Tag: gaming

Hook: Complete Edition (xbox review)

Hook Complete Edition is another game sent my way by Ultimate Games, and it is kind of an odd one for me. I don’t normally like Puzzle games. In fact, I am not exactly a fan of this one, yet I couldn’t really stop playing it. Even my 8-year-old daughter gave it a try. The concept is simple and very minimalistic. Each level has a few hooks. All you have to do is click on them to release them in order so that they all come loose without anything preventing it.

This is a level as well.

Pretty much every level you complete gives you that nice achievement sound. It starts off pretty simple. Do I mean this one first or this one first. It isn’t long, however, before you are following lines and trying to figure out if something needs to be twisted so only one half moves. It gets addictive fast.

Full disclosure, there are already multiple videos out there that will allow you to speed through this game and collect every achievement in a few hours. The game isn’t long if you want to do it that way, but there is plenty of fun to be had here if you like this sort of game. It won’t be the game that makes you fall in love with puzzle games, but if you like them or just want some quick achievement points, this is a great option. This is even more true when you see the price point is less than $5. 8/10 on this great low-price game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Drug Dealer Simulator (Xbox Review)

Drug Dealer Simulator has been around for a while on PC, but it finally made its way to Xbox, and later this year will make its way to PS5. For now, however, Ultimate Games was kind enough to toss me a copy to check out on Xbox.

This game has a very simple premise. You are poor as hell, you want to not be poor, and you know a guy who can get you in touch with the right people to buy the drugs you need to keep the locals happy.

From the start, a typical day starts like this. Use your laptop to contact Eddie and tell him how much of each drug you want. Then go pick them up from the drop-off point and bring them home. Hopefully, you don’t get nailed by the cops and really screw yourself over. Don’t worry, early in the game, this is pretty easy to do. From here, you set up your deals again with the laptop. Use your table to split your drugs up into smaller quantities and make your deals.

This is the basic game loop, but if you want to truly succeed, you need to do more. Grab yourself some salt and mix some in with your meth to boost how far it goes, turning extra profit. Be careful, tho, while certain things make your drugs more addictive, they can also be toxic and kill your customers.

More money means you can expand your business into new areas and buy businesses that will make your income seem more legitimate. This will be important in keeping the cops and DEA from kicking your door in. Suspicious activity will bring up your risk meter, and so will depositing large amounts of money into your account. The account is needed for all your bills because in this world, Big Brother is watching.

Graphically, it is undeniable that Drug Dealer Simulator is lacking. The game doesn’t look bad, but it has been out a while on PC, and there is even a sequel (that will also be coming to consoles at some point), but the gameplay itself is top-notch. Ducking behind buildings and hopping fences to avoid police while you have a backpack filled with cash and weed is a lot of fun. I don’t suggest playing the home version, but the simulator? 8/10 must play. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Collectible Cars Shop Simulator (PS5 Review)

This is another shop game sent to me by the fine folks over at Nostra Games, and if you read my review of Collectible Card Shop Master (PS5 Review) you know exactly what to expect. This time, instead of game cards, however, you are selling toy cards.

I don’t really know how this works, but they seem happy

Also, instead of playing a card game, they somehow race them on a track, which I don’t understand how that works exactly, but they all seem happy to do it, and they pay me money, so have at it. My confusion aside on how a store would stay open or have so many clients selling exclusively toy cars and toy car paraphernalia, the game works.

The game functions well, I had no issues with shelves, customers glitching in or out, and my employees did what I wanted. Oddly, that is all I can say about the game. It isn’t a bad game. It functions well, it’s got some easy trophies to collect, and it is worth the price you pay to buy it. I just don’t understand why it exists. It seems so random to me. That being said, if it catches your interest, there’s no reason not to pick it up. 7/10, game functions, and is as much fun to play as any other shop simulator. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Farming Simulator 16 Bit Review

Yes, you read that title correctly. This is a review for Farming Simulator 16-bit. No, this is not some weird, far-too-late April Fool’s joke. My good friends at Strictly Limited Games ( that is a store link for those interested in picking this bad boy up) and GIANTS Software sent me a copy to check out, and I am grateful for that. Anyone who’s followed me for a while knows I started playing these games when I picked up Farming Simulator 15 on sale and have been hooked ever since. Some years ( like 19 and 22) have been sent to me to review, others, like 25 I bought myself happily.

I went into this with odd expectations. My first game was my dad’s Intellivision, and I played Asteroids sitting on his lap. I grew up on Sega Genesis and Nintendo systems, so I know what those systems can do, so to hear a playable version of Farming Simulator was coming out for it, I was intrigued.

Yes, it’s playable on an original Sega or anything that plays them.

Let me start by saying yes, it is clearly a scaled-back version. Don’t expect to be raising hundreds of animals and buying businesses with full-on supply chains etc.

What you will get is a straightforward and simple game loop. Grow crops, harvest crops, take them to the selling point, repeat. When you get enough money, buy better equipment, at which point you can either store or sell your older stuff. Then repeat the process. You can also save up and buy another map, at which point the process continues. Your equipment can easily be moved between maps, and as you play a map, your crops will continue to grow on the others.

This means you can play each map simultaneously if you want, or just ignore them if you so choose. What is also nice is that the maps are relatively compact, so getting fuel or seeds for your tractors is super easy.

None of this means anything if the controls are bad, and honestly, I didn’t even bother hooking a controller up to my laptop. It’s 3 buttons and some arrow keys basically. That is hard to screw up, which they did not. If they made this when I was a kid, I would have wasted hundreds of hours playing instead of just a couple of dozen. As far as a 16-bit Demake of a game goes, this is as close to perfect as it can get. My only real complaint is that I wish the game explained things a little better. It, however, is nothing you can’t figure out on your own, 9/10, definitely worth picking up. Once again, I will leave the link below in case any of my collectors want to grab it. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Farming Simulator 16-Bit Edition

Sintopia Gameplay Trailer

Sintopia is a fresh, spicy new title from PiraKnights that will tug at the nostalgia strings of fans of The Sims, Black & White, and Two Point Hospital.  On the OVERWORLD, watch a silly civilization of chickpea people make their mark on the world and unfortunately for them, damn themselves by committing a host of sins. Punish those poor, dead, squishy souls, keep your receipts for expenses, and generate profit to help you build and sustain your Hellish empire.

The demo itself has been a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to try out the full game. The concept is quite original and is nice to see. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination (Steam Review)

Inhuman Resources is a dark visual novel sent to me by Indie Asylum, and man, does it get dark fast. It starts out as just a woman being woken up by a phone call from her aunt. You can choose to ignore it or not. You can choose how to react. I ended up going on a job interview that my aunt set up for me, since she is also my landlady and I owe her money.

This is pretty much the most normal part of the game. The game also allows you to check out as much detail as you want, or as little. There are extra things you can look at and click on that will give you all sorts of information on the world around you. Some are as innocent as what the building looks like, but later on, much of it is less innocent.

Fast forward a bit to the actual job interview, and yes, I am skipping a bit to avoid spoilers, and it is heavily implied that the man you are speaking to has been around for a while. What is less implied and is outright stated, the company you are interviewing for has, for a very long time, been intervening with much of human history to decide how it will flow. For example, you are listening to the only record (I do literally mean record) that exists of what was supposed to be the most famous duo in the world. Instead, we got the Beatles. This man liked the music and saved this single record. It is worth pointing out that the game takes place in modern times.

After getting the job, the game takes an even darker turn, one that I can’t truly explain without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say, if you like something a bit more mature that is happy to explore deeper and darker tones, including corporate espionage, secret cabals that control the world, and insane medical practices, this is the game for you. With multiple endings, there is plenty of reason to replay this. 9/10 for lovers of visual novels. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ixion Playstation 5 Review

It isn’t often that I get excited for a space builder on consoles, but when Bulwark Studios sent me a copy of Ixion I won’t deny I couldn’t wait to check this bad boy out. The story alone had me interested. The Earth is on the brink of extinction due to ecological collapse. A company (DOLAS) steps up with new technology to possibly save humanity in the form of a new engine that can take humanity to new heights in space travel, finding a new home. The dreamer in me loves this.

My realistic part loves where it goes from here, and I won’t go into detail. But I will say I would watch an entire TV series based on it. All of this, however, means very little if the gameplay is lacking or the controls don’t function well.

Probes are your best friend here

I am happy to say the game controls fantastically on PS5. At no point was I left wishing I had a mouse or that things were more precise, with one small exception. Some of the larger buildings must be built in certain spots, such as anything that leads outside. For example, probe stations. This isn’t a control issue so much as a design issue. It bothers me, and it probably shouldn’t. Aside from that, the controls are great.

The gameplay is also top-notch. The game flows nicely, from the prologue through each chapter I never felt like I was being forced to do new things I hadn’t had the chance to prepare for, and while graphically the game isn’t steller it is one of the better-looking games of its type out there.

If you enjoy this type of game, you really need to pick this 9/10 game up. This game will be in my catalog for a long time to come. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered

20 years after its original release, Oblivion has a full remaster, overhauled completely in Unreal Engine 5. The release date? It is already out. It contains too many quality of life updates for me to list, including fully updated graphics, all released add-ons, newly released voices for each race ( many original voices intentionally included because we love them) updated leveling system, and so much more. Available now on PC, Xbox Series S/X, and PS5 ( and yes, Gamepass both console and PC), Happy reliving one of the best Elder Scrolls games out there, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Wizard school management sim Spellcaster University lands on consoles in May

School is almost in session! Red Art Games is happy to announce that Spellcaster University, the hit PC wizard school management simulator, will come to Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and Xbox One consoles on May 2. Created by French indie studio Sneaky Yak Studio, Spellcaster University has been ported to consoles by Red Art Studios and will be published both digitally and physically by Red Art Games. 

In addition to its digital release, Spellcaster University is also getting two different physical versions on Nintendo Switch, PS5 and PS4 (the Switch physical version will come out on May 23). While the Spellcaster University Standard Edition will be available from most major retailers upon release, the Spellcaster University Deluxe Edition is a RedArtGames.com exclusive. Limited to 300 copies per platform, the Spellcaster University Deluxe Edition comes with a wraparound box sleeve with alternate cover art, a poster and a keychain.

In Spellcaster University, you take on the role of the headmaster of a wizard school set in a colorful heroic fantasy world. Build your school, manage your budget, recruit teachers. Will you turn your university into a black magic academy where the best professors of necromancy and demonology teach? Or will you create a place in complete harmony with nature whose goal is to train druids and shamans? The choice is up to you. 

Be warned that all of this won’t be easy. You will need to survive the ruthless attacks of the orc tribes and work around the strict control of the education authorities.

Spellcaster University’s console versions will include all the content and updates added to the PC version until now. It has also been totally reworked to make it fully playable with a controller.

Features

  • Create your very own university using an original magic deck mechanic
  • Each type of magic has its own deck
  • Pick the type of students that you want to teach to
  • Manage the wellbeing of your student… and discipline them if need be
  • Upgrade your school’s rooms with powerful artifacts
  • Use your school as a shelter for mythical creatures (dragons, pegasus, janitors…)
  • Your choices have both short and long term consequences
  • Fight the dark forces and find new allies to help you
  • Fully playable with a controller for the first time ever
  • Native 4K graphics on PS5 and Xbox Series X
  • Languages supported: English, French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, Spanish, Japanese, Polish

Frozen Ship (Steam Preview)

I was tossed an early preview version of Frozen Ship by the company. It is a pretty early build, so please don’t take this as a review; it’s more of a this is where the game is at currently.

There are some things I instantly noticed going into it. The translation into the English language isn’t finished. There are a few story elements that are still impossible to read if you don’t speak- well, honestly, I don’t know what language that is. I think it was Russian. All the items and options you can pick were in English, as were all the guides on what to do. I was never lost on what to do, just on why I was doing it. This will definitely be fixed before the Q3 expected launch date.

That being said, if you are familiar with games like The Long Dark, you know how this game is played. This time, you have help, though. You are in charge of a very large machine that is constantly moving. Don’t worry; it is pretty slow. As it moves, you assign jobs to your crew in the morning, and they will search for wood to keep the place warm, find materials to build, cook food, etc.

After this, you can leave the ship and search for things on your own. As you break down boxes, beds, or various other items, time will pass, and your vehicle will move. Don’t lose track of it, or you will eventually freeze to death. Anyone not in the ship by a certain time will be considered lost.

The game has a lot of potential, and the story is also great. The world is ever-changing from the moment you leave the safety of the dying volcano, the last safe haven for your 20 survivors, as you crawl across a frozen wasteland. This preview did nothing for me but make me wish I could play the full game even more. I fell in love with games like The Long Dark and Subnautica years ago, and this will probably be my next obsession. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.