Slime Girl Smoothies – PC Review

Overview – developed by Schneeritter Studios and Shady Corner Games, Slime Girl Smoothies is an adult puzzle game where the player must mix different fruits to make a variety of drinks. Play through each set of shifts to learn more about the girls that work at the underground bar Slimey’s. This title is available exclusively on PC, provided through the Steam and Itch.io platforms, with links to the game at the bottom of this coverage.

Disclaimer: before I get into discussing Slime Girl Smoothies, I want to thank Shady Corner Games for allowing me to be involved in the making of this game. To be completely transparent, I was involved with the late stages of the development of this game as a Beta/Bug tester (my name is in the credits for this). However, my involvement in this title has not influenced the contents of this coverage, all thoughts and opinions within are my own.

Mature Content Warning: this title is intended for Adults Only. This is due to the content of this game featuring full nudity, explicit sexual content, strong language and some fetish material. If you are under the age of 18 or find sexual content offensive, please take a look at the other content on this site. (Please note: all characters featured in Slime Girl Smoothies are 18+ and over)

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the game, starting with a brief summary of the plot.

Story – You have been hired as the floor manager for the underground bar Slimey’s, a special place where all of the bartenders are Slime Girls and they use their assets to mix drinks. During the following shifts, get some hands-on training with the Slime Girls and get to know Berry and her daughter Cherry, as well as their co-workers Mint and Plum. Do your best to make it through the shifts, get to know your new co-workers and maybe even get closer to them.

Gameplay – Slime Girl Smoothies is a matching style puzzle game, where the player must combine different fruits together to make the requested drink. To create the various drinks, the player must combine the colors of different fruits to reach specific thresholds, making sure not to make any mistakes and disappoint their shift partner. Each shift has a set number of drinks to create, with only one failure permitted for each shift as more than that will fail the stage entirely.

The game field where fruits can be placed is made up of an 8×7 grid, with the fruits filling up different amounts of space from the bottom up when positioned by the player. When placed, fresh fruits will grant more flavour when placed next to other unused ones, but used fruits will provide less when fresh ones are placed adjacent to them. There is also a limited number of turns per drink, so using up them up, creating the wrong flavor combos or having no space left will result in failing the drink.

The game system is easy to pick up, with an in depth tutorial that explains the mechanics of the mixing the different fruits, as well as the tools that are introduced in later shifts. Including tips on how to get the most out of each fruit, by using fresh fruit to get more points, cutting the different fruit for specific spaces and even rotating the fruits. There is a handy chart on screen that shows all of the color combinations, as well as recipe guides for the flavor levels required for each drink.

Each of the girls has their own gimmick, with Cherry easing the player into the experience as the lead of the tutorial, while the others introduce their own unique challenges to the game. These include special cells that either increase or decrease the flavor points of the fruit in those spaces, which will push players to think how to use the limited space on the board more efficiently. Success in each shift can lead to a variety of rewards for the player to unlock.

During the course of the game, special CG images will be unlocked showing Slime girls in sticky situations, with some being rewards for success after clearing specific shifts. These images can be accessed in the main menu, via the gallery when the shifts for that character are full completed. There are also additional unlockable game modes, with a timed mode to score as many clears as possible and an endurance mode where one failed drink will get a game over.

There is more to this title than mentioned above, but I want to leave some of the surprises for the player to discover for themselves. So with that being said, let’s move onto the other aspects of the game. I will be skipping the control segment as this game only uses the mouse, going directly into the difficulty.

Difficulty – this is a challenging puzzle game, with the limited space of the grid, the random nature of the fruits that appear each turn and the strict turn limit. But that opens the game up to a more strategic approach, with some drinks requiring significantly higher flavor scores than others. This can push players to decide whether to try and clear the lower scores first, the big flavors or to just see how the fruits fall. If a shift is failed, the player can simply try again, providing a fair punishment for losing.

Presentation – the visual style for Slime Girl Smoothies is very pleasing to the eye, with beautiful art and animations for the staff of Slimey’s. Their personalities, quirks and unique character traits are all easily noticeable when encountering them. The fruit designs are lewd and humorous, with buttock, condom and ball gag shaped fruits to choose from. The reward images are all very lewd too, with the various escapades of the girls (and the manager too) being illustrated very well.

The story cutscenes that occur between shifts are all fully voiced, with excellent work from independent voice actors that portray their characters perfectly, bringing them to life in this game. The music for this title also has its own distinct charm, with tracks that utilize a range of sounds from soft jazz like compositions to heavy guitar riffs and solos. All of the visual and sound elements combine together expertly to create a complete and satisfying experience.

Final Thoughts – now, I have been around for a long time and many lewd titles have come and gone, like the Gals Panic and Hunie Pop games, but this was different. While playing Slime Girl Smoothies I found myself becoming invested in the characters and their personalities, which made the lewd parts a bonus to the experience but not the main reason to continue playing. I was engaged with the overall story, which I found to be well written and the characters had depth to them.

I can happily recommend this game to others who are looking for a game that is lewd and challenging, but has depth to the overall narrative. There is plenty of content on offer for the low price point, with the additional challenge modes and achievements providing more for the player to enjoy. This is an excellent puzzle game, with lewd and humorous fruit designs, charming characters and voice performances that tie the whole thing together.

In the end, while I can’t give a score for Slime Girl Smoothies, since I was involved in the testing of the game. However, I will say this; Slime Girl Smoothies is a challenging puzzle experience, with excellent characters that are brought to life by fantastic voice acting and a story that adds depth to the lewdness on show. If you want to check this game out for yourself, links to the game will be below, but please keep in mind that there is explicit sexual content and some material that may be off-putting.

Link to Steam version (HERE)

Link to Itch.io version (HERE)

Dusk Diver 2 – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by WANIN International, with publishing handled by Idea Factory International and Reef Entertainment, Dusk Diver 2 is the sequel to the original action brawler set in Ximending, Taiwan. Continue the story of Yumo and her friends as they battle the monsters of Youshanding, explore Taipei and uncover the mysteries around them. This title is available for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4/5 systems, with links to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Idea Factory International for providing the copy of Dusk Diver 2 that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story for Dusk Diver 2. I will be breaking down the gameplay into different segments, giving detailed coverage of the different elements of the game.

Story – a year after the events of the previous game, Yumo, the protagonist of Dusk Diver is now a college student, while also working a daily part-time job. Although she is still suffering from the aftermath of the events from the year prior, life is slowly getting back to normal and she is living her best life. However, on a seemingly ordinary day, the chaos beasts starting reappearing in the streets of the alternate dimension of Youshanding, meaning Yumo must go into battle once again.

Gameplay – Dusk Diver 2 is an action RPG set in the iconic neigbourhood of Ximending, in the city of Taipei, Taiwan. Taking place over several chapters, the story for this title plays out in two distinct places, the human realm and the alternate dimension of Youshanding. The story uses these environments for two distinct purposes, with the city of Taipei being a sprawling city to explore, whereas the dimension of Youshanding is where the player engages in battle with its denizens.

First I want to discuss the mechanics of the free roaming areas of Ximending and the neighboring areas, so here are the core features when exploring the human realm;

  • Explorable Areas – the player can roam the district of Ximending, along with more areas that will expand the overworld map that the player will be able to explore during the game. There are various inhabitants that can be encountered in this area, breathing life into the world of Dusk Diver 2.
  • Shops – there are several shops that can be found in Taipei, including restaurants, a clothing store and more. The available stores will expand over time, giving the player more places to shop with their hard earned money.
  • Home Base – the Tumaz Mart is the home base for Yumo and her team. While here the player is able to rest and recover health, save their game while in the human realm, purchase essential items/upgrades for their party and more.
  • Side Quests – throughout the city, there will be side quests that pop up for the player to complete. These quests are time sensitive for the most part, with the capability for quests to be missed if the narrative progresses further before completion.
  • The Possessed – some citizens of the city can be possessed by chaos beasts, sending the player to a special dimension to engage in battle if contact is made. These battles can be tied to side quests, as well as be used for special extended missions that can be completed over time.
  • Battle Preparation – the player can alter equipment for the party, eat food from the various restaurants in the city to gain buffs and change different stats. The player can also level up their characters stats and unlocking skills, by spending EXP points and Dragon Wafers that are earned during battles.

With the human realm details covered, let’s move onto the core mechanics of Youshanding;

  • Dungeon Crawling Exploration – the environments of Youshanding consist of large labyrinthine zones, with dungeon crawling style movement and exploration. While in Youshanding, there are battles that will activate when players enter different areas, with the only way to progress being to defeat all enemies. There are also objectives like collecting items, opening gates and finding hidden treasures.
  • Safe Zones – there are safe zones throughout Youshanding, where the player can heal, save and prepare for the next battle by performing the actions possible in battle prep while in the city. It is important to use these sections frequently, as they will keep the party healthy during the missions in Youshanding.
  • Boss Battles – at different points in the story of Dusk Diver 2, there are large scale boss battles where the player must fight against a very strong enemy. These battles can be very tough and will push the player to their limits, dealing massive damage to the party members and taking them down easily if the player is not careful.
  • Item Collection – as the story progresses, new missions in Youshanding can be unlocked, with the player being tasked to collect special items that are scattered throughout the dungeons. These items can be used with special NPC characters to unlock special items and unlocks while in the City.
  • Free Exploration – during the course of the game, the areas that have been explored will be opened up for Free Exploration. This is where the player will be able to go back into the previous zones and explore them again, finding items that have been missed, new treasures and battle with enemies to gain addition EXP and currency.

The combat for Dusk Diver 2 is fast and frantic, with an easy to pick up combat system. The player has access to a range of attacks in the move-set for each character, with light, heavy and special attacks that can be linked together into satisfying combos. There are also special counter skills that can be used to halt the enemy, augment character skills and create openings for a counter attack. The special and counter attacks use the resource SP, which must be recharged when it is exhausted.

To make the special/counter attacks more consistent, the player can gain SP and recharge the exhausted meter by dealing damage to enemies with combo attacks. Alongside the SP focused skills, there are two additional special features that can be used in battle. The first is the Break Strike, a special attack that deals massive damage and generates large amounts of BP (burst points). The BP fills a special meter that the player can activate in battle to augment their skills.

This special meter is called the Burst Meter, a special system that increases the attack power and SP recovery for the active character. This power increases in three stages, which are shown by a percentage meter on screen. When the onscreen meter reaches the maximum level, a special Ultimate Burst Skill can be used, with the potential to deal catastrophic damage to those it hits. This burst state will last for as long as the yellow bar has energy in it, with Break Strike attacks extending the duration.

Now attacks aren’t the only skills that the player can use in combat. There are also defense and support skills that the player can make use of. The first is a dodge-roll which will allow the player to move avoid attacks, granting full SP refills if the timing is just right to dodge. The second is party tactics, where the members of the party can be called upon to assist, either by jumping in to use a skill to attack the enemy or to move independently and act for themselves.

The party tactics and support system is a key part to surviving in battle with the enemies of Youshanding, as party members will be incapacitated if their health is depleted. When this happens, they will be unable to continue during a battle unless they are revived or the battle is cleared. To help prevent defeat in battle, healing items are usable, health drops can be collected and a one-time use Crisis Dodge can be deployed when health falls below a specific point.

When enemies are defeated, they drop Dragon Wafers and loot for characters to collect. The loot consists of enemy parts that can be used for upgrades, item synthesis and be sold in the home base to be used in restaurants to purchase food. There are also unidentified equipment drops that can be identified when clearing battles with the possessed, or when entering the safe zones in Youshanding. Last to discuss is the rewards for clearing battle sequences in the game.

Once the last enemy is a battle is defeated, a results screen will show on screen, showing the performance of the player in combat. The first reward is EXP which is provided with a base level, with extra bonuses for combos and defeating enemies with the Burst Ultimate attack. The second is Dragon Wafers, which are provided for fulfilling special requirements. These are performing perfect dodges and counters, activating the Burst meter and successful Break Strikes.

There is much more that this game has to discover, but I want to leave some of the surprises that the game has for players as just as that. Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving into the other elements of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – the control layout for this title is easy to pick up, with two layouts for city exploration and dungeon exploration/combat. The movement in both modes is controlled by the thumbsticks, with the left moving the character and the right for the camera. The attacks and interaction buttons are mapped to the face buttons, with the support, special and evasive skills on the D-pad/shoulders. The inputs are relatively lag free, but there are instances where inputs can be missed, but generally the game plays very well with a pro-controller and Joy-Cons.

Difficulty – this title has a fairly moderate difficulty curve, with a gradually escalating challenge as the game progresses. While the game does lack difficulty settings, there are ways to adjust the challenge that can be faced. In order to make the game either easier or harder, the player can choose when to level up their party, alter their gear and more. There are a few unfortunate spikes in difficulty, but these are few and far between, making for an experience that most can enjoy.

Presentation – Visually, this is a solid title with an anime style aesthetic to the characters, with beautifully drawn portraits and character art. The details from the real world locations add to the immersion of the world, showing the different elements of Ximending and Taipei. The environments for Youshanding become wild and fantastical, with distorted versions of the real world that diverge significantly from their human realm counterpart.

The visual performance for this title is solid and while it is downgraded visually for the Nintendo Switch, the game performs very well, using resolution scaling to maintain a stable frame rate. The textures and models for characters can look fuzzy, this doesn’t detract from the experience as the overall visual fidelity isn’t significantly impacted. The game plays very well in both Handheld and docked play modes on the Switch, even with the weaker hardware of the system.

The sound for Dusk Diver 2 retains the charm and spirit of the original, with upbeat and happy musical tracks for the city of Taipei, alongside tense and exciting rocky tracks for the dungeons. The music sets the tone for each beat of the story, increasing the engagement of the game with the player. The voice work for this release is very good, with Japanese and Chinese vocal tracks available for players, with a cast that play their parts well adding to the overall experience.

Final Thoughts – I am a fan of the Dusk Diver series as I played and very much enjoyed the previous title, so I was very excited to get my hands on the sequel. There are many improvements over the previous game, with the expanded world map to explore, reworked party system and new characters that make the world feel more alive. I found the story very engaging, with the plot line and its twists and turns pulling me in, as well as a new game plus mode that had me returning for a second round.

I have no issues with recommending this game to players of the original, as well as those who enjoy roaming brawlers. There is plenty of content on offer, with the plentiful side quests and exploration of both Youshanding and Ximending. The game does have its unfortunate flaws, due to the limitations of the Nintendo Switch hardware, such as the slightly fuzzy graphics due to resolution scaling in handheld mode, but it doesn’t ruin the game experience.

In the end, I give Dusk Diver 2 a final score of 4. This is a solid brawler that brings the historic Ximending District of Taipei to life, along with the strange other world of Youshanding. The action goes at a solid pace, the cast of characters have their own unique charm and a substantial amount of story/side content that keeps the player engaged. If you want to check this title for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below (Out August 30th).

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Slime Girls Smoothies – Release Date Announcement

Well hello there, I have some exciting news to share from our friends at Shady Corner Games (the creator of Marble Maid (review HERE)) and Schneeritter Studios. Their latest lewd title Slime Girl Smoothies is Launching on August 29th!, so check out the details below to learn more about this upcoming release. 

Mature Content Warning: this title is intended for Adults Only. This is due to the content of this game featuring full nudity, explicit sexual content, strong language and some fetish material. If you are under the age of 18 or find sexual content offensive, please take a look at the other content on this site. (please note: all characters featured in Slime Girl Smoothies are 18+ and over)

About the Game

You have been hired to work at Slimy’s, a bar with a very unique way of serving drinks. Prepare to see a lot of jugs while mixing up some very wacky flavors. Berry, her daughter Cherry and coworkers Mint and Plum are ready to entertain each and every order!

Slime Girl Smoothies is a lewd puzzle game, where the player must create alcoholic drinks with the Slime Girls on shift. To achieve this objective, the player must match fruits via their colours in order to reach the flavour target of that cocktail. If the player does well, they will be rewarded with some risque interactions and explicit scenes. 

Play through the shifts for each of the Slime Girls, view their galleries as you progress and challenge additional play modes that can be unlocked later. So pull up to the bar, get acquainted with your slime girl co-workers and enjoy your time as you go through your training at Slimey’s.

Game Features

  • Puzzle game play letting you mix the drinks on the menu. Take your time and get the formula right.
  • Additional gameplay modes that can be unlocked
  • Enjoy the show! Each girl has a unique way of serving drinks with their ‘assets’.
  • Voices that make you melt. Kumbomb, Ivywilde, Midnight Datura and Midnightblu bring each girl to life with every breath.
  • Make memories. Every few shifts the girls will get crazier than usual and let their freak flag fly with unlockable images. Collect them all!
  • Be a perfectionist. Use your talents to make every drink and get achievements for each shift!
  • Over 100 frames of animation and over 20 CG’s by PixelboyMagazin!​
  • Amazing music by Shady Lewd Kart composer Altered Ego!

Slime Girl Smoothies is Launching exclusively for the PC on Steam and Itch.io on August 29th. A demo for the game is available on the official Steam page (HERE) and Itch (HERE), also check out the trailer below for a taste of what to expect with the full release of Slime Girl Smoothies.

GigaBash – Review

Overview – developed and published by Passion Republic Games, GigaBash is a Kaiju Action Brawler with chaotic arena combat, destructible environments and a solid roster of Titans. GigaBash is an arena brawler inspired by classic Tokusatsu and Kaiju film, with the playable titans referencing some of the legendary characters like Godzilla and Ultraman. This title is currently available on both PC and PlayStation platforms, with a link to each version at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Future Friends for providing the copy of GigaBash that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story segment of the review and going straight into the gameplay segment.

Gameplay – GigaBash is an arena based brawler in the vein of Power Stone, where up to four combatants can fight it out in battles of titanic proportions. There are destructible environments that take place all over the world of GigaBash, including Japanese cities, ancient jungles and Alaskan tundra. In these locations, the Titans can throw their enemies into buildings, pick up objects and throw them as weapons to damage opponents.

All of the Titans have their own unique strengths and weaknesses that fit their themes, with these different abilities are broken down into Strength, Agility, etc. These stats vary relative to the Titan, like the hulking Gorogong excelling in strength while the plant Titan Rohanna excels in speed. These different character traits also extend to the character move lists, with their unique skill sets matching their strengths to offset their weaknesses.

These move sets consist of a normal, special attack and a grab/throw, with the normal attack being able to combo together with themselves. The special attacks tie into their themes, with the Yeti Titan Woolley inhaling enemies and turning them into snowballs, as well as the Alien Titan Pipijuras using hidden cannons to attack. These attacks can be augmented by holding down the attack button, pressing attack buttons while jumping and while dashing.

There is also a transformation system that activates by filling the Giga Meter, a bar that is filled by dealing damage and collecting special energy orbs. When the meter is full, the player can activate it to power themselves up and transform into an S-class Titan, increasing their Titan in size and strength until the meter is fully depleted. There is also an ultimate attack that can be activated by breaking a Giga-orb, which will deal massive amounts of damage to the enemies when used.

When starting the game, there are several options for players to select from. These settings are as follows;

  • Couch Play – here players (and CPU opponents with adjustable difficulty settings) can duke it out in local multiplayer battles, with three game modes to select from. These options are Free-for-All, where up to 4 players can battle with the last one standing as the winner, team battle where players fight in 2-on-2 battles and Mayhem which features objectives for players to participate in.
  • Online – Players can face others online in multiplayer battles via the internet. In three different lobbies (public, private and ranked) players can fight 4-player, team and 1-on-1 battles with Cross-Gen support for PlayStation and Cross Platform for PC (please note, there is no cross play between console and PC).

  • Story – play through 4 character stories, with multiple stages, checkpoints and special objectives to complete. The Story mode routes unlock in sequence and feature cutscenes that tell their unique stories.
  • Extras – here galleries can be accessed, with lore, character details, music and more to view in this mode. Additional content is added as the game progresses, giving players a reason to return to the extras.
  • Others – there is also a Tutorial that can be replayed freely, a Gym mode where players can practice their moves to get used to the controls and options where different settings can be modified.

In the story mode, the battles between Titans are usually single round matches, whereas the couch play mode has additional modifiers that allow matches to be tailored to their preferred style. With the standard settings there is a two life battle system, with the players battling to deplete the health of their opponent as fast as possible. When a life is lost, a shield will be granted for a short time when recovering from a loss, with the last defeated opponent being launched into the stratosphere.

When a battle is completed or story mode stage is cleared, the player will gain experience to level them up in a reward system that provides rewards for each level. There are also additional rewards that can be unlocked, including extra stages, playable Titans and skins/colors for those Titans. The leveling system adds to the replay value of this title, giving players a reason to continue to play after clearing the story mode routes and encourage multiplayer battles.

The combat and moment to moment gameplay is frantic, with the unique combat styles of the Titans meshing together well. The destructible environments, hazards and explosive stage elements really knock the battles up a notch, providing a satisfying and enjoyable brawling experience. There is a slight imbalance between the roster of Titans, but the different possible combinations of characters leads to some very interesting match-ups.

Unfortunately, there are some shortcomings to the experience. The unlock system can be a grind as it can take a significant time to unlock different Titan colors, gallery content and music. The story modes are a little short and the multiplayer can become repetitive, which is made a little worse by the online matchmaking. There are some weaknesses in the matchmaking system, with long waiting times and sadly intermittent connections as the game uses peer to peer connections.

Aside from these shortcomings, there is a lot to enjoy with the smashable cities, Kaiju styled Titans and unlockable difficulty levels to challenge in the Story mode. The only improvement that could be made to this title is the addition of an Arcade mode, as that would extend the playtime of this release outside of the multiplayer once the story modes are cleared.

Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving on to the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls for this release are simple to pick up, with a layout that works very well with all controllers. The main functions are tied to the face buttons, with the block and dash tied to the front shoulder buttons. There is very little input lag during combat, but occasionally some inputs will activate later than needed during frantic segments. For the PC version of the game, there is an option to change button prompts to fit the preferred controller of choice as well as keyboard support.  

Difficulty – there is an inconsistent difficulty curve to GigaBash, with the imbalance between ranged and melee attacks, which can make the game difficult for newer players to the genre. In the story mode, there are 4 selectable difficulty settings that modify the flow of gameplay, with the toughest difficulty being unlocked by beating the setting below. Overall, this is a very difficult and challenging brawler but can be forgiving with the checkpoint system in story mode.  

Presentation – the visual style for this release is pleasing to the eye, with the unique designs for the Titans, in engine cutscenes and beautifully illustrated story sequences. The environments each have their own unique look to them, with Japanese themed cities, Hawaiian styled islands and sci-fi heavy military bases. The sound for this title has a lot of weight to it, with impactful sound effects that have a lot of weight to them, along with a soundtrack that has the grandeur of its inspiration throughout.

From a technical standpoint, the presentation of GigaBash is very solid on PlayStation 4, with there being zero issues with lag, textures or frame rate when it comes to the console version. However, that cannot be said for the PC release. Due to the number of assets on screen at once, it can put tremendous strain on low to mid-range PC systems. This is most noticeable during in-engine cutscenes, where textures can load very slowly, as well as the odd moment of frame stutter or skipping.

Final Thoughts – I had not been aware of GigaBash until recently, but I was very interested when seeing the trailers and learning more about this release. The Titans have excellent designs to them, with some having a layer of humor to them, like the Ultraman inspired Gigaman, appearing as an out-of-shape hero that came out of retirement to fight the Titans. There is a lot of content to enjoy in this release, with the story modes, offline and online multiplayer modes.

I enjoyed this title a lot as I am a fan of both fighting games and Kaiju media, but there are some minor hiccups with this title. The unfortunately inconsistent online matchmaking, need to grind a lot to unlock content and lack of an arcade mode do hinder an otherwise solid experience. I can recommend this title to fans of Kaiju media and arena brawlers as there is a lot of fun to have here, but the price point may be a little steep for some that aren’t into online play.

In the end, I give GigaBash a final score of 4/5. This is a satisfying and fun Kaiju themed brawler, with a lot of love put into it that shows through the references to its inspiration, engaging combat and world building that makes for a satisfying experience. I just wish there was a single player mode where I could just smash up the different cities. If you want to check this game out for yourself, links to each version of the game are below.

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)

Link to Epic Games version (HERE)

Avenging Spirit – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – brought to home consoles for the first time by Ratalaika Games, City Connection and Shinyuden, Avenging Spirit (called Phantasm in Japan) is a classic arcade title originally published by Jaleco in 1991. As a wandering spirit that wants to rescue his girlfriend being held hostage, players must possess enemies to complete this mission. This title is now available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series systems, with links to each platform at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for providing the copy of Avenging Spirit that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the basic plot for Avenging Spirit.

Story – While out on a troll with his girlfriend, the protagonist is attacked by agents of a criminal syndicate, who kidnap the girl and kill the protagonist. After death, the protagonist becomes a wandering spirit that has the ability to possess others. Now the spirit has been summoned by the girl’s father, who has given him the mission to save her from the syndicate. The avenging spirit sets out to bring down the evil syndicate, save the girl and finally rest in peace.

Gameplay – Avenging Spirit is a platform action title, with the objective being to clear each of the 6 stages by reaching and beating the boss for that stage. As the spirit, players are able to possess enemies and take control of them, using their attacks to take out other enemies, while finding secrets in some of the more maze like stages. There are several different enemy types that appear, with different attacks, movement speeds and jump heights making for a challenging gameplay loop.

The enemies that can be possessed also have their own strengths and weaknesses, with some excelling in movement and others in offense. The overall variety of enemies will be a mixed bag, as the reach and effective range of attacks will make the game increasingly difficult. During the six levels of the game, the enemies will get stronger with new attacks, with a change in color showing the new enemy variants. The player possessing stronger enemies is key to success, as they can take out others with ease.

The player has an energy bar as a spirit that will be depleted in two ways. The first is while possessing an enemy, as each enemy has their own health bar, but any damage a possessed form takes will reduce both energy meters. When a possessed enemy is defeated, the spirit is ejected and the energy meter starts to run down. This means that every second that the player hasn’t possessed an enemy their energy will start running out, functioning like a timer for the player to add additional pressure.

If the player runs out of ghost energy, they will lose and must use a credit to continue playing. There are some health items that can refill energy for the spirit and possessed units, however, energy can run out very quickly so collecting energy refills is important. There are also items that can wipe out all enemies on the screen, quickly clearing out the immediate threats. The gameplay does change a little when the player enters a boss battle.

In contrast to the main stages, where players will run jump and battle foes in platforming action, the bosses are set in a single arena in a one on one battle. When the player enters a boss room, they will be locked in as the character they possessed, sharing the same energy bar as the spirit. The boss also has an energy bar that needs to be wiped out in order to progress. If the player is defeated, they can continue immediately with the same character that they entered the boss room with.

When a boss is defeated, a bonus is provided based on the performance of the player in battle, with the bonus points reducing over time. The boss battles have their own unique challenges to them as each boss follows a unique attack pattern, along with hazards and specific weak points that must be hit to deal damage. These battles keep the flow of gameplay going smoothly and don’t derail the experience when moving between them.

The last thing to mention is the quality of life improvements that have been made with this release. First, both regional variations of the game are available to play, with the English Avenging Spirit version and the original Japanese release called Phantasm. Next are the Arcade and Home Console modes that can be selected from the main menu. Arcade mode allows players to freely alter the games dip-switch settings and play 2 player, while home console mode comes with preset options for players to enjoy.

There is also the inclusion of save/load states that let players stop playing and resume from where they left of freely, with an additional rewind feature that allows for mistakes to be corrected during play. The developers also included additional features for players to explore, including debug menus, filters and more for players to get the most out of the experience.

Now with the gameplay covered, I want to move onto the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls for Avenging spirit are very simple, with two buttons used for jump and possession/attack, along with movement tied to the left thumbstick and d-pad. The inputs can also be remapped to fit any control set up, making it easy to adjust the controls for any set-up. There are also zero issues with input lag which makes it feel responsive and snappy during play. I do recommend that an arcade stick is used if available, as that is the most authentic way to experience this title.

Difficulty – this title has a simple difficulty curve with four difficulty settings that increase the challenge of this release. The four difficulty settings increase the number of enemies, the frequency of foes respawning and the amount of damage that attacks do to the player. There is also adjustable settings for the Arcade mode and free credits for both modes, which makes this an accessible and beatable challenge for players of all skill levels.

Presentation – the visuals present in this release are excellent with satisfying sprite work, exaggerated characters and varied stage designs. These classic visuals translate to the big screen and handheld modes, as well as the inclusion of filters for those who want to add a vintage look to the game. The sound emulation for this release is excellent, with the music being as vibrant as the arcade original and the sound effects having a satisfying hit to them.

Final Thoughts – I had played Avenging Spirit many years ago and I was happy to see it is getting a home release after 30+years. The translation from arcade to the home is seamless, especially for a system like the Nintendo Switch, with the new quality of life improvements making for a fun experience at home and on the go. I can happily recommend this game to fans of action platformers and arcade games in general, especially at the low price point being offered for the game length.

In the end, I give Avenging Spirit (aka Phantasm) a final score of 4/5. This is an excellent port of game that hadn’t been re-released in 30+ years, with pixel perfect emulation and fun gameplay that has a unique selling point through the possession system. Even though the game is a little short, the modest price point and overall quality of the game makes up for it. if you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Xbox version (HERE)

Spidersaurs! – Review

Overview – developed and published by WayForward, Spidersaurs is a run and gun action title, with 2 player co-op and a menagerie of mutated beasts to battle. This release features two distinct characters to play as, abilities to unlock and an arsenal of weaponry to use against enemies. This title is available on all major console platforms and PC, with a link to each version of this release available at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank WayForward for providing the software used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own. Please be aware, at the time of writing, there is currently a bug within the Nintendo Switch version of Spidersaurs that can prevent the final stage from loading correctly (but it can accessed by clearing the previous stage), with WayForward working to patch it as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Since publishing this review, a patch for the Nintendo Switch version has been released to address the above issue, this makes the final stage load correctly when selecting the stage from the main menu in Story Mode. This update is now available for all Nintendo Switch users.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story.

Story – after catastrophic events destroy global food supplies, InGest Corp have genetically engineered dinosaur-hybrids that can provide enough food to end world hunger. However, there has been a containment breach and the Spidersaurs are now on the loose, leaving the clean up to two taste testing interns. Calling upon punk rocker Victoria and officer in training Adrian, InGest send them on a mission to save the day, fighting the Spidersaurs and gaining new powers along the way.

Gameplay – Spidersaurs is a fast paced run and gun action title, taking place over several stages that scroll horizontally and vertically, with a lot of hazards and enemies to contend with. The core focus of this title is to reach the end of each stage and beat the boss. To accomplish this task, the player must battle through wave after wave of mutant monstrosities, collecting power-ups to enhance their weapons and avoiding hazards that can kill them.

When starting the story mode for the first time, players can select their character, choosing between Victoria and Adrian to play as in this adventure. The two characters share the same move set when it comes to character abilities, including the basic run, jump and shoot in 8 directions, with additional skills like double jumping and climbing unlocked later. What separates the two characters in terms of gameplay is their weaponry, which is themed after them and featuring unique effects.

During the course of the game, the most basic weapon that both players have is an auto shot, but during play, different weapons can be collected from support drones which drop an item when destroyed. These weapons function differently depending on the character that is being used, as the projectiles fired are based around their own themes. Two of these weapons can be carried and switched at any time, with the newest pick up replacing the active weapon.

The weapons for Victoria are all based around performing music, with fireworks as rockets and sound wave lasers, whereas Adrian has weapons based on sports, like a football canon and pool ball shooter. Each of the weapons can be upgraded by collecting duplicate power-up drops, increasing their overall power and efficacy in combat. However, a weapon can be reverted to its pre power-up state if damage is taken and lost entirely if a life is lost, replacing it with the base shooter.

The variety of weapons can keep the gameplay exciting, but learning which weapons work best for a play style and against the bosses is important. This is due to the fact that the mid and end bosses of stages can be quite challenging, with their own unique patterns and gimmicks that will prove challenging to players. For example, there is a mid-boss that can only be damaged when flipped over by a getting hit with a lava geyser, as well as bosses that have weak points that will only be exposed for a short time.

The stage layouts for each of the missions in this release can be complex, with both horizontal and vertical movement, as well as some auto scrolling sections that will keep players on their toes. This will be challenging as there are many hazards that can hinder progress, including webs that players can be stuck on and environmental dangers that will hurt players. If players are careless, lives will be lost fairly quickly with a game over soon following.

The overall challenge of this title is high, with limited lives and a maximum 3 hit-points per life with the only way to regain health being to collect food dropped by enemies or placed in the stage. This system can increase the difficulty of the experience, as well as pressure enemies that can attack the player to prevent point farming. These pressure enemies will attack at times where there is the potential for point farming, since every 20,000 points provides an extra life to the player.

If the player loses all their lives, they will get a game over and can retry that stage or select a different mission that has already been cleared. If the player chooses to retry, they will continue from the start of the stage, unless the mid- boss has been defeated which will allow them to continue from there. If the player does choose to go to the mission select screen, they will be able to switch characters and retry the uncompleted stage from the mid-point if it has been reached.

The mutant variety is quite diverse, ranging from the general one hit enemies to foes that will attack from cover and toxic enemies that will leave poison clouds behind. These enemies heighten the tension of the action and increase the difficulty of platforming, as the player is able to drop through platforms and off rails while trying to avoid attacks. There is also character knock back when taking damage, with the possibility to be knocked off platforms, rails and conveyor belts while fighting enemies.

The overall gameplay experience is challenging, with tough boss battles, tricky platforming and sometimes unfair enemy placements. However, there are some difficulty options available to tailor the challenge to the taste of the player. There is also the multiplayer component, with the 2 player co-op gameplay, which is local only but let’s two people work together. But do be careful as the second player won’t be able to rejoin if all their lives are lost, unless a game over happens.

The last thing to talk about for gameplay is the unlockable modes. Upon completion of the story mode, two additional gameplay modes will be unlocked for players to enjoy in single and co-op play. The first is Arcade, where the player can run through the game like in story, but without the cutscenes between stages. The second is Speed Run mode, a mode where players try to reach the end of the game as fast as possible, with one credit and all abilities unlocked.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this title, starting with the controls.

Controls – the control method for Spidersaurs is very similar to other titles in the run and gun genre, allowing fast fluid movement, snappy inputs and 8 way directional shooting. The inputs are laid out well with the jump and fire mapped to the face, movement tied to the left stick/D-pad and other skills set up in a comfortable way. Having played the game with a variety of controllers, this is a solid experience that is comfortable no matter how players choose to play.

Difficulty – this release has three difficulty options to choose from, with an easy, medium and hard option using steak temperature terms to fit the game theme. The differences between the difficulty options include changing the number of foes on screen, removing some obstacles and increasing the number of lives (when playing easy). There are some other differences with modes, the biggest one being that the final stage is locked off in easy, just like action games of the past.

Presentation – Spidersaurs has a Saturday morning cartoon style to it, with distinctive sprite work for characters and enemies. The cutscenes work well, with character portraits that are expressive and pleasing to the eye. The environments are detailed and varied, with bold stage elements and backgrounds that are distinct from each other. There is little if any lag when it comes to the flow of action, with no slowdown during the busy sequences or when there are big sprites on screen.

The soundtrack for Spidersaurs is an excellent accompaniment to the visual style and action that appears on screen. Featuring a mix of styles with heavy rock guitar, techno beats and electro keyboards from composer Harumi Fujita, who has created music for Strider, Pulstar and more. The opening theme features Cristina Vee (Miraculous) and Jason C. Miller (Shenmue III). This title also features excellent voice acting that adds an additional layer to the charm of the experience.

Final Thoughts – I was excited when I saw the announcement that Spidersaurs was coming to consoles, since I had seen the title on apple arcade a few years ago and I can safely say that I’m not disappointed. The action is smooth, the game is well paced and there is a lot of variety to the overall experience as a run and gun. The difficulty does spike towards the later part of the game, but if the player uses some caution, takes their time and learns enemy patterns then the difficulty is eased.

There is a lot of charm to this release, with the entertaining character dialogue, fantastic soundtrack and vibrant character designs. There is a lot of depth and enjoyment to the overall product, I can happily recommend this game to fans of run and guns titles, like Contra, Metal Slug and Gunstar Heroes. The game does have some minor flaws, but the overall experience is worth playing and can be great fun either alone or with a friend.

In the end, I give Spidersaurs a final score of 4.5/5. This stylish and charming run-‘n’-gun action title is a real challenge, with some tough stages and difficult bosses, but the overall experience is fun and rewarding when played alone or with a friend in 2 player co-op. If you want to check this title out for yourself, links to all versions will be below. Please note: a patch for the Nintendo Switch to fix a bug is being worked on to be made available as soon as possible.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Link to Xbox version (HERE)

Link to Steam version (HERE)

Link to Apple version (HERE)

Yurukill: The Calumniation Games – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Izanagi games with assistance from G-Rev and published by NIS America, Yurukill: the Calumniation Games, is a hybrid of visual novel escape adventure and bullet hell shooting action. As a prisoner convicted of a crime you didn’t commit, you have arrived at Yurukill Land, a mysterious amusement park where your life will change forever. This title is available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 with links to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank NIS America for providing the copy of Yurukill: the Calumniation Games that was used for this review. The provision of this title has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with a brief background for the plot of this release. I will be calling this release simply Yurukill to keep it nice and brief. I will only be covering the core of the mechanics as I feel that this title should be experienced first-hand.

Story – Pardon or kill. Let the madness begin. At the edge of despair, lurks the unsettling past, and an unspeakable truth! Convicted Prisoners face a series of attractions to clear their names in Yurukill Land. If they and their Executioner partners overcome the Yurukill Games, they will be absolved of their alleged crimes. What secrets are hidden in the twisted attractions of the secluded amusement park, Yurukill Land? Who will emerge victorious from its cruel, fiendish games?

Gameplay – the gameplay for Yurukill is a hybrid mix of visual novel styled escape adventure and bullet hell shooting, with a diverse cast of characters that each have unique stories. I will be separating the gameplay coverage into two segments, discussing the escape adventure and bullet hell shooting action separately. First to discuss is the escape adventure.

Escape Adventure: the majority of the gameplay experience takes place here, with each of the games chapters based on a different set of characters. Taking place in escape room styled hidden object puzzles called attractions. The characters in each of these chapters consist of prisoners and executioners. The prisoners have been accused and convicted of various crimes, with their partners having the ability to end their life at any moment as their executioners.

Each attraction is split into stages, containing puzzles and hints that are needed to progress. There is a gate that will need to be unlocked in order to progress through each stage, with the solution to the puzzles being the key. To search the areas, the player controls a cursor that will light up to show that an object can be interacted with. There will also be conversations between the prisoners and their executioners, providing further help and hints for the attraction.

While progressing through each chapter, the player will engage in conversation that can have multiple choices to select from. These interactions provide more details about the characters, can uncover hints to the puzzles and even offer a little light hearted amusement. It is important to also pay attention to the conversations, as they could hold clues that will be useful later, or may even be tied to an important plot twist during the story.

There is even a hint system that can assist characters with the puzzles, giving additional hints to answer the riddles and tasks to ensure smooth progress. Throughout the investigation stages, there will be information that will be added to a device called the Yurukill passport. The passport holds the evidence collected, a dialogue summary that stretches back a fair amount and other helpful details. Players can also save, load and access other information with the passport.

During the course of an attraction, there will be more obstacles that will hinder the player. First are deadly puzzles that players must solve in order to progress, which involve making a decision that could lead to a sudden end. The second is the deadly cross-examination called “Maji-kill Time”, where the prisoner is grilled by their executioner and one wrong answer will result in death. If the prisoner succeeds, they will be able to continue a little longer.

All of the Maji-kill sequences are multiple choice quizzes, where the player must select a response to the question they are asked. With each correct answer, the “urge to kill” meter will rise, ramping up the intensity of the questions and the risk to the prisoner. If the wrong answer is chosen, the kill meter will instantly increase to 100% and the prisoner will be executed, giving a game over and returning the character to a check point.

When all of the puzzles and stages have been cleared, the next part of the Yurukill games will begin. The Yurukill Judgment, a life or death battle between the prisoner and the executioner, which their opponent has the power to pardon or kill them depending on what they do.

Now it is time to cover the shooting action part of Yurukill.

Yurukill Judgment: as well as the escape room style attractions, there is the Yurukill Judgement. This is an intense set of bullet hell stages, where the prisoner and executioner are pitted against each other in combat. Taking place in cutting edge BR (Brain Reality) developed by Yurukill Inc, the characters pilot Yurukill Fighters in VR environments, with the prisoner fighting wave after wave of enemies. At the start of the shooting stages, the prisoner will answer a high-speed quiz before launching.

During the high-speed quiz, the player must answer five questions related to the attraction and alleged crimes, with five answers to choose from. Each time the player gets an answer correct, they will get extra lives that they will be able to use in battle, but if they get an answer wrong they get nothing. After all the questions have been answered, the shooting begins in full swing, launching the player into the stage to battle the enemies.

While flying through the shooting stages, enemies will appear for the player to shoot down which will increase the score, as well as some enemies dropping power-ups. Each time a power-up is collected the prisoner craft will increase in strength up to a max level of 4, increasing the special weapon shots and overall damage they can do. There is also a system called the outburst meter, a special bar that fills up by destroying enemies and collecting items they drop.

The outburst meter becomes active at 20% letting players use two special attacks, a bomb that exhausts all of the meter and an alternate attack that uses a little of the meter each time. Once the meter falls below 20%, the outburst skills cannot be used until it refills. The outburst bomb is the more useful skill as it can be used as a defensive shield when taking damage if it is active, when the meter is completely full a bomb that annihilates all on screen can be used.

However, if the player has their ship destroyed, they will lose their power-ups with a few appearing on screen to recollect and the outburst meter resets to 20%. When the player ship is destroyed, a life is also lost, reducing the remaining total for the stages but more lives can be earned. Hidden in each stage is a Binko icon, which is uncovered from outburst attacks and providing an extra life when collected. There is a Binko hidden in every stage to be found and collected.

Towards the end of each stage, the executioner will appear as the boss for each stage, engaging in multi-phase battles with the prisoner to attempt to wipe them out. During these battles two special instances can occur, depending on the stage that the player is on. During the early stages, a mind barrier will appear which allows the player to enter the “Prejudice Synapse”, where the prisoner can provide evidence to prove innocence. However, failure will result in lives lost each time.

In the last part of each Yurukill Judgment there is the “Mind Maze”, where players must complete sentences that are related to the incidents, with each success getting further. But if the wrong answer is chosen, lives will be lost and the chance of failure increases. If the prisoner can solve the sentences and select the correct answers, they will get one step closer to completing the Yurukill Judgment and obtaining their freedom.

After the Mind Maze, there is one final set of boss phases that the player must overcome before Judgment is complete. Once Judgment is complete, a total score for the cleared stages will be given and the story will continue. Separate from the main story, there is also a dedicated Score Attack Mode where unlocked stages can be played with any of the unlocked prisoners. While in this mode, players can challenge any of the stages for a place on the leaderboards.

There are leaderboards for each individual stage, as well as for all stages played consecutively which gives additional replay value when the main story is cleared. All of the prisoner characters that have been unlocked can be used in the score mode, giving access to a variety of play styles in free play. The different characters have their own different characteristics, strengths and weaknesses which allows for experimentation with in the game.

The score attack provides additional replay value, extending the playtime for the game once the story has been cleared entirely. The shooting sections play very well, with smooth movements and reactive inputs that make the shooting a lot of fun to play. There is a lot going on at once and there are occasional moments of slowdown, but they do not interfere with the gameplay experience to a great extent.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls for this release are separated into two styles, the cursor based search controls for the escape room style puzzles. The left thumbstick controls the cursor, the face buttons perform interaction functions and the shoulders control the camera. The shooting controls are fun, with responsive and easy to use inputs for shooting, featuring an auto fire, charge fire and outburst attacks. Both game styles handle well, with minimal lag and are comfortable in docked/handheld play modes.

Difficulty – the difficulty for this game is almost entirely within the Yurukill Judgment sections, with the adventure segments being fairly straightforward and easy to follow. The shooting however, can be tense and difficult, with a hail of bullets and wave after wave of enemies to fight. In this section the difficulty settings that can be chosen are Easy, Normal and Hard, with each setting affecting the number of available lives and attack patterns of enemies/bosses.

Presentation – the visual style for this release is very distinct, with the manga artist Hiro Kiyohara (the illustrator for ANOTHER) responsible for bring the characters of Yurukill to life. The character portraits are expressive, which adds to the overall atmosphere and tension of a scene with almost all dialogue in a Visual Novel format. The environments and backgrounds have their own unique charm, with each location having its own distinct theme.

The shooting gameplay looks fantastic and switches the experience from the 2D VN style, into intense 3D bullet hell action. The player ships look unique from each other, the wire frames for different segments are vibrant and the bosses look fantastic. There is no real issue when it comes to slowdown or lag during play, as the action moves quite smoothly with only a brief pause in the flow when losing a life in battle, or when there are lots of enemies on screen.

The sound design for Yurukill ties the whole experience together, with atmospheric musical themes and distinct sound bites make the narrative more engaging. The background soundtrack has a lot of diversity to it, ranging from creepy carnival/theme park music and melancholic violin, to intense orchestral themes for the BR sections. There is voiced dialogue throughout, featuring the vocal talents of Sayori Hayami (Demon Slayer), Takuya Eguchi (Spy x Family) and Yu Kobayashi (Attack on Titan).

Final Thoughts – I was intrigued by the whole concept of Yurukill, as the combination of escape room puzzles, visual novel presentation and bullet hell shooting is not one I have seen before. The mix of the puzzles and the shooting is a lot of fun, with the two genres blending quite well. The featured artwork and character designs are distinct, with a variety of unique characters that have stories the player can get invested in.

I can easily recommend this release, the overall story is engaging and can be entertaining at times. I found myself becoming more and more engrossed in the narrative, finding the twists and turns of the plot pulling me in further. I applaud both Izanagi Games and G-Rev for the outstanding worth that has been created here, along with the artwork created by Hiro Kiyohara. The only flaws I found with this experience aside from puzzles being a little hard at times, was the very ocassional slowdown.

In the end, I give Yurukill: the Calumniation Games a final score of 4.5/5. This is an unconventional mix of hidden objects puzzles, visual novel storytelling and bullet hell shooting doesn’t appear to work on the surface. However, all of the different elements come together, creating an excellent and unique experience, with a narrative and characters that can really pull the player in. If you want to check this release out for yourself, links to the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation version (HERE)

Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Idea Factory and RED Entertainment with publishing handled by Idea Factory International, Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei is an Otome Visual Novel set in Heian period Japan. Experience a story filled with intriguing characters, where each choice made can lead the protagonist Shanao down a route that could lead to happiness or even tragedy. This title is available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Idea Factory International for providing the copy of Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story (taken from the official website for this title). I will also be using some vague terms in order to prevent spoilers for this release, as I want players to experience the narrative of Birushana for themselves.

Story – Fifteen years after the Heiji Rebellion, the Heike clan has reached the height of its power, while the Genji clan remains devastated by defeat. Hidden deep within the mountains of Kurama lives Shanao, the youngest surviving male heir to the Genji name. However, Shanao harbors a deep secret known by very few. The youngest heir to the Genji name is no man.

Gameplay – Birushana follows the traditional Visual Novel experience for the most part, with the experience playing out exclusively in narrative form. The characters that are involved in a scene will appear on screen, their dialogue voice acted and text appearing below them. The protagonist Shanao is silent throughout the experience, likely to provide the ability for the player/reader to put themselves into the position of the heroine.

During the course of the story, there are dialogue choices that the player will be presented with. These options have an impact on the way that the narrative plays out, guided by a system called Love Catch (which can be disabled in the settings).  Depending on the choices made, the flowers that appear on screen will open, indicating the level of affection that each of the lead male characters feels towards Shanao. The boarder of the screen will also change color, showing a change to three character abilities.

Each of the lead characters that Shanao encounters has their own route, which is initiated through the dialogue choices that are made during the story. As each choice is made, the compatibility that the protagonist has with a lead, as well as her abilities will influence the way that some events play out. These factors combine together to lead to one of several potential endings for that route, which include both good and bad endings at the climax of a narrative arc.

Upon completing a route in Birushana, an option called an “IF Ending” may become available to the player, providing a new route to experience with a sub character. These scenarios are separate from the rest of the game, acting as side stories for players to complete once all other routes have been completed. In order to track the progress of a route, the compatibility with a lead and Shanao’s abilities, the player can use the Information screen to see what each value is currently at.

There is also a flowchart which shows the progress through the various storylines, with branches for each of the chapters that diverge from a plot thread. In the flowchart menu, players can return to previous points in the story and replay chapters when the route is cleared. There is also a dictionary that gives explanations for the different terms used in the dialogue, providing background information on the historical setting for the story.

Players can also save and load the game freely, with a total of 100 save slots allowing the ability to save whenever a decision is to be made. This allows the player to try out all the different options and narrative threads when they wish, giving greater flexibility and experimentation with decision making. Last is the Album, which has a gallery for unlocked images, videos, music and dictionary terms that can be viewed from the main title menu of the game.

Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving onto the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – being a visual novel the controls for this release are streamlined and easy to use, with both controller and touch screen capabilities depending on the way the switch is being used. When in handheld mode, there is touch screen support with dialogue history, quick save/load and the menu to be accessed via swiping the screen. Advancing the story, accessing the dictionary and selecting menu/dialogue options are all accomplished by tapping the screen.

Presentation – visually, Birushana is stunning with attractive character designs for Shanao and the Male leads, as well as attention to the time period that the story takes place in. The background for each scene that takes place adds additional depth to the experience, with a lot of attention to fine details of each location featured. There are some minor issues with the text/dialogue on screen, with words ending up going too far to the edge or occasional typos, but they don’t ruin the experience.

The sound design for this release really knocks it up a notch, with an excellent soundtrack that conveys the impact of each scene well. There is excellent use of soft piano in scenes designed to be emotional, along with strong use of brass and string instruments during tense scenes. The voice work for this release is Japanese only, with each role having a good voice that fits the look of the character. The talent featured in this release includes Jun Fukuyama (persona series), Kengo Kawanishi (Food Wars) and Soma Saito (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure).

Final Thoughts –while I’m not usually one for visual novels on their own, often preferring the narrative style part of a greater whole, like the JRPG franchises Death end re;Quest and Mary Skelter. But, with that being said I found myself getting really invested in the narrative that played out. Each of the lead characters are fleshed out and the supporting cast has depth to it, along with the protagonist Shanao not feeling one dimensional in her silent portrayal.

I can easily recommend this release to anyone that is a fan of Visual Novels, as well as those who enjoy the Otome genre. There is a lot of content on offer, with each of the main routes taking several hours to complete and multiple endings to experience. This is a complete package, however there were a few hiccups that did slow the experience down, like the time it takes to skip read parts and occasional typos. But these are minor inconveniences.

In the end, I give Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei a final score of 4.5/5. This Visual Novel set in the Heian period of Japanese history is filled with intriguing and deep characters, plot threads that readers can get invested in and multiple character routes to get stuck into. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the release will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)

Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Tengo Project and published by Natsume (under license from Taito), with physical publishing handled by ININ Games, Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is an expanded soft remake of the classic SNES shooter of the same name. As the Shrine Maiden Pocky and her friend Rocky, take on the monsters and spirits that have gone out of control and restore peace to the land. This title is available both physically and digitally on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4/5, with links to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for providing the copy of Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined that was used for this piece. The provision of this Software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story segment as I feel it needs to be experienced first-hand, going directly into the gameplay section. I will be mostly referring to this title as Reshrined to keep things simple, with my discussion of the game focusing on the story mode to prevent spoiling some things.

Gameplay – Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined is a scrolling shooter offering 8 way directional movement and shooting action, with the camera moving in either a horizontal or vertical path. When launching the game, the player can only select the single player story mode with a normal and hard difficulty to select. An additional two player mode can be unlocked by either clearing the game or earning coins in game, as well as an easy story difficulty that can be unlocked with coins.

During the course of the game, the player can move with relative freedom around the screen, moving the camera in a top-down perspective as they go. While moving around the stages, the player will be attacked from all directions by the monsters and hazards that fill the different locations. There are also alternate paths, power ups and secrets to find in the game. To make it through the stages, the player must battle the monsters that attack using a variety of skills in their arsenal.  

Here are the basic moves that the player has access to in the game (I will be only talking about the simple move set Pocky uses to prevent spoiling surprises);

  • Talisman – Pocky can throw paper Talismans at enemies in the direction that she is facing, they can be strengthened by collecting power balls. There are three types of power that can be used, with the standard blue, Fire red and Wind green which alter the look and behavior of the attacks. If enough damage is taken, the power level of the Talismans will be lowered.
  • Gohei – Pocky can use her Gohei purification rod to deflect attacks, push enemies back and even send projectiles back at the enemy. The rod must be facing the same direction as the attack to be effective, as it can only be used from the front of Pocky.
  • Special Attack – unleash a special attack that deals tremendous damage to the enemies on screen, with limited uses for this special skill. These attacks can be refilled by collecting items during stages.
  • Slide – Pocky can slide across the floor to dodge attacks, get past enemies and evade projectiles that are sent her way. This is most useful during boss battles and busy battles, but it can be risky.

Throughout the stages while battling enemies, items can be found either dropped by monsters of hidden in baskets that need to be shot. When broken open, the baskets can contain power balls to strengthen attacks, amulets that provide shielding, additional special attacks and even a lion-dog that provides invincibility. There are also health items that can heal damage, with tea that will heal a little damage and Dango dumplings that heal a lot.

When enemies are defeated, they will drop sometimes drop coins which the player can collect. These coins can be used for a lottery by a spirit that can be hiding in plain sight. When the lottery is activated, a reel in the corner of the screen will roll, with the potential for max power to be granted, a shield or even an extra life. These lottery spirits will only appear if the player has enough coins, making the collection of coins a very important element of the game.  

During the course of the game, there will be mid bosses and blockade bosses which the player must defeat to continue. There are also challenging end stage bosses for each stage, with the player having to do battle with a powerful enemy in an arena. These boss battles are very tough, with the large enemies potentially filling the entire screen with attacks to try and kill the player. The bosses can do a lot of damage, which can wipe out a players health quickly, along with hazards to make battles tougher.

When the boss has been defeated the stage is cleared, when this happens the player will gain bonuses for remaining health and more. The game will also provide extra health upgrades during the game, increasing the total damage that can be taken. Between stages, the story will play out in in cutscenes with some animations included, pushing the narrative forward as well as dialogue from characters before important battles.

As the story progresses, new playable characters will appear and special abilities will be unlocked, mixing up the flow of the game. The additional character changes and new abilities will be dictated by the story, with the lead character changing over time to keep the experience fresh. It can take a moment to get used to each of the different gameplay mechanics, with the challenging enemy patterns and difficult hazards from the start of the game.

To compensate the difficulty curve that is in this release, players have unlimited continues which is useful as the player can easily get overwhelmed. When the player loses all their lives, they are given a game over and if they choose to continue, the player is sent to a preset point. These checkpoints can be at the beginning of the stage, at a midway point or even at the boss itself. When the stage restarts there are usually power-ups that can be found to get the player back into the action.

Once the player has either cleared the story mode, or accumulated enough coins, Free Mode will be available. In this mode, two players are able to take on the adventure together, being able to select their character from the playable roster and work together through the stages. There are also leaderboards for all players to post scores, which offers a challenge for players in story mode and the individual characters in free play.

Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – the control method for this release is easy to pick up. The character movement is handled by the D-pad and thumbstick, with all action inputs mapped to the face buttons of the controller. All button inputs and movements are reactive, with zero issues when it comes to delay or lag when playing the game. The experience is comfortable when playing the game in either handheld or docked mode, working very well with controllers that use a solid D-pad.

Difficulty – Reshrined has a very high difficulty curve, with enemies that swarm the player quickly and have the potential to quickly deplete a full health bar. This is most present when first starting the game, as the first stage eases the player into the action, but quickly ramps up in difficulty without providing any hints on how to play. However, there is a good checkpoint system, with an extra unlockable easy difficulty that can be unlocked, but the best way to progress is practice.

Presentation – this release has a beautiful retro styled aesthetic, taking the original graphical style used in previous games and updating them. There is also new and expanded sprite work throughout, with outstanding level designs, enemy sprites and huge screen filling bosses. The cutscenes for the plot look amazing, with large and detailed sprite based portraits. The sound for Reshrined knocks the experience up a notch, taking original compositions and reworking them into something fresh, while also creating unique tracks for new stages.

Final Thoughts – having played the original Pocky & Rocky all the way back on the SNES, I was excited when I saw the announcement for this title and I was not disappointed. The challenging difficulty, brutal boss battles and signature charm of the original games was all there, while still feeling fresh and new. This isn’t a full-on remake, nor is it a whole new experience, since there is a mixture of old and new with this package. I would call it a soft remake as it expands on the original while maintaining its spirit.

This is an easy game to recommend to anyone, since it is such a fun and challenging shooter. It may be hard and that can definitely put some players off, but it doesn’t have a permanent failure state as there is no limit to continues. The story mode is also a major positive for this game as keeps the experience fresh, with new characters being introduced and new abilities to use. All of the elements of the game come together in a wonderful package of both nostalgia and new experiences.

In the end, I give Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined a final score of 5/5. This is an excellent scrolling shooter and an even better reintroduction of a classic franchise, there may be new sprite work, locations and characters, but the spirit of the original title is still there. If you want to check this game out for yourself, links to the digital and physical versions will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch digital version (HERE)

Link to PlayStation 4 digital version (HERE)

Link to ININ Website for Physical version (HERE)

Neko Secret Room – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Axyos Games and published by Eastasiasoft, Neko Secret Room is a mature title where players must solve grid based puzzles. As puzzles are completed by the player additional, sexier images will be unlocked with 12 girls to reveal. This title is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch system, with a link to the game available at the bottom of the review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Neko Secret Room that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has no influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Mature Content Warning: this title is intended for mature audiences, with sexual content, nudity and heavy fanservice elements present. If you are under the recommended age or find the content mentioned offensive, please proceed at your own discretion.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is little in terms of story with this title, so I will be moving directly into discussing gameplay.

Gameplay – Neko Secret Room is a simple puzzle title, where the player has infiltrated a photographer’s room and must complete grid based puzzles to access the images they have taken. There are 12 girls to select when accessing the ChanOS system where they are located, split into two catagories, Favorite Photos and Photo Session. Both categories have a total of 6 girls, each with three puzzles to complete, bringing the total up to 36.

These puzzles are simple enough for anyone to figure out at the start, with a 5×5 grid for the first puzzle of each girl. But they will become more complicated and explicit as each puzzle is cleared. The puzzles start with the girls fully clothed, becoming increasingly lewd (with the lewdest parts censored). Once all the puzzles are complete, players can view the images at their leisure or replay the puzzles freely, trying to clear them as fast as possible.

To solve the puzzles, the player swaps pieces to put them into the correct places, with the best the way to match pieces up being using the outside parts of the image. It can take a few minutes to figure out where some of the pieces fit, but others can be lined up fairly easily. The most difficult parts of the puzzles are the background pieces, which can be quite tough to match up with the subtle details. But, they can be completed if enough time has been spent.

Outside of the puzzles there are some simple activities that can be accessed in the two explorable rooms. These rooms are a bedroom and bathroom, which can be explored in a free roaming manner. The player character can move freely around the room, activating an activity when touching a marker on the floor, with one for each activity. The main marker is by the computer, where the puzzles are located with three additional activity markers.

These additional activities are as follows:

  • Dance – the player character will dance in place, which is a little confusing as there is no addition music that is played aside from the standard background music.
  • Darts – the player can take part in a darts match against an A.I. opponent, playing a game of 301. Unfortunately the controls are uncooperative, which makes it hard to aim well and the bot opponent is unfairly accurate winning the majority of matches.
  • Outfit Change – the player can change their characters look by customizing her hair, selecting an outfit and changing accessories. The player can also change the characters skin color, breast/thigh size and height.

These additional activities don’t really add much to the experience, as the majority of playtime is spent with the puzzles. This means that the player character won’t be seen, aside from the opening cutscene and when roaming the two rooms, which feels like a waste unfortunately. The overall experience is fairly simple, with the limited number of puzzles and the rather sparse free roaming sections/activities outside of the puzzles.

Now with the gameplay covered, I will be moving onto the other elements of the game, starting with the controls.

Controls – the controls are very simple, the camera is moved by the right stick and the player character is moved with the left stick. The face buttons control menus and interactions, being used for the Darts mini game, the outfit changer and the puzzles. When leaving an activity there is a pause which takes a few moments and the inputs are not recognized. The best part of the controls is the touch screen capabilities, as the menus and puzzles can all be navigated with the screen in handheld mode.

Presentation – the overall look and aesthetic of the game is basic but pleasant to look at with some fanservice/sexualized content included. The artwork for the puzzles has an anime look to it, with beautiful artwork for the girls featured that cover a range of looks and themes. The rendered rooms that exist outside of the puzzles are basic, with some simple animations and cute elements. The sound for this release is just as simple as the visuals, with a simple soundtrack and limited sound effects.

Final Thoughts – overall this is a very simple experience, with a variety of attractive girls, simple to understand puzzles and mature content. There is a lack of substance outside of the puzzles, with only a few things that can be done. Unfortunately, this titles greatest strength is also one of its biggest flaws, since all 36 puzzles can be completed fairly quickly.

The total game time can be about 2 hours at most, which I feel is sufficient for the low cost. I can recommend this title to players who are looking for an easy lewd puzzle title at a modest price point. However, please bear in mind that this is a rather bare bones gameplay experience, with only 12 girls that have 3 image variants each.

In the end, I give Neko Secret Room a final score of 3/5. This simple but enjoyable puzzle experience is sadly marred by the short length of time, but this is balanced out by the high quality of the featured artwork and variety of themes to them, with 12 alluring female characters at a budget price point. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)