puzzles

Are time loops still in vogue? Woodhill Interactive seems to think so. Orten Was the Case is an adventure game with free movement that looks to capitalise on a repeatable time-frame and a small but interesting location. Whilst repetition isn’t always the best for games, the balance seems to be […]

Orten Was the Case – PS5 Review

January 7, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged Adventure game / espionage / free movement / orten was the case / puzzles / Scandinavia / supernatural / time loop / woodhill interactive by Mike

Cats and nosey sods, let’s be honest. I’ve had plenty through my life and their need for attention gets them in situations they really shouldn’t be in. Cats and the Other Lives is a narrative-driven puzzle game from Cultic Games which looks to replicate the feline experience. I’ll be honest, […]

Cats and the Other Lives – PS4 Review

October 31, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged cats and the other lives / chase sequences / cultic games / dysfunctional family / eavesdropping / mouse catching / nattatively-driven / nosey feline / Pixel art / puzzles / stealth by Mike

What originally started out as a student project, Ad Infinitum is a first-person horror experience set in World War I. In almost a decade of development, the final product has, at long last, come to fruition. Whilst Hekate’s efforts are admirable, the lasting impressions I took from this are mixed. […]

Ad Infinitum – PS5 Review

September 17, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged ad infinitum / german / hekate / monsters / paranormal / psychological horror / puzzles / trenches / world war i by Mike

I’ll be honest, the Trine series has largely passed me by. I knew of it but never really had the curiosity to give the games a look. That’s changed with Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy arriving on the Playstation 5. Frozenbyte have spent well over a decade polishing the cooperative […]

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy – PS5 Review

September 14, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2.5d / Fantasy / frozenbyte / knight / physics-based / platformer / puzzles / thief / trine 5 a clockwork conspiracy / wizard by Mike

I think few games have left a mark on open-world design than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Elden Ring has taken the lessons to heart but, prior to that, Sable took a shot at keeping the world fairly quiet and letting players do the map marking. Originally […]

Sable – PS5 Review

December 11, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged adventure / climbing / coming of age / masks / open world / platforming / puzzles / rite of passage / sable / shedworks by Mike

There must be something in the water lately. Another lone developer effort has landed on my lap. This time around, Broken Mind is the game in question. Coming from 2Bad Games, this 5-year passion project has finally hit the Playstation 4. It’s a dark budget horror that, whilst it doesn’t […]

Broken Mind – PS4 Review

July 31, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged 2bad games / adventure / broken mind / detective work / first person / guns / melee combat / puzzles / stealth / survival horror / tony de lucia by Mike

From Brazilian based Pulsatrix Studios comes Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel. Heavily influenced by Resident Evil, this is a first person survival horror game with a larger emphasis on puzzles than combat. You play as Roberto, an up and coming journalist who has heard about strange goings on in Treze […]

Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel – PS5 Review

July 5, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged bosses / collectibles / first person / Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel / puzzles / resident evil / survival horror by Gareth

I’m a sucker for a simplistic puzzle game and Tilting Tiles seems to fit the bill. Coming from TreeFall Studios, this top-down conundrum delivers dozens of tricky teasers to wrap your brain around. There’s very few frills on offer but the stripped down nature seems to give the game plenty […]

Tilting Tiles – PS4 Review

June 11, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged blocks / diamonds / puzzles / tilting tiles / treefall studios / worlds by Mike

Stealth games are tough to get right. There are a few approaches, some more lenient whilst others will be very punishing but will give you the tools to get through undetected. Horror stealth games are probably tougher still, as you want the player to fear what they’re hiding from so […]

In Nightmare – PS5 Review

April 8, 2022 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 3d / child / dreams / hide and seek / horror / in nightmare / isometric / one hit kill / puzzles by Gareth

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

The strategy RPG is a genre that is pretty much being kept alive by indies these days. Nintendo have their Fire Emblem series but that is very much an outlier, then there is Disgaea which is its own weird thing, the other big hitters of the past have vanished from […]

Reverie Knights Tactics – PS4 Review

January 25, 2022 in PS4 / Reviews tagged challenges / environmental hazards / GRID / map / puzzles / reverie knights tactics / strategy rpg by Gareth

No, this isn’t another Dark Souls wannabe putting ‘Souls’ in their name to attract attention. Tormented Souls on PS5 gets its inspiration from elsewhere; namely old school, survival horror. We’re talking the big three: Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil and Silent Hill. As a fan of these titles I […]

Tormented Souls – PS5 Review

August 28, 2021 in PS5 / Reviews tagged alone in the dark / fixed camera / puzzles / resident evil / silent hill / survival horror / tormented souls by Gareth