PEPPERED: an existential platformer is the sort of game that seems determined to undermine the assumptions players bring with them. At first glance, it looks like a fairly traditional 2D platformer, complete with pixel-art visuals, jumping challenges and a protagonist who spends plenty of time trying not to die. Then it starts making failure part of the narrative, turns seemingly harmless decisions into permanent branches and occasionally asks players to solve a problem in a way that makes absolutely no conventional sense. The result is an unusually inventive indie game that can be funny, frustrating, surprisingly thoughtful and occasionally all three at once. Continue reading “PEPPERED: an existential platformer review (PS5)”
Dead as Disco preview (Gamescom)
Dead as Disco is the kind of game that makes its pitch clear within seconds: put on some music, step into a neon-soaked world of larger-than-life performers and beat the living daylights out of anyone standing in the way. Brain Jar Games’ rhythm-driven beat ’em up combines free-flowing combat with musical timing, while wrapping it all in a bizarre story about fame, betrayal, death and a band that refuses to stay buried. Having now spent some time with the PC Early Access version, it is already clear that the game’s biggest strength is also its most intriguing question: just how far can this combination of music and combat go? Continue reading “Dead as Disco preview (Gamescom)”
Disclosure Day review (4K)
Steven Spielberg returning to science fiction was always going to invite comparisons with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Disclosure Day does little to discourage them. Yet rather than making the alien encounter itself the centrepiece, Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp build their film around the far more human question of what happens when the existence of extraterrestrial life can no longer be kept secret. Cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) discovers evidence that the government and the mysterious Wardex organisation have been hiding the truth, prompting him to go on the run with Jane (Eve Hewson). At the same time, meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) begins experiencing inexplicable phenomena that draw her into Daniel’s increasingly dangerous mission. Colin Firth makes for an imposing adversary as Wardex chief Noah Scanlon, while Colman Domingo brings an intriguing ambiguity to the role of Hugo Wakefield. The premise gives Spielberg plenty of room to explore questions of faith, trust, empathy and humanity’s ability to deal with information that could fundamentally alter its understanding of the world. Continue reading “Disclosure Day review (4K)”
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster preview (Gamescom)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster takes one of the franchise’s more distinctive factions and puts it firmly in the spotlight. Rather than controlling a heroic warrior charging into battle, players step into the fur-covered paws of Vihneek, a Skaven assassin who survives by being faster, sneakier and considerably less interested in fighting fair. The result is a 2D stealth-action platformer that combines assassination, environmental puzzles and unusual movement options, and after spending some hands-on time with the game during Gamescom, it already feels like a particularly fitting way to explore the grimy underworld of the Skaven. Continue reading “Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Deathmaster preview (Gamescom)”
SPRAWL zero review (PS5)
SPRAWL zero is an interesting evolution of MAETH’s approach to the old-school first-person shooter. Rather than simply recreating the parkour-heavy formula of 2023’s SPRAWL, this prequel takes its inspiration from another corner of the genre’s history, looking back to the faster, more grounded shooters of the 2000s. That change of direction works surprisingly well, largely because the game finds its own mechanical identity instead of relying purely on nostalgia. Its cyberpunk setting, retro-inspired presentation and straightforward premise provide the framework, but it is the unusual combination of disposable weapons, gravity-based abilities and relentless combat that makes SPRAWL zero more than a period piece. Continue reading “SPRAWL zero review (PS5)”