⚔️ Mortal Shell | PS4 | Review | "A Tough Shell To Crack" ⚔️ @MortalShellGame #GameDev #IndieGames

Mortal Shell came along for review at a very apt time. Only the weekend prior was I involved in a lengthy conversation about ‘Souls-Esque’ titles, where punishment and difficulty are built-in to the games themselves and pushed as a focal point.

Whilst I never clicked with the Dark Souls games, personally, my friend was telling me of a moment whereby, after two weeks of trying to defeat the final boss in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, he finally succeeded and, in his words, ‘fell to the floor on his back and clawed at the air with his limbs, whilst giggling...like a happy puppy’.

This level of dedication and perseverance isn’t really ingrained in me but I did appreciate and respect someone having that approach and ‘I can do this’ attitude to gaming.

🛣️🚗 Road to Guangdong | PS4 | Review | “A Familial Chinese Tale” 🚗🛣️ @RoadToGuangdong #GameDev #IndieGames

A light visual novel, broken up by some item management and arcade driving sections, Road to Guangdong is a gentle jaunt through various types of gameplay that has some relaxing moments but does struggle to keep you interested up until the final moments.

⚔️ Griefhelm | PC | Review By @PixelHunted "I shudder to think of the hundreds of millions of individual times I’ve whacked stuff with a sword in a video game" ⚔️ @griefhelm #GameDev #IndieGames

I shudder to think of the hundreds of millions of individual times I’ve whacked stuff with a sword in a video game. But despite it being one of the most common interactions only a few games go out of their way to get it right.

Efforts range from the balletic rhythmic parry-and-counter of Sekiro, the physical thrill of slicin’ up blocks in Beat Saber and the rock-paper-scissors fighting game stylings of For Honor. 

Enter Griefhelm, the new title by solo developer Johnny Dale Lonack, a guy who has clearly done his homework on virtual swordplay.