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7 Mar 2022

PREVIEW: Batora: Lost Haven on PC (Steam)

By Jon Donnis
I was asked to take a look at Batora: Lost Haven on PC (Steam), although not officially released, the version I played is something of a prologue, or demo.

"In Batora: Lost Haven, players will take on the role of Avril – an unlikely young hero and the last hope of a dying Earth, as she travels between planets, meets an eclectic cast of characters, and explores a range of colourful and diverse sci-fi fantasy environments. Along the way, players will be faced with an array of important decisions, the consequences of which can be far-reaching and shape Avril's personality for the rest of the game. For Avril to survive, players will have to fight, think on their feet, and master the 'Nature Switch' ability to balance their mental and physical fortitude while solving unique environmental puzzles."


Batora is an isometric type view, sci fi adventure game. Twin stick shooter meets hack and slash type gameplay.

The main gimmick of the game seems to be the ability to switch from physical (Sun powered) to mental (Moon powered) characteristics which in turn affects the way you play, from which enemies you can attack, to how you attack them. Physical (glows orange, power of the Sun) has you slashing at enemies with a weapon, and mental (glows purple, power of the Moon) as shooting from further away.

The enemies are also powered by the Sun and Moon, so you need to choose which state to attack them under, as each one will affect attacks depending on the state of the enemy.

You have two health bars, one for each state, and regardless of which state you are in, you can take damage to both, and if one goes to nil, you die.


But this can also affect how you might solve a puzzle or as the game calls them "environmental challenges". Sorry guys, its a puzzle.

The landscapes are very colourful, everything looks great. Which fits well with your character Avril, who has had bestowed upon her powers by two powerful aliens. She will play as their champion and save everyone.

As it is right now, the game has a long way to go. There are moments of greatness, but also moments of failure. No release date yet, so I assume they are seeing how people find the game, listen to their complaints and hopefully improve things.

The Good
Bright and colourful game, and fun to play if completely unoriginal in it's presentation, (outside of the switch between Sun and Moon mode)

The Bad
Quite a few bugs present in the version I played, but hopefully these will be fixed.
Some of the dialog is tiresome.

Overall
The game has potential, but there is a long way to go. I hope they do not release an unfinished version of this, as people might be disappointed.


6 Mar 2022

Review: Submerged: Hidden Depths on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis
Upon starting it becomes clear pretty quickly that this game is about relaxation and exploration. Relaxation for you the player, and exploration for the characters you control. There are no enemies as such to fight, so you really can just sit back and chill as you play.

The game is full 3D, you play as Miku and Taku, the game chooses different characters for you, swapping between each, as you explore a sunken city, surrounded by water. There are plenty of ruins, which you can travel to on boat, you will then find yourself climbing, swinging and jumping to different areas of each building, and collecting various items, both from these buildings but also from the surrounding sea. So that might be flowers, boat parts, diaries, and also detecting all creatures and cataloguing them. 


You have a telescope too, so find yourself a nice high building, or a lookout spot, and have a look through your telescope, see if you can find other places to explore.

While climbing and exploring is fun, riding around on your boat is also a lot of fun, perhaps more fun than it should be, when really you should only be using your boat to get from one point to another.

The game never asks too much of the player, it is a fun experience, with great music, and excellent visuals, a proper palate cleanser compared to your usual games.



The Good
Very pretty visuals, a lovely soundtrack, and lots to explore and collect.

The Bad
When I first started the game, there is not a lot to tell you what to do, so you might find yourself lost for the first 10 minutes of play, but you will soon figure things out.

Overall
A fun game, simple as that, it delivers what it promises and in life and gaming what more do you want.

I score Submerged: Hidden Depths on PC (Steam) a solid 8/10


Released March 10th 2022 on Steam



5 Mar 2022

REVIEW: No Place Like Home on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis
The story goes that the Human Race has mostly deserted the Earth and gone to live on Mars, behind them they have left the Earth as a waste filled dump. Your job is to explore and clean up. And try to restore the beauty to the world around you.


At its base this is something of a farming simulator. But there is more to it than just that as you can domesticate wild animals, build your village, craft items and eventually build your perfect home. Hence the name of the game "No Place Like Home"

When you first start you will have a vacuum on your back, that will suck up trash, as you walk around, you will find seeds, which you can then plant and water, grow plants, which you can use to make meals which you can then trade.


A lot of the game revolves around exploration, crafting and trading, there are plenty of secrets to find, as well as cleaning up all the trash and toxic waste.

Domesticating animals is fun, chickens, rabbits, dogs and cats etc. As well as decorating your farm and making everything look as good as you want.


The Good
If you enjoy the types of games that you can put a lot of time into, without much stress, then this game is designed for you. Everything looks great, and definitely would appeal to the younger gamer.

The Bad
It is early access, so there are some bugs, plus little things that would just make the game better are not there, silly things, can't put my finger on them as such but it is missing that little bit extra, that just grabs you and wants you to play another hour. Also, you can't run or jump, which is annoying. Plus, where are the horses! We need horses!

Overall
The game is ok, but it is rather niche, and it is quite buggy, although the bugs are slowly being fixed.

This game is not really for me, but I can understand it will appeal to some. So with that in mind, I score No Place Like Home on PC (Steam) a fair 6/10





25 Feb 2022

REVIEW: No Place Like Home on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis
Although this game is "Early Access" it is pretty polished, so I will treat it with the respect that it deserves, as not only Early Access, but also as a very well developed, and far along game.

The story goes that the Human Race has mostly deserted the Earth and gone to live on Mars, behind them they have left the Earth as a waste filled dump. Your job is to explore and clean up. And try to restore the beauty to the world around you.


At its base this is something of a farming simulator. But there is more to it than just that as you can domesticate wild animals, build your village, craft items and eventually build your perfect home. Hence the name of the game "No Place Like Home"

When you first start you will have a vacuum on your back, that will suck up trash, as you walk around, you will find seeds, which you can then plant and water, grow plants, which you can use to make meals which you can then trade.


A lot of the game revolves around exploration, crafting and trading, there are plenty of secrets to find, as well as cleaning up all the trash and toxic waste.

Domesticating animals is fun, chickens, rabbits, dogs and cats etc. As well as decorating your farm and making everything look as good as you want.


The Good
If you enjoy the types of games that you can put a lot of time into, without much stress, then this game is designed for you. Everything looks great, and definitely would appeal to the younger gamer.

The Bad
It is early access, so there are some bugs, plus little things that would just make the game better are not there, silly things, can't put my finger on them as such but it is missing that little bit extra, that just grabs you and wants you to play another hour. Also, you can't run or jump, which is annoying. Plus, where are the horses! We need horses!

Overall
The game is ok, but it is rather niche, and it is quite buggy, although the bugs are slowly being fixed.

This game is not really for me, but I can understand it will appeal to some. So with that in mind, I score No Place Like Home on PC (Steam) a fair 6/10





24 Feb 2022

REVIEW: Martha is Dead on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis
Martha Is Dead is advertised as a "dark first-person psychological thriller" from the creator of The Town of Light. Set in 1944 Italy, and with an Italian language set as default, the game is designed to get into the mind of the player.

You play as Giulia, and start off as a young girl, with her grandmother reading a rather unsuitable story to her, the story of a White Lady in a lake, a ghost who lost her partner, trapped in the lake until there is fog upon which she can wonder the surrounding forest, and as is often the case, will murder young women. Lovely bedtime reading. Once the seemingly never-ending intro is finished, you fast forward in time, and get some control of your character, you find yourself setting up a camera by the lake, to try and get photos of wild animals, you then have to go through a rather tedious effort of changing the film on the camera, and since this is 1944, it is one of those very old cameras. After you put the new film in, you check to make sure you have the focus right, but upon doing this you spot a body in the lake. You run down, and by run down, you press one button and the character runs automatically, you dive in, after pressing one button, recover the body and drag to lakeside. But wait the body is your identical twin sister Martha who for some reason is wearing one of Giulia's dresses. Upon this terrible discovery, Giulia takes off Martha's necklace and puts it on herself. Your parents spot you, come to your aid, but your mother who despises you, assumes you are your deaf sister Martha and comforts you. And so, the lie begins, Martha is dead, but now you have become Martha, destined to not only pretend to be her, but also learn more about her mysterious death.


Ok that enough spoilers of the game, since that is the opening chapter.

The game itself has plenty of warnings on it for disturbing content. The PlayStation release has been censored heavily, and some scenes have been removed completely. Suffice to say this is not a kid's game. For those of you who have played The Town of Light, you might have a general idea of what to expect, but no this is much more disturbing.

There are options to skip the disturbing scenes, but then what is the point of playing if you take out the most powerful bits.

The rest of the game will have you exploring the woods and the area around the family home, the stunning Italian countryside and of course trying to contact the White Lady.


The game can be very disturbing as I mentioned, there are some horrific scenes that not only do you have to watch, but you actively take part in. You will quickly understand why the warnings were needed. If you really want to know about them, just google about what bits were censored on PlayStation and you will find it talked about. Something I will avoid here.

Think of the game more as a walking simulator, something that the person sitting next to you watching, will get as much out of it as you would playing, there is a lot of going backwards and forwards between the same locations, which can become tedious too. Giulia moves annoyingly slow, and although the atmosphere of the game is great to start with, it soon loses its impact with repetition.

There are a few puzzles to complete in the game, but most of the interactivity involves you collecting things or looking at things. Dolls, Puppets etc which help unlock memory sequences. As this is set in 1944 there are plenty of references to the war, radio news alerts, newspapers and so on.

And of course, just as you started, taking and developing photos is a big part of the game.


The Good
The graphics are stunning, and the soundtrack is fantastic.

The Bad
Th gameplay is sadly quite tedious, and although the horror elements are very well done, and will get in your head,  they are not enough on their own. I understand this is a "Narrative Driven" game, but it still needs to be enjoyable to play. And sadly, this game is more about looks than it is substance.

Overall
Really disappointing game, could and should have been so much more.
I score Martha is Dead a disappointing 4/10

Out now on all formats, but only the PC and Xbox versions are uncensored.