In "The Case of the Golden Idol" you are tasked with solving a series of mysterious deaths, building up clues by examining a scene (or scenes) and then working these up into evidence. A useful hint system does exist within the game although I haven't used it, as these games are ones I particular enjoy having played many point and click adventures in the late 80's and early 90's. The detective portion of the game is great fun, allows a decent amount of experiementation while lightly guiding you to a correct outcome that then builds on in future scenes. I'm currently half way into chapter 3 of 12 and thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes piecing clues together and working on puzzles. It has a similar edge as "The Obra Dinn" and "Tangle Tower" both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would recommend!
I had read a few reviews of this before making the purchase on the Switch (Sorry, GOG!) and after getting to grips with the relatively simple controls I was off on my in-game adventures. You are given a camera and a set of, mostly straight forward, tasks to complete. There is a minor amount of back tracking at first but as the maps open up you might find yourself swiftly moving back and forth as you fill in the various photo requirements you collect on your journey. I absolutely loved the third person view point which would shift to first person for camera shoots (and offered a completely different perspective on the world to boot!) and the graphics and designs were really well put together. It isn't a long game, you could rush it fairly quickly or enjoy taking your time. Once you complete the main objective you do get the chance to go back and complete any final bits you may have missed for the achievements etc. I'd definitely recommend it as I had a wonderful time in its lovely little world.
I've been working my way through my backlog as and when the mood takes me until I came across Sleeping Dogs sitting there, curled up all snug and cozy like. I had seen my wife play through at times so I know a bit about it before beginning but to cover all bases the game is a story-driven game with a focus on melee and ranged combat alongside driving much like GTA or Saints Row but kept smaller scale wot four districts of Hong Kong. It starts off pretty quick and the controls are pretty easy to get to grips with, although the default keyboard controls are a little off putting at first. Left shift seemed to be for sprinting and parkour elements which was strange for me but there is a level of control flexibility plus joypads etc work too. The story is engaging throughout, it does like to pepper extra activities throughout so pads the game out with collectible boxes, health shrines and the like but certainly within the core game much of this felt appropriate and to scale with the locations you could visit. You also unlock upgrades via a limited skill tree allowing a minor level of customisation initially before you fill out both skill trees completely. Gun play is adequate, it has a little bit of floaty-ness which can make aiming frustrating but the checkpoints for missions and general controls mean it isn't an issue just something to adjust to. Melee combat is fun, it can be a little repetitive but I found it engaging throughout and enjoyed the challenge of large group fights. Car driving also works well although some of the cars drive like bricks, others are much more agile and there doesn't seem to be any indicator as to which are likely to be better or worse for this without just trying them. Overall I really enjoyed the game, I spent about 40 hours which included the main game plus the DLC stories which were okay, nothing spectacular but if you wanted a bit more game post-main game these filled the void neatly. Definitely worth a purchase.
From the opening graphics I was instantly reminded of the arcade cabinets of my youth, although I'll grant you that was quite sometime ago now so some of my memory might be a little coloured. The game is a cooperative dungeon brawler that sees your group of four adventurers quickly determining who is the mightiest, setting the scene for a 3 v 1 where the aim is to slay the adventurer if you're the party of three, or to survive and defeat the ultimate (randomly selected) boss at the heart of the dungeon. As the antagonists (The ghosts) you can use traps, throw vases and inhabit the bodies of eldritch enemies with the soul purpose of killing your one-time buddy and assuming life once more. If you're fortunate to be the living protagonist then you are constantly beset on all sides by your three best buddies, now somewhat more dead than they were when you set off on this crazy adventurer. As you slay enemies and gain loot, you level up, delving deeper and deeper through the levels of the dungeon, leveling up your main hero plus your monster pool. Once you've hit the appropriate level you'll be offered access to fight the boss and see if you can conquer the dungeon completely and whether you succeed or not, you gain unlocks for the next run and fun new enemies to play against and with. Overall I've had great fun with this couch-coop game and it has always been a blast. Each dungeon takes about half hour to 45 minutes but it doesn't feel long, most of the characters feel fun to play and the opportunity to level up your monster pool during a run is great fun as you unlock greater and more powerful entities. Well worth a purchase but you'll need buddies to play with, as the AI, although competent, really doesn't have the same feel or element of fun that having friends around to play does. Graphically it is a cohesive package and the audio is suitable for the style throughout, this was obviously a labour of love that is well worth sharing.
The Human Resource Machine at heart is an interesting premise, you task your human drone to following key instructions that build throughout the levels, in an effort to stop the machines taking your job. It starts of really simple, while still keeping challenges available throughout every level and providing a little bit of character building background with every new floor. You'll meet some...interesting characters on your journey up the building and it wont be long before you're treated to some excellently delivered background on the world beyond your office. The ascetic is exactly what you'd expect from the Tomorrow Corporation, having previously designed and developed World of Goo and Little Inferno, and this simple look and style is once more accompanied by a great sound track and effects that suit the feel perfectly. The plot unfolds much as it has done in the previous games, leaving much to your own devices and covering a range of material without dwelling overtly too long on any one subject. By the end, I felt, I'd wrapped up another nice little adventure and was pretty satisfied with the entire package. The bonus take away was better understanding some key aspects of programming languages, and having really had a good crack at some damn fine challenges to boot. If you enjoyed World of Goo or Little Inferno I'd highly recommend this little charming puzzler, and even if those didn't quite gel, this new take on a simple but evolving mechanic might just be the ticket to introduce you to the world of the Tomorrow Corporation and their fine staple of games.
Five star fireplace of a game. I bought this on release and was charmed by the design and simplicity of the game. You have literally only one main aim, to set fire to items from your catalogue and let the whole thing burn. It slowly opens up your options and then gives you challenges which range from the simple to rather obtuse. All of this is presented in a great little visual package with fantastic sound design and music, the soundtrack is a particular delight if you like light and quirky background music. There is a nice little story which I genuinely got a little choked up at a bit, and once resolved you can return to burning things for therapeutic reasons after the game is finished. Although a short game I'd recommend and I've already pre-ordered their next game The Human Resource Machine.
