REVIEW: Demetrios The Big Cynical Adventure REPLASTERED for PS5

Synopsis:
Demetrios is a quirky adventure game packed with tons of humour!

Bjorn Thonen, a slob of an antique dealer living in Paris, is robbed one night after coming home drunk. Forced to conduct his own investigation with the help of his neighbour Sandra, he ends up involved in a murky, mysterious affair. Will these unlikely heroes be able to rise up and discover ancient secrets?

Review: By Jon Donnis
Originally released on Steam, PS Vita, Xbox One, now the game gets a "REPLASTERED" 4K release on PS5.

 

Demetrios is a self proclaimed "Quirky" adventure game created by Fabrice Breton, and one look at the credits and you realise that Fabrice pretty much made the entire game himself, which is really impressive in this day and age. Well now the game is back once again on PS5 in stunning 4K, and I got my hands on it a week before release, because, you know, I am special. As a man in my early 40s, this is the kind of point and click adventure game I grew up on, back in the days of the Atari ST and Amiga. Where as kids of this generation will always prefer the instant gratification of blowing someones head off, I much prefer a little bit of work in a game before I get such gratification, well that or making my character put his fingers in an electrical outlet.

Unlike many other games, dying in this game is actually something you want to do every so often, as collecting the "game over" screens is very much part of the game, as is collecting cookies. Starting to sound quirky enough for you yet?

When you first start the game you get to choose your level of "toilet humour", of course I chose the highest setting. Although the game does have a fair amount of toilet humour, it also has quite a decent story, and although the game won't take you very long to complete, (8-12 Hours) there is an instant urge to play it again to see if you can find all the hidden cookies (3 hidden in every different screen/location) as well as find out all the different ways you can die. But that is only one part of the game, at the heart of it you are trying to solve a crime.

Bjorn is the main character you control, and it is him who has been robbed, he teams up with his neighbour Sandra, and they end up travelling to various locations looking for clues, and seemingly Bjorn gets into more trouble the more he investigates.

You will examine the screen and click on various items to learn more, you have an inventory whereby you can use and combine items you have collected to hopefully solve a puzzle. There are countless people to talk to, mini games to play, and more. So if you want to get through this game quick you can just quickly click through conversations, and get to the next puzzle, but by doing that you are really missing the hard work put in. This is a funny game, if you rush through it, then you are wasting the experience. And if you get stuck, then you can eat a cookie and you get a hint, bit like the coin system in the Professor Layton games.

And once you do finish the game, there is a nice little "extras" link on the main page, whereby you can unlock songs from the game, as well as exclusive artwork.

I understand this game wont be for everyone, but very few games ever fill that requirement. This is a classic point and click adventure game, an "old school" type game, that me and my friends loved in the late 80's/early 90's. If you are old enough to remember those games and you like the odd vomit joke, then you will love this game. Maybe this game wont appeal to younger gamers, but to people my age I think it is perfectly placed.

I give this game a solid 8/10

I will be going back and trying to find all the cookies and game over screens. In fact I am going to do that right now!

Available now for $9.99 on PS5 (or $1.99 for PS4/Vita version owners)

£7.99 for UK PS5 Owners.

https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP1762-PPSA06666_00-DEMETRIOSPS50000

You can also purchase other versions of the games from Amazon using the following links.
PC/Mac - Amazon UK
PS Vita - Amazon US

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.

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

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1614270/Submerged_Hidden_Depths/

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

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1472660/No_Place_Like_Home/

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

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1472660/No_Place_Like_Home/