Category: Videogame Review

  • Review: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced Editions (Xbox Series)

    Review: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced Editions (Xbox Series)

    My experience with the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl, released way back in 2007, was a brief affair of unrealised possibility. An experience quickly neutered by the numerous bugs and awful performance. It was a game I always meant to get back to but never did. The game spawned two expansions in the following years; Clear Skies and Call of Prypiat and, in 2024, a Legends of The Zone Trilogy that bundled all three games arrived as a refined package for last-gen consoles – with backward-compatible performance modes for current-gen consoles.

    This release was a timely affair, coinciding with the long-awaited and highly-anticipated sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. A little over a year later, the “enhanced” Legends of The Zone Trilogy has arrived as an alternative to the PC originals, and offers a few embelishments for modern consoles. The question is, does this update make it worth braving the radioactive and mutant-infested wilds of The Zone again?

    Before we get to that, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is, if you have never played it, an FPS survival-action hybrid that dips its toes into the scientific-horror genre. As the name implies, it’s set after the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown that, in this universe, has given birth to The Zone, a large expanse of land now haunted by radiation pockets, deadly anomalies, and all manner of nightmarish, mutated creatures. Into this inimical landscape have come the titular stalkers; soldiers, mercenaries, and all manner of folks for whom the draw of The Zone is too much to ignore.

    In the original, you play as an amnesiac stalker, on a journey to find and eliminate another stalker named Strelok, who once made it to the mythical centre of The Zone. What has he done to deserve this fate, and how does it tie into the ongoing expansion of The Zone? All these questions, and many more, may be answered in your journey.

    The prequel, Clear Skies, and direct sequel, Call of Prypiat, throw you into the boots of different stalkers, fleshing out events that led into Shadow of Chornobyl, and setting the scene for the sequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

    Despite new mechanics and quality-of-life improvements in the subsequent games, the one thing that remains consistent is the unforgiving, hardcore, role-playing experience. The life of an unprepared and reckless mercenary is short, and life in The Zone is shorter still.

    While most FPS at the time were content to continue as blistering fragathons, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games chose a more RPG-like and survival-focused approach. Supplies were in short, well, supply. Armour would deteriorate. Weapons would jam. Pockets of radiation and anomalies littered the landscape, so you had to keep an eye on your Geiger counter and detector while simply exploring.

    Gunfights against mutants and other stalkers were tense affairs that could result in a lot of autosave or quick-save reloads. Even if you found exoskeleton armour and a decent shotgun, you were no Duke Nukem, and running around in the open was certain death.

    Finally, there was the quest and reputation system to keep you pushing deeper into The Zone. All three games are full of primary quests and no shortage of secondary tasks to earn money and move the story along. All of which results in a lot of back and forth across the relatively large and dynamic world. Add in a quest failure system and NPC’s that could be killed, and you have a game that requires careful thought to how you approached its world and tasks.

    Now while I use the term “roleplaying”, it’s not in the traditional videogame sense. There are no skill trees to upgrade or new abilities to learn. Improved weapons and armour can be picked up or crafted in the later games. Instead, roleplaying is about how you approach the game, its many combat scenarios, and a few mission choices. It’s about immersing yourself in the experience and taking responsibility for acquiring gear and stockpiling sufficient ammunition and consumables before heading out.

    By today’s standards, what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was attempting with its gameplay may seem commonplace but, at the time, it felt groundbreaking and its influence can be seen in the Metro IP and no shortage of other first-person survival games since then.

    The “Enhanced” editions boast a number of changes, from bug fixes to an enhanced UI, gamepad support, and other quality of life changes. Beyond resolution and framerate optimisations for current-gen consoles, there are a myriad of visual tweaks.

    Water quality and surface shaders result in a more realistic appearance for fluids, with wetness shaders to make the world look that much more muddy. Skyboxes and atmospheric effects have been enhanced too and look fantastic, with a more painterly look to the clouds that better match the various weather settings and locales.

    Legends of The Zone Enhanced Lighting Upgrades
    The field of view has been expanded if you want it, and textures for characters, clothing, weapons, and the environment have also received an overhaul, featuring more noticeable details such as creases on cloth and the wrinkles on character faces. Perhaps the most significant change was to the lighting system, which includes new effects and global illumination. Rounding out the visual enhancements are screen space reflections that look great on water surfaces in a few maps.

    There is a big caveat though. If we’re comparing the Legends of The Zone Trilogy – even before this latest update – to the original PC S.T.A.L.K.E.R. release, the difference is night and day. But if we’re comparing it to last years console release, it gets a little muddier. In short, this release is going to feel most impactful to PC players who have only experienced the vanilla games, are looking for official gamepad support, and aren’t interested in modding the game.

    Unless you’re starting off with Clear Skies or Call of Prypiat, both of which give you a nice view of the new water effects and reflections in their swampy starting areas, the bulk of the additions will be barely noticeable to returning console players.

    Nowhere is this more true than in Shadow of Chornobyl. While the updated character textures are noticeable in direct comparisons, aspects like the changes to the lighting system either don’t stand out much, or don’t interact with environments and NPC’s in the way you’d want them to. As an example, in the opening scene that has you chatting with the merchant Sidorovich, you’ll immediately notice how the lighting emphasises the polygonal nature of his face but does not illuminate it correctly as it moves.

    As later and more refined releases, Clear Skies and Call of Prypiat interact better with the new visual features, while Shadow of Chornobyl probably needs a more substantial overhaul of assets. These are 18-year-old games after all, and it would take a full remastering to bring them up to modern visual standards.

    One the upside, these enhanced Legends of The Zone versions of the game are a free upgrade to all owners of the PC originals (on Steam and GOG) and for consoles bar the original Nintendo Switch at the moment – something I expect may change with the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2.

    While the enhancements may not be as visually enthralling or noticeable as one would hope on console, they’re still nice additions to a classic collection of games whose PC originals are looking a bit long in the tooth – particularly for those who don’t want to navigate the trial and tribulations of modding (and just because you’ve been doing it all your life, that doesn’t make it easy for others).

    GSC Game World also deserves credit for simply ensuring these iconic and influential games remain accessible on as many platforms as possible. Regardless of your feelings on the visual “enhancements”, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced provides some much-needed fixes while keeping the spirit of the original games intact.

    S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of The Zone Trilogy Enhanced was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC and PS5.

    Pros:

    • It’s a solid choice for PC players who want gamepad support and dislike modding
    • The spirit and atmosphere of the original games is untouched
    • New water shaders and screen space reflections look great in a few areas
    • The new skyboxes are wonderful and better match weather conditions

    Cons:

    • Console players will find most enhancements difficult to spot compared to the 2024 release
    • Shadow of Chornobyl doesn’t always work well with the updated lighting

    Score: 7/10

  • Review: Trident’s Tale (Nintendo Switch)

    Review: Trident’s Tale (Nintendo Switch)

    It’s time to man the mizzenmast, batten those hatches, and get a new plank to walk, because the briny seven seas be calling again. Aaargh, me mateys! Me cutlass be ready for a new pirate adventure and the burying of treasure!

    Developer 3DClouds is attempting to fill that piratical itch with Trident’s Tale, a swashbuckling, seven seas-crossing tale of piracy, treasure hunting, and skeletons. You play as Ocean, a pirate wannabe who can’t wait to leave her island home. But when Ocean finds a hidden piece of the legendary Storm Trident, she puts herself in the crosshairs of a nefarious group of undead pirates also looking for all the pieces.

    The Trident, you see, contains the power of a god and, if all the pieces are united, that power goes to the wielder. To survive, Ocean has to assemble a crew, find the remaining pieces, and become a legend in the process.

    Trident’s Tale cribs it’s ideas from games that have come before about the golden age of piracy. As Trident’s Tale is an all-ages game that feels like it was made with kids in mind, those inspirations have been trimmed back to present an easy-to-get-to-grips-with adventure that spends as much of its time on land as it does at sea.

    The gameplay is split into two distinct sections, both beholden to the idea of exploration. There’s a third person, on-foot adventure mode that combines melee combat with light puzzle solving and a healthy dose of platforming. There are, of course, ship sequences that see you explore a large, watery map full of islands and other ships – many of which you can scuttle to continue funding your voyage.

    When you’re not swaying all over the poop deck (that’s real, look it up), your land-legs will be getting a good deal of use on the islands you can explore, either for side-quests and items, or to progress the story. There are resources to collect for a simple crafting system, basic platforming in many locations a nice sense of verticality, and lots of melee combat to go around. The undead will hound your every move. Thankfully, you have a trusty cutlass and pistol to deal with them.

    Ocean has access to light and heavy attacks, a dash to get out of the way, and a pistol that is probably the most useful item in her arsenal. Each weapon has its own special ability, such as the pistols default ability to stun enemies briefly. Scattered across the game are recipes for new weapons, armour, and ship upgrades that use those shiny chunks of bone and iron you’ve been collecting. You can also simply upgrade your existing ones.

    Ogh, and what would a pirate be without a crew? As you travel across the world, you’ll recruit more scallywags to your cause who, thankfully, provide more than just snarky quips while sailing. These crew members give you access to magical attacks for use in both melee and naval combat. A song that heals you while stunning enemies? I’ll take that please!

    Ocean spends a lot of time sailing the seven seas so blue, so it’s nice that ship control and combat have been simplified as well. You raise your sails to get moving, with three settings for speed, and can pick up floating crates in the ocean to gain more resources. There are many islands to explore, either to continue the story, explore temples, find even more resources, or engage in side-quests.

    You can dock at harbours to make life easier or, if you’re close to an island, abandon the helm and dive into the cooling waters for a quick swim to shore, all of which is handled seamlessly. You can always fast-travel to your ship and islands you’ve already explored, which makes backtracking a breeze.

    Where naval combat is concerned, the direction you’re looking aims your cannons. The only complication is adjusting the height of your shot for a broadside or judging the distance when using the front or rear cannons. When an enemy ship is on its last legs, you’ll get a boarding option that just nets you more resources before it’s scuttled. Sadly, there’s no actual boarding of other ships or fighting their crew which was a bit of a letdown.

    The story is passable Saturday-afternoon, pulp fare with a humorous take on proceedings. How much that humour lands will depend on the player though. While I wasn’t too chuffed with much of the dialogue, I did enjoy some of the cringy pirate dad jokes during the loading screens. The voice acting is passable as well and the narrative gets the job done even if it doesn’t truly immerse you in the world or the supposedly high stakes.

    Sadly, Trident’s Tale comes with some serious waterlogged issues that spoil the adventure. Some of those issues are design-related, but the rest are down to poor performance that seriously hampers the experience on the Nintendo Switch.

    The camera position in combat when locked on is a complete pain as it drops low behind your character and obscures the actual combat, blocking your view of both the enemies and their incoming attacks. I stopped using the lock-on and kept the camera at a 3/4 view of the action, which made combat far more palatable as there’s a degree of auto-aim that’ll make sure you don’t miss.

    This introduces the problem of the environment blocking the view depending on the area, but it’s less frustrating than the lock-on issues. on that note, the lock-on disengages as soon as you turn your back to an enemy, so pretty much every move that dashes back and out of harm’s way renders it useless. For a few battles where you really need the lock-on, this is a pain.

    Most significant are the games visuals and performance issues that I’ assume’d hope are limited to the Switch and maybe the last-gen consoles. Bluntly put, this is another case of Unreal Engine and the Switch not mixing politely.

    The stylised art style is nice enough, but the games resolution on Switch is so low that it really hampers visual clarity. Most of the time, it just looks very hazy, with everything from characters to foliage looking blurry and aliased to the point where it can even affect ship-based combat when your circular crosshair gets lost in the visual noise.

    Pop-in, as we’ve come to expect from UE titles, is also present, with smaller environmental assets and props popping in mere feet from the player character. At one point, I wasn’t sure if the circular blob masquerading as a tree was meant to look that way or the textures simply hadn’t loaded in.

    Finally, there’s the overall framerate which can create a sluggish feeling experience, particularly in combat against multiple opponents, where inputs don’t always register. It’s not unplayable mind you, but it feels like the Switch version of the game needs more optimisation. Surprisingly, the developers have managed to implement some fairly nice looking screen space reflections on water surfaces. It does help to make the water look nicer, but I’d gladly see this effect sacrificed in favour of a higher resolution and a more stable frame-rate.

    Even with all these issues, I still found myself enjoying much my time with Trident’s Tale, especially once I ditched the lock-on for combat. There’s a fun, all-ages adventure here just waiting to be given a chance – but I don’t think the Switch version is the best way to experience it.

    Pros:

    • Simple fun designed for all ages
    • Exploration and naval combat feels rewarding
    • Plenty of crafting recipes to find

    Cons:

    • Runs at a low resolution on the Nintendo Switch with severe pop-in
    • The poor framerate results in sluggish controls
    • Some terrible dialogue
    • A frustrating lock-on camera

    Score: 5/10

    Trident’s Tale was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X , and PS4/5.

  • Review: Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025)

    Review: Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025)

    It’s depressing how many remade or remastered games I can now claim to have originally played over three decades ago. Many retro-inspired games have moved on from pixel art to target the look and feel of early 3D games from the late ‘90s on PC or 32-bit consoles – the era that cemented my love of gaming as a lifetime hobby. Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) is one such remake; an updated, expanded, and lavish overhaul of a 1999 point-and-click adventure, known primarily for its association with Belgian artist Benoît Sokal who created many of the creature designs and backdrops before going on to work on the more recognisable Syberia games.

    This remake takes the classic first-person point-and-click structure and converts those weirdly proportioned 360-degree panoramas into beautiful and detailed 3D environments. There’s no free movement, but abrupt screen transitions and an overreliance on short cutscenes are replaced with slick in-game animations for set-pieces, transitions, interactions, and puzzle devices.

    You could argue the updated visuals don’t always capture the bleak atmosphere of the original, but when combined with an expanded soundtrack, new voice work, and more narration, it makes for a cohesive and cinematic adventure with production values closer to what you’d expect from a modern release.

    There are no on-screen quest markers or a permanent HUD, but you can enable player assists for a smoother journey (which I’d strongly recommend using if you’re ever stuck for an extended period).

    It’s not just the audiovisual experience that’s been overhauled. A lot of work has gone into expanding and enhancing every location while still retaining the basic layout, significant landmarks, artistic designs, and all the original notebook sketches. The unnamed protagonist also gains more agency and personality through their many journal entries that, in turn, flesh out secondary narratives only briefly touched upon in the original.

    That said, the point-and-click core remains unchanged, and almost all the original puzzles return in some form – albeit often just one part of an expanded design that now requires a few more steps and some QTE-like inputs.

    You’re still exploring compact but detailed locations on the hunt for documents, puzzles, key items, and clues, typically to find fuel or data discs to power the incredible transforming Hydrofloat craft. Puzzles are still designed around using key items on puzzles objects or the environment, but you must often figure out the correct sequence of actions even if you have all the items on hand.

    The remake might not compete with AAA games for texture detail and lighting quality, but there’s a strong and consistent artistic direction that never failed to impress.

    It retains that classic and increasingly niche design, in which more involved and convoluted puzzles are your reward for making progress. No matter how dangerous or desperate the scenario may seem, Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) has no time-limits, and the world might as well be frozen as you plod around each area and figure out the route forward.

    For those who’ve grown up with games that hold your hand to the point of feeling patronising, Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) can feel too unguided at first, dropping you into dense environments with no HUD or quest log in the corner. Some purists might argue that was integral to immersing yourself in the game world, but the remake expands the journal feature considerably. It offers an improved interface for collected items and notes; you can fast-travel between significant locations once you’ve found a map of the area; and you can enable several player assists.

    By default, the journal tracks core tasks and highlights secondary stories if you’ve found any associated documents or environmental clues, but you can also enable hotspot highlights at the press of a button and a tiered hint system.

    Discovering the fate of Valembois’ former companions provides a strong narrative hook, though you’ll want to hunt for optional lore documents to get the full picture.

    All of which make it much easier to maintain pacing and ensure you reach the end of Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) without hitting roadblocks; essential in an age of diminished attention spans, especially for a niche genre, with dated gameplay that only holds up when paired with a strong narrative hook.

    You need to be invested in the fate of the young reporter, looking to make a name for themselves by undoing the shameful legacy of the dying explorer Valembois. You need to be curious about the fate of his former companions and the dark history of the now isolationist Amerzone nation. You need to understand the reporter’s drive to push ever further upriver, consequences be damned, to see if Valembois’ descriptions of bizarre creatures and ecosystems are accurate or deserving of the ridicule that drove him into seclusion.

    The updated journal in the remake improves the storytelling while also allowing the game to dig deeper into themes of traditional societies living in harmony with nature, the impact of colonialism on native cultures, and the rise of post-colonial autocracies with leaders that twist foreign governance concepts to their own needs. Having a transparent list of notes and chapter locations assigned to each side story could be a double-edge sword for completionists that won’t move on before they’ve found everything, but your reward for finding them all is a short summary of events from the protagonist, befitting their profession. It’s a smart way to literally gather the player’s thoughts and deliver exposition before they set off to the next act.

    No matter how much has changed, it’s still a classic point-and-click adventure at heart.

    The best thing I can say about Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) is that I never expected to enjoy it so much. It’s longer and more complex than the original, but it’s still a brisk experience by modern standards and doesn’t ask more of you than it gives back.

    It provided plenty of exciting spectacle but moved at my own pace, making for a pleasant change from the high-stress, action-oriented titles that make up the bulk of my gaming diet. The gameplay is classic and inherently dated – even with a few updated mechanics and assists – but the audiovisual overhaul makes it feel like a grand adventure the original creators could only dream of. It’s a niche genre now, but for fans, this is about as good as it gets if you’re looking for a remake that respects the original but expands and enhances every aspect of it.

    Pros:

    • An updated, expanded, and lavish overhaul of a lesser-known classic
    • Slick animations and interactions make for a more cinematic adventure
    • An improved journal, more exposition, and frequent narration enhance the storytelling
    • Optional player assists to prevent puzzle roadblocks from killing narrative pacing

    Cons:

    • The updated mechanics and assists won’t change your mind if you’re not a fan of the genre
    • Some noticeable framerate drops when using the performance mode on consoles

    Score: 9/10

    Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy (2025) was reviewed on Xbox Series X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC and PS5.

  • Review: Sorry We’re Closed (Xbox Series)

    Review: Sorry We’re Closed (Xbox Series)

    Sorry We’re Closed is a smart and stylish hybrid of character-driven visual novel, first-person shooting, Silent Hill’s dual-reality horror, Resident Evil’s survival-horror formula, and a bit of that tragicomic weirdness of Deadly Premonition in some of the writing and cutscene direction. It’s not as singularly good as those classics, but it has a satisfying survival-horror framework, visual style, and fantastic original soundtrack that complement a strong narrative thread.

    I found the classic gameplay mechanics engaging enough, but Sorry We’re Closed is primarily caried by the well-paced, choice-heavy story that repurposes a familiar tale of angels and demons as a not-so-subtle allegory for the inherent dangers of falling in love and navigating dysfunctional relationships. As such, half your time is spent simply exploring a small neighbourhood and a demonic hotel, chatting to significant NPCs, and making decisions that affect other relationships and protagonist Michelle’s fate.

    The story begins as Michelle, coasting along in limbo since breaking up with her girlfriend three years prior, finds herself cursed by “The Duchess”: an arch-demon that’s been kidnapping mortals in the hope of finding “love” to fill a void created when she was cast down from the heavens. Several confusing and horrifying encounters later, Michelle finds herself gifted with a literal third eye that allows her peer between realms with a satisfying snap of her fingers.

    This ability brings with it the realisation her neighbourhood sits on the edge of the underworld and is home to an assortment of celestials – angels and demons – who masquerade as mortals to socialise with or manipulate those around them.

    Events escalate over the course of four days as the curse takes hold, giving Michelle an opportunity to engage with the small cast repeatedly, get advice, give advice, complete small side quests that usually boil down to finding and delivering items, and face a dozen or so major choices that influence the end-game sequence and available endings. As the narrative is a highlight, I don’t want to spoil too much, but what Sorry We’re Closed does best is present you with characters that seem like classic good or evil archetypes, before delving deeper into their motivations and leaving you conflicted.

    Is it possible to find love without making yourself vulnerable? Can you sustain a relationship without change and sacrifice? Does someone deserve a second chance if their intentions are pure? Do those who’ve done terrible things out of fear still deserve a chance at redemption? Familiar themes that have been tackled in other media, but despite its quirky premise, Sorry We’re Closed’s great writing and relatable cast made it one the best explorations of love and relationships I’ve seen in video game form.

    Of course, as a video game, you expect gameplay. Sorry We’re Closed is no slouch so long as you can accept the back-and-forth flow between dialogue-heavy interludes and traditional survival-horror “dungeons”.

    Each day has Michelle exploring a new location to find a victim of The Duchess – all mortals that refused her advances, descending into madness and monstrous forms that reflect some of the most damaging elements of transactional love or one-sided relationships. Although I enjoyed seeing the consequences of my early choices influence the end-game, these early dungeons were the highlight as a fan of the survival-horror genre.

    Each location is visually distinct and creepy; packed with weird encounters, combat, key hunts, and puzzles; and they culminate in an epic boss fight that reinforces the narrative themes through creature design and the accompanying original soundtrack. It often felt like a mix of classic Resident Evil absurdity with a Silent Hill twist thanks to Michelle’s third eye vision.

    You explore a grungy underground station, a delipidated aquarium, a surreal crypt, a twisted dream realm, and ascend a corrupted hotel – each new location bringing with it tougher foes, more interesting puzzles, and more lethal traps. You’ll often backtrack through an area once or twice, and the more thoroughly you explore, the more ammunition you’ll have to clear out paths, and the more artefacts you’ll find to fund a small selection of upgrades.

    Sorry We’re Closed switches to a first-person view when aiming, as the focus is on hitting exposed weak points to conserve ammunition, quickly defeat lesser foes, and charge up a “Heartbreaker” shot to deal with tougher demons, bosses, and even a few puzzles. The axe, pistol, and shotgun can fell most enemies at range, but you’ll need to master hitting weak points when Michelle triggers her third eye vision. This grants a second or two of stun to line up a shot, with each successful hit granting another brief stun to line up the next weak point.

    It’s an intense but fun system that rewards racking up combos, especially while dodging the blows from massive boss creatures, but both lining up Michelle before aiming and quickly switching between weak points can feel a little sluggish using a controller.

    Minor combat gripes aside, Sorry We’re Closed is easy to recommend to survival-horror fans looking to intersperse the action with a thoughtful player-driven narrative that alters later encounters. If you’re comfortable with the gameplay style or happy to drop the difficulty, I’d also say it might be worth a look for traditional visual novel fans that want a quirky but no less thoughtful exploration of love and relationships.

    Pros:

    • A thoughtful exploration of love and relationships by way of demons and angels
    • A day-by-day narrative structure with plenty of player choice moments
    • Satisfying survival-horror “dungeon” sections and intense boss fights
    • Stylish 32-bit era visuals and a great original soundtrack
    • A new game+ mode to streamline replays for different endings

    Cons:

    • The storytelling would have benefited from voice work
    • Pulling off weak-spot shots can feel inconsistent using a controller

    Score: 8/10

    Sorry We’re Closed was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One, PS4/5, and Nintendo Switch.

  • Review: Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged (Nintendo Switch)

    Review: Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged (Nintendo Switch)

    Remastering and re-releasing a ‘90s point-and-click adventure game must be a tough ask in a modern market, where the genre is increasingly niche and survives only in the indie- or AA-space. Arriving on the Nintendo Switch a month after other platforms, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is a curious mix of compelling and frustrating, as it tries to make 28-year-old game more accessible and playable.

    As someone with a nostalgic hook and tolerance for dated gameplay, I feel Revolution Software have done an excellent job revitalising the audiovisual elements, while adding some much-needed control- and puzzle-assists. However, for fans of modern games in the genre, or those simply curious about this influential slice of history, they’re additions that can only do so much to smooth over the laborious gameplay.

    Shadow of the Templars: Reforged opening manhole cover
    That said, most point-and-click games from the mid ‘80s to early 2000s – what I’d guess was their “golden age” – relied on the narrative, cast, setting, and atmosphere more so than the gameplay mechanics to hold your attention. The typical gameplay loop, considered in isolation, is a tough sell as there’s a lot of down time, deliberate or otherwise. Moments between puzzle solving and story beats are often spent trudging across the environment at a glacial pace, watching canned animations play out repeatedly, listening to lengthy dialogue sequences, working through conversation topics hoping to discover a significant clue, and trying to use every item in your inventory during conversations, on each other, or on puzzle objects. Most locations are only a handful of screens big, but you can spend literal hours shuffling back and forth between them on your first playthrough.

    That might sound awful in a modern context, but the mechanics and controls were simple and intuitive, increasingly mouse-driven from the ‘90s onwards, and I can understand why the genre was so popular on PC – especially when you consider the lavish artwork, voice acting, and music they were known for. The problem was no matter how great a story these classics may tell, the quality of puzzles was often inconsistent. To its credit, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars was never that cryptic and kept most puzzles limited to the immediate area, with the final chapters feeling more linear and focused as it rushed towards a conclusion. Most puzzles reward logical choices or creative thinking, and will leave you laughing at the outcome and sometimes feeling smart. However, there are still puzzles will see you just exhausting all available interactions until something significant happens – and sometimes they’ll have a fail-state that’ll mean sitting through unskippable cutscenes before you can reload and try again.

    Shadow of the Templars: Reforged hiding manuscript
    To be fair, all point-and-click games have the same flaw: any significant roadblock can grind the narrative pacing to a halt and quickly frustrate the player. Thankfully, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars Reforged includes much-needed control and hint features to keep you moving forward. It still uses an emulated cursor for exploration – or even the touch screen on Nintendo Switch in handheld mode – but menu and inventory interactions use the d-pad and make it much quicker to discuss, examine, or combine items. The “Director’s Cut” hint system returns, providing a succession of increasingly detailed advice, but you can now enable in-game highlights. At first, you’ll see a faint sparkling effect over screen transitions, characters, interactible objects, or inventory items, but it’ll eventually changes to blue icons that spell out the correct course of action. You can, of course, disable them if you want, but I’d consider them essential for a smooth journey.

    I’ve already mentioned the narrative, characters, and setting were often the most crucial elements of these games and that still holds true. For better or worse, depending on your perspective, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is a product of its time. There are plenty of absurd situations, awkward conversations, witty observations, and slapstick humour that’ll make you chuckle, but there’s also a reliance on some outdated references and stereotype-driven humour that writers tend to avoid these days. Look past that though, and you’ll also find an incredibly well-written and compelling historical mystery-thriller, which features plenty of real-world events re-worked into a modern-day conspiracy involving the remnants of the Knights Templar and an order of Middle Eastern assassins.

    You play as George Stobbart, a seemingly stereotypical brash American tourist, who narrowly escapes injury during a café explosion assassination. Having seen the killer dressed as clown, and having been brushed off by the French detective who arrives suspiciously quickly, he befriends French photojournalist Nico to investigate further. What begins as a quest to identify the assassin for the police quickly evolves into a continent-spanning adventure to uncover clues hidden in an ancient manuscript that might lead to the site of a Templar treasure. You’ll frequently return to Paris, but also explore towns and ruins in Ireland, Syria, Spain, and Scotland, meeting new people, solving puzzles, and avoiding both Templar goons and a Syrian assassin attempting to thwart their plans. Nico plays a limited love-interest role on the first game, but both her and George grow over the adventure into a tough and likeable pair of protagonists.

    The core story is fantastic, full of interesting snippets of history, nefarious schemes, satisfying revelations, and a few stylish cutscenes, but the highlight and source of much of its humour is the excellent writing for every character and possible interaction – regardless of whether they’re necessary to push the story forward or not. George is inherently likeable given his enthusiastic approach to everything, from the mundane to the remarkable, gleefully tackling dangerous investigations, exploring ancient ruins, or simply irritating locals to distract them from their duties and steal their tools. He has plenty of great observations about the environment and the people he sees, and will discuss just about any inventory item with anyone. The sewer key he finds in the opening scene must have a hundred lines of dialogue dedicated to it, and it was always worth showing the tools you’ve stolen to their owners for added hilarity.

    Shadow of the Templars: Reforged excavation key puzzle
    In wrapping up, it’s worth highlighting that Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged looks great and runs well on the Nintendo Switch despite that one-month delay. The remastered artwork retains much of the environmental geometry and distinctive character features, but everything has been massively embellished at a much higher resolution, and with a ton of added detail that enhances but rarely changes the original designs. It has a more vibrant, stylised look (similar to Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse) that sometimes alters the original atmosphere, but you can always switch back to the classic visuals if you want. The cutscenes also look impressively sharp and enhanced, and most of the audio has been cleaned up – though the odd line sounded distorted and out of place.

    Overall, it’s an excellent remaster of an influential classic, and fans of the original won’t be disappointed. For newcomers, just go in with your expectations in check and make full use of the hint system the moment you find yourself stuck. There’s a great story with endearing characters that still holds up, but no amount of audiovisual or control enhancements can hide the fact the gameplay is rooted in the past.

    Pros:

    • A likeable cast of heroes and villains
    • A well-written and compelling historical mystery-thriller
    • Plenty of absurd situations, awkward conversations, witty observations, and slapstick humour
    • An excellent audiovisual remastering with updated controls and assists
    • Telling everyone about your sewer key

    Cons:

    • The point-and-click gameplay still feels laborious despite the new assists
    • Some humour revolves around dated stereotypes and 30-year-old cultural references

    Score: 8/10

    Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X, and PS4/5.

  • Review: Frostpunk 2 (PC)

    Review: Frostpunk 2 (PC)

    Frostpunk 2 is not exactly what I expected from a sequel, but it didn’t take long for me to appreciate the shift in gameplay focus. The first game was a gruelling city-builder with choice-driven narrative elements, in which you cautiously expanded your city outwards from the warmth of a central generator, trying to balance resource production, resource consumption, research goals, and survivor demands as temperatures plunged. The basics remain unchanged in Frostpunk 2, but the increased scale and longer timespans result in gameplay that can feel more hands-off, as you juggle supply lines and appease political factions through menus, toggles, and map screens – with less of a focus on traditional city-building optimisations.

    As a result, Frostpunk 2 can feel like a pure management game at times – the kind you play from a detached perspective with many basic functions automated. A game in which entertainment comes from analysing numbers, weighing up choices, trying to balance said numbers, watching the consequences play out, and then adapting or iterating upon your plans. It can feel a little underwhelming in the opening hour or two when you’re focussed exclusively on establishing your first generator city, but it starts to make sense once you begin exploring the Frostlands, creating new settlements and supply lines, and dealing with several factions that have divergent ideas about the future of humanity in the frigid post-apocalypse.

    This gameplay shift makes a lot of sense when you consider the substantial campaign mode that tackles the fate of the New London survivors from the first game – the “A New Home” scenario –and serves as a lengthy tutorial for the free-form Utopia mode. Thirty years have passed since the city survived the first whiteout and the Steward has recently died (or was possibly murdered by one of the emerging factions). After a brief prologue reveals the presence of other survivors in the Frostlands, a civilian council consisting of centrist New Londoners, traditionalist Stalwarts, and adaptable Frostlanders elects the player as the new Steward and tasks them with both re-establishing coal supply lines for the generator and discovering new fuel sources.

    The five-chapter campaign swiftly expands in scope to encompass vast swathes of the Frostland, with events playing out over hundreds of weeks, rather than days, and several locations from the first games scenarios returning – albeit now with canon outcomes. The impact of this expanded scope is that building out your generator city, or other large settlements, feels less hands-on. The core districts of your city – think housing, food production, or resource extraction – are built in a cluster of several titles and provide a supply of resources like the population you draw a workforce and heatstamps from, fuel for the generator, prefab materials for construction, or scouting teams to explore the Frostlands.

    A thoughtful, compact city, with carefully placed stockpiles and specialised district buildings, does offer benefits like improving productivity or reducing heat and workforce demands, but you can now deploy frost-breaking teams to clear a linear path to distant coal seams, oil deposits, fertile ground, or frozen lumber, and still build an extraction or farming district far from the generator. Certain sheltered areas also offer heat benefits, so you can even place housing districts further out. Once placed, you sit back and watch roads and heating pipes materialise, while the districts build up dynamically based on the terrain, shape, and any specialised buildings you’ve placed within them. It’s all wonderfully animated and your expansive city can look incredible, but it is a significant change from managing individual worker teams and slowly expanding into radial zones around a generator.

    On the upside, it pushes you to engage with the expanded mechanics faster, as your focus shifts from ensuring the survival of a single city and small population, to re-establishing a new society with all the challenges that entails. Cities or settlements become visually spectacular representations of tables and graphs; swelling population numbers are only of interest for the workforce and heatstamps they generate; and the sprawling Frostlands map evolves into an interconnected network of trails and skyways between resource-generating and resource-consuming markers. Coupled with the accelerated passage of time, Frostpunk 2 feels satisfying but less intimate, as you spend more time in menus adjusting the flow of goods between settlements or shifting your workforce between districts based on current demands.

    Naturally, the remnants of humanity quickly fall back into old habits, pursuing their favourite excuse to commit savagery when resource scarcity is no longer their primary concern: ideology. Frostpunk 2 has an expansive selection of potential laws that cover everything from heating and housing to immigration, crime, healthcare, and research opportunities – but enforcing a law is no longer your mandate alone, and it needs to pass a vote in the council. This system complicates everything and introduces a divergent path through the campaign. Each faction has an idea on what the future of humanity should look like, but they’re broadly split between adapting to life in the Frostlands or turning the generator cities and settlements into self-sustaining bastions against the cold.

    Several choices in the campaign force you to choose a direction, and striking a middle ground is difficult if you’re unwilling to forfeit technological advancements that can generate near-infinite resources. To get a vote passed in the council means assessing the mood of each faction, considering the percentage of the council they hold, and engaging in negotiations; a promise to vote for or against a motion that always comes with conditions attached. Those conditions are often passing a law or research goal that aligns with their ideology, with a bonus to trust gained if you fulfil your promise, and potential backlash if you don’t. Obviously, you can’t please everyone; some factions are more aligned with one another than others; and gaining fervour with any of them – for or against you – can generate instability.

    Dominant factions whose laws and traditions you permit might offer to support the city during a crisis, while others might sabotage it to undermine you. It could mean increased productivity in certain sectors, or protests that disrupt output. It’s a constant balancing act, but while finding some degree of balance is ideal, going all in with one faction will unlock more extreme laws and experimental technology to cement their rule. Each of the four difficulty levels adjusts how much trust you gain or lose based on resource scarcity and ideological conflicts, and if the council turns against you, your campaign run is over. It’s worth highlighting at this point there are some arbitrary limitations that feel designed to make life artificially difficult when faced with unexpected campaign choices and political turmoil, such as being unable to mandate a minimum stockpile level of a commodity, or to modify the fuel mix being consumed for the generator.

    There’s enough mechanical depth to talk for ages, but to bring this to some sort of conclusion, I’d argue Frostpunk 2 is a fascinating sequel that retains the basic foundations of the original but has a much grander scope. You could dive into the Utopia mode, pick a challenging starting settlement, set your own survival-based victory condition, and crank up the difficulty to better emulate the first game – but Frostpunk 2’s expansive campaign is the highlight. If the first game was about making tough decisions that involved trading a dozen lives for the survival of several hundred, Frostpunk 2 does this on an uncomfortably detached scale as populations swell into the thousands, spread across multiple settlements. It might not be the sequel everyone was expecting, but it feels like a terrifyingly accurate reflection of leadership in a time of crisis, in which your population is no longer a collective of individuals with needs but an ideologically fractious resource you need to maintain.

    Pros:

    • It’s easier to establish interconnected cities and settlements
    • Managing political factions is as stressful as managing resource scarcity
    • The choice-driven campaign changes up how later chapters play out
    • The Utopia mode offers highly customisable scenarios
    • Generator cities, settlements, and the Frostlands look and sound more beautiful than ever

    Cons:

    • Some arbitrary limitations can make life artificially difficult
    • It can feel like a pure management game at times navigating menus and maps
    • The district-based, city-building mechanics feel less significant

    Score: 8/10

    Frostpunk 2 was reviewed on PC using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is now also available on Xbox Series S|X and PS5.

  • Review: Edge of Sanity (Nintendo Switch)

    Review: Edge of Sanity (Nintendo Switch)

    Edge of Sanity as a concept is great but less so in execution. It’s a narrative-driven cosmic-horror survival game, set in the Alaskan wilderness circa 1970, in which protagonist Carter attempts to rescue and sustain a motley band of survivors, fleeing an industrial accident that may have released otherworldly creatures. It’s got detailed and atmospheric pixel art environments; well-animated and gruesome sprites; and a strong focus on stealth and puzzle-like combat that rewards caution and preparation – a combination of designs I enjoy. However, the further I played, the more often scripting and dialogue bugs would ruin the experience.

    Edge of Sanity’s premise – corporate greed and unethical science triggering the apocalypse – is hardly novel, but it still offers a strong narrative, troubled cast, taunting antagonist, and several story missions to keep you engaged between contextless scavenging runs. Carter is your typical gruff survivalist, but it’s clear he’s already been exposed to the experiments performed by the nefarious Prism organisation. His colleague Frank seems well-meaning but has a racist streak when it comes to the native Alaskan tribes – or so it seems. He clearly has a relationship with local tribesman Fierceclaw, who offers Carter only hints as to what’s happening and the nature of his own “hunt”. On top of that, you have an unhinged environmentalist, an apologist PR officer, a calculating researcher – all of whom have their own take on events – and a dog!

    The opening act serves as a tutorial covering scavenging, stealth, combat, and crafting – gear, consumables, and camp upgrades – before it ramps up the stakes when you realise the protagonist may not entirely be themself. Rather than leave this as some late game reveal, it opens up some intriguing dialogue choices and complicates the usual flee-from-unknowable-horror premise. It reduces the fear factor but raises the mystery factor. Despite the otherworldly monstrosities, I was less interested in finding a way to flee, and more interested in finding out the nature of the forces at play. Most survival-style games have a narrative that feels secondary to the mechanics, whereas Edge of Sanity gives them equal weighting.

    Talking mechanics, Edge of Sanity is a mix of 2D traversal and puzzle-like combat through multi-layered environments, with day-by-day management elements that force you to upgrade your camp and sustain your team of survivors. Unless you’re playing on the die-once-and-you’re-done “Ironman” mode, both the hands-on missions and management elements are forgiving and reward caution and planning – a design that satisfies me no end, even if some might argue the lack of surprises makes it too predictable. Play cautiously and smart, you’ll always stay ahead of the difficulty curve. Play fast and reckless, you’ll be left with few allies and less responsibilities, but also less crafting resources and less understanding of events. It’s a smart design that lets you play however you want, with no hard barriers to progress beyond your main character dying, and it makes replays more tempting.

    During hand-crafted story missions or brief procedural scavenging runs, Carter can sneak, run, climb, interact with containers or switches, all within a 2D environment – often shifting to adjacent corridors that loop back or contain hidden resources, while sometimes you’ll need to solve code-based puzzles. The lack of a third dimension and limited mobility ensure all enemies are roadblocks, but you can often find alternate paths, use environmental hazards to your advantage instead of wasting consumables, or resort to simple melee combat. Resorting to melee with limited-durability weapons is rarely a good choice though, as taking damage accumulates stress – along with interacting with otherworldly elements – and that needs to be managed to avoid increasingly crippling trauma effects, think visual hallucinations and panicked footsteps, eventually leading to a run-ending death. With no ability to save outside of the camp, the stakes feel appropriately high, but no mission is long enough to make a replay feel particularly frustrating.

    I enjoyed the survival and management elements more than I expected, possibly because they’re easy to get on top of. In theory, there’s a lot to juggle. Survivors need food, water, rest to sustain morale, and sometimes a consumable to overcome injury or illness. In practice, prioritising early scavenging runs to upgrade your food and water stations to the maximum level allows you to quickly achieve a self-sustaining cycle, so you can focus on other upgrades, story missions, and crafting both offensive and defensive items. All of this is handled in your evolving camp, in which you can save anytime, assign workers to resource production and scouting, while missions are accessed from a simple map screen. Even if you’re not a fan of the survival elements, progress between chapters usually means gathering enough supplies or fixing something, so there’s no avoiding scavenging runs completely.

    In theory, the bite-size missions, accessible mechanics, and a brisk day-by-day structure make Edge of Sanity good fun and a great fit for the Nintendo Switch in handheld mode (or a Steam Deck/handheld PC). Sadly, even with the 1.10 patch installed at the time of writing this up, it feels increasingly buggy from the second chapters onwards, with weird dialogue bugs – think looping conversations or switching to another character’s lines – and there were progress-blocking scripting issues during story missions that forced me to restart them and reroute them on occasion. If Edge of Sanity can get patched into shape, I’d add a point or two to the score and happily recommend it to those looking for a narrative-driven survival game that finds a nice balance between pushing the plot forward while still stressing you out over survival needs. For now, though, technical issues start derailing the experience just as it gets into a satisfying groove.

    Pros:

    • An intriguing and well-paced narrative for a survival game
    • 2D exploration with stealth and puzzle-like combat
    • Simple but satisfying base management you can quickly get on top of

    Cons:

    • Some grind for resources is inevitable
    • Dialogue and mission scripting bugs need patching

    Score: 6/10

    Edge of Sanity was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X, and PS4/5.

  • Review: CONSCRIPT (Nintendo Switch)

    Review: CONSCRIPT (Nintendo Switch)

    CONSCRIPT is a gruelling reminder that war is hell and being too committed to old-school design is always a risk. Even as a fan of classic survival-horror, playing through CONSCRIPT on the default settings – the third of four difficulties, no checkpoint saves, no infinite saves – made me realise just how meticulously balanced the best games in the genre are, and how fine a line there is between challenge and frustration. That said, if you stick with it (or use the assists and abandon the unlikely prospect of an initial S-rank run), you’ll find CONSCRIPT a worthy and terrifying addition to the genre; one that combines elements of classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill with the more recent Signalis and Amnesia: The Bunker.

    You could be cynical and accuse CONSCRIPT of being too derivative, but it’s well-designed, polished, and almost shows reverence for games it draws inspiration from – rather than blatantly highlighting those connections to make up for the lack of a unique identity. With a lot of emphasis placed on the sombre tone, your actions when faced with a seemingly futile situation, and multiple endings, it’s a surprisingly low-key but relentless game that felt most similar to Silent Hill 2. A brooding atmosphere, gorgeously gruesome pixel art, unsettling ambience, and minimal spectacle all ensure the focus remains on a vulnerable protagonist trying to survive a hellish situation, while enduring trauma that forces them to question their own values, courage, and sanity.

    Over the course of six chapters – with brief interludes that reveal events leading up to his conscription – French soldier André finds himself part off one of the last major German offensives during the infamous Battle of Verdun; a 10-month period during which border forts, trench lines, and towns were changing hands almost daily, with staggering losses on both sides. His overarching goal is to find his injured brother Pierre, but video game logic dictates nothing can be straightforward, even less so in the survival-horror genre where every task is a succession of contrivances. Over the course of several days, he’ll witness the French frontline collapse; he’ll serve as a runner to gather reinforcements; he’ll retake a fort and storm no-man’s land to capture German lines; and explore a ruined town to try find a way into another besieged fort his brother was assigned to.

    Intentional or not, CONSCRIPT is a timely reminder of the innumerable lives destroyed through warmongering, with fallen Germans as likely to drop a family photo as they are ammunition. From a purely gameplay perspective, it’s mechanically familiar and rewarding. You explore room by room for key items and supplies, with little direct guidance, praying that you stumble upon a save room and item box to manage your limited inventory. You decide on whether to expend ammunition to clear safe routes, leg it or roll past enemies while hoping not to take too much damage, or engage in some rudimentary stealth that’ll test your patience and likely double your playtime. There’s a mysterious merchant that’ll trade cigarettes and upgrade your weapons with gun parts, and you can assist rare NPCs who reward you with consumables to boost health and stamina. Aside from the fluid twin-stick style controls and light progression elements, it all feels incredibly old-school and your first playthrough is going to be dominated by blind exploration and excessive backtracking. However, the longer you play, the easier it is to appreciate the depth of the mechanics and how they both reward and punish different playstyles.

    As an example, upgrading basic weapons and scavenging, crafting, or trading for ammunition will usually keep you ahead of the curve if you want to dispatch every German soldier you find; however, without patching damaged sections of barbed wire, more German troops can appear. More problematic is how fresh corpses results in rat swarms that can inflict a poison status that reduces your total health. For aggressive players, this makes it all but mandatory to burn bodies and toss grenades into rat nests in your most frequented areas. On the other hand, crude stealth, running like hell, and using rare opportunities to sit out battles make it easier to preserve supplies and avoid the rat threat, but it becomes a lot harder to complete several objectives and avoid taking damage – especially when dealing with firearm-wielding foes. Naturally, how you play, who you help, and how thoroughly you explore for clues and collectible items can dictate which of four endings you receive (with more hopeful and depressing variants available too).

    It all makes for a familiar but satisfying take on the genre – but CONSCRIPT has one notable flaw: questionable map layouts that makes backtracking frustrating, even if you’ve cleared a safe path through them. You traverse dozens of interconnected maps that encompass the ruined outskirts of St. Michel in the south, the frontline trenches and a fort near Souville, and the besieged Fort Vaux and adjacent town to the north. Each chapter tends to focus on thoroughly exploring one area – often above and below ground – and, initially, there’s a satisfying rhythm to finding key items and opening new routes back to rare safe rooms. However, from the third chapter onwards, you encounter more maps with winding routes between exits, large areas with few shortcuts, and no obvious reason why it should be that way other than to drag out the experience.

    Of course, this has always been a potential issue in classic survival-horror games, but CONSCRIPT features larger outdoor spaces that take far longer to traverse. It makes that contrived structure of key hunts and convoluted puzzles that much more obvious, illogical, and just annoying at times. As a consequence, even fans of the genre might find parts of CONSCRIPT tedious – but I would recommend you stick with it as it gets far more right than wrong. Also, despite the serious content matter and oppressively grim tone, it’s a rare treat to play a survival horror games devoid of zombies and secret laboratories.

    Pros:

    • Classic survival-horror gameplay
    • Evocative pixel-art visuals and moody ambience
    • An unusual setting for the genre
    • A relentlessly grim but topical reminder of war’s human cost

    Cons:

    • Map layouts can make puzzling and backtracking frustrating in some chapters

    Score: 8/10

    CONSCRIPT was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One/Series S|X, and PS4/5.

  • Review: Crow Country (Xbox Series)

    Review: Crow Country (Xbox Series)

    Crow Country is an accessible retro-inspired survival-horror game that does an impressive job capturing the look and feel of early 3D isometric games that came out on the PS1 or SEGA Saturn during the late-‘90s. The structure and gameplay feel like Resident Evil with a hint of Parasite Eve II, while the environments feel like a mix of Silent Hill and any number of chunky JRPGs from that period. It’s a distinctly cute but creepy vibe. Viewed as a love letter to those classic games, it’s brilliant, but being dependent on those associations is also a mixed blessing. It’s smartly made and polished – but without that nostalgic hook, I’m not sure it has a unique identity like Lone Survivor or Signalis had.

    That said, Crow Country hits all the right notes as the opening leaves the player feeling vulnerable, unsettled, and confused. Mara – special agent Mara Forest apparently – is a capable but unreadable protagonist who is clearly keeping secrets from the player and the supporting cast. Arriving at the abandoned Crow Country amusement park, 2-years after an incident shut it down, she’s quick to shoot her way in through a padlocked gate; shrug off horrific encounters; wield a myriad of weapons; and solve convoluted puzzles that leave the other survivors stumped. Her connection to the park is unclear, and neither is the reason behind her pursuit of the missing owner, Edward Crow. She’s evasive in dialogue and even her comments on environmental details give only the slightest inkling of her personality and past.

    It’s not just Mara though, as many of cast were former staff and clearly complicit in the unfolding events. As a result, simply unravelling the mystery was a strong motivator to keep playing. What was the nature of the incident that shut down the park and drew the attention of a photojournalist and lawyer? Why have Edward Crow’s daughter, former colleagues, and a detective all arrived on this specific evening? What does an American amusement park have to do with a Brazilian gold mine? What are these bizarre creatures that the former staff refer to as “guests”? And who is Mara really? It’s a solid setup with some predictable and some unexpected twists. The environment changes over the course of the night, hinting more and more as to the nature of the threat – though the ending sequence is a bit of an exposition dump that expects you to read a note, midway through the final encounter, if you want all the details.

    After the narrative, it was the mandatory puzzles and over a dozen hidden secrets that hooked me. The amusement park setting, and an increasingly paranoid Edward Crow provide narrative context for the Resident Evil-style structure. As with that game, Crow Country gets a lot of mileage out of a small but dense location, so you’ll often know exactly where you’re trying to go – though you’ll only get there several hours later after jumping through an inordinate number of hoops. Thankfully, Crow Country has some great interconnected puzzles, rather than just hiding keys and data discs behind boss fights. They are present, I guess, but you can run away from everything (outside of the final encounter) and still make progress.

    In authentically classic fashion, you’ll be scouring the environment for key items, clues, and notes – with a handy map that marks the location of unsolved puzzles or points-of-interest to guide you. There are keypads and locks that just require the right code or key; there are logic puzzles that require entering the right sequence of events or the correct values; and there are arcade mini-games and plenty of weird use-item-on-object puzzles befitting the setting. The rest of the cast also have a role to play beyond storytelling as they sometimes provide you with clues or assist in a puzzle – though even if you completely ignore the few you aren’t forced to talk to, the ending variations are negligible.

    Of course, this is a survival-horror game and Mara is packing heat, so shooting your way through the park is a viable strategy if you’re methodical, tactical, and cautious. Sadly, while I love classic resource management, the combat is my least favourite element and goes hand-in-hand with the camera issues. The close isometric viewpoint is appropriately claustrophobic, but you’ve got to combine stand-and-aim shooting mechanics that use the left thumbstick, with camera rotation on the right thumbstick to track enemies. The system allows for precision targeting of item crates, weak-points, and environmental hazards well enough, but it snaps the camera in the direction Mara is facing, which is a real pain in the arse when you’re trying to clear some distance before turning around to shoot again. An option for classic tank controls provides a more reliable option for Mara’s movement, but my brain struggled to coordinate orienting by d-pad while simultaneously rotating the camera.

    Thankfully, Crow Country is not a particularly hard game, even if more monsters, traps, and even fake pick-ups appear as the night progresses – almost Parasite Eve II-style. There’s an “Exploration Mode” that keeps enemies passive, but even the ranked “Survival Horror” mode features an abundance of resources, easy to avoid enemies, and very few high-damage or insta-kill encounters. There are all the basics you would expect from the genre – useful shortcuts and smartly distributed safe rooms with soothing music and sources of fire that serve as manual save points – but you can also get hints from a fortune teller machine, refill pistol bullets from Mara’s car, rummage through dustbins and vending machines for supplies when you’re running low, and several secrets include overpowered weapons and upgrades. Playtime and the number of saves you make don’t affect the ranking score, so you can be super cautious and use the rewards from lower ranks to make subsequent runs much easier if you’re chasing an S+ rank or speed-running the game.

    Looping back to the start, Crow Country does a phenomenal job of emulating late-’90s survival-horror games, nailing the look, sound, and claustrophobic terror that those early 3D environments excelled at. It’s got an intriguing narrative and fantastic puzzles to keep you engaged during a brisk 5–6-hour initial run, though the wonky gunplay and camera control are more likely to frustrate than generate tension. As Crow Country can feel like a greatest hits collection of classic IP, it’ll most likely resonate with retro-gaming fans or those who grew up playing early survival-horror games – but given it’s so accessible, it might also be a good choice for those wanting just a taste of how classic survival-horror games played.

    Pros:

    • It does an great job capturing the look and feel of early 3D isometric games from the PS1 and Saturn era
    • The unravelling plot is intriguing and well-paced
    • The puzzles and secrets are smartly designed
    • It gets a lot of mileage out of a small but dense environment

    Cons:

    • The gunplay and camera are more likely to frustrate than generate tension
    • It can feel more like a homage to the classics than its own thing

    Score: 8/10

    Crow Country was played on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC and PS5.

  • Review: DREDGE: The Pale Reach DLC (Xbox Series)

    Review: DREDGE: The Pale Reach DLC (Xbox Series)

    I really enjoyed DREDGE earlier this year. It was a near-perfect indie experience that felt smartly designed to get the most out of a limited budget without wasting my time. I’ve been looking for an excuse to go back and wrap up a few achievements – but playing through The Pale Reach expansion was both satisfying and disappointing. It is more DREDGE – which is a good thing – but it also left me concerned about future expansions if they don’t (or can’t) shake up the mechanics and gameplay structure significantly.

    In brief, The Pale Reach expansion exists to provide more of what DREDGE already did well. It couples simple but satisfying fishing and dredging mini-games with a rewarding progression system – ensuring you’ll rarely play for more than an hour without improving your ship, fishing equipment, or passive skills in some way. You sail out at the break of dawn to maximise your exploration and fishing time, then dash back to shelter once the sun sets in order to avoid cosmic horrors that plague the open seas after dark. Despite the stylised, cartoonish visuals and soothing soundtrack, there’s a constant sense of lingering dread in what is typically a relaxed genre.

    The Pale Reach provides a new icy biome to explore, with a substantial secondary quest, new equipment to craft or purchase, and new sea life – with several gruesome abhorrent species, of course. A visiting photographer provides an incentive to sail south, but she only serves to reveal an angry Narwhal that roams the frigid waters. The meat of the story involves discovering the fate of an old expedition – a task that’ll force you to dredge up parts for an ice breaker – and prevent the awakening of yet another slumbering monstrosity.

    Mechanically and structurally, the expansion plays out exactly like any of the existing island biomes you visit in the base game – albeit a suitably low-risk option that you can tackle early with only a hull upgrade or two recommended. NPCs will ask you to catch fish or dredge old parts to craft new gear; tattered journals will recount the fate of the prior expedition and update your goals; ancient shrines will hint at the true nature of the threat; and the aforementioned Narwhal will alternate between chasing you and conveniently destroying ice barriers if tempted with enough fish.

    There are some useful rewards that have application outside of the icy biome – like the ability to create ice blocks that keep your haul fresh for longer or a mysterious anchor that creates a two-way portal to Blackstone Isle – but if I had been playing DREDGE for the first time and someone installed the expansion without me knowing, I doubt I’d have realised it was post-launch content.

    As a consequence, I’m torn on how to rate The Pale Reach expansion. If you skipped DREDGE at launch and wanted to play it; or if you wanted to return to complete fishing challenges, boat upgrades, and check other free post-launch content; DREDGE: The Pale Reach is a well-priced excuse that slightly bulks up an already excellent game. If, on the other hand, you’ve 100%-ed DREDGE and were hoping to see what else could be done to shake up the gameplay formula, getting more of the same might disappoint.

    Pros:

    • A smart and respectful remaster that preserves System Shock 2’s timeless qualities and a few flaws
    • The updated textures, ambient lighting, and new weapon models don’t gel with the original designs
    • Competent gamepad controls and a multi-plat release improves accessibility
    • There’s only one cyberspace section at the end (which I guess some might consider a negative)

    Cons:

    • It ultimately looks and plays just like the late ‘90s early 3D FPS-RPG hybrid it is
    • Some laborious objectives remain unaltered and can drag down the pacing

    Score: 7/10

    DREDGE: The Pale Reach was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, Xbox One, PS4/5, and Nintendo Switch.