Everspace 2 Review (Switch 2)

Everspace 2 recently shadow dropped onto the Switch 2, always a bold move. It comes a few years after release on other systems and includes both the Titan and Wrath of the Ancients DLC. So, you are certainly getting a ton of content for your money. The first game in the series was a space combat-based Roguelike where you repeatedly followed the loop of launching, finding resources, lasting as long as you could, then repeating. This second game is a more linear story-based adventure.

The story follows a clone pilot who is hiding out among the various salvage and mining crews in the galaxy. As the action RPG unfolds your character gets discovered (of course), and a pretty sizable adventure ensues.

These sorts of space combat games always live or die by their controls. We are happy to report that this builds on the already solid model of the first game to provide an intuitive and responsive interface. You will quickly be able to dog fight with the best of them, while the customisation options in terms of what you can do with your ships gives players a good level of flexibility to play the game how they want to.

The space combat is excellent as well. The various ships are manoeuvrable, and you are quickly thrown into the thick of battle right from the off. We had very little trouble tracking targets for instance. There’s a good weight to guns and missiles as well and the feedback you get on screen gives a solid account of how much damage you are taking on. The controls are also good enough to cope with the numerous narrow sections of structures you’ll have to navigate through as well. It does take a little getting used to, but you’ll soon be zipping around comfortably.

Though the story is somewhat linear you do have a lot of freedom to zoom around the various systems. There are a host of side missions to follow and things to salvage. The game very much stays in the ship though with interactions on space stations kept to menus and dialogue boxes. There is a fair bit of zipping across the surface of planets though to keep the visuals interesting.

If there is a criticism its that the characters aren’t the most developed. The setting is also pretty much ‘generic space’ as well. It’s easy to overlook when the combat is so slick, but some may want more in terms of the narrative elements of an action RPG.

Overall, Everspace 2 is a comprehensive and enjoyable package. The move to the Switch 2 has worked well and the game still looks great. It can be played for long periods or in short bursts which works well with the portable nature of the device and you are getting around 50+ hours of game here for those that want to see everything. The Switch 2 also doesn’t have much else like this aside from Rebel Galaxy, but that doesn’t go as deep with its RPG elements. Despite the shadow drop, this is well worth playing.

Overall 8/10

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Review (Switch 2)

Moonlighter was a very much underrated indie game that created a great little loop of exploration and selling junk wrapped in a rogue-lite package. The original was a pixel art, top-down game that took inspiration from the original four-door, sealed room dungeon layout of early Zelda games. You dive in, survive as many rooms as possible then brought you loot back to sell in your shop.

Moonlighter 2 hasn’t moved far in terms of the core ideas, but a lot else has changed. You are still hunting for loot and then selling it in your shop. But now the game has moved to a 3D environment. Instead of doors leading off from a dungeon you now have sort of floating platform like arenas. You must kill all the monsters present and then you can move to the next, you’ll normally have a choice of two or three paths and aside from fighting there are opportunities to find power ups or other treasures along the way.

We found that the arenas did lack some of the character the original games rooms had and the colours are quite soft which can make it difficult to see everything on the screen. A fair few times we were being attacked by something we just didn’t see which isn’t ideal. They are also quite samey in each of the core areas which means after a few runs it can get a tad dull unless you’re progressing to other places.

Luckily the combat system is robust. You get a selection of different weapons to wield and upgrade, and they all carry weight and give a good level of feedback so at least you know you are hitting things. You also have a gun with a limited number of shots (recharged by melee attacks), which adds flexibility for taking on flying enemies and those just out of reach. Each weapon also has a chargeable special attack and when enemies are stunned you can also smash them over the edge of the island or into other creatures. It all works well and provides a satisfying experience.

When you inevitably die, you’ll be sent back to your hub down with any relics and items you have found along the way. These can then be sold in your shop with the money going towards any number of upgrades and perks. There’s a whole meta game in there about how to best store your objects in your backpack as well with certain ones ‘burning’ others or adding bonuses to them. It’s another system that works well, even if it does get a little repetitive after a while.

As you progress, you’ll expand your arsenal and shop, and more and more areas of the town will open offering different services. It’s a potentially addictive loop; however, we did find progress slow. We had run after run where little progress was made in the early going. It doesn’t quite get the balance right with difficulty to progression and that may see some players leave the game before they have really got into it. Once you start making breakthroughs though it finds its feet and you’ll be lost to it for hours.

Overall, this is a welcome return for the series. The new direction has worked well in most ways and if you get through some initial slowness you’ll be drawn in for hours on end. Even when things do get a bit repetitive there is enough charm present for players to see it through. For fans of the original, or those who need yet another Rogue-like this should be high on your list to check out.

Overall 8/10

Constance Review (Switch 2)

It was only a matter of time before some of the more interesting games that were bundled on Evercade cartridges started to find their way to other systems. And Biomechanical Toy is certainly one of those. A fairly obscure arcade release, it never received a home computer version, so this really is one for gamers looking to experience a little piece of cult arcade history.

In terms of how the game plays, the Amiga influence is very clear to see. It has the graphical look of all those weird Amiga platformers and also the slightly lose controls that tended to be the characteristic of any of these games not released on consoles. The levels are all set in a surreal sort of theme park/circus and your goal is simply to get to the end of each, blasting as much as you can.

In general, the game plays well. The main character is responsive and the weapons have a good weight to them. The levels are tough but its not as unfair as most arcade games of the time. It certainly seems like at some point there was an idea of porting this to home systems in terms of how it plays as there is a fairness and sort of balance to it. It’s still pretty tough though, just not in that way that most arcade games are designed to suck up all your money.

In terms of extra content there is n’t anything revolutionary here. You get the usual selection of filters and borders and some quality of life features such as being able to save and also rewind. The rewind is always useful as it stops the need for the constsnt reloading you would otherwise have to do. There is also a gallery included and you can listen to the games soundtrack via a jukebox mode. Some more info about tis development would have been welcomed as its so obscure but there’s enough here to peak the interest for a little while.

Overall, Biomechanical is a fun release and one that sits alongside some of the other weird and wonderful cult games nicely. We are always happy to see these more obscure games brought back into the light and the fact it’s a pretty decent one just makes it all the better. The usual reservations will apply for anyone who struggles with these older games but retro game fans and fans of arcades will love it.

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

Super Scram Kitty Review (Switch)

 

After wooing us with the wonderfully named Floating Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims and The 2D Adventures of Rotating Octopus Character the mad cap humour of Dakko Dakko (now Kumogami) studios returned with the then Wii U exclusive Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails. Many years have passed and despite a quick return on the PSN Scram Kitty has been mostly silent until now, arriving in a remixed form and looking better than ever.

The plot is mad and sends us back to the 16-bit days of lunatic ideas. Basically, your cat sends you a message from the international space station saying super intelligent mice have taken over and you need to get up there and rescue all the cats and take it back from them. What this amounts to is jumping on your spinner and blasting, leaping and spinning your way around some top down puzzle/platform levels.

The puzzle elements are based around shooting switches, finding different weapons to destroy obstacles and simply working out how to make jumps to different rails. It’s nothing massively complex but when combined with the past paced gameplay and onslaught of enemies it’s more than enough to deal with.

The game draws a lot of influence from previous game Rotating Octopus but there are a ton of new ideas going on here. Working out the movement is key to success and your character controls in a fairly unique way. Your spinner is magnetic and attaches to any rail. You can move along the rails under your own steam but the only way you can reach another rail is to jump to it. What this means is that you need to use the rails carefully to get the right angles to jump and fire.

You will be attacked by various types of mice on your adventure and making sure you can actually hit them with your variety of weapons forms part of the crux of the game. Your character only fires directly in front of themselves so if you are on a side rail and they are coming at you from below you need to jump to a rail facing towards them in order to hit the pesky vermin. It starts out tricky but you soon get the hang of how it all works, and it adds to the puzzle elements of certain levels. 

The goal of each level is to rescue four cats and reach the exit door. You can just find the exit if you want but you’ll need cats to unlock levels as you go so replaying earlier stages is vital to progression. The four cats each have their own characteristics to be found. The lazy cat just sits by the exit and the lucky cat requires all the lucky pennies to be found in a level before appearing. The black cat requires a super tough mouse to be destroyed before it will come out and finally the scaredy cat, when picked up, will run off to somewhere else on the station and requires chasing around and capturing in a strict time limit.

Scram Kitty is a tough game and you’ll need both patience and perseverance to get through. You have an energy bar but once it’s gone you’ll have to start the level again from scratch. This includes finding cats, coins and weapons again or taking down the big bad mouse commanders. The levels are fairly compact but the amount of skill required from the player means dying near the end of a stage can be exasperating. 

The main problem with Scram Kitty from the Wii U version has now been removed. On The Wii U proverbial Scram would appear on screen to give advice. When this happened he pretty much took up the entire screen and this led to a number of deaths and missed jumps as we simply couldn’t see what was going on. Scram no longer does this. While this means you don’t get the advice it also makes for a much smoother experience overall.

Overall, Scram Kitty is still an excellent game. There’s a lot of invention and originality on show in terms of the games mechanics and we certainly haven’t played anything like this for years and there’s nothing else like it on the eshop. It says a lot that even now, this is a pretty essential purchase for anyone who wants an old school challenge mixed with some clever design.

Overall 8/10

 

Space Hulk Ascension (Warhammer Classics) Review (PC)

A year after the first release this new version of Space Hulk looked to build on the foundations of the first game and bring the digital version of the franchise close to the realms of a turn based strategy game rather than a recreation of a table top board game and as such a host of new features have been implemented.

The maps for three new campaigns have now been designed from scratch and players get the choice of leading one of three Space Marine chapters into the decaying hulks. You can pick from the Ultra Marines, Blood Angels and Space Wolves with each chapter having a few different specialisms and skills.

As you progress through the campaigns your marines now level up and begin to gain access to different weapons and equipment. This gives a bit more of a tie to your marines and helps to differentiate them. Starting out with a basic Storm Bolter and Power Fist Combo you’ll soon have access to a range of weaponry which makes your load outs much more flexible. The Genestealer side of things has also been worked on with numerous variants now stalking the narrow corridors of the ships.

The game certainly seems a lot less clunky as well and turns have a better fluidity to them. Though hulking marines are never going to be zipping about the place it certainly moves along at a better pace than the original game and you never quite feel safe. Of course, you shouldn’t feel safe because this is a very difficult game. Even as an experienced player of the board game we found even getting though the initial missions difficult and one of two mistakes can easily end your mission.

That wouldn’t be so bad but there are two major issues which can stop the game being as fun and tactical as it should be. One is the lack of a tactical map which is perhaps the most crucial. The layout of levels is revealed as you explore the ship which is something that probably sounded like a good idea at the time. In reality, in this type of game you need to be able to work out well in advance where you need to place you Terminators. As they have such limited movement thinking up flexible tactics on the fly really isn’t a worthwhile option and wandering into a room only to find it contains a host of entry points for the enemy just doesn’t cut it.

The other issue is the general murk of the levels. It can be very hard to pick out basic features on the ships such as doors and air vents. The amount of times a Genestealer took out one of our marines from a space we didn’t even know about was infuriating and is something that really needs to be looked at. You can change the gamma levels to brighten things up but when you are looking at a dark map from almost a bird’s eye view it’s still very difficult to pick some things out. The command wheels on your Terminators are also very small. 

Overall, the game has certainly developed from the original but it has done some very good things while also introducing some bad things. We like the skill progression, the use of different chapters and the new maps. But we really could do without the murky levels and the fog of war which stops tight tactical planning - which in a game as tough as this is really needed.

Overall 7/10

The three Space Hulk DLC'sa re also included and can be read about in more detail here -

Imperial Fist DLC 

Salamanders DLC

Dark Angel DLC

Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege Review (Switch)

One day Konami might get the hint that we need Castlevania games to come out a bit more often. At least we have Belmont’s Curse nearly upon us. During those long periods of drought, it seems indie developers have taken it upon themselves to try and fill the void. We have covered a fair few here and Saint Slayer in the next in line.

It’s curious that side scrolling, linear, Castlevania likes always stick to the 8-bit pixel look. You would think someone would take on the 16-bit era at some point. Saint Slayer is another that looks a lot like the first three NES Castlevania games. It follows a standard linear level structure and even has a little between level map just in case you still didn’t get the inspiration.

Luckily, it plays a bit less clunky than the 8-bit Castlevania games though. You are limited to the usual jump, attack and special attack options, but there are also a few Metroidvania elements thrown in as skills which you can acquire, such as a slide which is vital for taking you under traps at certain points. There’s also a little bit of a Duck Tales inspiration with our hero able to use his spear to pogo around on spikes.

That isn’t to say the game is easy though. It’s pretty damn tough, especially if you have no experience with the rhythm and flow of these types of things. If you are happily playing on your NES or Master System though, you’ll have a much better time of it.

The loose plot follows a farmer in seventeenth century Europe who needs to fight through twenty-one levels to stop a mad priest from stealing relics and summoning all sorts of gothic horrors. It has a weird tone which moves between wacky dialogue (and one scene where a donkey knocks you off a cliff), to straight up horror with starving prisoners, bodies hanging from the ceiling and rotten meat which makes you sick if eaten.

You can collect orbs which act as the in-game currency which can then be spent at the travelling merchant. Interestingly the orbs stay with you through multiple playthroughs. This means you could potentially farm them on the easier settings and then use them when moving up the difficulties. It adds a light consideration about if you should restart the game after death or use the various passwords to continue your progress – minus any upgrades of course.

Level design is generally strong, and bosses are well structured in the ‘learn the attack pattern’ kind of way. An early fight with a monster riding a donkey is a bit silly and frustrating as you must keep dropping boxes on its head, but most others work well. Some levels are too long though. Level eleven is set in a prison and after your hundredth death it really does begin to look samey and bland. Generally, though the layouts and look are varied.

Overall, Saint Slayer: Spear of Sacrilege does pretty much what it sets out to do. It’s a huge homage to a NES styled Castlevania game in that its mostly successful. The biggest thing though about pretty much all of these is they are never quite at the level of the games they are influenced by. While this is a fun diversion, it won’t keep you away from proper Dracula slaying for too long.

Overall 7/10

Nine Sols Review (Switch 2)

Nine Sols came out a while ago but with the release of the physical version it seemed the perfect time to take another look at it. A 2D action platformer at heart it has some light Metroidvania elements and some of the most beautiful hand drawn graphics we’ve seen on the Switch. It attempts to merge Taoism with cyber punk, merging eastern philosophy with sci-fi.

It’s a complicated story to unravel but basically follows the idea that a virus wiped out an alien race, but they somehow managed to store their consciousness in a virtual reality system. If that’s not weird enough, to power the system innocent beings need to be sacrificed to it so their brains can be harvested for power. Or something like that.

Players control Yi, a sort of cybernetic creature that decides he doesn’t want his human friend to be sacrificed and sets out looking for the Nine Sols to defeat and harvest so that he can gain the codes to the Eternal Central Cauldron. Basically, you jump around beautiful levels and hit stuff with your sword, occasionally upgrading to a new skill and taking on awesome boss fights.

That’s doing the combat system a disservice though. Yes, you can bash stuff with your sword but there are also a lot more nuanced things you can also do. An early example of this is the deflection mechanic. If you successfully deflect an enemy blow, you can then dart past them, attach a bomb to them, charge it and then explode it. As you progress, you’ll gain more skills such as a dash, double jump and the ability to send a little robot out to get into places you can’t otherwise reach, a mechanic normally used for shutting down security systems and opening doors.

There’s also a cool grappling hook mechanic which lets you swing around the place, and you can of course wall jump and even run up certain surfaces. There’s certainly no shortage of ways to get around the beautifully stunning locations. It’s a good thing the game looks so great as well as it’s also pretty damn tough. Even early on enemies pack a punch so you’ll need to get to grips with the combat system quickly. If you die, you’ll need to go back and find your body to retrieve any lost experience as well.

Experience is important as there are various skill trees you can expand upon to boost your health and other stats. And in the style of Hollow Knight, you can equip talismans which add other changes and skills as well. When you get a good build together it’s certainly rewarding to go cutting through the enemies and at times, when it’s all flowing together perfectly you will feel like a complete bad ass.

Overall, Nine Sols is a really a very beautiful looking Souls game in terms of its approach to combat. Fans of Hollow Knight or any of the Sekiro games will soon feel at home, despite the bright colours and tech filled levels. It’s certainly rare to find a game with this much depth and such a clear design vision. It won’t be for everyone, but everyone should try it.

Overall 8/10

Warhammer Classics Round up (Steam)

Recently, a load of Warhammer games have been picked up and republished on Steam. We will be covering some in more detail in coming weeks. But here is a round up of one of the bundles that is available currently. It’s worth noting that almost of all of these are complete packages that include any DLC or extra content released.

Space Hulk and Space Hulk: Ascension

We have covered both Space Hulk and Ascension before a good few years ago. The first Space Hulk game does a pretty good job of recreating the board game experience. As a result, though it can feel slow and clunky in places. Ascension adds a bit more into the mix with the ability to level up your characters and having maps created from scratch. Both games are incredibly tough, but fans of the original game or Warhammer 40,000 are well served here. Just don’t expect anything too pacey.

Warhammer: Dark Omen and Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat

Our first experience of both these games was with their release on the first PlayStation. You would have hoped that using a mouse would have brought a better control scheme, but they are extremely clunky with a very small window to view the actual battlefield from, as most of the screen is filled with the user interface. Yes, instead of using the mouse you must control the game with different on screen buttons. These were clearly developed with the console ports in mind. If you can get into them, they are tough and engrossing, but we really struggled and found the games far too frustrating to stay with for long. Still, if you want to take on hordes of Skaven or the Undead it certainly has some scale to it.

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos

Finally, proper mouse controls come to Warhammer. Many see this as the sort of precursor to Total Warhammer. It’s like the Lord of the Rings strategy games in terms of it using smaller groups of characters and telling its own story. There are campaigns from the Empire and Chaos sides with the DLC adding the Orcs and Goblins. Further races such as Dark Elves and Skaven can be played in multiplayer. It’s certainly not perfect but it’s a game we fought our way through on the Xbox 360 and loved, and naturally it plays a whole lot better here. It’s a lot of fun with a solid campaign and a decent enough multiplayer mode. A good progression from Shadow of the Horned Rat and Dark Omen and though it’s lost a bit in terms of looks it plays perfectly fine still. 

Final Liberation

This is the PC attempt at getting Warhammer 40K Epic into game form. The controls are pretty good and it’s easy to identify your troops and move them around. There is also a ton of units and things you can do with them. It is crazily tough though. Taking on the first mission on the easiest setting we found our Marines always missed their shots, while simple groups of Orks managed to destroy heavily armoured vehicles. Once you get the hang of it though it’s an engaging game that certainly deserves a second life.

Warhammer 40,000 Chaos Gate

Note, this is the older version of the game. The Games Workshop attempt at UFO: Enemy Unknown. Build your squad, equip them and then send them into different missions to take down imperial cultists and demons. It works well and there are a ton of customisations and weapon options available for tackling levels in different ways. You can even use terminator marines and other specialist categories like apothecaries and tech marines. It looks dated but plays well. It’s worth playing for fans and we can see people losing a good few hours of their lives to it.

Warhammer 40,000 Fire Warrior

Looked upon as a disappointment on release, Fire Warrior is a perfectly ok FPS game. Now the hype has died down it certainly has it charm (although it was certainly never going to be a Halo killer). You play as a lone Tau warrior trying to fight off the Space Marines and forces of Chaos. It plays well, has some impressive set pieces and runs at a decent pace. It certainly is never going to be a stone cold classic, but fans of the theme and genre will find a lot to like here.

Warhammer 40,000 Rites of War

It seems there is no genre or template untouched by Warhammer. While Chaos Gate took on the Enemy Unknown template, Rites of War goes down the turn based hexagonal grid route and draws inspiration from Panzer General. The game has players taking control of the Eldar as they first fight, then unite with imperial forces to fend off a Tyranid Hive fleet.

Like a lot of these games, it’s a mix of good and bad. The classic mechanics are addictive and work well but missions are overly repetitive and pestered by small annoyances. Enemies have a habit of running away and healing before you can finish them off and characters can only carry a single object, so if you get to the end of a mission with no troops left to pick up that vital artefact you can’t complete the mission. And no, you can’t drop other objects already picked up. All that said, the core of the game is good. If you are looking for something that’s a bit more of a slow burn approach to Warhammer, then this is well worth a look.

Man O’War Corsair

Corsair is pretty much the definition of being an overlooked gem, if it was an indie game at least. It’s certainly the Games Workshop game which had the most potential if it had continued to be updated. It’s basically a rip-roaring pirate adventure set in the Warhammer world. Not only can you fire on other ships at range but also board them and let crews fight it out on deck.

There’s certainly a lot to like but the game is unpolished and messy. A lot of the ports look the same, sea monsters descend into predictable attack patterns and while naval combat is fun, when you get up close it looks tired and feels clunky. If you are forgiving though there’s a lot of ambition here to admire.

There are a host of other games falling under the Warhammer Classics banner as well such as Blood Bowl 1 and 2 and Talisman. It’s great to see them all being given a second chance on Steam and we will certainly be looking to cover more 

Space Hulk (Warhammer Classics) Review (PC)

Space Hulk started life as a table top board game where heavily armoured Terminator marines from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, pitted themselves against the multi-clawed Genestealers aboard massive drifting freighters known as ‘Hulks’. The tight corridors meant it turned into a battle of the strong and slow versus the quick and deadly. 

Space Hulk had been adapted in video game form before this in two titles that tried to merge action with semi-turn based gameplay. Now we have a new version of the game which takes a different approach and tries to replicate the board game in a much more precise and faithful way.

At this point I feel it's fair to share with you all that we are pretty well acquainted with the board game and we like it a lot. It’s important to bring this up as it’s likely to have a fairly large bearing on if you are going to like this. It’s clear the developers had a specific target audience in mind and there are few concessions to people expecting something similar to the last couple of PC games. It's also almost fifteen years old now. 

Space Hulk is turn based and relies on dice rolls to carry out actions. At the start of each turn you can move your terminators and set them to guard or go into over watch to scan for enemy movement. At the end of the turn the Genestealers then do the same. Firing weapons and close combat is carried out on the role of dice which means that there is a certain random element to it. This can be frustrating when you are one dice roll away from the success or failure but sound strategy and careful planning does tend to weigh the odds in your favour.

You are going to have to plan you moves carefully as the terminators only have four action points and even turning to face a certain direction requires the use of them. The game is also pretty tough and on the normal setting it took a number of attempts to even get through the second tutorial level. A single mistake of movement can spell disaster in a mission stretching into an hour of more in length so it is advised to save often.

As such, the game plays out more like a slow and thoughtful game of chess than an all guns blazing space shooter, but it certainly draws you in. The presentation is basic and the first thing you’ll likely do is head to the menu to turn off the shoulder cameras and death animations. Your next step will be to set movement to the fastest setting or you’ll be playing this until the rapture. 

However, once you’ve got that simple top down/isometric view, the sound of the engines and the cries of victory or defeat coming from your marines it all starts to click and draw you in. It feels claustrophobic and dangerous and the fact a wrong move is so costly certainly adds buckets of tension and atmosphere. A cry of "Bolter Jammed" has never caused such terror.

The levels are mainly based on the original games maps and as such it brings a wonderful authenticity for anyone not wanting to pay the huge sum of money required to find a decent condition version of the table top game. There are a few weapons and tricks taken from the Deathwing and Genestealer expansions but we would have liked to see a bit more of this added to give some variety as the game progressed.

Multiplayer is also here and there is a hot seat option to allow players to take turns on the same device. It’s a little unwieldy for the Genestealer player but it does work once you get the hang of it. Weirdly, you have to play through the main campaign to unlock levels in multiplayer which is something the game could really have done without. It’s not as gratifying as it should be, which is a shame as this is one of the key features that should make the game a must have title.

What we have is an authentic Space Hulk table top experience with some rough presentation brought to life digitally. Many may be disappointed, but fans of the board game will find this really draws you in. Yes, there could be more options and it could look better but it’s solid and enjoyable and a highly competent strategy title. The rule set is also solid and if you want to recreate some table top fun or take on one tough turn based strategy then this is the game for you. Those looking for fast paced action should look to something else to get their kicks.

Overall 7/10

The Rogue Prince of Persia Review (Switch 2)

We didn’t have a Dead Cells inspired Prince of Persia rogue-like game on our prediction list but now it’s here we are certainly glad it exists. The team responsible for some of the Dead Cells DLC are behind the wheel here and while it is clear what the template is, it also does enough to stand out. It released digitally a while ago, but with the physical release on the horizon we decided to take a deeper look.

The story is that the kingdom is under siege from the Hun. The Prince is knocked out during a battle on the outskirts of the city and awakens three days later to find the city besieged. He now must make his way through to the inner palace to save the day. It follows the same sort of format as Dead Cells does. You enter an area, are allotted a standard weapon, a tool and an upgrade from the unlocked roster and then search for an exit to the next realm. There is normally more than one route you can discover to add some variety, and more can be added as you discover maps and information in your adventure.

There is a stronger story element than Dead Cells though. As you discover clues and information, you’ll get little mini quests to complete to further the plot. These are normally things like finding out who has been kidnapped or locating certain items, but they add another layer to the game and the gradual unravelling of events is entertaining. There are also NPC’s to talk to and some will return to the Oasis to offer services and more plot specific points. Away from this it’s the standard structure of push forward as far as you can, unlock as many permanent upgrades as possible and rinse and repeat until you win the day.

The pace of the game is also much faster than Dead Cells. The sense of inertia and momentum we now associate with the Prince of Persia has been captured beautifully. There are a whole host of zooms, walls run, wall jumps and other moves that keep the Prince bouncing around the levels, and the combat fits perfectly into the pace as well as you dodge and flip around. It’s clear a lot of thought and feedback has gone into getting this just right and it makes each run a fluid joy. As a result, the game is also far more platform heavy than Dead Cells to the point of being Super Meat Boy like with its traps and contraptions at times.

The ‘Sands of Time’ reversal mechanic is tied into the narrative this time by the fact that when the Prince dies, he reverses back to awakening in the starting Oasis. Only, any people he has rescued or story points he discovers return with him. You can’t rewind time when you make a mistake though, a good choice as that would clash with the genre conventions.

The look of the game is closer to the long-forgotten cell shaded Prince of Persia which came after the ‘Sands’ trilogy. It gives it a story book aesthetic which works well and allows for clear definition on the screen. We are also very grateful to see a host of colour-blind options that can be set - something Dead Cells really needed when we first played it. As a result, it means frustration is kept to your own limits of your skill set rather than things you can’t see on the screen.

Overall, The Rogue Prince of Persia has been put together very well. This may seem like a strange source of a Rogue-like title but it in practice it works perfectly. There’s even an argument to be had here about it being better than the Metroidvania version of the Prince we got not so long ago. We are slightly surprised it wasn’t a piece of extended Dead Cells DLC, but it’s certainly been fleshed out into a rewarding and fun game. It’s very much worth playing if you are a fan of Dead Cells or Prince of Persia.

Overall 8/10

Dave the Diver Review (Switch 2)

Originality is a lost art in the realm of video games. But just when you think you’ve seen it all someone will invent a game where you must evolve fruit into a watermelon. This has little to do with Dave the Diver, but if I told you this was a procedural generated rogue-like with a gear building and management element I bet you’d think you had seen it all before. But wonderfully, you haven’t. Even with all these tried and tested components Dave the Diver is actually original…enough.

Split between two main game types our hero, Dave, searches the depths of the nearby ‘Blue Hole’ by day and tends to the needs of customers at the local rundown sushi restaurant at night. The diving section see Dave catching fish for the restaurant and taking on fetch quests for items which have manged to find themselves in the deep. As the game progresses, you’ll need to continually upgrade your gear to reach lower depths, breath for longer and fight off larger and larger aquatic creatures.

At night any fish caught can be turned into treats to serve at the sushi restaurant. After setting a menu customers will come in and Dave is required to run around serving drinks and delivering food which is continually dispensed from the chef. As time progresses, you’ll get ever more tasks to attend to such as clearing away bowls and grating wasabi with the overall goal being to get the restaurant as popular as possible. It’s kind of like if someone mixed Root Beer Tapper with Theme Park.

You also have a mobile phone which continually updates with new apps providing you with more and more to manage. You’ll need to keep up the social media promotion for the restaurant, check emails for requests, answer scientific queries, develop weapons, and gear and hire staff. Life at a small restaurant was never going to be easy after all.

It’s a good thing then that every aspect of the game works and remains fun throughout. The short but chaotic bursts of the restaurant are a perfect juxtaposition with the more tranquil and longer diving sections. While the continued upgrading of gear and unlocks move at a pace that means there is always something new to do or slightly further to explore without it seeming completely overwhelming or becoming stagnant.

It helps that the game looks joyfully lovely. The Blue Hole is a gorgeous place to explore and even though it’s procedurally generated for each dive it still conforms to a sort of logic that means it’s both memorable and mysterious at the same time. There’s a wide range of fish swimming around and various sizes of creatures to capture, kill or simply avoid with the biggest sharks acting as unofficial bosses and gear check points. The above water sections are as equally full of life in their own way with characters all having their quirky charms and the customisable restaurant fitting the setting and overall tone well.

Overall, Dave the Diver is a welcome addition to the Switch library. The fact it has had the attention spent on it to optimise it for the Switch 2 also speaks volumes about the development team. Everything it sets out to do it achieves pretty much perfectly. All the different aspects of it blend to produce a wonderfully quirky and fun adventure for players to undertake. It remains as essential on the Switch 2 as it did on the original and the steady stream of DLC means there’s a lot of life left in this one.

 Overall 9/10

System Shock Review (Switch 2)

It was only a month or so ago that we looked at the System Shock 2 Remaster on the original Switch. Where that added some quality-of-life features and some HD filters it was still pretty much the same game. This remake of System Shock is a much more fully rounded reimagining from the ground up and a very different beast.

We’ll admit to not having played the original game before, or indeed, the System Shock remake on any other systems. In that respect we can’t comment on how this looks and runs compared to a PS5, but then you would imagine it doesn’t look as pretty by the very nature of the console. We are also aware that upon initial release the game was reported to have numerous problems regarding its framerate and some graphical quirks. Even up to a few weeks ago there were plenty of videos out there showing quite considerable stutters.

However, from what we can tell, a large amount of these issues seem to have been solved. We’ve not put the game through a framerate checker, but it is fair to say nothing as dramatic as what has been circulating around has happened during play. Apart from some very brief stutters when loading, the game seems to run in a much more stable way. It is certainly playable and at no point did something happen performance wise that effected gameplay and much of the time we played it in handheld mode.

The only bug we did encounter is the widely reported textures issue. Basically, the first time you load up the game it doesn’t load in all the textures, so you are left with a mix of HD assets and pixelated mush. Details such as numbers on keypads and text for instance are just a pixelated mess. After reloading a save though the issue has never repeated itself.

Now the game appears to be in a stable and playable state it certainly makes it easier to see what the fuss is about. You are a hacker placed onto the Citadel orbital station and charged with bringing down the Ai security system that has started to take control. Failure to do so will see the stations mining lasers used to destroy all of earths capital cities as the Ai SHODAN tries to establish itself as a god. The game plays out as a mix of first person shooting and adventure and there are light RPG elements in place as well which allow you to augment your character and take different approaches to playing.

The real strength of System Shock is the setting and atmosphere. The station is a winding mass of labyrinthian tunnels and hatches. Some of which twist and turn into huge areas, meaning you aren’t simply moving from small room to room. It’s easy to get lost or wander into areas you aren’t prepared for but that’s kind of the point of the thing. You do have map to help you and there is a certain amount of logical progression from gathering keycards and activating bridges and doors. We certainly didn’t find ourselves with no clue where to go as there was always somewhere new to explore.

It's certainly not a fast paced game and you’ll find edging around slowly and quietly to be a much more successful approach to exploration. The station is filled with mutated monsters and security cameras, and you take heavy damage from combat, so it is always vital to be properly prepared for what’s around the corner. Weapons and ammunition can be hard to come by as well so there is always the tension of potentially being overwhelmed by what lies ahead. System Shock certainly hasn’t left its survival horror routes behind.

The story mostly unfolds through audio logs from the crew that you pick up while exploring. As well as giving passwords and combination codes, they also highlight the desperation of the few surviving crew as the fast decent of the station is brought to light. You can certainly see how the DNA of the game went on to heavily influence the Bioshock series. There is also a host of junk and all manner of other items to pick up as well so it pays to search every area, even it does mean spending some time organising your inventory and converting junk into the in-game currency.

Overall, the System Shock remake is an incredibly tense and effective survival horror game. The performance may not be up to the PC or PS5 versions but its certainly running in a good enough state to enjoy now on the Switch 2. It kept us captivated and engaged throughout and there was nothing performance wise that broke that immersion. If you are a fan then it seems safe to get this now, it’s an experience unlike any other.

Overall 8/10

Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster Review (Switch)

Hands up how many of you forgot that LucasArts made a quirky Western themed FPS with cool comic cut scenes. Cut scenes that look awesome and really remind us of classic Lucas games such as Full Throttle and Monkey Island. Outlaws has been dormant for a long time and didn’t create the biggest of stirs upon initial release due to the market shifting. Those that did play it though will remember a fresh take on a genre that was becoming a bit over saturated and generic and certainly one that was filled with character.

It's always helpful when the original game is solid to start with so Nightdive have been able to concentrate on polishing it for a new audience. Outlaws was released well into the point the FPS genre had taken hold and as such allows for things like jumping and ducking and some more precise movement and shooting. The transition to game pad has been handled excellently with controls mapped smoothly and you’ll be able to switch weapons and items easily with an in-game selection wheel. We did struggle to work out how to use the medical bags for a while though.

 The updated graphics and interface don’t seem like such a huge jump from the original due to its comic book style, everything is of course much more HD but switching between styles isn’t particularly jarring. The environments also lend themselves to the limitations of the time. While Doom would have you traversing labyrinthian areas of corridors, Outlaws it mainly set in farmsteads and Western towns meaning it gives a more open approach to levels and the environments without looking sparse or lacking in detail.

Levels themselves are well structured with plenty of action and an emphasis on key finding. Certain buildings are normally locked, so you’ll need to find whichever bandit has access to get in and continue. It rarely becomes a chore though as the Western theme lends itself to levels being more clearly laid out than some other first-person shooters. There is also a handy in game map to show where you have and haven’t been.  A whole host of secret areas are squirreled away to find as well and clever players will also note you can thin out the bad guys in a lot of locations by shooting them through the windows first.

One thing that might have been helpful is just a brief tutorial on how the controls work. There is an in-game reference card but that still doesn’t really explain things like how to select individual items or how certain interactions work. It’s not that difficult to work out but a few pages of explanation at a minimum would have really helped in sorting out the controls more quickly.  That said, we did work things out.

In terms of content, you not only get the addition of the extra missions included but there is also a whole host of gallery material. It’s always great to see how much the studio puts into its releases. It makes the games feel like complete and definitive packages and makes them all the easier to recommend. We can’t remember the last time we wanted more from a Nightdive Studio release as they are always so well curated and put together.

Overall, Outlaws is another example of Nightdive Studios taking a slightly niche game and really giving it the love and attention it deserves. It is likely to have a limited audience again, but that is a real shame. If you missed out on Outlaws, the first time this is the perfect way to get into it. It’s a game that really deserves much more praise and attention and this version of it is well put together, fun and essential for FPS fans.

Overall 8/10

Witch n' Wiz Review (Evercade)

For some the retro style simply isn’t enough and this has led to a resurgence in games coded for original systems. We’ve covered some of these before such as Micro Mages and Alwa’s Awakening, both of which proved to be excellent. They also both ended up heading to the Evercade system as well, something Witch and Wiz is also about to do.

The story is simple, a young boy has been kidnapped by a dark sorcerer and now his witch friend must try and rescue him. Once rescued, the boy wizard becomes part of the many dynamics the game plays around with. Your character handles really well and everything is responsive and free from the flicker and other such quirks of NES games so it may have been designed with 8-bit in mind, but it runs as well as modern ‘retro’ inspired games running on more powerful systems.

Witch and Wiz is a puzzle platform game that is built around single screen levels. Players complete each stage by collecting all the creatures that are within it. This is of course, trickier than it sounds as you can’t jump and need to get around by pushing blocks. It’s easy to lock yourself out of being able to complete the levels but you can reset or rewind your moves which makes it possible to quickly get back on track.

As well as the rewind a new gimmick is added in each new chapter. This could be something such as flipping gravity or adding a second character to control but it means each of worlds stays fresh and original while still focusing on the same core theme. It’s not the longest game either and will likely last you around an hour to complete. But then NES games never have been that lengthy and we would rather have a short, fun, and inventive game than one that outstays its welcome.

The main encouragement for replaying is beating the levels in the quickest time possible. The game keeps track of your best time as you progress so it’s certainly one for the speed runners out there. That said, the nature of the genre does restrict replayability a bit. Each puzzle only really seems to have one solution so once you’ve worked it out there isn’t that much else to do aside from enjoy the simple story.

Overall, Witch and Wiz is another excellent indie game developed for retro hardware. Often in these situations the limitations of the hardware mean developers must get creative and this is yet another example of it. It’s certainly easier than a lot of NES games and aside from speed runners there will be little for many to go back in for, but while it lasts it’s creative, fun and always throwing something new at you. It’ll certainly be perfect for handheld consoles such as the Evercade and Switch and well worth checking out.

Overall 8/10

Lucy Dreaming Review (Switch)

While many genres from the old world of gaming have found new form with indie developers, the point and click adventure has, for the most part, been conspicuous by its absence. There have been a few of course, the recent(ish) Monkey Island game and Broken Sword 5, (and the re-release of the original) spring to mind. But, for the most part it is an often-unexplored genre in modern times. Lucy Dreaming is a valiant attempt at trying to change that.

Lucy Dreaming, developed by Tall Story games is a British point and click adventure with the ‘British’ aspect of it very much at its core, at least in terms of the accents and voices. Lucy and her family have crazy accents so thick you’d think they were coming to you straight from a Dickensian novel. Aside from that though there isn’t much else to this tag. The game is heavily influenced in terms of style by the Lucas Arts point and click adventure games, most notably the 8-bit ones such as Maniac Mansion which the game takes its graphical style from. There are of course multiple Easter eggs placed around to point this out as well.

The game follows the tried and tested route of point and click games. You move Lucy around using and on-screen cursor. Then you can look at, use, or pick up objects. Objects can then be used to solve puzzles allowing you to progress. In timed honoured fashion, a fair few of these puzzles require the most lateral of thinking to achieve. Telling jokes to a piranha plant so it laughs and spits out a key is a prime example of this. Some of the puzzles are a touch too obscure though, and you can descend into wandering around using every object on everything else until something clicks which isn’t ideal.

The main premise of the game is that Lucy is having strange dreams. This allows the developers to give us two distinct worlds to move between. There’s the dream world of course where things are much more surreal and stranger and the waking world where Lucy can explore her house and neighbourhood to gather items that will eventually allow the poor girl to get a good night’s sleep.

For the most part the writing and humour is good. The characters Lucy encounters are just the right side of zany to be amusing without descending into it being too on the nose. Lucy herself has enough sharp responsive to things to make sure you are unlikely to get bored clicking on things as well.

Controls wise it’s always difficult to move mouse-based games onto consoles, but the Switch version handles quite well. The analogue stick isn’t completely ideal, but it just about holds up. There is also the option to go touch screen but then you’ll be covering your screen in more smudges than you can possibly imagine. The streamlined commands keep things logical and although it invades the view screen, having your inventory and other information available at all times is incredibly useful. There aren’t that many concessions for players who may struggle though.

Many of these games now have hint systems but all you’ll get from Lucy Dreaming is a button that highlights interactive objects in the room. This is of course essential on the Switch when in handheld mode, but it’s not going to help if there’s a puzzle you just can’t get your head around for a few hours. Lucy does give decent hints as well, but we certainly found ourselves stuck on a few occasions for far longer than was comfortable.

Overall, Lucy dreaming is mostly successful in trying to bring an old school style point and click adventure to a modern audience. Long term fans of the genre will get on well with it and will likely not be as phased by the occasionally obscure puzzles. Newcomers though would be better served starting with something a little more up to date in terms of mechanics. One thing we can say though, is that this would fit neatly into the output when point and click games ruled the gaming world, and that alone should be applauded.

Overall 7/10

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Review (Switch)

With all the recent retro revivals and intense 2D nostalgic throwbacks recently it’s hard to believe that we haven’t had a proper Shinobi gave for a long time. There was of course a 3DS game that wasn’t the best and most of the back catalogue has been made available, but Art of Vengeance is a resounding return to form.

The thing that stands out straight away are the gorgeous visuals. The game has been designed to look like a Japanese style painting and the colour and detail present throughout are stunning. In motion, everything flows as well as it looks with the game moving at an intense speed without faltering, even in handheld mode. It allows for a flow and momentum that every ninja game is crying out for.

The combat is much more involved than previous games as well. Historically, Shinobi games have limited the player to a jump and attack button, with the occasional special move. Here, there’s a combo system in play with light and heavy attacks and constantly upgradable and changeable special moves that can be bought from an in-game shop. There’re also instant kills and a host of movement options such as dashes and wall slides that wouldn’t be out of place in the latest indie Metroidvania.

To clarify, Shinobi hasn’t gone the Metroidvania route. The game is set out as linear, platform, levels. These can be revisited later when new power ups are acquired which can in turn can then be used to access a few hidden areas, but generally you are going from left to right through large levels and then taking on an impressively large and difficult boss at the end. Between each of the main platform levels there are also further throw backs to the past such as more action-based stages riding on horses or other vehicles.

The general games difficulty is challenging but fair. There’s certainly nothing here to compare to the Mega Drive games in terms of difficulty. If you do die you start back at a checkpoint, and as the levels are vast this is a smart design choice. It also helps to lessen the frustration on the few occasions it’s difficult to tell between a pit and what is the legitimate way forward. The bosses though are tough. They are damage sponges which go through varying phases of attack patterns, and we often found ourselves zooming through a level, only to be stuck at the boss checkpoint for a considerable amount of time. While this can be frustrating it’s good to see some of the old Shinobi challenge remaining in the game’s DNA.

Overall, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance represents a stunning return for Sega’s much-loved franchise. The action is slick and frenetic, and the level design is both beautiful and creative. Enemies are varied and provide enough of a challenge to be interesting obstacles and getting through a level provides enough satisfaction to continually push on to the next. Sega has been slow to mine some of its formally popular IP’s so we hope this is a sign of things to come. This is a creative, fun and intense success that it’s hard to see anyone not liking it, especially those with nostalgia for the original games.

Overall 9/10

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster (Switch)

Long before Bioshock hit consoles, the landmark FPS horror game was System Shock 2. Tied to PC’s until now, it was a title that pushed boundaries and tried to merge multiple genres to create a unique, ambitious and unforgettable experience. Its mix of traditional FPS tropes, character-building elements and creepy atmosphere have gone on to influence many first-person games and push the boundaries of what we can expect.

The story is set upon the stricken starship the ‘Von Braun’. It is here, after some early training, that you awaken to find you have little memory and all hell is breaking lose. You are tasked with trying to get the ship back under control from a seemingly rogue AI with the help of Dr Janice Polito who guides you via radio.

The game may be set out as an FPS, but it is really more of an exploration and adventure game. The ship is a maze of fizzing wires, broken machinery and genetic horrors and it’s often best to explore slowly and carefully. Often, events will happen which helps build the environment through visual storytelling and the soundtrack also does an excellent job of getting you in the right mood.

 The environment is an interesting place to venture through but can be a little samey in terms of how it looks, so the included map is very welcome. Although, even in this remake there are no onscreen checkpoints or guidance beacons. This is very much the original game, just looking somewhat sharper. The same can be said about the controls. Originally designed for a mouse and keyboard set up, the controls are difficult to get used to. As System Shock 2 is far more than a basic FPS it requires a host of menus and pop-up options in order to play. During our time with the game this never became a natural process and quickly swapping between objects and weapons often ended in death with us trapped behind a menu we couldn’t get clear of to fight back.

The reason for this though is the game has depth. The mechanics that make the game unique are the way you can build and customise your character. Throughout the game you can pick up cyber modules that allow you to upgrade various skills such as hacking or combat as well as general strength and endurance. These are few and far between though, so you need to really think about the type of character you want to build. We struggled early on in the game as we hadn’t activated the hacking skill which meant security cameras became a major issue to pass. There’s a host of objects and weapons to pick up as well which then need to be fitted into a resident evil style inventory system box.

Combat really isn’t the games strong point though, with enemies just kind of running at you and then waiting to be hit in return. The constant spawning of enemies when you set off security alarms is also annoying as you’ll be attacked every few seconds by the same generic enemies – rather than it just alerting enemies in the area. They always know where you are as well so you can’t go and hide somewhere to wait out an alarm. You do have options for fighting though, there are no shortage of things to hit and shoot enemies with and the plasmids option gives you a host of other inventive things to play around with such as setting them on fire or using telekinesis to move objects.

Another thing to note is that the game is hard and relentless. The difficulty kicks in pretty much straight away, so getting used to the controls and menu system will have you dying multiple times early on. You can save whenever you want though (which we are pretty sure you couldn’t in the original), and there are also regeneration stations set up where you will respawn upon death. Just be warned if you respawn during a security alert enemies will rush straight to you again.

Overall, it is easy to see why System Shock 2 is held in such high regard in terms of its place in video game history. There is an awful lot here that sets it apart and you can see the influence it has had very clearly. But there ae a few sticking points. The controls are a pain and that may well put some people off as when coupled with the difficulty it can cause frustration and block progress. For fans of the genre, and especially those who love Bioshock this is pretty much essential though. If you spend the time needed to get it to click there is little else out there like it, even now.

Overall 8/10

Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition Review (Switch)

You may be wondering why we are covering Worms: Armageddon now, when it was released last September. But since then it has had a few updates with the most recent adding a nice selection of other Worms games as bonuses to the package. It also fell through the gaps a bit with us on first release so now seems to the perfect to time to get back into throwing explosive sheep around.

There have been a huge amount of Worms games released over the years for pretty much every console and computer you can possibly imagine. Out of all of these though it is widely held that Worms Armageddon is the pinnacle of the 2D, original formula. It’s hard to argue with as well, as the game builds beautifully on the original, adds a few new elements and smooths and levels many of the bumps.

If you’ve never played a Worms game before, you need to know it’s a turn-based game where players use their team of worms to try and destroy the opponents. It developed from the very old artillery games where you had to put in co-ordinates to try and get your tank to shoot your adversary, with scenery and obstacles in the way. The twist here is that you have a whole host of weapons to use from bazookas and shotguns, to exploding sheep and concrete donkeys. You can also manoeuvre your worms around and use ropes and jet packs to traverse terrain.

Once you get the hang of everything the game is incredibly deep and satisfying. It’s also heavily geared towards multiplayer. Armageddon though does a better job of adding single player elements. There are specific missions to undertake and basic training to get you used to all the different weapons. The game would benefit from a wider explanation with regards to what buttons do in terms of general control though. It’ll all soon become second nature though and it’s hard to deny just how much of a classic party experience this is.

Aside from the main game there is a whole host of archive and bonus material here. Since the update you can now play the Megadrive and Super Nintendo versions of the original Worms and the Gameboy Colour version of Armageddon and the Gameboy Advance version of Worms World Party, effectively adding any titles that would have appeared in the Switch Online apps.

In addition to this a historical timeline is also present. This is packed with pictures and interviews about how the game was developed. It’s remarkably well put together as well and mimics the timelines scene in games like the Jeff Minter Collection and other archival ‘interactive’ documentary games. It shows how much care and detail has been put into really making this as definitive as it could be.

Overall, Worms Armageddon remains an essential multiplayer game and a stand out classic. If you have never got on with the series then this isn’t going to change your mind, but for fans looking for a nostalgic buzz that still plays beautifully there is little more that could have been done here to make it better.

Overall 9/10