Heather Johnson Yu's Reviews
Clash of Chefs VR may appear simple and childish due to its bright and cheery aesthetics, but don’t judge a menu by its cover — this game will even challenge those with a food handler’s permit. Spending three years in Early Access did Clash of Chefs VR plenty of good, as all that time in the oven ensured a smooth and relatively bug-free experience. If you’re looking for a good VR simulator that you can keep coming back to for fun and frantic gameplay, Clash of Chefs VR will satisfy that craving.
If you want an insanely addicting core loop and don’t mind a little dust in the machinery, Gas Station Simulator will guzzle up an entire weekend before you know it.
Gamedec seems to show exactly how far you can pare down a cRPG, stripping away some of the deeper mechanics to streamline a tabletop-inspired experience. Those new to the genre will enjoy this opportunity to get their feet wet, while established veterans will feel this virtual “one-shot” campaign was executed succinctly. If you love cyberpunk detective stories and want something that will absolutely suck you in for 10 – 20 hours, you can’t go wrong with Gamedec.
I had a hard time putting TOEM down, its calming, cheerful nature feeling way too cozy to quit. Its photography-based puzzle gameplay will charm just about anyone that feels drawn to the title, so if you have even a remote interest in TOEM, it’s absolutely a safe bet. If you want 4 – 6 hours of wholesome fun that will leave you craving for more, take a little hike with TOEM.
Tribes of Midgard is trying to do a lot and implements some new and interesting mechanics in the process; unfortunately, the balancing and day/night cycle could use a little ironing out before it’s worthy of Valhalla. Still, it deserves your time and attention now, especially if you’re a fan of swiftly getting a system down perfectly and don’t mind repeatedly dying in an effort to achieve that. Once Tribes of Midgard comes into its own — and it will — it’s safe to say it’ll be a pretty addicting experience. For those still on the fence, put this on your Wishlist — you’ll want to keep an eye on this one.
Eastward pays homage to all things loved about SNES-era gaming, looking and feeling like the games of our childhood locked deep within our hearts. At times, I wondered if the experience would be enhanced playing Eastward sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a giant CRT television, tethered way to close to the screen by a wired controller. For gamers of a certain age, Eastward feels an awful lot like home, and one I didn’t realize I missed so dearly.
Tender: Creature Comforts is suspiciously realistic to the point where I got that familiar feeling of exhaustion I get from talking to other people for too long. Featuring wildly creative art, clean UI, witty writing, and, perhaps most impressively, dozens of unique voices expressed through individual writing styles, Tender: Creature Comforts is a one of a kind dating sim that is surprisingly deep and downright addicting. I dare you not to try to swipe right on every alien in sight — perhaps you’ll find true love on Comfortix after all.
Dice Legacy leaves a lasting impression of something basic in concept but tremendous in possibilities. With bucolic aesthetics and a simply lovely soundtrack to match, Dice Legacy wants players to know that dice-based gameplay can be incredibly deep and immediately addicting. Would I recommend this survival city-builder on the Switch? Certainly, but only if PC isn’t an option; if you’ve got a Steam account, head there first for the far more intuitive gameplay both you and Dice Legacy deserve.
T-Minus 30 has one of the most interesting concepts I’ve seen this year backed up by balanced, frenetic, and fun gameplay. It really is quite the experience to spend 30 minutes building up your city to the tune of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, only to watch them all jettison themselves off into the cold and desolate vastness of space in the last ten seconds. If you’re looking for a completely different city-builder that will pose a uniquely fast-paced challenge, all T-Minus 30 asks for is ten bucks and half an hour of your time.
Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG is finally emerging from its nearly two-year Early Access period and is all the better for its time spent in player-engaged development. Fans of Fallout 1 and 2 and Shadowrun are going to immediately fall in love with what Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG has to offer them, from its impressive character creation to vast world-building, from its ambient aesthetics to its divergent storytelling, and every nook and cranny worth exploring in between. You may be stuck underneath this Dome for the rest of your life, but rest assured you’ll be far too busy living your best post-apocalyptic life to care about anything outside of it anyway.
Monster Harvest is part of a growing genre that tries to combine farming sims like Harvest Moon with creature collecting like Pokemon. Unfortunately, by trying to cram as many different mechanics as possible into one tiny title, Monster Harvest pared them down to their basest level in an effort to offer a nibble of many things but never a filling feast. As for the bugs it launched with, those will soon be addressed with promised patches, but when it comes to gameplay, Monster Harvest still feels like it needs a little more time to grow. A lot more depth on all fronts will turn this garden variety game into a bumper crop; with enough time, I have faith the developers will find the balance Monster Harvest needs to achieve greatness.
Cloud Gardens is a hypnotizingly meditative experience and perhaps one of the best chill games I’ve played all year. Its soothing soundtrack and peaceful dioramas are made more pleasant and calming with each careful move made by a contemplative player. Cloud Gardens reminds us that the apocalypse isn’t bad news for the Earth — just humanity. Life will continue to flourish and thrive long after we’re gone; Cloud Gardens showcases that bittersweet beauty of a world without us.
Lake is an extremely charming story-driven title where you can accidentally be so nice to everyone that you end up forgetting to live for yourself. For the right kind of person, that in and of itself can be a much-needed wake up call; for everyone else, it’s in the very least a soothing little mail-carrying simulator that allows you to set the pace. If you’re looking for some slice-of-life goodness that provides some chill and calming ambiance, taking it easy with Lake is a no-brainer.
Song of Farca is a top notch surveillance simulator that will simultaneously please players and make them paranoid that someone like Song is watching their every move. With intense cases that require invasive tactics to solve, Song of Farca asks players to make morally ambiguous and legally gray choices that will affect not only Song’s life, but Farca’s future. This was one of the few games I’ve played this year where I was glued to my chair from start to finish, unable to pry myself away from the scintillating story and cleverly addicting gameplay. Song of Farca is an absolute must-play and one that I really can’t recommend enough — just like I recommend keeping your webcams taped over.
Nothing to Remember had a solid vision and the bones of something great, but nothing really came together to make a memorable experience. The immersion factor wasn’t there, the story moves along entirely too slowly, and there’s little focus in anything that would have helped keep players invested. Nothing to Remember genuinely looks good, but its well-designed façade hides an unnecessarily convoluted method of storytelling devoid of any handholds that would allow players to get a good grasp on anything. What a shame, considering this genre is still relatively unexplored, that an otherwise promising entry is such a forgettable letdown.
Despite any aforementioned hiccups, Patron is an addicting medieval city-builder that can hold its head up high amongst the others in this well-established genre.
Townscaper is minimalist in every sense of the word — minimalist gameplay, minimalist UI, minimalist sound — but the sheer amount of potential hidden within this title defies its style. If you’re looking for a new obsession or a nice little title to play during lunch breaks or just before bed, Townscaper is the soothing sandbox town-builder that will do the trick. The town-building aspect may be instantaneous, but you’ll soon learn you spend an awful lot of time discovering all the little signs of life that spring up along the way.
Murder Mystery Machine utilizes a fun detective mechanic that makes you really feel like you’re connecting the dots, but there are a few technical issues that brought down the experience ever so slightly. With that being said, it’s one of the few detective games that actually feels like you’re piecing the puzzle together instead of being lead to the correct answer, so be sure to get your brain ready for some extreme teasing. If you love murder mysteries and want a fascinating story with a lot more going on underneath than initially meets the eye, booting up Murder Mystery Machine is a no-brainer.
No More Heroes 3 dazzlingly outshines its predecessors in many respects. The combat is vastly superior, the overworld map makes a triumphant return, and the art styles and music are so brilliantly executed to the point where I want to buy the entire dev team a round of drinks. In the team’s eagerness to return to a clearly beloved franchise, I think a lot of fantastic storyline ideas came together in a way that didn’t always fit perfectly, but No More Heroes 3 was never anything less than a total blast. If you’ve already played the other three games in the series and loved every second, I have no idea why you’re still reading this article — go get No More Heroes 3 already!
I hate dunking on a game made by solo and small teams, but Confessions is blah at best and extremely irresponsible at worst. I’m not saying it shouldn’t exist, but mental health professionals should have been consulted to add things like list of resources for grief, depression, or suicidal thoughts. People are confessing to committing crimes on here FFS (assuming they’re being truthful, of course). If you have an interest, you’re welcome to check it out on Steam for $2.99 or itch.io for free, but do so at your own discretion. Post Secret remains the superior analog version anyway.