REVIEW / Candle: The Power of the Flame (PS4)

 

Candle: The Power of the Flame is a puzzle platformer by indie developer Teku Studios. You follow a tribesman named Teku whose village has been destroyed by an evil tribe, and your journey is to save your village’s shaman. It is a beautifully made game with quite a few frustrating aspects to it.

 

 

Overall, it is a very basic story, but the narrator does give some deeper lore once you begin the game. The gods that created life have destroyed the world multiple times due to the greed and power becoming too prevalent among the living. Plot-wise, I personally never got invested into the story. It simply just never caught me, and at times was more annoying than engaging. This is especially true whenever any NPCs speak to you.

To communicate, NPCs speak in gibberish with little 2D images that are supposed to illustrate what they are saying. Afterward, the narrator explains what the character said. Every conversation is extremely tedious. Every time someone talks to Teku it is so drawn out where I just wanted to skip it every time, but of course, I would miss something if I did that, so I had to sit through it all.

 

 

Where the story and conversations are uninteresting, the design of the game is great. As I said at the beginning, Candle is a beautiful game. The watercolors fit together so well, and while I think Teku himself looks like a cooked Turkey, everything else looks great. The animations in the game have been done smoothly as well. This is not made on a Cuphead level of beauty but is very pretty regardless.

The gameplay of Candle is frustrating. Controls are very clunky, and I feel at moments they want this game to have a slight platform aspect to it, but it fails in this area. Teku is way too slow moving and if you are ever spotted by a bad guy you are doomed to death. He can carry a flame on his hand that will help reveal secrets or scares away creatures that otherwise would kill him. However, if any of the bad tribesman notice fire, they are alerted to Teku’s position and will beat him down.

 

 

Puzzles in the game can also be very frustrating. There are times that they do not make sense, like gathering honey for a rabbit or making bees follow smoke and fire. Then there are the really interesting puzzles that make you feel good about yourself when you complete them. One of my personal favorites was mixing colors to match a drawing on a pillar that once I figured it out; I felt really smart.

However, I found the puzzles to be more frustrating than engaging. The world is filled with cheap deaths that punish you for exploring and anytime I got stuck on a puzzle I ended up having more fun finding the different ways to kill Teku. The amount of backtracking you have to do if you miss one simple item or clue is the most enraging part of this game.

 

 

Overall, I am glad to be done with Candle: Power of the Flame. It is a slow, uninteresting game that had me mostly just wishing for the end to finally come in its short game time. During a time when there are so many other engaging, interesting games, it is not a game I would personally recommend to play.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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REVIEW / Frost (PS4)

 

As the last of winter slowly slips through Australia’s fingers, you can find me here, on my couch, shivering through game after game of the new PS4 port of deck-builder Frost. A deck-building, solo survival card game, Frost is set in a harsh, frozen world that is ravaged by a lethal, seemingly malicious storm, the Frost. It was originally released on iOS and Android (and it shows) in 2016; along with a PC release, it’s now arrived on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

 

 

In Frost, you are one of the nomads who, for generations upon generations, has traveled the frozen wastes to reach the Refuge, a haven away from the Frost’s icy presence. Frost requires you to undertake resource management, develop strategies and use your memory to manage different events and threats as you guide your fellow survivors through the ice and snow. Warning: what follow next is a somewhat in-depth explanation of card mechanics.

You start with a screen like the one below, which shows your hand (you can tilt the screen down to see your discard pile as well), your stock (the categories of cards and how many you have of each in your deck), idea cards, the items required to progress in this area, the event for that turn, and other features such as the scouting/foraging ability and your nomad’s current health status (he starts with four points). In the top left corner, you can see the countdown to the Frost catching up with you. Every game begins with the Frost counter at 8, which is the maximum. Below the Frost countdown, the game displays the number of days that you have been traveling (which is mostly irrelevant) and the distance to the refuge (i.e. number of turns remaining until victory).

 

 

You cannot make progress towards the Refuge unless you have completed the requirements for that area (i.e. spending two survivors, one food, three materials towards the area). If you have been unable to raise the resources for this area, you can choose to rest and replace your entire hand (only if you haven’t played any cards out of your hand in this turn), which allows the Frost to advance by one. You can also forfeit your turn and be given a new hand (regardless of how many cards you have already spent or have left), which also advances the Frost by one. Once the Frost meter falls below one, it’s “game over.”

Basic cards have three categories: materials (represented by a log), food (represented by a yellow…fruit?), and survivors (represented by some seriously ugly individuals). Idea cards, which are in the top middle section of the screen, appear with each turn (with an upper limit of five at any given time) and offer advanced cards with different effects. Idea cards have a price (i.e. two food and one material) which can be contributed to over the course of multiple turns. Once bought, the idea card is added to your hand and, depending on the card, can either be used immediately (i.e. a spear on an event such as a hungry wolf or vicious cannibals) or further cards in your hand can be spent on the idea card to use its activation effect (i.e. spending a survivor on an Extractor item to produce new food cards).

 

 

If a dangerous event (i.e. wolves, cannibals) are not dealt with before traveling, you will have to decide to deal one damage to the survivor you are controlling, or to one of the survivors or pets in your next hand. Survivors in your hand can also be used to forage, which can result in a new food or material card being added to your hand, another survivor being found, or the sudden death of your survivor.

In addition to the previously-mentioned cards, there are also fatigue and terror cards. Fatigue cards fill your hand and can overrun your deck. Except in special circumstances, they cannot be spent, and only certain other cards can remove them, as can the act of resting. Terror cards are advanced forms of fatigue cards. If you have three terror cards in your hand at once, you lose the game. Survivors who are out foraging can also bring back fatigue cards, which is like…c’mon, guys. That’s not helpful.

 

 

There are other types of cards and concepts which I haven’t covered here; these are better learned through playing than by reading in a review. The basic takeaway for Frost is that you have to keep one step ahead of the storm while fending off enemies and fatigue, biding your time until the distance between you and the Refuge runs out.

I’ve seen reviews and summaries of Frost praising its design and music. I have to say that while the premise for this particular deck building card game is actually quite interesting, the art style for the human characters is just awful. This could be completely subjective, but while I don’t expect absolute supermodels to be battling the icy tundra on a daily basis, the designs for the nomads are just so, so ugly.

The game is pretty stark white, as well, which I don’t mind but I could see how it could bother other people. Thankfully, the devs have offered a night mode! Brilliant, right? Hell no, it’s just inverted colors and it is godawful to look at when actually trying to play the game. Bad move, guys, that is not what a night mode should be at all.

As for the music, I can really see what the developers were trying to do here. The low chanting in the opening story movie and menu screen, the desolate, fairly scarce music that accompanies every aching step through the snow. The idea was great, but the execution was poor. The ambience is just repetitive and dull. It’s not so much that it’s unbearable to play with, it’s just that you end up blocking it out, which isn’t what you want as a reaction to your game’s musical score.

 

 

While some aspects of the tutorial are a bit confusing (it took me a little while to understand how some of the activation effects are actually supposed to work), the gameplay of Frost is really, really good. I have almost nothing but praise to give. The premise, while simple, makes the act of playing something as potentially monotonous as a deck builder legitimately tense and interesting.

I didn’t cover it too much in the body of the review, but you do sometimes have to make hard choices. For example, if you resort to cannibalism to obtain multiple food cards, the design appears as bloodied meat, reminding you of what you did. The game handles the reminders of your transgressions in this subtle, but chilling way that is quite impressive for a game built around card management.

 

 

Would I recommend Frost? Absolutely, but with a recommendation – get it on a portable device. I’m not one to promote mobile gaming at all, but if you don’t have a Switch or a laptop you can play it on while on the move, even a phone version would be acceptable.

I’m not saying that it was bad on the big screen – far from it (although it was abundantly clear that my TV was bigger than Frost was programmed to be, as certain effects cut out at very clearly defined edges a few centimetres away from the actual edge of the screen). I just think that this is the kind of game that would be more engaging to play continuously on public transport or on a plane, rather than as a console game proper.

 

 

If you can get past the ugly design and unfortunate music, Frost is a solid deck building game that will make you so tense that you may lose your cool. Apart from the main game (which features various difficulty modes), there is also an endless mode, and special scenarios that put certain restrictions and rules onto a regular game of Frost, offering new and interesting ways to play. Frost is out now on Playstation 4 and Xbox One, and can also be found on Android and iOS mobile platforms, as well as PC.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Tales of the Neon Sea Kickstarter starts July 31st

 

Tales of the Neon Sea is an upcoming puzzle-solving adventure cyberpunk adventure from Palm Pioneer, an indie developer based out of Beijing (published by Zodiac Interactive). Tales of the Neon Sea boasts retro-styled pixel art where players explore a fully realised cyberpunk cityscape where humans and robots contend with escalating tension and mutual distrust. You play as a hard-boiled detective who uses his wits and puzzle-solving skills to determine the course of this unique tale.

Tales of the Neon Sea’s trailer is truly worth the watch – the neon lights and intrigue should have any cyberpunk fan salivating. Any story with a hard-boiled veteran detective is always worth a look, especially when it’s this beautifully colourful, yet somehow still bleak and terrifying.

The game is set to release as a 3-5 hour title on PC (Windows only) initially, with stretch goals of $15,000 for two additional DLC chapters and $30,000 for a PS4 version. If a whopping $50,000 is raised, the game will also be released on Nintendo Switch.

The Kickstarter page features a more in-depth description of the basic narrative, tonnes of pictures, coverage of the stretch goals, the video featured in this article, and cats!

Tales of the Neon Sea‘s Kickstarter isn’t active yet, but it will be in the very near future on July 31st, so have a read and throw on an alert to make sure that you don’t miss a single thing about the progress of this amazing game.

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Headsnatchers comes to Steam Early Access

 

I’ve got a touch of interesting information for you party game fans out there. I know some of you love getting together with your mates and just throwing down on whatever device you happen to own. If this is the sort of thing that floats your proverbial boat, Headsnatchers may well be just the title for you.

Headsnatchers, which is being published by Iceberg Interactive and developed by IguanaBee, has been released into Steam Early Access at a price of $14.99. If you happen to want to get your mitts on it immediately, you’ll be able to get a further 10% off this asking price if you grab a copy by Tuesday.

As I’ve mentioned Headsnatchers is a party game which supports both local and online play for up to four people. In this frantic game you’ll be battling each other with one primary goal. All you need to do is remove your opponent’s head from their shoulders. Sound easy? Well not quite as simple a task as you might think. Once you’ve grabbed a head you’ll then need to use said appendage to light up the scoreboard and with a bit of luck win. It also helps if you can keep your own while you’re doing it.

The release will be giving you 6 multi-player maps to brawl in if you’re playing online. This number will steadily increase as the game continues in its development. If, however, you happen to be playing locally you’ll get a total of 25 multi-player maps straight from the get-go. This, plus 4 modes of play should give you all plenty to sink your teeth into while Headsnatchers continues to it’s final full launch.

In addition to the multiplayer fun you’ll also be able to get your single player fix with the Zombie Castle game mode. On a cosmetic level you’ll have more than 100 heads to choose from and more if you include the Headitor. Yes, you can actually create your own and save up to 20 customer heads for your character.

When asked about the move to launch this title into Early Access Daniel Winkler, lead developer at IguanaBee stated: “It allows us to properly develop the game while listening to feedback from the community. As a multiplayer party game, we find it increadibly important that we actively involve the community to shape Headsnatchers into the best party game out there. We hope gamers young and old will enjoy humiliating their pals in the wackiest ways possible.”

So there you have it. This actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I have to admit, there’s something quite satisfying about the thought of decapitating your opponents and using their heads to score. This just goes to show that a game doesn’t have to be gory for heads to roll. Or bounce … or well you catch my drift. If you want to involve yourselves in the Early Access you might want to pop over to Steam now for that discount.

 

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No Man’s Sky Now Available on Xbox One

 

The infamous No Man’s Sky, developed by Hello Games, launches today on Xbox One in North America and Friday, July 27th in Europe. Physical retail editions of the game are being distributed worldwide by 505 Games.

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No Man’s Sky’s new platform launch coincides with the No Man’s Sky NEXT update, which also launches today across all platforms. This update brings a variety of new features and patches, including multiplayer gameplay. You can now explore, fight, and survive with friends as you explore the limitless procedural universe. The NEXT update will offer an extensive visual overhaul, unlimited base building, command freighters and more.

For more updates on the No Man’s Sky NEXT update, and the patch notes (found at the bottom of the website), click here!

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REVIEW / Tempest 4000 (PS4)

 

If you hadn’t guessed, I am not very old. My first console was a PlayStation 2, and my first games were movie spin-offs. I’d never even played a PS1 until about a year ago, and have only recently become able to distinguish between a NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64. In my mind, Atari is a relic of a bygone era; something for my parents to murmur about in hushed tones as they think back to a simpler time.

 

 

Imagine my surprise, then, when I found myself willing to review Tempest 4000. Still bearing the Atari logo, this is the descendant of an arcade shooter from WELL before my time; a game designed and programmed – more or less – by one man, the immortal Dave Theurer in 1981. The original Tempest was one of the first video games to have level designs that changed as the player progressed. It was also the first game to keep track of a player’s progress, essentially allowing them to pick up where they left off. Quite the lineage, then.

For these reasons, Tempest 4000 is a remarkably accessible game. It’s a love letter to the 1980s designed and produced by Llamasoft studios; a follow-up to 1994’s Tempest 2000, the 2018 edition has been on hold since March. Just like the original, you’ll be controlling a Claw, shooting lasers at enemies that crawl toward you on the geometric prisms that serve as levels. Unlike the original, however, you’ll be playing on a LED TV rather than an analogue box made of fake wood; you’ll (hopefully) only be wearing denim trousers; and you’ll be waiting apprehensively for a wall to go up, rather than come down. Topical.

 

 

Tempest 4000 is undeniably great fun to play, blending a player’s ability to react fast with that inexplicable dose of luck that keeps you in the fight. The enemies are unchanged from the original game, varied in their hostility and arriving in droves. The simplicity of the controls and the premise cannot be overstated – this game is attractive because it is fast, frenetic, and easy to lose. Keep losing, and you’ll be hurling controllers at screens in no time; win consistently, and you’ll be punching the air and wondering if they still make Keytars

The further you progress, the tougher the bad guys become. From Flippers to Spikers, Fuseballs to Pulsers – did anyone actually know that these squiggly lines had names? Luckily, you’ll be able to grab the occasional power-up to improve your odds; being able to jump, for example, makes letting the bad guys reach your end of the prism that much more acceptable. It does soon become a question of how fast you can begin collecting these game-changing perks, however, which might be a bit of a drawback. Without the AI Drone or jump ability, you’ll regret the moment a bad guy makes it to your end.

 

 

As I’ve already mentioned, Tempest 4000 is unique (read: was unique) in that it features progressive level design. Each level is a new exercise in psychedelic geometry, in its most basic sense forcing the player to adjust how they play. Some levels are tubular in nature, where others are linear; each type comes with advantages and disadvantages, and some are certainly more challenging to traverse than others. Sensitive controls and the constant pressing threat of letting the baddies reach your end often leans gameplay in favor of tubular designs; spinning around a cylinder is much easier than scrolling side to side like Space Invaders. 

The star of the show, though, has to be the progress saving feature. For newcomers to the genre, watching a 16-level win streak fall apart might be enough to put the player off. Being able to jump straight back in after a defeat serves to lessen that feeling of tiredness that comes from watching progress go out the window. And given the sheer quantity of levels, there is no real downside to picking up where you left off; I’ve never found more reason to praise what is a fundamental component of most modern games.

 

 

If there’s one thing that Tempest 4000 does manage to bring kicking and screaming straight from the 80’s, it’s the art style. Uninterrupted neon is the design scheme of choice: the game will often spontaneously combust, leaving your eyes twitching as they hunt for your Claw in the mess of color and shape. It’s hard to say that the game looks good, but there is something visually stimulating about fluorescent colors against a jet-black background. It’s a certain kind of acceptable tacky.

Coming to Tempest 4000 with no prior experience with this sort of game has its advantages. I can’t tell you how it compares to the original game, in any meaningful way; it certainly looks identical (albeit crisper) and makes use of the exact same set of gameplay mechanics. But I always like to argue that assessing a game based purely on how well it can imitate a predecessor is narrow-minded. Tempest 4000 offers a simple, addictive formula, a gameplay loop that does not punish the player too harshly for failure. Once you get to grips with the frenetic, often uncontrollable action, you’ll find it easy to waste time pushing for that next level, or that new high score. There’s nothing even remotely complicated about it, and that’s a real palate-cleanser.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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TEAM REVIEW / Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr (PC)

 

This may come as a surprise, but I seldom read reviews. This isn’t a case of “do as I say, not as I do,” I’ve just always been one for making up my own mind and reviews are sometimes a ticket to ride the hype train. I know I’m digging myself into a hole here but there’s a reason I’m making this point. When I was looking into Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr I noticed that the Steam reviews were so mixed, people didn’t seem to be able to form a proper consensus. I like polarizing games so I decided to give it a go. I also wanted to address a few of the complaints I’ve seen in some of the player reviews. On account of this one being polarizing, I also realized I couldn’t do this fairly on my own so I decided to drag my fellow TVGB writer and Aussie mate Monique Sheldrake along for the ride. Let’s see if we can agree shall we?

 

Alex Southgate’s Review

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr is set in the dark, unforgiving, Warhammer 40k universe. What’s immediately nice to see is we aren’t playing the role of a Space Marine. For 40k games from the perspective of the Imperial side of the everlasting galactic war, playing as one of the heavily armored super-soldiers is the go-to, but this time we’re taking the role of one of the Inquisitors. These are the very human (and very dangerous) agents sent by the Imperium to seek out Chaos infestations, stop cultist activity and the like.

In this game we find a ship called The Martyr which has been missing in warp space for many years. Not only is the ship infested with demons of the chaos god Nurgle, but it also seems to have become sentient. You follow in the footsteps of another Inquisitor already on board. I’m not going to go any deeper into the plot, you can figure that out for yourself but I actually think it’s very well written. This is something I noted as a fairly major gripe in the player reviews so here’s my stance. The story is excellent if you’re a 40k fan and understand the universe and the way it works. If you’re coming into the game cold you might find it all a bit pretentious and even slightly imature. I had a good idea what to expect so didn’t have any issues with the plot.

 

Just some of the horrors you’ll face on your journey

 

Aside from the main story, you’ll be able to engage in a bunch of side missions which will pit you against cultist, traitor Imperial Guard units and Chaos Space Marine warbands. These missions are scored according to their difficulty level and this is something really important to the game. You can play any mission you’re given at any point in time and as this game is online these missions change regularly. If you jump into something way above your level you will get sat on by everything attacking you. Your own rating is ranked by your gear. This sort of makes sense; you aren’t going to try and take out a tank with a pistol unless you happen to have a death wish. Take this philosophy and you’ll be absolutely fine.

On top of the constantly changing bank of playable missions, you also have special assignments which you have to request from your bridge. These are linked together to form one large mission and you have a time limit. You’re given about 12 hours to complete a phase. I don’t mean you get multiple shots in that time that’s just the over all time limit for each play. What I’m saying is don’t start one and go to bed, it won’t be there when you come back. Lastly you have tarot missions in which you impose certain rules on what you’ll be facing. In my personal opinion these are the hardest of the lot and should only be attempted when you’re ready.

 

 

The next biggest gripe that reviews seem to be noting, (and I think Monique will agree with this one) is the skill system. You don’t buy skills. The skill trees you unlock will boost your life, add to various forms of damage or give you masteries which will add benefits to the skills you already have. You are given more abilities as you level up so the skill points you spend bolster these and your over all build. Personally I didn’t have an issue with this. Playing a Psyker it was nice to give my spells the ability to heal me, slow my enemies, slice through their armour etc. For Monique playing a hack n’ slash type character they probably had less noticeable benefits. With this being said the jury seems to be out on this one and it will come down to how you like to build your character.

One thing I didn’t like as much was the item system. The thing about ARPGs is that you find gear you really like and want to carry on using because it really suits your play-style … or just looks cool. The items in Inquisitor for me don’t have any real value. The bonuses you get from them are fairly incremental and you never seem to get that wow moment. This makes your gear feel a bit throw away. There is also a crafting system in this game. The issue is that because the weapons and armour don’t feel like things you want to keep the desire to make them sort of comes over as a bit pointless. It’s good if you want “x” type of gear because you don’t currently have it but that’s about as far as it goes if I’m honest.

 

Your starmap. You choose your missions and plan your assaults from here.

 

The actual gameplay is fun. What isn’t to like about running around eviscerating waves of enemies, punching bosses in the face and completing objectives? It would probably start feeling a bit samey if you played in massively long bursts, but a couple of hours a day is great and I didn’t really notice the grind that I know comes with these types of games. I’ve read complaints that the story is very short for the money you’re playing for the game. This isn’t really a fair call.

The main story probably is quite short but there’s so many other things to do that you should be concentrating on the game as a whole and if you do you’re going to get a ton of bang for your buck. I’m only on the second chapter of the story and have pulled over 20 hours of game time already. If I get 20 plus hours out of any game I consider it value for money.

 

Environments are varied and beautifully rendered.

 

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor: Martyr looks pretty in a dark, brooding sort of way that fits the 40k world very nicely. I never pick up a great deal on the sound but what I noticed was also fitting and suitably dramatic when it needed to be. The voice overs also fit the game nicely which is important so it doesn’t lose authenticity or start sounding like a parody of something that needs to come over as serious.

From the perspective of control and the general interface of the game I’m a tad split. The actual controls are really intuitive and although this is a keyboard-driven game you aren’t being hampered by having to dance your fingers across a hundred buttons to do anything. The general interface of the game should be self explanatory but isn’t. A lot of what you need is on the bridge of your ship but bits unlock as you go. The problem with this is that the game tells you that you can do loads of brilliant stuff like crafting and unlocking awesome missions right from the get go if you look at any trailer.

 

 

What it doesn’t tell you is that you will get these things as the story progresses. I spent 10 minutes looking for my crafting area only to find out it wasn’t there yet. Next up you can re-map things like psychic powers so your weapons do different things. There was no real tutorial on how to do this and I had to figure it out mostly for myself. Lastly, this game has a co-op element and Mon and I found out that you couldn’t play with your friends because the mechanism to invite specific people had been removed. We learned this from a wiki after buggering about with an invite screen that didn’t seem to work for ages. This stuff is all fixable but it helps when things are clear.

All in all I actually really enjoyed my time with this game and I’ll definitely be continuing with it. If you’re a Warhammer 40k fan I think you’ll find a lot here for you to like. It’s all very true to the actual universe so you should feel right at home. To someone who has never delved into the 40k world a lot of the terminology will likely sound a bit odd and this might ruin some of the experience as that terminology makes up much of the story. For me, at least, this game comes recommended if you like this sort of thing. I’m definitely not saying that Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr is a ground breaking must-have, it isn’t and it’s not perfect. For what is, though, it’s probably worth a shot.

Gameplay : 8/10
Story: 8/10
Interface: 6/10
Audiovisual: 8/10

 

Monique Sheldrake’s Review

This was really my first true foray into the ARPG genre, and what a place to start, considering Warhammer’s storied history in the game world, both tabletop and video. I didn’t know what to expect when I came to the character creation screen and decided to go with my classic choice of being a rogue – in this case an Infiltrator Assassin. As you can see, this basically gives me a character that looks like the unholy semi-cybernetic spawn of Bayonetta and Predator.

Unlike Alex’s mage-like Psyker choice, being an Infiltrator allows for a lot of quick and light hack ‘n’ slash gameplay. The tutorial missions, while interspersed with story elements which mostly went over my head (not being an existing fan of the Warhammer universe), were easy to follow. It was very easy to pick up how to handle standard missions, although defense missions where you were protecting an individual, location, or item did confuse me a little. This was mainly because I was given the option to activate defense options like small turrets and land mines, but I couldn’t really see how my selection was doing anything (if it even was). That was perhaps my own fault for somehow missing it in the tutorials.

 

 

Regardless, I was able to fly through the first five or six tutorial missions and found myself in my base of operations, with a star map leading to both campaign and side missions, a store, and the co-op option which never came to be. According to the Steam forums, the co-op function (which, if you want to play with friends, appears to be completely activated by in-game chat) was disabled, as chat was breaking the servers. That was the last bit of information I was able to find on that, dated around very late June. The developers are very active on the Steam forums, so it would appear that they’re working on it, although ultimately we were unable to play together.

For me, gameplay felt fun but not particularly varied. While there were different enemies used for different areas and a few different types of environments, all of it felt very samey. A bit of my MMO prejudice was invoked because I could feel how this was designed to be a game that people regularly played, either co-op or single player, constantly building their skills and strategies. I’m definitely not a person who enjoys the continuous, samey grind of MMOs, so this was a bit of a turn-off for me, even though the game was quite fun in the short-term.

 

Your Bridge. This is where you craft and shop amongst other things. This is, therefore, your hub.

 

I’m told that a common aspect of ARPG games is to feel invincible up to a point, then get completely destroyed from lack of a good build or just because the difficulty skyrockets at a certain point in the story. At the time of writing, I believe I was just inching into the difficulty spike, because for the first 10-12 missions (including the five or so original tutorial campaign missions) nothing could hurt me. I didn’t even learn where the innoculator (health regeneration item) button was until fairly recently because it simply didn’t occur to me. Your health regenerates after battle and while you’re running around, and nothing was doing enough harm for me to need to use it.

Your power level (which relates directly to whether you can handle the difficulty ratings of each mission) seems to be completely determined by your gear. Nothing in my skill tree seemed to matter when I was trying to improve my battle-related skills. All of the skill tree items I could spend points on were limited to health boosts and other passive increases. All of my increased power came purely from new swords, armor, and accessories that I could either buy or find in the field. I was never wanting for money, as even if I wanted something expensive I could simply sell the 5-10 guns I had found in the field that I wasn’t using. As a lover of a good skill tree, this was pretty disappointing. I wanted actual visible improvements to active abilities! It sounds like Alex got more of this with his chosen class than I did. The Infiltrator/Assassin really didn’t feel like it got any option to improve class-specific skill through the skill tree.

 

One of the many theatres of battle.

 

On a brief note about the user interface: Personally, I think it’s pretty bad. While there are pretty good tutorials that you can read through for most things, Alex and I had to actually Google how co-op with friends had to work. By clicking on the co-op multiplayer, it asked us to use the Invite function. Where was the Invite function? Nowhere, because it was apparently nestled into the in-game chat which didn’t work. Likewise I wouldn’t have known that the numbers next to the missions were the difficulty/power ratings unless Alex hadn’t told me to watch out for them ahead of time. There’s nothing inherently bad about the interface, but I think it could definitely use some work.

In spite of what I believe to be a slightly clunky interface, the graphics are very appealing, from the character designs to the locations to the UI itself. The music also ramps up appropriately during battle and the game boasts quite good ambient tracks. Nothing award-winning here, but still good.

 

 

Overall, I think that Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr is a fun game to spend a few hours mucking around in, but it lacks depth if you’re looking for more than the average grind. You’ll also be disappointed if you’re hoping to make a very customised character build, as the skill tree won’t give you much to work with.

Gameplay: 5/10
Story: 6/10
Interface: 6/10
Audiovisual: 6/10

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire ‘Beast of Winter’ DLC arrives next month

 

Developer Obsidian Entertainment has revealed both the premise and release date for the first of three expansions for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The ‘Beast of Winter’ DLC expansion is set to release on August 2nd, taking the Watcher and crew to the southernmost reaches of the Deadfire Archipeligo where worshipers of the god of cold and decay ask for fulfillment of destiny.

Alongside the release of the Beast of Winter DLC, Obsidian plans to release patch 2.0, which fixes bugs and improves balance. The patch also brings new challenge modes to Deadfire, which will likely amp up the difficulty on certain encounters or push the player to be creative in solving puzzles.

If that wasn’t enough, Obsidian said, “Oh hey guys let’s release some more free content, that’d be cool right?” and announced the free ‘Deck of Many Things’ DLC to be released with Beasts of Winter and patch 2.0. This DLC will include a “mysterious” merchant ship that sells magical items, which is something I will be personally looking forward to as my characters need some new magic digs (Aloth has been sporting the same robe for about 30 hours now).

All these DLC will be available on August 2nd. That will likely be a busy day for all of us still enjoying Deadfire, and if you haven’t picked this up yet, I highly recommended it in my review back in May. No individual pricing has been mentioned as of yet, but the Season Pass is available for $24.99 on Steam, which will include all three major DLC expansions.

For more information on Beast of Winter and other DLC, check out Obsidian’s page: eternity.obsidian.net

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Take another peek into the story of a girl and her cat with Another Sight’s new trailer

 

Lunar Great Wall Studios has just released the first hints of game-play for their game, Another Sight, in an all new trailer. Set to launch later this year on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, Another Sight appears to hinge on the mechanic of guiding the sightless Kit through the London Underground via her cat companion Hodge, helping her navigate platforming puzzles and the treacherous underground world she finds herself trapped in.

The trailer looks beautiful, illustrating a game that is a mix of cell shaded cut-scenes and three dimensional platforming adventure, all of which is heavily  influenced by the mystical “world within our world” universe of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. The games protagonist, a young woman named Kit who becomes trapped in the Underground after a tunnel collapses, subsequently loses her sight and is forced to rely on the assistance of her companion, a cat named Hodge, if she is ever to escape to the light of day.

A puzzle-based adventure game, Another Sight touts an orchestrated, symphonic soundtrack to accompany the dreamy environments of their underground world, focusing on the story of Kit and her cat as opposed to the world itself. That’s not to say that the world of the London Underground isn’t a star in its own right, as Lunar Great Wall Studios has revealed that throughout Kit and Hodge’s explorations they will encounter various historical figures, from Monet to Tesla, who have taken up residence in the Underground. With each cultural icon the protagonists meet, the world around them will shift and change, adapting pieces of the historic inventors, artists and entrepreneurs into it’s landscapes.

Check out the trailer for Another Sight below and be sure to follow Lunar Great Wall Studios for updates of the game and for information as to its release date.

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Overwatch Pink Mercy Skin raises $12.7 million for breast cancer research

 

Heroes never die, and they also donate a lot of money to fight against cancer.

The Pink Mercy skin for Overwatch released in May, and was available for two weeks. During those two weeks, every dollar spent on the $15 skin went to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. That total exceeded $12.7 million. Running along side the skin, shirts sold, and people watching 14 streamers donated an additional $130,000 to the cause.

In the 25-year history of the BCRF, this is the largest donation by a corporate partner in a one year time span.

In it’s post on the official Overwatch website, Blizzard said:

“Once again, you’ve dared to see what the world could be and have help take a significant step forward in the mission to cure breast cancer.

Thank you, heroes!”

 

This is the kind of news that really shows the kind of people gamers can be. We are not the lazy, rage-induced slobs that everyone thinks we are. Granted, it helped that it was a very good looking skin for one of the most popular heroes in one of the biggest games right now, but $15 just for a skin is still a lot for everyone to chip into. Here is hoping that Blizzard and Overwatch continues with this kind of skin donation deal and we can all help contribute more in the future.

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Monster Hunter: World for PC Arrives on Steam Aug. 9th!

 

Monster hunters who prefer to take down massive monsters on a fast as lightning gaming PC don’t have much longer to wait to play one of Capcom‘s most beloved franchise.

Monster Hunter: World was originally planned to release in the Fall of 2018, however, circumstances have allowed Capcom to move that date up considerably as they have just confirmed it will be arriving for download on Steam on August 9^th, 2018.

Already gracing the PS4 and the Xbox One since early this year, Monster Hunter: World has gone on to become the best-selling game in Capcom’s nearly forty-year history. To date, the game has shipped more than 8 million copies.

If you have no idea what this game is about (and I have no idea how that could be), I’ll fill you in. In a nutshell, players take on larger than life monsters in a variety of vast, living, breathing ecosystems either solo or with up to three other hunters via online co-op. And as a first for the series, the game offers complete drop-in functionality.

To be a little more precise, you will follow the journey of the elder dragons as they begin their once a decade migration across the sea to a land known as the New World in an event referred to by inhabitants as the Elder Crossing.

As part of the Guild’s Research Commission, players must embark on a grand journey to this massive, mysterious land and uncover the secrets behind this phenomenon. As hunters set out on their quests, the Commission’s sights are set on Zorah Magdaros, a colossal elder dragon that rises from the earth like a volcano.

Officials at Capcom have stated that future updates to the PC version will add new content and gameplay features. In addition, updates and fixes that were made in PS4/XBO platform versions will be gradually applied to the PC version.

As far as The Event Quest schedule goes, it will differ from the other platforms so if you are interested in attending these events, you should stay tuned to the official Capcom channels for more details on additional content and their release dates.

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Warframe Switch release announced

 

Co-operative multiplayer sci-fi shooter Warframe is coming to Nintendo Switch, according to an announcement made by developer and publisher Digital Extremes on Saturday. Panic Button – the company behind high-profile Switch ports such as Rocket League and DOOM – will be on hand to help bring the game to the hybrid console. Here’s a trailer, to remind you just what Warframe is all about:

For the unaware, Warframe happens a long time ago in a galaxy not so far away. You’ll play as the Tenno, an ancient race awoken from cryo-sleep to restore balance to the force– erm, Solar System. Using your very own customisable suit of armour (otherwise known as a Warframe), you’ll be fighting your way alone or with friends through procedurally-generated science-fiction environments. It’s not an MMO, but each time you begin a mission you’ll be matchmaking with other players, unless you’re anti-social. If you’re anti-social, but also keen on socking it to your fellow players, you’ll be happy to hear that Warframe also has a PVP mode known as Conclave.

This little third-person open-world adventure game can currently boast a total of around 38 million registered players. Warframe is free-to-play, but obviously you’ll be able to spend cash on items that would otherwise be obtainable through praising the RNGods and grinding your little heart out. New loot means new gear, which means tougher enemies (which means new loot). If you like the Monster Hunter vibe, apparently this is the game for you.

Of course, there is one stand-out issue. Nintendo have yet to implement their online subscription service, and though it’s great to game with other players for free, the online capabilities of the Switch console are painfully basic. I suspect that a game like Warframe, that relies so heavily upon online multiplayer, will become something of a brand ambassador for the Switch’s upcoming ‘online overhaul.’ Or at least, that’s the hope. I would very much like to yell at my team-mates as they scythe their way through hordes of Infested.

Warframe does not have an official Switch release date as of yet – the game is in development, and that’s all we’ve got to go on. As I’ve already mentioned, the game is free to play (with in-game microtransactions) and will certainly require an internet connection. It is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Shenmue I and II set for launch this August

 

There have been some really good remasters over the past few years, with the Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy being just one of these little beauties. What we haven’t seen as much of is lesser, or should I say more, cult games getting brought back into the limelight. You have to remember that for every Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog or Crash Bandicoot, there is going to be a lesser character or game that many of us will remember and love but will have all but vanished from gaming memory for younger players. With this in mind, let’s mention the Shenmue games. Never head of them? Well, to be honest, this doesn’t really surprise me as we haven’t seen a reiteration or continuation in years. Pleasingly enough, this is being rectified as we speak and Shenmue I & II will be getting a face lift and an introduction to our current consoles.

Shenmue I & II is currently available for pre-order digitally from PSN, the Xbox marketplace and of course Steam, with a 10% discount ahead of its official August 21st release date. After this time, you’ll be able to get both digital and physical copies of the game for PS4 and Xbox One. The Steam version will be a digital only release.  You can also get your pre-orders in from other SEGA approved digital retailers, should you so choose. The physical pre-order which is available from US and EMEA retailers comes complete with a double-sided poster featuring fan-favourite characters from the saga and reversible cover art featuring original artwork.

You will find yourself taking the role of Ryo Hazuki as he sets out to avenge his father’s death and attempt to unravel the secrets behind a mysterious artifact called the Dragon Mirror. The two original games gained quite a fanatical cult following and in some circles these titles have been lauded as one of the greatest gaming series of all time. This definitive release aims to be the best Shenmue experience ever and will contain all-new modernised features such as fully scaleable screen resolution, a choice of modern or classic control schemes and a choice of both English or Japanese voiceovers.

This is definitely a title that I would recommend to anyone who didn’t get a chance to play it the first time out. I was introduced to this series on the Dreamcast and have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with it. If you like your JRPGs, I think you may well find a gem in Shenmue I & II. It’s a bit more of a no-brainer for cult fans and older players like me who want to relive the awesome experience we had back then in a more modern way. Regardless, this is certainly one to watch out for.

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Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! is coming to PS4 and Nintendo Switch!

 

Daylight Studios has just announced that Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!, the first title in the (s)mashing Holy Potatoes! series, will release digitally in North America on PS4 and Nintendo Switch on July 12th.

The Holy Potatoes! series is all about owning your very own weapon shop and expanding your business throughout the entire potato universe! Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! is a management and simulation game full of swords, potatoes, and love (well, maybe not that last bit, but it definitely has swords and potatoes).

In-game, you take charge of your granddad’s weapon shop and design to turn it into the hip place to be for hard-boiled adventurers. As a regular ol’ chip off the old spud, you will do your granddad proud by employing eager smiths to craft weapons and then sell them to any heroic potato you like. You can then use the profits to buy more materials, find relics and enchantments, train up your smiths, and do it all again! The better your weapons, the better your reputation becomes, and even more customers will begin to flock to your shop!

Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! features:

• Bonus adventure Spud Tales: Journey To Olympus completely free, no hassel(back)!
• Over 30 smiths to employ
• Hundreds of unique weapons to craft, including swords, axes, and bows.
• A brand new world to explore with relics and enchantments for the taking.
• Over 20 potato versions of legendary pop-culture icons!
• Music by Kimura Masahiko, the legendary composer behind the scores for the Genso Suikoden and Castlevania series

Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!, developed by Daylight Studios and published digitally by Rising Star Games, is coming to Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch digitally on July 12th, with an SRP of $14.95.

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The Lion’s Song is set to roar onto the Switch

 

I love a good point and click adventure. Some of the funniest, most enthralling and well written games I’ve ever played have come out of this genre. With this being said I thought I’d pop by and let you know that a new entry to this particular gaming fold is set to appear on the Nintendo Switch next week.  The game is called The Lion’s Song and it’s readying itself to release July 10th.

Developers Mipumi Games have announced that The Lion’s Song will be available on your Switch console next week via the Nintendo Switch e-shop. The game will be retailing at £9.99 ($9.99 and also 9.99 Euro) for those of you needing to check your wallets. Surprisingly this isn’t a title about zoo creatures. The Lion’s Song is set in 20th century Austria and comprises of a series of four self-contained point and click adventures.

The game features a cast of fictional artists and scientists, each with their own set of outstanding skills. Each chapter of the story follows in the footsteps of one of these exceptional individuals and players are tasked with helping them overcome their intimate struggles with creativity, human connections and inspiration. The choices you make (and by proxy they make) along the way will have a direct impact on the storylines of all future and past episodes. As you go you will, therefore, connect the individual stories presented to you in The Lion’s Song into one overarching narrative.

The Lion’s Song has already been played and loved by Steam, iOS and Android users having released on those platforms last year. It’s already won several awards too, including the Best Indie Game award at the German Developer Awards. Now Switch fans will be able to share in the experience and hopefully enjoy the game just as much as others clearly did on its initial release. If you’re a point and click fan or just really love story-driven games then this may well be a smart choice when it comes out on the 10th.

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REVIEW / Omega Strike (PS4)

 

For some, indie game development has become synonymous with the Metroidvania genre. If you hurled dart at a giant list of game releases from the past six years, there’s a 60% chance it would land on a 2D indie Metroidvania title. This saturation is the primary reason why Omega Strike, from indie developer Woblyware, feels so disappointing.

 

 

Omega Strike is not a bad game. The platforming is solid. The art design and SNES-era story feel goofy and nostalgic. The zones of the world are actually designed instead of procedurally generated, which is an achievement in and of itself. But when you’re in the shadows of fantastic games in the same genre as Hollow Knight, Sundered, Axiom Verge, Steamworld Dig 2, and so many others, your game has to have something really special to stand out. Unfortunately, Omega Strike falls short.

 

 

In Omega Strike, your goal is to defeat the evil mutant armies of Doctor Omega by exploring the world, upgrading your arsenal, unlocking abilities and generally shooting everything that moves. Players control one of three characters -Sarge, Bear and Dex -on screen, but can hot-swap instantly between them by pressing Y. Each character has access to specific abilities for combat and navigation so you will find yourself constantly swapping between them to get around. Dex, for instance, is the only character that can double jump to reach high places, while Sarge can tuck-and-roll through tight gaps.

 

 

There’s plenty of zones to explore, but each zone feels entirely too large and fairly uninspired. There were several times during the playthrough where I checked the overworld map not to see where I was, but to estimate how much more time I’d be spending slogging through the zone until I found the next boss. The boss battles also leave a lot to be desired. Every boss has about two to three patterns that are repeated with little variation, so the only times I died were from timing a double jump to avoid an attack then realizing too late that I was using Bear instead of Dex.

 

 

I wish I had more to say about this game, but after forcing myself to play this 10-hour title to completion, there isn’t much else to say. Though the graphics, music and platforming is serviceable, it also isn’t memorable. Omega Strike is a by-the-numbers Metroidvania title that feels six years too late.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Carnival Games launching soon on Switch

 

If you’re a fan of the Nintendo Switch – or you’re one of those weirdos who goes to county fairs – then you’ll love this. Carnival Games is coming to the hybrid console in November, marking the first entry into the series since Nintendo’s last good console. That’s the Wii, to anyone wondering, and I will fight those who say otherwise.

Anyway. Carnival Games will launch on the Switch on 6th November, and will feature a ton of new features designed with the console’s joy-cons in mind.

This is undoubtedly one of those games that you’ll want to play with friends (or family, if you’re not that close). Built for 2 to 4 players, Carnival Games will offer 20 traditional and all-new carnival games (duh) including things like ring toss or alley ball horse racing, but also drone racing and cosmic bowling.

Carnival Games is drawing on a bit of a theme park vibe with four distinct ‘alleys’ that will each host a few of the 20 games. I can’t believe I’m typing this, but here goes. The alleys are: Jungle Lane, Saturn Station, Vulture Gulch (I like that one) and Nuts & Bolts. There. Happy?

You’ll be earning tickets as you play, much like you would on Brighton Pier (oh, sorry. I forget that you’re not all from Blighty). The tickets are currency, used to unlock new games and fun outfits for your little avatars. In my opinion, the Switch has been crying out for a game like this for quite a while.

2K and Take-Two Interactive are pencilling in a November 6th release date for Carnival Games on Switch. The game – whose predecessor sold over 9.5 million units – will cost you USD $40.00, which is about GBP £30.00-ish.

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