52 Games…1 Year…2022 - The Bear and Badger

retroking1981

Glad to see some love for DK'94. I picked up Mole Mania on the 3DS VC off the back of playing it. Apparently its similar and a bit of a hidden gem.

I played a game on SNES similar to Boxxle recently called Super Sokoban, it was a JPN only release. It had a level select on the main menu and some of the later levels are insanely tough.

I like the idea of the game, but I think I'd give up before the end too.

Edit: @monkey 's post

Verecocha

26. Cyberpunk 2077 - 50 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox Series X

Verecocha’2021 wrote:

I was going to give this a 9 not a 10, but I absofuckingloutely loved this game. Only met a few tiny tech flaws but in spite of them it drew me in completely, that pushes it passed a 10 in my eyes. Had me really thinking about pretty much every choice as I really struggled as to which one was right for V. Really made me think about the development of my build and how I wanted to play. Really enjoyed the main story as well as the vast majority of the supplementary story lines and characters. And I’m a total lover of the genre and for me it was nailed.

I may have overused fast travel and I may have played it a bit too close to a thorough FPS when there are plenty more options, but that’s exactly how I wanted to play it and I love that I could just play it like that and not really feel like I was missing out.

Will add more but I love that though bits are broken it’s still one of the finest games I’ve played. Loved it. 10/10.

And I was ABSOFUCKINGLOUTELY right. What a game. Even better now, I didn’t have a single tech fault, it had the Series X graphic upgrade and this time I pumped EVEN MOAR points etc into playing it like a maniacal FPS. Made a few different choices and picked a different ending which I still feel bad about, but it’s a testament to how good so much of this game is that it still made me really consider so many choices and that some storylines were really difficult to take part in with the content.

Absofuckingloutely love this game. Can’t wait for the expansion to immerse myself in it again. Those 50 hours absolutely flew by.

10/10.

Wariospeedwagon

Nice!

I've just started again on PC, but haven't really gone in to far. I remember the body language of NPCs in dialogue being fantastic, and it's still really striking how good it is. I'm not a massive first person guy but I think it does a great job of putting you in V's body. I'm pretty excited to revisit it properly.

Moot_Geeza

139. Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe - Switch (3hrs)

Oh-so-clever and at times painfully unfunny first person walking sim (without a run button) that's basically a scripted version of Simon Says, with further scripted outcomes for anyone who chooses to ignore Simon. Or Knightmare, but with no helmet, no theme tune and a failed thespian luvvie issuing commands that you're free to ignore. You can sense the omnipresent shit-eating grin of the designer breathing down your neck as you wade through a sloppy turd that sluices you through a self-referential journey of literally no merit. "You weren't supposed to do that Stanley!" "I knew you knew I knew you weren't going to do that Stanley!". JFC, it's the sort of thing I'd expect 'Buffy was genuinely good and really well written' types would enjoy, but for anyone with actual standards it's laughable. You can't even skip the dialogue, and despite the fact that Stanley just shuffles around he often trips the invisible 'next line of dialogue' wire, something that I thought narrative driven games moved past in like 2013.

Ultra Deluxe spoiler: There's a bit where you press a giant button that claims the game will speak your actual irl name, so I pressed it and tbf it did say "Tim", which I thought was quite cool. But then I pressed it again and it turns out it said "Jim", which isn't my name so that bit ended up being shit too. Don't get me started on the bit with the microphone either; cringeworthy stuff. Surely the Switch has a microphone in the pad or something? I knew I should have bought it on Playstation.

I resisted spending £19.99 on it which I'm thankful for, but even £13.99 is a piss-take for the amount of actual gameplay. It's like reading a choose your own adventure novel written by someone the age you were when you last read one. [9]

Spoiler:

Verecocha

Wariospeedwagon wrote:

Nice!

I've just started again on PC, but haven't really gone in to far. I remember the body language of NPCs in dialogue being fantastic, and it's still really striking how good it is. I'm not a massive first person guy but I think it does a great job of putting you in V's body. I'm pretty excited to revisit it properly.

I remembered loving it, but it’s definitely an all timer for me after another run through. I just wouldn’t change a damn thing about it. It’s night on perfect for me. It really is brought to life by every character I can think of. I’m sure there is a lot I forgive it for that immediately forget about, but Christ it’s just amazing.

Moot_Geeza

140. Olli Olli World - Void Riders DLC (90 mins)

15 stage expansion to an already brilliant game that adds even better 'boss' stages and a decent new tractor beam mechanic (put to excellent use in a level where you have to smash pinatas). It's more of the same for the most part, but it only cost me £6.29 so I'll take more of the same every 6 months or so forever please. As mentioned in my original gushing review it's viable as either a legit, trick linking score chaser or a checkpoint autorunner, and it's hard to find fault with how accomplished it is at either. If you want to play it as the latter without focusing on challenges, as I did with the dlc, it allows you to do so and emerges as maybe the second best example of the genre ever (Super Meatboy Forever innit). Brilliant game. They've even patched out the intermittent frame drops on the Switch version, to the point where it's probably the best version now, due to how well it suits portable play.

As before, pretty much my only nit-pick is that the height gained as you leave the lip of a rail still feels head-scratchingly inconsistent at times, but that's it. [8] for the DLC, a fat (or possibly phat) [9] for the main game, which would've been my GotY in most years but that oh-so sweet, all-too brief Poinpy addiction grip was too stronk.

Wariospeedwagon

Moot_Geeza wrote:

135. P.3 - Switch (um....8hrs?) Another retro styled vertical scrolling shmup. With a twist though - this one only uses two buttons to fire and steer your ship. No dpad/stick required, L1/R1 do everything. You'll always be moving left or right, and when you change direction - or press the direction you're already moving - you fire. So you have to avoid the walls (most of the time) by snaking around the centre of the screen while positioning yourself underneath enemies for the shmup element. Switch 'N Shoot is a good reference point, which I managed to get a few badgers to buy a few years ago. This doesn't have the back to square one element as you restart the level you've reached when you die, and there's also a rogue element to the perks you can claim as you level up. I spent most of the game thinking the randomised perks were unbalanced, even binning all my progress to reroll once or twice, but by end I had to begrudgingly admit that they did a pretty good job of making it all work. Just be warned that it's not shy about offering you a useless set of perks. Or even detrimental, if you're very unlucky. I found it incredibly difficult, and the fourth level in particular will probably haunt my dreams for a while. I considered giving up on numerous occasions, but it became a personal challenge that I had to see through. Plus I managed to get a mate to buy it and he caught me up in one evening :sweat bead emoji:. It's not perfect but it's better than I had any reasonable right to expect, given that up the screen ultra budget shooters are ten a penny on the EShop (I've played half a dozen of them; this is probably the best if you plan to learn it properly). It's down to 89p for the next day or two. Anyone with a FlipGrip should grab it just for tate mode. [8]. The euphoria as the last boss fell was priceless and therefore one of my favourite gaming moments ever. I play a lot of things on easy these days, but this was Big Boy Stuff and I smashed it. The black borders will probably be etched into my TV forever (guess which dickhead couldn't find his FlipGrip?) but I don't care. Good review of the IOS version here:

I'm stuck on that level where it's really easy, then you have to pick the right path 5 times in a row, and it's always random, and I'll be buggered if I can do it! I'm fed up.

Bloody good game though for the sale price, reminds me of the exciting early days iphone gaming. Maybe I'll try again one day, but I've cracked the shits for now. I give it 7/10.

Moot_Geeza

Ha that's the one that nearly killed me. Not sure exactly what kind of hidden numberwang is going on but I don't think you'll ever get a run that just gives you the desirable path, and there's almost definitely no strict pattern (my guess would be there's a 1 in 4 chance of drawing the short straw each time you reach a split). You'll have to suffer the one where you have to speed snake in the middle of the tunnel at least once. It can be done without taking a hit, but the one where you grind the walls is infinitely preferable. Massive difficulty spike, was discussing it in the pub last night with a mate I convinced to buy it - he reached that stage in one evening then bailed. That bit really is disgustingly difficult/unfair, and the subsequent boss is an arsehole too.

Wariospeedwagon

45: Resident Evil 4 (Switch) 8/10

Lots or RE in this thread the last couple of pages! Why not more.

This was my favourite game on GC and it's great to see that after a frightening amount of years it still holds up pretty well. It is a bit rough going at the start with its old school shooting controls, but they become second nature after a while. Having to be stationery to shoot did become a pain every now and then when you get unlucky with how many bullets it takes to kill certain henchman (when RE does that thing where some shootouts end up a bit like Chaka Khan Vs Robin Gibb on Big Train). But they really weren't as big a deal as I assumed. With that said I'm looking forward to the remake mostly to play it with sensible controls.

It's been years since I played it and it sat a bit strangely in my head as all the really memorable stuff happens in the opening few hours. After that I vaguely remember chunks of the castle and only the scary monsters and helicopter in the last section.  Minnesänger earlier mentioned this game runs a bit long and I have to agree. There's a lot of stuff that I wouldn't be too bothered about them cutting. I bet you could get rid of a good five hours of fat off the second half of the game and not miss much.

The painful stuff is with the unskippable cutscenes even after you've already seen them and just want to get back into a fight and the quicktime events mostly just gave me the shits.

It has a great pattern of top action sequences followed by quiet bits and chance to regroup and power up. There's a lot of variety in the action. You tend to be pretty powerful by the end but for the bulk of the game it does a good job of giving you just enough ammo and health to get through without hitting a brick wall. It's very moreish.

I did lose interest in the finer points of the story and never really cared about the main bad guy but I enjoyed floppy haired Leon with his shithouse action movie dialogue, striking out with Hunnigan and implying Ashley has a giant ass. It feels like the story's just there to knit together the different action scenes and I don't mind when shit happens that doesn't make sense. I enjoy the shooting even as I don't care who I'm shooting. I guess just knowing a great set piece is always around the corner and getting Leon and Ashley home safely were enough to keep me interested. By the time they're jet skiing back to America like Jeff Probst in season 1 of Survivor I felt fulfilled if not exactly moved.

Then it's the traditional RE post game generosity with extra modes (that I haven't played yet! Will play the Ada missions but maybe not Mercenaries) and being able to do a victory lap with all your powered up weapons and more. Not sure I'll play the full game again but cleaning out the opening village was cathartic.

Wariospeedwagon

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Ha that's the one that nearly killed me. Not sure exactly what kind of hidden numberwang is going on but I don't think you'll ever get a run that just gives you the desirable path, and there's almost definitely no strict pattern (my guess would be there's a 1 in 4 chance of drawing the short straw each time you reach a split). You'll have to suffer the one where you have to speed snake in the middle of the tunnel at least once. It can be done without taking a hit, but the one where you grind the walls is infinitely preferable. Massive difficulty spike, was discussing it in the pub last night with a mate I convinced to buy it - he reached that stage in one evening then bailed. That bit really is disgustingly difficult/unfair, and the subsequent boss is an arsehole too.

Oh I'm glad everyone struggles on that level, at least!

I just die instantly on the one where you're supposed to stay in the middle, but I last half a second lol.

I said I quit, but I've been thinking about it a bit. Might give it another crack...

Moot_Geeza

Try rubbing the dpad left and right if you get the shit tunnel. I used triggers for the rest of it, but decided wobbling the dpad was a little more reliable as it helped get into a rhythm and keep the ship more central.

Bouncing bullets were the best weapon after a certain power level imo, that and the default shot are the only viable primary weapons imo - the others can be handy in places but the way the weapon upgrades are offered means picking up the wrong thing can be disastrous once you're near the end (which you are - the next level is the last one). Good luck!

Edit: and if you do reach the last boss, having a laser as your secondary weapon decimates it.

Wariospeedwagon

Holy shit the d-pad rub works! Thanks for that!

With that said I got to that level's boss and he one shotted me within 5 seconds and I have 5 health lol. But still! It doesn't feel impossible anymore.

Moot_Geeza

That's the spirit. Boss took me six or seven attempts, it's lethal. Honestly reckon I was stuck on that one stage for 4 or 5 hours.

Moot_Geeza

The next level has masses of potential for levelling up, there are so many enemies in the lead up to the boss. It's still tough but once you get there you've pretty much done it. Unless you pause and accidentally select main menu as you unpause, which is very easy to do with joycon drift....

Wariospeedwagon

We got there mate! Thanks for the tips. Absolutely wouldn't have done it without the d-pad rub, and probably not without using the charge laser (I just tried to stick with the default, hold down l + r together to shoot secondary weapon). That laser sorted out the level 4 and 5 bosses without a great deal of trouble.

Have to say, even though I spent a large chunk of time hating, it has the bones of something really good. Really just fixing Level 4 and giving you a few more interesting upgrades to play with along with general polishing up.

Moot_Geeza

Magnificent stuff.

Yeah, it's a few tweaks away from being something great, but even with the fudged design choices it's a belter for a quid. Well done!

Nina

I also got that p.3 game, it's quite fun but just like with downwell I'm incredibly bad at it. I'm at the point where you have to squeeze between the gaps in the red blocks. It seems a bit easier if you can take a speed upgrade, maybe I need more. My ship's usually around lvl 6 there, I try to get a speed and hp power up at least.

Moot_Geeza

Hp and power seemed far more useful than speed to me. I think speed boost might actually be a hindrance for the nasty bit later on. Unless speed also means that you progress through the stages quicker? I couldn't work it out tbh (I assume it's just horizontal movement speed otherwise it'd unbalance the enemy waves).

Get through the red blocks and the boss to that stage is right there. If you can grind out a few upgrades while dying it'll make it easier.

I bought a couple more of these dirt cheap vertical shmups last night. Not expecting much but you never know...

Moot_Geeza

Verecocha wrote:

24.Days Gone - 20 Hours - 9/10 - PS5 Still amazes me that this game isn’t considered one of the absolute best of last gen. It looks absolutely stunning, surely on a par with N.D’s even though on a much bigger scale in terms of the open world game. The story is decent, though you can see the vast majority of it coming it’s still enjoyable with lots of good characters and fun twists. The gameplay is as you’d expect in an open world but the scale is good and the games version of ‘events’ fit in perfectly with the nests to clear etc. Thoroughly enjoyed this again and even more disappointed there’s no sequel coming. Great bit of gaming. 9/10 25.

Always meant to give this a go as open world games derided for being a little basic tend to be the ones that appeal to me. Decided to resub to Extra and got started this morning. So far it's pretty much as expected - brutal bikerman stuff with nice graphics and solid shooting/riding bits. I'm a bit concerned that it'll run itself into the ground over the course of 30+hrs (HLTB the story, apparently), but it's fine so far.

JonB

41. Dome Keeper [8]
A compact but expertly balanced Roguelike where you're constantly making trade-off decisions. Its looping cycle is probably about 90 seconds long, with time to mine for resources under your fragile dome home, then a quick scoot back to spend your catch on upgrades then defend your glass house from a wave of alien shadow things using a big old laser cannon. Repeat until your dome collapses or you dig deep enough to find an ancient relic that can wipe out the enemy. Then change the parameters and go again, because it's always engaging.

42. Immortality [10]
Hard to describe in many ways, but it is like diving down the rabbit hole only to find it just keeps going deeper and deeper. The fact that the three low-rent films you're watching clips of are brilliantly filmed and acted is a huge boost, as you can spend time poring over the movie making process, or flickers of tension or discomfort in facial expressions. So even if it were just a case of piecing the films together it would be pretty great, but it isn't. It's about connections between periods of time, the creative and destructive power of art, the making of the game itself, and your role in it. Plus that other dimension - you'll know what I mean if you've got far enough into it - that changes how you interact with it and pulls you in further still. Whether it's a proper game or not doesn't matter. It's certainly not a film, because there's no way it could work without your input, no matter how simplified that is. Whatever it is, it's like nothing I've ever played before, including Telling Lies or Her Story, and I'm enjoying thinking and reading about it as much I did playing it.

acemuzzy

I started Immortality tonight but still kinda figuring it out rather. Nothing has properly got its teeth in of late, apart from my blast through islets.

Wariospeedwagon

Nice review of Immunity Jon. I did download on Gamepass but haven't really been inspired to start (sometimes can feel a bit intimidating to start playing something unique).

Nina, Great to see P.3 turning into a Bear cult classic! I'm sure you'll be fine with it. If you do struggle, especially with level 4, Moot's tips for a few posts back were super helpful.

Moot_Geeza

141. Gunborg: Dark Matters - Switch (1hr 45mins)

I probably shouldn't have bought this as I've got games coming out my ears at the moment (and I've just added PS Extra to the mix for a month), but I obviously did, and then finished it, so it's a textbook moot point.

I love treating myself to stuff in the EShop sales, it really is a form of retail therapy (to the point where I often prefer the long, drawn out process of selecting to the actual playing of whatever the hell I end up buying). I took a punt on this one without even checking reviews, which is unusual for me. Sometimes all it takes is one bloke on a Youtube vid saying something's awesome and I'm in, but it's rare for me to jump in ice cold. Especially for the princely sum of £8.74.

For the first half hour or so I thought I'd stumbled on a belter. I'm not a huge fan of twin stick run & gun platformers, as I prefer the left stick to dictate where my character moves and aims (love a good fixed horizontal fire run & gun too), but there are some enjoyable examples out there. The addition of the deflector shield in this had me wondering if it had the makings of a top secret gem, but unfortunately it settles into a fiddly, reasonably good yet uninspired groove pretty soon, and remains in solid [6] territory for the duration. Not a bad game by any means, but there are plenty of better alternatives out there and we've reached the point where 'solid' rarely cuts the mustard on digital storefronts. Inoffensive is offensive to many these days.

I'd probably recommend a playthrough if it ever pops up on a subscription service, but there's no need to spend money on it really. It's irritating in places and the way you can accidentally whack collectibles away with your sword is a dick move. Avoid if you can't abide jump being mapped to a shoulder button, play if you like short, checkpoint centric platform shooters that don't bombard you with extra abilities every five minutes.

GDM_5.gif?t=1658341413

Wariospeedwagon

JonB wrote:

42. Immortality [10] Hard to describe in many ways, but it is like diving down the rabbit hole only to find it just keeps going deeper and deeper. The fact that the three low-rent films you're watching clips of are brilliantly filmed and acted is a huge boost, as you can spend time poring over the movie making process, or flickers of tension or discomfort in facial expressions. So even if it were just a case of piecing the films together it would be pretty great, but it isn't. It's about connections between periods of time, the creative and destructive power of art, the making of the game itself, and your role in it. Plus that other dimension - you'll know what I mean if you've got far enough into it - that changes how you interact with it and pulls you in further still. Whether it's a proper game or not doesn't matter. It's certainly not a film, because there's no way it could work without your input, no matter how simplified that is. Whatever it is, it's like nothing I've ever played before, including Telling Lies or Her Story, and I'm enjoying thinking and reading about it as much I did playing it.

Played a couple of hours but I'm worried it might be a bit beyond me. Feels a bit like going round in circles, like I'm just clicking on things then watching a different video clip a lot of the time, not sure what I'm looking for and it's often a bit dull. Struggling a bit with organising the clips too, and just thinking 'what am i doing?'

There's something to it though and I enjoyed finding a couple of strange things earlier. Thinking I might rather just watch a youtube about it, like a fromsoft lore video, rather than playing it myself, though that would probably ruin it. So will push on for a couple more evenings.

JonB

Wariospeedwagon wrote:

Played a couple of hours but I'm worried it might be a bit beyond me. Feels a bit like going round in circles, like I'm just clicking on things then watching a different video clip a lot of the time, not sure what I'm looking for and it's often a bit dull. Struggling a bit with organising the clips too, and just thinking 'what am i doing?' There's something to it though and I enjoyed finding a couple of strange things earlier. Thinking I might rather just watch a youtube about it, like a fromsoft lore video, rather than playing it myself, though that would probably ruin it. So will push on for a couple more evenings.

In the early stages especially, you're not really looking for anything in particular, or trying to solve something. It's very free form in the sense that you go where your interest guides you and see where it leads. Maybe you want to get to grips with the plot of one of the films, maybe you follow an actor or crew member and see what happens to them over time, maybe you click on light sources to see the different kinds that are used in different shots. And then you see something else and get distracted and follow that for a while instead, until you uncover new depths and develop more specific questions.

It's often best to fast rewind to the start of a new clip, I think, to get the full context and sometimes to see the frictions and techniques around the main shot. You can also exit to look at all the clips you've uncovered and arrange them chronologically either in terms of when they were made or where they would appear in the films, which gets increasingly useful as you piece it all together.

Or it's just not for you so don't force it. As with all of Barlow's games, it's about what you find interesting, and the story unfolds (or not) depending on that.

Moot_Geeza

Trying not to read anything about it so skimming these posts. Will finish As Dusk Falls first, which I've no doubt is a hugely different experience but there's enough of an overlap to put me off playing Immortality at the same time.

In terms of piecing things together, which I assume there's an element of, I disliked Telling Lies unfortunately, but adored Obra Dinn.

Wariospeedwagon

Cheers, Jon.

RE: "And then you see something else and get distracted and follow that for a while instead, until you uncover new depths and develop more specific questions." - I actually loaded it back up again for a quick go before bed and got a bit more caught up in things. Now feel more curious than confused. A bit unsettled too!

I'll make sure to rewind fully before watching each clip from now on as well.

Moot_Geeza

142. Z-Warp - Switch (40 mins)

Binned Days Gone as it turned out to be an undertaking I'm not ready for, so I reached for another one of these cheap, retro inspired vertical shmups instead. This one shares its defensive bomb system with Void Gore, which I played a few weeks ago, and also implements a reasonably nifty beam vs spray system for holding or tapping the fire button (holding makes your craft move at half speed). It's fine, and gradually becomes easier on restarts as it grants you extra credits for clearing stages, but there are only four of them. Or possibly five - the fact that I only finished it twenty minutes ago and already can't remember proves it's not exactly memorable I guess. A perfectly serviceable bang average [5], but believe it or not £3.30 (at 40% off!) feels overpriced compared to the best of its budget peers. Has a tate mode for the FlipGrip crew.

No gifs out there, so here's a trailer:

Inoffensive fluff.

Moot_Geeza

143. Crisis Wing - Switch (<2hrs)

Another eastasiasoft vertical scrolling shmup. This one targets a 16-bit tech level - plenty of parallax scrolling, early 90s style sprites and a bouncy, bassy FM soundtrack. It's pure shoot & avoid (albeit with a secondary bomb attack that also grants a large window of invincibility), so there's no colour coding, grazing or chaining here - although there is a combo system of sorts to the score system, as enemies drop medals that increase in points value but reset if you miss any.

It's basically just a procession of stages where you cut through enemy waves to a genuinely excellent soundtrack while trying to hang on to your weapon upgrade, before blowing up a boss and moving on. Moreso than most of the multitude of imitation retro titles I've played, this really nails not just what something like this might have sounded like, but more importantly what a game like this might have sounded like if it had a soundtrack worth remembering. Basic stuff, but how's this for a sexy opening stage shmup tune?

It's not a tremendous game by any stretch of the imaigination, but it's nicely paced, fun to play and not too harsh thanks to the checkpoint system. There are maybe three checkpoints in each stage that act as restart points if you run out of lives (not exactly 'pure shmup' level stuff, but changeable in the options). This helped the game feel more rewarding to play for someone like me in 2022 (a 'retro leaning' modern gamer?), because I absolutely would not be willing to learn this in a Game Over start again git gud capacity, but at the same time I'm aware that I over-use save states when I play proper retro ROMs, so I found this middle ground rather welcome. It's easy enough to push through with patience, but the final boss segment still took me 40 minutes or so to beat. This will be no-one's favourite shoot 'em up ever, but I bet a few nutters out there would still call Truxton their favourite, and if you put the games side by side with no prior knowledge of which was a late 80s release and which was late 80s inspired an unbiased jury wouldn't declare a unanimous winner (/CONVOLUTED I RECKON).

A [7], but there's really not much wrong with it if you're after a simplistic, satisfying shooter to breeze through in an afternoon. Has a tate mode and a couple of filter options. CRT stretch vertical all the way for me, FlipGrip attached. It's £6.99 again now, but it was 40% off when I grabbed it and is presumably a regular fixture in sales.

Moot_Geeza

144. Wizorb - Switch - 6hrs

Spotted this in the coming soon section a couple of weeks ago, liked the look of it and knew I'd be in when I saw it was published by Tribute Games (Ninja Senki DX, Flinthook, Panzer Paladin, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge). What I didn't realise was that this is a rerelease of an XBLA game from 2011 that somehow passed me by completely. I was equally fascinated with indie releases/half price sales in the 360 era and I thought I was familiar with most 'hidden gems'. It's a brick breaker with light RPG elements. Currency collected in each set of levels can be used to repair the village, which you return to after clearing (or failing to clear) each area. It's basically an arcade paddle game with a single early 90s style RPG town added on for optional laid back busywork (handing over cash to townsfolk in need). It also gets pretty tricky towards the end, with long stretches of gameplay to repeat if you run out of continues (3 are offered per fresh attempt at an area). I had to farm money and buy a ton of lives to beat the final area.

As Breakout/Araknoid types go this sits somewhere near the top of the tree. I can't recall playing any I've preferred anyway. I completed Death's Hangover a couple of years back, which was good fun but probably wouldn't trouble the genre's S tier. I can't find it with the forum's search function, but from memory it felt like a [7]. They're satisfying chill games for me, resting somewhere between Peggle and pinball. There's often an element of unfairness to the ball drain, but that goes with the territory. This is a distinctly videogamey example of the genre - the angles and bounces are reliable and smooth, but don't expect realistic physics. The addition of four different spells works superbly. As long as your magic bar has enough juice you'll be able to use them whenever you like, with the power ball spell being particularly useful if you get your angles right. The wind ability shifts the direction of the ball depending on the position of your wand. Quality stuff. Clear a screen and you move on to the next stage, beat 12 and you'll fight a boss. There are 60 main stages and four hidden areas - unusually for me I went back to the game post credits and mopped up everything I'd missed. If I type 'I'll definitely go back to it though' in one of these reviews, I'm invariably chatting shit - it just means I'd like to, but probably won't. This had enough about it to draw me back in even though I'd finished it, and the extra session pushed this up to an [8]. Love the fact that we've reached the point where there's very little to separate nu retro experiences ten years apart - the could easily pass for a high quality retro reinvention as is in 2022. And the rerelease launched at a mere £4.19, which is great value for the amount I played it.

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