Game Reviews
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Aven Colony Review (PC & PS4)
As a huge fan of city building simulators, I was really looking forward to Aven Colony. And the fact that it’s also on PS4 was an added draw for me, since that’s where I primarily play. And this is where the game has me a bit divided. On consoles, it’s one of the better city builders you will find. But on PC, there’s a lot that Aven Colony lacks, specially when held against games like Sim City and Cities Skylines. Your main objective in Aven Colony is to colonize Aven Prime – an alien planet with a wide range of habitats ranging from deserts, tundras and tropical regions. The premise itself is fascinating. Building a colony in space sounds like the coolest thing ever. And in the beginning, it really does feel like it. The intro tutorials are easy to understand...
Warden-fall: The Elder Scrolls Online Morrowind Review
Morrowind was an amazing part in The Elder Scrolls series. It only seems natural that Bethesda would want to bring that surreal world to ESO, the MMO version of their RPG series. Since ESO launched back in 2014, it has undergone a number of major changes, including level scaling and completely opening up the world to explorers in the One Tamriel update. Even though ESO offered a ton of content, as an MMORPG it always felt average at best. That is, until Morrowind, the game’s first additional “Chapter” (not expansion, as the devs like to call it). You’re introduced to the city of Vvardenfall, which has been very faithfully recreated after the original game. Maybe a little too faithfully, because it’s likely that old Morrowind fans may not feel the same sense of...
Mr. Shifty – Review
Your aim in Mr. Shifty is to make your way gradually up the world’s most secure facility. You are quite literally making your way up, several floors at a time, taking down enemies and avoiding to take any damage at all. Played from a top down perspective, you have two basic abilities – you can dash/shift really quickly to avoid attacks or get behind enemies, you can beat up enemies using your fists or some melee items in the environments. Enemies can come at you with guns or melee weapons or straight up in hand to hand combat. You die in one hit and have to restart the area. But the shifting ability is executed really well and also allows you to move across walls and smaller obstacles. The gameplay feels really tight and fluid, and later stages can become a careful dance of avoiding ...
Black The Fall – Review
Black The Fall is set in a Communist dystopia, and you play as Black who is trying to escape from a facility that seems hellbent on seeing him trapped here forever. At first glance, Black The Fall looks a lot like Playdead’s Inside, and it does have tones similar to it. However, Black The Fall has a lot more to the gameplay than both of Playdead’s previous games, and does enough interesting things to warrant a place of its own. After years of suffering, Black decides to escape the Communist regime, and makes his way through an industrial complex outfitted with various mechanical contraptions and puzzles. You get a laser pointer of sorts that can control others in the complex, and help you solve some of the earlier puzzles. Soon after you befriend a robot dog that helps you along the way. T...
Dance Of The Dead – Diablo III: Rise Of The Necromancer Review
Necromancers are pretty fascinating. And, Diablo III’s take on the class is absolutely fantastic. Rise of the Necromancer comes as a DLC that adds a whole new class, the Necromancer (duh), which was one of the most popular characters in Diablo II. The only problem? That’s all there is to it. It doesn’t add any story content. That doesn’t stop it from being awesome, though. The Necromancer is probably one of the most powerful classes in the game, not to mention the most badass. From raising corpses to blowing them up in geysers of bile and blood, you can do just about anything. And my, is it fun. There’s a horde of abilities in your arsenal that you can use to suit your play style. The Necromancer excels at both melee and ranged combat. You can play defensively...
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age – Review
Back when it first released on the Playstation 2, Final Fantasy XII was an excellent RPG that did a lot of things differently for the series. However, it never recieved the mass acclaim as it did critically. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is a HD remaster of the PS2 game, and adds some key elements apart from visual changes to make it a compelling game for the Playstation 4. Set in the world of Ivalice, the story follows the adventures of Vaan, Princess Ashe and their companions as they set about to free their homeland after it’s conquered by the Archadian Empire. Unlike the previous Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy XII is filled with political intrigue and personal tales than a bigger apocalyptic threat. This is a refreshing change from most RPG tropes and as the story progresses, mo...
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles Review
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeves. What it’s even prouder of is how it stands apart from those inspirations and creates a world of it’s own for the player to explore at their leisure and do things as they see fit. Visually the game looks a lot like the new Zelda, with mere minutes into the game a cinematic intro sweeping the camera across a stunning landscape similar to the opening moments of Breath of the Wild. The game starts with a very simple and basic character creator, and that same simplicity is carried forth for the majority of the game. After a quick premise, you land on the island of Gemea, a beautiful and fantastical land filled with friendly folks and creatures, who are endangered by an evil force called Murk. And you...
Hollowed Be Thy Name: Hollow Knight Review
In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret, For none could tame our savage souls, yet you the challenge met, Under palest watch, you taught, we changed, base instincts were redeemed, A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed. With these, and only these words, you’re thrown into the awe-inspiring and highly unforgiving world of Hollow Knight, with no clue whatsoever as to what you’re supposed to do. You make your to a now largely deserted town of Dirtmouth, where an Elderbug tells you that the place once teemed with life, but drawn to the mysteries of the forgotten kingdom that lies beneath the surface, they’re all gone. It’s up to you to discover the ancient secrets and rid the town of the curse. Hence begins your journey into t...
Secrets Of The Maw – Review
For anyone looking to return to the grotesque world of Little Nightmares, Secrets of the Maw is a three part DLC. The first chapter of the DLC is called ‘The Depths’, and as the name suggests it takes place closer to the bottom of the ship, The Maw. Not a lot has changed in The Maw since your last visit here, except that in ‘The Depths’, there’s a lot more water. Parts of The Maw are flooding, and most of the puzzles here are water-based. This part of the game is best played once the main game has been completed, since the game does a lot less hand holding here and expects you to be familiar with the game. And because of this familiarity, you will, for the most part, know what to do. The trick will be in nailing the timing and getting out before drowning. You play as ‘The Runaway Kid...
Subverted Expectations – Get Even Review
Get Even will be a divisive game for its players. On one hand it offers an intriguing narrative that is hesitant in doling out new revelations, but that same hesitation leads to some satisfying twists and reveals towards the end. Then on the other hand, the same constant hesitation leads to unnecessary obfuscation and constant reliance on misleading the player leads to some really frustrating moments. Developed by Farm 51, a Polish game studio, Get Even is a psychological thriller played as a first person shooter. You play as Cole Black, and start off equipped with a silenced pistol and a smartphone. Early moments of the game gives you very little pretext, and you set off trying to uncover what’s happening. Pretty soon a series of events occur, and since story is the strongest part of the ...
Toby: The Secret Mine – Review
Toby: The Secret Mine sets itself up with a simple yet interesting premise – your villagers have been kidnapped by forces that seem fearful of you, and you need to go about rescuing them. You play as Toby, a little guy determined to save his friends and uncover what’s going on. Right from the first moments of the game, it’s inspirations are made clear – The 2D art style is reminiscent of Limbo, while its more vibrant color palette reminded me of Badlands. The game looks great, and there’s enough visual variety to keep the game from looking stale. Similar to Limbo, you’ll progress across levels by solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles. The problem, however, is in the game’s heavy reliance on ‘trial and error’ style of gameplay. Often ...
Cryptark – Review
Cryptark is a 2D roguelike game with shmup elements and a Matrix-like hud, where you board alien ships and blow stuff up. It’s also pretty damn great! From the visuals, to the gameplay, to the voice acting and sounds, everything is really well done, and surprisingly so for a roguelike that primarily depends on the gameplay loop. You play the role of a privateer, and take on contracts to board alien vessels. The main goal is to destroy the ship’s central System Core, but attaining it will take careful planning and preparation. You pick your loadout, listen to the mission briefing and board the alien ship. The briefing itself is pretty well presented, and the guy speaking over comms has some really cool lip-syncing going on and it looks great. Once on board the ship, ammo and other items hav...