Ova Magica has had significant attention directed toward it since then from multiple locations. These include being spotlighted in an edition of the 2022 PC Gaming Show thanks to its publisher, Top Hat Studios, Inc.

After much hard work, the team presented its extensive demo ahead of its July Early Access launch. This demo features 4-5+ hours of content. The game is scheduled to launch into Early Access on July 23rd. You can view the announcement trailer for the game’s upcoming launch below, which debuted in Top Hat Studios’s publisher spotlight in Guerilla Collective.

The goal of Ova Magica is to combine the charm of classic genres with new, modern and intuitive twists on staple mechanics. After moving to take care of a farmstead in the aforementioned quaint little hamlet Clover Town, you’re introduced to something that changes your life forever: Blobs! Blobs are cute, wobbly, and rotund creatures which hatch from eggs. Treat them with care and they can become your greatest companions!

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This remake will be entirely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 by Ballistic Moon. Improved animations and environments should add to the thrills and chills of the Until Dawn experience. The inconsistent frame rate of the PS4 version should be amended here as well, making for the definitive way to experience Until Dawn. 

An Autumn release window will hopefully mean that this title will be available for the Halloween season. I mean, that makes sense right? Combined with an upcoming film adaptation it’s clear that Sony have high hopes for this horror series, so hopefully a new game will follow at some point. For now, like the best horror films, let’s look forward to revisiting this.

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Who among us isn’t a fan of the amazingly well-known films about Tad the Lost Explorer? What do you mean you’ve never heard of him? Well, you wouldn’t be the only one. Apparently, Tad the Lost Explorer is a very popular cartoon, especially in Spain, and has spawned 3 feature films.

The titular character Tad is a hapless, bumbling adventurer who has aspirations to become like Indiana Jones but acts more like Mr. Bean. He gets into various scrapes and mischief in his quests to find precious artefacts and along with his friends travel the world in search of adventure.

As you would expect this game is more aimed towards children who would be the target demographic for the cartoon franchise.

Choose your Adventure

So what kind of game is it? Tad the Lost Explorer is a 2.5D sidescrolling platformer, much in the style of Crash Bandicoot and others of that style. You are in control of Tad (sometimes his sidekicks) and are tasked to run and jump across various platforms and obstacles, picking up collectables and avoiding traps and enemies. In order to vanquish your foes, you use the age-old tried and tested method of throwing rubber chickens at them. Yeah. Really.

Despite the simplicity at the heart of the game, there is plenty of variety in the platforming sections and there is a different feel to the locations throughout. A nice touch is the different set pieces that take you away briefly from platforming. There are boss fights and vehicle sections which are a nice reprieve from the run/jump/collect levels.

As I mentioned earlier, you get to change characters at certain points in the game. Each character has their own unique abilities such as stealth, double jump etc. Apart from these little tweaks, they all handle pretty similarly.

A Tad Annoying

Speaking of handling, this is the first of my gripes with the game. In order for a platformer to be enjoyable, the bare minimum you would expect is for the jumping mechanic to be tight. Sadly, this game suffers from floaty jump syndrome. The jumping doesn’t feel right and it can be tough to gauge the distances. It’s not so bad that it’s a deal-breaker, but it can be exceptionally frustrating. It is exacerbated by the fact that the game has a one-hit kill mechanic.

Even though the frustration is real, there is not a real sense of peril when you face these problems. This is due to the fact that the checkpoints are very frequent, meaning that when you die (and you will die), it isn’t much of a hindrance. When you respawn, you are only fractionally moved back from where you met your demise.

Lost in Translation

Tad the Lost Explorer is not aimed towards the seasoned gamer. It is a game aimed primarily towards children. That means that the game isn’t much of a challenge outside of the control issues. The puzzles aren’t exactly taxing and manage to avoid being annoying for the most part. The graphics are fine and are faithful to the source material. It’s vibrant and colourful and looks good. It isn’t perfect and the Switch suffers sometimes from slowdown very occasionally, and the loading times are a little excessive but it’s graphically more than acceptable.

The story is driven through a mix of cut scenes and dialogue pop-ups. The story can sometimes make no sense. This could be due to the fact that I am not familiar with the films but sometimes it isn’t clear of the motivations of the characters. But to be fair, if you are expecting award-winning story-telling from a game based on a Spanish cartoon, that’s on you.

Is it a treasure?

Did I enjoy this game? Probably not. Is this a bad game? Definitely not. It is a capable platformer that is aimed towards a younger audience. It will keep them amused even if they aren’t fans of the franchise. If they are fans of the films, they will love it.

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Available now, as part of Season Pass Two (priced £24.99/$29.99/€29.99), or as a separate purchase for £8.99/€9.99/$9.99, Saboteur includes the Type 1 TERA. This provides a rapid rate of fire with good accuracy thanks to its low levels of recoil. Featuring a folding stock for improved portability, the TERA is incredibly fast to equip and aim down the sight.

Players will also receive the Grease Gun, an SMG with great mobility that is very easy to control, even under sustained firing, thanks to its low rate of fire and recoil. Despite its low muzzle velocity, the stability and control on offer make it a solid choice for slightly longer-ranged combat encounters.

Finally, the Liberator Skin celebrates the liberation of Paris. Karl can now sport a classic French Resistance appearance complete with the signature armband.

That’s not all folks

The new Rhine Crossing No Cross is available now and is free to all players. Based on the battle of Remagen at the Ludendorff Bridge in Germany, the new map is set at night and the iconic towers on the collapsed bridge offer the highest vantage points on either side of the no-cross zone. With diagonal sightlines across the corners of the map and cover offered by the remains of the bridge, players will have to be at their stealthy best and make use of the dark to prevail.

To keep up to date with all the latest Sniper Elite 5 news please visit the official site.

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Jade’s Nostalgia Game

Although I’ve been gaming on and off since I was a little kid, I didn’t actually own my own gaming platform till 2007. I was 10 at the time. My mammy bought my a pink Nintendo DS Lite and two games to go with it. Nintendogs: Dalmatians and Friends and Pokémon Diamond. Nintendogs lost its charm for me after I let my cousin borrow it and she gave my first dog away. She tried to cover it up by getting another Dalmatian that looked nothing like my original one. RIP Pippy, you were a good virtual dog. But I still have my original copy of Pokémon Diamond.

When I was 10, I had a bed time of around 9pm. But I didn’t really listen, which my mam knew well. She never enforced it too hard, because I stayed on top of all my homework and did well in school. Every night consisted of two things for me. I would Who Wants to Be A Millionaire with my grandad at 10pm. And afterwards, I’d hide under my bed covers to play Pokémon. I thought I was so clever, getting away with all of this. In truth, mammy didn’t mind, because I was happy. Thinking back on all of this makes me smile, but also brings a tear to my eye. That’s why I chose it for my nostalgia moment. It was a simple routine, in a simple time. Sometimes I’d even play Pokémon while Grandad and I were watching TV. Only on the ad breaks though.

Those memories are why to this day, Pokémon still holds a special place in my heart. Even now, as an adult, I find myself curling up under the covers to play. The only difference is now, I usually go on rambles to mammy about the different aspects of the game.

Graham’s Nostalgia Game

When I think back to the games that I have nostalgic thoughts about most go to Final Fantasy VII. However, that is simply too vanilla. I’d like to try and stretch my wings and go for something a little more off the beaten track. This is where I come to Tombi! (or Tomba! If you’re everywhere else). Tombi! Is one of those bizarre games. It has bizarre gameplay within an even more bizarre world filled with bonkers characters. 

I remember going to my local Xtra-vision and getting to rent out this game. I was a young lad and had only recently gotten my PlayStation. So, when I played it I couldn’t believe the ridiculous nature barely contained within this 2D platformer. After a two-day renting period (I was only nine at the time) I was hooked. I needed desperately to finish this game. I needed to save this realm from the seven evil pigs and their nefarious schemes. Honestly, it was a simple premise. Seven evil pigs take over a land and warp it and its inhabitants for pleasure. I loved it, mainly due to its eccentric graphical style and the electric oddball characters I interacted with. 

As a kid with little pocket money, it took several returns to Xtra-vision to finally finish it. It was a wonderful experience and one I come back to in my elder years as I bought the game on the digital store. There would be a sequel years later but the less spoken about that game the better.

Lewis’s Nostalgia Game

Nostalgia comes in many forms. For some it’s the glow and low hum of a large CRT TV as they played Adventure or Space Invaders on their Atari 2600. For others, it’s the audio hotpot of ingredients that include arcade cabinets attract modes, multiple conversations of patrons in the arcade and click of buttons as games are played with each 50p.

The 1980s are nostalgic. It’s been forty two years since the birth of the 80’s, so it fits the bill these days. But the 80’s was also nostalgic twenty years ago too. In 2002 to be exact and the year in reference to said nostalgia being 1986.

“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” was a planned DLC turned sequel to Rockstar Games smash hit “Grand Theft Auto III”. This time, taking place in the fictional city of Vice City, based on real life’s Miami, Florida. Vice City follows Tommy Vercetti as he finishes a fifteen year prison sentence for the Forrelli Family and is instantly sent down South to expand their criminal empire. The player guides Tommy through a drug deal gone wrong, all the way up the criminal ladder becoming the Kingpin of Vice City, rubbing shoulders with politicians, celebrities and other local gang leaders along the way.

The then new and fresh GTA blueprint is expanded on in this game. While it can be hard to play these days with muscle memory from the standard optimized controls, the game is still a joy to play and enjoy.

Vice City introduced so many new and fun mechanics while improving on others. “Bro, you can drive bikes in this one!!” Was a taking point in school leading up to release. Rockstar Games knew this too, using one of the five screenshot spaces on the back of the box to showcase Tommy on a PCJ-600 motorbike. A cast of amazing actors fill the roles of our characters, including the first ever voiced GTA protagonist voiced by the late Ray Liotta. And while the cast is great, the stand out feature of this game and the main reasoning behind my nostalgia is the soundtrack. Vice City has hands down the best soundtrack of all time. A mixture of all time greatest hits, one hit wonders, pop, rock, synth and more.

The soundtrack to Vice City always brings me back to being 12 years old, discovering this new genre and era of music, buying physical CD’s of the soundtracks of each in-game radio station (I still have them today!) and blossoming a love of favorite 80s pop and synthwave music.
Celebrating 20 years since its release in October, Vice City is now older than the amount of years set between the date VC is set during and the games release date.
This is my second all time favourite game ever. The colours, sounds, people, vehicles, secrets and Easter eggs are forever engraved into my memory and never grow stale.
I have nostalgia for the 80’s, which is strange seeing as I was born in the 90s. The music of Vice City is the reason behind it.

Niall’s Nostalgia Game

Oh nostalgia. Perhaps the dirtiest word that isn’t technically a slur or cuss. A concept usually weaponised against modern consumers, not really related to what the good times were like, more about how you incorrectly remember them. That said, once you’ve been a gaming enthusiast for long enough you too will eventually feel the pangs of damnable nostalgia for games that influenced you, moved you, games with aspects that are all but extinct from the modern gaming environment. Yes, nostalgia may be a filthy thing but when have we at GamEir ever shied away from being dirty little piggies? 

My own choice would have to be my formative introduction to Super Mario 64. I came to this incredibly influential title quite late, around midway into the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era, my older brother having borrowed a Nintendo 64 from our neighbour. I had become accustomed to the sloppier Playstation platformers so to play a title with such incredible precision, responsiveness and sense of joy at the simple act of movement was a revelation. The gardens of Peach’s Castle are the ultimate tutorial area, you could spend half an hour before even entering the hallowed halls just jumping around, swimming, climbing trees: in a way it captured the joy of childhood exploration albeit in the form of a middle-aged Italian man somersaulting. 

This joy would extend to the levels themselves. Finding out you can enter an ancient pyramid, ride a flying boat across a rainbow, meet the Loch Ness monster – the game never ceases to surprise. Amazing gimmicks such as affecting the water height of a world, secret levels hidden in walls and the tiny and huge variations of uh, Tiny-Huge Island are so playful and brilliant that it’s unbelievable to think how brilliantly they nailed the 3D platformer formula on the first go. 

Replaying this on its Switch rerelease highlighted both how it has aged quite gracefully but also how much can still be learned from it. The sublime Mario Odyssey was a great spiritual successor, one I hope receives a follow up sooner than later. 64 changed my perception of what a game could be and it’s the hunt to feel that again that keeps me playing. 

A Final Note

We’re coming into a season where we all feel a little more down. Be it the pressures of the outside world, or the lack of snow, ‘tis the season. So, tell us about your own favourite memories. Let us know on our social media pages, or comment down below and tell us. But most importantly, please be kind to yourself. Don’t forget to eat, and to hydrate. You’re killing it out there. Thank you for reading about us weirdos.

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Destroyer of Worlds, written by critically acclaimed sci-fi author Andrew E.C. Gaska, lets players take the role of an iconic type of character from the ALIEN universe: the Colonial Marine. A team of Colonial Marines get dropped onto the moon Ariaricus to handle a growing insurgency, but soon find themselves fighting for their lives against enemies beyond their worst nightmares. Priced at $29.99, the ALIEN Destroyer of Worlds Cinematic scenario comes in a boxed set, including maps, handouts, and cards for a fully immersive tabletop experience.

The ALIEN RPG Starter Set is designed to be the perfect entry point into the game and the ALIEN universe. Affordably priced at $49.99, it contains everything needed to start playing, including an abridged 104-page softcover quickstart of the core rules, 20 custom dice, reference cards, character handouts, a huge star map, and the complete Cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods, also penned by Gaska.

Free League Publishing is an excellent team that put a lot into every one of their pieces of work. This looks like it will be no exception.

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What we know so far

Coming from the combined efforts of Adult Swim Games and Soleil, a new Samurai Jack game entitled Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is expected to hit shelves later this year, however, no release date has been confirmed. Developers are aiming for a summer release for the game, and it will be available across Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. 

Darrick Bachman, head writer for the series, is overseeing both the story and script, with the series original creator Genndy Tartakovsky also getting involved in the new iteration. More information is expected to be revealed later this week during the Adult Swim panel at PAX East.  

Personal thoughts

As someone who grew up in what I still think was the golden age of “modern” cartoons (can’t beat the oldies from the sixties/seventies), I am very excited to see this game coming to fruition. The early 2000s were a fantastic time for cartoons, especially with channels like Boomerang and Cartoon Network.

Even if I don’t remember all the details (I was a very tiny human back then), I still remember every show that made me laugh and resonated with me. Samurai Jack was one of them, and I cannot wait for this game to drop so I can get my hands on it! I cannot wait to be hit with all the nostalgic feelings of growing up with Cartoon Network!

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Learn why Revenant’s sights are set on the major robotics manufacturing company in the Stories from the Outlands episode and Apex Legends Season 4 – Assimilation – launch trailer. Check it out below.

Launching on February 4th (tomorrow), Revenant won’t be the only new addition in Apex Legends. Hammond Robotics worksites have emerged on World’s Edge, along with the Sentinel, a new bolt-action sniper rifle and all-new Battle Pass featuring more than 100 exclusive items including Legendary skins, Apex Packs, Loading Screens, Music Packs and more.

For Apex Legends most competitive players, Respawn recently announced Ranked Series 3 which will include new six-week splits, a new Master Tier (featuring the top 500 players by platform) and more.

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While the results show significant progress in working conditions and suggest developers are better able to support families alongside a game industry career, other data suggests there is still room for improvement in areas including enforcement of anti-discrimination policies and factors influencing negative perceptions of the industry.

Metrics regarding working conditions show marked improvement over a two year period, according to the 2019 Developer Satisfaction Survey (DSS) conducted by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Data surrounding families and wages suggest game developers feel supported enough to stay in the industry for longer while providing for children. Meanwhile, more companies have instituted anti-discrimination policies and crunch is on the decline.

However, other data suggests there is still room for further improvement, including lack of enforcement of anti-discrimination policies and many other factors that negatively affect the perception of the games industry.

Some key findings follow:

Careers and Families

• The number of respondents with children rose 6% in 2019 DSS (35% in total, up from 29% in 2017), and an overall increase in the age of game developers
• Additionally, 65% of respondents reported making over $50k per year, up 11% from 54% in 2017.

Crunch Reports from Respondents

• Job involves crunch time: 41% in 2019, down 10% from 51% in 2017.
• Works long or extended hours not classified as crunch: 35% in 2019, down 9% from 44% in 2017.
• Crunch is expected at their workplace: 42% in 2019, down 11% from 53% in 2017.

Presence of Anti-Discrimination Policies in the Workplace

• General non-discrimination policy: 71% in 2019, up 14% from 57% in 2017.
• Equal opportunity hiring policy: 61% in 2019, up 12% from 49% in 2017.
• Sexual harassment policy: 64% in 2019, up 16% from 48% in 2017.
• Fifty-nine percent of respondents felt these policies were not adequately enforced, with another 31% unsure; in the 2017 DSS, those figures were 56% and 34% respectively.
• Over half (57%) of respondents felt the diversity of the industry had increased in the past two years, up 15% from 42% in 2017.

Factors Believed to Negatively Influence the Perception of the Game Industry

• Poor working conditions: 73% in 2019, up 19% from 54% in 2017.
• Sexism among gamers: 72% in 2019, up 15% from 57% in 2017.
• Racism among gamers: 55% in 2019, up 15% from 40% in 2017.
• Sexism in the workforce: 54% in 2019, up 15% from 39% in 2017.
• Lack of overall diversity: 49% in 2019, up 11% from 38% in 2017.
• Racism in the workforce: 29% in 2019, up 12% from 17% in 2017.

Most Desirable Companies to Work For

• In 2019, the top companies people want to work for are Nintendo (10%), My Own Studio (6%), Ubisoft (6%), Blizzard (5%), Naughty Dog (3%), and Valve (3%)
• In 2017, the top companies were Blizzard (8%), Valve (6%), Nintendo (4%), and Bethesda (4%)

“The 2019 DSS results carry an empowering message: our industry on the right track, said Renee Gittins, executive director, IGDA. We’re seeing significant leaps in just two years time, but issues like unenforced anti-discrimination policies show we still have more work to do. The IGDA will use these results as a guide to continue our work to provide resources to help game developers all over the world have successful and – more importantly – sustainable careers.”

The full 2019 DSS Summary Report is available here, along with other recent DSS Summary Reports.

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I have to be honest I wish I had something like this as a young gamer lad. Those smiles are priceless and the idea of gaming when I was a child with all these goodies would have been awesome.

Click to view slideshow.

“2019 has been amazing & we couldn’t have done it without all of you. For all the people that have already had us at a event & to all the people we have booked and are yet to book, We can’t wait”

What’s Coming In 2020 with Next Level Gaming

The team are always looking to improve on what they offer and although all the below may not be available yet (we’re very excited), they will be throughout the year. Don’t hesitate to ask or reach out about any of their products or services. They’re here to help

• NLG Sweet Factory – Available Pick a Mix for all events (Currently offering €2.50 sweet bags as an add-on)
• Playstation VR – PSVR will be available soon
• Merchandise – Available Now
• Facepainting – Facepainting will become an add-on service for any event
• Mario & Sonic Mascots – Available Now
• PS5 & Xbox X Series – Available On Release
• Photobooth – available for Weddings & Events
• 2nd Van – Coming May 2020

And more yet to be announced

Be sure to check out the website to learn more about Next Level Gaming. They are clearly a level ahead of everyone else (quite proud of that one).

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