Octogeddon Review: Eight Tentacles to Annihilate You (PC)

Preface:

    I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little about the release of Metal Gear Survive, the first Metal Gear Solid game without the influence of game development superstar Hideo Kojima. I won't get into the whole drama between Konami and Kojima, but I will mention the initial reception. It seems lukewarm at best, and I'm not optimistic about its long-term appeal. It already requires always-online and has microtransactions that impact gameplay (such as the save slots you pay ~$10 to unlock,) and let's not forget the fans of the Kojima Era MGS games, who I can imagine already had their torches and pitchforks out for this game the second it was announced. With the future of Metal Gear Survive left uncertain, let's move on to the main event...

    If you've been on YouTube for any period of time, you've probably seen some video that almost feels like a personal attack on you. It might be some news video where a major politician once again digs up the claim that violent video games cause school shootings, a jackass gleefully reinforcing that old stereotype of the ignorant American tourist, or maybe it's someone who remarks on how the Internet lets any "autistic retard" make a webcomic. For most of us, our only options involve silently seething or posting a sternly worded comment, both of which ultimately do nothing. In today's game, however, you can do something that will definitely get them to notice your anger. It's the arcade-style side-scrolling action game Octogeddon, by All Yes Good!

Kyofu no Sekai World of Horror Preview: No Apologetic Satanists Allowed (PC, Mac)

WARNING: Given that this game is based off a famous horror writer's works, this preview will have some disturbing imagery and a good amount of blood. Reader discretion is advised.

    Good news, everyone! I'm back in action! The floorwork is done, we've moved back in, and we'll be getting everything organized over the next few days. But I also have a different kind of good news. That demo I mentioned a couple articles ago finally released! As a result, I can show you the world. The World of Horror! (Or the Kyofu no Sekai, either one.)

(You'll really need to click the pictures to see the finer text in these ones. Sorry about that.)

Update: Out of the house for a week.

    Well, everyone. I regret to inform that I'm going to be out of commission when it comes to reviews for this week because I'll be in a hotel for a few days.

    About a month ago, me and my family noticed that the floorboards in the kitchen were making strange cracking noises and were pretty warped. It turns out that our dishwasher broke some time ago without us noticing it and it's been slowly soaking the boards without us noticing. Of course, this means we had to get a new dishwasher and new floorboards. The problem is that about 85% of the first floor of our house is made up of wooden floors, so in order to replace the warped boards, we have to replace ALL of them.

    Because of this, we spent the past couple weeks moving various things and lugging furniture around so the floor guys can fully replace all the floorboards. Today is the last day of moving stuff, and we'll be going to a hotel for a bit while the floor guys do their work. Because of this, I'll be unable to do much blogging until I get back. Hopefully during that time I can find something good to review. I heard that old game Drakkhen was released on Steam recently (the PC-88 version,) but that probably won't be my choice. It's not really a good game, it's pretty buggy (from what I've seen/heard of the SNES version,) and I would rather not face the wrath of...

LASER PANTHER!! (And that's not getting into murderous constellations or the just plain weird/creepy (Amiga version.)

    Hope to be back soon!

      - Brian Renadette

My Most Anticipated for 2018

    Well, the review I had lined up for this week is going to be a blank page, as it turns out. I had read on Twitter that a certain game that is in development was going to release a new demo version last weekend, but "work-related stuff happened" according to Twitter, and I've been left dry on the game. I thought about reviewing something like Celeste or Iconoclasts (a game with no relationship to the branch of Christianity noted for its belief in the destruction of idols,) but it seemed too easy. When games that are small yet highly-acclaimed come out, everyone reviews them. Not to mention everyone's mother, the mothers' cats, the chew toys owned by the cats, and all the tiny yet durable tardigrades that may be living on the chew toy.

"I can survive in the vacuum of space. What can you do, monkey?"

    While volunteering at a local SPCA by walking the dogs before today's big snow storm, it occurred to me that I never talked about the games I'm really looking forward to seeing this year. So, let's go with that. In no particular order, here are 10 Games I'm Hoping to Play This Year!

(Trailers provided where available)