Jose Antonio Calvo Ceniceros

“The Tale of Cloud and Wind (QUByte Classics) gives the hungry old-school beat'em ups just what they want. Three very different characters, seven phases of increasing difficulty, tons of enemies to face, and even a story based on classic oriental texts. The repetition of enemies and settings fails a bit, even in a genre that draws so much from it, but the whole is fun and stimulating enough to get into without consideration.”

“It's really nice to come across games like Intrepid Izzy from time to time. Simple, unpretentious, and fun and well-done enough to be enjoyed without any complications or ups and downs. A nice metroidvania with the peculiarity of putting beat'em up against the enemies, and a costume and power management system from our bedroom. There are no great heights, but also no falls, everything works as it should in this Dreamcast game, which other systems have also earned to enjoy.”

“Whoever expects a coherent analysis of Choo-Choo Charles in this rubbish of a text box, go to the countless websites that will offer it. This is a game that has both its own personality, as well as its plethora of glitches, glitches, 'what are you doing', 'what's going on here', disgustingly basic design. Fight against a spider ghost locomotive that you are not going to kill. Limited movement, a 3D engine full of stuttering and people with eyes glued together... And this is great!... or not. But the review number stops there.”

“Among the formulas that the wide spectrum of videogames presents today to return to games from the past, NEW Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja chooses to be very classic... that is... what was in the original arcade, and something else in its extended mode. But with a redone in the graphic and sound section. Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja was an arcade game that was as fun as it was hard, and that is given to us at the end of 2022. Not much has been touched, except for things on some levels -for better or worse-, in a title that was so hard when you tossed a coin playing alone, like fun and well focused when you had another colleague with another hair color and loincloth. It lacks more content to be a revival, but it will not take so long. And that it is still impossible to forget in the original and this remake the great visual identity and the leiv motiv of the plot.”

“With the conscientious work of a single person in charge, Astronite is one of those games that we will like at a quick glance, but it will not easily settle in our heads given the vast artistic offer that 2D action and platform metroidvanias present. But it will as soon as we have the pad in our hands and spend hours with it. Through a classic approach well managed in control and situations, we will have a much more difficult game than what we have become accustomed to in this style in recent years. That can be a good thing, although it's not so good anymore that some complications and frustrations come from a hopeless approach to managing in-game currency, or some more intricate and restrictive moments and structural design than its genre could demand. But Astronite is still a recommendable and interesting game, a game that can also give you a good number of hours, compared to much shorter similar proposals. We simply have to know what we are going for and where we are going to get into.”

“Summarizing McPixel 3 in this piece of text is not easy. Super-crazy adventure, mega-crazy, and worthy of that real image hero that is Johnny Sins. Like him, McPixel will live all kinds of adventures and situations that he will face in more ways, although he will solve others like him. But most importantly, giving a fun game, which is enjoyed advancing and progressing, unlocking levels, getting secrets and curiosities. I firmly believe that we are facing one of the adventures of 2022, for one reason or another.”

“It seemed to me as interesting as it was perhaps difficult to resurrect the Arkanoid franchise in the right way for our days. I can say that it has been achieved very satisfactorily, as I am a person who remembers the original Arkanoid from 1986 with a smile and many nerves and tensions. One of the things I've reconciled with the Taito franchise is its excellent Battle Royale aspect, which makes Eternal Battle mode matches extremely fun and fast-paced, whether or not there are human players to fight against. Even the Versus mode has been fun for me, in this game the fight against other capsules I think is the soul of it. But a Neo mode and another Retro mode -simulating an arcade cabinet from 1986- accompany for those who still want to pass the time fighting each phase and trying to reach the elusive and omnipresent Doh. A very interesting game both for long periods of time and for sporadic games without further worries.”

“Can a game with less than ten colors on the screen, rusty can sound, and on top of that, being played with a simple action button, be not only an excellent adventure, but also a very accomplished horror game? OF COURSE! FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is a pleasant and even unexpected surprise due to the values ​​it manages to achieve with its apparent simplicity, which is not such, because there is a well-cared job in its three chapters and multiple endings of each one. A trilogy that has been launched over the course of a few years, and that in this 2022 appears compiled in this unholy trinity. The story of a priest whose faith is shaken, a man struggling against the darkness around him and his mortal and doubting soul. And this in a fascinating game where its multiple endings and replays of its three chapters only add layers and interpretations.”

“Atari Mania offers us 50 years of history for the longest-running video game company in this medium, although 'in that way', brought together in a great fruit salad of its milestones of the 70s and 80s. Its meta-referential proposal is so special from the tribute, as irregular when we play it. We are the protagonists of a "Wreck-It Ralph" adventure where the highlight of it are micro-games in the style of Wario Ware or Puzzle & Action, but without the degree of success and enjoyment with the pad in hand. Combining franchises in these quick tests is as ingenious as the frustration and bad milk that is done with many of them, taking its toll when it comes to advancing and completing a game that is not too long, which knows how to get smiles and charm from its sympathy and nostalgia -dedicated exclusively to those who know these games-, as our most angry side in the face of some tests that are not very well resolved and frustrating.”

“Airoheart goes well on the face and without any dissimulation: a game very similar in form and substance to the legendary Zelda: A Link to the Past. And that brings two good things, such as having a portion of neo-retro inspired by such a pinnacle of video games, and above all, that it has been made with excellent quality. Through an action-RPG, we will live a fabulous adventure, that many of us will "know" and that we will enjoy for it and for what Airoheart knows how to offer itself. Dungeons and a thorough exploration of the general map outside of them with the objects and resources obtained inside them, tremendously likeable characters that will 'speak' in 19 languages, a multitude of quests and secondary content, in a global adventure well drawn, accessible and of great enjoyment.”

“It is commendable as apparently retro games, or in classic ways, they know how to surprise you and feel current, using their beautiful old-school 2D aspect. Chenso Club offers us action, lots of action!, platforms, and development of vintage arcade. But it adds ingredients to the formula such as the roguelike, the procedural elements, the unlocking of its five bizarre protagonists, and making 'runs' to our measure when starting them and choosing the general difficulty. It is not perfect and there are strings of this bloody violin that still do not sound as they should, but there is promise for the future, of additions and tweaks, while what we have in the present is a dynamic and furious game, where we must learn to manage ourselves as well as have feline reflexes.”

“It is paradoxical, because Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey-, could be offered as a game for younger people, due to its accessibility, simplicity and childlike charm in its beautiful visual proposal and innocent exploration and summer wandering. But it will be the adults who will launch into this bucolic and relaxed game, where dinosaurs roam freely through the streets of a small and charming town. Life simulator, or whatever you want to label it, we dedicate ourselves to hunting insects, fishing, helping people, making money, or enjoying its history and those of the people around it, it makes us feel part of the series or one of its the films of the character that has captivated so many of us. Although the way to do it has been through a game that will not always be suitable for everyone.”

“With the wonderful growth of narrative games, experience-games, cinematic-games... You name it! In these years of independent releases, Voyage is not going to surprise you with its premise. And neither will it in its execution. Its values ​​are a meritorious artistic performance, and offering that trip in a local cooperative, now also on all the consoles that are still alive. Whoever travels alone -as has been my case- will see faults, will not see more things, although the end of the adventure will be worthwhile. But whoever does it accompanied, will be two hours of their own for both people, giving even more meaning to what we do not see when we are alone.”

“My soul is torn between what playing TEN has meant for me and what TEN actually offers as a game. In the first case, I ended up disgusted and angry as a game hadn't made me achieve for years. But in the second, the very particular conception, with the brutal and twisted design of each habituation, as well as the improvement system for our character, or those final bosses at the end of each floor, denote a work that is as calculated as it is extremely cruel. Thus, TEN is a game that I do not want to see again, not even in distant photographs, which, however, will delight those who understand and sympathize with that network of connected pieces greased with blood, sweat and tears to move through them. in its infernal ten floors.”

“Games like Soda Crisis are necessary, so I say. Furious action, pad skills, fast jumping and platforming, and adrenaline rushing out of your ears would be a quick summary. This is an excellent Run'n Gun and, above all, measured and calculated to the millimeter. With a nineties flavor and a more current look and manner, Soda Crisis is an experience to discover, pure direct enjoyment while adding layers such as the sick collection of improvements for our strange protagonist, and the intelligent management of them, offering different configurations to taste of the player and his style of play. A game that can be returned to over and over again, still killing that alien threat that its crazy story proposes.”

“Another return to the past with current technical architecture. Because the definitive edition of this Samurai Riot, launched five years ago, is a brawler with swords and direct contact. Wako Factory launched a title with an arcade flavor, which is not as sweet as it should be on the palate. In this definitive edition, aspects are polished, and it offers Nintendo Switch users the possibility of enjoying a very striking 'me against the neighborhood' with beautiful artistic invoice, but not as well tuned in gameplay as it should be. Although the possibility of making decisions, opening new phases, improving the characters, and above all, the always vicious 2Players mode also add up and make the game interesting and recommendable.”

“In this excellent state for shoot'em ups, Remote Life is another very interesting proposal. A three-year effort by a single person, Mario Malagrino, who can be proud of the result. Three years later comes the jump to consoles, so that more people can enjoy this 'euroshmup' with so much work behind it, and the result is a game that will satisfy fans of the genre, although it may not suit those who are not. so much. A gameplay with some edges, in a demanding game and with an exquisite visual imagery, added to its perfect mission system to distribute the games to taste. A successful and pampered old-school arcade, although rough at times.”

“If Rolling Gunner was already a title with a good reception and packaging, within its cave of users, this edition with the addition of 'Over Power', what comes is to expand, loosen and satisfy more users of direct action and fast games . Rolling Gunner was already an excellent bullet-hell shmup, more accessible and open than it was a couple of decades ago, although tough nonetheless. And now an edition is released on PlayStation 4 that with this '+' scales even better between casual quick games, all kinds of challenges and settings, and the extreme challenge that those pros of the subgenre demand. The neo retro is not only offering games that polish and tweak past mechanics, but also knowing how to make steps in them so that anyone stays, or goes up, to the one they prefer.”

“A return to the past twenty-three years in the future. Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro is a tasty arcade game well understood and transferred pure to our days. Action and platforms, Strider and Revenge of Shinobi, VISCO and StoryBird Studio, Japan and France respectfully shake hands and achieve a game that continues to shine today with everyone and because of its values ​​from past times.”

“Three people travel to an exotic island in the near future. Using an impossible technology, in an unimaginable place, we have an adventure to discover and understand. Sephonie is a 3D platformer with a dour engine that takes away much of the charm it's intended to achieve. But with a good playable base, and music that catches and envelops you to greatly endow that charm that its artistic section does not finish transmitting.”