I’m always in awe when a game comes out in this day and age that manages to confound me as much as La-Mulana 2 has so far. Like its predecessor, developer Nigoro’s long in development puzzle-platformer is a game about discovery and having to work your ass off for it. It’s can be positively exhilarating…
In a time where genres are constantly blending together, it’s hard to feel excitement about them. But Yoku’s Island Express, a pinball game mixed with a Metroid-style platformer from developer Villa Gorilla, is one of those rare exceptions. It’s a delightfully charming and inventive game that seamlessly blends pinball and platforming mechanics together to fantastic…
Earlier this year when I reviewed Flywrench, I talked about how, despite being unable to finish the game, I still came away from it feeling positive. How it being so difficult that I eventually was physically incapable of meeting its demands would usually leave me frustrated, but instead left me content. It all came down…
Traditionally, E3 begins with us rushing into one of the halls of the LA Convention Center through throngs of attendees to get to our first appointment. This year, our string of appointments began across the street from the show proper in the Devolver Digital lot to see a little game called Semblance. Semblance is a…
I’ve gotten to the point where I approach games that trade on being retro with a bit of trepidation. It’s too easy to fall into the trap of evoking that era’s design principles without understanding why games were designed that way why it doesn’t really fly these days. Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight tangled with…
Refunct is one of those perfect examples of a pleasant surprise. I came across it by pure chance during the Steam Winter sale. Saw it was cheap (less than a dollar at the time) and that the reviews were good, so I figured it was worth a shot. Plus, it described itself as a “peaceful,…
Shovel Knight, in the simplest of terms, is the ultimate Capcom NES game that never was. If you go further defining it, though, it’s much more than a mere retro-styled indie game. Yacht Club Games has lovingly created Shovel Knight to play like an NES game, sure, but their care went well beyond just emulating…
Games are a powerful medium. Like a good book or thrilling movie, they can make you feel incredible at times, but given care, there are times when they bring about feelings like nothing else. The Swapper, for instance, makes you feel like a genius every time you manage to find a solution to one of…
Videogames and obstacle courses are one of those weird pairings that always works. Something about swiftly navigating ridiculously treacherous courses never ceases to entertain. It’s why games like Trials continue to see great success. Action Henk from RageSquid, which just launched on Steam early access, but instead of relying on a specific catch to instill…
Few concepts lend themselves to games as well as time travel. Jumping back and forth in time to solve problems makes the simplest of puzzles suddenly seem far more complex. Chronology is no different – to an extent. A breeze of a puzzle-plaformer, its challenges are few but satisfying, using its time travel concepts to…
