Ray’z Arcade Chronology Review 8/10 ☄️🚀 @PixelHunted

If I could wave a magic wand and grant myself video game skills I’d become a shmup expert. The first game I can ever remember playing is Hybris on the Amiga in 1988. I was sat on a cushion in the big computer chair, struggling to weave my spaceship between enemy bullets and take out the boss.

35 years later (...ugh) and, despite my best intentions, I haven’t substantially improved. I’ve often returned to dip my toe into the genre, figuring that critically acclaimed darlings like

Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, or Gradius V would finally give me the motivation to get gud.

I never did, but even though I’m crap at them I maintain an admiration for their purity, the focus they require to master, the complex interlocking systems and, perhaps most of all, for the gaming wizards that can one credit clear these bad boys.

Enter the Ray’z Arcade Chronology, which consists of best-in-class remastering studio M2’s ports of three classic Taito shmups, 1994’sRayForce, 1996’s RayStorm and 1998’s RayCrisis.

Stay Out of The House PS5 Review 8.5/10 “The home of sleaze, gore, madmen, slashers, and maniacs” 🔪🩸 @PuppetCombo #IndieGames #GameDev

Stay Out of the House is the new game from developer Puppet Combo, now I must admit that I’m not familiar with any of their work, although when I went on to their website it pretty much told me all I need to know, this is a quote from the website –

“PUPPET COMBO is the home of sleaze, gore, madmen, slashers, and maniacs.”

Stay Out of the House is split into four sections; the first act is named Night Shift, whereby you go to your character’s night shift at a gas station. Things start out pretty normally, you clean up, deal with customers etc. the store also has an arcade cabinet in the corner which you can play when the store is quiet - oddly enough the arcade game is about a killer chasing you, and you must collect things in order to escape. I really liked this introduction it was a nice build-up of suspense, and even though you can see what’s coming, it still made me jump.

Donuts ‘N’ Justice Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "NARC NARC NARCin’ On A Miami Door" 🍩 @FobTi #GameDev #IndieGames

A few days ago, I had a rare spare evening on my hands and thought I would dip into a few of the Switch games that we at GF HQ have been sent, and just haven’t had time to get to, games that have been undeservedly kicked around for far too long in our ‘pending’ bucket.

Luckily, the codes still worked and so began my adventure into the Switch indie vortex, and thus it was a bloody fantastic evening.

The first game I dived into was Donuts ‘N’ Justice, a game that has always tickled my fancy – and, as I was very much in the mindset for some pacey arcade action, it was just the ticket.

A 2D run-and-gun game with pixel visuals and a thumping soundtrack, the way I would describe this one in a single sentence is, ‘NARC, if it was snappier, groovier, and better.’

Developer FobTi also made Gunman Tales, which I covered earlier in the year –  and whilst I didn’t get quite the same punch from Donuts ‘N’ Justice, this is still a very fun game to dip in ‘n out of – especially with a friend.