Archives October 2023

The Behemoth has released their first title in 7 years and takes them back to their roots with Alien Hominid Invasion.

Each game from The Behemoth has brought an entirely different playstyle to gaming compared to their other titles, each bringing their own unique experience. Alien Hominid was a side-scrolling action game. Castle Crashers was a Streets of Rage style brawler featuring adorable knights. Battle Block Theater was a hybrid of the side-scrolling action game that place major focus on level building. Pit People was the most recent release that took the Behemoth art style and applied it to tactics gameplay. Each game after the original Alien Hominid featured easter eggs from the prior games. All of their titles are known for their sophomoric humor, like the diarrhea deer or guns that shoot blobs that sound like wet farts. Alien Hominid Invasion though is the first time they have returned to one of their game worlds for a second helping. This time is a little different though.

Both Alien Hominid Invasion and the original allowed you to play as a small yellow alien that causes incalculable damage. You face off against members of the FBI and all manner of machines, each drawn in an adorable manner. For the old school players this is essentially Contra on a kilo of speed but instead of playing a human commando, you are an Alien that is fighting the FBI and the mad science of Doctor Robotnik. The original was by far the hardest run and gun title I’ve ever had the pleasure to play.

What makes this game really stand it, besides the vibrant art work and plethora of customization options, is that the game has a variable difficulty. The longer you play, the harder the game gets. As the difficulty ramps up the visuals get absolutely insane. There were several moments I thought it would be too much and the game would start lagging. It never did. The Behemoth has yet to make a game that wasn’t worth the price tag and they aren’t starting now. If you like the run and gun format or their art style you will love this one!

The Kingdom franchise from Fury Games takes on it’s newest, and most unique, genre yet- the 80’s in Kingdom Eighties.

As one would expect, Kingdom Eighties is the latest edition of the Kingdom franchise from Fury Games and is based in the 80’s. That means no cell phones, playing outside and lots of neon. Feels like home, even though I have trouble disconnecting from my devices. Just like in the eighties, as a kid, if you went anywhere without your parents it was on a bicycle and in this game it is no different there. The overall aesthetic feels very much like you are living/playing within the right-side up version of the Stranger Things world. Maybe it’s just the eighties vibe or the fact that everyone uses bikes. Either way I got major Stranger Things vibes. My question is, was that intentional or a happy accident?

Mechanics are quite simple utilizing very limited buttons that repeat the same command for various results. Graphics are simple but draw you in with either eight or sixteen bit character models but a world that is much heavier in pixels, resulting in detailed environments that can distract from the action at times. Especially the reflection on the water.

The game follows your rise to power as you fight to protect the town from the Greed. You don’t have to do it alone either. Using kids to farm and build for you, there are also three members of your party the come to aid you along the way.

Overall I found the game to hit the nostalgia buttons in all the right ways while mixing in the new. Having never played a Kingdom game before I didn’t know was to expect and was pleasantly surprised by how simple and enjoyable the game was.

Overboss Duel is exactly what it sounds like, a battle between two Overbosses to see who is the best in this title from Brotherwise Games.

Based in the Boss Monster world created by Brotherwise Games, Overboss Duel focuses on building your own power while weakening the other boss. Each turn you and your rival place location tiles and monsters, but you need to watch out for wandering heroes that will slow your progress to increasing your power. The overall mechanics also follow their Boss Monster game, making learning even easier if you have played those previously. The game also introduces four new bosses, along with updated versions of the classic King Croak and Belladonna bosses. The boss at the end with the most power wins.

Their Boss Monster game has you play as one of the bosses where you build dungeons with the goals of killing the heroes so Overboss fits perfectly within the world. It is however a step up in visual quality. BM had more of an 8-bit look to it where Overboss and Overboss Duel both have more of a 16-bit feel.

The art style makes you feel like you are in a classic Zelda game or Gauntlet, namely from the NES. I am loving the style, it is exactly what caught my eye with other Brotherwise’s titles. Gameplay is quite simple and from what I’ve been told by players of the original Overboss it is even more streamlined compared to the original game. In most games, if given the chance, I will always choose to play one of the bad guys but in Overboss Duel you get to be the BIG bad guy and I’m here for it. Even my son who never wants to play a villain had fun with this one and it is well worth the play.

Usachev Nikolai and USANIK STD have published Fusion Paradox, a roguelite bullet hell where you must take on a goddess of war and her minions.

The Supernatural Threat Reduction Agency, in Fusion Paradox, discovers an entombed woman who was laid to rest with a spear. Naming her after a war goddess, she soon wakes and enthralls everyone but you and the AI that guides you. The AI tasks you with defeating your fellow Agents in order to defeat her, each death bringing you closer to winning but unleashing further hell. You must rely on quick reflexes to avoid the seemingly unending waves of bullets so you can reach the goddess and end her reign. The AI starts you through some basic training, teaching you to dodge, switch polarity and even teleport. The polarity is a great feature, adding a unique mechanic that forces you to swap between different colors to defeat matching enemies. If the enemy is blue, you need to be blue. Yellow to defeat yellow. With a tap of a button you can toggle between the two.

Graphically the game looks similar to other indie titles like Crossyroad with that chunky block style. The “bullets” shine bright, almost neon at most times. This makes spotting them easier but due to their speed it isn’t much easier to avoid. Those are flying fast and often, hence the labeling bullet hell. Controls are simple to get down but remembering some of the abilities like dodging or teleporting are difficult to remember when the bullets are unleashed. The story is rather straight forward, nothing terribly original but not overly played out either. If I wasn’t prone to panic in bullet hell styled situations I wouldn’t die so often so patience is key. Overall, it was a difficult but enjoyable experience.

Airo Games and Daedelic Entertainment are the team behind Life of Delta, a post-apocalyptic tale of a robot searching for his surrogate father.

Airo Games designed Life of Delta and Daedalic Entertainment published. The story focuses on a robot, Delta, who was scheduled for decommissioning but was saved before he was destroyed. He was saved by a robot that then treated him like his son, but the fairytale doesn’t last as the father is taken. The abductors took him in hopes of finding the robot main character, never realizing you were hiding in a cabinet near the door where they were standing.

Once the captors have left, you crawl out of your hiding spot and start your quest to find him. First though is to recharge. There are multiple puzzles at the start with very littler instruction. The complexity of them, like using the radio waves to determine the combination of the lock, were quite ingenious. The game was surprisingly light in terms of a tutorial and that honestly made the puzzles much more rewarding. You and your character are discovering this world together and like the real world, it is void of instructions. The fact that all of the puzzles require some actual thought to figure out instead of just giving you the answers make finding the solution so much more rewarding.

The art style is a beautiful blend of robotics and nature as it grows over the world that was. Controls are quite simple as a point and click adventure but on consoles the pointer lacks the finesse of a mouse. Hitting the exact button or item on the screen can be quite frustrating because of this. The story was intriguing but not enough to make the clunky controls worth the effort. Overall I would love to spend more time exploring the world itself but the controls made this a hard pass.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO WARNER BROS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON THOSE I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Warner Bros (their home page is here) had sent me copies of some of their movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. For the first part of this series we talked about Scoob, Birds of Prey, The Way Back, Goonies 4K, Beetlejuice 4K, Full Metal Jacket, Sherlock Holmes 4K and Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows 4K. Part 2 ‘twas massive and discussed V for Vendetta 4K, 300 4K, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K, The Hobbit Trilogy 4K, Blade 4K, Bill and Ted Face the Music, Tenet and The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Part 3 talked about Wonder Woman 1984, The Little Things and Judas and the Black Messiah. Part 4 discussed Tom and Jerry the Movie and Godzilla Vs Kong. Part 5 was all about Wrath of Man, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Space Jam. Part 6 had discussed Mortal Kombat and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Part 7 discussed In the Heights, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20 Years of Movie Magic edition. Part 8 discussed A Clockwork Orange, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Shawshank Redemption. Part 9 talked about The Suicide Squad and Reminiscence. Part 10 discussed The Outsiders, Cry Macho, Malignant, the Many Saints of Newark and the Mad Max film collection.

Part 11 talked about Dune, Matrix: Resurrections, The Batman, Dog and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Part 12 discussed Elvis, DC League of Super Pets, The Lost Boys and Poltergeist. Part 13 shared some classics with 8-Bit Christmas, Casablanca, A Christmas Story, Three Thousand Years of Longing, The Polar Express, Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Part 14 had Don’t Worry Darling and Part 15 was discussing Black Adam. Part 16 had Bones and All, House Party plus the 4k release of Training Day. Part 17 returned for the 4k release of Rocky the Knockout Collection and Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Part 18 had the Superman 5 Film Collection, Creed III and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Part 19 discussed A Good Person, National Lampoon’s Vacation 4k Edition and Evil Dead Rise. Part 20 exclusively talked about The Flash and we have returned for Part 21 with Meg 2: The Trench and Barbie!

Barbie

Barbie follows the story of living dolls of Barbie and Ken in the Barbie world and their adventure into the real world when Barbie starts thinking of death and has her first bad morning. This also happened to be one of the BIGGEST events I’ve ever seen. You couldn’t look anywhere without seeing news about the film. My expectations were that the movie would be fun but would be lacking in substance, despite a strong cast and crew. I was wrong, SO WRONG. The writing, editing, acting, all of it made it one of the best films I have ever seen. I will be disappointed if there aren’t multiple Oscars for this film.

Meg 2: The Trench

The first Meg film sets up how the Megalodon has returned to the modern world and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The downside to the film was the build up, waiting for the Meg to show up and start causing chaos. Second time around we don’t need to explain this so it was straight to the action. You would think after their last exploration into the depts of the ocean causing the release of the Meg they wouldn’t return to do it again. Well, they do but hopefully they learn their lesson this time. The film is a direct sequel in every way and while it didn’t seem necessary it is a great addition to the overall story. The effects were fantastic and the story was a lot of fun. I can happily admit I was surprised by this one and hope that we get another round on the horizon.

Which of these Warner Bros films have you had the chance to see? Which was your favorite? Let us know on our Twitter!

Hero Survival is a top-down shooter where you fight hordes of movie monsters from the team at PigeonDev, creators of Paladin Dream and Kill Fish.

You have been transported into the video game world of Hero Survival at the hands of an evil wizard. This wizard wants nothing more than to use his army of monsters to kill you but that doesn’t mean you have to let him. You control one of nearly a dozen heroes to take on the hordes, each with their own perks. As you slaughter the monsters, you earn experience points and eventually level up.

Each time you level up you unlock a skill or item/weapon. These range from improving your attack or damage to a temporary boost your skills. You also collect various weapon options that are randomly chosen like a knife or a sniper rifle. The downside is that you are only able to carry four weapons at a time. Choosing the right weapons and items can mean the difference between life and death. Imagine how easy this game would be if you could carry more than four though, it would be bonkers but I expect a ton of fun. After enough mayhem you will eventually have to fight the devil to unlock the next world/level. I have never survived long enough for this to happen.

Utilizing 8-bit graphics, the game looks quite simple but with the sheer mayhem and number of sprites on screen at the same time, I imagine this was a necessity for system resources. Controls are simple but with all the enemies appearing all the time there is still a significant challenge. If you enjoy games with a simple concept, easy to play but still challenge you at every step you will definitely enjoy this one.

Fatshark Games’ latest game Darktide has finally arrived on Xbox One Series X but was it worth the wait?

Warhammer 40000 Darktide was originally announced for the Xbox One but that was soon changed to the Series X due to computing power. Having played their Vermintide 2 on both versions of the Xbox One I can say this decision made sense. The downside was it delayed the release a bit longer. It received further delays as the team at Fatshark worked to resolve some major server issues to make the game more playable. During this time I sat and watched patiently, hoping for the slightest bit of news regarding the console release. The wait FELT so long that I had given up hope on it until Games Workshop shared the announcement that it was finally coming. Fast forward a couple week and now we have the release downloaded and are ready to play.

Your first time starting the game you pick between four classes, each with their own abilities and unique stats. The includes a member of the Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum, a Psyker, an Ogryn and a Priest. At the time of writing I have only tried the member of the Guard. With each class you have the same task, to customize your character. The level of customization options are insane. My character ended up with hair and similar scars as me and even chose to give him some ink that I’d love to have if my day job or wife would allow it on the side of his head.

The story begins with you being moved with other prisoners, destined to be jailed or executed. Chaos troops raid the ship and accidentally free you in the process. You see discover one of your captors in need of help. This is your chance to either run away or prove you are still loyal to the Golden Throne. The game doesn’t give you a choice here but your character had one whether you impacted it or not. Helping her to her feet, you join forces and work to the landing deck where you are picked up and taken to an Inquisitor’s ship. This ship works like the keep in Vermintide 2 or the tavern in the first Vermintide. The difference here is that instead of proceeding through precisely defined level progression you have missions to different parts of Tertium. Each of these missions have their own threats and level of difficulty. They also have varying rewards that can make the fight easier for you.

The game was written by none other than Black Library legend Dan Abnett himself, it was only fitting that I named my character after one of his characters. Add his superb writing to the design skills at Fatshark you get not only a gorgeous world to fight the forces of Chaos on but also a fantastically written story. The controls feel like home, meaning I expected them to feel similar or exactly like Vermintide does and it’s perfect. After the first levels and time aboard the ship I had chills and was beyond excited. I cannot wait for my next play session. In the name of Holy Terra I will do my part to end the scourge on Tertium.

Forgive Me Father is a Lovecraft inspired FPS but does it do the source material Justice?

Byte Barrel and Fulqrum Publishing are the teams behind Forgive Me Father, a game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and centers around the search for your cousin. Set in the 1920s, you arrive in a small town to find the room you were meant to meet him ransacked. You immediately hear footsteps followed by knocking on the door.

There are two characters to choose from, a priest and a journalist. The levels and overall story are the same. That is, at least as far as I’ve played. The only difference between the two seems to be the dialogue and voice you hear.

The game is a first person shooter that mixes old school three dimensional maps with two dimensional comic styled art for the characters. As you kill the infected/affected foes the game takes things further than expected to comical proportions. They literally explode, leaving behind a red puddle that turns with your movements. It’s quite unnerving the first time you notice it.

Visually the game can be a bit odd but I found the blending on styles worked really well. The controls are simple, allowing for dynamic combat. Two words of advice with the combat, first is to be constantly moving, makes living much easier. The second piece is to use your knife to conserve ammo whenever safe. With the chaos, the art style and the execution of the world make for a great experience that has me very curious for the sequel that had just released as well.

Cosy Computer, the devs behind Kingdom and Islanders, are back with a new game with Pizza Possum. Are you sneaky enough to steal the crown?

In Pizza Possum you play as a possum who really wants some pizza and the annoying dog at the top of the hill has one. The possum decides he would really like that crown wearing dog to share, not a little bit but the whole thing. You must use stealth, cunning and daring to try to get that pizza and each time you do you also take the crown. With each crown you take the game becomes more and more difficult. Do you have what it takes? So far, my count is 2 stolen crowns before getting caught. So what is it that keeps causing me to lose the crowns I’ve collected? It’s simply my own impatience.

The items range across all types like a bandit mask to make seeing you harder or a smoke bomb to allow you to escape. As you travel the map you will find various desserts that are absolutely massive. Each dessert gives you a ton of food, most are enough to earn you a key by clearing the plate. Each key unlocks a new part of the map and eventually get you the chance to get the pizza. My advice is to stock up on the smoke bombs or the dog masks to be used when going for the pizza, they make it so much easier.

Visually the game is absolutely adorable and the graphics are crisp. Controls are quite simple, using movement sticks almost exclusively on the Xbox. The Cosy Computer team may be more known for their Kingdom franchise but they absolutely nailed it with Pizza Possum. The chaos while taking every bite of food you can while also avoiding the dogs can be quite difficult to survive but if your patient you can wait them out and escape when the coast is clear. This game is truly addicting and beyond fun to play with enough challenge to make coming back worth it.