Echo Generation: Midnight Edition Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "Slightly Stranger Things" 🪓🧢 @cococucumberco #IndieGame #GameDev

As a person who eschews the Savalas* and instead prefers movies, I’ve been spared the all-encompassing phenomenon that was Stranger Things and so the following tidal wave of ‘80s-tastic follow-ups very much didn’t pop up on my viewing radar, in fact – it’s been more through reviewing vinyl like the absolutely stunning Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed that the wave of ‘kids n’ kooky’ has trickled gently over my feet.

Not that I have an issue with it at all, my point is purely that I’m not burned out on it like I know others are. I am burned out on anime style visuals, however. Voxels - I continue to inhale as much as possible.

Death and Taxes PS5 Review 8/10 “Only two things in life are certain” 💀📝 @PlaceholderGW #IndieGame #GameDev

Have you ever been envious of the Grim Reapers job? walking around with a big scythe, getting to meet a lot of interesting - before taking their souls? sounds like a great job! Sadly, just like most jobs in the modern age it’s now a desk job with lots of bureaucracy - and no big scythes.

Horizon Chase 2 Xbox Review 8/10 "Why did the frog cross the road?" 🐸🏎️ @HorizonChase #IndieGame #GameDev

Why did the frog cross the road? 

One of the oldest questions never asked, perhaps because everyone’s talking about that damn chicken. And I’m not about to answer that question as this is not Amphibian Psychology 101. I’m here to talk about HOW the frog crossed the road and how this (loosely) relates to Horizon Chase 2, new to Xbox.

Loretta Xbox Series X Review 8/10 “Spiralling Down” ☠️🍶 @yabutuzoff #IndieGame #GameDev

Set in 1947, you control Loretta - a housewife who has murdered her husband, having finally had enough of his drinking, gambling, cheating ways - and decided to take matters into her own hands.

The game opens with a detective investigating his disappearance, he has come to question Loretta and have a look around the farm and it is here where we gain control of the titular character.

Early on you are presented with the choices that will shape her fate, I made the decision to try and poison the detective and… well… let’s just say it ‘didn’t go well’.

Throughout your time with this game you will get the chance to make important decisions such as should you higher your kill count or resist your murderous temptations and see if you can break free, and escape your current predicament.

KUDZU Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "A great title with Game Boy Roots" 🕹️ @PFBStudios #IndieGame #GameDev

Originally released as a physical Game Boy cartridge and now ported to the Switch, Kudzu – especially at its current price point – feels a steal for those who have a soft spot for adventures on Nintendo’s classic handheld.

The player takes control of tea-loving gardener protagonist Max, who goes off on a quest in search of his master, Zoen, who has seemingly lost his mind and wandered off into the ever-expanding fields of Kudzu that surround their home town.

Bang On Balls - Chronicles Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "a unique, content-packed, open-world sandbox adventure" 🚀🌌🌎 @bangonballs #IndieGame #GameDev

Are you looking for a thrilling 3D game that you can enjoy with your friends?

If so, then Bang-On Balls: Chronicles may be just what you need.

It is a unique, content-packed, open-world sandbox adventure that offers multiple elements such as combat, platforming, character customization, and a scavenger hunting experience.

WWE2K24 PS5 Review 8/10 “Time to play the Game” 🤼‍♂️

Yearly wrestling games - and yearly games in general - have always had a ‘one step forward, two steps back’ problem. In years’ past, match types and modes would be added in just to be removed in the next instalment, so this year’s edition has rolled around, and I was very eager to see if we were still heading forward… or if we were about to take an unfortunate step back.

Well, it may not be a huge stride forward but I’m pleased to say the WWE2K series is moving forward. Now, if you looked at the gameplay it will feel very similar to last years’ game aside from a couple of small tweaks such as super finishers and the ever-popular ability to throw weapons being added, but largely it remains the same and as DDP would say, “it's not a bad thing, it's a good thing”. The base gameplay is good, the lighting and character models are great, some gimmicks are outdated - but that's going to happen with how much wrestlers change in a year. The matches and combat have been a highlight since 2K22, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

Sims 4: Home Chef Hustle Pack Review 8/10 "This pack is well worth the investment" 🏡🍔

If you are an avid fan of The Sims, you might be interested in reading my review of the Home Chef Hustle pack. As someone who has spent countless hours in the Sims series, I am always eager to try out new games or stuff packs as soon as they are released.

This pack caught my attention because I felt that The Sims lacked in the cooking department, and I was curious to see how this pack would address that issue.

One of the most exciting features of this pack is the small gameplay element that allows you to run your own food stall. This feature adds a new level of interactivity to the game, and it was a lot of fun to experiment with different recipes and see how they would sell. The pack also comes with a range of new cooking equipment, including a pizza oven, a mixing bowl, and a waffle maker, which are great additions to the game.

The Monty Mole Collection Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "Modern Monty Mole Maniacal Manoeuvring" 🐻‍❄️ @pixelgamesuk #GameDev #IndieGame

The 8-bit home computing platforming scene is something of a golden era to a lot of people. Filled with extremely challenging games, great music, and a very ‘British’ sense of humour (and social commentary).

Whilst I have played Monty Mole - many years ago - I associate the games more with Rob Hubbard’s astonishing score than the gameplay itself, and so I was keen to delve into this collection and experience them for the first time, on a modern system.

Cookie Cutter XBOX Review 8/10 " My Cherry Amour " 🤖 @maxharvey79 @Rogue_Co #IndieGames #GameDev

Cherry was cheery. She was an android with a lovely girlfriend, and life was good. But you know the old story – girl bot meets girl bot, girl bots fall in love, bad guy steals girl bot and stomps the other to a pulp. A tale as old as time. And so it’s not surprising that Cherry’s demeanour switches from joyful to rageful pretty quickly. 

Fate/Samurai Remnant PS5 Review 8/10 “There can be only one” ⚔️ @FateSR_Official @TransvaalGF #IndieGame #GameDev

Fate/Samurai Remnant  is set in Japan during the Edo period (1600s), you play as protagonist Miyamoto Iori, a young Ronin who spends his time helping his town doing odd jobs in any way he can, but suddenly his life gets turned upside down. No, he doesn’t get in trouble and have to move to Bel Air, he is instead chosen to take part in the ‘Waxing Moon Ritual’, whereby seven fighters compete to the death, with the winning fighter getting to have a wish granted.

Christmas Massacre PS5 Review 8/10 “Bad Santa” 🎅 🔪 @PuppetCombo #GameDev #IndieGame @transvaalgf

Puppet Combo has been a revelation this year, Stay Out of the House and Night at the Gates of Hell have been real highlights of 2023, which is saying something when taking into account how great 2023 has been for gaming.

Seeing that Christmas Massacre had been ported to the PS5 was a nice, early Christmas present, one filled with screams, horror and a very eager, bloodthirsty Christmas tree.

Oxenfree 2 PC Review 8//10 "...this is a big winner for me and almost surpasses the first game" 🔭 @nightschoolers #GameDev #IndieGame

The original Oxenfree came completely out of nowhere for me. I picked it up on a whim and was glued to it for the whole eight hours or so it took me to complete it. So news of a sequel was more than welcome for me, as I couldn’t wait to get back to deepest, darkest, haunted-est Oregon.

Steamworld Build Xbox Review 8/10 "Over Steamulation?" 🛠️🪨 @SteamWorldGames #iNDIEGAME #GAMEDEV

I have dug. I have heisted. And I have loved both. Three of my favourite games on the PC in the last ten years were made by the Swedish studio, Image & Form. Steamworld Dig 1 & 2, and Steamworld Heist are both beautifully formed and have really well thought through game mechanics. It’s simplistic to say perhaps, but both Dig and Heist just work. There’s little extraneous in there, and these elements are combined with gorgeous visuals and engaging characters to make very appealing games that I’ve returned to many times.

Ghostrunner 2 Rich's Rapid PC Review 8/10 "Top Of The Chops" ⚔️💥@GhostrunnerGame #IndieGame #GameDev

Rich takes a look at the hard hitting challenging Ghostrunner 2 and gives his verdict in this 3 minute video review. Buckle up it's gonna get choppy out there!

Mondealy XSX Review 8/10 "I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures" 🌻 @ValkyrieInitia1 #IndieGame #GameDev

I’m very much on board with playing a wide variety of genres, and I appreciate that sometimes you need a game like Mondealy to slow you down and allow you to take stock of your life, appreciate what you have, and perhaps take a break from blowing up demons, shooting thousands of bullets at an alien threat, or squeezing your controller in love/respect/frustration because you missed that pixel-perfect 100th jump, and how need to do the last hours’ worth of progress again.

I initially played Mondealy off the back of a pretty full-on game, and switching from that to this mellow, slowly-unfolding world was initially a little jarring, but after a mental reset, I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures, especially enjoying the soundtrack, courtesy of the below talented composers:

Ghostrunner 2 PC Review 8/10 "Ah, endorphins" 🏍️ @GhostrunnerGame #IndieGame #GameDev

One hit means death. I can’t help but respect the purity of Ghostrunner 2, which follows in the muffled ninjacyborg footsteps of its excellent predecessor.

Just as before you’re Jack, a true glass cannon protagonist whose speed, agility, and ever-growing suite of techno-ninjutsu abilities is matched only by his constant fragility.

In Ghostrunner 2 you will enter a combat arena and die instantly. At the tap of a bottom (and with no loading) you’re back to try again. This time you might die after a few seconds. Rinse and repeat twenty times and suddenly you have a plan:

Wallrun, slowmo dodge, kill, grapple, deflect, kill, boost pad, shuriken toss, mid-air grapple, kill, slide, vault, slice your cyberkatana through a cyberfreak’s body as the two cyberhalves spiral through the air in front of you. Ah, endorphins. There you are…

WrestleQuest Xbox Series X 8/10 “One Hell of a Slobberknocker” 🤼‍♂️ @megacatstudios #IndieGames #GameDev

WrestleQuest is two of my absolutely favourite things combined, wrestling and classic RPGs.

When I first heard about the game my excitement level was off the charts, it became one of my most anticipated games of 2023. So, after waiting all this time, will it be a 7-star match in the Tokyo Dome? Or will it be jobbing out in the opening match?

At this point in the review, I will warn you I’m going ALL IN on the wrestling references, there will be NO MERCY, so I suggest opening a ‘Steveweiser’ and preparing to smell what the Games Freezer WrestleQuest review is cooking.

Stray Xbox Series X Review "A Purrfect way to spend an evening" 🐈 @HKdevblog #IndieGame #GameDev

It was only a few weeks ago on my movie-centric podcast that I was discussing emotional manipulation with my co-host. He was more bothered by it than me, but I still find that overtly sentimental forms of media that aim purely to tug at the heartstrings irk me somewhat.

This ties into my initial – misjudged – thoughts on Stray. When it was released last year on PlayStation, the positive reviews that it received – and more so the comments surrounding it – I found actively off-putting in the comparisons to games of a more ‘cinematic’ vibe.

After receiving it for review purposes and playing it through in two straight sessions I really do recommend it, if you were - like me – put off by the thought of a saccharine gaming experience. This is Tokyo Jungle territory.

Mordhau Xbox Series X 8/10 “Fun and frustration” ⚔️🛡️ @mordhaugame #IndieGame #GameDev

I'm going to start my review by admitting that although I thoroughly enjoyed Mordhau, god I suck at it. The expression ‘as useful as a chocolate teapot’ really does sum me up when it comes to this genre! The first thing I did when I loaded up the game was to laugh at the idea of playing through the tutorial, and instead jumped straight into a large battle. Within the first thirty seconds, I had pressed the button to un-equip your weapon, and had swapped my sword for my fists - I was in trouble, but luckily I only had that problem for about forty seconds before a kind person stabbed me in the gut and put me out of my misery. Instead of re-spawning, I decided that it was probably best to quit out and actually play the tutorial.