Reviews
Steam Deck (OLED) Review
Oct 01, 2024
The Steam Deck dominates most conversations about PC gaming. What used to be “But can it run Crysis?” is now “Does it play on the Deck?” Valve’s handheld PC is a powerhouse that utilizes your Steam library anywhere but your desk. Nearly a year after the OLED model has been released, and it’s just as impressive as ever. Having spent the past month with it, I’m confident this is the future of PC gaming. This isn’t just a hardware revision; it’s a refinement that elevates the entire Steam Deck experience.
CarX Street (PC) Review
Sep 30, 2024
CarX Technologies brings their mobile game to PC, complete with an all-new experience for the platform that roars onto the scene with undeniable ambition. CarX Street throws players into a sprawling metropolis filled with neon lights, winding roads, and an unbelievable amount of car customization. Beneath the initial flash, CarX Street struggles with a repetitive grind, a boring open-world, and lack of licensing – thankfully update by update, some of this is changing for the better.
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Review
Sep 27, 2024
While it’s extremely unusual for a fighting game, but I have a deep love for the lore and story modes of the Mortal Kombat games. From the very beginning when you’d finish a tower with a single character, I was invested in knowing how things played out for them. In recent generations, the storytelling has been such a core component of these games where lore is either expanded, explored, or completely reworked. The story expansion named Khaos Reigns for Mortal Kombat 1 is “Part 2” of the story, picking up from where the end credits left off. Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns doesn’t quite do enough to justify its own existence both in story and new things to do when that story is done.
Golden Lap Review
Sep 26, 2024
Funselektor teams up with Strelka Games with Golden Lap, a gorgeous and deep simulation of open-wheeled racing. All too often, games ask you to take control of a vehicle and drive it to victory. Here, you’re tasked with maintaining the financials and logistics of running a team, and seeing whether that leads to success or failure. While failure may be prevalent with your time here, it’s a relaxing yet demanding time. This genre, especially among the motorsport enthusiasts is not new, but how capricious any given race or team can be is where Golden Lap exceeds its contemporaries.
The Plucky Squire Review
Sep 25, 2024
The Plucky Squire reminds me of a childhood filled with imagination, and then that has it all come to life. All Possible Futures have crafted a game that is as colorful as it is wonderful. There are few bugs and sequence breaking events that required restarting chapters, but all-in-all, is a highly enjoyable adventure for all ages. The Plucky Squire offers a great blend of 2D and 3D with puzzles and action, where words are power.
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn Review
Sep 24, 2024
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a glorious remake of the classic 1990 NES game. It’s a testament to the enduring power of timeless gameplay and the artistry of pixel art. This remake not only captures the essence of the original but also introduces modern enhancements that elevate the experience. Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a making it a must-own for both fans of the series and newcomers to the world of ninja action.
Parking Garage Rally Circuit Review
Sep 20, 2024
Parking Garage Rally Circuit comes from the solo developer of JellyCar Worlds, and is another wonderful car game with great physics and intuitive mechanics. This game excels from having tight controls and simple gameplay, and doesn’t ever overstay its welcome. In fact, it’s the kind of game you wish would stick around longer than it does. Parking Garage Rally Circuit defies expectations with a silly concept, where you feel nostalgic for a game from a bygone era that never existed, but it looks and feels like it was.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Review
Sep 18, 2024
One of the first games I played in my Xbox Series X was “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.” An odd choice, wouldn’t you think? Why would I buy a “next gen” console for a game that came out on the Xbox 360? You see, back then, the PC version of Advanced Warfighter was different from the console version. On PC it was “simulation” oriented whereas the console version was a third person shooter — a subgenre that went on to define the Xbox 360 / PS3 generation — which then would become saturated and “evolve” into open world multiplayer games with a heavy social aspect. I had never played the console version of it and it was a pleasant surprise. That was around 2022. Two years later I got the same feeling of being transported back to another time with “Space Marine 2”. If you heard or read somewhere that “Space Marine II” feels like an Xbox 360 era game, it is because it really does. Captain Titus’ journey started also on that console generation (and PC), but even then, it tried to differentiate itself from the crowd. Instead of focusing on cover shooting, like most games, it emphasized non stopping action. Kill Orkz to refill your health, mow down hundreds of units with a boltgun. It was one the rare occasions the Warhammer 40K universe g in so much detail in a video game. Now, 13 years later and with Saber at the helm, it’s like “Space Marine 2” kept in a time capsule all this time.
Tiny Glade Review
Sep 16, 2024
Tiny Glade is a virtual retreat that offers a peaceful escape from life and even the most demanding of live services games. This tranquil simulation allows players to immerse themselves in a serene forest setting, where they can relax, explore, and create idyllic and cozy cottages of their own making. While it isn’t so much a game, and more of a toy and application, it has engaging gameplay and stunning visuals. Tiny Glade is a must-play for anyone seeking a digital sanctuary and a desire for creative freedom.
The Jackbox Naughty Pack Review
Sep 12, 2024
It’s that time of year again for the national gaming holiday, New Jackbox Party Pack Day! This year, Jackbox Games Inc. brings us a very special, very titillating, quite moist pack of games in the Jackbox Naughty Pack. The theme of this pack is adult-oriented, with three games that open up the floodgates to allow the players to get as raunchy as they’d like. Two games are classics from other packs, and we get a brand new title to dip our toes into. So before you download this pack of fun, you might want to shoo the kids off to bed.
Caravan SandWitch Review
Sep 12, 2024
Having played the short demo for Caravan SandWitch in a Steam NextFest event I was immediately curious to see how the open world exploration mixed with puzzle solving would evolve and expand into a full game. Sadly, it didn’t feel like it has grown much at all. That’s not to say it’s not still a very nice game with visuals reminiscent of a Jean Giraud (Mœbius) painting, though not leaning as heavily into that style as the not hugely dissimilar Sable. Caravan SandWitch just failed to have a hook to keep me interested after a few hours of running across the enclosed world between a village, forest and desert all sandwiched in a neat little road network that you’ll come to realise very quickly is utterly essential to not being frustrated with what you’ll be doing for the majority of your time in the game: driving.
Wild Bastards Review
Sep 12, 2024
Space pirates are so 2019, but in 2024 it’s all about space outlaws. Developer Blue Manchu made adjustments for Wild Bastards to shift towards more bite-sized encounters and developing crew relationships that has everything feeling more intimate. Void Bastards was one of my favorite games from 2019, and it just hit at the right time, offering everything I was looking for that nailed the setting in space and roguelite formula while incorporating an immersive sim flavor. While this is still set in space, this unfortunately isn’t Void Bastards in the wild west, and in fact, Wild Bastards pales in comparison.
Turtle Beach Kone II Air Review
Sep 11, 2024
The Kone series of gaming mice from the late ROCCAT brand have been the flagship series. Now, Turtle Beach has fully absorbed and has replaced the ROCCAT branding, now known as Turtle Beach PC. The result of this incorporation seems to be marked improvement on the quality of its hardware and software, as this is one of the best ROCCAT / Turtle Beach mice in years. Turtle Beach is the new name in PC gaming hardware, and the Kone II Air is the new king of gaming mice.
I Am Your Beast Review
Sep 10, 2024
I Am Your Beast is now my favorite Strange Scaffold game, as both its story and gameplay is concise and quick. This is a game that will be fun for speedrunners, but if that’s not something you’re interested in, you’ll still be invested in seeing things to their natural end. Replayability and improving towards perfection is what will draw you back in once the story is completed. I Am Your Beast is fast and frenetic, where its gameplay enables you to be creative in its micro-sandboxes for one hell of a revenge thriller.
WHAT THE CAR? Review
Sep 06, 2024
Take a joyride (emphasis on joy) through the utterly ridiculous and undeniably delightful world of WHAT THE CAR?. This isn’t your standard racing game, kids. Forget meticulously tuned engines, pristine tracks, and the pursuit of perfect lap times. WHAT THE CAR? throws physics out the window, replaces it with a healthy dose of slapstick, and lets you loose in a gloriously chaotic sandbox of vehicular mayhem.
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