Lake was a game that really stood out to me when I watched a showcase from the publisher last year. The trailer depicts a woman (Meredith Weiss) taking a two-week break from her busy computing job in a city - the game is set in 1986, so there’s some cool, old tech kicking around - to cover her postman father’s job back in her hometown of Providence Oaks.
18 Sept 2021
17 Sept 2021
๐ฌ Lake | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "Just Checking The Mail ๐ฌ @Lake_The_Game #GameDev #IndieGames
16 Sept 2021
๐ Honey I joined A Cult | PC | Gameplay | "The Cult of the Worm Is Born" ๐ @solesurvivorgms #GameDev #IndieGames
It's time to start working towards that ultimate goal of enlightenment, faith and money…lots and lots of money. Create, customise, expand and manage your own cult whilst listening to funky music in Honey, I Joined a Cult!
๐ฎ Easy SMX ESM-4108 | The Best Budget Wireless Pro Controller For Nintendo Switch For Under £10? ๐ฎ @EasySMX_Gaming
I needed a new Switch Controller as I only had wired ones and this Easy SMX ESM-4108 Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch/PC was the perfect fit for my budget at an astonishingly cheap £9.99!
15 Sept 2021
⚽️๐ฅ Super Arcade Football | PC| Review | "FUN FOOTBALL FEVER!" ⚽️๐ฅ @outofthebit #GameDev #IndieGames
14 Sept 2021
⚽️ Tux and Fanny | Nintendo Switch | Review | 9.5/10 | "A rich world of wonder, packed with magic" ⚽️ @simplysylvio #GameDev #IndieGames
I had never heard of Tux and Fanny before happening across a conversation on Twitter a few days ago in which the developer stated that he was incredibly proud of the game and that it featured over 25 mini-games.
As a sucker for mini-games, I went into my usual trance and my hands worked of their own volition, guiding me inevitably towards the Tux and Fanny trailer on YouTube. I watched the trailer with my eyes and was absolutely sold on the Microsoft Paint-like chunky pixelated visuals and simple characters.
As I’ve mentioned recently in other child-friendly games I’ve covered, I’m compiling a list of games to play with my son when he is old enough and this is firmly, firmly on that list, it’s Pikuniku levels of brilliant.
13 Sept 2021
๐ Crown Trick | PC | Gameplay | "Don't Let the Crown Slip!" ๐ @CrownTrickGame #GameDev #IndieGames
๐ฆ Flowing Lights | Gameplay | Nintendo Switch | "Blinded By the Lights" ๐ฆ @FlowingLights #IndieGames #GameDev
12 Sept 2021
๐คผ♀️ Action Arcade Wrestling | Review | Xbox Series X | 7/10 | "That’s the bottom line, cause AAW said so" ๐คผ♀️ @AAWGame #IndieGames #GameDev
Wrestling games over the last few years have been deeply concerned with realism, which is funny - as wrestling (to the shock of no one) isn't real, it’s pre-determined and over the top entertainment which can range from the exciting to the downright stupid.
Concentrating on making everything feel deeply real has always seemed strange to me, the best wrestling games have always leaned in towards the sillier, more arcadey nature. Games like No Mercy or The Smackdown series on PS2 always concentrated on the fun and that’s why they are celebrated - unlike the recent 2K series that got so bad they had to take a couple of years hiatus and hopefully will come back next year with a better and more interesting iteration of its series.
Action Arcade Wrestling has decided to go old school. Whilst playing the game I was reminded of the years that my brother and I played WWF Royal Rumble on the Sega Mega Drive; the move system, the colourfulness and the chaos all felt familiar.
11 Sept 2021
๐ด♂️ A Peloton and Zwift Compatible Yosuda Budget Spin Bike Set Up For Under £200 ๐ด♂️ #Zwift @GoZwift @zwiftinsider
Today I'll be talking about how to use ZWIFT and Peloton on a Yosuda spin bike.
I've just started using my Yosuda spin bike on ZWIFT and Peloton and I'm sharing my full budget indoor cycling setup.
Yosuda Bike (eBay): https://ebay.us/Wv8EwQ
Magene S3 Sensors (Cadence & Speed): https://amzn.to/2WXG34t
10 Sept 2021
๐️๐ Venom Multi-Colour LED Light-up XBOX Series X Console Stand ๐️๐ @VenomGamingUK
A perfectly fitting stand specifically designed for the XSX, this Venom accessory illuminates your Xbox in a classy way. The design means that no access is blocked to any ports on the system and it locks the console in place, sturdily.
9 Sept 2021
๐ด Rustler | Review | Xbox Series X | 6.5/10 | "A Horse That May Have Bolted Too Soon" ๐ด @jutsugames #GameDev #IndieGames
The premise of a top-down GTA game that is set in Medieval times is a winner on paper and Rustler really does have its moments but unfortunately, some fundamental issues that are present throughout limit the enjoyment.
As an all-around rogue Guy, Rustler has you working for a man named Herb as a horse thief, but – unbeknownst to him - you plan to escape your life of poverty by winning a grand tournament. The only problem? You need 5000 gold to enter.
8 Sept 2021
๐ช️ Boomerang X | Nintendo Switch | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster "I Need A New Joycon" ๐ช️ @videodang #IndieGames #GameDev
7 Sept 2021
๐ผ๐ฟ๐ Sparkster Vinyl Review ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ @blackscreenrec #Vinyl #VGMVinyl
I’m a big fan of the Mega Drive sound chip. There’s a snappiness and rawness that really pops out on vinyl and appeals to me on an almost genetic level and, combined with the Konami Sound Team’s (Konami Kukeiha Club) understanding of the chip...wizardry can ensue, as is the case with some tracks on Sparkster.
6 Sept 2021
⚔️ Fort Triumph | Review | Xbox Series X/S | 7/10 | "When it's good, it's great" ⚔️ @AllinGamesPub #GameDev #IndieGames
My first forays into Fort Triumph were initially a little frustrating. The story is well-formed, and the writing is funny, so I felt I knew the world and its inhabitants early on. However, you are thrown into the mix straight away, and there is a lot to take in with not a lot of explanation.
5 Sept 2021
๐๐ฟ๐ผ Machinarium Vinyl Soundtrack Review ๐๐ฟ๐ผ
In my recent articles on Amanita Design’s Creaks (video game review – https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/06/creaks-review-xbox-series-x-910.html, vinyl soundtrack review - https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/08/creaks-soundtrack-on-vinyl-vinyl-vgm.html) I referenced how my introduction to them – 2009’s Machinarium – had a real impact on me. I think it’s safe to say, games that present themselves wordlessly really fondle my cheeks and ruffle my hair, I adore them – when done correctly.
4 Sept 2021
๐️♂️ Golf Club Wasteland | Review | Xbox Series X | 6.5/10 | "On earth, no-one can hear you miss a birdie" ๐️♂️ @UntoldTalesHQ #IndieGames #GameDev
I was HIPS DEEP when I saw the trailer for Golf Club Wasteland. The striking, pastel visuals and dreamy music combined with basic gameplay seemed really captivating.
Having played the game, however, whilst there’s a lot that appealed to me, I really, really wish I’d connected with the style of progression and the general direction that Golf Club Wasteland takes a lot more.
3 Sept 2021
2 Sept 2021
๐ช Death’s Door | Review | Xbox Series X | 9/10 | “Holy Crap, this is going to be a good game!” ๐ช @acidnerve #IndieGames #GameDev
Yes, you heard right, a bird of the Corvus family, commonly known as a crow.
1 Sept 2021
⚔️ Demons of Asteborg | SEGA Mega Drive | Review | 9.5/10 | "A Modern Mega Drive Classic" ⚔️ @DAsteborg #Retrogaming #IndieGames #GameDev
The Mega Drive is very much a console that I hold in high regard. As someone who has played, loved and collected for the system for decades, it’s very clear to me, if Demons of Asteborg was a Mega Drive game released in the mid-'90s - it would be regarded as a classic, ‘must have’ title.
Released in 2021 on the Mega Drive, however…. it’s still a classic, ‘must have’ title.
31 Aug 2021
๐จ⚖️ The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles | PS4 | Review | 8/10 | "Elementary, my dear Ace Attorney" ๐จ⚖️
This is the first entry I have played in the Ace Attorney franchise; I've always been aware of them and always thought I would like them, but for some reason never played them.
This seemed like a good starting point as it’s set many years before the other games, which meant I was sure I could avoid spoilers and be able to grasp the story - as no prior knowledge would be needed.
30 Aug 2021
๐๐ง♂️ Highrisers | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "Get In The Chopper!" ๐๐ง♂️ @SolarPowerGames #IndieGames #GameDev
29 Aug 2021
๐ฃ️ Road 96 | PC | Review | 7/10 | "Digixart’s game is actually a series of carefully designed and written vignettes" ๐ฃ️ @Digixart #IndieGames #GameDev
Road 96 bills itself as a “procedurally generated” story. Going in this was a big red flag: I don’t want some algorithm telling me a tale, I want a human being with thoughts, feelings and opinions!
Fortunately, it quickly becomes apparent that Road 96 is using procedural generation as more of a buzzword.
28 Aug 2021
๐ฟ๐ Mango Mage Records | Interview With Britt ๐ฟ๐ #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl @TheMangoMage
During my recent dalliances across the internet in search of gaming vinyl, I happened across new label Mango Mage Records, and as they seemed so blinking lovely, I thought it would be great to get to know them a little better, especially as they seemed in an interesting position as they were a new label and just celebrating the sell-out of their first release. Fear not!
There are more releases to come…
27 Aug 2021
๐๐️ Button City | Xbox Series X | Review | 7/10 | "Pastel-Shaded Playtime with Pals" ๐๐️ @ButtonCity #IndieGames #GameDev
A cute and pastel-coloured adventure aimed at younger players, Button City is a simple story told with charm and an accessible and fun main game in Gobabots, propped up by other mini-games and light exploration.
26 Aug 2021
๐คก Ayo the Clown | Nintendo Switch Review | 6.5/10 | "Pastel Palettes, Twinkly Music and a Cast of Toy-like Side Characters" ๐คก @cloudm1 #IndieGames #GameDev
Ayo the Clown was given to me as a game my kids might enjoy. Having watched the trailer I was inclined to agree, the younger one anyway (the older one is currently obsessed with Zelda and recently finished Breath of the Wild, so might need a bit more challenge).
The trailer is narrated by a soft-voiced American who sounds like a kids' TV host and introduces us to the word of Ayo. He's a clown who has lost his best friend, his dog Bo. You accompany Ayo through multiple brightly coloured levels, taking on a host of enemies in order to get Bo back.
25 Aug 2021
๐๐ด Draft Of Darkness | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "It's Drafty and its Dark!" ๐๐ด @CrawlyGames #IndieGames #GameDev
24 Aug 2021
๐ณ Seed Of Life | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "Watch Me Sow My Seed" ๐ณ @leonardointera #GameDev #IndieGames
23 Aug 2021
⚔️ Greak: Memories Of Azur | Nintendo Switch | Ten-Minute Taster | Gameplay | "Its All Greak To Me" ⚔️ @PlayGreak #IndieGames #GameDev
22 Aug 2021
๐️ Glyph | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "Rolling Around In the Sand" ๐️ @PlayGlyph #IndieGames #GameDev
Glyph’s gameplay combines breathtaking aerial manoeuvres with tranquil exploration in a stunning 3D platforming experience. Add a mesmerizing original soundscape, and Glyph is lifting you up and whisking you away.
21 Aug 2021
๐ Before Your Eyes | Part 3 | Walkthrough | Ending | Gameplay ๐ @Goodbye__World_ #GameDev #IndieGames
Join Rich in Part 3 of the Before your Eyes Gameplay Walkthrough as we see the ending of the game...
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
๐ฝ️Please Subscribe to our channel๐ฝ️:
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20 Aug 2021
19 Aug 2021
๐๐ Lock On Gaming Journal | Issue 1 | "A Luxury Piece Of Gaming Journalism" ๐๐ @LostInCult #LockOn
I’ll level with you immediately. I am a self-confessed video game magazine geek. Physically holding a magazine and even smelling its pages are more of a thrill to me than just digesting web pages and half reading video games related emails and press releases.
Owning a video game magazine collection for me allows me to fulfil that fantasy of having my own library of video games related literature. In the last 5 years or so I have begun to fall for the various video games coffee table style books such as Bitmap Books’ Visual Compendium series or their beautiful one-off books like The Art Of Point and Click Adventures. These are the kind of books you can flick through and soak up the nostalgia as you turn each page and transport you back to another time and place where the video games magazine ruled the world.
My favourite video games magazines have to be the Mean Machines run of magazines that were headed up by Jaz Rignall. The original run of magazines only lasted 24 issues before it split into a SEGA and Nintendo variant but those first 24 are ingrained into my psyche and greatly influenced the way I think about games critique and how to have fun with video game writing.
More recently I’ve also had the pleasure to look at a cool magazine called Ninty Fresh which went through Kickstarter very successfully and is now into a run of issues each being funded by Kickstarter backers.
With all this in mind, it feels like there is something of a renaissance of the written word in physical form within the video games world which for me is a great thing and leads me onto the journal which has been absorbing my time lately.
The lovely people from Lost In Cult have just released their first gaming journal entitled Lock On and I was approached to take a look at this beautiful video gaming tome just before I went on my hols to the Isle Of Wight.
Perfect holiday reading was my first thought.
18 Aug 2021
๐ Mini Motorways | Ten Minute Taster | PC | "A Pleasure To Play" ๐ @dinopoloclub #GameDev #IndieGames
17 Aug 2021
๐ฅ The Ascent | PC | Review | 7/10 | "Blade Runner Has a Lot To Answer For" ๐ฅ @AscentTheGame #IndieGames #GameDev
Cyberpunk is in fashion: you can’t throw a rock without hitting a TV show, game, or movie containing a grimy cityscape full of dazzling neon signs, steam-filled vents, video ads featuring Geisha girls, and the all-pervading stench of hypercapitalism. Blade Runner has a lot to answer for. But, perhaps as a result of disappointing Cyberpunk 2077, that wave may now be receding.
But, though the aesthetic is now a little played out, it’s rare to see it executed as well as in The Ascent.
16 Aug 2021
๐๐ฅ A Plague Tale: Innocence | Review | Xbox Series X | 8/10 | "Something is rotten in 14th-century France" ๐๐ฅ @APlagueTale #IndieGames #GameDev
Something is rotten in 14th-century France. And it's not just the literal thousands of corpses you encounter, walk over and occasionally make in this game. You play as Amicia de Rune, a teenage girl on the run from not only super-powered plague-carrying hordes of rats but also the Inquisition. Not the Spanish one - in this game, they're French and everyone expects them.
15 Aug 2021
☢️ Chernobylite | PC | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "Stalker,Fallout & State Of Decay" ☢️ @ChernobylGame #GameDev #IndieGames
14 Aug 2021
๐ Crash Drive 3 | Xbox Series X | Review | 9/10 | "It's an open-world, cross-platform arcade stuntfest" ๐ @M2Hgames #IndieGames #GameDev
I wasn't really sure whether an open world MMO racing game on a budget would actually be any good. I mean, I've played and enjoyed the Forza Horizon games, but they have huge amounts of money thrown at them and are very, very shiny (to the extent it kind of stops being that much fun after a while, as they take themselves a bit seriously).
Crash Drive 3 does not have this problem. It's an open-world, cross-platform arcade stuntfest where you tear about in a huge array of vehicles in amusingly varied environments. And it's fun.
13 Aug 2021
๐จ๐️ Paint the Town Red | Xbox Series X | Review | 7.5/10 | "I’m a Big Fan of Voxels" ๐จ๐️ @SouthEastGames #IndieGames #GameDev
I’m a big fan of voxels. I’ve been introduced to some fantastic games over the last couple of years that made awesome use of them and Paint the Town Red can very easily be added to that list.
A first-person title with a heavy focus on melee combat, Paint the Town Red’s multiple game modes mean that it can be used for either brief blasts of bloody bashing bonkersness or delved into for a deeper, more RPG-ish experience. The one thing that really feels like it’s missing from the console versions is some sort of multiplayer mode. The game would really come to life with friends - although the PC version does offer it so perhaps it’s a possibility for consoles down the line.
12 Aug 2021
๐ Ranch Sim | PC | Ten Minute Taster | Gameplay | "The coolest Golf Buggy In Video Games!" ๐ @RanchSimulator #GameDev #IndieGames
Ranch Sim - Builder. Farmer. Hunter. Trader. Ranching certainly isn’t your average job. Think you have the skills to turn your family’s rundown homestead into the most prosperous ranch in the valley?
Then it’s time to head out into the wilderness in this captivating single and multiplayer open-world simulator.
11 Aug 2021
๐งน๐ง♀️ Cotton Reboot | Nintendo Switch | Gameplay | Ten Minute Taster | "The Original Cute Em Up!" ๐งน๐ง♀️ @ININ_Games #GameDev #IndieGames
In Cotton Reboot!, Japan’s favourite shooter mascot finds her way into a beautiful HD game with stunning graphics and remixed soundtracks. This is the original “Cute ‘em up”, and will test your skills as well as tug on the heartstrings as Cotton and her friends are finally back in the ultimate celebration of one of Japan’s most beloved gaming mascots. Choose between the HD Reboot mode or go legit with the X68000 original mode with pixel perfect graphics from the iconic Japanese home computer.
Features:
• Play the brand-new HD Reboot mode or the fantastic retro X68000 mode
• Cute ‘em Up action based on one of Japan’s longest-running game series
• Enjoy the awesome soundtrack either fully arranged or in its original home computer form
• Guide Cotton and her friend Silk in a highly approachable game! Easy to play, but difficult to master!
• Compete online for high scores
10 Aug 2021
๐️ Senile Team Game Dev Interview ๐️ @SenileTeam #IndieGames #GameDev
Having recently thoroughly enjoyed Senile Team’s Dreamcast / PC release ‘Intrepid Izzy’ (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.
A great indie developer with roots going back to 2003, it was a pleasure to find out more about the history of the Senile Team. Also, huge thanks to WAVE Game Studios for just being awesome and so passionate about what they do, quite frankly.
9 Aug 2021
๐ Lambs on the Road: The Beginning | Nintendo Switch | Preview ๐ @LambsOnTheRoad #IndieGames #GameDev
Lambs on the Road is a 2D platformer with puzzle elements, set sometime after a horrific apocalypse, whereby society has crumbled, food has become scarce and people have turned to murder and cannibalism.
8 Aug 2021
๐ Hang on to Your Hat | Black Screen Records | Vinyl | Review | (A big band take on the music of Mario 64) ๐ @blackscreenrec #Vinyl #VGM
A huge part of Mario’s charm is in the music and you’d be stretched to find a more fondly remembered title in Mario’s canon than Mario 64, the 1996 release on the Nintendo 64.
Quite different from other vinyl orchestral releases that I’ve heard/covered, Hang on to Your Hat is recorded in a big band style by the Video Game Jazz Orchestra and is all the better for it with the original tunes completely fitting this particular swinging throwback style.
7 Aug 2021
๐ Zelda & Chill | Vinyl Review | Black Screen Records | "it’s all about the tunes baby, and it delivers (Ocarina of) time and time again" ๐ @blackscreenrec #VGM #Vinyl
The blend of familiar, timeless Zelda melodies with trip-hop beats is a real winner and an album we continually return to, several times a week.
5 Aug 2021
๐ถ๐ง๐ฟ Creaks Soundtrack on Vinyl ๐ถ๐ง๐ฟ #Vinyl #VGM
As a fan of Amanita Design’s previous game Machinarium, I was looking forward to covering Creaks and my subsequent review (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2021/06/creaks-review-xbox-series-x-910.html) cemented them – for me - as a developer with a really unique perspective and masters of their craft, especially in terms of presentation, mood and atmosphere tied to richly-textured and yet accessible gameplay.
Before listening to the album, Lukas Kunce at Amanita Design sent me a link to a documentary put together by the man behind the Hidden Orchestra – Joe Acheson – that turned out to be not just an invaluable resource for understanding the creation of the music for the Creaks soundtrack but is also just plain awesome in terms of being a really relaxing and incredibly interesting documentary, full stop - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67S-rAyku3U I urge you all to watch!
4 Aug 2021
๐ฆ Super Sami Roll | PC | Ten Minute Taster | "A Delightful 3D Platformer That Brings A Smile To Your Face" ๐ฆ @SuperSamiRoll #IndieGames #GameDev
3 Aug 2021
๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฟ️ Mr Nutz - Wayo Records ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฟ️ @wayorecords #Vinyl #VGM
Wayo Records’ previous release - a double 12-inch, gatefold presentation of the always-welcome Yuzo Koshiro’s 1990 Actraiser - has been followed up by something distinctly more cartoonish in nature, namely the well-received 1993 French 2D platformer, Mr Nutz.
2 Aug 2021
๐ฎ How To Take Your Online Gaming Experience To A Whole New Level ๐ฎ
Online gaming can be such a fun and exciting experience. There are so many different games to play, adventures to take and skills to learn, and it's so easy to get lost in a session of online gaming for hours on end.
However, simply sitting down at the same old computer to play online games in the most basic fashion possible is holding you back dramatically from being able to appreciate the full potential of each game.
You need to put time and effort into creating the best environment and atmosphere in which you can use top-quality equipment to get the most out of your online gaming session, otherwise, you're only getting half of the adventure! Thankfully, it doesn't have to be as difficult as you might expect to take your online gaming experience to a whole new level, as there are in fact just a few key tips and tricks that you can make the most of to turn your entertainment dreams into a reality in no time at all.
So, if you're interested in finding out more, then simply read on to uncover some of the handiest hacks that you can utilize today!