A Tale of Synapse: The Chaos Theories is a mixed bag overall. Visually it's extremely impressive, and when the player is able to focus on the game's puzzles it's an immersive head-scratcher. However, its struggles with platforming and combat, alongside its camera issues, means that the title ends up as a good idea not entirely successful in its implementation.
A pixel-based visual novel.
Cutesy charm and lots of character are present in spades.
Fun with what's there, Kinetic Edge needs more.
The tone is here, but the rest is mediocre.
More a curiosity than anything else.
Not bad, but Picklock has some issues.
Towaga: Among Shadows is beautiful to look at, but doesn't back up its appearance with an interesting enough experience to keep players entertained.
Liberated's interesting game world and monochrome visuals are undermined by a middling story of a future dystopia and relatively basic gameplay.
Repressed's strong art style and promise of interesting and unique puzzles is undermined by dull, empty moments and too much use of trial and error.
Radio Commander's commitment to a visual-free military strategy game is an interesting concept, but the execution leaves a fair bit to be desired.
Winds of Change is an interesting visual novel that tells a well-crafted fantasy tale, but that gets bogged down in inter-character relationships.
Morphies Law gets an updated PC release, but its bright visuals and style can't quite overcome a lack of longevity and its odd clunky moment.
Amazon's The Grand Tour video game has some good moments in its episodic set-up so far, but the overall blend of gameplay and show footage is jarring.
Overall, Farming Simulator 23 scratches the same sort of itch as previous games in the series, but it's maybe not as effective has the more substantial home releases. There's enough here for a player to initially sink their teeth into, particularly when the game's portable focus is considered, but that depth does disappear relatively quickly. Even so, there's still something deeply satisfying about its farming gameplay loop, and those after a relaxing experience will find one here.
Overall, this leaves After Us as a flawed but intriguing 3D platformer. Its moments of brilliance are great to behold, such as its varied, dreadful locales and those moments where its platforming truly clicks. However, its lack of character and story development and its more frustrating sections do mean that it's not a perfect game - but at the very least its heart is in the right place.
Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a solid enough third person shooter with a lot of action to be found in its varied levels. It doesn't quite have the nuance of its best competitors, with moments of clunkiness that hold it back from greatness, but nonetheless it manages to be a satisfying adventure for the entirety of its runtime.
Overall, Electrician Simulator is another fun simulator game. Its central gameplay loop is an enjoyable one, and there's always something pleasing about working through a job to completion. Electrician Simulator may not be the most bombastic of titles, but what it does, it does well.
Overall, Wayward Strand is an interesting game that explores humanity in a way that few games have, while its time limit to each day means choosing who to spend time with has an added importance. Technical issues hold the game back, alongside a lack of dialogue depth as the weekend rolls on. However, overall this is still an engaging game for players who want a more cerebral title.
Overall, Skábma - Snowfall is a bold and heartfelt game that has a wonderful atmosphere and charming if sometimes simplistic gameplay. It is held back by some technical limitations, but players who don't mind these setbacks will still find an engaging experience.