Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Reforged is more than a simple remaster; it’s a respectful yet innovative celebration of a timeless classic. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the series, this edition delivers a meticulously crafted experience that bridges the gap between nostalgia and modern gaming standards. Revolution Software has set a new benchmark for re-releases, proving that honoring the past can go hand in hand with embracing the future.
Softie is a game that, despite its imperfections, offers a unique and unsettling experience, thanks to its captivating atmosphere and experimentation with unconventional elements in the point-and-click genre. The story may not always be crystal clear, but the visual and auditory presentation compensates for this limitation. If you’re a fan of indie games with strong character and love the point-and-click genre, Softie is definitely a title worth your attention.
In Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga, Ninja Theory delivers an immersive experience that transcends mere entertainment, blending storytelling and psychological depth to create a visceral and unforgettable journey of darkness and redemption. With cutting-edge technical design, an engaging storyline, and an enhanced combat system, the game delves into the depths of human psyche and resilience, leaving a lasting emotional impact on all who experience it.
F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch stands out as a well-structured classic metroidvania, offering a solid and engaging gameplay experience. While it doesn’t introduce any groundbreaking innovations, the game shines through its aesthetic quality, dieselpunk setting, and fluid combat. Fans of the genre will find a satisfying and immersive challenge, while minor drawbacks, like the parry system, don’t diminish a game that is, overall, well worth playing.
Edge of Sanity is a title that stands out for its unique artistic style and gripping storyline, capable of keeping the player in constant suspense. The hand-drawn art, combined with the unsettling atmosphere and references to Cthulhu mythology, gives the game an original and captivating edge. While not complex in terms of gameplay, it demands attention and strategy, creating an experience that can be frustrating yet extremely realistic. Recommended for those who love survival horror games and appreciate attention to stylistic and narrative details.
Riddle Tower is a puzzle game that, while not heavily focused on its story, offers an intriguing adventure that immerses players in a world full of intellectual challenges. With its wide range of puzzles, accessible gameplay for all ages, and regular updates that keep the content fresh, the game succeeds in engaging and entertaining both casual players and puzzle enthusiasts. Despite some limitations in graphics and sound, and the challenge it poses to non-native English speakers, Riddle Tower stands out as a rewarding and stimulating gaming experience.
SCHiM is a small gem, original, intelligent, and engaging, with evident care from the developers. The game stands out for its graphics and music, although replayability and variety may be limited. Despite these minor flaws, SCHiM offers a relaxing and captivating adventure, with moments requiring timing and precision worthy of a challenging platformer.
Life of Delta is a captivating point-and-click adventure where a small robot, Delta, navigates a dystopian hostile world to save his friend. The game is light, fun, and enjoyable, featuring stimulating and engaging puzzles. The storyline delves into philosophical themes such as the consciousness and morality of artificial intelligences, and the urgent need to escape from a state of oppression and unbearable slavery at the hands of evil creatures. With original and flawless graphics, accompanied by well-integrated music, Life of Delta offers an immersive experience enriched with nostalgic references and tributes to the video game past.
Ready Steady Ship is undeniably a fun experience, designed for local cooperative play but not online. Developed by Martynas Cibulis, the sole creator of the game, it caters to a wide range of players, promising enjoyment and challenges. Despite some noticeable flaws, its creativity and entertainment value remain intact when played in pairs. The game has been meticulously crafted, although some parts have not been executed successfully. The variety of implemented ideas and their originality are to be appreciated. By the way, I highly recommend playing in local mode with a friend.
Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons Remake is a product that has breathed new life into the 2013 original, enhancing graphics and gameplay and bringing back a title that will undoubtedly captivate new generations. With its evocative atmospheres, fantastic landscapes, and selfless brothers Naia and Naiee, whose dramatic yet message-rich story is ready to thrill us once again.
Doctor Cat presents itself as a game with modest aspirations but stumbles in its attempt to tackle significant topics such as mental health and psychotherapy. While its intention is commendable and it manages to convey the weight of certain issues, particularly in everyday life, it ultimately falls short in delivering a deeper exploration. The writing, especially the dialogues, lacks the depth needed to fully engage with the complexity of these themes. While it maintains simplicity in its approach, with some additional technical refinement needed, such as in the music department, it could have better emphasized the importance of the topics it sought to address. Therefore, while Doctor Cat is honest in its simplicity, it misses the mark on fully realizing its potential to effectively discuss these vital issues
Skaramazuzu is a 2D graphic adventure, hand-drawn in a black and white style, simple yet expressive and impactful. Its aesthetics and storytelling are its strengths. It’s an enjoyable and at times moving title, full of beautiful positive messages conveyed with irony and lightness, but also with more intense and incisive moments. At times, it can be a bit tedious when continuously revisiting the same areas and talking to the same characters, even though the dialogues change each time. Skaramazuzu is a philosophical video game that utilizes the concept of archetypes and myth to create an original story that touches on universal themes.
Penny’s Big Breakaway is a 3D platformer that harks back to the old days, creating a positive nostalgia effect, especially for its music and graphical choices. Its core and ideas work, proving to be original and well-thought-out. Even the aspects that aren’t original are well executed and have their own charm. It has some flaws, especially on a technical level, but still guarantees hours of fun
Please, Touch The Artwork 2 is an incredibly immersive and evocative experience that tells a story. Its developer, Thomas Waterzooi, has gifted us a true gem, through which we now know so much not only about Belgian art, but about art in general, without ever being didactic. He entrusted us with everything, merely allowing us to touch the artwork.
A Thug’s Ascension is a first-person shooter where the narrative component takes the lead and becomes the protagonist, alongside the direction, of this video game that, however, still seems to be in draft phase, especially from a graphical point of view. The story comes to life after a while, but as soon as you delve deeper and get to know the characters’ twists and nuances, you can truly appreciate the aspect Moonwalk Games gave more importance to, namely the quality and truthfulness of the dialogues and the depth of the themes addressed. It’s a shame that equal importance wasn’t given to the rest, to make it something that could be defined as a full-fledged video game, rather than a visual novel with some shooting, which leaves a bit to be desired.
If you’re looking for a captivating and somewhat atypical point-and-click adventure, if you’re passionate about animation styles as bizarre as they are classic, or if you simply want to enjoy a beautiful story with crazy puzzles all in one package, then The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo is the game for you!
This Bed We Made has several strengths, like the setting, the script and the attention given to the LGBTQ theme. Despite its relatively short duration of 3 to 6 hours, the game offers replay value through its narrative variations.
Blasphemous is a provocative yet profoundly thought-out and compelling product. With its dark and grotesque characters that often evoke deep sorrow, if not profound revulsion, it knows how to distinguish itself and break away from the stylistic norms of a classic metroidvania, even though it adheres to the rules and techniques of the genre
Bramble: The Mountain King deserves praise for the care that went into its creation and the uniqueness of its fascinating and evocative Scandinavian folklore-inspired setting, but above all, it deserves recognition for its characters. Perhaps a little too short-lived.
Death or Treat is a hack-and-slash in 2D, beautifully drawn. It’s a game that playfully satirizes everything and while it clearly takes inspiration from Hollow Knight, it still possesses its own unique personality.