Category THQ Nordic

THQ Nordic’s hit Roleplaying Game Risen has returned on the latest consoles and it has been remastered!

A classic RolePlaying Game from THQ Nordic has returned and not only remastered but it has been divided to allow more control over your character’s fate! Risen starts with you stowing away on board a ship of Inquisitors and are shipwrecked on a mysterious island. Recent quakes have pulled ancient temples to the surface world and unleashed monsters on the island’s populace. A hero is needed and you need work. More importantly you need to not become a slave of the Inquisitors. Sounds like a cheerful place.

Graphically the game may be remastered but I feel like the label may not be quite right. Typically remastered games are major improvements on the original but this still looks like it did originally. Porting a game over does not make it “remastered”. Combat feels a little slow and cumbersome and the controller tutorials don’t do much to actually teach you how to play until you’ve already figured out most of the controls. Story is slow paced but feels like it has some deep bones as you continue to play. If you were a fan of the original this may be worth diving into again but for new players to the franchise I’d advise to save your money on this one.

With the purchase of some magical mermaid tears Spongebob and his friends go on a wild ride in THQ Nordic’s The Cosmic Shake!

THQ Nordic has shared their latest Spongebob Squarepants game– The Cosmic Shake with us for the Xbox One Series X. For each game review I play a minimum of one hour, this game got four. Fans of the show will enjoy the fact that it features the ENITRE original cast and you can hear it. The team behind this game not only took the time to get the cast but they crafted a gorgeous game. This is one of the cleanest and highest quality animated games I have seen. Seriously.

The story begins with Spongebob and Patrick on their way to Glove World but visit a traveling merchant along the way where they purchase magical mermaid tears. These tears are used like a bubble solution where Spongebob makes wishes on bubbles he blows shaped like each of his friends. Suddenly the world goes bonkers and Patrick gets turned into a balloon. These mermaids tears very much seem like a monkey’s paw because each of the wishes are twisted.

The game is a 3d platformer full of enemies to slap and jellyfish to catch. Controls are simple to learn and master but on occasion some of the abilities don’t always register with holding the button, specifically this is referring to the glide controls. The good news here though is the game is very forgiving, allowing you to easily replenish your health if you make a mistake because of this. From a control, graphics and gameplay standpoint this is a fantastic game but for me I am simply not a fan of Spongebob. I have never seen an episode I found to be entertaining and most of the characters annoy me. Because of this it was hard to find the game enjoyable over all but when they aren’t talking it is much easier to look past that.

Crypto is back and this time he vows to Destroy All Humans, again!

Crypto is back and this time he vows to Destroy All Humans, again, in this remastered sequel to the remastered cult classic from THQ Nordic. The first game I had heard of but had no idea this sequel was released prior to being remastered, or reprobed as the name of the title suggests. I did some research on it while trying to recall the name of our grey alien bringer of chaos and came across the original release photos. Continuing off the story of the original game the mothership has crashed and it is up to Crypto to kill everyone and save the day. The story centers around tracking down the KGB as they further infiltrate the city and are responsible for shooting down the mothership.

Gameplay is just as chaotic and hilarious as the original. Hijacking the bodies of citizens is just as hilarious as before and the ragdoll physics makes for a great time with the levitation ability. The dancing mode makes for a great escape that is hilarious to watch- you force enemies, civilians and even cars to dance under the dance lights that appear on the ground around them. Watching the cars dance along with them is hilarious. If you played the original or are looking for a game where mayhem and abductions are the frequent play type then this is a must purchase for you. We had a ton of fun on this title in both single player and co-op modes- fyi it’s even better if you make a drinking game out of it.

Way of the Hunter is the latest first person shooter game centered around hunting the creatures of the forest.

Way of the Hunter is a hunting game where there is a mysterious deer meat virus and its your job to kill all the creatures needed to fund your endeavors. THQ Nordic and Nine Rock Games brings us this FPS game where the ultimate goal seems to be furnishing a hunting lodge. You play as River as he takes over his Grandfather’s ranch and use hunting to fund all of your endeavors.

Your first task after gaining access to the lodge is to visit your friend Echo. Echo is no real friend but a point where your voice echoes easily. After that you take your first steps towards hunting. The first hunting task is at the shooting range. There you practice adjusting your scope, breathing properly and aiming. It is all quite easy to pick up but leads you to a task your grandfather meant to do himself. The hills are filled with badgers and they MUST die. Hunting them was quite tricky at first. The trick is to anticipate where they are about to be and shooting there just before they cross that path. With each kill task you are given unlocks other kill tasks focused on other animals and harder kills.

Overall the game has what I would call mixed graphics, where some aspects are highly details and others not so much. Specifically the scenery is where all the detail is and it is beautiful. I thought it was a cool touch to see real weapons and real gear featured in the game to assist you with your hunts. The story is slow and the hunts even slower but are much more realistic than I anticipated. Walking through tall grass quickly, not worrying about my noise, is bound to scare off the animals I’m hunting and I thought firing the gun or being seen would be the only way to do that. I applaud the designers for their attention to realistic detail there. For a hunting game I liked the realism but was hoping for something more forgiving like hunting in Red Dead Redemption.