Mike

About Mike

Mike gets all the racing games because he understands that stuff even though he doesn't drive.

FMV games are always a fun thing to dig around. There’s something about an interactive medium featuring physical actors which always brings about some interesting results. The latest of these to come my way is Who Pressed Mute On Uncle Marcus? Coming from Wales Interactive, this is a product that […]

Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? – PS4 Review

March 18, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged adventure / family quiz webchat / full motion video / Murder mystery / narratively-driven / poison / wales interactive / who pressed mute on uncle marcus by Mike

I haven’t play a WWE wrestling game since Smackdown 2 on the Playstation but I’d always heard in passing about Visual Concepts tribulations with the license. I’ve been aware of the animation glitches, the bugs and the general sentiment that the games became too complicated over time. This all […]

WWE 2K22 – PS5 Review

March 13, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged fighting / rey mysterio / royal rumble / tag team / visual concepts / wrestlemania / wrestling / wwe 2k22 by Mike

It’s been a while since a proper one of these. Gran Turismo 7 is Polyphony’s Digital’s return to the mainline series and effectively celebrates the 25th anniversary of a very specific product. With that comes a lot of familiarity but a few new tweaks that do add some flavour to […]

Gran Turismo 7 – PS5 Review

March 9, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged cars / digital polyphony / drifting / driving / gran turismo 7 / online multiplayer / racing / rallying / time trial by Mike

A while back I reviewed Strawberry Vinegar and it was arguably the moment where I really, really started to sound alarm bells about the visual novel genre. It was probably one of my first introductions to the fiction that is, ostensibly for weirdos, by weirdos. I knew Ebi-Hime had written […]

Blackberry Honey – PS5 Review

March 1, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged blackberry honey / ebi-hime / love story / narratively-driven / victorian housemaids / visual novel by Mike

It’s been interesting to see puzzle games find their way into my rotation lately. A lot of them have been of an indie persuasion and they haven’t been especially enduring. A puzzler with a good hook or some interesting ideas will always grab me and In My Shadow manages to […]

In My Shadow – PS4 Review

February 25, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged house / in my shadow / jumping / narratively-driven / playbae / puzzle platformer / puzzles / rooms / saws / spikes by Mike

Occasionally, adventure games catch my drift and The Song Out of Space seems right up my alley. Coming from Pixel Noire, the tale of extra-terrestrial interference, murders and Cold War tensions do tick a lot of my boxes. Unfortunately, it all seems rushed and doesn’t linger on the intrigue to […]

The Song Out of Space – PS5 Review

February 21, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged aliens / cold war / fbi / narratively-driven / pixel noire / point and click adventure / the song out of space / visual novel by Mike

It’s another day in the visual novel dungeon for me and this might be the first time a direct sequel has landed in my queue. Kansei: The Second Turn HD is the middle chapter of Sakevisual’s Green Tea Line narrative. Following on from Jisei: The First Case HD, our nameless […]

Kansei: The Second Turn HD – PS5 Review

February 9, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged green tea line / kansei the second turn hd / Murder mystery / narratively-driven / police procedural / sakevisual / visual novel by Mike

I’ve come across a few cooperative puzzle platformers in this job. Whilst it never quite feels like there’s a surge behind it, they seem to trickle through every few months and largely prove to be decent. Kinduo comes from Nibb Games, a three-person studio that’s been fairly prolific on Steam. […]

Kinduo – PS5 Review

February 2, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d / boxes / cooperative / keys / kinduo / lifts / nibb games / Pixel art / puzzle platformer / switches by Mike

I do sometimes quiver in fear whenever a visual novel comes my way. Thankfully, Eternal Radiance is perhaps more JRPG than visual novel with a focus seemingly split between the two. Visualnoveler successfully kickstarted a PC release in 2020 and they’ve billed it as an action RPG first and foremost. […]

Eternal Radiance – PS4 Review

January 25, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged action / combat / eternal radiance / jrpg / knights / quests / skill tree / visual novel / visualnoveler by Mike

If there’s one genre I tend to tiptoe around, it’s tactical turn-based RPGs. I’ve never really found one I’ve enjoyed and I do struggle to find a foothold in them. Hopefully that will change with Battle Brothers. Coming from Overhype Studios, this has had a fairly positive reception on PC. […]

Battle Brothers – PS4 Review

January 12, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged battle brothers / inventory management / Medieval / melee combat / overhype studios / peasants / ranged combat / tactical turn-based rpg / time management by Mike

It’s always odd for me to be introduced to a long-running series I know nothing about. Games come out in all shapes and sizes but finding out FM Studio’s output does make me realise my knowledge of available games is a drop in the ocean. The two-person studio have been […]

Forgotten Hill Disillusion – PS5 Review

January 8, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged fm studio / forgotten hill disillusion / horror / logic / museum / mystery / point and click / puzzle by Mike

Alwa’s Legacy comes from Elden Pixels after a successful kickstarter and a 2020 PC release. It was well received for its focus on exploration and interesting tweaks on player traversal. Metroidvania’s might be commonplace on game stores but it’s been a while since one strayed across my path. Thankfully, this […]

Alwa’s Legacy – PS4 Review

December 25, 2021 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 2D Platformer / adventure / alwa's legacy / amnesia / catacombs / elden pixels / exploration / magic / metroidvania / retro aesthetic by Mike