6. Hello Neighbor: Knock Knock…Who’s there?

Who is the Neighbor?

The Neighbor is an AI like character who appears to do be up to no good from the onset of the game. He is immediately intimidating to the player due to his size and speed. The Neighbour tries to attack the player for seeing what he has been up to and his introduction is a rapid sprint towards the player after catching your eye as you peer at him through a window.

The game is played through the eyes of a child who witnesses some screams and banging inside the Neighbours house and decides to investigate. You will need to work out how to get around the house without being caught.

The game itself is a puzzle based horror in which the player must navigate the Neighbour house and find evidence of his dark secrets.The game has a variety of different levels such as house, basement and a wooden maze that the player must make their way through to try and avoid the creepy neighbor

©Dynamic Pixels
Don’t make a sound:

The Neighbor is a learning enemy. Every move you make, every time you make a noise, he is there chasing, watching and learning what tactics you employ, in order to catch you out the next time.

The Entire game is shot from a first person perspective and this creates a true sense of fear as the player almost feels fully immersed within the game as it unfolds before the child’s very eyes.

©Dynamic Pixels

The Neighbor lurks around every corner, or so it feels, as you have no real way to locate the Neighbor until you see him or he sees you. The game indicates his presence with a narrowing of the screen and the intensifying music, but all that honestly does is make the player more anxious. Once seen, the Neighbor begins chasing you with intense and rapid speed, he’s able to climb the ladders and unlock doors with insane quickness, leaving the player with not a lot of options.

Despite this, the player does have one very easy option, hide away in wardrobes. Although once the Neighbor understands where your hiding spots are he’ll check again and again. This is the main element of terror within this game as the AI learns and adapts to your play style, so a change of tactics is a frequent must for anyone trying to solve the mystery.

©Dynamic Pixels

Difficulty:

The Neighbor cannot be defeated, he cant be blocked or damaged, this to me, makes a successful horror enemy. The learning and adapting side also makes him a difficult enemy to deal with , especially when he is constantly wandering the house and inspect the surrounding areas. The only way to beat him is to uncover his mystery and even then, who knows if he is truly beaten. The player is literally defenseless, apart from your strategy and wit, against this enemy and the more you do, the more he learns, so stealth is the only option for survival.

Terror rating: 6.5/10

A tricky enemy who seems to develop a pattern based on your actions, but with a bit of strategy and thinking, you can maneuver around him. Whatever you do, Don’t make any noise!

7. Which Witch? Oh…that one!!

What is a Witch?

A witch is a superior mutation of zombie from the game Left for Dead 1/2, she is designed to take out the survivors quickly and with ease. The sad moans and angry screeches that resonate from the mouth of this horrifying creature are a sheer warning of it’s power. The design of the Witch is based on a decrepit old lady who stalks the areas which the team need to now traverse in order to get to safety. The witch not only hates survivors walking too close, they are also very sensitive to light/ torches, so the fear is escalated when you encounter one in a dark hallway and you now have to switch off any lights in order to get through.

©Valve

One Hit KO

One of the most intimidating factors of the Witch’s arsenal is her ability to down any player who gets struck by her. The quick sprint in the direction of her chosen target means that anyone unlucky enough to disturb her weeping solitude, is as good as dead.

Her claws tear away at the targets health while others scramble to kill the surprisingly defensive scrawny attacker. The warnings are there however. The depressing moaning and groaning, the angry, irritated grunts when you get too close. If you trigger her you’ve only got yourselves to blame.

©Valve

Difficulty:

Like most special infected on Left 4 Dead, with the right setup they aren’t hard to defeat. However what makes the witch unique over the other variety of specials, is her knock down ability. The speed in which she launches at whoever interrupted her makes any player jump and sprint away in fear. The player can still attack the Witch whilst down on the ground, but with only 1 pistol and a set amount of ammo, you  need to hope your partners have your back quick enough to avoid being left as Zombie Lunch.

The random locations do add to the problem as they are part of a random spawn system that just places them at any point/location on the given route. So if they end up sitting down in a hallway, You’ve got no choice but to fight your way past them.

©Valve

Overall Terror: 5/10.

With the right load out you’ve got no worries. If you are under prepared then be ready to fight. Don’t forget to burn the witch!!

8.Servent Grunts: You won’t forget these!!

What are the Grunts?

The Servant Grunts are a strange combination of human and monster with a slack jaw dropping halfway down their chest. They guard the secrets of the mansion the player randomly wakes up in and viciously and tactically attack the player causing insanity, fear and tension.

The true origin of the Servant Grunts is unknown, but with their long claws, horrifying melted faces and the speed of something half their size, they aren’t messing around when it comes to stopping the player escaping.

©Frictional Games
Extreme Hide and Seek:

The Grunts have a intimidating way of scaring the player. Firstly and most importantly, you cannot fight back, making every encounter with a Grunt a fight for survival. The only way to avoid a Grunt is to hide and hide quickly, they create fear by affecting you’re sanity so you can’t even keep your eyes on them long enough to keep track of them, making them stealthy as well as aggressive enemies. The longer you stare, the more twisted your vision becomes, before long, you begin to question whats real and whats just a part of the atmosphere of insanity.

The music that accompanies them once you’ve been seen only adds to the gripping suspense of being in the same room as one, the game doesn’t let the player relax and the Grunts do a fantastic job of increasing that tension even further.

©Frictional Games
Difficulty:

The Grunts cannot be defeated, as the player cannot attack. This makes them infinitely more difficult to deal with as opposed to many others enemies. The tactics of hiding and taking chances has to be perfectly tuned in order to navigate your way successfully around the hallways, dining halls, cellars and exits. The trick? Don’t get caught, 2 slashes and you’re finished.
Overall terror rating: 5/10

Horrifying to look at, tension building music but avoid eye contact and hide away and you’ll be more than able to escape these servants.

9. Big Daddy: Who’s Your Big Daddy?

What are Big Daddies?

Big Daddy’s are metal giants who protect ‘Little Sisters’, ADAM harvesters from the underwater city of Rapture. First appearing in the original Bioshock back in 2007, the Big Daddy appearance is inspired by a steampunk diver and internally they are said to be a heavily spliced human welding together with a metal frame… intimidating right? If you want the ADAM from a little sister. You gotta beat the Big Guy first!

©2k Games

Bodyguard at your service!

The whole essence of a Big Daddy is one thing, protect the little sisters at all costs. This makes them a terrifying enemy to have to face head on, the clanking of its movements accompanied by its varied arsenal; ranging from a laser to a rocket launcher make this enemy unnerving from start to hopefully finish. Not only that but the colour of its facial panel changes depending on how much danger you’re going to cause, so once that screen turns red, You need to run fast or be prepared to fight for your life.

Once you get away from one you haven’t killed, don’t expect it to rest. The clanking of metal and the slow thudding of an oncoming monster can still be heard in the surrounding area, that and the depressing groans from inside the tortured monster is enough to give anyone the creeps.

©2k Games

Difficulty:

Early on, Big Daddy’s can present a giant problem. The armor, their defenses and their tendency to be slightly unpredictable can lead to a challenging battle. However, once upgraded and with enough ammo, they do tend to back down easier and thus giving you the ability to reset yourself after the near heart attack enduring charge they often lead with. Set up, unload plenty of rounds and this metal fortress with eventually fall.

Overall fear factor: 4/10

A problem early on, but just listen for the dreaded feral moans and clanks of steel and you’ll be able to avoid conflict til further notice.

10. SCARECROW- The Insane Dr Crane

Who is Scarecrow?

Any fan of the classic Arkham series, or indeed the original DC comic universe, will be familiar with this creepy villain. The notoriously insane Dr. Crane uses his concoction of fear gas to terrorize inmates, civilians and well…whoever he likes into submission. Once a psychiatrist at Arkham, Crane soon became just another inmate with a grudge and score to settle against Batman.

©Rocksteady ©Eidos

Face Your Fears:

Scarecrow had a unique attack method, via the use of his self made ‘Fear Gas’, which often catches the player off guard. The unsettling voice, the vivid and horrific hallucinations of Bruce’s childhood trauma topped off by his jump scare entrances enabled him to create an innate sense of fear out of almost nothing. Unlike some on this list, Scarecrow himself is not all together scary, more so creepy as he gets into the mind of Batman and gives a very uneasy and intimidating atmosphere. The psychological attacks on Batman are a deadly weapon in his arsenal for certain.

However, worth noting is the illusion created by Scarecrow in Arkham City, the Scarecrow is not directly in  the game but the barge that contains his belongings is a true source of unsettling fear. Boxes of typical phobia inducing creatures surrounding a seemingly unconscious inmate..that is until you get close enough that he lets out a truly blood curdling scream, leaving the player wondering what Scarecrow did to the poor inmate.

©Rocksteady ©Eidos

Difficulty:

The levels surrounding Scarecrow are not the most challenging as they are creepy and puzzle based. From waiting for him to get out the at long enough to pull down a wall, fighting skeletons and beaming a giant batman spotlight through his chest, the real challenge  comes form the battling against the travelling fear based chemicals in the characters blood stream, the true cause of fear. So as long as you can avoid the gaze, completing his nightmare challenges and trying to avoid his toxic influence, you’ll do well to confront and overcome your true fears.

©Rocksteady ©Eidos

Overall Fear: 4/10

Not the scariest of villains but certainly one that gets into your head and messes with your mind.

Legacy of the Duelist Review

As a lifelong fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, i was very excited to hear the game was coming to the switch. Komani definitely delivered with this rapid adventure through every legendary duel within the series,from the original, to GX and more, so even the newest of fans can enjoy every duel.

©Konami

Game Play:

The game isn’t just about dueling, any fan of the show can tell you that. The adventure follows the story of the original anime with cut scenes, dialogue exchanges and of course, participating in the battle that followed. Starting off with the classic Yugi vs Kaiba duel, the player gets to replay each one til they win, with the AI providing a high level of difficulty, enhancing the challenge and enjoyment of the game. Also each battle has a reverse option to let you play as the opposite duelist, such as Pegasus, Marik and some of the other powerhouses of the anime series.

©Konami

The fluid motion of drawing cards and navigating the various phases really creates a sense of enjoyment and nostalgia for those who not only used to watch the show but also trade the cards. Such cards as Dark magician, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Elemental Heroes and The Blue Eyes White Dragon (a personal favourite) all make an appearance, some even with a glorious animation when summoned, because who doesn’t want to see a Blue Eyes White Dragon shoot from the ground when you finally manage to tribute enough monsters. The addition to be able to pack these powerful and iconic monsters yourself with the duelist points you collect adds a level of fun that rivals my personal childhood memories.

©Konami

Pack opening:

This is small yet enjoyable feature is one of my favourites. Each duel gives you points which you can use to buy packs for each character, unveiling several cards to build decks with, from Grandpa Moto to Jaden Yuki and more. Each card is used to further build your decks and strengthen your existing ones, which can also all be used to battle the opponents of the adventure mode. I personally loved being able to choose which characters packs you opened, mainly so i can be my own version of Kaiba.

Deck builder: 

The game enables the player to engage in the exciting element of being able to use the cards you pack in to making a deck and choosing this over the story deck to see how your skills match up to the true masters of the game.  This was always a fun part of opening packs and the way they incorporate this into the digital format is a nice touch.

©Konami

Negatives:

The only issue I was struggling with this game is beating the opponent, as some, the further through each story you go, get quite challenging as battling such high level players like Marik, Pegasus, Hope etc does force the player to replay the Duel multiple times before finding a winning strategy. The lack of animation for some of the more well known cards is a bit disappointing but the overall feel of the game is positive and enjoyable.

Overall:

The game fully captures the enjoyable factors that both the name and the card game created, for someone who spent most of his youth playing with the cards and collecting the packs, this was enticing game from the get-go. The value of the game compared to most switch games is very reasonable and the replayability factor is definitely high due to the reverse battle aspect and the bountiful card openings you can engage in. The play style is challenging and difficult but fully incorporates the strategy and complexity that makes YU-GI-OH such a popular game.

A GAMER’S OPINION RATING: 9/10

Crash Nitro Fueled steals first place with this remaster

I can still remember the excitement I had back in the early 2000’s when I played the original Crash Team Racing. Crash Nitro Fueled perfectly re-embodied these feelings from the moment I loaded it up.

The nostalgia for the older generation of gamers starts from the get go, as the opening sequence involving Oxide throws up all kinds of memories. The game starts with a threat from final boss, Nitrous Oxide, threatening to turn the planet in to a huge car park, should your quest to be the best racer alive, fail. The player is immediately thrown into the adventure mode, winning races, battling bosses with special adapted abilities and winning trophies in order to make yourself worthy of Oxide’s time.

©Activision ©Beenox

The games unique selling point which distinguishes it from other racer games come in the form of the varied race types. The player also has to beat time trails, win relics and complete the classic CTR token race. Essentially the same as normal race but you have to find the letters CTR and come first in the race, a challenge as difficult as some of the tracks themselves. All these added post game/post race challenges give the game a strong replay factor, even after you complete the story.

©Activision ©Beenox

The game has a very high entertainment value, not only among the gamers who played the original, but for people only playing this one. The focus on being able to unlock characters without the need for micro-transactions is a welcomed addition to an already strong game, meaning that everything i the game, you have to push and grind to unlock. Character such as Crunch, the Trophy Girls and other minor characters are all available in the ‘Pit-Stop’, the games equivalent of an unlock shop. This gives you the ability to unlock Kart paint and stickers so you can make the Kart you’re racing in, truly yours, on top of being bale to change the skins of the characters to give each racer a unique image.

Another welcome addition to this remaster is the multiplayer and online races which also engage the variety of different challenges for the player depending on what avenue they wish to take, battles, online races, CTR challenges and racing against N. Trophy and his extremely difficult time trials constantly give the player something to drive for. Pardon the Pun.

In order to keep the game new and fresh, the addition of a monthly Grand Prix mode has been added to the game in order to give players another way to unlock special characters and Kart Customization kits. The Grand Prix is a set of challenges, changing, daily , weekly and some lasting the whole month, which the player must complete to gain Nitro to unlock new characters and special stickers and paint for the karts. The news released for future cups does point towards an old fan favourite being a special, significant of Nitro Fueled in the coming months.

©Activision ©Beenox

The game is nearly perfect, as someone who grew up with Crash Bandicoot, this game has everything. The online serves do present an issue from time to time, but over the course of its release this seems to have been corrected.

©Activision ©Beenox

Overall the game is a nostalgic dream, the beloved tracks, characters, and levels all trigger the memories of a well spent childhood , and with the future inclusion of new Grand Prix modes, in which you grind to unlock special characters and kart customization features, Crash Nitro Fueled clearly has a long run ahead of it.

AGamersOpinion: 9/10

Days Gone Review

Days Gone follows the journey of Deacon St John as he searches for information about his missing wife, presumably at the hands of the government corporation Nero. Deacon not only has to combat zombies of all types, but has to avoid Rippers (unarguably the worst of what’s left of humanity), Marauders, just trying to survive, and wild beasts throughout his travels. It’s not all bad though, as throughout the derelict land that used to be Oregon, various survivor camps exist and enable you to increase your motorbike quality, upgrade your load-out and complete quests to earn more credits, the currency which is held independently at each camp, the more you work, the more you earn for each camp.

©SIE Bend Studio ©Sony

The gameplay runs smooth and combined with the visually appealing graphics, creates a genuinely enjoyable zombie fighting experience. The zombies which you have to battle are well designed to react to sound and movement, making stealth a unique requirement throughout the game. This aspect accompanied with the horrifying and intimidating ability for the zombies to horde together without warning, creating a unstoppable mass of flesh hungry freakers (the in game term for zombies).

©SIE Bend studios ©Sony

It is not only the zombies that are an issue in wasteland Oregon, the survival aspect of Days Gone is very well done, from having to refueling your motorbike every so often, to repairing it after damages (or crashes, depending how you drive). the game creates a sense of realism that takes creative ideas from previous zombie games such as State of Decay and Dead Rising and refines them to a more real and enjoyable degree. on top of this survival aspect, the player has to search for ammo, health kits and other supplies to create consumables and throw-able projectiles such as Molotov’s and the likes of, the focus on this pushes it more towards a survival game as opposed to your generic zombie slasher.

©SIE Band studios ©Sony

The story line itself is a complex, enjoyable and varied path throughout the past and present of Deacon St John. The player explores various quests that do and don’t contribute to the story itself, form clearing out infestation nests of freakers, to battling ripper and marauder camps, whilst trying to avoid the initial ambush from said enemies. The main focus still remains, finding your wife and protecting your best friend Boozer, but the diverse story lines and variety of missions throughout means you don’t have to focus on certain aspects for too long.

©SIE Band studios ©Sony

One of the few downsides to Days Gone is that the survival aspect is difficult to grasp from the outset and the constant hunt for ammo and melee weapons can grow tiresome and frustrating when your running low in a very densely populated zombie area. Similarly to this, the lack of available fuel, whilst realistic, makes travelling a little tedious as you’re not able to fast travel without a set amount of fuel and resources. This doesn’t discredit the enjoyment of the game, yet the grind and slow leveling up process early game is something that some players would struggle with, including myself, as it does seem to be a little bit of a grind and push just to acquire a weapon decent enough to survive.

©SIE Band studios ©Sony

Days Gone has revolutionized the zombie game genre by seemingly mastering the survival aspect of a land affected by a pandemic, with a few missteps granted, however the minor negatives do not take away from the experience that SIE band studios have tried to create. The gameplay is smooth, enjoyable and relies a bit more on supply rationing than initially thought, overall the game is enjoyable for any fan of the zombie or survival genre.

AGamersOpinion Rating: 8/10

Far Cry: New Dawn review

As a latecomer to the franchise, I have enjoyed the Far Cry franchise ever since I first got my hands on Far Cry 3 for the Xbox 360, in my opinion the best addition to the series. However, Far Cry: New Dawn was the first sequel to another Far Cry game and it didn’t get the backing it deserved. Far Cry 5’s ending left many unanswered questions, namely what is going to happen to hope county? and has the Father finally won? New Dawn set out to answer those questions, as much as it did that, it left a lot to be desired.

©Ubisoft

New Dawn took us back to the vast countryside that is Hope County and reminded us how dangerous it can also be. This accompanied with the inclusion of characters from Far Cry 5 and hidden easter eggs dotted throughout the landscape do make for some nice throwbacks but do not necessarily give the games story line much substance. This is not to discredit the story that New Dawn tells, as the rivalry with The Twins, Mickey and Lou, does create highly intense gameplay and is immersive but this doesn’t make up for it being significantly shorter than anticipated. Leaving much to be desired and the lingering question if this sequel was really necessary.

©Ubisoft

New Dawn isn’t all throwbacks and nostalgia, it does bring some new, more enjoyable aspects to the franchise. The main strong point being multi-level outposts. A key staple of the Far cry games are always the outposts taken by the enemy that the player has to constantly recapture to advance forward throughout the land. This new addition to the franchise takes a new realistic approach by enabling you to forfeit capture of the outpost, allowing the highway men to retake it, and lets you re-challenge it, but with harder enemies and the allure of better rewards. So whatever tactic you like to take when taking on an outpost whether it be; stealthy, explosive, or full on berserker, you can take down those outposts, over and over again.

©Ubisoft

Some of the key changes to this new game are the additions of your new base camp, which players of 5 will remember, Prosperity, the new animal companions and the inclusion of challenges dotted throughout Hope County. Prosperity base camp is also open to various upgrades, requiring the ethanol and various other components to make it stronger and produce more items that are of use to the player. From guns, guns for hire, explosive, general defenses, fast travel and medikits, the uses for prosperity are unlimited.

Companions are always handy within Hope county, more so when they come in the form of animals, who often prove to be more resilient than their human counterparts. The continued inclusion of an animal companion has been a strong point of the more recent Far Cry editions, their ability to spot enemies, items and there obedience is always a huge asset to the player. This accompanied with the mini challenges that enable the player to level up all makes aspects of the game, from hunting to exploring to the extreme new demolition derby, seem relevant every step of the way.

©Ubisoft

Overall, Far Cry New Dawn is by no means bad, and as a sequel it does the job, it nicely rounds of the loose ends left by Far Cry 5. The story line is short however and the same setting as the previous game, makes it feel slightly repetitive. This doesn’t mean that the game isn’t enjoyable, its just not anything groundbreaking in comparison to the previous additions to the franchise. So if like me you weren’t satisfied with the ending of 5, or are just a sucker for the Far cry franchise , prepare to pick up your weapon, pick your ride and welcome back to Hope County…Sinner.

Overall rating: 6/10