2018 has seen a bit of a jump in the number of roguelike experiences hitting store shelves; the space has become quite crowded of late and developers really have to try and stand out amongst the crowd now. Enter Polygod then, a genuinely unique take on roguelike with a blend of fast paced FPS and a punishing difficulty curve. This one takes an iron will to overcome!
Back in 1998 I had been the proud owner of the original PlayStation, however I was beginning to tire of it slightly. Many of my friends had instead opted for the more expensive Nintendo 64 and were having all sorts of fun with it. I realised I had been missing out. During the holidays that year I arranged with a friend to swap my PlayStation for his N64 during the summer break. One of the games that I jumped on to first was Forsaken and I instantly loved it. Now in 2018 - some 20 years later - Nightdive Studios have released a remastered version of Forsaken. So have they done justice to the original or is it a game best viewed through rose tinted spectacles?
Back in 2015 Rusto games released Drunk Fu for Android and iOS - it quickly gained a cult following although struggled to hit the download numbers of other, more popular games. Despite this the game continued to be updated right up to 2017. Here we are a year on and Rusto games have rebuilt the game from the ground up for Xbox One. So is this still the fun little time waster that the mobile version manages to be, or is it a drunken stumble down the gutter?
Management simulators are having a bit of a renaissance of late with the likes of Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing all seeing solid sales and good critical reception. tinyBuild however have decided the genre needs something a little fresh (well, rotten depending on how you look at it) - the result is Graveyard Keeper.
Every once in awhile a game comes along that tries to do things differently, to break the mould and inject some originality into gaming. Sometimes these games end up working out far better than expected and sometimes they don’t. Boss 101 is one of those titles trying to inject something a bit more original in to our lives; it’s a game that’s part bullet hell and part character creator. But which side of the fence does it fall on?
ARK: Survival Evolved is a hard-core and complex survival game that starts with a singular human washed up on an island that’s entirely habituated by dinosaurs and other survivors. Minecraft is a low resolution survival/sandbox experience in a procedurally generated world with minimalist resolution and interactions.
The Bomberman series has had its ups and downs over the years, falling well away from the forefront of gaming as more modern generations have come along. That’s not to say it has disappeared entirely though and 2017 saw Super Bomberman R hit Nintendo Switch. Now it has arrived on both Xbox One and PS4, as well as seeing a release on Steam, with each version offering up exclusive characters to play as. So how does it stack up?
Did you enjoy the frantic rage inducing action of Super Meat Boy? Are you also a fan of simple, colourful graphics from the Commodore 64 days? Well then, Slime-san Superslime Edition is exactly what you have been waiting for!
Puzzle games are a bit of an oddity these days; the genre is absolutely swamped with “match 3” titles that are peppered with the occasional game that tries to do something a little different. Grab the Bottle certainly fits the “different” moniker, but is it a title worth exploring?
30 years is a long time in gaming and very few series ever make it this far. Street Fighter has had its ups and downs, but here we are 30 years on from the original and the series is still as relevant now as it always has been.
Capcom then have seen fit to celebrate this third decade of their premier fighting series with a collection of various games and behind the scenes extras - some of which have never been seen in public before. Is this a collection worth celebrating or just some dusty memories that should be left in the past?
What a show Microsoft managed to pull out of the bag; 50 games with 18 exclusives and a heap of what look like timed exclusive games, you cannot deny the commitment they have shown this year. Giving the gamer what they want now seems to be at the forefront of the Xbox divisions agenda.
There were so many great announcements at the show, but here are 10 of the best bits from Microsoft's E3 2018 briefing.
E3 2018 has kicked off with EA Play leading the charge.
This year has seen a slightly more subdued showing from the company with quite a few reminders that micro-transactions are now bad.
A few new games and a couple of nice surprises ensued, and with those mixed in with the usual EA Sports announcements and a big segment dedicated to the excellent looking Anthem, it was a show worth taking in.
And so here are 5 of the very best bits from EA Play 2018.
Xbox Game Pass launched to much praise in 2017, and has since become a great addition to the Xbox experience, allowing gamers access to over 100 titles for a low monthly price. We have seen some absolutely excellent additions to the library over the last twelve months and just recently Microsoft began releasing first party titles like Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2 to members of the service from day one. In celebration of the first anniversary of the service, join us as we take a look at five of the best titles currently available.
In Fox n Forests you take on the role of Rick the Fox. While out hunting he winds up being tricked by his prey into helping the great tree save the forest from the evil that has disrupted everything by creating a fifth season. It's not the most spectacular plot, but it is reminiscent of the simple ideas found in many games from decades past.
Roguelike is a genre that seems to have crept out of the shadows over the last couple of years with titles like Spelunky, Enter the Gungeon and FTL: Faster than Light all garnering solid sales. Once the kingdom of only the most hardcore of players it is a genre that requires patience as you die over and over all the while grinding away to progress a little further. Some roguelikes have now been dubbed roguelites because they cushion the player with engaging progression systems or gameplay mechanics making the frustration a little more bearable. Others will crush you until you sit in a corner blubbering to yourself.
Wizard of Legend tries to straddle the fine line between the two and almost successfully manages to do just that.
Of the big three, Microsoft have made the biggest effort in giving the gamers what they want and with the release of the One X, they gave gamers the first console that is truly capable of native 4k 60fps.
Yet despite all of the updates and fan-pleasing features, the PS4 continues to march on almost unchallenged. So what does Microsoft do next to combat this?
It’s fair to say that the Xbox One houses a plethora of great multiplayer titles from Forza to Halo and Rocket League to Fortnite. But what of the single player titles?
Been sailing the high seas with Sea of Thieves? Taken in the treasures of DREDGE? Uncovered the secrets of Skull & Bones? We've finally now reached the Age of Water - as it releases on Xbox, PlayStation and PC.
