Recent reviews by Hyperduel

Scrap Garden is an impressive new 3D puzzle-platformer published by Flazm which you can't help but to immediately fall in love with. Why you may ask? Because the character you play as is absolutely adorable, even though he is essentially a tin-canned robot named Canny. But he is no ordinary robot at all, because he somehow awakened and is now on a mission to find out what happened to his entire world in this post-apocalyptic setting where all other robots of his kind have stopped moving, becoming seized up and frozen in place. What calamity transpired to cause this fate? How did this all suddenly happen? Well it is your goal to uncover the answers to these vexing questions within the game, by collecting crystals and solving puzzles along the way as it gradually reveals its imaginative story to you.

But one thing is for sure, you'll have a ton of fun playing this one because it blends together so many tasty ingredients in order to create a very satisfying experience for gamers of all ages. And a very mellow and relaxing game it is to be sure...where you are free to explore and roam as you please without constraints of any kind...all at your own pace. Meanwhile you'll appreciate the depth of the dialogue and storyline as you do, which touches upon the rather compelling subject of the conflict between nature and technology...which is very much applicable to our everyday lives and is thus a theme which resonates to our very core with ease.

I will now expand upon the various categories of the game:

Graphics - In short, they are jaw-dropping gorgeous, varied in scope, and creatively conceptualized. I commend the graphic artists who did an exceptionally brilliant job in capturing the true essence of desolation in such a beautifully artistic world to explore. Even more impressively, the game effortlessly runs at full frame-rate even on high settings, and as such is very fluid and responsive.

Gameplay - Your task is to collect enough crystals which are scattered all throughout the play areas, in order to advance to the next. And some are hidden away in very tricky places to reach where your jumping & platforming skills will quickly come into play. As well, you will be required to solve various puzzles in tandem with this goal. It all meshes together to hold one's interest effortlessly, because exploration is an integral part of the enjoyment derived from Scrap Garden. And coupled with its memorable storyline, it creates a seamlessly fun experience for gamers of all ages to truly appreciate.

Story - I felt that the story itself is where this particular one truly shined, because you couldn't help but to emotionally invest yourself in the plight of your character - while also feeling a deep sense of empathy for him as he tries to make sense of what happened to his world. It seems counter-intuitive at first glance, yet somehow the developer brilliantly choreographed the idea in such a masterful way - with a thoughtful narrative that you can't help but to be drawn in by.

Audio - The background music consisting of soothing instrumental piano pieces is an absolute aural delight to the senses, bestowing a very relaxing vibe upon the game. Whereas sound effects were a bit hit & miss...a few were rather harsh I felt which somewhat clashed with the tenor of its mellow music. Thankfully voice-acting was very much above par, and provided Scrap Garden with some character and distinction. All in all, the audio was very well done I thought, and most definitely exceeded my expectations here.

Controls - Unfortunately this is easily the weakest aspect of the game. I experienced several issues with it that were less than optimal. First & foremost, I could not re-map the controls in-game which is unfortunate - instead only being provided with a pre-game menu to do so. Furthermore, the game continued using the default controls even after I had changed them. I can only presume that this is a bug, and hopefully it undergoes another patch or two to flesh out these issues and polish it up around the edges. Lastly, I felt that the lack of vertical "looking" (only horizontal enabled) impeded my ability to fully appreciate the captivating world around me. On the plus side however, the game does support the Xbox 360 controller natively, which is a definite bonus for those who play this with one.


I would wholeheartedly recommend this one for at least one play-through bare minimum. It gets most things right, and it especially merits high marks for its story, breathtaking graphics, as well as its casual yet addictive gameplay. After each area was finished, I was very much eager to keep pressing forward to the next. This to me, is the hallmark of quality and ingenuity in design. And coupled together with such an adorable character that you play as, it is sure to be nothing less than a delight for all those who sit back and immerse themselves in this world desperate to reveal its many secrets and deeper meanings...ones which we can readily identify with in our every day lives as we try our best to infuse heart & soul into the technology which manifests itself all around us in our ever-changing world.

I'll rate this one 3.5 out of 5 stars for now, and it would have been a full star higher if not for the issues with its controls and sparse configuration options.



- Charming classic-style puzzle platformer gameplay
- Emotional and well thought out story-line
- Impressively artistic world to explore
- 6 locations to play inside of plus bosses to battle
- Full controller support
- Includes mini-games & hidden collectibles
- Relaxing and casual gameplay which suits players of all ages
- Steam achievements + trading cards


- A lack of robust configuration options (only language & graphics quality could be changed in-game)
- Controls cannot be remapped in-game
- Remapping controls caused no actual change in the controls layout, and defaults kept being used (broken feature)


For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

If there's one genre of game I just can't get enough of, it's arcade-style twin-stick shooters. Especially ones which innovate and bring something fresh and exciting to the table in some creatively disctinct way. So upon noticing such a compelling new title named Blue Rider, an indie Unity Engine single-player game developed & published by Ravegan, I just knew that I had to quickly explore what it had to offer. Because it was apparent that this was one where I was actually able to enter lush 3D worlds with my ship while having full freedom of 360 degree movement to explore its every nook and cranny on my own terms...ferreting out every last enemy hiding in wait for me through its many winding paths & corridors.

Upon spending some quality time with it, it become immediately obvious to me that this was a hidden gem with so much potential for hours of addictive fun, the kind of experience which causes time to melt in between the hypnotic sounds of pew-pew bullets and thundering explosions as your enemies quickly become fine-sized shrapnel before your very eyes.

To begin, I will expand upon what the game gets right, which is quite a significant amount of positives I might add. Firstly, the sense of immersion within the game was breathtaking since it felt like I was inside an actual place brimming with intrigue & wonder....replete with dense vegetation, bodies of water, and charming old-world enigmas like stone pyramids and pillars. This creative artwork style is stellar and impressed me immensely, soon capturing my imagination with ease. It all tied seamlessly together in bringing me a palpable sense that I was inside of some strange land awaiting for me to explore & discover its many foreboding secrets while fighting off an endless array of distinctive enemies and even monster sized bosses found waiting for me at the end of each stage.

Which then quickly brings me to another positive attribute, it showcases nine full sized stages and undoubtedly feels like a full game. One with which you can sit back for several hours and enjoy to the fullest. Because you must complete each one first before advancing to the next...and you only have one single life & health meter to do so...so making sure to steer clear of the enemies' firepower is crucial for success here. And that involves continuous deft movement of your ship which also has a dynamic sprint ability to increase your speed (as long as the button is pressed). I will say however, that I kind of wish that the sprint speed was simply the default speed for the entire duration of the game since you pretty much need this kind of continuous agility in order to make quick movements at any given moment. But nonetheless, the current setup more than suffices.

Your firepower consists of both primary (bullets) and secondary weapons (missiles) which can be swapped in-game with captured power-ups from destroyed enemies. It's your basic straight-forward system here, nothing fancy or overly complicated, and pretty much just what you'd expect from such a game with very minimalist controls. This all makes it to be very accessible for both casual and hardcore gamers alike I might add.

Now onto the actual gameplay...I felt that it was overall quite solid because it's imperative that you continue to strategically move about in most sections where enemies are present, since their bullets keep aiming in your general direction. This certainly makes for edgy and tense encounters when several of them are simultaneously gunning for you. And I found it to be a thrill in methodically clearing the screen of their presence, picking them off one by one until the threat gradually subsided. Additionally, they each have their own individual health meters to display how much more damage they require for complete obliteration, which was quite a nice touch I thought. I will mention here as well that your bullets do curve as you rotate the ship/screen which adds to the aiming challenge somewhat. Some may or may not prefer this, but for me personally I didn't mind it at all.

There was one facet of this title which I found to be lacking however, and that was the very unsatisfying number of configuration options...which consisted of only 3 (resolution / graphics quality / mouse sensitivity). I'd have loved the ability to remap my controls, change difficulty settings, as well as an option to disable controller support completely so that my non-Xbox360 controller could be used via a third-party keyboard remapping program. As it was, I was relegated to using the mouse/keys for controls which isn't really optimal for such a game. And if not for this issue, I would certainly rate this as being a nearly perfect twin-stick shooter in a heartbeat. It is my hope that more such configuration options will be added to it by the developers in a future update, which would be most appreciated!


All in all, this is a very impressive addition to the genre, one which will be sure to delight those who enjoy high-quality shooters with a thoughtful design. And if you already own a 360 controller, you'll be able to experience the full satisfaction that it has to offer in a heartbeat. Because where it shines is in its fantastic sense of immersion, its inspiring artwork, its sense of discovery, as well as rock-solid gameplay. It will hook you in hard and not let you go until you've finally completed all of its very challenging stages, rewarding you with Steam achievments the entire way through as your gritty Blue Rider ship conquers these vast worlds and comes out on top to claim victory over these tamed lands.

This impressive twin-stick shooter receives a well-earned 4 out of 5 stars from me.



- Addictive & very challenging arcade-style gameplay
- Stunningly beautiful worlds with a distinctive artwork design
- A full 9 stages of gameplay plus bosses
- Full controller support
- Weapon power-ups
- Scoring system
- Steam achievements


- A lack of robust configuration options
- Non-remappable controls
- Only 1 difficulty setting
- Inability to disable controller support which interferes with controller-to-keyboard remapping programs


For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

I must admit that when I had the opportunity to review Jamestown, a title developed & published by Final Form Games, I immediately jumped at the chance - being the avid shmup fanatic that I am. And let's face it, within the Steam universe there certainly exists no shortage of mediocre ones to play...those that tried to emulate the heart & soul of arcade shooters but which ultimately lacked that certain magic and polish to them. However I always heard very glowing accolades about this particular title, but are they warranted? Let's find out below.

The game touts itself as having "lovingly handcrafted pixels", and it is my pleasure to report that these retro-styled 2D graphics are absolutely superb, easily evoking the look & feel of its 1990's era arcade brethren with its charming yet familiar style...making me quickly feel right at home. And I must also say that it's a very colorful game as well, sporting vibrantly rich hues and pretty bullet patterns which instantly dazzle the senses.

The artwork itself is themed from a "17th-century British Colonial Mars" motif, and it seems to work quite well, especially since it also includes a matching storyline to add a bit more distinction to this title. The story itself is wholly superfluous to be sure, because with a shmup we all know gameplay is truly the cornerstone of the experience, but I found it to be a nice touch nonetheless and there is a decent amount of skippable text which can be read by those seeking to capture the full essence of Jamestown.

As far as its music & audio go, it was superb all around...with punchy bullet & explosion sounds overlayed atop beautiful orchestral arrangments which seemed to perfectly fit in with the theme of this memorable game.

Now getting back to its gameplay here, this is a dreamy kind of bullet hell indeed in that it's very challenging yet always fair. And the wonderful part about it is that you have both primary and secondary weapons which can be alternated seamlessly throughout each level, as well as a tertiary "Vaunt Meter" which is a time-limited power-up/shield combo whereby you first have to collect gold from destroyed enemies to recharge before using again (you simply move toward the falling gold and it scoops up automatically within your proximity).

And if that wasn't enough, what truly impressed me most about it by far, is the ability to play both online and local co-op with up to four players. This adds a very interesting dynamic to the game since the way it is uniquely implemented consists of only one player needing to survive the level in order for the entire team to succeed, whereby everyone respawns once more to continue off playing the next successive one. And I must confess that with so many bullets flying in Jamestown, having the ability to lean on your team-mates in this way is a definite plus. Because death can come surprisingly fast and unexpectedly when playing on any of the several difficulties higher than normal - just massage one single bullet the wrong way and you're a goner to be sure! Which in the end makes it all the more addictive and challenging, undoubtedly infusing a lot more replay value into it.

But nonetheless I do have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed by how few levels there were to enjoy (only 5). It's just so much exhilarating fun to experience, that I very soon wanted more Jamestown to play...perhaps twice as much. In fact easily twice as much. And while there is a DLC available which adds in more ships, I somehow felt that the base game just wasn't quite meaty enough for my taste...but then again at its price-point I suppose this can be somewhat understandable...but still...I did decidedly expect a decent amount more content in this regard.


Having said that, you will be absolutely spoiled in no time after playing this gem...make no mistake about it. It hits all the high notes with ease as far as its frenetically fun gameplay & presentation goes. And it certainly plays very well with no discernable issues noticed. I suppose I will have no choice now but to pick up the DLC for it, because while immersing myself within this one, it felt just like I was being transported back inside the 1990's arcades...with those unforgettable chains of explosive delight ricocheting between my ears...and eventually soon finding their way to a soft spot inside my heart.

This shoot'em'up masterpiece receives a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.


- Exceptionally satisfying gameplay with responsive controls
- Includes a somewhat interesting and novel story
- Co-op and local co-op (up to 4 players)
- Remappable controls and full controller support
- Unlockable ships/weapons (along with a shop)
- Unlockable bonus levels
- Pleasing & colorful retro-styled aesthetics
- Game screen can be optionally stretched to cover the entire area of your monitor
- Steam achievements (30+)
- Online leaderboards


- Far too few levels in the game, the most glaring drawback with it


For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

We've likely all heard the mysteriously enigmatic fairy tale called Alice In Wonderland as children, but what would occur if this fantasy story and its many zany characters were seamlessly combined with patchwork puzzle mosaics? We'd then have quite a compelling game on our hands aptly titled Alice's Patchwork, a relatively new release published by 8Floor and developed by Creobit.

The premise of the game itself is that you join up with Alice and her cohorts (found from both Wonderland and Looking-Glass Land) as you journey through many enchanting locations while assembling together patchwork scenes which are breathtakingly gorgeous, visually colorful, and also highly imaginative. Meanwhile the pieces themselves showcase incredibly rich and varied textures which further gives this game a hallmark of quality since quite clearly, much care & attention went into its creation.

The kicker here is that you must solve all of these puzzles within a set time limit since there exists a countdown timer, whereby you'll collect gold coins (in-game purchases) and keys (unlocking new levels and bonuses) upon solving each which wonderfully infuses an element of both suspense and reward into this challenge. However it should be noted that there also exists a "relaxed mode" setting in the options menu which disables the timer completely if you wish to maximize its casual-style attributes to their fullest, or perhaps even if you wish to practice with it first for a little while. In any event, the more optimally you solve the mosaic (in terms of both speed and mistakes) the more keys you will earn, which is a rather nice touch in compelling the player to perform at their very best.

The feature set of the game itself is rather impressive indeed! Because you'll easily enjoy hours upon hours of fun with it (over 10), with its more than 120 unique puzzles to solve, 6 expansive worlds, special quests, player ranks, and even bonuses to unlock. This is neither a short nor sparse play-through whatsoever, and I can only admire this aspect of Alice's Patchwork since its visually impressive yet challenging puzzles are something which you will definitely wish to keep coming back to time & again for the next sit-down with it. And make no mistake about it, the artistic merits of these mosaics presented here are nothing less than spectacular, especially for those who are aficionados of such eye candy in their games.

Another nice perk to be found is the hints bubble located in the top right hand corner of the screen, which is designed to help you along if needed, while being purchased with the gold coins you win & collect. And believe me, in the later more difficult stages you'll come to appreciate this assistance because while it starts out fairly casual and relaxed to help ease you in, it gradually ramps up its challenge throughout at a fairly steady rate until you are being pushed right to your limits later on. This is fantastic to see because it will tightly grip your interest and not let go until you have finally completed the entire game, and a satisfying experience it is to be sure.

I must also say that the wide assortment of chosen background music is another glowing highlight to this game, because I felt it brilliantly captured the very essence of the fairy tale itself with its very classically themed arrangements and crisp/clear instrumentals, whereupon each individual instrument itself sounded very unique and charming...while also exuding a very relaxing and upbeat atmosphere as it should.

One final plus here, is that Alice's Patchwork has been fully Steamified with both achievements and trading cards included, and I might add here that even the cards themselves are rather impressive to behold when expanded to their full size glory.


The fusion of this particular fairy tale theme with such patchwork puzzle gameplay somehow works, and works fantastically. Furthermore, it felt very polished in all the right ways and is both very casual in character yet quite challenging at heart, meaning it will certainly have a wide audience appeal while also being accessible for just about all ages. I felt that its many positives far outnumbered its virtually non-existent negatives of which I didn't readily notice any glaring ones at all, thus I would easily recommend this masterpiece in a heartbeat for those with an affinity toward either Alice In Wonderland and/or those who simply enjoy casual puzzle type games. And while I still haven't finished every single puzzle within it yet, I surely plan to resume playing it much more so that I may finally solve them all in order to collect every single key to be acquired in the game. Because what they all unlock is a whole lot of magical fun in this truly hidden gem.

I'll enthusiastically rate this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

You might be old enough to remember those brightly lit and colorful vector style games from the early 80's arcades...ones which ignited your imagination with awe & wonder as they hypnotically called out for you to drop a quarter inside so that you could go head to head against both this marvelous machine, as well as fellow players, to see who would come out on top with the highest score.

I now introduce you to Color Chaos created by Daniel Riley, an old-school styled twin-stick shooter which seeks to capture and mimic that very magic of years gone by in those gathering rooms for teens which could best be described as an electronic wonderland for those fortunate enough to experience it.

I found the gameplay dynamic of this particular title to be rather unqiue & intriguing. And the way it works, is that you are able to shoot enemy ships of any color except your own, and they in turn adhere to the very same principle when firing upon you. Two exact colors cannot harm one another here, but it becomes even more interesting still because both you and they have the ability to shift current colors to a different one, which adds an entirely new element of tactical play in this game.

There are also 2 game modes present by the way, 'Classic' (progressively harder and more numerous enemies the longer you stay alive) and 'Chaos' (described as more enemies, more firepower and more chaos), so as to inject a greater amount of variety into the gameplay.

Furthermore, also present is a nifty power-up system in place which allows you to temporarily increase your ships' abilities in various ways, by simply moving toward & collecting the item whenever it appears on the screen.

I spent a reasonable amount of time experimenting with and playing Color Chaos to develop a good feel for it...in order to ascertain what its strengths and inherent weaknesses were. And in the end, I felt it was somewhat of a mixed bag. A very admirable effort to be sure, which, if tweaked in a couple specific ways could be even more fun.

Firstly, I will go over some aspects of it which I wasn't a particularly big fan of. I felt that there was simply an excessive amount of color bloom present, especially toward the center of the screen, where it all blended together into a hazy semi-translucent morass which wasn't very easy on the eyes I might add. It might have instead been optimal to leave the inner gameplay area a largely pitch black star-field to more nicely contrast with the pretty colors of the ships and boundary lines. That would have actually looked rather sharp and pleasing. It isn't to say that the the current effect is poor by any stretch, I just feel that it isn't necessarily ideal, and this is only my personal opinion on the matter. Others may or may not agree with this.

Secondly, Color Chaos is exceedingly difficult, especially when using a mouse & keyboard. It was definitely designed for the hardcore enthusiast of this genre in mind....with each game typically measured in several white-knuckle seconds for the typical gamer, and certainly not in minutes unless you are perhaps a seasoned veteran who practices relentlessly. And because of it being sudden death, once you are dead then that's it - you'll need to start over again to strive for a new high score, which is clearly the main objective here incidentally. The difficulty stems from the fact that enemies are chasing you continuously & relentlessly at all times, forcing you to mostly move in a wide circular pattern so as to avoid them, while also firing upon you with bullets which travel at a surprisingly fast pace. It was difficult to establish any kind of rhythm or groove since each individual game simply didn't last very long. Perhaps making the enemies sometimes change direction in a more random manner might have added even more to the satisfaction of the gameplay dynamic. As it was however, I just couldn't imagine myself sinking hours at a time into this, and thus it's more ideally suited to being played in short controlled bursts.

Now onto the decidedly positive side of things, I will say that the game itself runs exceptionally well with no framerate issues and even includes the ability to play with both keyboard & mouse, or a controller...with remappable keys for the former.

Additionally, both the background music (ambient electronica) and sound effects were superbly implemented, and it is definitely one of the highlights to be found here. Together they both generated a very mellow and relaxing vibe to the game, which counter-balanced nicely against the sheer challenge of it. Somehow it works, and works very well.


Overall, I would say that this is a fairly good game for the price point it is at, especially for those who appreciate this specific type of challenge and its old-school feel. It's one that I could definitely see myself playing here & there in small bursts if I'm not up for a lengthy session playing something else, or if I simply don't have the time to do so. It could be better in a couple ways, sure, but nonetheless it's still very fun, and I applaud the developer for attempting to capture the magic of those games which we used to play way back in the day...transporting us to those happy times when our world was filled with row upon row of chaotic flickering color.

I'll rate this one 3.5 out of 5 stars, while at the same time giving a smiling nod to nostalgia.

For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

Futuristic games built upon worlds of dystopian despair, ruled over by malicious men of evil intent have always fascinated me. And it is because they tease a deep-seated fear within us on some primal level, in that such a scenario could plausibly occur at some point in our lives as technology rapidly advances in the wrong hands - with the only hope remaining for humanity resting upon the wits of techno-savvy rebels who desperately seek to undermine & overthrow such a diabolical system of rule.

And so it was with great anticipation & delight that I took the opportunity to review this latest offering in the top-down twin-stick shooter genre, Neon Chrome, from the very same developer, 10tons Ltd, who brought us Crimsonland...a very laudable title in its own right. But were they able to capitalize on past experience and improve upon the formula by taking it to the next level with their newest title? My answer to this question is a resounding yes, on all counts, and so let's now further explore why this is actually so.

Upon starting this title up with a grin of anticipation, what immediately struck me was how artistically gorgeous it all was. Aesthetically, the game is spectacularly stylish indeed, exuding richly vibrant neon colors which seamlessly blend into each other very pleasingly...delighting the senses and imbuing a great sense of immersion within these scenes of both illuminated and shadowed areas...itself perhaps a meaningfully subtle metaphor in describing this battle of both light and darkness. Coupled with its atmospheric ambiance, there is a true feeling of depth below you, letting you know in no uncertain terms that you are gradually ascending higher & higher within this frightfully towering colossus for an epic showdown with the evil overlord who rules over all that is - the inscrutable Overseer.

Essentially, your prime objective is to navigate your upgradable & cybernetically enhanced player around each floor with its many walls and maze-like paths, methodically sabotaging their defense systems and obliterating every ruthless minion or sophisticated robot you encounter, of which there are several uniquely different kinds to engage in battle with. The progression system here was rather well executed I thought, because there were numerous clearly defined challenges & goals to be achieved - complete with both bosses & mini-bosses found throughout. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment after each floor was reduced to rubble and no further enemies were left remaining to mercilessly hunt me down. It was both addicting and exhilarating to reach the next one higher (31 levels spread across 6 large floors incidentally) as I eagerly wondered what would be awaiting me to contend with when I arrived there.

The gameplay exudes a wonderful cadence, with moments of relative calm and strategizing as you consider your options, interspersed with sudden bursts of absolute mayhem as reinforcements mercilessly swarm you with incendiary explosions dancing all around your feet...inducing incredible adrenalin rushes as you desperately attempt to stave off this onslaught of malicious intent. And make no bones about it, the enemies in this game can be rather aggressive indeed...so planning is absolutely crucial for success here. And therein lies the true beauty of Neon Chrome, you must actually think ahead and plan your movements accordingly as opposed to mindlessly running & gunning around aimlessly. Thus a thoughtful strategy for attack is the key to success here, as opposed to impetuous and impatient tactics being employed, making for a vastly more enriching experience upon its floors of procedurally generated levels.

On a side-note, I must say that the enemy AI is neither superior nor wholly inadequate in my opinion - instead being found somewhere in between at the decent range. It can be exploited somewhat, but only to a limited degree since they tend to relentlessly hunt you down sooner or later.

Another positive attribute to be found here was the bountiful number of both powerful weapons & cybernetic abilities (unlockable) as well as diverse character classes (selectable) that could be deployed, each with their own specific strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that every single run-through was a deeply satisfying & uniquely memorable experience. I greatly enjoyed testing out their inherent abilities against my foes, continually dialing in the optimal setup for each challenging situation that I was presented with.

And to further expand upon this point, the environment is actually destructible which beneficially helps the game. And so for example, if you are unable to enter an area from the front entrance, then why not blast your way in from the side and make your own pathway forward utilizing brute force. This is yet another definite plus in the gameplay, injecting an additional layer of fun possibilities to the equation.

Now in regard to the background music, it was perfectly matched to the look and feel of the game, and consists of an edgy yet gratifying electronic tune that is endlessly looped...masterfully evoking a brooding tension in the air.

I did however have a very minor gripe with the camera height, in that it seemed to be quite a ways above the action...sometimes making it a bit tricky to discern detail. Of course, it's always a trade-off in that a lower height would reveal less of the gameplay area. Nonetheless, at times it did seem a touch too high up I thought. Ideally, it would be fantastic if it were dynamically adjustable in-game, so as to allow the player to set their own preference at any given moment. But again, this is a relatively minor quibble overall as the current setting is still very much within the limits of what is acceptable.

Thankfully, this title has been fully Steamified with both achievements and trading cards included. Furthermore, it is designed for both single-player and local co-op...meaning no online play...which may or may not be an issue depending upon your own personal preference. For me, I simply view it as an intriguing single-player game to journey inside of.


So alas the burning question remains, is it worth procuring?

While Neon Chrome doesn't do anything exceedingly ground-breaking or revolutionary, what it does do it does superbly well, sticking to tried & true gameplay ideas & mechanics wrapped inside a very pretty package...one where the supraliminal exploration of this unnerving dichotomy between freedom versus tyranny inside of a futuristic cyberpunk setting has never been so much fun. And thus I would wholeheartedly recommend it as a very worthy addition to one's library for fans of this genre at its very reasonable new release price, while confidently rating it at a solid 4/5 stars.

For similar reviews and great giveaways please visit http://www.steamified.com

Got a free copy of the game from orlygift.com

Pros:

- Superb sound effects (wow!)
- Fun and somewhat addictive gameplay
- Powerups / arcade game feel

Cons:

- Repetitive after a while
- Very simplistic graphics (weakest aspect of the game IMO)

This one is good in short 20 min bursts to burn some free time or relieve stress. It's wholesome mindless fun. A bit better than I was expecting going in.

Got a free copy of the game from orlygift.com

I really enjoyed this one so far! It's basically an old-school platform styled game straight out of the 80's where your character has Spider-Man like powers to grapple, but also carries fun weapons as well. It's a game I plan to spend more time with for sure in the future. Somewhat of a hidden gem in a way if you are into this genre at all...and once you learn its nuances you can then enter into a kind of zen rhythm with it as you swing all over the place wreaking havoc :-)

Got a free copy of the game from orlygift.com

The gameplay here is pretty atrocious from what I can tell, as well as quite unintuitive, so I can't really recommend this. About the only good part of it that I got out of this, is that the piano music was somewhat enjoyable as background ambience when run at a quiet volume.

Got a free copy of the game from orlygift.com

I really like the theme and conceptual artwork of this game, the cards are really sharp looking. Although admittedly, I am not at all big into this genre, so it's difficult for me to accurately gauge how good the game really is compared to its peers. But at first glance it definitely seems passable and is likely good for one play-thru at least. I did notice that Java installation is needed to run this however, which I found rather strange. But it does seem to run well and I had no issues with its playability in that regard.