Recent reviews by ThisIsPete

An essential purchase, and one of the best value games on Steam. At the time of writing, I've played for 13 hours, cleared two games and only tried four in total.

Each individual game is masterfully designed to pay homage to real games from the era, but with modern game design twists that make them all much less frustrating than many of their counterparts from the "real world". Plus there's not one game here that is a straight "copy" of a real '80s title; every one of these 50 titles has some sort of hidden depth or clever mechanics to discover, and it's an absolute joy to get to know each and every one of them.

The more I play it, the more it seems like an interactive work of art as much as a collection of games. Everything is deliberately designed to get you thinking about classic game design and how things have changed over time. This is so much more than just "Action 52, but good". It deserves to be required reading on game design courses -- and should be considered an essential part of every Steam library.

Sublime drift-heavy handling, stylish presentation, plenty of things to do without overwhelming the player with options, and a clear love for both motorsports and classic isometric retro racers. Oh, and a banging soundtrack with plenty of variety.

If you typically stick to 3D racers, take a chance on this and you might just find yourself hooked; if you already know the joy of arcade racing from this perspective, this is right up there with the best of 'em. Highly recommended.

This is really good. Structurally and mechanically it feels very true to the earliest CRPGs like Ultima, Questron and the like, but the modern conveniences it brings to the table without compromising the fun of those early titles makes it an essential purchase for CRPG enthusiasts. At least it would be if it cost money, but it's free, making this even more of a no-brainer if you enjoy this sort of thing.

Be prepared for it to be VERY difficult when you start out, just like the games that inspired it, but master the Poise system and take the time to beef up your woeful starting equipment and you'll soon find the adventures and battles coming a bit more easily.

The only thing I don't like is the meme-heavy death messages, which read like a 12 year old who just discovered Reddit and don't feel very in keeping with the atmospheric but witty tone the rest of the game maintains. The in-game dialogue is well-written. "I can haz deathburger?" is not. This is a minor nitpick at best, though if it's something that might bother you it is worth noting with how frequently you die in the early game you'll see quite a few of these messages. There are, at least, quite a lot of different ones.

That aside, though, a hearty thumbs up for this. Looking forward to exploring it further.

Actually really, unironically fun. If you ever wanted a horny take on Toaplan's Rally Bike or Irem's Traverse USA/Zippy Race, well, here you are. The concept of girls riding various forms of vehicle with... appendages attached is as dumb as a bag of hammers, but that's part of what makes it so appealing. Some decent longevity here just from unlocking all the characters, outfits and upgrades, but it's a game you'll want to keep playing just for the fun (and horny) factor afterwards.

Kudos to the voice actors who really elevate the sexiness factor to a whole new level, and thumbs up for the split-screen gallery mode that allows you to enjoy the characters' animations and voices at your leisure... once you've unlocked them, of course.

My only minor nitpick is that the in-game scrolling and full-screen intro animations could be a tad smoother -- there's some screen tearing evident at times. Not enough to be game-breakingly distracting, but it would be nice to see this polished up a little at some point.

The best arena survival game that money can buy. And you don't even need to buy it with money.

A brilliantly designed, well-balanced game with excellent presentation and solid gameplay. An absolute must-play even if you don't know who anyone in Hololive is; while there are certainly plenty of in-jokes designed for Hololive fans to enjoy, anyone outside the VTuber fandom can simply enjoy the game for its cute, varied character designs and their range of unique in-game abilities.

Plus with the most recent update, the addition of a customisable house, farming and fishing adds a ton of longevity even outside the already incredibly addictive main game.

The benchmark by which all future fan games will be judged!

It's ROTT, but better. If you played it back in the day, get it. If you didn't play it back in the day, get it and discover what you missed out on. Either way, this is another top-tier remaster from the folks at Nightdive, New Blood and Apogee.

KaniPro Games was keen not to simply make a slavish recreation of Valis for modern systems; rather, they wanted to draw inspiration from the classic platformers but still provide their own distinctive, unique twist on the formula. And they’ve certainly succeeded in that regard; Violet Wisteria is recognisable as an homage to Valis, but it’s also very much its own distinct thing, and it’s absolutely unashamed of everything it is.

That’s a bold creative statement, and one I very much respect from a passion project like this.

Full review here[ricedigital.co.uk]

We’ve had a few indie games pass through recently that were clearly trying to pay homage to classics of years gone by, but which missed the mark in one way or another — sometimes quite spectacularly, sometimes by just not quite nailing the difficulty balance. Ringlorn Saga from Graverobber Foundation is different, though; not only does it absolutely nail the homage aspect, it successfully modernises the concept without, for the most part, feeling anachronistic. It is, in short, a good thing.

Read full review here[ricedigital.co.uk]

Another banger from Crawlco Block Knockers creator Cosmi Kankei. Excellent adventure game with a wonderful party atmosphere, likeable characters, an enjoyable script that doesn't rely on tedious irony and some inventive retro homage challenges to engage with -- I was especially delighted with the Space Channel 5 bits. Difficulty level is a tad wonky in places (Succu Bouncer is hard as heck!) but in some respects that just adds to the old-school nostalgic charm.

Read a fuller review here.[ricedigital.co.uk]

This game won't be for everyone, as it's an extremely old-school affair in which random chance can play a significant factor in whether or not you succeed or fail at absolutely everything, including resurrecting fallen characters. It will also be quite an adjustment for those who grew up with RPGs that allow you to continuously move forward -- this is a game where you'll have to take your time to power up your characters and, in most scenarios, map things out by hand; it'll take multiple expeditions to get beyond the first few rooms in most dungeons.

But stick with it and there's an incredibly rewarding experience to be had -- particularly with the ability to import your own artwork for your party members. And the future looks bright, too; once the scenario editor enters the picture, we have a potentially limitless dungeon crawler on our hands. And I'm all for that.

Read our full review on Rice Digital[ricedigital.co.uk]