Rahul Shirke
In making its protagonist less powerful than the other characters of his world, The Flower Collectors becomes more powerful as a video game.
If, like me, you have no qualms with breezy adventure puzzles and a bubbly narrative, Half Past Fate is a relentlessly sweet and adorable rom-com that charms the heart and soothes the mind.
VirtuaVerse’s stylish and atmospheric presentation isn’t enough to save a game constricted by convoluted puzzles and an unlikeable protagonist.
Evan’s Remains tells a gripping, amazingly convoluted tale interspersed by irresistible puzzle platforming that left me wanting a lot more than what I got.
Cloudpunk’s overall narrative is perhaps a little less saturated than its glittering city, but the game is held aloft by its memorable characters and meditative driving gameplay.
Like a work of Scandinavian wood carving, Röki is a finely-crafted, intricate adventure game that perfectly grasps the essence of puzzles, fairy tales, and family.
Necrobarista as a game embodies many of the qualities you find in the game’s characters. It’s brash, it’s snappy and clever, it’s also more than a little sly, but it’s got an unbreakable emotional core that you can’t forget. If this is the future of visual novels, then pour me another one.
Metamorphosis is a brief and pretty adventure about controlling a bug, but it’s neither as memorable nor as striking as its inspiration. It’s not bad for a spin, but you’d really be served better by reading Kafka straight from the bottle.
With its fresh humour and intuitive puzzle-solving gameplay, Nine Witches is a compact and entertaining adventure game that will do nicely for fans of puzzle adventures and comedic games.
Mutropolis is cute, with a great cast of characters, it’s certainly very charming to look at, and it maintains a very comfortable ambience. All of this is only accessible to you, however, if you can stomach old-school point-and-click puzzling.