All aboard!

Many of the kids from my generation share the same experiences when it comes to trains. We watched Thomas the Tank Engine with glee and we played with wooden train track sets to build the tracks of our dreams. If I was able to tell 5-year-old Wyatt that there will be a game that comes out in 27 years that lets me become a train conductor, I would have been absolutely excited.

Sitting down and playing the game as a 33-year-old man now, my feelings are quite different. The game Dovetail Games put together should be an absolute blast for the right crowd. But, Train Sim World 2 is not a game that I would recommend for the casual gamer.

Grab your conductor hat

The base game gives you three very different railways to roam. You can choose from the Sand Patch Grade: one of the steepest railways in the United States, the Schnellfahrstrecke Köln: the German train superspeedway that lets you hit up to 185 mph, and my personal favorite, The London Underground Bakerloo line.

You start in the AC4400CW engine at Sand Patch Grade to learn the ropes. Upon settling in, you immediately notice that this train has more buttons than a teenager’s backpack from the 1990s. Thankfully, the game’s narrator – a pleasantly-spoken British gentleman – gives you the lay of the land.

I methodically made my way through the tutorial. The game is fairly generous in giving you the history and the basics of running the engines, but there are many buttons and knobs that are never explained. This never came to haunt me in game situations, but it would be nice to have the option to learn more.

The gameplay itself is fairly simple when broken down to the core components. Control your throttle and brake, deliver freight or passengers, and complete collect-a-thon tasks. Or you could blow the steam whistle for a minute straight, say “I wonder what this switch does”, flip the switch, and cause your engine to come to a grinding halt to fail the scenario.

The game handles about as well as you could expect on a controller. You look around with the right stick, select objects with the face buttons, and control the throttle and brake with the bumpers. It’s very clear the game was originally created for PC with the level of precision needed to select objects. But overall, the developer did a decent job of adapting the game for console.

The frustrations and joys

A few situations frustrated me when I had seemingly done everything I needed to do but the game would not recognize the task completion or move forward. I may not have been doing something correctly, but the game provides no in-game hints outside of those original tutorials.

In one unintentionally comical situation, the task before me was simple enough: hook my engine up to some boxcars to move them to a nearby station. I connected everything together but could not get the engine to reverse. After trying everything I knew from the tutorial, I stepped out of the engine but forgot to apply the brake. I accidentally uncoupled the engine from the boxcars, and, like Usain Bolt in a 100M dash, the train took off. I ran about one-hundred yards trying to catch up. But as the train shrunk over the horizon I realized that my (virtual) boss was going to have my hide.

Catch the sights and sounds… but not too close

I was disappointed with the sounds in this game. If you are not paying attention too closely, you may not notice any issues. Like most of the other problems with the game, the more you pay attention, the worse things seem. While the horn audio on the Sand Patch Grade engines loops seamlessly, the Schnellfahrstrecke and Bakerloo very abruptly cut out. Various other in-game sounds either do not terminate when they should or do not play at all. These are the things that take me out of the experience.

The game is hit or miss visually. I was surprised by the amount of texture pop-ins and low-fidelity assets despite playing the game on an Xbox Series X. The scenery and engines look beautiful at a quick glance, but once you start focusing on the railroad tracks, the passenger models, or the inside of the London Underground, the game starts becoming very low-rez, resembling last generation games. However, the weather effects are amazing. Watching rain bounce off the windshield of the engine traveling over 100mph looks phenomenal.

You may want to give this game a chance if you are a fan of trains or a simulator aficionado. If you are into fast-paced or arcade-style games, take a pass.

Train Sim World 2 is currently available on the Microsoft Store for $29.99. Try the previous entry, Train Sim World 2020, for free on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Introduction

Dreadlocks Limited dips into the Cyberpunk realm with an ambitious 2D adventure title. Dex is a pseudo-sandbox title, with RPG like elements. Playing as the title character Dex, you traverse through a dark, post-apocalyptic city, literally fighting for survival (this is a difficult game). Learn to hack augmented realities and dive into cyberspace with this game, available on the Nintendo Switch and Steam. Though the game’s intentions are earnest, there are elements that feel lopsided, and maybe a bit rushed. It appears evident that the developers may have bitten off a little more than they could chew.

Story

Programmed with absolute technology and information, Dex holds the potential to take down an anonymous cyber force reigning over Harbor Prime. This entity known as the Complex is out for her, forcing Dex to lay low in the streets and build an underground reputation. After becoming acquainted with a few others interested in rebellion, she ventures through the city to unlock the answers. Though the story may feel generic, the dialogue and well-developed characters amplify the setting. The player’s word choices and actions in game will result in one of a few different endings. Using motifs including artificial intelligence, subjugation, drugs, and sexuality, the atmosphere compensates for the at-times troublesome gameplay.

Gameplay

Dex strives to be an RPG in a not so linear 2D adventure. You explore a city, obtaining quests and information from complete strangers. The experience from completed quests and defeated enemies is used in a leveling-up system to receive new and improved attributes to your combat skills, hacking, and dialogue. This can allow for you to level up Dex to match your playstyle. Do you want to be a supreme hacker, combat pro, or smooth talker on the streets? While I appreciate the variety, I feel like the leveling system is more of a missed opportunity. I find myself choosing attributes out of necessity, rather than to tailor to my preferred character archetype. There’s also not an option to reassign your skill points, which could have helped curb the difficulty curve.

Combat

The combat mechanic is brutal. Dex is initially equipped with a punch and block. You will also need to use the right analog stick to dive from unblockable attacks. The enemy AI is fast and seamlessly punches through your blocks if you’re not quick enough. You will die many times in the beginning. I found that upgrading my combat skills yielded little improvements when up against three to four enemies at once. Even more so this was the case, when the enemies wielded guns and electric whips. Your best bet is to purchase a rather expensive gun and use your costly ammo sparingly. I had to prioritize buying medical kits to restore my health and focus points (for hacking). While the combat isn’t great, it does help paint a bleak picture and overall mood of Dex. The game holds no hands, and neither do the inhabitants of Harbor Prime.

Hacking

Just like other stories influenced by Blade Runner, hacking will of course play a huge role in the storytelling. Dex can enter computers, and shut down security systems. This transitions the game into a shooter segment where you are fighting off viruses, in order to read files and emails, or corrupt enemy software. You can purchase and equip upgrades to destroy viruses with more ease, granted you saved any cash. Pay close attention to your hacking skills when leveling up. It will be frustrating and time consuming having to constantly back out to return to heal, then jumping back in. It would have been nice to see the hacking maybe a little more forgiving. The computers can be heavily guarded, and you’ll take a lot of damage getting to them.

Loading…

I couldn’t tell if I spend more time actually playing the game, or viewing the loading screen. The game has to load every time you die and restart, as well as switch areas. This is a bit of a problem when you are trying to remember which NPCs reside in which location. It’s also not fun having to back out of cyberspace, then pull out your map to teleport to the Doctor to heal up, only to go right back to where you left off. That’s a good 3 to 4 loading screens you’ll get to look at. It’s hard to determine if you save more time leaving to heal, or dying over and over in hopes to get to the next part. This makes it burdensome to find and achieve any sense of flow when playing Dex. The load times aren’t too long, but the frequent appearance of them is worth noting prior to picking this game up.

Visuals and Audio

Dex uses what I believe to be cut-and-paste style graphics. At first glance it looks like a game initially programmed for a mobile device ported to Switch. I got used to the look and didn’t find any real issues here. What I did enjoy were the color palettes. Harbor Prime has a very post apocalyptic feel. It’s dark, run down, and covered in aging bloodstains. The characters have bright complimentary colors, such as Dex’s blue hair, that allow them to pop out. With bright highlights and beacons, it’s easy to know what can be interacted with.

Each district, or building you visit has it’s own musical theme, which helps you not feel so lost when exploring areas for the first time. The music for the Highrise Sector is vibrant and electric to match the upscale buildings and highlight the financial disparity of Harbor Prime. The tracks also slower and more mysterious at parts, such as for the derelict Taijo district. The setting is Dex’s strongest attribute, and the graphics and sound do their job as supporting cast members.

Bottom Line

Dex is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s atmosphere and characters are good enough for anyone to dive into. However, the combat, hacking, and menu systems are flawed. This will be a deal-breaker for those who want to uncover the truth but simply can’t get good. Dex does not lend itself properly to compliment its difficulty with unpolished mechanics, and the story alone won’t compensate this issue for many players.

Thunder Force AC is arcade version of Thunder Force III, originally on the Sega Genisis. The game is one of many shooters in the Thunder Force series and is the one of the ones chosen for the SEGA AGES collection on Nintendo Switch. It’s not hard to understand why as this game was the one that Thunder Force fans would have likely played, being available in some form on the Sega Genisis, Sega Saturn, SNES and in the arcades in the early 1990s. Although Thunder Force IV came to the Switch years earlier. 

That being said I don’t know how this stacks up against the other games in the franchise and I’m no auto scroller shooter fan, so my review of this game could be pretty limited. Regardless, it was an enjoyable, albeit mediocre hour or two experience. 

You control a small spaceship having to shoot and mauver your way around obstacles, whether that be missiles, the environment or enemies themselves. Forward, back, up, down, diagonal, you’re not limited too much by the scrolling. The game has eight stages that you can complete rather quickly. I suspect a lot of the fun of this game comes from the settings and other extras. 

There are several variables you can change such as the difficulties of which there are four, with two above standard. You can also change how many points you need for an extra life and another for how many lives you get back after using a continue (which is done by simulating the use of credits). For those that still find it too hard they can use Kids Mode where the punishments for dying are lessened, including you being able to keep your powerups. 

Powerups consist of weapon types and CLAWs which are robots that shoot with you. Weapon types can be switch easily and the kinds of firepower you use in the game are fun to use because of their unique styles and uses. Some are like waves while others shoot both in front or behind you, something you usually can’t do. This and the unique types of enemies and situations the game presents you with an enjoyable experience, although I doubt the average player will rigorously replay the game after they beat it in about an hour.  

If you have an interest in these kinds of games, you can test yourself with it. There’s a save function, but loading it means you can’t record your stats, as to keep true to the arcade experience. This means you can go for higher difficulties with lower lives and really have the freedom to test your skill at the game. The only question is whether you would want to do that and I’m betting most reading this review don’t. 

With that in mind, Thunder Force AC is a game I would recommend only if you’re a scrolling shooter fan, or you have a thing for arcade games. If you’re not, it might be something for you to get on sale to play while you’re on the go, or just to give you that retro feel that you can only get from a 90’s game. 

There ain’t no Pip like an 8-bit Pip.

While a lot of games try to do a lot of things relatively well, it’s my opinion that a perfect game is a game that chooses to do only one thing but nails it. On this scale of jack-of-all-trades to master of one, Adventures of Pip sits well towards the latter end. It reminds me a lot of the early Mario games – some fun platforming where the ‘action’ part is limited to jumping on enemies’ heads. It’s a very simple but well-loved recipe that Adventures of Pip builds on with its ‘resolution’ switching mechanic, which adds a basic but fun puzzle element.

You play the game as Pip (no surprises there) a red square, or ‘pixel’, who is thrust into the jaws of adventure when his home is attacked by the evil Queen DeRezzia. In a genre-subverting twist that nobody could have seen coming, DeRezzia kidnaps the kingdom’s Princess. With complete disregard for the safety of his fragile, quadrilateral body, Pip takes it upon himself to rescue Princess Adeline and thwart Queen DeRezzia’s evil plot.

You can blame Thomas Was Alone for my pre-disposition to love any game starring an orthogonal red character; so starting as Pip, the red square, made the game immediately compelling to me. The comfort blanket of Thomas Was Alone flashbacks is quickly and cruelly taken away, however, when Adventures of Pip’s innovative resolution switching mechanic comes into play. By harnessing the power of the bitforce (by killing certain glowing blue enemies), you can upgrade to an 8-bit character and then again to a 16-bit character. You also have a button on the controller dedicated to downgrading at will, which also expels some bitforce energy to damage enemies and destroy pink blocks as if they were made of particularly fragile blancmange.

These three characters have unique abilities. 1-bit is small and light so can fit through gaps and glide as he falls to travel a greater distance. 8-bit can wall-jump to reach higher platforms and is the fastest of the three. 16-bit has a big ol’ sword for smashing brown blocks and bouncing enemies around. You’ll constantly need to switch resolution to progress through a level and the placement of chasms, wall jump sections, destructible blocks, bitforce enemies and so on provide a compelling puzzle element. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t fully capitalise on this mechanic and the ‘puzzle’ sections aren’t challenging. It would’ve been nice to see the game lean into this puzzle element more, but I respect the game for putting its platforming first and not diluting that too much with other elements.

Looping back to the ‘doing one thing well’ hypothesis, Adventures of Pip nails the feeling of its platforming. The controls feel tight and responsive. Whatever series of buttons you press, you can be confident that the corresponding actions are exactly what Pip is going to do on-screen. I often find platformers frustrating where the controls try to intuit what you ‘meant’ to do rather than following the buttons you actually pressed. Adventures of Pip has none of that and, like the nerdy kid in the back of physics class, other platformers should take notes.

The excellent platforming means you know every mistake and every death is entirely because of your own lack of skill, rather than the game being glitchy or unfair. With that in mind, I think the difficulty of Adventures of Pip is perfectly pitched. You can get through most levels without being stuck on a particular section for too long, which keeps the pace of the game moving on nicely. The checkpoint system is spot on, with around 3 per level. This leads to a nice balance. There’s still a punishment for dying, you’ll have to go back and get through the entire section perfectly before you can move on, but the spacing is just enough to avoid the game becoming frustrating due to constant reruns. Much like being told those plans that you were dreading have been cancelled, you’ll let out a heavy sigh of relief when you reach a new checkpoint.

Despite the difficulty being very well pitched in general, there are one or two difficulty spikes. Personally, I was stuck on the penultimate boss for quite a while. Fortunately, Adventures of Pip has an answer to this – money. Throughout the game, you get currency which can be used to buy upgrades, like temporary invincibility, healing, extra hearts, etc. That means that if you are stuck on a section, you can back out and buy a new upgrade to give you a boost. The game gives you currency quite generously, but you can always grind through an earlier level if you don’t quite have enough. It’s a nice system that means you always have an option to make the game easier if you really can’t progress.

Overall, Adventures of Pip is 90% formulaic but well-built platformer with 10% juicy, new, resolution-switching puzzling. It’s a good example of a pure action platformer, but there are an awful lot of games in that genre and the question remains whether the bitforce transformations are enough to make it stand out from the crowd. I enjoyed my time with Adventures of Pip and I would recommend it. It’s neither jack-of-all-trades nor master of one, it’s more like ‘proficient at one and a half’, which is good enough for me.

Some games are all about engaging the player in action, others are about immersion in the story, and a small but growing number focus much more on creating an experience based on atmosphere and unique gameplay. The Pathless, released by – Giant Squid, the team responsible for Abzu, is very much a game in the latter category, landing the player into a world of purple hues with the briefest of background stories and exploration being the first order of play. When done well, these games feel truly ground-breaking but when executed poorly, they quickly become a bore. The Pathless, true to its name, follows neither way but meanders somewhere in the middle.

A quick introduction sets the scene of a world tormented by demons with the heroes dispatched to fight them off destined to never return. Any visions of a series of intense battles against increasingly challenging bosses this conjures are quickly dissolved as your character, a kind of female ninja archer simply called ‘Hunter’, lands on the shores of an island on the edge of the world. No hordes await – just a beach and a trail to follow.

The basic controls involve standard walking and sprinting limited by an energy bar that needs to replenish before you kick on. However, as you round the corner to head inland, you encounter diamond targets that offer a speed boost when you hit them. Hit several in a row and you woosh across the land with the trees, hills, and rocks a blur around you. This works well as a way to engage the player while moving beyond simply pushing up on an analogue stick. You can also use these targets while jumping to increase your height and get to some of the more hard to reach areas.

You soon meet a fallen giant eagle, one of the gods under attack by the demons. Your first quest then unfolds – you must light up a series of towers that have been claimed by the forces of darkness. To do so, you simply have to explore – locate the towers, find a way to climb them, locate a statuette to return them to the light. This is all fairly straightforward with the only challenge to find where you need to go – no puzzles beyond some targets to hit and pressure plates to activate and no combatants to defeat.

Once this is done, you gain a companion for the rest of your journey in the shape of a more regular sized eagle. This will fly above and beside you, help you glide to difficult to reach places, drop stones onto those pressure pads, and expect a little TLC after a scary encounter. The combat that does appear as the game progresses, much like the puzzles, rarely threatens to result in a ‘game over’ screen and is simply a matter of keeping your cool and firing off those arrows.

That is where this game didn’t quite do it for me. The first hour was engaging as I explored, became familiar with the gameplay, and tried to piece together the story. However, it just failed to evolve from there. The methods I used to solve those first few puzzles were the ones I largely used throughout the entire game. The enemies encountered didn’t really feel any different or any more challenging than each other. The story was revealed so slowly that it didn’t hold my interest. This could, like Abzu, have been another atmospheric game of exploration. Alternatively, it could have been a game that combined unique visuals and controls with a series of increasingly difficult puzzles and boss fights. It could have been an interesting short-form game, or it could have been a long-term challenging game driven by a mysterious story. Ultimately, it is none of these things. In that sense, it is very much Pathless.

So it turns out the age of misinformation isn’t quite a recent as we once thought… according to Red Zero Games at least. In this turn-based strategy game, learn the REAL story behind Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492, taking charge of the ‘Avant Armada’ in their quest to vanquish the mythical monsters blocking your path to the new world. You’ll be sure to meet a host of wacky creatures, deadly foes… and a pirate who can only say the word ‘fish’? Be on the lookout though me hearties, this journey will be far more perilous than you might think.

Jokes and pirate-talk aside, I want to make it clear from the start that I had a great time playing ‘Here Be Dragons’. Witty dialogue, a fantastic art-style, and most importantly, captivating gameplay all combine into a game I had difficulty putting down. I’ll get into the nitty-gritty soon enough, but I think it is important to note that overall, ‘Here Be Dragons’ provides a rich and engaging experience for those fans of strategy-based games.

Particularly impressive for an indie game, ‘Here Be Dragons’ provides players with a marked degree of substance and depth in its gameplay. At its core, the ‘Dice Activation System’ introduces an essence of randomness and luck, which when done just right, creates a sense of freshness to each battle. Yes, this can be both frustrating and limiting at times, which is something I will discuss later into the review, but on the surface, this rather simple mechanic helps create variation in gameplay, especially when replaying certain levels. The wide range of ships given to players, as well as diverse enemies with equally diverse move-pools, ensures each encounter is different from the last. What stood out most to me was the sheer amount of problem-solving this game requires – having to compute so many different variables during a battle means every decision counts. Assigned the wrong dice to one of your ships? Well you may have just given the enemy the chance to wipe you out next turn. Red Zero Games has done a fantastic job of creating depth in the battle system, which frankly many more heavily-funded titles lack.

The compliments don’t stop here though. One of the most notable features of ‘Here Be Dragons’ is its minimalist, yet impressive art-style. A ‘living map’ provides the backdrop for a vast majority of the game (aside from inter-level dialogue), and it certainly is one that fantastically balances simplicity with visual depth. Despite fundamentally being a 2D game, the choice of design goes a long way in creating a sense of openness – crucial for a game that is almost solely centred around ocean-based battles. In addition, art choices for the UI and character design beautifully match the overall aesthetic, and as a result, much praise should be directed to Red Zero Games for the visual design of ‘Here Be Dragons’. Similarly, the sound design is equally impressive, which despite being somewhat limited (you’ll hear the same SFX constantly), never once begins to sound repetitive or irritating.

However, you might be asking – ‘Well, these battles sound fun, but how’s the story?’. Well don’t ya worry mateys, Red Zero Games’ got ya covered. What goes a long way in ‘Here Be Dragons’ is the cast of characters you are introduced to throughout. Although I will concede that I would have preferred a continuous experience with a familiar crew, each new protagonist provides their own dose of charm and wit. One minute you’ll be an optimistic sailor, looking for adventure, and the next, a strange old pirate talking to a dead parrot. The mix of recurrent cast members and fresh faces is certainly what drives ‘Here Be Dragons’, and the dialogue between them will be sure to have you letting out a chuckle or two along the way.

Unfortunately, this is where the game does reveal some of its flaws. The revolving cast of characters is a double-edged sword, as although providing freshness to the experience, it does ultimately draw the player out of the main narrative. To be honest, after a few hours of playing, I had forgotten what the main objective of the game was. I did enjoy playing as new characters, and seeing what role they played going forward, but these experiences were usually cut short. Consequently, players may fail to develop any real connection to the multitude of protagonists. This is a real shame, as some of these characters were excellently-written, and I feel that Red Zero Games would have been better off using one or two of these characters throughout, rather than chopping-and-changing every few levels.

This lack of cohesiveness is reflective in the gameplay as well. I mentioned before about the depth in gameplay provided by ‘Here Be Dragons’, which, to its credit, does prevent the monotonous grind many games fall victim to. However, the almost insane number of mechanics introduced during the story, some permanent, and some dependent on specific battles, means it can become far too complex at times, meaning you are frequently wiped out by your enemy with little understanding of how. Furthermore, the ‘Dice Activation System’ can become a significant hinderance in battle, as despite offering the opportunity for ‘luck of the dice’ moments (literally), when battles often require a particular strategy to win, consistently rolling unhelpful dice can become tiresome. I will admit that this may be down to personal preference though, as someone more favourable of ‘Dark Souls-esque’ games may appreciate the value in repeated attempts at the same level. Nevertheless, for many, the 10th attempt at the same battle may just be one too many. I will note that I was playing on the highest difficulty (granted, of only two options), and maybe I just suck at strategy games, but I think it is important that potential customers are aware of the (potentially) repetitive gameplay loop offered by ‘Here Be Dragons’.

Lastly, I know I previously heaped praise on the visual design of ‘Here Be Dragons’, and I do not wish to detract from that, but one notable issue in this regard was with the battle UI. Maybe this was a consequence of playing on Switch, but my screen was often bombarded with a number of different menus, crammed into very little screen-space. Especially whilst getting to grips with the game, it can become more of a challenge figuring out what button you are meant to press next, rather than how you will defeat your foe(s). This is not a glaring issue, but one that may irk players from time to time.

To conclude, I want to reiterate my enjoyment with ‘Here Be Dragons’, despite the flaws noted above. Red Zero Games should receive mountains of praise for a funny, rich and beautiful game, which for me was one I found myself repeatedly drawn to. Yes, there are minor issues that cannot be overlooked, but these may or may not be problematic depending on the player. Some polish to the gameplay design would have served ‘Here Be Dragons’ greatly, as a focus on a more streamlined story and gameplay loop likely would have provided the icing on the cake. However, I can appreciate the attempt by Red Zero Games to create a deep, and ultimately enjoyable, experience for its players. I will keep my eye out for future releases from the developers, but until then, I’ll grab me rum, and set sail again with me mateys on adventures new.