Indie | GAMERamble

PC Game Reviews

Shooting Stars!

Save the world from evil aliens disguised as celebrities in this classic arcade-style shooter. It is perhaps a little too fond of memes for its own good, but the gameplay is addictive, and the large assortment of bosses will keep you coming back for more. Since you face a random assortment of bosses during each run, the game also stays fresh, unlike its memes.

Gameplay: Classic arcade-style shooting with waves of enemies and wacky bosses.

Graphics: Shooting Stars features nice retro-style visuals, and the pixel art celebrities are actually very good likenesses.

Sound: The game has a very catchy and upbeat soundtrack

PC Game Reviews

BIT.TRIP BEAT

Bit.Trip.Beat is a great game for when you simply want to test your Arcade skills and put up some highscores. It takes the basic idea of classic titles like Pong and Arkenoid, but puts a fresh modern spin on them. Depending on how much you enjoy Arcade titles you will either love this game or find it way too limited and frustrating.

Gameplay: Pretty challenging but fun once you get into the “zone” while playing.

Graphics: An appreciation of retro visuals is definitely required.

Sound: Nice 8bit sounding and chiptune songs

PC Game Reviews

Tiny Barbarian DX

Tiny Barbarian DX does not set out to revolutionize the genre but instead offers a solid and enjoyable platform romp steeped in 8-bit nostalgia. The game is a joy to play, especially if you can remember the heyday of the NES platform era. It also packs quite a challenge but remains fun throughout.

Gameplay: The game features platforming action with a hefty dose of nostalgia.

Graphics: The visuals look like they are straight out of the 8-bit era.

Sound: Tiny Barbarian DX features a rocking chiptune soundtrack

PC Game Reviews

LOST ORBIT

Hang on to your jetpack and dodge the perils standing between you and your home system in this action packed game from PixelNAUTS. The controls are responsive, the story interesting and flying through gauntlets of obstacles is simply exhilarating. The game is also quite easy on the eyes and features a great soundtrack to boot. Unfortunately, the 40 levels on offer fly past way too fast, but overall Lost Orbit is an easy game to recommend.

Gameplay: Boosting through space while swerving around obstacles and making use of whatever you can find to increase your speed is a lot of fun.

Graphics: Colorful and very polished.

Sound: Great voice acting and an even better soundtrack

PC Game Reviews

The Mysterious Cities of Gold

Nostalgia obviously plays a huge role when it comes to such a classic license, but this game is good enough to stand out on its own. The basic gameplay is engaging, but with a gentle difficulty curve that makes it suitable for younger players. Experienced players can aim for all the optional goals to up the challenge.

Gameplay: The puzzle solving provides a challenge for players of all ages.

Graphics: The visuals stay true to the animated series.

Sound: Authentic voice acting and catchy tunes

PC Game Reviews

Grimm

Grimm offers a very unique look at some classic fairy tales and with 23 episodes there is something for everyone. The episodes are short enough to remain fun despite the repetition and the gruesome visual transformations are still impressive. The budget price also makes it an attractive package for players who missed the original release.

Gameplay: Very easy to pick up and play.

Graphics: The way everything transfers from light to dark is pretty impressive.

Sound: Good voice acting and some very suitable music

PC Game Reviews

Penumbra: Black Plague

Black Plague focusses on the best parts of the original game (the creepy atmosphere and physics based puzzles) while trimming the worst parts (the combat) making it a better experience overall. Playing the original is still required to make the most out of it and it is a little on the short side but it made me jump quite a few times which is commendable.

Gameplay: Removing combat ramps up the atmosphere considerably.

Graphics: Better looking and featuring more detail than the original.

Sound: Solid voice acting and lots of creepy ambience

PC Game Reviews

Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator might be a joke, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a lot of fun. There is a surprising amount of things to do considering the small playing area and tons of secrets to discover. If you like messing around in a sandbox environment you will get your moneys’ worth out of this game, but it remains to be seen how much Steam Workshop content will be released to increase the longevity.

Gameplay: Buggy, glitchy and lots of fun while it lasts.

Graphics: Nice visuals, but intentionally bad animations.

Sound: Decent sound effects and one extremely catchy tune

PC Game Reviews

Sora

Sora is a shooter that takes practice and patience to master, but it is also a very rewarding title. Playing as a lone enhanced human facing off against swarms of enemies is quite a blast, and the bosses in the game are so adorable that it is almost a pity to defeat them. Add to that the rocking soundtrack, and you have a game that all fans of the genre should definitely add to their collection.

Gameplay: The game is tricky initially, but it becomes easier with practice and weapon unlocks.

Graphics: The visuals are crisp and feature some great character designs.

Sound: The audio in this game is good enough that we recommend grabbing the soundtrack as well

Ten Questions With

Ten Questions With… Maxim Ryadchik (Specialbit Studio)

When we checked out The Last Dream: Developer’s Edition we were expecting a typical hidden object game. Instead, we discovered a game that features a nice blend of classic point & click adventuring along with mini-games and fragmented object scenes. Even the story was a pleasant surprise as it focused more on love than supernatural monsters. To find out more about the team behind the game we were lucky enough to catch up with one of the founders of Specialbit Studio