Paul Wright, Author at Thumb Culture

11Sep

By Paul WrightNo Comments

Goodbye Volcano High – PS5 Review

Cast your minds back, all the way to mid-2020. Sony unveiled the PlayStation 5 with a showcase featuring 25 games. Since then, 22 games have come and gone leaving just 3 remaining, until now. Goodbye Volcano High finally reached us on 29th August 2023. Was it worth the wait? Developed and published by Canadian team KO_OP, who've previously worked on GNOG (2017) and Winding Worlds (2020), this represents a foray into heavily story based content. I've been waiting on this for a while with the hopes it will fill the current Life is Strange shaped hole in my heart. Dilemmas & Dinosaurs I can't believe it's already been a year since Love. Pop. Panic! (formerly We Are OFK) released, and I'm glad to have another mix of narrative and musical elements to sink into. Gameplay Goodbye Volca...

Back To School? Save Up To 30% With Trust

25Aug

By Paul WrightNo Comments

News & Updates

Back To School? Save Up To 30% With Trust

Digital lifestyle company Trust has kicked off its 2023 back-to-school sale with savings available on a wide range of peripherals. Keyboards, mice, webcams and more have had their price cut by up to 30% so if you're in the market for a new piece of kit or an upgrade, read on to see what's on offer. Back to Savings with Back to School The Back To School Sale runs from 16th August to 5th September 2023. See below for details of the products included. What're Ya Sellin'? Keyboards and Mice We're starting off by looking at some desk peripherals. There are 2 keyboard and mice bundles included in the sale. The ODY Deskset is a wireless set on sale at £16.49 and the Comfort Trezo, also wireless, is available for £24.99. These 2 sets are relatively similar, with the Comfort Trezo edging out i...

Zero Latency Launch VR Competition Worth $15k

17Aug

By Paul WrightNo Comments

News & Updates

Zero Latency Launch VR Competition Worth $15k

Celebrating 3 million players and its ongoing partnership with Vive, Zero Latency is launching a global VR gaming competition with a top prize of $15,000. Champions of the Undead will pit players worldwide against each other in the massively popular VR Arcade Shooter, Undead Arena. Have you got what it takes? World War Z-ero Zero Latency has been working with HTC Vive for the past 10 years, bringing cutting-edge technology to players worldwide. As global leaders in immersive entertainment, they now operate 70+ venues in 25+ countries. The Champions of the Undead tournament is another step in bringing audiences thrilling experiences they can't get elsewhere. They recently rolled out the HTC Vive Focus 3, a wireless headset - without a backpack or sensors - capable of streaming 5K content....

14Aug

By Paul WrightNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Venba – PS5 Review

As far as cooking games go, there's plenty in the market focused solely on re-creating the mechanics of cooking in a step-by-step sequence or on time and resource management challenges. Whilst Venba is at its core a cooking puzzle game, it also brings with it a robust and emotional narrative. This is the debut release from Canadian-based Visai Studios which aim to tell intimate stories through interesting mechanics. Join me below as we take a look at one of my most highly anticipated games of 2023. Venba - Cooking Amma What's your favourite Indian dish? Sound off with your recipes in the comments! Gameplay The game begins in the 1980s, Venba and Paavalan have recently moved to Canada due to some tension back home in India regarding their relationship. Venba has been feeling unwell...

Rightfully, Beary Arms – PC Early Access Preview

27Jul

By Paul WrightNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Rightfully, Beary Arms – PC Early Access Preview

Today I'm going to be looking at a new rogue-lite title from a small indie development team. Rightfully, Beary Arms - the debut title from Daylight Basement Studio - is launching into Early Access on July 27th and I've been playing it over the past couple of weeks to take a look at what's on offer so far. The Right To Beary Arms If Rogue-type games are your thing, you can also check out some other titles we've written about here, here or here. Gameplay At its core, Rightfully, Beary Arms is a twin-stick bullet-hell rogue-lite. This means you're going to be facing waves of enemies through randomly generated maps until you win or get killed, rinse and repeat. It's a very marmite genre, but I really enjoy the gameplay loop of learning how to deal with different enemies, figuring out what ...

19Jul

By Paul WrightNo Comments

PC Reviews

Lakeburg Legacies – PC Review

Newton's Third Law states "For every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction". Imagine you're playing Jenga. Each block removed from the tower solves your current problem but adds a potential future issue. Now, imagine that each Jenga block has a thread linked to 2 or 3 other blocks. When one moves, the others are affected, and the effects cascade further and further. Oh, and the blocks are on fire. Welcome to Lakeburg Legacies! This juggling act of a Social Management sim is developed and published by French studio Ishtar Games, who have a strong background in the genre. Lakeburg Legacies - All's fair in love and resource management I first covered this game briefly in my 4 Games Still To Come In 2023 article last month which you can check out here. I'm hoping to br...

G-MASTER G2470HSU 24″ Gaming Monitor Review

18Jul

By Paul WrightNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

G-MASTER G2470HSU 24″ Gaming Monitor Review

I've spent the past week or so using the G-Master G2470HSU monitor to see how it stacks up. This is a monitor aimed at the gaming crowd, offering up a lightning-fast, 165Hz IPS panel. Join me below as I take a look at what Iiyama has delivered with this display from their Red Eagle line. Baby, Don't (165) Hertz Me What's In The Box? First of all, let's talk about what you're getting when you unpack the G-Master G2470HSU. You get the monitor - handy - and stand along with both HDMI and Display Port cables, a USB A to USB B cable, documentation, and the power supply. It's been over a year since I bought a monitor, but I don't remember getting both kinds of cable included when I did, so this is a nice touch from Iiyama. All the cables supplied are 1.8m long. Whilst the monitor I am revie...

15Jun

By Paul WrightNo Comments

PC Reviews

Trouble Juice – PC Review

Do you want some quick and juicy fun? No, I'm not about to tell you there are hot singles in your area. I'm going to tell you about a new release from indie developer dietzribi. Trouble Juice is a rogue-like, twin-stick, 2D side-scrolling platformer featuring some questionable beverages. The fast-action gameplay is loosely wrapped in the premise of a Hunger Games-like competition, broadcast across the Universe. Your character will be attempting to clear numerous waves of enemies and fight bosses, all to be crowned champion and achieve their goals. Forget Hunger Games, welcome to the Thirsty Games A brief aside before we dive into Trouble Juice. The first commercial game from dietzribi, Toodee and Topdee, has recently been released on PlayStation. You can find my review of the PC r...

13Jun

By Paul WrightNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Dordogne – PS5 Review

Developer Un Je Ne Sais Quoi and Production Company Umanimation bring us the narrative adventure game, Dordogne. Based in the French Department of the same name, Dordogne primarily tells the story of Mimi. Mimi is a 32-year-old woman revisiting her recently deceased grandmother's home in an attempt to recover lost memories of the last summer she spent there 20 years earlier. The inspiration for the game is in part from Game Director and Illustrator Cédric Babouche's own childhood summers spent at his grandmother's house. Babouche, who has worked in animation for 15 years, is exploring video games as a storytelling medium for the first time with Dordogne. He states he was drawn to the medium's relative freedom as opposed to the confines present in developing for TV and cinema. Dordogn...

7Jun

By Paul WrightNo Comments

Features

4 Games Still To Come In 2023

With Showcase season almost upon us, I wanted to put the spotlight on a few games that I'm excited about. Below, you'll find 4 games made by teams of varying sizes, but all of which look to have the utmost passion and care being poured into their development. Whilst none of these have confirmed release dates yet, they are all expected to launch in 2023. Feast Your Eyes and Prepare Your Wallets I hope this list gives you something to add to your wishlists. Though, if your lists look anything like mine, there may not be room. I expect that come the end of June they'll be many more games vying for spots too - it's such a fantastic time of year for gamers! Paper Trail Developer: Newfangled Games Publisher: Newfangled Games You'll Like This If You Like: Carto, Monument Valley, Gorogoa...