Animal Crossing-ed to death by someone who shall remain nameless* and I’m so glad that I was introduced to it.

🎮🎮 XBOX SERIES X & S VENOM Single Dock Charging Station | Unboxing & Impressions 🎮🎮

 
XBOX SERIES X & S VENOM Single dock charging station complete with rechargeable battery pack Powerful 850Mah rechargeable battery pack offers fast efficient charging and up to 15 hours of gameplay off one full charge Drop and go design removes the need to connect fiddly wires Designed to aesthetically complement the Xbox One series x console front LED charge indicator glows red when charging before turning Green when power is fully Restored Includes Detachable 2 metre USB cable to allow flexible placement additional rear USB port to allow charging of other devices Continues to charge when the console is placed in standby mode Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3q3RxwO