Turtle Rock studios heads back to the co-op zombie shooter well with Back 4 Blood, and while it sometimes struggles to bottle that Left 4 Dead lightning, there’s enough here to enjoy now, and offers hope for its future. Back 4 Blood’s story follows a bunch of battling survivors (Cleaners) who have been living in […]
Author: Neil Bolt
[Review] ‘Detention’ is a Largely Successful Film Adaptation of Red Candle’s Taiwanese Horror Game
The bar for video game to film adaptations may be dreadfully low, but it’s still quite nice to be able to say John Hsu’s Detention is easily one of the better examples. Based on Red Candle’s excellent 2017 side-scrolling horror game of the same name, Detention delves into a bleak portion of Taiwan’s history to […]
[Review] ‘Alan Wake Remastered’ Shines Fresh Light on Remedy’s Intoxicating Horror Game Classic
Alan Wake re-emerges from the darkness looking better than ever, and at the perfect time for reappraisal. It’s been 11 years since Remedy took us to Bright Falls and led us down the kind of deliciously demented path the developer has since become synonymous with. Now, with Control pushing Remedy to new heights (not to […]
[Report] Remasters, Remakes, and Reboots For ‘Castlevania’, ‘Metal Gear Solid’, and ‘Silent Hill’ Are In Production
It seems that Konami is going to let its big three back out into the world in the near future, with a plethora of remasters, remakes, and new entries in production for the Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Castlevania series. There had been similar whispers of this before, but this time, Andy Robinson at […]
[Review] ‘Diablo II: Resurrected’ Unleashes a Familiar Hell
Diablo II Resurrected offers up almost exactly the same game of 21 years ago to a fault. An unapologetic, brutal action RPG that feels incredibly jarring when compared to its modern successors. It’s intimidating, frustrating, and oddly refreshing at times. Resurrected brings a significant visual overhaul (with the option to switch back to the original […]
[Review] ‘In Sound Mind’ Takes You On a Surreal Trip Through Tortured Memories
While In Sound Mind trades in some familiar horror beats, it manages to find its own groove. Developer We Create Stuff previously sharpened its horror teeth on the popular Half-Life 2 mod Nightmare House 2, and there’s some obvious heritage from that title bleeding through to In Sound Mind, but here it feels a lot […]
[Interview] ‘Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water’ Producer Keisuke Kikuchi Discusses Returning to the Series and its Unique Brand of Horror
We’re creeping towards the release of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water on modern consoles, having previously only been available on the now-defunct Wii U seven years ago. It remains the last game in one of horror gaming’s most famous franchises, but with the resurgence of horror games and a wider audience able to experience […]
[Review] Survive a Serial Killer at the Laundromat in Atmospheric Horror Game ‘Bloodwash’
The latest game to be released under Puppet Combo’s Torture Star Video label is Black Eyed Priest and Henry Hoare’s scuzztastic ‘serial killer at the laundromat’ horror Bloodwash, and it’s no washout. This first-person horror sees a Giallo-infused tale of a weary mother-to-be named Sara, who comes home from a long day to find her […]
[Interview] Actor Barbara Crampton and Lead Writer Simon Mackenzie Discuss Their Roles in Zombie Shooter ‘Back 4 Blood’
There’s been a Left 4 Dead-shaped hole in gaming for too long, and while there have been some attempts to fill it (World War Z and Aliens: Fireteam Elite for example), nothing has really come close to capturing that spirit. So who better to take a shot than a developer that had a hand in […]
[Review] ‘SPOOKWARE’ Takes You On a Delirious Microgame-Filled Road Trip Through the Afterlife
Perhaps my favorite thing about BEESWAX’ GAMES’ SPOOKWARE is how it takes the crumb of an idea (Wario Ware but spooky) and runs with it to the point that it becomes something else entirely. SPOOKWARE started life as a brief microgame collection on itch.io, grew into a whole segment in one of DreadXP’s Dread X Collections, […]
[Review] ‘Deathloop’ is a Glorious, Time-Bending Murder Puzzle
Arkane pushes the boat out big time with Deathloop. Its latest carries itself with all the swagger of a developer that has perfected the modern immersive sim with the excellent Dishonored series, and the greatly underappreciated Prey. Somehow, Deathloop has more personality, style, and ambition than its precursors, and sharpens the familiar Arkane trappings to […]
Kratos Returns to the End of the World and Faces Off Against Thor in ‘God of War Ragnarok’ [Trailer]
At Sony’s PlayStation Showcase, we finally got a look at the sequel to 2018’s Norse mythology-led God of War, and Kratos will be facing off against a very angry Thor as Ragnarok looms. God of War Ragnarok is the official name for the sequel, and sees Kratos and a now teenage Atreus seeking out the […]
Go on a Spooky Mini-Game Filled Road Trip With Skeletons in ‘SPOOKWARE’, Out Today
SpookWare, a horror riff on WarioWare was one of my favorite horror game experiences when it was released last year, and now, creator Adam Pype (who also made the creepy No Players Online) and his team has built on that brief slice and made a fully-fledged road trip adventure game stacked with more mini-game madness. […]
[Gamescom 2021] New Trailer For ‘The Outlast Trials’ Looks Like ‘SAW’ Meets ‘Escape Room’
It’s been a hot minute since Red Barrels announced its third entry in the modern horror Outlast series; The Outlast Trials, but at Gamescom Opening Night Live, a brand new gameplay trailer emerged, showcasing the Saw/Escape Room style shift in style for the co-op focused title. The trailer shows plenty of traps and depraved psychopaths […]
[Gamescom 2021] Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Blade and More Team Up to Face Hell on Earth in ‘Marvel’s Midnight Suns’
I’ve been interested to see what angle XCOM developer Firaxis was going to take with its Marvel game, and I can’t think of many better outcomes than a horror-led strategy RPG featuring Ghost Rider, Blade, and Wolverine. Marvel’s Midnight Suns was revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live, and sees player-created ‘dark heroes’ join forces with […]