I’ve been a sucker for isometric adventures ever since playing Landstalker on the Mega Drive back in 1992 (and I’m still holding out for a proper sequel - I miss you, Nigel!) and more recently, Touryst was a generational highlight for me (with a far likelier sequel on the horizon).
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30/06/2021
29/06/2021
☁️ Cloudpunk: City of Ghosts PC Review 9/10 ☁️ @Pixel Hunted @ionlands #IndieGames #GameDev
28/06/2021
🔥 🏺 Phantom Abyss | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Aaaaaargh!" 🏺🔥 @devolverdigital #GameDev #IndieGames
Phantom Abyss is a massive asynchronous multiplayer game that casts players into procedurally-generated temples and tasks them with retrieving the sacred relics hidden within deadly chambers.
27/06/2021
🕹️ Capcom Arcade Stadium | Xbox Series X | Review | 8.5/10 | "A Rollicking Retro Ride That Rocks" 🕹️ @CapcomEurope #Capcom
Capcom has released a LOT of gold over the last forty years and this Capcom Arcade Stadium collection of 32 of them brings a wealth of gaming history to modern consoles with an eye to keeping things accessible to players of all skill levels as well as embracing that high-score chasing drive that filled arcades of the era.
26/06/2021
⛵️ Man Eater | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster 🩸🦈@TripwireInt #IndieGames #GameDev
25/06/2021
🤖 VOLTA X | NINTENDO SWITCH | Gameplay | "V.A.T.S In Mechs With Animals" 🤖 @VoltaXGame #IndieGames #GameDev
24/06/2021
🏚️ Creaks | Review | Xbox Series X | 9/10 | "Characterful Presentation Perfectly Fused with Classic Puzzle Gameplay" 🏚️ @Amanita_Design #IndieGames #GameDev
Machinarium is such a wonderful, wonderful game. From the soundtrack to the oddly powerful, wordless tale that unravels for the player, it’s a game that won me over with all of the above combined with a gorgeous hand-drawn art style combined with a perfectly pitched, idiosyncratic soundtrack.
Over the last decade, I have transitioned from PC gaming to pretty much pure console gaming, and so almost a decade of the work of Amanita Design has completely passed me by due to their PC exclusive nature. It was only whilst half-drunk one night - and trying to buy the Machinarium soundtrack on vinyl - that I discovered that they had released a game called Creaks that was available on Xbox…and so our love affair resumed.
🥋 Within the Blade (WTB) | "Retro Focused Ninja Fighter Lining Up For Console Assault" 🥋 @RatalaikaGames #IndieGames #GameDev
Indie publisher, Ratalaika Games, along with developer Ametist Studio, is pleased to announce the digital release date of Within the Blade (WTB) coming on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch on July 16th.
23/06/2021
🦆🦢 Mighty Goose | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7/10 | "Side-scrolling shooters, man. I have a complicated relationship with the genre" 🦆🦢 @rilemtwit @BlastmodeGames #IndieGames #GameDev
Side-scrolling shooters, man. I have a complicated relationship with the genre ever since I first played Green Beret on my mate's Commodore 64 around 1988. I still have something approaching PTSD from Super Probotector on the SNES (incidentally, I have played it recently and I'm still awful at it 30 years later). I can still remember the cheat and the theme music from Midnight Resistance on the Amiga.
22/06/2021
🚀 Space Engineers | PC | Gameplay | "Hardspace Meets Satisfactory Meets No Man's Sky Meets Minecraft Meets Mass Effect!" 🚀 @SpaceEngineersG #IndieGames #GameDev
Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, exploration and survival in space and on planets.
Players build space ships, space stations, planetary outposts of various sizes and uses, pilot ships and travel through space to explore planets and gather resources to survive.
21/06/2021
🥋 Kung Fu Jesus | PC | Gameplay | "Kung Fu Krazy!" 🥋 @kungfujesusgame #GameDev #IndieGames
Join Kung Fu Jesus on a psychedelic, genre-busting beat 'em up set in a madcap world where organized crime, alternate dimensions, and hardcore martial arts converge. From the seedy underworld to the spiritual plane and beyond – nothing is as it seems in Kung Fu Jesus!
20/06/2021
🕵️♂️ Lacuna | A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure | PC | Gameplay 🕵️♂️ @digitales_games #IndieGames #GameDev
19/06/2021
🧛♀️🩸🗡️ Bloodrayne 1 & 2 : Terminal Cut | PC | Gameplay | "Cut Cut Jiggle Feed" 🧛♀️🩸🗡️ @playziggurat #IndieGames #GameDev
18/06/2021
🎙️ EPOS B20 Microphone | GF Recommended | "The Yeti Hunter" 🎙️ @eposaudiogaming
17/06/2021
🎧👂 Gioteck TX70 Wireless Headset Review | GF Recommended | "A comfortable, robust and chunky-sounding headset at a competitive price" 🎧👂 @GioteckArmy #GamingHeadset
Having covered- and been impressed by – the Gioteck TX50 a few months back, I was looking forward to reviewing this new, wireless headset from Gioteck.
Featuring similar design points to the TX50, whilst this version is superior in some respects, you’ll really feel the benefits more as a PlayStation or PC user, although the TX70 does cater for all modern systems.
16/06/2021
🐶🐻 Hokko Life | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Part 2 | "Still Not Animal Crossing...or is it?" 🐶🐻 @hokkolife #IndieGames #GameDev
15/06/2021
🦒🦁 Hokko Life | Ten minute Taster | PC | Part 1 | "This isn't Animal Crossing....honest!" 🦒🦁 @hokkolife @robbodev #IndieGames #GameDev
Hop off the train and into your new life in the village of Hokko!
Take over the old workshop and get creative; use crafted materials and design everything in town! With complete creative freedom, what type of town will you build?
14/06/2021
⚔️🩸⚔️ Chivalry 2 | PC | Ten minute Taster | "Chop , Chop , Stab, Riposte!" ⚔️🩸⚔️ @Chivalry2Game #IndieGames #GameDev
13/06/2021
🌳⛏️📻 The Magnificent Trufflepigs | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "A Gentle Stroll In The Field With Walkie Talkies" 📻⛏️🌳 @ThunkdGames #IndieGames #GameDev
The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a first-person, romantic, metal-detecting game.
It combines laid-back detecting and exploration with a strong narrative, all set in the beautiful English countryside.
It’s a game about trying to find something.
12/06/2021
🌵⚔️ Ittle Dew 2+ | Nintendo Switch | Review | 8.5/10 | "A Bigger Sequel That Keeps The Ideas Coming" 🌵⚔️ @Ludosity #IndieGames #GameDev
I adored the original Ittle Dew when I played it back in 2019, a really punchy top-down game with clear roots in early Zelda titles, a focus on fiendish puzzling and very open to newcomers to the genre. Top this off with the charming design, lilting music and a fun cast of characters – it was a winner.
11/06/2021
💎 Super Rare Games Announces Super Rare Shorts - A Brand New Label of Physical-Only Releases 💎 #IndieGames #GameDev
😱 🎼 Song of Horror | PS4 | Review | 6/10 | "Slightly Off-Key" 🎼😱 @RaiserGames #IndieGames #GameDev
Song of Horror is my third review on the trot that is set in the horror genre. I recently reviewed Outbreak: Endless Nightmare and Resident Evil: Village, one is front-running for my game of the year, the other is in my ‘Top 3 Worst Games That I've Ever Played’ list, so Song of Horror has a lot or little to live up to.
Would it join the good or the bad… or would it be like the famous spaghetti western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly?
🕹️🎮 A Study Reveals The '90s Nintendo Games & '90s Toys That Are Now Worth A Fortune 🕹️🎮 #RetroGaming
You can’t put a price on busting open the plastic box on a He-Man figure or tearing off the tag from your new Beanie Baby….Except maybe when that price is $50,000.
Rare, well-preserved toys from the 1990s are worth a mint in 2021. Were you the type of kid who showed cardboard no mercy? Or did you spare a thought for future (broke) you?
Following TheToyZone’s look at the most valuable LEGO sets, the team decided to find the most expensive toys from the ‘90s – a golden age for childhood swag.
Here’s a look at the top ten most expensive '90s toys on the market today:
From Tamagotchis to Furbies, TheToyZone team discovered the most valuable toys for a variety of brands.
To put this project together, they looked up the toys and their prices on Mavin.
The team recorded the name of the toy, the price it sold for, and the year of release (as reported by the seller). Only toys sold individually (as opposed to in sets or multiples) were included.
For each toy line, up to 10 most expensive toys were included. The final list consists of 343 toys, all released in the 1990s.
10/06/2021
🐖 The Magnificent Trufflepigs | PC | Review | 6/10 | "The Pinnacle of Games About Trundling Through English Countryside" 🐖 @ThunkdGames #IndieGames #GameDev
Some developers have made a career of mastering a single genre: Jeff Minter and psychedelic shooters, Hideo Kojima and stealth action, Warren Spector and the immersive sim. Now you can add Andrew Crenshaw to that list, as The Magnificent Trufflepigs proves he’s at the very pinnacle of games about trundling very slowly through the English countryside.
09/06/2021
🕵️ Pecaminosa | Review | Nintendo Switch |7/10 | "Pass me that Mack Daniels, Thin Lizzy" 🕵️ @Pecaminosagame #GameDev #IndieGames
Heavy on the pop culture references, smoky jazz and cigarettes, Pecaminosa is a game that really sucked me in hard, like the first cigarette of the morning along with a hot cup of coffee but it did lose focus in the latter sections, maybe all that whisky started to make things a bit wobbly...
08/06/2021
🐦 A Short Hike (& Vinyl soundtrack) | Review | Nintendo Switch | 9.5/10 | "An Awesome Slice of Whimsical Freedom" 🐦 @adamgryu #IndieGames #GameDev
A Short Hike was a game that passed me by upon release. During my recent run of various articles and interviews with those involved in VGM, I struck up a conversation with Stumpy Frog Records (awesome guy) when purchasing The Cat Lady (awesome record, awesome game) and ended up receiving the soundtrack for A Short Hike*.
During the brief period that the record was in transit, I took the opportunity to play A Short Hike so that I had context for the accompanying vinyl soundtrack and the stars really aligned here, as I ended up having a memorable couple of hours with a real gem of a game that I heartily recommend.
🥊💥 5 Of the Best Beat ‘Em Up Games for Your PC 🥊💥
Beat ‘em ups, or so it would seem, are timeless; sitting down, grabbing your console or getting your fighting fingers at the ready on your PCs keyboard, and beating the virtual living daylights out of someone, appears not to have gone out of fashion. Selecting a badass character, getting into their mindset and wiping out opponent after opponent, is fun and harmless, and can help you vent your pent-up aggression in a safe and socially acceptable manner!
07/06/2021
💥 Huntdown | Review | PC | 9/10 | "Buy This Game" 💥 @HuntdownGame #IndieGames #GameDev
So, here goes.
🎮 The Gioteck AC2 AMMO CLIP PS5 & XBOX Charging Packs 🎮
Another piece of cool Gioteck hardware for you all to salivate over...
The Gioteck AC2 AMMO CLIP charging packs provide unlimited power for next-gen consoles players.
The AC2 AMMO CLIP lets players stay fully immersed in the action and focused on their game.
06/06/2021
🧛♀️ Resident Evil: Village | Review | PS5 | 9.5/10 | "The Perfect Game to Celebrate 25 years of Resident Evil" 🧛♀️ #ResidentEvilVillage
Resident Evil: Village was always going to be interesting for me, as I thought six was too action-orientated and I found seven too heavy on the horror.
Now, I will admit that when I played seven, I had lost interest in both horror and gaming so I think that heavily skewed my opinion of the game, though I will say - even though I had issues with seven at the time, I understood that Resident Evil as a franchise needed a new direction in both story and gameplay, such as when four was released which moved to the over-the-shoulder camera with a story that was firmly tongue in cheek, accentuating the B-Movie horror qualities of the series. It was what the franchise needed and after six, it was clear they once again needed a new direction.
So, enter Resident Evil Village. Was I going to feel it was too heavy on action/horror… or was it going to be like the tale of Goldilocks, and everything was going to be just right?
05/06/2021
🦜🏴☠️ King Of Seas | PS4 | Gameplay | ten Minute Taster | "Pirate Booty Ahoy!" 🦜🏴☠️ @3DClouds #IndieGames #GameDev
An epic adventure awaits you in a fantastic world, dotted with fights, lost islands and treasures.
A universe that will keep you anchored as you struggle to become the king of all pirates.
04/06/2021
🕹️ Meet the UK Events owner turning Milton Keynes into a Retro Gaming Arcade Hotspot | Opens Friday 4th June 2021 🕹️ @thepixelbunker #Aracde #MiltonKeynes #RetroGaming
It’s every gamer’s dream to have a whole host of Retro Arcade cabs in one exciting space. For Pixel Bunker Arcade’s owner Andy Brown, who also heads up Replay Events, it’s his 2021 reality.
From After Burner to Wonder Boy, this place has it all - and it’s not been without its challenges either. But Andy has many years of experience delivering Retro Gaming events with his PLAY Expo consumer gaming shows across the UK to now bring a more permanent residence to the heart of Milton Keynes.
⚔️🛡️🧞♂️ Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World | PS4 | Review | 7/10 | "A Fun Frolic Through The Missing Link Of My Wonder Boy Journey" ⚔️🛡️🧞♂️ @WonderBoyWild @ININ_Games
Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is essentially a remaster of the original 1994 Wonder Boy IV for modern consoles.
A few years back we had the return of Wonder Boy when The Dragons Trap came out to critical acclaim and now we are looking at Asha’s turn in the limelight!
Wonder Boy has featured heavily in my gaming education over the years as one of my first gaming memories was playing Wonder Boy on my cousin’s commodore 64 back in the 80s and then my first game on my SEGA Master System was Wonder Boy in Monster Land which I purchased from the classified ads in the local paper. More recently I played the remake of Dragons Trap which was a delight and really well made.
I love to see these remasters and remakes when they are done right and I’m happy to report that Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World has been done to near perfection with a dash of peppercorn sauce, peas and creamy mash potato.
03/06/2021
💭 Don’t Forget Me | Review | PC | 2/10 | "As far as game titles go Don’t Forget Me isn’t half bad" 💭 @PixelHunted @TheMoonPirates #GameDev #IndieGames
As far as game titles go Don’t Forget Me isn’t half bad.
There’s an air of mystery: who might I forget… and why?
But after playing the game it feels unhappily ironic as I will never think about Don’t Forget Me ever again once I wrap up this review.
🍅 New Commodore Amiga Game Turbo Tomato Has A 31st July 2021 Release Date! 🍅 @nivrig #IndieGames #CommodoreAmiga #RetroGaming
THE GARDEN, a pastoral haven. The sun shines, the birds sing, the grass grows and the fruits, vegetables and other creatures live peaceful and happy lives.
In this idyllic place live brother and sister Turbo and Nitra Tomato, enjoying the simple life with their friends.
But all is not as it seems...
Five a day? Come get some!
02/06/2021
📸 Umurangi Generation | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7.5/10 | "A Unique, Creative and Atmospheric Experience" 📸 @UmurangiGame #IndieGames #GameDev
The Switch version of Umurangi Generation comes with extra DLC that includes 4 additional stages as well as over an hour of extra music, good. More on Thor High Heels’ audio skills later!
❗️ Say No! More | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7/10 | "A Game That Says Something" ❗️ @SayNoMore_Game #IndieGames #GameDev
It feels like it’s been a long time since I covered a more ‘experiential’ game and Say No! More is definitely in this camp.
An idiosyncratic title that casts you as an intern on their first day on a new job, gifted with the ability to only say ‘no’ in various ways - or occasionally, nothing at all - Say No! more is a fun and gently empowering game that approaches its goal with an open and embracing heart.
⚒️ Spelunker HD Deluxe Will Be Available as a Limited and Collector’s Edition for Pre-Order from Sunday, June 6th at Midnight ⚒️ @TozaiGames #RetroGames #IndieGames
Strictly Limited Games brings an awesome and addictive platformer from the 80s - from legendary developer TOZAI - to PS4 and Nintendo Switch!
Retro fans need to prepare themselves for a real challenge.
Spelunker HD Deluxe will be available as Limited and Collector’s Edition for pre-order from Sunday, June 6th at midnight (CEST) at the Strictly Limited Games Shop!
The digital version for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 will follow in Q3 2021 by ININ Games.
>> Let’s start on another adventure! <<
01/06/2021
🎧 H3 EPOS Closed Acoustic Gaming Wired Headset | ICE COOL | "I was intrigued as to the leap in quality a £100+ headset would make" 🎧 @eposaudiogaming #GamingHeadset #ThePowerofAudio
Having covered a few headsets between the £20-£50 price bracket from various brands and listening to dozens of hours of games, podcasts and music through them all, I was intrigued as to the leap in quality a £100+ headset would make and if it would even be that noticeable in the grand scheme of things.
Yes, yes it is.