Observer: System Redux
EAT THEIR DREAMS
Using a device known as the Dream Eater, hack into the minds of the dead and dying to relive their final moments, to explore their fears and obsessions. Delve into these twisted neural mazes and search for clues that will help you find the elusive killer. But beware: the deeper you go, the greater the risk of losing your own sanity.
BECOME A NEURAL DETECTIVE
You play as Daniel Lazarski, an elite investigator of the future portrayed by late cyberpunk icon Rutger Hauer. As an Observer, you hack into the minds of suspects to extract clues and evidence. Anything they felt, thought, or remembered can and will be used to solve your case.
Developer: Dead Drop Studios LLC
Platform Reviewed: Switch
Having recently played the preceding titles in Dead Drop Studios LLC’s Outbreak series, I was keen to see how the third entry would play out. As it turns out, this is more akin to the first in the series – Outbreak: The New Nightmare – in that the fixed camera angles and more claustrophobic, early survival horror tropes return.
This is a good thing, though, as the studio has improved on a lot of irritations from that early game, although some issues do remain.
In a recent Twitter post, Robbie shared a picture of his children playing Daytona USA at The Heart of Gaming in London (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heart_of_Gaming) – good – and I leapt upon the opportunity to learn about a totally different facet of his life.
A facet completely removed from his career of film criticism, a facet in which, instead of looking at a screen, he looks at a screen whilst also moving his thumbs slightly.
The year is 2084.
In a dark cyberpunk world shattered by plagues and wars, become a neural detective and hack into the minds of others.
Rebuilt and augmented for the next-generation, Observer: System Redux is the definitive vision of one of the most acclaimed cyberpunk stories in games.
In the far distant past when we were still allowed within a mile of our friends, a group of us would often get together and swear at each other while playing Heave Ho, Jackbox, and Wario Ware.
So I approached Lunch-a-Palooza expecting another one for the rotation.
The game’s name is an acronym. I know what it stands for, you know what it stands for, but this is a civilised place, so let’s just keep it to ourselves, eh?
Who Wants to be a Millionaire - 6/10
Developer: Lowteck Games
Platform Reviewed: Dreamcast (also available on Steam and NES)
I absolutely adore new releases on older systems, especially when they are as great as this one.
Developer: FreakZone Games
Platform Reviewed: Switch
Rating: 9/10
As a casual fan of the Angry Video Game Nerd since around the late noughties, I was quite looking forward to the release of the game based on his exploits, although I had no idea what to expect.
The 2013 AVGN game and 2016 sequel came out on PC and were very much what was needed, a tongue-in-cheek take on the platforming genre that was so well designed that it was clearly going to appeal to people outside of the AVGN fan-base, it was a great, challenging game that didn’t outstay its welcome.
My lasting memories were of awesome music, frustration and satisfaction in perfectly equal measure and a sense of fun; I had an awesome time with them.
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platform Reviewed: PS4 (base)
My personal history with the Assassin’s Creed series is pretty chequered, I played the original but didn’t really click with it and, following this, the constant releases, spin-offs and other media just alienated me slightly as the lore seemed to get ever-more dense.
I did dip back in with Black Flag on the PS3 at a friend’s suggestion but it seemed to run pretty sluggishly and once again, I didn’t connect with it.
It was actually earlier this year during lockdown that the stars aligned and teased me once again with the franchise.
My brother mentioned how much fun he was having with Odyssey and heartily recommended it just as I was after an open-world RPG to lose myself in (after completing The Witcher 3 for the second time as well as Kingdom Come: Deliverance) plus my fiancée was somewhat obsessed with the various soundtracks on Spotify, I was being attacked from all directions and so I decided once again to give it a try, and I’m glad I did.
But the constant flow of new indie and AAA games can be overwhelming if you aren't following it studiously.
But with 2020 coming to a close, here are the online games you should be paying attention to.
Platform reviewed: XBOX ONE
Whilst the score I’m giving Autobahn Police Simulator 2 isn’t numerically high, I want to come out of the gate by stating that I enjoyed my time with the game and really look forward to seeing where the series goes next. Under the myriad of problems that exist, there is a really tasty game here, begging to be let out.
