With The Last of Us – Part 1, Dashing Orange, The Guise and RunBean Galactic, we’re covering four recent video game ports that range from a 15 hour epic adventure to a game where each run will probably last you about a minute. From AAA to indie, here’s a quartet of new ports.
The Last of Us – Part 1 review (PC)
Very few PS3 games have stood the test of time as well as The Last of Us did, and The Last of Us – Part 1 updated it to modern audiovisual standards to make sure it will stay current for many more years to come. It’s an iconic game that has been beloved by PlayStation owners since its release in 2013 and it has now finally made its way to PC. But while it’s still a fantastic game that’s worth playing for both old and new fans alike, the PC port has some issues at launch.
The game’s visuals have been significantly improved for the PC version, with 4K resolution and enhanced textures that bring the game’s post-apocalyptic world to life and a wide support of resolutions and monitor setups that make every look fantastic. However, the game’s PC port is not without its issues, which is sad when you consider that Sony’s recent ports have all been of an extremely high level. Even on a high-end system we had to do a lot of tweaking to avoid performance issues, such as stuttering and frame drops, and we imagine people who are closer to the minimum specs fare much worse – and they shouldn’t.
What makes this worse is that The Last of Us – Part 1 is still a fantastic game that has aged well over the years. With improved visuals and all of the game’s DLC, the PC port should provide a great way to experience the game for the first time or relive the adventure on a new platform. However, the port’s performance problems may detract from the experience for some players. Despite these issues, The Last of Us – Part 1 is still a must-play game that’s well worth the price of admission – but check the patch notes and user reviews before buying.
Dashing Orange review (PS4)
Originally launched on Steam by developer Nickolas Machado, Dashing Orange has been brought to consoles by Jandusoft. As a challenging indie platformer with 75 levels to tackle and the jumps, spikes and wall jumps you expect from the genre, it’s a budget title that should provide fans with one or two evenings of platforming fun.
Featuring colorful and vibrant graphics and well-designed environments, Dashing Orange is a somewhat minimalist but fun 2D platformer. Players control an orange character (who literally is an orange with eyes) who can dash and jump to navigate through levels, making for intuitive and easy to learn controls. However, as the levels progress, the difficulty increases and new mechanics are regularly introduced, so players must time their dashes and jumps perfectly to avoid obstacles and enemies.
The game’s soundtrack features catchy and upbeat music that complements the game’s fast-paced action, though the speed with which you’ll dash through some of these levels can also lead to the end credits rolling sooner than you want them to. If you’re used to challenging platformers, you’ll find that Dashing Orange doesn’t throw too much at you that you haven’t seen before, and it’ll be on the short side for you. Luckily, it has a budget price tag to reflect this.
The Guise review (PS4)
Having been developed and released for PC by Rasul Mono, The Guise has now been brought to consoles by Ratalaika, where we tested the PlayStation 4 version of this action-adventure with metroidvania elements. With a rather unique story premise and eye-catching art style it’s an interesting game, but there are a few rough edges that players should be aware of as well.
The Guise takes place in a dark and eerie world, where players control a young boy named Ogden as he sets out on a journey to reclaim his humanity after trying on a cursed mark that traps him inside the body of a small monster. He’ll have to learn to control it and learn new abilities in order to make it through and save himself. The game’s story is intriguing and will keep players engaged throughout their playtime. The game’s unique Burton-like art style is also a highlight, featuring hand-drawn graphics that create a distinct atmosphere. This is enhanced by the game’s soundtrack, featuring a haunting and atmospheric score that complements the game’s tone perfectly.
Gameplay-wise, “The Guise” is a side-scrolling action game that features a variety of enemies and bosses to defeat. Players must use Ogden’s special abilities and weapons to overcome these challenges. The game’s combat system is straightforward and can feel repetitive at times though, while the game’s platforming sections can be frustrating due to imprecise controls. The game’s fairly short though, making it possible to overlook these shortcomings – though its brevity shouldn’t be considered a “plus” either.
In conclusion, “The Guise” is a unique and engaging action-adventure game with a distinctive art style and intriguing story. While the game’s combat and platforming mechanics can be frustrating at times, its haunting soundtrack and immersive atmosphere make it worth playing. However, the game’s short length and lack of replayability may leave some players wanting more.
RunBean Galactic review (PS4)
Khud0’s Runbean Galactic launched on Steam last year, but has now been released for consoles by Eastasiasoft for all current and last-gen consoles. With a simple but original gameplay concept and ditto art style, it’s a platformer that’s easy to get into and, thanks to randomly generated levels, spend hours with.
The big hook for RunBean Galactic is that you’re basically just running around a tiny planet all the time, carefully timing your jumps as you avoid the obstacles that get placed on the surface by jumping and sliding across the surface. With tight controls that feel responsive and precise you’ll always feel things are fair, but in later moments of your run the difficulty will ramp up and you’ll need quick reflexes and expert timing to get any further.
Visually, RunBean Galactic is a very minimalist title, but the action is complemented by an excellent soundtrack that’ll make you want to keep going. Runs typically are only about a minute long too, making it a fantastic game to just play in between other games. Unfortunately the console versions are a bit more expensive than the Steam one, but this one’s a blast on a budget.
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