REVIEW: Just Die Already on Xbox One

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

In recent years the "Sandbox Game" has become more and more popular, for those unaware a Sandbox Game is basically a game that allows you to have much more creativity within the game to complete tasks towards an end goal, as opposed to a much more linear experience that many games have.

Just Die Already is an "old people mayhem sandbox game". You start off the game in a care home for the elderly, apparently you are living in the near future where people are no longer having children, and no one is going to work as instead they are playing video games all day, so with no one paying the bills to look after the elderly, you find yourself having no choice but to escape the retirement home (or are you kicked out?) and find a way to survive on your own in a world that just wants you to die. Hence the title of the game.

You now find yourself completing various tasks as a way to get retirement tickets which in turn will allow you to have free care.

Anyway, all of that is not really of much interest, what is of interest however is the gameplay itself, if you have ever played Goat Simulator, then Just Die Already will instantly feel familiar. At first the controls are a bit iffy, but you will soon get used to them. You can run around; you can pick up items with your left or right hand, you can pretty much do what you like, however you are still an old person, and as such you will break bones & lose limbs, luckily you can respawn and carry on your journey. But the fun is sometimes trying to carry on without respawning. For example, if you lose your head, you can pick it up and attack someone with it, you may end up just a body with no arms or legs, rolling about.

The single player mode is great, but there is also a multiplayer mode, whereby you can help friends to complete challenges or just attack each other, it really is up to you.

Much like Goat Simulator, you really can interact with almost everything, and there are loads of things out there to have fun with, and get killed by, or use to kill others. There are loads of secrets to find, hidden areas and so on. For example, find some wings, glue them to your arms and then fly around! Things really do get very crazy.

I've been playing the game for a while, and some tasks are easier than others, some are simple, some are hard, and every time I have played, I have found new unexpected things to do. 

The Good

A seemingly endless number of things to do, you really can find yourself "wasting" hours playing this game, without really achieving anything, but that is part of the fun.

The Bad

The graphics have their own quirky style, not really to my tastes though. And sometimes the controls feel a bit too light, like you are not completely in charge, but that is just part of the game mechanics.

Overall

If you liked goat simulator, then you will love this. If you have never played Goat Simulator, then the first 5 minutes of playing Just Die Already, you will hate, but then you will start to like it, and eventually love it.

I score this game a solid 8 out of 10.

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Out now on Xbox

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/Just-Die-Already/9N9B1JC4DD2Q

REVIEW: Lambs on the Road: The beginning on PC Steam

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Lambs on the road: The Beginning, is "episode 1" of a new adventure survival platform game from Flynn's Arcade.

You play as a character called John in a post-apocalyptic world, who is searching for his daughter Mary.

Inspired by the bestseller "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.

Lambs on the Road is a side scrolling platformer at its base, get from point A to point B without getting killed. Along the way you will need to avoid people that want to kill you, as well as solve puzzles that help you progress.

The Beginning as mentioned earlier is episode 1 of the game, and if the game does well, the game makers have promised to create more episodes and develop the story further.

Graphically the game has its own style, everything looks crisp, the animations are fine for what it is, the sound effects are also fine. No complaints there.

The puzzle elements of the game include things like powering on an elevator shaft, or working a machine to drop a car on some people who want to kill you. Pretty standard stuff.

You will complete Episode 1 relatively quickly, the game is not that hard, although some of the "puzzles" can be a bit tricky, and if you do die, you can try again easy enough.

The Good

The game plays and looks good, it is easy to pick up, and it is pretty clear what you need to do and where you need to go.

The Bad

A complaint I took direct to the game makers was that an early puzzle in the game tended to rely purely on trial and error, as opposed to actually figuring something out, there was no actual clues, or hints as to what you needed to do, this I pointed out, meant it wasn't actually a puzzle, but we agreed to disagree. I personally prefer puzzles to be more than trial and error.

Overall

The game comes in at a cheap price for episode 1 at just a few pounds/euros. I enjoyed the game despite my slight moan, and I hope they will release more episodes and develop the story. 

I score Lambs on the Road: The beginning a solid 7/10

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Wishlist now at

https://store.steampowered.com/app/866270/Lambs_on_the_road__The_beginning/

REVIEW: Kanso on PC (Steam)

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

How to describe Kanso? Well, you play with your mouse, and you have to draw a line around a shape! Sounds pretty simple right?

This is one of those relaxing, zen like games, where you think everything is all easy and simple, but quickly you realise that things take some skill. This is a "line following" game. Everything is very bright and colourful and really is a joy to play.

As you draw around the shapes, there are "Koi like Daemons", they kind of look like giant sperms, or perhaps tadpoles, they are on their own little journey, come into contact with them and you will have to start again. As you draw your line, you cannot go backwards, only forwards, but you can speed up or slow down, or even stop, that will allow you to avoid the Daemons, and finish the shape. As you progress through the levels, the shapes become more interesting and there are more Daemons to avoid, some will try to follow you, some will avoid you, some do not care about you. But you must always care about all of them if you want to progress.

There are hundreds of levels across ten worlds. The game really does make you relax, the yoga like calm music, the relaxing gameplay, everything is just very zen.

And coming soon there is a promised "breathing session". So, we are going full on meditation here!

The Good

A beautifully drawn game, easy to play, everything is just so relaxing, it really is a game that will align your chakras and all that Zen nonsense, and I kind of love it! 

The Bad

Nothing really, the game does what it tells you it will do, however one suggestion, how about a chaos mode. Turn everything on its head, and have a stress induced insane mode. I know it's the opposite of the point of the game, but why not!

Overall

This is a great simple game, a lot of fun and damn, it is so relaxing!

I score Kanso a solid 8/10

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Out now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1454650/Kanso/

REVIEW: Chivalry 2 on Xbox

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

I have had Chivalry 2 since launch day, and played it a fair bit, first thing I would say is that this is not a game for newbies, for a start the game has a complex melee system, and that is exactly how it has been advertised. Pretty much everything you can think of, is in there, and it is not just about bashing the buttons and hoping for the best, you need to time your attacks, as well as your blocks, you will lose stamina if you just hold the defend button down, so you do need to think and try to time things, as opposed to the old turtle approach.

Before I go on, I will say that this is an online, multiplayer game only. There is no single player mode, not even a tutorial, and you need to also pay for the Gold Subscription to play online, which is annoying, but sadly this is the state of affairs these days, companies and Microsoft especially are incredibly greedy. Whereas on PC you get online mode for free, on Xbox you have to pay.

Back to the game, you will face off in duels, but the real fun is when you play the huge 64 player objective battles. We are talking chaos to the extreme. And this alone is the selling point of the game, and the part you will enjoy the most.

There are 4 different classes to choose from. The Footman, The Vanguard, The Knight and The Archer. All are different, with benefits differing between the classes. Try each one and see which suits you best. The game has "class limits" in place, so that everything remains fair.

The customisation menus for your character are a bit lacking, everything is a bit samey, and there is not a great deal of choice for your armour.

The game is very gory, there is loads of blood, violence, everything you would expect in such a game. However, some of the animations are a bit dodgy, and the first time you see them, you will wonder why they allowed the intern to create them, and not the full paid animator.

On Xbox One the game runs at 30 FPS, and when the screen is very busy, there are framerate dips, and you need a solid internet connection too.

The Good

Fun chaotic gameplay, that you will come back to, everything just feels fun, if a bit complicated at first.

The Bad

Online only, no single player, some dodgy animations, and laziness in customisation factors. And you need a good internet connection.

Overall

If you have a good internet connection and subscribe to Gold, then give this game a go, it is a hell of a lot of fun.

I score the game a solid 7/10

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Chivalry 2 has an MSRP of $39.99 / €39.99 / £34.99 MSRP for the Standard Edition or (MRSP $49.99, €49.99, £44.99) for the Special Edition, with an ESRB rating of M for Mature and a PEGI 18 rating.

Xbox - https://amzn.to/3veUpZr

PS5 - https://amzn.to/3wq6xbi

PS4 - https://amzn.to/3wkNejr

REVIEW: Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town on Nintendo Switch

Review by GamingCouchPotato Staff

Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town, but for the sake of this review I will just call the game Willy Morgan. Willy Morgan is point and click game, yes, I know there are millions of them out there, but what makes this one different, or better? Well for a start the graphics. The graphics are truly stunning. Featuring great 3D cartoon graphics, it will instantly catch your eye.

Let us start with the general story of the game.
10 years have passed since the mysterious disappearance of Willy's father, the famous archaeologist Henry Morgan. One day, the postman delivers him a strange letter:

"If you receive this letter, it means that something went wrong

and it's up to you to finish what I started. Go as fast as you can

to Bone Town, room 09, but don't trust anyone..."

Now I know what some of you are thinking. The main character is called "Willy" and he needs to travel to "Bone" town. For a start get your mind out of the gutter, this is not Leisure Suit Larry, instead this is a game aimed firmly at the younger gamer, but still has enough to it, and it will entertain and challenge a more experienced gamer too.

You start off in Willy's bedroom, and after a brief tutorial, it becomes clear the first challenge is to find money and build your bicycle, so that you can leave the house. This is a good way to start the game, you have a clear objective, and it is very clear what you need to do. Search the house for the parts you need to build your bike, find some money, and then you can move on to the next location.

The gameplay starts off quite simple, search in every location you can, collect whatever it lets you pick up, and move on. But of course, things are not that easy. Luckily one of the things you have in your possession early on is some notes that give you little clues on what to do if you get stuck. An example for one of the first tricky parts of the game is that one of the wheels you need for you bike is hanging on the wall playing the part of a dream catcher, upon examining the screw holding it on the wall is rusted, so you can't get it off. You will find some sun tan lotion, but it has gone all hard, switch the lamp on, put lotion near lamp so it melts, then put on rusty screw, and voila, you have the wheel. This is the kind of puzzle you will come across early in the game. 

Unlike some point and click adventure games, Willy Morgan is pretty straight forward, use logic and critical thinking, and the puzzles are not too hard.

One of the biggest problems games in this genre tend to have, is that the puzzles are so over complicated, that you will find yourself just looking up walkthroughs online, so you can get past them, and once you have that handy walkthrough, you'll find yourself using it more and more.

Willy Morgan balances this quite well, the puzzles are not so ridiculously hard that you will get annoyed and google the solution, but not so easy that you will just fly through the game. 

You will meet various characters, and engage in some fun well written conversations, you will travel to different destinations, and solve a nice variety of puzzles.

As I mentioned earlier the graphics are great, the cut scenes are really well created. There are over 50 locations to visit, and over 2 hours of original music as part of the original soundtrack.

I am a fan of the point and click adventure game, and have been playing them for 30+ years. Willy Morgan may not be the most original, but it does strike a fine balance, that impressed me.

The Good

Beautiful graphics, easy to pick up gameplay, fun puzzles.

The Bad

I am an impatient man, and perhaps sometimes things could be a bit more instant, for example when picking things up to put in your inventory, it may only be a second or two, but I would at least like the option to press a button to get there quicker. A small complaint which the vast majority of people won't notice. Also, I think the game is a little expensive on Switch at £17.99 which itself is on offer from the usual price of £22.49. Switch games are expensive as it is, but come on guys!

Overall

I am still playing the game, and so far, I am enjoying it, and for any fan of point and click adventure games, I would recommend this, it might be aimed at a younger audience, but if you like these games, then you won't go wrong here.

I score Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town on Nintendo Switch a solid 8/10

Out now on Switch for £17.99 at

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Willy-Morgan-and-the-Curse-of-Bone-Town-1980347.html

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown: 9 Minutes of Online Gameplay

 

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown was just released for free on PlayStation Plus, and one of the biggest questions to be answered was how well the online performs. Here are 9 minutes of ranked matches showing you what you can expect when you take the fight online.

Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a ground-up remake of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. The game was redone in the Dragon engine and while it looks better than ever, it largely plays the same. There have been tweaks to the game's lobby system and visuals, and considering the Japanese name for the remake (Virtua Fighter eSports), you can bet that's a big new focus for this version.

Challenge the greatest fighters in the world in the ultimate remaster of the classic 3D fighter, now featuring gorgeous HD graphics, new online features, and all the bone-crunching, martial arts combat of the renowned original. Master your fighting style to defeat all challengers in the Fifth World Fighting Tournament and become a Virtua Fighter legend!