This review is written by Laurent Backman for Big Shiny Robot. You can reach her at laurentbackman@gmail.com

Hyrule Warriors Legends – Nintendo – 3DS – 03.25.16 – $39.99

When Nintendo first announced Legends, I was cautiously optimistic. After the release of “Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3” on the 3DS last summer, it was clear that Musou games were possible on the handheld, but took several hits in terms of visuals and technical ability. The same holds true for “Hyrule Warriors Legends,” but in the time between the two games, it’s clear that refinements were made. There’s still a downgrade in textures from the Wii U version and units pop in and out of view with alarming frequency, but the gameplay is smooth and I can count the instances of framerate slowdown while playing on my New 3DS on one hand.

The core gameplay of “Hyrule Warriors Legends” will be instantly familiar for anyone who’s played a previous Warriors game. You control a commanding officer of an army for each battle. You sprint from location to location, capturing keeps, mounting defenses, and taking down enemy officers as you try to shift the flow of each battle to your favor. Combat is combo-based, and you’ll spend a lot of time in menus outside of battle unlocking different moves for each character’s weapons.

Since Legends includes all of the DLC packs from the original release, content is restructured so that all DLC weapons, characters, and maps are unlocked as part of regular gameplay. Unfortunately, this does lead to some odd progress gating for the Adventure Mode maps. You’ll have to beat the maps in sequence, rather than having access to the Master Quest, Twilight, and Termina maps straight from the start. While this won’t be much of an issue for newcomers, it’s jarring if you played the initial release.

New content comes in the form of five new playable characters, some additional weapons and maps, a new Great Sea map for adventure mode, and a new skill system in the form of a fairy companion that adds some much-needed variety to battles. There are also a few additional story missions, but all of the missions involving “Wind Waker” characters aren’t unlocked until you complete all prior story missions, including Cia’s Tale and the new Linkle side missions.

Apart from the odd content gating though, the core gameplay of “Hyrule Warriors Legends” is phenomenal. The new characters handle well and add a nice mix of speed and power to the existing roster, and the new music tracks for the “Wind Waker” maps are great (special mention for the remix of “Molgera’s Theme” that plays on the Earth/Wind Temple map).

If you own a copy of “Hyrule Warriors” for the Wii U already, and you’ve shelled out for the existing DLC packs, it might be worth your while just to download the Legends DLC as it comes out. For those of you who don’t have a Wii U and are looking to scratch the action combat itch with a little bit of Zelda flair, definitely pick up “Hyrule Warriors Legends.” More DLC packs down the line promise additional characters and maps (as of this writing, Medli from “Wind Waker” and Marin from “Link’s Awakening” have both been confirmed as DLC characters), so the game should keep you busy for quite a while.

This review is written by Robert Hudak for Big Shiny Robot. You can reach him at rdhudak88@gmail.com or on twitter @MrProboto

UnEpic – Developed by Francisco Téllez de Meneses – Published by EnjoyUp and Ninagamers Corp.- Available on PC, Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, and PS Vita – Reviewed on PS4

With so many games aiming to capitalize on my nostalgic love of NES-styled 2D platformers, it’s hard to find one worth my time. Some are time-travel machines fueled with bliss, and some are unimaginative cash-ins that should burn in a fiery pit. Fortunately, “UnEpic” is much closer to the former, though it comes with an asterisk stapled to its head.

“UnEpic” opens with Daniel, our “hero,” sitting at a table with his friends playing a tabletop RPG. As he wanders off to the bathroom for a quick pee-break, he somehow finds himself within some mystical castle straight out of traditional dark fantasy. Believing himself dreaming, Daniel proceeds with foolhardy courage and an overabundance of sardonic lucidity. the continual pop cultural references start off as charming, but after the third or fourth hour, this becomes fairly grating. There’s also a particularly odd incongruity: Daniel remarks incessantly about conventional capabilities in video games, yet I noticed how my lighter never ran out of fuel. I’ll grant that it’s more of a gameplay concession in favor of fun and utility, but good-natured quips about the occasionally lacking video game logic (such as slaying ghosts with the average sword) feel lost when similarly shaky logic exists within a game pointing them out.

Gameplay and character progression in “UnEpic” feels like an RPG built from a pen-and-paper player handbook. There’s a surprising amount of variety and depth to character skills, but there’s something troubling in the castle of Harnakon. The combat is satisfying for much of the game, but around the last third, it’s clear that the mechanics heavily favor ranged combat—in fact, it’s necessary for one late-game boss as he hovers over a giant chasm of spikes, spewing death rays and adorable ghosts of pain. I don’t mind some playstyles complementing a game over others (Dark Souls’ pyromancy comes to mind), but it feels like an oversight when it’s impossible to proceed unless you build your character accordingly.

“UnEpic” never takes itself seriously, and I appreciate that about it: Late-game events examine video game tropes, storytelling cliches, and self-fulfilling prophecies. There are three different endings which depend upon opening chests, and I like how each of these endings play upon expectation. If you’re a fan of the “Metroidvania” puree, I’d say give “UnEpic” a shot. With an average completion of about 14 hours and a low cost of admission, you might be surprised at how fun it is—just remember to pump some points into a ranged ability.

UPDATE THIS WAS AN APRIL FOOLS POST< APRIL FOOLS IS OVER CARRY ON.

“Final Fantasy” fans were shocked yesterday as the technical director from FFVII dropped some critical bombs on fans. While the game has not received a release date, and has since been discussed as an episodic release, everything seemed to be moving along just fine. I guess we were wrong.

Tetsuya Nomura nonchalantly took to Twitter yesterday to announce the cancellation of the “Final Fantasy VII” remake. “We feel that remaking this game is a waste of time”. “Square-Enix has made plenty of money by reselling the same game repeatedly, and it’s time we moved on, you should too.” 

When challenged by angry fans he simply replied ” I don’t know what the big deal is, you can play the original on literally everything”

So there you have it folks, I guess you can pick some other game to obsess over. Good luck on the hunt.

I am far from a scientist, but when Mark Watney utters the words, “In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option: I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this,” I get a little weak in the knees. There’s something about the story of “The Martian” that has reignited my love of the crafting game genre that has been extremely popular since Markus “Notch” Persson created “Minecraft.” Essentially, each time I start a new game in “Don’t Starve,” I’m taking the role of a character whose only weapon is his (my) brain. Survival is dependent not only on the ability to kill stuff, but also on the ability to find food and prevent serious mental illness. Crafting games also tap into that weird area of the brain that has been prewired to enjoy building things—there’s something endlessly satisfying about looking upon the blank, carpeted area of your bedroom floor and saying, “Let there be Legos!” only to create something cool that wasn’t there before.

In this Indie Game Double Feature, we’re going to explore two new crafting titles: the industrial-exploration game “Factorio” and the brutal, FPS title “The Culling.”

Factorio
Wube Software LTD.
Available on PC

“Factorio” is an odd little game. Upon starting a new free-play game and opening the upgrade tree, it’s very easy to feel discouraged. The end goal of a given game is to construct a rocket and use it to get back to your home planet. Your starting resources? Coal, iron ore, and wood. Believe it or not, all of those things can be used to create automated factories that will eventually put you on the right track—but getting them up and running is one of the most psychologically draining tasks that you will face in a video game.

Part of this comes from the fact that “Factorio” is currently part of Steam’s Early Access program, so a lot of the game mechanics are still being tweaked by the folks at Wube Software. The retro graphics are quite beautiful, but occasionally they can prevent the proper placement of a robotic arm or the direction of a conveyor belt, which can throw your well-planned factory out of whack pretty quickly. Once you’ve gotten confident enough to let the automation totally take over, one small glitch can cause all sorts of rage quitting.

To help create those glitches, “Factorio” occasionally launches waves of hostile aliens at your factory, which often requires the player to deal with them individually until they have developed the know-how to build automated defenses. Combat is fun, and works well within the game’s parameters, but man is it frustrating to see those little bastards infiltrate your defenses and start wreaking havoc on your base.

Overall “Factorio” is like a more intricate and science-based version of “Don’t Starve.” The more time that you dedicated to pinning down its moderately high learning curve, the more complex structures that you can build—and it is satisfying to ravage the landscape, leaving a barren planet in your wake as you struggle to find a way back to your own point of origin.

The Culling
Xaviant Games
Available on PC

I’ll never know why none of the triple A studios have jumped on this idea, but props to Xaviant Games for seeing a genre-bending niche that has yet to be explored. “The Culling” is an online, PVP bloodbath that takes place within the confines of a televised arena—think “The Hunger Games” or, for our older readers, “The Running Man.” In order to survive against your competitors, you must create primitive knives, spears and traps from the sticks and stones around you.

The crafting element of this game is pretty minimal—each time you build something, it consumes a resource called FUNC (Flexible Universal Nano-Compound) and calling in airstrikes or opening hidden supply caches requires more FUNC. While it’s possible to survive based on your sweet spear-throwing skills, these earlier weapons are only there to bide time until you can call in supply drops that offer body armor and automatic weapons.

Gameplay is surprisingly fluid and frenetic for an Early Access title, and the physics engine makes you feel every explosion or knife to the gut. There are many PVP games that claim to be a “battle royale,” but none of them have really jumped on that concept in the way that “The Culling” does. Your supply drops are not guaranteed to go to you—other players can shoot them out of the sky and collect them for themselves—and, with a bit of jungle cunning, it’s entirely possible to use a spear to dispatch a player armed with a gun.

There are a few Early Access bugs that pop up every now and then, but even in its infancy, “The Culling” is one of the more enjoyable PVP games on the market. It offers cooperative game modes in case you want to form an alliance with a friend, and it’s got a pretty well-designed level-up system that gives players some options to get creative with their character builds. I’m currently working on a solid melee-based character—sometimes it’s fun to just beat others to death with your fists.

Both games are available on Steam, and are sure to give you some new ways to interpret the crafting genre.

“The Guest” (8 out of 10); Team Gotham/505 Games; available on PC

From the moment that I woke up in the eerie confines of the hotel that would become my world in “The Guest,” I immediately thought of the meticulously constructed environments of atmospheric horror games like “Bioshock” and “Soma.” Where the different locales of those titles don’t require you to look under every couch and peer through every keyhole, exploration and observation are the key to survival in “The Guest.” It’s actually a clever way to show off the work that Team Gotham has invested in creating their ominous little world.

There is very little that is clear to you at the beginning. You know that you’re in a hotel room, you know you’re a Russian scientist and you know that you’re on medication. It’s vague and weird enough to pique your interest into exploring the room to figure out what the hell is going on. Gameplay encourages you to carefully examine every interactive piece of the environment, and stash it away just in case. Progressing through the game depends on rummaging around for any clues as to what brought you here, as well as those that will help you eventually escape.

It’s an interesting mixture of first-person gameplay and old school point-and-click adventure games. Exploring the hotel in first-person is a fluid and beautiful process. The development team has not only captured the vibe of a creepy hotel, but they’ve managed to inject it with circa 1960’s personality. It’s not often that a game’s environment becomes a living, breathing character, and this is where “The Guest” is strongest. The moments in which the hotel changes from innocuously spooky to flat out nightmarish are what keeps you busting your brain against all of those interactive puzzles.

I’ve never been extremely patient with games that require me to solve environmental puzzles to progress, and this aspect of “The Guest” is where most of my criticism lies. Even when I factor out the fact that I’m a bit of a moron when it comes to in-game puzzles like this, I couldn’t help but notice some inconsistencies here. Regardless of these small executional problems, the need to discover your character and his purpose at this strange location offered up plenty of motivation to keep on trucking.

While it’s well-made and offers up an engaging storyline, “The Guest” is definitely not for those who are looking for action, or for a longer diversion. It only takes around seven hours to get through, and there’s nary a bad guy to be killed.

Ten bucks isn’t a bad price to pay for a quick, cognitively challenging exploration game–especially one that is as well-polished as this one. The soundtrack will leave you breathless, and the more time you spend navigating the game’s rapidly blurring line between sanity and insanity, the easier it is to realize that Team Gotham has a solid title to add to their growing repertoire.

It is no secret that “Castlevania” and “Metroid” are potentially my favorite games of all time. It is also no secret that metal is the only music choice deemed acceptable. Therefore “Slain” which seems to be the combination of metal and Castlevania has a chance to be the greatest platformer this year. Battling your way through levels with arcade styled combat, this game looks to give us a dark, gory, metal, Metroidvania. You can check the trailer below, provided you’re not one of those lame, I don’t like to play scary game people, I think “Hello Kitty Island Adventure” has a new game on the way for those types.

In case you don’t think this game is metal enough for you, look at the logo below.

That isn’t enough for you? Well, the soundtrack is composed by Curt Victor Bryant, formerly of Celtic Frost, check out how metal he is.

If that isn’t enough, watch the trailer again and prepare yourself to headbang. You saw the gif at the opening, you know this will be epic.

Sound off below: will you be SLAYING?!

“Portal Knights” (7 out of 10); Keen Games/505 Games; available on PC.

In today’s video game environment, we’re not exactly experiencing a lack of RPG’s, crafting games or even combinations of the two. As that is our reality, a trip into the voxel-filled world of “Portal Knights” isn’t necessarily something we haven’t seen before. That being said, it appears as though Keen Games has injected their newest title with a healthy dose of N64 nostalgia—if this game came out back when I was in middle school, I would have lost my shit.

“Portal Knights” starts off in true RPG fashion—the player gets a choice of generic character classes (fighter, ranger and wizard), along with a better-than-expected character customization tool. The character designs are very similar to those of the Nintendo Mii, which is where the nostalgia factor begins germinating in the nerd forebrain. Creating this adorable little warrior immediately evokes memories of that first digital avatar for the Wii. After the game’s quick tutorial, the player is thrust into a perfectly adorable world filled with Zelda-esque monsters and zillions of crafting options.

Perhaps the most innovative thing about “Portal Knights” is that it plays like a sandbox game that comes included with different levels. Every monster that falls under the player’s blade, bow or staff coughs up shards of Portal Stones that can be used to activate a gateway to another biome. Each biome has a unique set of enemies, resources and secrets that make exploration engaging and rewarding. Certain biomes can also be barren of particular resources, forcing the player to get creative. For example, I found myself needing to build a workbench in the middle of a desert. Since there were no trees for me to chop down, I had to horde logs by killing orc-like creatures until I had my quota. Also, the crafting element of the game fed nicely into the RPG elements, since new weapons and armor could only be equipped once the player found the necessary components and crafted them.

Beautiful graphics and character design aside, the game does have some issues. In both first person and third person modes, the voxel reticle that the player uses to add boxes to the environment is way too sensitive, making it difficult to build uniformly and quickly. Combat also presented some difficulties in that the dodge mechanic worked about twenty-five percent of the time, causing my character to endure all kinds of burns and gashes.

The multi-player aspect of “Portal Knights” opens itself up to some fun possibilities, though. Teaming up with a few buddies to purge an area of enemies, rampantly consume all of the available resources and move to the next level leaves one feeling a bit like Galactus or a flesh-eating virus—but cuter.

All the charm of “Portal Knights” lies in its clever appropriation of N64-era graphics and gameplay. The crafting aspect is just as good as any other voxel-based game out there, and it’s not a bad game by any stretch. With a market that is saturated with multi-player crafting games that are also RPG’s, it just doesn’t have much of a hook to keep players invested. Both RPG’s and crafting games are time consuming, and “Portal Knights” doesn’t offer much more than a bit of gaming nostalgia to its potential audience. Fifteen bucks on Steam isn’t a terrible price for a game that one could theoretically play forever, but it probably won’t be long before players are eventually drawn back into “Minecraft.” 

“Melancholy Republic” was a Kickstarter game last year which raised just over 8,000 pounds to get funded and head towards development. This game puts you in the shoes of Claire Lockridge who is set to fight against corruption eating at the heart of her country. Promising to be a wonderful top-down RPG experience with a strong female lead; this game has thus far, shown tons of promise. Since it’s successful Kickstarter the crew has added Metronix studios to write and record their soundtrack. The results, as you’ll see in the videos below have been breath-taking. With the Steam page live and official trailer out you can expect to see this hit PC in Fall 2016. 

Trailer: 

Soundtrack Recordings:

Games with Gold and PlayStation Plus offer their subscribers free games each month just for being members. Sometimes those free games are awesome and other times they are lack luster at best. However we are here to help. Each month we will let you know what those games are and even provide the trailers and links so you can decide if you want to download them in the first place. Happy Gaming!

(Join Games with Gold).

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment (XBOX One March 1st- March 31st).

Description: “You are Sherlock Holmes! Use your impressive talents as a detective to solve six thrilling and varied cases: murders, missing persons, spectacular thefts and numerous investigations that sometimes lead you into the realms of the fantastic. The great freedom of action in Crimes & Punishments allows you to conduct your investigations in the manner you deem appropriate. Choose the leads you wish to pursue, interrogate your suspects and, from your deductions, name the guilty parties… and determine their fate wisely, as surprising consequences may arise where you least expect them.” -xbox.com

Lords of the Fallen (XBOX One March 16th- April 15th).

Description: “In the Time of the Ancients, the Worldly Realm was ruled by a God of pure evil, who enslaved all humankind under his Dominion. But fear turned to anger as rebellion grew in the hearts of men – until the dawn of the Great Rising, when the fight for freedom began. After a glorious victory that cast aside the Fallen God, humans dictated a new order… a world where no sin can ever be forgiven and redemption was not an option. Now, millennia later, the world trembles in fear as the Demonic Rhogar Legion returns from their dark realm, driven by a foul hunger for innocent spirits. Humanity, in a desperate last act, calls upon an unlikely defender – a convicted sinner, rejected by society and cast out of the light… a man known as Harkyn. Now, alongside his mentor, Kaslo, they must travel to the source of the Darkness… to face the Lords of the Fallen.” -xbox.com

Supreme Commander 2 (XBOX One, 360 March 1st- March 15th).

Description: “Take the role of three enigmatic commanders-former friends from each of the unique factions-as they are dragged into a conflict that could plunge the galaxy into another civil war. Command hundreds of land, air, and sea units in spectacular environments, upgrade your armies with new weapons and technologies, and deploy enormous experimental war machines that can change the balance of power at any moment.” -xbox.com

Borderlands (XBOX One, 360 March 16th – March 31st).

Description: “With its addictive action, frantic first person shooter combat, massive arsenal of weaponry, RPG elements and four-player co-op, Borderlands is the breakthrough experience that challenges all the conventions of modern shooters. Borderlands places you in the role of a mercenary on the lawless and desolate planet of Pandora, hell-bent on finding a legendary stockpile of powerful alien technology known as The Vault.” -xbox.com

(Become a PlayStation Plus Member).

Broforce (PS4)

Description: “When evil threatens the world, the world calls on Broforce – an under-funded, over-powered paramilitary organization dealing exclusively in excessive force.” -playstation.com

Galak-Z (PS4)

Description: “80’s spaceship anime and arcade-gaming meld with ultra-modern physics and A.I. in a skill-demanding, procedurally generated rogue-lite adventure! Be the hero in a world that oozes classic Saturday morning anime but plays like a tough, modern, tactical shooter. Try to survive the hostile environments of deep space, battling warring factions full of unique and cunning enemies. Unlock ever more powerful upgrades as you learn the secret of the GALAK-Z, and die and die again as you valiantly struggle to become the ultimate pilot – finally good enough to beat what GALAK-Z throws at you!” -playstation.com

Super Stardust HD (PS3)

Description: “Super Stardust™ HD for the PlayStation®3 system is a fully updated version of the classic game Stardust. Your mission is simple: destroy everything in sight! With five highly detailed 3D planets to save, hordes of enemies and asteroids to destroy, and various game play modes, Super Stardust™ HD presents super intense action.” -playstation.com

The Last Guy (PS3)

Description: “Earth has been struck by a mysterious purple beam of light and everyone touched by it has turned into a giant zombie. You are the chosen one, a zombie hero from the Himalayan mountains, and it is up to you to rescue the last survivors on Earth by leading them to safety through zombie-infested streets. Make your way through 15 detailed real-world cities, shown from a classic arcade style overhead view, and lead the remaining survivors to the Escape Zone before time runs out in this frantic, addictive game.” -playstation.com

Flame Over (PS Vita)

Description: “Blending top down ‘squirt ‘em-up’ action with Roguelike RPG mechanics, Flame Over features fast-paced fire-fighting thrills, randomly generated levels and 4 deadly game zones! Guide firefighting hero, Blaze Carruthers, in a race against time and near-certain death! Fight through 16 floors of the Infernal Industries building, combating ferocious fires in a red-hot adventure that changes every time!” -playstation.com

Reality Fighters (PS Vita)

Description: “Put yourself in the battle with Reality Fighters™! Use the PlayStation®Vita front and back cameras to scan your face or your friends’ faces to create your own personalized fighters with unique visual style. Choose from several distinct (and crazy) fighting styles such as Wrestling, Muay Thai and even Ballet. Compliment your characters with over 400 costume pieces and 40 weapon types. Record original battle cries and victory slogans with the PlayStation®Vita microphone. With augmented reality technology, the world is literally your arena as the stages you brawl in are determined by the environment around you.” -playstation.com

That’s it for this month, what do you think of the free games for Games with Gold and PlayStation Plus? Sound off in the comments and check back next month for a new list!

Spring 2016 will mark the re-release of Postal HD Redux for Steam and PS4. This 19 year old stick shooter that filled my childhood with stacks of controversy over the “evil violence of video games” is coming back.. you know.. for reasons. So, that being said, if you haven’t played this, or want to head back a few years into violent stick-shooting mayhem this is your chance! As one who wasn’t allowed to play “Postal” in its hay day it’ll be a good opportunity to revisit needless violence against my fellow humans. Because, you know, violence. 

You can check the trailer immediately below and screen shots just after!