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Subsurface Circular (Switch): COMPLETED

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I didn’t even know this game existed, let alone what it was about, until yesterday. Then someone recommended it on Twitter, mentioned it was by Mike Bithell, and I saw it was less than a fiver on the eShop. Of course I bought it.

Subsurface Circular is a visual novel with light puzzling and investigation, manifesting mainly as conversations between you – a robot detective – and other passengers on the robot-only underground railway. In this world the robots, known as Teks, are sentient. Each has a job or role designation, and it’s up to you to question them in order to try and discover why Teks have been mysteriously disappearing. Or have they?

It’s only a couple of hours long and not exactly taxing, but there’s an interesting story and some humour so it’s worth playing.

The post Subsurface Circular (Switch): COMPLETED appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Axiom Verge (Switch): COMPLETED!

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Even without reading too much about Axiom Verge, I knew I was going to like it. “It’s like Super Metroid” was enough. The only confusing thing was how it took me so long to actually buy it.

Actually, I think I did buy it ages ago on Steam or something, but like most Steam games, it sits there unloved. Last week it was on offer on the Switch, so I bought it again, and then completed it.

Those people were right – it is like Super Metroid. Certainly, there are different weapons, and the graphics are all smaller, and of course the plot isn’t the same and you’re not a woman in an exosuit. But it’s so very Super Metroid. Similarly themed areas, traditional locked off bits and powers to access them. Hidden rooms. Power ups. Giant bosses.

The main difference is that it’s so very easy. Every one of the bosses is a total walkover – not least because most of them have areas you can stand and not get hit while still damaging them. That doesn’t actually hurt the game at all though, as the main task is exploring and upgrading. The unlockable powers are a joy (especially once you fully upgrade your drone), and the “glitch” mechanic is original and often clever.

Importantly, it’s great, and I can throughly recommend it. Now to try and 100% it!

The post Axiom Verge (Switch): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

ugvm Podcast Episode 8

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Welcome friends, to Episode 8 of the world’s greatest sort of monthly-ish video game podcast with “ugvm” in the title. Well, OK. Top three.

In this episode, deKay has a lost weekend, Tim is obsessed with the worst Bullfrog game ever, Luffer is the Goddamn Batman, and Choobs has a yacht. Because of course he has. Also: Cake Winslet.

We talk about and/or discuss Game Maker 2 supporting the Switch, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on your telephone, the massive expense of the Vive Pro, changes to the UK video game charts, and all these games:

  • Elite Dangerous
  • Vostok Inc
  • Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China
  • Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation
  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • Batman: The Telltale Series
  • Batman: The Enemy Within
  • Stage 9
  • Monster Hunter World
  • Populous: The Beginning
  • Crackdown

And we answer some listener questions. What more could you possibly want?

Some links to things we mention:

ugvm Steam Curators Page
Stage 9

(Direct link here)

Vostok Inc (Switch): COMPLETED!

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You know Cookie Clicker or Cow Clicker or Clicker Heroes or that paperclip clicker? Pointless but somehow addictive, right? And you know that little known twin-stick shooter Geometry Wars? Great, yeah? What about those tamagotchi thingies? Lovely.

Now bung them all into the same game. That’s right, the same game. A single game with all these elements in. There’s no way that can work.

But it does. You develop planets in a solar system in classic clicker style: buildings generate money each second, which you use to buy more buildings. More expensive buildings, and upgrades to buildings, generate more money per second. You keep this up, increasing earnings through ever higher powers of ten.

But while doing this, you have to fly from planet to planet to develop each. And you get shot at on the way and oh look – it’s a twin-stick shooter now. Shooting enemies and asteroids provides more money, although it’s the developing planets that really gets you the big cash.

Use some of your money to upgrade your ship’s weapons and abilities, and then take on the boss before expanding your business empire into the next solar system.

Oh yeah, and while you’re whizzing round the galaxy, why not rescue some executives? They inhabit your ship and – providing you keep them fed and entertained virtual pet style – they’ll give you a money generating bonus. They’ll also give you a minigame each to play should you have some time to kill while waiting for money to build up. They play out on a replica LCD screen, and are simplified variations of Flappy Bird, Galaga, R-Type and even Doom. They’re hardly full of depth, but they’re fun (and hard!) little diversions.

Then, before you know it, 20 hours have passed. Oops.

The post Vostok Inc (Switch): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (PS4): COMPLETED!

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I’m in two minds about this. On the one hand, it’s a perfectly good sneaky-stabby 2.5D platformer. On the other hand, it’s a terribly disappointing Assassin’s Creed game with a feeble story that weakly continues on from Ezio’s trilogy.

Initially, it feels a lot like the original 2D Prince of Persia game with obvious technical improvements. The more I played it, however, I realised it was really much closer to the Shinobi game on the Nintendo 3DS, only with a bit more emphasis on staying hidden rather than killing everything.

There’s nothing actually wrong with the game, aside from a couple of “endless runner” sections with their trial and error flaws, but it’s not good enough to make me want to play through the other two games in the series (India and Russia). I’m impressed that not being fully 3D worked a lot better than I was expecting, however.

The final boss was rubbish though. After a couple of proper boss fights with Prince of Persia style swordplay – parrying and stuff – you literally just walk up behind him and press a button. Oh, spoilers, sorry.

The post Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China (PS4): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.