Lee Mehr's Reviews
Imagine MADiSON akin to liking a nice picture that's out of focus: there's still a special attribute for genre fans to appreciate, but others will be put-off by the inconsistent craftsmanship.
Book II might not boast the widest breadth of content nor insane mechanical complexity, but a rare few titles can dare to match its earnest warmth and overwhelming charm.
Of Bird and Cage has a couple concepts to respect in isolation, but that doesn't disregard its head-banging assault on good taste.
In an era swamped with Battle Royales, Mediatonic’s cute-chaos gameshow earns a spot among the finalists.
Put simply: Kao The Kangaroo gets creatively weak at the knees by the third round.
Spiral Circus' first game makes a great splash with its atmosphere and art style, but design and story limitations anchor its true potential.
Polygonal Wolf didn't make a tale worth telling; even worse, it never feels like that was ever a goal.
There's something satisfying about its derby-style structure and the nuanced tactics that entails. Its rollerblading mechanics are very approachable, yet there's also a deceptive skill ceiling too. But, like skating through a small sand mound, the momentum is lost by the repetition and under-polished features.
Although its retro presentational qualities place it above standard horror fare, Paratopic's lacking design & narrative diminishes its grander mysteries.
From its interesting design ideas to its rich world-building, Jump Over The Age's Citizen Sleeper is one of 2022's best surprises.
Yes, it's functional and has some decent concepts, however the experience simply can't avoid comparisons with boring indie horror titles. Even its small gameplay nuances wind up detracting from engagement in multifaceted ways.
A Memoir Blue’s aspirations as an interactive poem feel undone by shallow execution.
Paradise Killer succeeds by selling all of its ostensibly contradictory artistic choices as inseparable parts of a greater whole.
Babylon's Fall is the latest example of a decent core concept being flagrantly corrupted by the live-service template, and whose prospects for improvement dwindle with each passing day.
There are some misgivings to find within its design, on and off the track, but Polyphony's meticulous craftmanship handedly surpasses them.
Sergey Noskov's post-apocalyptic game packs several interesting elements within the frame, but the picture is out of focus.
Like a heaping of horror media, Martha Is Dead's solid start and some nuanced supplementary mechanics are betrayed by its worst impulses by the end.
Beyond a couple of creative missteps, Uppercut’s sequel also feels reluctant to leave the wading pool and investigate its true interactive potential.
When weighing its successes and shortcomings, Aztech Forgotten Gods manages to stay airborne but never truly soars.
By trying to wrestle with a mixture of parkour/stealth/combat mechanics, a large open world, and reactive storytelling within a rotund narrative, it starts to buckle from its lesser elements and annoying technical problems.