Nova Hearts: The Spark
Lightbulb Crew-
PC - 17/01/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 12 because it features use of bad language and scenes of a sexual nature. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Visual novel which combines a text-message driven story with side-scrolling turn-based arcade-style combat. Players transform into their cosmic alter-egos and utilise their unique powers to battle enemies from another dimension.
Content specific issues
This game features use of bad language including 'shit' and 'bitch'. There are also some visual and verbal sexual references, which vary from flirtatious comments to oblique references to BDSM.
Other issues
The game also includes mild violence, with characters flashing when hit during physical and magical attacks, with number damage indicated. While there are some minor grunting sounds, reactions are unrealistic and there is no sight of blood or injuries.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition
Koei Tecmo Europe Ltd-
PlayStation 5 - 07/02/2024
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PlayStation 4 - 07/02/2024
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PC - 07/02/2024
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Xbox One - 07/02/2024
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Xbox Series X|S - 07/02/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 16 because it features strong violence. Not suitable for persons under 16 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Role-playing game, set during a fictional version of the Chinese Han dynasty, in which players must put a stop to the demonic forces which have taken over three kingdoms. This Complete Edition features the main game and all additional DLC.
Content specific issues
This game contains frequent strong and realistic violence towards human characters. Impacts with weapons cause large splashes of blood, which spills onto the ground, and characters grunt and flinch. Bloody bodies are seen on the ground of battlefields.
Other issues
The game also includes use of bad language, including 'bastard'.
TRINITY SURVIVORS
Flyway Games-
PC - 17/01/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 12 because it features use of bad language. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Survival game in which players control a unit made up of three characters which must fight against incoming waves of fantastical enemies.
Content specific issues
One of the background stories in the game's library includes use of bad language ('bastards').
Other issues
The game also features mild violence, which is cartoon-like and comical in style. However, it is possible for enemies to break apart, leaving their body parts strewn on the ground. These body parts are not depicted in a realistic manner. Blood stains also appear on the ground wherever enemies are slain. There are references to severed ears and alcoholism.
Boardwalk Arcade 2
U&I Entertainment Limited-
Nintendo Switch - 26/04/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 3 and features occasional very mild violence in a comical or abstract context. Suitable for all ages.
Brief outline of the game
Collection of 10 arcade-style mini-games: Shooting Gallery, Ring Toss, Skill-Ball, Whack-a-Mole, Balloon Darts, Mini-Bowling, Hoop Shot, Frog Launch, Claw Machine and Pinball.
Content specific issues
In the Whack-a-Mole mini-game, players hit moles on the tops of their head with a plushy hammer. The moles flinch and flash red when hit, then disappear into a hole.
Lunar Lander Beyond
U&I Entertainment Limited-
PlayStation 5 - 26/04/2024
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Nintendo Switch - 26/04/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 12 because it features use of bad language. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Space piloting game in which players must navigate their craft through a series of missions, delivering cargo, retrieving resources, and rescuing stranded pilots, as they navigate a mysterious universe of moons and planets.
Content specific issues
This game features use of bad language, including 'bastard' and 'ass', as well as milder terms such as 'hell' and 'damn'.
Other issues
There are references to alcohol and to stress-reduction pills. If the player's craft runs out of health points, the mission fails and restarts, although the death of the pilot is not shown. One level requires players to encourage a giant alien creature, which is firing upon you, to accidentally shoot and destroy itself. However, its physical reaction is unrealistic and neither blood nor injuries are depicted.
Pepper Grinder
Devolver Digital-
Nintendo Switch - 05/03/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 7 because it features mild and non-realistic violence that lacks any apparent harm or injury to both non-detailed human-like and fantasy characters. Not suitable for persons under 7 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Side-scrolling platform game in which players use a large drill to navigate terrain and fend off fantasy creatures.
Content specific issues
This game features mild violence. Enemy characters flash when hit and damage is indicated using numbers, without blood or injury detail. When the player's character is defeated, it falls off screen and respawns.
Other issues
2D side-scrolling platformer in which your pixelated, non-detailed human-like character uses a large drill to navigate the terrain and fend off enemy fantasy creatures.
Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator
Koei Tecmo Europe Ltd-
PC - 25/01/2024
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Mobile - 25/01/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 12 because it features moderate violence. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Latest instalment in the Atelier series, this time featuring the female alchemist, Resleriana, and her friends as they embark on yet another adventure filled with quests.
Content specific issues
This game contains frequent depictions of non-realistic looking violence involving fantasy and human-like characters. When characters are hit, bright lights and magical effects appear on impact, with numbers indicating levels of damage. Characters stagger backwards, although injuries are not shown. When characters have been defeated, they fall to the floor, with no visible injuries, and the battle ends. One cinematic shows a character in combat, stamping on the stomach of another, who clutches their abdomen in a pained reaction but is not seriously hurt.
Other issues
This game offers players the opportunity to purchase in-game items in the form of 'Lodestar Gems' which can then be used to make further purchases. Purchases include bundles containing various items, such as experience candy, or participation in the 'Wish' game in which players have a randomised opportunity to unlock new characters or 'Memorias'. Some parents or carers may want to be aware of this. Parents, carers, or other responsible adults should check to see what is being offered before making any purchase on behalf of a child. It should be noted that the game can still be played without the need to purchase such items.
Valiant Heart Coming Home
Ubisoft EMEA-
PC - 07/03/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 12 because it features moderate violence and images that younger players may find disturbing. Not suitable for persons under 12 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Story-driven puzzle solving game, set during the First World War, in which players follow the lives of five interlinked characters. Players must complete tasks which are specific to each character's role, such as flying a plane, working in a hospital, or helping other soldiers on the battlefield.
Content specific issues
This game features moderate violence towards human-like characters. Characters react to impacts by screaming and falling to the floor, or being thrown through the air, although there is no blood shown during acts of violence. However, blood is seen on the bodies of fallen soldiers on the battlefield and in the game's hospital, which may be disturbing to younger children.
Other issues
There are scenes involving racial discrimination in a historical context. For example, black characters are only able to use a door which has a black square at the top and it is implied that a character has been stabbed and killed in a racist attack, although the actual violence is not shown.
Endless Ocean Luminous
Nintendo of Europe AG-
Nintendo Switch - 02/05/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 3. Suitable for all ages.
Brief outline of the game
Exploration game in which players take on the role of an oceanic researcher tasked with documenting life found in the Veiled Sea. Players can learn about different types of fish, salvage objects from the ocean floor, swim with sea creatures, and uncover the mysteries of the deep.
Content specific issues
Some of the creatures the player encounters may be a little scary for sensitive children.
Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-
Aksys Games-
Nintendo Switch - 04/04/2024
Advice for consumers
This game has received a PEGI 16 because it features references to sexual threat. Not suitable for persons under 16 years of age.
Brief outline of the game
Japanese visual novel in which King Enma sends his daughter to capture some prisoners who have escaped from Hell.
Content specific issues
This game features references to sexual threat. In one scene, a man commands a woman to remove her underwear at knifepoint before he is interrupted. In another scene, a girl wakes up and finds she has been captured and drugged with the intention of selling her off to men, although any such violence is prevented from happening.
Other issues
This game also includes references to suicide, prostitution and gambling, as well as use of bad language, including 'shit', 'bastard' and 'piss'.