SpecialEffect Invites Signups for The 10th Annual GameBlast Charity Gaming Spectacular 💙 @SpecialEffect @GameBlast #GamersUnite

 

Gamers’ charity SpecialEffect is inviting gamers across the world to join the many communities, content creators and companies that have already pledged to take part in the tenth annual GameBlast23 challenge over the weekend of 24-26 February.

Championship Manager 2 | Episode 41 | Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland ⚽ #Retrogaming #ChampionshipManager

Championship Manager 2 has been on my list of games to play on YouTube for years now and finally, I have pulled my finger out and taken the job of Nottingham Forest Manager.

Come see how my season unfolds in these short sharp Champ Manager Vids. 

Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster "Where's Pierre?!" 🔎 @city_labyrinth #IndieGames #GameDev

 
Adapted from the bestselling children’s book, Pierre The Maze Detective, play as Pierre in this adventure/puzzle game and recover the stolen Maze Stone. Journey through breathtakingly hand-drawn illustrations, meet eccentric characters, and solve puzzles to save Opera City!

TINYKIN Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster Gameplay 🔎🐜 @SplashteamDevs #GameDev #IndieGame

In Tinykin you need to catch hundreds of Tinykin and use their unique powers to bring Milo back to his home planet and back to normal size!

Jitsu Squad Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 🔥 @Tanuki_Creative #IndieGame #GameDev

Jitsu Squad started out on Kickstarter a while back. After a successful campaign, it got a full Steam release, and now we welcome it to Switch. And welcome it we do, because this is one of those side-scrolling beat 'em ups that 

a) is the best genre ever 

and 

b) it could have come out in the 90s, with the (hand-drawn!) graphics, music and little touches we get.

Britt’s Video Game Vinyl Fantasies #5 "Trouser Removal Music" 💿 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM

Lifestream (Retro Game Remix / Erek Ladd) -Troggo Studio

This was the first release that we covered from Troggo Studio, a prog-rock take on classic Final Fantasy VII songs, the crispness of the production, combined with the nods and references in the artwork and top-notch musicianship meant that this made a huge impact on me when I covered it several months back. I really feel that there’s something in this for everyone, as it completely pulls me in each time I listen, honestly though – if you had told me that Steven Wilson himself had produced this, I would have completely believed it. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing a lot more of Erek Ladd’s work through Troggo -a label that will certainly be cropping up again in Video Game Vinyl fantasies 6!

Evil West PS5 Review 7/10 “A Fun, Old-School Shooter” 👹 @PlayEvilWest @transvaalgf #IndieGame #GameDev

I’ve had my eye on Evil West for some time, it had made a lot of lists in regard to ‘the best upcoming games of 2022’, I had seen gameplay and thought ‘this looks fun’ - which is pretty much how I would sum up the game, it’s really fun. It does not take itself very seriously and wears its heart completely on its sleeve, ‘this is absolute nonsense… but let’s have some fun on the way!’.

Big Savings on The Latest Desktop PC Speakers from Trust 🔊 🔊 @TrustGaming #TrustGaming

Here are some fantastic new speakers from Trust Gaming that are designed specifically for enhancing users’ desk setups.

 

Some of the speakers below are currently selling at a discounted rate (with some almost half-price!), so they make the perfect addition to any gaming tech received over Christmas! 

For those wanting to enhance their gaming kit at an affordable price point, Trust has a selection of high-quality speakers below.

ZERO Sievert PC Ten Minute Taster Gameplay "How To Reload? 🌲 @ZeroSievert #IndieGames #GameDev

ZERO Sievert is a tense top-down extraction shooter that challenges you to scavenge a procedurally-generated wasteland, loot gear, and explore what’s left of a devastated world. When the odds are stacked against you, you’ll need to do more than just survive...

Broken Universe Tower Defense Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster Gameplay "Crocodile Rock!" 🐊 @JinthreeStudio #IndieGames #TowerDefense #GameDev

Broken Universe Tower Defense. She's nowhere to be found and he's the only one who can save her.

Kaboom!

The explosion wrecked the entire universe. One might even say that it's...broken. Roco with the help of a ragtag group of scientists needs to protect his ship from incoming attacks.

Funwhole® House of Sweets F9009 Building Set UNBOXING & Build 🍬

 
This unboxing sees Rich get to grips with the Fun Whole House Of Sweets as he spends Christmas trying to build it. Welcome To The House of Sweets Stop by the House of Sweets to pick up the best treats of the Season. Packed with cakes, cookies, and many other treats the House of Sweets F9009 building set for Christmas is the perfect Seasonal display.

Life on Mars: Genesis Kai Magazine Software SEGA Mega Drive Review 8.5/10 "There’s life in the Mega Drive, as well!" 🌕 #SEGA #SegaGenesis #IndieGames #GameDev

When Life on Mars: Genesis was announced, I was excited due to the fact that there were so few (if any) Metroidvania titles on the Mega Drive. I’m a fan of the genre, especially the shorter, snappier releases such as Shadow Complex. 

I find that a sub-12-hour blast keeps things spicy and fresh, and Life on Mars: Genesis falls into that camp, feeling like a novice entry in the genre, which fits in well with the fact that it is effectively an entry to the genre as a whole on the Mega Drive.

GOTY 2022 - Rich "The year Of The Ring" AKA "100+ Hours In and I'm Still Sh*t!" 💍 #GOTY

2022 was a year dominated by me wandering around a desolate abandoned landscape with a Steam Deck in my hand.

Elden Ring was the game that took up over 140 hours of my 2022 and I would be lying if I said that I loved every minute of it as the early parts of being a Tarnished are completely terrifying and incredibly difficult. There are many moments when you think  'is this game really worth the effort?!" 

I can now conclude that yes it is worth the effort and yes I am still sh1t at the game.

Chained Echoes XSX Review 8.5/10 "I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" 🔗 @ChainedEchoes #IndieGames #GameDev

It’s been a good while since I got hips deep into a turn-based RPG, in fact, I believe the last one to really capture my imagination to this extent was Octopath Traveller a couple of years ago.

A very different beast, Chained Echoes calls to mind 2018’s Crosscode in the visuals and style of traversal in the game world, but the setting and narrative feel more traditional and classic in terms of the delivery.

Merry Christmas Freezer Followers! 🎅🎄

Merry Christmas To ALL Of The Freezer Followers Who Have Been With Us This Year!

Next Year will be our 10th Anniversary of Games Freezer and we are really excited for 2023 but today is a day to relax with family and eat too much.

Maybe even play a few multiplayer local co-op games with family (that's the dream right there!)

Anyway, "Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animals!"

🎅🎄

A Plague Tale: Requiem PC Review 9/10 "Requiem goes hard on disgusting environments and intense squalor" 🐀 @APlagueTale

It’s estimated that the Black Death killed around 25 million people when it tore through Europe in the 14th century. You’ll see most of those corpses in A Plague Tale: Requiem, which doesn’t miss an opportunity to toss you into a charnel house bristling with rotting bones, have you clamber over giant heaps of fly-ridden bodies, or simply gently float downstream on an otherwise peaceful riverboat cruise as dead peasants serenely bob around you.

The Knight Witch Nintendo Switch Ten minute Taster "Bullet Witches In Hell!" 🧙‍♀️ @SuperMegaTeam #IndieGames #GameDev

The Knight Witch is a Metroidvania adventure game with fast-paced, shoot-'em-up combat set in a beautifully hand-drawn world. Cast devastating card-based spells, forge close bonds, and make moral choices all in your quest to save your home and discover who's behind the War Golem invasion.

Marvel Snap | Mike's Love Letter 💙 #MarvelSnap

When developers Second Dinner announced a new Marvel game featuring over 200 characters my tired heart skipped a beat, then when I realised it was a mobile card game… I died inside.

No, not the "card" bit, but the ‘mobile’ bit. If you've played any mobile games in the last five years you no doubt feel a pang of pain in the wallet at the sound of it. They all seem to be in a race to bankrupt you as quickly as possible.

To my delight, not only is that not the case with Marvel Snap but - cosmetics and bundles aside - its currency of credits and boosters is obtainable in-game.

GIOTECK HC2 Football Edition Gaming Headset 🎧 @GioteckArmy

The multiplatform GIOTECK HC2 Football Edition gaming headset can be used on most platforms - PS4/5, Xbox One and Series S/X, Switch, Evercade and PC to name a few – and the included five sticker set (England, Wales, Scotland, Brazil and a more generic football-themed logo) means that you can decorate your headset in team colours, GIOTECK has several variations on the trusty HC2, and this will definitely appeal to the more patriotic gamers out there!

Britt Removes His Trousers & Brings Down The Flaming Gavel On 2022 🏆 #GOTY

As we approach the end of another year, rich with the fruits of developer labours, I sat in my zen garden and thought about which games from 2022 still have a strong presence in my mind - for whatever reason – and the below made themselves known to me.

Presented in no particular order, my most memorable experiences of 2022 are…