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Thumb Culture: Lastest Gaming Reviews, Gaming News and New Games across all platforms. Ad-free articles allowing you to read uninterrupted at your own pace.

Thumb Culture Game Of The Year
Gaming, News & Updates

Thumb Culture Game Of The Year

2023 is perhaps one of the best years for gaming we have had in quite some time. So much so that I imagine our 2024 list will be l packed with games we are still catching up on from 2023. So many great games it was extremely difficult for us here at Thumb Culture to pick just one that stood apart from the rest and take the top spot. With great difficulty, we managed it! Thank you all, the readers so much for supporting Thumb Culture, here’s to another great year in gaming. Tom - Lil Gator Game I honestly expected spider man 2 to be my personal game of the year In a year with already lots of competition, but out from the shadows crept Alan wake 2. Chapter after chapter I felt my love for the game increasing and increasing…and then suddenly, my partner recommended, I play “lil gat...
Indie Cup ’23
Gaming, News & Updates

Indie Cup ’23

Disappointed by The Game Awards this year? Here's a fantastic alternative where you can explore actual indie titles! Indie Cup The Indie Cup started in 2016 and originally focused on independent developers based in Eastern Europe; it focused here primarily because the founders are from Ukraine. This version continued from 2016 to 2022 with an increasing number of participating countries. In 2022 the event was relaunched as a global celebration of independently developed games, with dedicated editions including the UK, Germany and Canada. Over the past seven years, they've managed to showcase an incredible 2,300 indie titles! Indie Cup's mission was to build a digital space that supports and celebrates the many talented and hardworking people creating amazing games. Because games ta...
Tin Hearts VR – PSVR 2 Preview
Gaming

Tin Hearts VR – PSVR 2 Preview

Tin Hearts VR is brought to us by developer Rogue Son, consisting of former lionhead studios members famous for the fable series, and published by Wired Productions, who also published one of my favourite games of last year, Arcade Paradise. Tin with some dents Back in June of this year, Mal published his review of Tin Hearts on the PS5, the flat-screen version of the game. He cited, “Definitely give this one a go if you love a simplistic emotional journey and challenging and clever puzzles.” Awarding the game a platinum award. After talking to him, he felt a VR version would be a great way to experience the game. Hopping in for the first time myself, is it? Gameplay Tin Hearts VR is a puzzle game first and foremost, with some light story elements on the side. The puzzles themselve...
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – PS5 Review
Gaming, PlayStation Reviews

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty – PS5 Review

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a massive expansion for the main game Cyberpunk 2077 released by game developers CD Projekt Red on 27th September. The expansion now offers up a whole new standalone story to that offered up in Cyberpunk 2077. I got a chance to take a closer look at the expansion and all it has to offer. Be warned, minor spoilers follow: TAKING LIBERTIES I grew to love the Cyberpunk 2077 universe fully only in recent months. Initially, I was deterred at first by its rough patch on release. Having followed its roadmap to its present state I'm now eager to play this new expansion. How can it improve and move the story forward? What new things has the developers included in it? If you are the same and love the game comment below! GAMEPLAY This addition to the Cyb...
Verbatim PMT-17 Portable Monitor Review
Gaming

Verbatim PMT-17 Portable Monitor Review

I've always wondered about portable monitors and how they would actually work in the real world. With my work having me travel all over the country, often staying in hotel rooms with locked TVs, the appeal was intriguing. Queue the Verbatim PMT-17. More Than Meets The Eye When we were contacted and asked if we wanted to give the Verbatim PMT-17 Portable Monitor a test, I raised my hand and put my name forward. So sit back and relax as I try and portray how amazing an experience this was for me. Design In a very unassuming box, with just the image of the contents and a few details about the monitor. The Verbatim PMT-17 sits a bit like a spider, waiting for you to get too close before sinking its teeth into you. Okay, maybe not like a spider, but as soon as I opened the box I was drawn i...
No Sun To Worship – PC Review
Gaming, PC Reviews

No Sun To Worship – PC Review

No Sun To Worship is an action-adventure stealth game where you use your environment to your advantage to eliminate targets while avoiding varying obstacles along the way. Developed by Antonio Freyre and published by Merlino Games, a mostly-solo Mexican developer, their other titles include Chameleon, It Comes In Waves, and Luckily My Arm Is a Shotgun. No Sun To Worship hits Steam on September 15th of this year. Patience is key Gameplay At the start of No Sun To Worship, a small clip that looks from 1942 of a man going on about how humanity has turned on itself. Once the cutscene has finished, the game begins immediately. There isn't any explanation of who you are or why you're here. You play an Assassin whose main objective seems to be hunting down targets and taking them out. These ...
Wayfinder Early Access – PS5 Preview
Gaming, Previews & Early Access

Wayfinder Early Access – PS5 Preview

Wayfinder Early Access Preview - Massive promise, minimal multiplayer, sometimes online. Wayfinder, from developer Airship Syndicate, was launched into early access on August 17th, 2023 on PS5 and Steam. However, the “access” part of the game didn’t arrive until a day later when a queue was introduced to help alleviate stress on the servers, as of the time of writing (24/08/2023)  you are still required to queue for hours to get access to the game. Despite the developers framing the game as an MMO, you will be disappointed if you come into the game expecting a rival to Final Fantasy XIV or World Of Warcraft. Wayfinder is as much MMO as Destiny or Warframe, which makes sense considering the latter comes from the same publisher. Sure you may have your hub world where you can see other pl...
Ashina The Red Witch – PS5 Review
Gaming, PlayStation Reviews

Ashina The Red Witch – PS5 Review

The first game I played by solo indie dev Stranga Games was My Big Sister on PSVita. I loved its story, characters, and its replayability for alternate endings. Ashina The Red Witch is a canon prequel to that game and I've been eagerly awaiting its launch on PlayStation platforms. Ashina The Red Witch - No Life In The Afterlife Originally released on PC in June 2022, the console port arrives on August 25th, 2023 with the help of publisher Ratalaika Games. It will be available to play on PS5, PS4, Xbox and Switch. Gameplay Players take on the role of Ashina who must journey into the afterlife to search for her sister Tena, and find a way back home. Along this journey, you meet a lot of characters and begin to piece together what has brought you to this mysterious realm. Exploring...
My Friendly Neighborhood – PC Review
Gaming, PC Reviews

My Friendly Neighborhood – PC Review

My Friendly Neighborhood was developed by John & Evan Szymanski and published with the help of Dreadxp. Begin investigating an abandoned film that has begun broadcasting again in this new survival horror. Released on the 18th of July this year, players can pick it up on Steam for £24.99. There's a lesson here What caught my eye with My Friendly Neighborhood is it looked fresh and unique compared to many other horror games. Yeah. I understand that fighting against undead creatures or grotesque science experiments is scary. But it's nice to see some developers trying to make cute things into more dark and twisted variants. Some examples that come to mind are Bendy And The Ink Machine and, more recently, Poppy's Playtime. Unlike the other games mentioned, My Friendly Neighborhood isn't ...
Magenta Horizon – PC Review
Gaming, PC Reviews

Magenta Horizon – PC Review

Today we'll be looking at Magenta Horizon, a Metroidvania from one-man developer Hellfire Railway Interactive and published by YouTuber turned indie game micro-publisher 2 Left Thumbs. Magenta Horizon is available now for PC via Steam and will cost £8.29/$10.99. Don't Fear The Reaper Magenta Horizon is a Hollow Knight-esque Metroidvania, where you play as Gretel, a Reaper looking to make her way back to the Nest Sanctuary after her exile. Along the way you'll rescue lost souls, find new upgrades and of course, fight hordes of monsters, demons and bosses. It's a fast-paced action game that'll keep you on your... thumbs? Yeah, we'll go with that. Gameplay After choosing the difficulty, you start the game with the coffin of Gretel being stumbled upon by an old Scottish fella called...