Finch, Author at Thumb Culture

13Dec

By FinchNo Comments

Ballionaire – PC Review

Time flies when you're having fun! It only feels like last week I was checking out Ballionaire's Steam Next Fest demo and now here I am reviewing the full game! Developed by newobject and published by Raw Fury, the game is available now on Steam for an introductory price of £9.99. Welcome fellow Ballionaires It's been just over a month since I spent my first 10 hours with the game on PC. With another 6 hours recorded, how vibrant is Ballionaire's full package? That's what I'm here to talk to you about. If you've played the Ballionarie demo, are you excited for the full drop? Let us know in the comments what has you bouncing off the walls to play! Gameplay Ballionaire confidently introduces itself as "a fast-paced, kinetic roguelike, where strategy meets physics to create outrageous...

Destiny 2: Episode Revenant Act 2 Review

25Nov

By FinchNo Comments

PC Reviews

Destiny 2: Episode Revenant Act 2 Review

Are you not entertained? Many in the Destiny community have felt the past two months linger. General sentiment for Episode: Revenant so far is low. The tonics system for loot makes Onslaught: Salvation feels lacklustre in the gameplay department. Narrative deployment has also shown cracks. Some players feel the story has few stakes, despite the enticing set-up of the Eliksni's "Kell of Kells" prophecy. With Act 2 now out, does nostalgia turn the page on this Episode for the better? Story Act 2 focuses on Fikrul's incursion of a long abandoned fan-favourite space: The Prison of Elders. First featured in Destiny 1, we first met Fikrul and the Scorn here during the Forsaken expansion six years ago. Now Fikrul is back to search the ancient ruins for something. It's down to us to go th...

11Nov

By FinchNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Ballionaire – PC Demo Preview

It's not surprising that indie game devs can create experiences that delight us consistently. Many indie projects in recent years have been a direct result of game jams during the pandemic years. However, what does surprise me is the growing genre of rogue-like score attack games that take influence from casinos. Ballionaire, created by newojbect and published by Raw Fury, aims to be one of the most cartoonish and fun in this emerging genre. The House always wins Vampire Survivors famously draws its repeatable gameplay loop and old-school graphics from casino psychology. We've seen Balatro and Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers bring poker and blackjack off the table and onto Steam Deck. Ballionaire adds penny drop machines/pachinko to the list, being self-described as a "fast-paced, kin...

Destiny 2: Episode Revenant Act 1 Review

14Oct

By FinchNo Comments

Features

Destiny 2: Episode Revenant Act 1 Review

Breaking the Ice Community sentiment around Destiny 2, and its developer, hasn't been the best since the release of The Final Shape expansion. As Act 1 of Episode 2: Revenant starts, is there enough for players to sink their teeth into? Grab your guns and hold fast to your Light, we're going alien vampire hunting. Changing of the Old Ways, yes? Potential story spoilers head for Act 1 of Revenant. Bungie is experimenting with the delivery of seasonal story content in this episode. All narrative content for each act in an episode will be available on launch week. Previously, story content was bulked out with weekly timegates or monotonous filler objectives. This leads to fatigue with story pacing, especially for those within the lore community. Bungie is hopeful this experiment wil...

Arachnophobia Accessibility is good, now let’s design better

8Oct

By Finch2 Comments

Features

Arachnophobia Accessibility is good, now let’s design better

Content Warning: If you have severe arachnophobia, be aware that while there are no images of spiders in this article, there may be descriptive language about them or their environment in games (eg. thick webbing, movement), please skip this article at your discretion. All spiders were virtually harmed in the making of this article. Posting Opinions on the World-Wide Web With Halloween drawing near, many people with arachnophobia - like myself - are dreading the month of October. I don't know which of the divine powers came up with the idea that spiders should exist, but our fascination with fear can make even a simple supermarket shopping trip, or MMO fetch quest, unbearable. Though they are kind of one in the same. Games have come a long way in helping mitigate that. The recent intr...