Stuart, Author at Thumb Culture

20Jan

By StuartNo Comments

Shattered – Quest 3 Review

If you are looking for an incredible mixed-reality experience. Look no further than Shattered, a horror slash escape room. Developed by PlaySide Studios LTD and published by Oculus Publishing, released on the Quest 3 and 3S back at the start of December. You can grab it from the Meta store for £15.99. Escape From My Own Room! It's no shock that I love mixed-reality games on the Quest 3. I remember seeing the trailer for this and being super excited about it. So when I was offered the chance to review it, I just had to snap it up. Read on to find out what I enjoyed most about Shattered. Gameplay Shattered is essentially one large escape room experience. And as with all escape rooms, you are tasked with solving puzzles to progress through. It sounds straightforward enough, and possibly e...

Premier League Player VR – Quest 3 Preview

19Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Previews & Early Access, VR Reviews

Premier League Player VR – Quest 3 Preview

Premier League Player VR is the first ever officially licensed VR football game. Sounds like it should be a massive hit then. Least this is what I had hoped. Developed and published by Rezzil, a company that uses both XR and VR to help train in a number of sports, the game was released earlier in December. Rezzil aimed to give fans a glimpse into the on-pitch action from a footballer's perspective. Do they succeed, or should we leave them on the bench? I Don't Know Jeff! As a football fan, there is a lot of promise here, or at least there's a lot of potential for promise. Let's take a look and see just what to expect in Premier League Player VR. Gameplay When you first fire up Premier League Player VR you are greeted with a really brief tutorial. Hit the ball in the back of the net. So...

PowerA OPS V1 Wireless Controller Review

19Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

PowerA OPS V1 Wireless Controller Review

PowerA are a peripheral company that has grown in popularity over the years. Best known for their cheap alternatives to the official controllers on the market. With a number of brand collaborations including Super Mario, Pokemon and many many more. However, this review will concentrate on the PowerA OPS V1 Wireless Controller for Cloud Gaming - Fortnite Edition, to give it its full name. Where are we dropping? If you've never checked out the PowerA website I highly recommend that you do. There are so many great controllers on there, especially in the Fortnite range. Be careful though, they will take all of your money. Design The PowerA OPS V1 is an Xbox-style controller, with asymmetric thumbsticks and standard face buttons. It's comfortable and extremely light at less than 300g. On th...

Dog Man: Mission Impawsible – PS5 Review

18Dec

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Dog Man: Mission Impawsible – PS5 Review

There have been plenty of movie-to-game adaptations over the years—even game-to-movie. However, book-to-game seems to be a genre rarely experienced. Well developers Floor 84, publishers Mindscape and bestselling author Dav Pilkey have teamed up. They have become the Supa Buddies, well not quite but we'll get onto them soon! They have however released Dog Man: Mission Impawsible. Available across platforms, the game will cost you around £34.99. Woof Woof, Bark, Meow Meow In digital stores now you can pick up Dog Man: Mission Impawsible and dive into the comically adventurous world before the Dog Man movie hits cinemas in February 2025. Gameplay Firing up the game, you are greeted with familiar graphics, especially if you've read any of Dav Pilkey's books. Thankfully the middle child in ...

Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale Expansion – PS5 Review

18Dec

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale Expansion – PS5 Review

Disney Dreamlight Valley returns with a new expansion, The Storybook Vale. Published and developed by Gameloft, this adventure slash life simulation game has won the hearts of all Disney lovers. Being able to journey into a world inhabited by your favourite characters, I mean what isn't to love? With new content coming to the game at regular intervals, we were lucky enough to get access to the latest expansion. Available on all good platforms, the expansion pack will set you back about £24.99. For this review I played Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale on PlayStation 5. So just what is contained within this big expansion? We will give you a small glimpse into the magic surrounding The Storybook Vale. Once Upon A Time... It's clear that someone at Gameloft absolutely loves Di...

Maestro Secret Sorcery Pack – Quest 3 Review

17Dec

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

Maestro Secret Sorcery Pack – Quest 3 Review

Regular Thumb Culture readers and VR gamers may well remember that back in October I reviewed a little VR a rhythm game called Maestro. Which you can handily read here. Well the developers Double Jack are back with the Maestro Secret Sorcery Pack. An add on pack for Maestro with five new spell bounding orchestral pieces for you to conduct. The Maestro Secret Sorcery Pack is now available on the Meta Horizon Store for £6.99. Handel With Care Before you can play this pack you'll need to pick up the base Maestro game. And good news for you it is currently discounted to £15.99. Or pick up the Bundle for £19.99. But hurry, these offers are only available until 7th January, 2025. Now onto the review! Gameplay The Maestro Secret Sorcery Pack is the first add on pack from Double Jack. The ...

10Dec

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Razer Basilisk V3 Pro 35K Mouse Review

We love hardware here at Thumb Culture. We also really enjoy everything that Razer releases. Back at the start of November, we were gifted the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro 35k. To start, what a name, not something that rolls off the tongue but wow. This mouse represents something great from the Razer team, a combination of technology from some of the best-selling mice available. What does that really mean though? Shall we go and take a look? Razer-ing the Bar! I have only been using this mouse for just under a month now, but it's overtaken the previous mouse that had pride of place on my desk. Why is it such a great mouse though? There is so much to say about this one, so let's dive right in. Design The design follows the traditional shape of the Razer Basilisk range, with a slight lip where ...

WCML: Preston to Carlisle – TSW5 Add-On PC Review

6Dec

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

WCML: Preston to Carlisle – TSW5 Add-On PC Review

Hot on the heels of our news coverage of this latest update, we were offered the opportunity to go hands-on ourselves. So here we are, this is our review of the West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle DLC for Train Sim World 5. To give it its full title. A long trek to Shap Summit If you want to check out our review of the main game, head over here. Gameplay I've laid this DLC review out in the same was as our standard reviews. However, one difference will be that we will focus on purely what is entailed in the DLC. For the full review, head over to the link above. The WCML: Preston to Carlisle DLC will give you access to almost 100 miles of railway. All are based in the northwest of England, and you will be sent back in time to experience the best of the British Rail days. It fea...

29Nov

By StuartNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Master Leaf Blower – PC Preview

Ever wondered what it was like being a Master Leaf Blower? Well thanks to developers, Frix, now you can live out those dreams. Released on November 25th into Early Access, charge your batteries, grab your rake and get ready for an epic journey across multiple locations. Blow. Harder! Being a game in early access means that as it progresses towards a full 1.0 release the game can change. What we are doing now is taking a snapshot of what the game delivers. And boy does it deliver. Gameplay Master Leaf Blower starts off strong. Jumping into the game you are greeted with an awesome introduction. All delivered in a sweet comic book-style story. The story tells of a leaf blower who hands over the reins to you, an ordinary hobo on the streets. It's time to get your hi-viz, charge your batter...

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster – PS5 Review

28Nov

By StuartNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster – PS5 Review

Some gamers who are reading this will have played the original Dead Rising back when it was released in 2016. Some of you may be checking this out for the first time. Well, the latter are in luck! With the release of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, you get all the great bits about the original. Along with a splattering of added zhuzh! Releasing on Steam, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 we get to see Frank West in stunning detail thanks to a new Re-Engine. Busier than Black Friday If you are a fan of zombies with or without their heads, why not stick around and let us know whether you played the original? Gameplay This first bit of my review is going to be more for newcomers to the series, so feel free to skip ahead little veterans! So, a little bit about Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster ...