14/05/2024
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Xbox Review 7/10 "A Sweet Suikoden Spiritual Sequel" π₯⚔️ @eiyuden #IndieGame #GameDev
12/04/2024
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Xbox Review 9/10 "The most fun I’ve had in a single player game in 2024" ⚔️π²π₯πΉ @DragonsDogma #DragonsDogma2
As someone who is – and will be forever – drawn towards single player RPGs, The last few months have been very, very fun. I’ve played three games that stand out in my mind for different reasons, and between them cover a lot of the main points that appeal to me about the genre at its core.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden won me over with its understated characters, music, atmospherics and earthiness, whilst Outcast: A New Beginning featured incredible traversal mechanics and lore, and now Dragon’s Dogma 2 – and out of the three, this is the title that I, by far, have the strongest history with – comes blazing out of the gate with its main strengths being in how much it embraces and excels at being a video game, completely nailing combat mechanics and explosive, immediate gameplay.
It’s a game that is a pleasure to write about, and I feel like I could just list all of my in-game experiences to get my point across because there are so many personal stories to tell, all through a design sentiment that eschews seriousness to put fun and gameplay at the absolute fore.
10/04/2024
Outcast: A New Beginning Xbox Review 7.5/10 "An Outcast No More" π₯π΄ @OutcastGame #IndieGame #GameDev
I’ve had a spotted history with Outcast, when it was originally released in 1999, I played it briefly over a friend’s house and was entranced by the world conjured and possibilities laid out. The unfortunate thing was, I didn’t have a PC that could really get the most out of it at the time, and I fell away from it – assuming that I’d return soon – but the next time I spent any time with the game was when I picked up Outcast: Second Contact in 2020, and, revisiting the game so long after release highlighted the sheer scope and imagination of developers Appeal Studios, along with the unavoidable fact that the design and mechanics were lodged in a transitory period of the third-person open-world genre, and had aged appropriately.
Thus, when I caught wind of this new entry in the franchise- pseudo-reboot, pseudo-revising, pseudo-revisiting pseudo-sequel – call it what you want – I was glad to discover that I feel that this I finally the most complete, accessible, and wonderful way to know the story of the impossibly named ‘Cutter Slade’, and appreciate the full scale of the dev’s vision. A vision set into motion almost thirty years ago.
05/04/2024
Welcome to ParadiZe Xbox Series X Review 6/10 "More PontinZ than ParadiZe" π #IndieGame #GameDev #PvE #Zombies
I first caught wind of Welcome to Paradize a couple of months ago, and having been on a bit of an isometric / action run recently I was quite keen to start smashing and blasting some zombie heads, whilst the survival and crafting elements seemed accessible enough to have fun with, without getting bogged down in menus etc.
28/03/2024
Cybertrash STATYX Xbox Review 7/10 "A Fun Throwback in The Run ‘n Gun Genre" π₯ #IndieGame #GameDev
26/03/2024
Jagged Alliance 3 XSX Review 9/10 "A Modern Turn-Based Classic" π₯ @THQNordic
A series of turn-based games that have roots going way back to 1994, Jagged Alliance has always enjoyed critical success – and yet it’s a series of games I’ve only touched upon briefly since its inception in the mid-’90s. I recall having some friends who were hips deep, thinking very highly of the franchise, and so when the opportunity came up to cover the third major entry, I was keen to have a goosey.
25/03/2024
Antstream on Xbox ππΉ️πΊ @AntstreamArcade #RetroGaming
Good news! Back in 2020 I reviewed the Antstream service on PC – it’s also available on Mac, Android, Nvidia Shield and Amazon Fire Stick – and lamented the fact that it was taken down from the Xbox family of consoles, but no more!
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing a myriad of games on my XSX through Antstream, you can pay for either a yearly or permanent subscription, and there are currently over 1200 games to choose from ranging from home systems such as Spectrum, Commodore, Amiga and Spectrum through to Arcade and modern indie.
It runs swimmingly on the Xbox and still features daily challenges and high score tables for players to dive into, as well as the usual save states and gaming snappiness.
If you are a lover of classic titles, this is a great way to dip in and out of hundreds of games with full multiplayer and controller support – perfect for retro gaming nights with friends and family!
AntStream On XBOX π
AntStream Games List π
21/03/2024
Cannibal Abduction Xbox Series X 7/10 “Leatherface Upstairs, Having a Quick 40 Winks” π @selewidev @transvaalgf #IndieGame #GameDev
Now, on the one hand it was nice of Henry to help, but personally I have a rule in life - if a house looks like Leatherface may be upstairs having a quick 40 winks, I refuse to enter and run as fast as I can in any direction to get as far away as I possibly can.
18/03/2024
Gloomhaven XSX Review 8.5/10 "How Deep is Your (board gaming) Love?" π§♂️ @GloomhavenGame #IndieGame #GameDev
Although Gloomhaven was originally released on PC back in 2021, I wanted to cover it here on GF (on Xbox) in 2024 because I had such a rich experience with the boardgame on which it is based at one of our regular nerdy weekends away a few weeks ago. At said weekends, we tend to have several smaller, briefer games, and then a hefty one to tuck into for a good portion of each day. In this way we’ve played some pretty heavy hitters...but Gloomhaven always lurked at the back of our minds.
12/02/2024
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Xbox Series X Review 9/10 "A wonderfully spun tale of love and grief" ⚔️ @DONTNOD_Ent #IndieGame #GameDev
I’ve been hankering for an RPG to sink my teeth into, and when Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden arrived at GF HQ, I was keen to tuck in and get a few dozen hours of adventuring under my belt. What I didn’t expect was to get sucked into the world of Red and Antea so deeply, and so quickly.
Set during the settling of America in the 1600’s, the game begins with Banishers (effectively mercenaries that deal with hauntings) Red and Antea arriving on boat to New Eden - a small settlement near Boston - having received word from their friend Charles that their ghost handling skills are required in this fledging town.
07/02/2024
Pinball M Xbox Review 7.5/10 "The spookiest balls around" π» @zen_studios #IndieGame #GameDev
Zen Studios have release Pinball M, a game that delivers horror thrills to pinball-lovers around the world through a pretty cool mix of franchises:
– Wrath of the Elder Gods: Director’s Cut – experience the eldritch horror unrestricted for free
– Chucky’s Killer Pinball: Step into a twisted realm where the innocent becomes sinister, and the playful turns menacing. Navigate through an eerie playfield where Chucky lurks in the shadows, ready to pounce.
– The Thing Pinball: Use your pinball skills and battle against the shape-shifting alien through the arctic chill of U.S. Outpost #31. Can you trust anyone, even yourself?
– Dead by Daylight™️ Pinball: Become the hunter or even the hunted in a thrilling fusion of classic pinball and the excitement of one of the most popular horror games ever created.
– Duke Nukem’s Big Shot Pinball: Enjoy the biggest, grooviest, most BADASS pinball table ever made packed with guns and babes. Push start and play with balls of steel!
06/02/2024
Bahnsen Knights Xbox Review 7/10 "My trousers began to slowly unbuckle themselves in anticipation..." π΅️♂️ @lcbgamestudio #IndieGame #GameDev
The third in the initial trilogy of Pixel Pulp titles, Bahnsen Knights follows Mothmen 1966, and Varney Lake, visual novel titles – with a smattering of micro-games – in an 18-month period that has taken me on a journey that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed from a presentation and atmospheric perspective, but I can’t help but feel this most recent entry is the weakest of all.
24/01/2024
Crashy Laps Xbox Series X (mini-review) 7/10 π️π¨ @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.
18/01/2024
The 10 Best Video Games To Play With Your Kids π πΉ️ @CommonSense
11/01/2024
Cookie Cutter XBOX Review 8/10 " My Cherry Amour " π€ @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.
30/11/2023
Steamworld Build Xbox Review 8/10 "Over Steamulation?" π ️πͺ¨ @SteamWorldGames #iNDIEGAME #GAMEDEV
I have dug. I have heisted. And I have loved both. Three of my favourite games on the PC in the last ten years were made by the Swedish studio, Image & Form. Steamworld Dig 1 & 2, and Steamworld Heist are both beautifully formed and have really well thought through game mechanics. It’s simplistic to say perhaps, but both Dig and Heist just work. There’s little extraneous in there, and these elements are combined with gorgeous visuals and engaging characters to make very appealing games that I’ve returned to many times.
23/11/2023
The Crew Motorfest XSX Review 7.5/10 "Hawaii Five Oh!" π΄π️π΄
The newest entry in The Crew franchise, The Crew Motorfest plonks drivers down in the paradise of Hawaii and lets them loose across the many locations of the island, from volcanos and mountain roads through dense foliage, absurd, spiralling racetracks, suburban areas and more.
After creating your driver and choosing your starting vehicle, you are free to roam around the island as you see fit. You can free roam or enter one of the myriad of ‘playlists’ (races) available, these range from drag races in highly-tuned performance cars to old camper vans, monster trucks, motorcycles and even planes.
There are currently well over 600 vehicles across these styles available, and each completed race will see you earning XP, unlocking extra vehicles and parts to replace and improve your various rides, in terms of both performance and vanity items.
There really is a huge amount of customisation available – as well as other micro-transactions that you can pay for to speed the process along, should you wish to do so …I personally avoid these like the plague, although it didn’t impinge on my enjoyment of the game as I was constantly unlocking and upgrading my garage of cars through normal play.
15/11/2023
Mondealy XSX Review 8/10 "I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures" π» @ValkyrieInitia1 #IndieGame #GameDev
I’m very much on board with playing a wide variety of genres, and I appreciate that sometimes you need a game like Mondealy to slow you down and allow you to take stock of your life, appreciate what you have, and perhaps take a break from blowing up demons, shooting thousands of bullets at an alien threat, or squeezing your controller in love/respect/frustration because you missed that pixel-perfect 100th jump, and how need to do the last hours’ worth of progress again.
I initially played Mondealy off the back of a pretty full-on game, and switching from that to this mellow, slowly-unfolding world was initially a little jarring, but after a mental reset, I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures, especially enjoying the soundtrack, courtesy of the below talented composers:
31/10/2023
Anthology of Fear Xbox Series X Review 4/10 “Five Minutes on YouTube” π₯ @AnthologyofFear #IndieGame #GameDev
Walking down corridors and having something shout “boo!” is great, but they do wear thin after a while, and as much as I love horror, I definitely need a break from the horror walking simulator genre. Well, after playing Layers of the Fear a couple of months ago, I booted up Anthology of Fear put on my walking shoes and headed down the creepy corridors.
18/10/2023
WrestleQuest Xbox Series X 8/10 “One Hell of a Slobberknocker” π€Ό♂️ @megacatstudios #IndieGames #GameDev
WrestleQuest is two of my absolutely favourite things combined, wrestling and classic RPGs.
When I first heard about the game my excitement level was off the charts, it became one of my most anticipated games of 2023. So, after waiting all this time, will it be a 7-star match in the Tokyo Dome? Or will it be jobbing out in the opening match?
At this point in the review, I will warn you I’m going ALL IN on the wrestling references, there will be NO MERCY, so I suggest opening a ‘Steveweiser’ and preparing to smell what the Games Freezer WrestleQuest review is cooking.