DeVuego

I came into RiME knowing almost nothing about it, and my ignorance paid dividends. To learn more would be to spoil the journey, and when every aspect of the game rings true as it does here, it feels like a remarkable achievement. There is very little to criticise; the platforming elements work well, the puzzle elements will tax you on occasion but never feel unsolvable, and while the camera can hinder you and the lack of light in some areas might feel somewhat unfair, these are miniscule niggles on the rarest of occasions, and are easily overcome. The poetry of RiME propels you forward across mountains, caverns, oceans and deserts, and captivates you until the final stanza, after which you’ll want to play it all again. Metaphor has never been so tenderly portrayed.

Crossing souls is a masterpiece of both story telling and nostalgia. The gameplay is great and the game is as stylish as the eighties themselves. You will come for the nostalgia and stay for the genuinely brilliant story,

Gris is an immensely important game, one that is another shining example of how much can be done with the medium. The visuals and the sound design are both complemented perfectly by the intense story and serve to create an incredible experience. Gris is a must play and shouldn't be missed for any reason.

Arise: A Simple Story, while being a simple game, has an immense amount of things going for it. Its time manipulation mechanic is well implemented and makes you want to explore each stage thoroughly. Its beautiful, soothing and very well made. I am sure most players will find something they like about this quirky little title, I for one, found a lot to like about it.

Arise: A Simple Story, while being a simple game, has an immense amount of things going for it. Its time manipulation mechanic is well implemented and makes you want to explore each stage thoroughly. Its beautiful, soothing and very well made. I am sure most players will find something they like about this quirky little title, I for one, found a lot to like about it.

From top to bottom, Gigantosaurus is easy to grasp and offers the right level of challenge and flexibility for children to pick up and play.

Groundhog Day is a fun, mind-bending adventure that encourages trial and error. Its funny, witty and everything is presented in a pleasing manner. The VR implementation is good and I had zero issues throughout. Groundhog Day came from nowhere and really surprised me. I really enjoyed it.

SuperEpic's satirical style might not be for everyone, but if you are OK with that aspect then this is an excellent addition to the ever growing Metroidvania genre. Graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay fit together beautifully, making SuperEpic difficult to put down.

Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge is a charming indie shooter with plenty of adventures to be had, but its repetitive music, inconsistent controls and surprising difficulty curve hold it back slightly. Worth a look if you enjoy a challenge, and a quirky story.

STAY has an interesting storyline that is very relatable and can teach individuals about emotional intelligence, human psychology and mental health. The puzzles are quite frustrating at times but this can be simply overlooked once completed and you continue with the original storyline. The soundtrack of the game leaves areas for improvement and the pixel art could have been created at a better quality however this is my personal preference as I set the bar quite high due to the other pixel artists. The developers are actively on hand to assist with issues and if you hit a wall (no pun intended) with any of the puzzles. I’m excited to see how the developers Appnormal will improve and release another unique pixel art game. 

I enjoyed Effie a lot, mainly because it reminded me of playing games in my youth. Exploring and completing little challenges is fun and rewarding. That's what games should be shouldn't they? Rewarding and fun. A few technical issues aside, if you are looking for an old-school platforming title with quite a bit of gameplay variation then look no further, Effie is a fun game to play.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is a game that tries to take the best of both new and old Castlevania but ultimately comes up short all round. The segmented exploration and redundant levelling up won’t please fans of the older titles and the combat isn’t deep enough to learn all of the combos for how rarely you may want to attempt something beyond mashing buttons. Ignoring the staples of the series however the game is quite enjoyable throughout its eight-hour campaign, but doesn’t offer any compelling reason to return to the game once completed. 

Blacksad: Under the Skin has a pleasantly engaging story and fine, if somewhat repetitive, game play mechanics. Unfortunately, the end result just did not seem to be a finished product. Significant patch work will be needed to do justice to the story.

BOOR comes to Steam with charm, beauty and substantially interesting puzzles to get through, but it is its story that lets it down. Without progression of the narrative along with the difficulty of the puzzles, it becomes quite easy to lose sight of why this special girl with her grey clone is even bothering to save a place she appears to have no connection to. With all its softly menacing music and blood-red atmosphere it appears that BOOR is just like Eden, a bit empty.

Too often companies dress up dross and send it out as a child-friendly game, inherent faults spun into benefits and fooling adults into thinking that they’d be doing their kid a favour by picking up these games. We’re living in a transformational time for gaming at the moment, and for no other age group is this more apparent than the under-10s. No more for them the screeching half hour of a Spectrum load, no more the jet engine disc spin of the 360. Cheap, intuitive and instant gaming pleasures await them on tablets and phones, experiences that understand the values of accessibility, reward mechanics and – more importantly – are genuinely fun. At four-and-three-quarters my eldest may be below the target age group for The Muppets Movie Adventures, but it still feels very telling that her interest was lost almost immediately, with LEGO Batman and the CBeebies iPad app demanded in recompense. At a couple of quid this might have found a home on your Vita’s memory card for the kids to mess around with every now and then – at the price it’s been released you’re better off taking that cash and playing iOS roulette instead.