Super Woden GP II has a silly name, but we’ll not dwell on that. We will dwell instead on what this game brings to the modern racing table. It brings us something delightfully retro, is what it does. What I will say before anything else is that if you enjoyed the games mentioned above, there’s a very good chance you’ll love this.
Life in medieval times was tough. The local lord or royal type wouldn’t think twice about forcing peasants to work for 28 hours a day in the fields, before sticking a spear in their hand and making them go and stab a peasant from a neighbouring village. All in the name of expanding the fiefdom and extending the empire of their glorious leader.
And Rising Lords lets you be that ‘benevolent’ ruler. This game has been loitering on PC for a few years, going through lengthy development stages before launching on consoles in its current form. A form honed and perfected to be a sleek mix of Risk-style battles and Civilisation-esque resource management, right? Right?
Wrong. Sadly.
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.
And this is partly because I am a big fan of a nonsensical opening to a review and partly because (for reasons that will become apparent) the bulk of the review itself is not very long.
Back to September 2021. It was a time of lockdowns and consequently opportunities to indulge in al fresco Xbox gaming were not plentiful.
Despite this, I gave a score of 9/10 to the NACON MG-X, an Android controller that basically turned your phone into a mini Xbox.
It was a solid product that delivered on its promise and though I mainly used it sat on my sofa, I could see the potential for use in the great outdoors (internet connection permitting…)
The mage flashes a knowing, smug glance at her warrior friend and smiles fiendishly at the beasts before her. They know not of what is to happen next, as she reaches under her cloak and brings her hands back out in front of her, brandishing… a pair of playing cards. The beasts attack and devour the two heroes, as their small pieces of cardboard offer no protection at all, though possibly do provide some added fibre to the meal they become.
That’s how this story SHOULD go. But no. Fortunately, in Dungeon Drafters your cards are magic. Phew. And there are a lot of cards. But let’s rewind a little, shall we?
So, when presented with the opportunity to take a closer look at World Away’s Speedonauts, I was excited, but also concerned about developing another snowsport addiction.
At its core, this experience (I hesitate to call it a game) is a puzzle action horror, with the visual style of a graphic novel. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with even the mundane settings (including a farmhouse and a kebab shop) being painted in sepia tones or pastel reds to give them an otherworldly effect.
It turned out the disks were for a cancelled FMV-heavy video game adaptation of the distinctly average Canadian horror film Cube, from 1997. Shame, it could have been something special.
Now that I’ve visited Bewlay, and delved deep into Hob’s Barrow (not a euphemism), I have access to another world in which robust vernacular is firmly on the menu.
I can safely say that this is the first game I have played that is based on a Persian poem, namely Khosrow and Shirin, written by Nizami Ganjavi in the 12th century. I won’t go into what the poem is about because it unfolds in front of you as you play the game.
Hand-drawn, Lovecraftian creatures abound. Ghoulish witches and genuinely unsettling undead creatures litter the battlefield, and I am all in favour of it.
On top of this, the battles themselves are brought to life by creepy animations (the jester character sprouts monstrous claws from his back when he attacks) and a suitably gothic soundtrack.
But.
BUT.
