Nostalgia for 8 and 16-bit consoles is not something that I’m all that familiar with. The first game system I owned was the PlayStation, and the only games I played on it were piles of colorful 3D polygons like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot. Going back to emulators or classic consoles like the NES, SNES, Genesis,…
Guacamelee! 2 is Too Outrageous for its Own Good
Metroidvania Month has come to a close, and this week’s game is a sequel! Guacamelee! 2, the sequel to 2013’s Guacamelee!, is a new adventure from Canadian developer Drinkbox Studios, and it’s bigger and crazier than its beloved predecessor. Building off of the unique high-flying beat-em-up combat in the first game, Guacamelee! 2 sets out…
Death’s Gambit is an Intriguing 2D Soulslike
It’s a new week, and a new Metroidvania released. This one is Death’s Gambit, the debut release from developer White Rabbit. Except, it turns out, that Death’s Gambit is even less of a Metroidvania that Dead Cells, which I reviewed last week. While it does feature a large, interconnected world with unlockable shortcuts, it does not have…
Dead Cells Brings Metroidvania Elements to a Roguelike
Let’s just get this out of the way: Dead Cells isn’t really a Metroidvania. And that’s fine, because it’s a really good roguelike! But if I’d played it before this week, I might have felt weird including it in my Month of Metroidvanias. In reality, Dead Cells has much more of the modern roguelike’s DNA, complete with permadeath, procedurally generated levels, and some overarching progression mechanics that help players feel more powerful and capable across multiple runs. But despite having the standard formula of a modern roguelike, it also has a couple of major mechanics that it borrows from Metroidvanias, using them to great effect to hone and enhance this formula….
Chasm is Interesting, but Inconsistent
Deep underground, in a hostile uncharted dungeon, I set out from a shrine in search of lost townsfolk and mysterious treasures. After battling through several rooms full of monsters and obstacles, I discovered one of the missing townsfolk. Great! Now I was presented with a choice: trudge back to the shrine and save my game, or forge on ahead looking for the next shrine. I chose to journey forward, health and supplies dwindling, more desperate with each new room I entered. And then eventually……
ABZÛ: Further refining the Flower/Journey formula
ABZÛ is a short, beautiful storytelling game from newly-formed developer Giant Squid Studios in which players explore a breathtaking ocean environment to uncover a mysterious story.
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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Single Player) Review
A Thief’s End is the closing chapter of Naughty Dog’s beloved Uncharted franchise, a sort of Tomb-Raider-meets-Indiana-Jones action adventure series. The series began with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, released for PS3 in 2007 (about a year after the PS3 itself was released). It follows the story of Nathan Drake, long lost heir of Sir Francis Drake, and was lauded for its cinematic style and high quality production and presentation……
Ratchet & Clank Review
Ratchet & Clank is a fully remade version of the original Ratchet & Clank game for PS2. This reboot follows the adventure of a Lombax named Ratchet (a mechanic with big dreams) and a defective warbot named Clank. The duo meet in a random twist of fate and find themselves travelling from planet to planet to save the galaxy from a sinister threat. To do this, they join up with the Galactic Rangers, a group of heroes led by self-absorbed celebrity Captain Qwark….
The Witness Review
Ah, The Witness: a game I just can’t quite put down. The Witness is a puzzle and exploration game created by Jonathan Blow, the man behind the time-bending puzzle platformer Braid (which originally released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2008). The game is mostly comprised of boatloads of maze-like puzzles in which players must determine and trace the correct path.This game is enjoyably challenging and a lot of fun to explore. The game hinges on a simple mechanic but features a wonderful variety of puzzles, the vast majority of which are interesting and rewarding….
Teslagrad Review
Teslagrad Developed by: Rain Games (Bergen, Norway) Released: December 2013 (original release, on Steam) Price: $9.99 (Steam), $14.99 (Console versions) Teslagrad is an indie puzzle-platformer developed by Norway-based Rain Games. It takes place in a European steampunk-derivative world with a gloomy Players control a nameless young boy, fleeing from his home when it’s stormed…