⚔️ Dark Deity | Nintendo Switch | Review | 9/10 | "A Shining Example of The Genre" ⚔️ @DarkDeityGame #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

A Kickstarter funded title from developers Sword and Axe LLC, released through Freedom Games - Dark Deity was brought to my attention through an innocuous press release.

Initially, upon seeing a few screenshots – and thus the anime-styled character portraits, combined with blocks of dialogue– I foolishly assumed that it was a visual novel and my expectations dropped accordingly…until I watched the trailer.

⌨️ ROCCAT | Magma Keyboard | Review | "GF Approved!" ⌨️ @ROCCAT #GamingKeyboard

Product Link - https://uk.roccat.com/products/magma

“The ROCCAT® Magma™ Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard is ideal for RGBA enthusiasts seeking a competitive gaming keyboard. Its top plate is fully illuminated in 16.8 million RGB colours and AIMO compatible, making it ready for stunning lighting showcases. Featuring silent membrane keys, ROCCAT Easy-Shift[+] technology, a detachable palm rest and a low maintenance design.”

Features:

• 5-zone, 10-LED 16.8m colour RGBA backlighting

• Semi-transparent top plate

• Solid and responsive typing with silent membrane keys

• Advanced anti-ghosting technology

• AIMO lighting engine

• Detachable palm rest

• ROCCAT Easy-Shift[+]® button duplicator

• 2-year manufacturer warranty

A key part of any working or gaming day is the trusty keyboard. I’ve used dozens in my time, and a keyboard that isn’t up to scratch can affect everything, from constant typos to missed opportunities in myriad games – plus, using a keyboard that doesn’t feel right just removes the fun and flow from whatever it is that you are doing.

🧟 Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies!" 🧟 @ZingGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Pinball. Who doesn’t like pinball? The clanking, the bumpers, the desire to be on that top score leaderboard, the dreaded tilt. Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies! Who doesn’t like zombies? Well, obviously I’d rather they weren’t in my house or attempting to eat what little brains I have left, but as a cultural concept, zombies are great!

So naturally, when I heard that there was a zombie pinball game, I wanted in. Then I looked a bit closer... zombie pinball roguelike with tower defence elements, kinda?! WTF?! (Note to parents and younger readers – by this I mean Wow, That’s Fun?!). 

Naturally, I was fascinated and needed to know more. If you’re fascinated and need to know more, well, read on.

That’s kind of the point of me sitting here.

🐕 Samorost 2 | Soundtrack (Vinyl) | Tomas Dvorak (Floex) | "Dvorak’s singularly idiosyncratic approach can be felt in full force here" 🐕 @Amanita_Design #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

https://merch.amanita-design.net/products/samorost-2-soundtrack-by-floex-double-vinyl

The work of Amanita Design often features somewhere in my end-of-year lists, such is the quality of their releases, and this soundtrack from Samorost 2 is no different in terms of the quality and talent that it brings to the (turn)table.

🎶 Yann Latour Interview 🎶 @_YannLatour #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VideoGameMusic

Following my recent coverage of Yann Latour’s -very good - ENCODYA soundtrack, I was keen to know more about him, as I’d not previously been aware of his work.

He kindly responded and our subsequent chat is below, enjoy!

🤼 WWE 2K22 | XSX | Review | 7/10 | “Bad Times Don’t Last, But Bad Guys Do” 🤼 #WWE2K22 @WWEgames

I've always said that WWE games’ motto could be, ‘one step forward, two steps back’, every year they would add something new… while removing other modes, matches or making other aspects worse.

Now, it's almost impossible to make a game worse than WWE 2K20, it was a completely broken and buggy mess, so, like many - after a two-year hiatus I was excited to see if they could rejuvenate the franchise and clean up the mess that had plagued the previous entry.

I'm going to go through the modes in the order of how I played them, as I think it gives a good insight into the game and what makes it good, as well as what needs some more attention in the next entry. 

🐔🥔 No Place Like Home | PC | Gameplay | Early Access | "A Relaxing Sim With A Hoover" 🐔🥔 #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

No Place Like Home - Humanity Trashed the Earth and left for Mars. Only a few remained. EXPLORE the world. Clean the environment, CRAFT with recycled resources. Domesticate animals. Rebuild your village. Restore the environment and run your own post-apocalyptic FARM as there is No Place Like Home!

⚔️ Edge of Eternity | PS5 | Review | 7/10 | “A Love Letter to Final Fantasy” ⚔️ @EoeGame @MidgarStudio #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Edge of Eternity started life as a Kickstarter project, the small French developer ‘Midgar Studios’ clearly took inspiration from Final Fantasies of old - I mean, the clue is in the name of the studio. Now, I have talked in a few reviews of how ‘love letters’ can go one of two ways, they can wonderfully create a new but familiar experience, or they can just be a carbon copy with little identity of their own.

Edge of Eternity has flaws that are revealed very early on. Technical issues were clearly visible, you can see that Edge of Eternity is made on a small budget, character animations are awkward, draw distances and texture pop-in occurs, but despite all the technical flaws, I found the game quite charming with a lot of interesting ideas. I will say that not all of them land, but on the whole, it was an experience I enjoyed, and I feel that the game captured the magic of older JRPGS, whilst still feeling fresh.

🤠 Unavowed | Nintendo Switch | Review | 9.5/10 | "Taking The Crown" 🤠 @WadjetEyeGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

I was asked, “do you want to review a game called Primordia?” -which I did, and it was a great game – and then I had a message that read, “I got excited and grabbed an Unavowed code for you as well.” - so this game was a complete surprise for me, I knew it was one of my brother's favourite adventure games, which meant it had lofty expectations.

Having huge expectations is always a double-edged sword, it’s great that a game is held in such high esteem, but if you don’t enjoy it as others have, there is a huge let-down and that sometimes creates a bigger negative feeling towards the game - anyone who is on Twitter can attest to this.

Luckily, Unavowed is an absolutely amazing game, and now holds the crown of being my favourite graphic adventure game of all time, sorry The Secret of Monkey Island, it has been a good 31-year streak.

🪱 Tapeworm: Disco Puzzle | Dreamcast | Review | 8/10 "A game that will worm its way into your heart" 🪱 @LowtekGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev #RetroGaming

Lowtek’s previous title, Flea! Was very much loved in the GF towers, especially by me. With addictive gameplay, crisp visuals, smooth animation and music that was of Bubble Bobble-level catchiness, it was very much a winner.

I’ve been following the development of Tapeworm for some time, and even picked up the t-shirt from Lowtek Games’ website as I loved the image and yes, the pun.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding….can the finished game stand up to the high quality of the pun-title, premise… and developer Alistair Low’s Tik-Tok videos?

Yes, yes it can.

📷 Martha is Dead | XSX | Review | 7/10 | "The Lady of The Lake" 📷 @WiredP #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Set in Tuscany during wartime (1944), Martha is Dead is a dark and sinister rural horror title that covers a lot of ground that will have players clearing their throat or possibly adjusting their spectacles in discomfort, as this isn’t a game that shies away from visceral thrills.

🏎️🌪️ Moto Roader MC | PS4 | Review | 6/10 | "Burnin' Retro Rubber!" 🏎️🌪️ @RatalaikaGames #Retrogaming #IndieGameDev

Moto Roader was originally released in 1989 as a futuristic racing game developed by NCS for the PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16.

Since then it has been ported over to the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles. Now in the year of video games 2022, we have a port that is hitting Xbox, Switch, PS4 and PS5.

🤼‍♂️ Action Arcade Wrestling | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7.5/10 | "Ric Flair controversially won, causing my nan, in her 60s at the time, to shout abuse at the TV. " 🤼‍♂️ @AAWGame #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

If you grew up in the late 80s-early 90s, you either got wrestling or you didn't. I have memories of watching WWF (as it was) on a Saturday at my dad's house, with characters like Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake, who did actually cut his opponents' hair off from time to time, or Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, who brought snakes with him to ringside (pretty sure neither would happen these days). 

I also remember watching the 1992 Royal Rumble at my grandparents' house, where Ric Flair controversially won, causing my nan, in her 60s at the time, to shout abuse at the TV. 

With family like this, it's not surprising that I'm one of the ones who got it.

🏐⚽️ Bang On Balls Chronicles | PC | Gameplay | Early Access | "Watch Me Bang My Balls" ⚾️🏀 @bangonballs #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Bang-On Balls: Chronicles is an oddball of a 3D platforming game with a collect-a-thon spin! Become a reckless hero as you do missions, collect items and search for secrets rolling through various (inaccurate) historical events!

🔊 Tronsmart Bang 60 Watt Portable Speaker with Light Show, Patented TuneConn™ Technology and Four Drivers 🔊

I just saw this speaker press release pop into the Games Freezer mailbox and now I'm excited about the launch of Tronsmart’s newest speaker, the BANG 60W.

The new speaker has some great features with Built-in Power Bank and the ability to link with up to 100 other Bang Speakers, for amplified sound.

The Bang 60W is IPX6 Waterproof and also comes with a built-in Power Bank. 

How handy is that?

🤖 Primordia | Nintendo Switch | Review | 8/10 | "Sounds Like Heaven" 🤖 @WWSGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Primordia managed to slip by me upon its initial release - which is strange, as a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk, point and click adventure game sounds like heaven! 

Now that it has been ported to Nintendo Switch, I thought it would be a good time to jump in and see if it was my videogame version of heaven.

📷 35mm | PS4 | Review | 4/10 | "The very last task you’re given is to find three batteries hidden in a city..." 📷 @PixelHunted

When the apocalypse arrives it’ll probably be kinda boring. Games like Fallout, The Last of Us, and Days Gone are all razzle-dazzle combat, world-changing drama, and malformed flesh-eating monsters to mulch.

Contrast that with 35mm, in which I spent an hour trudging through an abandoned village trying to find a bucket so I could use a grubby broken-down well. Let’s face it, that’s probably a more realistic scenario for you if civilisation collapsed.

💿💽 ENCODYA | An Original Soundtrack by Yann Latour | Vinyl Review 💿💽 @_YannLatour #vinylrecords #videogamemusic #videogamevinyl

I’ve covered a lot of records over the last few years, but ENCODYA stands out as one of the most memorable. An almost purely ambient release devoid -for the most part – of beats, drums or percussion, the layers of mood and scene are punctuated by guest spots of organic instrumentation that add character and identity whilst never deviating too far from the focus on melodic simplicity.

An album that really set me in a (much appreciated) zen-like state. Good.

🐔🥔 No Place Like Home | PC | Gameplay | Early Access | "A Relaxing Farming Sim With A Hoover" 🐔🥔 #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

No Place Like Home - Humanity Trashed the Earth and left for Mars. Only a few remained. EXPLORE the world. Clean the environment, CRAFT with recycled resources. Domesticate animals. Rebuild your village. Restore the environment and run your own post-apocalyptic FARM as there is No Place Like Home!

🤖 Blackwind | Xbox Series X | Review | 3/10 | "Groundhog Slay" 🤖 @drakkardev @maxharvey79 #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

My first impressions of Blackwind were positive. I’m a fan of the mecha anime aesthetic, and the story of a boy having to use a super-powered robot suit (à la Titanfall) to battle enemies and rescue his father, was an appealing prospect. The voice acting is a little cheesy, but I felt like it set the scene well, with an AI voice in the suit giving instructions that worked as a tutorial without that being too contrived.

But. 

BUT.