The Hub of Reid Harris Cooper

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – September 27, 2023 – Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness, the 2D pixel-art horror adventure from developer Indiesruption (Nine Witches) and publisher Blowfish Studios, unleashes its terrifying mysteries on PlayStation 4|5 with backwards compatibility, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S with backwards compatibility, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG starting Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

In the year 1921, the beloved Vlad Circus fell to a devastating fire, killing hundreds of innocents and forever scarring the survivors. Haunted by the tragedy, the circus troupe disbanded, only to be reunited by a mysterious invitation from their original ringleader eight years later. 

Explore the eerie halls of the Victorian-inspired Petrescu Manor as Oliver Mills, better known as his clown persona “Lazy Ollie.” Several years in the Pennhurst Asylum have proved ineffective in restoring his memories, but reconnecting with old friends and a lost love may do the trick. Unease festers in Ollie as he explores the shadowy estate, unaware of the sinister secret dying to be set free.

Manage Ollie’s stress and survive horrifying hallucinations while solving perplexing puzzles. Fight or flee from awful abominations. Recover tortured memories to assist with mysteries, and unravel the ghastly truth of that fateful day.

“Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness marries a creepy atmospheric setting with a haunting narrative full of evocative storytelling,” said Diego Cánepa, lead designer, Indiesruption. “Enthralled and disturbed by Ollie’s trauma-induced nightmares, players will be on their toes until the very end.”

Vlad Circus: Descend into Madness will be available on all major platforms, with support for Windows, as well as language support for English, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), French, German, and Russian. 

To learn more about Vlad Circus, visit the official site, make sure to follow the game on Twitter and Instagram, join the community on Discord, and search #vladcircusgame on social media.

Original music!

I’m partial to Stone Monkey and Red Spectre.

Plenty footage and explanation to get one mega excited for the game.

Disclaimer: It’s A Wrap! was provided to PCS for review gratis. This reflected the review in neither positive or negatives, all views are purely from the experience and skill level of the reviewer.

It’s A Wrap! is puzzle platformer where the puzzles and the platforming both start quite easy and then get much harder and at least for me not experentially without a high degree of patience and willinging to try and try again. When it comes to video games that is not me. It does not make the game bad or good, it is just not me. I also don’t have the greatest controller skills. I don’t play FPS for that reason. I tend to stick to games that for the most part are easy or can be set on a “story” mode. That is not an option or setting in this, at least not from my searching at present time. Again, not a deterrent.

The first thing I must praise is the graphics. The art style is excellent, the animation is fantastic, the character designs burst with flavor. The cut scenes are clever and wile have no voice acting seem to still feel cinematic. The sound design and music is also polished, fits the themes and works really well in conjuction. The level design is where the game maybe falters a bit. While the editing bay concept is brilliant for the puzzle portion of the gameplay, I do wish the scripts were less outlandish, causing for scenarios that even when solving the editing pay issue, split second button pushing still matters in the platforming and this is where my personal skill fails me. It isn’t the game… it’s me I am positive. You (the universal you) are probably a better game player than me. I can figure out HOW to do something, physically doing it is another. So I can yell “jump now!” but you better be the one jumping when I saw now… not me yelling at me. You know? Like the director character in this game who has set up elaborate death traps and pretends they are normal stunt scenes. That isn’t the actual plot, just the feeling I got while playing.

Seriously, if you don’t mind having to die many many funny, well animated deaths to finally figure out not just the right puzzle solution but the exact timing on running and jumping than It’s A Wrap! is truly the game for you. On top that you’re getting laughs, three different movies/scenarios of completely different campy action adventure genres (Cave Explorer, Sci-Fi and Robots, Explosions and Crime) and even some human plot of frustration, drama, excitement and laziness from the actors, director, producers and all various other jobs [gaffer, sound, camera, set designers, costume, etc.].

I must state again there is a grind of frustration. This review got delayed because I was hoping maybe just maybe I could get further in the game than I have so it’d be a more polished fully entrenched one. The fact is I can’t even get past scene 4 in the first movie and my thumbs hurt because of it. Once again, NOT a bad thing. Just a truth of the matter. I had fun and tons of it, but at a certain point I realized I had to at called “It’s a Wrap!” so I could write about the game instead of playing it in hopes of completion. I can only hope you’ll do better or maybe you’ll be like me, but since you’re not reading a review and just playing, you have all the time you want.

“It’s A Wrap!” sells for $17.99 reguarly and is available for PC on Steam, Epic Games and GOG. It is also available on the Nintendo Switch.

A large collection of game trailers that have caught attention during Gamescom 2023, PAX West 2023 and more. Prepare for visual stimulation.

Chilling new trailers for both titles debut as part of this year’s Fear Fest terrors providing an extended look at gameplay

HAMBURG, Germany, (September 6, 2023) — Daedalic Entertainment revealed two frightening new trailers for their upcoming horror titles REVEIL and Edge of Sanity today as part of Fear Fest 2023. Learn more about them by watching the trailers below!

REVEIL is a narrative first-person psycho-thriller game that focuses on story, puzzles, and exploration. Find out what’s going on inside Walter Thompson and what his dark past at the Nelson Bros Circus has to do with it.

Versatile, handcrafted puzzles, unanswered questions, captivating clues, and a disturbing psyche demand a lot from both the player and the protagonist, Walter Thompson. Can you manage to make sense of it all? Should you persevere, there is a chance to find answers to your questions.

More details can be found on the REVEIL Steam page here.

Edge of Sanity is a survival horror game with a psychological edge set in the unforgiving wilderness of a cold war-era Alaska, featuring hand-crafted 2D art and an intense atmosphere inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

You were part of a resupply group helping scientists working in the Alaskan field lab. Finding the site devoid of humanity you stumble upon horrifying creatures, and during the escape, your group splits up. You were lucky enough to make it out alive and set up camp to plan your future expeditions to find your missing team and learn what happened.

Each day in this area is a tough fight for survival. Limited food and supplies, and your sanity stretching over the edge. Be prepared to improvise and look for any advantage you might have against various monstrosities. It’s all up to you whether the darkness fully consumes you or you manage to cling to what remains of your sanity.

Further details on Edge of Sanity can be found on Steam here.

(Note: PC-S has had a gratis review copy of The Making of Karateka for a week. This did not influence this review in anyway.)

The Making of Karateka encompasses a lot, a documentary, a collection of historical digital ephemera and designs, a short podcast, a remaking of a classic game going back to its original inception (unlike the version made in 2012 with Liquid, referenced with in THE program that is Making of) and new and original playable versions of prototype games.

In many ways it is unlike anything on the market, at least for a video game. Imagine your favorite movie from long ago, with the original version, but also a remastered edition, but also commentary, new documentaries, the old epks, but also the entire screenplay, every letter between the studio and the filmmakers, a deep dive into the score, home movies by the director, the screen tests and then maybe even say the dalies with all the various takes plus development about the never made sequel.

That is what Digital Eclipse has done with this project. Made the Ultimate Anniversary Collector’s Collector Edition of a treasured video game, telling its origins and then hidden secrets and further deep dives, it is a book, a movie and full fledged video game all in one. The best part is Karateka is just the first game planned in this series. I don’t know who or what games are planned but if they could do this same treatment with the likes of Will Wright, Sid Meier, or if sticking to Brøderbund, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

If they had even had half of what they stuffed in to this Making Of Karateka it’d still incredible. The heartfelt sitdown between Jordan and his father Francis, the sitdowns with various Broderbund, the look at the never finished Karateka II which eventually turned into a truly major franchise in Prince of Persia and the the ability to actually PLAY early versions of Karateka, a remastered version and even a remaster of a previously unpublished game?

One of the more fun things personally for me was to see some of images from the English edition Mechner’s autobiographical family memoir historical graphic novel, Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family being published by First Second through Macmillan. The use of these images added to the legacy of the game, as much as having established other game developers also talk about how much the game meant to them.

The Making of Karateka is available NOW on Steam, GOG, Epic Games, Playstation and XBox for $20. It’s a game, a movie, a book, an education and a treasury… a not miss for any video game lover, fans of video game history, fans of Prince of Persia, or just people who love good stuff made well.