Donut County is high on charm but short on substance; a game about holes that doesn't quite feel whole.
A meditative game about exploring and gathering that offers great beauty but not much else.
Tokyo RPG Factory's follow-up to I Am Setsuna improves on the first game's combat, but feels like a by-the-numbers RPG in other areas.
The follow-up to Orwell, which asks you to take down an anti-government blogger, is a slighter take on the original game's mechanics and themes.
A unique game about collecting and trading stories across the American Dust Bowl doesn't give much room to craft your own story in the process.
Penny-Punching Princess is a solid, often fun brawler, but its emphasis on grinding and repetition make it too easy to step away from.
Lamplight City is a detective adventure with a lot of good ideas, but it executes them with too light a touch.
Below's foreboding atmosphere and slow, purposeful pace works in its early stages, but numerous frustrating design choices make its back half a nightmare.
An ambitious narrative adventure that mixes fun lore with fiddly mechanics.
Man of Medan is a thinner, flawed follow-up to Until Dawn that is saved by its online co-op mode.
Though it's light on meaningful choices, this brief dip into the Vampire: The Masquerade universe is at least filled with strong writing, interesting characters, and gorgeous art.
Card Shark is occasionally ace, flush with good ideas, and has plenty of heart. It won’t always deal you the best hand, but if such a unique concept suit(e)s your needs, you may be able to turn a blind eye to the moments where it flops, and go all-in, rather than letting it get lost in the shuffle.
Oxenfree 2 is an easy recommendation if you loved the first game as much as I did. While the original is definitely my preference between the two, the sequel expands the series’ lore and is packed full of callbacks, while also featuring a lot of the quirks that made the first so interesting. Oxenfree 2 is, fundamentally, more of a good thing.
As a calling card for Koźmiński, World of Horror is astonishing – a stunning achievement, an incredible piece of work. As a game? It’s not bad. World of Horror will impress you more than it scares you, but it really is very impressive, at least. For all its faults, fans of Junji Ito would be hard pressed to find a more loving homage.
A stuffy follow-up to Rainbow Moon that doesn't improve on its predecessor.
Beholder is based on a strong concept, and it has moments that land well, but it’s also held back by repetition and an unexciting script. The unpleasantness doesn’t always feel worth the hassle, and few players will realise the ultimate goal of saving their family and escaping the mundanity of their tenement basement life without kowtowing to the state.
Loot Rascals is a gorgeous, tactical turn-based roguelike that doesn’t always give back as much as it takes.
This roguelike’s cool combat system is held back by a terrible structure.
Take to the skies as a dragon in Oure, but don't expect to find much to do up there.
A puzzle-platformer as World War II allegory that can't settle on an appropriate tone or interesting puzzles.