Stuart, Author at Thumb Culture

Sherlock Holmes: Phantom’s Hour – PC Review

27Nov

By StuartNo Comments

Sherlock Holmes: Phantom’s Hour – PC Review

After the last review of an online escape room experience from Wolf Escape Games, Hallows Hill, we wanted to see what their newest offering was like. Thankfully the team over there are incredibly friendly and offered us a code for their newest experience. Queue Sherlock Holmes: Phantom's Hour. Elementary...apparently. What happens when a team of wannabe detectives from the TC team all band together? Read on to found out how they got on. Gameplay I won't go into the ins and outs of how a Wolf Escape Game works. Instead, I recommend checking out Jason's review of the Hallows Hill experience here. Right, you're back, now on discovering all about Sherlock Holmes: Phantom's Hour. When a stranger writes to you, the infamous Sherlock Holmes, accused of something they haven't done, you ...

22Nov

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

EXOcars – Quest 3 Review

Developed by Xocus and published by Joy Way. EXOcars allows you to compete against real players in single-player races as well as real-time multiplayer. It is available on the Meta Quest Store now for £15.99. Our main question though, does it give anything new to the VR racing genre? Kiss Hug Cars VR buggies, multiple tracks, leaderboards, customisation. Sounds promising right? Well, let's dive into the gameplay a bit more and see what you think. Gameplay EXOcars has a very simple play loop. Select a track, and race as fast as you can to the finish line. Rinse and repeat. It sounds like this might be a very basic game, but fear not. Under the hood of this game is a detailed racing sim. Racing these buggies is a challenge, but drifting around corners and obstacles soon becomes second na...

22Nov

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

Bounce Arcade – Quest 3 Review

Bounce Arcade channels all things pinball to bring an immersive and exciting experience. Developed by Velan Studios, it is out now on the Meta Quest store. Pinball, but not as we know it Costing £15.99 on the Quest store, will this be worth your pennies, or should you save them for your local arcade? Let's find out! Gameplay Firing up Bounce Arcade you are thrown into the tutorial, showing you the game's basic mechanics. Essentially you hold two big shields to propel the balls into the arena. Aim for all the little nooks and crannies to build up your score and multiplier. For anyone who's ever played a pinball table, you are the flickers. Once you've got through the basic tutorial you then find yourself at the main menu. With each of the levels in front of you to choose from. Th...

21Nov

By Stuart1 Comment

VR Reviews

Wall Town Wonders – Quest 3 Review

Developed by Cyborn, this mixed-reality simulation will turn your living room into a miniature town. So do you want to be a big fish in a little pond—even a big cop in a little village? Wall Town Wonders might be just what you want to play. Releasing this week, the game aims to deliver a fun immersive experience. Does it deliver? Well, read on and find out. Wall to Wall Fun! Does Wall Town Wonders give an experience unlike anything else, or does it just look to replicate other mixed-reality games in the genre? Let's take a look and find out. Gameplay While playing Wall Town Wonders you will just make use of your hands rather than the Quest controllers, to interact and engage with your town. It really is a simplistic control method, but it opens up so many gameplay mechanics that keep t...

19Nov

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

Metro Awakening VR – Quest 3 Review

Rejoice, the Metro franchise returns, but this time with an all-new immersive story. Join us as we dive into the tunnels of Metro Awakening VR! Developed and published by Vertigo Games, along with Deep Silver and Dmitry Glukhovsky we get to grips with the origin story of Khan. KHAAAAAAAAANNNN... If you're a fan of the series then you are going to love this! Designed and written exclusively for VR, this aims to be the most immersive Metro experience yet. How does it deliver? Well let's take a look. Gameplay It's hard to talk about a VR game without giving away too much of what you will experience. Let's be honest: You don't want to have your run-through spoilt by me telling you all about what you are going to do. Instead, I will attempt to be as vague as possible but at the same time gi...

Dumb Ways: Free For All – Quest 3 Review

15Nov

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

Dumb Ways: Free For All – Quest 3 Review

Are you looking for a new party game to dive into? Well Dumb Ways: Free For All might be just what you're looking for! From the wonderful minds at PlaySide Studios comes a game based on the viral Australian public campaign to promote railway safety from 2012. Honestly if you haven't checked out the song, or have no idea what it is, go and check it out here. So it can be stuck in your head, just as it is in mine! Not So Dumb If You Play This Whilst the game's name says Free For All, unfortunately, it isn't free for anyone. At £15.99 on the Meta store, it's a small price to pay for a lot of fun. Wait. I should get you to read the review before I give you my overall thoughts. Gameplay With over 50 mini-games to play over two destinations. Dumb Ways: Free For All has a lot of content to ge...

14Nov

By StuartNo Comments

VR Reviews

DIG VR – Quest 3 Review

The day has come, it's finally here! DIG VR releases today! Developed by Just Add Water and published by Wired Productions this simulation-come-sandbox game aims to accurately recreate sitting in a digger. Don't worry, this review isn't a copy and paste, it's straight from the hands of the person who's been looking forward to this since it got announced. When you are at the bottom, Keep DIGging! A bonus of VR is being able to play wire-free, which also gives you the ability to find your most comfy chair. So, sit back and enjoy playing this joyous game. Can you tell I enjoyed it yet? Gameplay When you first fire up the game and take your first virtual steps, you are greeted with a comprehensive tutorial. This takes you through the controls, how to move the digger, and how to manipulate ...

4Nov

By StuartNo Comments

PC Reviews

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – PC Review

It's that time of year again when the latest Call of Duty game gets released. When all the gamers out there get overly excited and pick it up. This year falls on Treyarch, well actually Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, and Demonware. Bringing to life the latest in the Black Ops lineage, with Black Ops 6. Call of Duty is a Spy Thriller? With this, the first Call of Duty game being released on day one via Xbox Game Pass. Meaning there are potentially more eyes on the game than ever before. We need to find out whether this latest version of the world-famous franchise is up to scratch. Gameplay I won't start this section and treat you like you know nothing about the game. Let's face it, if you are unaware of Call o...

31Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Features, Gaming For All

Thumb Soldiers – Accessibility For All

If you've been gaming for some time, you have probably seen accessibility products doing the rounds. Companies claim their products help people with accessibility issues, but many fall short. Now I will tell you right now, I am a perfectly able-bodied gamer. Albeit I wear glasses to play. My partner is a disabled gamer but again her accessibility needs are not physical. I love gaming and I am an advocate for bringing gaming to everyone. A dream that David Chapman, the Inventor and Founder of Thumb Soldiers sought to bring to reality. No Fingers All Thumb...Soldiers I could fill out the whole article with the backstory of the product, explaining why David created the Thumb Soldiers, what inspired him originally, and where it ended up. But that would just be a boring reiteration of their w...

24Oct

By StuartNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

UGREEN Uno Series Released

UGREEN recently revealed their Uno Series, and we were lucky enough to get some hands-on time with some of the range. Join me as we check out three of the products in the line up, with a further article with an unreleased product coming soon. Bear in mind not all of these products are available on the UK UGREEN site, but we are working with UGREEN to find out when they will hit this side of the sea. UNO REVERSE Advertised as Fast & Fun accessories for the iPhone 16 line up, I can confirm that they work just as well with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. UGREEN Uno 6-in-1 USB-C HUB The first product from the UGREEN Uno Series is one of the cheapest, coming in with an RRP of $19.99. It offers a multi-port option for plugging into your current laptop or computer. Expand your connectivity...