Indie Game

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Pepper Grinder (PC review)

Gamers looking for a sedate game that they can just tootle about should steer clear of Pepper Grinder: It is a game that definitely couldn’t be described as sedate…

Pepper Grinder is a non-stop, frenetic 2D platformer/puzzler/explorer where you control Pepper, a young girl who washes up on a sandy beach after a shipwreck, finding her grinder (powerful drilling device) is missing and so is her treasure!

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Dredge developer interview: A fishing RPG with a sinister undercurrent

Gerard Campbell caught up with the team behind Black Salt Games.

A young development studio based in Christchurch, New Zealand, making waves with its debut game, Dredge.

Two years in the making, and coming from fledgling game development studio Black Salt Games, comprising the talents of Joel, Nadia, Mikey and Alex.

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Startup Company, PS5

Startup Company Console Edition brings a successful business sim to consoles after a strong outing on Steam. Danish devlopers Hovgaard Games have obviously laboured over this title with love.

Starting from the ground level with minimal investment, the aim is to manage your business empire “to the moon”. Interestingly the simulation is heavily geared towards the Social Media / Online Sales platforms we are familiar with.

On paper this game should be right up my alley, should be.

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Somerville Byte Size Review (XSX)

Somerville, the debut release from Jumpship. A new independent studio out of Surrey in the UK co-founded by Dino Patti of Playdead (Limbo and Inside) fame.

And this history is very evident within Somerville. Is it to the same calibre of Inside and Limbo? Not quite, but there is still enjoyment to be had here.

Although I have already mentioned Limbo and Inside as comparisons for Somerville, I think the best way to describe it is Cloverfield meets Another World.

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GamingGame ReviewsIndie GamePC / MacPS5Xbox Series SXbox Series X

Iron Harvest: Complete Edition, PS5 Review

Real Time Strategy (RTS) titles like Iron Harvest on Console are a rare beast.

And even rarer is a Console RTS that has a control and user interface (UI) system, which isn’t a finger twisting nightmare on a controller. But it can be done.

Halo Wars and Sudden Strike 4 have nailed the UI in an RTS for Console gamers, and Iron Harvest…almost did.

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GamingByte Size ReviewIndie GamePC / Mac

Hell Architect, Byte Size review (PC)

The management sim genre is one that has been around for as long as I can remember but I can’t say I’ve ever played one set in the realms of Hell that tasks you with making hell a better version of itself (is that even possible?)

That’s the idea behind Hell Architect, a management sim from Polish developer Woodland Games where you’re tasked as Hell Manager who is in charge of, well, developing the nine rings of Hell and making it a place Lucifer himself would be proud of.

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GamingGame ReviewsIndie GamePS5

Foreclosed, Review

Guest writer Nina has taken a trip into this cyber-punk Indie game and has some thoughts to share.

After seeing the Foreclosed trailer at E3 this year, the indie cyberpunk shooter immediately went on my radar. I love the cyberpunk genre, and aside from a few exceptions, there aren’t a lot of games that truly do the genre justice. I will admit though, Foreclosed had my hopes up.

So when I was given the opportunity to review it, I was excited as hell. 

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Fort Triumph, Byte Size Review

Here at the Cottage we are big fans of XCOM. So the prospect of a new bite sized turn-based tactical game of that ilk on my Xbox Series S was certainly appealing.

Fort Triumph doesn’t manage to hit the quality or depth that our beloved XCOM does, but there is fun to be had for the tactically minded gamer.

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GamingGame ReviewsIndie GamePC / MacPlaystationXbox Series SXbox Series X

Death’s Door – the review

Death’s Door has certainly piqued some interest in a relatively short space of time. Fortunately Gerard and Dylan were keen enough to follow up our preview with a deft 2-winger Death’s Door Review.

Site regulars, the boys share some interesting insight into the game.

It’s great to see how Death’s Door has bucked the norm in its genre and made its challenges enjoyable in a very nuanced way.

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