Category: Classic

The Gobliiins series occupies a curious place in adventure game history. Never quite as celebrated as some of the genre’s biggest names, it nevertheless built a loyal following through its surreal humour, unconventional puzzle design, cartoon-like animations, and memorable cast of bumbling goblin heroes. Gobliiins Collection brings together the first five entries in Pierre Gilhodes’ long-running series, spanning more than three decades of game design evolution. On PlayStation 5, the result feels less like a simple retro compilation and more like a playable museum piece, showcasing both the strengths and shortcomings of one of puzzle adventure gaming’s strangest franchises. Continue reading “Gobliiins Collection review (PS5)”

There is something immediately appealing about the way FZ: Formation Z approaches its revival of a largely forgotten arcade shooter. Originally released by Jaleco in the mid-eighties, the game returns through developer Granzella Inc. with a remake that feels determined to preserve the identity of the original while also modernising nearly every aspect surrounding it. The core hook remains intact: transforming freely between a humanoid mech and a jet fighter while navigating side-scrolling stages filled with enemy formations, environmental hazards and screen-filling bosses. It is a simple concept on paper, but one that still feels surprisingly fresh thanks to the way the game constantly asks players to think vertically as well as horizontally. Continue reading “FZ: Formation Z review (PS5)”

Evercade’s latest duo of cartridges ends up feeling like a conversation between gaming’s past and present. Activision Collection 2 dives headfirst into the formative years of console gaming with a lineup of Atari 2600-era classics that helped define early home entertainment, while Mega Cat Studios Collection 3 showcases modern indie developers deliberately embracing those same limitations and aesthetics to build something new. Together they make for an intriguing package, not just because of their contrasts in age and design philosophy, but because they reveal how much retro gaming can merge both preservation and reinvention. Continue reading “Activision Collection 2 / Mega Cat Studios Collection 3 review (Evercade)”

Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection feels less like a polished “best of” package and more like a playable time capsule from a very specific era of licensed gaming. Curated by Limited Run Games and developed by Mighty Rabbit Studios, the compilation bundles together several Rugrats adventures spanning the original PlayStation, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance years, preserving a chunk of Nickelodeon history that many players likely haven’t revisited in decades. That sense of nostalgia does a lot of heavy lifting here, because while the collection succeeds at capturing the innocent charm and chaotic imagination of Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Angelica, it also preserves plenty of the frustrations that came with late-90s licensed games as well. Continue reading “Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection review (PS5)”

R-Type has survived for decades because it understands something many shoot ‘em ups eventually lose sight of: tension matters more than spectacle. While countless genre contemporaries evolved into increasingly chaotic bullet storms, R-Type continued to thrive on precision, oppressive atmosphere and the constant feeling that one wrong move would end a run instantly. R-Type Dimensions III, developed by KRITZELKRATZ 3000 and published by ININ Games, brings 1994’s R-Type III: The Third Lightning back with a full audiovisual overhaul on PlayStation 5, modernizing one of the series’ most beloved entries while remaining fiercely loyal to the punishing design philosophy that defined it in the first place. The result is a remaster that feels both lovingly crafted and unapologetically old-school, even when that stubborn adherence to tradition occasionally works against accessibility and pacing. Continue reading “R-Type Dimensions III review (PS5)”