The most recent title from Wales Interactive is Night Book, a game in which you play as a pregnant, online interpreter as she gets involved in the dealings around a sinister book written in the supposedly cursed language of Kannar.
2 Aug 2021
1 Aug 2021
⚔️π‘️ Guild of Darksteel | Nintendo Switch | Review | 5.5/10 | "Immortality Ain’t What it’s Cracked Up To Be" ⚔️π‘️ @DigeratiDM #GameDev #IndieGames
Guild of Darksteel has a promising and high concept setup. As a mercenary ‘cursed’ by immortality, you wearily make your way to the titular Guild of Darksteel in order to join a shady clan of immortals who use their eternal life to solve problems for others in exchange for coin, usually by stabbing things with their swords.
31 Jul 2021
πΉ The Invisible Hand | PC | Gameplay | Ten minute Taster | "How To Buy, Sell & Short" πΉ @PowerStruggleG #GameDev #IndieGames
The Invisible Hand - Want to get rich, quick? Welcome to FERIOS, where you’ll be empowered to pursue wealth and success as a mid-level stockbroker!
Your wildest dreams of wealth can come true… at the cost of everything else.
30 Jul 2021
π§ πA Tale Of Synapse: The Chaos Theories | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "Nero & Sci Best Friends Forever" π§ π @ATaleOfSynapse #IndieGames #GameDev
A Tale Of Synapse: The Chaos Theories is an abstract styled and fun puzzle platformer littered with maths-based puzzles and a distinct gameplay mechanic which can see a second player playing the role of your on-screen ally as you work through the puzzles together.
29 Jul 2021
π️ Urban Trial Tricky Deluxe Edition | PC | Gameplay | "Press Q To Spin!" π️ @UrbanTrial #GameDev #IndieGames
Grab your seat and pull off the most savage tricks and combos on your motorbike. Ride freely, spin around in the air, go back and forth and let yourself be carried away by the fun, fast-paced gameplay, colourful visuals, and smooth controls.
27 Jul 2021
π·️π₯ Within The Blade | Nintendo Switch | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "Ninjas Are Cool!" π₯π΄ #GameDev #IndieGames
Within the blade is a game in the genre of stealth and platforming with elements of RPG, in which the player plays as the Shinobi (Ninja). The player can gain experience when killing enemies and eventually be able to unlock more advanced ninjutsu.
Going through the levels the player will collect the various ingredients in which he can craft weapons: shurikens, poisons, elixirs, grenades, mines, as well as the main weapon the Ninjato and Kusarigama.
At the end of each level the player gains experience for the past level completed, the game utilizes a stealth mechanic in which hide and seek can be your best weapon of defence and offence. Being able to hide in the shadows and deliver crucial and critical blows to an enemy can also give you experience in the end.
After each level, the player will be returned back to their home village in which they are able to purchase weapons, items and more advanced ninjutsu in the game.
26 Jul 2021
πͺπ©Έπ₯ A Way To Be Dead | PC | Review | Early Access | "Find 4 Friends Before You Buy This!" πͺπ©Έπ₯ @CraniaGames #GameDev #IndieGames
Turkish game devs Crania games bring us a grim-looking asymmetrical multiplayer game that is currently available in Early Access and runs in good ol’ Unreal Engine 4.
A Way To Be Dead is actually set in the universe of the team’s previous 2017 game, Roots of Insanity https://store.steampowered.com/app/598440/Roots_of_Insanity/ which garnered some good Steam reviews and was also set in a chilling, skin-crawling hospital.
𧲠Super Magbot | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "Magnet Troubles" 𧲠@SuperMagbotGame #GameDev #IndieGames
25 Jul 2021
πΊ Disco Elysium | PS5 | Review | 9.5/10 | "Bringing Disco back" πΊ @studioZAUM #GameDev #IndieGames
The Disco Elysium opening tells you a lot about the game. First is a weird exchange between your limbic system and the void, and after that’s all done you awake in a trashed hotel in only your underwear, whilst hearing voices and with total amnesia. You proceed to find your clothes - which includes a talking tie - and it’s off to the races. It's interesting, it's surreal and it encapsulates the rest of the game.
24 Jul 2021
π️ Intrepid Izzy | Dreamcast | Review | 9/10 | "I’m off to punch a giant sea creature in the eye." π️ @SenileTeam #GameDev #IndieGames
I do love covering new releases on classic systems. When I received the accompanying press kit for Intrepid Izzy from Wave Game Studios, there was a statement in which the game was described as a blend of Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania and Streets of Rage.
I wasn’t sceptical so much as squinting into the distance, trying to visualise what that mash up would look like.
It looks like Intrepid Izzy, as it turns out.
23 Jul 2021
πΉ️πΊ Best Alternative Nintendo Switch Dock For Under £15 | INTPW SB-C DIGITAL AV MULTIPORT ADAPTER πΉ️πΊ #NintendoSwitch
22 Jul 2021
π§Ήπ§♀️ Cotton Reboot! | Nintendo Switch | Review | 8/10 | "Sweet Loving Witches Dodge Bullets For Fun In This Broom Em Up!" π§Ήπ§♀️ @ININ_Games #GameDev #IndieGames
Surrounded by a blaze of bullets and headless zombies marching along the bottom of the screen Cotton Reboot could be mistaken for a fever dream quite easily as it throws everything at you in a colourful explosion of mayhem and madness interspersed with some non-sensical cut scenes about willow candy...
21 Jul 2021
π¦ The Falconeer | PC | Gameplay | "Lets Go Fly A Kite!" π¦ @WiredP #IndieGames #GameDev
In The Falconeer you will soar through the skies aboard a majestic warbird, explore a stunning oceanic world and engage in epic aerial dogfights, in this BAFTA-nominated air combat game from the solo developer, Tomas Sala.
πΉ️ How Do You Celebrate Your Enthusiasm For A Franchise? πΉ️
How do you show your loyalty to a brand? For clothes, we tend to buy special edition items, such as sneakers that are around for a limited time only. For things like music, we tend to support our favorite artists by buying their 1st edition album. For books it's the same, we go to the opening of a book sale, and we get a signed copy.
So what do you do for gaming?
Well, you can buy special edition figures, t-shirts and other forms of memorabilia. However, you have to separate the cheap stuff from the quality so you can be proud of having it in your home.
20 Jul 2021
π₯ Within The Blade | Nintendo Switch | Review | 8/10 | "Ninjas are cool" π₯ @pixelshinobi #IndieGames #GameDev
Within The Blade looked me in the eyes and said 'play me immediately'. A game that just screams '80s Ninjas and plays like a well oiled Bruce Lee is always going to evoke the memories of playing The Last Ninja and watching Enter The dragon for the 48th time after recording it on ITV at 11.30 on a Friday night.
19 Jul 2021
πΆπ· VGM Live – Pecaminosa Live Performance & Mark ‘TDK’ Knight πΉπΆ #vgmusic
The last couple of years have seen me getting more and more into video game music, resulting in covering the LVGO (London Video Game Orchestra - https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2020/03/london-video-game-orchestra-classics.html) – pre-lockdown, natch – and embracing the releasing of soundtracks on vinyl (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/05/video-game-vinyl-britt-recommends.html / https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/05/games-freezer-interviews-blipblop-vgm.html).
I wanted to write an article on two shows that really stood out to me over the last year…so I did.
18 Jul 2021
π Where the Heart Leads | PS4 | Review | 9/10 | "A warm-hearted tale of life and all its possibilities" π @ArmatureStudio #IndieGames #GameDev
When I was asked about reviewing Where The Heart Leads the only knowledge I had was that it was a dreamlike, narrative adventure with a lifetime of choices, which are words that fill my heart with glee.
Making decisions is probably my favourite thing to do in terms of mechanics, I love it. Having to contemplate things like morality, ethics and predicting outcomes are things I enjoy in other media as well as life in general, so I was very excited for Where the Heart Leads.
17 Jul 2021
πͺπ©️☁️ Black Skylands | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "By Hook or By Crook" πͺπ©️☁️ @BlackSkylands #GameDev #IndieGames
In Black Skylands you can build your skyship and explore the open world, fight factions of pirates and monsters, claim your territory by foot or by your flying vessel.
You're the captain and the sky is the limit in this Sky-Punk Open-World action adventure!
16 Jul 2021
π Beautiful Desolation | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "Isometric Desolation" π #IndieGames #GameDev
BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION is an isometric adventure game set in the distant future.
Explore a post-apocalyptic landscape, solve puzzles, meet new friends and make powerful enemies, mediate conflicts and fight for your life as you unravel the secrets of the world around you.
15 Jul 2021
π§ π₯ Fire: Ungh's Quest | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "Fight Fire With Brains" π§ π₯ #IndieGames #GameDev
14 Jul 2021
ππΈ Mushihimesama | Review | Nintendo Switch | 8/10 | "Mushihimesama, or Bug Princess Bullet Hell" ππΈ @cavegames #IndieGames #GameDev
Despite this being a fairly obscure Japanese game, I had stumbled across Mushihimesama before. I read an article about the "bullet hell" sub-genre of shoot-em-ups and found a couple of YouTube videos of examples. One was called Perfect Cherry Blossom (Japan, there) and the other was this one, Mushihimesama, or Bug Princess.
13 Jul 2021
π©️ Red Wings | PS4 | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "Barrel Rolls Ahoy!" π©️ @RedWingsTheGame #GameDev #IndieGames
π₯ Gearing up for the release of BEEP’s side-scrolling shoot ‘em up Cotton Reboot! π₯ #GameDev #IndieGames
ININ Games is gearing up for the release of BEEP’s side-scrolling shoot ‘em up Cotton Reboot! releasing both digitally and physically on Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Europe, Australasia and North America on 20th July.
Cotton is already a much revered and iconic brand appearing on many consoles and computers from PC Engine, Neo Geo Pocket Color, right through to Playstation. Cotton Reboot! presents PlayStation and Switch gamers a fun, colourful, cute ‘em up that offers brand new features, 7 stages that really highlight what a side-scrolling shoot ‘em up should deliver and it does it in abundance, together with a dazzling display of onscreen cast and challenges.
The player takes the role of the young witch Cotton, who ventures out on her magical broom on a quest to get her favourite candy. What unfolds involves her getting entangled with several world-threatening terrors which she must destroy. A really cool feature is the more enemies the player kills the more he can upgrade his weapon by collecting power crystals. Players can also charge their weapon for special attacks and enlist the aid of Silk, Cotton’s magical fairy friend who can form up in different “option” configurations.
Visual/Audio/Gameplay Features
- Remastered with hand-drawn HD graphics
- Remixed soundtracks
- Comes with Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams in the X6800 original mode
- + 2 more game modes
Arrange mode features 16:9 screens, redesigned graphics and characters.
Score attack mode: the player competes for scores online within a limited time (2 minute and 5 minute modes can be selected).
Nintendo Life (Import)
Of all the "cute 'em ups" out there, it remains one of the best……………. 8/10 GREAT
M! Maniac (Import)
The gameplay is as precise as it is powerful, the shots have a lot of bang and the levels are interestingly designed. And the X68000 version is not just a nice bonus, but a completely independent game with its own challenge and different systems - a great package for every shooter fan!
Successful shooter package: Enjoy an action classic in its best home version and a great reinterpretation. 81%/100
Cotton Reboot! really does define what is best about the cute ‘em, shoot ‘em up genre and offers a whole lot more in what is a really magical and enchanting, atmospheric experience.
For more information, visit https://cotton.inin.games/.
Limited Edition with Special Offerings
In addition to the physical and digital retail versions, there are three premium limited editions available, exclusively in the Strictly Limited Games Partner Shop.
- The Limited Edition comes with a manual and is available for €39.99 and limited to 3.000 copies for Nintendo Switch and 1.500 copies for PlayStation 4 worldwide.
- The Collector’s Edition is available for €79.99, limited to 2.000 copies for Nintendo Switch and 1.000 copies for PlayStation 4 worldwide and includes a tea set, the original & remastered soundtrack, an art book, shikishi and more.
- The Deluxe X68000 Collector’s Edition is already SOLD OUT due to huge demand.
12 Jul 2021
π΄π§ Just Die Already | Nintendo Switch | Ten minute Taster | Gameplay | "Watch Out For Violent Bin Men!" π΄π§ @DoubleMoose #GameDev #IndieGames
Just Die Already is an old people mayhem sandbox game created by the designers of Goat Simulator.
You are old and angry and you've just been kicked out of your retirement home. How will you survive in a world that wants you to Just Die Already?
π Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King | A Brand-New Action RPG For The NES! π @6502Collective #GameDev #IndieGames
Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King is a brand-new action RPG, or A-RPG, for the original Nintendo (NES). Drawing clear inspiration from classics such as The Legend of Zelda (1987), Anguna also takes inspiration from forgotten games like Deadly Towers (1987).
11 Jul 2021
⚱️ Infinitrap: Rehamstered | Review | Xbox Series X | 8.5/10 | "fun, cute, twitchy, very addictive and extremely moreish" ⚱️ @ShadebobGames @showmemagic #GameDev #IndieGames
Like many cool kids of a certain age, I grew up watching the adventure movies of the ’80s and this game, at least in my head, is paying homage to the greats. The plot slightly echoes the Grail Knight scene in The Last Crusade on a seemly endless loop and the main protagonist looks like Quatermain from King Solomon’s Mines; If Sharon Stone makes an appearance, I might never remove this smile from my face!
10 Jul 2021
ππ₯π️ Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX | PC | Gameplay | "Time To Master Nah Janken" ππ₯π️ @MergeGamesLtd #GameDev #IndieGames
9 Jul 2021
π€ MONO BOT | PC GAMEPLAY | "ROBOT LIMBO" π€ @Ukuza_games #GameDev #IndieGames
Mono Bot - Coming online, Mono finds himself alone in a dark, dystopian world overrun with other hostile robots.
Guide Mono through his solo journey, unravelling puzzles to uncover the buried secrets of this desolate world.
Can you break the infinite cycle and find your true self?
π²πΉ️ The Best Party Games To Play IRL With Friends π²πΉ️ #BoardGames #VideoGames
Games are ten times better when you play them with friends. A lot of us spend time gaming online, but there are instances where we get together with others for some IRL fun. In these cases, it helps to have some fun party games to play with everyone. So, here's a pick of some great games you can all play in the same room:
8 Jul 2021
⚔️π‘️ Chivalry 2 | Xbox Series X | Review | 8.5/10 | "An Axe-Throwing, Head-Lopping, Catapult-Lobbing Joy" ⚔️π‘️ @TornBanner #GameDev #IndieGames
Historically, I’ve never really played many online multiplayer games. I even have a very close group of friends that regularly meet up virtually to play games that I thoroughly enjoy in single-player modes but don’t appeal to me in multiplayer, maybe I’m a recluse…hence the name of my band (www.recluse.bandcamp.com).
And yet…when I saw the trailer for Chivalry 2, the weighty-looking combat completely won me over as it reminded me of Kingdom Come: Deliverance (another game that completely bowled me over by surprise) and I am a sucker for some medieval action, these two factors led to me taking a dive into the game and it is a choice that has rewarded me deeply!
7 Jul 2021
π The Persistence : Enhanced | Review | PS5 | 5/10 | "Sucked into a Black Hole" π @FirespriteGames #IndieGames #GameDev
I found this review hard to write. Jumping into this game with no knowledge; I looked at the cover art - which appeared to represent a horror game - and leapt at the chance to review it, but within thirty minutes of playing it, I realized it does something that I am really not keen on and I especially don’t enjoy it when horror games, in particular, do it.
Truthfully, If I was playing this game without intending to review it, I would have stopped after forty-five minutes and put it down as ‘just not my cup of tea’. Though I do enjoy occasionally trying out games that I would tend to avoid - to see whether the game can win me over and possibly change my view - this game sadly didn’t and in fact, further cemented my thoughts.
6 Jul 2021
π΄π‘️ Green Hell | PS4 | Review | 8/10 | "Desperate Enough To Eat a Rotting Snail" π‘️π΄ @GreenHellGame #IndieGames #GameDev
Green Hell is a survival game set in a jungle at the edge of the Amazon river. You play as Jake Higgins, an anthropologist who is researching the area with his wife, Mia. Mia goes to a nearby tribal village to learn and understand the ways of the indigenous people living there and ends up going missing. You hurtle to the rescue only to be outmatched and easily overpowered, ending up retreating and lost in the forest with very little to help you survive.
5 Jul 2021
π From Gamers Magazine | Issue 1 | Review π @FromGamersMag
As a gamer of a certain age, print magazines formed an important part of growing up for me. From Zzap! 64 and Crash to Nintendo Power and Mean Machines Sega, there weren't many months that I didn't buy (or get my mum to buy) a new mag to read about the vast universe of games I couldn't afford.
4 Jul 2021
π€ MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "Lock & Load" π€ @PiranhaGames #IndieGames #GameDev
My history with mech games seemingly peaked in 1996 with Earthsiege 2. Prior to that, the only ‘big robot’ games I’d played were things like Cyborg Justice and Mazin Saga, I didn’t realise that there was an element of the genre that embraced the slower, weightier and more strategic element of piloting a skyscraper-sized behemoth.
Upon playing Earthsiege 2, I vividly remember thinking that it was the absolute zenith of ‘lifelike’ tactical combat and, even though it was a genre that was not on my radar at all, I was completely hooked and played through the entire campaign multiple times, something I rarely do (even now!).
I also remember playing the original MechWarrior on the SNES and finding it a pale imitation of the shining diamond that was Earthsiege 2, it seemed more arcadey, slick and, to be honest…I was never a fan of Mode 7.
Admittedly, in the quarter of a century since, I’ve rarely returned to the genre and when I have, nothing has captured my imagination in the way that Earthsiege 2 did *wipes away a single tear*.
1 Jul 2021
πΎ Lowtek Games | Interview With Alastair Low πΎ @Wallmasterr #IndieGames #GameDev
30 Jun 2021
⚔️π‘️π³ Tunic | Xbox | Demo Preview | "I’ve been a sucker for isometric adventures ever since playing Landstalker" ⚔️π‘️π³ @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).
29 Jun 2021
☁️ Cloudpunk: City of Ghosts PC Review 9/10 ☁️ @Pixel Hunted @ionlands #IndieGames #GameDev
28 Jun 2021
π₯ πΊ Phantom Abyss | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Aaaaaargh!" πΊπ₯ @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 Jun 2021
πΉ️ Capcom Arcade Stadium | Xbox Series X | Review | 8.5/10 | "A Rollicking Retro Ride That Rocks" πΉ️ @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 Jun 2021
⛵️ Man Eater | Nintendo Switch | Ten Minute Taster π©Έπ¦@TripwireInt #IndieGames #GameDev
25 Jun 2021
π€ VOLTA X | NINTENDO SWITCH | Gameplay | "V.A.T.S In Mechs With Animals" π€ @VoltaXGame #IndieGames #GameDev
24 Jun 2021
π️ Creaks | Review | Xbox Series X | 9/10 | "Characterful Presentation Perfectly Fused with Classic Puzzle Gameplay" π️ @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.
π₯ Within the Blade (WTB) | "Retro Focused Ninja Fighter Lining Up For Console Assault" π₯ @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 Jun 2021
π¦π¦’ Mighty Goose | Review | Nintendo Switch | 7/10 | "Side-scrolling shooters, man. I have a complicated relationship with the genre" π¦π¦’ @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 Jun 2021
π Space Engineers | PC | Gameplay | "Hardspace Meets Satisfactory Meets No Man's Sky Meets Minecraft Meets Mass Effect!" π @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 Jun 2021
π₯ Kung Fu Jesus | PC | Gameplay | "Kung Fu Krazy!" π₯ @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!