Every now and again a publisher announces a game that literally nobody was expecting, or in this case, it was Walmart who made the unofficial announcement just before E3 2018?! RAGE 2 seemingly came out of nowhere, the original game came out in 2011 to…
When you hear the name Artifex Mundi there’s only one type of game which comes to mind, Hidden Object Games (HOGs). They are infamous among trophy hunters for their enjoyable, yet easy, platinum trophies, as well as very popular with the casual gamers who just…
There are very few games that hook you with a single trailer, instantly flicking the hype switch deep within you and turning you into a walking advertisement as you tell everyone about what you just saw. A Plague Tale: Innocence was one such title that…
I don’t think the Sniper Elite series requires any form of introduction. Pretty much every gamer out there will either know it as ‘the realistic sniping game’, ‘that game where you get shown X-rays as the bullets penetrate your unfortunate victims’, or simply ‘the game…
These days there’s a terrible trend going around; release a game in an unfinished state and then patch it or add more content later on. We’ve seen this with games like Sea of Thieves, No Mans Sky, and more recently, Power Rangers: Battle for the…
Sometimes you feel like playing an old-school 2D sidescroller, working your way through countless enemies as you make your way to the final challenge, a massive boss which offers a great challenge and makes you use all the skills you’ve accumulated up until that point.…
I’ve been noticeably quiet this weekend, that can mean only one thing – I’ve been immersed and captivated by yet another Visual Novel! It’s not every day that I’ll play a game for over 70 hours in order to get the platinum before I even…
Close to the Sun was one of my most anticipated games of the year, I’ve been following it for a while and jumped at the chance to review it on my recently upgraded PC. The first thing you’ll most likely associate with the game is…
It seems to be adventure game season at the moment as I’ve recently reviewed both Silence and Deponia on the Nintendo Switch, and today I’m taking a look at the Kickstarted Trüberbrook from btf and Headup Games. Now, I didn’t know anything about Trüberbrook apart…
I’ve reviewed a few point-and-click games recently, I took a look at Silence on the Nintendo Switch, Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey on the PC and the Secret Files: Tunguska, to name a few. However, over a year ago I played, and reviewed,…
A few years ago I bought a game on the PlayStation 4, a game which looked absolutely stunning, like an interactive watercolour, from a rare genre at the time, a full point-and-click adventure game on modern consoles. Sure, in recent years we’ve seen the genre…
A few months ago I wrote a review for the brilliant Hong Kong Massacre, a game which took inspiration from games such as Max Payne and Hotline Miami, as well as the Matrix and John Woo’s infamous slow-motion bullet time. Today I got the chance…
I’m the type of guy who doesn’t really like sports in general. I don’t watch football, don’t follow cricket, can’t be bothered with the Olympics, and have no interest in rugby. However, there are a few sport-based video games that I really enjoy playing, games…
It’s been a few weeks since I last reviewed a Lightwood Games game (with another two due for review soon), but this time I thought I’d review it on the Nintendo Switch. Although, if you’re picking it up on the PlayStation 4 and/or the Vita,…
Harvest Moon is a game which needs no introduction, a casual adventure as you try to restore the former glory of a run-down farm, all whilst seeking a partner to marry and grow old with. Other franchises, like Stardew Valley and Rune Factory, came along…
A few months back I reviewed the awesome Earth Defense Force 5, the latest game in the numbered EDF series which delivered literally thousands of hours worth of gameplay for those brave enough to go for the platinum trophy. Today we’re taking a look at…
Old School Point-and-Click games are a guilty pleasure of mine. From the days of classic Lucas Arts Games such as Sam and Max and The Dig to modern games like Silence, Deponia, and The Inner World: The Last Wind Monk. Each one tells a fantastical…
When I was a kid, I owned pop-up picture books. You would turn the page and get greeted by a magnificent scene which appeared right before your very eyes, complete with tabs to move as you spy into peoples houses, levers which made objects spin…
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was my first ever experience of a Visual Novel, although I would probably call it an Investigative Visual Novel due to the nature of the game and the fact it’s not just about reading the narrative. I’ve played each and every…
I don’t think there’s anyone out there who hasn’t played or at least heard of Darksiders by now. Each game in the franchise sees you playing as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as you work your way through an action-packed demon-riddled Earth…
Back in August 2018, we took a trip to Wellington Wells, a dystopian town that was divided into two classes, those who take their ‘Joy’ and live a drug-addicted life, and those who went cold turkey and became ‘Downers’. We Happy Few was a mixed…
I grew up with the Power Rangers, I would watch it religiously every time it was on TV. However, my knowledge of the show only stems around the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the first movie – I’ve not watched any of the later shows…
Going back to September 2017, my first ever published review was for a little game called Danganronpa V3 from Spike Chunsoft – a few of you may have heard of it… This weekend I’ve had the pleasure of playing the new game from Yoshinori Terasawa…
One of the things I love about Indie games is that, just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. In a time where most of the top games on all platforms are all very similar to one another, it’s…
There are days when I crave a long, narrative-driven adventure, sometimes I just want to shoot and kill things, and then there are times where I want to keep my brain active by solving a few puzzles. Access Denied falls into the latter category as…
Sometimes, even the simplest of ideas can be created into an enjoyable and entertaining game, they can even be twisted into a sadistic and difficult one should the developer wish to increase its challenge. I and Me is one such game. It’s built from a…
Lightwood Games have returned with another one of their clinical-looking puzzle games, this time it’s less logic-based than their previous sudoku and picross series’. Mixups by POWGI is a game in which the gameplay is perfectly described within the title itself, it’s a bunch of…
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Atelier franchise, Gust and Koei Tecmo have created a new game in the series which looks very similar yet plays completely different. Instead of sticking to the standard format, we’re invited to a celebration which includes pretty…
Simulation games can come in all shapes and sizes; from full-on 1:1 simulation games like Train Sim World, which has you driving a realistic train, to God-like games where you control the action as an overlooking ethereal being, such as in Dungeons III. Then there…
I have a love/hate relationship with ‘rogue’ games. Developers sometimes make them stupidly difficult just so you can only progress a few minutes at a time, whereas others are very generous with their implementation of the mechanics. Over the last year, I’ve played games such…
What do you hope happens to you upon your departure from this world? Do you hope to see a bright light which you can use to ascend to the heavens? Maybe you’d like to be reunited with loved ones for an eternity? Perhaps you don’t…
I’m a massive fan of hack and slash games such as Devil May Cry 5, Warriors Orochi 4, and Dynasty Warriors 9, the representation of yourself as a major badass really appeals to me. You can turn on your console, boot up on of these…
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter has returned! I know a lot of people claim Mario and Link are the Nintendo mascots, but back on the N64, I would personally have placed Turok himself within the list of the infamous faces you can relate to a product. Four…
Old MacDonald had a farm; E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm, he had some friends; E-I-E-I-O. With a tap tap here, and a tap tap there; here a tap, there a tap, Farm Together and tap tap! Old MacDonald had a farm; E-I-E-I-O! Farming sims on…
We’ve had a lot of static shooting games on the PSVR platform as well as a few creative ones which include the use of bow and arrows and melee weapons. However, I can’t recall any games, off the top of my head, which gives you…
What’s the last tactical SRPG you played? I’m not talking about games such as Phantom Doctrine or XCOM, I mean games like Heroes of Might and Magic (HoMM) in which you travel across a map and engage in single-screen tile-based warfare? It seems like this…
*The live event has been postponed due to travel issues with the not-so-reliable train service! So, be sure to follow www.Twitch.tv/davekki as well as follow both https://twitter.com/doctordekker and https://twitter.com/davekki for updates on when our next appointment is!* For those of you out there who aren’t…
It’s hard to imagine that Devil May Cry originated as a Resident Evil game all those years ago. However, instead of Resident Evil taking a more action-packed and arcade approach, they opted to turn it into its own IP, an IP which could be taken…
If you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment – would you capture it, or just let it slip? That’s the choice you’ll have to make within The Occupation, the new fixed-time investigative thriller from Manchester-based White…
Death Mark was released on the PS4 and PS Vita late last year. Not only was it an amazing game to play through, but it was also one of my most popular reviews of 2018! Now, I’m not tooting my own horn here, one of…
I’ve played a variety of Visual Novel games over the last 12 months. Thankfully, I’ve not played any generic ones as each one has its own identity, mechanics and visual style to pull you in and keep you invested in their story. From the adventure…
After numerous years of releasing season passes full of new costumes for fans to purchase, Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo announced last year that post-game content will be stopping for Dead or Alive 5 in preparation for their new game, the aptly named Dead or…
I know a lot of people who picked up a Nintendo Switch in order to play the first party games and the big AAA exclusives which won’t be coming to other platforms, games such as Mario Odyssey, Pokemon, Bayonetta 3 and more. However, I usually…
Today marks the release of the final ‘8-Bit’ game in the trilogy of pixel-art RTS games, 8-Bit Invaders. Just like its previous siblings, 8-Bit Armies and 8-Bit Hordes, 8-bit Invaders not only looks and plays like a much more casual Command & Conquer title, it…
Regular readers will know that I’m a fan of most genres but there are a few which a clearly love more than others. One such genre is the resource management variety such as games like The Settlers, Tropico and Railway Empire. Sure, there is more…
A few weeks ago I reviewed the awesome The Hong Kong Massacre, a game that took inspiration from a John Woo movie and Hotline Miami to deliver an action-packed top-down brutal bloodbath of a game. The last few days I’ve been playing a similar game,…
I’ve recently reviewed Word Sudoku by POWGI which was an interesting spin on the classic puzzle in that you completed the various stages by using 9-letter words instead of your usual numbers. Today I’ve been playing Puzlogic from Eduardo Barreto which is yet another rather innovative puzzle…
PlayStation VR has had quite a few puzzle games recently, from the magical XING: The Land Beyond, to the physics-based A Fisherman’s Tale. However, the game I’m taking a look at today has technically been out since August 2017, ChromaGun. Well, the ‘Flat’ version of…
Back in June last year, the Nintendo Switch received a rather beautiful looking puzzle platformer in which you can either play solo or share your Joycons with another player and engage in some rather entertaining and thought-provoking puzzle solving. This game was called Pode, from…
Visual Novels are taking up a lot of my time lately. I’ve recently reviewed the excellent Song of Memories and I have four more still being worked on for reviewing very soon. However, the common theme among all of the ones I’m working on is…
I’ve played a lot of point-and-click titles over the years, from the good old days of Lucas Arts Games to the more modern adventures we get from Daedalic Entertainment, every single one of them has their own artistic style, control method, target audience, and varying…
As a kid, I used to have rather vivid dreams and nightmares. We’ve all dreamt about dying or running away from something only to find you’re running on the spot and can’t get away. However, ever since our house was burgled, whilst we were upstairs…
It’s really exciting and intriguing when a new VR narrative adventure comes out of nowhere. A few weeks ago, a demo popped up for Eden-Tomorrow on PSN, I don’t think I’ve ever downloaded a demo so fast! After playing through it multiple times, I knew…
H.P. Lovecraft is a name which the majority of people will recognise instantly. His most popular works of fiction are based around Cthulhu, a beast with tentacles on its face who resides within the ocean awaiting the summoning from its dedicated worshipers. However, Lovecraft also…
We’ve been getting some really good experiences on PSVR recently, especially in the narrative and puzzle department. Red Matter had a brilliant narrative combined with stunning visual effects, A Fisherman’s Tale was a quirky puzzle game with a twist, and Guns’N’Stories humorously combined a static shooter…
ATLUS are well known as a developer for three amazing franchises; Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Etrian Odyssey. All of these have their own look, fell, and personality literally oozing out of them as you play. Personally, I wasn’t really a big fan of Persona until a few…
Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut is a sliding puzzle game brought to us by the twisted mind behind Bejeweled and Peggle – who is now part of Blue Wizard Digital. It originated as a mobile phone game but it’s now presented to us as a feature-rich puzzle game…
Over the past thirty years, video games have changed dramatically. From simple blocky sprites on a green LCD screen upon the trusty GameBoy, through the 8 and 16-bit console wars, and into the age of 3D gaming on more modern consoles. Sure, games have changed dramatically…
Have you ever played a video game in which you become so emotionally attached to the characters and their lives, that it literally brings tears to your eyes multiple times? Recent games such as Yakuza 6 and My Memory of Us come to mind as they…
Returning readers will know that I really enjoy discovering new and interesting games through the PS Talents project over in Spain. It’s a programme that helps small indie developers either create or finish off their games and publish them on the PlayStation platform, with help…
I love what Playstation has done this generation, they’ve delivered awesome first and second party games, continued innovating their hardware, and delivered an affordable and valid rental service via the PS Now application. However, every now and again they do something, or they fail to…
Puzzle games come in many forms these days. We have a bucket-full of logic-based and casual puzzles from Lightwood Games, Puzlogic will rattle your brain on both PC and Mobile (soon), A Fisherman’s Tale will blow your mind in VR, and the Artifex Mundi titles…
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, isn’t it?! Recently we’ve been getting remasters, remakes, ports, backwards compatibility, and re-releases of classic games from the last ten to twenty years. Atari was at their peak many years before that, with their Atari 2600 home gaming console. If you’ve…
Everyone has their own routine in the morning, you get up, brush your teeth, have a shower, get dressed, have your breakfast etc… But, what if you awaken one day and things are different, something seems out of place and stops you from completing your morning…
I’m a fan of a number of genres, such as Resource Management, Base Building, Roguelike, Exploration, Simulation, First Person Shooters, etc… However, I don’t think I’ve ever thought to myself – what would happen if you shoved all of the above into a blender and…
The butterfly effect is a curious mechanic which has featured in various forms of media over the years. The whole concept that one small action could cause a chain reaction of events which could, in theory, ultimately lead to an alternative reality where things turn out…
Back in 2017, at Paris Games Week, we were presented with our first look at The Hong Kong Massacre – a top-down twin-stick shooter which focuses on slowing down time so you can pull off some awesome looking combos and manoeuvres. Since then, we didn’t…
So, The Hong Kong Massacre was released earlier this week to really positive reviews (ours is coming very soon). However, upon playing the game for a few hours, I encountered a few negatives which I would like to share – they aren’t technical issues or…
Back in November 2018 I reviewed 8-Bit Armies – a blocky pixel RTS in the vein of a simplified Command and Conquer. I noted at the time that 8-Bit Armies was but 1/3 of a series that was due to fully release over the next few…
A few days ago I was casually checking out a few of the trailers PlayStation had uploaded to their YouTube channel. One game instantly stuck out to me with its bright colours, emotional soundtrack and imagery, and extremely cute aesthetic – that game was Wandersong. It appears…
One of the most popular genres on PSVR at the moment is the immersive First Person Shooter [Wave-Based] genre, this is because the concept suits the medium perfectly. You take the role of the protagonist, you become a badass with both hands operating independently, and it’s a…
I think it’s safe to say that the RPG genre isn’t exactly a dying breed. We have your standard RPG games like the Vampyr, JRPG like Star Ocean, SRPG like Achtung! Cthulu Tactics, and ARPG games such as Titan Quest. Due to the vast numbers…
I’m not the biggest fan of survival-based games if I’m being honest, I tend to become very frustrated with them and usually give up after an hour or two. However, there’s something about Smoke and Sacrifice which had me hooked from the start. However, Smoke and Sacrifice…
Sometimes, when you want to play a game in the style of an old-school 3D platformer, you’re best simply going back and playing an old-school 3D platformer, right?! However, nostalgia goggles tend to make us believe things were once better than they actually are – this…
Have you ever woken from a dream as you’re falling down, getting shot, or becoming involved in some other horrific accident or event? That’s the core gameplay concept within Suicide Guy: Sleepin’ Deeply. It’s not a game about death and actual realistic events, it’s all…
Does anyone remember King of the Monsters? The old SNK game in which you choose to be one of a number of giants creatures as you engage in one-on-one combat within the confines of a small, enclosed city? Well, Modus Games and The Balance Inc. certainly…
Puzzle games are becoming more and more plentiful on the PlayStation store as one developer has brought us a number of their delightful puzzle games over the last twelve months. This developer is Lightwood Games, a small husband and wife indie developer which is run by…
Oh, I do love a good puzzle game and Lightwood Games always seems to release one when I’m in need of something more casual to pick up and play between major gaming sessions. Just like their previous release, One Word by POWGI, Pic-a-Pix Pieces is a…
Atelier Meruru ~The Apprentice of Arland~ DX was the third, and final, entry into the Arland series of Atelier games which we received in the new Atelier Arland Series Deluxe Pack. Once again, don’t expect anything major if you’ve already experienced it before on the…
Atelier Totori ~The Adventurer of Arland~ DX is the second game in the Arland collection. This is yet another rather minimalistic port of the PS3 and PS Vita ‘Plus’ version which debuted in Japan in 2012. As this game actually came out before the ‘Plus’ version of…
Atelier Rorona ~The Alchemist of Arland~ DX is an enhanced port of Atelier Rorona Plus ~The Alchemist of Arland~, which in itself was an advanced version of the original game which was re-released on the PS3 and PS Vita back in 2014 here in the UK.…
“Pipe Push Paradise is a difficult open world puzzle game about plumbing.” That’s the first thing you see when you go to the Pipe Push Paradise website. Let me digress though, “Pipe Push Paradise is a difficult open world puzzle game about plumbing” “Pipe Push…
I’ve played a lot of genres through my PSVR headset, from your common wave-based FPS to the top-down third-person games. However, I never thought I’d actually play a full-on Visual Novel in Virtual Reality! The Midnight Sanctuary is a rather mysterious and haunting story from Cavyhouse and…
The Quiet Man, ironically, caused a lot of verbal outcry upon its release back in November from the media and gamers who chose to pick up this eagerly anticipated PC and PS4 exclusive. Upon launch, the game was a strange, confusing, and bizarre experiment which…
As a rather surprising turn of events, Gaming Minds Studios have moved on from the Americas and delivered a DLC for Railway Empire which I’ve been eagerly awaiting since playing the game almost 12 months ago – Railway Empire: Great Britain & Ireland! Being from…
In October 2018, Gaming Minds Studios gave us their third piece of DLC for Railway Empire, Railway Empire: Crossing the Andes. This was the final piece of ‘known’ content coming to the resource management sim which was highlighted in the roadmap they shared with us six…
Gaming Minds Studios are back with another DLC add-on for their very popular game, Railway Empire, only this time we see ourselves not in the United States but further North within Canada. Complete with a new scenario, map, engines, goods, and even weather system, Railway Empire:…
Back in October a new Rollercoaster Tycoon game came out exclusively for the PlayStation 4 here in the UK, called Rollercoaster Tycoon Joyride – was anyone aware of this? I wasn’t until I received an email asking if I would like to review the game as it…
The original Cook, Serve, Delicious has been out for a while now on a number of different platforms. It’s a game in which you run a fast food establishment within a popular building and must supply the customers with their orders as fast as possible throughout…
The award for the craziest game I’ve played in 2018 goes to… Nippon Marathon! I can’t think of any other game I’ve played where you get the chance to ride shopping trollies, race against lobsters and narwhals, become an old man dressed in a Sailor…
This year has been amazing for fans of the last generation’s popular RPG games. The year opened with a great remaster of Star Ocean: The Last hope, brilliantly brought to us in resolutions up to a full 2160p at 60 frames per second. A few weeks…
Have you ever wanted to experience what it would feel like if you could explore a creepy old mansion full of steam-punk like devices as you lifted up objects with a Sonic Screwdriver? If so, then you’re in luck! Torn is a VR puzzle adventure game, from Aspyr,…
I love my PSVR headset. Some of the experiences and games you can get are pretty crazy and wouldn’t be possible without this immersive technology. One such experience, which I didn’t realise I wanted until I played it, is escaping from prison, a prison which…
Artifex Mundi is back with another one of their Hidden Object Games (HOGs) on the PlayStation 4, developed by Brave Giant. This time though, it’s not a game which is part of a trilogy, unlike most of their games prior to this one. Noir Chronicles: City…
What was your most anticipated game this quarter? Did it involve plumbers and yoga instructors beating each other up, riding around on a horse, venturing out into the vast wastelands alone, or maybe you couldn’t wait to place coloured shapes into a grid as they…
Every now and again a game or experience on the PSVR comes along and initially blows my mind. I become hooked to the universe, the mechanics, and the story so much that I can’t stop playing until I see the end credits roll without taking my…
Now that all five episodes have been released for The Council, I think it’s only right that I come back and take a final look at the nine-month journey Big Bad Wolf have taken us on. This rather unique blend of RPG, Narrative, and Adventure…
We’ve reached the end of our nine-month adventure, an adventure that started back in March this year and had us constantly awaiting the next instalment with excitement and intrigue. I don’t think I’ve ever awaited the next chapter in an episodic game as much as…
There are very few games out there that would suit a rhythmic game based on their soundtrack. The Persona franchise is perfect for this immortalisation as their soundtracks have all been incredibly memorable and so catchy you’ll find yourself humming and singing them long after…
During the Xbox 360 and PS3 era, we had a lot of JRPGs which went above and beyond by delivering us tens, or even hundreds, of hours of engaging stories around some rather interesting mechanics. This generation we’ve had a few, but most publishers seem…
