Tag: Casual

If you’re looking for a game that won’t take up too much time or brain space, come browse the Thumb Culture news pieces and reviews of the latest casual games.

Paw Patrol World – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Paw Patrol World – PS5 Review

Paw Patrol World, by devs 3DClouds and published by Outright Games, has recently landed on all consoles and PC. For all adults with young children, you will be very familiar with not only the theme tune but also the characters' names! "Dad, I can be all the Paw Patrol!" For anyone who has escaped the likes of children's TV and is not aware of the fabulous Paw Patrol, it is an animated TV show that follows the exploits of a team of pups and a boy named Ryder. Together they help keep Adventure Bay safe from Mayor Humdinger's dastardly plans as well as undertake rescue missions. With the recent Paw Patrol Mighty Pups movie released in the cinemas, Paw Patrol fever is not going away for a while. With my 6-year-old leading the way, what would he make of Paw Patrol World? Gameplay Hav...
Paleo Pines – Switch Review
Switch Reviews

Paleo Pines – Switch Review

Paleo Pines by Northern Ireland-based devs Italic Pig, is a single-player role-playing game set in a time with cute dinosaurs. Available on console and PC, I have been playing, along with my 6-year-old, on the Nintendo Switch. Roarsome Entertainment? With a nod to elements from Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon and Pokemon, would we find this dino-driven social/management sim as captivating? Let's take a look! Gameplay As with most traditional adventure games you begin by creating your character. Here we have a fairly normal but not over-the-top palette to select from including skin tone, eye colour, hairstyle, etc as well as a selection of clothing. You will notice that to keep inclusivity you cannot set a sex and Italic Pigs have described the character as non-binary. My son being 6 ...
Moonstone Island – PC Review
PC Reviews

Moonstone Island – PC Review

Moonstone Island is a Monster Catching, Card Battler, Farming Sim. Developed by Studio Supersoft and published by Raw Fury. Being Studio Supersoft’s first project, I know that they knocked this one out of the park. There was a rocky start for the crew at Studio Supersoft where people were trying to scam others on Discord. By either asking for information to get an early copy of the game or just giving them a download code. Doing this would cause major issues for those users like getting their accounts hacked. Luckily, the issue was resolved by notifying the public on Twitter and Reddit about the situation as soon as possible. They made sure no one was tricked by those scammers.  It’s available on Steam and will have a Nintendo Switch port at a later date. Giving us a game that not only...
Cocoon – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Cocoon – PS5 Review

Cocoon is a debut title for developer Geometric Interactive based in Copenhagen. Published by Annapurna Interactive the masters behind Stray and What Remains of Edith Finch.  Out now on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch Consoles, and PC. Stunning World Hopping Puzzle When I first learned about Cocoon, I was captivated not only by its beautiful art style but its ability to seamlessly transition between worlds. The strange mechanical insects and the puzzles all had my interest piqued. A title with no HUD or in-game voice or text just how good could it be?? Gameplay Cocoon is a cool puzzle-adventure game where you play as a beetle exploring a bunch of different worlds. You'll go everywhere from mechanical caverns to swamplands, all while solving puzzles that let you jump between worlds. The g...
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 – PC Review
PC Reviews

The Jackbox Party Pack 10 – PC Review

As a massive fan of everything that comes out of Jackbox Games, I instantly jumped to the front of the queue when The Jackbox Party Pack 10 was announced. Waiting in anticipation to find out what games would be included and how they would play. Well, wait no longer as we dive into the minds of Jackbox Games and find out what trouble we are going to get up to. Ain't No Party Like a Jackbox Party... Pack 10 Do you have a favourite game from the Jackbox franchise? Do you like Quiplash? Or Fibbage? Well The Jackbox Party Pack 10 will definitely fight for it's place as your favourite game in the series. Gameplay Let's get right to it! The Jackbox Party Pack 10 features 5 new party games for you to win friends and influence people. In this pack there is something for everyone, from trivia an...
Dave The Diver – PC Review
PC Reviews

Dave The Diver – PC Review

There's something fishy going on in Dave the Diver! The scuba diving, sushi restaurant managing RPG is developed and published by South Korean-based Mintrocket, a subsidiary of Nexon. Originally released back in June for PC, it will be released on the Nintendo Switch on October 26th 2023. Today we'll be taking a look at the Steam version which will require 10 GB of available space, and will cost you £16.99/$19.99 at the time of writing. Here Fishy Fishy Dave the Diver is described by Mintrocket as a casual, single-player adventure RPG featuring deep-sea exploration and fishing during the day and sushi restaurant management at night. Overall, that's the game in a nutshell. Dave the Diver is a simple game on the surface, but take a deeper look and the little pixel-art aquatic RPG...
Party Animals – PC Review
PC Reviews

Party Animals – PC Review

The latest video game from developers Recreate Games involves fluffy foes battling it out to be the last animal standing. Party Animals is an online multiplayer party game, released on September 20th, 2023. It is currently available for purchase on Xbox and PC, with the base game retailing for £15.49 or £23.49 for the deluxe edition. A Timeline of Party Animals Before getting into the game, some past issues need to be taken into consideration to explain the Steam reviews, which currently stand at mixed/negative. These reviews come from players who have pointed out the lack of local multiplayer, the abundance of microtransactions on a paid game, and the several delays in releasing the game. The game was officially teased in September 2019 and became available to wishlist on Steam in...
The Fabulous Fear Machine – PC Review
PC Reviews

The Fabulous Fear Machine – PC Review

The Fabulous Fear Machine (TFFM) comes from developer Fictiorama Studios (Do Not Feed the Monkeys) and is published by AMC Games & Shudder. TFFM is an indie outbreak sim horror game with a fresh spin on the genre. Not your typical outbreak though, fear is what is spread through the machinations of the titular machine. The game is set across 3 distinct campaigns where each character makes a wish to Kirlian, a sentient fortune teller carnival-style machine. We're all cogs in The Fabulous Fear Machine TFFM tells its stories in comic book format, panels and all, reminding me of classic comics and pulp fiction horror. In return for helping them achieve their wish, Kirlian takes the character's life story for mysterious reasons. Through spreading fear, each character manipulates stock mark...
Stray Gods – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Stray Gods – PS5 Review

Stray Gods is developed by Summerfall Studios, based in Melbourne, Australia. A multi-format title is available for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation. Stray Gods hits all the right notes Initially, my interest was low when the trailer for Stray Gods was released. I already had a backlog of other titles that I wanted to dedicate­ time to, thanks to several new releases. However, upon watching it, my perspective shifted completely and I found myself wanting it eagerly. Gameplay Step into an e­nchanting urban fantasy realm where music and adve­nture intertwine at every corner. Boundaries be­tween reality and the supernatural world seamlessly me­rge, creating a mysterious and tre­acherous domain. You assume the role­ of Grace, who has recently inhe­rited the gift of song from the L...
Pioneers Of Pagonia – PC Preview
Previews & Early Access

Pioneers Of Pagonia – PC Preview

Pioneers of Pagonia is a world-building simulation game developed and published by Envision Entertainment. Envision had a hand in 'further developing' Command & Conquer - working alongside Electronic Arts. They also received the Best Studio 2011 award, MMO of the year award, and many, many more. So we have an award-winning indie studio with buckets of experience... I go into this one with high hopes and great expectations. The Return of Volker Wertich Colony Sim fans may remember a gentleman who goes by the name of Volker Wertich. Back in 1993, he was the brain behind The Settlers - a classic real-time city-building game. Considered by many to be an all time childhood memory, we're excited to see Volker make a return to the industry with Pioneers of Pagonia, acting as creative direct...