Game Reviews
Tra la la
Top 5 Video Games You Should Play Right Now (Review RoundUp)
Too many games, too little time? Here’s a quick rundown of the best games you should check out this week: 1979 Revolution: Black Friday Platforms – PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android 1979 Revolution: Black Friday is a choice driven, narrative game that brings players into the brooding world of a nation on the verge of collapse. Play as Reza, an aspiring photojournalist, and make life and death decisions as you survive the gritty streets of Iran in the late 1970’s. Score – 8/10 Guts & Glory Platforms – PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Welcome to Guts and Glory — The craziest game show on earth, where ordinary people compete in extraordinary challenges of life and death, for glory! The objective is simple: Race to the finish line while everything tries to kill you. ...
Alchemic Jousts – Review
Cute yet Deadly Any of you, gamers out there who have dabbled into the tower defense genre knows that some of these can be tough, while others are a breeze. The most basic form of this genre is the age-old rock-paper-scissors. Combined with a clear understanding of chemistry and adding in RPG elements through a deck-building mechanism, you’ll arrive at Alchemic Jousts. It is a little game that hides among the many in the e-shop, but one you should definitely have a look at. Let’s dive right in! Alchemic Jousts doesn’t feature much of a story to be remembered for, but the game is draped by goodness. From the graphical prowess to the gameplay it is an absolute blast to play trough. What really shines in this game is the system of upgrades, unlocking passives, active skills, enchants, ...
Sly Spy – Review
The Name is Spy, Sly Spy The name is Spy, Sly Spy, admittedly an ambiguous choice when it comes to initials, but an all-around pistol-wielding badass. The American version of MI6’s precious Mr. Bond, come to live in the action platformer of the same name, ported to the Nintendo Switch. Another retro arcade game of yesteryear. How does it hold up in today’s day and age? I am a big James Bond buff, and it comes as no surprise that the Nintendo 64’s golden boy is still Goldeneye 007. Surely there must be a solid dose of nostalgia at play here, but that game was instrumental to me personally, as well as to the industry as a whole. Any other Bond title released on a Nintendo platform since, I had to pick up and play. Sly Spy is not James Bond, but for intents and purposes, he is the perfect sta...
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade Bad Dudes – Review
Retro-Style Brawling Johnny Turbo’s Arcade hit Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja is a brawler typical of it’s time, which made its way over to the Switch. Loving myself some old-school beat-‘em-ups, heavy duty pixels and classic sound bites I was delighted to see the review code arrive in my mailbox, ready to get brawling! Choose one of the ‘Bad Dudes’, New York’s own street-wise brawlers, Blade and Striker, and set out on a mission to save the kidnapped President, Ronnie, from the rampant ninjas, a story that places itself squarely somewhere between the early eighties and mid-nineties, fitting for an arcade beat-‘em-up of this caliber. There are no surprises when it comes to the controls of the game, for it features the basic analogue directional inputs, as well as having an attack and a jump but...
The Crew 2 – Review
The original Crew had some really great ideas, but lacked in terms of execution. The idea of a seamless open world, with the entirety of America as the main map, appealed to me, and many others. Sadly, the actual gameplay was a bit weak, specially in contrast to some of the other racing games on the market. With its new sequel, The Crew 2 aims to fix those problems, while adding a lot more to the overall gameplay. The first difference is the addition of new vehicles – you can drive cars, ride bikes, fly planes and sail boats – and all of them feel fun in their own way. The overall tone of the game has also changed with the plot. It’s a lot thinner now, but that’s actually a good thing. Instead of the ridiculous revenge or heist plot, it’s a simple tale of a gu...
Lost Sea – Review
Setting sail once more Lost Sea is an action adventure game that employs basic RPG elements and effective battling system. It switches between a third-person three-dimensional world and a 2D overworld from which to select the island to explore. It throws the player right into the game; choose your shipwrecked wonderer and find yourself lost and all alone with nothing to hold on to save for the clothing on your back. Once you start exploring you’ll pick up a handy machete to cut your way through thickets and destroy objects standing in your way. Pretty soon you’ll find you’re not at all alone, as the island is populated with all sort of animals, set to oust you from their lands – situations in which that nifty little machete sure comes in handy! “Digging for treasure” The main goal in Lost ...
Everspace – Review
Space exploration with procedurally generated environment alongside space combat and crafting, Everspace sounds a lot like No Man’s Sky but is so vastly different. It is a rouge-lite game with stunning visuals, great control and intense combat this is one of the most fun Space Explorations games I’ve played. And to top it all off, it even has a VR mode so you can immerse yourself even more and enjoy the gorgeous visuals. So let’s get right to the core of the game then. The game has just one mode which also features a story that is told through dialogue accompanied with image stills. You get these story bits everytime you get to a new Sector but that felt secondary to me because of how much fun the game was otherwise. You spawn into an area of the sector where then you mus...
Milanoir – Review
I hadn’t really heard much about Milanoir, until I randomly stumbled upon it on Steam with the official description starting like this – “Inspired by the Italian crime flicks of the ’70s revered by Quentin Tarantino”, and the first trailer looking like this: I was immediately hooked, and wanted to know more. So, Milanoir is a 2D action game, with a crime-heavy story, and tons of great characters. The art style is vibrant pixel art, and looks gorgeous, and the aesthetic strongly resembles the movies it takes inspirations from. Set in Miian, you play as Pedro, a member of an Italian crime family, who had been framed for murder. He is now seeking revenge on the person that framed him, by murdering more folks along the way. While the plot might sound fairly straightforward, the gam...
Die for Valhalla! – Review
For Blood & Glory! When I first saw the announcement for Die for Valhalla! I just had to play this game. Having received the review code I dived right into it and explored the Viking lore to see what Valhalla really is about. There are two main modes to choose from, either dive right into the story-mode alone or tag in another player at any given time, or challenge your friend(s) to a direct duel all in the name of glory. In the game you follow the adventures of the Valkyrie of your choosing, each one named after the four seasons, and their heroes as they travel through the realms, beating enemies and smashing their way through the levels. Die for Valhalla! features plenty of little cut-scenes that are beautifully rendered and riddled with fourth-dimension-shattering jokes and japes. J...
One Strike – Review
Cutting It Close One Strike is a surprising take on the age-old 2D fighter genre rehashing retro graphics, chip-tunes, and tight controls. The game features 4 different modes for you to compete in; One Life, Arcade, Team Duel, and Tournament. Want to climb your way to the top quickly? Participate in the tournament mode as you face your opponents while advancing the brackets. Think you have what it takes to take all comers? Try your luck in One Life, where you will have to defeat all 6 fighters while you are only one strike away from failure. In team battle, you go at it using a selection of 3 fighters. Arcade mode gives you 5 lives, making it the best place to start when trying out a new fighter. “Choose your character well!” Select one of the six unique fighters and embark on a quest to c...
Atomine – Review
Cyber Punk Madness Atomine is a fast-paced, rogue-like twin stick shooter loosely based on the true events surrounding STUXNET, the first discovered malware targeting industrial computer systems. The player model, named Atomine is likewise a computer virus, going around, statistically growing and facing firewall-like enemies in an effort to infect and successfully take over a nuclear missile control system. Overall, the game plays great, the controls couldn’t be simpler and are very tight. With only 2 sticks to control – the left for moving around, the other to direct your weapon – it’s easy to lose yourself in the action-packed gameplay. The levels are procedurally generated for maximum replayability and are composed of translucent blocks representing physical boundaries set on a plane, w...
Beekyr Reloaded – Review
Bees, Bullets and Bombs Beekyr Reloaded is a fun arcade-style action shoot’em up, that begs to be played over and over again. It is as unforgiving and unrelenting as it is pure unadulterated fun. Having been raised in a Nintendo home, I have played and bought the original Gradius multiple times over. It was great getting back into the genre through Beekyr Reloaded, bringing back cherished childhood memories. “Hands off!” The game revolves around Beekyr, a hearty fellow who has to avenge his hive after their honey and pollen got stolen, fighting wasps, scorpions, praying mantises, frogs, beetles, and all sorts of enemies trying to prevent him taking revenge whilst journeying through all five interconnected worlds. The levels are short and snappy and the alternation of horizontal and vertica...