2017 Year in Review
So once again we’ve completed another orbit around the Sun, and due to this special time of year it’s time to look back and see what I’ve accomplished in those last 365 days. I must admit, I’m in two minds as to how much I’ve done – on the one hand I’ve travelled more than ever before, and produced more content and brilliant photo’s than ever before, BUT some of my achievements were not on my to-do list from the beginning of the year, so I’m unsure how good this will look. Off the top of my head though this is what I’ve been doing: Visited 6 Countries Yep! This year it appears as though I was a jet-setter, with myself going to the following six countries: Japan Norway Denmark The Netherlands Bulgaria Austria I spent a combined total of 30 days outside of the UK, which is fantastic in…
Doki Doki Literature Club (PC)
Warning: the following review contains plot spoilers for Doki Doki Literature Club. It’s recommended you play the game before reading this review. Given it’s the end of the year, and that I had to complete one more game to achieve another year of 52 games, I proceeded to look through steam for new games I could play that weren’t too long. That’s when I remembered Doki Doki Literature club, the quirky game from Team Salvato that the internet seems to be going crazy for. Looking it up, I couldn’t believe my luck: it was free! So I got on with downloading it asap and proceeded to play it one Sunday afternoon. First up, lets get this out of the way. Doki Doki Literature Club is a Visual Novel game whereby you play as a school kid who happens to find himself in a literature club with 4 very attractive girls.…
Super Mario Odyssey (NS)
It’s been a bloody good year for Nintendo, and I for one couldn’t be happier for them. Whilst I initial said the switch wouldn’t sell tremendously well, it looks like I may be being proven wholeheartedly wrong, which is a bloody good thing, as it means we get fantastic gems like Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, all in the space of one year. The fact I’m comparing Super Mario Odyssey to easily my favourite game of 2017 in the same sentence show’s how fantastic it really is: Nintendo have made an absolutely stunning platformer, one I’ve gone back to so many times since completing it that I’ve put over 40 hours into it. So, what is Super Mario Odyssey about? Well, as per always Peach is kidnapped (along with her new tiara hat that is sentient), with Mario being blasted out of the sky upon trying to…
Weekly Gaming: Super Lucky’s Tale (PC)
It’s been a weird year for platformers. One would have expected the triumphant return of some of gamings legends in the form of Playtonic Games and their debut, Yooka-Laylee to have been something of a home run. Alas, it was not, with me cursing the game and being bored with it from start to finish. Super Lucky’s Tale then has an uphill battle, being a brand new game published by Microsoft and exclusive to Xbox One and PC’s everywhere. So does it manage to because a new original platforming franchise, or was this series doomed from the offset? As is always the case when it comes to these questions, it’s a little bit of both. The game starts out with a little intro detailing Lucky’s (the main fox protagonist) sister having stolen a magical book which a group of cats, called the litter (look into this), are after. Having crashed…
Weekly Gaming: Grow Up (PS4)
It’s been years since I sat down and gave Ubisoft’s Grow Home a go, and looking back, I remember being rather fond of BUD and his weird adventures in creating a star fruit for his mothership, MOM.With those fond memories in mind, this past weekend I decided to sit down with the sequel to that surprise hit, Grow Up, and it has to be said, the game is just as fascinating and charming as it was the first time round. Let’s explore why. Grow Up starts out with BUD riding within MOM, playing Tic-Tac-Toe indefinitely whilst exploring the cosmos. Unfortunately, with MOM concentrating on Tic-tac-toe too much, she accidentally hits into an asteroid, causing her to explode across a planet leaving BUD falling through it’s atmosphere. Upon landing, you’re straight back to where you were in the first game – controlling the weird physics of BUD and navigating an alien…
Weekly Gaming: Bound (PS4)
Man oh man has playstation Plus been a roller coaster of a service over the years. When it first started out all those years ago I couldn’t wait to get my hands on most of the games that were offered. Triple-A titles left right and centre, all whilst being the same price (if not cheaper in many instances) than Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. I open with this context, as Bound comes to me courtesy of the Playstation Plus service, and my oh man has it been a let down these last few years. Nothing but indie games people haven’t heard of combined with Sony published games that never reviewed well in the first place. Polygon’s Owen Good wrote a fantastic piece on this exact issue just a few days ago, and I feel it explains my feelings on the service perfectly: https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/2/16728566/games-with-gold-and-playstation-plus-free-games-2017-analysis-opinion So with that being said, is Bound a…
Weekly Gaming: Costume Quest 2 (Xbox One)
It’s been many years since I sat down and had a bloody good time with Costume Quest. This charming, weird game was something of a mystery to me, with the only things being heard about the game being good words by Giant Bomb and other outlets on it’s great theme. So, 6 lovely hours later after completing the main campaign, I came away impressed, and excited for a sequel (should one ever be made). Alas, not all wishes should come true, and I for one am sad that I just sat through a sequel which has tarnished my memories of a truly great and charming game. Not that Costume Quest 2 starts off bad; if anything it starts off no different to Costume Quest 1, and in fact is a direct sequel, with the whacky group you controlled in the first place finding themselves between worlds, trying to find their…
Weekly Gaming: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PS4 Pro)
It’s been a while since I sat down with my other half and played some good old light hearted lego. These times aren’t only about the fun of playing with your partner, but also the fact that Lego games are just as enjoyable as ever, with a funny and mundane story all set in the same universe of brands/franchises you love. It’s this lightheartedness that makes me more than happy to sit down and play the game, even if I have other things I should be doing. So, to start off with, what is Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens? It’s a lego game which retells the film’s story, albeit in a more light-hearted and fun tone. You play the actual characters at the story-beats of the film, and proceed to re-enact the scenes, all with lots of gameplay thrown in inbetween. For example, early on in the game you…
Weekly Gaming: Sonic Forces (PC)
Hey all! This week I take a look at a series I’ve long loved, the Sonic franchise! I would usually be excited about this, but I’m afraid there’s bad news: Sonic Forces is easily one of the worst games I’ve ever played. Graphics aside, the game has next to no redeeming features, with it’s controls easily being one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. It’s as if the animations/graphics were made by Hollywood studios, whilst the programming was left to a bunch of primary school children. If you want to read my full opinions on the matter, by all means click the link below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/270151/sonic-forces-pc/ Until next week, I hope you’re well, and I look forward to seeing you beautiful face once again! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Forza 7 (Xbox One)
Hi all, Welcome back to the weekly schedule! Apologies once again for the mess up in previous weeks – I just cannot get over how fast this year is flying by! For this weeks game, I’m taking a look at Forza 7, the latest racer from Turn 10 studios exclusively for the Xbox One and PC. Overall, I didn’t mind the game that much – it has a lot to do, and a lot of customization in regards to controls. Just be warned that it can get boring fast thanks to this being the 7th iteration of the franchise. If you want to read my thoughts on the game, click the link below to be redirected to VGChartz.com: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269745/forza-motorsport-7-xone/ Until next week guys and gals! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Cuphead (Xbox One)
Hi all! So as per my previous post, I apologise that this is a little late! October flew by, so much so I genuinely cannot believe it’s already November and I’m off to Japan this week! Posts will still continue (as I’ll schedule them ahead of time), but otherwise I’ll be on the other side of the world! Right, less catching up, and more reviewing. This week I take a look at Cuphead, the (long delayed) game from Studio MDHR, whose visuals are sure to delight gamers and non-gamers the world over. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Cuphead’s world, and whilst I disagree at everyone’s statement about it’s difficulty, I still felt it was a fantastic game which is challenging – not hard. For clarification on how I feel hard and challenging are two different things, you can read my full review below over at VGchartz.com: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269722/cuphead-xone/ Until next…
Weekly Gaming: Jettomero (PC)
Hey all, Apologies for this, but it appears I forgot to publish a review on the 20th of October, so this post is for that! Please find below my review for a game I haven’t talked about on my own website just yet: Jettomero. You can read the full review over at VGChartz.com below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269731/jettomero-hero-of-the-universe-pc/ Thanks for coming back again! I’ll post another catch up for Friday the 3rd soon, with regular schedule commencing Friday the 10th 🙂 Til next time! -Dan
Weekly Gaming: Uncharted 4 (PS4 Pro)
Unchartered 4 Review (PS4 Pro) As those of you may have seen from previous reviews, I like the Unchartered games, but always found them a bit hollow. In fact, it was the original Unchartered game that put me off the series for so long, with its mediocre presentation, lacking game design, and weird characterisation. A started to warm towards the series throughout playing 2 and 3, with both games not only pushing the limits of what was possible in the graphical department for such an old system, but also making the characters more likeable. So here we are at the fourth title in the series, and what have Naughty Dog managed to do? They’ve managed to learn from their previous titles, that’s what. You see, what I didn’t mention is that between 3 and 4, Naughty Dog released The Last of Us, a great game that I reviewed when it…
Weekly Gaming: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch)
Hey all! So this week I take a look at a game I would have never thought I’d actually be buying: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Now this may also come as a surprise, but the game is absolutely fantastic, easily one of my favourite games of this year. So without further ado, if you wish to read my thoughts on the game in their entirety, proceed to click the link below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269255/mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle-switch/ Hope you’re all well, and until next week, keep safe! – Dan
Weekly Gaming: Songbringer (PC)
Hey all, Bit late with this one (I apologise!) but for this week I’m linking to my review on Songbringer – a fantastic procedural dungeon crawler that really did remind me of the early days of Zelda. It had a few issues (more bug related), but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the game and am going to definitely go back to it in the future. You can read my full review at the link below: http://www.vgchartz.com/article/269312/songbringer-pc/ Until next week! -Dan