<![CDATA[JUICY GAME REVIEWS - Video Game Reviews]]>

<![CDATA[JUICY GAME REVIEWS - Video Game Reviews]]>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 08:43:49 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Hyrule Warriors – Age of Imprisonment Review]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 07:05:47 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/hyrule-warriors-age-of-imprisonment-review

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Hyrule Warriors – Age of Imprisonment (Nintendo Switch 2

I think it’s pretty safe to say that the number of first party titles on Switch 2 since its launch nearly a year ago has been pretty lacklustre. Mario Kart World was a bit meh and even though I personally loved Donkey Kong Bananza, there were many gamers out there who thought it was bobbins. So it was a relief to finally get my hands on the latest instalment from Nintendo and Koei Tecmo. If you’re not familiar with Hyrule Warriors, it’s a hybrid of the Warriors style game with all your favourite characters from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Hacking and slashing your way through thousands of enemies to reach an end goal of securing outposts or maintaining your armies in battle.

This is the third Hyrule Warriors game we have had, and I loved the first two. Aside from some horrific frame rate issues, it still maintained to be a fun experience. The last game we had was the Age of Calamity which filled in a lot of the storyline gaps from the epic Breath of the Wild. Age of Imprisonment follows suit and gives us a background into Zelda’s story from Tears of the Kingdom so features Zelda as the main protagonist with a set of characters like Rauru, Mineru and others from the various regions of Hyrule like the Gorons, Zoras, Gerudos and Ritos. As you progress through the game more characters (including a Link style construct) are unlocked.

The player controls 1 of up to 4 characters deployed to a given mission, where they must complete certain objectives while fighting off large groups of enemies. Each character has a unique move set, consisting of combos performed by stringing weak and strong attacks together. Characters also have a personal set of unique attacks, powerful moves that can only be used again after a recharge time. Different Zonai devices, which diminish a battery when in use, are also present. Characters have access to a Warrior Special, which is charged by dealing and taking damage, which can dish out large amounts of damage across a wide area. Among groups of weak monsters that are easy to dispatch, players will face captains and bosses. These enemies have a weak-point gauge, which presents itself either after an attack, or the player forcing it out through certain means.

Depleting this gauge allows a weak-point smash to be used, dealing massive amounts of damage and likely felling the enemy with one final strike. There are multiple ways to force a weak-point gauge to appear. One method is dodging the enemy's attack before it lands, leading to a perfect dodge and flurry rush. Another method is using Zonai devices at opportune moments, such as using the Flame Emitter when the enemy has an ice affinity or is nearby a patch of grass. Enemies may also unleash dangerous attacks, which cannot be blocked, but are susceptible to corresponding unique attacks and Zonai devices.

These counterattacks, among other certain cooperative attacks, boost the Sync gauge. If two characters with full Sync gauges are nearby, they can unleash a Sync Strike. Each character has a different attack whether they are the controlled character starting the Sync Strike or vice versa. However, certain pairings can unleash unique Sync Strikes. Outside of battle, the player makes use of their spoils to upgrade characters by way of assisting the people of ancient Hyrule and improving weapons with Zonaite Steel.

All of my fears of frame rates were allayed straight away. The Switch 2 performs really well in both docked and handheld and some of the sync strike attacks look absolutely amazing and it feels good to pull them off. With most hack and slashes sometimes, gameplay can get a bit repetitive, I on the other hand never found this to be the case. I wanted to unlock everything, complete all the little side missions in order to get my characters levelled up to the maximum.

Graphically its pretty much the same as the Switch 2 port of tears of the Kingdom so you know its going to look great in terms of colour and texture and I feel shows a massive upgrade in what Switch 1 graphics looked like in Age of Calamity. One thing you can always count on in Zelda games is a great soundtrack and this game doesn’t disappoint here. All the themes keep you engaged in the action at all times. I do find the voice acting to be a little cheesy at times. Does anyone else find the Zelda voice to be really annoying. I would like her to be changed, if possible, for any future Zelda games. The story is also quite boring, and the cut scenes seem to go on forever at some points. I get the game is designed to flesh out a lot of the bones from Tears of the Kingdom, but often at times I just decided to skip the scenes to get back into the actual meat and potatoes of the game.

Overall. Age of Calamity is a game which will divide opinion. If you’re a Zelda fan who likes hack and slashers like me, then you’re going to love it (story aside). If you are neither of these then I think you would struggle to enjoy it as there isn’t anything which is really fresh or innovative which derives from the other Hyrule Warriors games. Nintendo will obviously market it as a must have title for its consumers. I’m just not convinced it has that mass appeal. On reflection, I think this could be the last Hyrule Warriors game. My thinking is I can’t see Nintendo doing a third Zelda game in the same vein as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. But then again, we do know how Nintendo loves to milk every little drop out of everything they create.

My score is 7/10.
Thanks for reading and as always Keep Gaming.

]]><![CDATA[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™:]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:53:41 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universetmPRESS RELEASE: Posted by Gemma @TheGebs24

NEWS, NEWS, NEWS

Dragon Pearl of Destruction Launches on April 28, 2026!

Bitmap Bureau is excited to announce that the highly anticipated He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is coming to Nintendo® Switch™, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on April 28, 2026!

Check out the new trailer revealed at IGN Fan Fest below to see the game in action!

When Skeletor uncovers the ancient Dragon Pearl of Destruction, a relic of unspeakable power, he joins forces with Evil-Lyn, plotting to perform a ritual that will plunge all of Eternia into eternal darkness! Only He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Teela can save the planet from certain doom!

In collaboration with Mattel, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is being developed by Mike and the team and will be published by Limited Run Games. The game melds the iconic characters and settings of the ‘80s animated classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™ with hand-crafted combat, gorgeous sprites, and high fantasy adventure inspired by arcade classics of the past. Harness character-specific moves, devastating special abilities, and screen-clearing magic to decimate Skeletor’s forces alone or team up with two player co-op!

Bringing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™ to life as a 2D brawler meant honouring the bold colours, dramatic poses, and larger-than-life energy of the original series while delivering tight, responsive combat worthy of the arcade era. Every animation frame, enemy pattern, and stage layout has been carefully built by hand to capture that unmistakable ‘80s magic, and we’re so excited for fans to experience it soon!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe™:

Key Features

Stunning Retro Revival: Experience Eternia like never before with massive, highly detailed pixel-art sprites and lush environments that look exactly like the original 1980s cartoon come to life.

A Legendary Roster: Play as He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Teela, and unlock She-Ra as a playable character in future playthroughs! Each hero features a unique playstyle, from He-Man’s raw power to Teela’s agile staff combat and aerial abilities.

Ride into Battle: It wouldn't be Masters of the Universe without Battle Cat! Mount He-Man’s fearless feline companion to tear through Skeletor’s minions with tooth and claw.

12 Action-Packed Stages: Battle your way across the diverse landscapes of Eternia, from the Royal Palace and the Vine Jungle to the dark corridors of Snake Mountain.

Classic Co-op Action: Team up with a friend in 2-player local co-op to deliver double the justice. Perfect for those who grew up playing side-by-side at the arcade.

Deep-Cut Villains: Square off against iconic foes including Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and Trap Jaw, along with deep-lore appearances like the dark sorceress Shokoti and the Shadow Beasts.

]]><![CDATA[Mario Kart World Review - A Shell to Success or a Toad in the hole?]]>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 13:21:56 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/mario-kart-world-review-a-shell-to-success-or-a-toad-in-the-hole

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Mario Kart World Review

We’re here! After weeks and months of anticipation, we finally have it. The Nintendo Switch 2 launched on the 5th of June. A bigger screen, better performance, magnetic joy cons and even a mouse mode. Lots of games coming in the next few months. However, the one that had us all salivating was Mario Kart World. A sure-fire system seller right here. You want to play Mario Kart World; you have no choice to buy the Switch 2. Simple, but genius marketing from Nintendo right here. We were even treated to a Mario Kart World Direct to feed us hungry gamers more titbits to whet our appetites until June 5th arrived. A few people have been sceptical about the whopping £75 price tag for a physical copy of the game. I am one of those sceptics. I chose to get my copy as a digital download bundled with my console. So, the time has come to give my totally unbiased review of Mario Kart World. Sit back, grab a drink and come and enjoy the ride.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe undoubtably was a huge success on the original Switch. With so many tracks to choose from on the cartridge and also the booster packs you could obtain via the eshop there was so much to do. The problem you have is “What Next?” To me that seemed to be the ultimate conundrum for Nintendo. What could you do to Mario Kart to make it bigger, better, and ultimately a deeper gaming experience. My initial thought was to make a Mario Kart All Stars kind of game, where you had every character, car and every track which had ever been released all in one game. Could you imagine how that would have been? Great yeah but still didn’t solve the problem of how you get Mario Kart to be a deeper immersive gaming experience especially in single player mode.

There are four ways to play, we have the traditional Grand Prix in 50cc, 100cc and 150cc with 4 courses for each cup of which there are initially seven to choose from, you can unlock an 8th making a total of 32 tracks on the game. The difference with the Grand Prix mode this time, is instead of four courses, with 3 or so laps on each track, you can drive to the next track in some instances which is a new and interesting addition to the game. We have the usual battle mode, which features the usual games where you shoot weapons to pop balloons and there are other challenges like coin collecting. The best addition to me is Knockout Mode. It features a long race rather than laps, where the player has to be in a certain tack position in order to carry on with the race with the ultimate goal of finishing 1st. It was a great throwback to old school arcade racers where you had to reach checkpoints in order to carry on. Our final mode is Free Roam and I’m going to come back to this later, as this is where I feel we’ve been swizzed.

Graphically, it looks great. Is it a massive improvement on Mario Kart 8? I’d say so, but certainly not a generational jump which we saw going from say N64 to GameCube. There has been some great detail though especially in the background characters in the crowd who actually look amazing and have their own animations. The music and effects are as solid as ever. Some new tunes for the new tracks and great remixes for the modernised versions of our classic tracks. Wario Stadium and Mario Circuit are fab. We have some new additions to the driving mechanics as we can now grind on rails and ride on walls to give us new short cuts and routes to the tracks, we can also get new outfits and boosts by eating the food at Yoshi Drive throughs along the way.

I have to add there was no issues at all playing online either, I had no issues on finding a game and no lag whatsoever on any time I played the game. I have to say I didn’t not use the game chat feature or use the camera function at all. I have no intention of playing this way, so I couldn’t comment on whether using this function would hamper your gameplay.

Credit: Nintendo

There’s no doubt that Mario Kart World is a good game, great fun to be had in multiplayer whether that’s online or at home in local play. My daughters had a great time playing the game against each other. They are 5 and 9 and had lots of fun playing against each other and also against me. I need to cut to the chase though. Mario Kart World in its current format is just a good game. I feel the game is a lazy effort from Nintendo. Out of the 32 courses I would say half of them are original brand-new tracks that we have never seen. But my biggest grip of all, has been this promise of a “open world” Mario Kart.

Free Roam is the “open world” that Nintendo have provided for us. Yes, I can drive around anywhere I like in this world at my hearts content. But there actually is no reason to. There are multiple little challenges you can do, like coin collecting, get from point A to Point B in a certain time frame and other little things like this. However, they offer no purpose or depth to the game. Your rewards for completing these challenges are stickers to whack on your cart. Imagine if you had Breath of the Wild and you wandered around Hyrule for ages only to collect stickers to stick on your paraglider. That’s how this feel, and that’s why it’s so bloody frustrating.

Nintendo have some of the greatest gaming developers in the world. Could they not have devised a story mode, with actual objectives in order to make a great game, a real challenging single player experience with some actual goals. Like an idea I had would have been driving round the open world and using the cart to grab weapons from the weapon box to defeat enemies and then get to a final boss battle of a certain area and use the Kart and the space around you to interact with the scenery and stuff like that to cause damage to the boss.

I suspect that we will get DLC later down the line, to further ramp up the price of the game to get the full Mario Kart World experience. What that dlc will be who can tell. What I can tell you is that whilst Mario Kart World is still a fun experience, it falls very short in adding anything new and unique as a series which I feel is getting stale a good thirty odd years after its initial release on the Super Nintendo. I’d certainly not recommend it as a £75 game. Try and get it cheaper if you can physically, but for me getting it as a download code was a frugal but ultimately great decision I have made.

I do hope that this isn’t a trend that carries on with future Nintendo software especially with their own IP’s because that would just be so disappointing for gamers and the gaming community in general. In the meantime, keep on gaming and I look forward to the upcoming release of Donkey Kong Bananaza in July.

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[Bitmap Bureau tell Us Why You Should Be Excited for Terminator 2D: NO FATE]]>Sat, 29 Mar 2025 07:29:40 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/bitmap-bureau-tell-us-why-you-should-be-excited-for-terminator-2d-no-fate

Interview posted by: by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Bitmap Bureau's Upcoming Terminator 2D: NO FATE launches in September 2025

Recently, Bitmap Bureau announced their latest project; Terminator 2D: NO FATE; a upcoming 2D Side Scroller that sent the internet in to meltdown. Terminator 2D: NO FATE is a gorgeous take on the Terminator 2 movie, packed with stunning pixel art and enticing visuals.

Now I wrote this interview before I knew Terminator 2D: NO FATE was launching. You might be wondering why there are not more questions geared towards the game? All I will say is keep an eye on Bitmap Bureau's socials to see more exclusive interviews about T2D. Not to mention, Bitmap Bureau have released some incredible video games over the last few years. So, let's dive in and see what Mike, one of founders and developers, has to say.

1/ Mike, can you tell us a little bit about your personal gaming history?
Hello Gemma, and hello to your followers too! I started playing video games from a pretty young age, with the arcade versions of Xevious and Nemesis / Gradius leaving a lasting impression on me when I was around 7 or 8 after playing them in a fish and chip shop in Cornwall! I would also spend a lot of time playing on my mates’ ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 - games such as Ant Attack, Ghostbusters and Ranarama really captivated me. As a kid I would seek out any opportunity to play video games, whether that was at a friend’s place or in some smoke-filled trucker’s cafe. Eventually though my parents bought our family our own computer, taking on the financial burden of getting an Amstrad PC1512 on hire-purchase - that almost certainly changed my life though, and set me on the right path.

2/ What led you into working in the gaming industry?
At school and college I didn’t really know what career path I could or should take, and I was told that I wasn’t academic enough to go to university - my career advisor told me I should join the police force of all things! But I felt that video games were in my blood, and I had to at least try getting into the video games industry. After staying on at college to do a third year (which was largely a waste of time), I started applying to QA / tester jobs I saw advertised in the back of EDGE magazine - after several rejections, Aardvark Swift, (a large gaming recruitment agency) managed to get me an interview at Sales Curve Interactive, a prominent game developer and publisher which unbeknownst to me had a development studio in my home town of Southampton. Not knowing how to prepare for such an interview I took along my PlayStation memory card which contained my best Ridge Racer lap times - I don’t think they even looked at them in the interview, but the fact that I’d even bothered went some way to convince them to give me the job!

3/ What inspired you to start Bitmap Bureau and how would you describe BB to someone who knew nothing about video games?
Myself and Matt Cope started the studio with another old friend and colleague of ours (Stefan Barnett) around 9 years ago, although we’d all been involved in the industry for many years before that at a studio called “IOMO” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOMO) where we were creating some of the the earliest mobile games for the classic Nokia phones, way before the iPhone was a thing. :) If you knew nothing about video games then I guess I would describe us as a game development studio where our main focus is creating new games for old systems, maintaining that classic look and feel of the golden era of gaming that spanned the ‘80s and ‘90s.

4/ Bitmap Bureau created some amazing 16bit titles over the years. What are your personal faves and why?
I’m really happy with how Xeno Crisis turned out, particularly for the Mega Drive, as we weren’t even sure if the game was technically feasible when we were designing it! I think the amalgamation of the excellent pixel art, amazing soundtrack, and great gameplay resulted in a game that is regarded as one of the best on the system, but I know we can push things ever further. Final Vendetta was a lot of fun to work on too - I’d been wanting to make a beat ‘em-up for many years, and it was only when we came across the animator Jabir Grant that it became possible - he designed and animated every sprite in the game, and did an amazing job. Lee Mintram’s soundtrack is absolutely banging too!

5/ What are some of your biggest challenges as game developers and how do you overcome these?
I’ve been an indie developer for something like 17 years now, and the biggest issue was nearly always the financial side of things. We were heavily reliant on advertising revenue made from our Flash titles, and there were times when we had very little coming at all, which meant having to live off credit cards, cutting back as much as possible. It was very tempting to quit altogether and go back to working in a well established studio with a regular income, but I’m glad that I stuck with it. There’s no easy solution to the financial problems you face as an indie other than making a game that lots of people want to play, and I think that if you have perseverance and patience and a real desire to create video games then you’ll get there in the end!

Terminator 2D: NO FATE (Source: Bitmap Bureau)

Final Vendetta (Source: Bitmap Bureau)

Xeno Crisis (Source: Bitmap Bureau)

6/ All of your titles (Xeno Crisis, Final Vendetta, Battle Axe and 88 Heroes) have incredible pixel art. What games/artists are the inspirations behind such beautiful work?
Most of us at Bitmap Bureau grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, which for me was gaming’s golden era. From a young age I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese game developers, particularly the likes of Capcom, Konami, Namco, Taito, Sega, Nintendo, SNK etc, and I’ve often strived to make games in the same vein. Xeno Crisis’ look was defined by the excellent Henk Nieborg who is now our art director, and you’ll see influences from games such as Toaplan’s “Out Zone” and Sega’s “Alien Syndrome”, but also Western titles such as Smash TV, The Chaos Engine, Alien Breed and so on. Henk was also the artist on Battle Axe. With Final Vendetta we were very much aiming for that classic SNK look, which we really think that Jabir nailed!

7/ Will we ever see Final Vendetta come to the SNES?
We will soon be announcing another couple of platforms that Final Vendetta will be coming to - we’ve certainly been looking into whether a SNES version is viable, but the big issue is the SNES’ horizontal resolution of 256 pixels, which results in stretched pixels. This means that all of the artwork would have to be “squished” to make it look more appropriate, and when you’re dealing with thousands of frames it’s a daunting task. You can see what happens when you don’t do this by comparing something like Earthworm Jim on the SNES compared to the Mega Drive:
https://retro-sanctuary.com/mobile/Comparison-earthworm-jim-mob.html
So yeah, it’s technically possible for us to bring Final Vendetta to the SNES, but reworking the art is a huge barrier.

8/ What is the most difficult console to port a game to?
I think for the reasons stated above, the SNES can be quite time consuming - Xeno Crisis had to be altered quite a bit to make it work, but at least we were able to throw in some nice extras such as transparency effects. In terms of 16-bit platforms it looks like the Amiga could be quite a challenge, but a few of us are interested in bringing Xeno Crisis to it. I’m not sure if we’ll ever create an 8-bit port, but the Gameboy could be an option.

9/ Why should fans be excited about Terminator 2D: NO FATE?
We believe that it’s the most faithful translation of the classic sci-fi action film to videogame ever, and we’ve put a huge amount of effort into it on all fronts - the gameplay, pixel art and of course the soundtrack. Not only that, but we’ll soon be announcing which retro platforms the game will be coming to, for an even more nostalgic experience!

10 Tell us where people can find you online
Here’s a few social media links:
https://x.com/BitmapBureau
https://www.facebook.com/BitmapBureau
https://www.instagram.com/bitmapbureau/
https://www.youtube.com/@BitmapBureau

We also have an online store where you can purchase our retro titles as well as various bits of merchandise such as vinyl and t-shirts:
https://shop.bitmapbureau.com/

Finally, there’s also our website where you can find out more about us and our games:
https://www.bitmapbureau.com/

Thanks for reading everyone and we hope you enjoy what we’ve got in store for you over the coming years!

Mike

]]><![CDATA[ANNOUNCING TERMINATOR™ 2D: NO FATE, COMING SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2025!]]>Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:56:16 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/announcing-terminatortm-2d-no-fate-coming-september-5th-2025

Press release posted by: by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Terminator 2D NO FATE Launches later in 2025

PRESS RELEASE from Bitmap Bureau 27th February 2025

THE PAST AND THE FUTURE COLLIDE IN A COMPLETE ARCADE EXPERIENCE!

We are excited to announce that legendary heroes Sarah Connor, John Connor and the T-800 are back in Terminator 2D: NO FATE, an upcoming officially licensed 2D action side-scroller developed by Bitmap Bureau!

Published by Reef Entertainment, the title will be launching on PS5®, PS4®, Nintendo Switch™, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC (via Steam® and the Epic Games Store) on September 5th, 2025. Details on ports for retro platforms will be announced at a later date.

Check out the Announcement Trailer above to see more, and keep scrolling to see what's included in the Online Exclusive Edition (exclusive to the Reef Direct Online Store), Collector's Edition and Day One Edition.

These editions are available to pre-order now for PS5®, PS4®, Nintendo Switch™ and Xbox One/Series X on the
Reef Direct Online Store! Digital pre-orders will be coming at a later date.

Terminator 2D NO FATE Online Exclusive Edition

The Online Exclusive Edition
(exclusive to the Reef Direct Online Store) includes:

- Terminator 2D: NO FATE for PS5®, PS4®,
Nintendo Switch™ or Xbox One/Series X
- Reversible Cover Sleeve
- "Unknown Future" Cloth Poster
- "Fiery Visions” Cloth Poster
- “Steel Mill Showdown” Cloth Poster
- 25mm Collectible Metal Arcade Token
- Premium Metal Paperweight
- Full Colour Manual Book
- Art Book
- Flipbook
- SteelBook®
- Collector‘s Box
- Collector’s Tin (Black)

PRE-ORDER NOW!

Terminator 2D NO FATE Collectors Edition

The Collector's Edition includes:

- Terminator 2D: NO FATE for PS5®, PS4®,
Nintendo Switch™ or Xbox One/Series X
- Reversible Cover Sleeve
- "Unknown Future" Cloth Poster
- "Fiery Visions” Cloth Poster
- 25mm Collectible Metal Arcade Token
- Premium Metal Paperweight
- Full Colour Manual Book
- Art Book
- Flipbook
- SteelBook®
- Collector‘s Box
- Collector’s Tin (Silver)

PRE-ORDER NOW!

The Day One Edition includes:

- Terminator 2D: NO FATE for PS5®, PS4®,
Nintendo Switch™ or Xbox One/Series X
- Reversible Cover Sleeve
- "Unknown Future" Cloth Poster
- 25mm Collectible Metal Arcade Token
- Full Colour Manual Book
- Collector‘s Box

PRE-ORDER NOW!

About the game:

Experience the events of ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ brought to life through glorious pixel artwork and action-packed arcade gameplay!

Play as Sarah Connor and the T-800 through a variety of thrilling missions as they take on the T-1000 and try to put a stop to Skynet’s plans before the human race is annihilated. Lead the Resistance as John Connor in the future, fighting on the front lines as mankind’s only hope in the War Against the Machines. In this unique story blending iconic scenes from
‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ with original scenarios and multiple endings, humanity’s fate is yours to decide.

]]><![CDATA[Ghost of Tsushima Review 2025 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC)]]>Wed, 26 Feb 2025 18:36:04 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/ghost-of-tsushima-review-2025-playstation-4-playstation-5-pc

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Is Ghost of Tsushima worth playing in 2025?

I recently have devoted a lot of time to my PlayStation 5. This has been as a result of obtaining a PlayStation Portal. It’s been the best thing I have bought. In my house where we have a wife and two small children who are all vying for control of the main television in the house, it’s been a delight to just let them fight for control while I sit on my portal happily playing away. So, I’ve been taking some time to catch up on these first party games from Sony to see what the fuss is all about.

Ghost of Tsushima at its premise sees you play as Jin Sakai in a third person action game. He is part of a clan who is seeking to gain revenge and retake his uncle’s castle, following on from an invasion from Khotun Khan and the Mongol army who invaded the island of Tsushima back in 1274. Jin attempts to do this on his own but following an unsuccessful attempt he realises he must gain allies to make this happen. Whilst doing so and defeating smaller Mongol armies along the way, he has his own internal battle of whether to stick to honourable samurai codes or using more tactical ways whilst maintaining minimal casualties.

As the story develops Jin is referred to as “The Ghost” and his new methods of combat do not go down well with his uncle Lord Shimura who insists that these methods are dishonourable and ultimately will make him a traitor of The Shogun who will want him executed, even if Jin successfully stops the Mongol invasion.

When Sucker Punch started development of GoT in 2017, they wanted a game which had much more emphasis on melee combat than their previous games. They certainly achieve that here. Jin’s main form of combat is with his katana blade. You start off with a basic stance, but the further you progress through the game, the more stances you will unlock. In addition to this you will also gain items to aid you in combat such as throwing darts, bow and arrow, smoke bombs and my personal favourite the poison blow darts.

Although the game does have a clear, linear story, you can go wherever you like as its set in an open world, and the graphics are beautiful. It is clear the world has been inspired by other games such as Shadow of the Colossus as the area is full of serene grass lands and mountains and rivers. You also have the option of playing the game in three diverse ways. I played normally with an English Dub; you have the option of Japanese dub or playing in a cinema style in Black and White too.

To complete the game just following the main story took me around 25-30 hours to complete, if you want to unlock everything, suits, attire, then you are looking at close to sixty hours. If I were to describe what Ghost of Tsushima was then for me it’s a very slow burner.

Jin is poised and ready for battle

You can choose to be more sneaky

The first act really feels like a chore at times to get through and only really feels like it gets going once you unlock more stances and combat skills with your technique points.

I’m not saying the game isn’t enjoyable, in places it was fantastic, and you really get into the combat and develop a real satisfaction when you have taken out multiple enemies in a short space of time.

What lets the game down for me is the lack of depth in the main story, it barely scratches I feel what could have been an epic game. Sucker Punch have focused too much on what all the generic samurai film tropes are without giving some time an attention to each character and what they bring to the plot in general.

It is all very well and good having a beautiful looking game with a fantastic combat system and wonderful levelling up. But if the story is not there to carry that, then you lose the desire to carry on with the game.

I am glad I persevered, even if the ending of the game was slightly anti-climactic. Is Ghost of Tsushima a great game. No, not by any stretch of the imagination. For me, it doesn’t come close to having the polish and class that other first party games have had such as The Last of Us, God of War: Ragnarök, Spider-Man 2 etc. But its decent enough to warrant a playthrough.

With the recently announced Ghost of Yotei coming to PlayStation soon, one can only hope that Sucker Punch can build on this game and truly make a wonderful sequel on what will elevate the “Ghost” franchise to new levels.

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[Game Over on Gaming?]]>Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:27:40 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/game-over-on-gaming

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Hi all you gamers out there. What does gaming feel like for you in 2024? For myself at times it feels like the hardest hobby or pastime to do in order to relax. I don’t think it should be that way at all. But it is. I’ll try and explain why. I’ll give you a little background into my lifestyle and maybe you could understand, or even suggest an idea or a way how I can start to enjoy gaming again.

I’m just your average 43 year old bloke I suppose. I have a full time job, a great wife, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a rabbit and in addition to this I also am a part time reseller on eBay as I like to have a little extra cash in order to get some of the nicer things in life. So yeah I do work hard. But my full time job is shift work, so yes I work long hours on the days that I am in, but I only work fifty percent of the days of the year.

I have always been into gaming or video games since the early eighties when I was bought a Commodore plus 4 and later gifted a ZX Spectrum 48k. My younger and teenage years went all the way from the NES up to the PS1. And I’ve had most of the consoles in-between. Now I own a Switch, a PS5 and also a Series X.
My free time is precious to me and I want to make sure that I am enjoying what I do. Now I don’t know if it’s me or the way my brain works but I struggle firstly to pick something to play. I am a Gamepass owner and at times I find the choices overwhelming, like when you’re trying to find something to watch on Netflix and then thirty minutes later you still haven’t found anything. I also don’t get inspired by many games that I used to.

I watched the latest Nintendo Direct and the Xbox Games Showcase and I honestly couldn’t pick out one game where I thought “oooh I want to play that” I feel at present that gaming is either made from remakes, remasters, or using the same tired old generic formats to create games. I don’t want to feel like that. I want to still get that joy and emotion from playing games which I used to.

I also struggle to get into games like I used to. I tend to play them for a couple of hours and then I just don’t play it anymore because I am burnt out, or the game just hasn’t grabbed me. The list of games I have started and not seen through to a finish in the last year or so has been horrific. I know these games aren’t bad games at all. The reviews and feedback from other gamers out there is on the whole positive. Here’s what I have started to play and then I gave up:

Halo 5
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 16
Exoprimal
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Resident Evil 8
Bayonetta 3
Persona 5
Tunic
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2
Street Fighter 6

That’s just to name a few.

I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe gaming isn’t my passion any more, or should I say not the most passionate thing in my life any more when it comes to choosing how I relax.

So I’m reaching out to you the gaming community, help me. Suggest some titles over any of the three major platforms and I will be happy to give any game a try. Let me get back to being a gaming guru again In the meantime, you lot keep enjoying what you’re doing and keep gaming.

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[Super Mario Wonder shocked us all]]>Wed, 26 Jun 2024 19:05:27 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/super-mario-wonder-shocked-us-all

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

Mario and crew are here to stay in Super Mario Bros Wonder

Hi all, I’m back with another review. I decided that I needed a new Nintendo Switch game to play as I was going away for a week to Wales for a holiday with the wife and kids. Switch games are perfect as I can play something on the go. I also wanted something which I could easily pick up and play for 20-30 minute bursts, as I am usually interrupted by my kids.

I decided to go with Super Mario Wonder. I must admit I was a bit sceptical of getting this game at first, mainly as I had felt that the 2D Mario games had become very stale with all the “New” Super Mario incarnations we had seen on Wii U, Wii and 3DS.

Our adventure takes to the Flower Kingdom where Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy are invited to see a demonstration of a wonder flower by its ruler Prince Florian. As usual our big baddie Bowser crashes the party and steals powers to transform himself into a flying fortress to kidnap many citizens of the kingdom. Of course our band of baddies decide to help Florian to save his kingdom.

In terms of the actual gameplay model, nothing has really changed. It’s the usual 2D fodder. Get from the start to the finish avoiding the usual enemies. At the end of the stage you will receive a wonder seed, which you need to collect a certain amount to progress through the worlds. The kicker here is what has changed to make the game feel different.

Wonder Flowers!!!! When you find a wonder flower in each stage it changes the course or the tasks that you need to do, whether that’s find a new exit or use a different ability to get a second wonder seed in the stage. It really adds a new dimension to the gameplay and I really welcomed this. In addition to this there are a number of characters you can pick, again all with different abilities. Mario, Luigi, Toad, Daisy and Peach are available. Yoshi and Nabbit are also available (but they are for the younger players).

So you can collect Wonder Seeds in the usual stages, but a lovely addition to the game is extra side missions where you can perfect your skills and obtain badges which you can use at the start of each stage to gain an advantage in the levels (higher jump, start with a mushroom etc.). There are lots of little collectibles through the game as well for all the completionists out there.

Mario and the friends... oh and ferocious Bowser

The controls are tight as you’d expect from any Mario game and the new power ups also feel as though they have been in and around the series for a number of years. I especially liked the drill power up which enables Mario to tunnel above and below into the ground or ceiling in order to avoid enemies or access new locations.

In terms of its looks and sounds Super Mario Wonder does not disappoint, it looks brilliant with the bright colours we come to expect from modern Mario games. The music is wonderfully composed too and we have the cute quaint little voice snippets from the flowers in the levels. They can often give hints away on how to progress or find wonder flowers so it’s worth paying attention to them. I’d also like to say this is the first Mario game without the voice of Charles Martinet. Whilst its sad Charles is no longer the voice of Mario, his replacement Kevin Afgani does a fine job here, and I am sure will continue to do so in the future.

In conclusion Super Mario Wonder was perfect as a stop gap game for small bursts while I was away on holiday. It’s probably still a little too short with its six main worlds, but there is plenty to things to collect to give the game a little more longevity. As I stated before the 2D Mario games had stagnated for me and needed something new to revitalise the series. Did it do enough? I felt this was more like a sticking plaster.
I’m not saying it’s a bad game, it’s not. But the Super Mario franchise is close to its fortieth anniversary, it’s inevitable that after so long it feels stale. The problem here is what Nintendo can do to make Mario feel more fresh, relevant and more appealing to older gamers like myself.
I give Super Mario Bros Wonder a 7.5 out of 10
Thanks for reading and as usual Keep Gaming

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom in 2024]]>Sat, 27 Apr 2024 13:53:49 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-in-2024

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Back in 2017, the world of gaming was a different place than what it is now. COVID hadn't been here and we was still playing our PS4 and the Xbox One. Nintendo was on the precipice of releasing a new console after the disastrous calamity which was the Wii U. As the Wii U came to it's end of life, we knew we was getting a new Zelda game.

That game was Breath of the Wild. Released on Wii U and also as a launch title for the now legendary and highly successful Nintendo Switch. BOTW was considered a revolutionary title in the Zelda franchise. It was the first Zelda title to break away from the linear tradition of making your way from dungeon to dungeon, acquiring new weapons along the way to aid you in your quest to save Hyrule from Ganondorf in some shape or form.

It was an open world adventure where the player could choose what they wanted to do, when they wanted to do it and offered many ways how to get to the goals at the end. Breakable weapons, a new recipe system, and use of physics based powers such as Magnesis were a joy to behold. If there was one criticism of Breath of the Wild, it was the plot. It was paper thin at best, but the gameplay more than made up for any lacklustre story.

Fast forward to 2023 and after a delay in development we were given the release of ToTK. Anticipation was rightly high, especially after the trailers we saw featuring Link and his new powers such as Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall. Agreed Nintendo were using the same engine as BOTW but that didn't matter. We knew TOTK was a direct sequel so all we needed was a better plot and more things to do. It was revealed that not only did we have the land of Hyrule to explore, but also the Sky Islands and The Depths as well, essentially tripling the world we could explore.

What could possibly go wrong. It seems as though Nintendo were onto a sure fire hit here. For me I feel Nintendo have produced a good game, but not a great game, not a 10/10 experience by all means. I have finished the game, by finished I say I have completed the main story of the game. In that process which took me I'd say close to 60/70 hours. I managed to complete 112 out of 152 Shrines. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, but I did not have the buzz or the desire to do everything like I did in Breath of the Wild.

Tears of the Kingdom provides beautiful and serene moments

I just want to say before I go on, that this isn't a bashing of Zelda, Eiji Ounuma or Nintendo, it's more or a frustrating experience which really hampered my gaming.

Let's start at the beginning, we've all seen the start of the story as Zelda and Link are exploring the depths of Hyrule only fine the mummified corpse of The Demon King. We see an amazing cut scene with Link and Zelda coming away from each other. Zelda plummeting away to impending doom and Link losing a million hearts going back to 3, all his gear, the Master Sword, practically everything.

He revives into the Sky Islands with a new arm and the voice of Rauru ringing in his ears. Rauru is the old king of Hyrule many many years ago. Rauru directs Link to Four Shrines across the Sky Islands to collect his new powers Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend and Recall. This is similar to the Great Plateau in BOTW where you obtained Bombs, Magnesis, Cryonosis and Stasis.

This is where my problems started with this game. Zelda games tend to have a really really long introduction to their games, but the Sky Islands in my opinion took the piss. Four Hours to obtain your four new powers is beyond frustrating for me. It almost got to the point where I stopped playing the game. I knew that there would be better things ahead, but even so. Can you think of ANY other video game, where the tutorial was four hours long ? Not in my living memory.

Anyhow. I digress. After the laborious task of getting the four new powers and leaving the Temple of Time that's when the game finally opens up and you can explore that open world at your hearts content. This is the beauty of TOTK and BOTW before it. The Freedom. The Freedom to do what you want, when you want and also with the powers you have at your disposal. ANY way you want.

It's still refreshing to have this open world Hyrule. I still think this is the way for Zelda as a franchise going forward. What needs to change is the main story line gameplay. It was almost the same as BOTW. Go to the same regions Rito Village, Zora's Domain, Goron City and Gerudo Desert and investigate "Regional Phenomena" where Princess Zelda has been sighted. Rinse and Repeat beat each temple, gain ability from said person from that region and then move onto the next one.

I also felt as though the temples were boring and tedious. I don't feel that they are as intricate or designed as well as the old school dungeons. Yes I know we have 152 Shrines which act as mini dungeons and have the traditional puzzle solving and so on, but this feels lazy.

I did enjoy the extra quests in the mainline story before you go to Ganondorf as that added an extra layer to the storyline in general. Now. The storyline is MUCH better than BOTW. There is some actual substance to this, you need to find the Dragon Tear pools which are scattered across Hyrule. Again, not too different from the "memories" in BOTW. However these feel much meatier in content and really get you involved in the cast of characters such as Rauru, Mineru and so on. But there is one massive oversight here. You don't feel as though you have a connection to Link.

After all this time, I feel as though he needs to start speaking in games now. His limited emotions and noises he makes aren't enough for me any more. I need to be invested in Link. For decades, we got to name the hero, but for BOTW and TOTK he is named as Link. Let's have a bit of depth into his character next time, let him speak, let him show some happiness, sadness, pain, anguish, grief. Whatever it may be. Please Nintendo make it happen.

Let's talk about the music shall we. This is something I cannot fault whatsoever. It's beautiful and just really sets the scene wherever you are. Granted there are some tracks which are repeated from BOTW, but that's to be expected 8 suppose.

As far as our new abilities go. I like them, or should I say the idea of them. They are all genius in their own unique ways. Ultrahand gives you the ability to manipulate objects and stick them to other objects to craft things to help on your way, whether that be an extra platform, a vehicle, moving a Korok. My gripe with Ultrahand is it takes a while to get familiar with moving the object under your control, and if you don't get the sticking correct it can delay what you are trying to achieve.

Ascend is great. Probably the most user friendly of them all. It gives Link the ability to move up through surfaces to gain access to platforms, and you can raise to the surface if you are in caves or in the depths. Truly a great asset to have in your arsenal. As is Recall. Recall gives you the ability to rewind time. It makes the player think too, Recall could probably have been used more times by myself in combat or situations where you need to craft a moving platform. Simply genius.

Then we have Fuse. Fuse gives the player the ability to make stronger weapons, stronger shield and arrows with things attached which gives Link the advantage against stronger foes which he will encounter through the game. My gripe with Fuse and this ties in with the combat in general is that nothing is seamless or smooth.

By that I mean in combat if you want to shoot an arrow with something attached it's scrolling all the time through the items scroll bar to find what you want. If you want to use your weapons and attach things to them, it's not a simple process. You have to go to the item screen, hold said item, drop said item and then fuse. It's not simple at all. Surely it could have been done in a different way to make the process a little stream lined.

So after you make your way through the main story of the game, you finally get to Ganondorf. I would strongly advise, getting a LOT of hearts, great weapons, great armour, a lot of food (especially ones that get rid of gloom)and a travel medallion. If you don't. You will have to have the gaming skills of the six people in ten world who beat that manic level made in Super Mario Maker.

I have to say the ending of the game was fulfilling and rounded the story off nicely. There is so much more to do in TOTK such as side quests, collecting all armour, weapons stuff like that if you want to do it, but time is precious to me. If I did all that, I'd still be playing TOTK months later.

After reading what I've written about the game. It does seem as though I'm bashing it a lot. I did enjoy the game, it's much better than most stuff that's been put out there and if you enjoyed BOTW, you will definitely enjoy this.

My gripes here may not matter to any of you out there. I just feel Nintendo have been lazy in some areas, and in others generally not thought about how the constant menu access contributed to a stop start experience, especially in combat.

Nevertheless, it's still a game you should play. Overall I give Tears of the Kingdom an 8 out of 10. Good but certainly not great. Nintendo really need to pull their fingers out with the next installment of Zelda. They need to try something new. How do they do that though. That's the £64 million question.

In the meantime. Keep Gaming and I'll be here again soon with my Spider-Man 2 review.

Guest Blog post by Adam Foster @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[Helldivers 2 is ONE TO WATCH in 2024]]>Thu, 14 Mar 2024 18:59:24 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/video-game-reviews/helldivers-2-is-one-to-watch-in-2024

Blog post by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Helldivers 2 (PS5) - The variation of planets are stunning

Arrowhead Studios took me by surprise with the release of Helldivers 2. That's not to say I was not expecting a sequeal to Helldivers; I was no expecting to be so hooked on this simple, yet effective, squad based shooter.

I've been occupying the Hellpods aboard my shop, Lady Redemption; lodged firmly within my PlayStation 5. As I write this blog, I've just passed level 20 so I feel well equipped to recommend this tremendous experience to you.

"Just another Third Person Shooter"
You could not be more wrong. Helldivers 2. Both man and woman are pit against bugs (aka Terminids) or Cyborgs (Automotons). As you glance over the world map, you choose a side to land, choose a planet, then choose a mission. Teams of four players climb in to single Hellpods and you drop in to HELL! Mission types vary. Your team might be tasked to clear out clusters of eggs that are lodged deeply within Terminid nests, collect data/keys and upload them to a server or just destroy massive Bile Titans. Once the main objectives are clear, your team meanders to the Extraction Zone. It gets a little crazy around extraction zones. As you wait for the drop ship to collect you, hordes of enemies descend on your position. Solid team work is essential to survive and extract. Be warned! If you die, a team member will reinforce you back down to HELL! You get the idea.

Stratagems will become your greatest ally in Helldivers 2. Hitting L1 brings up a menu of D-PAD inputs. Each input allows you to use a Stratagem. Stratagems range from machine guns, sentry's, clusters bombs and much more. There's lots to choose from. You buy Stratagems using XP and you select your loadout before your Hellpod launches.

Automotons Vs Terminids
For beginners, I would advise starting on the Terminid side. Basically, head towards the yellowy/orange side of the world map. Ask anyone who plays Helldivers 2 and they'll tell you the same. The Cyborg Automotons (red/pinkish side).

There are multiple difficulties in Helldivers 2. The more you level up, the more difficulties you unlock. I prefer Challenging difficulty. There is a nice balance of enemy frequency against my skill level. There are eight difficulties in total:

Trivial - 1
Easy - 2
Medium - 3
Challenging - 4
Hard - 5
Extreme - 6
Suicide Mission - 7
Impossible - 8

I'd say my skills are average in Helldivers 2 but when I have a solid team, I'm happy to venture in to Hard and Extreme difficulties. Your team is imperative to your success so choose wisely. The last thing you want is someone who strays off trying to complete side quests. Why? Let's say you call down a Supply Drop Stratagem. That's great right? You replenish your stims, ammo and grenades. That supply drop will be out of action for a period of time. If the team is not together, the team will not benefit. You get it right? The golden rules: Stick together, work together.

Brace yourselves for deep exploration in Helldivers 2

Weapons
Thankfully, the weapon select menus are easy to follow. There are no sub-menus or attachments to fit. You simply choose a weapon and off you go! Afterall, this is not Call of Duty and thank goodness.

You can name your ship. Mine is Lady of Redemption. Ultimately, this means nothing in the grand scheme of things but it's the little things that craft your bespoke experience in Helldivers 2. Your ship is essentially your lobby. You can have a maximum of four per team and once members join your team, they can loiter on the ship, change a loadout and add Stratagems. The game begins when you, the leader, chooses a mission at the world map. Going forward, I would love to see expansions become available for your ship. This Mass Effect 2 and you'll get the idea.

Helldivers 2 is an incredibly fun and simple game. I'm intrigued to see how the game unfolds in to 2024. Enjoy.

Blog post by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

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