🎮 Venom XBOX ELITE SERIES 2 Controller Customisation Kit 🎮 @VenomGamingUK #XBOXELITE

Venom Gaming has revealed its new collection of Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 customisation kits. 

Available in two different colours – a snazzy gold and a lovely purple – the Customisation Kit for Xbox One Elite Series 2 Controllers will allow you to replace your controller’s removable parts with the same parts in different colours.

The Customisation Kit for Xbox Elite Series 2 Controllers will come with 13 “high-quality interchangeable pieces” that will include two D-pads, two sets of back paddles and three pairs of different thumbsticks. It’ll also come in a storage case to keep everything all nice and cosy.

Come join Rich as he unboxes this bag of tricks!

🕹️ LINK:🕹️

https://amzn.to/2Z1l927 (affiliate link)

🐬 Beyond Blue | PS4 | Review | "A Blue Planet Inspired Video Game" 🐬 #IndieGames #GameDev

Beyond Blue - PS Store £15.99

Beyond Blue takes you into the near future, where you will explore the mysteries of the ocean through the eyes of Mirai, a deep-sea explorer and scientist. 

Mirai is part of a newly-formed 3 person research team that uses new technologies to interact with the ocean and the myriad of creatures that inhabit this mysterious underwater world.

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🧩 Eternal Hope | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "A Cool LIMBO Inspired PC Puzzle Platformer" 🧩 @DoublehitGames #GameDev #IndieGames

Eternal Hope, a puzzle platformer game that follows the story of Ti’bi – a boy who must embark on a journey of love and hope to find his beloved’s soul.

GAME LINK: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1162280/Eternal_Hope

📰 Britt’s Brief Bulletin | Mini Reviews | Totally Reliable Delivery Service & Double Kick Heroes 📰 #IndieGames #GameDev

🌭 Teenage Blob | PC | Review | "If Sayonara Wild Hearts is The Popular Older Sister, Teenage Blob is Her Scrappy Little Brother" 🌭 @PixelHunted #IndieGames #GameDev

How do you get people to pay attention to music?

Everyone having access to the majority of all recorded music ever has turned it into background noise. 

Before the internet you might have trawled record fairs for that one bootleg album of rare cuts, going home and listening intently to the jewel you’d finally unearthed.

Now? Everything is a few clicks away. All of which makes one relatively new trend in video games very welcome: the ‘interactive album’.

The most famous example is the amazing Sayonara Wild Hearts, in which you zip through a neon-drenched virtual world to Daniel Olsén and Jonathan Engkickass’ kickass synth-pop.

The act of playing means you don’t get distracted and the rhythm of the gameplay tangibly connects you to the music. And so to Team Lazerbeam’s Teenage Blob.

🏰 Maid Of Sker | Review | “Calon Lan Has Never Been So Ominous” 🏰 @WalesInter #IndieGames #GameDev

Maid Of Sker is a first-person stealth-horror title set in the late 1800s featuring some of the best audio work I’ve come across in the genre, Maid of Sker is a solid and spooky title based on a folkloric, Welsh tale.

🔎 Jenny LecLue Detectivu | Switch | Review | "A Delightful Murder Mystery!" 🕵️ @Mografi @JennyLeClue @Mografi_Joe

Jenny LeClue Detectivu - Switch - eShop £15 
https://joe-russ-saiu.squarespace.com

Jenny LeClue Detectivu was successfully funded on Kickstarter in August 2015, with nearly 4000 backers the campaign raised over $105,000 and was initially released on PC.

You play as Jenny LeClue, an aspiring young detective and obsessive pursuer of the truth. 

The story is told through the eyes of the writer of the Jenny LeClue books as he is tasked with spicing things up in his long-running and beloved series of books.

The problem is that nothing exciting ever happens in the world of Jenny LeClue and she longs (along with the readers) for a really exciting and juicy adventure to get their teeth into.

During the writing of this exciting 39th book, Jenny gets more than she bargains for when her mother is accused of murder! 

⚔️ Eastern Exorcist | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "A 2D Swordplay Master" | #EasternExorcist ⚔️ #GameDev #IndieGames

Eastern Exorcist is a stunning 2D side-scrolling action RPG set in a fantasy eastern world with the vicious spirits and monsters. 

Play as a skilled exorcist against chaotic evil to fight your way through the brutal world, and experience different stories of joy and sorrow.

GAME LINK:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120810/Eastern_Exorcist/

⚔️ 🧙‍♂️ Wheel Of Fate | PC | Ten Minute Taster | " A Good Vibes Early Access RPG" ⚔️ 🧙‍♂️ #IndieGames #GameDev

Wheel Of Fate - Ten-Minute Taster

Fate changes everything.

Fate is the force keeping order in the universe. An Affliction is destroying order by severing Fate’s connection to reality. 

As the Avatar of Fate, you are compelled to spin the Wheel of Fate to change the world. 

You'll be battling through new paths opened with each spin, and discovering what Fate has in store for you. 

How will you spin your destiny?

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🕹️ GAME LINK 🕹️ 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1105740/Wheel_of_Fate

🎙️❄️ "Please Subscribe, Like & STAY FROSTY!" ❄️🎙️

⛳️🏌️ Game Title: PGA Tour 2K21 | Review | Xbox One | "The Best Golf Simulation That I’ve Ever Played" ⛳️🏌️ #PGATOUR2K21 @2K

I have played a LOT of golf games in my life. 

From early loves such as PGA Tour Golf 2 on the Sega Mega Drive through to the arcade classic NEO Turfmasters and the myriad Tiger Woods-era EA titles, I’ve had some really good times with the genre (Not forgetting a gem that I discovered only a couple of years ago called Links 2004 on the Xbox, definitely one to try if you missed it, amazing arcade-style game. Also, Golf Story is a golden ray of light). 

🚤 Kandagawa Jet Girls | Review | PS4 | “Jet Set Boobies” @marvelous_games 🚤 #IndieGames #GameDev

I’ve played and reviewed several games released by Marvelous Inc. over the years and I have to admit that they aren’t shy of variety in terms of gameplay...although I wish I could say the same about the characters.

⚔️ 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.

🏎️🚓 Tiny Racer | Review | Nintendo Switch | "Toy Racing At Its Worst?" 🏎️🚓 #IndieGames #GameDev

Game Title: Tiny Racer

Platform Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

Rating: Melted

The toy-racing genre is one that I am always drawn to.

From the early multiplayer days of Micro Machines and even Hi-Octane - an overlooked Amiga PD classic (for me, anyway) – to what is probably the last truly great example of the genre, Mashed on Xbox and PS2 (not forgetting its spiritual successor, Wrecked. Again, an overlooked and very fun title).

It is a genre that, when everything clicks, can result in dozens of hours of fun but when the elements don’t gel, as is, unfortunately, the case here, fundamental issues can bring the game to its knees and strip out any enjoyment from the racing.

⚔️ Ancestors Legacy | PS4 | Review | "Total War + Company Of Heroes" ⚔️ @DestCreat_Team #GameDev #IndieGames

In Ancestors Legacy you will take command of your army as you storm through medieval Europe in a range of campaigns in this history-inspired real-time strategy game influenced by historical events of the Middle Ages.

🕹️ GAME LINK:🕹️ PS4 Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/33Uv9O6

⛳ GolfTopia | Review | PC | Early Access | "The Spiritual Successor To Sim Golf?" ⛳ #IndieGames #GameDev #GolfTopia

In Golftopia you are the General Manager of a randomly generated blank slate of a golf course and you’ll need to DESIGN, BUILD and MANAGE your own futuristic dream course from scratch. All the while you’ll be required to keep 200 persistent visitors fed, hydrated, and happy by improving the course and providing for their needs. You’ll also be tasked with defending your golfing utopia from the infestation of weeds with robotic worker drones and even defensive turrets!

Game Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144020/GolfTopia

😱 Carrion | Review | Nintendo Switch | "Carrion Screaming" 😱 @devolverdigital #IndieGames #GameDev

Carrion is a surprisingly addictive and satisfying ‘reverse-horror’ title that feels unique in its take on the genre.

Whilst there are games that cast you as an anti-hero or even full-blown villain, there aren’t many examples whereby you play an all-consuming, morphing beast that lurks in the shadows, a force of sheer terror. 
Game Title: Carrion
Platform Reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Rating: ICE COOL

🎮 Crosscode | Review | PS4 | "I’m The Seven-Foot-Tall Mecha-Unicorn Called Funty Quank" 🎮 @ININ_Games #IndieGames #GameDev

Crosscode is a deep and lovingly-designed ARPG that, whilst having a throwback appeal in its visuals has an ultra-modern heart which results in a successful and satisfying adventure for all.

Game Title: Crosscode
Platform Reviewed: PS4
Rating: Ice Cool

🎮 Venom Travel Kit | Review | A Cool Piece Of Kit For Use With XBOX ONE and XBOX ONE ELITE Controllers 🎮 @VenomGamingUK

Product link - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Venom-Project-xCloud-Mobile-Gaming

Rating: ICE COOL

Available on Amazon and priced at £19.99, the Venom Travel Kit is a handy, robust and practical package designed with the upcoming Project XCloud in mind. 

For me personally, however, it was surprisingly useful beyond this and actually opened a doorway into a different realm of gaming.

👹 Roki | PC | Review | "A Grimm Fairytale" 👹 @UtdLabelGames #GameDev #IndieGames

Polygon Treehouse brings us Roki which is an adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore and as such it feels like you’re living out a Grimm Fairytale interspersed with point n click style puzzles.

🕹️👾 Britt's AntStream Arcade Adventure 🕹️👾 @AntstreamArcade #Arcade

Antstream arcade has been around for almost a year now and it was something I was keen to get involved with. 

For those who aren’t aware of the service, it’s a subscription-based site that allows you to stream games ranging from the 8-bit home micro-computers of the 80’s such as Amstrad, Spectrum and Commodore 64 through a selection of 16-bit titles from systems such as the Amiga and Mega Drive up to an impressive amount of arcade ports that span decades. 

💥 UltraCore | Review | PS4 | Switch | "Run & Gun Retro Fun!" 💥 @RealStrictlyLTD #IndieGames #GameDev #RetroGames

Ultracore (originally known as Hardcore) presents a really interesting piece of arcade a run and gun game history.

Developed by Digital Illusions it was Originally due to be released for Amiga, Sega Genesis, and Sega CD platforms but the game was cancelled by its publisher, Psygnosis, in 1994 after development had been pretty much completed.

🕹️ GAME LINK:🕹️ https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP3547-CUSA15866_00-0000220078458833

PS4 https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Ultracore-1799080.html

NINTENDO SWITCH

🔫 Outbuddies DX | Review | Nintendo Switch | "A Hefty Metroidvania With Retro-Styled Visuals" 🔫 @HeadupGames @IndieJGames #GameDev #IndieGames

Outbuddies DX is a hefty Metroidvania with retro-styled visuals, Outbuddies DX has some neat twists on the formula and some sterling audio-work but a clunky control scheme and an unwieldy map-system are detrimental to the flow of the game.

Game Title: Outbuddies DX
Developer: Julian Laufer
Platform Reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Rating: Melting

🕹️🎮 Britt's Personal Top 20 Video Games 🕹️🎮 @BrittRecluseuk #RetroGaming #IndieGames

Introduction
I find any list of this type to be very fluid, listing the top twenty games of all time objectively would be impossible. 

What I’ve done here is to list the games that had the biggest impact on me across a broad spectrum of genres as possible and always come to mind during these types of conversations. 

I actually wrote out this list a couple of weeks ago and then returned to it later to see if it still felt ‘right’ and it did, so I stuck with it. 

Next month, who knows? It could be a different story. 

🎰🎲 How The Rise Of The Internet Affected Gambling 🎰🎲

It’s hard to find an industry that hasn’t been affected by the development of technology, especially the internet. As we spend more time in the online world, more experiences are making a home there. This is the case for gambling. While casinos and betting shops still exist, there is a whole new world of gambling online. Transformations have been made in how we gamble, what games we play and the whole betting culture. This can be seen in many different aspects of the game. 

🧟‍♂️🧟🧟‍♀️ DAYMARE: 1998 | Review | PS4 | Silent Hill + Resident Evil = DAYMARE? 🧟‍♂️🧟🧟‍♀️ @InvaderDevs #IndieGames #GameDev

DAYMARE: 1998 is a third-person Resident Evil 2 inspired survival horror with survival mechanics and hard to kill bullet sponge enemies from Invader Studios. 

Invader Studios is a studio originally set up by Resi fans with the intent of producing an unofficial remake of RE2

🕹️ Vigolix RetroPie Arcade Cabinet | DIY Build | Half Size / Kids Cabinet | My First Attempt 🕹️ #Arcade #RetroGames #RetroGaming

I decided it was about time I had a go at building my own arcade cabinet so at the start of lockdown armed with one sheet of wood and a Jigsaw I had a go. This is the result and while there's room for improvement I'm also happy with the outcome plus I enjoyed every moment of planning it and making it. Here's a link to the Instructables guide and the best video I found to help: Instructables Link: https://www.instructables.com/id/A-Super-Easy-Arcade-Machine-from-1-Sheet-of-Plywoo/ YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/tXZQoQT0CDU

🏎️💨 TrackMania | PC | Review | "Tracks For Maniacs" 🏎️💨 #TrackMania

Ubisoft Nadeo Delivers Gravity-Defying Racing in Their Remake of 2006’s Trackmania Nations.

This is a  remake of the Trackmania® Nations, combining easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay with a fresh look. 

Players can compete against themselves and others through solo or multiplayer on regularly updated tracks.  

Additionally, with revamped track blocks and editors, players have the freedom to create their own tracks and take advantage of the new map testing servers to share their custom tracks for the community to test and rate. 

🎮😡🗯️ A Lifetime of Rage That Turns Blood to Steam and Controllers to Dust 🎮😡🗯️

We’ve all been there, missing that pixel-perfect leap, taking a fatal hit just as we were about to nail the boss, the timer running out as the chequered flag approached, watching the ball fall betwixt the flippers as you were about to crack your high score or an unfair sniper shot from a thousand years away. Every gamer has had their moments of a geyser of fiercely boiling rage causing blackouts or their clothes to burst into flames.

Well, nothing quite like that, obviously, but you get the gist.

🤝 How To Make Friends Safely On Roblox 🤝

Online games can be wonderful social facilitators. If you’ve ever played World of Warcraft or even a competitive game like Apex Legends and found a group of people with whom you share a true kinship, then you’ll know exactly how good that can feel.

Of course, different kinds of games can enable different connections. In League of Legends, for example, you might make friends to help you climb through the unforgiving ranked ladder, while in World of Warcraft you may form an unbreakable bond with guildmates with whom you’ve raided on a regular basis.

⚔️💣🗡️ Knight Squad | Switch | Review | "Knights Of Bomberman" ⚔️💣🗡️ #GameDev #IndieGames #Nindies

Knight Squad is an 8 players top-down Bomberman meets Gauntlet video game.

You’ll take on opposing knights in top-down arenas and engage them in sword fights while also picking up laser guns, miniguns and all sorts of other cool weapons. 

You’ll also get the opportunity to use collectable power-ups to run faster to shield up or even to unleash a kamikaze power up to blow up your opponents!

This game was released on PC in 2015 to very positive reviews and has now made its way over to the switch as of the 6th June 2020!

🛠️⚒️ Satisfactory | Review | PC | "No Mans Sky Meets Factorio" 🛠️⚒️ @Coffee_Stain #IndieGames #GameDev

Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game with a nice bit of exploration, combat and discovery thrown in for good measure.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/526870/Satisfactory

📸 Umurangi Generation: Point and Shoot DEMO | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "Take Aim and Photograph" 📸 @UmurangiGame #IndieGames #IndieGame

"Umurangi Generation is a first-person photography game in the shitty future. 

Set in Tauranga Aotearoa off the back of an impending crisis you are a courier for the Tauranga Express. 

Throughout the game, you will unlock a variety of lenses and equipment."

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation/

💣💥🗡️ Pathway | Review | PC | "Indy Crossed With Choose Your Own Adventure!" 💣💥🗡️ @robotality #IndieGames #GameDev

Published by Chucklefish and developed by Robotality, who brought us a sci-fi turn-based strategy RPG called Halfway back in 2014.

Robatality’s new game, Pathway is a strategy adventure game set in the 1930s and leans heavily on influences from  Indiana Jones and XCOM style turn-based battles.

⚔️ Ys: Memories of Celceta | Review | PS4 | "Adol, for god’s sake, get a Dictaphone" ⚔️

A PS4 port of a 2012 PS Vita game, if you are familiar with the Ys series, you are in safe, if familiar hands. If, however, the Ys games are something you have never played before, this acts as a great starting point.

🛠️⚒️ Aground | PC | Review | "The best 2-D crafting game I have ever played" 🛠️⚒️ @fancyfishgames #IndieGames #GameDev

An astonishingly well-balanced crafting game that is elevated through the use of a subtle but key narrative push, Aground is a game that I am already certain will make it into my ‘Games of the year’ list and I urge everyone to play it, there’s a free demo so I don’t want to hear any excuses!

🚀🛰️🛸 Shipbreaker | How To Pay Off $1 Billion Of Debt! | PC | Early Access | Ten Minute Taster 🚀🛰️🛸 @ShipbreakerGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Hardspace Shipbreaker is my new obsession! Embark on a journey to pay back the 1 Billion debt that you owe LYNX Corp and cut up a load of space ships in the process. You are basically a one-man scrap metal merchant and I love this game!

🚀 Rigid Force Redux | Switch | Review | "Can i Get A Redux?!! HELL YEAH!" 🚀 #IndieGames #GameDev @com8com1

I first reviewed the original version of this game when it was released on PC in 2018 as Rigid Force Alpha. 

Below I have combined that review with updated thoughts on the Redux versions released on consoles.

🛢️🗼⛽️ Turmoil | Review | Switch | "Dig For Oil My Friends!" 🛢️🗼⛽️ #Turmoil #IndieGames #GameDev @Gamious

Turmoil is developed by the Dutch gaming Company Gamious who are based in Haarlem and have been making games since 2011.

Another notable game by them is i0 an abstract platformer where you grow bigger or smaller in order to solve puzzles.

🚀🐟 Darius Cozmic Collection Console | Review | PS4 | "Welcome To Bullet Hell!" 🚀 🐟 #TAITO

TAITO Darius Cozmic Collection Console - PS4 £34.99

The Darius series pioneered horizontal Shoot 'Em Up Games and was developed by the legendary TAITO Corporation. The first Darius game wowed arcade going fans when it was released in 1986 with its dedicated dual-display cabinet, imaginative enemy designs and revolutionary sound design.

Darius Cozmic Collection Console - Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 includes 6 titles (9 versions) from the Darius home console series:

·         Darius II (Mega Drive, JP version)

·         SAGAIA (Genesis, US version)

·         SAGAIA (Master System, EU version)

·         Darius Twin (Super Famicom, JP version)

·         Darius Twin (Super NES, US version)

·         Darius Force (Super Famicom, JP version)

·         Super Nova (Super NES, US version)

·         Darius Alpha (PC Engine, JP version)

·         Darius Plus (PC Engine, JP version)

🐑🐑🐑 Shaun The Sheep - Home Sheep Home - Farmageddon "Sheep Stackers Delight!" 🐑🐑🐑 #IndieGame

Home Sheep Home: Farmageddon Party Edition re-launches on the Greenlight label for Nintendo Switch and I have been playing this lovely little puzzler on my switch.

🐰🐇 Edna & Harvey: The Breakout - The Anniversary Edition | Review | PS4 | "Padded Cells & Stuffed Bunnies" 🐰🐇 @daedalic #IndieGames #GameDev

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout was Originally released in 2013 and now The award-winning cult classic point n click adventure game is back with a new paint job!

You’ll set out to assist young Edna and her talking stuffed bunny Harvey on an attempt to escape from her padded cell. 

You’ll be in for a thrilling ride as you get to experience a bizarre journey all across the insane asylum and then far beyond its brick walls.

💥 Fly Punch Boom | Review | Switch | "Mix Saturday Morning Cartoons With a Slice Of Madness" 💥 @JollypunchGames #IndieGames #GameDev

Fly Bunch Boom! - Take 100g of Saturday morning 80’s cartoons, a slice of madness, two shots of over the top cartoon violence and your someways toward describing the crazy button timing beat em up that is Fly Punch Boom!