A lot of great things were happening in 1995, but Diesel’s run with the WWF Championship certainly was not one of them, and neither were the tank controls or locked camera angles of early survival horror titles. Back in 1995 is a 2019 release which plays like something which should belong in the year 1995, and stay there too. Perhaps the game’s title should have been Back in 1992 given the stark similarities to the original Alone in the Dark (1992).
The Deponia series had always been a point-and-click saga that eluded gamers who prefer the Microsoft brand of consoles, with only a solitary title reaching the Xbox One catalogue in recent years – the second instalment, Chaos on Deponia, oddly. Daedalic Entertainment, the developers and publishers behind these adventures, have decided to bundle the entire series together as the Deponia Collection for a release across all the major console platforms. Was it worth the wait to get the whole story at once, or will possessing the complete collection of four games feel somewhat like overkill?
Back in October 2018, Devious Dungeon released on consoles to a fairly middling reception. Largely regarded as a solid if somewhat unspectacular sidescroller, the game was clearly successful enough for the studio to develop a sequel. And now, that moment has arrived with Devious Dungeon 2. Question is, can the sequel improve upon the original, or is it just more of the same?
We want things to go bump in the night. We want those jump scares to be relentless, hitting home thick and fast. We want every essence of our being to squirm and feel uneasy so we'll have trouble sleeping for the next year or so. It’s the nature of a good old fashioned horror that makes us feel this way. And it has to be said that the original Layers of Fear did all of that with bells on, providing a festival of fear with a great narrative and some amazing effects. Can Layers of Fear 2 deliver the frights once more?
The one-man indie development team of Nerdook first grabbed my attention with the immensely addictive rogue-like card-battler, Monster Slayers, which far exceeded expectations when it launched in 2018. Now it’s time for a brand new adventure; one that’s embracing the age-old tactical turn-based strategy genre and the art of dungeon crawling. But what can Reverse Crawl on Xbox One deliver that hasn’t been seen many times over in games of this ilk?
Since the vast success of Fortnite and PUBG, it seems every man and his dog wants a piece of the proverbial Battle Royale pie. Sometimes though, it is possible that a game can seep through the cracks and provide something a little different to the norm, reinvigorating an oversaturated genre once more. After spending many hours battling it out as one of the 100 players to drop from the sky in Realm Royale, I believe I have found the game that provides variety within the Battle Royale genre.
"Some birds are not meant to be caged. Their feathers are too bright." said Red from The Shawshank Redemption.
He was so right. How many times have I wondered what it would be like to feel the wind beneath my wings and the sun on my face as I flew across the sky without a care in the world. Admittedly, I think this a lot when stuck on the tube or in a traffic jam on the M25. But fear not because now with Bird Game + on Xbox One I can feel all of that and much more.
It’s easy to make the Asteroids (Atari, 1980) comparison as soon as you see Super Space Serpent Secondary Edition (SE), which is actually an enhanced version of the original, and very quietly released, PlayStation Vita game from 2015. Super Space Serpent now returns with more flash and bang and is, at least for the time being, an Xbox One exclusive title.
A peaceful and minimalistic FPS 3D platformer created by ONEVISION games, ASCENDANCE - First Horizon removes the complexity of modern gaming in favour of a more tranquil experience which creates enough space to allow the player to move with precision and timing, navigating its simple but peacefully intoxicating world.
Just one look at American Fugitive on Xbox One is enough to bring back memories of the classic top-down Grand Theft Auto games. Thankfully, with the advancement of modern consoles, American Fugitive manages to pack in a lot more than simple driving from point A to point B, wasting a few enemies and then driving back for a reward; though the first few hours of the game would leave you thinking otherwise.
Purple Chicken Spaceman is a completely mad concoction of so many elements that it probably shouldn't work. But somehow it does. You can throw in a silly premise, ridiculous enemies and some really weird music to top it all off. It’s just mad, all of it. And that all works in its favour.
Fade to Silence is a survival adventure at heart, one that’s set in a post-apocalyptic world frozen by an eternal winter. With little but snow and ice shaping everything the eye can see, making your way about safely requires a firm understanding of just how the land works. This is where an immediate issue hits.
My Big Sister is one of those rare gems which manages to draw upon various pop culture influences, be it Western or Eastern, melding all of its inspirations together to create something that ends up being far bigger than the sum of its influences.
Don Bluth wanted to make a game where you felt like you were watching a Disney movie, but you were in control; a kid's dream at the time and one which Don made a reality. Through quick time events the player must choose what the hero does and which direction he must go to rescue the Princess and save the day. This series became a huge hit and had been ported to Playstation, NES, SNES, Sega CD, GameCube, GBC, the list goes on. And now, the series is finally on Xbox One in the form of the Dragon's Lair Trilogy.
Extreme sports games are something I love to get involved in, and so Descenders was always going to be one I was excited by. Now calling downhill mountain biking 'extreme' may seem a little like we’re pushing it, but with no properly exciting mountain bike game to speak of on console since Downhill Domination back in 2003, I’m willing to call Descenders whatever it wants - so long as I get a decent thrill without having to throw myself around some mud-soaked, hazard filled course in real life!
