Set in a world where humans and artificial intelligences are part of the same world. However, many AIs are very hostile towards humans. In Atris Impact, you play as Akane with her AI companion, Bot, to deal with issues pertaining to lethal AIs. This turn-based RPG has you working with and fighting against other AIs to protect humankind. Explore a vibrant town with many events, shops, and NPCs to interact with. As well as experiencing a story that goes over the conflicts between man and machine. 

Cutting Through the Gameplay

Artis Impact is a simple turn-based RPG, but despite that, the animations and flow of battles keeps it interesting. There’s your standard HP and MP, with the added TP gauge. The TP is pretty simple in that it fills every time you attack or get attacked by an enemy. Afterwards you can spend the TP gauge to unleash devastating attacks. A unique aspect of the battle system though is that the more MP or TP you spend, the stronger your attacks are. For MP-based arts, they usually cost around half of your current MP. That usually means you can open up with a high-damaging art and replenish your MP as you progress through the battle.

The customization is also quite plentiful with what you can do. Equipment is pretty standard with what you can wear and the effects that they have, but when moving onto the things such as weapons and your companion, Bot, that’s when the game starts to open more to the player. Individual weapons that you acquire throughout the game’s story can be transfused with specific elemental affinities. These can range from status effects to more damage on your attacks. Bot by default has a standard healing skill that it’ll use every turn. After picking up certain augments for Bot, you can customize Bot’s skills for offensive and defensive purposes. You can build yourself and Bot in various ways to synergize with each other’s equipment and skills.

The World of Humans and AI

As previously mentioned, the world of Artis Impact features an imbalance between humans and AIs. Though this sentiment only applies towards the hostile ones you fight. In the main town, some humans and AIs live together peacefully. Interacting with either human or AI provides useful services to the player. The town is filled with various shops for healing items and equipment. Along with that, you can engage in other activities such as using the gym to build stats, go to a contractor to improve your home, etc.. There’s even side quests and unique events that occur depending on when and where you are in the game’s story. One instance of this happening to me during my play was that I was walking through the back alley area with a lot of money till I was stopped by some street thugs. They tried to steal my money, but in a comedic fashion, Akane gives them the money to the thugs’ confusion. It’s events such as these that give this game a unique world and personality.

Stellar Presentation

For those who love sprite and animations, this game’s visuals will catch the attention of those people. One of my favorite aspects of the game are the cutscenes. Not every cutscene uses the traditional textbox when characters are speaking. Often the game will cut to drawings of said characters talking. This can be presented as a fullscreen drawing or off to the side. It feels like the cutscenes are being presented to me in a manga format.

As for the animations, there’s plenty of them. No matter what action you take, there will always be a small window box showing animation of what you interacted with. It can be as simple as turning on a faucet or seeing Akane jam her sword into the weapon upgrade table. This is one of the game’s more charming aspects.

Final Thoughts

Artis Impact is an engaging RPG with a rich story and gorgeous visuals. My time with the game so far has been great and I am eager to reach the end to see how the story concludes. If you enjoy RPGs, I would highly recommend this game. From where I’m at, I believe I’m almost nearing the end of the game so it’s not super long if you prefer shorter RPGs.

For a while, it felt like couch co-op experiences were going the way of the dodo. Big publishers seemed less interested with the emergence of online play, and almost abandoned them completely during the eighth console generation. The indie scene has endeavored to pick up the slack, offering smaller, budget titles that have the flexibility to experiment with unconventional concepts.

This is the situation CarGo! finds itself in, with players working together to deliver packages across a variety of stages. The Memory Leak Games team was clearly inspired by the excellent Overcooked, but their efforts lack the charm, content, and polish of similar titles, sometimes resulting in frustration.

Gameplay is rather simple: you and up to three friends control delivery vehicles, attempting to bring various goods from one building to another. In a few stages, you may need to craft materials at certain spots in order to create new products, then rush to deliver them so you can earn a time-based bonus.

Unfortunately, CarGo!’s controls prove to be a sticking point. The developers made the choice to only allow steering left and right with the stick, while forward momentum is controlled by the right trigger. This means you can’t intuitively point the stick in the direction you’d like to move; instead, you must pay close attention to the direction your car is oriented so that you know which way an input will actually send the vehicle.

There’s something to be said about how this unorthodox control scheme can result in accidental mishaps when playing with others, thus increasing the fun factor. However, I just don’t feel that stance holds up to scrutiny. Genre contemporaries like Overcooked also delight in causing chaos amongst friend groups, but that chaos is based on how strenuous it can be to complete objectives together, not because the game makes awkward control decisions. It feels like CarGo! doesn’t believe enough in itself, like it can’t be fun without making things more difficult for the player. This is unfortunate, since it does a great job of introducing new gameplay quirks throughout the short campaign.

And it is short. You’ll make your way through the 16 levels in a few sittings. I spent much of my playtime as a solo deliverer (sad, I know) and my PS5 playtime reads 2 hours. While the core CarGo! experience can be fun, you won’t be coming back to it for very long, owing to the lack of content. This game is begging for procedurally generated levels ensuring endless replayability, but alas, there are none to be found.

There are a few additional annoyances worth mentioning. My car would sometimes get caught on geometry once in a while, forcing me to start a level from scratch. When I went to restart, I would be met with a black screen, the HUD superimposed on top. Thankfully, pausing and restarting again fixes this with little issue, but it can be annoying when one bug forces you to contend with more, creating an irritation feedback loop.

CarGo! is not a horrible game, but it ironically seems to be lacking the goods offered by similar projects. It makes for a fun (if frantic) night with friends, but the dearth of content likely prevents it from being a staple at any game nights.

Farming games have never really taken my interest at all, simply because life simulation games haven’t either, so of course I wouldn’t actively go out of my way to play one, there are more genres of games which I just prefer playing in general.

The thought of playing games which consist of performing the same actions constantly have always seemed a pain to me, I’ve played a few games like those such as Clash Royale and Clash of Clans but despite always having to battle or defend your base, there’s certain things like new cards, rewards and events which kept me playing, sure I would grow bored of them eventually, but they were addictive and always had something new which would make me want to come back to it.

Another Farm Roguelike: Rebirth whilst completely different didn’t have as much to it neither did it have lots to do, but despite that I actually found myself enjoying it more than I originally thought.

As you can probably guess from the name and the beginning of my review it’s a farming game, in which you grow you farm by crafting and building things to help pay off the increasing rent. There’s a certain amount of money you have to earn to beat the game within a specific time-frame, depending on the difficulty you choose it can be anywhere from one week to four, the more weeks the harder it is surprisingly, you’d assume that more weeks would be easier as it would give you more time to earn money but the truth is that with more weeks you have to earn a lot more, with the rent increasing each week.

You have to manage your stamina efficiently in order to make as much money as possible, whether you think that’s by chopping trees down, mining rocks or building and crafting items, it’s entirely up to you. Once your stamina runs out there isn’t much left to do, so skipping to the next day is the only option you really have, of course overtime you can increase it if you choose one of the three perks available each time you’ve leveled up, which will allow you to craft and build, in turn earning a lot more money for the rent.

At the beginning of each week you are also allowed to pick six ‘perks’ if you’d like, three of them being positive and the other three negative, helping you but at the same time not with progressing. None of them massively affect the outcome at the end of each week, but there are some which will help and hurt you more than others.

There are multiple different lands to unlock, with each new area having different things to mine and unlocking new items and buildings to use and craft. If you want to earn as much money as possible, then unlocking all of them as soon as possible will benefit you massively. The maps are all joint together which I liked, it allowed you to see your farm all in once place instead of having to switch between them, it was a lot more accessible that way and just convenient. Although I would have liked if there was a zoom out button, since you couldn’t actually see all of the lands together at the same time, it’s not a big deal and more of a nit pick from me.

To keep the game from feeling boring each play through, there were 24 different professions to choose from, you could be a farmer, shepherd, or even a pirate if you fancied. All professions had their own unique skills, along with their own positives and negatives. Some classes mastered in crafting and some in resource gathering. Some professions were more complex than others, in the sense of more effects present if you picked them, for example a botanist only has a +1 harvest boost, while a shama has -1 fragility, starts with a toxic totem and can add alchemy items to the shop. There’s definitely some classes which will give you a better head start, so it’s best to pick those classes if you plan on trying to beat crazy or even hard mode.

Having tried crazy mode I can confirm it was quite difficult, it required planning and a lot more thought put into what you should craft and build along with what you should sell and buy in order to make as much money as possible. It added a bit of challenge to it which I liked, but people have voiced their opinions on how hard the mode actually is, with many saying despite trying different professions and selling everything they owned it was still very hard. I’m all up for challenges, but when they get to the point of seeming impossible it does put me off them.

An endless mode as well as challenges are also available too, with as you can tell one a bit of fun and chill experience, being similar to that of peaceful mode in Minecraft and the other well.. a challenge. There are 12 challenges available to pick from with some harder and easier than others, for example there’s one which you have to unlock 4 lands which is fairly easy, but then there’s one where you don’t have access to the hammer which if you weren’t aware of is one of if not the most important tools you have.

So as you can imagine not being able to build and craft anything which produces resources and in turn helps you earn more money, is quite the challenge. Endless mode is as one would expect, a chilled out experience with no pressure to earn money for rent, just relaxing and building your ideal farm for as long as you’d like.

I’ve mentioned mining a couple of times so as you could probably already guess one of the tools you’ll use a lot is a pickaxe, there’s also many more including an axe, fishing rod, and a hammer. All tools can be upgraded, as you can already guess the higher the level the more effective they are. There are several variants of each tools for levels 3, with each one having different effects, the diamond pickaxe for example gives you 2+ energy and +3 pickaxe efficiency, whilst the obsidian pickaxe gives you +6 energy and a +1 efficiency, destroying everything in one hit. There are several level 3 tools to pick for each tool, so you’re certainly spoiled for choice.

Now actually getting into the review, I saw this game and instantly thought I wouldn’t enjoy it, it looked boring and repetitive, not my kind of game. The first 30 minutes It felt more like a chore playing it then anything, I was still understanding the premises of the game so that was a good reason, but I just didn’t like it. Surprisingly overtime though I started to like it a bit, I was getting used to the game and actually knew what I was doing, so it became a lot more enjoyable after that, and slightly addictive…

There is a guide the developer made which really helped, so if you plan on playing it I’d suggest looking over it, just so you actually know of the different items, professions, buildings, and what you actually need to do.

The music was very calming and upbeat, fitting the theme of the game perfectly. There were only 2 songs however which were constantly on repeat, so overtime it did become quite old despite how nice they were, but I just put on my own music which may have not necessarily matched with farming, building and crafting but it’s just one of those games that’s quite chill and peaceful, so the music you listen to doesn’t really affect the gameplay, unlike online games where I need as much focus as possible. I’d pick a peaceful game over a stressful one any day, though.

I can see why people enjoy simulation games like these and get easily lost into them, there’s just something about them which draws you in despite how simple some of them may be, whether it’s a farming or a social simulator, they just appeal to so many people, I guess I kind of understood why but after playing this I think I gained more of an insight as to why people enjoy these type of games. It’s a great comfort game, if people are feeling down or stressed, these kind of games are the best ones to play to take ones mind off things, I think it’s the whole aspect of being someone different even if it’s in a video game for a brief time. They’re very immersive, there’s no doubt about it.

Mayhaps I should start playing more life simulation games…

Final Verdict

Overall I thought it was a decent game, it definitely surprised me with how much fun and enjoyment I got from it despite its repetitive gameplay. I really liked how calm and peaceful it was, allowing me to play it without feeling stressed or any pressure to perform well, the same can be said for a lot of single player games, but simulation games are very different, and I can confidently say that Another Farm Roguelike: Rebirth is one of the most peaceful games I’ve ever played, behind Minecraft of course.

I should start off by saying that I have not played the first Rise of Industry. Business simulator tycoon games are just not my cup of tea. However, since they have different developers (with the first being developed by Dapper Penguin Studios), I will not be comparing the two games.

Perhaps if I did play the first one, Rise of Industry 2 might not have been such a daunting and challenging experience. I’ll admit, I had a hard time reviewing this one (and it’s only my second review). Rise of Industry 2 was developed by SomaSim and published by Kasedo Games. Released on June 3rd, 2025, this industrial management tycoon and logistics simulation game takes place in 1980s USA. You build and expand your factories while micro-managing every detail of your business, from contracts to deliveries. The game includes 15 scenarios for you to take on and a sandbox mode for “complete” industry freedom. So, let’s go bankrupt as we discuss Rise of Industry 2!

The Story & First Steps: New Players be Warned!

Rise of Industry 2 does not have much of an overarching story, which is typical for most tycoon games. The 15 scenarios all take place in different locations throughout the United States with different situations at hand. You also get to select an initial investor that determines the goals you aim to achieve. It’s pretty simple in theory, but before jumping into any of that, I highly recommend starting with the tutorial.

Frank Wilson, or Frankie, our right-hand man—introduces himself and guides us through the tutorial. He also offers helpful tips during the scenarios too and serves as our main figurehead for the game. Frankie informs us in the tutorial that our goal is to manufacture VHS tapes for his Frankie Says Business info tapes. He of course starts off by walking through some basic controls, such as camera controls and key binds. Nothing here is overly complicated and the controls are easy to navigate.

Then we reach the heart of the gameplay: setting up a complex. The actual building is rather straightforward. Simply place a complex border down and begin building within, starting with an office and a resource extraction. In the tutorial, this is an oil well to extract crude oil. You also need to place highways and access roads to connect the buildings. Then things get a little complicated—you must supply the complex with electricity and power. So you put down a power line connector and a water pipe connector, with power lines and water pipes connecting to the local networks. You will need to place a storage tank and a tanker loading facility—and don’t forget the highways and access roads to connect everything together!

There’s a lot of fundamentals to consider when constructing a new complex. It’s a lot of connecting components to make everything work cohesively. I’ve found that every complex, regardless of type, requires these basic fundamentals.

The Style: Decent Graphics & Soundtrack fitting for that 80s Theme

I just want to quickly mention that I do really like the graphics and soundtrack! It’s almost reminiscent of those old tycoon games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon. Though I wasn’t even a thought in the 80s, the theme and appearance of the elements transport me back to a different time. The soundtrack is quite catchy, nothing too varied, but catchy. I also enjoy simple customizations for your CEO and your industry logo. The developers at SomaSim have really hit the nail on the head in terms of the elements, graphics and soundtrack. I obviously can’t say it gives me a sentimental feeling (again, wasn’t even a thought) but older gamers who were alive during this time might feel a bit reminiscent of the “good ole days.”

The Contracts & Deliveries: More than just Complexes

As mentioned earlier, you will need to manage more than just the complexes in your industry. You set up contracts to buy or sell materials for the long term. Your VP of Sales handles the contracts and reports back with one for you to sign. Contracts can be on different levels, such as small, medium and large (depending on the amount of product you plan on buying or selling). Your connections with other CEOs and your influence points shape your contracts, leading to different deals.

Along with contracts, you will also need to set up deliveries within your industry. Any product you are selling needs to be delivered to your headquarters. You must deliver any resource you plan to manufacture—like turning crude oil into plastic—to the corresponding complex, which also requires the same facilities mentioned before. You also need to decide how much of the resource you would like to deliver per day, with increasing costs. Of course as you are delivering more and more resources, one resource extractor will no longer cut it. This will lead into basically doubling everything in that complex—more resource extractors, potentially more water and electricity connectors, more loading facilities and so much more damned access roads. This vicious cycle, becoming an endless upkeeping of complex management.

And then, before you know it, the tutorial is over. We successfully create a media production complex and begin a contract selling VHS tapes. Frankie sets us free to explore the rest of the game and begin taking on those 15 scenarios. I will say, when it comes to tutorials, this was perhaps one of the more daunting ones I’ve played through. Taken aback by the amount of micromanaging in this game, I hesitantly jumped into the scenarios.

The Gameplay: I. Declare. BANKRUPTCY!

When beginning a scenario, I realized that there was so much that the tutorial did not set me up for. There’s hiring a management team and different traits, research generation, towns and their available housing, total limits to electricity and water supply, railroads, the list goes on. The game does include pop up hints and a guide called Frankie’s Tips that go through all the different factors in play. Personally though, I’m of the mindset that I shouldn’t have to read an encyclopedia to be able to play a video game. The hints that pop up when you open the different menus just don’t seem helpful enough. My companies still burn through electricity, my satisfaction levels still plunge below zero, and I still hemorrhage money like I’m destined to fail.

In sandbox mode, you have the ability to change different parameters for the game, such as the overall difficulty, complex borders and the number of deposits. You still must select one of the scenario locations which will follow a similar map. Of course, you can probably make the game a walk through the park and set everything to work in your advantage—but where’s the fun in that? It would take multiple plays just to find that perfect difficulty that provides a decent challenge that requires me to think but not struggle through. Unfortunately, my industries never faired any better unless I made the game ridiculously easy.

I wish the tutorial did a little more onboarding for new players, perhaps two separate tutorials for basic and advanced mechanics. I would want the first scenario to not feel so challenging and ease players into all the systems, rather than throw them head first. A business management tycoon game should not feel like a roguelike. The game should start off as a little more fun and a little less of a micro-managing struggle-bus to bankruptcy.

The Conclusion: My Industry Will Not Be Rising Any Time Soon

Like I said earlier, these types of games are not for me. This could just be an example of “git gud” but the game does not feel compelling enough to try to. There is a certain level of micro-managing that Rise of Industry 2 does not successfully set me up for. Attempting to do the scenarios or try my luck in sandbox has a mountainously steep learning curve and makes the game feel like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience. If the actual gameplay kept my attention, I might be up for the challenge! Unfortunately though, I could do nothing but sit and stare as my industry collapsed and crumbled as the days went on, and on, and on.

I don’t want to fault the developers at SomaSim though! The positive reviews on steam clearly indicate that some people enjoy the challenge. Even my partner would have a lot more fun with the complex building and micro-managing. The game could have a promising future if they continue working on it. Perhaps by just making things a tad easier for us newbies, we might start having fun! However, as it currently stands, it is too much to chew on all at once and my jaw is sore. And if I’m not having any fun… well, I don’t see any reason to continue trying.

Thank you for reading and best of luck to your industries!

The beat ’em up genre has always held a special place in gaming history. From arcades drenched in neon lights to living rooms filled with chunky CRT televisions, games like Final Fight, Double Dragon, and Streets of Rage defined a generation of co-op action. But for every mainstream hit, there were dozens of quirky, ambitious, or downright strange brawlers that slipped through the cracks.

That’s where QUByte’s Beat ’Em Up Collection comes in. Rather than serving up the usual “greatest hits,” this package focuses on lesser-known titles, offering a fascinating glimpse at the more experimental corners of the genre. Containing seven side-scrolling fighters, it’s both a nostalgic curiosity and a preservation project that introduces hidden gems to a new audience.

What do we get?

• First Samurai – Originally developed for the Amiga, First Samurai blends action-platforming with martial arts mysticism. You play as a wandering samurai aided by a spirit guide, facing everything from demons to giant insects. The controls feel unusual compared to typical brawlers—you’re juggling swordplay with platforming challenges—but the atmosphere makes it memorable. The SNES version included here isn’t quite as sharp as the Amiga original, but it retains that surreal, almost dreamlike quality.
• Second Samurai – The sequel expands the concept with two-player co-op, allowing players to tackle mythological beasts together. Unfortunately, QUByte opted for the Mega Drive version instead of the superior Amiga edition. The result is a game that feels clunky and unrefined, with downgraded visuals and sound. It’s a missed opportunity, but still interesting for fans who want to see how the series evolved.
• Gourmet Warriors – This is the standout oddity of the bunch. Set in a futuristic, food-obsessed world, you play as eccentric characters like Bonjour and Très Bien, defeating enemies not for points or health but for ingredients. At the end of each stage, those ingredients are cooked into dishes that boost your stats. It’s a brawler that’s part cooking sim, part parody, and it leans hard into its comedic personality. Think of it as a mix between Streets of Rage and Iron Chef.
• Iron Commando – One of the chunkiest-feeling beat ’em ups you’ll play. Combat is deliberate and heavy, making every punch feel impactful—but also a little sluggish. The twist here is weapon variety: knives, pipes, grenades, and even machine guns litter the battlefield, turning fights into chaotic shootouts as much as fistfights. While this makes it distinct, some purists might feel it strays too far from traditional hand-to-hand brawling.
• Legend – Borrowing heavily from Golden Axe, Legend tries to deliver a medieval hack-and-slash experience, complete with swords, armor, and a pseudo-fantasy setting. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite capture the magic. Combat feels repetitive, enemies lack variety, and the magic system is underdeveloped. Still, for anyone fascinated by 16-bit “clone” games, it’s a fascinating artifact.
• Sword of Sodan – If Legend is light fantasy, Sword of Sodan is dark fantasy at its grittiest. You play as a barbarian warrior—male or female—cutting through grotesque monsters in a bleak, medieval world. The graphics were impressive for their time, with large sprites and grim art design, though gameplay can feel stiff. It’s an atmospheric curiosity, particularly for fans of Conan-style fantasy worlds.
• The Tale of Clouds and Winds – Perhaps the most traditional beat ’em up in the package, this one takes cues from classics like Double Dragon while mixing in Eastern storytelling influences. It’s straightforward—walk right, fight thugs, repeat—but the setting makes it stand out. This one will likely appeal most to genre purists who want a no-nonsense, old-school brawler.

The biggest strength here is variety. No two games feel the same: one blends cooking with combat, another dips into grimdark barbarian fantasy, and another flirts with platforming. This makes the package feel like a time capsule of experimentation, showing how developers in the ’90s tried to push the beat ’em up formula in different directions. Presentation is another win.

Classics with new features

Where QUByte shines is in how it presents these games. Rather than simple ROM dumps, each title comes with quality-of-life features that make them more accessible for modern players. With features like Save States, Pause mid-level and save progress, essential for tough sections or revisiting later. Rewind Function: Instantly undo mistakes, perfect for cheap enemy hits or tricky boss fights. Button Remapping: A must for comfort, allowing players to tailor controls to their liking. These are the additions that make such titles accessible by today’s standards. These games are difficult and unforgiving and if like many others you do not have time to master the mechanics, these features will save you.

There are also more cosmetic and fun additions such as digital Manuals & Extras. Each game includes its manual, giving insight into original mechanics, artwork, and story context. These help bridge the gap between playing and understanding each title’s quirks. CRT Filters & Screen Options allow players to choose between crisp pixels or authentic retro aesthetics with scanlines. You can even adjust aspect ratios for widescreen or the original 4:3. Region Versions (where applicable): In some cases, the collection allows players to experience different versions of a game, preserving regional differences.

My Conclusion

The Beat ’Em Up Collection is a fascinating, uneven, but ultimately valuable package. It doesn’t deliver perfection, nor does it aim to, it preserves history, warts and all. For retro fans, it’s a goldmine of curiosities, presenting forgotten experiments alongside cult favourites. For casual players, it’s a tougher sell, but still worth a look if you’re curious about the weirder side of the genre. If you are a fan of beat ’em ups give Heroes of Mount Dragon a quick look too. A new and polished beat title with a recent free update adding new characters.

At its best, this collection is a celebration of the beat ’em up’s wild, diverse past. At its worst, it’s a reminder of why some games stayed obscure. Either way, it’s an engaging journey for anyone who wants to see beyond the usual suspects.