Static Dread: The Lighthouse is a disappointing attempt at combining the suspense, dread, and worldbuilding of Lovecraftian horror with the gameplay of Papers, Please. With what little this game does right, such as its incredible character designs and art, it is sadly overlooked by its tonal inconsistencies and its diabolical mediocrity, from its poorly implemented sanity and energy mechanics to its horrendously easy and repetitive gameplay loop. It's an easily forgettable and thematically incoherent narrative, lacking any genuine horror elements, and revealing its eldritch threats too early on. Few games capture the essence of H.P. Lovecraft, and Static Dread falls flat at every turn.
For an independent studio's debut game, Luto strongly delivers on Broken Bird Games' ethos of delivering deep narrative experiences that reflect both their passion for video games but also great stories.
Out of Sight is a short and simple experience that captures the horror of being a child in an unfamiliar and frightening situation. While its well-crafted audio design and second-person perspective distinguish it from other games of the genre, I was never excited by its flat and predictable story, nor its highly repetitive and bland gameplay.
Red Souls Games should be proud of releasing their debut title; there is no doubt about that. But as a game striving to honour the paragons of survival horror, Post Trauma significantly falls short. Its astounding art direction and captivating music create an unnervingly eerie atmosphere that will stick with you well after the game's conclusion. But Post Trauma's muddled and borderline incoherent story, flat characters, frustratingly difficult puzzles, and incredibly easy gameplay, where the stakes are never felt, are a real disservice to what is a clear love letter to horror.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is an undoubtedly fun, charming, and riveting entry into a well-established franchise. With a sprawling open world to explore, a variety of interesting ideas and themes, an extraordinary story, charming characters, and a completely overhauled synthesis system, Atelier Yumia is a great starting point for newcomers, and a welcomed addition to a much-loved franchise by fans.
As a huge fan of the Tales series, Tales of Graces f Remastered is the ultimate way to experience one of the more thought-provoking and emotionally intriguing stories in the franchise. The quality of life improvements of this remaster not only serve to keep the series relevant, and greatly make up for some of the game's bigger shortcomings, such as its slow opening act, and a padded-out end-game, but it is also an exciting study into what the franchise's next remastered project might look like.