DeVuego ES_COR

Creatures of Ava is a peachy little pep tonic for those who crave exploration and discovery of a whole new world. The creatures are charming, the world is rich and stunning and the character interactions are first-class.

Whilst I’ve listed a few nit-picks during this review, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Laika. Within the first few hours, I was already telling fans of the genre that they had to check this out, and that’s still the case now. I feel like the lack of a general buzz around this game is only down to the fact that it has launched during such a busy period of big-budget titles.

Having played a fair few games recently that looked like I would enjoy, but ended up as an epic fail, I was a little sceptical. My fears were quickly alleviated though as I entered a fantastically created world full of wonders and awe. Simplistic gameplay and challenging levels awaited and I had to be on top form to progress steadily. Tenebris Pictura takes all the flavours to create the perfect blend of modern gaming. Pentadimensional had an idea, they rolled with it and the end result is as close to perfection as I have experienced for a long time.

Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is designed to be playable by all ages, and suits different play styles. Whether you’re a speed runner who wants to set record times or an explorer who prefers to visit every corner of the map, Koa has you covered. There’s enough gameplay to keep things interesting, and the developers have left it open to DLC or expansion in the future. Being level based and containing loot-able items and in-game shops, Koa has serious potential for growth. Perhaps some more advanced levels or trickier puzzles could be added in future updates?

Just like STAY before it this is a game that I highly recommend and Appnormals are a team that should most definitely be on your radar.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Hunt The Night and highly recommend players check it out. When the game suggested playing with earphones and a controller, they weren’t kidding. The controls felt tight and accurate to use. I’ve already said my thoughts about the music. I will be doing another play-through to find any secrets I may have missed, that’s for sure. I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what Moonlight Games comes up with next time.

Scrap Riders is a compelling little title that’s a little rough around the edges, and I had a blast playing it. You should definitely check it out if you’re interested in beat ‘em ups, point ‘n clicks, or both.

Horror comes in all shapes and sizes, and WildSphere’s Oxide Room 104 thinks bigger is not always better. This self-published title takes cues from body horror and escape rooms to combine them into this neat, but short, horror-puzzler package.

Although I really enjoy Killsquad, it is not without its shortcomings. It has all the groundwork for an amazing game ahead. But without a better loot system, more diverse zones, and some tweaking of the gameplay overall, it will fall short of its full potential. Thus I award Killsquad the Thumb Culture Silver Award. Here’s hoping for a long life after launch.

Overall I enjoyed playing Youtubers Life 2 quite a bit. The setting was fun and entertaining and I found the gameplay mechanics to be straightforward, especially when done often. The loose story was engaging and I enjoyed the use of social media, streaming, etc beyond simply recording videos. There were some glitches forcing me to restart the game that soured it for me a little. It looks and sounds great and if you like lifestyle simulators, I have no doubt that Youtubers Life 2 will be your cup of tea.

Timothy’s Night was a very pleasant surprise for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I experienced a couple of graphical glitches, one of which I couldn’t seem to get around as it seemed to save itself into my game save. The on-screen mini-map seemed to freeze for me. My objective arrows were moving around, but my character and the actual mini-map were not.

Arise: A Simple Story is a special game and it deserves your attention. The narrative, although like the title suggests is ‘simple’, how it’s told is not, and the game deserves to be lauded for this. The puzzles are fun with suitable challenge allowing you to progress through the game and experience the unique chapters with a smile on your face. If you’re a fan of artistic indie titles such as Brothers: A Tale of two Sons, Rime and Limbo then do yourself a favour, and check out this game. Not only does this game get the rare Thumb Culture Platinum Award, it’s also a game of the year contender!

Super Dodgeball Beats is a simplistic game and a button masher. It lacks depth and gets stale after a while. It’s fun at first don’t get me wrong, but it severely lacks content, other then what it comes with. I would like to see DLC that builds on what makes the game good, its music. While Super Dodgeball Beats isn’t bad, it’s not good either. It is begging out for more content and FinalBoss Games might well need to go back to drawing on this one. I give Super Dodgeball Beats a ThumbCulture Bronze Award.

Overall, with a slightly higher than the expected price point of £19.99, I wouldn’t recommend you take a punt on the game if you’re slightly interested in the genre and/or theme. This game is for fans of the RTS genre who are looking for a challenge and I’m sure that the game will build a cult following of hardcore RTS fans, however with no tutorial and campaign to support newcomers to the genre, I’d give the They Are Billions a Thumb Culture Bronze Award.

PLahHP is an enjoyable puzzle title with enough twists and turns in both the plot and gameplay to keep the player engaged for its relatively short run-time. What first seems like a simple concept is expanded with the introduction of characters with questionable motives and interesting new mechanics which change up the pace considerably. The game is not without its flaws but I found the combination of tricky puzzles and (very) light sci-fi horror quite satisfying. A quick glance over BeautiFun Games’ Twitter shows the enthusiasm and passion they have for this project, which is always heartening to see. In a sequel, I would like to see more of a focus on visuals and atmosphere, and with a bit more polish with regards to the script and voice-acting. I advise you to check out some gameplay footage as I suspect quick glance will tell you if this game is for you. Much like Professor Lupo’s pets, I found it quite hard to put down. I will be awarding it the Thumb Culture Silver award!