Dave Lambden

In an admittedly reluctant yet progressive move, Dave was brought on as Handsome Phantom's first and probably only Canadian Correspondent. An expert on all things Maple Syrup, Curling, and good looking world leaders, he contributes about as much to this website as his home land contributes to relevant international current events. As a generally nice guy, he has a hard time saying anything critical about video games, but he really does love them and the joy they've brought for his 30 years. Sorry.

Journey Across Bits And Pixels In The Messenger – Review (PC)

Following in the footsteps of the recent explosion of 8-bit and 16-bit retro throwbacks, The Messenger aims to lure players in with its nostalgia and keep them around with versatile platforming and fast paced action. As the first game from new developer Sabotage Studio, The Messenger does a good job of making you feel like a badass and a lightning quick ninja, and adds a unique twist in combining both 8 bit and 16 bit art styles. The focus here is on rapid and frantic movement as you dodge, glide, leap, and rappel your way through levels. There’s not a whole lot here that is new, but it is fun and invigorating nonetheless.

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HYPERGUN – Review (PC)

Chances are when aliens finally do attack, we will have little time to react and formulate a plan of action. But if the belligerent extraterrestrials were so kind as to provide us with a bit of advanced notice, how would we go about creating an effective arsenal to defend ourselves with? Developer NVYVE Studios has the answer with its new rougelite first person shooter, HYPERGUN. It gives the player a near unlimited amount of weapon combinations to experiment with in an effort to give mankind a fighting chance against unwelcome invaders. It unfortunately falters with its inability to have the same creative approach to challenge as it does with weapon configuration.

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The Path of Motus – Review (PC)

The Path of Motus puts players in to the shoes of Motus, a young and adventurous troll who sets out to explore what lies beyond his village. Despite warnings from his father and neighbors about the dangers of the surrounding forest, Motus pushes onward to conquer both physical and mental challenges that so many have told him are insurmountable.

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Love Is Dead – Review (PC)

The life of a zombie is a sad one. Beyond tearing the still living to pieces and devouring their brains like a dog with a bone, the daily routine consists of aimless wandering, moaning, and staring off lifelessly until a new source of nourishment presents itself. There is little purpose and a lot of downtime. But what if the undead did have some function or higher aspiration?

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Fox n Forests – Review (PC)

At first glance, I was ecstatic about Fox n Forests. This is a 16-bit style side scrolling adventure that screams Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo platformer. This was the generation that started me down the road of gaming. My chance to feel like a kid again. But I was forewarned about this. Fellow Handsome Phantom, Phil Neyman recently wrote about how our “Nostalgia Is Lying To Us”.

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The Thin Silence – Review (PC)

We see quite often in our daily lives people who have been through troubling or even traumatizing experiences that find ways to talk about the mental struggle they’ve been through. Some become public speakers, other write books and music – whatever medium can be used to express themselves and bring awareness to the things we don’t…

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