Puppet Combo Has A Few Scares To Share

Posted on October 13, 2019 by geelw

This PC games set from Puppet Combo will set you back a mere $6.66 total (you can pay more if you like), but the scares here are worth a million bones, especially it you have a yen for intentionally crafted PlayStation 1-era visuals, grainy VHS filters for that extra layer of authenticity, like crazy and relentless to slow-burning horror games and can get used to the controls being so old school. Take a look at the game page (some imagery is a bit jarring, but you’re expecting it to be, right?) here. Or, you can go all out and get the bundle that includes this collection and much more here.

I want to see Puppet Combo a console dev kit of some sort, as these intentionally low-poly fright-filled short games would be perfect on whichever system they choose to port them over to. Hey, PC and Mac users shouldn’t have ALL the fun, I say.

Yeah, I’d watch this if it were a film, Horror Blanket and all.

-GW

Review: Reventure (Switch)

Posted on October 13, 2019 by geelw

One switch is an ending trap, one releases a trap (and another ending) and one might have something useful inside. Maybe…

And… here we go! Once again, it’s off to rescue a Princess from a demon’s well-guarded castle, but this time, I’m dying laughing thanks to the game I’m playing tossing many unexpected curve balls my way. Welcome to Reventure ($9.99), Pixellato’s fun and intense side-scrolling homage to among other games, The Legend of Zelda series, but with 100 endings to discover.

Most are abrupt surprises that send your character back to square one within a few minutes of play, but time is weirdly and intentionally presented here, so an outcome may send your hero into the distant future or later the same day. It all depends on the ending you get, and it’s very possible to drop a few hours here just exploring and figuring out the seemingly simple map that holds a lot of secrets (and quite a few traps). While that may sound boring to some, it makes for some downright hilarious moments based on your choices. That said, the game can also be (also intentionally) confusing to those who expect a straightforward speedrun or other type of one-note platformer.

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Review: A Knight’s Quest (PS4)

Posted on October 10, 2019 by geelw

“I’m a little Rusty at this!”

While it treads familiar ground, it does so with enough winking and nodding to classic action platform and open world games to be quite smile-worthy. Developer Sky9 and Curve Digital present A Knight’s Quest ($24.99) a fun and mostly very pretty looking homage to some greats, Fun as it is, it could use a patch to fix a few issues. That said, it’s quite exciting to see a game reach for the stars like this, but it’s also painful to see a few stumbles that keep it from 100% potential greatness. As noted above, a few fixes will make it the stellar experience it needs to be. Still, Curve Digital has a little sleeper on its hands that old-school platformer fans will find a lot to love.

As Rusty, a hero who’s a bit on the clumsy side, you start out the game finding a wooden sword and shield in a cave you’re exploring before all hell breaks loose a few minutes into things. This sequence shows off some thrilling platforming and a bit of combat as the cave is escaped, and high marks here for a nifty start to things. Plot-wise, it’s a “find the legendary heroes, gain elemental magic from each one than will help you in each area” thing you’d expect, but with a dose of lighthearted humor and Rusty riffing on what he can. The weird mix of styles to the game world (which mixes a sort of medieval fantasy setting with stuff like radios and chain link fences in areas that can’t be accessed right away) seems a bit odd, but it’s worth saying it works after seen enough times while exploring.

Fire good! Uh, stop, drop, and roll dude.

Additionally, if you like collecting stuff, the game goes out of it’s way to get you to search for secrets in hidden places or heck, almost anywhere you happen to be. From hidden treasure caches to singing slugs to breakables of a few types, it offers quite a few secrets to discover. It all feels like a throwback to another time or a game that means to keep you as busy as possible for as long as you’re playing. An amusing thing here is the game references Sky9’s Flash adventure/RPG from a while back, so some jokes will go right over a few heads unless that game was played. I didn’t see a hidden version of that game here, but I wasn’t looking everywhere thanks to blazing through some later maps to get this post up. It’s too bad Sony considers the Vita a lost cause, as the game looks like it would be a fine diversion on the portable or even better, a bonus for console owners.

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Red Dead Redemption II PC: Whoa, Horsey, This Looks Spectacular

Posted on October 9, 2019 by geelw

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Well, wow. Let me post these stunning images here and stats via this link because yeah, the screens look quite phenomenal and I want to study them more. Okay, honestly, the news is a hell of a lot to copy/paste and yup, I have a lot of games to review and a few films this week to keep me busy. All I’ll say is if your PC can handle this (it supports a wide range of systems), this is the type of game that will run out of the gate better with a hefty system to show off the changes and how amazing it looks. Also, if you want this and not have to wait more that you have to, the Rockstar Games Launcher will be the way to go, pardner.

PC owners get sore mighty fine bonuses, too.

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A Knight’s Quest Trailer: This Looks Like Fun Stuff, Indeed

Posted on October 6, 2019 by geelw

From Canadian developer Sky9 Games and publisher Curve Digital comes A Knight’s Quest which definitely wears its 1990’s platform/RPG influences somewhat proudly on its sleeves for all to see. It’s coming soon to Epic Games store, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and has already arrived for Xbox One. Fun fact: the game seems derived and definitely different from the quest-filled 2D adventure game by the developer from a few years back.

Check out the PS4 trailer below and get set for its October 10th release on the platforms that don’t yet have it:

I just got a PS4 review code yesterday and an pretty pleased to report that so far, it’s quite good stuff. Familiar intentionally to some classics you may recall, but absolutely very fun stuff, indeed. You’ll have to wait a touch for the full review, but I’m really having a blast with this one. Who’d have thought a clumsy main character would be so fun to play as?

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-GW

Review: Neo Cab (PC)

Posted on October 6, 2019 by geelw

Here’s a ride worth taking.

Now, this was pretty cool one, and not a “honk” in sight.

Geez. Well, maybe if they have a lousy attitude like you, they might, lady…

Chance Agency’s excellent “survival adventure” game Neo Cab (also on Switch and Apple Arcade) feels to me like what would happen if the classic cyberpunk FASA game series Shadowrun got a first-person expansion focusing not on weapons or magic, but a human taxi driver who just took mostly normal and a few tech-enhanced passengers where they needed to go, listening or responding to their mundane stories along the way. There’s also a smidgen of a more recent game Night Call, minus the murder investigation aspect to contend with (there’s a taxi accident mentioned a few times that occurs off-screen integral to the plot, but the Teen-rated game doesn’t feature any violence). The people you meet as pax (passengers) here are a pretty interesting (and well-written) sort where if you have time over the game’s six-day period, you’ll want to pick a few up multiple times in order to find out more of their stories.

There’s replay value here because the game’s main story only lasts about four or hours and intentionally limits pickups to three (or four in cases where you decide to take a chance on an extra run) a day. Granted, the plot threads all link up at some point, but it’s impressive to see how it all comes together even if the finale tends to be a bit of an anticlimax on one front when compared to the bulk of the game. It’s not a bad ending, mind you. It just forces a particular choice at you until you pick what seems to be closure for some characters. While there’s no voice acting here, most of the “acting” here is nicely mimed and/or conveyed through what’s seen on-screen.

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Red Dead Redemption II is PC-Bound (See, I Told You)

Posted on October 4, 2019 by geelw

Understatement of the year department: November 5th will be a very busy day for some folks, I think.

Not surprisingly, it’s on the way to PC. Act surprised, though, as it’s coming sooner than you think. Well, in some places…

And guess what? you can get it FIRST, but not on STEAM until December. If you download the handy Rockstar Games Launcher, which is FREE and for a few more days comes with a FREE digital download of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Whattttt?!), you can be one of the first to get RDR II. Other Rockstar titles will also be available at decent prices, so feel free to stock up, if that’s your thing.

Official company line stuff below the jump. Images and a trailer to follow as soon as they drop from the source next week.

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Reventure: 100 Endings? Well, Lets Go See Some, Shall We?

Posted on October 4, 2019 by geelw

With its retro looks, Reventure ($9.99) may not be the first game off the shelf for some gamers out there, but this player certainly wants to give it a go soon. Hey, 100 endings are what, something 99% of games don’t have and hell, I just want to play this for the blocky visual style because I sometimes like to see what can be done with the fewest pixels possible. Here are the trailer and some screens for your viewing enjoyment:

Malaga, Spain-based indie dev Pixelatto is onto something cool here, I think. In addition to the Switch version that’s right around the corner, there’s a PC version that’s been out for a few months on Steam that’s packing loads of positive reviews. Check it out here.

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We’ll be back in a few with a few of those endings.

-GW

Meanwhile, Back at Microïds HQ… (2 of 2)

Posted on October 3, 2019 by geelw

Okay, my poor wrists were acting up a bit yesterday, so I had to cut my Microïds article short in order to get a few other posts out before things got ugly. Here’s what else is upcoming from the publisher:

Both classics have gotten separate releases already, but here’s a chance to nab a twofer starting on November 21, 2019. As reported here, the collection features the originals and their modern remasters that capture the look and feel of their counterparts with updated visuals that aren’t far off from the source, yet add a nice coating of newness to the experience. By the way, the games aren’t sequels to each other. They did help pioneer a certain look and have similar themes, though.

New content and new features:

For the first time, play the Director’s Cut version (2 exclusive cut scenes)

White or pink? Choose one of the two historic colors of Conrad’s T-shirt

Play any level you’ve completed during the adventure

Replay the cut scenes you’ve watched during the adventure

Jukebox: enjoy the game’s music on demand

Street Art Gallery: earn points during the adventure to unlock images

Graphics filter and Post-FX

Remastered music and sound effects

A brand new “Rewind” function which lasts for different lengths of time, depending on the difficulty level

Tutorials

These are worth a look because of the history behind them and yes, indeed, both are pretty hard as nail on the default settings until you get the timing down perfectly.

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Preview- Daymare: 1998 Keeps The Old School Zombie Thing Alive

Posted on October 2, 2019 by geelw

So yeah, I’ve been playing Invader Studios’ (with aid from Destructive Creations and All In! Games) fun and scary Daymere: 1998 on STEAM for a short while and it’s pretty darn good (and thankfully, also coming to PS4 and Xbox One gamers at some point), although the story and character models could use a little polishing up. The game is so far, a decent enough mimic/response to Capcom’s much praised classic Resident Evil 2 so much so that it looks and feels at times like a newer entry, but intentionally filled with a certain old-school style that make it feel purposely nostalgic.

Here’s a game trailer to peruse:

While the human character models need a bit of work, the assorted undead are all appropriately creepy and the scares are timed to make you jump out of your skin when you’re caught off guard. There’s some method to the madness on display, as the game certainly gets the feelings of fright going on a few fronts. Granted, yes, it does start off initially slow as you get your bearings and yes, the UI could be a lot more intuitive. The game also has a few intentionally draggy moments in spots. But when you’re least expecting it (or because you will be), the tension is definitely there in the quietest of spaces when you think you can take a breather. Overall, it all blends into a horror-fest that’s pretty enjoyable, warts and all.

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The hammy voice acting is well done (funny how that works, right?) and I liked that some animations are a bit clunky, but these elements both fit the era in question. In it’s current form, it’s good, but a few patches away from greatness, I think. That and the game is in need of critical response that appreciates what’s going on here rather than attempting to bash the game for its particular weaknesses where an homage is clearly intended. As a fan of some horror games, this one’s not a bad way to whittle away a few hours on a rainy weekend with. Hey, I like this one a lot, stuff that needs work and all. The overall spirit is what’s important in a project like this and that’s going on in spades here.

-GW