The attention of Bloodless to details is surprising, not only aesthetically, but also in terms of story, map design and level design. Unfortunately the gaming part shows its side a bit. Both sometimes due to the imprecision in the commands, and in certain combinations of enemies that become unfair towards the player. Net of all this, the feeling of pleasure in deflecting a blow or overcoming a boss fight is truly enormous and repays the efforts made. Thanks also to a well-measured and never frustrating use of checkpoints. The story is not trivial and the player must pay attention and observe carefully if he wants to discover the secrets scattered throughout the game and complete the secondary quests. The characters are well characterized and interesting, the dialogues are good and the artistic direction makes the game a nice look.
Selfloss is an adventure with a strong exploratory and contemplative mood. To think that it was created by Goodwin Games, made up of just three people is truly remarkable. The game gives its best in proposing puzzles and secondary objectives, even if they are not immediate to solve. In fact, finding the key to the problem is never a given and the creatures that populate the game world will be fundamental. Fulfilling their requests literally means progressing in the game and reaching the goal. While the narrative is a strong point of the game, some moments are a bit weak. Selfloss unfortunately fails in the implementation of its mechanics, especially in the action phases. For the rest, Selfloss is a game made with love and care and which is not afraid to tackle “uncomfortable” issues. Anyone wanting to enjoy an adventure (about 8 hours) that focuses on exploration and story will be well rewarded.
Aarik and The Ruined Kingdom is certainly a good puzzle game with an attractive look that aims to embrace the philosophy of a “relaxing” game suitable for everyone. The fairy tale technique works well in this context and the narrative side is never neglected, indeed it is embellished with some particular events. Despite some technical flaws, Aarik and The Ruined Kingdom keeps what it promises, a relaxing story that stimulates the player’s lateral thinking and encourages him to go on. Too bad the longevity is really too short.
Abathor is definitely a little gaming gem. A declaration of love from David and Javier Garay towards the arcade classics of the late 80s. The attention to detail makes the game impressive from a visual and sound point of view, embellishing the atmosphere of the title. Unfortunately Abathor has retained anachronistic elements and some naivety that can also be partly corrected. Although the difficulty and the perception of it is also subjective, some mechanics objectively only add artificial difficulty. All in all, Abathor is a good product that deserves to be played, which is mostly aimed at a specific niche. I invite you to at least try it even if you are not “old school” players because its aesthetics and old style gameplay might fascinate you.
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.
The Land Beneath Us presents itself with an almost chess-like tone where the strategic element is predominant and increases considerably as the experience progresses. The game is not free from flaws. You can replay the old areas by increasing the difficulty, but the replayability is not very high. The Boss fights are well characterized and well done, with very original and never frustrating patterns. It’s a shame that the mid-bosses are a bit repetitive even in the creatures. The balance, especially in the fourth area, can create serious problems for the player. Despite these solvable little things, The Land Beneath Us doesn’t have any huge critical issues, even if it comes down hard on the player, it is almost never “dishonest” towards them. If you like challenges, you will find something for you.
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.
Lotus Lantern is certainly a neat product, with some flaws but really fun. Furthermore, it is the second top-down action roguelite that comes from Chinese developers together with Realm of Ink. The feedback from the hits (both given and taken) is good and fluid, although with so much stuff on the screen you risk having little clarity and sometimes not seeing the opponent’s bullets. Lotus Lantern is still too calibrated in favor of the character. Also considering that the story ends after a few complete runs. In closing, Lotus Lantern still has a long way to go, even if the path taken is the right one.
Death of a Wish is a game where simplicity has its own sense of being. Despite its apparent simplicity, it hides a depth of interesting mechanics both in the combat system and in the general gameplay. It is certainly a game that expects the player to learn its mechanics quickly. The visual style, although fascinating and original, sometimes works against the player and the combat system, creating confusion during some battles and when viewing the character menu. If you love an original style and a good challenge, Death of a Wish is definitely made for you.
Alterium Shift certainly has some excellent ideas and you can see that the developers love and know the world of JRPGs well. Perhaps they are tied too much to that world and inevitably bring into their game the defects and dynamics of games created almost 30 years ago. However, this is not a final judgment because the game is still in early access and the story ends exactly at the best moment. We have to take into account whether the mechanics and ideas will hold up throughout all the title and whether the rough edges will be fixed.
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
BlazBlue Entropy Effect presents itself to the player with style and a strong personality despite being a spin-off. The Characters are extremely refined and charismatic. The game shows its best in gameplay. Frantic, fast, satisfying and extremely varied. Despite this, a certain brevity of the main narrative arc and the few stages could discourage more “casual” players from replaying. An excellent title that gives hope for the future of this year.
Headbangers is definitely a fun, well-edited and completely crazy title. The minigames are very accessible but become frenetic as the rounds go by and the light-hearted mood puts you in a good mood even when you lose. The cross platform solution is excellent, so as to be able to involve a greater number of players. Regarding this, I noticed that unfortunately it didn’t often happen to me to be among 30 real people, because when the time ran out in the pre-match hub, the game adds bots to complete the session.
Cocoon is a pearl in the world of puzzle adventures. It has no macroscopic defects that compromise its structure. Its level and game design are constructed with precision like a sophisticated machine. The defects that we can find arise from the very genre to which the title belongs. If you love this genre, however, it is a title not to be missed, which evolves the previous experiences of Limbo and Inside and takes them to a higher level. A wonderful surprise of this year.
Fellowship is in early access and its still incomplete and imperfect, although the developers have added a lot of quality of life and made good changes. Despite the problems with balance, maps, resource management and pathing, Fellowship is still an interesting challenge and can become a fun and satisfying as well as a challenging title.
Par for the Dungeon does not hide its mobile nature, even if it avoids bringing with it the worst sides of this type of game. If Sleeping Giant maintains this line, without adding microtransactions that affect the gameplay, its hybrid nature can make it a puzzle game that still manages to amuse and entertain.
BOTI: Byteland Overclocked is a light hearted 3D platformer and should be taken that way. The game delivers what it promises, giving the player several hours of fun and exploration. Of course, there is no shortage of flaws. Small flaws in the physics engine and some inaccuracies in the management of certain skills can sometimes compromise the most complicated actions. Its strong point is the style and design of the characters and levels. If you are looking for a 3D platformer with a nice look, not challenging but well made, BOTI: Byteland Overclocked is the one for you.
Dros is a really good title, which intelligently quotes the great classics of the great N. Its excellent graphic style and its narrative are combined with an articulated and stimulating level design. A layered game that can be both lightly approached and delved into completing all of its side objectives. It is not free from defects, the weak action part and the bugs, even if they can be fixed with a patch, currently compromise the good design work done by the developers. The fact remains that we are really dealing with a little gem that I recommend trying. You will not regret it
Dredge is a solo fishing adventure with strong gameplay design and great sense of discovery. Even if it has some technical flaws, a certain basic repetitiveness and some narrative gaps, its granite design and horror atmosphere make this game a little gem to discover.
Fall of Porcupine is a bittersweet adventure that focuses on dialogue and a strong mature narrative. Critical Rabbit will accompany us to discover this world, but be careful. Appearances can often be deceiving.