2 Oct 2023

Daymare: 1994 - Sandcastle PS5 Review 6.5/10 "Backtracking to the ‘90s" 🧟 @transvaalgf @InvaderDevs #IndieGame #GameDev

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The original Daymare lives in infamy to me. When originally reading about it, the developer had published a list of features for the game and within said list was ‘backtracking’. I found it very amusing, as although I loved old school horror, I never had nostalgia for running back through areas I had already been through, but to my surprise, when I finally joined Twitter and engaged with Twitter horror gaming fans I found that yes, people did indeed love a bit of backtracking!

If you search for ‘horror game backtracking’ on Google, Reddit pops up with a lot of pro-backtracking articles, and the third hit is a thread entitled ‘I love backtracking (especially in horror games)’ so I realise that, although it is something I have never thought about, it was genuinely a feature to some and in the case of Daymare - a very important one, as the game is completely sold on nostalgia. Its biggest selling point is it’s going to try to take you back to the good ol’ days of survival horror.

30 Sept 2023

Video Game LoFi: Kingdom Hearts vol. 2 - The Ocean Between Vinyl Review by Lo Fi Lee 💿 @CuragaRecords #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

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Hot on the heels of the original album, here we have the second volume in the Video Game LoFi series, from Curaga Records, featuring reworked songs from the Kingdom Hearts series. 

This one comes from the mind of the producer foreteller with a little help from others. The major difference between volumes 1 and 2 is that this one is generally instrumental, with only the opening and closing tracks featuring guest vocalists. 

The presentation is in line with much of the Video Game LoFi collection, comprising a holographic jacket, paper sleeve and a pretty blue, purple and pink marbled record on 180g vinyl.

29 Sept 2023

One week until One Special Day: Over 90 industry partners back SpecialEffect’s flagship fundraiser 💙 @SpecialEffect #OneSpecialDay

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One week today, on Friday, 6 October, some of the biggest names from the worldwide games industry, including the likes of Xbox, Supercell and EA, are uniting behind SpecialEffect, the gamers’ charity, for their annual One Special Day flagship fundraising campaign.

At the heart of the campaign is the opportunity for gamers to raise money for the charity by purchasing and playing qualifying titles from the partner companies, who will donate some or all of the resulting revenue from the day.

A wide range of titles will be available through both the One Special Day Steam Promotion, running from 5-8 October, and the Mobile Promotion on One Special Day itself.

Samorost 3 Vinyl Soundtrack Review "Samorost 3 is pure Floex through and through" 💿 @FloexOfficial @Amanita_Design #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM

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I was a big fan of Tomas Dvorak’s soundtrack for Samorost 2, it also holds the wonderful distinction in our household of being the first music that my – then 1-year-old – son had ever danced to, which was a very special moment for us as a family. 

Dvorak (A.K.A – FLOEX) has a special way of creating unique, alien landscapes, aurally, through his blend of strong, emotive melodies and idiosyncratic instrumentation, and this continues here in his compositions for Samorost 3, with that signature clarinet vibe hitting home each time it’s used on the album.

There is a real difference in the art styles used in the cover here when compared to Samorost 2, whereas the prequel was abstract and paint-flecked, here we are treated to a luscious evergreen landscape, set underneath a darkened sky spotted by pinpricks of light.

Almost alone, and very small and vulnerable in this image is the protagonist, blowing through a horn as he is watched by a strange, bearded wanderer that is almost hidden in the foreground – ensconced in the shadows, and surrounded by a peppering of fantastical animals.

28 Sept 2023

Graeme Mason Interview "It was a pleasure to learn more about ZX Nightmares and also to find out where Graeme’s pixelated quill will take us next" 📖 @Wizwords @Retro_Fusion #Retrogaming

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I recently thoroughly enjoyed Graeme Mason’s new book, ZX Nightmares, published by Fusion Books, and found that reading the book was such a fun experience that I wanted to know more about the background of its creation.

I have a little bit of personal history with Graeme, in that it was through his contacting me through Retro Gamer magazine for a ‘Collectors Corner’ article that my now evil editor endgame boss, Rich, caught wind of my existence and asked me to begin writing for The Mighty Games Freezer waaay back in 2017 –I definitely owe Graeme a pint at some point!

It was a pleasure to learn more about ZX Nightmares and also to find out where Graeme’s pixelated quill will take us next. 

I hope you enjoy this article about one of the most active writers in the retro gaming scene today. 📖

27 Sept 2023

Arthur Parallax – On Starfield "I performed my gaming ritual - a ceremonial removing and burning of the trousers" 🔥👖 #Starfield

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Ah, Starfield. Bethesda has taken us across wastelands; the frozen, fantastical north; wowed us with dragons; crazy quests; zany characters, and hundreds of memorable moments for well over two decades, and most recently they offered up an entire universe for exploration…in Starfield.

I was so excited at this premise that I left my wife in preparation, and signed over total custody of our two children, Brian and Flelilda. It may seem extreme to some, but they would doubtless become nought but a distraction as I travelled the far reaches of space, taking me out of my gaming fantasies for such menial reasons as requiring heat, food, and illustrations of love (my third album).

Such piffling quibbles would completely remove me from my immersion in Starfield, and so it was best for all that I move to a single-bed bungalow in rural Scotland, paint all of the windows black and lose myself in Bethesda’s newest creation, a creation that was over a decade in the making!

I tried to stay away from finding out early scores and thoughts – I wanted this experience to be unsullied by others and be mine, and mine alone - but I admit, I did catch wind of the incredible ratings, the 95/100s, and the 10/10s, my engorgement was almost complete.

26 Sept 2023

THE CRPG BOOK: A GUIDE TO COMPUTER ROLE-PLAYING GAMES (EXPANDED EDITION) REVIEW ⚔️ @BitmapBooks #CRPG

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The release of a new Bitmap Book is always a good thing, and this expanded edition of The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games weighs in at a mammoth 684 pages and is the perfect sibling to their A Guide to Japanese Role-Paying Games – released back in 2021.

Each of these tomes is beautifully designed, and can be used to fend off burglars, so thick are they with glorious information and imagery. This book, in particular, took me a lot longer than usual to review purely because I was poring over each page, devouring the words and constantly getting side-tracked in marking where I was and then watching YouTube videos on the releases covered therein, because the passion of the text drew me in so much that I yearned to find out as much as I could about the games covered.

I’d had my eye on the CRPG Book since a reprint was announced several months ago, and I vividly recall spending a few moments on the Bitmap Books website genuinely getting lost in the cover art alone.

I’ve said this before, I’m not a student of art, and the visual arts are very much not my forte, so when something grabs me in that aspect, I really enjoy the sensation, a sensation which was spiked upon seeing the cover of this book. The richness of the illustration here absolutely captures the feeling of RPG gaming, where the imagination takes over and boundaries between game and gamer bleed into each other, the sense of dynamism and kineticism in the characters bursting forth from the screen is ‘framed-poster-worthy’ (definitely a term, don’t look it up) in how it almost hypnotises the reader into opening the book and getting lost in the pages. Awesome stuff, thank you Jan Pospíšil!

25 Sept 2023

Sentry City Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster 🤖 @CrashableStudio #IndieGame #GameDev

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Sentry City is a cyberpunk-style side-scroller with gameplay that is part trial-and-error, and part reaction time-based. Traverse the city using the motorcycle overworld map, blast and think your way through the levels, and fight tough bosses to uncover who is behind the city's AI disruption.

22 Sept 2023

Soulvars Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "a mobile port that’s actually worth playing" 💥 @ShueishaGamesJP #IndieGame #GameDev

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SOULVARS is that rarest of things – a mobile port that’s actually worth playing. It’s got clear JRPG roots, with turn-based combat, and a pixel art style providing a nostalgia hit for the old-timers.

The game is the work of Ginolabo, a solo developer, which results in the double-edged sword of it being an impressive feat for one person (self-taught, too), but having some areas of the game where collaboration might have polished it up a little. 

21 Sept 2023

NASCAR Arcade Rush Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster "1 Million Miles Per Hour!" 🏎️💨 @GameMillEnt #IndieGame #GameDev

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The thrill of NASCAR meets the rush of arcade racing in a new NASCAR Arcade Rush game that puts you in the driver’s seat of a completely new NASCAR experience with re-imagined, iconic racetracks in unmatched high-speed, wheel-to-wheel action!

Atelier Marie Reamake Nintendo Switch Ten Minute Taster "Cauldron Troubles" 🧙‍♀️ #ateliermarie #AtelierMarieRemake @koeitecmoeurope @GustAtelierPR @gust channels

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Rich finds out that Atelier Marie Remake is not about saving the world. In this "leisure adventure RPG," failing student Marie pursues alchemy, adventures, and quests while aiming to graduate in five years. "Atelier Marie," the origin of the Atelier series, has been remade with new elements!

20 Sept 2023

Alaskan Road Truckers PC Ten Minute Taster "Mother Trucker!!" 🚛 @alaskantrucksim #IndieGame #GameDev

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In Alaskan Road Truckers you get to experience life in the definitive trucker simulator. Deliver cargo to make your business a success. Get out of your truck to explore Alaska on foot!

Stray Xbox Series X Review "A Purrfect way to spend an evening" 🐈 @HKdevblog #IndieGame #GameDev

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It was only a few weeks ago on my movie-centric podcast that I was discussing emotional manipulation with my co-host. He was more bothered by it than me, but I still find that overtly sentimental forms of media that aim purely to tug at the heartstrings irk me somewhat.

This ties into my initial – misjudged – thoughts on Stray. When it was released last year on PlayStation, the positive reviews that it received – and more so the comments surrounding it – I found actively off-putting in the comparisons to games of a more ‘cinematic’ vibe.

After receiving it for review purposes and playing it through in two straight sessions I really do recommend it, if you were - like me – put off by the thought of a saccharine gaming experience. This is Tokyo Jungle territory.

19 Sept 2023

The Life Of A Magical Circle PC Ten Minute Taster "I wandered lonely as a circle..." ⭕️ @solideo_games #GameDev #IndieGame

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The Life of a Magical Circle is a narrated roguelite in which you dodge obstacles and pick up circles. Some of the circles are part of your goal, but some of them are just for fun. It's up to you to figure out which is which and to try to stay focused.

Rainbow Skies Nintendo Switch Review 6.5/10 “One For The Die Hard Fans” 🌈 @RainbowSkiesRPG #GameDev #IndieGame

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Rainbow Skies is a strategy RPG and a sequel to 2012’s Rainbow Moon. Rainbow Skies was originally released in 2018 but has now been ported to the Nintendo Switch. I somehow managed to miss both of these games on the PS Vita, which is weird as I’ve owned the console since 2012 and I’m a fan of JRPGS - and there are only about six games available for the Vita - so I’m bewildered at how they got past me!

I was a bit sad that I wasn't picking up my dusty old Vita and bringing it out of retirement, but instead, I picked up the Nintendo Switch and set out to see what I had been missing out on for a number of years. 

18 Sept 2023

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales PC Review 7/10 "Prepare to be tossed into the narrative deep end" 📔 @bookwalkergame #IndieGame #GameDev @PixelHunted

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The Bookwalker takes place in a world very much like our own, with the teensy difference that writers can not only conjure up entire worlds within books but travel into them and interact with their characters as if they were real people.

You play writer Etienne Quist, a writer serving a 30-year sentence (geddit?) of writer’s block for a mysterious crime. Etienne hopes to reduce his sentence by taking on “bookwalking” gigs, i.e. diving into various books to retrieve powerful items. For example, you’ll head into a fantasy world to swipe an Immortality Potion or venture into a gloomy robotic take on Norse mythology to get your hands on Mjolnir.

15 Sept 2023

The Making Of Karateka | PC | Ten Minute Taster "Oozing Class!" 🥋 @DigitalEclipse #Karateka #IndieGame #GameDev

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Rich jumps into Digital Eclipse's latest lesson on how to make an interactive documentary that literally oozes class. If you played Atari 50 and enjoyed that then you'll adore The Making Of Karateka.

I can guarantee that this game will inspire you to become a Game Dev.
.

14 Sept 2023

Blue Fire OST Vinyl Review "This is the best soundtrack release I’ve heard in a while" 🔥 @TheMangoMage #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM #OST

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Blue Fire is a 3D action platformer released in 2021 to pretty much universal acclaim. You play a diminutive warrior battling through the world of Penumbra in what was described at the time as a 3D successor to Hollow Knight. 

The Blue Fire soundtrack, composed by Ariel Contreras-Esquivel, came out shortly after and is available digitally, and on this lovely limited vinyl release via Mango Mage Records, with a couple of exclusive bonus tracks.

13 Sept 2023

Starfield Running On Steam Deck Using XBOX Game Pass & Cloud Gaming 🚀 #Starfield

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How well does Starfield run on Steam Deck using XBOX Game Pass Cloud Gaming? Well, we are about to find out in a quick and simple test as Rich launches Starfield from his Steam Deck using the Game Pass App on the Steam Deck. The test seems to work pretty well, so it works well as a backup to PC play assuming you have a decent internet connection.

12 Sept 2023

90 Minute Fever PC Ten Minute Taster "The Special One?" ⚽ @90MinuteFever #IndieGame #GameDev

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Rich takes the hot seat at REAL GAMES FREEZER FC in this 90 Minute Fever Ten Minute taster video. This online football manager game is one that Rich hasn't played before and he's been playing football management games since the 80s.

 

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