David Temple
No Place for Bravery-an action/adventure RPG from Ysbryd Games and Glitch Factory-does have some issues; the retro graphics aren't the best, and they still produce some frame rate problems. The intriguing (mature) story and interesting environments, however, result in a good title worth checking out.
GrimGrimoire OnceMore offers tower defense and RTS fans a level of learning and resource management that engages without ever hitting overload. It's not my favorite tower defense game, but the quality artwork, interesting story, and solid gameplay should have genre fans (and fans of the original version) pleased with its Switch release.
Although the story in the adventure puzzle game Frank and Drake takes a while to get going, it does eventually draw you in. There are several, non-linear paths to complete the game, allowing you to play through several times and explore all the options and elements. And the unique, rotoscoped animation looks great through each time.
Gravity Oddity isn't exactly a high-end action platformer, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's just a bit of fun, with the traditional arcade challenge to move around, do stuff, and not die. Genre fans will enjoy the interesting obstacle course layouts, order-of-operations paths to figure out, and challenging baddies to shoot.
Woven is a sedate, easy to play, colorful, game that's imaginative and pleasant to look at. However, it starts slowly and doesn't get much faster, and it requires a healthy chill level on the player's part.
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars will keep strategy gamers busy for a while, so you get decent value for money. I think the experience would be much more enjoyable with some well-aimed tutorial, movement, and UI refinements. Hopefully, we will get some improvements with the next installment, as I'm looking forward to seeing where this story can go.
Unhatched is sometimes a bit odd and repetitive (it may take a few passes to get your card play order squared away), but there is some fun to be had in this puzzle adventure card game.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of The Forest offers adventure and visual novels fans a slow buildup of character development, interpersonal relations, and plot, then a really quick finish with an anticlimactic ending that left me wondering, "Was that it?" Its saving grace is that you play through more than once to see where you can take the decisions and how your character will end up.
All things considered, Rip Them Off is a good, unique tower defense game with a comically cynical viewpoint. It has a limited number of levels, but it is also not very expensive, making it an ironically good deal considering the subject matter.
King's Bounty II is a good adventure game with better turn-based combat. There are plenty of elements to keep the player interested, but the story does not have the depth you might expect, and therefore doesn't warrant the $59.99 price tag.
The jump-scares in the WWI-themed survival horror sim Trenches are enough to elicit a little adrenaline, even though you know they are coming. There's also a little replay value because the clues will be scattered randomly at the start of a new game. Even so, the theme and objective can be limiting; there is not really much to do beyond finding things, and there's not much to experience except tension.
The tactical RPG Redemption Reapers doesn't have any serious issues, but it does suffer from the little death of a thousand paper cuts. With a few minor adjustments, this could be a really good game. As it stands, it's just an OK game with a very good soundtrack.
Evil Diary is a straightforward, retro, action/adventure game that never gets terribly difficult. You get to shoot aliens and zombies (who doesn't like shooting zombies?), and the soundtrack is good. Other than that, it's a bit of a lightweight game.
As open-world action RPGs go, Biomutant has some appeal. And if you're into it, there's a good level of replayability with the skills balance and hero-type selections. Most players, however, are likely to lose interest before reaching the end.
Fans of turn-based combat games will enjoy aspects of Broken Lines, but not without a certain degree of aggravation. It has promise, but the story and gameplay could've used a little more refinement.
Tennis World Tour 2 is a complex sports sim that features some real nuances of playing tennis. Unfortunately, that results in convoluted controls with little instruction on how to use them. It'll keep hard-core sports gamers busy for a while, but is not a very good option for casual tennis fans.
Space Commander: War and Trade can be enjoyable for genre enthusiasts and people who really like some commerce mixed into their space-sim adventures. For the more action-oriented player, however, this one can become a bit of a grind. Good effort, but not what I would call a must-have game.
Knights & Guns uses…well…knights and guns to change up the classic Space Invaders / Galaga 2D action gameplay, but is bogged down by its in-game economy for weapons and advancement. It's fun for some quick two-player gaming sessions, but is not rewarding enough for long-term engagement.
As an action/rogue-lite hybrid, Tunnel of Doom offers plenty of playtime and random arrangements to provide some uncertainty and challenge (no simple pattern memorizing). It's hurt by little variety, almost no story to engage the player, and limited visuals, but it isn't a bad option if you want a game to while away some time in darkened mine tunnels.
Samurai Riot is a decent 2D action arcade game, it just needs some refinement. It looks good, it (mostly) plays well, and it satisfies the old arcade beat-'em-up desire. If the developers fix a couple annoying glitches, it'll be a solid options for genre fans.