Mato Anomalies is a turn based RPG developed by ‘Arrowiz‘ and published by ‘Prime Matter‘. Mato Anomalies is said to be coming out the 10th of March 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and pc. Things might get futuristic around here. X35 Earthwalker is confident concerning the future. Let’s take a look.
In Mato Anomalies all the action is taking place in what’s described as a “fantasized neo-futuristic version of Old Shanghai”. You control Doe and Gram who all about investigating strange anomalies around the city. Not just that but at times you’ll head into rifts to battle “demonic abominations”. So there are demons who want to take down the city. Typical demons. Hate them.
We do like that the two protagonists are different not just in character but also in role and skills. Doe is a detective and will gather knowledge and intel to figure out what’s going on concerning the city of Mato. While Gram is an exorcist and does the demonic battling, hopping into rifts. So players will have to use the both of them to get the jobs done.
They won’t be alone as Doe and Gram may have to team up with what’s described as “unlikely companions”. This is telling us that there’s good potential for the story. According to the description, there will be hope, duty and justice. Things might get complicated here. So maybe gain the trust of some people you meet, even if they don’t like you.
We checked out some Mato Anomalies gameplay and it’s mostly what w expected. Move around the city and find clues concerning what’s going on. Talk to NPCs, handle missions and get the locations of rifts. Jump in and deal with those demons who are causing problems. Getting rewards for doing so. There’s also factions who are involved with what’s going on concerning Mato. You’ll be dealing with them as they are a factor. In combat, there’s a “shared health across all team members, gear matrix and dual-talent system.”
Overall Mato Anomalies is looking like it’s going to be a very good game. The graphics are very good for its style. The story is going to be the strongest factor of Mato Anomalies. Meaning the game rises or falls quite a bit depending on how they do the story, its impact and what emotions it brings out of the player. The developers ‘Arrowiz’ have done a very good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to keep an ear open for this game. Now Mato Anomalies may have demon rifts but those things close automatically when they face… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Alterity Experience is described as a “closed-door adventure game” developed and published by ‘Onitron studios‘. Alterity Experience is said to be coming out Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PS5 the 16th of February 2023 but it’s off course already out on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and pc. So what? There’s suppose to be an alien experience here. X35 Earthwalker is superior to aliens. Let’s take a look.
Few have asked but yes we do write about some games that’s already out. If it’s coming to next gen consoles then that’s fine. We like to show a variety of games, not just the big ones that big companies act like sheep for rushing to get a post out. There’s many good games or cool games but aren’t big at all.
Alterity Experience is set today in the “cornwell family ranch house, located in Lucy county firefly national park, in the northern state of California.” They really zeroed in haven’t they. Players control a dude named Anton cornwelll. He’s a farmer and rancher. Let’s just say he is about to have a strange and maybe alien experience right at his home. Your job is to survive through it.
What’s going on is that for multiple weeks there have been claims of what’s called ‘luminous phenomena’ in the park at night time. It gets worse. Farmers in the country have been finding some strange fluorescent purple substance spread on their plantations. Of course, the local authorities are useless in this situation. Not only have you spotted this purple crap on your own plantations but also near your home.
There’s not going to be any combat. You aren’t going to pull out a shotgun, like you should, and face this issue. The game explains “Your reactivity and a home automation application are the only weapons you have.” Lame but it’s all we got. Apparently there’s another element involved here. There’s described something, as an object of unknown origin. It’s said that this might be the ‘key’ to your survival here. It’s in your home. Just got to find it.
We checked out some Alterity Experience gameplay and it’s what we expected. It’s very slow paced. It has the standard indie game feel to it. You are roaming around your home, staying vigilant hopefully, ready to counter any luminous phenomena. This includes glowing purple lights at windows and you use the apps home defence systems to close gates, lock down the place etc. There isn’t anything really interesting going on here. It’s very simple and easy to understand. Sadly it’s not our thing at all but it will be someone else’s experience.
Alterity Experience is overall and alright game. There is no problems, sounds are clear and designated for what’s going on. The graphics are good too. We would definitely more going on and we don’t how the end will be satisfying or exciting. The developers ‘Onitron studios’ have done an alright job. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to hear what this game accomplishes on next gen consoles. Now Alterity Experience may have luminous phenomena but it’s too dull for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
The Callisto Protocol vs Dead Space remake. Both are excellent games without question. X35 Earthwalker has conquered all three Dead Space games including the Hard core modes and extra challenges. People have their own takes on this subject and it’s interesting to see. Sadly, most of the views and opinions from others, especially youtubers have been dumb and illogical. Straight up false at times. Both games are made by some of the same developers, mainly Glen Schofield who is the co-creator of Dead Space; so both have a similar style and both get the job done. That’s for sure. X35 Earthwalker is the smartest and wisest gamer of all time, so his explanations and views actually mean something. [Quick notice: We will include videos that are reviews or opinions of Callisto Protocol that are actually good. Intelligent ones.] Let’s take a look.
The first issue we will address. We saw from a reviewer online in written form state that The Callisto Protocol “wants to be Dead Space so badly”. This is actually a retarded take. Maybe The Callisto Protocol is soo similar to Dead Space because the co creator of Dead Space himself are behind this game. The Callisto Protocol is suppose to be like their new direction. Their next big thing. If anyone has the right to make a game similar to Dead Space, it’s the dude who co-created Dead Space. This first take is just proof of the illogical takes and views that we mentioned earlier. Some counted the fact that The Callisto Protocol was not that new compared to Dead Space, as a negative. That’s not good reviewing, nor is it fair. The Callisto Protocol was design to be similar to Dead Space. Even the names of the main characters are related. Isaac Clarke and Jacob Lee. Isaac and Jacob. Fine we will spell it out for you. Historically recorded in the Bible there was Abraham, whose son is Isaac. Isaac’s son is Jacob. Jacob comes after Isaac just like how The Callisto Protocol comes after Dead Space. Yep, it’s all intentional.
Next point and here’s a big one. The combat. Muppets like angry joe and his lackies complained about it and saying it’s what ruined the game. We have covered this on the X35 Earthwalker podcast. Literally read what ‘girlstalkingsmack’ said in their review, “The fighting system is fundamentally incapable of dealing with more than one enemy. Even in one-on-one combat, The Callisto Protocol is prone to absolutely merciless battles that can seemingly inflict insta-death on you at will.” This is completely false and maybe they should never play a video game ever again if they are that bad at the game. X35 himself is playing Hardcore mode and has successfully fought three enemies at the same time and only got hit once. We have witnessed others fight two at once successfully as well. If the mechanics are easy and all you have to do is hold left and right to dodge, like angry joe said, then how is the combat merciless? It should also be easy. We have watched others like markiplier, coryxkenshin, fusionzgamer, PG and more stated that they liked the combat.
So people have praised Dead Space’s combat but hate The Callisto Protocol. Here’s the problem. The Callisto Protocol’s combat is the same as Dead Space. If you ignore the melee dodge system then both games combat is literally the same. You see an enemy, you can shoot of it’s limbs or blast it apart. Once dead you stomp on the enemy to get goodies. Both are the same. So in The Callisto Protocol you can forget the melee dodge and instead take the hit just like you would in Dead Space. There’s no actual dodge in original Dead Space. There’s an action roll in Dead Space 3 though. If a necromorph gets close to you and lunges, you are getting hit. Rare for it to miss. The Callisto Protocol is the same except you can dodge in case something gets close. So you can’t say Dead Space remake has better combat than The Callisto Protocol when they are the same. It’s The Callisto Protocol has just as good combat or better as it’s the same plus more. You have more tools to deal with the situation. So yes, we say that The Callisto Protocol has better combat. You have more options.
Next. Combat options. In Dead Space your combat options are shoot, throw something at your enemies using the kinesis or stasis the enemy and then hit them to death or stomp. There’s more options in The Callisto Protocol. People have stated that The Callisto Protocol’s combat is shallow and just “dodge, dodge, hit, hit until the enemy is dead” (like Elden Ring). Wrong again. The Callisto Protocol actually has much deeper combat. People like angry joe just don’t know how to play the game. If you block the last hit of an enemies combo string you can counter with a low counter strike that knocks enemies to the ground. If you time your attacks you can sometimes get a three or four hit combo. You can get the heavy strike to knock an enemy or sometimes multiple enemies down and backwards. If you remove an enemies leg, they crawl and then can be one melee hit killed. If you get rid of an arm, the enemy can no longer do multiple hits. They can only swing once. You can use the GRP to throw enemies of the edge and they instantly die or drown. If you upgrade the GRP’s throw strength you can pick up an enemy and throw them into something hard to instantly kill them. After you do a melee combo you have the option most of the time to quickly shoot the enemy which staggers them and allows you to continue with another combo. Keep doing that and your enemy NEVER gets a turn to fight back. So angry joe and the many others are idiots who don’t know how to play the game and told lies about it. The Callisto Protocol has way more options. The Callisto Protocol wins this category as well.
Let’s compare the GRP and Kinesis. Both are powerful and useful. Kinesis is unlimited and you can grab regular objects or sharp objects to knock enemies down or straight up impale. You can beat entire areas of the game in Dead Space with just kinesis alone. Kinesis is strong and feels good to use but it’s also very easy. You have unlimited attempts to grab and throw things. Enemies can never get close. Carry whole items with you wherever you go with no consequences. The GRP in The Callisto Protocol has more limits but is more powerful. The GRP has charges and so isn’t unlimited. You cannot just grab and throw objects infinitely. You have to be more strategic and think more about how to use it. So more room for skill. So wait? How is the GRP more powerful than kinesis then since it’s not unlimited? Well the GRP can grab entire enemies. Something the kinesis doesn’t do. You can literally grab and restrain a whole enemy and throw them. This can lead to combos with environmental hazards even more so than you would in Dead Space. For example if Isaac was to fight Jacob, Jacob can easily win through GRP alone. He can just grab Isaac and throw him into a fan or bomb or spikes etc. Remember that the grabbed enemy can’t move or do anything. So the grabbed person is literally disabled like what Leon ferris did to Jacob in that cutscene. Jacob could grab Isaac and stab in in the throat. Now this isn’t a VS gaming blog post. Obviously the Kinesis is more favoured due to it being unlimited energy basically. So it’s a matter of ‘weaker but unlimited’ vs ‘stronger but limited’. Factor in that the GRP when fully upgraded becomes a brutal weapon. Just throwing an enemy against the wall can instantly kill it. It has more charges and self recharges. So you don’t need the batteries really. It will recharge by itself. We pick the GRP over the kinesis. You can rely on the GRP to crowd control and make space… not dead. See what we did there?
Next is how next gen they are. The Callisto Protocol made it their mission to be the new standard for survival horror. The next gen survival horror game. Almost everyone seems to agree that The Callisto Protocol is top tier graphics and visuals, including details. Some even said it is the best looking game of 2022. The graphics are next gen especially when played on Xbox Series X. The sounds are ridiculous levels of good. Others have agreed. X35 had headphones on and could hear enemies moving around in the ventilation systems accurately. The graphics in The Callisto Protocol is better than Dead Space remake. Sounds as well. Listen to the sound of the GRP. Something next gen about The Callisto Protocol is the death animations. Enemies that kill you have a chance to trigger a death animation. These animations are brutal. Get put in a headlock and then beat in the head to death, even after you are clearly dead, it is still beating you. This shows the brutality here. Dead space only has those animated kills if the enemy already triggered a grab sequence. Also the player can get animated kills on some enemies in the Callisto Protocol depending on where you are located like if there’s a wall nearby. If there is a wall nearby and you are fighting a humanoid enemy Jacob might push shove it into the wall and then part and bust its legs with the baton and then finish it off. If not near a wall he might do the overhead clean sink the baton into head and pull out or give them the clean two tap. We saw a super rare kill that we have never seen before where you move around the enemy quick and kill it with the shiv. We actually don’t know what triggers that kill sadly. It was cool.
Next which game is more scary? Have to say The Callisto Protocol. With Dead space you know what to expect. Every room you go in, you expect a necromorph to jump out. You see an intact necromorph body on the floor, you shoot it as players assume it’s getting back up to attack you. When a room locks down in quarantine, you know what time it is. X35 Earthwalker doesn’t get scared by Dead Space. We can be surprised but that’s it. The Callisto Protocol does things differently. There’s no quarantine sequence. You have enemy corpses that’s like fused into a wall. The blind enemies. Some are just corpses while others can be woken up and attack you. There’s even frozen, literally ice frozen bodies. Some are literally ice and brittle while others are living enemies who can pop out and attack you. In The Callisto Protocol you will multiple times hear enemies moving around you but out of sight and actually not come after you. Making you think you have to get ready for a fight but actually no, you are safe. Messing with your head. So at times you don’t know what’s going to happen. When that head enemy that lives in a hive like cone pops out and grabs you, it can scare you and catch you completely off guard or drag you into the centre of a room to get jumped by other enemies. Some say that foes is used too much. We disagree. There’s literally only one place in the game where you can’t avoid getting grabbed and it’s in a side path for extra goodies. All the others, if you are vigilant and aware enough you can spot, shoot and prevent. Plus you get so powerful in Dead Space that it isn’t scary. Run into a room and blow up everything with ease.
Which brings us to the next point. Which is more ‘Survival horror?’ That’s easily The Callisto Protocol. No one can argue with that. Here’s why. True Survival horror is about survival. You are suppose to be weak or weak-ish. Fighting may be a last resort as it could be too risky to fight. Managing resources is a big deal. You don’t have an abundance. Look at old resident evil games. Some enemies you skipped by running past. Others you shot a bullet to stun, so you can avoid. Also stealth is a factor in some. In Dead Space there isn’t any survival really. You soon become master chief or a powerful action hero. Seriously in all Dead Space games including Dead Space remake, we don’t fear the necromorph… the necromorph fears us! We walk around everywhere cocky because anything that shows up we know we can use and abuse. Literally enemies get molested by us. If we get hit, it doesn’t matter. Our armour is so strong and tough that… WE EAT THOSE! WE have seen players get swarmed, take many hits but live as they have instant heal as long as a medkit is n the inventory. Heal and tank to live. Can’t do that in The Callisto Protocol. We have so much ammo for our extremely powerful weapons that we can fire like a cheap American movie, spraying everywhere. There’s no survival really. By the way Dead space has the superior weapons without question. While in The Callisto Protocol, you have to sneak in some areas, assassinate some foes. You try to fight like in Dead Space you will run out of ammo guaranteed. Health items is limited. Some blind enemies you can skip. Rely on environmental hazards more, which means you need to use your head more. There’s far more survival in The Callisto Protocol than there is in Dead Space and we’d argue, there’s more horror in The Callisto Protocol as well. So yes, The Callisto Protocol is the better survival horror game.
Resource management. Let’s be real. There isn’t really any resource management in Dead Space, unless you are really bad at the game. At the start of the game you have to be aware of your supplies. Once you get started though… oooooooooo boy! It’s a different story. You will have so much ammo and the money those necromorphs drop, you can buy lots from the shops and since the upgrades for rigs and weapons are a different currency, aka the nodes, you don’t have to decide whether to get supplies or upgrade. In the Callisto Protocol is can get similar if you play in medium security difficulty or lower. In Maximum security difficulty you run out of ammo fast. The game has melee far more in mind. Other players have stated that you don’t have enough ammo for every foe. The Callisto credits are far inferior to the money from Dead Space, especially in quantity. The amount the enemies drop after killing them is laughable. It’s so little that you can’t afford supplies like how you can in Dead Space. Also upgrades and supplies share the same currency. So if you are aiming for the big upgrades, you kind of have to ignore the supplies. X35 Earthwalker has never… not once… bought a medkit or ammo as he was focused on the upgrades. What’s worse is the storage. Dead Space has a storage system at thee shop. You can store tons of ammo and stuff in there. Storage in Callisto Protocol… THERE IS NONE! Literally. Which makes sense as you aren’t an employee but an inmate. Everything you hold is all you have. You have very limited space. You truly have to manage what you have. We had to drop a medic for a rare item or drop ammo for something valuable etc. Not an issue in Dead Space. Another reason why Dead Space is the easier game. Callisto Protocol has harder resource management and requires more management as you certainly cannot carry everything. Start of game, super limited space.
Lastly story. Dead Space wins. Dead Space originally was built as a complete story game. No develop really knows if their game is going to be successful enough to get a sequel. What happened to ship? Aliens?! What’s a marker? Bring marker to planet and deal with it, the end. This was a whole story start to finish with no idea if there was going to be a continuation based on the design. The Callisto Protocol is a shorter game and ends in a way that’s clearly expecting a sequel or follow up DLC. The Callisto Protocol is clearly the start to something. We learn about the ‘Circle’ who the warden is a part off. Wearing masks saying “the greater good” and “the saviour”. You learn that these guys are bigger than what’s going on in black iron prison. This secret society is centuries old, you even find their secret rooms throughout the game if you have average level awareness. The warden reveals that humanities destiny is further than Callisto. There’s clearly lots to learn and discover. It’s design with a franchise and sequels in mind. This is literally just the beginning. Dead Space is a more complete and longer story. The Callisto Protocol isn’t. So it’s not up for debate. Story belongs to Dead Space.
There’s a good comparison video done by… DSP. That’s right. Dark syde Phil himself. He did a good video and so we are leaving it here for you to see for yourself. His video is a vs between Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol.
Overall the results are in. The Callisto Protocol wins the majority of categories We believe that The Callisto Protocol is better than the Dead Space remake. Matter of fact the Dead Space Remake felt more like a Dead Space remaster to be fair. Not a remake. Too much is the same. Look at the resident evil remakes, and off course the odd world: soul storm vs Abe’s exodus. Now those are remakes. Regardless The Callisto Protocol is the the better survival horror, it’s more next gen and it’s the more difficult game. Especially if you play hardcore mode. The Callisto Protocol hardcore mode is ridiculous. Unfair even. There’s more we can say like the characters for example which we talked about on the podcast but we will leave it here. X35 Earthwalker is the smartest, the wisest, most talented and the best in gaming. Remember that. Now The Callisto Protocol and Dead Space may be excellent games but both are weak compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
LEAP is a fast-paced multiplayer first person shooter game developed and published by ‘Blue Isle studios‘. LEAP is said to be coming out the 1st of March 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and pc. An early access came out in 2022 though. LEAP looking like it can be the game. X35 Earthwalker knows what games need to be successful in each genre. Let’s take a look.
LEAP ain’t hiding what it’s trying to accomplish. The initial description tells a lot. Read it: “fast-paced multiplayer first person shooter game”. So we know that mobility and speed is a big factor here and we hope LEAP gets it right. After all “It’s not what you, it’s how fast you do it.” To take the words of a certain someone. It’s simple, as an elite LEAP mercenary you either fight for the United Earth Defense Coalition or side with the rebel Exo-Terrans. It seems more like who pays you the most attitude.
Next they state that there will be “epic battles with up to 60 players”. This means big multiplayer matches. So there has to be big maps with hopefully quite a bit going soon within them. Now at this point, especially if you have at least average intelligence, LEAP would have reminded you of Titanfall by now. That game was fast paced multiplayer shooting. LEAP is first person though.
Leap is also gong for the more modern approach with flare and style. Players will enter the battle or lead the charge, as they say, with mounts or equipment otherwise called PV, Personal Vehicle. For example players can ride in on a rubber dingy, mechanical moose, hoverboard and even a rocket. Use your personal vehicle for traversal purposes.
We checked out some LEAP gameplay and it’s what we expected. LEAP really is fast paced. There’s thrusters, boosts, grapple hooks, launching pads and more. There’s loads of action going on as well. Shoot outs, explosions, beams, what looks like an orbital beam, artillery strike, blasts and of the sort. Due to there being up to 60 players there’s battles and interactions happening in various parts of the battlefield. We of course would like to know more about the game modes and the respawn times. The weapons have alright designs and the movement animations is looking quite basic.
Overall LEAP does look it’s going to be a good game. There are some concerns off course. Players are described as “armed to the teeth” but we do not see that. The LEAP mercenaries don’t seem so dangerous or that armed. We are liking the immense amounts of mobility though. The graphics look very good and we expect them to be better by now. The sounds are excellent, definitely liking what we are hearing. The developers ‘Blue Isle studios’ have done an excellent job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to keep an ear open concerning this game. Now LEAP may have loads of mobility but it’s nothing compared to the mobility of… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Rooftop Renegade is an action platformer game developed and published by ‘Melonhead games‘. Rooftop Renegade is said to be coming out the 17th of February 2023 on the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and pc. X35 Earthwalker has the best written gaming content. Rooftop Renegade looking like some casual fun. Let’s take a look.
Rooftop Renegade has a simple arcade story going on. Basically you are on the run. Evading capture from what looks like a police pursuit squad or whatever. They will even use weapons and their firepower to make escape difficult for you. Players must race through the “futuristic skyscrapers” all with the help of your hoverblades. Simply put they are roller blades but futuristic and you move sort of like shadow the hedgehog.
Rooftop Renegade is more of a casual fun game. If you know about temple run or the subway run game then think of Rooftop Renegade like it but bigger. It’s all about speed and getting a flow going on. There’s multiple paths you can take and you have to decide quickly where you want to go. There’s boost rings like in sonic which zooms you forward. There’s a dash ability for that extra distance or air time. There’s rails for players to grind on and feel the wind in your hair… unless you are bald.
We checked out some Rooftop Renegade gameplay and it’s what we expected. What we didn’t expect is that Rooftop Renegade has a multiplayer mode where your friends or family can try to gun you down and ruin your run. Yes you can race through the world while your friends or family take on the role of the pursuers and give you some trouble. We like the skyscraper locations and seeing the background in the distance. Really shows that you are up in the air.
Overall Rooftop Renegade looks like a good game. Like we said. Arcade–ish style casual fun. Getting the best score you can is like the biggest goal here. There’s also a “seed-based generator mode” so players can get a different experience each time. The visuals are nice and quite colourful. The game is simple and players can get right into it. Hopefully the music is god enough and matches the situation. The developers ‘Melonhead games’ have done a good job. We at X35 Earthwalker have always been the fastest. Now Rooftop Renegade may have speed and a flow but it’s far too slow for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Blood Bowl 3 is a turn based sport fantasy game developed by ‘Cyanide Studio‘ and published by ‘Nacon‘. Blood Bowl 3 is said to be coming out the 23rd of February 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and pc. Blood Bowl is one of those games that X35 Earthwalker has never played. We hope they got that heat. Let’s take a look.
Blood Bowl 3. What’s the story? Well a bunch of different races have come together (if you can call it that) to play some American football. These include: Humans, dwarfs, shaven, orcs, beastmen and elves. It’s all about the touchdowns ladies and gentlemen. So yeah these guys are going to have a civilised time… surely and play some honest games.
Don’t be fooled. Blood Bowl 3 is a tactical turn-based game. The most important things to remember are: Getting the ball to then scoring the touch down and smashing your opponents. Defeating the enemy players is essential. You take them out and they won’t be a problem. So yeah, throw the ball or throw some punches to even cripple enemies too. Try running with a damaged leg.
We checked out some Blood Bowl 3 gameplay. It’s very comical as well. There are coaches and even cheerleaders who are doing their best to motivate the team and get a game plan going. We like the comical approach as after all this is a silly game. It should be light and have some laughs. How you move, position yourself makes a difference. Pass the ball and get your people in position to deal with an annoying player. How deep the strategy is in Blood Bowl 3 has yet to be shown.
Overall Blood Bowl 3 looks like a good game. Does look fun too. The fans of these games should be happy. The graphics are looking good for the style of the game. We do like the levels of details on the units. Especially when you look into customisations. Hopefully there are a lot of customisations and skins/armour for the units. It’s still not our type of game but we are up for being persuaded. The developers ‘Cyanide Studio’ have done a very good job so far. X35 Earthwalker respects hard work and he sees it here. Blood Bowl 3 may have some wild matches but they are too tamed for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Seven Doors is an atmospheric puzzle game developed by ‘Indigo studios‘ and published by ‘Soedesco‘. Seven Doors is said to be coming out the 21st of February 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and PS4. It’s already out on pc though. Seven Doors moving to consoles. X35 Earthwalker has nothing against doors. Let’s take a look.
Seven Doors doesn’t have a story. It’s just a series of tests and puzzles. There’s seven doors and behind each door there is a different area with a different challenge. For example the first door is called ‘The empty library’ and it’s not an active room at all. You actually have to find something to progress but nothing holds your hand or tells you what to do really. While the second door has some riddles. See what we mean. No help for you. Just raise your IQ.
That’s it really. Seven Doors has seven doors which have their own unique puzzle to solve or mystery to figure out. It’s all intelligence and good thinking abilities. The atmosphere is said be different for each room. since the game is simple it has to make the smaller factors matter a lot. There’s apparently “dangerous and spooky situations”. We wonder what these would even look like. We do know there are some creepy things in a room. So yeah, have fun with that. What’s also cool is that chess is involved at some point. So if you don’t know how to play chess, then you gone learn… or don’t. Up to you.
We checked out somer Seven Doors gameplay and it’s what we expected. You go through each door and solve the puzzle. Maybe even decipher languages. By the way, remember when we said there is no story. That’s true but there is one thing. Read this quote, “We’re waiting for you behind the last door… If you arrive…”. They are speaking in the plural. So multiple people or beings waiting for you if you succeed. Think about that for a minute. They hopefully better build of that and put it to use. Do not leave that information in and then forget about it.
Overall Seven Doors is what you expect. Seems like a good game. It’s for gamers who like puzzles. It’s just the player and puzzles. So get to it. The variety is there and it’s just a space for you. You can relax and have a different experience from other games. The developers ‘Indigo studios’ have done a good job. X35 Earthwalker will have to hear how this game goes with the gamers. Now Seven Doors may have puzzles but there aren’t enough doors for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
The Pathless is an action adventure game developed by ‘Giant Squid‘ and published by ‘Annapurna Interactive‘. The Pathless is said to come out February 2nd 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It’s already out on PS5, PS4 and pc. The Pathless looking like it want to hit hard. X35 Earthwalker know a good game and what’s a special game. Let’s take a look.
The Pathless is about a hunter. This hunter is a master archer. Your mission? To deal with an evil in this mystical land, that affects the whole world. You aren\”t alone as you get an eagle as a companion. Hunter and Eagle in a massive forest to take down evil. Sounds cool. Quick tip: That eagle is important. Be good to it and build a good relationship with it.
Now this game gets action quite right. It’s smooth. An acrobatic character for sure. Dive around, soar through the air, fire shots and stay agile. After all The Pathless takes place in a massive forest. It’s actually very fluid as well. Powerful consoles like the Xbox Series X will have a a good day with this game.
Players will be hunting down corrupted spirits. There are ancient ruins which of course have puzzles. That’s a classic. Temples that haven’t been maintained in a while and even really tall spires. Expect this game too have a nice journey as the ones behind ‘Journey’ and ‘Abzû’ are on the case. Atmosphere should therefore be right.
We checked out some The Pathless gameplay. This game looks clean. Bringing back the light to the land is going to be a challenge for sure. The most standing out thing is the gameplay. The movements, the animations and the agility of the hunter are top tier. Loving it. We know there are big threats out there. Those corrupted spirts are no joke. They might even be the one to hunt you. Defeat them and get that light restored. Boss battles on deck!!!
Overall we checked out some The Pathless gameplay and it’s a bit more than what we expected. That’s rare as well. The Pathless looks like a very good game. Atmosphere is being taken seriously. The partial effects are nice. The graphic style works with this game. We ain’t mad at it. You already know the music is going to be excellent. Orchestrated nicely. The developers ‘Giant Squid’ have done an excellent job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker are glad we discovered this game. Now The ‘Pathless’ may have a beautiful adventure ahead but it’s not enough for…. the ‘Earth Walk!’
The Callisto Protocol came out last year and it was highly anticipated. It’s survival horror and off course similar to Dead Space in a number of ways. The Callisto Protocol has been unfairly attacked and low balled in the rating department and for terrible or not good reasons. We expect that now of low skilled reviews and trash reviewers. Modern gamers are quite toxic too. We have see many people, especially on twitter have such ridiculous standards for rating games and a bad understanding of game scores. So X35 Earthwalker will give his review of the game in his style, as the world’s smartest gamer and ultimate strategist, his view is better than all. Let’s take a look.
For some quick back story information. The Callisto Protocol got development help from Dead Space. For example Glen Schofield, who co-created the dead Space series, directed the development of The Callisto Protocol. Steve Papoutsis, Scott Whitney, Christopher Stone are other examples. Schofield said that about 25 to 30 former coworkers from visceral games and sledgehammer games worked on The Callisto Protocol. Dead Space is highly loved and respected, especially the survival horror game world. So it’s clear these guys know how to make a good game. They might now a thing or two. So we have veterans on The Callisto Protocol team.
Now The Callisto Protocol is an excellent game. We can say that right out the gates. The Callisto Protocol is made very well and we enjoyed the journey. There isn’t really a part of the game we do not like. There were parts of Dead that we didn’t like but not so with The Callisto Protocol. The developers wanted The Callisto Protocol to be the standard for survival horror games going forward… next gen survival horror. We think they did that. Not the best of all time but the standard. Now does The Callisto Protocol have the scares? Yes! Take into account that X35 Earthwalker is built different. X35 didn’t get scared, not even once. We have seen others get truly scared. Is The Callisto Protocol survival heavy? It’s more mid than heavy. You get surprisingly a lot more ammo than you would expect. We always had ammo for shooting and have not once, ran out of ammo. To be fair we did prefer to melee fight enemies for.
Speaking of melee, this has divided some fans. We don’t find this divided at all. The melee combat system is very good. Definitely something innovative and new to the genre. Every battle can be intense and if you mess up… you really mess up. Especially when you are fighting two enemies at a time. You have to really know when to attack and when to switch who you are dodging against. Players have to pay attention to the enemies attacks as some foes may throw in multiple attacks. You can’t assume the enemies will always swing twice and then stop. They might go up to 4 swings. The melee mechanics are quite deep as you can dodge, blocker end your attack string with a quick aim shot. You can dismember enemies too which unlike other games, it does make a different here. Dodging is obvious, get out of the way and take no damage. Block, you heavily reduce the damage you would take but if you block the enemies last hit this allows for a ‘blocking counter attack’ where you do a low attack which knocks the enemy down. This gives you time to decide what to do next. Dismembering enemies matter here as standard enemies can’t do multiple attacks if they are missing an arm. So upgrade the baton to destroy the arm of an enemy that blocks your attack or shoot it off and that enemy can only do one swing at you instead of an attack chain. If you get rid of their leg then they will crawl and lose the majority of their hit points. A crawling enemy gets one shotted if you hit them with your baton. Just remember to block their first attack as it is fast.
What’s also interesting and next gen about The Callisto Protocol is that depending on where you defeat an enemy you might trigger an animated kill. We have shoved an enemy into the wall, parted its legs and went for the head. There’s more of the animated kills too and that’s next gen. The enemies have these animated kills too and they are brutal! We have seen players get their head stomped on multiple times, get beaten to death while in a headlock, have their jaw ripped open and off, grabbed by a massive enemy and ripped in two and more. This is next gen and detailed. Just watching them is quite heavy at times. There’s even a death animation during that section of the game where you are sliding down on huge currents of water and had to dodge pillars and the fans. If the fan gets you, you are caught in it, raised to the top and cut in half. Now that’s gory to watch. Dead Space had gory environmental kills but not enemy kills and player melee like The Callisto Protocol. Stuff like this makes a difference.
Next is the other things you can do like environmental kills thanks to the GRP. Let’s get this one thing quickly out of the way. We found the GRP more useful than the kinesis from Dead Space. The GRP doesn’t just grab objects and items but also the whole person as well which makes it stronger. You can grab a rushing enemy and throw it back to create space or you can just throw them over the edge into the abyss, drop them off in deep water, throw them into spikes on the wall or a giant blender thing. There’s options. The Callisto Protocol gives many environmental kill areas for the players to use. It encourages GRP action and we use it.
We like the use of darkness in this game. The Callisto Protocol is quite dark. Dark with the humour too. This is quite new and an unpleasant change. Those chests that have loot and goods in them are throughout the game. They are worth looking for but there are some that are a trap. If you open one of these traps, you won’t find loot but instead a small foe that will leap on you and attack. So yeah, that sucks but it keeps players on their toes and not falling into some patterns. The enemies will also track you down or try to follow you through the vent and pipe systems. Here’s where The Callisto Protocol sound design is excellent. We remember standing inn an area and hearing a foe going through the vents. We heard it go up, then to the side, then down and we looked down and saw a vent point and moved some distance away and got the weapon ready. It soon popped out off the vent and it was greeted with gun fire. Excellent sound design. We could hear everything and sometimes… that was a bad thing. As noises would be heard and you hear foes but nothing came for you. Atmosphere nonsense. Trying to get in your head.
Now is The Callisto Protocol perfect? No. Only very few games are actually perfect. We will go over some negatives but first let’s defend the game from bad critics and reviewers. Most people bashed the game for having bugs on launch. That’s not that common with games today. No one wants bus but it does happen. Games should not be down marked for bugs as bugs are fixable and not intentional. They aren’t a feature of the game itself. So they shouldn’t be counted. Even Markiplier stated this in his The Callisto Protocol gameplay videos on youtube. It’s not a reason to say the game is bad. Most of the bug issues are coming from people who played on pc. While the true gamers who play on console like Xbox Series X didn’t have much problems. X35 Earthwalker didn’t experience any bugs at all. As for the visuals, we went into the settings and basically turned on performance mode and got 60 frames per second and smooth gameplay. Guess it pays to be on a gaming console. Sounds more like a pc issue. People want to bash it over the combat but it’s better than the combat in Dead Space. Melee in Dead Space is useless, except for Dead Space 3 where you build a melee weapon. If you want to fight like Dead Space, then use your gun and fire at a distance. If they come close, you can dodge and fight back. It’s a weak argument and excuse. We never had any problems with camera except for one moment. Some described the game as unfair or cheap. It’s a survival horror game, you are in an unfair situation by default. You have to find things and be disciplined with your ammo. The Callisto Protocol has a realistic healing process. Not some magical instant heal like in other videos games. By the way, angry joe has one of the worst reviews of this game. We had a counter to every complaint they had. Their arguments weren’t even good.
Now what we think that’s negative with The Callisto Protocol. The inventory. Now we get that as prisoners and only prison clothes, we don’t have much space for items nor would we have access to a storage box like in pokemon. We are on our own. Just hated the lack of space at the start and mid of the game. Wish there was some sort of system to help with inventory space but we made it work. It’s intentional design and it fits the situation of the game but the real issue with the inventory was when you got multiple weapons and you therefore got ammo for each individual weapon. Our space was filled with 5 different ammo typos and they all shared the space. You couldn’t store weapons and their ammo so you had to carry it all… all the time. It was very annoying. We wished we could store or remove some weapons so we only get ammo for certain weapons that we liked. The next issue is the weapons themselves. Some weapons are far more useful than others. Some weapons, we rather didn’t have. The tactical pistol is cool and its projectiles reminds us of Star Wars guns. It’s cool but not needed. We only want three guns and that’s it. There should’ve been a better variety of weapons. A sniper would have been a better weapon. Maybe weapon mods to add more variety to the firepower. The skunk gun and the riot gun just basically do the same thing. Shouldn’t have both. The assault rifle needs increased damage. It’s a full on weapon and yet the pistol is stronger. That ain’t right.
Next complaint is the upgrade costs. The Callisto Protocol was designed for new game + which was recently added to the game. You cannot afford all the upgrades in one play through. You have do decide what matters to you and what to invest in. Some stuff was far too expensive and discouraged us from aiming for it. The top upgrade of the assault rifle is like 4500 Callisto credits. That’s ridiculous. Other’s were 3600. No way. No thank you. We know inflation Issa thing and energy costs have risen but this is so unfair. Next issue is their use of the variety of enemies. The variety isn’t strong but how they use them is weak. We needed more enemies thrown in the mix or utilise more based on how they work. We may have to go into more detail on the X35 Earthwalker podcast. Next up is the length the game. It’s too short for us. We wanted more for sure. It’s solid and great for what’s in it but it being a bigger game would have added more to the experience. There was room for more. Lastly though is that there should have been a gallery mode for players who have beat the game. A gallery where we can view all the executions the enemies can get on the player. The developers clearly worked on these animated kills so make a mode for us to view it.
Back to positives. The attention to details in The Callisto Protocol is immense. There is lots of details. Even angry Joe stated that it was best graphics of the year which is mighty praise. We have to almost agree but the graphics and visuals are crazy good and very few games can compete with it. Look at the snow, the dome, the biome, the icicles and even the sweat on the face of our characters and others. The first, the marks, the blood stains. Come on. You have to give it that. The lighting was top level too. In a horror game, lighting makes a big difference. Sometimes you can’t see the threat… well sort off. Some areas don’t look safe to enter. Speaking of safe to enter. There are optional side areas that in real life, we would never set foot in there… but it’s a video game and we want the loot so we literally jumped down into infected red water with cysts and goopy stuff everywhere and something moving in the water. Nope, nope and more nope. Some areas make you literally not want to go. Now there is much more to say. Another positive which most ignore but it should be said. They’re a photo mode for the game. You can access it at anytime in gameplay and take pictures with the enemies, posing, weapons in hand, remove things in view, put on filters, zoom, rotate and so much more. The photo mode is actually very in depth. More detailed than we thought. It surprised us. You should give that mode a try. Work went into it.
There’s the characters. We hated Dani, then disliked Dani and now care for Dani. She has a good character and it makes sense the way that she is. Once you know more about her. Elias is our favourite and we loved Elias. We trusted Elias and we were right to do so even though others doubted him. Elias was honest, helpful and changed to become a better person. Wish things turned out differently for him. Captain ferris is a piece of crap and will always be crap. Typical abusive guard who needs his but kicked. The warden was a bad guy and we knew its right from the start from how he talked. There’s more but let’s leave it there. The characters are good and interesting individuals. You understand them and get to know them pretty well. We can talk about the story and what is the cause of the infection, what the warden wanted and that he is part of something much bigger, we could talk about the alpha and captain leon ferris and so much more but if you want something more fluid then check out the X35 Earthwalker podcast on Anchor and Spotify. This G-blog is already really long. Spent hours on this.
Overall The Callisto Protocol is an excellent game. It’s not average or as some of these ignorant people online wants to ay it’s bad. They even think 7/10 is bad for some reason. No. The Callisto Protocol is easily 9/10. We aren’t mad at anyone who can argue that it’s a solid 8/10. That’s fair but we see all the work and effort. We enjoyed the combat, we enjoyed the story, we enjoyed the atmosphere, the lighting, the good weapons, the suit upgrade, the characters and more. Another example of do not listen to the dumb reviewers and critics. The Callisto Protocol is not a 6/10. It’s excellent and lots of hard work went into it. The developers ‘Striking Distance Studios’ have done an excellent job and they can learn from this. X35 Earthwalker knows how to review games. is Now The Callisto Protocol may be an excellent game but it’s not good enough for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure is an adventure exploration game developed and published by ‘EpiXR Games‘. Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure is said to be coming out the 10th of February 2023 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC. 9th of February for the Nintendo Switch. Now players will control a bee. X35 Earthwalker has experience with these developers. Hope they have improved. Let’s take a look.
Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure has a very simple story. You control a bee. The bee is looking for a new home. The journey begins in a school building. Things aren’t so safe in there but you push on. That’s the story. You are a bee and flying around.
Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure is described as ‘story-driven’. So already there are expectations here. We doubt how effective this game will be concerning the story.
You will encounter a number of things. “distant places” and some animals. Maybe they have a talk about animal life. Complaining about their weaknesses. Who knows. It’s Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure after all.
We checked out some Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure gameplay and it’s what we expected. The main prize of this game is the exploration. Just fly around and go wherever you want. Players may come across items. Maybe even an energy potion to keep you going. There’s even golden flowers hidden around. Collect all of them if you want.
Overall Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure does not look like a good game so far. If you want a chill and relaxed atmosphere then there’s better options. There’s limitations on the flying. You shouldn’t need energy potion to boost. Boosting should be available always. flying around and exploring is the best part of this game. It needs to be as free and fun as possible. We don’t see the story driven narrative side of this game. The developers ‘EpiXR Games‘ have to do better in developing games. X35 Earthwalker is not feeling this game. Now Bumblebee: Little Bee Adventure my have a journey but it needs to bee better for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
