Tekken 8’s release date is fast approaching. As well as the fast-paced brutal PvP fighting action, players can look forward to an all-new campaign, which will be a continuation of the Mishima bloodline saga that series veterans know and love.
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Independent Game
20.12.2023 - 19:05 / thesixthaxis.com / Best
What does it mean to be an indie developer? Well, the definition these days seems to about as broad the Action-Adventure genre. Games with all the hallmarks of an indie production can come from a small team within a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, from indie publishers that have brought developers in-house, and then we’ve seen independent developers build up and grow over the course of decades to the point that they can craft landmark, genre redefining RPGs.
Really it’s all about vibes and making a judgement call, but let’s just say that the games at the top of our list are absolutely indie games.
Dredge is unique concept – a rare find these days – and plays like a dream. Somehow it managed to combine the peaceful tranquility of fishing with Eldritch horror, with giant monsters roaming the seas and ghostly eyes peering from beyond. It does sound like it could be a mess, the game changing within seconds from being quiet and relaxing to a panic-filled race to safety, but it’s never scary enough to disturb the chilled out mood you settle in when playing for a few hours.
The game mashes up mini games, tall stories, Tetris, and fishing in a delighful hodge-podge of weirdness that can be explored at your own leisure. There’s no time limits, no area is off limits right from the start and you can float around at your own pace. Despite the H.P. Lovecraft inspirations, it’s also family friendly and a great game to watch someone else to play.
Dredge feels like one of those games that gets some great reviews, but that few people talk about. Well, clearly there are some secret Dredgers on the TSA team!
– Tuffcub
Sea of Stars, a love letter to the halcyon days of the very first RPGs, is a very good game. The passion that the devs at Sabotage Studios poured into this is almost palpable, going to great lengths to take a tried and tested formula and modernise it. After all, as cool as the old RPGs were, games have come a long way since the early 90s.
The result is a heavily playable game with morish visuals, a cracking story and deeply considered level design. While there are some flaws with the combat system, the overall result is spectacular and a must-play for fans of the genre.
– Nic B
In a year filled with more epic games and grand storylines, A Highland Song stands out as a more localised and intimate experience. While initially seeming like a departure from Inkle’s normal focus on games where narrative is at the forefront, it quickly becomes apparent that the entire mechanic of exploring the Scottish Highlands, scaling peaks, and identifying paths is an example of what is sometimes called psychogeography. The central character, Moira, is simultaneously running away from home and running towards a better sense of
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gamesindustry.biz
05.01.2024 / 16:01
Getting the most out of a games incubator
The early stages of running a new business is difficult, and this is no less true for game developers. Fortunately, there are programs and initiatives out there that can help give you and your new studio a leg up when it comes to overcoming the initial hurdles.
thesixthaxis.com
30.12.2023 / 21:07
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Xbox Game
For far too long, Xbox gamers have had to say to themselves “Next year. Next year’s going to be the big one” as they hope for platform defining exclusives. It’s no secret that Microsoft’s expanding collection of game studios have struggled to produce over the last few years, but 2023 was a year that changed that in some ways.
thesixthaxis.com
30.12.2023 / 21:05
Game of the Year 2023 – Best PlayStation Game
2023 was a huge year for PlayStation 5, with Sony finally able to cut loose and produce consoles without any of the constraints of the last few years. There’s now over 50 million PS5 consoles out in the wild, as they’ve taken a firm grasp of this generation, and then there’s the launch of the PlayStation VR 2 to hopefully rekindle their ambitions for virtual reality.
rockpapershotgun.com
28.12.2023 / 20:15
Steam's Best Of 2023 charts the year's best sellers and most played
Valve have put together their "Best Of 2023" lists on Steam. This is different from the Steam Awards, voting for which is ongoing, and instead is built from Steam data like revenue, peak concurrent players, and so on. It's interesting every year as older games or indie obscurities do better than you expect.
thesixthaxis.com
28.12.2023 / 17:04
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Nintendo Switch Game
2023 was an incredible year for Nintendo Switch fans, with Nintendo having easily the strongest line up of first party games and exclusives from the big three console manufacturers. Sure, a large part of that was thanks to the company trawling through their back catalogue of beloved classics and sprucing them up for their current handheld, but there were also long-awaited sequels, rejuvenated mainstays and more.
thesixthaxis.com
27.12.2023 / 17:23
Game of the Year 2023 – Best PC Game
The PC Master Race has been a meme for a good 15 years now, but it’s truer than ever in 2023. A top tier gaming PC might be horrendously expensive when stacked up against a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, but these days it gives you the best of all worlds. Almost.
thesixthaxis.com
24.12.2023 / 17:32
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Single Player Game
As big as online gaming has become, 2023 has shown that single player games are absolutely thriving. Whether it’s a sequel that takes what its forebears did and refines or expands the experience further, a game that takes a genre and wrings every ounce of creativity and ingenuity out of it with new ideas, this year has been absolutely fantastic for gamers that like to be left alone in front of the screen.
thesixthaxis.com
24.12.2023 / 14:59
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Multiplayer Game
Multiplayer gaming feels pretty much inescapable these days. Sure, we’ve left the days of “tacked on” multiplayer modes behind us, but now we have so many games that are all about online gaming, live service models, and a constant drip feed of things to lure you back in to play.
thesixthaxis.com
22.12.2023 / 19:26
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Gameplay
I think almost every gamer would agree that how a game feels to play is absolutely the most important factor in whether it’s fun or not. Given how many fan-created ‘demakes’ there are of contemporary blockbusters, the proliferation of pixel art (which while it can be pretty is hardly pushing graphical limits), and hilariously shonky nonsense of a game like Vampire Survivors, it’s pretty clear that gameplay is king.
rockpapershotgun.com
22.12.2023 / 15:49
Bounty of gaming news discovered in isolated Scottish cabin
The existence of the Upper Lunch Hut implies the existence of a Lower Lunch Hut, but as far as I can tell, no such building exists. It's one of many mysteries that surround the edifice, which I discovered during a holiday in the Cairngorms this August, while everybody else at RPS was writing about some tyrannous entity called Gamescom.
thesixthaxis.com
22.12.2023 / 13:32
Game of the Year 2023 – Best Original Soundtrack
Music is an increasingly important part of modern video games, able to elevate an experience to new heights, adding real emotion to scenes and engaging the player on a more subconscious level. What’s particularly delightful is when it goes beyond merely being an added element alongside the action that takes place on screen, but rather an integral part of the game, right down to its very conception. Of course, just being good music that you can happily listen to outside of a game-playing context helps as well…