So, there’s a lot to love about Life On Earth: Reimagined, with solid mechanics, tasty gameplay, incredible audio….but it’s also worth mentioning the difficulty, as this is a game that is not shy. In the tougher stages, enemy respawns can be problematic and pretty consistent, alongside a chase stage in which Zhira is pegging it away from an encroaching explosion that will really test your patience and get your MD controller creaking. That said, if you like a challenge in your games, that will very much be of appeal, as – although you can lower the difficulty, completing the game on easy mode doesn’t show you the full game, so you’ll need to up the challenge to see the true end of Zhira’s adventure.
11 Apr 2025
Life On Earth: Reimagined SEGA Mega Drive Review 8/10 "Boobs, bullets and a bloody serious challenge" 🌎 @Kai_MSX #Retrogaming #IndieGame #GameDev
So, there’s a lot to love about Life On Earth: Reimagined, with solid mechanics, tasty gameplay, incredible audio….but it’s also worth mentioning the difficulty, as this is a game that is not shy. In the tougher stages, enemy respawns can be problematic and pretty consistent, alongside a chase stage in which Zhira is pegging it away from an encroaching explosion that will really test your patience and get your MD controller creaking. That said, if you like a challenge in your games, that will very much be of appeal, as – although you can lower the difficulty, completing the game on easy mode doesn’t show you the full game, so you’ll need to up the challenge to see the true end of Zhira’s adventure.
10 Apr 2025
The Cursed Legacy SEGA Mega Drive Review 8/10 "Run n’ Gun? Metroidvania? Mini-games? The Cursed Legacy has you covered!" 💥 @Goodgamestudios @Broke_Studio #IndieGame #GameDev
3 Apr 2025
Desktop Golf Nintendo Switch Review (also available on Steam) 8.5/10 "A Hole-in-One!" ⛳ @SAT_BOX_EN #IndieGame #GameDev
18 Mar 2025
X-Out: Re-Surfaced Xbox Series X Review 7/10 "a little different from the other horizontal shooters of yore" ❌ @ININ_Games #Retrogaming #IndieGame #GameDev
Originally released in 1989 on the Commodore 64 before being ported to the Amiga and others in 1990, X-Out differentiates itself from other shooters of the time by being set underwater. It also allows you to spend credits on customising your craft before each run – and there will be many – which adds a layer of personalisation when deciding if you want something nippy, or more robust, as well as choosing your weapon load out, limited only by your cash flow.
The original game was well-received, and it is a bit of a lost title when it comes to other shooters from the era, so it’s great that it’s been remastered for modern audiences, but how does it stand up over thirty years on from its original release?
Quite well, it turns out. The simple, but effective customisation options ensure that you have a sense of personalising each crack at the game to suit your play style, and the visuals have received a tasteful overhaul that makes things pop and run more smoothly, but don’t lose the identity of the original design and style, which can really be a deal-breaker in instances such as this - this is still very much chunky pixel action. Good.
The audio has also been re-vamped, and I quite enjoyed the soundtrack which is energetic and engaging without being ostentatious or over-bearing. There’s also a neat option in the menu to switch between the original soundtracks on the 8/16-bit systems or the modern take on it, which was the one I went for.
X-Out is not an easy game. Whilst your ship has a health meter and can take a decent kicking from enemy fire before giving up the ghost, if you even touch the environmental obstacles or even a boss, you die in one hit, with no continues. It’s straight back tot the ship selection screen for you. It’s very clear that this is a game that will appeal to those that enjoy a serious challenge. There’s also a two-player mode for local co-op, which is a nice inclusion.
It’s a very bare-bones remaster in terms of historical content, such as design docs, artwork and interviews with the original / new developers etc. which is something I do like to see included with these remasters, but it appears that in this case these aspects are only included with the limited and special editions of the game, available from ININ.
SUMMARY
All in all, X-Out: Re-surfaced is a little different from the other horizontal shooters of yore, and this does give it its own identity. I would have liked some more content on the history of the game, but the more tasteful aspects of this remaster give it appeal, just be prepared for a serious challenge!
7/10
🆒COOL🆒
(also available on PS5, Switch, PC)
10 Mar 2025
RetroMania Wrestling Xbox Series X Review 7/10 “Going Old School” 🤼♂️ @RetrosoftStudio #IndieGame #GameDev
25 Feb 2025
Catagrams iOS Review 8/10 "Like word-based puzzle games? This could be purr-fect for you" 🐈 @catagrams #IndieGame #GameDev
19 Feb 2025
Blow It Up Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 "A bomb-based physics title that certainly isn’t a dud!" 💣💥@brainseal #IndieGame #GameDev
Having been a fan of Brain Seal Ltd since I was introduced to them via the wonderful Dark Quest 3, I was intrigued as to what their take on a bomb-centric physics title would be, and would it be enough to take my mind off the hope of a further Dark Quest sequel?
Yes, yes it could!
Blow It Up takes place in Bombtopia, a world populated by voxel bombs that is suddenly taken over by invaders. Your friends are captured, and you must travel the overworld, collecting enough coins to free your friends – all of whom have a special power that can aid you – all the while completing stages by hurling one (or more!) of your explosive team members into the various structures that hide the fiendish enemies in each level.
17 Feb 2025
Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 "This is a Terrific Turbo Trip To Take" 👍 @TinyTerryGame @SuperRareGames #IndieGame #GameDev
My evil, twisted and foul editor covered Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip on upon its PC release last Summer, and it also made his end of year list with the below comment:
"For a game that's around 4 hours long this kept me busy doing fun stuff in this open world platformer that has an awesome art style and a music sense that compliments the game perfectly.
It's the perfect example of an indie game that benefits from not over stretching itself and making sure that what it does, it does it well.
Go make friends with Tiny Terry and I promise you won't regret it!"
The game is centred around young Terry, who we initially meet as he stands in line at the ‘Job Application Centre’ where he is looking to get a car so that he can ‘go to space’, all completely normal and above board. Through a series of miscommunications – a throughline in the game – Terry ends up getting a job as a taxi driver… with no pay, natch.14 Feb 2025
Atomic Heart DLC : Enchantment Under The Sea [DLC3] PC Review "A wife in the hand is worth 3 in the bush?!" 🌊 @mundfish #IndieGame #GameDev
Now that I finally get a chance to cover the game through Games Freezer I am glad to say that I finally got to play it! Although, as I have been asked to cover the Enchantment Under The Sea DLC this means that I have committed a gamer crime by playing the 3rd DLC before I've even played the base game!
Someone may already be knocking on my door to take me away for such heinous crimes to gaming but for now I'm on the run and able to give you a review of my time with Atomic Heart: Enchantment Under The Sea.
11 Feb 2025
Keep Driving PC Review 7.5/10 "The Crazy Gas Fuelled Adventures Of A Sedan!" 🚗 @YCJYgames #IndieGame #GameDev
You play as a young driver who has just bought their first car around the early 2000s, and your main goal is to meet up with your friend at a music festival on the other side of the country within four weeks. Interestingly, the game features a procedurally generated world with various routes, 'shopping' stops and random encounters along the way.
3 Feb 2025
Under Defeat Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "Get To The Chopper!" 🚁💥 @clearrivergames @claricedisc #RetroGaming
I've always been a sucker for helicopter video games. I love SWIV and I love Desert Strike and the Strike series of games.
Under Defeat is a classic helicopter based arcade shoot 'em up that has been given a new life on the Nintendo Switch. It was originally released in the arcades during2005 and has now been brought to the Switch by Clear River Games and City Connection. The idea here as ever is to bring both nostalgia and some modern enhancements for fans of the shmup genre.
Under Defeat is set in an alternate World War II era, where players take control of a helicopter pilot fighting against various enemy forces. The game features a unique shot-tilting angled mechanic that allows players to attack enemies from various different angles. As with most games in the SHMUP genre, the story is minimal and focuses more on the intense action, bullet dodging and strategic gameplay rather than a deep narratives and characters.
30 Jan 2025
Basureroes: Invasion Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 "It’s time to take out the trash" ⚠️🚮💥 @javi_mikau @basureroes @JanduSoft #IndieGame #GameDev
Just putting this out there as I had no idea what the title meant, ‘basura’ is Spanish for rubbish / trash / garbage – just in case anyone was as flummoxed by the title of this one as I was! Luckily, aside from the title, nothing else about Basureroes: Invasion is rubbish, as it’s an incredibly engaging – and accessible – 2D platform game that has been a regular multiplayer fixture (although it’s just as good in single player mode) in our household over the last couple of weeks.
29 Jan 2025
Eternal Strands Xbox Series X Review 7.5/10 "Eternal Strands That Don’t Quite Weave Wonder" 🧶🧵 @YellowBrick_Qc #IndieGame #GameDev
Eternal Strands casts the player as Brynn, a mercenary accompanying a group of travellers trying to find out the secrets of a long-lost civilisation. Your camp with the travellers acts as a hub, whilst Loomgates scattered around the land allow you to teleport to different areas of the world, each with their own biome, items, and enemies. The opening anime-style cinematic is impressive and engaging, although it hints at a slightly goofy humour that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the mostly po-faced game, where dialogue with the fully-voiced cast of characters is rich, but mostly eventless and dry. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of lore and world-building to discover and learn, more that doing so isn’t a particularly engaging aspect of the game.
28 Jan 2025
Burger Race Nintendo Switch Review 7.5/10 "Fast Food at a bargain price!" 🍔💨 @SAT_BOX_2011 #IndieGame #GameDev
A simple, accessible game, Burger Race allows for up to four players – in split screen – to select from a range of fast food items on wheels (or rather, cucumbers and tomatoes) and race around the nine tracks on offer, picking up the various boosts and weapon pick-ups scattered around the circuits en route.
27 Jan 2025
Dynasty Warriors: Origins PS5 Review 8.5/10 "Battle Grows Where My Wanderlay Goes" 🪖⚔️ @koeitecmoeurope @s_sangokumusou
23 Jan 2025
Dreamcore Xbox Series X Review 7/10 "Feeling….Lonely?" 😶🌫️ @DreamcoreGame @TlonIndustries #IndieGame #GameDev
10 Jan 2025
Westild’s Law Nintendo Switch Review 8/10 "How the west was won and where it got us" 🤠 @BUG_Studio #IndieGame #GameDev
Westerns and gaming go together like bourbon and gherkin juice – perfectly well. The rootin’-tootin’ wild west is ripe for gun play, gals n’ galoshes, so whenever a Western-themed title tips its hat at me as it mosies on into the saloon, I’m more than happy to challenge it to a duel at high noon.
Priced extremely fairly, Westild’s law is a top-down shooter that casts you in the role of a male or female bounty hunter (the gender can be changed at any time) as they take on bounties from the Westild town sheriff, all the while upgrading their abilities, guns, and skills.
8 Jan 2025
Sugoroku Casino Party Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 "An Unexpected Gem!" 🎲🃏 @SAT_BOX_EN @SAT_BOX_2011 #GameDev #IndieGame
A game for up to six players, Sugoroku Casino Party is a bright and vibrant digital board game set in a casino world. There are quite a few options to get your setup just right, such as number of players, bots, length of the games themselves – with a save mechanic - and the chance to tackle each mini-game separately if you so wish. You can also lightly customise your in-game avatar with uniforms and colours to add some personality to your little plain board game piece.
Unwording Xbox Series X Review 8.5/10 "A word-based puzzle game with an emotional core" 🧠 @frostwood_int #IndieGame #GameDev
Unwording is a short but powerful exploration of overcoming negative self-talk. Solve word puzzles, explore the neighbourhood through multiple perspectives, and help Tom have a better day through a challenging yet cathartic experience.