Alone in the Dark is a series that needs no introduction to fans of horror games. Debuting in 1992 it began many of the survival horror tropes still in use today, a true pioneer of its time. Sadly the series has fallen a bit into obscurity since then as subsequent sequels and reboots have failed
When I saw the initial trailers and pictures for Palworld back in 2021, I and many others had a similar reaction: “This can’t be real. This has to be a troll or something.” After all, we had just seen creatures that looked eerily similar to Pokémon engaging in gun fights and slave labor assembly lines,
Time is a circle, and what’s old is new again. There’s been plenty of aesthetic throwbacks in recent years, most typically to the 64-bit era, following along the 16-bit nostalgia wave previously. But poking in at the margins here and there is a growing trend of games imitating the early PC games of the 80s.
Way back in the late 90s, I had many a fond memory of playing Turok 1 and 2 on my N64. Naturally when they were remastered I had to pick them up, but I never did play Turok 3. Now it’s finally getting a remaster of it’s own, and it was finally time to see what I had been missing all these years.
There are a few types of games that will always grab my attention. Old-school CRPGs, games with retro aesthetics, stories with cute critters embarking on fantasy adventures… so it was inevitable that I’d take a look at Of Blades and Tails. Developed by Felix Laukel and published by Pineapple Works, Of Blades and Tails promised tactical turn-based action and exploration, but I just had to ready my sword, dust off my armor and see for myself how it held up.
World of Horror is something I honestly had thought was already out. I have a number of friends really into horror, and I heard nothing but good things about it back when it first entered early access. Surely this was an already finished game, I thought. Apparently despite how good it already was, there were still more the team wanted to add. Now I had a chance to sit down with the finished product and see if it was really worth all the hype.
I’ve been a fan of Marvelous’ work for a while, starting with the old Harvest Moon games way back when and more recently with the Rune Factory series. So of course I was delighted to see some classic monsters return in the trailer, and I knew I had to check this out. While it seemed to lean away from the life sim elements of those other series and into pure action this time around, adding action had made Rune Factory better for me than Harvest Moon, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that sooner or later they would decided to go all in.
Back in April I’d covered a preview of The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, and found myself immediately fascinated by it. Coming from an established publisher and developer and dealing with occult matters in a fleshed out fantasy world, it was just a taste of something that promised to be far greater. So how could I turn down checking out the finished deal?
Back in 2021 I reviewed a rather well-made furry visual novel called Winds of Change, and I was immediately drawn in by its world building and characters. So, when the developer contacted me about reviewing their followup title Komorebi, how could I possibly say no? I knew that one way or another, I’d be in for an experience.
As someone who grew up with PC games in the mid-90s, I was quite familiar with…hang on, we just went through this didn't we? Yes, the remaster of Rise of the Triad that we did a preview for last month has finally released, and I had the opportunity to experience the full game. So, let's turn back the clock and give this another go exploring this classic FPS and how it holds up in the modern day.
Earlier this year I was pleased to preview Bleak Sword DX. Now it’s out, I finally got a chance to sit down with the finished game. With a striking aesthetic and dark fantasy vibe, it left a strong impression back then, and I was super eager to see where it went from there. Let’s see
Growing up in the 90s, I was very familiar with Apogee thanks to their extensive shareware catalog. I spent many an afternoon playing the likes of Raptor and Dark Ages, but none stood out for me quite as much as Rise of the Triad. So of course I was excited to hear Nightdive Studios was
I’ve always been a fan of the occult. Fortune telling, folk magic, fell creatures from beyond, a world lurking just beyond our own. So when I saw Devolver was publishing a new game all about these themes, of course I was interested. The developers, Destructeam, are no newcomers either, having made Gods Will Be Watching
It’s not all that often that I get the opportunity to revisit a beloved review title after it’s release, but when The Arcade Crew reached out for word on the latest major update for Infernax, of course I had to check it out for myself. So, for those of you who haven’t heard of Infernax
To the surprise of nobody, I was hooked from the moment I saw the trailer for Curse of the Sea Rats. I mean, an action platformer where you play as a cast of rats that look straight out of a 90s Disney movie with a fantastical ensemble of foes, what’s not to love? Well, as
When I first saw the trailer for Grim Guardians: Demon Purge, a few inspirations immediately stuck out in my mind. A castle of demons full of diverse architecture, a variety of abilities just as useful for exploration as they are for combat, an aesthetic reminiscent of Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow, plus
When I saw that Devolver was publishing another nostalgic 8-bit inspired game, I must admit it caught my attention. I’ve generally been a huge fan of the games they support such as last year’s Cult of the Lamb, and I’m always a sucker for games with a strong aesthetic choice. So, of course I had
There are two kinds of video games: Some emphasize the “game” part and are all about a thrilling challenge, novel mechanics, or otherwise giving you an experience that’s simply fun. Others are perhaps better described as interactive narratives, primarily about the story but presented in such a way that your own choices are pivotal to
It’s October, and you know what that means! It’s time to splash just a little bit of horror into all of our favorite things. That and pumpkin spice, but that’s not important right now. Today we’re looking at NeverAwake, a nightmarish twin-stick shooter by developer Neotro Inc and published by Phoenixx, where you help a
Last month we previewed Cult of the Lamb and I left off eager to see how its combination of roguelike dungeon crawling and base building held up in the full game. Now that I’ve had a chance to sit down with it properly, it’s time to see where it’s held up and where cracks have