⚔️🛡️🌳 Tunic | Xbox | Demo Preview | "I’ve been a sucker for isometric adventures ever since playing Landstalker" ⚔️🛡️🌳 @dicey #IndieGames #GameDev

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).

☁️ Cloudpunk: City of Ghosts PC Review 9/10 ☁️ @Pixel Hunted @ionlands #IndieGames #GameDev

Cloudpunk has proved to be a marmite game. You play a delivery driver piloting a flying car in a vast dystopian metropolis. With heavy influences from Blade Runner and The Fifth Element, you swoop through a perpetually rainy metropolis, past gigantic neon billboards, and weave through oncoming traffic.

🔥 🏺 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.

🕹️ 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.

⛵️ Man Eater | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster 🩸🦈@TripwireInt #IndieGames #GameDev

 

In Man Eater you Experience the ultimate power fantasy as the apex predator of the seas - a giant shark! 

Terrorize the coastal waterways. 

Tear swimmers and divers limb from limb, give the humans a reason to fear you!

🤖 VOLTA X | NINTENDO SWITCH | Gameplay | "V.A.T.S In Mechs With Animals" 🤖 @VoltaXGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Volta-X - Nintendo Switch Years ago, Earth was jeopardized by a Kaiju invasion. Faced with insurmountable odds, our best-known scientists and world leaders floundered and it seemed everything was lost. That is until the mysterious Dr V revealed his new technology - the Voltas.

Thanks to the Voltas and their pilots, our victory over the alien threat was swift and decisive. After overcoming the Kaiju, these formidable robots provided the foundation for the most popular sport in the world – Volta battling!

🏚️ 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.

🦆🦢 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.

Mighty Goose was offered to me with a comparison to Metal Slug. Given that was mainly a Neo Geo franchise, I've got less experience with it outside of the arcades, meaning my memories are typically of big, bright sprites rather than the constant dying I probably did. And this game owes a debt to all of the games above (except maybe Probotector, as I actually completed this without crying).

🚀 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.

🥋 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!

🕵️‍♂️ Lacuna | A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure | PC | Gameplay 🕵️‍♂️ @digitales_games #IndieGames #GameDev

Lacuna. A murder. A hack. A bombing. All it takes to plunge the solar system into war – unless you do something about it. Help CDI agent Neil Conrad make a string of increasingly difficult decisions in this modern dialogue-driven adventure set in a gorgeous 2D sci-fi noir universe.

🧛‍♀️🩸🗡️ Bloodrayne 1 & 2 : Terminal Cut | PC | Gameplay | "Cut Cut Jiggle Feed" 🧛‍♀️🩸🗡️ @playziggurat #IndieGames #GameDev

Bloodrayne 1 and 2 Terminal Cut is enhanced and updated for modern systems, this is the definitive edition of the action-horror game that unleashed the red-headed dhampir on the world.

🎙️ EPOS B20 Microphone | GF Recommended | "The Yeti Hunter" 🎙️ @eposaudiogaming

‘The EPOS B20 four-pattern USB streaming microphone is a high quality, digital plug-and-play microphone that will elevate your game. Volume, gain, mute, and pickup pattern dials are built into the microphone together with a headphone jack for real-time monitoring.

🎧👂 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.

🐶🐻 Hokko Life | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Part 2 | "Still Not Animal Crossing...or is it?" 🐶🐻 @hokkolife #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?

🦒🦁 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?

⚔️🩸⚔️ Chivalry 2 | PC | Ten minute Taster | "Chop , Chop , Stab, Riposte!" ⚔️🩸⚔️ @Chivalry2Game #IndieGames #GameDev

Chivalry 2 is a multiplayer first-person slasher inspired by epic medieval movie battles. 

Players are thrust into the action of every iconic moment of the era - from clashing swords to storms of flaming arrows, to sprawling castle sieges and more.

https://chivalry2.com

🌳⛏️📻 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.

🌵⚔️ 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.

💎 Super Rare Games Announces Super Rare Shorts - A Brand New Label of Physical-Only Releases 💎 #IndieGames #GameDev

Super Rare Games, one of the world's leading physical games publishers, is incredibly proud to reveal a brand new venture for physical games with the Super Rare Shorts label.

😱 🎼 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

Childhood Treasures:

The 90s Video Games & Toys That Are Now Worth a Fortune

Did you leave the wrapper on?

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.

🐖 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.

🕵️ 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...

🐦 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! 

💥 Huntdown | Review | PC | 9/10 | "Buy This Game" 💥 @HuntdownGame #IndieGames #GameDev

Buy this game

It's hot outside as I type this. Hotter than sunbathing in South Sudan in a foil-lined sleeping sack. As a result, I'd rather be al fresco with a chilled glass of Vimto and a side of onion rings than here writing reviews. Hence the three-word summary above. But, my esteemed colleague Britt is breathing down my neck (he thinks it's alluring) to pressure me into adding in a LITTLE bit more detail.

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. 

🧛‍♀️ 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?

🦜🏴‍☠️ King Of Seas | PS4 | Gameplay | ten Minute Taster | "Pirate Booty Ahoy!" 🦜🏴‍☠️ @3DClouds #IndieGames #GameDev

King of Seas is an Action Role-playing game set in a procedural pirate world. 

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.

🕹️ 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.

💭 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

Fruit has never been so much fun!

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!

📸 Umurangi Generation | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7.5/10 | "A Unique, Creative and Atmospheric Experience" 📸 @UmurangiGame #IndieGames #GameDev

I first became aware of Umurangi Generation through the upcoming vinyl soundtrack release through the always awesome Stumpy Frog Records, in fact, I think it’s the first time that I’ve been drawn to a game on the strength of the OST artwork! Armed only with the knowledge that it was a photography-based game set in a dismal future, I tucked in.

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! <<

🎧 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.