Whether or not he likes it, Tom Cruise has a lot to answer for. Not content with providing some of the most memorable moments in modern cinema, 2003’s Last Samurai introduced a young Joe to the world of historical Japanese cinema. While not entirely historically accurate and perhaps a little bit insensitive, the western take on Asian culture sparked my interest in 1950s samurai films. For me, there is nothing better than watching a film where every detail has meaning; the way a soldier hangs his sword, or the specific words used to convey emotion, having been carefully orchestrated to set an emotional tone and make the audience understand the trials and tribulations of a typically tormented character. And if that wasn’t enough for you, filmmakers throw in a couple of very violent battles and call it a day. So when Devolver Digital announced a video game based on the love of the same genre of movie, I simply had to give it a go.
I don’t care how immersive or beautiful your AAA adventure games are, you will never top the feeling of lumping down on the couch with one of your best buds and playing something silly in multiplayer. Some of my favourite memories are working together to battle through Secret of Mana or, more recently, dashing around like idiots on fire in Overcooked, and to me couch co-op will always be king. So it was with great anticipation that I picked up the recent offering from Team17 and Fika Productions, Ship of Fools, that promised madcap cannon fire-mayhem for two players, and eagerly took to the oceans in search of a right good time.
Last night saw Microsoft and Bethesda take to the virtual stage and present a host of games that is coming soon for both Xbox Series X|S and PC (along with a few other platforms). Hotly anticipated titles such as Redfall and the next Forza were shown, as well as a few surprises. Let's have a look at the show.
The roguelike is one of my favourite gaming genres, and I take great pleasure in stacking cool toys on top of one another until some nasty old monster comes and knocks my tower down and I have to begin again. There’s something addictive about them, and I like to try out as many as I can. I was excited to learn then, that the second Super Rare Original, Lone Ruin, was going to be a neon-infused roguelike affair - with some twin-stick shooter thrown in, no less! Stoked to give it a try, I fired up my Nintendo Switch and plugged that fluorescent pixel art straight into my veins!
In a recent earnings call to investors, Ubisoft have revealed they are scaling back on their game line up by cancelling a number of projects, as well as once again delaying their highly anticipated pirate-em-up Skull and Bones. The business is set to focus on creating a more stable income via 'live service' games.
We don’t need to tell you that there are a lot of video games being released every week and a lot of games simply go under the radar. Indie games in particular are often developed by small teams, usually without a billion dollar corporation behind them and they don't have a chance to shine.
The Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion forms part of the Legacy Collection DLC that also includes the Forsaken and Shadowkeep expansions. While all three packs can be purchased separately, the collected DLC is the pack that we have based our recommendation on as it provides the best value and is regularly on sale.
Yomawari: Lost in the Dark is the third in a series of survival games from Nippon Ichi Software, once again pitting a young child against the horrors of a warped and twisted town. As you may have seen in my Beat the Backlog feature, I recently tackled the first two games in the series, and was keen to see what enhancements Nippon Ichi Software had made to the latest instalment of their hand-drawn survival horror.
We don’t need to tell you that a lot of video games are being released every week and a lot of games simply go under the radar. Indie games in particular are often developed by small teams, usually without a billion-dollar corporation behind them and they don't have a chance to shine.
