Jason, Author at Thumb Culture

5Oct

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX Review

Back at the start of 2022, I reviewed the be quiet! Dark Rock TF 2 CPU Cooler, review link here! Comprising of 2 amazingly stealthy 135mm Silent Wings, this beast of a heatsink lowered my CPU temps amazingly. My only issue was the size of the unit, as it made releasing the GPU tricky due to it covering the release lever. While I'm not the sort of person who changes their GPU that often, I was keen to see how a liquid-cooled system would be in comparison. From fitment and aesthetics to performance. When be quiet! kindly sent me their Pure Loop 2 FX All-in-One to have a play with, I was like a child at Christmas! Liquid Cooling Baby! Would the Pure Loop 2 FX cool my CPU down further and allow me to reclaim some of the space from the motherboard? Read on! Design be quiet!'s Pure...

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition – PC Review

8Sep

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition – PC Review

Probably one of the most anticipated games of the year for me. Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, by devs Nightdive Studios and Apogee Software, is an insane first-person shooter that was first released back in 1994 for the PC. I'm a Freight Train O' Death The reason that I got excited at this remastered 4K version was not only for all of the included content, but for the nostalgia that it was hopefully going to bring back to me. Back in the 90's my PC could just about run Rise of the Triad using MS-DOS. Furthermore, I had fond memories of my father playing it constantly due to the multiple weapons, gore and intricate puzzle-solving level design. You have to remember that back then, these kinds of games were still groundbreaking. The market for 3D shooters was on the rise followin...

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code – Switch Review

28Jul

By JasonNo Comments

Switch Reviews

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code – Switch Review

Fancy solving a mystery? Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, out now on Nintendo Switch, is a dark fantasy detective action game from devs Spike ChunSoft. With a mixture of humour, drama and surrealism, are you ready to unravel this single-player 3D anime story? This is my truth! While I love a good mystery, I have never really played any recent anime games. I was intrigued to see what I had been missing all these years. With fresh, but older eyes, what would I make of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code? Gameplay Beginning with a cutscene, your character Yuma Kokohead races to board a train that is travelling to a city known as Kanai Ward. Making it just in time you discover that you have amnesia and do not remember exactly who you are or what you are doing. You meet a bunch of...

20Jul

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max Review

When it comes to summer and gaming, I find that there needs to be a compromise somewhere along the line. After all, the Great British summer is hit and miss at the best of times, therefore any pleasant nights that we have, we tend to want to be outdoors. While making the most of the warm evenings, enjoying a beverage, eating and socialising with family and friends is pretty much my summer dream, how about a bit of outdoor gaming to throw into the mix? What if I told you that there was a way that you could enjoy gaming anywhere you wanted? Regardless of being close to a plug socket? Behold the EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station! Off-grid gaming....to the max! When I was asked if I would like to test out a Portable Power Station that could output 230v, I was in awe. With my m...

2Jun

By JasonNo Comments

Switch Reviews

Garden Simulator – Switch Review

Attention all green-fingered and single-player casual gamers! Garden Simulator is out now on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Developed by PRODUKTIVKELLER Studios, who seemingly like to shout their name out loud, it is time to have some fun carrying out virtual gardening. To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow While gardening in real life is seen as a fairly chilled-out affair (most of the time), I was intrigued to see how the past time would translate to the digital world. Granted there would be no sweat, dirty hands or knees as well as vicious cuts from pruning roses! Gameplay In a nutshell, the idea of Garden Simulator is to make the most of your patch of land. You have inherited a cabin with a garden in the woods. With only one area unlocked, to begin with. You must ...

11May

By JasonNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Park Beyond – PC Preview

Fans of Theme Park, rejoice! Park Beyond by devs Limbic Entertainment and publishers Bandai Namco possibly have the fix that you have been seeking! Out across PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC on 16th June, are you ready to create the ultimate theme park? Become the Theme Park Master! I have been fortunate to have had a play on Park Beyond prior to the closed beta. Was it the thrilling "off the rails" game I was hoping for? Would it invoke my past Theme Park memories? Let's find out. Gameplay The preview that I played included the first 3 missions of the campaign and some time on Exploration Park within the sandbox mode. Upon loading up Park Beyond I had an inclination as to what I was expecting. Some sort of walled grassy area where I could deploy rides and connect with paths. Rig...

Nitro Concepts X1000 Gaming Chair: Transformers Decepticon Edition Review

11May

By Jason2 Comments

Hardware & Tech

Nitro Concepts X1000 Gaming Chair: Transformers Decepticon Edition Review

With the forthcoming release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts only a month away, Nitro Concepts have brought out a range of officially licensed Transformers Nitro Concepts X1000 gaming chairs. There are 3 variations to choose between. From a very bold blue, red and black Optimus Prime chair; an Autobots Edition primarily in black, with red accents and a silver stitched decal of Optimus Prime; and finally a Decepticons Edition that is also in black with purple accents and a decal as before with Megatron. Come on, Decepticon punk! I have been fortunate to have been sent a Decepticons Edition to review. Let's see how it looks and feels up close and personal! Design & Build Arriving in a fairly large cardboard box, I could not wait to open it up and check out all of the conte...

Unheard: Voices of Crime Edition – Switch Review

5May

By JasonNo Comments

Switch Reviews

Unheard: Voices of Crime Edition – Switch Review

Unheard: Voices of Crime Edition by devs NExT Studios and published by 505 Games is an interesting game that mainly uses sound as its primary game mechanic. Available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, I was fortunate enough to put my ears to the test on the Switch version. Being the first time on console, as it has been out on PC since 2019, I felt that this could be a good handheld game to get stuck into. Stop, Look, and Listen. Playing as an acoustic detective. Do you have what it takes to solve the mysteries that are about to be presented to you? Gameplay Unheard: Voices of Crime is a 2D top-down game that presents itself on a single screen. In a nutshell, you play a detective that needs to revisit crime scenes and answer questions about what has happened. It is e...

24Apr

By JasonNo Comments

Switch Reviews

Contraptions 2 – Switch Review

Contraptions 2 is a 2D puzzle game by devs Moragami Co., Ltd and published by Funbox Media & GS2 Games Inc. Available from 27th April, it is the follow-up to the first iteration that was released back in 2019. Available on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, the concept is to find the physics-based solution in order to eliminate the monsters on the screen. Having not played a game like this since Jeff Tunnell's The Incredible Machine back in 1992 I could not wait to get started! Contraptions 2 - Testing That Brain! Once in a while, a game comes along and it just drains away time. Contraptions 2 is one of them! I have been lucky enough to play it on the Nintendo Switch and I do not know where my evenings have gone. Gameplay Although relatively easy to grasp, Contraptions 2 reli...

19Apr

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

OTXO – PC Review

OTXO by devs Lateralis, incidentally latin for "sideways movement", is a single-player, top-down, violent shooter with rogue-lite elements, whereby, upon death, some of your progression is carried over. OTXO - Maximum Overkill! Playing as a super-manic character, you innocently put a mask on and are whisked away to a strange mansion. Searching for your lost love that has been taken from you, can you survive the onslaught of enemies that stand in your way and rescue her? You need to kill pretty much everyone inside the building in order to progress and venture further. Playable on either controller or keyboard and mouse, let's get cracking! Gameplay OTXO, pronounced Oh-Cho, is a simple monochrome 2D retro-looking pixel game that, similar to the movie Sin City, highlights items such...