Shenmue (Xbox One, 2018)

Shenmue

Developed by Sega/d3t Ltd.

Published by Sega

Released for Xbox One (8/21/2018)

Also on PC/PS4

 

Originally released for the Dreamcast in 1999 (2000 in the US) and was a landmark title that was created with the biggest budget Sega had ever used for a video game at the time of its release. Shenmue was created with Yu Suzuki at the helm as director (Outrun, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter) and is considered by many to be one of the most important releases for the short-lived Sega Dreamcast console. In this review we'll take a look at the Xbox One 2018 release of Shenmue, which also came out for the PC and PlayStation 4. 

Shenmue was quite the ambitious project back in the 90's when it came out, featuring a decent size open-world to explore with detail that had been unrivaled at the time. The game tells the story of Ryo Hazuki, who witnesses his father beaten to death in their dojo at the start of the game. The rest of the game is spent trying to identify the man who killed your father and get revenge for his murder. Taking place in Yokosuka, Japan, you'll have access to explore several areas which are linked by brief loading screens. The town is called Dobuita, which is where the majority of the interesting stuff will occur. There are a large number of shops you can enter, NPCs to interact with (though most don't have time to talk to you) and other various activities. Shenmue really excels at making the environments feel immersive and alive, with NPCs that operate on a schedule and will actually go about doing their own thing. In addition to a day and night cycle, there are also varying states of weather including rain and snow. At the end of the day you'll have to go home and sleep, but thankfully the developers spared us from having to eat and use the bathroom. 

Storm Boy (Xbox One, 2018)

Storm Boy
Developed by Blowfish Studios
Published by Blowfish Studios/New Holland Publishers
Released for Xbox One (11/20/2018)
Also on Android/iOS/Mac/PC/Switch/PS4

Storm Boy is based upon a children's book from 1964, which was written by Colin Thiele and shares the same title as the game. The book has also been adapted into 2 live-action films, first in 1976 and again in 2019. The Storm Boy game was released in November 2018 for a wide variety of platforms and, as expected, we'll be looking at the Xbox One release for this review.

Storm Boy has you playing as a young boy, who discovers 3 baby pelicans in a nest while walking along the beach. After seeing that the birds have no mother, he helps raise them and eventually sets them free into the wild. Later on one of the pelicans returns to visit the young boy and from there he develops a close friendship with the bird. The Storm Boy game is about adventures that the young boy and his bird friend had over the years. There's no voice acting here and the story is delivered in text, mostly as you walk along the beach to your next destination. While the game is short and can easily completed in under an hour, the story is well-written and you get a good feel for the friendship between our two characters.

Gameplay consists of walking along the beach until you discover a thought bubble, at which point you'll enter into a sort of mini-game. There are 9 different mini-games to discover, with a decent amount of variety among them. A majority of the mini-games don't really have a definitive end, they just sort of let you mess around until you're ready to move on to the next thing. For example, one of them has you flying around as a pelican from a side perspective, allowing you to go left, right or turn around. The screen scrolls on endlessly until you decide to hit the B button to back out. Another mini-game has you drawing in the sand with a stick. While there's certainly not much of a challenge factor to the mini-games in Storm Boy, the laid-back and relaxing style of gameplay make this a good one for those just looking to unwind. Upon completing the game, a new option at the main menu opens up, allowing you to access any of the mini-games or chapters on the fly.

Storm Boy is a nice-looking game, featuring bright and colorful environments to explore, though the frame-rate tends to be a bit erratic at times. Most noticeable is the opening segment, which has our character walking along a beach and the frame-rate really struggles to even maintain a smooth 30 FPS, even when played on an Xbox One X. While I stated the game looks nice, and it does, the graphical style is quite simple and should not be this taxing on the console that it couldn't run this game without a hitch if it was properly optimized. The next sequence, which has you walking along the beach during a sunset, runs much smoother and hits closer to 60 FPS, so the frame-rate is all over the place. These frame-rate issues don't break the game, but it is definitely noticeable and worth mentioning.

Outside of the slight issues with the frame-rate, Storm Boy was an enjoyable time. For a game of such a short length, there's a surprising amount of heart in the story. There's not much of a challenge here, so those looking for something a bit more relaxed should like this one. Those who have read the book or seen the movie will also want to have a look at Storm Boy.

Final Verdict: Storm Boy tells the story of a young boy and his pelican friend's time together. It's extremely short, consisting of a series of mini-games to play. If you're looking for something a bit more laid-back or a fan of the source material, give this one a shot.

Related Links:
Buy Storm Boy - Microsoft Store
Blowfish Studios - Official Site
Storm Boy (Novel) - Wikipedia
Storm Boy (Full Movie) - YouTube 
Storm Boy - Metacritic
Storm Boy - GameFAQs
Storm Boy - True Achievements
Storm Boy Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Adam's Venture: Origins (Xbox One, 2016)

Adam's Venture: Origins
Developed by Vertigo Interactive
Published by SOEDESCO
Released for Xbox One (4/1/2016)
Also on PC/PS4/Switch

Adam's Venture is a third-person puzzle/adventure series that originally started on PC back in 2009. There was a trilogy of games released for PC between 2009 to 2012, which were eventually ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2014 as Adam's Venture Chronicles. In 2016, we received Adam's Venture: Origins, which released for all of the big systems this time around. Initially I thought Origins was a prequel to Chronicles, but after watching CGR Undertow's review of Chronicles it looks like it might just be a remake, as I saw several parts in the video that also occurred within Origins, just with a slightly better presentation. Having never played the original games, it's all a bit confusing and I had a bit of trouble finding info on these titles as they just don't seem to be that popular. Let's delve into Adam's Venture: Origins and see if there's a reason not many are talking about this series...

Adam's Venture: Origins takes place in 1920's and you take control of Adam Venture, one of the cheesiest names I believe I've ever encountered. You have set forth on a journey to discover the secret of Eden. In addition to the cliched action hero, you also have the stereotypical attractive companion, who goes by the name of Evelyn. As you explore ancient ruins, you'll be tasked with solving several puzzles along the way while unraveling the mystery. There's also some sort of evil corporation that wants in on the action and plans to use whatever knowledge is gained for bad intentions. The game is chock full of tropes, but the writing is so self-aware of how dumb it is that it can actually be amusing at times. The story actually isn't bad and helps provide the player with some incentive to push along to see what happens next.

Gameplay involves exploring and solving puzzles, with the occasional stealth section thrown in. The exploring aspect is actually not bad, with the ability to run, jump and use a grappling hook with the X button. There are certain spots you can use your hook, which will be designated by an X symbol that pops up when you're within grappling range. These mostly involve swinging from one point to the next, but at some points you'll have to use the hook to pull down bridges or activate levers. Since you can only use the grappling hook on designated spots, it works much better than I initially expected. Navigation works well for the most part, with the ability to climb up ledges and shimmy across at certain points. It's all stuff you've seen in other games and while it's been done better, it's at least functional here. Sometimes the game is really picky where you stand when trying to climb up ledges, but other than that I didn't run into any issues.

Along the way you'll encounter several puzzles and the game does a decent job providing a variety between them. None of the puzzles are too taxing and this can either be a good or bad thing. If you're a puzzle vet, it'll probably be easy to the point of boring but for more novice players it'll be refreshing to be able to complete one of these types of games without consulting a guide. The game stumbles a bit when it comes to the stealth sections, of which there are two in the game. These feel half-baked, allowing to run right behind guards so long as the enemy doesn't flash their light in your general direction. It really fails to give any kind of impression that you're actually sneaking around.

Adam's Venture: Origins can actually look quite impressive at times, featuring a mostly smooth frame rate, detailed environments and good use of colors but unfortunately there are several issues when it comes to the graphics. Throughout my play of the game, I encountered numerous graphic artifacts, strange lack of clipping with many objects and tons of highly noticeable graphic pop-in. The voice acting is also pretty bad, but it wasn't as glaring of an issue as the graphical problems. The Adam's Venture games feature a Christian theme in them, but this one never came across as preachy and other than a few Biblical themes, completely forgot this was a Christian game while playing it.

Adam's Venture: Origins certainly isn't a good game, but it's not entirely bad either. The exploration and some of the puzzles were actually fun, but the graphics issues and stealth segments bring the overall experience down a few notches. There's a decent game hiding somewhere in here if the developers could clean up the visuals and make the stealth sections a bit more enjoyable. If a Tomb Raider game without guns sounds like your thing, give Adam's Venture: Origins a shot, but I'd advise to wait for a sale because this one is by no means worth the suggested retail price.

Final Verdict: Adam's Venture: Origins has some enjoyable exploration and puzzle segments, but the numerous graphical issues and subpar stealth segments drag it down a bit.

Purchase Links:
Buy Adam's Venture: Origins (Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Adam's Venture: Origins (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
SOEDESCO - Official Site
Adam's Venture: Origins - Metacritic
Adam's Venture: Origins - GameFAQs
Adam's Venture: Origins - True Achievements
Adam's Venture: Origins Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Bulb Boy (Xbox One, 2017)

Bulb Boy
Developed/Published by Bulbware
Released for Xbox One (10/6/2017)
Also on iOS/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch
File Size: 2.44 GB

Developed by Poland-based developer Bulbware (the same guys who would later collaborate with popular YouTuber Pewdiepie for a game called Poopdie for iOS/Android), Bulb Boy is a weird point 'n click adventure style game that was first released for PC and Macintosh back in late October 2015. In July 2016 the game was ported to iOS compatible devices, July 2017 the Switch, October 2017 the Xbox One and finally the PlayStation 4 in March 2018. Bulb Boy is a strange game, taking you through a nightmarish world in the shoes of the titular character, who indeed has a bulb for a head.

The story is simple but provides a nice set-up for the craziness that follows. Bulb Boy wakes up from a terrible nightmare, only to discover that some sort of evil presence has taken over the bulb-house. Bulb Boy's family has mysteriously vanished and there are some strange monsters lurking in the shadows. It's up to Bulb Boy to muster up the courage and save everything he loves.

Bulb Boy is definitely not going to be for everyone, even if you are a fan of point 'n click adventures, as the game features lots of toilet humor. In one of the standout sequences of the game, Bulb Boy has just digested a giant headless chicken and takes a literal monster dump, as after he's done a giant snake-like turd emerges from the toilet. Fans of games like the Binding of Isaac and South Park: The Stick of Truth will likely enjoy the twisted humor of Bulb Boy.

Bulb Boy is presented with a simple graphic-style that consists of various shades of green, except when Bulb Boy meets his demise, which causes the screen to turn red. While the graphics are simple, the environments are loaded with lots of nice little details and you can see quite a bit of effort went into the various animations. There's lots of cool nostalgia-throwbacks, such as a Power Glove lying on the living room floor or Masters of the Universe action figures in the sandbox. The music matches up well with the disturbing scenery and the sound effects help add to the grotesqueness, with lots of nasty sloshing noises used appropriately.

The gameplay in Bulb Boy is more or less your standard fare for a point 'n click style game, involving some exploration and puzzle-solving to see your way through to the end. There are a couple of spots in the game where you'll need to use your reflexes, but it's not too demanding on that front. The puzzles aren't too difficult, as the areas tend to be quite small and the item you'll need to interact with is always close by, though they will inevitably require a bit of trial and error.  The trial and error never becomes too frustrating due to generous checkpoints that get you back to where you were quickly.

Bulb Boy allows you to control your character directly and the movements are nice and responsive. Overall the game's control scheme is nice and simple; A button interacts with objects, B button backs out of the exam screen and the inventory is accessed using RB & LB. Once an inventory item is selected, you simply hit the A button to use that on whatever object is highlighted. There's a sequence where you control both the kid and the dog at the same time, one with each stick. This is a cool segment and I definitely wouldn't have minded another scenario or two involving the duo.

I enjoyed my time with Bulb Boy, though it's a rather short experience and, as already stated, it won't be for everybody due to some of the disgusting imagery, lots of it involving sphincters and feces. Throughout my playthrough of Bulb Boy, I unlocked all of the achievements in under 5 hours and didn't run into any crashes/glitches in the process. If you're a fan of the strange and bizarre, you may want to look into Bulb Boy. It retails for the fair asking price of $8.99, so while the game is quite short at least you don't have to break the bank to get it.

Final Verdict: While a short game, Bulb Boy will provide a few hours of fun for those who enjoy some toilet humor and bizarre imagery in their point 'n click adventures.

Related Links:
Buy Bulb Boy - Microsoft Store
Point & Click Games - Xbox Overview
Bulbware - Official Site
Bulb Boy - GameFAQs
Bulb Boy - True Achievements
Bulb Boy - Xbox Achievements

Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space (Xbox One, 2016)

Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space
Developed by ZG40
Published by Merge Games
Released for Xbox One (1/20/2016)
Also on Mac/PC/PS4

Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space not only has an odd title, but is a strange game as well. The opening of the game proudly declares that the game was created by a single person, a dude named Fabrizio Zagaglia (ZG40). Albedo was originally released for PC & Macintosh in October 2014 and received a port to the PlayStation 4 & Xbox One in January 2016. Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space is an adventure game that looks to invoke a B-movie sci-fi vibe.

The game kicks off with a brief cutscene, showing you sitting at a desk as a watchman for some sort of facility. After watching a co-worker leave for the night, a sudden explosion occurs and you fall through the ground as it busts open. When the game starts proper, you find yourself down in the basement looking up a giant hole in the floor. Albedo's gameplay is a mix of puzzle and adventure. The game progresses by rooms and each room will have puzzles to solve, which will involve interacting with various objects you'll find scattered about. There will be some traveling back and forth between previous rooms, but for the most part the game is linear in progression.

Albedo takes place from a first-person perspective. Featuring detailed 3D-rendered environments, it's not a bad-looking game. Though it's certainly not a good-looking game either, as many of the environments have so much packed into small areas it can be a bit too busy, making it difficult to tell what you're looking at sometimes. While acceptable on a graphical level, the control department is where Albedo really starts to blunder. Items have to be accessed via a menu, then once you've selected an item you need to scroll through another menu to determine what you'd like to do with that item. The game doesn't pause to let you do this, causing for some frustrating combat where you'll have an enemy attacking you while you clumsily try to select an item then select the menu to attack with. It's quite clunky and I never really got a feel for it even towards the end of the game. The controls definitely could've been mapped out better.

Aledo is a rather short game, though unless you use a guide there will no doubt be several areas where you're unsure what to do. Without a guide, the game could last anywhere from 10-20 hours, though once you inevitably end up using a guide the game can be cleared within a few hours. The areas and rooms you'll explore aren't that memorable for the most part, but there were a few interesting sections. The outdoor section toward the end was a standout sequence, but much of what led up to that was easily forgettable.

Albedo allows you to adjust the difficulty of the puzzles and combat individually. When puzzles are set to easy, the objects you can interact with glow green, but even set on easy I still found myself struggling with the puzzles at points (more on this later). Adjusting the combat slider will make enemies tougher and deal more damage. As I've already addressed how bad the combat is in Albedo, you'll want to do yourself a favor and set this to easy.

Albedo started off at least somewhat promising, giving the impression it might be a solid puzzle/adventure game with a lot of weirdness. While the game definitely delivered in spades on the weirdness scale, whatever fun I had with the game completely vanished at the fourth room, which is a boiler room. After a bit of frustration trying to figure out what I was supposed to do, I had to resort to a guide. Even reducing the difficulty to make the puzzles easier didn't help, which speaks volumes to the non-sensical design of the puzzles. It's like the developer knew the puzzles were bad, giving you the ability to skip certain puzzles and having no repercussion on getting the achievements.

This was one of those games I couldn't wait to end; it was painful to play at times. The best part was getting that last achievement and uninstalling this from my hard drive. I consider myself a fan of both puzzle and adventure games, but this was easily among the worst of either genre I can recall playing. The puzzles are convoluted beyond belief and the game is buggy enough that sometimes required objects clip through walls and disappear, making certain parts un-completable.  Couple that with terrible voice-acting and clunky controls, Albedo is a game I can safely recommend you avoid. While the game is a relatively quick completion, there are much better ways to earn some easy gamerscore.

Final Verdict: Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space is a strange first-person action/adventure/puzzle title that has a few interesting ideas but is held back by a clunky interface, clumsy controls and nonsensical puzzles. I wouldn't even recommend this game to my worst enemy.

Related Links:
Buy Albedo - Microsoft Store
Merge Games - Official Site
Albedo - GameFAQs
Albedo - True Achievements
Albedo Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Albedo Platinum Walkthrough - PlayStation Trophies

Minit (Xbox One, 2018)

Minit
Developed by Jan Nijman, Kitty Calis, Jukio Kallio and Dominik Johann
Published by Devolver Digital
Released for Xbox One (4/3/2018)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/Mobile/PS4/Switch

Developed by a small indie team and released in 2018 for the Xbox One, the concept of Minit is that you only have 60 seconds to live. There's a timer up in the top-left and when it runs out, your character drops dead on the spot due to some kind of funky curse placed on you. If you enjoy speed-running games, then you're likely going to love Minit. If you like to explore and take your time in your action-adventure games, then perhaps the mechanic sounds more irritating than interesting. Personally, I'm usually more of the latter but I came into Minit with an open-mind and I wound up enjoying the game quite a bit.

Minit's presentation is very basic. The game sports some basic pixel art with only black and white as the colors, with characters that remind me a bit of  those old Tomagatchi creatures, especially this one. It's a simplistic look that serves the simple gameplay well. Sound effects are well done and all characters have their own person speaking their gibberish. While basic, the graphics serve their purpose well and you can tell what everything is supposed to be at a glance which is not always the case with pixel art.

Gameplay-wise, Minit borrows a lot from the old Legend of Zelda titles. The action is viewed from an overhead perspective and the screens change when you hit the borders, rather than scroll. As you explore you'll find NPCs to talk to which will usually yield a fetch quest to complete. You'll find several useful items that will grant you the necessary abilities to progress further into the game. Items in Minit are things like the sword (lets you fight), coffee (lets you push boxes), gardening gloves (break trees with your sword) and a few others.

You'll also encounter enemies that you'll have to fight with your sword. Combat is basic (1-button to hit) and easy to use. As you travel along you'll find new homes, which will serve as a checkpoint of sorts. Once you enter into one of the "home" buildings, you set that to be your next spawn point upon your next inevitable death. It's a cool system and makes it possible to explore further out into the map as you fight against the strict time limit. The game will likely take anywhere from 2-6 hours to complete, shorter if you're using a guide of course.

Upon completing the game for the first time, you'll unlock 2 new game modes: second run and Mary's mode. Second run adds some difficulty to many of the screens in addition to giving you only 40 seconds each life as opposed to the 60 you got the first time. Mary's mode is interesting, where you play as the ghost Mary (who is an NPC you can meet in the first playthrough) and are no longer constricted by any kind of time limit. I enjoyed Mary's mode as it allows you to explore at your own pace and play the game like your more traditional adventure title, rather than rushing through everything in the main game. Both of these game modes are nice additions and add some extra replay value to what would otherwise be a super short game.

Minit is definitely an interesting take on the action/adventure genre with a speedrunning element incorporated. While the constant time limit could have easily been a frustrating mechanic, Minit features some solid map design and the solution is never too difficult to find. There's not much out there like it, other than Half-Minute Hero off the top of my head, so if you like this one you may want to check that one out too. Those into speed-running and/or old-school Legend of Zelda-style adventure games will surely find something to like in Minit.

Final Verdict: If you're a fan of speed-running and/or classic action-adventure games, Minit combines them both to deliver a unique experience.

Related Links:
Buy Minit - Microsoft Store
Jan Willem Nijman - Twitter
Devolver Digital - Official Site
Minit - Official Site
Minit - Hardcore Gaming 101
Minit - GameFAQs
Minit Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Minit - True Achievements

Old Man's Journey (Xbox One, 2019)

Old Man's Journey
Developed/Published by Broken Rules
Released for Xbox One (3/4/2019)
Also on Mac/Mobile/PC/PS4/Switch

Old Man's Journey was developed by Vienna-based indie studio Broken Rules and has been ported to numerous platforms since its initial inception. Originally released in May 2017, Old Man's Journey made its debut on PC, Macintosh and mobile devices (Android/iOS). In 2018 the game would see ports for both the Switch and the PlayStation 4 before finally ending up on Xbox One in March 2019.

In the game you take control of an old man, going for a journey and reminiscing about the good old days as you stop to savor life along the way. One interesting aspect about the game is that despite the fact there is no spoken or written dialogue of any sort, the devs did a good job conveying a story you'll piece together from the just the visuals. Being an old man, the game has a laid-back pace to it and the puzzles aren't too taxing on the brain, allowing you to play through the game at your own pace with minimal frustrations. Old Man's Journey features a painted-art style to the graphics and the amount of animation put into this game is quite impressive, especially on the main character.

As you guide the old man along his journey, you'll traverse from one screen to the next, solving puzzles and reminiscing upon times of days past. The puzzles involve grabbing and manipulating the hills in the background (by moving them up and down) in order to create a path for your character to move onward. There's some nice variety throughout, but the puzzles all involve grabbing and manipulating chunks of land. One stand out sequence has the old man riding along in a train, requiring you to slide various track and bridge pieces into place to create a path for the train. At the end of each chapter, the old man will witness something that sparks some nostalgia and you'll get to view him daydreaming about his earlier years. The game features 15 chapters and will likely only take 1-3 hours to complete.

While Old Man's Journey is a brief experience, I enjoyed my time with it and would easily recommend it to anybody who likes a laid-back adventure/puzzle game. The story packs a lot of charm and the graphical style is simply beautiful. The short game length makes it an ideal title to load up on and play-through on a lazy weekend. These kind of titles are great to play while on Game Pass (which was on the service at the time of this writing) or else wait for a sale to get the most for your buck.

Looking at the user reviews for Old Man's Journey reveals a large number of negative reviews, all based on the fact that the game flashes up the "Permissions Needed" screen when you first load it up. Several of these reviewers clearly state that they never actually played the game after disagreeing to the permissions screen, which hopefully the people reading those reviews take into account. I'm not 100% sure why this particular title requests permissions, but I can assure you that agreeing to this statement is not going to submit any kind of revealing information about you to the developers. At most they can see your stats, friends list, achievements and that kind of general Xbox Live stuff. Read more about the permissions request here.

Final Verdict: Old Man's Journey is an adventure/puzzle game that doesn't last too long, but has a beautiful art-style and a story with some charm that makes it worth a look for those seeking a laid-back adventure.

Related Links:
Buy Old Man's Journey - Microsoft Store
Apps/Games Requesting Permissions - Xbox Overview
Broken Rules - Official Site
Old Man's Journey - GameFAQs
Old Man's Journey - True Achievements
Old Man's Journey Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

The Long Reach (Xbox One, 2018)

The Long Reach
Developed by Painted Black Games
Published by Merge Games Ltd.
Released for Xbox One (7/2018)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch/Vita

The Long Reach is a 2D adventure/horror game presented in pixel graphics. Unlike your standard horror title, you have no way to fight back against the vicious murderer. This means you'll have to run and hide in order to avoid being killed. The game feels like a slasher film in several regards, so if you're a fan of those types of movies you might want to have a look at this one.

The Long Reach takes place in science research facility, where the crew are performing some dangerous research. Due to funding limitations, the crew were forced to use themselves as test subjects and are injecting themselves with experimental drugs that are intended to enhance one's abilities in various ways. The crew begin suffering from hallucinations and are beginning to lose their sanity. This is when the dead bodies began turning up...

The character you control is also suffering from the same hallucinations as the other crew members, so there are a couple parts where you're transported into some crazy scenarios. Along the way you'll still find a few living crew members, though most of them have gone mad. You'll have dialogue options to select from when speaking with them, some of which will have different replies. It's a nice touch how none of the dialogue choices are highlighted when presented to prevent accidentally choosing one while speeding up the game text.

A certain crew member has completely lost it and is roaming the facility. You'll know if he's in a room thanks to the footstep indicator you'll see as he approaches. If this guy sees you, he'll chase you down and will put an end to your game if he catches you. There are a few designated spots, such as lockers and vents, where you can hide from the killer if you're quick enough. This will allow you to safely pop back out and go about your business if done properly. If caught and murdered you'll be sent back to the last checkpoint, some of which seem a bit further back than they should be. For instance, in one area where the killer will frequently chase after you the checkpoint sends you back to a lengthy dialogue segment you'll quickly grow tired of viewing.

While at its core the Long Reach is a horror game and there are several parts of the game where you'll be running and hiding for safety, a good chunk of the game will be spent exploring the environment, finding objects and then figuring what to use those objects with. It's similar to point 'n click games, where often the solution isn't the most obvious choice but can be discovered by just trying everything. This means there's quite a bit of trial and error gameplay here, and unless using a guide you'll likely find yourself stumped on more than a few occasions.

As already stated, the graphics in the Long Reach are presented in chunky 2D pixels. It looks nice overall and like many games sporting this graphical style, it manages to be simple yet detailed at the same time. There are some nice scrolling layers in the backdrop to convey a sense of depth. Lighting sources and darkness are also well represented here, so there's not much to complain about in the looks department. Sound design is rather minimal, but it works in the games favor to add to the tension and atmosphere. Controls are simple as well and movement feels fluid. The run button is easy to use as is the inventory. Objects that can be interacted with in the background are highlighted in yellow, making it easy to see what to do. Overall, the game does a solid job in the graphics/presentation/controls departments.
 
If I had to complain about something it would be that the initial loading screen is a bit lengthy for such a simple-looking game, but even that's a bit of a reach (maybe even a long reach). The Long Reach is a short game and can be completed in just an hour or two if you know what to do. If you play the game blind with no strategy guides it will easily last you somewhere between 4-8 hours depending upon how quick you solve some of the puzzles. While a bit on the short side, the Long Reach is good fun while it lasts and is an enjoyable combination of adventure/horror/slasher genres. The game features a solid atmosphere, a crazy killer and a creepy story involving an experiment gone terribly wrong. The running and hiding segments reminded a bit of the old Clock Tower games, so if you enjoyed those or slasher horror you'll find something to like with the Long Reach!

Final Verdict: The Long Reach is a solid adventure-horror title that's a bit short in length, but is a good time while it lasts. If you like slasher horror than give this one a look!

Related Links:
Buy The Long Reach - Microsoft Store
The Long Reach - GameFAQs
Merge Games - Official Site
The Long Reach Game - Official Site
Painted Black Games - Official Site

Strategy Guide/Walkthroughs:
The Long Reach - True Achievements
The Long Reach Walkthrough - PlayStation Trophies
The Long Reach Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA/Xbox One, 2013/2015)

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Developed by Starbreeze Studios
Published by 505 Games
Released for XBLA (8/2013) & Xbox One (9/2015)
Also on Android/iOS/PC/PS3/PS4

Brothers: A Tale of Two Suns was developed by Starbreeze Studios, best known for their work on The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick games. The game follows the journey of two brothers as they search for a cure to their fathers sickness. Brothers is unique in that you control both siblings simultaneously. Each brother is assigned to their own analog stick and the corresponding triggers allow them to interact with various objects and people.

Brothers is a beautiful game to look at in many aspects. The fantasy world feels unique and well-realized. Every so often you'll come across benches, where you can take a seat and soak in some of the lush backdrops. Visually, Starbreeze really did a fantastic job here and everything from the characters to the levels look great. The lighting and shadows are also well done, especially for a title released in 2013. There are also some nice little details such as your characters leaving footprints in the snow as they walk.

There's a bit of dialogue in Brothers, but the characters speak in gibberish you'll have to take in the story by watching and you'll be able to get a sense of what the characters are talking about by the tones used while speaking. Along your journey you'll encounter several puzzles you'll have to solve in order to advance. None of these are too difficult but they make smart use of both brothers. The game is short and will be over before you know it, but it's nice in that it doesn't overstay its welcome. The control scheme is interesting and will feel like it's racking your brain moving around both brothers some times, but the game does a good job of not demanding too much from the player in this regard. For the most part you'll have time to control each brother individually in order to get where you need to go.

During my playthrough of Brothers, I did encounter one of a few commonly reported glitches that made it so I couldn't complete the second chapter. Fortunately after restarting the chapter and going through it again I was able to progress further. It's worth noting that this was on the Xbox One version of the game and I don't recall encountering this glitch on the 360 version of the game.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is totally worth your time, especially when taken into consideration that the game only asks for 3-5 hours of your time. The game doesn't have the highest replay value, but I'd still easily recommend anybody who enjoys more relaxing video games to give it a play. Brothers provides a distinct and unique experience without the frustration of failure so many games have.

Brothers was originally released for XBLA in August 2013. The following month after it was released on PC and PlayStation 3. Then over the following years it would receive ports to a few other platforms, including the Xbox One in September 2015. While the game was available as a digital-download only for the 360, Brothers received a physical-disc release in addition to being available digitally on the Xbox One.

Final Verdict: Brothers is a short but enjoyable adventure/puzzle game where you control two brothers simultaneously using an analog stick for each. Recommended for a nice laid-back single player experience.

Purchase Links:
Buy Brothers (Xbox One Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Brothers (Xbox 360 Digital) - Xbox Marketplace
Search Brothers (Xbox One Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
Brothers for Xbox 360 - GameFAQs
Brothers for Xbox One - GameFAQs
Starbreeze Studios - Official Site
505 Games - Official Site
Brothers Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Brothers - True Achievements

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One (Xbox One, 2017)

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One
Developed by Abstraction Games
Original Games by Icom Simulations/Kemco
Released for Xbox One (10/2017)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One features the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) versions of three different point & click adventure classics: Déjà Vu, Uninvited and Shadowgate. These were all originally developed by ICOM Simulations and released for the Macintosh in the '80's. Kemco Seika would later port these titles over to the Famicom/NES, and these ports are the versions offered here in this collection. The games are all presented in their 8-bit glory, pretty much exactly how you would have played them on your NES back in the day.

When you first boot the game up you'll be greeted with some nice chiptune music and a menu where you'll choose which game you'd like to play. There is also a settings menu which allows to use a few different filters and adjust the volume. The available display options are CRT, old TV, terminal and black/white filters. Saving and loading your games are done within each title, giving you the option to come back later and resume from where you left off (this was still a pretty rare feature back in those days).

Gameplay-wise, all three titles in 8-Bit Adventure Anthology play similarly and feature the same user interface. On the bottom of the screen you have a list of commands, the upper left shows the current location and the upper right shows your inventory. While these games obviously play most intuitively with a mouse, Kemco Seika did a commendable job setting everything up for a controller, especially considering how long ago these were released. The cursor movement still feels a bit clunky, but there aren't really any quick reactions required that make it much of an issue. The analog stick moves the cursor quickly while the d-pad is slow making it easy to line up your pointer. I found the analog stick difficult to use and the d-pad, while slow, definitely made everything a bit easier. There are also some shortcut commands new to this version, making it easy to quickly open doors and move without having to access the open and move commands at the bottom of the screen.

Déjà Vu begins with your character awakening in a toilet stall with blood on his hands and complete amnesia. The story will slowly unravel as you explore the environment around you. There's some excellent chiptune music, which is important as you will hear the same handful of songs repeatedly throughout your time with the game. There's not much for sound effects except for a few here and there, but the music does a good job of setting the mood. There's a good variety of locations to explore and lots of items/people to interact with. The game is a bit easier than the other two featured in the compilation, but is still quite challenging if not resorting to a guide or walkthrough. The game is also a bit more grounded in reality than the other two games and I feel is a good entry point for somebody who wants to check out these style of games.

Uninvited has your character start out in a crashed car with his sister missing. Now it's up to you to explore the area and find out what happened to her. The game features some unsettling music and some genuinely creepy moments. Some of the puzzles here are a bit tough and I don't think I'd ever have figured some of these without a guide. There's quite a bit to see and do in this one and I always enjoyed figuring out what the next gruesome way to die would be. The game deals a lot with the supernatural, and your character will even learn spells he can cast in the game! This one's a good time and there are some gruesome deaths you can get yourself into.

Shadowgate is the third and final title included in the anthology, and this is another one that's really tough to crack without a guide of some sort. I remember thinking this game was impossible as a youth when I only had access to a few hints in an issue of Nintendo Power. Now playing through it with a guide makes it feasible, but it's pretty insane the amount of stuff the developers assumed the player would be able to figure out. One unique feature to Shadowgate is the fact that you have to carry around a lit torch and if at any point the torch goes out you die. It sounds much worse than it actually is, since there are ample torches available for pickup and even if you die you can just continue from the previous screen with a freshly lit torch. This is yet another solid port from Kemco and probably the hardest, most involved of the three.

These point 'n click titles were a niche genre back when these originally came out (especially on the NES) and still remain as such to this day. I think most people can tell pretty quick if they're going to have the patience for these types of games. These being such text-heavy games also require the use of your imagination quite a bit and I know that's something many people just don't want to mess with these days. However, if you're the type that enjoys a good retro point 'n click adventure you definitely want to get this one! I'm interested to see if they intend to release a volume two of this anthology, and wonder what could be included? Deja Vu 2 was ported to the Game Boy Color later on down the road, so I suppose that's a possibility.

Final Verdict: If you're looking for some 8-Bit point 'n click adventure style retro gaming goodness, 8-Bit Adventure Anthology Volume One should fill that void.

Related Links:
Buy 8-Bit Adventure Anthology - Microsoft Store
8-Bit Adventure Anthology - GameFAQs
Abstraction Games - Official Site
8-Bit Adventure Anthology Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom (Xbox 360, 2010)

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Developed by Game Republic
Published by Namco Bandai Games
Released for Xbox 360 (11/23/2010)
Also on PS3

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is a single-player game, developed by Game Republic, in which you must work with a giant computer-controlled ally in order to navigate the various scenarios. You can definitely tell the game was made by Japanese developers, which in my book is a good thing as some variety is always welcome. The characters and story remind me of something you'd see in a Studio Ghibli film. The game appears kind of childish on the surface, with talking animals and some silly character animations, but the puzzles and combat will definitely be too complex for most kids under twelve I'd imagine.

Your sidekick, the Majin, is a big oaf who will constantly stumble around and his voice actor reminds me of the character Special Ed from the Crank Yankers television show. He can become a chore to deal with at times, sometimes falling behind when you're just trying to advance to the next area and he loves walking into sludge puddles even when there is a clear path around them, but overall as long as you have some patience he can be helpful and even enjoyable to have as a partner. You both start out rather weak and a big part of the game is powering up your characters to prepare for tougher battles.

The graphics are quite coloful and the game features a day & night cycle which doesn't really have any impact on the game-play outside of some collectibles that only show up at nighttime. You will need to gather all of those collectibles if you want the true ending, so be prepared to stand around at some points waiting for nightfall (the cycle takes around fifteen minutes). The controls are tad on the floaty side and precision platforming can be a struggle, but luckily the game never really throws anything too terrible at you in regards to that. The combat is interesting, as the majin is the only one with the power to actually vanquish the enemies, you'll have to work with him and coordinate attacks to take enemies down. It's a neat system and some of the tag-team finishers are quite satisfying to pull off.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom plays much like a 3D Metroidvania, where there's one large map separated out into areas, with new sections locked until you've explored existing regions. Overall it's still mostly linear, but there will be lots of back-tracking once you've gained new abilities. Luckily there are four fast-travel rooms scattered about that can help ease the pain of constant back-tracking, but there still is a lot of it.

The enemy design is interesting as they are all consumed by "shadows" resembling black blobs with various strange appendages and masks attached. I definitely enjoyed pulverizing them with my Majin buddy. Once you've defeated the four guardians (bosses) in the game world, you are granted access to the final castle for the big showdown. The boss battles are all varied and fun, my favorite probably being the shadow worm creature where you had to ignite bombs and throw them down its throat.

Overall I definitely feel like Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom was overlooked when it came out and is still a relatively obscure title. It's not perfect by any means, but it definitely delivers some fun and can provide you with somewhere between 15-20 hours of CPU co-op game-play. If you see this one around for cheap it's worth a look.

Final Verdict: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is an action/adventure game with an enjoyable single-player campaign. Make sure to bring some extra patience with you as your partner can be a bit dumb at times.

Purchase Links:
Buy Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - eBay

Related Links:
Bandai Namco - Official Site
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - Metacritic
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - GameFAQs
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - True Achievements