REVIEW: Ship of Fools on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

From Fika Productions and Team 17 comes Ship of Fools, a two-player couch co-op and online multiplayer roguelite game.

First the story.

"The Great Lighthouse that once protected the Archipelago is broken and a storm of malice and corruption is coming.

Together, you and your ship mates will jump aboard The Stormstrider and make your voyage across the sea. Man the cannons, ready your sails and protect your ship from sea monsters over multiple runs. It's up to you to defend your home from the almighty Aquapocalypse."

After your ship crashes, you find yourself washed up on a beach, after a quick look around, meet the locals, learn the story of the island, and what you are now tasked to do, you will find yourself going on journeys on your boat, each run in unique, and you will have to defend your boat with cannons, as you explore each area. In one player mode you will get an auto cannon on one side of the boat and a manual cannon on the other side, you can pick up and move the cannons around the boat, and you have to manually load them with ammo before using them.

You will also need wood to fix the boat when it is damaged. Enemies will appear on both sides of the boat, so you need to have your wits about you, this is where two player mode really is needed, as it can be tricky keeping up with everything in solo mode, even with the auto cannon.

You will make your way across a map, each block being its own area to beat. You can find lost treasures, collect important artifacts needed to upgrade your boat, stop at islands, and build up your strength. But be careful if your boat sinks, you will wash up at the shore, and you will have lost almost everything you had collected.

There are storms to avoid, or even perhaps head towards. Weird sea creatures to fight, and even fight off creatures who manage to get on your boat, just whack them with a paddle, seems to do the job. Fetch resources using a harpoon, and even rescue people and you are well on your way to saving the world.

The game is designed with replayability in mind, every run is different. You can upgrade yourself and your crew, unlock various items, and add new crewmates to your boat.

You do not need to worry about actually steering the boat, you just move from one area to the next. Maps are randomized each time you play.

Don't forget to visit Halga on the island either, you can give her things you have collected, and she can make magic soup, which in turn will help you on your next run. Basically, will give you a bonus, or upgrade your ship.

The Good

Cute little game, with a high replayability factor, each run is unique and fun, and once you get the hang of things, it quickly becomes addictive. The graphics are of a decent quality, and there is a nice level of humour throughout the game.

The Bad

As a single player game this will struggle to keep you interested. This is a multiplayer game; it just works better in every way with two people playing. Controls can be a bit tricky at first.

Overall

A fun game, that needs two players for you to get the most out of it.

I score Ship of Fools a solid 8/10, a really good little multiplayer couch co-op type game.

Out now on Nintendo Switch at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Ship-of-Fools-2304790.html

REVIEW: Impaler - PC Steam

Review by Jon Donnis

Impaler is a basic first-person arena shooter. Clearly inspired by games from the 1990s, this game has a small download size, and will play on a PC with a potato for a graphics card.

The concept is a simple one, you can shoot at enemies, you can summon spikes from the ground, you can build barriers, kill all the enemies in a wave, move onto the next wave. Sometimes you will have other tasks to complete, like moving pillars to set positions, and so on.

With "Roguelike" elements, each run is unique. Graphics as mentioned are full on retro, so think 2D monsters moving in a 3D arena. As you progress you can collect different weapons and abilities. The double jump, and stomp is also a great way to take out multiple enemies at once.

The main trick to defeating the enemies, is not so much your firepower, but your movement, keep moving, pick off your targets, collect health bonus, and survive. Pick up gold, which can be used to buy 40+ upgrades, and the more you play, the better you get and further your progress.

Throw in a cool soundtrack, and for the nerds out there, the game engine is a custom-built C + OpenGL engine, so everything looks super smooth.

The Good

Summoning spikes is a cool feature, it allows for some great moves, the graphics are retro, so if you like that kind of thing, then this game does a great job. The sound track is also pretty decent.

The Bad

If you don't like 90s style retro games, then this is not for you.

Overall

A proper little indie game, where someone has put in a lot of care and love into making the game the best it can be.

Developers like this deserve our support, for without them we would have nothing.

I score Impaler on PC (Steam) a decent 7/10

Out on 6^th of December on Steam at

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1573090/Impaler/

REVIEW: Mega Man Battle & Fighters - Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

Mega Man Battle & Fighters is a straightforward port from the NeoGeo Pocket Color release of Mega Man The Power Battle and Mega Man 2 The Power Fighters.

Basically, this is a simple way to just play the boss fights from the Mega Man 1 - 7 games, you can choose to play as a few different characters from the series including Proto Man, Bass, and Duo. Each have their own styles of fighting and weapons to master.

With 40 boss battles to master, there is enough here for fans of the original series to enjoy. As you beat your opponents you collect their character data and fill up your database.

With all this said, as this is a direct port of a super niche release on the Japanese NeoGeo Pocket Color, in game everything is in Japanese, and the trading functions have been disabled. Although the menu is in Japanese, because the trading function is greyed out, it is easy enough to figure out things enough so that you can play the battles.

This title is definitely one for the fans of the series, and as mentioned is just the boss fights, one after another, so none of the platform stages, just fights. The fights themselves are basic due to the age of the game, but still represent a challenge. The controls are sharp, and the bosses are fun.

You can also choose to play full screen or with a NeoGeo wrap around.

The Good

One for the hardcore Mega Man fans. There is a challenge to be had here, and for a true retro title, this is one for the collection.

The Bad

No multiplayer. Japanese menu may put off some people.

Overall

As long as you know what you are buying beforehand, then this game is a great addition to the collection for all Mega Man hardcore fans.

For casual gamers, this might be a disappointment.

I score Mega Man Battle & Fighters on Nintendo Switch a fair 7/10

Out Now on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/MEGA-MAN-BATTLE-FIGHTERS-2250045.html

REVIEW: Dead Man´s Diary on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Dead Man´s Diary is a simple survival game,

You find yourself in a post apocalyptic world, a crazy man built some nukes, and when his life ended he designed a chain reaction that would cause the worlds Nukes to go off as well.

Some humans were put in bunkers to survive, but with resources running out, you are chosen to leave the bunker to find new resources. You are blindfolded and flown to an unknown location, no way to find your way back to the bunker, you are on your own, with only what you find to help you survive.

Ignoring the glaring holes in the ridiculous storyline, you start the game in the middle of a forest, at night. With just a crappy torch to light the way. With just the voice in your head, and the bare basics, you gotta figure the rest out on your own.

Look how lovely this looks! I never got this far.

As you start walking the game gives you little help, but does give you objectives, and help guide you in what you need and where to go etc.

Follow arrows conveniently painted in the area, and make your way to an industrial site, from there gather tools, screwdriver, lockpick, as well as food items and so on, oh and not forgetting the geiger counter, well this is a post-apocalyptic world, so you need a way to find out if the food or drink you are about to consume is radioactive.

All the while your metrics are going down, so you need to find water to drink, food to eat, iodine tablets to stave off radiation sickness and so on.

Underground car park I guess. No idea as I never got that far.

The first real task you will need to do to progress further into the game and into Day 2, is to build a fire and a campsite. And this is where the game screws up.

You see the problem here is that I could not find enough materials to complete the campsite, so although I had built a fire, I found myself 2 hours into the game and stuck. We are talking 2 hours of searching every corner, or every alley way, every bin, under vehicles. You name it I looked, but I just couldn't find everything I needed. Throw in the fact that the battery on your torch soon runs out, I am now in the dark, so can barely see. Funnily enough you get some light from your geiger counter, so I ended up using that as a very weak torch of sorts. Regardless, the game at this point is a chore.

So, at this point, with major motion sickness hitting me in real life, from going round in circles, and straining to see what was going on, on the screen, I gave up.

The next day I had a revelation. Clearly, I had gotten to the Industrial site way too quick, and I should have searched the forest first, despite the game not telling me to do that in any way, I thought I would try, so I started a brand-new game, and I did just that.

Now, considering that there are a few jump scares in the game, by this point I knew that other than the character thinking he heard a noise in the distance, or a metal pipe rolling, there is not actually anything that will kill me outside of my own health running too low.

So, for an hour I searched every inch of the forest, and yes, I found items I needed, I found batteries for my torch, I found paper, fabric, metal rods and so on.

By the time I reached the industrial site, I suddenly felt extra prepared and ahead of the game. And then I spent another hour, built my fire, searched all the places I had previously, but with a familiarity that helped.

And I cant, find enough items to build the camp site. Yep, I had wasted another 2 hours for nothing.

I turned the game off in disgust and that is the last I will ever play it.

I will not look for any of the walkthroughs which I am sure will appear soon, I am not going to contact the developers. I give up.

I gave this game my time, and a lot of time at that, and it let me down. It also made me feel quite sick. Like being sat in the back of a car when you are a kid, and you end up having to vomit at the side of the road. The motion sickness this game creates is terrible.

The controls are tough to get used to, for some reason you have to tap A on a controller twice to jump. Not once, but Twice. The menu system is overly complicated, and you have to disable the torch every time you want to use the geiger counter, which you need to use if you want to pick up canned food or water. Beyond frustrating that apparently your character can't use two hands at once.

The Good

The game on a visual aspect, from what you can see on Day One, looks great, the sound effects are decent, and the first time you play, it does a good job building up tension.

The Bad

Terrible design, terrible level layout, literally made me ill playing the game.

Overall

I am angry with myself for giving this game so much of my time, because I was so desperate to just get to Day Two and see the game in the light.

And if the only way for me to proceed is to watch someone else play, and then copy their movements, then what is the point.

Perhaps the most frustrating game I have ever played in my life. What an utter waste of my time and effort.

I score Dead Man´s Diary a 0/10.

REVIEW: Lunistice on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

Lunistice is a new linear 3D platformer, in the style of classic 32-bit games.

You play as Hana the Tanuki (a Japanese raccoon dog), as she takes an adventure through her own dreams.

Each "world" is a different dreamscape, with a few levels to each, the final destination being that of The Moon, to uncover the secret of "The Lunistice".

To complete a level, reach the end point as soon as possible, the faster the time, the higher the score. (Maximum being a S Rank). But you can also collect various items along the way if you wish to get a 100% rating. The main things you will collect are little paper origami animals. You will see at the top of your screen how many are in the level to collect. Although each level is linear, there are side routes to take if you want to collect everything. Some of these routes will require precision jumps and movement, or else you may fall to your death, luckily each level has checkpoints and you will respawn there if necessary.

Enemies appear often, and to kill them you can perform a spin move. You can also use this move to jump a little bit farther after the obligatory double jump move.

The first few levels are pretty standard 3D platforming, but as you progress and get to play on different worlds, you will encounter water slides, balloons to jump on and pop, water bubbles to help you move larger distances and so on.

The various worlds are all different to each other and have their own challenges. The gameplay is super smooth, and is as good as anything that has ever come out from the big multimillion dollar companies.

With any 3D platformer, the main two issues will always be control of the character, and how precise it is, and the camera angle. I found the precision movements of the main character when it came to jumps etc to be of a very high quality. The camera which is controlled mainly from the right stick, also is easy to move. And although you will come across the odd moment when you miss a ledge, or the camera doesn't quite go where you want it, these are rare moments. So, I can happily say that this game passed the two highest rated issues with such games, with flying colours.

The game itself is relatively short, which is a shame, but if you want to truly get 100% completion on a level, then that will take some time.

The Good

Excellent retro looking graphics that look great on the Switch Lite. Gameplay is of the highest quality. The sound track, the sound effects, everything is very good.

The Bad

Give me more! Not enough worlds and levels!

Overall

Really good 3D platformers that are also affordable are quite rare. Lunistice on Nintendo Switch is a rare success. An excellent game from top to bottom. 

If you like 3D platformers, regardless of your age, this should be on your "Must Buy" list.

I score Lunistice on Nintendo Switch a 9.5/10

Out now on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Lunistice-2299264.html

and PC (Steam)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1701800/Lunistice/

REVIEW: Succubus With Guns on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

Succubus With Guns is the latest 3^rd person shooter game to be released on Nintendo Switch.

You play as a scantily clad anime style Succubus demoness that has been summoned by occultists, during the ritual they messed up and not only raised the dead, they also turned themselves into Zombies, you now have to travel world to world through portals, each time defeating waves of the undead to proceed in arena based style battles, with the last wave being the boss fight.

Each new world has new weapons to find and use, as well as a nice supply of ammo to keep you going.

The graphics are decent, even on the small screen of a Nintendo Switch Lite, and despite the slightly adult appearance of the game, there is no sex, just the scantily clad lead character.

Unfortunately, controls are a problem, the aiming system isn't great, and whether you take down an enemy or not seems rather hit or miss. There are limited instructions on the controls, so you have to figure that out for yourself, and I have still yet to figure out how to swap weapons, or even if you can, they only seemed to change once I had run out of ammo with one. Your character can also jump and crouch, but the crouch seems completely pointless.

Reloading is slow, so you will find yourself doing a lot of running backwards, and playing a very defensive type of game, instead of what should by a more attack minded game.

On some levels you will get to use a sword, but the sword is poor, and again you will just end up running backwards, trying to get the way too fast zombies to all line-up so you can swipe at them all at once over and over.

The game feels very much like a "Unity Asset flip", whereby someone has purchased the base game from the Unity store, changed a few graphics and then just released it.

The game does have some positives, it does look great, and there is some satisfaction to be had when defeating a boss. But overall, the game just feels unfinished, which is unusual for a Nintendo Switch game.

I score Succubus With Guns on Nintendo Switch a poor 4/10

Out on 18^th of November at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Succubus-With-Guns-2296510.html

COMPETITION: Win Halo: Season One on Blu-ray

Halo: Season One on Blu-ray is released on November 14th

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on Blu-ray to give away.

Synopsis: 

A live-action adaptation of Xbox’s most successful franchise, HALO: SEASON ONE arrives on Digital, DVD, Blu-ray™, 4K Ultra HD™ and limited-edition 4K Ultra HD™ SteelBook®  on November 14, from SHOWTIME®, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. The action-packed five-disc collection features all nine episodes and over five hours of behind-the-scenes special features, including 75 minutes of exclusive content that takes viewers beyond the screen, providing a deeper look into the world of HALO. Plus, the 4K Ultra HD™ and limited-edition 4K Ultra HD™ SteelBook® include collectible art cards of Kwan Ha, Dr. Halsey, Soren, Master Chief, Vannak, Riz and Kai. 

HALO: SEASON ONE takes place in the universe that first came to be in 2001 through the launch of Xbox’s first “Halo” videogame. After years of human civil war and growing political unrest, mankind’s very future is threatened when our outermost colonies intrude upon the sacred worlds of an alien threat known as the Covenant. As this fanatical powerful alliance destroys world after human world, only one soldier slows their advance – a cybernetically enhanced “Spartan” supersoldier, the Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber, “American Gods” and “Orange is the New Black”). As the mystery of the Covenant's true ambitions are revealed, the Master Chief must find a way to save humanity from the alien threat while also coming to terms with the secrets of his own enigmatic past.

The series stars Schreiber as the Master Chief or Spartan-117; Natascha McElhone (“Californication”) as Dr. Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan super soldiers; and Jen Taylor (“Halo” game series, RWBY) as Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history and potentially the key to the survival of the human race. Additional stars include Bokeem Woodbine (“Fargo”), Shabana Azmi (Fire), Natasha Culzac (“The Witcher”), Olive Gray (“Half Moon Investigations”), Yerin Ha (“Reef Break”), Bentley Kalu (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Kate Kennedy (“Catastrophe”), Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”) and Danny Sapani (“Penny Dreadful”).

The Showtime-Produced Epic Series Arrives on Digital, DVD, Blu-ray™, 4K Ultra HD™ and Limited-Edition 4K Ultra HD™ SteelBook® on November 14. 

Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3UwLAXJ

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN INFORMED

Quick Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 21-11-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis

The very nice people at Evolve PR sent me a key for the new Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed game on Xbox, I have been a bit busy so has taken me a while to get round to playing it, but now I have I wish I hadn't waited so long.

I grew up on Ghostbusters, the originals from the 1980s that is, not the abomination from 2016 that will not be mentioned here! And from the moment you load up the game and you hear that awesome riff, and then Ray Parker Jr comes in with the classic song, you get shivers down your spine that only a true fan can get. Nostalgia aside though, there is a game to be played here, luckily, we have the original actors reprising their roles with Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore and Dan Aykroyd as Raymond "Ray" Stantz, to help you along the way.

Set after the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, this game has a full-on plot to follow, which I won't spoil here, instead I will concentrate on the game play itself.

Mainly advertised as an online multiplayer game, you can also play solo, with CPU controlled partners and ghosts.

Raymond "Ray" Stantz and Winston Zeddemore have decided to restart the Ghostbusters, they have purchased and reopened the old HQ in New York, the iconic former firehouse. They know that they need new blood and a new generation of ghost busters, so along with Catt, a co-ordinator and assistant, and Eddy, a technological genius assigned to lab work and research, you find yourself joining as a rookie recruit.

You start off with the obligatory tutorial, that will walk you through the basics, using the P.K.E. Meter to detect paranormal activity, and of course the Proton Pack, some easy practice on fake ghosts and how to use the trap, as well as putting the captured ghosts in the containment unit, and anyone familiar with the franchise will instantly feel at home.

You can fully customise your character, and as you unlock new clothing items you can create a unique look. This is all very important as you want to look good when you start going on jobs.

The jobs are the main focus of the gain, you will select a job in the HQ, and depending on if you are playing alone or with friends online, you will soon appear at the location ready to capture the ghosts.

Early missions will have you needing to complete various tasks, all within a time limit, including calming down people at the location, collecting various ghostly objects, as well as using the P.K.E. Meter to find and close rifts which the ghosts use, to eventually finding and trapping the ghosts.

Your online buddies or AI controlled ghostbusters will also be there to help you along the way. 

The controls are easy to learn, and not at all fiddly, which has been a complaint of mine in previous Ghostbusters games.

Once you have completed some jobs and levelled up, you will be able to upgrade not only your own character's appearance etc, but also your tools of the trade, increasing the power of your proton pack and so on.

As the story progresses, you will also be able to play as a singular ghost trying to avoid being captured, this is fun, when you play as a ghost, you have all the classic ghost like abilities, including flying through walls, haunting and possessing things and people, sliming someone and so on. All a lot of fun.

I do think that the game is slightly if not completely balanced in favour of the ghost, in multiplayer mode, which can be frustrating if you are playing as the Ghostbuster. This balance is something that I think needs to be addressed. Because when playing as a Ghost the game is way too easy and all you need to do is run down the clock. When playing as a ghostbuster, it just seems way too hard to win. This balance is much better when playing solo and just with AI teammates and AI ghosts, but since this is pushed as an online multiplayer game, it seems a little unfair for the ghost-controlled character to have such an advantage.

The Good

Beautiful graphics and everything Ghostbusters related is in there. A fun game that will keep you entertained for a while.

The Bad

Desperately needs more content, which I assume they will release later as DLCs, the game needs to address the balance between human and ghosts.

Overall

This is a fun game, and the solo story is good enough to give plenty of entertainment, the multiplayer is what should keep you playing long after you finished the solo story mode, the question is will more content be released for free or will you have to pay for it? Time will tell.

For now I found Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed to be thoroughly enjoyable, and despite the issues mentioned, this is a must have game for any fan of the franchise.

I score Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed on Xbox a solid 8/10

Out Now on Xbox

https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/ghostbusters-spirits-unleashed/9phjc0h6hpkd

REVIEW: The Entropy Centre on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

I do enjoy a good puzzle game, so when Stubby Games sent me a copy of The Entropy Centre to review, I was rather excited.

The Entropy Centre at its core is a first person, time manipulation, puzzle game. Think Portal, but you use time instead of portals.

After a weird dream like intro sequence, which has you watch the earth get destroyed, you find yourself on a huge space station in orbit of the earth, you don't really know why you or there, or why it is seemingly deserted. Are you the last human alive? You quickly make contact with an AI called ASTRA and you find yourself a gun, but this gun is not for killing people, it is for manipulating time and moving things. ASTRA appears on a little screen on the gun, and will help you find your way to the centre of The Entropy Centre whereby you can hopefully save mankind.

This gun can reverse time within a short period of time, but only of the object you are pointing it at. So, if you find a wall that has collapsed, fire the gun at it, and time will reverse, the wall will un-collapse, and then you may be able to pass by. Need to get into a room, but there is a pressure pad that need to be activated, to unlock the door, no problem, you can use the gun to lift up a box and place it on the pad. But wait a minute, you need to activate two pads to open a second door, but you only have one box, no problem, put the box on pad 2 first, stand about for a few seconds, then put it on pad 1, now go through the door, once through, turn and activate the gun on the box and reverse time, the box will now move through time, and on pad 2 and open door 2 for you to pass through, of course door 1 then closes, but you have already gone through. And that is how a basic puzzle can be solved.

You can also see a track of where you have moved an item, to help you remember where it will go when you reverse time.

As you can imagine the puzzles quickly get harder and harder, and you will find yourself going crazy trying to think in a 4^th dimension, that being time, something we are simply not used to. The game advertises itself as "mind-bending", and perhaps that is more to do with the visuals and the story, but for me, it was very much about me trying to think in ways I am simply not used to.

There are other things you will need to do, pass by electrified areas, or areas on fire, reverse time on events, watch out for falling pillars and platforms, and quickly zap them before you get killed. Throw in some witty writing and voice overs, and you have a pretty good puzzle game here, that will challenge even the most accomplished of critical thinkers.

The game is fantastically optimised with regards to graphics, the graphics are of the highest standard, and everything moved very smooth and looked great, even on my mid-range PC. I am forever moaning at developers for not optimising games for anything but a £5000 PC, so when I see a game that looks and plays great, but doesn't need me to change the video settings to low I am very grateful.

The Good

The game starts off easy, but the learning curve is pretty steep, this game forces you to think in a way that is just not natural, and when you get the hang of things, and start doing it correctly, the feeling of accomplishment is huge! 

The graphics are fantastic, the voice acting and sound effects are all very good.

A lot of puzzles and areas to pass, and will keep you busy for a while, and if you do get stuck there are some playthroughs on YouTube to help, however even if you do use one, you won't feel a need to keep going back, as you really will want to try and solve it yourself.

The Bad

Some puzzles just broke my brain, and I had to step away, this game can get very tough if you are not a critical thinker, and there are a few moments where you won't quite know what to do, and will continually die, with no real help or direction. (This is where YouTube came in for me)

Overall

This is a very high-quality game, from top to bottom every aspect is almost perfect. The puzzles are hard but fair, you just need to figure them out.

My only gripe is the lack of a proper hint system.

I score The Entropy Centre on PC (Steam) a very strong 9/10. One of the best puzzle games out there.

Out Now on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1730590/The_Entropy_Centre/

REVIEW: From Space on PC (Steam)

Review on Jon Donnis

Developed by Triangle Studios and published by Curve Games, From Space is a brand-new solo and co-op action shooter. Play on your own, or with 3 others, and try to liberate the earth from a weird alien infestation.

Throw in over the top weapons, a post-apocalyptic world and endless missions and side missions, and you have quite an interesting game.

Playing from a top-down view, you will quickly find out the bad guys are pink, aim and shoot, you can collect new weapons, (everything from Rocket Launchers, Miniguns, Flamethrowers etc) and ammo, which are usually left conveniently around the location. Look for safe zones, speak to people, they will give you missions as they get to know you. Simple things at first, then getting tougher. Maybe you need to collect something for someone, or even escort someone from one point to another, without getting you both killed.

You also have access to defensive traps that you can use to help you. For example, a nicely placed piece of barbed wire will not only slow the onslaught, but damage them too, leaving you to be free to pick off any alien that survives. Electricity traps, mines, grenade and turrets can also be left. But use them carefully because once used they are gone, until you can collect more. The same goes with your ammo. It is not unlimited.

Keep an eye out for health packs too, nothing worse than running low on health and being unable to cure yourself as you are about to head into a next of aliens. 

In safe zones there are also save points and workbenches, the workbenches allow you to upgrade weapons. But what do you use to pay for the upgrades? Well when you kill an alien, you can collect "Energy" this is the currency of the game, luckily it can be picked up not just from killing aliens, but also destroying alien eggs and nests as well as in loot boxes.

You can choose to play as one of a number of different "Specialists", you can swap between these in the safe zones, this is worth doing so you can level up each character, and see which one suits you play style the best. Each character/specialist as their own weapon sets, as well as other abilities and perks.

At the end of each level, you will need to destroy the Energy Harvester, basically the boss fight. The more aliens and nests you destroy on the level, the easier this fight is, so sometimes it is worth taking your time and destroying everyone instead of just rushing through a level.

Basically, there is plenty to do in this game, a lot to collect and upgrade, and a decent difficulty level that will challenge even the most experienced of gamer.

The Good

Easy to pick up and play, and although frustrating at first, you soon learn to be a bit more tactical in your actions, just blasting away will just leave you vulnerable to counter attack when you run out of bullets. The side missions are fun, and allow you to further build your character, and gives the game more depth.

The graphics are clear and colourful, well animated. 

The Bad

Some of the controls are a bit confusing, the map is near to useless, and a huge bugbear of mine, is that if you open the menu to change weapons, look at the map full screen or just look at what items you have, it doesn't pause the game, meaning you could be getting attacked and you don't know. I understand you can change weapon by pressing one button on the controller as you play, but sometimes I want to see a little better what I am changing to. Also, a standard PC controller did not work for me, I had to hook up an Xbox One wired controller, which then worked fine. I also had a couple of graphical issues when I went from menu to game a few times. A hard reset fixed it.

Overall

The story is what it is, aliens invade, you have to kill them. The gameplay itself is a lot of fun, I didn't get chance to play multiplayer and I understand the game is pushed heavily towards that, but I enjoyed the solo player mode as much as you can.

There are a few bugs, and this is a new release, so expect an update every few days if not every week as they iron things out after hearing from players.

A few tweaks in the controls and menu system, and this game would improve massively.

A fun top-down action shooter, still a way to go to iron out the bugs, but not too far.

I score From Space on PC (Steam) a fair 7/10

Out now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1502190/From_Space/