Platformer
Animal Well (PC) Review
Recent years have seen quite the resurgence of Metroidvania games. Titles like 2021’s Metroid Dread, or this year’s Prince of Persa: The Lost Crown show how evolved the genre has become. Metroidvanias such as Cave Story and Ori and the Blind Forest aimed to diversify the genre in scale and budget. Lone developer Billy Basso sought to reinvent the wheel in his first release, Animal Well. Earl...[Read More]
Free Trial for Upcoming Roguelite 3D Platformer Tower Princess
3D platformers are among my favorite genres in gaming. Since Nintendo’s 1996 release of Super Mario 64, the genre has continued to expand, resulting in many unique experiences. Last year’s Kena Bridge of Spirits combined the open-world action RPG genre with 3D platforming roots. This year, AweKteaM and HypeTrain Digital plan to expand the genre further, with their upcoming Roguelite To...[Read More]
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5) Review
Last year during PlayStation’s Future of Gaming event, Ember Lab unveiled their first-ever title. Having a background in creating animated commercials and shorts, Ember Lab’s first game, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, showcased incredibly well. The reveal trailer impressed many, by displaying a visually robust atmosphere in what looked to be a sprawling action-adventure. Initially slated for a lat...[Read More]
Sonic Colors: Ultimate (PS4 Review)
A modern Sonic classic returns with some new features, but is it still worth your time?
Toodee and Topdee (PC) Review
I first caught wind of Toodee and Topdee at last year’s Gamescom Indie Arena booth. Developer dietzribi’s concept of combining 2D side-scrolling platforming sections, with puzzle sentric top-down block pushing, sounded incredibly unique. While both block pushers and platformers have been around for ages, the idea of mashing them up really peaked my interest. So much so, that I even took the time t...[Read More]
Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World (Switch) Review
Sega’s Wonder Boy/Monster World franchise has quite a rocky history. The original Wonder Boy released in 1986. From there it spawned many sequels, remakes, and notably the Adventure Island franchise. In 2016, the original was remade by CFK Co. in the form of Wonder Boy Returns. A year later, Wonder Boy III would see a remake by another developer. Lizardcube set new standards for how a remake shoul...[Read More]
Antonball Deluxe (Steam) Review
Many gamers agree that the 70s and 80s were the golden age of gaming. The arcade industry was booming. This caused more people’s exposure to the concept of video games. Many classics like Breakout, Pac-Man, and Mario Bros. became international icons of the era. These old-school arcade games all have a very distinguished feel. This is likely due to fundamentally being built in a way that indu...[Read More]
Meet the Deve Team Behind Space Otter Charlie
Space Otter Charlie is an upcoming “Zero-G Puzzle Platformer” from the newly formed studio, Wayward Distractions. The studio may be new, however, the developers each bring expertise from past successes. Featuring insight from many veterans of the industry, Wayward Distractions has released some information; to get to know the team behind Space Otter Charlie.
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty (Switch) Review
It’s no surprise that Nintendo dominated the gaming industry back in the day. Many of Nintendo’s practices became mainstays for the trade as a whole. Their success is thanks in part to their massively popular game library. Nintendo consoles are notorious for housing some of the greatest 2D platformers of all-time. Games like Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, and Mega Man come to mind. Nintendo...[Read More]
Doodle Derby (PC) Review – A Journey From-To
Four years ago, if you told me I would enjoy playing indie games I would call you a liar. Prior to working with Maroonersrock, I wrote for Gamersbliss, which is now no longer in existence. During my time there, I typically covered AAA titles and my only experience with Indie games was rather limited; in fact, I had only tried three indie games, Don’t Die! Dateless Dummy, Too Many Girls to Li...[Read More]
Spinch (Nintendo Switch) Review – Psychedelic Precision Platforming!
Platformers have been an immensely popular genre in gaming, dating all the way back to the 80s. While many are considered easy, many platformers prove to be incredibly challenging. This is partly thanks to their origins in the arcades. The harder the game was to beat, the more likely players would continue putting in their quarters. As the years went on, console platformers continued the difficult...[Read More]