Survival

13May

By Parker FauxNo Comments

The Third Shift – PC Review

When I was a kid, my mom would take me to a big natural history museum close to our house. I remember feeling both enraptured and terrified by the taxidermy animals, with their frozen poses and glassy eyes. Sometimes I would wonder if they moved at night, or when I wasn't looking at them. It was a strange atmosphere; a place of learning, yet with a sense of quiet, creeping dread. It's a sense of horror that very few games have capitalized on, at least up until now. The Third Shift is a survival horror game developed and published by Teebowah Games. The initial demo released all the way back in 2020, and I distinctly remember watching it back in high school. Development has been on and off for the past few years, but the game finally released this April, and I was excited to finally ...

7May

By StuartNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Wilderdark – Demo Preview

Last week we posted the news that Team Junkfish, the masterminds behind iconic horror-survival, Monstrum, are back! And boy oh boy are they back. Wilderdark was announced to a raptor-ous reception, and over this past week, we also had access to their new demo. Available now on Steam, so check it out here. In The Dark, No One Can Hear You Scream If you like what you read, I urge you to go and check out the demo yourself. Even Wishlist while you are there. Gameplay Being touted as a horror-survival, you are immediately greeted with a nice dark forest and a campsite. Don't be fooled though, the campsite means that someone has come before you. You've been sent to this island where the dinosaurs and plantlife have been infected with some mysterious ectoparasitic organism. Meaning that every...

7May

By HannanNo Comments

PC Reviews

Windrose – PC Early Access Review

Windrose brings me the same joy as Assassin’s Creed Black Flag did all those years ago, even if it isn’t as polished. Developer Kraken Express may be new to the scene, but it entered with a bang. Windrose is an ambitious open-world game that lets players become pirates to craft their own story. Available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, the game is out in early access and is already making waves. Treasure Awaits! For some reason, nailing a good pirate-themed game is much easier than it looks. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag made the genre look so easy, having players sail the seas in search of treasure, all the while singing sea shanties and sinking enemy ships. It’s also more than a decade old, and the only other large title to try its hand at making players pirates is Sea of Th...

5May

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

ICARUS: Console Edition – PS5 Review

ICARUS: Console Edition is now available on Xbox X|S and PlayStation 5. The console port of the popular PC survival game, originally developed by RocketWerkz, has been in development by Grip Studios. Though the PC version has been around since December of 2021, this version just became available at the end of March this year. It contains all the crafting, survival, and challenges that the game is well known for. Perhaps ICARUS is too close to the sun on Console... It's nice when developers keep multiple platforms in mind during early game design. This generally makes for a better consistency, but of course there are always some games that play better on console than their computer counterparts. Knowing how long ICARUS has been around on PC, I was curious to check how it translates over t...

Monstrum Devs Announce New Horror Survival!

30Apr

By StuartNo Comments

News & Updates

Monstrum Devs Announce New Horror Survival!

Team Junkfish, the Developers behind the hit horror survival game Monstrum, are returning to their roots. Wilderdark is a new single player horror game just announced and we have all the details! As well as the new trailer of course. It's ok to scream now! Wilderdark is a survival-horror exploration game where you find yourself on an unnatural island infected with a mysterious ectoparasitic organism that is corrupting the dinosaurs and plant life. A dinosaur survival horror game? We're in! So what's the plot? A good question! The organisation you work for has sent you to a remote island all in search of immortality. You are tasked with documenting the island’s ecosystem, collecting samples, and unravelling the fate of previously vanished expeditions. Just like in the Team Junkfish's i...

14Apr

By Parker FauxNo Comments

PC Reviews

Angel Engine – PC Review

"And the Lord Of All Games spake, 'Thou shalt not make a game in the image of a data entry overtime shift', and all saw and said it was good." -Polygonics 4:51 Angel Engine is a self-proclaimed "horror surgery simulator" developed by HMS Studios and Black Lantern Collective and published by NerveLabs and Aurakenn Games. It is currently only available for PC. Clocking In to the Martyr Factory The game is based on a highly-popular short-form analogue horror series of the same name, centered around humanity kidnapping an angel and performing horrific experiments on it it to try and stave off Armaggedon. Based on my research, the original Angel Engine series is controversial for heavy AI usage, to the point that the Steam page directly says that, unlike the original, this game doesn't...

25Mar

By Parker FauxNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Coin Game – PC Review

The Coin Game is a survival sandbox arcade simulator created by solo developer devotid and published by Kwalee. It released in early access in 2019 and has been steadily updated leading up to its 1.0 release. It's available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, and today I'll be reviewing the PC version. Life Is Cheap. Tickets Are Cheaper. As a young lad I spent many of my formative years at my local arcade, a joint called (and I'm not making this up) the "Fun Park". It had everything a child could ever want: a giant playplace that smelled like feet; comically cheesy pizza; a bizarre 1950s tiki-party aesthetic; and, of course, a dozen rigged arcade machines that spat out tickets, spent on penny sweets and cheap stuffed animals at an obscene markup. It was paradise. Some days, I wish I could g...

11Feb

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

PC Reviews

HumanitZ – PC Review

HumanitZ is an isometric, open-world zombie survival game. After a couple of years in early access on Steam, developer Yodubzz Studios is venturing into 1.0 release. Pick up the pieces as one of the few remaining humans to build, farm, explore, and survive as long as possible. It is available on Steam now with publishing by indie.io (Coromon, Dark Deity 2). The 1.0 release is live on Friday, sixth of February. How Long Can You Keep Your Humanity in HumanitZ? Zombies and survival games seem to just go hand in hand. The nice thing is that they come in all different flavors. I recall spending a number of days in zombie modes of CoD, and others in the early days of DayZ. I was curious to see how HumanitZ felt in comparison. Especially since that last zombie survival game was just... yeah. So...

10Feb

By PaulNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Cairn – PS5 Review

What's this? Back-to-back reviews of games I did back-to-back previews of last year? That's continuity, folks. This time I'm playing Cairn, the latest game from The Game Bakers; a small French studio — just 17 full-time members working remotely around the world — responsible for Furi and Haven. It's clear these guys have some serious range. Speaking of, Cairn sees protagonist Aava tackling a mountain range, culminating in an attempt to climb the yet unconquered Kami. In order to summit this killer mountain, Aava will need grit, determination, and perseverance... as will I. Nothing Worth Doing Was Ever Easy As a realistic climbing/survival simulation, nothing I've ever played previously compares to Cairn. Yes, we have games with climbing and stamina mechanics such as A Short Hike and Jusa...

14Jan

By Jordan RookerNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

StarRupture – PC Early Access Preview

StarRupture is a new first-person survival crafting game now in Early Access on PC by Creepy Jar (Green Hell). Harvest resources, refine them, and fulfil requisitions from your corporate overlords as you pay off your debt. Just be mindful of the weather as it can be a bit hot... Check it out now on Steam. Game Title Is Key to StarRupture Survival games run wild these days, so it's hard to sift out the noise sometimes. Thankfully, Creepy Jar has a great reputation with Green Hell. Having a developer that knows what they're doing is definitely a leg up. See how StarRupture sizes up in its current state in the preview below. Gameplay StarRupture is a first-person survival crafting game, capable of co-op with up to four other players. You've been sent to the planet of Arcadia-7 to serv...