Taking to the skies as a fighter pilot in the arcade biplane shooter, Red Wings: American Aces, is a satisfyingly simple and enjoyable affair that integrates objective based missions, engaging aerial dogfights and a 30+ mission campaign. A striking comic-book inspired art design and an upbeat, funky and energetic score keeps the fast-paced action light.

The campaign can be enjoyed solo or co-operatively with a second local player and a trio of battle modes are available for two players to compete against each other while online functionality brings the action to players in up to 10 player battles in three solo and three team-based game modes.

With a fun skill tree to experiment with, new planes to unlock and an assortment of skins for them locked behind challenges, Red Wings: American Aces is a playful aerial shooter that keeps things, simple, accessible and enjoyable.

Red Wings: American Aces is a spin-off of 2020’s Red Wings: Aces of the Sky, with both games sharing a near identical visual presentation and gameplay mechanics. American Aces feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch with its simplistic controls, cartoonish, comic presentation and short missions that accommodate even the briefest of gameplay sessions. A well executed tutorial explains all of the gameplay mechanics with simple, easy to understand instructions and exercises.

The gameplay relies primarily on taking down enemy fighters by shooting them down, with or without zooming in or locking on to targets. Four special commands are available that each require varying lengths of cooldowns before they can be reused.

• Barrel Roll – an evasive manoeuvre that can be executed to avoid the enemies line of fire, as well as being an offensive tool that can eliminate an enemy target with contact
• Quick Comeback – a u-turn manoeuvre that lets the player turn instantly with an overhead or downward action that can put you hot on the heels of the plane that just zoomed past
• Squadron – an enemy can be locked on to and a powerful ally is spawned in to engage the target
• Fatal Takedown – when an enemy is injured, by lowering their health bar to a specific level, an execution can be performed that sees the player pull off a cinematic pistol kill at an impressive distance

Each of these four skills can be upgraded to reduce their cooldowns, enhance their effectiveness or provide other perks such as increasing the number of planes summoned with the Squadron command from one to five for example. Alongside these twelve upgrades are eighteen more than provide passive perks to weapon overheat reduction, critical hit chance and damage increases for instance. These skills are all upgraded by spending gold stars which are awarded during missions, with up to three gold stars awarded for meeting completion time or score requirements.

Mission variety is just broad enough to keep things fresh with objectives ranging from simply eliminating X amount of enemies, defending or destroying observation balloons or flying through fuel supply rings in non-combat scenarios to name a few. With each mission taking mere minutes to complete this variety is welcome and helps ensure that even a short play session is comprised of an assortment of objectives throughout the campaign.

Environmental elements such as electrical storms, sandstorms and clouds can impair the player’s view, reduce their skill charges and inflict damage, adding exciting elements of drama to the missions.

Charming cartoonish visuals and the energetic soundtrack that keeps the action upbeat at all times are both well implemented. By avoiding a more typical 3D or photorealistic approach American Aces feels lighter in tone and that compliments the gameplay wonderfully. The sound design is sharp and consistent with the chaos that ensues these dogfights and lends to an overall essentially flawless audio-visual presentation.

Red Wings: American Aces is a brief but accessible aerial shooter that is enjoyable in its simplicity and offers enough mission variety, co-operative, competitive and solo game modes to satisfy the casual gamers. Players looking for a bit more depth or replayability will come away wanting but the fast paced gameplay itself can’t be ignored, resulting in a fun shooter that keeps things simple in every aspect.

+ Charming visuals

+ Enjoyable, simplistic gameplay

+ Mission variety and assortment of game modes

– Lacks replayability for players expecting depth

– Brief campaign

Developed & Published by: All In! Games

Release Date: March 31 2022

Platforms: Nintendo Switch and PC

* A digital code was kindly provided to Games of DAYNE for the purpose of this review *

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The post Red Wings: American Aces Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

The radio soaked landscape is populated by mercenaries and supernatural monstrosities that offer up a genuine challenge in the earlier hours of the near dozen-hour campaign though the recruitment of allies certainly makes things more enjoyable and rewarding, especially when completing the training offered by some that provide upgrades to damage and resource scavenging for example.

Survivors that join Igor’s cause and take up shelter at the base don’t come free so to speak, instead they must be taken care of in terms of hunger, they need to be equipped with decent gear to ensure survival and the many choices the player faces throughout the game will have consequences that affect their loyalty. In Chernobylite it can be easier to make a friend than to keep one. This companion management aspect makes sense considering the survival elements though it doesn’t particularly enhance the experience in a positive or productive way and it does slow the pace just enough to feel distracting.

Each of Igor’s newly recruited allies can be dispatched on their own missions, encouraging recruitment to be able to maximise the resource rewards required for survival during each of the in-game days. As for the player, the first person experience is largely centred on exploring the area, gunning down bad guys and scavenging anything and everything. Adopting a purely stealth approach bloats the missions but running in guns blazing is a quick way to get killed too, seemingly encouraging a healthy balance of both to keep the gameplay from feeling too slow or too dangerous.

On top of enemy location awareness, the player must also manage Igor’s psyche in an effort to prevent hallucination. This mental health aspect doesn’t feel as meaningful as it perhaps appears on paper as far as the gameplay goes though it fares a little better in the broader strokes of the multi-genre narrative.

+ Beautiful visuals

+ Interesting story

+ Supernatural elements work

– Resource and companion management feels choresome

– Base building isn’t enjoyable

– Myriad of technical issues

The post Chernobylite Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

It turns out running and killing with insta-kill consequences forces you to act fast or die fast

Amidst the backdrop of a grungy dystopian city, a lone cybernetically enhanced swordsmen plays his part in a power struggle between a fleeting resistance and its totalitarian leadership. With no recollection of his own identity, the Ghostrunner must survive with precision focus to ascend the deadly Dharma Tower and free the resistance from its cruel oppression.

Fast paced gameplay will encourage razor sharp focus and split second calculation to fluidly transition from defense to offense and vice versa. Ghostrunner will test the player’s ability to act and react instantaneously to succeed in this high speed action platformer. Played in the first person perspective, Ghostrunner feels satisfyingly fast.

Architect of destruction

The story wastes little time putting players in the role of the mysterious Ghostrunner who lacks recollection of his own identity and purpose. Quickly greeted by the disembodied voice of an AI that refers to itself as the Architect, the Ghostrunner’s mission is simple – ascend Dharma Tower, home to the last remnants of humanity, to liberate the Architect and dethrone the maniacal Keymaster Mara, thus freeing what few people remain in her clutches.

Having created and ruled Dharma Tower, as well as creating the supersoldier-like Ghostrunners prior to his betrayal by Mara which saw the termination of all other remaining Ghosturnners, the Architect serves to guide the Ghostrunner throughout the remainder of the journey. The Architect also teaches the Ghostrunner new abilities through training simulations in the remnants of the Cybervoid, the digital network that once connected the Dharma towers and now is primarily used to support his artificial intelligence-like state.

Referred to as Climbers, the resistance group rebelling against Mara, are revealed to have found and repaired Ghostrunner whom they referred to as Jack. Zoe, one of the few remaining Climbers, also provides support and guidance for a portion of the story.

The story unfolds fairly predictably unfortunately with the biggest twist feeling obvious early on. Despite this, the overall narrative is rather clever and full of hope and sacrifice. While the ending may feel a little cheap, the impact of the story once fully realised is satisfying. Unfortunately, character interactions throughout the 6-8 hour story, skill dependent, are limited mostly to conversations in the Ghostrunner’s head via direct communication links to the Architect, Zoe and Mara. A lack of traditional cutscenes restricts the narrative’s ability to fell more fleshed out, particularly in regards to the emotion of the extremely small cast.

Life on the edge of a sword

A singular weapon is used to dispose of the Ghostrunner’s enemies, a sword. As opposed to simply hacking and slashing through the enemies, single precision strikes are required to succeed. Alternate sword appearances can be found hidden throughout the levels to provide a cosmetic change only.

Most enemies have ranged weapons and as a single hit will kill the Ghostrunner. extreme care must be taken to avoid every shot. With precision, the shot can be stopped with a sword strike and this particular skill will require some practice to master. With a specific upgrade, this carefully timed shot can actually deflect the bullet back at its sender.

As with the Ghostrunner himself, each enemy will be killed after one hit. Getting close enough for the kill will require running, sliding, jumping and wall running. Mastering the blend of mobility, offence and defence is critical to survival. Death will occur regularly and with each failure will come experience in how best to tackle a variety of situations and hopefully reduce the number of deaths in later levels, each of which records the run with the least deaths and time taken to complete.

To be a Ghostrunner

While armed with only a sword, the Ghostrunner has additional tools at his disposal to defeat those who stand against him. Beginning with Sensory Boost, the Ghostrunner is able to slow time for a short duration and strafe, before releasing and lunging forward. This can be used to attack or evade. 4 additional abilities are obtained with story progression via training simulations in the fractured Cybervoid with the guidance of the Architect.

The Cybervoid sequences are heavily puzzle based, starting as simple as collecting a number of orbs to expanding into labrynthian mazes that can easily turn the player around. These sequences, despite the benefit of the new ability obtained at the end, are the most tedious and least enjoyable. While the narrative purposes are justified, the gameplay aspect feels disconnected, slowing the break neck pace of the actual missions.

All 4 of the abilities learned are fun to use and can be activated with offensive or defensive intent and can be toggled between with the D-Pad. A meter must be filled before the abilities can be used which occurs very slowly over time but fills faster with kills.

Combining these abilities, the sword and the parkour movement system effectively make for very satisfying and fast paced gameplay. Switching between combat to environmental traversal is seamless and enjoyable, becoming more so with mastery of the Ghostrunner’s skill set.

An upgrade system allows players to assign perks that benefit each of the 4 abilities as well as dash, deflect, skills and the map. These upgrades are assigned using a Tetris-like system, slotting the desired upgrades within the allotted grid. The grid expands automatically with story progression, allowing for further upgrades to be assigned. This is a fun and unique application system that does not feel out of place in the world of Ghostrunner.

Grim looks good

The cyberpunk theme works well in Ghostrunner from its dark and grungy architecture to its cool enemy design and flashes of vibrance. The environmental detail is excellent and some of the Cybervoid sequences look stunning. The music is upbeat and energetic, fueling the adrenaline rush of traversing the environment in and out of combat.

Live fast and die fast

Ghostrunner is both fun and frustrating, turning the trial and error approach into a challenge with its death counts and mission completion times. I died 1,452 times over the course of my first playthrough but the instantaneous respawn makes it so easy to simply try again. The blend of incredibly fast paced action and platforming is incredibly satisfying and despite a predictable story and the stakes never genuinely feeling like all of humanity is at stake, Ghostrunner is a unique experience that is an excellent blend of challenge and satisfaction in a world in ruins.

+ Fun action and platforming

+ Environmental detail is excellent

+ Interesting story

– The insta-kill can frustrate

– Lack of replayability

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: One More Level

Published by: All In! Games and 505 Games

Release Date: October 27 2020

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC

– Additional links –

For more of my reviews, click HERE.

To see this review and other content from my associates at BG4G, click HERE.

The post Ghostrunner Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

A surprisingly enjoyable and quirky platformer that puts its protagonist unwittingly into a bugs life. 

Quirky, weird and different are definitely some key words that come to mind when playing Metamorphosis but in the best of ways. Gregor Samsa finds himself waking unknowingly in the body of a bug. With no rhyme or reason behind the transformation, Gregor’s discovery of his newfound body is humourously uncovered through the games introductory tutorial. Gregor will have to apply these techniques and “think outside the box” in order to navigate the seemingly gargantuan new world he once called home from the tiny first person lens of a bug. Light puzzle solving and platforming keep this adventure from being a straight forward affair in the result is a joyful experience of paving a road to redemption. 

The story focuses for the most part on an upcoming trial for Gregor’s best friend, Josef, unashamedly human. The player, as Gregor, is unable to communicate with Josef despite being almost literally a fly on the wall to some very stern dialogue between Josef and a handful of other characters. English has been replaced with a very distorted bug language where brief shades of English escape his tongue, understandable for a singular word. This language delivery is cool, effective and different. The nature of Gregor’s, along with countless others, transformation into a bugs life is explained but to reveal how would be a disservice to the experience. 

Driving the narrative ever forward are the motivations, rules and regulations of the dictatorship like “business” referred to as Tower. Tower requires its bug servants to follow the rules to the letter, hiring them to serve their corporate purposes and offering promotions and ultimately the restoration of their humanity in exchange for their unwavering loyalty and services. Towards the end of the game the player is able to make a small number of choices that will determine which of two endings will be received. Chapter select allows for the alternate ending to be explored with ease after the approximately 4 hour story is over. 

The bug characters that populate this big little world are varying levels of rude, weird and in some cases just downright dirty. The personality they each display is often humorous but always interesting. Innuendo and implied dialogue are fun and unexpected inclusion but give them a purpose if for no reason other than a cheap laugh. Personalities aside, some of these characters are busy carrying stuff, dancing or running around, breathing life into the varied environments, all of which are stunningly hand painted. This unique approach to the art design is playfully beautiful, transforming a boring office into a labyrinth of obstacles to navigate and platform. What we as players in real life associate a desk to be is boring and messy, what we as Gregor see is mountains of books and paperwork, forks that act as ramps and the humans present in certain scenes seem like goliaths. The perspective of a bug turns a monotonous office or a simple gramophone into fully explorable playgrounds, populated by bugs doing bug stuff.

Leaning heavily into platforming, Gregor must carefully maintain balance across bridges and climb steep obstacles. Pencils, hair combs, and chair legs for instance comprise these treacherous bridges while piles of books, filing cabinets and record players are just a few examples of the mountainous obstacles to scale. By stepping into yellow or blue puddles of ink and clue, Gregor can stick to vertical surfaces to reach new heights and progress. A limited number of droplets are represented on the HUD to display how long this type of climbing will last, dropping to the surface below if it runs out. Jumping on levers and handles will activate things while locking in place on a rotary object will allow it to be spun, required for various puzzles such as opening and charging things. What I refer to as Bugs Eye View can be accessed by the B button, showing a top down view of the surrounding area and highlighting points of interest in order to progress. The players trail is also visible, distinguishable by a string of white dots wherever the player has explored. Accessing this view also reminds players of their current objective. 

The visual aesthetic is charming, the hand painted environments coupled with the larger than life perspective of the world through the eyes of a big compliment each other wonderfully. The sound design is cool, with the players’ footsteps scratching along every surface, the nonsensical bug dialect that is spoken and the choice of music bring levity to the dire situation of waking as a bug. 

The overall presentation oozes charm and buggy goodness, the platforming is fun but challenging at times and the humour present through interaction with the other bugs enriches the exploration and some conversations in particular feel especially rewarding and worth the interaction. To see everyday items as massive obstacles never ceases to feel any less wondrous and invites the imagination of the player to question how the particular situation needs to be handled. Ovid Works have brought a wonderful world to life with Metamorphosis and the surprisingly meaningful message and story that is told is one worth experiencing.  

Final Verdict: 

+ Stunning hand painted environments 

+ The perspective of a bug makes everything seem grand in scope and scale 

+ Fun and simple platforming 

– Gameplay mechanics are too safe and limited 

– Lacking in danger outside of environmental hazards 

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: Ovid Works 

Published by: All In! Games 

Release Date: August 12 2020 

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC 

The post Metamorphosis Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.