I absolutely adore side scrolling beat em ups, I always have and back in the day growing up I would lose a lot of lunch money playing on arcade games like Golden Axe, TMNT, Dragon Ninja and Double Dragon. There is just something about having a limited number of lives in game and 50p’s in your pocket and fighting your way to win the day and keep on playing. Sadly those kind of games are few and far between now, especially on consoles however the second I saw this little gem of a game not only did my old warrior instinct return, but the bloodthirsty need to slay everything on screen and find that humble roast chicken to get my health back. The game that brought back all this awesomeness, Wulverblade.

It is 120AD and the Romans have managed to conquer most of Southern Britain and have now turned their attention to the North and Scotland with the 9^th Legion and its 5000 highly trained Roman soldiers making their way to complete the victory. However Scotland is not known for simply lying down and her people are ready, willing and able to stand and face any threat that comes their way and in 120AD, the Scots were brutal and deadly like no other tribe in Britain. Caradoc, Guardian of the Northern Tribes has rallied them together to face the Romans and he is out for nothing but total destruction of the 9^th Legion and will do whatever it takes to protect his lands and his people.

Wulverblade is a visceral side scrolling beat em up that is truly the modern day tribute to all the iconic side scrollers of long ago. It is unforgiving in its brutality and completely revels in delivering an old school experience whilst at the same time bringing a modern take on this genre that for someone like me who grew up with this genre of video game, just makes brings it all back so effortlessly. From the opening cutscene and musical score that would give big screen films like 300 a run for their money, Wulverblade is impactful right from the moment you hit that start button.

Set across eight stages, Wulverblade lets you pick one of three characters to take into the battle. It also has local co-op meaning a friend can join you but sadly no online Co-Op. I took the main hero of the story Caradoc into battle, with his sword to block and sword to cut down the Romans and tribesman who chose to side with the Romans. It follows the basic rules of a side scroller beat em up with the requirement to kill all enemies before being able to move to the next screen and to battle your way to the boss fight of that stage. Enemies will come at you from either the left or right of the screen and come in different fighting types which increase in difficulty as you progress through the game.

The first thing that hits you in the visual style and I love how everything is just big on screen and in your face as you hit enemy after enemy. Much like how the additional bass in the soundtrack in DOOM just raises your Adrenalin in the action, Wulverblade has a fantastic musical score that pushes you along into battle and the art style is glorious. As the action kicks in you will be cutting off limbs and heads of enemies and you slice your way through the enemies with the wonderful bonus of being able to pick up fallen weapons and indeed limbs and heads to then throw at new enemies. The numbers game is the main technique of the enemy and playing solo especially, the number of enemies on screen can often have you surrounded but this is where the excellent combat system comes into play and moving focus to different enemies is quick and as Caradoc has a shield, defending yourself and even parrying attacks becomes a natural element to the fighting. Jump attacks, quick combos and using the shield charge are all fluid and great for the crowd control needed for large numbers of enemies and to break down the defence of those enemies carrying shields or using ranged attacks like bows. Each stage is so beautifully drawn that along with some of the most Scottish “Scottish” dialogue and voice cast I have seen in a game, as the player you really start to get a feel that you are defending Scotland and her people from the evil Romans.

Completing each stage then opens up the next one but Wulverblade has an extra little surprise which I completely adored that as you play through each stage some will unlock a short video showing how the developers researched the lore and history of Scotland to find the right locations to recreate as stages in the game. By looking at the ancient stone circles of Scotland, the videos will tell the tale of their history and their inspiration for the game. During the stages themselves, smashing the scenery can also find character diary entries and developer notes that can be read outside the stages telling more of the true history of this time and of the lore of the ancient tribes and how these were brought together to create the story for Wulverblade. It is in these extra touches that elevate my experience with this game in a way I really appreciated, much like Never Alone who also had videos to explain the history and inspiration behind that game, it is a look behind the curtain and something I wish more games would take the time to do.

I also came to appreciate the modes this game has with the classic Campaign mode and the extra cool ‘Arcade mode’ which gives a huge nod to the arcade side scrollers of old by only allowing three continues to complete the game, like you have your very last 50p in the machine and that is all you get. Such things along with the developer notes and videos just add so much to what is already a solid game experience, show the heart and passion that went into this game and that can only be applauded and admired. Wulverblade is clearly a project of love and everything about it from the animation, voice acting, story and gameplay just brings it all together into a must have package. It is so pick up and play to begin with but it entices the player to practice to continue to improve and get better as the challenge increases through to the later stages in the game with a really unexpected but awesome surprise at the end that adds even more fun and awe to the game.

Nostalgia has become a big element in the games I am quickly coming to love in 2018 and Wulverblade is no exception. The fact this game has so much in and around its core game campaign is nothing short of brilliance. I can return to this game time and time again and it has already earned a place in my gaming heart right next to games like Golden Axe which from me is high praise.

There is a lot to celebrate about this game and if you are a fan of side scrolling fighters then this more than deserves a place in your collection.

I always love it when a game comes out of nowhere and completely takes me by surprise. I had not heard of this game until I saw it streamed by the PC Access team but I was instantly grabbed by it and made it a point to get this title in my PS4 as soon as physically possible. With the promise of a superb story and cast of characters to take me on a nostalgic trip back to the 80s, it was finally time to give Crossing Souls a go.

Crossing Souls takes us back to 1986 and the sunny days of California where five teenage friends, Chris, Kevin, Matt, Charlie and Big Joe are getting ready to enjoy their summer break when Kevin, younger brother to Chris, makes a discovery that will change all their lives and the world forever and for me, the most fun opening 90 minutes to a game I have had so far this year. I do not think the stupid happy grin left my face for a good few hours whilst playing this game with so much of it just ticking so many gameplay boxes not to mention the amazing attention to nostalgia that is threading throughout this game.

It is almost crazy just how many gameplay styles are blended together into Crossing Souls. From the very start it has the old school visual art style of a Lucasarts game of old with an 8 Bit feel that completely suits the 80s tone to the game. The detail in the animation of each character works well to make sure they each have their own personality in their movement style that makes them all unique. The audio is very much set in the old school gaming style that combined with the animation and overall visual style to the game just creates an amazing world for these characters and the player to experience. Crossing Souls is an action adventure game where puzzles will need to solved and each of the friends will have their role to play to do that as well as a combat element that harks back to the good old days of Streets of Rage at times.

The first hour of the game will see Chris going in search of his brother Kevin who has summoned everyone to meet at their secret treehouse base after making a discovery that have to see to believe. As Chris collects each friend we get a quick chance to learn something about them and their skill set and how they fit into the mix. They really are a completely believable group of friends and instantly remind me of the Goonies. The writing and dialogue for each character is superb and is full of nods and references to iconic things from the 80s which also works its way into the locations the friends will travel too. There is also a really fun element of breaking the fourth wall which is used really well and never over done.

The player can only control one character at a time, and in true old school fashion, all the characters will inhabit one body and using the controller bumpers to switch between the characters to use. Chris for example is a star high school baseball player and so carries a baseball to fight with and as the ability to jump and climb vines. Matt is the scientist of the group and budding little Tony Stark with the gadgets he invents. Matt has a laser gun for ranged attacks and hover boots allowing him to hover long distances. Charlie is the girl of the group and has the ability to dash quickly and using a skipping rope as a deadly whip in combat. Big Joe is the powerhouse of the group, slow moving but packing the hardest of punches and ability to move heavy objects, which leaves Kevin who can jump and blow bubble gum.  Depending on what the environment and situation is will give the player the chance to select which character is best to use. Some of the later stages and puzzles will require some hot switching between them but will come to that a bit later on.

The intriguing element to this game comes in the form of the Duat Stone, which has the ability to reveal the spirits of the dead who are still part of the world but can’t be seen. Our heroes find the stone and a way to use it which brings the world of the dead into the world of the living adding new puzzles to solve and enemies to battle. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story but it is fair to say that is has all the elements anyone familiar with 80s movies and kids cartoons has. But under all the nostalgia and pop culture references, there is a really deep and emotional story for the characters that was surprising to me. Also huge thumbs up to all the references made that use simple imagery rather than any text to explain the reference so to those who know the 80s, it works really well but also in a smart way to avoid any copyright issues which just adds to the discovery of each one.

As clever as the story and characters are, the game does sadly fall down in some aspects which to an extent undoes some of the good nature gameplay Crossing Souls has. The platforming elements can be very frustrating indeed as they often require precise jumping or quick switching and there is still some input lag on the controller meaning cheap deaths resulting in having to redo that whole section at times. It just adds a clumsiness to the game which is a real shame because overall this is a superbly put together game that gets so many factors in balance but is let down by its own control system. Boss fights are fun for the most part but a couple of end game ones can be extremely cheap stopping you in your tracks with one in particular feeling more than a little unfair.

Crossing Souls is a big surprise for me in 2018, it delivers on so much that as a someone who did grow up in the 80s, uses that nostalgia to great effect to enhance an already fun title to play. Hopefully updates can address the clumsy jumping that hamper the game later on, but the story is solid and really well written to make this a must have title in your collection and a great little distraction from all the big AAA heavy hitters and just refreshing with its old school style but modern enough to make it a great experience early on in 2018.