Modern Mega Drive shooter ZPF comes to current consoles in April

After smashing its crowdfunding goals and storming onto the Mega Drive/Genesis, the modern retro shooter ZPF – from the creators of Tanzer – is coming to the Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch and Steam on 16th April. This digital release will include two new screen borders that maintain the original screen size. The team also …

Read more

Rushing Beat X: Return of Brawl Brothers review

What’s in a name? A lot in this case. During the early ‘90s, Jaleco released a trilogy of scrolling beat’em ups for the Super Nintendo. This series could have been poised as their answer to Capcom’s Final Fight or SEGA’s Streets of Rage, but pesky regional localisation meant that each entry was given a unique …

Read more

The Last Ninja Collection + Bonus Games review

Even as a console owner in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, I knew that the Last Ninja trilogy was held in high regard amongst owners of the C64 and ZX Spectrum. It was often championed in the multiformat magazines of the era and could be seen riding the UK sales charts high. Even when the …

Read more

Moto Rush Reborn review

Something forever fascinating is hearing about indies that have become sleeper hits, selling vast amounts despite little in the way of promotion and barely making a whisper on social media. Earlier this year, I learned of Castle of Heart, a 2.5D action platformer that shifted over 300k units on Switch alone. Even more impressive is …

Read more

Rushing Beat X, Shadow Tactics, Starship Troopers, Ghost Master, Moto Rush Reborn, and Machine Gun Fury hit the Switch

The Switch 2 sees a flurry of new releases this week, some of which haven’t gained much traction in the press. So, let’s change that, at least by a modicum. Coming from leftfield are the colourful light-gun party package BANG! BANG! BANDITS, top-down roguelite Royal Revolt Survivors, the surreal open-world RPG Dread Delusion – which …

Read more

The Amiga 500 system seller Defender of the Crown is being remade

Commercial software for the Amiga 500 was slow to surface when the home computer entered the market 1986. Then came along Defender of the Crown, which showed off what the Amiga was capable of. So impressive was this strategy experience that it remained a benchmark for years, while also making Cinemaware a studio to keep an …

Read more

Console Archives Sonic Wings Special review

As the first console to reach 100m sales, the PS1 had a long life, with new games appearing as late as 2005 – at which point the PS2 was well established. Even the UK Official PlayStation Magazine, known for running far past the console’s prime, no longer existed by then. Many late PS1 games were …

Read more

Don’t Mess With Bober review

A comedic horror game that ends before the joke ceases to be funny? That’s an idea daft enough to work. And it does, for the most part. Weary city goer Matthew heads to his buddy’s riverside holiday home to recuperate for a few days. While tidying up a mess left by unruly teens, a wheelie …

Read more

Out this week: Crimson Desert, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War, Thomas & Friends, Rushing Beat X, RUBATO, more

Talk about a long time coming. Open world role player Crimson Desert began development in 2017 as an online prequel to Black Desert Online before becoming a standalone single-player adventure. How developer Pearl Abyss had the foresight to see how the online/live service landscape was fairing in 2026 is a mystery. Arguably a good call, though. …

Read more

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered review

We last crossed paths with Kain and Raziel in 2024’s robust and lengthy Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered double-pack. This brought together the technically accomplished 1999 original, which pushed the ageing PS1 hard, and the slightly disappointing combat focused sequel from 2001 – a relatively early release for PS2. Defiance is often heralded as a …

Read more