Ratalaika Games Game Reviews
Mini Review 8-Bit Adventures 2 (PS5) - Don't Sleep on This Superb Tribute to Old JRPGs
Better than OK, Computer
Many an indie developer has tried to recapture the magic of formative Japanese RPGs — but few have managed to pull it off with such charm and confidence as Critical Games. The Australian studio has delivered something quite special with 8-Bit Adventures 2 — a title that doesn't sacrifice its own identity in pursuit of...
Mini Review Save Room (PS5) - RE4 Delight Turned Full Game
What're ya sorting?
Considering just how beloved the inventory management of Resident Evil 4 was, it's insane to think it's taken this long for someone to spin it out into a full game. 17 years later, Save Room is a completely faithful recreation of the enjoyable Tetris-like mechanic that works as a neat distraction for an hour or two. This is the...
Mini Review Voyage (PS5) - A Nice Palate Cleanser
Sweet starter
Considering the number of big games that release one after another nowadays — particularly during the holiday season — palette cleansers have become almost essential in order to keep things fresh. Voyage, a beautiful 2D title about the journey rather than demanding gameplay mechanics, plays that role perfectly. In a two-hour quest...
Mini Review Gynoug (PS5) - Another Ratalaika 16-Bit Shmup with Two Easy Platinums
He's not the Masaya, he's a very Wor-ty boy
A distinctive art style can elevate a retro game into becoming engraved in our memories, for example many shoot-'em-up fans vividly remember the visual design of the Bydo Empire, with its biomechanical theme, and bosses like Dobkeratops as a defining part of R-Type. In 1991 magazines, like Issue 113 of...
Mini Review Gleylancer (PS5) - Solid 1992 Mega Drive Shmup Shines Again
Bust out the Busterhawk for two easy Platinums
From its July 1992 release, Masaya's Gleylancer didn't initially shine as a single player shoot-'em-up. It received a mixed reception, with Issue 2 of Mean Machines SEGA magazine describing it as unoriginal and tedious in a 48/100 scoring review. For years Gleylancer was more renowned for its reputation...
Mini Review Concept Destruction - Destruction Derby with Cardboard Cars
Crash dummies
Concept Destruction’s name tells you much of what you need to know about this pen-and-paper PlayStation 4 racer. It’s a combat game inspired by PS1’s legendary Destruction Derby, and it’s effectively a proof of concept. In many ways this feels like half a game, as you smash your way through Drawn to Death-esque arenas,...
Mini Review Thy Sword - Thou Shalt Enjoyeth This Roguelike
Live by thy sword
Roguelikes are dime a dozen on PlayStation Store, but Thy Sword appeals in spite of the genre’s ubiquity. This single-screen side-scroller sees you clearing out enemies in different locations to progress to different levels, many environments culminating in larger-than-life boss fights. There’s a casual mode which makes the...
Mini Review Gun Crazy - Super Nintendo-Esque Shooter with a Short Shelf Life
Crazy in guns
Gun Crazy has modest ambitions, meaning you should calibrate your expectations appropriately before giving it a spin. This is a Super Nintendo-esque side-scrolling shooter, in which you commandeer a blue-haired bad ass through a breakneck 30 minute-ish campaign against a variety of tyrannical robots and green blobs. It features all of...
Mini Review Random Heroes: Gold Edition - A Side-Scroller with a Massive Cast
Not-so random really
For a game being sold on its eclectic cast of characters, Random Heroes: Gold Edition really doesn’t do anywhere near enough with its heroes. This is a 16-bit style side-scrolling shooter where you take control of, well, pretty much anyone. There’s a cyborg, a clown, a truck driver, a man in a suit… You pretty much get the...
Mini Review Super Destronaut: Land Wars - All Style, No Substance
Space invaders
Super Destronaut: Land Wars is developed by a team named Petite Games, and anyone who understands French should take that as an indicator of what to expect. This is probably the most simplistic first-person shooter you’ll find on the PlayStation 4, as you sprint around neon environments shooting gigantic Space Invaders-inspired...
Mini Review Rush Rover - Simple Roguelike Shooter Is Fun Timewaster
A kind of rush
You’ve already played a game like Rush Rover, but that doesn’t mean this little timewaster should be ignored. A dualstick roguelike, the shooter borrows liberally from various recent releases, delivering a wholly unoriginal yet generally well-executed experience. Playing as a mining machine, your role is to clean up randomly...
Mini Review Ganbare! Super Strikers - Tactical Take on the Beautiful Game
You'll get a kick out of it
Think of Ganbare! Super Strikers not as a sports game, but as a strategy campaign a little bit like Advance Wars or XCOM. That’s how this fusion of football and tactics works, adopting a turn-based format where you need to move your players into position, pass the ball, and, fingers crossed, score some goals. There’s...
Mini Review Knightin'+ - Zelda-Lite Is Too Simplistic with Just Dungeons
Trifine
Are we witnessing the origins of an all-new genre? Knightin’+ started life on itch.io and bills itself as a Zelda-lite. The gameplay is easy to describe: it’s Zelda in dungeon form only. This means that there’s no hub-world to explore, just a maze of rooms with keys to find, puzzles to solve, and bosses to beat. You’ll also happen...
Mini Review Zero Zero Zero Zero - Hellish Monochrome Platforming
From zero to hero
Zero Zero Zero Zero reminds us of Sound Shapes – although the latter undoubtedly has a better name. Do you remember those dastardly single-screen stages in the aforementioned PlayStation exclusive outing? This monochrome platformer is like 100 of those, each rotating randomly every time you die. And you will die – again and...
Mini Review Milo's Quest - Pixelated Puppy Stars in Simple Adventure Game
Oh my dog
Milo’s Quest could carry the subtitle ‘My First Adventure Game’ and it would all make sense. This straightforward isometric outing sees you take control of a lovingly animated pooch, and sees you embark on an adventure across a colourful landscape filled with marshmallow-shaped ghouls and bricks to push. It’s probably the most...
Mini Review FoxyLand 2 - A Bright and Bushy Side-Scroller
No fox given
Where the fox have you been? This is indie developer BUG-Studio’s second crack at its foxy FoxyLand series, with the previous edition carefully marshalled onto the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita by the ever-industrious Ratalaika Games. A vibrant side-scrolling platformer, this version boasts over 40 levels and co-operative play – though...
Review Red Bow - Pixel Art Horror That Will Tie You in Knots
Bow constrictor
Pixel art horror has been all the rage ever since platforms such as the PlayStation Store ushered the industry into something of an indie boom. Red Bow is effectively a Japanese horror movie in Super Nintendo-style 16-bit form, putting you in the place of the immaculately dressed Roh as she explores a nightmare world filled with...
