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.
Papetura is an incredible visual and auditory experience, crafted with care and devotion, using paper as a material to create beautiful sculptures that serve as the backdrop and embellishments for this fabulous and bizarre world. The gameplay is simple yet effective, and the slowness of actions allows one to fully appreciate the hard work of its creator.
Toasterball is an extremely unique and bizarre game. And I believe it goes without saying that it earns a lot when played in groups. Despite making good use of the toasters’ physics and the ability to perform “stunts” with the appliances, the gameplay becomes extremely chaotic. Toasterball is one of those games where the merits can transform into flaws depending on the player’s sensitivity.
Beyond the Wall is a fun and stimulating video game that takes you back to your childhood and the sense of adventure that can come from the most commonplace things. It has well-executed graphics and an excellent decision to exclude dialogues, though some may find it a little too short. Despite its cons, Beyond The Wall offers an engaging experience that appeals to both children and adults, reminding players of the importance of imagination, creativity, and outdoor adventures while also providing an enjoyable gaming experience
Blasphemous is a highly stylized and brutally challenging action platformer set in a world of great religious reverence, may be too difficult for some players, also in terms of the cruelty of the themes
We are in an apparently dystopian context in which a little boy will have to undertake a journey through deadly dangers, solving rather elaborate puzzles.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is the massive project developed by Ninja Theory, a team of British developers already recognized for several very popular videogame projects such as DmC Devil May Cry (2013) and Heavenly Sword (2007). The project, which was released on August 8, 2017 for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC, was an instant hit, thanks to the exceptional work done in the narrative, technical, and sound sectors.
Limbo is a puzzle-platform video game developed by the Danish independent studio Playdead. It’s a 2D side-scroller, incorporating a physics system that governs environmental objects and the player character.
BlueTwelve Studio, a small team from the south of France made up mostly of felines and a few humans, created Stray: a third-person cat adventure game. Released for PlayStation and PC by Annapurna Interactive on July 19, 2022.
We are in the shoes of Six, a little girl who wakes up in a suitcase and tries to escape from the Maw, something strange between a ship and a submarine, evading macabre foes who wish to devour her
An ironic title full of Mexican folklore in 2D Metroidvania-style action platformer and brawler that made the history of videogames. You have to explore an open, non-linear world in order to complete the main story objectives while collecting character upgrades and battling enemies.