7 years I’ve waited for this! Alan Wake was first announced way back in 2005, back when Remedy had only just finished Max Payne 2, but after 5 years in development and the horribly justified cancellation of the PC version, it came out as an Xbox 360 exclusive back in 2010. Now, 2 years later, we can finally experience it at its best.
It was released on Steam on February 16th, and within 48 hours had surpassed the development costs. Yes, PC games are profitable, though only a fool would think otherwise. Stop being dicks about releasing games for us, you big stupid moronic publishers. Anyway, I finally have my own copy on its way to me (I wanted the physical collectors edition which comes with an artbook, soundtrack and a few extra bits and pieces) and should be in my hands on March 2nd. I can’t wait to play through it in all its high-definition glory. It was always meant to be this way!
Dome Keeper is an excellent little spin on the tower defense game, in which you play the role of a jetpacking miner defending his base from swarms of aliens, whilst searching for a hidden relic buried somewhere beneath him. And now, with this huge free update, you can play it with friends.
I want to talk about Cloudpunk, a game where you get to be a flying-car delivery driver in a futuristic cyberpunk city. Its world is an incredible achievement of environmental design, and while the gameplay itself may be basic, the city of Nivalis is a thing of beauty to behold. Nivalis is built out of hundreds of hand-modelled cuboid buildings; there’s nothing procedural about it. Apparently it took 3 years for the devs to design the city, and it really shows.
I do love me some quality pixel art, and it doesn’t get much better than this. Cast n Chill is a cozy side-scrolling fishing game by small indie dev team Wombat Brawler, with absolutely gorgeous visuals. It’s simple to play, and you you can dip in and out of it at your leisure, making it a fine addition to our collection of coffee break games.
I don’t get on with the Souls games at all, but I really wish that I did. For me, the combat was just a little too clunky and, oh, you know, fucking difficult.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a depressing game. It’s epic and majestic, but undoubtedly bleak. Luckily, it also has some hilarious moments timed with comedic perfection, which somehow never feel out of place. It’s a credit to the writers, and the performances of the voice actors. These are my favourite funny moments of Expedition 33.
I was not a fan of Uncharted 3, but this new ad for Nathan Drake’s supposed final adventure is only 30 seconds long and somehow managed to tug my heartstrings… I wish I had a PS4.