Sega are going big. The Japanese company are bringing back Crazy Taxi, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio, Shinobi and Streets of Rage for a new audience. The trailer released during The Game Awards offers a tiny peak at the return of each franchise, each of which has had a pretty serious glow up from when we last saw them.
When I started VGamingNews in 2011, it seemed that I was solely writing about post-apocalyptic open-world games thanks to the success of Fallout 3. A few years later, it seemed every other developer was looking to force RPG mechanics into everything (I’m looking at you Assassin’s Creed). So far in the 2020s, we’ve seen an influx of dark and moody ‘Soulslikes’ juxtaposed against a resurgence of adventure-rhythm games. While the industry has ebbs and flows with whatever is popular, from platformers, shooters or MMOs, one genre is seeing a consistent release every few months - Roguelikes. Billed as a hybrid platformer-meets-beat 'em up, roguelikes open the door for some very clever storytelling, often with procedurally generated levels. Source of Madness is one roguelike that has gained popularity since its initial 2021 release and is seeing a boom in popularity thanks to a physical edition courtesy of Super Rare Games.
The life of an investigator can be a difficult one. Long nights, tough cases, complex puzzles to solve. Now imagine that same life, but this time from the perspective of a giant, anthropomorphic alligator. No, no, you heard me correctly – a humanoid, crime busting swamp lizard… Welcome to BROK the InvestiGator!
Originally released on the PSP way back in 2012, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is an action-RPG from stalwarts of the RPG genre, Nihon Falcom. Something of a spin-off of their Legend of Heroes and Trails series, Boundless Trails was given the HD remaster treatment for the PC and Playstation 4 back in 2021 before making the jump to the Nintendo hybrid in September this year. It’s been a long time since I dabbled in a JRPG, and with a look reminiscent of some of my PS2 favourites from yesteryear, I was excited to give it a go.
It’s weird that Another World makes an appearance on Beat the Backlog, as it was only a few weeks ago that I was telling our Tom (prior to his excellent video review) that the gameplay shown in Jump Ship’s trailer to Somerville really reminded me of the classic Amiga adventure game. It’s a game I owned on the SNES some 20-plus years ago, and I was a combination of not smart or patient enough to complete it at the time, despite loving the bleak setting and impactful scenes. And then, entirely randomly, after scrolling through 50 pages of shovelware on the Switch eShop, I stumbled across Another World again and quickly decided to splash out a whole £1.79 to overcome the ancient shame of having never reached the end.
August 29 1997, also known as Judgement Day, is a day that will go down in history. It was when the artificial intelligence called Skynet activated and changed the world. Shortly after coming online, Skynet took over the running of all of the military defences in the United States, eliminating the need for humans. As we had become a redundant part of the programming, the machines sought to destroy us and launched nuclear bombs. As the enemies of the USA retaliated, so began the eradication of the human race. In the years that followed, the remaining people banded together to form a counter-offensive but Skynet was waiting, creating their own soldiers, the Terminators; skeletal machines that are brutally efficient at taking down their targets. The following is an account of what happened during the Future Wars, when one lone soldier decided to rise up against the machines and bring the fight to the machines in a place formerly known as Pasadena, California. This archive is known as Terminator Resistance.
In the wake of catastrophe, you must find the means to make your family whole again. Somerville is a sci-fi adventure grounded in the intimate repercussions of large-scale conflict. Cast your mind to games such as Limbo and Inside, both excellent titles courtesy of the studio Playdead. I say this as ex-CEO of Playdead Dino Patti has jumped ship, to co-found Jumpship, an independent game studio with animator Chris Olsen, together creating their debut title of Somerville. Dusting off (quite literally) the PS4, I was ready to immerse myself in this hand-crafted narrative experience, set to journey through perilous terrain and vivid rural landscapes, in order to unravel the mysteries of Earth's visitors.
Gatera Studio is busy creating their rhythm-platformer Antro and has released a new trailer showcasing the game's progress as it edges closer to its release. Due out in 2024, Antro shows an underground city that's divided by ruthless social classes that have banned any form of artistic freedom.
Chronique des Silencieux from Pierre Feuille Studio has a new demo ahead of its release on Steam. The beautiful-looking detective game has players taking the role of Eugène Faury, a rookie private eye entrusted with solving the strange and peculiar case of Victor Dousvalon - a stubborn old history professor who has shrouded his life in secrecy.
To paraphrase Ross from Friends, when I finish work I want to kick back with a puzzle - beer, cold beer. Below my cool and witty exterior, I’m entering my 80-year old era where I curl up on my chair with a fresh cup of tea and test my noodle with the latest brain teasers. Although I do love the lifestyle, I’m not quite an Octogenarian yet, so rather than thumb through the Sunday Times or whatever the older generations do their crosswords on, I prefer a controller and a big TV. Games like Tetris, Lines and Picross have been a staple in my game library for a while, so when Rayland 2 from Naoka Games was floated across our desks, I donned my favourite slippers, made the perfect brew and sat in my favourite chair to give the latest puzzle game a run through.
