QCF: Chariot

he concept of royalty truly is a fascinating distinction within humanity’s self-imposed hierarchy over the years. The prestige and responsibility it demands is a balance of finesse and leadership that’s equally important to both sides of the crown—even when that crown might rest upon the head of a self-absorbed, entitled narcissist.

Enter Chariot; a grand mission of tribute to the fallen king, undertaken by his two most loyal retainers, as they drag and push their majesty’s wagon-eered coffin, towards the perfect resting ground for burial so that the matriarch may finally move on to the afterlife.

While the whole thing may sound like a glorified escort mission at first impression, the reality is a delightfully heartwarming test of wits and resilience against the law of physics against a lump on wheels that’s essentially an out-of-body extension of you and your buddy’s skills and abilities—with an added test of friendship thrown in for good measure.

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Bullet Heaven HD, Episode 116 - Alltynex Second

ith the rest of the Tale of Alltynex Trilogy now up on Steam, it's finally time to take a look at the games preceding and following the events of RefleX, which we took a look at in episode 96 of Bullet Heaven HD! Alltynex Second is a 2010 Prequel to the events of Reflex. With a decade of time under its belt from the release of Kamui in 1999, how does it fare?

***GET ALLTYNEX SECOND ON STEAM!***

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QCF: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

t’s strange just how infrequent this particular passing trend has fluctuated within the last two decades of modern pop-culture—the fad I’m talking about here is the vulgar, off-color, wildly gross and trashy gore-porn art style that’s swept the new age of cartoons and animation. Whether it was John K’s Ren and Stimpy or MTV’s The Head, the 90’s pioneered an interest into all things crass and disgusting, and even though the direction has been hit or miss as the years have gone by, one particular video game visionary has taken this niche and ran with it.

Off the heels of Super Meat Boy, revered indie darling Edmund McMillen unleased his liberal adaption of one of the most infamous passing’s from ancient biblical scripture, and much to the same vein, it was grueling spin on the rogue-like formula. While it possessed a degree of his trademark charm and style, The Binding of Isaac was ultimately, a rough mess that was held back from too many issues that kept it from going the same kind of distance that its platforming counterpart did.

Three years later though, and it would appear that Headup Games has given its controversial property a second wind, and whether or not this may potentially be your second field trip to the unholy depths of Isaac’s basement—The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth does everything a rerelease should do. In fact, it’s easily the most definitive means of experiencing the strange madness it has to that this top-down dungeon crawler has to offer.

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QCF: Neverending Nightmares

reating a scary video game that's able to not only strike fear into the heart of its players, but subsequently dose them with the adrenaline needed to carry on, can be summed up into being one of the hardest no-brainer endeavors ever attempted within the media, to this very day.

The token element of the package any self-respecting thriller and horror schemed system strives to deliver, is the relationship of interaction with the player themselves.

Every role, from the blood curdling scenery, down to the unsettling instances of terror that haunt you every step of the way, are just a few of the several dealings fueled by the moment-to-moment  bread and butter frenzy, and what to expect out of the ordeal.

Although most developers are ostensibly aware of the importance behind these factors and the respective dynamics of gameplay involved, what sets the memorably traumatic games apart from the cheesy snore-fests, or frustratingly cheap gore-porn, is the calculation regarding the finer points of the scary essentials to the experience itself. The all hinging on the immaculate sense of pacing responsible for the perpetual balancing act in charge of the infrequent, yet engaging moments of agency, and the exchange of horrifying downfalls into helplessness in between them.

Infinitap's Neverending Nightmare is one of the few games of this generation, that manages to effectively nail down every nuance of the immersive horror dogma, developed with a sense of passion for the craft that's capable of leaving behind a few trembles in your hand-even after the screen has moved on to something else.

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QCF: Styx: Master of Shadows

emember when Assassin’s Creed was marketed towards the thrill of eliminating your foes from the shadows? Sneaking to every target, stealthily moving around as if you were invisible to the naked eye, allowing your enemies only a second of reaction to your presence before it was too late for them to do anything about it—yeah, after seven years running, that shit is practically gone now.

Honestly, aside from the exception of Ground Zeroes, third-person stealth affairs are barely even a thing in games now, but before all hope of finding that great new game of “killing them softly” was lost, along came a little title by the name of Styx: Master of Shadows.

Now, mind you, the last time I loaded in software that was developed by Cyanide Studio, it was that licensed Game of Thrones game back in 2012; so yeah, my hopes were significantly tempered at first impression. It wasn’t long until after I metastasized a gross little clone doppelganger of myself, only so that I could send it running off, distracting all the meddlesome guards in my way as a decoy, that I realized, second chances are real, and this Next-Gen stealth adventure is living proof.

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QCF: Freedom Planet

ey there, I'm sure I can ask you all a question right—do you like Sonic the Hedgehog? Me too, and apparently so do the developers over at GalaxyTrail. Unlike most games that take influence from other IP's, Freedom Planet doesn't do anything to try to hide it, in fact, it displays it's love for the sonic franchise loudly and proudly.

The game really feels like a spiritual successor of sorts, which is great considering Sega managed to drive their own franchise into the ground. Although this game borrows a lot from classic Sonic's gameplay, it has its own unique flare and tone.

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QCF: Lifeless Planet

hile I'm not much for a game that is too expansive with a bajillion things to collect, I am rather into the kinds of games that have a great sense of exploration. Games that present a world that makes me go, “huh, I sure wish I could visit this place in real life.” I had seen previews of Lifeless Planet and it instantly got me thinking. “What is this world? Why is there a small house on the edge of a massive crater?

Why no trees? What's with the desert? Does this guy really need a space suit?” All of these questions and more are answered through an incredible, story driven action-platformer-lite presentation with heavy emphasis on exploring a world strikingly similar to ours if it were, you know, lifeless.

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QCF: Knightmare Tower

nfinite runners are a genre that has sprung up mostly on mobile devices, easily using touch interface to manipulate specific, simple actions to get as far as possible. There's no denying that Jetpack Joyride is the clear trendsetter here, and an addictive one at that. However, what if you're tired of Barry Steakfries' antics? Enter Knightmare Tower.

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