There were plenty of treats and not many tricks in the latest batch of games we checked out in October for the latest Gamebox 2.0. We entered the animated world of Bye Sweet Carole, fought back an evil gaming virus with the Nerd in Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit, blasted Nazis and undead creatures in the Darkenstein 3D, and more. Check out our thoughts on everything we played below.
Bye Sweet Carole (Zach): Coming from developer Little Sewing Machine and publisher Maximum Entertainment, Bye Sweet Carole is a side-scrolling horror game featuring stunning, hand-drawn animation. You play as Lana Benton, who lives at the Bunny Hall Orphanage. Trying to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of her best friend, Carole, Lana finds herself caught up in a fantastical but terrifying adventure as a magical world called Corolla begins to bleed into the real world, bringing threats like the evil Mr. Kyn. The gameplay sees you controlling Lana as you navigate through the different chapters, collecting items and solving puzzles to progress. Shortly into the game, Lana gains the ability to turn into a rabbit, which allows for more platforming segments and the ability to triangle jump up narrow corridors. You have to switch back and forth between the forms, as each has its own strengths and weaknesses you need to leverage.
The game also features quick-time events in specific action sequences and some Until Dawn-style “hold your breath” hiding sequences that result in Lana getting killed instantly if you fail them. There are a few gameplay elements, like Out of this World and Clock Tower, where you’ll encounter something that you weren’t expecting that will kill you, and you need to try it again, this time with the knowledge of what to expect. It’s a bit frustrating at times, but the respawns are fast, and you are usually not put that far back in the level.
The standout element of the game is, of course, the animation and art style. It evokes 90s Disney or, even more so, Don Bluth design work. I get big Secret of NIMH vibes from the game, with its mix of fantastical and horrifyingly dark elements, and the enemies, especially, feel like something Bluth would design. The voice acting is exceptional as well, and there’s even a Disney-style song on the soundtrack, “Let Your Voice Be Heard”. The animation is fluid and never feels like it hinders gameplay. Sometimes, with heavily animated games, the animation takes priority over gameplay, leading to what feels like input delays that can hurt or kill the player, but I never felt that in Bye Sweet Carole. If you’re looking for a visually stunning, narrative-driven horror game, then definitely check out Bye Sweet Carole. It’s out now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit (Chris): When video games are threatened by a hostile invasion by a technological monstrosity, only one foul-mouthed basement gamer dares to enter into an 8-bit battlefield. Developed by Programancer and published by Retroware, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is a retro-style platformer that follows the Nerd in his latest gaming session, which quickly spirals into chaos when his one-time robotic ally, Super Mechanic Death Christ 2000, reemerges and spreads a virus that will eliminate all video games from existence. Forced to play on a possessed NES console, the Nerd must defeat six bosses to crash SMDC2K’s code and save all of gaming.
AVGN 8-bit combines precise platforming with tight run-and-gun action similar to classics like Mega Man and Contra. All of that unfolds across a pixelated nightmare built from the Nerd’s most hated NES games, packed with the kind of cruel difficulty that made players throw their controllers at their screens. The Nerd is equipped with a pistol that can be temporarily upgraded by finding additional equipment and power-ups. Taking damage drops the gun power back to a previous level, but if the player is fast enough, they can recover the upgrade quickly. There is also a secondary weapon slot that the Nerd uses for limited speciality attacks, like tossing bottles, summoning an assist attack from Shitpickle, or dropping an enemy-clearing F-bomb.
Each level riffs on a real NES title, complete with the risky gaps and enemy placements that will make players groan. The enemies’ designs are fun nods to various characters from TV, movies, and games. Each has different attack patterns and can even block direct attacks. However, enemies respawn the moment you backtrack, and their movement is designed so that avoiding a fight almost never works. A single wandering enemy can turn a precision jump into a problem, costing you precious health or knocking your gun power down right before a boss encounter. Some enemies weave around so unpredictably that landing a hit feels like a chore. Sometimes it’s convenient to skip those tempting, hard-to-reach power-ups just to avoid bringing enemies back.
At the end of every level is a big boss fight that has the Nerd dodging and waiting for the right moment to hit a weak spot. Having an upgraded gun does help a lot, but the standard pistol can still cause some damage, just very slowly. There is a good amount of variety in the boss fights, so you are not fighting the same type of boss back to back. Some bosses will be agile and dart around the screen, giving you just seconds to land a hit. Other bosses easily fill a third of the screen, covering their weak spot until they are fully in frame. Many of the attacks are clearly telegraphed, but they always include a few cheap shots that will throw players off their momentum.
The Nerd starts with a few lives and can scavenge extras along the way, though losing one only sends you back to the closest checkpoint, wherever that actually is. You won’t really know your exact respawn in the level until the screen fades back in. Boss fights raise the pressure even more, because if you die there, you’re immediately tossed back into the arena with no chance to restock power-ups or lives beforehand. If you use up every last life, the entire level resets, and you’re forced to fight your way back from the beginning.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is a loving homage to the infuriating design choices of classic platformers. Everything here is engineered to annoy you, and that’s exactly what makes it feel so authentic to the Nerd. Fans who already enjoy watching him review pixelated torture will feel right at home. The crude humor, wild visual jokes, and chaotic presentation are built for the fanbase first. Anyone unfamiliar with the Nerd might need a quick YouTube crash course to understand why this suffering is hilarious. For gamers who want to dabble in retro-style platformers, there are still plenty of great games to be found. The levels aren’t too long and dragged out, and the level designs encapsulate pretty much what a lot of classic NES games offered. For those who understand the spoof and find comfort in the anger, this game delivers nostalgic joy that’s worth every rage-filled grunt and controller toss. Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit was released on October 23rd for Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Store, and Xbox Store.
Darkenstein 3D (Zach): Created by solo developer Rowye and published by Microprose Software, Darkenstein 3D is an old-school boomer shooter that is currently free on Steam. Set in 1940s Germany, you play as Hobo Guy, whose loyal dog companion Gunther has been kidnapped by the Nazis. Going on a John Wick-style killing rampage, Hobo Guy uncovers a dark occult experiment that is bringing back the dead and unleashing other horrors. The game is inspired by Return to Castle Wolfenstein and other 90s shooters, and it definitely has their gameplay and speed. The movement speed is breakneck, but also super smooth, and the shooting feels great as well. You get an arsenal of weapons, starting with a pistol and moving up through the standard weapons you’d expect, like machine guns, shotguns, and rocket launchers. You also have a Duke Nukem-style boot that you can use to push enemies back or kill them if you are out of ammo. One twist in Darkenstein 3D is that you have a flashlight to light your way in dark areas, but you can’t hold it with a two-handed weapon, so you can only use your pistol if you want to see what’s going on in the dark passages of the game. You also get grenades, and you can get a rat companion, who you can throw at enemies to distract them so you can take them down.
The game has a great old-school look, going for a classic 3D style rather than a more pixel-based one. There are some solid gore effects when enemies turn into gibs, and the lighting and sound design are excellent as well. The music throughout the game does a great job of driving the action, and Hobo Guy has lots of Duke Nukem-style quips when he kills enemies or does something like cause a massive explosion. The levels are classic mazes like you’d expect from games like Wolfenstein or Doom, where you have to find colored keys to unlock doors and proceed through the levels. There’s a good variety of stages, which range from military fortresses to lava-filled underground caverns and crypts. If you’re a fan of old-school shooters, Darkenstein 3D has everything you want, and given the fact that it is absolutely free, you have nothing to lose by checking it out now on Steam.
Dying Breed – Early Access Build (Chris): Set in a stark alternate 1996, humanity has split apart over a powerful new energy source called Substance D. As colder northern nations migrate south, borders collapse, and two new superpowers rise to claim control. The result is a global showdown where one commander will march to victory or enslave a new civilization.
Developed by Sarnayer and published by MicroProse Software, Dying Breed is a love letter project to the era of classic RTS chaos. It pulls heavily from Command & Conquer for many of its designs: campy FMVs, blocky 3D animations, clunky pathfinding — a great recreation in one janky package. Players choose between the West World Alliance, a battered coalition rebuilding with scavenged tech, or the Empire Ascendant Order, a high-science juggernaut bent on total domination. Choosing a faction follows their perspective in the world. This changes the available weaponry and technology to raise armies and unleash fury on the opposition.
The gameplay follows the classic RTS formula: moving units, collecting resources, and building structures to prepare for attacks and counterattacks. Enemies will be hiding in the fog of war, which will mean that you must carefully explore the terrain to find pathways and shortcuts to the objective. The gameplay is the same for the West World Alliance and the Empire Ascendant Order, but their visuals and key army strengths differ. West World Alliance utilizes WW2-era weaponry and bases its technology on Nikola Tesla’s designs. Empire Ascendant Order is a morally bankrupt organization and has found sinister ways to mutate and zombify humans to create grotesque creations and powerful weapons. Each side has about 10-12 missions that feature objectives such as navigating a special unit to a location, securing high-value targets, or completely wiping out an enemy force. The WWA missions have the commander lead more humanitarian missions, such as rescuing civilians and securing footholds. EAO missions tend to involve destruction and chaos, seeking to convert humans and animals into obedient droids.
With any early access build, there are known issues that can still be fixed with upcoming development. The issues I found concerned the AI pathing and controls, which occasionally disrupt the flow of building and destroying. Selecting and sending units to fight clusters them together, putting a good number of units into passive standby mode, while units closer to enemies fight. There are toggles that reorganize units into better formations with certain hotkey presses, but nothing seems to work. There is a lot of trial and error to figure out the best way to play a level since you have very limited resources, and constructing the needed buildings and units can leave you very vulnerable. Even on the lowest difficulty, enemies will rush and test your preparation, so expect to get fast mission fails in your first few level attempts.
Currently, the campaign mode is only playable, but there is about 30 hours of content to explore. The game is unashamed to replicate the nostalgic look and feel of Command & Conquer while having fun with the designs. I got a few laughs when hearing units mumble random quotes, buildings emit crude sound effects, and I eagerly look forward to the next weird out-of-context commercial spot. The game clearly has passion behind it, and I look forward to improvements that address the difficulty spikes and controls. If you are a fan of campy games or have a love of classic RTS, then check out Dying Breed today.
Silver Bullet (Zach): Developed by 1CC Games and published by Flynn’s Arcade, Silver Bullet is a retro-style arcade shooter with lots of spooky atmosphere. You play as Van Helsing, who is out to rescue kidnapped puppies taken by the evil Reggie the Vampire. Armed with a rapid-fire crossbow, Van Helsing blasts his way across the various stages, which are set in creepy locales like a haunted house and an evil circus. The gameplay reminds me a lot of Wild Guns, as you move Van Helsing with the left stick and aim with the right stick, but if you’re shooting, you have to be stationary. You have to keep track of everything going on on screen so you can blast the enemies and targets, but know when to move. You have a melee dash that you can use to take out enemies too close for your crossbow, and Van Helsing’s pup, Silver, can be used as a special attack to clear out enemies. Between stages, you can use any gold you’ve acquired to buy upgrades, and if you collect enough coins, you can unlock Terror Blocks, a separate mode that focuses on puzzles as you blast falling bricks and make them fit Tetris style on the screen.
You can play the game with a controller, mouse and keyboard or, if you want to get really retro, an arcade stick. The visuals are fantastic, with their retro 16-bit style and lots of personality, and feature stages bursting with color and detail. The music is also great, featuring synth tracks that utilize the YM2612 sound chip. Silver Bullet feels like a lost arcade classic, and if you’re a fan of games like Cabal or Wild Arms, you’ll definitely enjoy Silver Bullet. It’s the perfect fun game for the spooky season, and you can check it out on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
