Despelote beautifully captures the mundane but rich childhood experience of play and sport through its gentle slice-of-life narrative. Via its stellar first-person soccer mechanics, intimate scope, and outstanding hand-made visual stylings, it succeeds at capturing a personal autobiographical sense of Ecuador and the quietly affecting experiences of youth.
A touching fable of companionship, Koira is a strong debut title whose thoughtful design belies its simple presentation. Its charming use of music over dialogue, affection for small, quiet moments and simple but clever mechanics create an affecting journey through and with nature.
It feels unfair to be so punishing to a studio's debut game. Clearly, there is some affection for the genres Morkull Ragast's Rage is playing within here, and the hand-drawn art style is admirable and something I wish more games sought to emulate. But the sheer lack of polish and mediocrity of its game systems, metafictional elements and overall presentation left me raging at the Ragast, and not in the way I suspect the developers intended.
The Stone of Madness feels like an admirable gamble of a new direction for The Game Kitchen, and one that mostly pays off. Besides the frustrations with the stealth, sanity system and inconsistent tone, its core prison break loop remains a satisfying one, and the monastery's environmental design and artistic direction make it a compelling playground to explore.