Lee Mehr's Reviews
Need for Speed Heat feels like a hotrod just a few parts shy of reaching its former glory.
Whether it’s in respect to the repetitive gameplay structure, unsatisfying flight controls, or deflating brevity, there’s really no reason to see what the buzz is about. Bee Simulator is a well-meaning edutainment game but its honeymoon period is gone at breakneck speed. You’ve bee-n warned, and I’ve run out of puns.
With gripping game design shored up by fantastic visuals and stimulating storytelling, Return of the Obra Dinn solidifies Lucas Pope as a game-craftsman of remarkable talent.
An interesting specimen that would’ve benefitted from annoying tedium and clunky controls being weeded out of its gene pool.
Weakless has fundamentally solid roots but inconsistent design causes this experience to wither on the vine.
STONE arrives at an uncomfortable middle more akin to a pile-up than a tightrope balancing act. The anthropomorphized backdrop feigns a more peculiar and memorable adventure, but the story is mostly lifeless and forgetful. It’s another third-person walking sim that’s not bothered to utilize our protagonist’s skills in any interesting or tangible way. Add on a fifteen-dollar retail price and you’re left considering a few rounds at the pub has more value, and I doubt our marsupial lead would protest to that.
A humorously derisive examination of modern society in game form, Mosaic is an enthusiastic dive into pointlessness—occasionally too much for its own good.
Uneven storytelling and unexceptional gameplay makes this quaint Scandinavian mystery one you can a-fjord to miss.
In the end, The Suicide of Rachel Foster feels like the quintessential first draft of a horror/drama flick latched to a graceless gameplay template. The excitement and deliberate pacing early on suggest learning from the industry’s best exemplars. Ominous warnings suggest ghosts are roaming The Timberline’s halls. As it progresses, however, uncoordinated game design and tonally-tangled storytelling turns that engagement frozen stiff. Like walking through a grand hotel with years of decay, you can’t help but wonder how it could fare under new management.
Moons of Madness demonstrates adaptation mismanagement of Lovecraft’s method to leave you haunted by his story’s horrific implications.
Slender launch content aside, Ninja Theory's first venture into competitive multiplayer ranks among the most joyously-frenzied brawlers of this generation.
Separation is an apt title to illuminate its central problem. The adventure beckons you to experience a desolate world, utilize a VR headset, tingle your sensory stimuli in a way you can almost touch, and engage with a narrative tackling uncomfortable emotions. But, despite this magical potential, all of the accumulated shortcomings reveal the integral quality it sorely lacks: authentic connection.
A robotic-themed adventure game composed of well-oiled and rusty parts.
Cyan’s latest is another confident puzzle adventure you can't help but appreciate—even if there's some Myst potential.
Pixel Reef's origami-filled adventure consistently maintains its audio-visual splendor, but often folds under closer scrutiny of its gameplay.
Jumbled, infuriating, and unfinished are a few choice adjectives I can attribute to Doug Hates His Job. The panoply of gameplay styles it wants to flex should be treated as a canary in the coal mine for other young developers. The mockumentary approach makes its dull humor more of a mockery than of the white-collar job climate it’s lampooning. As a result, Super Villain Games succeeded in helping me relate to Doug's plight in one crucial way: hating my reviewing job — if only for a short time.
For all the pustulous boils and decrepit flesh, Invader Studios put out something I subconsciously feel they hoped honors a well-beloved series. Wishing can only get you so far though.
From storytelling to game design, Those Who Remain's tepid approach to its overabundant tropes made me want to leave Dormont as soon as I arrived. My best advice to horror fans: ignore the exit—even if your tank is running low.
“Short but sweet” is the emphasis for Neversong, both in its three-or-four hour runtime and the yarn it’s weaving. This comes at the cost of its substandard gameplay never invested in any particular idea. Each new bauble and character share the same story: neither feels like enough stock was given. But as an indie auteur’s expansion of a historical flash game, the effort poured into its revitalized presentation and atmosphere is something platforming fans could still admire.
This may end up as one of R. L. Stine's greatest nightmares yet—for all the wrong reasons.