I’ve been floating this idea around for a while now, and have finally figured out a way to implement it into an ongoing series for the site. As some of you may already know, on our Gamecorp podcast, my co-host and I used to end the show on what games we have been playing throughout the week. Lately though, probably in an effort to get as far away from me as possible in a timely manner, Chad has decided to get rid of this segment. So instead of being discouraged and giving up hope, I have decided to start sharing all of you, whether you like it or not, what I’ve been up to gaming wise. So let’s see what’s on tap for our first installment of What I’ve Been Playing.
Disclaimer: Most of the games I played here were sent to me from Ratalaika Games and Brain Connected for purpose of review.
1. Cybarian: Time Traveling Warrior
Developer: Ritual Games
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Platforms: Xbox, PS4, PSVita, Switch
Genre: Hack and Slash/Platformer
Price: $4.99
Have you ever wondered what a combination of a saturday morning cartoon character like He-Man mixed with a storyline similar to Back to The Future, sprinkled into a hack and slash platformer would look like? The answer to this question would simply be Cybarian. First of all, I love the aesthetic as the visual style actually displays the action on an old CRT TV with some grainy filters just to add that old school look and feel. The gameplay here is rock solid, running and jumping is tight and responsive, the fighting mechanics have this unique timing system implemented into them that adds some strategy to the combat, and the boss fights are exciting as well. Music is great too, and only pushes the cartoon vibe further down your throat, but in a good way of course. The only downside is that the game is rather short, as there are only four levels to play that will probably take a couple of hours to complete. Still for five bucks, this is something that fans of these genres should definitely consider checking out.
2. Gun Crazy
Developer: Ritual Games
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Genre: Side Scroller Shooter/Platformer
Price: $4.99
I’m kind of getting some Gunstar Heroes mixed with Contra vibes on this one, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is another short, but sweet, arcade action title from Ritual games. The visual style on this one is very anime heavy, so depending on how you feel about that kind of stuff, than this might not be for you, but I enjoy it. The gameplay is fast and frantic, and that’s to be expected with something like this, luckily the controls are solid enough to keep up with the action that’s taking place onscreen. Music wise, the soundtrack adds a nice amount of tension to each stage you play through as well. As with Cybarian, despite the length, this is still a fun experience from beginning to end, and is well worth your time .
3. Rush Rover
Developer: Indienova and Radio
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Genre: Top Down Roguelike Twin Stick Shooter
Price: $4.99
This a type of game that I’ve been extremely addicted to as of late, and this title is just adding to my obsession with the genre as a whole, roguelike games. Visuals on this one are rather straightforward and simplistic, but the animations of enemies and your main character have enough personality to them to more than make up for it. That being said, gameplay wise, everything here works, but the increasing intensity of difficulty as you progress might end up leaving some players frustrated after multiple playthroughs. Music is solid enough, but to perfectly honest with you, it’s pretty forgettable. If you’re into that just one more time mentality when it comes to playing games, then this is for you.
4. Portal Dogs
Developer: Brain Connected
Publisher: Brain Connected
Platforms: Switch
Genre: Platformer
Price: $3.99
Ever wondered what would happen if a curious dog got too close to a machine, and by accident opened up a maze of portals that he must navigate through in order to get home? Well, the answer is you would get a game called Portal Dogs. I do like the visuals here, they are cute and simplistic, but I wish they were more fully rendered models instead of looking like paper cut outs, not a big deal though. Gameplay is pretty straightforward and simple, but does change things up enough with various animals, each with their own abilities, to make things interesting. Music is lively, upbeat, and lighthearted, and helps the player feel relaxed. A great game for young kids who are just getting into platformers, and that’s about it.
5. Streets of Rage 4
Developer: Dotemu, Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games
Publisher: Dotemu(US and most territories), Yooreka Studio (China)
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Switch, PC (Windows)
Genre: Side Scrolling Arcade Beat Em Up
Price: $24.99
The latest entry into this beloved series certainly has a lot to live up to, and it delivers on almost every level. First of all, the hand drawn designs and animations for each character are top notch, and have a lot of personality to them as well. Gameplay is also well done, with each characters fighting style feeling unique to them, which opens things up to people with various approaches as to how they play the game. Music is honestly just ok, it adds to the vibe to each stage well, but it’s nothing too special. Aside from that, this feels par for the course for the most, and despite the lack of any innovation, fans of the familiar will have fun time with this one.
Some other quick highlights include me continuing my season in NBA 2K20, enjoying some classic point and click fun in Guard Duty, micro machine racing in Toybox Turbos, exploring the glory days of the arcade with Pac Man CE 2, and going on a trick or treat platforming adventure in Haunted Halloween 86. Rounding out the rest of the lineup is a horrible light gun shooter called Corpse Killer, an intriguing but flawed platformer called Shiny, an interesting puzzle game revolving around crystals called Magicolors, and finally finishing Luigi’s Mansion 3.
Pick of The Week: Cybarian Time Traveling Warrior
Out of everything I played, this one without question was my favorite of the bunch this week. The entire package here took me back to being a kid, and how much I had playing these kinds of games back in the day. Those reasons alone made my choice an easy one.
That wraps up my first installment of What I’ve Been Playing. Be on the lookout for more installments in the future, and follow my twitch channel (link is on the site) to watch me stream some of these as well, see you next time.