PixlBit

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I’ve got some valentines for you all: game reviews I’ve recently written at GamerDad.com.  Please click on the links and read as many as you can, and maybe even post a ‘like’ or comment or two.  I’d appreciate it.  OK let’s begin!

Chained Echoes (PS4)

Chained Echoes is a 2-D RPG modeled after the 16-bit classics I used to love, like Chrono Trigger and such.  The storyline is a bit convoluted, but it involves three kingdoms on the brink of war, ancient stones that house world destroying monsters, mech suits, and a rag-tag team of adventurers who will end up saving the world.  Unfortunately the battles in the game were way too hard and it just wore out on me after a while.

Buddy Simulator 1984 (Switch)

When I was a kid back in the early 80s, our first computer was an Apple ][+.  It was really my first gaming ‘console’ and I played a lot of games on it.  Most were arcade titles like Pac-Man, Zaxxon, and Frogger, but there were also some original ones like Spare Change and Aquatron.  But the way you started these games was totally different than how you do it now.  Back then you had to enter a floppy disk in and type in some text like ‘run’ and then whatever game you wanted to play.  Some of these games were just text only, too.  And some of those text only games simulated you having a conversation with a person.  I remember one called “Freud” where it was like you were talking to a psychiatrist.  But the main thing I remember about that game was the blocky face of a bearded man.  Another one I remember later was called “Alice.”  Well Buddy Simulator 1984 aims to recreate the feel of those games, while adding in some unsettling AI horror elements as well. 

That’s a Cow (Switch)

That’s a Cow is a silly, continuous runner where you propel your cow forward by having it squirt milk like some kind of dairy jetpack.  You can also squirt obstacles and enemies, too, as you collect coins and apples.

Goodbye World (Switch)

I play and review a lot of indie games.  Before the pandemic, I would go to shows like PAX and E3 and preview a lot of them, but sometimes it would take years before I would actually get a full release date copy to review.  I’ve always wondered what those developers did during that time.  How did they get paid?  Did they have to work on other things to get by?  Why did it take so long to make that game?  If you’ve wondered about those questions, too, then maybe Goodbye World is for you.  In it, you’ll follow the struggles of two just-out-of-college young ladies as they struggle to make an indie game.  And in between story sections, you’ll get to try a snippet of the game they’re working on, a retro black and white handheld platform puzzler.

Arctictopia (Switch)

A mama polar bear and her cub are exploring the ice, but it starts to melt and break up and separates them!  Help the mama polar bear reach her cub by hopping on constantly melting icebergs in this very “chill” puzzle platformer.

Papetura (Switch)

In a world made entirely out of paper, a shadowy being enters with the power of fire.  That’s pretty dangerous in a world like this, so it’s up to a living sheet of paper and his weird friends to stop the shadow presence and save the day.  Papetura is a 2-D puzzle adventure game where everything was made from paper in real life, then scanned into the game so it’s very artistic.

Trifox (PS4)

A band of nasty animal pirates have ransacked a fox’s home and stolen his remote control.  But luckily this is one clever fox and must use skills from a warrior, mage, and engineer to take back his stuff!  Mix and match various abilities to defeat enemies, bypass obstacles, and solve puzzles in this 3-D adventure.  It also has a bit of a retro vibe as it feels like something that would’ve been on the PS2.

Chalk Gardens (Switch)

Kids love playing with chalk outside on the sidewalk, and there have even been cartoons based on that idea, like Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings from the 70s and Nickelodeon’s Chalk Zone.  And now you can play a game about that, too, with Chalk Gardens.  A child’s favorite stuffed toy has lost its leg, and now you must help them find it.  Explore a world of chalk drawings and provide solutions to problems to open up paths to reach new areas.

Wings of Bluestar (PS4)

This is a story driven 2-D horizontally scrolling shooter.  It features hand drawn looking graphics and tried and true gameplay. 

And that’s all for now!  Thanks for reading and posting ‘likes’ and comments on my reviews!  I really do appreciate it.  Happy Valentine’s Day!  Later!  --Cary