Forget EVERYTHING you know about water racing games. That probably won’t take much effort, but let’s take Wave Race for example. You know that slow struggle to shift your weight as you set yourself up for the mercy of the waves? Well now you can FORGET that! Hydro Thunder says no to physics as you fly through the water at 350kph. It’s set in the future with advanced boats and stadiums with multi-layered water racetracks… and dinosaurs. What future is this? Forget that too. There’s no story or lore here. That only slows us down. We’re going racing!
Category: Reviews
So, how was it?
Yoshi’s Crafted World – Woolly on the Inside
After staying woolly and cozy for a couple of years, things were looking up for the Yoshis. The evil wizard Kamek stole their materials and even turned some of them into woolly capsules, spreading them across the world. Some brave Yoshis embarked on an adventure across craft island and reclaimed their friends and their home. Since then they have been lazing about, eating watermelons, rolling around and sleeping between layers of pillows and yarn. Ah, what a time to be a Yoshi.
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Dragon Quest Heroes – Heroes of Light Comfy Grinding
What do you get when you mix two of the safest, most repetitive series in gaming together? You guessed it, Dragon Quest Heroes! Nothing to see here right? DQ Heroes mixes the relentless button-mashing combat of Warriors games with the traditional JRPG structure and familiarity of Dragon Quest, but the result isn’t quite as as you’d expect. The game has no more grinding than any series would normally have, instead combining the charm and customisation of each series to make a better version of both. I’ve finally got my hands on the PS4 version after getting tired of waiting for Square-Enix to localize it on Switch and take our money (it’s been “coming soon” for 2 years with no release date still), and I’m having a blast with it.
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The Game That Can’t Be Discussed
Awake. Head throbbing. Vision blurry. The voices say to survive.
The fire is dead.
The room is freezing.
Light fireOutlast – Chasing a Good Story
There’s something fishy going on at the insane asylum, who would have thought? It seems there’s more to this one though. You are a journalist who has received an anonymous tip that there’s illegal activities worth recording here for a great story. You rock up in your rickety car that drives itself, and rotate the camera left and right to try and figure out what’s going on. There’s nobody at the gate to let you in. You step out of your car and walk into the front office. Not much here besides a desk and computer. It’s still on but has been logged out or idled, sitting at the login screen. Guess the guard took the day off. It’s time to take this story into your own hands. You approach the side gate on foot. Everything looks dark and grainy, but what could possibly go wrong? It seems perfectly safe to just leave the car there and walk in.
Mechstermination Force – Feel the Rush
The year is 2024 and you’ve finally cleared your backlog just in time for this infinitely replayable boss rush game from Gunman Clive developer Bertil Hörberg. This game has no actual platforming levels, only boss fights, so you better be ready to kick some arse.
Pokemon Let’s Go – Almost There
Could it be? A traditional Pokemon RPG on the big screen? Technically yes, but Let’s Go has a bit of an identity crisis that needs addressing first. To sum it up, it’s a remake of Pokemon Red and Blue that removes wild Pokemon battles for catching encounters. It’s meant to be more accessible but developers Game Freak have a very interesting definition of accessible. I want to first say that I enjoyed the game immensely, but it has some disturbing problems.
Blaster Master Zero 2 – Blowing Away Expectations
BOOM! CRASH! PSKTWOOO! PEW PEW PEW! That’s the sound of a brand new game launching out of the blue. Not just any game, but Blaster Master Zero 2! Yes Zero Two or 0 2, because it’s the sequel to Blaster Master Zero, the semi-remake of the original Blaster Master! Makes perfect sense. Unable to watch the Nindie Direct at 3am local time, I woke up to this previously unannounced game being already available to buy on my Switch. I was a big fan of Blaster Master Zero at the Switch launch so jumped right into this without hesitation.
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1-2-Switch – Jumping the Start
Staring intently into each others eyes, our Joy-Cons are ready. With a firm grip on the top shoulder button we have one thing on our mind. Our ears perk up for the signal. Here it comes…. FIRE! POW-OW!
Fear Effect Sedna
Fear Effect and it’s sequel were breakthrough hits at the turn of the millennium. Releasing late in the life of the original Playstation, they stood out with their stylish cel shaded graphics and sexy bisexual lead character, which was a big deal at the time. And then the series died. 15 years later Square Enix, who inherited the property after buying out Eidos Interactive, put out an open call for expressions of interest in bringing Fear Effect back. A (barely) successful kickstarter followed and last year French developer Sushee shat Fear Effect Sedna out.
Continue reading “Fear Effect Sedna”Travis Strikes Again – No More Perfect Heroes
Videogame quality can be measured in a lot of arbitrary ways. Graphics, gameplay, content, and length can all be judged objectively, but what if a game can deliver all these without being fun to play? Is it still a good game? There’s something else, and while trying to describe to myself and others why I like Travis Strikes Again so much, I’ve pinpointed one of my favourite aspects of videogames; their personality.
Travis Strikes Again is a mediocre game by many measurements and made with a low budget, but it is absolutely exploding with charm and wit. The gameplay or graphics aren’t bad by any means but this game is carried hard by great direction and writing. The structure propels the serviceable gameplay to a new exciting level, while the art direction excites the imagination. I was unsure I would like this game, or even the aesthetic because it’s been so long since the first two No More Heroes games came out. I forgot what a game like this felt like. The moment I sat at the title screen it all came flooding back. The immense attitude of No More Heroes with a brand new setting and story. To be clear, this is not No More Heroes 3 but still bares the soul of the series in a big way.
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SteamWorld Dig 2 – Going Deeper
It’s been 89 days since Rusty went missing. From the small desert town of Tumbleton I’ve found myself in a brand new mining town, El Machino. This place is huge. It’s quite high up on a hill, full of houses, buildings and machines, has a population in the triple digits (so the sign says), and there’s even a rocket! The people here are quite simple minded and they are all trying to make a living, but still they are quite welcoming. Everyone wants to do business and The Mayor is happy to stand around and brag. The overall feeling is that there’s a lot more going on here than Tumbleton. Even the music is on a new level with a very funky baseline and more elements than I’ve heard before. Wait, what music? Must be in my head. I’ve come a long way to get here.
Ys Origin – Comfy Action RPG
It all starts with an oof. When the first humans walked the Earth and saw each other they said oof. When they rolled out of bed for the first time they said oof. Then again the second time. When cowboys got trod on by their horse they said oof. Or was that hoof? We’ll never know. Like those great moments in history, it’s also how the Ys series started.
Horizon Chase Turbo – Arcade Racing Isn’t Dead
Punk’s not dead and neither is speed. Horizon Chase Turbo delivers colourful thrills at over 300kph and has crashed into the Nintendo eShop at full speed. If you’ve recently found yourself enjoying the 12th port of Outrun and reminiscing the good old days, this could be the game that makes you feel alive again.
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OPUS – Loneliness and hope
From independent Taiwanese developer Sigono, the pair of games OPUS are linked by their common themes and aesthetic rather than their gameplay or story. Both games share themes of loneliness and hope, with characters isolated in the distant future, determined to complete a seemingly impossible task that was thrust upon them. Despite these similarities, both games can stand alone, they don’t refer to each other, and are a testament to the diversity of unique gaming experiences we’re so lucky to enjoy today.
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Pietriots 