To call NaissanceE a platfomer is to do a disservice to the developer. NaissanceE is a platformer with a difference—several difference, actually. It starts with the artistic design. Dark rooms of twisted geometry create an abstract architectural world, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It’s like taking a trip to the Fundació Joan Miró museum in Barcelona—inspiring, mind-bending stuff.

The architecture continues to feel unique even as you progress through the game. New spaces, new uses of geometrical shapes, are continually presented to you, keeping novelty in every step of the game.

If the architecture seems torturously difficult, it’s not so painfully hard as the difficulty level. Your mission is to move through the world by jumping on platforms… in the dark. 3D jumping was already a bit of an extreme sport, but thrown in pitch black and it’s practically suicide. So difficult is it that you might end up needing a new keyboard as you constantly smash your head into it in frustration—heck, you may even end up needing a new head.

However, the odds are that if you’re into the sort of German expressionism-esque graphics, you’re the type of gamer who enjoys using your noggin and doesn’t mind a challenge. The difficulty suits the design of the game. Sure, you might need to take your time to master the game, but so what, given the quality of the visuals you won’t mind spending a little time in each room anyway.

I suspect that NaissanceE will lose some review points from other critics for the wrong reason. That reason is that it will remind them of other platformers, which had hard jumps because of bad design. The challenge with NaissanceE doesn’t come from bad design. It’s intentionally challenging. The game is its own beast, and it should be praised for that.

NaissanceE is going to split audiences and critics. Many are going to absolutely love this game for its unique design, others will hate it because of its difficult jumps. For my own part, I simply can’t resist a game with this much originality. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys unique games or games with extremely creative design, to hurry over to the game’s website and start playing.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5.

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Wind Up Knight is yet another take on BIT.TRIP RUNNER, which has seen so many clones that it’s starting to look like the second episode of Star Wars. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a game developer designing a game around another game, provided they add something new to the formula, rather than just making a blatant rip-off. So which one is Wind Up Knight? Is it an interesting new take on the Bit.TRIP RUNNER formula, or a complete and unabashed rip-off? Honestly, it’s a bit of both. Let’s take a look.

To be fair to Wind Up Knight, it does take the BIT. TRIP RUNNER formula and attempt to add more to it, but the “more” that it adds is micro-transaction upgrades. You can upgrade either by spending cash that you win over the course of the game, or, if you’re a busy person who doesn’t have time to play through the game to earn the cash, you can just go ahead and buy stuff. It seems micro-transactions are the way of the future. YAY L It’s a great business model. Just look at Candy Crush and its money-sucking deviousness. Micro-transaction rake in the cash, so developers are always going to use them. But then hell, if you’re dumb enough to spend cash on a few lives or a virtual sword then I guess you get what you deserve.

On a Candy-Crush-related-side-note: if every Candy Crush players stopped making micro-transactions and instead gave that cash to charity, world would be a better place. Just saying. Don’t yell at me. . .

So back to Wind Up Knight.   The main problem with the game is that the difficulty level is all over the place; seriously, the difficulty curve has as much regularity as my nan’s bowels (too much info?). One second it’s easy . Then BAMN it kicks your ass. Then easy, then BAMN. And on and on. It’s like a bipolar game or something.

There comes a time in Wind Up Knight where the levels suddenly become insanely difficult. For me it was around level 46. There are 48 games in the level. The first 46 are fairly okay, then it all goes to hell.

So, clearly from what I’ve said so far, Wind Up Knight is not perfect. And yet, I have to recommend it. Why? Because despite the fact that there are some glaringly obvious shortcoming, I had a BLAST playing this game. It was so much fun. The controls are great, the graphics, though not amazing, are certainly decent, and the level design for the most part is really good.

If I had one comment to make to the developer it would be this: be more imaginative. Create characters and stories that are more personal, more creative, less formulaic. There’s a great game here, but it needs a little bit of a polish and a little bit more personality. Still, great fun.

OVERALL: 4 out of 5.

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A short cutscene welcomes you into the game in the briefest of fashions, and also raises a lot of questions. You discover that there’s a robot that’s inside you, having been inserted during brain surgery –neurosurgeons, ya can’t ever trust em—and you’re also a pilot whose suffering from amnesia. Crikey, bloody tough day at the office that one.

So anyway, there you are, space-pilot-neuro-robot-amnesia style, riding an escape pod out of an exploding station, when suddenly you realise that life is too bloody hard as a frickin space pilot. . .

No, you don’t realise that, you go on a crash course through an escape route as you manically try to learn the controls. Get those controls down or you’re ka-plunked!

I just about managed to learn the controls before I got blown to smithereens. At this point, Nero, my neruo-robot friend praised me—rightly so. On first impression the controls felt awkward, but I’d gotten them down okay, go me. I wiped the sweat from my brow, sat back and thought, Bloody hell, that was a feckin awesome opening. . . but would the rest of the game continue to be so awesome?

Continuing through the game I got to know the characters, my favourite of whom is Nero, whose witty narration adds humour to the proceedings.  I also finally realised how darned gorgeous the graphics are. My computer isn’t great, to be honest, and I have to use the lowest settings (someone should donate me a computer. . . no one? Balls). So anyway, even on the lowest settings, the game looks amazing.   And the gameplay is gratifying and thrilling. It takes time to get used to the controls, but trust me it is more than worth it.

Overall, Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages is a real thrill ride. Great graphics, interesting characters and just the right amount of challenge make this well worthy of recommendation. Head over to the game developers for more on Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages.

LINK: http://ringrunner.net/

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Let’s be straight up about this; the only think that Thief managed to steal was gamers’ money for its inadequate AAA experience. Don’t get me wrong, Thief isn’t a terrible game, it’s just far from as good as it was supposed to be, and it left many stealth fans disappointed. Yet there’s one good thing about the failure of Thief: it left a huge gaping hole in the stealth genre’s market, a hole that Tangiers is more than happy to fill.

Tangiers promises to be a highly immersive stealth sim. It’s a treat to look at, with unique visuals that scream of personality—and which are far more imaginative than Thief’s. The visuals are genuinely artistic, the sort of work you’d expect to see from a third year photography degree graduate or animation student.

I could go on and on about how awesome this game looks, but unless you’re some weirdo you’d much rather look at these beautiful images than continue to read my dreary black ink.

Behold, friends, the glorious visuals of Tangiers

The post Tangiers: A Stealth Game Like Thief But Without The Suckiness appeared first on GamePlayersReview: The New Age of Gaming.

Move over Skyrim. Say your prayers Dark Souls, there’s a new kid in town, and he’s looking to take the Action RPG world by storm. Ladies and gentleman, say hello to Unrest.

Unrest. Yes, that’s always the case in politics, but it’s a new thing in games, a new Action RPG franchise that is garnering a most healthy and respectable amount of press attention. Many, myself included, believe that Unrest could very well go on to become the next big thing in the Action RPG genre. But just why, exactly, is the gaming world so flipping excited about Unrest?

It’s not just because the game has dragons. I mean, it’s an action RPG, and one of the staples of the genre are dragons (and any good game designer or artist of any type knows that there’s some genre conventions you just have to stick to). The dragons are actually “Naga,” which derive from Dungeons and Dragons. But they’re not the stars of the game.

It’s not the five protagonists that have us hooked either. Nor is it the gorgeous graphics. No, nothing as fancy as that.

It’s the humanity that’s got us excited, the fact that Unrest is full of humanity, full of the human element. Unrest takes the fantasy of RPGs and brings them into the realm of realism. It does so with a story about ordinary people’ with its setting, an Indian city undergoing revolution; and with its choices and its conversations.

If you’ve any interest whatsoever in the action RPG genre, you need to skip yourself over to the game developer’s site for more details on this most promising game.

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With 2D platformer Oscar, pro-gamer / developer Josh Long is using game design to tackle an important subject that very few games, if any, have tackled before: the troubles of childhood.

Oscar uses the mechanics of game design and interactivity to educated people on, and spread awareness of, real world issues such as bullying and single parenthood. Game designer Josh Long has been wise enough, however, to leave the game open to interpretation, rather than forcing a specific view on the player. It’s a trait that is the hallmark of all good art: discussing important subject matters without personal subjectivity.

In Oscar you play as a young girl who hugs tight her companion, an elephant called Flynn. She is daydreaming and travelling through various environments, ranging from towns to forests. But underneath her fantast is a sinister air, dark figures and haunting sounds.

The game’s developer, Team Sharkeye, are a small group, passionate about explaining the psychology of childhood.  They are determined to create a meaningful experience, in stark contrast to the often mindless affairs of AAA games. Josh Long is a pioneer; pointing the way towards a deeper, more mature understanding of the medium. Oscar is an important title, one that could potentially steer the industry towards more meaningful experiences and a more vital involvement with culture and society.

We believe Oscar is worthy of your support. If you would like to contribute to the game’s crowdfunding, please visit the game’s website for more info and for details on the Kickstarter campaign.

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2D action platformer 10 Second Ninja has been garnering a lot of press attention of late, partly due to its premise, partly due to its excellent game design. Created by Dan Pearce and featuring  music by Tim Rurkowsi, 10 Second Ninja has you filling the shoes of a ninja killing Nazi robots whose leader, Robot Hitler, wants you dead. Basically it’s that dream I had the other week, but in video game form.

With 40 levels, each of which reward you out of three stars, there’s a lot of longevity to be had from 10 Second Ninja, and you’ll eat all of it up like a fat kid in a candy store (which was me 10 years ago). It’s addictive too; you won’t be able to resist the urge to try to get the top score and more stars, and a leaderboard with Steam friends means you’ll constantly be challenging one another. Looks like Dan Pearce has mastered the fine art of addictive game design.

10 Second Ninja uses both controller support and keyboard support. Keyboard support is a little difficult and requires a spot of trial and error to get used to, but after a while it’ll become second nature.

On the negative side, there are times when 10 Second Ninja can feel like a chore. You’ll get irritated occasionally as you try to get the top score and the stars necessary to unlock boss levels and move on to the next world. This, however, is just a small gripe.

10 Second Ninja is perfect both for those wanting a short fun gaming session and those wanting something longer. The only people who shouldn’t play this game are those who easily get addicted: you’ll never put it down.

OVERALL: 4.5 out of 5

visit the game site for more

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There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that you don’t have any dragons to slay nor any wars to wage. The bad news is that unless you gather enough resources to properly run your new found city, you’re going to fall victim to cholera. Welcome to Shining Rock Software’s new indie sim game, Banished.

Banished is one of the most absorbing games I’ve played in a long time. You’ll find yourself completely engrossed in the lives of the small band of people whom you are struggling to keep alive after your collective banishment. To survive, you’ll need to engage in resource gathering, population management, even maintaining morale.

Banished is a deep and complex game, which is why Shining Rock Software has provided tutorials to guide you through the basics. The game design makes it easy to get to grips with the mechanics. You view the world in top-down view, scrolling to see all parts of the game world. From this view you’ll manage your town and people, leading them, hopefully, towards a flourishing and vibrant community.

It’s the million little mechanics behinds Banished that make it such an excellent game. You’re in complete control of your town and need to run it like a professional developer, building roads for the transportation of goods, gathering all the resources you need, even creating clothes to keep your people warm.

Of course, the complexity wont be for everybody. If you like simpler experiences with clear-cut goals, Banished really isn’t for you. But if you like deep experiences with complex mechanics, games that demand you to really use your noggin, then you’ll be absolutely thrilled. There’s a ton of depth and longevity to be had from Banished, and it’s one of the best indie sims we’ve played in a long time.

Go grab yourself a copy of Banished; just be sure to manage your resources properly so you don’t end up with cholera.

LINK:   http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/

The post One Time I got Cholera. . . Banished Indie Game Review appeared first on GamePlayersReview: The New Age of Gaming.

Indie developer Joshua Corvinus from Sanik Bewn Software has high ambitions for his largest development yes, Shattered Sword. Now, before we get to the game, let’s commend Sanik Bewn for his ability not only to name a company off a Street Fighter move, but also to spell it precisely as Guile says it in Street Fighter X Tekken.

Actually, the company name is based off of Sonic games, which Sanik Bewn has created tons of mods for. So perhaps the best way to some up this platform-fighting game from “Sawnik Bewn” is with this gif. . .

Shattered Sword is a PC platform game with gameplay that is inspired by Soul Calibur and Super Smash Bros. The game is currently available in its alpha stage, and Corvinus is looking for some game testers to give it a whirl and provide feedback.

Shatter Sword is a simple yet elegant title about a war between different factions of a land called Alnekith. They’ve called off their all-out warfare and opted for a somewhat more genteel solution to the problem: a fighting tournament, held every six years, that will determine who rules the world—little bit like Mortal Kombat then, but without this bullshit. . .

Fairly certain the casting director is the one who died. . .

In Shattered Sword, you play as a participant in the tournament. You’ll play through a wide variety of stages and utilise different fighting techniques, which incorporate special moves like air-dashes, and a “tenacity meter,” which allows for dramatic comebacks and which fills as you take damage (basically it’s an ultra metre).

Shattered Sword is coming in 2015, but you can get in on the action now with the Alpha. We reckon Shattered Sword is worthy of your support. If you agree, grab the download and get playing.

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In Forma.8 you play as a little exploration probe that is stranded on an alien planet sometime in the future. The planet’s world is a lonely, isolated place. You’ve no text nor dialogue nor directives to help you work out where to go, so you’re left to explore the planet, solving puzzles and fighting foes as you (presumably) head back to the mother-ship.

Forma.8 is headed to Wii U, PS4, Mac, Linux, and PC. We reckon it’s worthy of your support, so head over to the game developers site for more.  Let us know what your thoughts are on this game and whether you’ll be supporting it on release, in a comment below. Obviously, if you want this game to succeed, remember to share this page to help market the game. THX.

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