DeVuego

As a platformer, Scarf doesn’t particularly break new ground, and veterans of the genre will hardly pause for thought when solving its puzzles. That makes it liable to be written off as ‘just another platformer‘, which is a real shame. A full playthrough of the game can be comfortably achieved in one sitting, and the valuable message that lies at the heart of its narrative is more than worth taking the time. Scarf isn’t designed to challenge or frustrate, but provides the player with the satisfaction of puzzle-solving and a gently introspective allegorical tale.

What keeps the game engaging over the course of a playthrough is the depth of the storytelling on display, and how strangely removed you are from your interactions. I don’t think I’ve ever played a game where the consequences of my actions were entirely related to me secondhand. 

And yet, emotional exhaustion seems as viable of a takeaway as any. After all, the small things we use to get through our days, to cope with the perpetual thrum of unexcitement in lives lived conservatively, do eventually fade into routine. We grow tired of the phone game we bought or that playlist we made and we find ourselves ready for the next thing, which tends to be similarly fleeting. By the time the credits roll for The Longest Road on Earth, I was more than ready to move on, but maybe that doesn’t have to be a criticism because it speaks to its own sort of emotional truth.

Godstrike is a treat, if a slightly messy one. There’s a clear debt to bullet hell shooters, with the game largely inspired by Furi, which also had clear shoot ‘em up-inspired sections in its boss gauntlet. Godstrike doubles down on nailing the feeling of working out a pattern, and dismantling a complex boss as you effortlessly dodge a tapestry of gunfire, whilst adding the great risk-reward mechanic of the timer-as-health-bar.

I’ve reached an age where the games I would have enjoyed 20 years ago and more are a distant recollection of quick wits, skill and muscle memory, of the ‘how-on-earth-did-I-play-that?’ variety. Yet here we are, four years on from Studio Kobe’s Kickstarter launch and while it feels like a lifetime has passed in the interim, not just in videogames, I find myself playing a game in a genre that I had all but given up hope of finding any kind of pleasure in again. In Narita Boy, beating seemingly insurmountable odds can still be fun.

Nevertheless, I do encourage players to give it a go and stick with it. Mutropolis shows tons of promise and is undeniably funny and charming. Beautiful to look at with an interesting story and likeable characters, point-and-click fans will find lots to enjoy here. It’s a strong debut from Pirita Studios, a definite step in the right direction and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

I can think of no better descriptor for the game than candy floss. There is no substance, no depth, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good or isn’t pretty to look at. However, I can’t help but feel like this game would be too hard and frustrating for most young children. Conversely, it doesn’t have much of anything to appeal to anyone over the age of six. In the end, I can’t really recommend the game, and the fact that it depicts the genocide of an entire race with the gleeful candour of the Androids from Dragon Ball Z really doesn’t help.

But face defeat, and you can always start again. And in HyperParasite, I found myself compelled to do so more than other rogue-lites I’ve played recently. While its heavy reliance on unlocks may put off the more hardcore rogue fans, it gradually makes the game more beatable over time. And that’s all the hope I needed: next time, maybe next time, I can win.

Even if SuperEpic isn’t the most coherent game, the whole package still works well. With so many different challenges, puzzles and secrets to discover, it’s a worthy evolution of the Metroidvania formula. Using your smartphone is a clever addition, provided you want to use it, while the exploration and combat feels fluid and responsive to where you’re itching to see what awaits you in the next room.

Arise: A Simple Story is one of the stronger ‘Journey-like’ experiences I’ve played. Its awe-inspiring levels that morph with the flow of time are only hampered slightly by a few design problems. What’s more, the titular ‘simple story’ is heartfelt and elegantly told. Minor frustrations aside, this is a lovely little tale that’s easy to recommend.

Fans of the graphic novels may very well be able to stomach the flaws in Blacksad: Under The Skin, but I worry curious newcomers will find the experiential cost of entry too much to stomach. 

While the puzzles make up a big part of the game, it is the terrifying side of Song of Horror that makes it stand out. Playing just before bed wasn’t my greatest idea, and everyday things like putting the bins out at night aren’t as straightforward as they were last week.

So, in the end, it’s easy to say if Blasphemous will appeal. Players who love intentionally difficult games will find a lot of value and horror fans who can muscle through will love the game’s visual and thematic design. Unfortunately, the game takes its masochistic themes of martyrdom too seriously, making the player feel like they’ve stepped into the retro gaming equivalent of a back alley S&M club they mistakenly took for an 80s video arcade.

While it remains to be seen if it will survive a player lull, and whether new players from all walks of life will be comfortable diving into a level editor that, while packed with features, doesn’t know how to explain those possibilities, as it stands today, Million To One Hero is a solid time sink to get those creative juices flowing.

And yet I’m worried Etherborn won’t stay in my thoughts for as long as Baxter’s words have. Try as it might to nestle its way into the recesses of my mind, Etherborn may end up being a fleeting memory – a pleasant experience but one which will hang on the forefront of your mind, only to be quickly scuppered by something with a bit more of body.

There’s still an excellent time to be had here if you’re a patient player with a penchant for easy modes (managing my units in a more difficult scenario may have resulted in a controller-through-the-TV incident). They Are Billions is certainly an impressive game that can be on PS4. Whether it should, or at least whether it should yet, is another question. The port feels fairly rushed overall, with little consideration given to the changes in control dynamics and player setup that come into question when running on console.

Eventually repetition can start to set in and at this point I recommend quitting while you’re ahead. But at its measly asking price, a few hours of hilarious antics make Reventure a no-brainer of an impulse buy.

Yuppie Psycho gives us a glimpse into the neo-corporate future depicted in science fiction films like Robocop and The Matrix, where normal people try to navigate the corporate dystopian workspaces they’ve found themselves in. It’s a highly polished look at what we once imagined as the reality of the corporatised future, and still could be. It’s entertaining and engaging with its poke at modern life and the flimsy social systems we cling to. It argues that you are not defined by your job – and, on occasion, that’s something everyone needs to hear.

I can’t help but feel that all of the awards Path to Mnemosyne has listed on its Steam page underline the lost potential of this project. Or, perhaps, this game simply isn’t as interesting as it looks, although it does look very interesting. This is by no means a bad game: it’s polished, it looks great, and everything works as it should. It definitely hooks you, and some of its puzzles are as creative as any you might find. However, as the more cynical of us might say is expected for a game so geared toward the visual, when you scratch below the surface, Path to Mnemosyne leaves a lot to be desired.

Immortal Redneck is not the first indie game to take on the FPS/roguelike hybrid – nor will it be the last. However, Immortal Redneck is a much more refined experience than its contemporaries thanks in full to its tight, frenetic gunplay fundamentals that would make the likes of Duke, Sam and Doom Guy proud.