Showing posts with label indie games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indie games. Show all posts

Friday, October 27, 2017

Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut (PS4)

Blue Wizard Digital's horror themed isometric puzzle game is a hilarious homage to the horror movie classics of old. Particularly those of the 80's back when VHS tapes were a thing, and sneaking a late night peek at you parent's secretive viewing of such films was the cool thing to do. Featuring nods to some of everyone's favorites in both an optionally toned down PG version, and a more sinister R rated version you'll find killers that mimic legends such as Jason Voorhees, Jack Frost, Krampus, and many others. All of which are made playable back at the main menu which is set up like a movie rental store with related killer figures, and VHS covers that double as in-game features. It is the VHS tapes in particular that act as the stage sets which must be conquered through puzzle solving. The goal of the puzzles therein, which can be viewed isometrically, or top-down has the killer in your control at all times. You simply have to move him, or her via sliding, and guide them against barriers or walls into the victims, interactive objects, and triggered traps in order to ultimately rid the residents of the stages of their mortal coil. These murderous missions allow for rewinding, pausing, and fast-forwarding much like a VHS tape playing in a VCR would ...

Monday, September 7, 2015

Hyper Void (PS4)

In my twenty plus years as a gamer I've seen all kinds of shmups (shoot 'em ups) come to light. From the Atari 2600's "Yar's Revenge" (which basically amounted to clusters of tiny moving pixels) to the more complex, and intense bullet hell shooters of today the creations developers have designed have evolved in more diverse ways than what most video game genres can claim. I think the fact that shmups aren't the hardest thing to develop makes the interest in creating such games all the more attractive to developers thus making them an easy go to project, and one of the most plentiful of indie gaming experiences for gamers to purchase these days. I think the developers who grew up at the time I did when arcades were a hit, and such shooters were commonplace really connect with the genre on a personal level. Thankfully there are also gamers around who still love the high scoring challenges, and challenging nature that such games provide as well.

When it comes to Inframez' vision of a shoot 'em up I think it's safe to say that "Hyper Void" somewhat surpassed the visual hype that was the trailer, and at the same time kind of lived down the sickening graphics that most of you will be worried about. At the heart of the experience "Hyper Void" is a simple space saga in the making that will most likely be lost to the gamer due to the more binary terminology, and the way the story elements are presented in-game. Sure there is a story if you stop long enough to read it, but spamming the various shooting options, and control functions will often times cause you to skip the virtual panel pop-ups that house said information. Regardless of this fact the gameplay itself is a deeply involved "Wipeout" inspired gaming experience that will definitely test your mettle as a high scoring arcade game player, and try to impress you while doing so. The game is both simple in layout, easy to pick up on, and vastly complex in the way the visual environments are depicted. If you remember the wire frame computer graphics of the 80's arcade scene, and enjoyed that first introduction into the realm of 3D I think you might just enjoy 'Hyper Void' for it's visually heavy gameplay. Be warned though it does have the potential to cause seizures in those who have a family history of it. Thankfully the warning is one of the first things you'll see when the game starts up.