PC Reviews

RiftStar Raiders Review – Loot Your Way To Greatness
PC Reviews

RiftStar Raiders Review – Loot Your Way To Greatness

Space shoot-em ups were pretty much the first style of computer game I ever played as a kid and wow they have certainly come a long way from the days of Asteroids on the Atari ST! RiftStar Raiders by independent developer Climax Studios based in sunny Portsmouth alongside Vision Games Publishing is a top down space shooter that brings the genre to the modern era with 2.5D graphics. Gameplay The story behind RiftStar Raiders is that an alien AI known as Warswarm have waged war on humanity and are attacking the Federation.  It is up to you and your team of Raiders to basically shoot all the Warswarm baddies while scavenging and collecting loot to better your weapons, shields and engines. Based on the orbital sin city of Arcadia in the centre of the Far Reachspace, it is down to you ...
Rad Rogers Review – Shoot Em Up Brilliance
PC Reviews

Rad Rogers Review – Shoot Em Up Brilliance

Rad Rogers published by THQ Nordic, is a new take on an old classic. The side scrolling platformer! You take the controls of Rad Rogers, a rambunctious but spirited young boy who maybe plays too many video games. After dozing off at the tail end of a long night of gaming, Rad awakens to find his dusty old console has turned itself back on. Suddenly a vortex emerges and he's sucked into his TV, where he finds himself the star in his very own video game adventure. Dusty is Rad's good-hearted but foul-mouthed, now-sentient game console. His clock speed isn't what it used to be, but what he lacks for in megahertz he makes up for with experience and attitude! Rad & Dusty's adventure begins in the First World, taking them through seven dangerous stages of action-packed, humor-filled, h...
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Review – Supernatural Sherlock
PC Reviews

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Review – Supernatural Sherlock

A handful of developers that used to be part of Developer, People Can Fly teamed up to create their own development studio, The Astronauts. These people created a title back in 2013 called, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, which eventually saw a Redux version arrive in 2015, with the game being remade in the Unreal Engine 4 rather than the previous, Unreal Engine 3. The game also landed on PS4 around this time, and as such it was exclusive to PC and PS4. However, fast forward to 2018 and the Xbox One version has arrived. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person mystery title in which players control a Detective with a supernatural ability -more on that soon- who is on a case to find a missing boy, Ethan Carter. As he wanders around a large map he stumbles across bodies of the kidna...
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame Review
PC Reviews

Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame Review

Monster Energy Supercross is the latest official release from Milestone in Partnership with Feld Entertainment Inc. Their aim is to allow gamers to experience what is considered by many to be the most competitive and highest profile off-road motorcycle racing championship in the world. Now, right up front I want to be honest with you all and say I’m not an avid fan of the sport, I do enjoy Speedway, so I have an appreciation for bike racing. But, it did mean that going into this review my knowledge base of the riders and tracks was pretty limited. Monster Energy Supercross is available on all major gaming platforms (PS4, XBox One, Switch & PC). This review however is being done based on the PS4 release. So as someone who wasn’t a fan before playing the game, the question is did I...
Dynasty Warriors 9 Review – Big Trouble in Little China
PC Reviews

Dynasty Warriors 9 Review – Big Trouble in Little China

Fancy playing a massive open-world hack n slash game set in China? Well you're in luck as publisher Koei Tecmo along with developer Omega Force has produced Dynasty Warriors 9, the latest instalment, and largest, of the Dynasty Warriors series.  Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Pc, I have been fortunate enough to don my best samurai outfit and wield the largest sword I can find to bring you my findings young Daniel Son. What are Dynasty Warriors I hear you ask?  Well, the award-winning gaming series is a spin-off from the 1985 turn-based strategy "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Koei and is loosely settled around the Chinese historical text "Records of the Three Kingdoms" depicting the events of the late Eastern Han dynasty 184-220AD and the Three Kingdoms period 220-280AD. ...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review in Progress – Bohemian Rhapsody
PC Reviews

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Review in Progress – Bohemian Rhapsody

Ever since Kingdom Come: Deliverance by Warhorse Studios had been announced it was well and truly on the radar here at Thumb Culture, and after finally getting our hands on this ultra-realistic medieval RPG we are happy to report that overall its a great game with a few frustrations. Read on to find out... Gameplay So the gameplay element is where it all is on show, being an RPG if you don't get those gameplay elements right, Kingdom Come: Deliverance will fail even before its begun to canter. So the RPG elements of the game work pretty well, essentially the more you practice a particular skill the better you get at it. So if you want to be better at sword play, then head down to battle arena and get practicing. Having a focus on realism in Kingdom Come: Deliverance gives it a few ...
Sociable Soccer Review – The Beautiful Game?
PC Reviews

Sociable Soccer Review – The Beautiful Game?

For gamers of a certain age there will be fond memories of playing a simple but awesome football game called Sensible Soccer back in the 90s.  For me it was THE number one game to play with my friends on our Atari ST. Fast forward to now and Jon Hare who was the designer behind my favourite game back then has reappeared on the gaming scene with Sociable Soccer.  Made by Tower Studios and Combo-Breaker, Sociable Soccer is currently available on Steam Early Access for £14.99. With my misspent youth seemingly like a distant past I was more than happy to get my boots back on and take to the pitch!  Was Sociable Soccer going to win a trophy or go for an early bath? Gameplay Sociable Soccer has a simple, easy to navigate menu currently displaying as "Boss mode", "Trophies", "Options" an...
Descenders Preview – Hitting Those Trails
PC Reviews, Previews & Early Access

Descenders Preview – Hitting Those Trails

Ever wanted to take on some steep slopes, hit some crazy stunts off some sweet sweet jumps, or carve up some great turns on some tight curves? Well if you answer yes to any of these, then Descenders might just be the game for you. Developed by RageSquid and published into Early Access by No More Robots, Descenders is a downhill freeriding game with procedurally generated worlds, where no track is ever the same and mistakes have consequences. Gameplay When you first load up Descenders you are treated to a very basic tutorial, taking you through turning, carving, jumping and performing skills. This arms you with enough controls to take on the courses and move forward towards being the best Descender out there. With procedurally generated environments you will be taking on fresh and ...
Inner Space Review – Cupid Draw Back Your Bow!
PC Reviews

Inner Space Review – Cupid Draw Back Your Bow!

We have a new writer inbound, check out SamK and his review of Inner Space (Not the film) Inner space... Isn't that a film? "A hapless store clerk must foil criminals to save the life of the man who, miniaturised in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him." Nothing to do with that then. Isn't there another game called this? No, it's just such a generic title I thought I'd already played it which is an odd start to a game. Gameplay Inner Space is best summed up as a flying collectathon game with an indie darling-like vibe. The more you play the more it reminds you of the free roaming flying sections in Panzer Dragon Saga. Although it's less engaging than journey or other indie titles with the same ilk from the start you can still got a wow when unlocking areas, That...
UFC 3 Review – Bloody Bloody Bloody
PC Reviews

UFC 3 Review – Bloody Bloody Bloody

It's that time again when the yearly foray into the mixed martial arts comes to town, and with it the ingeniously titles UFC 3. Developed by EA Canada this is the third iteration of the MMA artform since EA took over the licensing for it. So does the game deliver those knockout blows, or is it more at home on the ground. Let's find out. Gameplay The controls on UFC 3 are both simplistic and incredibly complex all at the same time. Yes you can stand and trade shots if you so wish, but the real reward comes from being a well rounded fighter. Being able to throw those big hits, but at the same time be able to sink in a deep guillotine is as rewarding as it sounds. So the controls in a nutshell, the face buttons on your controller of choice control your four limbs, left and right arms and...