LootLite | PS4 Review

I don't know if this is a late April Fools joke or what, but for what it is JanduSoft's "LootLite" misses the mark for a proper indie roguelike, severely ...

About as basic as they come this semi-top down arcade dungeon looter has the lone player or two players locally through co-op choosing from eight different hero classes with a melee, special, and ultimate attacks beholden to their base build. These classes each harbor a unique starter weapon, a certain stock of health, and specific attacks centered around said class archetypes. Dealing specific damage as well. 

Customizable to a light degree these adventurers can change their hairstyle, and race at the beginning of a playthrough. Checking off the diversity, and inclusivity quota in one fell swoop. Leaving the last option to that of class type. Classes being Warrior, Mage, Assassin, Apothecary, Barbarian, Dragon Knight, Scavenger, and Necromancer. It is their goal, from ship to the top of the biome covered peninsula, to kill enemies, loot boxes, open chests, and pay for runes with collected coin for added buffs. Making it as far as they can, percentage-wise, in a given run.

Arsonist Heaven | PS4 Review

It's Summer. The world is on fire in so many ways. From the wildfires to the extreme heat temperatures we're all feeling the burn. To add to the heat EastAsiaSoft has decided to release "Arsonist Heaven" across multiple platforms including the PlayStation 4. This mutant extermination extravaganza has the corporate purifier on blast. A specialist who uses jetpacks, and flamethrowers to burn down baddies that have escaped a company experiment gone wrong. Call it quality control, call it pest control, or whatever. All you need to know is that to make bank, and keep your job you have to fry some fiends. Your only problem being the limited stock of fuel tanks, health, and jet fuel at your beckon call. Management of said resources is the key of coming out on the winning side of this backyard barbeque. 

Severed Steel | PS4 Review

Fast, frantic, and flashy is this futuristic parkour focused FPS known as "Severed Steel". A fight full of female empowerment shown through a handicapped protagonist who awakes in a secret facility with one arm severed. Hurt, and hot tempered this leading lady aims for all out revenge as she takes on a whole army of soldiers that are hellbent on stopping her from sabotaging company efforts, and killing those that wronged her. While her story is minimalist in nature, and shown only through brief and periodic story panels the objective is clear. Destroy targets, clean house, and make your anger known. Using one hand for guns, and the other for a prototype arm cannon you set out to hand out a dish that's best served cold, vengeance.

Hell Pie | PS4 Review

Normally a person wouldn't think of Hell as being a literal business. A place decked out with demon filled offices, and jobs catering to human torment. With a stock market all it's own, and Satan acting as the head of the company. That's exactly what you get though with Sluggerfly's take on Hell. In their game "Hell Pie" we bare witness to a corporate entity run by the king of the damned himself. A devilish dude who likes to keep his workers on blast. Harassing them for every dirty deed that he needs done. In this instance he goes searching for the in house baker only to ring up the demon of bad tastes. An impish little devil who is in the process of adding an extra ingredient to a bottle of milk. Sitting idly by in an office in some part of this establishment said demon was called up abruptly to fetch a pie for Satan's birthday. This leads to a curious collect-a-thon of sorts wherein ingredients must be found in various hub worlds through elevator access, and returned to the actual baker on duty to prepare the dessert.

Seduction - A Monk's Fate | PS4 Review

Parallaxed to Hell and back Koex Studio's 2D side-scrolling horror tale "Seduction: A Monk's Fate" aims to thrill, chill, and spill forth a narrative about love and lust from a religious and non-religious point of view.

As protagonist and resident monk in training, Lee, you find yourself a part of a monk managed monastery after having been dropped off as a child by your father. The father having been on the run over money issues, and those pursuing him over the debt. A father seeking refuge for him and Lee after having also supposedly been cheated on and left by his wife. Catching up years after said incident the left behind Lee is forced to face haunting visions of a pale faced lady as well as his mysterious past. That and his devotion to Buddha. Eventually phasing in and out of reality as he faces his demons. 

Hell Pages | Switch Review

When it comes to the occult you have faux satanic, or really satanic as a measure of evil. On that scale of value Medusa Head's "Hell Pages" definitely lands itself in the latter category with thematic elements that blend ultra violent imagery with nudity for added shock value. It's one of those gaming spectacles where the selling point is actually that shock value. Wherein the developer pushes whatever envelope, and crosses the line drawn into the sand to see if it's enough to make bank.

In the midst of the mature display what is left is a basic shmup setup centered around demon summoning gone wrong. That and in-fighting amongst demonkind for the throne of the desolated world. The game's story, in this regard, starts off way back in 1981 in a cabin in the woods where some absolute morons summon some demons through a cursed book. Seeing the error of their ways in real time as a legion of demons tries to force it's way through into the mortal realm they invoke the help of evil Goddess Skintae (or whatever?) to seal those demons back up. As it often happens though in such predicaments the seal wears over time. As such 37 years down the road all hell breaks loose on Earth. Humans become slaves, and food to the warring demons as said demons fight over who gets the throne. This is where Bael steps in to put an end to the war, and claim his rightful place among his fellow fallen. 

DreadOut 2 | PS4 Review

Starting off where DreadOut left off, DreadOut 2 continues with the story of an East Asian/Indonesian high school student named Linda. A victim of a previous tragic incident involving a school trip with her and her friends. That and the spirits of a forest which she had encountered and banished only to have inadvertently let loose the real evil hiding there. 

This haunting series of events continues, not yet fully explained, as Linda shifts in and out of the spiritual realm once again dealing with pursuing malevolent spirits. Utilizing her smartphone she channels her powers, and banishes them with a click of a button. It is with this phone that she can also locate helpful spirits like cats to guide her to where she needs to go as she comes to terms with the reality of her situation. As clear cut as said situation may seem at first Linda might not be the heroine she thinks she is as she too is being investigated for the prior incident by local authorities. She is the gossip of the town, and even she has doubts as to what has transpired.

Superola Champion Edition | PS4

I can haz Cheezeburger? Certainly. Yes, you can. Thanks to Undercoders and Jandusoft you can have all the cheeseburgers you want. Digitally made, and carbon footprint free. It may not be as satisfying in the traditional sense, but by guiding an Alpaca named Superola to collect all the cheeseburgers nabbed by alien hotdogs you can theoretically have as many cheeseburgers as you heart desires with no risk of heart attacks, to boot.

You see, in "Superola Champion Edition" you take on the role of resident Alpaca Superola as he runs, swims, skateboards, and a whole laundry list of other auto side-scrolling methods to the finish line within a multi-region kingdom. Collecting, as he goes, the left behind burgers which the hotdog aliens stole from Earth's citizens. With said burgers Superola can blast baddies acting as roadblocks by converting them into mouth lasers. Alternatively utilizing cool items like a pair of shades to help with his efforts as he traverses a kingdom filled with odd obstacles. A kingdom of varying environments, and Easter eggs of the retro gaming sort. Often times giving nods along the way to gaming classics such as Toki, Parodius, and Street Fighter to name a few. It is this charming auto-runner experience that will have you laughing out loud, and recognizing the developer's love for all things gaming as you face off in a gauntlet of stages and mini-games against space hotdogs ... in a hotdog bun ... with legs and arms, no less. 

HunterX | Nintendo Switch Review

Developer Orange Popcorn boldly brings to us an anime Soulsborne and Metroidvania hybrid done up in a 2.5D graphics style. A game about a devil hunter named Tsuki, and her sidekick devil pal, Marek. It follows the two protagonists as they descend upon a devil infested city overshadowed by a pink moon. Not immediately eluding to any prior plot points the journey forward is one of discovery wherein progress reveals what the hell is going on. As it were it seems Hunters were heroes of the Devil Wars. A group of individuals with occult powers that allow them to combat evil. Along with the aid of priestesses they do their bidding. In Tsuki's case she stumbles upon a city in ruins where hunters have mysteriously vanished. Thus Tsuki seeks answers through combat.

Krut: The Mythic Wings | PS4 Review

Starting off on a heavy handed note Blowfish Games' "KRUT: The Mythic Wings" forces it's story onto the player in a matter of minutes through textual/contextual conversation with poorly worded, and to the point plot points centered around a back and forth battle between two mystical East Asian races. One race being that of the winged bird-like Garuda or Krut, and the other Rock Ogres, which are as they sound. In the most compacted way possible their histories in battle are explained through the happenings of two fully engaged skirmishes that span a few paragraphs worth of text. Battles which saw the Garuda losing twice in the struggle, and the Rock Ogres only losing once, briefly. In both instances of time expansive plotted revenge a lone Krut survives the onslaught only to seek retribution, and to return to destroy the Rock Ogre Army for their merciless deeds.

The second go around, in the ongoing conflict, a Krut by the name of Veera carries on that legacy of failure and loses in kind to the Rock Ogre army once again only to fall into the ocean, and be swept ashore on a familiar fabled island. The island of Himmaphan. An island that holds the same power wielded by Veera's victorious ancestor. That being the Mythic Wings, or Silver Wings. In order to fully use the power bestowed upon him through the gifted wings Veera must collect six elemental energies of nature from guardians of the island in order to stand a chance against the empowered and emboldened Rock Ogre Army. As instructed by the mysterious island elder. Thus he sets out to do so. Slaying creatures, and guardians alike. Reaping them like our old Grim buddy.

Parasite Pack | PS4 Review

 A Perfect Pairing of Parasitic Puzzle Platformers. That's what you get when you buy into this two for one deal. Parasite Pack, a game published by Ratalaika Games and developed by Lowtek Games, comes complete with two arcade style retro redesigns centered around a tapeworm, and a flea. One game titled, "Flea", is an auto-jumping and blood collecting puzzle platformer. Wherein you jump around platform based obstacles collecting jars of blood for the local refu-fleas. In return for extra lives. As a flea your actions are limited, but effective enough to help you navigate trap and creepy crawly laden environments as you go about your blood harvesting. Only stopping on occasion to bump into larger fleas which will reward you in kind for the amount of blood you have collected. That and the occasional NPC or boss. All while jumping constantly like a flea with a tiny bit if height handling at your disposal as well as a suicide switch in case you get stuck. That is Flea.

Almost My Floor | PS4 Review

Murder, Mania, Mystery, and Missing Persons. These are the things making up Sometime You's  psychological horror game. A point and click comic book inspired adventure starring Alex, and a whole host of other interesting characters that each have a role to play in the disappearance of Alex's girlfriend. That, and other strange happenings at the apartment the story is centered around.

Alex starts the adventure off heading to his apartment. A few choices in with his morally split conscience helping guide his decisions and he's in the middle of an otherworldly nightmare in which he can't discern reality from the seemingly real horror he's witnessing. Possibly brought on by psychosis or a love for horror films Alex's world is turned topsy-turvy as he tries desperately to make sense of his elevator ride through Hell. Not stopping at his floor initially he is taken on a floor by floor ascent and descent filled with puzzling problems, and hazards of a demonic sort. Utilizing his cellphone, and things he finds along the way Alex, through your guidance, tries to make sense of his predicament. Either coming to terms with his role in his girlfriend's disappearance or realizing he is a part of the Devil's ploy.

Little Noah: Scion of Paradise | PS4

Cygames' "Little Noah: Scion of Paradise" is very much like a recipe passed down through the generations. Adopted, added to, and fine tuned to perfection for consumption. It's like a pinch of "The Binding of Isaac", a dash of "Diablo", and a flourish of "Devil May Cry". Part hack & slash platformer, part roguelite, and part JRPG "Little Noah" brings to the table a delectable meal of an experience worth savoring. Every moment, and every retry satisfying in the best ways. Never dull, and never frustrating.

Through the story of Noah Little, a tale about an airship pilot and alchemist who is in search of her father, we find a plot that plays out a lot like Groundhog Day of Bill Murray fame. A rinse and repeat trek through a kingdom in the sky wherein lies a cat who acts like Alice's white rabbit. The key to a deeper mystery. Paired with this walking talking feline Noah is bound and determined to not only repair her airship, and find her father, but also explore the ruins she has discovered. Ultimately facing off against a powerful antagonist in the process who also seems intent on looting the ruins for all it's worth.

Yurukill: The Calumniation Games | PS4 Review

 Produced in a Shojo, or Otome visual novel art style the criminal cast, and paired executioners of "Yurukill: The Calumniation Games" come to life in the harsh reality of a do or die amusement park ride spectacle meant to either establish innocence for one winner, or deal death to the deceivers. Part puzzle solving, part trial by evidence, and part shoot 'em up simulator this insane collection of character specific short stories culminates in an unfolding maniacal mystery hosted by the eccentric and oddly spoken fox masked Binko. The outcome is ultimately up to the player as they take on the role of 5 teams of supposed culprits accused of the most heinous crimes. Each trying to prove their innocence at the mercy of a joining executioner who has a kill switch tied to the poison needle device placed around each prisoners' neck. Choices will be made that will determine the outcome of the games at hand, and only one prisoner will leave Yurukill Land alive with the chance at freedom via retrial.