REVIEW: Death Tales on Nintendo Switch

Review By Jon Donnis

Can a game be too pretty? Too colourful? I don't know, but boy does Death Tales on Nintendo Switch push those limits.

You play as a new "Reaper" who has gone rogue, you will collect souls as you play, I don't think I have ever heard that as a description before?

Anyway, the game is a 2D plat-former, you will fight enemy after enemy, you will learn spells, collect equipment that allows you to customize your reaper, interact with characters who will give you quests. Spells include things like fireballs, freeze powers, angel wings, meteors, and stampeding unicorns. Now I have got your attention haven't I?!

So, let's get to the nitty gritty. You have 30 levels to beat and souls to collect for "Death". That is the basic game, but is it any good?, first the visuals, as I mentioned earlier, this game is colourful, very colourful, like completely and utterly colourful, but with that said, it never becomes a distraction, everything is smooth, everything looks great. The soundtrack fits nicely with the game-play, it is also not distracting. Fighting against enemies is very hack and slash, one complaint would be that enemies do not have any power bar, so there is no way of telling if an enemy needs one more strike to kill, or a few. Only a small problem but one that should be fixed for enemies that need more than 2 hits to kill.

The cut scenes and events are nice but I couldn't figure out how to skip them or even if you can, unfortunately this means if you are replaying levels to get all of the rewards you find yourself having to sit and watch things over and over, frustrating, but not a deal breaker.

The Good

Did I mention the graphics were really colourful? The game-play is fun, easy to get used to, pretty simple hack and slash 2D plat-former, just from that description you know what you are getting.

The Bad

Some of the in-game menus could be better.

Overall

A simple game, with a somewhat original premise, it only costs £7.99 on release in the UK, so won't break the bank.

I score the game a solid 7/10

Worth a look

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Death-Tales-1879284.html

Review by Jon Donnis

PREVIEW: Early Access version of Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos

Preview by Jon Donnis

I got my hands on a copy of the Early Access version of Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos. A sequel to a game called ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery) that was released back in 1994. ADOM is wat is known as a "Roguelike" game, a subgenre of the RPG game that usually finds itself in a dungeon as you crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, tile-based graphics, and permanent death of the player character. Ultimate ADOM brings that concept to 2021.

The idea of such a game is that it should have unlimited re-playability, since the levels are different every time you start a game. You will face an endless amount of monsters, you will craft items, explore and improve your skills.

Here is a quick look at the Synopsis

"Evil has been vanquished. Peace has returned to Ancardia, and the peasants dare to dream once more of prosperity. Seven very different factions vie for control over the cataclysmic aftermath left behind by Andor Drakon's defeat. And somewhere, deep down in an inhospitable cave, ChAoS is stirring again.

Pick up your blade, prepare your spells, check your daggers and ready your bow, for you are about to enter the ominous Caverns of Chaos. Choose your allegiance carefully, for you are nothing more than an expendable asset to the masters you choose.

Fight for a mercenary's glory and purse, for the justice of a folk in decline, for the light of purity or even for ChAoS itself. Every choice you make will determine how you approach the ever-changing Caverns of Chaos before you."

As you play you will soon realise that everything can be interacted with, whether that is breaking through a solid wall, pushing coffins to reveal all sorts, smash through doors, turn doors into monsters who may then serve you. And so on.

There are plenty of different characters, classes, genders, races and so on to choose from. Magic to learn and master, spells to cast and hundreds of skills to unlock.

As first mentioned, this game is an early access version, so in its present state it feels quite empty, but with that said the game makers are very clear in their objectives, and they want and need feedback as a way to help the game grow and improve.

The game is a long way from being finished, but it has potential, whether that potential is fulfilled, only time will tell.

If you are old enough to have played and enjoyed the original, then I think you should check this game out, and even help it grow by being a part of the community.

If, however, you never played the original, and are perhaps not aware of the term "Roguelike" then you might want to wait until the game is finished.

For now, it looks promising. Good graphics, simple game mechanics. Could be something special.

Preview by Jon Donnis

Available on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266820/Ultimate_ADOM__Caverns_of_Chaos/

REVIEW: The Uncertain: Light At The End on PC (Steam)

Review By Jon Donnis

The Uncertain: Light At The End is a 3rd person adventure game, but more in the mold of Life is Strange than say Tomb Raider.

Officially this game is the second of a 3-part series, but from what I understand this game has it's own story and as such you don't need to have played the previous game to know what's going on. So, what is going on? Well you find yourself in a post-apocalyptic world, (don't you always?), the world is seemingly over run with advanced robots who apparently don't like humans.

You play as a young woman called Emily, part of a group of survivors, and you take part in missions which range from fixing things around the safe house, to full on scavenger missions. As I mentioned earlier although this is 3rd person, you don't really have as much freedom as you perhaps would think you would, this is a linear game, so you can't just go where you want. Which is a shame as some of the backgrounds and areas look really pretty. Now there are some graphical issues, but keep in mind this is an Indie game with a limited budget, and the game makers are constantly pushing out updates and improving things.

You will probably complete the game in 5-6 hours, and as you play you will soon realise that the various environments you find yourself in are varied, and the tasks you need to do are also as varied, you will need to solve puzzles as you play, and these are no easy puzzles, so you will need to use your brains, however it does give you the option to just skip them.

You won't really need to worry about fighting the enemy, the only interactions you will have with the evil robots might be a quick time event, which may come from a choice you make in the game, one of the first is whether or not you go back for your partner, or flee. If you go back for him, you will have a quick-time event, press the right button and you will take out the robot. Other than that, most interactions will have you trying to avoid being seen, this comes in the way of timing your movements to avoid cameras, robots and so on. If you do get caught, you get to try again.

The game does feel short, and you are left wanting more, but I guess that is why you have chapters. So if you do like this, then you can go get the first chapter.

The Good

Easy to play, easy to get into, some nice tricky puzzles, and decent graphics for an Indie made game.

The Bad

As I said the game is short, and sometimes lacks a bit of a challenge outside of the puzzles.

Overall

I enjoyed the game, it won't set any records or change the world, but it did keep me entertained for a good while.

I score the game 7/10

Review by Jon Donnis

Available on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/925570/The_Uncertain_Light_At_The_End/

REVIEW: SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis

In the world of Gaming, you will often hear the word "Timeless", probably an overused word, but today we are going to use the word Timeless once again.

Back in 1999 there was a hand held console called the Neo Geo Pocket Color, more famous in Japan than Europe or America, it was a very successful console, and one of its greatest games was SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium. Back in the 1990s SNK and Capcom were the kings of the beat em up game, fierce rivals too, but eventually they got together and started producing games that used characters from each other's games. SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium was the pinnacle of that.

26 fighters from games like The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, Streetfighter 2, and Darkstalkers, all classic games, and finally the best characters from each get to face off.

Various gameplay options include tag teams, fighters queued up, and classic one on one action. Fight through the stages to reach your rival, defeat them and you get to see your characters ending, fail at the end and you see a bad ending. Throw in the usual Survival and Time attack modes as well as some mini games, and you have a pretty complete game.

So far everything sounds great right!? And it is, this is a classic, TIMELESS game, and it will be in another 20 years, but with that there does come an issue, show this game to any kid under 15 and they will say "I am not playing that, it looks crap", as my nephew said, it took me forever to get him to have a go and when he did, he really enjoyed it, but still that problem will persist, so who exactly is this game aimed at? It is clearly being sold to children, but children are spoilt in 2021 with insanely realistic graphics. And although gamers over 40 are a strong market, I have to wonder how many will actually pick this up.

The Good

This was a great game in 1999, and it is a great game now.

The Bad

The very people this game is aimed at won't play it. Simple as that.

Overall

A timeless classic that should be played and enjoyed by all, I just fear that it won't.

I score the game a strong 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos - Launch Trailer

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos takes players on a journey across the land of Tasos and into the depths of challenging, procedurally assembled dungeons located throughout the world. Gems earned during dungeon runs can be used to rebuild your home town of Intori, which in turn grants access to upgrades that can improve your warriors as well as unlocking other classes and equipment.

Players can help each other out in co-operative play, either locally or online, but those who take on the challenge will have their experiences tailored to them, with puzzles and challenges scaling depending on the number of players. Each hero can be customised, along with a selection of classes, all of which have their own abilities and benefits in gameplay, and players wanting a taste of the action can try a free demo on Steam and Nintendo Switch right now.

Key Features:

Four-player co-op adventuring: Up to four players can explore the lands of Tasos and tackle the dungeons, assisting and reviving each other to earn victory together

Roguelite dungeon-crawling: Take on procedurally-generated dungeons packed with a variety of monsters, earning gems to spend on upgrades to get further in the next run

Town and class upgrades: Each run in the dungeon earns heroes gems to spend on upgrades, including the facilities in the town, as well as player abilities and stats

Classic gameplay reinvented: This is top-down adventuring brought into the modern day with colourful visuals and a number of options for combat, puzzle-solving, and exploration.

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos is available on all platforms for £15.99 / €19.99 / $19.99.