Prime Gaming – April 2024

Despite having some information on Monday, I’m glad I held off on this piece. None of the first set of information was true with Prime this month. Instead, it is a different pile of crap that is full of repeats, hidden object nonsense, and things you’ve never heard of and don’t care for. That includes Pokémon Go, FC 24, UFC 5, F1 23, NFL Rivals, Company of Heroes 3, Aion and Aion Classic rewards, and lots of mobile and worthless in-game nonsense. Though for some of the games included this month, I can’t say that’s much different either. Let’s get to the games available through Prime Gaming this month.

Starting yesterday (I’m not doing this May 1st), you can pick up a couple of things, including Black Desert. A subscription-based (I believe) fantasy MMORPG, released a decade ago and developed by Korean developer Pearl Abyss, you know exactly what it is. Skimpy outfits for women portrayed as armor but only covering 0.5% of skin whiter than snow, and of course, blokes covered in pauldrons after pauldrons and clad in enough cloth to drown in. To say I have zero interest in Black Desert is an understatement, though those who do can redeem the code via the shop in the Black Desert Online launcher.

Available through the Amazon Games app, you can pick up Faraway 2: Jungle Escape, again. Released in 2022 on Steam without the number, apparently taking advice from Vince McMahon that kids view numbers greater than 1 to be old. Supposedly shorter than its predecessor, Pine Studio’s puzzle titles under the Faraway name are simple and intentionally not too difficult. If you’re looking for something more like The Witness, you might want to look elsewhere.

The final game available from the 4th is another online MMO, though this time an FPS title, Chivalry 2. Available through the Epic Games Store, originally released in 2021 exclusively for Epic, Torn Banner’s sequel to its 2012 medieval warfare-based hit is generally favored by most. Boasting battles with 64 players (in this economy?), there is a balance between running in to hack and slash and the skilled melees amidst the brawl. Much like other months of late, the start often is the strongest.

Moving on to the 11th of April, it is another three-way battle for your attention. We’ll start with the repeat of Faraway 3: Arctic Escape, the 2023 sequel to Faraway 2: Jungle Escape. You know, the game we just spoke about being shorter than the one before it. Arctic Escape is similarly short, but not shorter than its jungle counterpart. Available through the Amazon Games app, you probably already have this one if you’ve followed this series for long enough.

Available through the Epic Games Store, though you’ll have gotten it from Epic on a free week a while back anyway, you can pick up Demon’s Tilt. Only adding Bullet Hell elements isn’t going to top the 1992 classic pinball title that came from EA of all places for the Mega Drive. Demon’s Tilt certainly isn’t going to top Crüe Ball, but it offers something for those looking to fill that pinball desire that Microsoft isn’t fulfilling with the other classic, Microsoft 3D Pinball: Space Cadet.

Released in 2011, Drawn: Trail of Shadows is available through the Amazon Games app. A small peak behind the curtain here, this is the last one I’ve written because I’d honestly forgotten it was even available from the 11th. There isn’t much to say though. Released on Steam in 2017, the Big Fish Games hidden object title is about as interesting as cleaning out the drains in your bathrooms.

The final game that’s available for the 11th, and coming to GOG for PC players or (oddly enough) you can pick up an Xbox code to play on your Xbox, Fallout 76. Do I need to explain the Bethesda-made Fallout MMO that landed like a wet fart in a cramped lift (elevator for Americans)? Set 25 years after the bombs fell, you stumble around West Virginia in search of other players to annoy before closing the game and forgetting about it for several months. Honestly, I’m surprised the servers are still online several years after launch too.

From the 18th of April, you too will wonder how good the crack is over at Amazon, as you can pick up Rose Riddle: Fairy Tale Detective Collector’s Edition via Legacy Games with a code. I don’t even know how to explain it: Like Diner Dash you click on things and collect them, it seems you are building things with the help of creepy Nutcrackers. How in the christ you are supposed to be helping Rose Riddle help her find her missing parents by building a bank and defeating Wizard of Oz-style flying Monkeys, which are dressed like 1930s gangsters with Tommy Guns no less, is beyond me.

Not that the second game available on the 18th via the Amazon Games app is much better, as it is the repeat of Dexter Stardust: Adventures in Outer Space. In September we saw this one rearing its Indiana Jones-wannabe head, with yet another character I want to punch square in his Five’o’clock shadowed chiseled jaw. “A Spacey Classic Point and Click Adventure for All!” as the brief description at the top of the Steam page says, sums it up exactly. An attempt to capture that Lucas Arts-style adventure game without leaving anyone behind.

It doesn’t get much better for the 25th of April either, as another triple bill starts with Living Legends: Fallen Sky. I can smell it in the air from that title, that’s right it is a Big Fish Games game. Get out the tank of pure chlorine, because I need to feel like I’ve got a severe head injury to complete these hidden object adventure titles. Available through the Amazon Games app, those who do want to pick it up don’t have to faff about with Legacy Games, thankfully.

Available next through the Amazon Games app is Big Loop Studios’ Tiny Robots Recharged. The studio behind the Doors/Boxes series, it is the same Point & Click hidden object gameplay in a different robotic packaging. What am I supposed to say here? “A great little puzzler for all the family?” I’m not paid to say that, and I’m not reviewing it either, it is a generic little puzzle game that isn’t too exciting from the outside looking in.

To close out the month, also available through the Amazon Games app, is Indiesruption’s Vlad Circus: Descend Into Madness. A Point & Click Survivor Horror puzzle game with a pixel clown vomiting and stumbling around a labyrinthine maze. Sounds a lot like the last stag night I went to. Generally liked since its release last year, the short title (in terms of gameplay length) might be worth a look later in the month, if only there weren’t a few interesting indies taking up our time.