In my youth (yes, I was young once), I was a pretty big Street Fighter 2 guy. One of my earliest gaming memories was throwing pound coins into the arcade cab at the local fairground with wanton abandon, trying to master all of the moves laid out on the control panel, looking on, doe-eyed, at the older kids who could rattle off move after move with ruthless precision. I’d eventually get the console version and play the hell out of it, and would maintain a certain fondness for fighting games that lasts even to this day. Enter: Pocket Bravery, an indie project from South American developers, Statera Studios - striding out as a fresh competitor in the fighting game arena, and I was keen to see if it had what it takes to mix it up with the big boys.
Destiny 2 – Lightfall
After the events of The Witch Queen and the Guardian’s long fight against Savathun, Bungie has lifted the lid on Destiny 2’s next big bad, The Witness. Lightfall is set to be the penultimate expansion in the Light and Dark war that has been building since the first game was released almost 10 years ago. The revelation that The Witness has been the mastermind behind almost everything in the last decade has had fans salivating at the prospect of facing off against the cloud-headed menace, but before that, we have new powers to get our hands on.
Worldless
Turn based combat. Does that phrase make you jump with joy or shudder with fear? It really is quite the divisive genre that separates gamers. There are those who enjoy its tactical and methodical nature, taking time to plan out the optimal play. Then there are the others that prefer the faster pace, real time combat that requires quick thinking and adapting on the fly. In comes Worldless, a beautiful 2D action adventure platformer published by Coatsink and developed by No Name Studios. They have created a third camp, a hybrid camp, one that incorporates the foundation of turn based combat, but with engaging elements of real time reactive responses where timing is imperative. Now, as someone who can see both sides of the coin, I relished this style of game. Not only was it the combat system, but also the excellent platforming and gorgeous visuals that drew me in and kept me exploring.
Bayonetta 3
Originally announced in November 2017, Platinum Games have been hard at work creating the follow-up to one of the best hack ‘n’ slash games money can buy. During that time, the team has suffered through cancelled games, fan boycotts and questionable financial decisions that almost destroyed the developer altogether. At a time when the Bayonetta series looked in doubt, Bayonetta 3 finally emerged some nine years after the sublime second part. As a massive fan of the series so far, I felt it was my duty to play through the game multiple times, to ensure that the following review was as accurate as possible. (I promise I didn’t just play the game through and forget to write it up some months later.)
Golden Sun
I remember vividly that 2001 was a banger of a year which saw The Fellowship of the Ring hit the cinemas, Grand Theft Auto 3 cause absolute mayhem with video game Karens who think we have become too violent, and Alien Ant Farm’s version of Smooth Criminal hit the alternative scene in bombastic fashion. It’s also the year that a teenage Joe got his hands on Golden Sun, an unassuming RPG from Camelot, the team behind the Mario Golf and Tennis games. As Golden Sun and its sequel, The Lost Age hit the Nintendo Switch Online service, I thought I’d take a look back at the game that cemented my love for both RPGs and the Game Boy Advance.
VGamingIndies 2024: Volume #1
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.
Rebuilding A Game Boy Pocket
For the last two years, I've been trying to fix broken consoles to give them a new lease of life. After I post a successful repair there’s always someone (Ian. It’s Ian.), who says I should remember to take photos and write about it. To placate those people (IAN), I've remembered to do just that this is all about repairing a broken Game Boy Pocket in order to bring it back to life and sell it on.
Destiny 2 – Armoury Collection
I’m back with another Destiny 2 DLC review and this time I’m taking on 2023’s newest bundle, The Armoury Collection. Rather than being a new addition like the Lightfall update, this package combines both the 30th Anniversary Pack and the Forsaken DLC, which was removed from the Legacy bundle in favour of The Witch Queen expansion.
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case
I was thumbing through my old portfolio the other day when I stumbled across a review I had written for an obscure visual novel that had just been released on the PS4. Having forgotten that I even wrote such a piece, considering the game had a Switch re-release not too long ago, I thought I’d tart it up and publish it for the world to see, so here’s an eight-year-old review that's been remastered. The 25th Ward: The Silver Case started like any other review; play the game, tap up my thoughts and post my opinion. It sounded like a simple task except the visual novel pulled me into a weird, crazy, and sometimes downright vulgar world that simply wouldn’t let me go until it was finished with me. Reflecting on this, I don’t know how or why this happened but here we are.
Ghostrunner 2
2023 has been a gaming treasure trove so far with incredible titles like Spiderman 2, Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3, and after experiencing this high octane, thrill of a game, I believe Ghostrunner 2 deserves its own spot on that list. Developers One More Level have managed to build on the foundations of what made the first game so good, allowing you to wall run, grapple, glide and slice through bad guys, feeling like the ninja you’ve always wanted to be. With a host of new upgrades and abilities, Mirrors Edge inspired parkour, Cyberpunk-style visuals and head bopping soundtrack, Ghostrunner 2 is a brilliantly challenging action game that had me hooked from the word go.
Follow us on…
