AuthorDaniel S. Liuzzi
402 stories
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
It’s a fact that there’s a right way and a wrong way to make a horror game. Unfortunately, ASD Studio and Axyos Games’ first-person horror game, FIRE AND ASHES, has committed some of what I can call sins of horror gaming. FIRE AND ASHES follows Harry, a man who’s been institutionalized and trapped in a twisted asylum where he must fight for his survival and uncover why he’s there. The controls for FIRE AND ASHES are alright but are overcomplicated for combat for some reason. Graphics-wise, the game looks decent, along with the lighting…and that’s where the praise stops. Combat is clunky; animations for opening doors are bugged, there are supposed to be subtitles (if you turn them on), but they don’t appear, or when they do, it’s late. You can “Swim,” but I shit you not, they just animated the arms making the swimming motion, but you’re actually just WALKING underwater; yes, you sink to the bottom and just walk.
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
GUNNAR has always been there to ensure gamers and anyone else who stares at screens for long periods gets the best protection while staying stylish, but what about when it’s time to relax? Yes, you can just turn off the lights and close your eyes, but what about treating your eyes to a spa-like treatment from the comfort of your own home? The answer is GUNNAR’s Ojai, a new vision recovery system designed to help you and your eyes to relax after looking at a screen for hours! I want to give a massive thank you to GUNNAR for sending over the Ojai for me to try for myself! Out of the box, the Ojai Vision Recovery System is ready for use. It fits snugly over your eyes and blocks out all light. The system has five massage modes; I tried out mode 5, which has maximum pressure and a full experience designed for intensive recovery. The air-compressed massage tool
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
Well, this was a short one, so the review is…well…short. This is Psalm 5:9-13, possibly the creepiest game I’ve reviewed in months! There’s really no backstory to Psalm 5:9-13; you literally wake up in the dark and explore different rooms to get answers. The controls are extremely limited, as this is a walking sim. You use one button to zoom in the camera and another to interact when prompted; other than that, that’s it for controls. The sound design of the game is well done; the ambiance is creepy and makes you paranoid as you play, as some sounds seem to be designed to distract you in order to build up to a scare. The graphics are great but hidden behind a VHS filter, unfortunately. I know people like that look, but sometimes it can be a tad much; in this case, it both works for and against the game. Gameplay-wise, the game is quite simple.
Continue reading →
GamingHalloweenParanormalProductReviews
Castlevania is a title that demands respect as one of the strongest franchises in gaming history and has been seen on many consoles over the years. Unfortunately for me, the only title I’ve played was Castlevania 64 for, you guessed it, the Nintendo 64. Now, years later, Konami was awesome enough to allow me to check out the latest entry in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse! Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set 23 years after the events of Castlevania III and the Netflix animated series. Tevor Belmont and his daughter Rose are in Paris after a demonic outbreak occurred and is painting the city red. The duo split up to fight monsters and find the source of the evil, which may actually be caused by an old nemesis. Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the controls, they are very responsive and simple, almost like an old-school arcade. The game’s art is what shines the brightest for me! I’ve heard the
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
When Saber Interactive first emailed me saying, “We have such sights to show you…”, I knew my wish had come true; someone finally made a game based on Hellraiser, and again, Saber fulfilled my desire and granted me a chance to review it! So is this a dream come true, or a nightmare? This is Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. The story of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival takes place 20 years after the events of the first two Hellraiser films and follows sexual deviants Aidan and Sunny, who activated the Genesis Configuration (The Puzzle Box), and the Cenobites take Sunny. Aidan now must face the Cenobites along with a bloodthirsty cult to get Sunny back. Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the game’s controls, they’re alright. Combat is tricky, and I really don’t like how the controls are set up for the quick turn; you have to press down on the stick as you pull back on it, which sometimes
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
For a long time, I’ve been a Gear-Head, no, not talking about cars. I’m talking about Gears of War, baby! The grittiest tactical third-person shooter I’ve ever played by The Coalition. I love the series and the story, but one topic is always brought up in the games… Emergence Day. The dark day in Sera’s history when, globally, threats from underground began to emerge. Now, after so long, we can finally experience E-Day for ourselves in Gears of War E-Day. I want to give a massive thank you to Xbox for providing me the chance to experience E-Day early! Gears of War E-Day puts players back in the large COG Boots of Marcus Fenix, who, while trying to celebrate the life of a fallen comrade, is forced to take up the fight against the Locust horde that is emerging from underground. Now, onto the game itself! For returning Gears fans, the controls may be slightly different than what we’re used
Continue reading →
GamingNewsReviewsSci-Fi
If Little Nightmares and Dead Space had a baby, it would be Section 9’s End of Abyss, hands down. Over time, I’ve become not-so-much of a fan of top-down games, but this one has won me over. I want to thank Section 9 and Epic Games for the review opportunity and for restoring my faith in top-down games. End of Abyss is a top-down atmospheric dark sci-fi action-adventure where you play as Cel, a combat technician sent deep into an underground facility to uncover what’s happened to those inside and what’s trying to reach her. Now, onto the game itself! The controls for End of Abyss will take a little getting used to, but after a little time, you’ll get used to them. Headphones are a must for this, as they’ll help immerse yourself into the dark world the story is taking you into, along with helping you hear what’s crawling in the dark… There is no true “spoken dialogue,” as the
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
For a while, I’ve been hyping up Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco’s Vampire RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. It also seemed that a lot of people were looking forward to the game’s release, as the devs kept teasing what was awaiting players. Was the hype worth it? The Blood of Dawnwalker takes place in a fictional […]
Continue reading →
GamingNewsParanormalProductReviews
I’ll admit, when I first saw the trailer for Hitori De Productions’ Dream Cage, I thought it was going to be an interesting concept of mixing sleep paralysis terror with spooky anomaly hunting. Sadly, this is another one of those “fooled by the trailer” horror games. From the official write-up for the game, it’s about a […]
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
Our friends at GUNNAR have shown their love for summer, but now, for those who love the best season of all, we have frames for Fall! For those not familiar with our friends at Gunnar, they specialize in making glasses that have anti-blue light tech. Screens give off blue light that’s invisible to the eyes […]
Continue reading →
More from Daniel S. Liuzzi
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
It’s a fact that there’s a right way and a wrong way to make a horror game. Unfortunately, ASD Studio and Axyos Games’ first-person horror game, FIRE AND ASHES, has committed some of what I can call sins of horror gaming. FIRE AND ASHES follows Harry, a man who’s been institutionalized and trapped in a twisted asylum where he must fight for his survival and uncover why he’s there. The controls for FIRE AND ASHES are alright but are overcomplicated for combat for some reason. Graphics-wise, the game looks decent, along with the lighting…and that’s where the praise stops. Combat is clunky; animations for opening doors are bugged, there are supposed to be subtitles (if you turn them on), but they don’t appear, or when they do, it’s late. You can “Swim,” but I shit you not, they just animated the arms making the swimming motion, but you’re actually just WALKING underwater; yes, you sink to the bottom and just walk.
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
GUNNAR has always been there to ensure gamers and anyone else who stares at screens for long periods gets the best protection while staying stylish, but what about when it’s time to relax? Yes, you can just turn off the lights and close your eyes, but what about treating your eyes to a spa-like treatment from the comfort of your own home? The answer is GUNNAR’s Ojai, a new vision recovery system designed to help you and your eyes to relax after looking at a screen for hours! I want to give a massive thank you to GUNNAR for sending over the Ojai for me to try for myself! Out of the box, the Ojai Vision Recovery System is ready for use. It fits snugly over your eyes and blocks out all light. The system has five massage modes; I tried out mode 5, which has maximum pressure and a full experience designed for intensive recovery. The air-compressed massage tool
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
Well, this was a short one, so the review is…well…short. This is Psalm 5:9-13, possibly the creepiest game I’ve reviewed in months! There’s really no backstory to Psalm 5:9-13; you literally wake up in the dark and explore different rooms to get answers. The controls are extremely limited, as this is a walking sim. You use one button to zoom in the camera and another to interact when prompted; other than that, that’s it for controls. The sound design of the game is well done; the ambiance is creepy and makes you paranoid as you play, as some sounds seem to be designed to distract you in order to build up to a scare. The graphics are great but hidden behind a VHS filter, unfortunately. I know people like that look, but sometimes it can be a tad much; in this case, it both works for and against the game. Gameplay-wise, the game is quite simple.
Continue reading →
GamingHalloweenParanormalProductReviews
Castlevania is a title that demands respect as one of the strongest franchises in gaming history and has been seen on many consoles over the years. Unfortunately for me, the only title I’ve played was Castlevania 64 for, you guessed it, the Nintendo 64. Now, years later, Konami was awesome enough to allow me to check out the latest entry in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse! Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set 23 years after the events of Castlevania III and the Netflix animated series. Tevor Belmont and his daughter Rose are in Paris after a demonic outbreak occurred and is painting the city red. The duo split up to fight monsters and find the source of the evil, which may actually be caused by an old nemesis. Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the controls, they are very responsive and simple, almost like an old-school arcade. The game’s art is what shines the brightest for me! I’ve heard the
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
When Saber Interactive first emailed me saying, “We have such sights to show you…”, I knew my wish had come true; someone finally made a game based on Hellraiser, and again, Saber fulfilled my desire and granted me a chance to review it! So is this a dream come true, or a nightmare? This is Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival. The story of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival takes place 20 years after the events of the first two Hellraiser films and follows sexual deviants Aidan and Sunny, who activated the Genesis Configuration (The Puzzle Box), and the Cenobites take Sunny. Aidan now must face the Cenobites along with a bloodthirsty cult to get Sunny back. Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the game’s controls, they’re alright. Combat is tricky, and I really don’t like how the controls are set up for the quick turn; you have to press down on the stick as you pull back on it, which sometimes
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
For a long time, I’ve been a Gear-Head, no, not talking about cars. I’m talking about Gears of War, baby! The grittiest tactical third-person shooter I’ve ever played by The Coalition. I love the series and the story, but one topic is always brought up in the games… Emergence Day. The dark day in Sera’s history when, globally, threats from underground began to emerge. Now, after so long, we can finally experience E-Day for ourselves in Gears of War E-Day. I want to give a massive thank you to Xbox for providing me the chance to experience E-Day early! Gears of War E-Day puts players back in the large COG Boots of Marcus Fenix, who, while trying to celebrate the life of a fallen comrade, is forced to take up the fight against the Locust horde that is emerging from underground. Now, onto the game itself! For returning Gears fans, the controls may be slightly different than what we’re used
Continue reading →
GamingNewsReviewsSci-Fi
If Little Nightmares and Dead Space had a baby, it would be Section 9’s End of Abyss, hands down. Over time, I’ve become not-so-much of a fan of top-down games, but this one has won me over. I want to thank Section 9 and Epic Games for the review opportunity and for restoring my faith in top-down games. End of Abyss is a top-down atmospheric dark sci-fi action-adventure where you play as Cel, a combat technician sent deep into an underground facility to uncover what’s happened to those inside and what’s trying to reach her. Now, onto the game itself! The controls for End of Abyss will take a little getting used to, but after a little time, you’ll get used to them. Headphones are a must for this, as they’ll help immerse yourself into the dark world the story is taking you into, along with helping you hear what’s crawling in the dark… There is no true “spoken dialogue,” as the
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
For a while, I’ve been hyping up Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco’s Vampire RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. It also seemed that a lot of people were looking forward to the game’s release, as the devs kept teasing what was awaiting players. Was the hype worth it? The Blood of Dawnwalker takes place in a fictional […]
Continue reading →
GamingNewsParanormalProductReviews
I’ll admit, when I first saw the trailer for Hitori De Productions’ Dream Cage, I thought it was going to be an interesting concept of mixing sleep paralysis terror with spooky anomaly hunting. Sadly, this is another one of those “fooled by the trailer” horror games. From the official write-up for the game, it’s about a […]
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
Our friends at GUNNAR have shown their love for summer, but now, for those who love the best season of all, we have frames for Fall! For those not familiar with our friends at Gunnar, they specialize in making glasses that have anti-blue light tech. Screens give off blue light that’s invisible to the eyes […]
Continue reading →
