Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster Review (Switch)

Well, it’s been at least five reviews since we’ve looked at a Metroidvania game, so it seems only fitting to give Barbarian Saga a proper look. The game is heavily influenced by the swords and sorcery films of the late 80’s such as Conan the Barbarian and Beastmaster (as your character actually is both a barbarian and a beastmaster). After being forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena you decide to break free and with your demonic soul sucking sword, try to free the realm.

We would love to give you some more details of the plot, but the game is borderline nonsensical due to some poor writing and even worse translation. We often thought that whole sections of dialogue must be missing as characters spoke. This isn’t helped by the amount of text there is. Sometimes showing things is a lot better than reams and reams of text to get through.

The confusion goes for navigation as well as the map only gives you quite basic details with each area somewhat hard to distinguish from the next. There are also no markers or direction points, no way to check the progress of ongoing quests, or even a way to check on the controls for new moves you’ve learned. In a game world this big that is a problem. Even Hollow Knight let you put down marker stones.

The thing that most stands out about the game is how absolutely gorgeous it looks. It has a hand drawn art style and the environments and characters are beautifully illustrated. The cut scenes are equally top draw to look at. Unfortunately, when in motion everything seems blurry and a little undefined. Frequent frame rate drops and juddering also hinder any real ability to enjoy the lavish visuals as they jerk around the screen.

Another let down is that while the game initially seems to let you explore anywhere, you’ll soon find that it is continually funnelling you down a pretty narrow path. A lot of the environment leads you to dead ends without anything of value really being there. Metrodivania games have continually refined and moved away from the idea of pointless wandering in recent times but here there is a lot of level here just for the sake of it. You do get fast travel unlocked from the very beginning at least which is something.

Combat is decent enough. You have a strike and a block and new moves can be learned by finding broken weapons and giving them to the appropriate person. A lot of the new attacks don’t really do too much different though and with the frame rate issues the block can be tricky to initiate properly. Enemies are also varied and interesting to encounter and have a wide range of attacks and patterns. Bosses don’t let the side down either with a challenging yet logical approach to defeating them, the game certainly does some things right.

Overall, Barbarian Saga: The Beast Master has some really nice ideas. The look of the game is beautiful. If it could be updated so that when moving, it doesn’t look like a stop motion movie that would be go a long way to improving things. There is a wider issue with the general level design though and the text translation makes it almost nonsensical. With more time this could have been something a lot better but as it is it’s hard to recommend.

Overall 5/10

CloverPit Review (Switch 2)

Making its jump from Steam, CloverPit arrives with an already established cult following. Promoted as the slot machine version of Balatro, the game is a roguelike built around the core concept of pulling a demonic leaver and trying to make enough money to survive to the next round.

In terms of aesthetic the game is minimalist but effective. You start locked inside a small room. Inside you can see a locked door, the fruit machine, a toilet, bin, a machine to buy charms from and the money machine. There are also a couple of information boards that display the odds of certain symbols showing up and the deal or no deal style phone which rings between rounds.

The aim of each round is to reach a continually increasing set number of coins. Spare coins can be put back into the coin machine to gain interest. You get three turns in each round and early on you’ll realise it’s a careful balance between getting coins and the tickets you need to get charms which alter things like the likelihood of certain symbols showing up or giving rewards for certain combinations.

All this said, the game still comes down to a lot of luck. Using the right charms can change the value of symbols and make things show up more often but if you get a bad run there isn’t much you can really do. This is frustrating as even when you know the way you need to go with a build you can still play every turn as well as is possible and still not get enough coins to get through. It means, unlike games like Balatro, it can become tiring as decision making is nowhere near as deep.

If you reach the end of a round without enough coins the floor gives way and you fall to your death and need to start again from scratch. The only permanent things you can add are when you gain a key to unlock a draw. When draws are unlocked it means items can be placed inside them to give options in late game or even carry certain things over to the next run. At this point you at least get a bit more of an ability to plan ahead.

Achieving the gold needed for a round has the player set a new and higher coin target to reach. After a while you will also activate the ‘666’ numbers, which, if they come on the slot machine will see you lose all gained coins for the round. Of course, this can also be changed with charms to turn the so called ‘curse’ on its head. Between rounds the ominous phone also rings. Answering it allows you to pick from three further upgrades. Sometimes though you’ll get a cursed call which, if you can ignore, will grant greater upgrades later.

There is also a small DLC available at launch. The Unholy Fusion add on allows for players to forge various charms together to create new effects. However, it’s not available until you unlock all the draws in the game (which requires four completions). It’s both very cheap to purchase and also fairly non-essential unless you have really rung everything else out of the game.

Overall, CloverPit is an interesting game. It starts out a bit confusing then you’ll start to work out how you are meant to play it. However, if you don’t start seeing success in yuir runs due to the luck element it’s hard to see players sticking with it as long term as over rogue style games. What’s here works pretty well, it just feels a bit light weight at times and may leave you looking for something with more depth.

Overall 7/10

Citzen Sleeper 2 Review (Switch 2)

 

The first Citizen Sleep was a resounding success, with its space styled cyber punk aesthetic and the mixture of rich storytelling and board game and RPG elements. In fact, it garnered a dedicated following and even had a card game version appearing. It’s not a massive surprise then to see a second game in the series.

There is no direct link to the story of the first game here. Continuity wise it is set a little later in the time period, but new players won’t feel left out if they start here first. To add to this, your character is a malfunctioning android who has no memory of anything either so it’s very much about discovering the world for the first time.

There are a handful of classes to choose from, and you can also upgrade skills and buffs as you get points from completing various missions and objectives. These then add modifiers to your dice or allow you do things like create rerolls or fix them should they become damaged.

The premise is simple, at the start of each cycle (or day) , you get a number of dice that are randomly generated with which to carry out actions. The higher the number of the dice mixed with your affinity for carrying out certain type of task will decide if you are likely to be successful at it. Once, you have used all your dice you can end the cycle and start again with a fresh set.

Of course, things are never that easy and there is normally some kind of cycle timer counting down to a major story event that you need to be aware of. Time is very much essential so resetting a day just because you have bad dice is never really an option. On top of this you need food and need to think about damage caused by stress to your body. There really are a whole host of things keeping you on the edge of anxiety and always watching the clock.

You’ll spend much of your time investigating around space stations or out on salvage operations. The interface is simple, pick the location to move to and then the options of what you can do will show up when you get there. There are options to work or find food, as well as hunt for clues or interact with the population. When you are off the station for salvage missions you need to also think about fuel and the amount of supplies you have with you. These missions are normally perilous as the hulks you try and get salvage from tend to breach and fall apart, just in case you needed yet another time clock to think about.

The initial goal is simply to stay one step ahead of the people chasing you. After that the mystery deepens and you’ll also encounter new characters and crew with their own skills and agendas to deal with. The human interaction element is key to the games philosophy as you will live or die by your network of crew. In this respect it’s important to think about how you are interacting as you’ll want as many options as possible as you venture on your space road trip.

Overall, Citizen Sleep 2 is a beautifully thought out and refined experience. It’s certainly tough but can be progressed through with careful thinking (and there are easier difficulty settings as well). It’s quite unique in its approach to the genre and still manages to stand out from the crowd. If you are looking for an immersive sci-fi adventure with a twist, then this comes highly recommended.

Overall 8/10

Blue Prince Review (Switch)

It’s unusual for us to come across something unique, we’ve been around a while and played a lot of games. Blue Prince, combines a number of different elements to achieve that, mixing parts from visual novels, rogue likes, puzzle games and a good helping of a big old mystery.

The story goes that you have inherited the estate of your uncle. Or at least you will do if you can do something that no one else has – find the elusive room 46. But far from being a simple mystery you need to do this with the knowledge that at the end of every day all the rooms in the mansion will reset. There is a lot of lore in here as well about the games setting and why everything is so mysterious, but we’ll let players figure that out as it is drip fed through the various books and letters that you find along the way.

There are a lot of different elements to balance as you go about your investigation. The most pressing of these is the number of steps you have. Each room you enter knocks one step off your total of fifty. Once you run out the day ends and the rooms reset. As well as these you need to manage gems, keys and coins. Keys open locked doors and chests, gems are needed to draft certain rooms and coins can be used to purchase various things along the way. All these need to be found in the various rooms along with other items such as a magnifying glass, hammer or shovel.

Players have a blueprint which acts as a grid with which to draft their rooms. The initial sort of goal is to reach the ante chamber which is nine squares up at the top. It’s not a simple of that of course as you will soon find out. When you open a door, you are presented with three rooms which you can draw. Some may require gems to draft, and all will have different exit doors or other special features. You’ll soon learn as well that there are different colours for the rooms which denote different things.

Red rooms for instance, normally have some kind of negative effect such reducing your steps or removing your ability to see what you are drafting. Green rooms in contrast normally contain dig spot or other goodies. There are also bedrooms to help you restore some of your steps, hallways and shops of various kinds where you can get items, keys or food.

Away from these rooms there are rooms with specific puzzles or special qualities. The security room allow for the manipulation of cameras and security doors, while working out the boiler puzzle will then allow you to pump power through the house. There are also rooms like the lab and the observatory which can give you permanent upgrades. Gradually, as you progress, you’ll learn what it the most important to you and unlock a few permanent upgrades and areas along the way.

For what is effectively a game where you wander around and solve the occasional puzzles it’s remarkable how engaging the game is. The balancing of all the elements and trying not to put yourself into a dead end with you Tetris style rooms works very well. Add in the uncovering of the law and the gradual realisation of how different rooms work means you always feel like something new is happening each playthrough.

There are a few issues to think about though. The most pressing of these is the constant reliance on colour with the puzzles. If you have any form of colour blindness you are going to really struggle with this. There’s several puzzles which use six or seven colours of similar shades and sometime we had no idea what we were even looking at. We did get round it with a guide but otherwise we would have had no idea what was going on.

Also, you can get a number of runs were not that much seems to progress. The game could do with giving you a bit more in terms of keeping the progression loop going and give a bit more in terms of rewards when you solve a puzzle you’ve been working on for days. The biggest issue though is that a lot comes down to luck. You can stack the deck in your favour but sometimes you simply won’t get the room you need drafted for what you are trying to do in that run. All that said, we did keep going back again and again to it.

Overall, Blue Prince is a refreshing, interesting and original game. All the individual elements may be small, but when they are brought together it has created a high quality adventure game that will keep you curious and wanting to venture back in for one more go. It’s not perfect but its about as close to as we have seen for a fair while.

Overall 8/10

 

 

Ghost Master Resurrection Review (Switch)

There was a time when strategy games of a certain type were pretty much limited to the PC due to the mouse controls. Games like Dungeon Keeper, Evil Genius and Ghost Master all provided level based, objective driven goals which normally required some building and trap setting. The last time we played Ghost Master was around 2003 so it’s been a fair while since we tried any spook-themed strategy.

The first thing to say is don’t expect much from a visual point of view. The game is pretty much just the original with sharper images. If you can imagine the sims with ghosts, you are close to the mark. But levels are clear and you can see what’s going on so it’s not something that really effects the way the game plays.  

The structure of the game sees you picking a location (normally based on a horror film or other haunting stereotype), then picking from a team of ghosts and heading into achieve whatever the objectives are. As you progress you unlock more ghosts, each of which have different powers and skills. More can be rescued from the within the levels by achieving certain goals as well – breaking a glass jar holding a floating brain for instance.

Generally, the objective is to try and scare people out of locations, but this does get mixed up quite a lot. One level has you trying to get characters to finish the summoning of a demon, while another requires you to get the people roaming the house to uncover the various dead bodies hidden within it. This is all done by possessing various objects and areas.

This requires some forward thinking as certain ghosts can only be bound to certain things so you need to have a team capable of doing the job. There is an auto select option for those not sure though. If you are going to need to attract people to a certain area you are going to need a ghost that can make noise for instance, or if you need to knock something down, you’ll need a ghost that can control wind or create tremors.

Scaring everyone is always entertaining but it can be frustrating at times to get characters exactly where you need them. Especially, if you want them to try and complete a specific task. Some of the trapped ghosts are also obscure puzzles as well that require a real knowledge of ghost powers. Generally, though the game is forgiving enough for anything not to be too big a problem once you get used to it.

In terms of the games transition to the Switch, it has worked well. It’s not the most complex game of its type in terms of mouse controls as you are generally attaching ghosts to specific, non-moving points and the movable cursors does a good enough job at this. The camera is a bit of a pain, but then it always was and it’s easy enough to move up and down the levels of a building with the press of a button. We also found we could play the game perfectly well in handheld mode without squinting to see what was going on, something a lot of these types of games suffer from on the Switch. One thing we are little surprised by though is there are no mouse controls or touch screen on the Switch 2 version.

Overall, Ghost Master remains the game it always was. It’s fun and silly with some good core strategy backing it up. But it can also be a bit fiddly and frustrating at times. If it’s a game, you remember playing or you are a fan of this genre then it’s well worth revisiting as it does hold up. But it always had some faults, and little has been done in this remaster to address those.

Overall 7/10

Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf Review (Switch)

We were a little surprised to see Planet of Lana receive a sequel. The charming first game is one of the most beautiful looking and sounding indie platformers out there, but it felt like one of those flashes in the pan moments of genius and it’s not exactly like cinematic platformers are that prevalent.

The second game, somehow, looks even more beautiful and continues the story of Lana and her weird pet Mui as they adventure across the planet of Novo. It’s set two years after the events of the first game (which is deftly recapped) and shows how the various tribes and factions have taken to the now discovered technologies scavenged in the aftermath of the first.

Lana has a host of new ways to move around, with faster movement, sliding and things like wall jumps and the ability to swim now in place. As a result, movement is much more fluid than the original, but the platforming sections or also a bit more fiendish as well. The heart of the game though is about solving puzzles. Early on, Lana will normally be given requests from settlers and then head off to find something. This acts as a good introduction to her new skills while showing off the gorgeous visuals and setting up a healthy chunk of world building.

Almost all puzzles require you to use the two characters in partnership with each other. Mui can manipulate technology and pass control on to other animals. So, most puzzles fall into a pattern of working out how to get Mui to a point they can take control of something, then working out where that goes and then getting Lana to race to the new location. An early example of this is where Lana needs to retrieve a particular piece of seaweed from underwater. It requires getting Mui into a shallow pool of fish, then getting the fish through a dangerous area using its ink special skill and then getting Lana to clear a path and then trap a predatory fish before her air runes out.

It’s quite different from the original game in terms of how it plays out. In the first game you were normally hiding or running away from technological monstrosities. And while that is still the case in places, this is much more about using the different animals and interacting with the population. The game feels much more alive as a result.

With most puzzles having a clear timing element it means players need to be precise and agile to get through as well. Controls are slick and precise though, so frustration rarely comes from a clunky input. The game is also exceptionally well checkpointed, so when you do die there are no long sections to retrace. We also found the game was far less frustrating than the original with regards to its puzzle design with it being clear most of the time what we had to do.

Planet of Lana is a beautiful game, but the sequel is off the charts. From the villages to mountain tops and the technological encampments it all looks astounding. The score that goes with everything is also exceptional, really breathing life into the locations. Progress is rewarded with visual highlight after highlight, and it really does keep players pushing through the game. The art design here is akin to something studio Ghibli would be proud off, it’s simply breathtaking.

Overall, Planet of Lana II manages to somehow be even better than the original. Every aspect has been improved, and the original was already an exceptional game. The sharpening of Lana’s movement is a delight, and the majesty of how the game looks makes it irresistible. It might just be a touch short for a few people but then its still longer than the original. It’s hard to see anyone not liking this. It comes highly recommended.

Overall 9/10

Lumo 2 Review (Switch)

Somehow, almost ten years have passed since the original Lumo graced us with its presence. The original indie darling was a charming isometric platform game that encouraged players to explore its 400+ rooms while drawing on a host of nostalgic references from systems going all the way back to 8-bit computers such as the Spectrum and C64. It is still an original oddity with few other games choosing to go down the isometric nostalgia route, despite just about every other avenue of retro themed games being explored.

Lumo 2 keeps the viewpoint but moves the world from the 8-bit up to 16-bit. So now, instead of Solstice, you’ve got Equinox, and if you get that reference, we salute you. Referencing older video games is still very much the order of the day though and your familiarity with them will likely define how much you are going to enjoy the game. You explore Lumo’s world, collecting pickups and solving block and button-based puzzles, many of which involve taking on some sort of mini game.

To give you an idea of what you are getting into, the first of these is a pretty spot on recreation of some of the sections from Impossible Mission. A great homage for those that get it. For those that don’t though, we do wonder how long the interest will hold. There are other high profile retro classics references as well such as Prince of Persia, so just because you don’t get one doesn’t mean there’s nothing here for you.

The main areas of the game play well enough of course, as you move your character around avoiding the cute creatures trying to zap you. It’s perhaps a little slow and imprecise at times but there’s nothing particularly frustrating here as you jump around and pick up objects in an isometric space.

 You’ll gradually gain new skills such as a double jump which adds a very lite Metroidvania-esque elements as this often allows you to access new areas. There are not often multiple routes to go down though as, aside from some collectables, this is a largely linear experience, but then there isn’t really anything wrong with that. These skills do add more game elements to the main bulk of Lumo 2’s game world as well. It’s not all references to the 80’s as you’ll be jumping around and avoiding enemies in the main game world as well. Unlike the 80’s though, Lumo 2 is quite well balanced in terms of difficulty, and while it can be challenging, you’ll normally progress with some patience and forward thinking.

What is more impressive is that all the homages and changes in gameplay work well. The game never falls into frustration, and while it is relying heavily on nostalgia, it has also clearly had a lot of care and attention put in to make sure everything being referenced is also fun to play around with. This results in the player experiencing a continual loop of experiences that keep things fresh and also raise a smile.

Overall, Lumo 2 remains both nostalgic and fresh feeling. There is certainly enough here for players to enjoy even if they aren’t going to get all the references to games from the 8-bit computer era. For players old enough to remember though, or those who have tracked down these classic retro games it becomes much more of an unmissable title. If you liked the original game, you’ll likely love this as well and if by some way you’ve not played it then this won’t let you down either. It’s a fun, creative and reflective game that’s easy to like.

Overall 8/10

Neon Noodles Review (switch)

 

It takes a lot to stand out from the ground these days. So, when we heard about a cyberpunk themed, automation game about making noodles it was intriguing enough to to take a look. The Switch has very few of these games so anything that isn’t another Metroidvania or retro themed platformer is welcome.

The plot, like many games with he ‘Cyber Punk’ tag sees you playing a character with no memory, thrust into a world run by shady corporations in a dark and satirical future. We reviewed the excellent Citizen Sleeper 2 and this, weirdly, had much the same premise. The big difference here though is you work for an automated food production company were your task is to set up a production line to create whichever food is required to progress.

The game unfolds with your character going through training and then gradually being allowed to make more and more complex dishes. As the dishes get more complex you get higher security clearance which drives the plot behind the scenes as you learn more about who you are and what has happened to you. Taking on a recipe sees you move into a small, top down, grid. Here you place everything you need to get an automation process going.

Recipes start out simple, with something needing to be cooked then cut. This is done by having a robot, drone or other helper take the food, process it in whichever way is required at the cutting or boiling station and then moving on to the next required element. Soon you’ll have conveyor belts and plating stations, sauces and frying stations all added into the mix. You’ll need to combine items as well, such as coating chopped chicken in lemon before moving it on to be fried or instance.

The difficult does ramp up pretty quickly from the tutorial but you’ll soon find that things that seemed overwhelming will become a logical sequence in your brain as you gradually move through the recipe. The controls also took a fair while to get used to but once we had it worked out we didn’t have any issues. It will undoubtably be a bit simpler with a PC mouse interface though.

Once everything clicked, we found the Neon Noodles to be a creative and addictive puzzle game. It certainly took some patience to get into, but everything works in a logical way and the controls work well, even if it’s easy to still press the wrong button from time to time. There are also lots of things to help the player such as an undo button and being able to move to specific points of a robot’s movement commands to make changes. This means no set up is ever a complete disaster, which is a good thing as you’ll need a lot of tweaks to get everything running smoothly.

Overall, Neon Noodles is an inventive and original game that gets better the more time you invest in it. The recipes get incredibly complex as you progress and it will really stretch players. Once finished you can go back and try and beat your previous scores as well and compare them against other players globally. This proved to be a real surprise and is well worth checking out for those looking for a puzzle game with a difference.

Overall 8/10

Neon Noodles Nintendo Store Link

Preserve Review (Switch)

 

One of the most surprising genres to have sprung up on the Switch is the digital board game. To begin with, we simply had digital versions of games such as Talisman, but now we have started to get games specifically designed from the ground up for consoles. Preserve kind of merges the idea of boardgames and deck building to create a surprisingly deep diversion.

Coming from nowhere, we happened upon a trailer for the game and thinking it looked interesting decided to take a closer look. And we are really glad we did as this is a really lovely game with a sizable amount of content. The basic idea is that you need to build a habitat out of hexagonal shapes. You start with one landmass then as you place upgrades and animals it hits score barriers that then release more cards and more land masses that you can place as you head towards the overall goal of hitting a certain score to complete the level

Scoring works by putting different habitats down and trying to get them to twelve tiles. This then means they can contain three animals. Three of a kind gets you a decent bonus, but three different animals are far better. Of course, you don’t get all the animals you need released to you straight away so if you are going for the really big points you’ll need to be clever and keep things unlocking by scoring points in a different way. There is also a host of special cards and other elements to keep things interesting, but the basic game remains the game.

There are four different biomes to play around in. Continental is the starting point with the basic rule set with the Savanna biome working around rivers and the marine biome working around the ability to raise and lower the sea level. Wisely, a Dinosaur biome has also been included. All four are different enough to need to be played in different ways and add genuine variety.

There ‘s also a puzzle mode for each of the biomes which sets you up with specific land masses and cards. Here you need to try and create placements to hit a certain score and there is normally only a single solution. These start out simple but will soon require a real mastery of the game to understand as you will need to see ahead with near prescience to work out where to place each individual upgrade.

Initially, the controls seemed a bit tricky but after a while the interface became much more natural. We still struggled at times with the marine biome as the changes in elevation on the land can make it tricky to see what is where at times. But there are a host of zooms and swivels you can do to give yourself a decent view.

Overall, Preserve proves to be a charming game that acts as both a relaxing way to pass the time and something deep enough to spend hours ringing the last high score out of. It really draws you in and time will be flashing by before you know it. It comes highly recommended for anyone interested in deck games or those looking for something a little bit different.

Overall 8/10

 

Chronicles of the Wolf Review (Switch)

The Switch is awash with Metroidvania clones but that doesn’t mean that many of them aren’t both good, and also capable of putting new ideas into the mix. Chronicles of the Wolf falls very much on the Castlevania side of the spectrum and also tries to take influence from one of the more obscure titles in the series in Castlevania 2.

For the uninitiated, Castlevania 2 is the NES game that tried to create a sort of 2D adventure template where Belmont moved around the countryside and visited various towns. It’s not dissimilar to the second Zelda game or the more obscure Battle for Olympus. It was never universally praised but we have always liked it and playing it via the Switch makes the game an awful lot more enjoyable.

Chronicles of the Wolf keeps the template with information coming from villagers that points you in the right direction of areas of interest. There are often buildings or caves which then act as mini levels and give up an object that allows you to progress further after. There are also some light RPG elements with levelling and the ability to acquire and change your gear.

In its homage to Castlevania 2, it is mostly successful. The game looks great, and the music is excellent and varied throughout. The level of detail on the sprites is pretty impressive and there are a host of different enemies even in the early stages. It is incredibly difficult though. Normal enemies can easily take you down and this does add a grinding element to the game at times which is a shame. This is compounded by a sever lack of places to save. There needs to be at least double the amount of saves in the game and they are placed in really strange locations.

What it means is that after defeating a boss or travelling a large distance you will often die and then must repeat too much of the game to be comfortable. There is a fine balance to be struck with save points and here it’s simply a cause of frustration rather than one of challenge.

For a Metroidvania styled game, your progress is actually quite linear. Sometimes there are multiple routes you can go but one will nearly always end in a dead end pretty quickly, so exploring off the beaten track becomes a bit of a chore rather than something players are encouraged to do in order to find new shiny things. Couple this with the fact saves are spaced so far means it can be a costly and unforgiving experience.

The bosses are well designed and exciting battles though, and they are mostly significant in both their size, look and arsenal. They are also fair to deal with so it gives a good sense of achievement when you take one down. You can see the boss’s health bar as well so at least you get an idea of progress when you are repeatedly being killed. Early on you take on a giant hornet type creature who exemplifies the strong design, it looks great, has some varied attacks but also displays clear patterns for players to be able to work around while still being fairly weak.

Overall, Chronicles of the Wolf has a lot of competition in the market but still has a lot going for it. It’s different to a lot of the clones out there (and the official Castlevania games), in that it’s taking Castlevania 2 as it’s core inspiration and it’s clearly had a lot of care put into it. It’s also a different tone to games like Infernax so there really is room for everyone here. If you are a Castlevania fan it offers something a little different and is well worth checking out.

Overall 7/10

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector Review (Switch)

The first Citizen Sleep was a resounding success, with its space styled cyber punk aesthetic and the mixture of rich storytelling and board game and RPG elements. In fact, it garnered a dedicated following and even had a card game version appearing. It’s not a massive surprise then to see a second game in the series.

There is no direct link to the story of the first game here. Continuity wise it is set a little later in the time period, but new players won’t feel left out if they start here first. To add to this, your character is a malfunctioning android who has no memory of anything either so it’s very much about discovering the world for the first time.

There are a handful of classes to choose from, and you can also upgrade skills and buffs as you get points from completing various missions and objectives. These then add modifiers to your dice or allow you do things like create rerolls or fix them should they become damaged.

The premise is simple, at the start of each cycle (or day) , you get a number of dice that are randomly generated with which to carry out actions. The higher the number of the dice mixed with your affinity for carrying out certain type of task will decide if you are likely to be successful at it. Once, you have used all your dice you can end the cycle and start again with a fresh set.

Of course, things are never that easy and there is normally some kind of cycle timer counting down to a major story event that you need to be aware of. Time is very much essential so resetting a day just because you have bad dice is never really an option. On top of this you need food and need to think about damage caused by stress to your body. There really are a whole host of things keeping you on the edge of anxiety and always watching the clock.

You’ll spend much of your time investigating around space stations or out on salvage operations. The interface is simple, pick the location to move to and then the options of what you can do will show up when you get there. There are options to work or find food, as well as hunt for clues or interact with the population. When you are off the station for salvage missions you need to also think about fuel and the amount of supplies you have with you. These missions are normally perilous as the hulks you try and get salvage from tend to breach and fall apart, just in case you needed yet another time clock to think about.

The initial goal is simply to stay one step ahead of the people chasing you. After that the mystery deepens and you’ll also encounter new characters and crew with their own skills and agendas to deal with. The human interaction element is key to the games philosophy as you will live or die by your network of crew. In this respect it’s important to think about how you are interacting as you’ll want as many options as possible as you venture on your space road trip.

Overall, Citizen Sleep 2 is a beautifully thought out and refined experience. It’s certainly tough but can be progressed through with careful thinking (and there are easier difficulty settings as well). It’s quite unique in its approach to the genre and still manages to stand out from the crowd. If you are looking for an immersive sci-fi adventure with a twist, then this comes highly recommended.

Overall 8/10

X-Out Resurfaced Review (Switch)

Recently, we have been seeing the Amiga back catalogue brought back to life. The Evercade has had several Amiga carts released and a handful of other games have made it to modern consoles. Now, we have a remake of 30 year old X-Out, a side scrolling shooter in the style of games like R-Type.

X-Out has a few things that try and set it part from other side scrolling shooters. In terms of it’s design it is set under water so everything has an aquatic theme to it. The other key thing is that you have the option to buy your ships and equipment at the start of each level. This creates a unique risk and reward dynamic where you need to decide if buying one super ship is better than having three or four less equipped ones. And it is a key decision because once your last ship is down it’s game over. There are no continues.

On that note, it’s a real surprise that X-Out Resurfaced doesn’t really cater for new gamers in any way despite being rebuilt from the ground up. There are none of the concessions that most retro remakes now have. You can’t save, there is no rewind function, and you can’t alter any settings such as lives or money. While it’s refreshing to see something stick to its roots, it also makes the game crushingly difficult. Your ship has a life bar but will explode instantly on impact with anything so some of your playthroughs may last minutes to begin with.

The fact there’s no continue option or level select is also frustrating. It’s true that each time you play you’ll likely progress a little further, but it can take seconds to lose all your craft and then you are right back to level 1 again. It’s something that seems unnecessary, especially with a game that isn’t always the most fluid to control. A lot of these shooters at least have level trainer options once you reach certain stages, but not here. 

Overall, X-Out Resurfaced is a strong but crushingly difficult game. Fans of games like R-type will feel at home, but the game really needed some options to try and get new players to connect with it. Anything past the first level is a real challenge and it’s likely a lot of players will spend most of their time in the early stages before feeling they can’t progress. While we are glad to see the game on the Switch, is could have been a lot more fun with more options for players to tinker with.

Overall 6/10

 

Yars Rising Review (Switch)

Atari’s raiding and revitalising of its back catalogue continues unabated with one of its most bizarre and ambitious reboots yet. Instead of just updating the graphics and mechanics of one of its arcade games, Yars Rising takes the world of the famous Yars Revenge and attempts to expand it out into, of all things, a Metroidvania.

The original Yars does make appearances from time to time in the form of hacking mini games that need to be completed in order to open doors and disable obstacles. These play around with the conventions of the original game but basically amount to charging a meter then blasting a target with a super shot. Sometimes there are barriers, sometimes there are mines to avoid or other enemies to defeat but it all amounts to a single screen take on the original arcade style experience.

These hacking games become more and more complex as the game progresses. But if you feel you have really had enough of them it will let you skip if you fail a certain number of times. On the flip side you can also access them from the main menu if you just want to play them over and over.

The main bulk of the game has players take control of Emi Kimura who has been hired to break into the QoTech corporation. This plays out in the classic Metroidvania style with players exploring the 2D environment and picking up new skills along the way to let them through previously unpassable barriers. There are boss fights as well which normally need to be finished off with a hacking mini game or they will spring back to life.

In terms of design, the environments are a fairly generic, sterile, future sci-fi setting. It does help to keep things clear and easy to see but there’s not a huge variety between the looks of each location which can make traveling around a touch dull at times. Enemy design is very much in the realms of robots and technology which shares the same clear but not inspiration feel (with the occasional Atari reference). In a nice touch, all the characters are voiced, and Emi will chime in with her own commentary on how thing are going from time to time (this can be turned off if it gets too annoying).

Much better, is the general feel of the game. Emi controls well and it’s easy to get her to execute whichever move you are trying. This means you can get a good flow while traveling around the environments, allowing for speedy trips across the map. There’s also a well-balanced mix of action and stealth with a few areas requiring you to hide in doorways or vents to avoid invulnerable enemies. It’s not exactly Metroid: Dread but it helps to break things up and all the mechanics work well. The music is also excellent with a host of jaunty, anime inspired tunes present.

Overall, Yars Rising is a fun and inventive take on an IP that may have otherwise struggled to survive the expectations of modern audiences. The classic Wayforward vibe is in full effect and while this may not be anything revolutionary, it is certainly fun and breezy and there’s nothing bad here. If you feel you need another retro tinged Metroidvania then this makes a good choice, even among the mass of competition of the Switch.

Overall 7/10

Volgarr The Viking II Review (Switch)

The original Volgarr was a bit of a cult hit on steam a few years back. In an emerging era of hardcore, retro styled, titles it managed to forge a path with its chunky, Rastan style, graphics and its heavy Conan the Barbarian influence it certainly caught the eye. Many players though struggled with the unrelenting difficulty. Don’t go expecting anything less than crushing toughness though, as the sequel forges the same unapologetically punishing path as its predecessor.

There’s little in the way of technical changes here. Volgarr has pretty much the same move set and attacks as before. You can attack with your sword, jump, roll and throw spears which can be used to stick in walls to create makeshift platforms. A sort of double jump can also be done which also swings your sword around, creating a sort of circle of death as well. Taking a single hit kills you but you can also pick up rare pieces of armour which gives you the ability to take more damage.

The game is tough, and you’ll die often, but when you die a certain amount you’ll enter dead mode which effectively makes you invincible, aside from deaths via pits. We found this to be an odd design choice. The game is very tough but effectively forcing an invincibility option onto players doesn’t gel very well. Once we had died enough to activate this, we found our interest in the game soon started to drift away and it became a real slog. We could have started the game again of course but it’s very frustrating that you don’t get this as an option that you can ignore if you so wish.

Admittedly, we didn’t make it to the end even with the invincibility option, but we found the level design and bosses to be somewhat weaker than the previous game. The first Volgarr was tough but has a certain logic to it. The sequel just seems unnecessarily frustrating and annoying in places. As a result, we found we really weren’t having fun a lot of the time and the levels soon became a slog.

With a game this difficult its vital the controls work well and in this respect Volgarr is excellent. Controls are responsive and each of the barbarians moves have a purpose and are easy to execute. It’s vital for players to get used to the distances and animation cycles of all the different moves as using the wrong one at the wrong time will almost always leave you open to attack and normally death. This is especially important on ropes as getting knocked off will almost always end in falling into a death pit.

A less drastic concession to the difficulty is that the levels now have check points. Each of the stages are sizable and it’ll take you between twenty minutes and half an hour to get through most of them. The original game made you do this in one go so at least here it’s not as severe. That said, if you lose all your lives, it’s back to the start of the stage you can expect to be seeing the start of some of these stages multiple times.

Overall, Volgarr the Viking II offers up more of the same and those who have beaten the original (there must be someone out there), will no doubt be keen to take on the challenge. For us, this sequel doesn’t quite have the magic of the first game though. It moves from ‘challenging’ into ‘frustrating’ far too often with too many niggly parts of level that you’ll end up having to go through multiple times. As a result, it’s difficult to really get a rhythm going. The almost invincible mode is also not wanted, we would at least like to see it become optional on the continue screen as it took much of the joy of progression away.

Overall 6/10

 

 

Storyblock: The King Review (Switch)

There’s no shortage of puzzle games on the Switch so games need something new to standout. Storyblocks came with promises of an engaging story and alternating paths, so we were keen to pick It up. Sadly, the reality it somewhat less exciting.

The basic concept of Storyblocks is that you need to build paths from one area to another. You are presented with sort of floating islands and then need to use all the allotted path pieces to take you to another one. This advances the story to the next section.

The puzzle part comes from the fact you need to use all your allocated pieces before you can proceed. So, if you can connect from island to island with ten tiles but have been given twelve then you need to think about the shape you need to make. Some levels also have multiple routes you can go which will give you different bits of the story to read. Unfortunately, the puzzling isn’t particularly gripping.

The problem is that this is really all there is. The basic premise of the game never changes or evolves and it’s pretty light in the first place. There’re no special tiles and nothing really changes in terms of the game relating to terrain or the type of route you take. Even some animation relating to your character traveling around and facing the various challenges presented in the story would have helped.

It’s also not helped by how difficult it is to place tiles at times. Angles can be difficult to gauge and some kind of locking on feature would have really been helpful. There’s also no touch screen support either, so don’t expect to be placing things by hand.

Overall, Storyblocks: the King is a nice idea but it’s so incredibly under cooked that it’s hard to get engaged with. There are so many things that could and should have been done to improve the experience and what we have seems like a tech demo rather than a full game. Hopefully, a more fleshed out version of this concept will come later as there’s certainly some potential here.

Overall 4/10

Cybertrash STATYX Review (Switch)

 

Although it’s been having somewhat of a renaissance recently, the cyber punk sub-genre is still very much under used when it comes to video games. Therefore, anything which looks remotely like it fits into that category is something we often take an interest in. So, with just a screen shot of the title we were drawn to Cybertrash, an action platformer with light RPG elements.

The game deals with a world where ‘The Corporation’ controls the populace by kidnapping and implanting mod chips into troublemakers. Robots are used to keep people under control and the industrial and natural world have completely separated. You take control of Jenet, one of the people trying to escape from the clutches of the evil overseers.

You start out in a sort of reconditioning facility and are lead on various missions by your handler. These are all basically the same. You make your way through a level, blasting robots and finding the exit. As you destroy, you’ll level up and can then raise some of your base stats such as how high you jump and how accurate your weapons are. There are also crates that can be hacked to offer up new guns and credits that can be spent on ammo.

Unfortunately, each of the levels looks quite samey with the same tiles sets and boxes used. Enemies are also quite similar throughout, and while you get new robots to fight against, there’s no huge distinction in terms of tying certain foes to certain environments. This does mean that the game lacks a bit of personality and begins to look generic after a while. When you compare it to something like Huntdown, where every level is crafted to look at certain way, and you can really feel difference.

To get around the levels you have a basic move set of jumping and sliding. You also perform a high jump after a slide. This is an interesting idea but in practice we found it quite unreliable. There didn’t seem to be any particular logic to how the slide into a high jump worked. While this was fine on longer stretches of the level, there are times when you have to leap from quite small boxes and this often meant we fell down to lower parts of the stage repeatedly which soon became tiresome.

Something else which also quickly becomes dull is the incessant dialogue between levels. The story part of the game moves at a near snails’ pace and will often see you just hitting the button to skip through as quickly as possible. This isn’t helped by any story scene where you need to walk around the facility, as you move incredibly slowly and there’s no run button. This aspect of the game could really have done with streamlining.

The weapons you get are excellent though. There’s a decent variety of guns to try out and each one has a solid and appropriate feel to it. The shotgun in particular really feels like it packs a punch. The boss fights are also great fun. Sometimes they can be a little easy if you have certain weapons set ups, but they were a continual highlight throughout our playthrough.

Overall, Cyber Trash is an interesting but flawed game. Initially, the levels are really good fun and allow you to blast away at robots with some cool weapons. But nothing really changes as you progress in terms of action, look or enemies. The feeling of repetition started to set in way too early and while the game remains fun, when you add this to the frustrations from jumping and some scarce checkpoints it all becomes a bit of a struggle to stick with. Still, there are some nice ideas on display here and it’s certainly not a bad game, just a bit of an uninspired one.

Overall 5/10

Star Wars: Dark Forces Review (Switch)

 

There was a time when Star Wars games were few and far between. Recently though, we’ve had a glut of them coming to the Switch. Jedi Knight two and three have already made their way onto the system and now the origin of the series has been given a new coat of paint and sent out into the world. What is most significant here is that aside from a poor PS1 conversion there hasn’t really been a way to play Dark Forces outside of the PC.

Dark Forces is very much in the vein of the first-person shooters of the time. That being it’s basically Doom with a Star Wars graphic set on it. Levels require a lot of searching for switches and key cards and work like mazes. There are of course a significant number of Storm Troopers to blast while you are searching around, and all the appropriate sound effects are in place to make it as Star Wars centric as possible.

Simply labelling Dark Forces as a Doom clone is not entirely accurate though. Doom very much kept everything on a level, while Dark Forces levels move up and down a lot and this adds a much welcomed sense of scale. You can also jump which occasionally results in some awkward and terrifying platform sections. These sections are made all the more nerve raking by the fact you can’t save inside of the levels. On the standard difficulty setting you are issued three lives. More can be picked up but if you lose them all then it’s right back to the start. That’s something you are going to want to avoid as well as some of these levels are huge.

It's interesting that with all the new additions, the graphical upgrade, the slick frame rate that you still can’t save. We understand why but what would have been very helpful would have been to at least put a quick save feature in. The levels are so large, complex and labyrinthine that some will likely take new players well over an hour to complete. With this in mind it seems a strange oversight.

The most helpful addition to the game is without doubt the gyro aiming. Unlike games like Doom, you do need to be fairly accurate when shooting. It isn’t just enemies but switches and traps that need blasting, so being able to move the target smoothly and in small measures is an absolute must that makes things much more enjoyable.

It’s difficult to know how newcomers will gel with Dark Forces. If you are a fan of first-person shooters and have blasted your way through Doom and Quake without much trouble then chances are that Dark Forces will be right up your street. It’s not as slick as the Quake games but there is certainly more here worth playing than just a chunk of Star Wars nostalgia.

Overall, Star Wars: Dark Forces is a solid first-person shooter that has been restored and brought up to date as best as it possibly could be. All the upgrades and additions are welcome and add to the experience in a positive way. The bones of the game remain very much entrenched in the era the game was released though. This is very much still a retro experience that you are going to need to be either a hardcore FPS fan or a pretty big Star Wars one to fully enjoy. We’re very glad to see games like this from the Star Wars back catalogue reappear with so much love taken to restore them and can only hope Jedi Knight and a few more are going to appear soon.

Overall 8/10

Llmasoft: The Jeff Minter Story Review (Switch)

 

When Digital Eclipse first announced its plan to release interactive documentaries it seemed like an interesting prospect. The first release in the series looked at Karateka and one of the main issues we had was the lack of games included. We are glad to see that isn’t the case this time around and we can’t think of a better company to look at for this kind of release.

Jeff Minter already has a presence on the Switch due to Atari’s recent strategy of utilising its back catalogue to release new games. Tempest 4000 and Akka Arrh are both examples of Minters work, and we’d recommend both if you get with the psychedelic style on display here.

The documentary elements of this are exhaustive. Spanning from 1981 to 1994, there are numerous videos, spec documents, pictures, concept art and inputs from Minter himself. It’s all arranged into four separate timelines and easy to move through. The interviews with Minter are a particular highlight with him always coming across with great insight and in an entertaining way.

All these elements combined will give you an excellent understanding of how everything came together through this period. The few games not playable on the collection through these periods are also lightly touched upon but it would have been nice to have a bit more about some of them even if they aren’t available to play.

There are a lot of games here though, and they cross many classic systems from Atari 8-bit, C64, Vic-20 to the Atari St and Atari Jaguar. Multiple versions of each game are also present so in terms of what is here its exhaustive. A lot of the games are also great. If you are into retro games and if you’ve not played Grid Runner or Attack of the Mutant Camels, then you are in for a treat. It’s nice to have some of the games that weren’t as well received as well so you can get a full overview if Minter’s back catalogue. Just get ready for a lot of weirdness and Llamas.

There’s a visually enhanced exclusive version of Gridrunner  included as well which is based on the C64 version of the game. This will be one of the main reasons for fans to pick up the collection and plays as crazily as the original. This coupled with the fact Tempest 2000 is here gives you more than enough to play even if you can’t get on with some of the earlier games.

Tempest 2000 itself brings up a slight issue though. People who are likely to buy this will no doubt also be interested in the Atari 50 collection. Tempest 2000 is also on that and this potentially takes away one of the main reason to get this. Having the Gridrunner upgrade here along with some of Jeff’s over classics is awesome, but we felt it could have done with at least one more big exclusive. Something super obscure like Tempest 3000 would have made this utterly essential, no matter how difficult it may have been to get working properly.

It's difficult with collections like this not to look to omissions even when there is such a sizable chunk of Minters back catalogue here to play. The biggest omission is of course the fact that the documentary stops at 1994. This means all of Minters later games aren’t included which is a real shame. Adding a Space Giraffe or later releases of Grid Runner would have really rounded the collection off perfectly. There’s also a lack of certain licensed games such as Defender 2000 on the Jaguar. But there is a lot of stuff here, so we are being picky.

Overall, This collection does an excellent job of getting across the work of Minter and it’s a joy to dive into and explore. Omissions aside, you’ve got one of the best games ever in Tempest 2000, and a great upgrade to Gridrunner backed with some excellent retro classics. The archive materials are flawless, and we can’t think of anyone more worthy than Minter to have been given this sort of treatment. Essential for retro gaming fans, but it still could have been even more.

Overall 8/10

Lords of Exile Review (Switch)

 

There have been a lot of indie games over the years that have used Castlevania for their inspiration. However, most of these have taken the Metroidvania route rather than the more linear level-based approach. Set over eight stages, Lords of Exile is very much in the platform hack and slash category and is clearly influenced by the 8-bit Castlevania games and other titles of the time such as Ninja Gaiden.

In terms of how the game looks everything is absolutely spot on. This could easily fit in with the NES Castlevania games in terms of style and even the music fits the part. Luckily it plays a bit more fluidly though with you character feeling a whole lot better than an 8-bit Belmont. The only issue with controls we had was the double jump which seemed a bit temperamental and inconsistent to get working at times which led to a few unexpected deaths.

Of course, when you are taking influence from some of the toughest games to have ever existed the game you make is also going to be on the difficult side. For the most part Lords of Exile walks the line between difficulty and frustration well. Levels are tough but they aren’t impossible. That is until you reach the final stage. Here things tip over too far into the impossible side of things. One section in particular with instant death spikes on the ceiling was simply not fun. Everything else though is pitched really well, with the checkpoint system keeping frustrations at a minimum.

Each of the eight stages is varied visually and you’ll take in all manner of swamps and cursed places on your quest. After each stage is completed, you’ll take on a new ability of some kind. Some of these are simply buffs such as adding more throwing objects or damage while overs offer new abilities like the double jump or adding in a shadow creature to summon. Adding in the new elements keeps things fresh as you know you’ll have something new to play around with when you get to the next stage. These abilities don’t open new areas though as progression through stages is completely linear.

Each stage also ends with a suitably epic boss fight. Initially daunting, once you work out the pattern these can normally be downed with some suitable button mashing and appropriate use of throwing objects. But they prove to be interesting obstacles to overcome and some of their design is quite clever.

Overall, Lords of Exile is a solid homage to the Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden games of old. As with all these sorts of games this is aimed at a particular niche audience, but it does everything it can to make sure that it hits the mark. Seven of the eight stages are excellent with only the final one being unbalanced in terms of the fairness to death ratio. With a little bit more polish this would be really excellent. As it is it’s still very good and well worth checking out if you are busy working your way through the better 8-bit inspired games out there.

Overall 8/10

A Void Hope Review (Switch)

 

It’s been a while since we last had a game from Elden Pixels. Their previous output has been excellent, and we’ve covered all of it. They are most well known for the two Alwa games, while also publishing the excellent Cathedral and retro inspired Kraino Origins. Their latest game is a platform puzzle game with a heavy emphasis on narrative set in a collapsed city blighted by a strange plague.

The player takes control of a couple as they look for a cure and try to decipher between reality and distorted memories. You start out by playing the husband who has seemingly been infected by the mysterious plague. His part of the story is to search the city for memories as he tries to keep hold of his mind. Halfway through it switches to the wife who is searching for a cure. There isn’t any ability difference between the two but it’s a story beat that works well.

In terms of how the game plays this is very much on the narrative side of narrative puzzle games. It’s a 2D platform game but the challenge involved is minimal. Players move around self-contained levels looking for items, exits and computer terminals. Early on you also pick up a sort of phase gun thing which can be used to shoot switches and defend against infected creatures. But aside from box pushing and switch shooting there isn’t much else involved in the gameplay but it does the job well enough.

Speaking of the infected, they are there to present small obstacles and little else. As you traverse the world, people within the levels will sometimes phase into some kind of monster. These can be shambling shadow people, dog creatures that are much faster or a sort of flying bat thing. There is a random element here as people can change into any of the creatures and it’s not always the same people that turn. You never get more than one creature on a screen though. Of course, if they touch you its back to the last checkpoint.

The infected creatures form one of the biggest stylistic issues we had with the game. While the game looks beautiful with its pixel art style, there is a lack of reaction from inhabitants we found a bit jarring. Most screens have numerous citizens doing various things. Some are sick but others are just standing around eating sandwiches or reading papers. As such you would think when a creature appears they would react in some way, but they don’t, they just continue to stand there. Now, this could be part of the whole ‘is this a memory or dream’ thing but we really could have done with a little more immersion in this area.

As a game we did find A Void Hope didn’t really grab us in the way that we expected. There are just too many elements that need a bit more punch to them. Neither the platforming or puzzles are particularly engaging, and the combat is completely functional. There’s a snake like mini game as well which kicks in when you access a computer terminal but it’s awkward and not particularly fun. As a narrative experience though, it’s effective and tells a good story so if you know what you are getting into there’s a lot to be taken away from the game.

Overall, it’s nice to see Elden Pixels going in a slightly different direction with this project. As a story driven title it works quite effectively but as a game it’s not as accomplished as their other output. We are glad we played it and the story itself is excellent. If the studio can tie this sort of narrative to a stronger gameplay loop then they’ll really have something.

Overall 7/10