REVIEW: The Legend of Tianding on PC (Steam)

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

The Legend of Tianding is a hand drawn 2D side-scrolling platform/action game, you play as Liao Tianding, a legendary Taiwanese Folk Hero. Set in the early 1900s in Colonial Japanese Taiwan, this is the type of game that instantly grabs your attention. 

Let's take a quick look at the official story.

"Based on real events, real people and real situations, The Legend of Tianding is an exploration of a place and time often overlooked and presented in the style of Traditional Chinese Manga.

Battle the colonial authorities in style with a tanto, waist sash, and fast paced Kung Fu in tightly tuned technical combat. Execute advanced aerial combos, steal weapons from your enemies, use your waist sash and grappling hook to fly around the battlefield, and strike fear into the hearts of your oppressors.

Take on incredible bosses like deadly courtesans, greedy businessmen, and even military leaders, each one guaranteed to challenge you with their dynamic abilities and brutal attacks."

You play in the Dadaocheng area of Taipei city, as mentioned earlier, everything is seemingly hand drawn, and although in general you play in a 2D manner, moving from cut scenes and menus, you do get a 3D view for a few moments, which is so well done. Everything is colourful and highly detailed.

Although a platform game, fighting is a big part of the game, and you will quickly learn new styles and attacks as you play, as well as defensive techniques. You will explore underground as well as over ground, and even on moving trains, and not forgetting some pretty tough boss battles.

The first boss fight you have is against Wang, now I have to come clean here, it took me a while to figure out how to beat him, as I clearly had not been paying attention, and didn't realise that when your health bar goes low, you can gain some health simply by pressing up on the d-pad. You will find save points throughout the game which also allows you to recover health, and store 3 health teas, or soups, not sure which, but you will take a sip of those in battle, and that will give you a health boost.

Playing the game which is very much drawn in a "Retro Traditional Chinese Manga" style, at times it is like playing a comic book.

Find talismans (talismen??) and upgrade your character, which in turn can also change your playstyle. 

The game does have a Robin Hood type element to it, steal from the rich, give to the poor, etc.

The Good

The graphics are outstanding, not enough can be said about that, just glorious to see. The gameplay is easy to pick up, the character easy to control, and you never feel overwhelmed as you learn new things. 

The Bad

The text on screen you have to read through is a lot, conversations go on a bit, and sometimes you just want to actually play the game as opposed to reading a comic.

Overall

This is a really good action platformer, looks and plays brilliantly. Some great characters to interact and fight with. A good learning curve, and detailed story to be a part of.

I score The Legend of Tianding on PC (Steam) a solid 8/10

Out now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1406850/The_Legend_of_Tianding/

REVIEW: Faraday Protocol on Nintendo Switch

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk Staff

Faraday Protocol is a first-person perspective puzzle game and walking simulator. I am playing this on a Nintendo Switch Lite.

Let's take a look at the official story of the game.

"You are Raug Zeekon: interstellar archeologist from planet Cunor. You have been sent by your company to investigate the source of a mysterious signal coming from an unexplored star.

The Bia Tool, an ancient relic of an alien civilization, is the first mystery you uncover when arriving in OPIS. Unsure of its true purpose you start wielding it to solve the challenges on your path. With its ability to absorb energy and the option to redistribute it to different machinery, you start digging deeper and deeper into the temples, encountering even harder puzzles that will test your savvy and abilities in problem solving. Are you smart enough to solve every challenge thrown at you?"

You find yourself on a seemingly abandoned planet, you head towards a huge structure, you pick up what appears to be some kind of laser gun. But you won't be fighting anyone today, for this is a puzzle game. Pretty quickly you figure out that you can use your gun (the bio tool) to absorb energy from one location and fire it elsewhere, and this is the general mechnic that you will be using to solve the puzzles. Each puzzle has a purpose of allowing you to proceed further into the structure. As you progress, the puzzles get harder and harder. The whole structure is seemingly a training guard, and as you play you will hear the voice of IRIS, an Artificial Intelligence that is there to help guard this ancient structure. The puzzles are described by the A.I. as tests. Hence the idea this is some kind of tarining ground.

The main gameplay is about transfering energy around, connecting areas in the correct order, which in turn may open a door or portal, open a stair case, move walls, open new areas and so on.

The puzzles themselves are logic based, and as such every puzzle if taken in a slow methodical way, can be beaten.

That said, I found myself stuck pretty often, but not so much because of the game, but because I forgot to think in a logical way.

The clues to solving a puzzle are always there, sometimes staring you right in the face, your job is to see them, and then figure out what you are supposed to do.

For example in one room you might see 3 differently coloured lights, in a different room there may be 3 differently coloured pillars. Connect the pillars with energy collected from other areas, in the same order as in the first room, and voila, puzzle solved and next area unlocked. You will need a good memory at times, or take a quick photo of the screen with your phone, to remind you of what you are looking for.

Unfortunately there is no hint system in the game, and as such you will at some point get frustrated enough to either give up, or look online for a walkthrough, something I did a few times, and as is always the problem with walkthroughs, as soon as you need to go use one, you will quickly go back to it the moment you got a little stuck.

The game is relatively short, more so if you do use a walkthrough for regular help.

The Good

Despite playing this on a Nintendo Switch Lite, the graphics were all crisp and clear, I never once felt like it would be easier or better to play on a big screen. The puzzles are all well thought out, and although tough at times, they are all logical. There are also some secrets to collect along the way.

The Bad

The lack of a hint system, or any real kind of tutorial or help system, is a major issue for me, I get so frustrated when games are released without such things, for the moment someone gets stuck, they are either gonna just give up, or they are gonna go watch a walkthrough, and once you make that an option to the player, they are gonna use it, and as such that does spoil the game, because let's be realistic, if you get stuck, and you know you just watched a walkthrough on youtube 10 minutes earlier, you are going to go back to it. But a simple help system would keep the player in the gamer, nudge them in the right direction, and the eventual feeling of achievement would still be there.

Also the game is relatively short.

Overall

A good puzzle game, with a unique mechanic, that being the gun. The whole game works well on Nintendo Switch. 

Despite the lack of a hint system, this game will entertain any puzzle fan, if only for a few hours.

I score Faraday Protocol on Nintendo Switch a fair 7/10

Out Now

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/faraday-protocol-switch/

REVIEW: BitMaster on Nintendo Switch

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk

BitMaster seems like it should be a game made for Nintendo Switch, it is a twin stick shooter, you shoot at enemies while skating around on a hoverboard.

The game is described as being inspired by such classics as Geometry Wars, Crimson Land and Satellite Reign, but does it measure up?

There are 100 waves of enemies to face (20 different kinds of enemy), after 20 waves you will face a boss, and then another 20 waves and so on.

You can collect new guns and unlock new characters to play with, the environment changes colours, and different areas will benefit or harm your character.

For example, in one area your shield will regenerate faster, in another, your weapon may fire slower rounds.

As there are no levels as such, once you die, you die, you have to start from wave one again. With an average game time of anything between 5 minutes to half an hour, this is very much an arcade style, pick up and play type game, as opposed to one you will deliberately keep coming back to, to complete.

The graphics are colourful, and the changes in colours from wave to wave is nice. The soundtrack is ok. The gameplay does seem to fit the Nintendo Switch well. Playing on a Switch Lite, this is very much a game that I could spend 10 minutes on which waiting for something else.

Saying all that, the game does have some issues, the lack of proper levels means that you might get bored quick, and not see the point to start all over again. There is only one real game area to play in, and although it is relatively large, it is still the only one, and changing colours doesn't really make that much difference.

The Good

Bright colourful graphics and pick up and play gameplay, does mean that this game can have a place on your Switch.

The Bad

The game is limited, and perhaps overpriced on Switch, at around £5, it compares poorly pricewise to Steam, where it is under a pound currently on special offer.

Overall

This is a simple game, not one you will spend hours at a time playing, but if you want an addition to your Switch, that is good in short bursts then BitMaster is a game you should consider.

Out now on Nintendo Switch

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Bitmaster-1984676.html

REVIEW: Too Many Humans on PC (Steam)

Review by GamingCouchPotato.co.uk
Too Many Humans is a Real Time Strategy game, but instead of controlling the army, or a private security force as is often the case in such games, this time you are controlling zombies! Sounds good right!

Let's take a quick look at the official story.

"You are Phthisis, the God of pestilence, decay and death. Humanity has degraded too far into greed and is causing irreversible damage to Gaia; your dear sister, and their planet. Something has to be done. But like every god, you have rules (omnipotence gets boring otherwise): you are not allowed to directly kill humans. But you *can* raise them back from the dead. And if the living ones die because of this... Eh *shrug*.

Rise, mutate and unleash your Zombies into frantic battles against the treacherous humans. Fight every battle to break one by one the chains of avarice humanity has binded itself with."

As mentioned above, you play as Phthisis, and no I don't have a lisp. Now because they are zombies, they don't take orders very well, so you need to be clever in how you control them. If you don't keep them under control, they will wander off.

Before I go on, I have to say that in general I am not a big fan of RTS games, I tend to find them over complicated, and I get bored quick. However, with Too Many Humans, I found myself in a situation where I had to pull myself away from playing, everything in this game is set up perfectly for someone like myself, someone who is not a huge fan of the RTS genre. So, if you are not a fan of RTS games, then please keep reading, as this game might be one to finally grab your attention.

How do you control zombies? Well, you have something called "Screamers" something like a scarecrow that screams, and where ever you move that, the horde will follow. If you plant it in a spot, te horde will stay there. Any stragglers can soon be summoned by setting the screamer to scream a little louder. A genius idea. You can use multiple screamers, and choose which zombies go where. I say "which zombies", as you soon learn that there are different types, that you yourself can create. Your regular boring zombie is what they start out as, you also have bomb zombies which surprise surprise, can explode, perfect for blowing up walls, you have smasher zombies that... erm... smash, and electrified zombies. Each type can be used in a horde, or for specific jobs.

 

There are 7 missions, you start out on a beach, which is mainly to help you figure out how to use the controls, what various buttons do, and pretty much how to play, I found this first mission just perfect for allowing you to get to grips with things, as I said earlier, usually RTS games are overcomplicated, whereas in this one, it just feels right.

If a Zombie is killed, you can resurrect them using the blood collected from killing people, at certain locations. Meaning that you can send in a horde to attack, knowing full well that they will probably lose, but that you can then unleash another wave. You will collect things like petrol, that in turn allows you to turn your zombies into the bomb zombies. Another neat touch. Of course, every time your horde kills a regular person, a cop, a military person etc, they then turn into zombies as well. Meaning your horde gets bigger and bigger.

But it is not just about blindly attacking and killing people, there are puzzles that need to be solved too, for example activating generators in different locations at the same time to unlock a path to continue.

I really can't say enough good things about this game, this truly is the first RTS game that I have genuinely enjoyed playing and want to keep playing after I have written a review.

The Good
The graphics are simple but detailed, the gameplay is just about perfect, everything is just done right.

The Bad
Could we have more missions please? Hopefully if the game does well, then the developers will release more missions, fingers crossed.

Overall
If you are an experienced RTS gamer, then perhaps this game will not offer the detailed, complicated gameplay you want, but for the rest of us normal gamers, I think that Too Many Humans gets everything just about perfect.

I score Too Many Humans a 9.5/10, Absolutely loved, and still loving it.

Out now on PC Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1746230/Too_Many_Humans/

REVIEW: Observer: System Redux on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

As part of their the Bloober Team's 13 Years of Development celebrations, I got my hands on Observer: System Redux, a first person, investigative horror game.

Let's start off with a look at the story.

"The year is 2084. The future has turned out much darker than anyone could imagine. First, there was the Nanophage. A digital plague that killed thousands upon thousands of those who chose to augment their minds and bodies.

Then came the War, leaving both the West and the East decimated and shattered. With no one left to seize power, corporations took over and forged their own crooked empires.

You are a tool of corporate oppression. Feared and despised, you hack into the darkest corners of your suspects' minds. You creep into their dreams, expose their fears, and extract whatever your investigation may require."

Your name is Daniel Lazarski, voiced by the late great legend that is Rutger Hauer. You are what is known as a "Neural Detective". You find yourself investigating crimes in a decrepit apartment building in Poland as well as looking for your lost son. Since this is a cyberpunk world, everything is technical, including how you investigate crimes. You can literally hack into someone's mind. This brings you to the scarier elements of the game, since physics go out the window if you are walking through someone's subconscious. But it does allow you to investigate a person's memories, look at things they interacted with, see what they saw.

Since we are looking for a killer, reliving someone's last moments can be a challenge, and often you will find yourself in maze like situations, whereby you can feel very stuck in someone's memory. The first example of this is where you hack into the mind of a dying man who has been brutally attacked, after exploring for a while, you will find yourself in something of a walking loop. Any door you go through you end up back at the start. The only clue as to what you are supposed to do are the TVs that have switched themselves on. Now this took me a while to figure out. I had just been walking around and around for a while, before I even noticed the TVs and when I did, I still didn't realise that the clue to escaping the loop was what was being shown on the TVs in the first place. The game does not hold your hand and you will find yourself in seemingly inescapable situations. But a mixture of trial and error, as well as a crafty look at a walkthrough guide and you will soon find yourself back on track.

Although hacking people's minds is a big part of the game, most of the time you will find yourself exploring the apartment building, you have two extra abilities that will help your investigations, "EM Vision" which allows you to analyse electronic equipment, and "Bio Vision" which allows you to identify biological materials, think blood and bodily fluids. This comes into use when investigating a crime scene, and trying to log everything, which in turn updates your systems which then gives guidance on what to do next.

As you play, your character's stress levels grow, and you will have to take a pill to help lower the stress, we are never really told why you need to do this, but since we are in the future, and people have chips implanted into their brains, it is hardly surprising it might have some mental health side effects.

There are no real combat situations, so no running away or hiding for most of the game, although towards the end there are some stealth elements needed to avoid a creature, sadly it feels like these segments of the game were thrown in, and kind of take away from what you have been doing for most of the game.

Also, a quick mention to a mini game you will play on the various computers you access in the game, it is a simple game, and you will unlock a few levels on each computer you find and access. It is called Fire and Sword, and you have to move around a 2D map trying to avoid spiders, collecting gold. It is a simple but addictive game.

The Good

The game looks and sounds incredible, the slow build of tension and fear is perfectly done, and if you play with headphones, it makes the experience even better. The story is good, the "dream" sequences when hacking someone's mind really are interesting and add a true horror element to the game.

The Bad

The stealth segments towards the end feel out of place and become annoying instead of challenging. There is also an issue where you can find yourself in an impossible situation, for example I dropped a power cable that I then figured out I needed to plug into a computer, the cable went through a grate in the ground and then became impossible to reach. Luckily the auto save system meant I could just restart the area again, but it was frustrating.

Also, EM Mode and Bio mode meant very different visual appearances on screen, and constantly switching between them as well as normal view, might cause eye strains to some people.

Overall

Although quite a linear game, I found myself getting very much into it, even after I had played for a while, I wanted to keep going. That is one of the most important things about a game, addictive to a point that is not destructive.

I score Observer: System Redux on PC a strong 8/10

Out now on PC

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1386900/Observer_System_Redux/