In general, Lydia is an interesting game with a well put together setting and an art style you probably won’t soon forget, but overall it’s just sort of a slightly underwhelming experience.
The game can be completed in a brisk 2-3 hours, which is just long enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome and yet just short enough that it feels lacking in certain ways. If you're desperately looking for a short bit of horror to keep you entertained for at least a couple hours, it's worth giving a shot, but you likely won't find an overly memorable experience.
The Switch port seems to run quite well, and with an upcoming sequel confirmed alongside its release, now is the best time to jump in. I certainly can't call it a good game, but I can definitely call it a fun game. If you enjoy a cheesy bad movie from time to time, Deadly Premonition is probably for you.
Overall, if you are already a fan of visual novels as a whole, Worldend Syndrome will probably be successful at drawing you in. If you’re not already a fan of the genre, it isn’t likely to change your mind.
It also should be mentioned that for some bizarre reason the game can only be controlled with the D-pad, which I found caused a lot more hand cramps than usual especially when playing in handheld mode. [UPDATE: We have been informed that this was the result of a bug, a patch has been submitted addressing this issue]. A lot of what's here is good, but more than anything I think it just makes me more interested in what the dev team comes out with next with the lessons learned from this project's completion.
The same goes for some of the ghosts, with certain encounters like the sadistic child Ayako repeating several times with multiple characters, which tends to get annoying after the third occurrence or so. Fans of Fatal Frame who want to experience this lost title in the series will likely find enough atmosphere and story to keep their interest, but newcomers may find some of the game's shortcomings to be a turnoff as their first experience. That being said, you can put a hat on your character that's a big Camera Obscura, so in a way, maybe it all balances out in the end.
For most, though, a mixture of the complete lack of any challenge in the minigames and the very slow pace may turn them off from the experience. Its art style is gorgeous and the soundtrack to accompany Little Pond is a joy to listen to, but at the end of the day those can only do so much to help the experience. If this sounds up your alley, you should absolutely give Teacup a playthrough! If not, well you may just have to look into a different blend to fill your cup.
That's really what this whole thing comes down to in the end: for people that are already big fans of Dragon Ball Z, as a whole, Kakarot has some value as a walk down memory lane and a way to re-experience the show in an entirely different manner. However, if you're not already a big fan of Goku and Co's adventures, Kakarot sadly has absolutely nothing for you. Without the nostalgia factor this game ends up being a slow slog of samey gameplay that likely won't keep your attention for very long.
It is a very short experience, clocking in at just around an hour long, so even if you find the gameplay to be a tad tedious, the game at the very least does not overstay its welcome. If you're more interested in narrative as opposed to gameplay, you will likely find some enjoyment here, but those who are more interested in gameplay should probably steer clear. What Comes After has a lot to say, and even if a shoddy translation takes the impact down a bit, it's still worth a look if its premise has caught your eye.
With its interesting setting and its hilarious, sarcastic sense of humor there's a good chance you might be able to force your way through some of the more frustrating parts. However, others may find that those frustrating sequences happen more often than deemed acceptable to put up with. Add the fact that every death leads to a crow taking an antagonistic shot at the player, an aspect that has an ability to be funny one second and incredibly annoying the next, and Ministry of Broadcast becomes a game in which the term "your mileage may vary" heavily applies.
There is basically no gameplay variation to be found in Speed Dating for Ghosts, it’s a visual novel through and through, but if that’s your thing each “run” only lasts about ten to fifteen minutes making this game perfect for an afternoon of soul searching and spook searching.
The game has a lot to say and not much interest in whether or not it's exactly what you want to hear. I think it's an interesting experience that anybody with an interest in politics should absolutely check out, and its "no perfect solution" approach is very interesting even if it is oversimplified. The heavy handedness and the lack of gameplay variety make this game feel hard to recommend.
If you're itching for a precision platformer of this type, you're really better off looking into kuso instead since you'll get almost everything that LOVE offers anyways.
Darkwood is a game with potential, and I certainly hope the developers take any lessons learned from it and return with the killer horror title they’ve come close to creating.
A successful run may take you no more than around two hours, but you'll likely find yourself going back for another crack either with different perks or on a higher difficulty just to see how far down you can get. Seeing the numbers slowly tick down as I went made me truly feel like I was progressing, even as each floor was functionally identical to the last. If playing a game over and over until you've figured out every secret and strategy is something that you enjoy, Skyhill is one you should at least give a glance.
It doesn't help that, while the Tesla circus aesthetic is fun, the game's use of 3D models means that it is not as visually distinct as the game that inspired it. One aspect that may change your mind about trying it is that, unlike Darkest Dungeon, Circus Electrique has difficulty options that include an easy mode where characters regain a bit of health at the end of each day, but even with this it was not enough to hold my interest the whole way through. If you like Darkest Dungeon, this is absolutely a game you should give a shot, but otherwise the grand Circus Electrique is probably not going to change your life.
Overall, The Centennial Case is probably not going to knock anybody's socks off, but it is at the very least an interesting mystery filled with enjoyable characters that is worth a few afternoons of an aspiring detective's time. It may not be up to the standards of a big budget theatrical production, but the actors feel competent and the musical score adds an air of drama that makes it hard not to get sucked in at times. If you find yourself with a craving for a relatively simple set of mysteries to walk through and solve, this is likely a game to keep your eye on for a rainy day.
However, I cannot fully recommend the Switch being the platform for you to do so. The somewhat clumsy adaptation of the controls, especially in menus, has the unfortunate effect of saddling some of the game's more fun aspects underneath some extra frustration not present in the PC version of the game. If you absolutely have no other choice, there's still a fun game to be found here, but it is a weaker version than the original.
Well… as positive as a game about waking nightmares can be, at least. Even with the sometimes overly simplified minute to minute gameplay, the art direction and sound design are masterful to a point that pulls this game up to a higher level than it would likely be if it had been in the hands of a less noteworthy developer. Those looking for a short, simple game that will work hard to creep you out and disturb you over the course of about two hours will likely come out of Happy Game happy, but those hoping for something more in line with a game like Machinarium have a chance of walking away at least slightly disappointed.
It's a game that doesn't take itself too seriously and is not afraid to dump down a few buckets of blood every now and then. Dated things like tank controls or limited saves may be frustrating to a player not used to these types of games, but I honestly think this might be one of the better places to try those things out for the first time. The short runtime helps alleviate the stress of the controls and save mechanics, though the unfortunate crashing issues may replace that stress with frustration in the end. Hopefully a patch will be coming down the pipeline soon, but for now Murder House has found a good but technically troubled murder home on the Switch.