Tag: switch

Dive Deep into the Mystery with Dredge (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Dredge, released in March 2023, is available on multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. It’s also a part of the June PlayStation Plus games that are available now. This indie gem combines the serene activity of fishing with a captivating mystery lurking beneath the waters. It’s one of those games that sneaks up on you, pulling you in with its relaxing gameplay, only to surprise you with its eerie undertones.

Gameplay:
At its core, Dredge is a fishing game, but it’s far from your typical catch-and-release simulator. The mechanics are simple yet engaging, making it easy to get lost in the rhythm of casting lines and reeling in a variety of fish. There’s a satisfying progression system that keeps you hooked (pun intended) as you upgrade your boat and equipment to venture into deeper, more treacherous waters.

Imagine starting with a modest fishing boat, barely seaworthy, and gradually transforming it into a well-equipped vessel capable of withstanding the darkest depths. Each upgrade feels earned, pushing you to explore further and face new challenges. The act of fishing itself is enjoyable, with different species requiring varying techniques and patience, adding a layer of strategy to your expeditions.

Graphics and Sound:
Visually, the game is a treat. The art style strikes a perfect balance between charming and unsettling, with picturesque coastal towns and ominous, foggy waters. Picture a quaint fishing village at dawn, with pastel hues reflecting off calm seas, juxtaposed with eerie, shadowy waters as night falls, teeming with unknown threats. The attention to detail in the environments makes every location feel distinct and immersive.

The soundtrack complements the visuals beautifully, with soothing melodies that give way to more sinister tones as night falls. It’s a dynamic score that enhances the mood, whether you’re enjoying a peaceful day of fishing or nervously navigating the waters after dark. The sound design adds layers to the atmosphere, with the creaking of your boat and the distant cries of unseen creatures keeping you on edge.

Story and Atmosphere:
Where Dredge truly shines is in its atmosphere. The game starts off innocently enough, but there’s a persistent sense of unease that grows as you uncover more about the world and its inhabitants. The narrative is subtly woven into the gameplay, with cryptic messages and strange occurrences that hint at something much darker beneath the surface.

You might be fishing peacefully, only to haul up an old, mysterious artefact that sets off a chain of unsettling events. The characters you meet along the way, each with their own secrets and agendas, add depth to the story. The sense of mystery, with nods to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, keeps you invested, urging you to keep fishing and exploring to uncover the full story.

What Could Be Better:
While Dredge is undeniably engaging, it does have its limitations. The repetitiveness of the fishing mechanics might not appeal to everyone, and some players might find the pacing a bit slow. Additionally, the story, while intriguing, could benefit from a bit more depth and clearer resolution.

Imagine a few more twists and turns in the narrative or additional side quests that delve deeper into the lore. These elements could elevate the experience from great to exceptional. The game’s deliberate pace might test the patience of those seeking constant action, but it’s a deliberate choice that contributes to the overall mood.

Final Thoughts:
Dredge is a delightful blend of relaxation and mystery, making it a unique addition to the indie game scene. It’s perfect for those who enjoy exploring and uncovering secrets at their own pace. While it may not be for everyone, its charm and eerie atmosphere are more than enough to warrant an 8/10. If you’re looking for a game that offers a serene yet haunting experience, Dredge is definitely worth a try.

Unpacking: A Calming and Relaxing Experience (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Unpacking is a puzzle game released in November 2021 for Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, and in May 2022 for the PlayStation 4 & 5.

The game is divided up into multiple chapters for the years 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018 and within each year, your task is to unpack boxes from your move and place objects in the correct place while doing so. Each year represents a significant life event, such as moving to college, getting your first apartment, and moving in with your partner. As you unpack the boxes, a story unfolds about the character and their life.

So-called ‘cosy games’ are a big thing at the minute, and Unpacking is just one of many that are out there. It’s so-called because it doesn’t have any big scary’s or difficult quests; it’s purely about having the most relaxing experience possible while playing a video game. Some people, myself included, just don’t find there to be enough in many of these games to keep (or even start) playing them.

On the face of it, Unpacking doesn’t have a great deal of gameplay, and the lure of simply unpacking boxes and putting things on shelves or in cupboards just didn’t do it for me initially. However, once you start playing, you realise that although unpacking boxes is the main game mechanic, there is also a storyꟷalthough subtleꟷto be told. As you find items, you begin to learn about the character you play and their life. You follow them through the years until the game ends in 2018, presumably because the character is settled and will no longer move home.

The different levels are mostly set in different locations, with differing numbers of rooms to unpack. The rooms include bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms, pretty much any room that you might find in an apartment or house. Although there are multiple boxes in each room, as you unpack, you find some items that are in the wrong room, so you have to flick between them to place them in the correct room. This isn’t all, though. This game is a puzzle game in that, although a lot of items can seemingly go in multiple places, there is actually a correct location to place them. Once you’ve unpacked all the boxes in the level, red rings around objects will tell you that they’re in the wrong place, and in some cases, it can be a real challenge to figure out just where the game wants you to put them. Although the game has the element, compared to a lot of games, the puzzle aspect isn’t particularly difficult unless, as with some objects, you have no idea what in the hell the thing is, never mind where in the house it goes.

The graphics in Unpacking are very well done pixel art, and especially for the earlier levels, this serves to ground you in that year. The rooms and objects are exceptionally well designed, and some objects, like the DVD boxes, have so much detail on them you can tell which movie they areꟷthrough the game, I spotted Donnie Darko and Jaws, to name just a couple.

The sound is pretty pleasing too. There is no spoken dialogue (I believe this was done, so it didn’t matter if you could understand it or not), and there is little in the way of written text. The sound of the objects being placed and different snippets of music is all you get, so the fact that it’s done so well (in the PlayStation version, it makes use of the controller speaker) really adds to the overall immersion and feeling of the scenes in which you play. One nice little detail was that if you turn music on in one room, you can still hear it, although dulled, in other rooms in the apartment/house.

Unpacking isn’t a difficult game, and if you’re a trophy hunter, it’s a pretty easy platinum, with having to place certain objects in specific locations or interacting with others in a certain way. But the game has enough there to keep you playing, and I think if you’re in a period where your mind is loud, it would be a good game to play just to get out of that headspace.

Another thing that I think really helps is the way it handles. The controls, at least for the PlayStation version, are really easy to use. Even the main mechanic is a mouse pointer it moves smoothly across the screen, and even selecting items to be moved feels fluid.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, Unpacking is a game that I will rush to play, but I found the entire experience calming and enjoyable. So much so that I’m going to give it a higher rating than I thought I would with a 9/10. And I will say that even if you’re not a fan of games like this, you should give it a try. I’m sure that you won’t regret it.

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a side-scrolling beat-’em-up that was released on 16th June 2022 for Windows, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox. The game uses the 1980’s animated TV show as its inspiration and borrows its style from the ’80s and ’90s arcade and console games. In addition, it sees the return of the original voice actors from the 1987 animated series.

In Shredder’s Revenge, the players can pick from one of seven (one is unlockable through story mode), including the original turtles, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello, plus Master Splinter and reported April O’Neil. You work your way through stages fighting opponents such as the foot clan, rock soldiers, and mousers, and each level ends with a boss fight where you go up against some well-known bad guys like Bebop and Rocksteady, Krang, and of course, Shredder. The story mode takes you through various locations in New York City and Dimension X. Each character has their own attributes and abilities and so plays differently. This means you can pick a character based on your play style or, as I did, your favourite (Donatello for the win!).

There are two different modes to play through, Story Mode and Arcade Mode. The main difference between the two is that in arcade mode, you have a limited number of lives and have to complete the game in one sitting as there are no save points. As you play through story mode, you accumulate points which are then converted into bonuses for health, extra lives, additional moves and special abilities.

As well as the single-player mode, you can also play in an up to six-player co-op mode both locally and online. Playing with others allows you to perform special combat moves, share health, and heal when downed.

I’m going to start off by saying I love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and side-scrolling beat ’em ups, so when this was announced, I couldn’t wait to play it. Straight away, when you start this game, you are hit with a shovel full of nostalgia. With the game using the 80′ animated series as its inspiration, you are treated to the original open to the cartoon, and I couldn’t help but sing along with it. It’s been a while since I watched it, but it’s so ingrained in my head that the words and tune were right at the forefront of my brain as soon as I saw what was happening.

Starting to play, I dove straight into the story mode with my all-time favourite character, Donatello. Donny was my go-to character whenever I played any of the other games at home or in arcades. As soon as the first stage opened, another wave of nostalgia washed over me; it looks and feels like the old ’80s and 90’s games, so much so that there was no hesitation on my part, and I quickly got to grips with the controls. The stages play exactly like the old-school ones, and even most of the enemies (from what I remember) are also the same variations. In addition, you can still get several power-ups from destroying objects in the world, like pizza (for health, obviously), one that causes invincibility, and others.

The game isn’t as challenging as some older games (or maybe I’m better at these types of games these days…doubtful, but there’s still a chance) but still has its challenges, mainly in the form of, well, challenges. Each level has several tasks for you to perform throughout the level, ranging from not dying at all during the level, not taking a certain number of hits, getting a combo streak, and many others. These add that little bit extra to the game that will probably bring me back again to complete. The story mode itself isn’t long, which is a shame, but with added arcade mode, there is still that challenge from back in the day of having to complete it in one sitting without save points. The bosses at the end of each level are familiar to anyone who knows of the 80s cartoon. Some are more challenging than others, and they all act differently, meaning you have to devise new strategies and ways to take them out.

Now, the multiplayer. I’m not generally a fan of online multiplayer. In many games, it tends to take over, and you lose some of the game in that, but from the little I’ve played of it in this game, I’m going to be returning to it because it’s pretty fun. As well as the online multiplayer, you can also play it locally, which is also something missing from many new games. This is also a point of nostalgia of sitting crossed-legged on the floor in front of the TV with friends or siblings, trying your damnedest to beat a hard level together. This always added that extra layer of fun for me, and I’m looking forward to more of it when I play it. The addition of team-up moves is also a nice thing. It means that as well as doing your own thing through the level, you can work together to perform moves and take out enemies.

I’m such a big fan of this game. I’ve played it for a while now, and I have yet to find any really bad points. The design is great, the music top-notch and even the multiplayer is excellent. The only thing that kind of lets it down is the length of the story mode, but with the added challenges, collectables, trophies and arcade mode, there is enough to keep me coming back to this game over and over again. I can’t help but give it a 10/10, and it’s not just the nostalgia talking (although there is a lot of it). This game is excellent for fans old and new alike.

As much as I was looking forward to the Cowabunga Collection that’s coming soon; this game has whet my appetite for it even more. All I can say is bring it on, dude!

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – 2019 (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is an action-adventure game that was released in September 2019 for Nintendo Switch, it’s a remake of the 1993 version that was released in 1993 on the Nintendo Gameboy.

This game sees Link washed up on the shore of Koholint Island after his ship is caught in a storm and destroyed. Link soon embarks on a quest to retrieve the eight musical instruments of the Sirens and to awaken the legendary Wind Fish in order for him to leave the island. This remake has updated visuals in a top-down cartoony style that lends it a certain charm. One addition to this game that wasn’t in the original is the ability to create your own dungeons and complete them for rewards.

Link’s Awakening is in a style that will be familiar to fans of the series. You are able to explore an open world and battle through dungeons to gain hearts and gear. Each dungeon has a number of puzzles for you to complete as well as bosses to fight.

I’ve been a fan of the Zelda series of games for most of my life, but somehow I missed the original version of Link’s Awakening on the Gameboy so I went into this game with an open mind with none of the nostalgia that other players might. I’ve always preferred the top-down Zelda games, that’s not to say I don’t enjoy the 3D games like Twilight Princess or Breath of the Wild, but there’s something about the top-down perspective that I love, it dates back to A Link to the Past which, if you follow my blogs, you will know is one of my favourite games of all time. The design of the game is, let’s say, cute, but this cartoon-like style works so well, it’s not a million miles away from the way it looked on the Gameboy (obviously it has more colour), and so takes me back to the older games in a similar way that A Link Between Worlds did.

The gameplay is similar to pretty much every other Zelda game – other than maybe Breath of the Wild ­– in that, you explore the world freely, but mainly have to hop from dungeon to dungeon and defeat bosses while gaining gear to open up other areas of the map and dungeons. Some players might feel like it’s a tired format, but it works, and if it works then where’s the problem? One thing I did enjoy about this game is the references to the Mario games. It ranges from images or objects of characters/enemies, to side-scrolling sections that look like small Mario levels. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it does have a decent story that keeps you playing.

I’m pretty biased as far as Zelda games go, I’ll always play them where I can and generally enjoy them. I say this despite the fact that it did take a little while to finally get into Breath of the Wild and I couldn’t really tell you why. But Link’s Awakening brings the games back to the style of games that I grew up with and will always go back to. This game deserves a 10/10 from me and a definite recommendation.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors: It Has Risen Again

~ Gareth Ellis ~ 2 Comments

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a run and gun game that was released for the SNES and Sega Megadrive/Genesis back in 1993.

In the game, you take control of one of two protagonists, Zeke, a 3D glasses-wearing boy, or Julie, a baseball cap-wearing girl, in order to rescue neighbors from hordes of zombies that want to eat their brains. To accomplish their mission, they have a variety of weapons that include but are not limited to; a water gun, soda can grenades, silverware and ice lollies, along with various power-ups such as health kits, clown doll decoys and potions that turn you into a big purple monster – because why not? As you traverse each level, you fight various enemies that range from the titular zombies, evil dolls, werewolves, chainsaw wielding madmen and even a giant baby – yes, a giant baby.

When this game was first released back in 1993, we got it for our SNES and even though I was only young at the time – 8 to be exact – I was hooked from the beginning. The cartoony graphics and the weird characters kept me playing. With this being a two-play co-op game, I played alongside my brother (I was always Julie…) and we did our best at fighting our way through the levels.

Each level is harder than the last, and even as early as level 4 or 5, the difficulty seemed to spike, and I just ended up dead more often than not. Even still, I loved this game. I would play often, and even though there were no save files back then and you relied on getting a passcode at certain points in the game, I would happily reply the same levels repeatedly because I enjoyed it so much.

When I rebought a SNES, Zombies was one of the first games that I knew that I had to have, and when it finally arrived, I spent hours playing. I still wasn’t great at it, but I had definitely improved since childhood – I was so happy to be playing it again.

Fast forward to today. I’ve been thinking about Zombies for a few weeks now and decided that I would write a blog about it and my love for it. When I was doing some research, however, I found out that at the end of June this year, it was re-released for the Switch and Xbox – it was supposed to be released for PS4 too, but I can’t find any trace of it, so I don’t know what happened there.

When I looked it up on the Nintendo store, I found that it was only just over £11, and it even came with its sequel, Ghoul Patrol ( I didn’t even know there was a sequel.) For that price, I wasn’t willing to hang around and bought it straight away. However, I relished the opportunity to play it on a modern console.

It took me a day or so to finally sit down and play it, but when I did, all of those memories were there once again.

Now, this re-release isn’t a remaster. Nothing has been done to the game save adapting it for the generation of consoles. The display is still 4:3, but to fill the gap at the edges of the screen, you get a border very similar to the ones that you get on any of the mini consoles. This doesn’t detract from the game – I guess it’s just there to fill up some empty space. One change, though, is that you now have the ability to save your progress on exit. This, unfortunately, doesn’t mean you can save at any time and pick up where you left off if you die. If you lose all your lives, you’re straight back to the beginning. You still have to rely on the passcodes given after certain stages. But, this – as in the original – comes with a cost as if you use a code, you start on that level with only your base water gun, so this may make some of the later levels nigh on impossible, so it’s probably easier to go back to the start.

The game is just as difficult as its original version. There are no different difficulty settings; you either play it as is or not at all. So far, I’ve only made it to the Big Baby level – you know the one I mean – but when I restart, I’m already blasting through the earlier levels quicker than I ever have. Could the difficulty of the levels have been altered? Yes. Should it have been? Absolutely not. The game is perfect the way it is, and part of that is the challenge of it.

Now onto Ghoul Patrol. This was released in 1994 only a year after Zombies for the SNES.

I’m not as familiar with this title as I am with its predecessor as I didn’t even know it existed until getting this new bundle, so I went into it with an open mind, and my first impressions weren’t great.

So, you play as the same characters as in Zombies, but they appear to be slightly older. The game’s main premise seems to be exactly the same, traverse levels, save people, and kill bad guys. There have been some new additions, though, that just don’t seem to work very well. For example, you now have the ability to jump and slide, this comes into play in some platformy bits of levels, but all just feel very clunky.

The art style is very similar to the first game, just maybe a little more cartoony; this also doesn’t really work. To me, everything seems bigger and more exaggerated and just isn’t conducive to play.

I’ll admit I’ve not given Ghoul Patrol a lot of time to impress me, and I will have to play it some more to be able to give a proper opinion on it, but first impressions do matter.

Overall this sequel feels like half an idea that was finished – so, does that make a quarter of an idea? Maybe. I don’t know. But I digress.

Zombies will always have a place in my heart, and I think it will be one that I will go back to time and time again; this probably won’t be true with its sequel.

But having said all this, getting both games for less than £12 and the ability to play it on a large flat – non CRT – screen on new hardware is well worth it. So if you were a fan of the original or if you just like the sound of it, I’d say give this re-release a go.

That’s it for now; I’m off to try and take down that damn giant baby.

Two Point Hospital (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Two Point Hospital is a hospital simulation game that was released in August 2018 for PC and Mac and February 2020 for PS4, Xbox One and Switch. It is a spiritual successor to Theme Hospital by Bullfrog and even has some of the same developers. Throughout the game, players are tasked with building, operating, and maintaining a selection of different hospitals in the fictional Two Point County. In addition, you have the goal of curing fictitious comical illnesses such as animal magnetism, cubism, eye candy, jest infection and pandemic to progress through each hospital.

When this game was announced, I knew that I would have to play it. It looked almost identical to Theme Hospital – if with improved graphics – and because I spent so many hours playing that game, I just had to play Two Point.

Two Point has the same tongue in cheek humour as its predecessor and does its best to satirise the entire hospital experience. I mean, no one likes going to the hospital, so having so many humourous illnesses that poke fun at the real world is never a bad thing.

When you start the game, and you’re put in charge of your first hospital, everything seems so simple. You’ve only got a handful of illnesses to cure, and you only have to build a few rooms, like GP’s Offices and pharmacies. Still, as you progress through the levels, things get decidedly more complicated. You have to deal with more patients with a wider variety of problems, which means you have to build more rooms, ranging from psychiatry to x-ray to all the different machines to cure the ailments.

But that’s not all. As well as managing and curing your patients, you also have to maintain your hospital. This not only means hiring janitors to clean up and fix your various machines but also hiring/firing doctors and nurses, putting your staff through training, promoting them when necessary and making sure that they’re all happy lest they quit. You also need to make sure that you’ve got enough staff available so that when some tire and require breaks, you have others there to fill in for them. Sometimes this may mean that you end up with more doctors than you necessarily need at any given time just so you have them when you need them, which may mean you’re paying more for salary than you might need to and therefore end up spending more money than you have. It’s all a juggling act to make sure that your hospital runs as efficiently as possible.

Two Point Hospital is fun and challenging and, at times, infuriatingly so. There are so many times when you feel like you’re doing everything right. Still, for whatever reason, patients start to die (and haunt the hospital), you run out of money, or your reputation tanks, so you end up not getting as many visitors as you need to keep afloat. To see how you’re doing, at the end of each game year, you have the chance to win a selection of different awards such as Doctor of the year and the no death award, these serve to increase your hospitals reputation and also come with cash bonuses that can help you at difficult times.

I spent hours playing Theme Hospital back in the day, and although I haven’t played Two Point anywhere near as much, I feel like it wouldn’t take a lot for me to get hooked and while away hours in-game running my hospitals into the ground. There’s enough to this game to keep you coming back for more, and even if you play the same hospital multiple times, it’s always different. For example, you get the same illnesses but not in the same ratio. Also, things like the random VIP visits or emergency patients you have to treat in a specific time period come at different times, so you’re never truly prepared for them to happen.

There is so much to this game and so many different ways to play it that it never gets tiresome. If you enjoyed Theme Hospital or even just simulation games in general, I think this is a game that you will enjoy. I love both, and Two Point will be a game that, much like Theme Hospital, I will come back to time and time again. However, unlike some games in the genre, it’s not too tricky, and although it eases you in gently with the first levels, there isn’t the sudden spike in difficulty that you can experience in some simulation games.

I’ve played the game on both PC and PS4, and even though the controls are different on console with having to use a controller over a mouse, I haven’t experienced any glaring issues, and the port works just as well as the PC version.

I would recommend this game to any fan of the genre and I’m going to give it an excellent 9/10.

If you’d like to see the game in action before you pick up a copy for yourself, you can check out a stream that I did the other day over on Twitch.

Let Nostalgia Commence: Streets of Rage 4 (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Streets of Rage 4 is a side-scrolling beat ’em up and continues the Streets of Rage storyline from the previous games – particularly the one from the Japanese version of SoR3 (titled Bare Knuckle 3). It was released in April 2020 on XBox One, PS4, Switch and PC.

This game picks up 10 years after the ending of SoR3 and follows original characters Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding and Adam Hunter. Joining these characters are Adam’s daughter Cherry and a cybernetically enhanced bloke named Floyd Iraia.

The story follows these characters as they fight against their old enemy, Mr X‘s children – the Y twins (yes, I know original names but hey, what are you gonna do?)

The main game is split up into multiple different levels which consist of battling through waves of enemies until you reach a mini boss at the end – if you’ve played the previous games, this won’t be anything new to you.

This was another game that as soon as it was announced I knew I had to play it, but it was yet another that fell by the wayside in favour of others. But, this month it became available on PSNow so I had to finally play it.

Personally I loved the original Streets of Rage games. I was never especially brilliant at them, but that didn’t stop me from dying repeatedly and always going back for more.

The combat in this sequel is very similar to the previous games. It consists (for me anyway) of button bashing to punch, kick and throw the onslaught of enemies. One addition to this game though is that you have several special moves. Although these moves use a portion of your health, you do have the chance to recover what you lose by successfully landing combos. I was happy to see the weapons are still there. There are a range to choose from, some dropped by enemies and some just in certain sections of the level. These include but aren’t limited to; knives, metal pipes, baseball bats, bottles and a golden chicken…yes, a golden chicken can be used as weapon. Along with these are several power-up pick-ups including apples, money bags and I’m happy to say the roasted chicken is back too.

The look of SoR4 is different to the other three games in that it’s all hand drawn rather than pixelated. This change doesn’t detract from you knowing that you’re playing a Streets of Rage game and this new style works really well with this kind of game. The music, as always, is top notch and definitely reminds of the original games, it’s not your usual repetitive noise that you sometimes get in side-scrolling games of this ilk. There’s even a way to play the original games’ music instead which is kind of awesome.

The main story mode is fairly short. I’ve only been playing it a day and have finished it. But, you have the replayability of going through it with the other characters or co-op with a friend or online player. And, of course, if you’re looking for trophies and need the extra incentive, there are ample up for grabs obtainable through your multiple playthroughs..

Simply put, I love this game. Not just for the nostalgia factor, but because games like this are a rarity these days. I only wish I could play it on a proper arcade cabinet like in the good ol’ days – I miss arcades…Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. This game is brilliant, the art style, the music, the mechanics, there’s nothing not to love about this title and you should definitely play it, especially if you’re a fan of the originals. This game makes me want to find the originals and replay those too.

Streets of Rage 4 is a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in my book and one I will definitely be going back to. And if it disappeared from PSNow tomorrow, I would buy a copy. I intend on putting a lot of time into this game as I did the older games.

I will leave you with these words. Go and play it now!

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Review)

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was released back in 2013 and takes place in a fantasy world filled with mythical creatures such as giants, orcs and trolls.

Brothers was a game that I came across years ago on the XBox. I played it a little back then but for some reason I put it down and never played it again…until now.

We played A Way Out (see my review of this here) which left us wondering what else the developers made and this brought us back to Brothers. It was pretty cheap at the time so we decided to give it a go, but unfortunately it again fell by the wayside. We were really looking for something co-op in the same vein as A Way Out but despite looking two-player, Brothers isn’t. We put it down and didn’t think of it again for some time.

We recently rediscovered it though through PSNow and finally got around to playing it.

In Brothers you take control of two characters, each having their own analogue stick (we played it on the PS4) to move and L2 and R2 buttons for actions. This at times can be pretty clunky as the characters sometimes seem to have a mind of their own and keeping track of both of them can be hard and very frustrating. Sometimes it’s easier to move each brother one at a time but due to some of the puzzles you occasionally have to move them in tandem.

The story follows these two brothers on a quest to find something to help their sick father who is the only parent left to look after them since their mother drowned (all very happy stuff.) Their quest takes them through several different locations and they meet a number of characters.

There are no combat controls in this game, your main aim is either to run away or trick the enemy into running into something and therefore hurting themselves.

It’s a nice game, the graphics are pretty decent and the story is alright, but the controls just let it down so much in this version. This could have very easily been a two-player game with each player controlling a brother, but for one player to control both can be very annoying at times. The only way I can see two players bein able to play this is to share the controller, but this would probably also be difficult as the space you would have – depending on the size of your hands – would be minimum.

After playing A Way Out, Brothers was a bit of a let down, but it’s only fair I say that this game came out years before A Way Out and they are completely different games so it is a little unfair to compare them. I’m just sad that this game could have been more fun if it had been a true co-op game. I believe that the Switch port does allow for two-players, but without playing it I can’t attest to how well it plays.

For us, the PS4 version was okay, but it just didn’t give us the type of game that we were expecting and overall wasn’t great. The graphics were excellent, though, and it is beautiful to look at. The story was fair, perhaps having proper dialogue might have helped it along some. Despite this, there are still some genuinely emotional times throughout your quest. Unfortunately, the poor controls detract from the good points and lower the enjoyment quite a lot. I’d give this game ⭐️⭐️ out of 5. It could have been so much more.

It. Is. Done.

~ Gareth Ellis ~ Leave a comment

I’ve finally just finished Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Although it took me a while to actually get round to playing it due to reason I said about in a previous blog I find that now I’ve finished it in at a bit of a loss and I really can’t wait for the sequel.

Breath of the Wild is a huge and extremely beautiful game, and the number of hours that I put into finishing it seemed to fly by.

Over my playthrough I did most of the quests if not all and all the shrines. These extra little dungeons really added that little bit different to the game. Although some are frustrating – I’m looking at you motion-controlled maze – they’re fun and also help towards buildup Link either in health or stamina, so they’re well worth doing.

I was almost tempted when I got the point of having done the Divine Beasts of rushing straight to Ganon but putting the time into the shrines gives a good pay off, plus you get a little something after doing them all that old-school Zelda fans will appreciate.

I wish I’d played it sooner now that I’ve finished it, but at least there’s less time between it and the sequel now. I just hope my Switch continues to work so I might actually buy it.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone, lovers of Zelda games or not.