Amidst all the 100+ hours of RPG-ing, shooting, adventuring and racing, sometimes it’s nice to take things slow and get casual. Word-based games have always held an allure for me and I’m pleased to say that Word Forward is the newest title to suck me in.
07/12/2021
06/12/2021
👨🍳 Epic Chef | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster | "Chef Raekwon" 👨🍳 @EpicChefGame #IndieGame #IndieGames #GameDev
Get ready to embark on a comedic culinary quest unlike any other as you take on the role of Zest in this story-driven adventure game; from humble beginnings, you will build a farm, grow delectable ingredients, craft machinery and cook your way to becoming the most Epic Chef in Ambrosia!
Watch Me Take On My First Jobs in Ambrosia as we take a ten-minute taster of this cool indie game!
05/12/2021
Last Ninja 2 | Reformation Vinyl | Review | "I just enjoyed wandering around, being a ninja" @mattgrayc64 #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGVinyl #LastNinja2
It’s always a pleasure to be blindsided by pure joy and, when this Last Ninja 2 vinyl arrived, I couldn’t believe how quickly I became completely infatuated with it. Over two weeks on from arrival, it is still getting daily spins in my record player with no signs of slowing up. For the record, the A-side of this album consist of three songs that are so strong that they rank up there at the top of the genre in terms of album kick-offs, it’s unbelievably good stuff.
04/12/2021
📚📒 The Art of Creaks | Book | Review 📚📒 @Amanita_Design #IndieGames #IndieGame #GameDev
Purchase Link - https://merch.amanita-design.net/products/the-art-of-creaks
Creaks is a game that is very much adored by its fanbase for the care and craft that was clearly put into it, resulting in a title whereby the visuals and music are just as important as the fundamental gameplay.
It therefore makes sense - following the ‘making of’ documentary focusing on the music of Creaks (https://youtu.be/67S-rAyku3U) - that a book dedicated to the art is released. As was made clear in my review of Creaks a few months ago - https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/06/creaks-review-xbox-series-x-910.html – it is a game that really made an impact on me and I often find myself discussing it or listening to the soundtrack, and now – I can get lost again in those wonderfully detailed visuals thanks to The Art of Creaks.
03/12/2021
🐦🦃 Beyond A steel Sky | Nintendo Switch | Gameplay | "Big Steve Is A Right Pain!" 🐦🦃 @RevSoftGames #IndieGames #IndieGame #GameDev
From Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword series, with art direction by Dave Gibbons, legendary comic book artist behind ‘Watchmen’, comes ‘Beyond a Steel Sky’, the long awaited sequel to the cult classic ‘Beneath a Steel Sky’.
You are Robert Foster. A child has been abducted in a brutal attack. You have vowed to bring him home. But the trail has led you from your community of desert wasteland dwellers, to Union City, one of the last remaining mega-cities in a world ravaged by shattering wars, and political meltdown.
Fortified and impenetrable, it is a utopia in which people live happily under the surveillance and control of a benign AI. But all is far from what it seems...
‘Beyond a Steel Sky’ is a dramatic, humorous, cyberpunk thriller in which engaging puzzles drive a fast-paced narrative set in a dynamic game world that responds to – and is subverted by – the player’s actions.
02/12/2021
🚜 Farming Simulator 2022 | PC | Ten minute Taster | "We Plough The Fields & Scatter" 🚜 @farmingsim #GameDev #IndieGames #IndieGame
01/12/2021
🚀🐟 G Darius HD | Nintendo Switch HD | Review | 7.5/10 | "Laser Duels With Hulking End Level Bosses .... YES PLEASE!" 🚀🐟 @ININ_Games #Retrogaming #SHMUP
G-Darius HD comes in all guns blazing on my Nintendo Switch and once again we have another absolute classic SHMUP gunning its way through new audiences on the Switch as the list of legendary Shoot Em Ups on the console grows longer and longer.
Flying through a level on this beautiful conversion of the arcade game on your switch is a joy to behold as you pivot and swivel through enemy waves with pinpoint accurate controls and classic arcade visuals.
30/11/2021
📓Hermitage: Strange Case Files | Xbox Series X | Review | 5/10 | "One is The Loneliest Number" 📔 @ArrowizStudios #GameDev #IndieGames #IndieGame
I recently had a conversation with my brother - I explained to him how I've grown tired of games using HP Lovecraft as inspiration, how there seems to be a plethora of them and most of them aren't very good, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth being the biggest exception.
I had major reservations for this game from the start as more Lovecraftian horror is not what I particularly wanted, but I'm always happy to be proven wrong and so hoped this game would ease my tiredness of Lovecraft and bring my list of good games inspired by his bibliography to a whopping two.
29/11/2021
🤖 Paco Rabanne Phantom - Connected Fragrance | "Stop Smelling Your Fists!" 🤖 @PacoRabanne #welcometothefuture #daretobedifferent
I’ve been a fan of Paco Rabanne’s scents for quite a while now. From not being able to wear the divine Ultraviolet due to the age-old problem of too many people in my circle of friends also wearing it through to a moment about six years ago when I first came across their eau de toilette ‘Paco’ whilst waiting for a flight to Paris and was told off by my now-fiancée to ‘stop smelling my fists, it looks weird’ (I had tried a few scents out in the airport and my knuckles were the only free spot left on my hands/arms for Paco, and it was an addictive smell!).
28/11/2021
🪙🗿🔱Treasures of the Aegean | Xbox Series X | Review | 8/10 | "Imagine a 2D Lara Croft, with Prince of Persia Moves..." 🪙🗿🔱 @NumskullGames #IndieGames #IndieGame #GameDev
Marie, the main character, is a puzzle-solving, treasure-grabbing force of nature, able to run, jump and slide around an absolutely massive map at high speed and without getting tired.
27/11/2021
🦝 Backbone | XBOX SERIES X | Review | 6/10 | "One small step for noir, one giant misstep from Backbone" 🦝 @backbonegame #IndieGames #IndieGame
The word noir conjures up so much joy for me, I absolutely adore it - if I see the word in a description of any piece of media, it's almost guaranteed I will consume it.
In theory, Backbone was so far up my street, I could have bought a three-bed terrace house there and lived a very happy life… or so I thought.
26/11/2021
🗞️📰 Xbox Looks Towards A Grim Dawn | VIDEO GAME NEWS 🗞️📰 @GrimDawn #IndieGame #GameDev #IndieGames
Crate Entertainment's monster PC hit ARPG Grim Dawn heads to consoles this December 3rd to be featured exclusively on Xbox.
The Xbox definitive edition will wrap the base game, all DLC’s, and all the expansions into a single package for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S players to enjoy.
22/11/2021
💿📀 Kingdom Come: Deliverance Album Review 💿📀 @valtajan #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl
Thank you to Warhorse Studios! - Warhorse Studios - Warhorse
Firstly, a huge thank you to Warhorse Studios for this opportunity. For the reasons I’ve written below, this game was a big part of a unique section of my life and, although it is sold out and not widely available at present, they kindly send over a copy that they had in their office specifically for this article, which is very cool of them and hugely appreciated, I definitely owe them a beer, Na Zdravi!
21/11/2021
🍕 Pac-Man: Birth of an icon (by Arjan Terpstra & Tim Lapetino) | Book Review 🍕 @cookbeck #RetroGaming #PacMan
Few games are as iconic as the occasionally ghost-devouring, yellow dot-muncher, Pac-Man. In this 300+ page, full-colour tome, you’ll find everything that you could possibly want to know about this timeless classic. From origins to impact, legacy and beyond – all accompanied with crisp, high-definition images, insider commentary, well-researched information and vibrant artwork all presented through accessible writing.
20/11/2021
💿📀 Metal Slug X Original Soundtrack Record Label - Wayo Records Artist - SNK Sound Team 💿📀 @WayoRecords @WayoRecordsJP #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl
‘The iconic soundtrack from the legendary game Metal Slug X for the first time as a stand-alone release in vinyl format, for the 25th Anniversary of the legendary SNK game series! Go Peregrine Falcon Squads!’
19/11/2021
👾 Super Life of Pixel - A Box of Gaming History (PS4/Switch) 👾 @RealStrictlyLTD #IndieGames #Retrogaming #IndieGame
Strictly Limited Games, together with Reset Games, are excited to give Super Life of Pixel a physical release, exclusively at the Strictly Limited Games Shop.
Super Life of Pixel is a 2D puzzle-platformer that lets you enter a living, playable museum of video game history.
A museum that spans across three decades and 19 historically inspired consoles, giving you a historic tour that is sure to put a smile on your face.
https://store.strictlylimitedgames.com/collections/super-life-of-pixel
18/11/2021
🪱 ‘Earthworm Jim’ Set For Small Screen Revival 🪱 #EarthWormJim
12/11/2021
🚀🪨 Gleylancer | Advanced Busterhawk | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "A No Nonsense Scrolling Shmup!" 🚀🪨 @RatalaikaGames #GameDev #IndieGame #IndieGames #RetroGaming
The Nintendo Switch has become a system choc full of classic shmups oer the years and now it has another cracking release in the form of Gleylancer.
11/11/2021
🤓💻 The Benefits of Hiring Unity Video Game Developer 🤓💻
What is it with Unity that makes it so unique?
Of course, it's the technology! While many C++ programmers exist, working with Unity necessitated the usage of C# programming abilities. C# is a higher-level programming language that is easier to learn and utilize. It comes at the cost of being unable to deal directly with memory, which is often why C++ is used by many developers.
10/11/2021
🕹️ 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...
09/11/2021
⚔️ 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
08/11/2021
🕹️ 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
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!
07/11/2021
🔶 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.
06/11/2021
👊💥👊 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.
05/11/2021
📀🎶 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.
04/11/2021
🩸🌳 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.
03/11/2021
🎮 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.
02/11/2021
🪓 Battle Axe | PS4 | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | Golden Axe On Steroids!" 🪓 @NumskullGames #IndieGames #GameDev #IndieGame #PixelArt
01/11/2021
🔥🚒 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.
31/10/2021
🌑 Phobos - Subhuman | PC | Gameplay 🌑 @PhobosSubhuman #IndieGame #IndieGameDev
30/10/2021
29/10/2021
📕📗📘📙 Bitmap Books – A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games | Available 29th October 2021 📕📗📘📙 @bitmap_books
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.
28/10/2021
🔥 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.
27/10/2021
🎴 🧟 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.
26/10/2021
🕹️👾 Arcade Tycoon | PC | Ten minute Taster | Gameplay | "Dream Arcade" 🕹️👾 @thearcadetycoon #thearcadetycoon #GameDev #IndieGames
25/10/2021
🚴♂️💥🚗 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.
24/10/2021
💿📀 BattleTech: Original Game Soundtrack Vinyl | Composer - Jon Everist | Produced by – Black Screen Records 💿📀 @blackscreenrec #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl
Black Screen Records: BattleTech
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.
23/10/2021
💿📀 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.
22/10/2021
🃏 🐺 Inscryption | Demo | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster 🐺🃏 @DMullinsGames #GameDev #IndieGames
Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie.
Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...
21/10/2021
🚂 If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "The Silent Room" 🚂 @deadidlegames #GameDev #IndieGames
If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers is a narrative-driven point-and-click adventure with horror elements that explores the stories of four characters in a masked ball taking place aboard a train in the late 1920s.
It's also currently FREE on Steam!
⚔️ INFERNAX | "A Blood-Splattered, Demon-Slaying Retro Action Adventure" ⚔️ #GameDev #IndieGames @TheArcadeCrew @berzerkstudio
Publisher The Arcade Crew (The Last Spell, Young Souls) and developer Berzerk Studio (Just Shapes & Beats) today announce Infernax, a demon-slaying action-adventure inspired by 8-bit retro classics, which is bashing monsters into a spectacularly bloody pulp across PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in Q1 2022.
20/10/2021
💻 Tips for Looking After Your Tech 💻
Technology is expensive, so unless you want to be paying out to fix or replace it, you must invest your time in looking after your tech. Whether you use your devices for gaming or work, likely, your setup is not cheap. Looking after your tech will not only save you money in the long run but also help you benefit from more efficient functions and better security features to keep your data safe.
Here are some top tips to help you look after your tech and increase its lifespan.
⚔️ Tales of Arise | Review | PS5 | 8.5/10 | "A Tale As Old As Time" ⚔️ #TalesOfArise
Tales of Arise is one of the games that I've been most excited about all year, finally getting to play a JRPG on the PS5 from a long-standing series that I deeply adore.
My expectations were sky high, I was counting down the days to play it; frothing at the mouth, staring at my watch, screaming at time to move more quickly… ok maybe that’s hyperbole - but I couldn’t wait to finally load the game and start my experience.
19/10/2021
🚙 Gearshifters | Switch | Review | 8/10 | "A very smooth and addictive genre mash-up" 🚙 @NumskullGames #IndieGames #GameDev
I’ve had my peepers on Gearshifters since being introduced to it via a Numskull (the publisher of Gearshifters) presentation on YouTube earlier in the year.
The thought of combining top-down vehicular combat with the style of a classic horizontal shooter really unbuckled my trousers and folded them neatly in a drawer.
When the review copy was sent over, I was a little apprehensive as the previous game we had covered from Numskull – RICO: London – hadn’t been scored too well by my colleague, luckily those worries were unfounded as Gearshifters quickly held me captive in its cleverly designed, moreish, skidmark-laden world.
🥶 New Trailer Heralds the Release of We Were Here Forever! 🥶 @WeWereHereGame
18/10/2021
🕵️♀️🔎 Murder Mystery Machine | Xbox Series X | Review | 5/10 "A disappointing experience that had the potential for so much more" 🕵️♀️🔎 @BlazingGGames #IndieGames #GameDev
When I saw the trailer for this game, I thought, “wow this looks up my street! An isometric murder mystery where you solve the cases by linking evidence on a diorama board, having to piece together means, motives and opportunity… this sounds amazing!”
17/10/2021
🍌 Super Monkey Ball | Banana Mania | Ten Minute Taster | PC | Gameplay | "Tally My Banana!" 🍌 @SuperMonkeyBall
Go Bananas with your favourite monkey gang in the ultimate Super Monkey Ball adventure!
Roll through wondrous worlds with AiAi and friends as you race to stop monkey mad scientist Dr Bad-Boon from blowing up Jungle Island! Join the all-star monkey team of AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, Baby, YanYan and Doctor as you bounce, tilt, and roll your way across hundreds of delightfully crafted levels and mazes. It’s monkey business for the gang as you take down Dr Bad-Boon and steal back your beloved bananas!