TC Staff Writer, Author at Thumb Culture

Arise: A Simple Story – Beautiful, Breathtaking and Brilliant

3Dec

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Arise: A Simple Story – Beautiful, Breathtaking and Brilliant

There is a long running debate about games being art. This conversation peaks when pinnacle games are released and then squashed when monetising trash plagues our systems. However, Arise: A Simple Story, a puzzle adventure developed by Piccolo, is the newest and one of the strongest arguments for the medium being a true art form. Gameplay Arise: A Simple Story tells a beautiful yet emotional story that follows the life of the protagonist. Each chapter is a prominent point in the old man's life and this help build a connection with the character. Due to this, you find yourself immersed in the cleverly told and relatable narrative. The game's chapter designs acts as a visual metaphor to tell the narrative, which is refreshing to see and experience. Piccolo clearly treats the gamer with...

21Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PC Reviews

Flotsam – A Game Of Trash Which Is A Genuine Treasure

Introduction Bravo, Pajama Llama Games, Bravo. While I’ve never been a big fan of city-builder games before. Flotsam really flipped my skepticism on its head by downscaling this to more of a town-builder. After spotting this game for the first time at EGX 2019. I have been keen to get my hands on it and give it a go for myself. Flotsam is already well-known in the Indie gaming scene. It has picked up both the Most Promising Belgian Game at the Belgian Game Awards and Best Unity Game at Gamescom in 2019. And I can see why. Let me explain what Flotsam is all about. You’re in control of building a town from the remnants of cast-off junk thrown into the sea in a post-apocalyptic world, and you’re responsible for the wellbeing of its inhabitants: the ‘Drifters’. With needs such as health, h...

20Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Bee Simulator – Unentitled Bee Game

Have you recently been charmed by the meme-spawning Untitled Goose Game and if so are you looking for another mischievous creature to inhabit, like some kind of awful body-snatcher? Bee Simulator, which is developed by VARSAV Game Studios and published by Big Ben Interactive, might appear to have you covered on the surface. Unfortunately, it's a case of buyer bee-ware this time around. Bee Simulator isn't likely to scratch your animal simulator itch, and at £34.99 you might feel a sting in your wallet too. It released on PS4, Switch and Xbox One on November 14th 2019. Gameplay Bee Simulator is initially charming, with gorgeous presentation and a promising opening section demonstrating basic flight mechanics. Unfortunately, Bee Simulator quickly becomes tedious. As you might exp...

Need for Speed Heat Review – The Heat Is On!

18Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Need for Speed Heat Review – The Heat Is On!

Drifting around the car crash that was Need for Speed: Payback is NFS: Heat, but is this a return to the glory days or just another speed bump on the highway heading towards the nearest trade-in shop? Making its debut in 1994, Need for Speed is a franchise that most gamers will have fond memories of playing. Whether it be Underground, Hot Pursuit or Most Wanted, most people have an affinity with the franchise but then everything changed. After 24 games, an oversaturated market and a litterny of mediocre releases, it seemed to many that the franchise had broken down on the hard shoulder. However, in steps Need for Speed: Heat. Revitalizing the series with a focus on arcade racing and adding new elements such as the day/night cycle, fans that enjoyed any of the previous versions sho...

15Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PC Reviews

Football Manager 2020 Review – Glory Glory!

Football Manager 2020 is a football management simulation game developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game will be released on PC/Mac on November 19th via Steam, along with Football Manager 2020 Touch available to play on the Nintendo Switch, tablets and mobile phones. Also for the first time ever, the game will also be a launch title for the all new Google Stadia streaming platform. Gameplay As with all Football Manager games every year, there is a handful of new features and polished game mechanics to explain in detail which will continue, as Sports Interactive say “empowering managers to develop and refine both the club’s and your own unique identity”. This year's release is no different with FM20 providing a number of new updates including the “Development Cen...

15Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PC Reviews

Terminator: Resistance Review – Come With Me If You Want To Live

Terminator: Resistance is an upcoming first-person shooter game developed by Teyon & published by Reef Entertainment, and is being released on November 15th on PC, PS4 & Xbox One. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic 2028 Los Angeles and is the prequel to The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) films. The new Terminator: Dark Fate film that has just been released in cinemas does not have any connection with the Terminator: Resistance game, as the game is ignoring all Terminator franchise films after the original first 2 films, just like how Dark Fate is doing. “The machines are destined to lose, but at what cost?” - let's DUNDUN DUN DUNDUN jump on in. Gameplay The premise of Terminator: Resistance is you take the role of Jacob Rivers, a soldier in ...

Re-Mothered: Tormented Fathers Review – Lord, It’s a Re-mother for Ya

13Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Uncategorised

Re-Mothered: Tormented Fathers Review – Lord, It’s a Re-mother for Ya

In the hilariously titled Re-Mothered: Tormented Fathers you take on the role of nosy parker and part-time Jodie Foster look-a-like Rosemary Reed. Rosemary takes it upon herself to investigate the disappearance of a young girl via a bit of breaking and entering at the spooky and kooky Felton mansion. Little does she know the aforementioned mansion holds a fair few unpleasant secrets, including, but not limited to, a naked, sickle-wielding old man and a nightmare-fuelling red-garbed nun. Re-Mothered: Tormented Fathers was developed by Stormind Games and was published by Darril Arts. It has appeared on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One and released on Switch on August 30th 2019 for £26.99. Gameplay Re-mothered: Tormented Fathers plays a little like a combination of the first Resident Evil...

12Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

PC Reviews

Moons of Madness Review – Solve the Mystery or Go Mad Trying

Moons of Madness is a first-person horror game developed by Rock Pocket Games & published by Funcom. The game was released on October 22nd on PC via Steam and will also be released on January 21st 2020 on Xbox One and PS4. You are an engineer named Shane Newehart, stationed at “Trailblazer Alpha” which is a state-of-the-art research outpost on the planet of Mars. A somewhat mysterious signal has been found coming from the planet and the research outpost is there to try and help identify what the message is. Soon you begin seeing and hearing things that aren’t there. Visions, hallucinations, things that you don’t know is real or not. Are you slowly descending into utter madness? Let's jump on in and see why all's not well on the red planet. Gameplay You begin Moons of Madnes...

8Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Uncategorised

House of Golf Review – Fore!

Teeing off on November 8th is the Switch exclusive House of Golf. The arcade golf game developed by UK company Atomicom hits the eShop today but have they hit a hole in one or just got a bogey? Gameplay Crazy golf is fun right? Although you know what to expect, a series of small courses that has an overarching theme, the core gameplay of this sub-genre has always appealed to me but what makes this game stand out? Well, one key aspect of the game that really blew the sand from my balls (due to the golf ball landing in a bunker… don’t be filthy) is the design. Taking inspiration from games like Micro Machines, each environment is loving crafted to feel like the inside of a home. This nostalgia trip made me want to play in this world for longer than other mini golf games that lack innovati...

Vampyr Nintendo Review – Fang You For The Music

7Nov

By TC Staff WriterNo Comments

Gaming

Vampyr Nintendo Review – Fang You For The Music

Vampyr is a Switch port of the multi-platform success story from Dontnod entertainment, also of Life is Strange fame. It is published by Focus Home Interactive and released on 29th October 2019. Vampyr takes you back to early 20th century London and asks you to step into the brogues of the newly-fanged Doctor Jonathan Reid. Your task is to uncover the cause of your sudden thirst for blood and, depending upon how charitable you’re feeling, help or feast upon the various residents you come across. Does Vampyr suck, or will you go batty for it? Gameplay Vampyr is a mish-mash of genres, with the introductory section of the game teaching you how to fight and flee as you are pursued by the Guard of Priwen, a gang of nasty cockney vampire hunters who serve as primary antagonists through ...