Duck Side of the Moon is a great addition to the cozy game genre and one that adds more interaction than many other titles. It often feels like a fusion of modern cozy game and classic collectathons which makes for a fantastic feel-good time and one that I really enjoyed.
Quartet is a superb JRPG that takes the best of its influences and adds a welcome suite of quality-of-life improvements, from a built-in turbo mode to the removal of random battles. The story builds up well, the characters are engaging, and the regular drip of weapons and abilities keeps things interesting throughout. Quartet is an easy recommendation for JRPG fans in general and would also make for a good introduction to the genre for newcomers.
Call of the Elder Gods is a very good puzzle adventure game that continues the narrative of the first game and adds some interesting new characters to the mix. At its best it contains some of the most engaging and enjoyable puzzles you'll find, though there are some dips in quality that drag things down a bit. I would recommend the first game over this for newcomers, but if you've already enjoyed that title then you'll get a lot out of this too, just don't expect it to be quite as polished.
Dark Pals: The 1st Floor is a hugely enjoyable dose of mascot horror that takes the conventions and mixes them up to offer up a well paced and action-packed hour and a half of gameplay. Forget your Gartens and your Poppy Playtimes, Dark Pals promises to be the future of this subgenre and I'm all in.
While there is some interest here for fans of cosmic horror and an atmospheric opening setting, The Shore is difficult to recommend for the frustrating second half.
Ground Zero stands out as one of the most polished and complete indie survival horror experiences in recent years. While clearly heavily inspired by Resident Evil, it feels like a lost game in the series rather than a copycat and the mix of combat and puzzles keep things fresh throughout. Throw in the generous extra modes and the unlockables mixing up subsequent playthroughs and you have a game that offers dozens of hours of quality survival horror for a bargain price.
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is a flawed, but interesting experience. The narrative is straight out of a Lovecraft story and it escalates into a suitably maddening conclusion. The mechanics are interesting and promising but the lack of polish across multiple platforms and the inconsistency of responsiveness made for an overly frustrating time and I was ready for the game to end quite a bit before an incredibly complicated final puzzle. I'm glad that I persevered (albeit with the ingame AI assistance) as the ending felt appropriate. If you have the patience, and enjoy the setting, then there is some fun to be had, but perhaps wait for further patches for a less frustrating experience.
I am left conflicted with Hotel Barcelona. It absolutely oozes the kind of style you'd expect its leading creators and there is real potential in the setting and story, but the actual game just isn't that fun to play. The clunky controls stand out against the many similar action platformers and the multiple currencies make upgrades an unwelcome grind. I can't help but think the story would be better suited to an anime rather than its current form.
Yooka-Replaylee isn't just the definitive version of the game; it's one of the most enjoyable 3D platformers this side of Nintendo first party titles or Astro Bot. The levels are now packed with things to do, the range of different challenges keeps things interesting, and the upgrades and equippable tonics enable you to customise the difficult to suit your playstyle. All in all, this is now an essential purchase for fans of 3D platformers.
Bye Sweet Carole is a curate's egg of a game, with the presentation being truly superb and the storytelling excellent, but the bulk of the game experience just isn't fun. The frustrating platforming and stealth, combined with the review build being quite buggy, led to me finishing the game with gritted teeth rather than enjoyment. The bugs can be fixed (and the devs are working on patches) but the imbalance between the two gameplay styles is a more fundamental issue. If you can see past this then the game has a lot to offer in terms of aesthetic and story but, ironically, these can be enjoyed through watching a playthrough without subjecting yourself to the frustration.
Slitterhead is destined to be a cult classic, though mainly because of what it could have been, as opposed to what it is. The combat is functional but feels dated and gets boring before the end, the dialogue sections are unvoiced and feel cheap as a result, and the loop of finding and then fighting enemies through various forms soon becomes unfortunately one note. I enjoyed immersing myself in the world of Slitterhead but the game itself feels too much like a relic of a bygone era than a new title by industry giants.
It took me a little while to fully warm to Tormenture, but as the game started to show its hand, I was hooked and played much of it in a single sitting. Tormenture is a clever and novel approach to horror that makes excellent use of the limitations of the period setting to unsettle and immerse you in a unique experience.
Alisa is a real standout in the world of indie horror games, both in terms of aesthetic and gameplay. It's very tough when you first start in the mansion but once you get to grips with the controls and enemy patterns it becomes relatively easy to work through the game. It ends with plenty of scope for a sequel and there are many unanswered questions so hopefully one appears. Still, in the here and now, if you like the look of the screenshots then I can heartily recommend playing in this dollhouse.
Blood West is a great addition to the horror western genre with level design and a range of approaches that would be fitting for an immersive sim. The chapter bosses can be a little underwhelming, but after nearly 30 hours spent in this world, I highly recommend you do the same. Just don't expect to come back alive…
The narrative in Undying is touching and I really wanted to see it through to the end but the main issue here is a tonal mismatch between the emotional narrative and the traditional grind of a survival/crafting game. If you prepare yourself for slow incremental progress then there is a solid survival sim here, just not quite what I was hoping for given the fascinating setup.
Gargoyles Remastered is a disappointing time. Fans of the original will delight in getting to play it on a modern system and the quick rewind helps to alleviate some of the more egregious design choices, but it also highlights how barebones this remaster really is. The rough and ready feel isn't helped by modern visuals that look aesthetically worse and seem to add extra lag and imprecision to the controls. This is one oldie that perhaps should have been left to sleep in stony isolation.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time back with The Penitent One and would heartily recommend it both to fans of the original and newcomers alike. There are enough changes to make it feel like a new title whilst still having continuity in setting and aesthetic.
Full Void is a cool little indie game that makes the most out of its influences and offers up a nice mix of puzzling and platforming within its short playtime. While it doesn't revolutionise the genre, it is a nice throwback to cinematic platformers of old that removes many of the more frustrating elements of its predecessors. If you remember the likes of Prince of Persia fondly then you could do a lot worse than jump into the Full Void.
Aliens: Dark Descent is a fantastic Aliens game. It absolutely nails the feel of the films and brings exactly the kind of tense and thrilling strategy combat you would want. The iconic motion tracker and creature design fit perfectly with the genre and there is even an interesting narrative that introduces some new perspectives to the series. While game over can come far too swiftly at times, there is always something to draw you back in.
In its best moments, Amnesia: The Bunker joins Outlast and Alien: Isolation at the pinnacle of this style of horror, but this is a game with a split identity. Combat feels out of place and mostly ends up being a navigation tool, while I would have liked to see better use of light as a defence against the creature. The story is somewhat predictable, but Amnesia: The Bunker excels with its atmosphere and the kind of tense gameplay that will thrill genre fans.