hack and slash

I recently reviewed the Mass Effect Legendary Edition and pointed out that minus a couple of features it was a collection done right. Now it’s the turn of the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, also three games from the previous generation packed together. Things aren’t as straightforward here, which I’ll get […]

Ninja Gaiden Master Collection – PS4 Review

July 3, 2021 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 2 / 3 / action / character action / difficult / hack and slash / master collection / metroidvania / ninja gaiden / razor's edge / sigma by Gareth

This week’s offering from Ratalaika is Sun Wukong VS Robot, a bite-sized Metroidvania style game from the relatively unknown dev team, Bitca. Having just reviewed the brilliant Astalon, we were fully dialled in to this style of game and all the running, jumping, slashing and upgrading that it entails. So how […]

Sun Wukong VS Robot – PS4 Review

June 22, 2021 in PS4 / PS5 / Reviews tagged hack and slash / jump / metroidvania / platformer / sun wukong vs robot by Richie

PlayStation gamers were never able to play the original 2013 Hammerwatch, a hack and slasher from Swedish (not Danish!) coding squad, Crackshell. They have however just dropped 2018’s Heroes of Hammerwatch on us, a game that takes the original hacking and slashing but builds quite a complex upgrading system behind the action. […]

Heroes of Hammerwatch – PS4 Review

January 16, 2021 in PS4 / Reviews tagged classes / hack and slash / heroes of hammerwatch / Pixel art / retro / rogue-like / rogue-lite / upgrade by Richie

10Tons Ltd released the PS4 version of Undead Horde back in January this year (2020). While presenting like a standard hack and slashing dungeon crawler, it was actually a very original game with an excellent core mechanic that allowed you to resurrect your dead enemies and make them fight for you. We […]

Undead Horde – PS5 Review

December 19, 2020 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 10tonsltd / dungeon crawler / game of thrones / hack and slash / night king / RTS / undead horde by Richie

I don’t tend to see a lot of brawlers these days. Sometimes it’s a genre that’s tough to get right but we’ve seen with the River City Ransom revivals and Steets of Rage recent return that there’s an audience for a good punch-up. Paw Paw Paw is the latest indie […]

Paw Paw Paw – PS4 Review

December 9, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 2D brawler / couch co-op / hack and slash / local multiplayer / melee combat / paw paw paw / simpleton / skill tree by Mike

Another day, another indie title. This one comes from Ninja Rabbit studios. Micetopia is a fairly simple tale of a mouse called Rich. He’s one of the few villagers left after monsters have taken some of the other residents hostage. With a sword in hand, our little hero has two […]

Micetopia – PS4 Review

December 8, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 2d platforming / exploration / hack and slash / metroidvania / mice / micetopia / ninja rabbit studios by Mike

The Torchlight series has made a reasonable name for itself by offering its own budget take on the Diablo experience, growing while its inspiration does too. We reviewed Torchlight II back in September of last year and while we appreciated its solid gameplay mechanics, it was just a bit too staid, offering nothing […]

Torchlight III – PS4 Review

October 19, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged arpg / diablo / hack and slash / loot / rpg / torchlight 3 by Richie

As the clumsily structured name might tell you, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a remaster of the original Kingdoms of Amalur, an open-world RPG that came out for last gen consoles back in 2012. However, despite sporting a real pedigree in terms of the people behind it, the game underperformed commercially and […]

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – PS4 Review

September 7, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged adventure / hack and slash / kingdoms of amalur / rpg / skyrim by Richie

When a game comes in from Finnish publishers Ratalaika Games, we usually know what to expect. And that is a platinum trophy within thirty minutes. But Thy Sword is that rarest of unicorns, a Rata joint where you have to put some time in. Obstensibly, this is a rogue-lite platformer/hack and slasher […]

Thy Sword – PS4 Review

May 15, 2020 in PS4 tagged arcade / hack and slash / platformer / ratalaika / thy sword by Richie

Jedi Academy is a straight forward port of the 2003 sequel to Jedi Outcast. We reviewed that game’s port last year and gave it a respectable 7 out of 10 but were always bigger fans of Jedi Academy and so we were looking forward to this release, even if the almost twenty year […]

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy – PS4 Review

April 1, 2020 in PS4 tagged hack and slash / jedi academy / port / rerelease / space / star wars by Richie

The Way of the Samarai series is not one I’ve ventured into. The Acquire developed action titles just haven’t crossed my path but Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story is a diversion from the usual path. An isometric dungeon crawler, this effort looks to satisfy some loot lust […]

Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story – PS4 ...

February 27, 2020 in PS4 / Reviews tagged acquire / crafting / debt collecting / dungeon crawler / hack and slash / katana kami a way of the samurai story / roguelike by Mike

Knightin’+ is another retro-themed indie effort from the ever-prolific peeps over at Ratalaika Games, the publisher best known for singlehandedly keeping the Vita alive while also throwing around cheap platinum trophies like confetti. They’ve explored so many genres (mainly because their MO seems to be to publish pretty much anything that […]

Knightin’+ – PS4 Review

February 21, 2020 in PS4 / Vita tagged easy platinum / hack and slash / indie / knightin'+ / Pixel art / ratalaika / retro by Richie