Neue Rezensionen von rgk

Rip and tear as the monster.

Carrion is a reverse-horror game that lets you play as an amorphous mass of flesh, tentacles, teeth and claws, rampaging through a military complex. Made by the creators of Butcher, it retains the brutal violence in a pixelated metallic world. However, Carrion is not simply gory fun, it is also a unique way to control a character.

If you are a fan of the classic horror movie The Thing (1982) by John Carpenter, chances are that you will want to play Carrion. This time, YOU are the alien monster, using vents to your advantage and possessing humans, or maybe you prefer to grab them with your tentacles and shake them like a rag doll until you rip their spine out of their skulls, as the walls get painted red. Juicy.

Except for a few mysterious flashback scenes, do not expect much in terms of story development, which is a bit of a shame but understandable. Instead, you simply explore the different areas of a base in order to collect your powers that were contained, and evolve your form to remove obstacles that were blocking your way to new parts of the complex. Sounds like a Metroidvania!

Carrion adopts the progression system of a Metroidvania, but with some considerable caveats. There is no in-game map, and the layout is not like one giant area but instead one hub interconnected to different points of the levels. The problem is that you are being teleported from one place to another, in areas that look very similar, and it is easy to get lost. Although the game is short, I paused in the middle for the duration of one day; when I came back, I didn’t remember where I was or where I was going, and spent way too much time randomly navigating the areas. Another problem is that the choice to make a Metroidvania out of this game is hardly justified, as the only reason to revisit previous areas is for one extra hidden booster per level rather than entire new sections. This was a waste of time on two grounds: First, most of these hidden boosters require late-game powers, so I always left them for later and then once I had completed the game I had to track down each level to find their container and nothing else. Secondly, since these secrets require late-game powers, they can only be acquired at a time when there is no use for them anymore. In short, Carrion’s Metroidvania aspect is by far its worst issue: no map, confusing layout, unnecessary secrets, almost nothing new to rediscover. As it stands, being linear would have been an improvement. At least, backtracking wasn’t a frequent occurrence paired with map issues (yes, I am looking at you Hollow Knight).

Evolving the monster is accompanied with more healthpoints, but Carrion does something particularly interesting and original. Depending on the number of healthpoints, the monster switches between three forms with each its own unique powers. With the tankiest form it is easier to take risks, but the blob is so large on the screen that it is also easy to catch bullets. Conversely, the skinniest form is better at sneaking, and since the player can die so quickly, there is a ranged attack to compensate and allow for a more careful playstyle, eliminating threats from a distance with a net made of gross white secretions. And that ranged attack can be used to activate levers from a distance, meaning that it can be necessary to go back to this lower lifeform to access new areas. As a result, being injured does not feel punishing, as each stage of evolution has its own uses. However, I felt like the second form, able to ram, wasn’t as interesting as the other two, and I only used it for the artificial motive of obstacles to push. Another neat system is the possibility to drop a package of flesh and lose healthpoints to switch to a lower lifeform, before later eating the package... or people... to put on some weight again.

These three forms not only have different attacks, but they are also complementary to solve puzzles, as the game is ripe with them. Sadly, most of the puzzles consist in activating switches, which feels very dated in an otherwise very novel game. There are also other more interesting puzzles, such as using invisibility to sneak past lasers or using a reinforced skin to carry explosives and survive, but overall there is simply too much pushing obstacles and turning switches on and off to unlock doors.

The possession ability is earned relatively quickly and allows to control live humans... or their corpses, like a sick master of puppets. This can be used to impersonate humans during fights and use their tools of destruction against themselves, or to solve puzzles by unlocking switches that were unreachable through natural means. More could have been done in terms of interactive scenes and horror, but it was well done as it is, and great fun to use.

The real star of Carrion’s show was the feel of moving around. The monster does not have legs, instead it is a mass of flesh supported by tentacles. And yet, despite the otherworldly physicality of the beast, the controls are surprisingly intuitive and responsive. It is as if the game is so good at guessing what the player wants to do, and the result is so smooth, that there is no friction to remind us of the considerable effort that the developers achieved with the navigational abilities. If you play this on a computer, although a gamepad is fine, I recommend the mouse a lot more. It is an absolute joy to control. And as the monster grows, you can organically feel the drag of your body and compensate without realizing; the result is simply amazing and shows how a 2D game can still feel fresh and novel in 2020. Left-mouse feels like dragging a lightning-quick creature in that direction as tentacles sprout from the amorphous flesh and cling to walls like a nightmarish Spider-man, ignoring convential platforms and sticking to the ceiling, while right-mouse grows tentacles to grab and interact with objects or people, responding perfectly to each of your moves. It is a thing of beauty.

Carrion is a short game that can be completed in four hours, add to that one or two more hours either if you get lost or if you want to complete the game at 100%. While I personally prefer short experiences before games overstay their welcome, some players might want to know this information before a purchase, especially as Carrion is priced slightly higher than many other indie games at 20 € / $20. To be honest, albeit short it must have been a headache to ensure that all puzzles could be solved when players walk around in different forms, while avoiding that they get themselves trapped with no way out due to the lack of a specific ability. And I wouldn’t have wanted to see another hour of turning switches to watch doors open or close. To me, four hours was a perfect length for what Carrion proposes.

Carrion is a vicious reverse horror game that is also an absolute joy to control, showing that 2D “platformers” can still be innovative and feel fresh several decades after their introduction. However, you won’t simply find here a quick burst of tentacled violence, there are also many puzzles to wet your appetite in-between massacres. While some are interesting, at times it becomes tiring to pull switch after switch to open the next door and the next, especially considering that the Metroidvania component of the game is its weakest element. There are excellent original ingredients in here, that I would have liked to see... more fleshed-out. Nonetheless, Carrion feels amazing and it is a treat for science-fiction horror lovers.

A solid entry in the steps of Mario Party.


The party games era on PC started with 4-Player arenas trying to recapture the thrill of Super Smash Bros, then later on indie games tried to recapture the fun of the Mario Party series. At first it was with mini-games only, but now a few of them are appearing with the board game layer on top. Alien League is one of those.

https://youtu.be/WWet06Zmtlg


It’s important to know that this game cannot be played online; furthermore, there are no bots so it’s mandatory to be 2-4 local players in order to launch the game. A whole session lasts 30-45 minutes depending on the number of players, and we would have liked to see that length slightly reduced with a few less turns to play, but that was alright. With that out of the way, let’s see how this game works.


There is an ultimate end-goal, being the last survivor in an arena to stand as the winner of a session. Before that final showdown starts, players can use tokens (named “Totems” here) to upgrade the stats of their alien: health points, speed, bullet size, and bullet speed. This means that the overall objective of the board game is to collect as many Totems as possible to get a slight edge during the last battle, but it’s still possible to win the match without having the highest stats. The Totems are obtained or lost when stopping on specific tiles, and they often require to be purchased in exchange for coins. Thus, earning coins on the board or through winning mini-games is the best way to collect Totems (basically, the Totems are the Stars of Mario Party).


The first phase of each round consists of players rolling dice and moving on the board in turns. The tiles trigger all sorts of events, and coins or even Totems can be purchased, won, lost or stolen. There are also shops to buy useful items, such as a warp to swap position with another player. There are many branching paths that allow the players to have some control over their trajectory rather than simply being at the mercy of RNG. Once everyone completes their turn, the second phase begins and it consists of a mini-game that will earn coins for the winner. The game picks from a hefty pool of 70 mini-games, some are free-for-all while others pit one player against the other three.


In terms of intensity and duration, it’s always pretty spot-on, which is a rare feat (I have reviewed lots of party games). There is a lot of variety in terms of the objectives: catching other players, surviving environmental hazards, playing alien football and so on. It’s always easy to control, and graphically follows the same mold, which is both a curse and a blessing. A blessing because everyone can quickly see what is going on, a curse because it does not become too crazy or surprising, the mini-games all feel kinda similar despite their impressive number and variety, simply because they look similar. Nonetheless, it was rare to find a mini-game that we didn’t like: the game was consistently fun and engaging. Even the boardgame had us sometimes shouting and laughing as we sabotaged each other! Actually, more of that would have been better, I wish that we could lay traps.


Alien League is accessible and solid. Despite the high number of mini-games, their quality is good all across the board, and the board game layer makes for a fun time with friends. However, keeping a similar perspective from mini-game to mini-game tones down the experience rather than surprising us with flashes of unexpected difference or bursts of greatness: it’s fun, but not exactly hilarious. Nonetheless, it’s one of the better Mario Party-like party games on PC, and definitely the most kid-friendly.

https://youtu.be/S4KyU68ZjuU

Overcooked meets FTL.


Starfleet needs you! Aliens have kidnapped our general, and we are sending our crême-de-la-crême recruits to bring him back. So grab a few friends and launch into this explosive local multi-player game!

Are you doing your part? Join Starfleet and save the world... our general!


Catastronauts instantly disappointed my friends when they realized that we were not playing cat-astronauts but rather catastrophic astronauts. We left the animal characters of Overcooked for humanoid aliens donning a Star Trek uniform, and despite the lack of aprons we felt like we were on familiar territory: B to dash, A to pick up items (repair kit, fire extinguisher) and X to use (extinguish the fire, repair, shoot laser canons).


Just like in FTL, our crew had to resist against an off-screen spaceship while repairing and shooting, until either ship’s defenses reach 0. A few laser canons are located in the ship, and just like the rest of the ship they can be damaged by enemy fire, requiring the repair kit to be put back in shape. And be wary of fire, as that can quickly spread and damage the ship along with the players who might need to waste time in the infirmary to recover, or use a respawn pod.


Our ship was frequently under fire, causing the doors to jam and fires to spread as we were frantically trying to extinguish areas suddenly and frustratingly out of reach. This was very chaotic, and we did not feel that we were interacting enough to have a good time together. And then we graduated to new levels, thankfully leaving jamming doors behind as we discovered with glee that each level featured its unique game mechanic.

One level had some sort of blizzard frequently capturing unaware players in thick ice cubes, and the only way to avoid this fate was to quickly reach the center of the ship and close the blast doors. We had tears from laughing as little mishaps happened when one of us was not quick enough or we forgot to close the doors despite a frantic rush inside.

Another level had us arming unstable bombs and delivering them to a two-man canon, but taking too long would cause the bomb to explode and spread fire in a huge section of the ship. Our shouts and cries were perhaps almost as deafening as when we played the level in which an enemy ship kept dropping mines on ours, and we kept running around like headless chickens trying to get rid of the mines while also trying to repair the ship, extinguish fires, and to shoot the canons.

Once we got to the ships that have cargo doors opening to the vacuum of space, a few unfortunate "murders" had us cry while laughing too much. Those buttons were too tempting to press... In my defense, there was an actual game mechanic underlying this, which was the smart idea of removing oxygen to prevent fires from spreading. Airlocks could be opened or closed to decide which areas to sacrifice, and I might have enjoyed warning my friends a bit too late when I was taking the air out. They now hate me.


Catastronauts does not require a level of player coordination and cooperation as involved as in Overcooked and its chain of steps to cook and serve a meal. There are some teleporters that require coordination to transfer items between two closed portions of a ship, but overall it’s much more freeform chaos rather than an iron organization. To our relief it still required us to interact with each other and speak and shout and cry and laugh, it’s just less planning and more quick decisions BECAUSE WE QUICKLY NEED SOMEONE TO GO PRESS THAT STEALTH BUTTON BEFORE THE ENEMY MISSILE HITS US... oh, too late.


My only gripe with the game mechanics was small inconsistencies between similar actions. Sometimes a respawn machine would need a button press, sometimes it just happened without requiring player input. Sometimes laser canons required a single press, sometimes they required a longer press to charge up. It’s not a big deal and part of the learning curve of each level, but more visual differences could have helped make this more elegant.


Due to the fact that an organization divided into easy small tasks is not so simple to achieve, Catastronauts can sometimes feel quite difficult, and it would be a suicide mission to start later levels with people who have not played the first levels to get familiar with most systems. It’s not a simple pick up and play, but it’s still an accessible game that is almost immediately super fun to play.


The graphics are absolutely lovely. We loved the characters and the animations; everything is perfectly polished. Maybe we would have liked more variety in the design of the ships, but that’s a minor complaint, and I won’t ask why our crew always brings a different ship to a mission. New characters are gradually unlocked, and we finally got to the cat-astronaut, my friends cheered!


While this game is local multiplayer only, I hope it follows the Overcooked route of meeting enough success to deliver a sequel with online multiplayer. I can’t help but picture two crews of players fighting each other inside facing ships!


Catastronauts is brilliant and another cooperative must-have for parties. This game is more freeform chaos than careful planning, but it works well and the level-specific game mechanics keep the experience fresh while giving plenty of reasons to burst out laughing or scream at catastrophic fails. We had a blast, and I recommend this game to complete your local multi-player toolkit.

Akira had a long call with Hotline Miami about that baby they made together.


The game takes place in Neo Tokyo with Akira... sorry, I mean in Mega Tokyo with Akane, but the inspiration is clearly obvious. There is some Ghost In The Shell and Blade Runner thrown into the mix as well. The pixel art of this city is gorgeous, full of life and little details, enhanced by great lighting and shadows. The story is only hinted at, Akane is in conflict with the Yakuza, her motorbike crashes on a plaza, she knows she is going to die but she wants to take as many of them out as she can.


https://youtu.be/h_uOLJCrEcY

https://youtu.be/BPSMeTBbVvw


The game is played from a top-down perspective, and it's about as violent and fast-paced as <em>Hotline Miami</em>. Sadly though, it’s just enemy waves in a single environment. Usually, I get bored very quickly in games tasking me to defend an arena until death by pressing the fire button at all times with an occasional power-up sprinkled on top to ward off monotony.


And yet, Akane managed to pull me in, for two main reasons. The first is not unique to this game, it’s just the existence of secondary objectives that unlock gear. This gave me aims such as reaching a combo of 100 or killing 30 people with 100% katana accuracy. What’s interesting is that the unlocks are not just a basic stats boost, they're weapons that can change how you play the game, such as a shotgun, an Uzi, a Blade Runner’s blaster or Blame’s Gravitational Beam Emitter.


The second reason why I clocked about 10 hours in this game is due to its superb game mechanics. Under the character, there is a stamina bar related to katana usage, but it does not empty within a second and it’s not hindering in any way. It’s only here to prevent players from spamming the attack button, to force them to alternate with the ranged weapon. The ranged weapon has limited ammo, and it reloads when the player slashes enemies. Do you see the subtlety? The game’s systems allow you to avoid falling in the usual pitfall of only maintaining the fire button and doing nothing else, here we are forced to switch between completely different attacks. To report on flaws as well, there is no audio cue to indicate that the weapon is getting reloaded, and right after killing many mobs the game can sometimes lag for a brief moment.

Another subtlety is that it’s not possible to shoot while moving. It’s mandatory to keep pressing SHIFT to stand your ground and pull the gun, effectively replacing the katana on the left mouse button. Considering that Akane dies on a single hit, it’s not advised to stop right in the middle of a pack of enemies, and it’s important to manage the shooting part very carefully while knowing that every single movement matters and every single shot counts. There is no room for mistakes, and it’s not possible to play this with your brain turned off. The game requires your full attention, and it’s a way not to get you bored.

The whole game is a death ballet that requires a lot of precision, and sometimes special enemies show up and make you miss a step and lose your rhythm if you were not perfectly prepared. The assassins require you to anticipate their trajectory, the tanks take a few hits and can offset your combo, the shooters can force you to parry instead of keeping up with your attacks. Their positions can also make you take very dangerous risks when you plan to kill them.


In addition to this extremely solid foundation, there are a few more possibilities such as a dash that does not use stamina on the right mouse button, and a parry on the middle mouse button that reflects bullets. Then there are special katana attacks, such as a spin attack, a lengthy devastating dash or an ultimate power that clears the whole screen. These special attacks are charged by keeping the combo meter up, which forces the player to keep attacking and take risks rather than fall back and defend.


The result of all these systems is an ultra-dynamic game, carried to perfection by an ultra-fast character, whose controls respond perfectly. On top of that, with dark synth music tracks playing in the background, the player quickly enters that sought-after sense of flow and focus that some great games manage to achieve.


The core of this game is superb, it’s just a shame that it only takes place in one arena rather than a full-fledged adventure. There are special enemies to fight in a different manner each and an increasingly strong boss met every 100 enemies, but it’s too minimalistic for this game to become a popular must-have. I would have loved a complete adventure in this world and with these game mechanics. I hope to see that in a sequel if this game becomes successful.


If you enjoy super difficult games and you are not bothered by the fact that there is only one single arena, go for it, Akane is a marvel and at that price it's a steal. In this game, the killing has to be earned and it’s extremely satisfying to pull it off. Playing this gem is mesmerizing, always between the edge of intense focus and exhilarating violence.

The day I first heard of Door Kickers: Action Squad, I was reviewing Trespassers. Another cooperative 2D shooter, also very pretty and it played well, but that game was ultimately doomed by its boring level design. And then when I saw a friend playing the early access of Action Squad, I noticed that it looked the same: entering room after room while shooting left or right, without verticality or varied enemies to alter the pacing. Thus, I was very skeptical and lost interest in the game until the end of its development cycle and its release on Steam. I am at last glad to report that Action Squad is much better than I anticipated.


Door Kickers: Action Squad is a spin-off of Door Kickers, a SWAT game from a top-down perspective. This was a very tactical game, designed with turn-based actions. Action Squad brings the franchise to a side-scrolling perspective, and the word “Action” in the title is also not there for nothing, as the game feels closer to Broforce than its predecessor. But that’s not to say that nothing of Door Kickers was kept, this spin-off is also a game with a good measure of tactical possibilities.


Alone or with a friend, local or online, before each mission the players can choose a cop character between several classes. The recon is fast and makes less noise when opening doors, the breacher is specialized in devastating shotguns, the shield only has a pistol but is heavily armored, and so on. Completing missions grants stars that can be used to purchase permanent unlockable gear such as flashbang grenades, armor vests or powerful rifles. There is also XP and leveling to give stats boosts such as more health, or new effects such as knockback. I am in two minds about grinding for gear and skills.

• It gives an incentive to stick to a character and level it up, BUT it makes us less willing to switch roles or pick a blank recruit.
  
• It allows to feel a sense of progression in the game and an increase in power, BUT it makes the player characters become way too tanky and quick to heal.
  
• Last but not least, the pacing can suffer from having to wait for another player to make their choice, BUT it can be a nice little break and spark a discussion rather than going straight into another level.

My complaints are not really annoying flaws, progress happens much faster than in games with micro-transactions. Also, overall the pros outweigh the cons, and I wouldn’t want the system out of the game.


The missions themselves revolve around a few different objectives, such as defusing a bomb before killing all the enemies, or rescuing hostages. Killing enemies might require cops with better firepower while rescuing hostages might require more precise rifles or flashbangs: the objectives clearly impact character picks and tactics, which is a good thing. Regardless, some characters can be versatile enough for all situations, such as with an alt fire for their rifle to switch between full auto or one precise shot slightly above the head of hostages. But some wrongdoers can snatch a hostage, and if you don’t have non-lethal tools at hand you will have to act with extreme caution. Losing a hostage is not an instant game over, it just means not obtaining three stars for the level.


Unlike other 2D games with a flat field that only requires twitch shooting, <em>Door Kickers: Action Squad</em> has doors in its title and its level. This means that the line of sight is often broken, and players need to get up close and personal. Often, the threat behind a door is known; however, sometimes there is no light in the room and anything can be waiting behind the door. Blind fire can lead to the death of hostages, so it’s better to come up with a plan of action and be ready to change it on the spot. Combat is quick and yet not immediate, most of the time. Both players and enemies can survive several hits, except from some specific attacks. The biggest danger is to get caught by surprise, even worse when it’s while reloading a rifle. Therefore the game does not revolve around running and gunning, it’s more of a stop and go approach: examine your environment, prepare yourself mentally, open the door, quick deadly fight. The levels are not randomly generated, so it’s always possible to learn enemy positions before attempting the level again. Some levels require backtracking, such as collecting a key in a basement before going back up to unlock the ground-floor door. To prevent them from being an uneventful stroll, there are specific doors unloading new enemies even after the area has been cleared, making sure that the player never goes too long without a target to shoot at.


During a mission, clearing enemies or freeing hostages earns points that can be instantly spent in bonuses such as medkits or sniper support. This offers a new means of survival or of solving difficult rooms full of hostages and enemies, and once again it contributes to the game sometimes feeling easier than it should, as long as you are always methodical. However, even with these perks, some levels might require several tries before completing them with 3-stars, and due to the repetitive nature of the game, I was glad not to have to repeat missions too many times.


While the game tries to vary its level design with elevators or windows to break, the gist of the game is still always breaking and entering. It’s not like a <em>Metal Slug</em> with cinematic assaults, set-pieces and boss fights. Still, the game manages not to feel boring because of variation in its objectives, new enemies appearing (such as a kamikaze), all the different classes, and little details here and there, and most importantly the stop and go pace. Tension rises and drops, it’s not a dull flatline. And while there are so many levels in the first place, a Zombie mode offers a remixed version with new threats. There is a remarkable amount of content there.


Since it’s not often possible to have players attack from opposite sides of the room, our COOP tactics were based on one player opening the door and then reacting according to a pre-established plan. There might be one player sniping while the other quickly dispatches enemies rushing with a knife, or one player protecting the other with their shield. Single player is already pretty good in the game, cooperation makes it even better, and we absolutely loved the experience. If you like these sort of games and you have a COOP partner, whether online or offline, this game is an absolute must-have.


The pixel art is great, enemies are easy to tell apart and the environments are beautiful as well as detailed. This really helps get immersed in each mission as a separate entity rather than simply a new set of rooms. An 80's vibe completes the picture, with blonde ♥♥♥♥♥♥ to rescue to the tune of an energetic music. The game runs flawlessly on Windows as well as on Linux Steam Play, so my only technical regret will be that it was impossible to bind actions to the mouse. Even when I don’t aim with the mouse (which I would have appreciated even if it’s just left or right), I like to use its buttons in combination with the keyboard. It’s possible to play the game with two players on the same keyboard, but gamepads are definitively more comfortable here.


Door Kickers: Action Squad strikes a pefect balance between action and tactics, with the tactics giving rhythm and intensity to the combat. The levels might overuse the breaking and entering trope, but it never gets old when it’s coupled with a ton of content with many classes, enemies and gear. Alone it’s a good game, but it really shines as a duo of organized and deadly cops.

A hilarious party game, don't miss it.


I set up my laptop in the living room and handed out controllers to my friends. “OK, what do you want to play today?” I asked. “Nippoooon Marathooooon!” replied one of them. “Yes, Nippon Marathon!” shouted another. I own probably a hundred party games. The simple fact that my group picked this one among all the contenders in my collection is ample praise: this game has staying power. Let’s see why you should also add this game to your collection!

https://youtu.be/64Cs7Cw-C8o


Nippon Marathon is a racing game, of some sort. The contestants are not on karts or bikes, they are simply running, but there are still a few items in the vein of Mario Kart, such as a banana or a heat-seeking watermelon. The appeal of the game is that it’s presented as a Japanese TV program like Takeshi’s Castle, effectively becoming a dangerous obstacle course oozing with the archipelago’s famous brand of insanity. As catchy Jpop plays, a monkey taking a selfie will appear in the corner of the screen while contestants dodge Shiba Inu dogs and a commentator adds funny remarks in broken English: the events taking place are completely bonkers, and it’s a joy to participate in such a funny race.



Each level is unique and interesting, from a race atop a bullet train to a stroll through a sake factory. Those who lag behind or fall to their doom get temporarily eliminated until only one remains, then everyone respawns in a line and the race can continue. These events earn or lose stars, which contribute to the tally of points determining the final winner of a race. Another variable contributing to one’s total points is popularity, which is gained by accomplishing specific actions such as using items or kicking businessmen, but don’t pick up mushrooms or hit fans or you will lose points. Sometimes, a mini-game randomly pops up, it can be either a special maze level or a series of words to assemble in a sentence that makes a modicum of sense. The results can sometimes be hilarious.


The graphics contribute to the weirdness, a mix of flashy colors and characters with hyper-realistic background textures. As cyclists get in the way, earthquakes cause items to fall on the contestants’ heads, cars run over players and dogs chase racers around, the first impression that the game gave us was pure unaltered chaos. The strange physics and character animations (pedestrians fall in a secure yet hilarious embryonic position) cement the feeling that this game does not take itself seriously, which will allow us to forgive the occasional bug—it’s sometimes broken: AIs can get stuck, choosing an alternate path can be seen as leaving the fixed screen and losing, making a character that glitched out the winner. In any case, it’s so colorful and energetic that it’s hard not to have fun and enjoy the moment.


It’s possible to change the controls, but the default controller layout is good: A to jump, X to dive (when there is a large gap to get across), B to crouch (to avoid some obstacles), Left bumper for an item in the left hand, Right bumper for an item in the right hand (press to use, hold to eat and gain a speed boost); it’s very quick to understand and master. There is so much going on that even losers have some fun goofing around, and the game often puts everyone back together. It’s not a super technical game where you will get better the more you play it, it’s just a super fun title that you launch at a party, and quickly everyone laughs.


The game released in Japanese and I had to blindly find English in the options menu (gear at the bottom), but I don’t hold it against the game. There is a shop to buy new contestants with in-game money, and also additional options such as a turbo mode (the game plays much faster) and the possibility to customize items. It’s possible to pick from one of the 8 races or play a bunch together in a marathon, but there is also a Lobster mode that procedurally generates an obstacle course, brilliant (it’s also a hot seat, the controller is passed from one player to the next). The only sore point is that there is no online mode. Finally, there is a single-player campaign.


Surprisingly, there is a story mode with a bunch of cut-scenes. It’s roughly the same story for the four characters to choose from, but told from a different angle. The dialogue is surreal and the plot is completely silly, but that’s why we like this game after all! The campaign takes approximately two hours to finish, and it’s not very difficult except if a glitch forces you to restart a race. For completionists, there are hidden pages in the game that lets you complete a travel guide with funny stories and tips to boost your popularity score.


Nippon Marathon wears its (broken) heart on its sleeve. Don’t start the race expecting something deep requiring intense skill, what you can expect is a solid amount of content that will have you and your friends laughing to tears. It’s a blast, a definitive must-have in your party games toolset: unabashed fun and silliness galore. The only downside is the lack of an online mode.

Help Duke not-Wario find treasure in temples full of traps in this fresh platformer.


Duke Dashington is the PC remaster of a game released in 2014 on mobile. I must admit that I already played this game on my phone when it was released, and I was very happy to play it again now that it is on Steam. Usually mobile games ported to PC suffer from poor controls or no originality, but Duke Dashington worked on mobile and it still works wonders on PC. Let me explain why you should give it a try.



When I fondly remember my time with Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, I get caught up in memories of dashing through the levels. You see, Wario is beefier than Mario, so he could take most of his enemies head-on and bump them out of his way. Duke Dashington not only looks very similar to Wario, but his control scheme is entirely based on his dashing ability. The character can’t even walk, all he can do is dash in one of three directions: right, left or up/jump. There is a button for each, with a multitude of options. WAD or the arrows both work on keyboard; on a controller, there is the D-Pad with jump both on D-Pad up and on A. It's very simple to execute no matter what you play with, the only thing that you need to keep in mind is that you must be on a surface to execute a jump.


You can instantly feel how different it is from other platformers. You are not doing arching jumps, you are throwing yourself in straight lines at high speed. And that speed will be required, as each screen has to be executed within 10 seconds before the temple collapses. Each room is also a new checkpoint, so you always spawn right where you failed and you can try again without wasting any time. There are no enemies to fight, the challenge here is in timing the traps or figuring out the right path to get to the exit. You can’t stop a dash until you hit a wall, so you will often fly to your doom if you don’t aim towards a safe surface. This means that your main purpose is to figure out the right surface on which to halt your dash, so that you are right where you want to be.


There are five temples in total, each one with its own environment and specific challenges. For example, the water temple is flooded and you can let the stream move you. The crystal temple has little carts that you can move or land on. You usually have to think fast, but there is no penalty for dying so you can start by figuring out what to do, then practice the sequence until you succeed. While some rooms are more challenging, overall it’s not an impossible game and I breezed through it in about one hour. Short, but sweet. Then there are time trials if you want to make it as fast as possible, and finally, no-death achievements that are where the true challenge lies.


The game runs in low rez and is upscaled to fit the screen, but it’s not really an issue since it’s a pixel art game in the first place. Overall, I have no complaints about the remaster, it runs well and controls well, and I was very happy to play this game again since it left me with a very good impression on mobile. The only flaw that I noticed is that the cascades have a few pixels appearing on their side, but it’s a harmless visual glitch.


Duke Dashington is a joy of a puzzle platformer, short but fast and intense. When looking at the screenshots you might confuse it with yet another small-time platformer, but its movements based on dashes make it a unique and a worthy addition to any platformer lover’s collection. Even though it was made for mobile and thus a bite-sized experience, the price is low to match the length. I am always happy to play Duke Dashington, it’s a stimulating treat for your hands and your wits without ever becoming frustrating.

The Prison is not a knock off The Escapists, it’s actually a local multiplayer game in the vein of Hidden In Plain Sight. Although it is very similar, it is actually not a simple clone as it adds its own spin to the formula, which makes it a worthy addition to your collection.



Talking about clones, it is obvious from the screenshots that all prisoners have been cloned from a blond guy. Most of these clones are NPCs; however, some are human players. Before unmasking and killing other players, your first order of business will always be to find out who you are on the screen. The game gives no clues, you will have to figure this out by yourself by checking which of the characters reacts to your inputs.


Considering the nature of the game, there are no bots to play with. Sadly, there is no online mode either. You really need at least two local people on the same computer to play this game, up to six in one of the three mini-games on offer. Although, for the other two mini-games, it’s only up to the usual four players. In the lobby, players enter the room corresponding to a mini-game and sit on a chair to start.


The first mini-game puts everyone in the shoes of prisoners, and each player needs to activate three generators to open a trap door and escape. Beware, another player can steal your generator. The generators don’t reveal their new color instantly, which leaves a few moments to leave the scene before getting spotted. What can you do if you have noticed which of the prisoners was your “friend”? Well, stab them; it’s as simple as that. We truly enjoyed playing this, and screamed when an ambushed player shanked us on our way to the exit.


The second mini-game is similar to the famous race in Hidden In Plain Sight. Players control both a prisoner trying to survive the race, and a sniper able to kill anyone. There are quite a few differences: the aim is to be the last one alive, not simply to reach the end. The end only grants faster reloading to the sniper! Otherwise, it reloads slowly – you are not limited to one bullet. So, what’s the incentive to actually move forward? Well, cops appear on the left and kill any stragglers. You can actually reveal yourself by sniping a cop that was about to kill you – now everyone knows in which lane you were. Or do they? Maybe you killed a cop in the wrong lane to mislead the competition. You can see how this can be very interesting to play.


The third mini-game takes advantage of the prison theme. A team of players are cops, the other team are prisoners: this can be played 3 versus 3. The prisoners need to take down all cameras before attempting an escape, while the cops must stop them. To keep an eye on the prisoners, the cops can order people around them to “go sit”. They are marked with an exclamation mark; the exclamation mark can only disappear after the prisoner has found a chair to sit on. If someone is inconspicuously walking around deactivating cameras instead of sitting down, this might raise some flags…the cops can then simply shoot down human players to win the game. An additional power play comes in the form of a central button that can close all doors in the level, potentially trapping anyone that didn’t pay attention.

This cops vs prisoners mini-game was a bit difficult on the prisoners, as the cops can randomly kill NPC's without suffering any consequences. They simply have to wait for the weapon to reload. As time went on, there were less and less prisoners walking around, making it almost impossible for the prisoners to win. I sometimes think that it’s imbalanced, but it also has the advantage to force prisoners to move on and quickly take care of the cameras while the screen still looks like a beehive.

We did spend most of our time with this mini-game, because it is frankly hilarious. The cop can have a lot of fun ordering a prisoner to sit down continuously, as the human player role playing the prisoner has to keep sweating over figuring out whether this is a test or if they have been unmasked. And seeing such a person rush into a room to sit, only to realize that all the seats were already taken by NPC's? Stress level: over 9000. This added some sort of role-playing layer to the game, and we laughed a lot. Which is what these games are about, and thus why I give it a recommendation despite its caveats.

When I initially wrote this review during the Early Access, there were only three mini-games. Since then, new ones have been added, such as the gang wars in which the aim is to capture points without being seen by NPCs belonging to another faction. This quickly turns into a bloodbath as NPCs attack each other!


(Edit: this paragraph was written during the early access, since then everything has been fixed: new game modes have been added, new NPC syles have been added and their behavior has improved. You can dismiss this paragraph here entirely) One caveat is that there are always a few NPC's stuck on a loop, sort of endlessly having a seizure. Since they don’t move around like they should, they are of no help to human players trying to blend in. Another issue that I had with the game is that since all characters are clones, even if you noticed odd activity, it is often easy to lose sight of the specific character. I don’t just mean losing them in the crowd, which is great and works as intended. But for example, in the race game, you might not even remember which lane you were looking at. For this specific mini-game, I would have preferred to see more hair colors, so that you can better study each individual character. Apart from these minor gripes that do not hinder the game in any major way, we were happy with our time with the game and only wished for more mini-games. In the lobby, there is a room with “More soon” written on the floor. Yes, please!


If you like Hidden In Plain Sight, The Prison is a very good companion piece. It doesn’t look like much, but the mini-games available were all great to play, and we had many laughs. The generators mini-game is perfect hide & seek, the race combines mind games and trigger-happy shooting, the gang wars mini-games is a bloodbath, and finally the cops vs prisoners mini-game is tense role-playing fun. If you like hide and seek party games, this one is clearly worth a purchase.

The concept of Yahrit is very simple, players can kill each other with a dash or by falling off the ledges. Everything is based on mindgames, trying to anticipate when the others will attempt their dash so that you can get the drop on them right after it. It’s a perfect game of chicken. There is a visual indicator showing when a dash is reloading, which allows everyone to see the window of vulnerability. It’s very simple, but it works very well as it’s easy to use and based on tension between players rather than technical prowess.

The weak point of this game is the levels, there are not many and the platforms are not easy to reach so players prefer to stay on the ground. The developer is planning to take another look at this, so I have lots of hope for the future. Despite this, for its super cheap price the game is clearly solid enough as it is.

Video with some gameplay footage of Yahrit! (and some other games)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HogvpOXoNvQ

Dive deep into the sea, explore shipwrecks for treasure with your friends, and leave their skull behind as you steal their painfully acquired gold back to the surface.


Aqua Lungers has aquatic platforming levels tasking players to dive deep into the sea in search of shipwrecks to bring their treasures back home. The game is played with 2-4 players on a split screen and it is also possible to play alone in single-player (albeit against a more populous hostile fauna). Each player (or team) has their chest to fill, and the first to reach 3000 points wins the level. It’s not possible to bring all the loot back in one go, there is only a limited amount that can be carried at once, so several dives are necessary, leaving a lot of room for friendly backstabbing.


Players cannot kill each other with the base attack, but each stab with their little pike will temporarily hinder and force them to drop some of their precious gold. However, advanced weaponry can actually kill, whether intentionally or not. It’s not always in the best interest of players to attack each other though, as the monsters can win too—what a brilliant idea!

There are several types of enemy fish that can nibble players to force them to drop their gold, and players can defeat them in return. But each map also has an invincible boss, a huge monster that can actually kill players to send them back to their spawn. This monster can also collect points over time and win the round. This mechanic is great, as it can often change the dynamic of the game from competition to cooperation. If a boss proves too difficult and the players want to travel to the next stage, will they be temporarily forced to band together and maybe drop all of their gold in the same chest? But whose chest? Won’t pride or rivalry get in the way? You can either see this as a zero-sum game, in which the loss of one is to the benefit of the other. Or you can work to achieve a common goal and consider the victory of any player as a victory for all players. But some people are shifty weasels and will work against their friends no matter what…


There is a surprising amount of variety. As the levels progress, the environment can change (desert, ice and so on) and new varieties of fish or traps start to appear. Likewise, new boss types with their own sets of attacks invade the depths, and a series of stages culminates in a proper boss fight in which the aim is to finally kill one of these gigantic beasts. While the big monsters usually cannot be killed during a normal stage, they can be stunned with regular attacks or with a wide range of weapons that the divers can equip, from javelins to bombs. And let’s not forget those useful shields that allow swimming past them while whistling merrily.

Each level has a slightly different pacing according to where the obstacles and shipwrecks are located, as well as the weapon dispensers which are often found above the surface. Overall the stages are well designed and feel sufficiently different from each other. My main order of business was to grab a few weapons, collect as much gold as I could carry, stun the big monster, go back to base. And then there are all the little things that make this perfect plan go sideways, such as interference from another player, the monster hanging around a bottleneck, or even… the weight of the gold. As gold accumulates in the bag on the diver’s back, the ability to jump is decreased. Some maps actually force players to throw some of their gold past a platform before being able to jump on it, which can have hilarious consequences if another diver was passing by and collects your gold. Don’t worry, you can have your revenge by picking their pockets right next to your chest and watch their face as their gold is added to your score.


Besides the lack of online capabilities, the only downside I found to Aqua Lungers is that it can be a bit difficult for casual players to instantly understand the weapons system. From having to attack the skulls to using the right bumper to switch between acquired weapons, and let’s not forget the weight mechanic, this game is not readily accessible from the start. And yet, despite this slight complication, casual players had more fun and laughs in this game than many others from my toolset, and the possibility to cooperate was a relief for them.


I also wish that it was possible to rebind controls, but the base controls work well enough. What is interesting to find in the options menu is the possibility to increase chromatic aberration to give a bleeding effect to the colors and simulate an old arcade machine! Overall the game runs very well, nothing to complain about. I had a few minor gripes with the graphics at the start of the early access, but WarpedCore Studio since fixed all that I had issues with.


Let’s not beat around the bush any further: Aqua Lungers surprised me as a great and unique entry in the world of local multi-player games, and it’s both hilarious and challenging to play. It has great pacing, it offers depth and fun and it has level difficulties for all tastes. I absolutely loved the fine balance between competition and cooperation, as Aqua Lungers can be picked up to fight among each other for the first to score, or it can be repurposed to cooperate together in order to unlock all the stages… with all the varying degrees of backstabbing and pride that can get in between such a wishful plan. Definitely, a game to add to your party toolset!

Video review with a few other games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HogvpOXoNvQ