Indie games do not need enormous budgets or sprawling worlds to offer something memorable, as this latest selection of reviews makes clear. From the grimy, hazard-filled Sokoban puzzles of Hazard Pay and the retro spy action of 1964: Operation Velvet Twins to the compact strategic battles of Order Automatica and the wonderfully ridiculous physics puzzles of Shoe it All!, each takes a familiar idea and gives it its own distinct identity. Not all of them reach the same heights, and some are held back by limited variety or modest scope, but there is plenty of creativity on display across these four releases. Continue reading “Indie roundup: Hazard Pay, 1964: Operation Velvet Twins, Order Automatica & Shoe It All!”
Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Retro Roundup! preview (Gamescom)
There is something inherently appealing about revisiting licensed games that were once everywhere and have since largely disappeared from the conversation. Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Retro Roundup! is built around exactly that idea, bringing together a sizeable selection of Toy Story games from the 1990s and early 2000s, including several different versions of the same titles. With Digital Eclipse handling the collection, however, this is intended to be more than a straightforward exercise in putting old ROMs on a modern platform. During Gamescom, we got a closer look at the PC version and discovered a collection that appears to be just as interested in preserving the history surrounding these games as it is in making them playable again. Continue reading “Disney/Pixar Toy Story: Retro Roundup! preview (Gamescom)”
Culdcept The First review (PS5)
Culdcept The First is an interesting piece of strategy-game history, not least because its original 1997 Sega Saturn release never received an official Western release. Nearly three decades later, City Connection has brought the game to PlayStation 5 as part of its Saturn Tribute line, adding a selection of conveniences without attempting to modernise the underlying experience too heavily. That makes this a rather unusual re-release: it is clearly an old game, complete with its 4:3 presentation and deliberate pacing, but the underlying combination of board-game economics, deck building and creature battles remains distinctive enough to stand on its own. The result is less a full renovation than an opportunity to discover the foundations of a series that has developed considerably since its debut. Continue reading “Culdcept The First review (PS5)”
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse preview (Gamescom)
After more than a decade without a brand-new 2D Castlevania adventure, the series is finally returning to the formula that helped establish it as one of the defining names in action exploration. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse puts a new Belmont at the centre of the action, while bringing in a development team with considerable experience in fast-paced 2D combat. Developed by Evil Empire together with KONAMI, the game has the difficult task of living up to a legacy that includes some of the genre’s most celebrated games. After spending time with the PS5 version across a Gamescom demo, there are already plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Continue reading “Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse preview (Gamescom)”
Earth Must Die review (PS5)
Point-and-click adventures have never exactly been known for their restraint, but Earth Must Die takes the genre’s more ridiculous tendencies and launches them into space. Developed by Size Five Games and published by No More Robots, the game puts players in control of VValak Lizardtongue, an immensely self-important alien ruler whose route to the throne is about as legitimate as his understanding of leadership. When his empire’s problems eventually lead him towards Earth, the result is a science-fiction comedy that is far more interested in making fun of its protagonist, politics and the conventions of adventure games than in telling a particularly sophisticated story. That works largely because VValak is such an entertainingly awful character to spend time with. Continue reading “Earth Must Die review (PS5)”