With Trifox, Syberia – The World Before, Succubus With Guns and Super Chicken Jumper we’re checking out three console releases that first launched on Steam – we’re checking out the PlayStation versions.
Trifox review (PS4)
Trifox is one of those games that first appeared on our radar years ago, but then faded from the limelight for a bit. We interviewed developer Glowfish Interactive back in 2020, and the game released on PCs about two years later. The console versions of this action adventure platformer, inspired by the likes of the original adventures of Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank, are out now.
Unsurpsingly, our main protagonist in this particular adventure is a fox. Your main objective doesn’t seem particularly grand as you’re after a stolen remote control for a television, but in this day and age we guess that that can feel kind of crucial for some people. In this case, getting it back requires a whole bunch of jumping and even combat, so it must be a serious issue indeed. The story isn’t as well-developed or polished as in the AAA examples that inspired the game, but luckily the gameplay fares a lot better.
Trifox seems to treat the classic 3D platformer as a bit of a formula, and isn’t afraid to tick all of the familiar boxes. There are collectibles to be found, there’s a cute cartoon-like visual style and there’s some solid combat to be found. With the ability to select a style from three different classes, it even comes with some diversity, and a moveset that expands over time as you unlock (class-specific) additional moves. You’re free to mix and match between these additional moves to create a somewhat unique moveset for your playthrough as well, which can make a second trek through the adventure feel a little fresh again if you make different choices.
What’s nice about Trifox is that the developers have taken care in making sure that levels/worlds feel distinct, both through scenery and the enemies you’ll run into. You’ll also run into boss battles, and with four difficulty levels to select from you can make the game more challenging than you’d think based on its cute exterior. At its more modest difficulty levels you’ll be able to get through the game in about five hours, so it’s on the shorter side but has a price to match. With slightly generic platforming, some great combat mechanics and a fun campaign, this is easy to recommend for fans of classic action adventures.
Syberia – The World Before review (PS5)
Released near the start of this year, Syberia – The World Before is one of our favorite adventure games of this year, and a return to form for the Syberia franchise. It’s now been ported over to the PlayStation 5 – a good opportunity to revisit this game.
Content-wise, this is the same story and experience that PC users got, which we described in our original review. On a big television screen, the gorgeous artwork shines even more brightly, and the excellent voice acting and musical score sound great on a set of surround sound speakers as well. Swapping back and forth between time periods feels even more interesting this way, as the sense of atmosphere is enhanced by the audiovisual boost – though this may not apply to you if your PC setup is different from ours.
Small issues like somewhat awkward pathfinding can take you out of the immersion for a bit, but by and large this is a wonderfully crafted adventure game that unfolds at a serene pace – perfect for the winter months ahead of us. If you didn’t have a chance to play the PC version before, then this is a great opportunity to catch up and welcome Syberia to a new console generation. We didn’t run into any technical issues, and enjoyed taking the game to the big screen – fingers crossed for a new Syberia entry in the not too distant future!
Succubus With Guns review (PS4)
First developed and released for PCs through Steam by Satur Cat with a release in 2021, Succubus With Guns has now been ported over to consoles thanks to Sometimes You. But while we’ve enjoyed a lot of their console releases, Succubus With Guns seems to have been designed with a very particular audience in mind – one that’s not us and quite possibly not you either.
It’s actually right there in the title as well – this isn’t that much more than a succubus (a demon in female form, looking to seduce men) holding a bunch of generic guns in order to mow down a couple of generic monsters and zombies. There’s not much of a story, there’s barely any level design (it’s just arena-based combat for most of it) and the gameplay itself can be described as repetitive and one-note.
Unless you’re in it for the easy trophies or “sexy” protagonists, this is a title best avoided. You’ll have a lot more fun playing a Dead or Alive game or something like that – a game that doesn’t oversell the sexiness and has proper gameplay to enjoy. Succubus with Guns feels a bit like a caricature, with unrealistic visuals and physics. The PlayStation port works just fine, it’s just that the source material wasn’t that exciting to begin with.
Super Chicken Jumper review (PS4)
Developed by Sewer Cat and brought to consoles by Eastasiasoft, Super Chicken Jumper was met with rave reviews from players when it launched on Steam over a year ago. We played the PlayStation 4 version to see where all this acclaim came from.
Super Chicken Jumper is essentially a runner game with some twin stick shooter elements thrown in. But while that sounds overly generic, the developers have thrown plenty of random stuff in there to make it fun and interesting – from gameplay elements to the anime characters that try to add something of a storyline to the proceedings over the course of 6 game environments, each of which has a boss encounter.
The heart of the gameplay experience is that of a runner though – one of those games where you automatically see your character run from left to right to get to the end of the level even though you also have the option to sprint ahead a little or back up. This gives you some degree of freedom, which can be useful tackling the obstacles and enemies that you’ll encounter.
If you add the fact that the story doesn’t take itself too seriously and features well-written dialogues, throw in a quality soundtrack and nicely balanced gameplay, and this is a budget game well worth checking out if you enjoy games in this genre – it’s one of the better examples of it.
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