Risto Karinkanta
Cloudpunk: City of Ghosts is a strong narrative-driven expansion that builds on the neon-lit, dystopian world of Cloudpunk, offering more of what fans loved. While it doesn’t introduce new areas or mechanics, it excels in atmosphere, character development, and story depth, making it a worthy continuation. The occasional grind and repetitive delivery loops may wear thin, but the rich storytelling and immersive cityscape keep the experience compelling throughout its 20-hour runtime.
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Forgotten Fields attempts a heartfelt dual narrative about a struggling writer and his fantasy story but falters due to clunky controls, technical issues, and outdated design. While its warm, introspective tone and soundtrack offer some charm, the gameplay is bogged down by bugs, stiff animation, and lackluster visuals. Despite a decent ending and short runtime, the overall experience struggles to stay immersive or engaging, making it suitable mostly for achievement hunters or the most forgiving narrative game fans.
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Outriders delivers fast-paced, addictive looter-shooter action with satisfying combat mechanics, strong class variety, and a clever loot-mod system that encourages build experimentation. However, the experience is dragged down by its bland and repetitive mission design, a painfully linear world structure, forgettable story, and frequent technical issues like unstable servers. While the gunplay is engaging and the loot progression rewarding, its shallow writing and rigid structure prevent it from reaching its full potential—fun, but ultimately forgettable.
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Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a well-executed, modernized update of a classic RTS game. It enhances the original with updated graphics, a refined interface, new civilizations, gameplay modes, and built-in expansions—all without breaking the core experience. The familiar gameplay loop of gathering resources, building armies, and strategic battles remains satisfying, with multiplayer still being the game’s main strength. While not revolutionary, this edition is polished, reasonably priced, and offers plenty of content for both veterans and newcomers.
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Spacebase Startopia is a humorous space station management game that revives the cult classic Startopia with updated visuals and gameplay. It features a multi-ringed space station where players build infrastructure, cater to alien tourists, and manage resources. While the game includes fun ideas and quirky AI commentary, it suffers from clunky controls, limited depth, and occasionally chaotic gameplay pacing. Despite a long campaign and multiplayer features, the game lacks the polish and charm needed to fully captivate, making it an amusing but ultimately forgettable experience.
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Loop Hero is a deceptively simple-looking game where a warrior automatically loops around a path fighting monsters. While it starts off minimalistic, new mechanics are gradually introduced, revealing a surprisingly deep and layered experience. The core gameplay revolves around indirect control via gear and card placement, with each loop increasing difficulty. Strategic balance is crucial, as overloading the map with enemies or playing too conservatively can both lead to failure. The game features base-building, hidden mechanics, and a compelling “just one more run” loop. Despite some pacing issues, it delivers an addictive blend of roguelike, idle, and strategy elements that justify its popularity.
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If Found... is a short but deeply moving visual novel about Kasio, a young woman who has transitioned and returns to her conservative Irish hometown. The story is told through a unique "erasing" mechanic that reveals the next scene beneath, symbolizing memory and identity. While Kasio struggles with rejection from her family and community, she finds solace among a group of outsiders. The game interweaves her personal journey with a parallel sci-fi narrative, ultimately merging the two. With its stylized visuals, cultural authenticity, and emotional storytelling, If Found... delivers a powerful, artistic exploration of self-acceptance and belonging. It's a standout title that earned a Game Awards nomination for its social impact.
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Spelunky 2 is a masterful evolution of the original rogue-lite platformer, offering more depth, content, and polish while staying true to its brutal roots. Players descend procedurally generated caves filled with traps, enemies, and secrets, using simple but precise controls. Death comes swiftly and often, typically due to player error—leading to a love-hate relationship that fuels the game's addictive loop. While changes from the first game may seem subtle, additions like new items, enemies, mounts, and multiplayer enrich the experience significantly. The difficulty is steep, but progress is rewarding, and the world is full of hidden surprises. It’s a maddeningly hard game that earns every bit of praise it receives—even as it breaks your spirit.
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Rokka is a humorous and nostalgic remake of the 90s Finnish freeware cult classic Ryssän kauhu. A simple fixed-position shooter, the game pits players—armed with a machine gun—against waves of approaching enemies across increasingly chaotic battlefields. Despite its basic mechanics, small improvements like bullet physics, overheating effects, and dynamic lighting add flavor. The standout feature is the relentless, often hilarious voiceover full of absurd military quips. While it’s not a deep game, Rokka shines as a cultural homage to Finnish gaming history and is a fun, free experience when not taken too seriously.
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Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood is a straightforward action game set in the World of Darkness universe, focusing on werewolves battling the evil, eco-destructive Endron Corporation. Players switch between human, wolf, and werewolf forms to sneak, explore, and fight. Combat is simple but satisfying, while stealth and story elements are limited and sometimes clunky. Though the game feels outdated and repetitive, it delivers a fun power fantasy for those who enjoy raw, action-heavy gameplay.
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Fall Guys is a hilariously fun and chaotic multiplayer obstacle course game where 60 players compete in wacky challenges until one winner remains. Its simple controls, clumsy movement, and colorful, energetic style make it accessible and entertaining, while winning requires real skill and focus. Despite a limited number of levels and some repetition, the lighthearted tone, quick rounds, and minimal frustration make it a joy to play—even in defeat.
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Katamari Damacy Reroll is an HD remaster of the quirky classic where players roll a sticky ball that grows by collecting everything from buttons to skyscrapers. Its silly story, unique visuals, and catchy music make for a delightfully weird experience. However, outdated UI, clunky controls, and slightly aged graphics hold it back. Still, this bizarre and joyful game is absolutely worth playing.
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Call of the Sea is a beautifully written, short but gripping first-person adventure set in the 1930s South Pacific. You play as Norah, searching for her missing husband and answers to a mysterious family illness. With great voice acting, lush visuals, and clever yet accessible puzzles, it’s a Lovecraft-inspired mystery—without the horror. Though brief, it delivers a dramatic, emotional story that surprises and satisfies. A hidden gem for fans of narrative-driven games.
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Twin Mirror is a narrative-driven mystery from Dontnod, following investigative journalist Sam Higgs as he returns to his Appalachian hometown after a friend's suspicious death. The story explores themes of truth, memory, and reconnection, with a psychological twist through Sam’s inner voice and mental reconstruction abilities. Despite its emotional depth and intriguing premise, the game suffers from clunky controls, awkward animations, and frustrating design issues, making it a weaker offering compared to Dontnod's previous titles like Tell Me Why.
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Empire of Sin is an ambitious blend of turn-based tactics, business simulation, and light RPG elements set in 1920s Chicago. Players build a criminal empire block by block, managing speakeasies, brothels, and breweries while engaging in X-COM-style combat. The game features deep team management, unique character stories, and strategic gang diplomacy. However, repetitive tasks, clunky AI, and minor bugs can make the gameplay feel grindy over time. Still, its charm, jazz-era atmosphere, and genre mash-up make it one of the most compelling mafia-themed strategy games to date.
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The Textorcist is a quirky mashup of bullet hell and typing game mechanics, where players control hard-boiled exorcist Ray Bibbia battling demons by typing out exorcism phrases while dodging intense enemy attacks. Each level is a boss fight requiring sharp coordination and multitasking between movement and fast typing. The pixel art visuals and tongue-in-cheek tone add charm, but the steep difficulty curve may frustrate casual players. It's a creative concept best suited for those who enjoy punishing reflex-based challenges—recommended at a discount for the niche audience it caters to.
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The Signifier is a roughly five-hour narrative thriller that blends psychological mystery with sci-fi. Players step into the role of Frederick Russell, a psychologist and AI researcher investigating the death of a tech CEO using reconstructed memory data. Set in a believable near-future world, the game explores objective and subjective memory landscapes—surreal, symbolic spaces full of emotional weight and abstract imagery. Though the gameplay is mostly linear and light on puzzles, the story is deeply layered, dealing with themes like trauma, identity, and perception. It’s a slow-burning, thought-provoking experience best suited for players drawn to heavy narrative and introspective exploration.
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Ghostrunner is a stylish, ultra-fast cyberpunk action game that blends Mirror’s Edge–style parkour with Hotline Miami–like instant-death combat. You play as a katana-wielding cyborg ninja scaling the dystopian Dharma Tower, slicing enemies with brutal precision while wall-running and dodging bullets in slow motion. The game is visually striking and aurally electrifying, with tight checkpointing to support its trial-and-error loop. Combat arenas are fluid and rewarding, but platforming sections and boss fights often drag down the momentum with frustrating repetition. While not perfect, Ghostrunner is a sleek and challenging thrill ride best suited for players who enjoy punishing, high-skill gameplay.
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Noita, developed by Finnish indie studio Nolla Games, is a brutally challenging and endlessly creative roguelite where every pixel is physically simulated. Players explore procedurally generated caves as a wand-wielding witch, crafting spells, triggering chaotic chain reactions, and discovering hidden secrets in a deeply interactive world. The game’s pixel art and Finnish-language humor mask an incredibly complex simulation engine that allows for emergent gameplay and wild experimentation. Though death comes swiftly and often, Noita is a roguelite masterpiece that rewards persistence, curiosity, and creativity with jaw-dropping moments and endless replay value.
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Among Us is a simple yet gripping social deduction game where crewmates must complete tasks aboard a spaceship while trying to identify the impostor among them—who’s secretly sabotaging and killing. With its cartoonish visuals and eerie sound design, it creates a tense and often hilarious atmosphere. The gameplay thrives on social dynamics: accusations, bluffing, and betrayal are key, especially during emergency meetings. While matches with friends can be thrilling and unforgettable, random online sessions often suffer from unreliable players and chaotic communication. Still, Among Us shines as a clever and accessible party game, especially with a familiar group.
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