🕹️ Atari - 50 Not Out? 🕹️ #Atari #RetroGaming

So Atari has nearly hit the big 5-0! Here's an insight into what the legendary Atari brand has in store for its 50th year of birth...

⚔️ Xuan Yuan Sword 7 | Xbox Series X | Review | 7/10 | "An Enjoyable Experience, Let Down by Some Inconsistencies" ⚔️ @XuanYuan_Sword #IndieGame #GameDev #IndieGames

I had never heard of this series - which is not surprising as it’s the first of the series to be released in the west. 

An ARPG with a heavy focus on story, the game is linear, which to my mind isn't a bad thing, it follows Taishi Zhao, an orphaned mercenary who is trying to earn money to pay for his sick sister's medicine -  this is the basic plot but fairly quickly it takes a turn.

🐶 To The Rescue! | Dog Shelter Simulator | PC | Ten minute Taster | "Who Let The Dogs Out?!!" 🐶 @ToTheRescueGame #IndieGames #GameDev #IndieGame

To The Rescue! is a charming dog shelter simulator where you are responsible for taking care of dozens of cute dogs in need of a home. It’s not all cuddles and snoot boops though: running a shelter can be a lot of work. You have to manage all of the dogs’ needs in order to maximize their chances of finding the right forever home. Each day brings new challenges and rewards. Dogs have specific preferences, can get infectious diseases, and can have negative traits. But you can also have fundraisers, get random donations, and help someone find their new best friend. Unfortunately, there’s never enough room and always more dogs. Some dogs are more desirable than others, but maybe if you can afford to wait long enough, just maybe, every dog will have their day.

🕹️ NQ64 Cardiff | Arcade Bar | "A Real High Point For Gamers in Cardiff (and Yes It Has Point Blank 2 and Wrestlefest !!)" 🕹️ #Arcade #RetroGaming #Cardiff #NQ64

https://nq64.co.uk/cardiff/

Long have I and my friends dreamed of a decent arcade bar in Cardiff, and finally, that dream is now a high-score (and gaming-themed cocktail) fuelled fantasy!

🔶 Super Hiking League DX | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7.5/10 | "An 8bit Styled Vertical Climbing Platformer" 🔶 @bitinkstudios @qubytegames #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Super Hiking League DX is an 8bit styled verticle climbing platformer, with a jump swinging mechanic that sets it apart from the pack. You can race to the top - against a friend with local play, or you can take on the AI in Story mode and see who reaches the summit’s diamond first.

👊💥👊 Giants Uprising | Early Access | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | No Commentary | "I Am Giant!" 👊💥👊 @GiantsUprising #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev

 

Giants Uprising is a medieval fantasy action-adventure game full of Giants and unlimited destruction! Take on the role of a powerful Giant who finally breaks free from enslavement to seek revenge on the ruthless human race.

📀🎶 Skelattack | Original Video Game Soundtrack | Music by Jamal Green 💿🎵 @JamalGreenMusic @MondoNews @skelattack #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Available From:

https://mondoshop.com/products/skelattack-original-video-game-soundtrack-2xlp

A perfect pack of Halloween tunes suitable for all the family, the Skelattack soundtrack is taken from the 2020 action platformer of the same name. Featuring songs that instantly come across in a very whimsical, ‘Burton-esque’ way, the joyously kooky ‘n spooky approach that Jamal Green takes really makes this an addictive listen that sets a great mood, calling to mind not just some great games but also timeless family favourite movies.

🩸🌳 Blair Witch - VR Edition | PSVR | Review | 2/10 | "In 1999 I spent a summer working as a lumberjack" 🩸🌳 @PixelHunted @BlairWitchGame #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev

In 1999 I spent a summer working as a lumberjack in the mountains outside of Durango, Colorado. Each Saturday night we’d pile into a pickup and head into town to the multiplex. One visit, having exhausted most of what was on offer, we decided to roll the dice on The Blair Witch Project. None of us had heard anything about the movie, but a horror movie about a witch? Rad.

Turns out that The Blair Witch Project is the absolute worst film to watch if you’re camping out in the woods that night. With no evidence to the contrary I thought it was real and - though I still doubted the existence of actual witches - I spent the night sleeping in the backseat of someone’s car. The Blair Witch Project remains the most terrifying experience I’ve had in a cinema and makes me basically the prime target for Blair Witch VR.

🎮 Paratopic | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "Videodrome Vibes" 🎮 @arbitrarymetric #GameDev #IndieGame #IndieGames

Paratopic is a game that has been on the periphery for me for some time and a recommendation from the head honcho at Stumpy Frog Records was what it took to finally push me over the edge. What I discovered was an experience that was difficult to pin down, but I found that it stuck in my mind through the days following completion.

🪓 Battle Axe | PS4 | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | Golden Axe On Steroids!" 🪓 @NumskullGames #IndieGames #GameDev #IndieGame #PixelArt

 

Battle Axe is an arcade top-down hack & slash featuring high-quality visuals created by veteran pixel artist Henk Nieborg, true to form game mechanics, and music from the legendary VGM composer Manami Matsumae – retro gamers rejoice!

🔥🚒 Nuclear Blaze | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay 🔥🚒 @deepnightfr #IndieGame #GameDev #IndieGames

 

Nuclear Blaze is a unique 2D firefighting game from the creator of Dead Cells, with all the devastating backdrafts, exploding walls and sprinklers you could expect. Fight your way through a mysterious facility and try to keep the blaze under control.

🌑 Phobos - Subhuman | PC | Gameplay 🌑 @PhobosSubhuman #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

During the first manned mission to Mars, a group of Astronauts visits the moon of Phobos where they mysteriously disappear. 20 years later the daughter of one of them embarks on a quest to solve the mystery.

🦉 When the Past was Around | PS4 | Review | 8/10 | "...a fetish for four-digit combination locks" 🦉 @PixelHunted @WPWAgame #IndieGames #GameDev

When the Past was Around is about universal experiences everyone can relate to, like being in a relationship with a terminally ill, violin-playing, half owl/half-man abomination.

📕📗📘📙 Bitmap Books – A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games | Available 29th October 2021 📕📗📘📙 @bitmap_books

https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games

Having previously covered – and been extremely impressed by – Bitmap Books’ Game Boy: The Box Art Collection (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/05/bitmap-books-game-boy-box-art.html), I already knew what to expect from them this time around. Solid, robust packaging, luxurious, glossy paper as well as well-researched and well-presented text augmented by crisp imagery and screenshots. Good.

🔥 Far Cry 6 | Review | Xbox Series X | 8.5/10 | "Rum and Rifles (also the names of my fists)" 🔥 @FarCrygame

My relationship with Far Cry 5 was rockier than Sylvester Stallone in 1976. The darker tone and focus on twisted zealots, cults and brainwashing (sadly reflective of the over-arching social climate of the time, which could well have added to my tiring of it)  – not to mention the constant, constant dream sequences - wore me down and it was only through revisiting it via the online co-op campaign some months later did I eventually begin to settle into it and enjoy the experience.

Far Cry 6 however, drew me in straight away. Whilst there are darker moments here, the overall sense of the game is that of fun and the traits of the series return in a way that makes exploration feel enjoyable - not through any real reinvention but rather through the solid gameplay, vibrant presentation, jaunty music, moment-to-moment scenes and satisfying gunplay.

🎴 🧟 Cards of the Dead | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "A Halloween Title Shambles into the Fold" 🧟🎴 @BoomfireGames #IndieGames #GameDev

Just in time for Halloween, Cards of the Dead bursts from the deck to eat our brains. A fun, well-presented and accessible title that only really falls short when it comes to the balancing act.

🕹️👾 Arcade Tycoon | PC | Ten minute Taster | Gameplay | "Dream Arcade" 🕹️👾 @thearcadetycoon #thearcadetycoon #GameDev #IndieGames

Build stunning Arcade Centre’s, purchase a range of arcades machines, manage troublesome staff in this colourful and humorous simulation management game. 

Inspired by Two Point Hospital, Prison Architect and Megaquarium.

🚴‍♂️💥🚗 Crash: Autodrive | Nintendo Switch | Review | 6/10 | "Who’s gonna drive you home?" 🚴‍♂️💥🚗 @StudioNightcap #GameDev #IndieGames

A lightly futuristic visual novel with some adventure elements, Crash: Autodrive puts you in the verbose shoes of Emily, a young woman who – sharing an auto-driving cab with three other passengers – hits and kills a cyclist, a cyclist that everyone personally knows – and all involved have motives for murder.

💿📀 BattleTech: Original Game Soundtrack Vinyl | Composer - Jon Everist | Produced by – Black Screen Records 💿📀 @blackscreenrec #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Black Screen Records: BattleTech

https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/battletech-original-soundtrack-by-jon-everist?ref=DKckbeLXWw8-aj

Our home is one filled with love for Jon Everist, as mentioned in my previous Vinyl Fantasies article (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/05/video-game-vinyl-britt-recommends.html) I was quite taken by his Shadowrun: Hong Kong soundtrack and even now, almost nine months on, we listen to it pretty regularly.

Whilst this game was also created by Harebrained Schemes – those heroes behind the resurgence of the Shadowrun franchise -  it’s the first soundtrack that I’ve listened to from Jon Everist outside of the Shadowrun series and so I was intrigued as to how his approach would differ.

💿📀 Narita Boy Original Soundtrack on Vinyl "A retro-futuristic audio heaven" 💿📀 @studiokobaGAME #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Available from (https://studiokoba.com/music/)

By Salvinsky (https://salvinsky.bandcamp.com/)

Narita Boy was a title that I reviewed back in April and, whilst the gameplay didn’t click with me, the visual and audio presentation were real highlights -  a vision of a digital future purely viewed through the lens of a romanticised ‘80s mindset was a heady mix and this soundtrack, comprising of a selection of thirteen tracks from the game, feels like a well-chosen highlight reel and has been firmly glued to my turntable since receiving it just over a week ago.