Quick Reviews: Big Walk, 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X & Mina the Hollower

By Jonathan Bilski

I've got some games to tell you about, they all can be addicting in their own way, but they're all very different games. And, differences are what makes us special or have bitter fandoms that hate each other for some reason. But, not here. Here be quick reviews for games.

Big Walk is out now on Steam, Switch 2, & PlayStation 5

Please don't call it friendslop, even though that's the poorly named genre for a game this good. You and up to 7 others can work together to solve puzzles and explore a photo realistic world in Big Walk by the Australian folks over at House House. The same people who gave us Untitled Goose Game. Just like their previous title they've made clever puzzles for you to solve. But, this time they're even cleverer.

So far, up to 8 hours in the game, with a friend, we've only just been in awe of what the world holds and where will go or figure out next. You see puzzles in this game are quite brilliant to deduce, but the ones that required communication when you simply can't talk to your friend. My G-d! They're just so exhilarating and you just have such a dopamine hit of achievement when figuring them out. 

What shouldn't work is the two strikingly different art styles. You and your friend/s look like cartoonish birds or ants with pompous tri-color bodies and big stupid eyes. The world is photo realistic even with beautiful beaches and mountains to see. And ,you're trekking through all of it...on a Big Walk, ergo the name. Puzzles and structures are more like fast food playgrounds also in bright pre-school colors to be noticed. Some places look picturesque enough that you'd love to just sit down and read a good book with a coffee. However, the blending works and you'll feel like the world makes sense enough to not question it after initially doing so.

I find myself having to blot out time to finish exploring the game with a friend to solve all it's mysteries and might be sad when all puzzles are solved.

70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X is out now on PS4 / PS5 / Nintendo Switch / Xbox Series X|S / Microsoft Store / Steam

Oh, what fresh Hell is this Engrish name? Developed by Implicit Conversions and published by Bliss Brain, these companies knew what they were doing when they named it 70s-style Robot Anime Geppy-X. This shump was initially release in 1999 for PlayStation. Geppy-X gets even weirder with getting into the spirit of  70's animes it's based on by creating a full story as though this was a real series alongside Gundam or Mazinger Z. It totally wasn't. However, with the remastered 8,000 hand-drawn animation frames you'll think the game is based on and using ripped clipped from a series about aliens and giant robots.

Since, this is basically a remaster of a PlayStation 1 game, there's a ton of quality of life work to make it as easy as possible to get into the game and save your place for future robot butt-kicking. Gameplay is pretty simple, you just dodge and shoot. It looks like the game wants to be pretty forgiving, so don't expect the hardest time.You even have the ability to rewind the game so you don't ever have to screw up. It's more like you've got to blow through a level to get through each episode of cut scenes. It's best to call the game just a foil for taking you through what appears to be an entire series from the 70's.

It's tropes galore if you've been a fan of any big robot anime as it's non-stop, "Wait, that seems like or Hey, wait that reminds me of...",  for so much of it.

It tricked a friend into believing the show was never released and that the game is all that's left. Let it fool you and get lost in a 2d shooter of olden times. You'll want to see where the anime goes and if our heroes save the day with their transforming robot GEPPY-X .

 Game provided by publisher for review purposes

Mina the Hollower is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Play Station 5, Xbox Series X|S, Humble Bundle, and GOG

Oy, I should have finished this one by now, but you now life. Now, it's getting close enough to play for Halloween...Don't look at me like that. Mina the Hollower comes from Yacht Club Games and has been a long time in the making, matching the style and feel of a gameboy game, but made now. Frustrating and addicting was how it started in my quest to restore energy as a mouse who kicks major butt in a full realized story and game world.

Look, starting out the game was tough as nails as it plays old school. But persevering through I got to a
place where I could explore this world of "Mice & Men" ... and monsters and rich dogs and other anthropomorphic creatures that remind you of DuckTales. It's a great looking game totally capturing the games of old. However, you can always put on quality of life improvements in the setting making the game easier on yourself or something some of us didn't grow up with an easy mode. You can simply set the game so you can't even die.

The game plays like a metroidvania with a tough start the eases it's way out after brutally running you through your paces. What made me come back is it looks so good and you can tell nothing was made to be unbeatable. The game has years of effort in it that you'll want to see and explore.  

 Game provided by publisher for review purposes