Kowi Ishto: Battle of Akonoli
*** RE-REVIEW UPDATE ON JULY 3, 2021 ***
The developer reached out to me via email and asked me to re-review this game after his updates and “big update 3.0”, so I decided to give his game another chance considering the number of updates this game has seen since my first review more than a year ago…
This video shows my reactions to the current state of this game on July 3rd of 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJuxnSS8ZxM
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1980s Retro Games.
In all honesty and good faith I cannot recommend this game, as I didn’t enjoy it at all, and I believe that even for a tenth of its price you could buy a better game.
If you want you can watch my first impression and some considerations regarding the game and the studio (one man team) in the following video.
I think everyone should also take into consideration the statement released by the developer on June 22nd, date that follows the production of my video, where I point out things that were then addressed by Cenokga in the following statement: https://cenokga.com/my-experience-after-first-game-release-a-letter-from-the-developer/
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Slayaway Camp
Total impulse buy. The game was on sale for cheap and I didn’t even finish reading the description. Probably not the best method of purchasing a game,, but I lucked out.
This is a puzzle game. Now, I normally don’t play puzzle games, so I don’t have the biggest library of game knowledge to compare this to, but it reminds me of a cross between Hitman Go and one of those flash games where you try to get the car out of a parking lot, or into a certain spot in a parking lot, etc.,. Each level is a static checkerboard, and pressing in any direction will send your character, the murderer, as far in that direction as he can possibly go. The result is that you have to shift your character around using the level layout in order to reach some harder to get to squares. The game teaches you the mechanics in the beginning tutorial and then gradually ramps up the difficulty as you progress, adding more enviromental factors and different types of NPCs.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1980s Puzzle Games.
This might just be one of my favorite puzzle games of recent times. Something about the 80’s horror movie vibe and voxel character gore has a lot of charm to it. In a way this is like the Broforce of puzzle games, and by that I mean, being able to play all of these classic villians, monsters, and creatures from your favorite horror films and slasher flicks instead of action movies. The humor of this game is spot on with the cheesiness of 80’s slashers, and almost everything is a comedic homage to them or other well known horror movies.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
Stereo Aereo
Stereo Aereo is a Guitar Hero ripoff where you control a car that has to skip between lanes of traffic (making it appear more like an endless runner), which somehow is how the developers think music is made.
It’s not very expensive and it plays okay (although the menu is almost impossible to navigate if you own a HOTAS or racing wheel because the devs didn’t bother testing the game on PC). The problem is that it’s just not as good as Guitar Hero, or any other music/rhythm game. So just play one of those if that’s your thing.
– Real player with 35.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1980s Retro Games.
So if you’re into games like guitar hero or rock band then you will more than likely enjoy this, it’s just a lot smaller.
It’s not an amazing masterpiece but it’s a simple easy to play indie arcade game, it challenges your reaction skills and puts your rage meter to the test, but it is fun with a cool 80s soundtrack that keeps you rocking.
Graphics
No problems graphics wise, the cutscenes are cartoony and the gameplay looks great and all blend in nicely together to give it that retro space look from the 80s
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
Dave-Man
A simple story about a simple man, that just wants his everyday routine not to be ruined. A story, that many of us could tell.
Once you’ll start to play Dave, you will soon find out that there is a quite some background for this well made tribute to a Pac-man like games. I was simply amazed with the amount of all the dialogues, options, hidden jokes and obvious puns, all accompanied with great chiptune music. The music itself makes a huge work here as well, as many times I have just realized that I am humming the tones along with my head nodding to the rhythm.
– Real player with 7.9 hrs in game
Dave-Man is a charming retro-style game that taught me to despise anyone named Cathy! (for real, there is something very satisfying about getting caught out by her for the 15th time and exclaiming ‘GOSHDARNIT CATHY’ while smacking your desk).The gameplay is heckin fun, reminds me of my terrible attempts at Pac-Man when I was a wee lad but with cool extra stuff like online shopping and cats!!!The music is delightful, love the chiptune sound and it is there to comfort you when you inevitably get caught because you tried the hardest difficulty room.The end of a run is a really nice touch too, I won’t spoil it but it made me genuinely laugh.Overall I’d super recommend, and honestly it’s a steal for the price. It’s cheaper than a coffee from Costbucks for Christ’s sake and it comes with janitorial friendship!!
– Real player with 2.7 hrs in game
F.I.S.H.
It’s good! It’s fun, charming, and pretty funny. The core game play is challenging but very satisfying, the music is catchy and spaghetti night was just something else.
The game can sometimes be a bit unfair with at times with its unpredictable cues. Levels like “Um…”, “1 Tuna” and “Quiet!” are funny, but they’re not much more than silly jokes and are the weakest part of this game.
That’s where my complaints about the game end though, as this game really shines with the really good levels it has, that thankfully make up the majority of the package. Highlights include “Exit 404”, “Onion Canion”, “Swordfish-Sailfish Speedway”, “Barra2da”, “Starfish” and the new extra level “Spaghetti Speedway” which features vocals.
– Real player with 37.3 hrs in game
Amateur reviewer.
From the composer of such albums as Garlic Elevator, Fish Factory, and [CLASSIFIED], as well as a great surreal meme artist, this game is about as much as I expected from such a person. The moment I launched the game I just wanted to sit around and vibe for hours to the title screen music. All the tracks from 01-13 (level 13 I’m stuck on, but believe me, the title sums it up quite well. No further spoilers!) are also amazing. The timing of the fish is enough to make me want to take a moment sometimes, but hey, isn’t that like all rhythm games?
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game
Professor Crackbrain - And the awakening of the weredog
Professor Crackbrain is about to finish his evil experiment.
Creating a beast so vicious that the world lives in fear and terror. A Weredog!
The last missing ingredient to awake the Weredog is … a dog.
Jay, his dog Bobby and his friends Jerry and Mike having a good time at the playground. But things are changing quickly, when Professor Crackbrain’s assistant Rogy shows up to kidnap Bobby.
Immediately, Jay, Jerry and Mike forge out a plan to sneak into the Crackbrain Mansion and come to the rescue of Bobby.
Professor Crackbrain - and the awakening of the weredog is a classic point & click adventure game full of nostalgic allusions, pixelish puzzles and chiptunish music.
What others say about the game:
“Can you please stop programming and spend some time with me and the kids” - my wife
“Looks like you couldn’t afford a photoshop license so you did pixel art, right?" - my brother
Features:
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Ultra high-res pixel art
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A unique chance to rescue a dog in an adventure game, instead of poisoning them. (But you may poison other animals in this game.)
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Finally you can sneak in a mansion again ;-)
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Three playable characters - Jay, Mike & Jerry
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Chiptune soundtrack
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Littered with allusions and eastereggs
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“At least one joke will land” guarantee
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German & English language support
Cast (Voice Actors):
Professor Crackbrain - Leigh Harvey
Rogy - Leigh Harvey
Surveiling Officer - Leigh Harvey
Mom - Vivian Reed
others - AI for now
Android
Android is a 2D platformer very similar to Brøderbund’s classic Lode Runner.
The goal is to guide an android around each level, collecting every bag of gold on the screen while avoiding roving enemies and collecting bonus fruit. As with Lode Runner, gameplay involves running, climbing, hanging, and dropping bombs in order to dig holes or trap enemies.
Online Scorings
Gamepad Support
Enjoy 5 worlds of 20 levels, 100 levels for hours of fun :
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Jungle
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Construction
Cat Box Paradox
Dead? Alive? Both?
Help Einstein the cat restore reality before his owners come home to a dangerously unstable alternate dimension.
In this fast paced retro platform game, you must think fast as you run, jump and swap colour, making your way through 8 floors of challenging and amusing colour changing mayhem.
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Features
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Unique colour changing gameplay
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Fast, fun and challenging experience
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Local 2 player co-op mode (Joypad required for player 2)
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Assist mode
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8-Bit retro inspired graphics & sound
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8 floors of varied level design
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Secret challenge levels to unlock
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Hats for cats!
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Cat puns galore!
Cold War Minister
You are one of the most powerful and influential people on Earth!
You are driven by the vision of establishing a world-class superpower led by one ruler.
As a result, you deal with significant influence, plenty of weight resting upon your shoulders, but powerful enemies, too.
So, how are you going to manage?
Keep your finger on the pulse thanks to many devices for recording and monitoring enemy movements. Options are many: sonar, radar, satellites, and scouts.
Take appropriate action to maintain your edge over your opponents.
Make use of your forces' potential and the assistance of your allies alike.
Manage your troops. You have a staff of generals, engineers, and seasoned operators ready to carry out your orders.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and war is no different. You have the means to get away from responsibilities and indulge in the pleasures your position offers like a true Russian!
Crossing Souls
Crossing Souls was such a weird experience. When I’ve seen the screenshots, I’ve fallen in love with the game. When I started playing, I loved the music, it’s really outstanding. But the more I played, the less I enjoyed.
Tehcnically the game is somewhat lacking. Weird control scheme with mouse and keyboard, no ability to rebind, and basically no visual settings. The game is played in a pseudo-3D environment with sprites, that makes depth perception hard at points. For platforming you need to check your shadow, and at points it’s just silly to jump over lasers. And it’s just simply horrible at the penultimate boss.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
I am not 100% sure why I feel the need to write a review for this game, but I do, do here it is.
The setting, theme, music, cutscenes, collectibles- all good. They very successfully capture the mid-80s aesthetic in a fun, tongue-in-cheek manner. I particularly like how the cutscences play like an old, slightly worn out VHS recording, complete with wear lines and slight audio skipping. The art style isn’t really to my liking, but it certainly fits the time period and all in all the feel of the game is great, and the major reason (besides stubborness) that I finished it.
– Real player with 12.3 hrs in game