Mark Hudson, Author at Thumb Culture

27Feb

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

Goblins of Elderstone – PC Preview

Built using Unreal Engine 4 by Lost Goblin and Outerdawn Limited, Goblins of Elderstone is a city-building strategy game with a chaotic twist. Though it was released all the way back in January 2018, the game is still in early access. Shape The Future Of Your Goblins As the game is still in early access, this means the game still contains bugs, unbalanced mechanics and occasionally strange behaviour. With a modest 6/10 average score review on Steam, let's take a look and see what the devs have been up to for the last few years. Getting Started At it's core, Goblins of Elderstone is a city-building strategy game where you shape the future of your Goblins. Using your cunning, wits and smarts you must decide what your goals, morals and limitations are. We begin our journey with a backstor...

26Jan

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Forest Ranger Simulator – PC Preview

Forest Ranger Simulator is a brand new Kickstarter game all about saving nature. Currently under development by FreeMind Games - a Polish development team, release is planned for Q2 2023. So far the title has raised £2,582 of it's £7,550 goal, with 179 backers and 20 days to go. Check it out here; Forest Ranger Simulator Kickstarter. Stats as of 22nd Jan 2023, subject to change Gameplay Forest Ranger Simulator is a first person, exploration sim game about managing a forest. Play as a ranger, manage resources, pick up trash and tend to the environment in this relaxing and thought provoking experience. Played from the first person perspective, players control a pretty basic camera setup. A lack of character body animations means interacting with objects works similar to the old Oblivion...

Surviving the Aftermath: Shattered Hope – PC Review

13Dec

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Surviving the Aftermath: Shattered Hope – PC Review

Shattered Hope is the latest expansion for Surviving the Aftermath - the first being 'New Alliances'. The Shattered Hope DLC went live on Steam November 3rd 2022, building on the base game which launched October 19th 2019. Since quite a length of time has passed between the base game and the expansion, it makes you wonder what Iceflake Studios have been up to. Well, Shattered Hope brings a ton of new content, modifications and tweaks to the original game. Some of these are based on player feedback - it's refreshing to see a studio that listens to the players. Gameplay Surviving the Aftermath is a colony-sim survival game set in a post-apocalyptic future. Resources are scarce, colonists are valuable and danger is everywhere. The main goal is to create a sustainable settlement, bringing ba...

17Nov

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Ashina: The Red Witch – PC Review

Developed by Stranga Games, Ashina: The Red Witch is a casual 2D pixel puzzle game which hit Steam on 4th June 2022. With heavy elements of exploration, story-telling and adventure, Ashina offers a casual yet joyful single-player experience for all audiences. Available for PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One and Vita, the base game is priced at £7.19 with an optional stories bundle for just £5.00 more. Ashina: The Red Witch's ESRB rating is currently pending. About | Stranga Games Stranga is a solo indie developer based in New South Wales, and is responsible for titles such as Red Bow, Scared to Play and My Big Sister. All of these games are of similar style, and review very well. Being my first time hearing of Stranga, I'm excited to play Ashina: The Red Witch. Story "Join Ash on the journe...

3Nov

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Marauders – PC Preview

Under development by Small Impact Games and published by Team17, Marauders is a tactical FPS multiplayer "looter shooter" set in space. Now in early access, Marauders is accessible via Steam. There is no official date yet for when this title will leave early access. Hopefully it doesn't stay in early access for years, which seems to be the latest trend in PC gaming. Small Impact Games? Small Impact Games - aka 'SIG' were unknown to me when I picked up this review, so I did a bit of research... Turns out that SIG have some serious experience in working on AAA titles, though it appears to mainly be third party projects, as I couldn't find an original title. Could Marauders see SIG burst onto the scene? Story Marauders features a pretty unique backstory, which is a welcome addition amongs...

5Oct

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Tin Hearts – PC Preview

Tin Hearts has been lovingly created by Rogue Sun, published by Wired Productions and will release soon on Steam for PC. In this 3D puzzler, players "Guide a troop of tin soldiers through a magical toy-filled world, in this immersive puzzle adventure game from members of the team that brought you Fable." Lionhead Studios?! Yes, you did read that right. Rogue Sun is comprised of ex Lionhead Studios developers - the team who brought us the legendary Fable franchise. When Microsoft chose to shutdown Lionhead in 2016, it was a blow felt by all gamers, sparking controversy still talked about today. Seeing the developers back in action is fantastic, but this certainly adds a level of expectation to the title. Will Tin Hearts meet those expectations? Well, if Gamescom 2022 is anything to go by ...

11Sep

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Tiny Troopers: Global Ops – PC Preview

Tiny Troopers: Global Ops is a fast-paced arcade twin-stick shooter which is due to be launched on Steam, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation. Starting out life on mobile, how will the game translate to console and PC? Well, lets take a look at this early access PC edition! This title was developed by Epiphany Games, Kukouri Mobile Entertainment and published by Wired Productions. Fire At Will... Which one's Will?! Tiny Troopers: Global Ops is full to the brim with some of the best humour I've seen in a video game. Listen out for the enemy's jokes and let me know below which one's your favourite. Welcome to TALON. That's short for; Tactical, Armour, Logistics, Operations and Negotiations. Apparently we're some kind of mercenary team, up for hire to any government with a mess to clean up a...

2Aug

By Mark Hudson1 Comment

PC Reviews

Retreat To Enen – PC Review

Retreat to Enen is an exciting new first-person survival game. Set in the distant future, humanity has barely survived its own extinction - brought on by war, pollution and self-interest. Survivors now try to coexist with nature, desperate not to repeat their mistakes... too little, too late? Releasing on August 5th 2022, Retreat to Enen is under development by Head West, and will be available to play on PC via Steam. Craft, Build & Hunt Sent to survive alone on some tropical island, you must prove yourself to be on with nature. Craft, gather and hunt responsibility in order to survive and thrive. Gameplay Similar to games like ARK, Rust, Conan Exiles and Valheim, at its core Retreat to Enen is a simple gather & craft game. The unique twist in Retreat to Enen is you're trying t...

2Aug

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Autonauts vs Piratebots – Preview

Autonauts vs Piratebots is a simulation strategy game developed by Denki Ltd and published by Curve Games. With a release date set for July 28, Thumb Culture gets a sneak peak and an early look at the game. Autonauts... Automate! "Grave news! Piratebots are kidnapping Autonauts and taking over our automated settlements! Only you can remove the invaders, recover your resources and resume control!" Side note: Did you know the devs for this one are based in Scotland? What a beautiful place to create games! Anyway, on with the show... Gameplay First up, the tutorial. Autonauts vs Piratebots is a little heavy on the reading, particularly in the earlier stages of the game. The intro tutorial can get a little bit long and frustrating at times, although there is a lot to learn so best pay a...

28Jul

By Mark HudsonNo Comments

PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Zombie Cure Lab – PC Preview

Zombie Cure Lab is a new sandbox lab builder developed by Thera Bytes GmbH and published by Aerosoft GmbH. Gather, build and survive the ever-growing waves of zombie hordes in this Colony Sim/Base Building/RTS mashup. Friends, NOT Foe! As the title might suggest, Zombie Cure Lab sees players capture and cure - not kill, zombies. So zombies are... friends...? An unusual twist on the concept of zombie games. One that I for one couldn't wait to try out! Join me below to see my thoughts on how this concept played out in the early access demo. Gameplay As with most RTS base builders, players must manage resources and workers as well as survive enemy waves whilst building & expanding their base. Resources include food, wood, stone and metal - all the usual things we've come to expect fro...