A little history: The Forgotten City started out life as one of Skyrim’s many mods, and it was successful. So successful in fact that the developers took the idea, built upon it, and fleshed it out into the standalone game I’m reviewing today, creating a gloriously designed Greco-Roman city, replete with fantastically written characters, period-accurate architecture, and a central gameplay mechanic that is simultaneously clever, fun, and educational (yeah, I know – they don’t go together often).
I went into The Forgotten City completely blind, and I would recommend that you do the same. It’s hard to review a game like this one without some kind of spoilers, so if you’d like to get the absolute most out of it, stop reading after this statement: The Forgotten City is 8-10 hours of adventure mystery romp, driven by fantastically written and acted dialogue. Play it.
When I saw that Jandusoft were releasing Smoots Golf, I leapt at the chance to cover it without even looking at the trailer, as I’d had such a good time with Cards of the Dead – and I love to golf!
Point and click adventures always bring a smile to my face, they bring back strong memories of my youth, sitting next to my big bro and going through games like Monkey Island or Beneath a Steel Sky, it’s a genre that - when done well - really can create some wonderful and interesting games.
Whilst I didn’t have my big bro next to me this time, even flying solo this game really struck a chord with me.
The world of arcade machines seems vast and full of undiscovered gold. I’ll regularly be reading books or articles on the subject and come across a handful of games that I didn’t even know existed. Often, they are variations on a theme, but I’m always keen to find out every last morsel of information available – especially if they are side-scrolling brawlers, a genre which I am particularly drawn to for its visceral, button-hammering thrills.
Coin-Op: The Arcade Guide is clearly a book made with a real passion for the subject matter, and whilst there are some rough edges in terms of clunky sentences, typographical errors and a very busy visual design – there’s a compulsive thirst to the way that the author presents the work, this is best captured in the introductory text to each section of the book; a real desire for the reader to share the joy and reverence that Darren Doyle has for these releases and the memories tied to discovering and playing them.
And there lies the rub. In reviewing Skatebird, I find myself constantly wondering whether Tony ruined me for other men. Birds. Games. OK, it isn't a great analogy but, we are where we are.
A question put to Indiana Jones by a member of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword while facing a boat propeller-induced nose job, and a pertinent question to ask yourself before launching 6Souls, a new pixel art action platformer thrust onto the gaming scene in December 2021.
I have worked with Britt and the gang tirelessly in 2021 to make Games Freezer a place that you can all call home as we attempt to deliver you great video games stuff directly from our frozen cavern of video gaming goodness into your noggins for consumption.
My love for everyone involved is strong and it's this time of year when we get to reflect on exactly what happened in the preceding 365 days. I love how many moments you get that are like "Oh my word I remember that game! I forgot how great it was!"
When it comes to end of year lists and Game Of the Year contenders I always use those lists as a method to pick out the games that I have maybe missed from that year so as I can pick them up in the following year.
With that in mind, I decided that I would pull together initially a TOP 10 List of the games that I have loved in 2021 and then give you an even longer list of the games that deserve their moment in the limelight.
So here goes nothing as I give you my top ten video games of 2021 according to how much I loved playing them.
The biggest hug, however, goes to Rich, the evil puppeteer that keeps all of our strings from getting tangled, as he laughs maniacally down at the twisted landscape that he has created in his own icy image.
I’m taking a slightly different approach to my games of the year this time around, throwing in a few mentions for things that aren’t strictly ‘games’ as such, but nonetheless were highlights of 2021 for me.
Whilst the list is in no particular order, it’s fair to say that if it were ‘best to worst – at the top would still be:
Taking time out of their mile-crushing schedule to talk to us at Games Freezer, we took the opportunity to get to the heart of this extremely hands-on and quite frankly, impressively gruelling mission.
GF APPROVED!
With a wide array of gaming chairs, the GT Racing / GT Player brand has been making an impact on their customers over the last couple of years; with prominent YouTubers and Esports teams using and promoting them (in November, GT Racing announced a partnership with the Manchester City Esports team).
When they came onto my radar, the look, design, and capabilities of the chairs seemed like they were perhaps overstated somewhat in comparison to their price bracket, which is extremely reasonable. I’m pleased to say, however – after using the GT890MF for at least ten hours a day for well over a week, they really do deliver the goods.
Playstation Computer Console - Free photo on Pixabay
Being comfortable while gaming is not only important to improve your gameplay and not make you feel irritated after sitting still and focused for an hour or more. Comfort during gameplay will also work to maintain and improve your health while gaming. From protecting your eye health to your mental health, here are the best tips to improve your comfort while gaming.
