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Projection: First Light Review

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Coming out of Asia, shadow puppetry – or shadow play – is an ancient source of entertainment and storytelling that would have been enjoyed by our ancestors; one that has travelled not just the world, but the decades. But if you don’t know what it is let me explain – you create cutout characters, scenery and props from card, which could be anything you want so let your imagination run wild, attach a stick or two and then play out stories by shining a light on the cutouts as you project them onto a wall or screen. Projection: First Light embraces the tone and visuals of this artform to produce an elegant adventure that takes gamers across the world. But does it allow you to really see the light?

Projection: First Light

There are certain games that will instantly surprise you, and that for me – after gaming for 40 years – is always a bonus. Projection: First Light is one of those games; one that amazed me in many ways through its playthrough. But the two main takeaways are in terms of the visuals and the gameplay mechanics. 

Firstly, let me set the scene. Set in a shadow puppet world where you can still see the sticks attached to the characters and the scenery disappears and reappears like a theatre play, you play the character of a small child named Greta who, after a naughty day away from home – one that involves stealing an apple and wrecking a police car – is sent to her room as punishment. It is here however where she finds a secret passage in her room, escaping to a shadow puppet theatre and being whisked off to Indonesia, China, Turkey, and the UK. 

The story and scenes of First Light are told completely visually, without the use of words or captions. It’s a great technique to utilise and works well throughout this adventure, without you ever feeling like you are missing text or dialogue to convey the narrative. It’s an epic adventure set across many lands and cultures, where Greta gets to meet a whole host of people who become her friends – and some who become her mortal foes. 

Projection: First Light Review

Gameplay-wise and Projection: First Light kicks off just like that of a standard, normal platformer as you move from left to right, jumping where appropriate. However, it is when you enter the shadow puppet theatre that you capture a butterfly, seeing it turn into a small ball of light. From there, you are in control of Greta with the left stick and the ball of light with the right stick. This ball is useful too, as you utilise its power to create shadows from anything that can cast a shadow; a simple platform or a basic object. It is up to you to then control the angle and length of the shadow to create a platform that you can jump onto and exit the level. 

As you would expect, as you progress through First Light the use of this shadow play becomes more and more complex. There are objects you need to move – giant boulders for instance – through a series of mazes, placing them on pressure pads to open gates. Movement of the boulder will see you needing to balance it on a shadow and then attempt to guide it in the right direction. At other times you might have to bounce moveable objects away from their directed path to land where they will be helpful to your progression. This technique is hugely clever and at times can happily test your brain matter, but it may make more sense to be used in conjunction with a touch screen. You see, on Xbox One there have been times where this piece of innovation becomes annoying, working randomly. I’ll admit to occasionally having got completely stuck trying to move certain objects and have had to walk away from the game for a while – composing myself, having a think about what is needed, and trying again. It’s all about how you cope with this gameplay mechanic which will decide whether you get on with Projection: First Light or not. 

If you do get to grips with things, then this is a game that provides a big old adventure with some boss battles that are pretty straightforward but very exciting. It is with these where you are normally up against a giant shadow character, left to learn the rhythm of their attacks. I like these sections a lot as they break up the standard gameplay. And further to that, in each area there are butterflies to collect, although it’s totally up to you whether you need to spend the time to grab them all or not, as they don’t affect your progression. But there are people put there – you know who you are – who will need to take them all home in order to grab the precious achievements that are awarded for doing so . 

Projection: First Light Xbox

Visually and First Light is a treat from start to finish. As you might have guessed it embraces the shadow puppet theme well, looking fantastic throughout. The colours and tones of the work are beautiful and the characters themselves are so well-drawn and animated that it has gladdened my heart playing it. The developers know how to produce a great cutscene as well, all while delivering a real sense of action at play. There is one sequence which focuses on a boat that is being chased by a sea monster – it is a wonderful trip into the underworld in order to rescue the old Chinese story character, Monkey. Projection: First Light has bucket loads of charm and knows how to use it. 

The soundtrack is remarkable as well, making the most of a whole mixture of tracks and moods that complement the different locations on the world journey. Throughout my time here I’ve imagined an old music hall with a live orchestra playing as they sit and watch this shadow puppet saga play out in front of them.

Overall this is a quality piece of gaming that I have had a blast with. The visuals are wonderful, as is the no text-based storytelling and adventure. The gameplay is hugely original and cleverly implements its shadow play whilst also managing to test your brainpower throughout. There are however moments in which the whole shadow mechanic isn’t accurate enough and that in turn brings about frustration, but it doesn’t affect the enjoyment of the whole experience too much. If you love adventure, shadow puppets, and unique gameplay then Projection: First Light on Xbox One will enchant. 

The Drone Racing League Simulator Review

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The early 2000s saw a boom of advancements in technology of all kinds: one of the most unique, and perhaps most underutilized, is drone technology. The first commercial permit for drone use was issued in 2006, and since then they have become increasingly popular. This is due to a myriad of factors, but if I had to take a guess I’d say more affordable prices are a primary cause for the rise in popularity.

That being said, cheaper drones tend to break easily and their battery life is nothing to write home about. Even drones that cost hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars are still plagued with low battery life – often unable to last more than 20 to 30 minutes before needing to be charged. That’s not a concern in The Drone Racing League Simulator though, out now on Xbox One.

The Drone Racing League Simulator

Right off the bat, The Drone Racing League Simulator is first and foremost a simulator. It was made to be as realistic as possible on the hardest settings, with a focus on physics and realistic drone behavior. More specifically, realistic yaw and things of that sort are emphasized. They even use real-life flight paths layered with simulated flight paths to see how much the sim deviates.

In fact, The Drone Racing League, the DRL, is so confident in this simulator that it is apparently possible to even get drafted into the DRL by being good enough at it. That’s about as much of a guarantee a company can give you that their product is legitimate. It’s like if you could get a pilot’s license by being good enough at Microsoft Flight Simulator.

But this puts me in an awkward position for this review, because I have never flown a DRL racing drone. And as cool as it would be for them to send me one to practice on, me crashing a few hundred dollars worth of tech into a wall to establish the fact that I can’t fly a racing drone isn’t going to help anyone. Not to mention the fact I’d have to be trusted with another expensive drone afterwards to see if I actually got any better. So I can’t speak to whether or not The Drone Racing League Simulator is actually going to give you the skills you need to succeed at drone racing.

The Drone Racing League Simulator Review

What I can say is that it does a very good job of walking you through how everything works. The beginner mode has automatic flight stabilization and other boons that will assist in learning the basics of flying a drone. It goes over the actual terminology that drone pilots would use and breaks things down into manageable bites of information. The tutorial, which I think is a defining feature of The Drone Racing League Simulator, will take a couple hours to get through. By the end, you’ll be flying unassisted in first-person view just like an actual drone racer would be. But from my experience, a few more hours will be essential to actually getting good at it.

If you opt to skip the tutorial and have no prior experience flying drones, then be prepared to play on the lowest difficulty setting or you can expect to constantly crash, flip, and just have an altogether unpleasant time.

There are a ton of other features as well that really do flesh out the experience. There are tournaments, races both offline and online, a physics engine, and custom drones that allow you to practice in any kind of environment with any kind of equipment. It’s a bit overwhelming for me, seeing as I’m a layperson when it comes to drones. But again, if the DRL is confident enough to recruit drone pilots through this sim then I see no reason to doubt if it will actually teach you how to fly. So on that end, I’d say this game passes with flying colors.

The Drone Racing League Simulator Xbox

On the other side of things, this is a review for a game on Xbox One, and there are a few issues that need to be mentioned. First are the menus. The Drone Racing League Simulator was released on PC in 2017 which means it’s a port to console. This also means the menus are designed for mouse and keyboard, making them clunky to navigate with a controller. I also got a frequent stream of invites from other online players to join races, and while I could decline them, it wasn’t uncommon for me to accidentally select the invite before having to close out of it. I also would accidentally select things while navigating and sometimes lose my selection because the menus were so busy.

The second issue is less the fault of the game and more a hardware issue, but if your controller has any amount of stick drift, and I mean any, the game will register it. The controller I was using to play has never exhibited any sign of stick drift, but I was constantly drifting to the left while playing. There is a calibration menu but I struggled to adjust things – which ties back to the menu issues – and even when I thought I figured it out I still couldn’t get it to work perfectly. Now, this is probably a good thing for practicing real drone racing, but stick drift is not an uncommon issue and I wasn’t even aware my controller had this issue until I started playing the game.

The Drone Racing League Simulator Xbox Review

Thirdly is the fact that the freestyle maps aren’t very engaging. Without a set goal you just aimlessly fly around, and while I’m not one to usually judge a game by its graphics, the flat landscapes aren’t much fun to explore. This isn’t a deal-breaker by any means, but it’s something to keep in mind if you decide to pick it up for yourself.

Again, this is a weird game for me to review because I feel like the end goal is for it to prepare the player to fly a real drone. As a simulator I can rate it fairly highly, despite its issues. Everything feels real and I can definitely see how it would improve someone’s ability to actually fly a drone. On the other hand, for casual gamers or people who are looking for a more game-like experience, The Drone Racing League Simulator on Xbox One isn’t going to be the answer. It all comes down to what kind of experience you want.

The fate of the world is in your hands in Commander ‘85 out now on Xbox One and PC

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commander 85

It’s time for a blast from the past as Commander ‘85 transports us back to the 1980s for a sci-fi thriller set during the Cold War. Things are about to get serious on Xbox One and PC when a seemingly ordinary birthday present threatens to alter your life forever. 

Imagine how cool it would be to receive a Commander ‘85, a super modern computer with real artificial intelligence, for your birthday. Unfortunately, it’s mere presence in a suburban Chicago household could see the fate of the world rest upon your shoulders. Alongside a group of friends and a slightly mad scientist, you’ll attempt to end the Cold War. To do so, you’ll need to discover the secret of the Commander computers, and find out the mysterious truth behind the infamous ‘Roswell incident’.

Through interacting with the computer’s AI, you can build up a level of trust and friendship, which is crucial to unlocking the secrets within. There are tons of possibilities to explore and random elements will come into play as the plot unfolds, ensuring every playthrough is different. Everything you do and the decisions you make can lead you towards one of three possible endings.

Key features of Commander ‘85: 

  • A historical setting featuring the culture and technology of the 1980s. Including various Easter eggs and nostalgic references.
  • Innovative artificial intelligence system reflecting every choice and decision you make, and as a result leading to various plot twists and different endings.
  • Randomly generated story branches and elements of the player’s surroundings, additional quests, and optional activities make every playthrough different.
  • Radio stations broadcasting custom shows, commercials, and music, to help you really immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the ’80s.
  • Numerous games and programs that you can not only install, but actually run on your Commander.
  • Graphics inspired by VHS recordings, with additional sequences created in the style of period-specific movies.

So, if you wish to experience a nostalgia-filled thriller, venture on over to the Xbox Store and purchase Commander ‘85 for £12.49 (discounted to £9.99 for one week) – don’t forget it’s also available on Steam for PC too. Do you remember the 1980’s? Is it a period of time you want to relive once more in Commander ‘85? Get in touch and let us know by leaving a comment below or reaching out on social media!

Game Description:

“13 May 1985: Today is my BIRTHDAY!!! Mum gave me the best present ever! a Commander 85 – a super modern computer with real artificial intelligence! It’s very smart, and I can talk to it and play games on it. I can’t wait till the other boys see it!” Commander 85 is a sci-fi thriller about a seemingly ordinary birthday present that changes the lives of the main characters forever, disturbing the sleepy peace of the Chicago suburbs. However, when the military experiments get out of control and the world faces the threat of nuclear war, you won’t be alone. Together with a group of friends and a crazy scientist, you’ll have to try and end the Cold War, discover the secret of the Commander computers, and find out the mysterious truth behind the Roswell incident… Decide the fate of the world using an advanced system of interaction with the computer’s artificial intelligence. Build its trust and friendliness towards you, listen to its sarcastic comments and even watch as it quarrels with your parents! With hundreds of possibilities and random elements in the game’s plot, every time you play will be different, with your choices leading to one of three possible endings. Immerse yourself in the life of Polish immigrants in 1980’s America, learning more about their culture and problems. Remember that all parents are the same, regardless of their origins. Experience a sense of nostalgia as you recall your own childhood through the game’s randomized events and elements of your environment, from discussions about the school to nagging about how much time you’re spending in front of the computer. Complete the chores your parents give you, too – they may prevent you from saving the world, but at least you won’t be grounded or banned from playing!

Up Next: The Pick of the Xbox One Games in October 2020

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In the run up to the Xbox Series X, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Phil Spencer would kick off the boots, put his good slippers on and have a well-deserved rest. But no! The Xbox One is absolutely pumping the hits out. The ‘Holiday Season’ is ramping up, and the big hitters are in the process of arriving. FIFA, Watch Dogs: Legion, a Star Wars game – they’re all here, vying for the Christmas Number One spot (which will be FIFA, unless 2020 pulls another fast one).

It is also October, which means Halloween. Expect a few games on the list to shamble about in your peripheral vision, readying a jump-scare. But it’s not all blockbusters and spinechillers: there’s a few stylish indies there too. 

Treat yourself! Sprinkle a few of these onto your October!

1. STAR WARS: Squadrons – 2nd October

So far, it’s been too good to be true. We’ve been crowing about a lack of X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter for long enough that it’s become a meme, and then EA won all the internet points by going and making one. THEN news came that it would be something of a budget title – £34.99 on the Xbox Store – but without any microtransactions (at least on launch, it should be cynically noted). We’re waiting for the ‘but’ – perhaps Jar-Jar is the onboard AI?

There’s a chunky campaign that switches from New Republic to Empire and back again, and plenty of multiplayer dogfighting options. Can they capture the magic of the movies better than Abrams ever did? We don’t have long to find out, as Squadrons lands on the 2nd of October on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. 

2. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time – 2nd October

Ah, the sweet days when we’d get a Mario, Sonic, Spyro, Crash, Sly, Ratchet and Jak every year (maybe a Gex, Medievil and Croc for good measure). The big budget platformers are behind us, so perhaps we should grab hold of games like Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time and treasure them while we get the chance.

Hot off the heels of the N.Sane Trilogy, we get a mainline Crash that’s gone for the high concept. No, it’s not Crash: The Musical (saving that one for Crash 5, obvs), it’s a time travel edition. Neo Cortex is doing something nefarious with quantum masks, and that means crashing through time to stop him. 

There’s a passing thematic similarity to Ratchet and Clank’s proposed Rift Apart, so it’ll be interesting to see who wins that particular rivalry (like a slightly B-list Mario vs. Sonic battle from the ‘90s). Crash wumps onto Xbox One, PS4 and Switch on the 2nd of October.

3. FIFA 21 – 9th October

Having seen PES adopt the will-this-do expansion model for the 2020 iteration, FIFA has shrugged and gone for a full-blown game. Queue the usual carping about whether enough has changed to warrant a full price release, and then everyone buys it anyway.

The pandemic makes the issue more acute/fascinating, as football has faced its own struggle to start back up again, and other sports games have faced backlash from fans about missing expectations. FIFA is probably the flagship of EA Sports, so it’s fascinating to see what impact all of this will have, if anything.

There are 30 official leagues and 700+ official teams, so the authenticity is there (and that’s what’s important to most players anyway). The newness comes from Volta football, a run at samba football and five-a-side in FIFA, which makes us all feel like perhaps, just perhaps, FIFA Street is back.

FIFA launches on Xbox One, Switch, PS4, PC, Stadia and the Nintendo Game & Watch on the 9th of October. 

4. The Survivalists – 9th October

It’s been a real question mark – why haven’t there been any really good ‘castaway’ games? It feels like there’s a golden nugget at the centre of the idea: you start with nothing, you slowly salvage resources, and you build a camp that makes you slightly better at gaining resources. That’s gamey loopy!

If anyone is going to get it right, it’s Team17. You’d struggle to find a publisher on a stronger run of hits than them. And in The Escapists, you’ve got the framework that can be lifted and slapped on a completely new genre.

Being Team17, they couldn’t just play the idea straight, of course. You make friends with monkeys and use a mimic system to train them to do what you want, because why not? Then there are Zelda-like labyrinths to conquer, as if making hammocks out of twigs wasn’t hard enough. 

The Survivalists drifts onto shores on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and PC on the 9th of October.

5. Remothered: Broken Porcelain – 13th October

Not many people played Remothered: Tormented Fathers, but perhaps they should have. Keiichiro Toyama, creator of the Silent Hill series, has made it clear that he wants to work with Stormind Games, the Italian studio behind Remothered, and it’s for good reason: Remothered has a fantastic sense of atmosphere that belies its indie origins. 

The original release was one of those rough diamonds that made you wonder what the studio would do if they had more time, more money and a sequel. Well, now a sequel’s here, and we’re eager to see what they’ve done with it. Plus it’s Halloween! Scare the crap out of yourself!

The story continues to follow the poor, hapless Jen, escaped from Flemington Girls’ Institute and now interned in Ashmann Inn. Wherever she goes, the horror and symbolism follows. 

The Remothering begins on the 13th of October on Microsoft Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and PC.

6. Foregone – 13th October

Sometimes you see a trailer and you want to grab a few people and make them watch it. My wife and kids looked confused when I forced them through it, before turning back to Bake Off. Maybe you’ll hear me out.

It’s not as if it pushes many conceptual envelopes – Foregone is an action platformer with a serviceable story, from what we can see – but it’s the animation, of all things, that really makes this game stand out. Dead Cells kicked asses in a similar way, with fantastic, kinetic animations that look like they’re pulled straight out of a high quality anime, and we’re hoping it can be half as enjoyable as that GOTY. 

Plus it’s got a name that makes reviewing it a dream. It’s a foregone conclusion, we’ll give it four-gone out of five, etc, etc. Find out when we review Foregone for its launch on 13th of October on Xbox One, Switch, PS4 and PC.

7. Cloudpunk – 15th October

You know those budget DVDs you see in Tescos that exist, mostly, to trick people into buying them? Supernatural Activity rather than Paranormal Activity, that kind of thing? Cloudpunk could be mistaken for the gaming equivalent, with a certain other cyberpunk game cresting over the horizon.

But wait, woah there – Cloudpunk is most definitely more than that. For one, it’s got more kinship with Death Stranding, casting you as a near-future paperboy/Amazon drone, delivering packages in a city that doesn’t like aeons (or neons) away from Blade Runner. It looks and sounds beautiful, too.

Reviews have been erratic on PC, where it’s seen some early access, but quite a few reviewers have loved it. We’re eager to see if it works on Xbox One when the post comes in on the 15th of October. It also launches on Switch and PS4.

8. Raji: An Ancient Epic – 15th October

Another game that’s coming to Xbox One a little later than other systems is Raji: An Ancient Epic. It’s been on Switch for a couple of months now, and it’s getting strong reviews.

Why do we like the look of Raji? It’s not your conventional setting, for one: forgive us for getting a wee bit tired of America, post-apocalyptic wastelands and space stations. It’s set in Ancient India and throws you into the deep end, chosen by gods and cast into a battle with demons.

Most of all it looks beautiful, there are some Ubisoft-era Prince of Persia vibes here and there, but it’s its own thing, pulling from Ancient Indian myth to create something we haven’t quite seen before. And hey, we’re into championing the indies here!

Raji is already out on Switch, but is out on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on the 15th of October

9. Scourgebringer – 21st October

Just watching the trailer for Scourgebringer makes us want to jump back into Hyperlight Drifter. Not to take anything away from Scourgebringer: it’s just got that same pixelated ballet of hacking and slashing that makes you want to pick up a pad.

We get a fair few Metroidvanias and Rogue-lites through the doors here, but it does mean we’re finely tuned to the ones that will stand out. Dear Villagers have put together something that steps up the pyrotechnics, amps up the enemies but also hands you more power (lasers!) to deal with them. It feels overblown, and that’s a very good thing.

Better still, Scourgebringer is launching on Xbox One Game Pass, so there’s little reason for us not to bring the scourge. It’s also out on Switch and PC.

10. Transformers: Battlegrounds – 23rd October 

Sometimes a franchise takes a left-turn into bonkers territory, and it’s enough to thrust it into an Up Next article. Take Transformers Battlegrounds, which dodges the explosions, giant robots and wrecking ball testicles of the movies and more recent games (it’s been five years since Devastation and nine years since Dark of the Moon!) and goes for…a turn-based battler. Sing it with me: it’s X-Com in disguise.

It’s our editor-in-chief’s choice of the month, so there’s that, but it really could go either way in terms of quality. It’s Bandai Namco, which doesn’t give us much of a clue: they produce some of the best games in modern memory, and then they produce Ben 10. 

Looks-wise, it’s gone for the chunky, cel-shaded aesthetic of the modern cartoons rather than thrusting more LeBoeuf on us, which is something. Alongside the GI Joe game, also out this month, we’re going to be playing with an arched eyebrow and hoping for the best.

Transformers: Battlegrounds rolls out on Xbox One on the 23rd October, and it also Starscreams onto Switch, PS4 and PC.

11. Carto – 27th October

We hadn’t heard of Carto before prepping this article, but now we can’t wait. The newest game out of the Humble stable, who are giving us indie banger after banger at the moment, it’s got a lot going for it. 

To start with, it’s got a central map-swapping concept that feels like it’s going to naturally lend itself to a puzzle-adventure. Each map is a square, in much the same way as a 2D Legend of Zelda game, and you can lift them up, rotate and flip them. Join up rivers to get them flowing, connect bridges to cross the river, and so on. It’s a board game idea lifted into a video game and it sounds shwifty.

Then there’s the looks. We’ll admit to being smitten with the watercolour aesthetic, with an environment that feels like it’s been fingerpainted or printed on. Carto is a looker, and it’s got a softness of touch that might make it a crossover hit.

Carto gets dabbed onto the canvas on the 27th October on Xbox One, as well as PS4, Switch and PC.

12. Ghostrunner – 27th October

Ghostrunner is a hell of a tech demo. Boot up the trailer and have a watch: this is a game that looks fantastic, beyond what most AAA games could achieve. So the question obviously has to be asked: can it leapfrog the tech demo status and into ‘actually, that’s quite a good game’ territory? Mirror’s Edge managed it, so let’s hope Ghostrunner can too.

As well as Mirror’s Edge, there’s a healthy dose of Revengeance DNA in there. This is a parkour hack-and-slash (oh, go on, let’s chuck Vanquish in as a reference), and it looks like it’ll juice up the old adrenaline as you play it. From the trailer, it needs to tighten up the combat collision to make it feel a bit more weighty, but it looks like it could be a contender.

505 Games have given us Control, Death Stranding, Journey to the Savage Planet and more. They’ve proven they’ve got a GOTY in them. Could Ghostrunner be another?

Find out when we give it the old review on 27th October, when it launches on Xbox One. It’s also making a run for it on PS4, Switch and PC.

13. Watch Dogs: Legion – 29th October

Gaming gets crowded – there are a lot of games out there. Sometimes you have to find that back-of-box bulletpoint, the ‘Unique Selling Point’, to even get noticed. It’s true of AAA games just as much as indie titles (just ask Bleeding Edge, or whatever it was called. I forget).

Blimey and guv’nor, Watch Dogs: Legion knows this more than everyone. While Watch Dogs 2 wasn’t exactly a mis-step and did tidy business, it wasn’t the barnstorming release that Ubisoft were hoping for either. So Watch Dogs: Legion leans into the USP thing HARD.

You get to recruit and control every single person in the game. It was crazy when they announced it, and it’s still crazy now. The thing is, we want to play to find out just how crazy it is. They’ve got us, dammit. They USP’d us. 

There’s other stuff, like it’s set in a futuristic London and there’s multiplayer content bundled in, like a co-op mode and bareknuckle boxing but, honestly, we just want to wear the milkman’s face.

Watch Dogs: Legion is coming to Xbox One on the 29th of October. It’s also sneaking onto your PS4, PC and Stadia. Don’t forget that Ubisoft are also guaranteeing a free upgrade on Xbox Series X and PS5 via its Smart Delivery technology, whatever that is.

14. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope – 30th October

Arriving with neat Halloween timing is Little Hope, the latest in the Dark Pictures Anthology series. Not going to lie, I had a whale of time with Until Dawn, and I am yet to jump into Man of Medan, so this is a perfect opportunity to have a bit of a Halloween double-bill.

For those who haven’t been exposed to the games of Supermassive Games, they’re cinematic experiences that tend towards the horror, with enough exploration and on-the-spot combat to make them more than your traditional walking simulator. We find them to be IMDB bait too, as we desperately try to place the actors (it’s him, Will Poulter, from Black Mirror and that We’re the Millers meme!).

It’s a standalone experience, tossing four teens into a town that has been ringed by mist. Apparitions are tormenting them, and there’s some connection to old witch trials in the area. You’ll have to nudge the college kids in the right direction before they get dragged to hell, or some other nuisance.

Little Hope: Dark Pictures Anthology is perfectly timed for a co-op party on the 30th October, coming out on Xbox One. It’s also ghosting its way onto PS4 and PC. 


In some ways, October is just the calm before the storm: November sees the arrival of the Xbox Series X, and a small game by the name of Cyberpunk 2077. If any of us emerge from the fight over who gets to review it, there will be another Up Next article at the end of October to chart the titles coming in November. 

See you then, (cyber)punks!

Warface: Breakout Season 2 ‘Underground’ is out now, adding a new map, cross-play and more

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warface breakout underground

The competitive, first-person online shooter Warface: Breakout has only been out a few months and the second season is already here. Season 2, titled ‘Underground’, is a free update that’s just released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, which adds a new map, seasonal rewards, new mechanics, improvements, and – a little further on in the season – cross-play.

The crux of the Warface: Breakout ‘Underground’ update is the ‘Slum District’, a fresh map that takes players through gloomy city streets that have been torn apart by war. It’s tailored to suit various combat styles, thus allowing for mid-range and long-range engagements, close-quarters combat, and presenting plenty of sniper vantage points. So no matter your approach, the slums will offer you something.

‘Underground’ also brings several new mechanics into play, including a progression system, elite challenges, callout pings, and seasonal leaderboards. You can now complete weapon-specific assignments in order to earn rewards like weapon stripes, ranging from bronze to gold, as well as new and exclusive gold weapon skins. This season of Breakout will also introduce the new 3D-ping system, allowing for better communication within a team. This essentially lets you highlight any position on the map with a marker that’s only visible to your team. 

There are new ways to customise the characters too, with victory poses, bomb skins, and brand new weapon stickers, giving you the opportunity to customise the weapons in a bid to stand out a little more during combat. Furthermore, exclusive weapon and character skins can also be found in the Underground Cosmetic Pack for £8.39 on the Xbox Store, which includes exclusive content like the legendary ‘Consigliere’ and ‘Free Rider’ skins for Reapers and Wardens respectively. In addition, it contains the epic ‘Burst’ skin for the AUG A3 Hbar, the epic ‘Gambler’ skin for the PKP Pecheneg, and the Anod knife.

New seasonal events and features are coming beyond the launch of ‘Underground’, as well. That means you can look forward to a Halloween event, while crossplay support is set to launch later this year. Until then, enjoy everything else Warface: Breakout ‘Underground’ has to offer!

Top 3 Best Video game Themed Slot Machines

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Online casinos host several slot games to entertain players on their platform. The gaming range varies from 200 to 1200 slots in different casinos. Accordingly, you can expect various themes being explored by the developers to develop the slot games and sponsor on these casinos. 

Some of the popular slot themes you can view on the online casinos are Adventure, Egyptian, Jungle, Modern, Fairy tales, and such. However, video game themed slot machines too are common on several online casinos and much preferred by the punters.

If you’re one such fan of video game themed slot machines, continue reading to find out the top 3 in this category.

Check out some of the best online slots in the US here for some excellent entertainment.

Tomb Raider Slot Game

Tomb Raider has an amazing video game and movie franchise. Owing to this, the Microgaming developers have taken the advantage and have developed even more interesting Tomb Raider slot games. 

The Tomb Raider slot machine comes with 5 reels and 15 paylines. The game is loaded with lucrative features such as bonus games, free spins, wilds, and some other high-paying symbols. Moreover, the RTP of the game falls under the high variance, with 96.65%. 

The game is accessible on both desktop and mobile devices. Furthermore, if you’re not sure of the game features, you can even try its demo version on several online casino platforms. Overall, it’s a lovely game, and we assure you will be up for one hell of an adventurous slot gaming experience.

Zuma Slot Machine

Zuma video game, which was released in 2003, was loved by players so much that it was declared the ‘Game of the year’ for the two consecutive years. Hence, it should come as no wonder that Blueprint took inspiration from PopCap’s arcade game-Zuma, to develop this slot machine.

Zuma slot comes with 5 reels and 20 win lines. Some of the added features that you get to take advantage of are scatters, wilds, gamble games, free spins, bonus rounds, and multipliers. Moreover, the game also showcases an in-game jackpot feature, which can help you win several small rewards. 

The average RTP of Zuma slot games is 95.74%. All in all, it’s a power-packed game with incredible graphics and design.

Hitman Slot Game

If you have a taste for action gaming, Microgaming brings to you Hitman- a thrilling slot machine with excellent gaming features. The game obviously is inspired by Agent 47’s Hitman game. So the wild symbol in this 5 reels slot machine is the Agent 47 himself. The plus point of this wild is its expansion in nature.

The highest paying symbol of the game can reward you 4000x your stake. Moreover, the 15 paylines of the Hitman slot game are not fixed. This gives you an opportunity to decide on what and how many paylines you wish to keep active. 

Other interesting features of the game include free spins, scatters, bonuses, and such. Overall, a worthy game one must try out!

Latest HyperBrawl Tournament video introduces the HyperVerse!

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HyperBrawl Tournament logo

We first heard about the adrenaline rush that HyperBrawl Tournament is set to deliver on PC and consoles back in June, but today the hype continues with the release of a brand new video featuring the HyperVerse. Prepare to get to grips with the HyperVerse at the heart of HyperBrawl Tournament as we meet the cast of characters, learn what’s at stake in the contest, and discover the challenges awaiting the heroes of this universe.

The HyperVerse video delves into the lore of Milky Tea Studios upcoming sports brawler, HyperBrawl Tournament. The tournament itself is a contest held by an ancient society of druids who seek to find the champion of the universe. When participating in the contest, you’ll be able to choose from one of three classes of heroes: There’s the Swift class, which is fast and agile, but lacks endurance; the hulking Tank class, which can take and dish out the most damage, albeit at the expense of speed; and the Core class, which represents the jack-of-all-trades type heroes.

Each of the heroes comes with their own unique arena tied to their homeworld too, offering a glimpse at their history and culture. Every arena is different, resulting in unique shapes and obstacles that require varied strategies to adapt to. You’ll also have to master the HyperCurve to change the trajectory of your shots in order to take full advantage of each stage’s rather unique layout. Don’t forget to channel the HyperForce to power up your offensive capabilities as well, which can be used to launch your opponents out of the arena.

“HyperBrawl Tournament is an incredibly deep game with multiple layers of strategy and variety, but we wanted to make sure that its core gameplay is easy to understand and get right into,” said Jonathan Holmes, Founder & Studio Director of Milky Tea. “That’s why we made this video to give people an overview of how it all works in a brisk five minutes. We’re excited for people to start playing around with all the heroes, weapons, and arenas that we’ve spent years fine-tuning when HyperBrawl Tournament launches on October 20th.”

HyperBrawl Tournament provides an unprecedent degree of depth as you assemble a team of two heroes from three classes and then arm them with unique weapons, thus making an entirely unique playstyle. With 12 heroes in total to choose from and eight cosmic weapons ready to equip, there are apparently over 4,000 unique ways to customise your characters. You can play against the AI in the fully fleshed out single-player campaign, or face off against up to three other players in the quickmatch Arcade mode or the more competitive online Blitz mode, complete with its own global leaderboards. Whatever you decide to do, there are tons of cosmetic rewards and accolades to earn by completing various challenges. 

The exciting 2v2 arena-based sports brawler HyperBrawl Tournament is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC on 20th October. For now though, spare a few minutes to watch the video we’ve been waxing lyrical about…

Tennis World Tour 2 Review – Foul Ball

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Tennis games are becoming a bit rarer as of late. The old glory days of TopSpin offered some of the best tennis we’ve ever had the joy of trying. Many have attempted to emulate its success but none have succeeded. Whilst the original Tennis World Tour had some good points and focused on some nice areas, it fell flat instantly with janky controls and just a general carelessness. Its follow-up, Tennis World Tour 2, attempts to fix this but fails in many of the same areas. 

Tennis World Tour 2

Let’s start with some of Tennis World Tour 2’s good points. It has a challenging and rather interesting rhythm system to each swing. Opposed to the more arcadey styles, this has you tap the swing button at the right time to get successful hits. Too late or too early will result in misplays that could cost you a point – or even the game. You can charge up before each swing for extra power but this is only worth doing at slower game speeds. As the returns get quicker, you swing just to stay alive longer than your opponent. This system takes a while to get used to but is one of World Tour 2’s best traits. This is, unfortunately, made a bit difficult by the visuals and lighting. Oftentimes, the ball can be very hard to see. This wouldn’t be a problem in a more arcadey title but the precise nature of swings here is betrayed by the hard-to-see ball. Too often my character was left wildly swinging in the proverbial dark hoping to catch a lucky break.

You feel on the back foot for most of Tennis World Tour 2, both in its gameplay and upgrade systems. It has an over-reliance on grindey stats and single-use cards. The cards can be bought in packs with in-game currency, and award you with perks such as more power or using less stamina. These get very specific to certain playstyles and fit a broader scheme too. Unfortunately, cards are so expensive in regard to the in-game currency, they rarely feel worth it. The game would’ve been much better suited to a system where cards earned were then unlocked permanently. The stats system revolves around your player character and the single player career; you make your character, change their playstyle and look, and are then placed into the world of Tennis World Tour 2. It has an overall stats system like most sports titles, placing pros around the 80s and little old you in the 20s. This means your fresh-faced character is absolutely abysmal from the start – something that is usually rather satisfying, but not so much here. 

Stat upgrades are locked behind one of two things: your character’s level and your equipment. The levels take a long time to upgrade and all equipment upgrades slowly to match your level. After reaching the required amount, better rackets can be bought with in-game currency. The gameplay experience just isn’t strong enough to justify hundreds of matches before you get to the real fun part. Slow speeds and power added to the occasionally janky animations feel tedious within just a few matches. 

Tennis World Tour 2 Review

The single-player career aims to switch this up a bit but doesn’t offer enough to grip you in any fashion. There are frequent tournaments that happen throughout the year that award you currency and experience. As well as this, there are standard matches, training, and small ways of temporarily upgrading your character. Hiring a new coach or agent makes a minor difference to the experience, but mostly goes unnoticed. There isn’t much of a story here to enjoy and Tennis World Tour 2 sort of just expects you to keep playing with no real motive. You might aim to be number one, but what drives you outside of that? 

There is a fundamental joylessness to each match that really permeates through the base experience of Tennis World Tour 2. The gameplay loop is precise in theory but the hard-to-see ball and awkward animations really mess up that timing. It’s hard to justify continuing on when the game itself lands squarely in the net. 

Atmospherically, Tennis World Tour 2 works as one might expect from a tennis game. The majority of your time will be spent in silence or listening to loud grunts, with the occasional commentary on score and whatnot. It isn’t bad per se, but it really is nothing more than that. The sound mixing can be a slight bit awkward with crowds suddenly dispersing or fading out as if someone with a volume knob was just slowly moving it down; if you’re really lucky, you can get a “quiet please” comment from the commentator. Different courts play and sound different but the general inconsistency of gameplay leaves that nice little touch squandered. 

Tennis World Tour 2 Xbox

This leaves you with the option of making grunts incredibly frequent if you’re playing online – my favourite choice. There is some fun to be had with multiplayer but I don’t know how long that could last with its mediocre gameplay. Online you and a friend, or total stranger, can battle head to head in one of multiple renowned arenas. The doubles mode is probably the best of these options as that sense of communication can make those nice saves or great returns that much more sweet. The “Official Tournaments” and “Stadia” pack that are added on then come with a handful of tournaments and stadiums which is a nice little bonus, but again, Tennis World Tour 2 struggles with anything more that that. It is nice to see more real-life stadiums and tournaments, but those in themselves might struggle to see you justifying picking up the Deluxe Edition.

Fundamentally, there are a multitude of tiny annoyances that only serve to bring you out of that immersion sports games offer. The game looks on par with a late Xbox 360 title and its animations don’t fare any better. The over-reliance on in-game currency serves little purpose to the overall experience and most modes feel tacked on. In fact, Tennis World Tour 2 on Xbox One is like a really cocky pro player – on the court, it can be impressive and offers a lot of little systems to work with, but off the court, it is ugly and represents some fundamental issues with modern gaming. Whilst the gameplay is rather decent, it is far too much of a grind for so little content, and that is permeated with small issues that snowball into something much worse. 

Tech Glitch Review

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Coming from a one-man-band developer, one Daniel Janak, comes a brand new multiplayer only game, Tech Glitch – just when Boris has told us we can’t mix households. Still, accidents of timing aside, what Daniel has come up with seems like an enticing prospect – over “many” maps, up to four players can compete for bragging rights, all while sat on the settee. So, does the prospect translate into a good game, or should you socially distance yourself from Tech Glitch?

Tech Glitch

First up, the setup. In the developer’s world, many maps means seven, and unfortunately these are not wildly different from one another, to be brutally honest. They range from the simple maze, which does what it says on the tin, being a simple map with little pinch points and cut-throughs, via Pyramids, which has a pyramid in the middle of it, and finally to a map where the entire floor is made of blocks that disappear when they have been walked on. All the maps are fashioned of blocks in a dull shade of brown, or brownish-gray, with occasional flashes of orange or red. They are not awfully stimulating looks-wise, let’s put it that way. The characters that we have to take control of are little robots, and the scenario appears to be some kind of testing facility, where robots are pitted against each other to see which is best. Of course, the best way to find out which robot is best suited to win is via the crucible of video games, and so we set forth. 

To go along with the seven maps, there are a grand total of four game modes to have a go at. The first of these is classic mode, where the idea is to wander around the screen, collecting bolts, and the player at the end who has possession of the most bolts is the winner. Just to make it a little bit more interesting, if you fall off the map or are slain by a rival, you lose all your collected bolts and they go back to their places on the map, so sometimes discretion is the better part of valour and running away can see you take the win. The second mode is pretty much a replica of Splatoon – although not nearly as colourful – as you have to paint the majority of the map your colour by running over it, whilst Tag sees you chasing each other all over the map, trying to not be “it” when the timer runs out. This latter mode is the most fun, if I’m being honest, as it turns into a truly frenetic chase in the later stages. The fourth option is a Dark mode, where every character has a flashlight that can light up a small area of the map, and only one bolt spawns at once. This is actually the easiest mode to play, for reasons that will become clear later on in this review. 

Tech Glitch Review

Of course, no multiplayer game worth its salt would be seen dead without power-ups, and luckily Tech Glitch has got you covered here. With crates falling onto the battleground that contain a plethora of goodies, you’ll be ruining your opponents’ day in no time. With these ranging from speed ups (and speed downs, which is always a bummer!) through electro charge attacks to full-on invincibility, the chances of something falling from the sky to change the course of a game are pretty good. In fact, the gameplay found in Tech Glitch is pretty good, with the controls all doing what they should, at least as far as running and jumping is concerned. The melee combat is a bit more hit and miss, if you’ll pardon the pun, and usually devolves into players running in a circle, desperately mashing the “X” button as you attempt to land a mortal blow. The feeling here is less like a ninja assassin dispatching enemies in an efficient manner, and more that of a bunch of headless chickens running around panicking as they try to avoid losing all of their bolts. 

Now, we must address the elephant in the room, or rather the big blurry gray thing in the room. There’s no kind way to put this – Tech Glitch looks awful. For reference, I’m playing on an Xbox One X, with a 4K TV, and the game is so blurry that it gives me a headache after just a few rounds – to the point where I’ll have to stop playing. It’s fuzzy, it’s nasty, it just looks so bad that I can’t even play it for a decent length of time and, obviously, in the world of games these are all negative points. You could have the best game in the world – this isn’t, but go with me here – and if the way it looks makes it unbearable, the gameplay wouldn’t matter. This is a major deal-breaker for me, as despite the fun that is possible to have in those few rounds, it isn’t worth the guaranteed headache that follows. 

Tech Glitch Xbox

So, a conclusion is required, and to be honest the scales can only come down one way. There is a small amount of fun to be had here with Tech Glitch on Xbox One, but the display and visual issue just kills the game. My Atari 2600 on a CRT came with clearer graphics, and on today’s hardware, what is provided by Tech Glitch simply isn’t good enough. 

Assetto Corsa Competizione GT4 Pack DLC arrives on Xbox One

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Assetto Corsa Competizione GT4 dlc

Have you been wishing for more Assetto Corsa Competizione content to enhance and prolong your time with the realistic racer? Well, your luck’s in because the Assetto Corsa Competizione GT4 Pack DLC is here on Xbox One and it brings new cars as well as a new addition for the Championship mode to delve into.

Following the previously released Intercontinental GT Pack, the GT4 downloadable content sees an influx of cars to bolster your garage. There are 11 new cars from the official GT4 European Series, all of which have been meticulously reproduced by KUNOS Simulazioni. Although not quite as powerful as the GT3 vehicles, the cars in the GT4 class are still exciting to drive and put your skills to the test – which is why this racing category often acts as a good place to start a driver’s career.

The GT4 Pack DLC includes the list of cars below (and additional liveries for each):

  • Alpine A110 GT4 
  • Aston Martin Vantage GT4
  • Audi R8 LMS GT4
  • BMW M4 GT4
  • Chevrolet Camaro GT4R
  • Ginetta G55 GT4 
  • KTM X-Bow GT4
  • Maserati MC GT4
  • Mclaren 570S GT4
  • Mercedes AMG GT4
  • Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport

And if that’s not enough, the Assetto Corsa Competizione DLC also incorporates the new GT4 Season into the current Championship Mode. As long as you own the base game already, the Assetto Corsa Competizione GT4 Pack DLC will simply cost an extra £17.99 from the Xbox Store. Another option, offering much better value for money, is to grab the Season Pass for £19.99 because that will grant access to the British GT Pack coming this winter.

Will you be adding these vehicles to the garage in Assetto Corsa Competizione? Leave a comment below and let us know!

DLC Description:

The GT4 PACK DLC for Assetto Corsa Competizione brings 11 new cars meticulously reproduced from the official GT4 European Series by SRO Motorsports Group. The GT4 class is an amazing racing category, often acting as a starting point for a driver’s career in GT racing. Less powerful than GT3 cars, these vehicles are incredibly exciting to drive, and the driver skills are key to succeeding – a perk that any driving enthusiast loves about the GT4 category. The DLC includes the following cars (with additional liveries): Alpine A110 GT4, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Audi R8 LMS GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Chevrolet Camaro GT4R, Ginetta G55 GT4 KTM X-Bow GT4, Maserati MC GT4, Mclaren 570S GT4, Mercedes AMG GT4, Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The DLC also includes a new “GT4 Season” Championship Mode. Prepare your driving technique at best and enjoy the purest GT4 action that KUNOS Simulazioni have ever developed, with Assetto Corsa Competizione.

Rain on your Parade officially confirmed to bring its humorous cloud antics to Xbox One in 2021

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Rain on your Parade logo

Earlier in the year, Unbound Creations unveiled their rather funny looking cloud-based comedy game Rain on your Parade for PC and Nintendo Switch, with an Xbox One release a tad more uncertain. If we could be cirrus for just a minute though, the latest forecast officially confirms that Xbox One gamers can soak up its content in 2021 – launching simultaneously alongside the other aforementioned platforms!

In case you’re unfamiliar with Rain on your Parade, it puts you in control of a very mischievous cloud and tasks you with raining on everybody’s parade – quite literally. It’s a destructive, but funny, game in which the world is about to feel the full force of chaos and mayhem that a cloud can conjure up. Progressing through the wide range of short and sweet levels will see new carnage causing methods become available to you, increasing your arsenal of destruction.

Prepare to ruin everyone’s day by turning the likes of a lovely sunny day, ideal for a wedding, into a soggy mess. You could also create pandemonium in cities with thunder and lightning, wreck the crops of farmers, sneak about and cause trouble inside military bases, and even bring down meteors on dinosaurs – haven’t they suffered enough?! Clearly not, so it’s your job to be a real pest to the world and its inhabitants.

Does the undoubtedly slapstick Rain on your Parade sound like a game you’re looking forward to playing? What if we told you the naughty little cloud wears hats, will that seal the deal? Well, there’s a while to wait before anyone can get their hands on the full game, with Rain on your Parade releasing in 2021 for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. There is however a prologue available on Steam to get an idea of what to expect, and it’s free so you’ve got nothing to lose – apart from a clear conscience after you’ve ruined people’s day, of course.

Check it out and leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Spread your wings and fly as Feather lands on Xbox One and PS4

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feather xbox

Gaming can be quite stressful these days, with the relentless pace of shooters and high octane racers contributing to that as you compete to be the best. Sometimes though, it’s nice to sit back and embrace a more zen-like experience, which is where Feather swoops in. Get ready for a relaxing bird simulation because it’s now available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Whether you want to go it alone or join other players online, Feather aims to create the ideal environment for you to unwind in. You’ll become a bird in this simulator, soaring through the skies and exploring the stunning island. There are no enemies to worry about, nor will you be in any dangerous predicaments that require the inclusion of combat. It’s just meant for partaking in a peaceful flight on your own or as one of a flock – the multiplayer aspect is completely passive, so there’s nothing to fear.

While embracing the vast open world of Feather, you’ll notice the dynamic weather system in place alongside a day/night cycle. That’s not all though, because through searching every nook and cranny, a selection of new songs can be unlocked. Alternatively, just swoop, glide, and backflip your way around these locations and have a jolly good time immersed in the role of a bird.

So, if you’re looking for a more relaxing game to add to your collection, fly over to the Xbox Store and acquire Feather for £8.39 – although if you act swiftly, there’s a special discount for a week which means it’s currently priced at £6.71. Obviously, the PS Store is another option, should that be your preferred platform. Either way, let us know whether you pick it up by leaving a comment below!

Game Description:

Feather is a relaxing bird simulation perfect for unwinding. Whether solo or with other online players, Feather will have you become a bird and explore stunning locations as you soar through the skies! No enemies, no combat, no threats – just peaceful flight by yourself or with other birds. Yes, the passive multiplayer in Feather allows you to join a flock and enjoy flying with others or just relax on your own! Explore a vast open world, finding new songs in every nook and cranny …. Immerse yourself in a beautiful island that responds to your presence with a hum, tone and rhythm beyond human comprehension.

October’s Xbox Games With Gold sees Slayaway Camp, Costume Quest and more go free!

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xbox games with gold new header
xbox games with gold new header

There should never be a time when you turn down free games. And that in itself is what makes the Xbox Games With Gold scheme so damn enticing – four free Xbox games per month, all delivered digitally to your own personal games library. No fuss. No bother. And now that October 2020 is preparing to roll into view, a host of additional free games will soon be yours, with the full line-up of Xbox Games With Gold freebies for October 2020 now confirmed. The only question that is really left answering is a simple one – which free Xbox game will you be playing first?

Following on from a month in September that provided Xbox One and Xbox 360 gamers access to the likes of The Division, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, de Blob 2 and Armed & Dangerous for absolutely zero outlay, October rocks up into place to once again nail what is required of a scheme that happily provides the goods on a monthly basis. In fact, from where many will be sitting it could well be said that those games provided for nothing across the month of October are actually of a more stellar line-up than the month previous. You see, for the next four weeks or so, all Xbox gamers who have a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription to their name will be able to download the following, FOR FREE!…

  • Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut – Xbox One – 1st-31st October 2020
  • Maid of Sker – Xbox One – 16th October – 15th November 2020
  • Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy – Xbox 360 – 1st-15th October 2020
  • Costume Quest – Xbox 360 – 16th-31st October 2020

Whether you have played the games before, are new to the Xbox ecosystem and looking to fill your boots with new titles, or are just looking to relive long lost memories once again – hi, Costume Quest – then it’s still proven to be a great time to be an Xbox gamer. With us in the UK about to roll into the cooler, wetter, even more miserable months of the year, it is always nice to have something sitting in the backlog, ready to be cracked open at a moments notice. And these four games pretty much provide that.

We’ll be sure to remind you when the second set of titles become available for free download opportunities, but in the meantime, if you haven’t yet grabbed your complimentary copies of The Division, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, or Armed & Dangerous, get over to the Xbox Store and hit the download button.

That is, after you’ve let us know your thoughts on the Xbox Games With Gold titles for October 2020 that is. Are these four games that get you excited? Or has the power of Xbox Game Pass ultimately ruined everything that this older scheme provides? The comments are down below.

Celebrate the Birthday of Midnight with golf-inspired physics on Xbox One and PS4

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birthday of midnight xbox

There appears to be a fascination with golf going on at the minute, seeing realistic offerings like PGA Tour 2K21 pop up alongside the more obscure takes such as Golf Zero. The latest release from Ratalaika Games, Birthday of Midnight, is yet another title; this time with physics inspired by golf and it’s available right now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Will you be teeing off in this one?

Developed by Petite Games, Birthday of Midnight is the second title to launch on consoles and follows in the footsteps of Midnight Deluxe. They’ll be hoping this new instalment fares a bit better than its predecessor. The small square fairy, known as Midnight, returns for more golf-ish action which sees our protagonist being flinged about. Ultimately, the idea is to launch Midnight across levels in order to land within a little safe zone that essentially represents a hole – that’s if we’re to make comparisons with golf. 

There’ll be over 70 engaging levels to test your skills at getting a hole in one, but they will become increasingly difficult. Poor Midnight must deal with all manner of dangerous obstacles along the way, including spikes, explosives, circular saws, and more. It certainly won’t be easy to complete each level and keep the number of ‘strokes’ at a respectable amount. 

If you think you have what it takes to overcome the challenging physics-based action in Birthday of Midnight, just swing over to the Xbox Store and pay the required fee of £4.99 – and for the next two weeks it’ll be even cheaper at £3.99. It’s also available on the PS Store today and can be bought from the Nintendo eShop on 2nd October. Whether you pick it up or not, feel free to share your thoughts about Birthday of Midnight and its golf-like concept via the comments section below.

Game Description:

From the creators of Midnight, Midnight Deluxe, and 36 Fragments of Midnight comes another round of golf-like action fun! Everyone’s favorite fairy is back and ready to be once again launched into the sky. But as always, treacherous obstacles like spikes, circular saws, and plenty of other dangerous hazards are par for the course. To earn a perfect score you must accurately complete each level in the minimum number of strokes, providing an additional layer of challenge. Do you have the skill to swing for a hole in one? Features: * 70+ engaging levels that get progressively harder * New dangers to overcome * Piano soundtrack to complement gameplay

Choose your own adventure with Swordbreaker: The Game on Xbox One, Switch, PS4 and PC

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swordbreaker the game xbox

If you have history with playing choose-your-own-adventure books, turn to paragraph 2. If you don’t, turn to paragraph 3. For anyone who’s enjoyed a childhood of playing Fighting Fantasy books, filling out character sheets with a pencil and a couple of dice, Swordbreaker: The Game on Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC might well be the perfect nostalgia trip. It’s a fantasy novel punctuated with choices, played out as a video game – enter the castle through a window or go through the front door. Every choice is down to you.

Swordbreaker: The Game launches today on Xbox One, Switch, PS4 and Steam. It pits you as an adventurer who arrives at an abandoned castle with nowt but his sword, armour and a mysterious device called the Swordbreaker. Your adventure is recounted through chunks of text, and it’s broken up by choices. Make the right choice and you’ll keep going, but a wrong choice could cause you to lose one of three hearts. Lose them all and you die.

It looks like this is more novel than novella, as there are 300 screens to get through (or die a grisly death in). 

Main features of Swordbreaker:

  • – A compelling non-linear “gamebook” with various endings
  • – Tough and crucial choices to make with unique outcomes
  • – A mysterious castle with exciting locations and events
  • – Powerful enemies and characters on your way
  • – Stunning artwork (over 300 illustrations)

Interactive fiction has tended to go the way of the visual novel in recent years, so it’s great to see the traditional choose-your-own-adventure get a run on Xbox One. Hopefully it’s less Dragon’s Lair and more Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Our review is out now, so turn to the review here to find out where it lands.

Swordbreaker: The Game launches today for £4.19 on Xbox One – with a special discounted price of £3.35 in place for a day. It also rolls the dice on Switch, PS4 and PC via Steam.

Game Description:

Make crucial decisions that will lead your path to glorious or fatal outcomes…illustrated by over 300 beautiful images. You are an adventurer brought by fate to an abandoned castle. You only have your favorite sword and the remains of an old armor with an unusual device – a sword-breaker. Step in and try to overcome the obstacles and foes that stand between you and the treasure you’re hunting. In this interactive fiction, you take every action and decision. How your story unfolds and ends is entirely up to you. Some moves can change your karma and others may lead to the darkest corners of the castle…it is strongly advised to choose your next step carefully, as it might also be your last!

Twin-stick racer Inertial Drift slides onto Xbox One, PS4, Switch and PC

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inertial drift xbox

You may be well-versed in the realm of twin-stick shooters, but what about twin-stick drifting? Well, Inertial Drift is a new 1-on-1 racing game which will put the onus on you mastering the twin-stick drifting if you wish to become the Drift King!

It’s an intense arcade racer, with a ridiculously high level of precision when it comes down to the drifting aspect; the twin-stick element provides twice the control, leading to drifts that are only a hair’s breadth away from the crash barrier. Due to the races being scaled down to duels, there’s excitement in every encounter against the AI or real players – both online and offline. While bragging rights are always on the table, the chance to see your name on the leaderboards should spur you to push the cars to their limits.

On the subject of cars, they’re all electric and there are 16 different driving styles to choose from in Inertial Drift. Just pick your favourite technique and master it, or try all of them, on the route to becoming the ultimate racer across a total of 20 tracks. Given that the tracks are flooded by the lights of pink Japanese sunset and vibrant neon-cities, you’re set to have some thrilling chases.

If the precise racing of Inertial Drift sounds like something you want to get involved in, it’s available right now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. For us Xbox folks though, the Xbox Store is the place to visit, where it’s priced at £16.99.

Feel free to leave a comment if you do pick Inertial Drift up and share your thoughts on it.

Game Description:

Forget everything you know about drifting. Set in a 90’s retro future, Inertial Drift is an Arcade Racer with a devastatingly unique handling model and unbelievably satisfying twin-stick drift mechanics. Inertial Drift offers a whole new level of accessibility and challenge to the arcade racing genre – for a driving experience genuinely unlike anything you’ve played before Unique Twin Stick Controls for Precision Drifting – The right hand stick gives you total control over your drift. Intuitive for new players and uniquely challenging for pros. 16 Fiercely Individual Cars – Each vehicle is a totally different beast with unique characteristics to master. Get behind the wheel and try to tame Sport Hatchbacks, Coupe’s, Supercars & more! 20 Demanding Tracks – Tear through neon city streets, race around rural temple complexes and hurtle down winding mountain passes. Set in a 90s Retro Future – Bold and distinctive environments set beneath neon-pink sunsets and twilight skies. Single Player Story Mode – Perfect your craft through a mix of races, head-to-heads, time trials and style showdowns! Local & Online Multiplayer – Think you’ve mastered the perfect drift? What better way to prove it.

Bartlow’s Dread Machine Review – A Jazzy Little Dandy

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Remember the good old days? Back when you could jump in your short, head to a picture show, have a dilly time, and maybe find some attractive folks on the make? Yes, the 1910s were certainly a wonderful time. Unfortunately, there were not any video games to be enjoyed. Except for one, that is: Bartlow’s Dread Machine. The splendiferous marvel of the electronic age! 

Bartlow's Dread Machine

Of course, Bartlow’s Dread Machine did not actually exist in the 1910s, but it absolutely looks the part. The talented devs at Tribetoy and Beep Games Inc. clearly poured all of their heart and soul into creating the game’s incredibly unique art style. It is easy to forget that what you are playing is actually a video game rather than a coin operated contraption of shining copper and grinding gears. 

The polished and charming visual design extends into the game’s animation as well. Characters move along on wired poles, and have the slightest bit of whiplash when taking tight turns. Baddies crumble to pieces as they are defeated, and every weapon emits a pleasant trail of smoke from their barrels. Not to mention, of course, the splendid way that scenes are constructed before your very eyes. All of this splendid machinery complements the story as well.

You take control of a secret agent for the United States of America. As you are enjoying a fine day in the park, chaos breaks loose thanks to a group of heretofore unknown Anarcho-Satanists. These diabolical folks are responsible for the kidnapping of President Theodore Roosevelt. As one of the President’s sworn protectors, it is your duty to fight against the villains and their horde of monstrosities. You will do this with an assortment of unlockable weapons, and even some famous names from history – Marie Curie, Annie Oakley, and Nikola Tesla to name a few. 

Bartlow's Dread Machine Review

When it comes to the game’s shooting, you will find it to be a mixed bag. You move from scene to scene on little rail paths. Using one stick for movement and the other for aiming, Bartlow’s Dread Machine is a different twist on the twin-stick shooting genre. That twist comes from the mentioned pathways. This shooter requires a change in perspective. You will have to be quick on the draw since your movement is limited. This may sound bad, but it actually makes for great fun. Choosing the right path at the right moment in a flurry of incoming enemies is a delight. Where it all gets a bit rusty, however, is with the enemy projectiles. 

As you rain hot lead upon your enemies, they eventually begin returning fire. You cannot dodge or evade in any way, but you can do a little spin that deflects projectiles. This spin must be activated right before you are hit with a projectile, and it does not feel good. The window of time you have to deflect is small, and it takes an unpleasant amount of time before you can spin again. In the later levels, when a complete hurricane of bullets can speed toward you, having this as your only option for evasion feels completely out of whack.

Your primary option for staying alive then: kill everything faster than it can kill you.

Bartlow's Dread Machine Xbox

That would be fine and dandy if it were not for the fact that the game’s aim assist can often feel that it is working against you. On more occasions than I would like, I found myself struggling to point my weapon at what I actually wanted to be shooting. It was the most frustrating when it would lead to my death – specifically because Bartlow’s Dread Machine has a lives system. Three deaths on a level, and it is all the way back to the beginning for you. This can be absolutely crushing on some of the longer levels. It would not feel so brutal if you had the abilities to skip cutscenes, earn money for unlocking new weapons faster, or even change characters in between attempts. Sadly, none of this is the case. The fact that you have to start an entirely new game in order to change characters is a total drag. Each character comes with a completely unique and fun weapon, but I rarely felt the desire to try them out since it meant replaying through everything – unskippable cutscenes and dialogue included.

Though it will not win any awards for its gameplay, this game is a real treat. It encapsulates the heart and spirit of what wonderful things can be done with an indie game. Its rougher edges and rustier bits can be frustrating, but if you want to play one of the most unique titles of the year, then you could do a whole lot worse than Bartlow’s Dread Machine on Xbox One.

Word Sudoku by POWGI Review

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In the words of our esteemed podcast host, Gareth Brierley: “Did you know” that there are 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960 different solution grids for a sudoku? That is just using the numbers 1-9 however, but how much would it be with 26 letters of the alphabet? Undoubtedly, a lot more than 300, but that is how many are on offer in Word Sudoku by POWGI.

word suduko by powgi review xbox 1

For anyone living under a rock for the past 20 years, a sudoku is a number logic puzzle where the numbers 1-9 are placed in a 9×9 grid. In each orthogonal line or 3×3 sub-grid the same number cannot exist. According to their history they have existed since the late 19th Century, but only across the last 20 or so years has the puzzle appeared in English-speaking newspapers and gained widespread attention.

Despite Word Sudoku changing things up by replacing the numbers with letters, there is some cohesion as each of the nine letters spells out a word. Credit is due to the developers at Lightwood Games for managing to find 300 9-letter words where no letter is repeated. And to make things easier, the word is guaranteed to appear once in the puzzle with the letters in the correct order.

Transitioning to letters from numbers can be a bit jarring at first, but if you struggle to make the adjustment, Word Sudoku has an option to change the boards to a more traditional number format.

word suduko by powgi review xbox 2

Of course, there are already thousands of sudoku apps available on all forms of touch devices that will feel far more intuitive than having to use a controller to input your letters. That said, the use of the controller here is about as good as can be. You move around the grid to select the square you wish to fill, before choosing the letter/number you wish to fill it with.

Other additional touches include a check feature, where you can see your progress at any point. You will be notified of any issues, with the option to fix them. This doesn’t exactly correct them, but it does remove any incorrect inputs. Then there are erase and undo options, and the ability to even annotate in squares what the possible letter could be. This is also updated as you begin to fill in the puzzle, so you don’t need to worry about continuing to update it.

This is a useful function, as Word Sudoku has five difficulty levels to choose from: Beginner, Easy, Medium, Hard and Fiendish. Plus, a sixth category of lucky dip choices is present. Using the knowledge above that the word will appear once in full on the grid helps to make the ‘Fiendish’ puzzles that little bit easier.

Sadly, there isn’t much else in the way of features. In the pause menu you have a little dog companion that will offer puns or inspiration to push you gently on your way, but there isn’t anything else. Just 300 sudokus. Or 600 if you wanted to complete them in word format and then number format. But that’s everything.

One thing I was grateful for though was the option to turn off the background music. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t offer much. I was much better off sticking my own music on and muting Word Sudoku.

word suduko by powgi review xbox 3

However, achievement hunters will be happy to know that Word Sudoku has 27 to unlock, and all are related to specific puzzles as opposed to completing X percentage of total puzzles. These puzzles are found throughout all the difficulties, but anyone who has spent time understanding sudoku will not have any issues with unlocking all of them. It will be better to find a list of which specific puzzles you are looking for though, as on the main menu it isn’t made obvious which puzzle is which until you start it up. Also, changing puzzles from letters to numbers doesn’t negate achievements, which may make it even easier for the full 1000G.

The achievements themselves though are really well-named. They take the words you are inputting and create clever and coherent sentences as their achievement names.

Word Sudoku by POWGI on the Xbox One is simply a sudoku game. It would have been perfect to utilise the snap feature like Threes did all those years ago – and something that Microsoft should have never got rid of – but here it is instead on your 65” 4K-ready TV. If you enjoy a sudoku, here is another way to take on a puzzle or two. If you aren’t a fan though, there is nothing extra here to tempt you. There is a nice twist on it being based on the letter format rather than that of the number, but ultimately this is sudoku with an Xbox controller. Nothing more and nothing less.

Take a first look at Eivor’s legendary Viking saga with the latest Assassin’s Creed Valhalla story trailer

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assassins creed valhalla xbox

The next instalment of the class-leading Assassin’s Creed is just around the corner and before we know it we’ll be hopping into Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and experiencing the life of a fierce Viking raider. In order to build up the hype a little – like it needs building! – Ubisoft have today dropped a brand new trailer, one that goes deep into the life of Eivor and allows players to get a glimpse of the legendary Viking saga that awaits.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be launching on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S (you can grab the game from the Xbox Store for pre-order right now), PS4 and PC on November 10th, with a PS5 launch rolling out at the release of the console from November 12th, and an Amazon Luna drop at the launch of the Ubisoft channel. And when it does arrive, it’s looking likely we’ll be in for an utter treat as Valhalla offers players the captivating experience of playing as Eivor, a legendary Viking raider. Set in a beautiful and mysterious open world set against the brutal backdrop of England’s Dark Ages, we’ll be able to take advantage of new features, including raids, weapon dual-wielding, and settlement building.

The story trailer offers players a new glimpse of Eivor, a fierce Viking raider torn between their duty to their brother Sigurd and a personal quest for glory. Driven from Norway by endless wars and dwindling resources, Eivor’s clan must secure a future among the kingdoms of England. During their journey, Eivor will come across the Hidden Ones, and face powerful figures including Saxon kings and the warmongering sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, as well as a mysterious, growing threat that could determine England’s destiny”.

Further to that though, Ubisoft have also announced Echoes of Valhalla, a podcast series that kicks off today and unveils the historical background of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. In Echoes of Valhalla we will find Vikings telling their very own story to give a new voice to the warriors who have travelled and shaped the world. If you wish to give it a listen, you should head to Spotify right this minute.

Once you’ve given the podcast a listen, and checked out the latest story trailer for AC Valhalla, get back here and let us know what you think of it all. Will this up the ante once again as Ubisoft take past triumphs like that found in Assassin’s Creed Origins and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to deliver another stunning tale? The comments section is down below.

Forge your own path with the second instalment of the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey dev diary

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Elite dangerous Odyssey

We already know that Elite Dangerous is the go-to space offering for those looking to travel the universe, and thanks to the upcoming price removal for the Horizons expansion, those galactic opportunities will fast become easier to handle. But looking further ahead we’ll be given the chance to forget our own path when the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launches in 2021 – and that is where the latest instalment in the Road to Odyssey dev diary series comes in.

Available for your watching pleasure right this minute the second instalment of the Road to Odyssey series takes a deep dive into the new social settlements and player agency that will be in place in Odyssey. Offering players the utter freedom of choice in order to forge their own careers while soaring across the galaxy has always been part of what makes Elite Dangerous so appealing, and when Elite Dangerous: Odyssey drops on Xbox One, PS4 and PC in early 2021, Commanders will be able to set foot on the surface of billions of planets for the first time, even those with thin atmospheres, explore new planetary outposts and bases as they do so.

In this latest instalment, Game Director Piers Jackson, Art Director Chris Gregory, Lead Designer Gareth Hughes, Principal Audio Designer Matthew Florianz and Principal Animator Felix Ilsley explore how you can shape your own narrative in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey with the choices you make. It is this latest chapter in the dev diary that looks at a new approach to missions, station interiors, different spacesuits, and gives a taste of how commanders can interact with a vast range of new characters on foot, and how the game can work even without owning your own ship.

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launches in early 2021 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Hit up the dev diary below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. And if you haven’t yet picked up Elite Dangerous, get that sorted with a trip to the Xbox Store.

What’s Coming to Xbox Game Pass? – 1st-8th October

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xbox game pass october new games

The Xbox Game Pass service is one that is continually evolving, with new games coming in, and going out, on a regular basis. And as we move into October 2020, the scheme is once more dropping some movement both in terms of games that are incoming to the service, and moving on out. But what are they? Well, the start of October 2020 promises to be a superb time to be an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.

DOOM Eternal – 1st October

doom eternal

Coming almost straight off the back that Microsoft are to acquire Zenimax and all their game studios, fans were thinking we would have to wait a bit longer before we would see the fruits of this takeover on Game Pass. Instead, we get DOOM Eternal releasing onto Game Pass on the 1st October, just over six months since it launched!

Continuing the theme of fast and visceral first-person combat, DOOM Eternal arrives on consoles just a couple of months after the excellent 2016 reboot disappeared from the streaming service. DOOM was the game I played and loved during lockdown a few months ago, so I for one am very much looking forward to playing the sequel. Hopefully just before the first DLC – The Ancient Gods Part One – arrives on 20th October.

Drake Hollow (PC) – 1st October

Drake Hollow 1

Drake Hollow has been on console Game Pass for a few months now but is shifting over to PC now also, as part of Game Pass Ultimate.

The Drakes in the title are actually walking vegetable-like humanoids that follow you around. However, it is also your responsibility to protect them, nurture them and feed them. Enemies known as the Feral have laid waste to the Drakes home and it is up to you to rid the world of the Feral and bring peace back to the Hollow.

Brütal Legend – 8th October

brutal legend xbox

Another game appearing due to acquisitions, is Double Fine Productions’ heavy metal inspired hack and slash/real-time strategy hybrid, Brütal Legend. Complete with metal umlaut above the ‘u’.

Eddie Riggs – portrayed by none other than Jack Black – was just a humble roadie until he is dragged into an alternate world that looks straight off a heavy metal album cover. Some of the worlds actually are. He will need to bring together friends to free the world from a hellacious overlord.

Also, while we are here, does anyone else think that Double Fine founder Tim Schafer looks a bit like Jack Black?

Forza Motorsport 7 – 8th October

forza 7

I’ll be honest here; I thought this game was already on Game Pass. Shockingly though, Forza Horizon 4 is currently the only Forza game on Game Pass. We at TheXboxHub would argue you don’t need another Forza, but Microsoft are kindly giving us one anyways.

Released way back in 2017, Forza 7 was also the last mainline entry, as the series has taken a bit of a break since then to – pun incoming – ‘gear up’ for Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series X. Many have since argued that the Horizon series represents the future of the Forza franchise, but 7 remains true to the roots of the series by being a much more realistic simulator.

With around 900 cars available to collect, Forza Motorsport 7 is another meaty addition to the Game Pass library.

Ikenfell (PC and Console) – 8th October

ikenfell xbox

Finally, in this latest round-up is Ikenfell; an ID@Xbox title that is launching straight into Game Pass for both PC and consoles.

In words that will delight and frustrate players in equal measure, Ikenfell is a turn-based tactical RPG. You take charge of a group of magic students – that hopefully aren’t called Harry, Ron and Hermione for legal reasons – through various battles and challenges around their vast magic school. On their journey they will uncover plenty of treasure and loot, but also maybe some darker secrets that are best left covered.


With additions though, we have the usual removals, and we have a few notable ones to report that are leaving on 15th October:

  • Felix the Reaper (PC and Console)
  • Metro 2033 Redux (PC and Console)
  • Minit (PC and Console)
  • Saints Row IV Re-Elected (PC)
  • State of Mind (PC)

Anyone currently playing through these, get a shift on!

There is also the news that EA Play will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on 10th November. That date should ring a bell too, as it is the launch date for the new consoles, so there will be no shortage of games to play on Day One.

Looking Back to 2010 and H2O in Hydrophobia

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Do you know those games that rely on a single element of attraction? It might be a unique art style, a novel gameplay mechanic or even high difficulty. Hydrophobia is that game. It isn’t a pretty game and it doesn’t have the best narrative in the world. It’s not necessarily fun or accessible to play either. But it totally dominates when it comes to water.

Wait, water? Indeed, as odd as it may seem, Hydrophobia’s biggest asset is the quality of H2O in-game. Developed by Dark Energy Digital, Hydrophobia released in 2010 as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive. Initially, it was met with poor review scores, prompting more work and updates from the developer. It was then ported to PC and PlayStation 3 the next year as Hydrophobia Prophecy. Admittedly though, it was still far from being a polished gameplay experience.

Many of the same shortcomings were left without attention: the clunky controls, the bland level design and the rather awful voice acting. But as lacklustre as its gameplay was, Hydrophobia still had some impressive water physics. Equip your rebreather because in this article we’ll take a look at Hydrophobia and water. Lots of water.

New World Order

Hydrophobia

First things first. Hydrophobia tackles, or rather, attempts to tackle, the complex subject of overpopulation. It’s the middle of the current century and the world is plagued by the so-called Great Population Flood. This leads the elite of the society to build the Queen of the World – a humongous naval vessel housing only the most distinguished members of the population. Not everyone agrees to such a solution to a global problem, of course.

Early on, the ship is assaulted by a terrorist group known as the Malthusians. One of their slogans – “Save the world, kill yourself” – says it all. The Malthusians aim to kill as many citizens of the ship as possible, thus easing the burden of overpopulation on society. Nice, huh? If that’s not a grim premise, I don’t know what is.

Where do you come in? Are you one of the founders? A fine gentleman in the vein of BioShock’s Andrew Ryan? Perhaps you’re a terrorist seeking to end injustice and make the world a better place for everyone? Neither. You take on the role of Kate Wilson, a lowly Systems Engineer. And before you get your hopes up, she’s definitely no Isaac Clarke.

Assisted by her Scotsman partner Scoot over the radio, Kate must figure out how to stop the Malthusians and get off the ship before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. But as novel as the overall premise may seem, the story suffers from poor writing and voice acting. Exchanges between Kate and Scoot often feel like they’re trying to replicate those found in some of the Tomb Raider games. In fact, all characters in Hydrophobia are poorly and often inappropriately voiced.

It ended on a cliffhanger and never received a conclusion due to poor reception. But maybe that’s a blessing in disguise.

Take My Breath Away

Hydrophobia Xbox One

Let’s digress from the awful narrative into something positive. There’s one saving grace in Hydrophobia: water. Have I told you about the water? Water is great. It keeps you hydrated and healthy. A plunge into the pool can help you cool off during a hot summer day. But water can also kill you (oh no!). It just so happens that water in Hydrophobia is of the evil murderous kind. Following the attack, the ship sustains heavy external and internal damage.

Water in Hydrophobia looks and feels great. It seeps through the cracks in the hull and forces its way deeper into the ship. Rooms and hallways quickly submerge, enveloping you in a sense of helplessness. It flushes away debris and doesn’t spare anyone caught in its grasp, including Kate herself. Facing off against a natural disaster is far more frightening than any demon or half-rotten zombie. Initial segments focus on survival alone.

There’s a real force to it and Kate is often swept off her feet by an approaching wave. This leaves you with only precious seconds to get a grasp of your surroundings and get out. Visibility underwater is poor and sometimes you have to traverse a fairly long distance with no oxygen, nervously looking for pockets of air to replenish it. While not every underwater escapade provides this sense of urgency, the ones that do are easily among the game’s best moments.

Outside of these swimming portions, Hydrophobia is a generic 3D action-adventure game. You guide Kate through the collapsing hallways, climb burning elevator shafts and balance on fragile ceiling beams. At times, you also scan the environment for clues and collectables. Hydrophobia completely falls apart when it introduces combat later on. Poorly designed cover and shooting mechanics make encounters against the Malthusians an entirely forgettable affair.

Hydrophobia Xbox

With all of the above in mind, would I recommend you try Hydrophobia 10 years later? If you love survival games, then maybe. Hydrophobia is worth taking a look at for its water physics, and water physics alone. There’s not much to it other than that. Hydrophobia often feels like a budget Tomb Raider wannabe. In terms of everything else, it’s a combination of forgettable narrative, poor gunplay and downright awful traversal mechanics.

On the flip side, at £7.19 it’s not going to be a painful investment either way.

Elite Dangerous: Horizons set to provide free landing space for all Commanders

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elite dangerous horizons

Back in the mid-1980s there was one video game that absolutely everyone had to play. That game was Elite. Pushing the boundaries of what was possible at the time, it came with a huge open universe to explore, trading routes to take in, and enough narcotics to keep the galactic adventurers happy. It was a bit of a phenomenon. It wasn’t until many years later though, with the launch of Elite Dangerous when the franchise became known to a new generation of gamers. But when it arrived, it did so in style. And ever since that time it has evolved too, with the base game complemented by the huge Horizons expansion to ensure those heading off around the galaxy were well catered for. But now things are getting better still, as Elite Dangerous: Horizons gets set to become freely available for all Elite Dangerous players.

Currently available via the Elite Dangerous: Horizons Season Pass for £19.99, Horizons will soon become free to download for all Elite players, bringing with it additional bringing planetary landings, surface recon vehicles and more. When will this happen? Well, October 27th 2020 is the date you should be putting in your diaries.

It is then when Frontier Developments will push out a major free update for the long running space epic, the highlight of which will include the rich season of content found in Horizons becoming folded in to the base game for free. Players will receive the complete Horizons experience via a free update to Elite Dangerous on Xbox One, PS4 and PC, with those who previously purchased Horizons first in line to receive an exclusive Azure paint job compatible with all 41 ships that are currently available in game.

elite dangerous Cobra MkIII Azure Stars

If you are unaware, Elite Dangerous: Horizons brings planetary landings to the Elite Dangerous galaxy. But it also brings together weapon crafting, ship-launched fighters and exhilarating multicrew co-op action. It is this premium expansion that changed up the base game of Elite Dangerous, also allowing players to put wheels on the ground and explore the galaxy up-close with the SRV Scarab ground vehicle, giving access to many surface star ports and other locations.

With 2020 proving to be a stellar year for Elite Dangerous’ fans, with the launch of the free Fleet Carriers update in June and the announcement of a new multi-arc player driven narrative, the arrival of Horizons for free is just the icing on the cake. These developments will culminate with the launch of Elite Dangerous’ most ambitious expansion yet, Odyssey, which will see players able to combine space flight with first-person on foot gameplay on light atmospheric worlds in early 2021.

Before that, hold tight for the October 27th to roll around, at which Horizons will become free to enjoy for all Elite Dangerous players. Let us know in the comments if that is something which will entice you into galactic navigation. The official launch trailer from Horizons arrival is down below.

Swordbreaker The Game Review

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Back when books were cool, I was partial to a choose-your-own adventure and would often delve into the Goosebumps spin-off series Give Yourself Goosebumps, hoping to survive more than a handful of pages. You know the type: turn to page 15 to enter the poorly lit room or page 84 to run away, like a sensible person. Upon hearing Sometimes You had published a choose-your-own adventure in the form of Swordbreaker The Game, I felt compelled to see how well the concept pans out on Xbox One. Will my journey be one to remember, or will I be left wishing I’d chosen to embark on a different experience altogether?

The harsh truth is that Swordbreaker The Game isn’t quite the enthralling adventure it could have been, and if not for the low price, it wouldn’t even be worth considering. Who knows though, you might like the sound of what it has to offer.

swordbreaker the game xbox

Given that Swordbreaker The Game is a choose-your-own adventure, it naturally plays similarly to a visual novel – albeit with a lot more interaction. The scene is set during an introductory sequence of stills accompanied by a fairly decent voiceover. The protagonist of this story is a nameless, down on his luck character known only as the SwordBreaker. A chance encounter with a fatally wounded chap sees him receive a map depicting the route to a castle. As he has nothing else going on, SwordBreaker decides to travel there in the hopes of finding something to turn his life around. 

While not the most intriguing foundations for the narrative, at least you get a rough idea of who the SwordBreaker is. However, once you actually delve in and start the game, everything becomes a little bit bonkers. It’s a medieval fantasy tale, so you’d expect magical beings and such, but there’s a senseless amount of zany characters thrown in for no real reason. Not satisfied with just including skeleton warriors, necromancers and a succubus, there are also giant spiders, aliens, an evil robot and an octopus – to name only a few. Seriously, it’s beyond belief and makes it tricky to ever buy into what’s occurring.

At the beginning of each playthrough you’ll have three lives to try and make it to the end, with crucial choices to be made at every juncture. There’s a chunk of text overlaying the artwork depicting the scene and multiple options are explained. It’s all pretty standard stuff, but the part I found most fascinating is a sort of karma-based system for how you approach certain situations, which can alter the plot further down the line. During a critical point in the latter stages, whether you’ve behaved mercifully or ruthlessly makes a genuine difference. 

There are well over 300 scenes to uncover in Swordbreaker The Game and the sheer amount of pathways to take means there’s a decent replayability factor. And it’s a good job there is because you’ll probably reach a death screen in minutes; fatal choices are littered throughout the adventure and it feels as if almost every scene can bring about your death. I wouldn’t usually have a problem with that, however the deadliest decisions are often so innocuous. For example, it’s entirely believable to make a costly move in the midst of a battle against Cerberus, but reading a book, taking a rest and peeking into a wardrobe leads to murder.

The randomness does ensure a freshness in the way you never know what the game has up its sleeve next. On the contrary though, it’s so ridiculous that there’s no immersion and you never really have time to connect with any of the characters – it has to be said that the writing isn’t all that engrossing and seldom contains anything that could hook you in. After a few runs, you’ll no doubt have given up with the ‘story’, instead just focusing on finding new routes and acquiring achievements. 

Venturing through the castle and its surroundings will at least allow you to appreciate the art used to create each scene. The characters look great, with a lot of effort clearly gone into their designs to enable them to stand out. It also captures the gruesome killing really well, portraying the brutality of the hardcore escapades. The accompanying music, although sparse in variety, manages to set the tone adequately and doesn’t ever seem to be over-intrusive.

All in all, Swordbreaker The Game on Xbox One is a lacklustre choose-your-own adventure that tries to cram too many fantastical creatures in and becomes too ridiculous to follow. The writing leaves a lot to be desired, while the deadly choices are often rather nonsensical; it kills the enjoyment when you have to start over because of silly consequences. All hope isn’t lost though, with lovely artwork worth taking in and a huge amount of different routes to traverse, culminating in a couple of hours worth of playtime. There’s also the karma system, which is cleverly implemented and alters how things play out.

If you’re after a gripping tale then Swordbreaker The Game isn’t going to be for you, so just turn around and walk away. Should you have a penchant for fantasy art and achievement hunting however, then maybe the cheap price could sway you to consider it.

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