Yvonne van Geloven's Reviews
To be honest, I had a hard time coming to a conclusion for Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord. I liked the battles, loved the music and disliked the banter between the characters. I mean, I really don’t want to read all about Harley wanting to do a body check to research the Fairies, about Eryn losing her panties during the night and if Fang found them and so on. It might be comedy to some, but not my kind of humour and I even found it off-putting. The story was interesting, however, and the battles made up for it. I liked the turn-based strategic battles and all the special stat-raising possibilities there are to make the battles as interesting as possible. The glittering colours on the battlefield from Aria’s songs weren’t to my liking; I found it hard to discern the characters and where to place their attack. But the idea of adding music as a tactic is nice.
You get 100 math puzzles to exercise your brain for a small price. The Answer is 42 is a minimalist game where you focus on the puzzle at hand. No timer, no scores to beat, just you and your goal to make coloured pathways that always accumulate to 42. Is 42 the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything? I don’t know, but I do know this is a good math puzzle with no frills.
Alekon was a surprising game for me. I didn’t know what the game would be like playing a photography game, as it’s my first one. Exploring Alekon is lovely. I enjoyed finding new Fictions, or new poses for Fictions I already had in Dream’s Doorstep. The mini-games are imaginative and fun if you are into them. The quests often made me smile. For example, who thinks of a quest for you to translate an application to join Captain’s crew in pirate speak? Alekon is a fresh uptake on a photography game, with great text writing and lots of humour.
With the third, and, judging from the title, last Atelier Ryza game, Gust has done it again. Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key is another gaming experience the fans will absolutely love. And even if you’re not a fan yet, this is an excellent title to jump into; watch the prologue in the game and see that the Atelier games are wonderful adventure RPGs. The main quest will keep you occupied for many, many hours with an excellent story, mysteries to solve, making stuff with alchemy and fighting monsters. It’s easy to get lost in this huge world and ‘smell the roses’. But unless you’re in a hurry, that may even be the best way to play, as it will give you many, many hours of good gaming fun. What could be better, travelling with friends on another grand adventure?
The fact that Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 is released is good news for the fans of the first instalment. The charm of the first title is maintained, and this time more is added in content, making the story a little longer. The replayability is still there, as choices you make on the world map and the ones you make in picking cards influence the story. The game isn’t on the same level as Sorcery!, where you were actually reading a book. This is much more staccato, but the storyline is entertaining, even though I wasn’t a fan of the crude humour. And I feel that it’s not always logical to die from picking certain cards. But if you’re a fan of the first game, you’re gonna love this one too. And if it’s all new to you, this is a good entry point as you don’t have to play the first game to enjoy this one.
Cuddly Forest Friends, with its interaction with Gesshizu is great for younger children. The little drawings next to the choices you need to make will help with playing it even if reading is challenging. For adults, I feel there’s too little actual influence you have on the gameplay, and the daily game loop quickly became repetitive. The developers did a good job of giving the critters personalities; I did have my favourites, like the Capybara and the Porcupine. I couldn’t help but smile at them, sulking when they lost a mini-game. They remind me of the Tamagotchi I had many years ago, though the Gesshizu are much more accommodating in that they don’t actually die!
Garden In! does scratch the gardening itch without getting your hands dirty. More than that, it is a casual game that will appeal to fans of the simulation genre. There is a nice collection of seeds to collect and bring into bloom; there are various rooms to work in, and things to take into account, like soil and the sort of vase or pot you use. By growing more and more plants, you can fulfil your achievements and get even more customization options. I love this game. As I couldn’t play it on the Steam Deck, I can only wish Garden In! will eventually make its way to the Nintendo Switch as well, where it will be a day-one buy for me!
Although I don’t like cleaning in real life, cleaning in the Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator had me glued to the screen. There’s something so satisfying about washing all the muck and rubbish away and give the animals their beautiful habitat back. No big challenges; just getting in the zone of cleaning and watching everything look lovely again. Although you can collect achievements in the game, this isn’t the game for you if you want a challenge. Fresh Start Cleaning Simulator mimics real life’s workings in a very satisfying way with lovely graphics and satisfying little puzzle elements. A pity the first-person view made me nauseous, but that is entirely personal.
The My Universe games are aimed at kids, and I’m sure the young ones will love taking care of their Baby Dragon. It’s fun to see what Dragon Baby you get to take care of, though I do wonder if the gameplay loop doesn’t get boring after you’ve delivered a series of dragons. Still, I hesitated whether to add an I Like it a Lot to this review of My Universe – My Baby Dragon. Ultimately, I chose a slightly lower I Like It because the controls didn’t sit well with me.
Refreshing my memory after playing the first game with these new puzzles, I repeat my verdict for Madorica Real Estate 2 – The Mystery of the New Property. There isn’t any other puzzle game on Switch quite like it. The combination of challenging puzzles, the use of paper floor plans, QR codes and silly ghosts is unique. Play this escape room puzzle adventure alone and get the feeling of great achievement when you get rid of the ghost. Or play it with friends or your kids and have great fun together. The first ever interview we did on LadiesGamers was with Takashi Hamada (you can find it here) and I’m glad he brought us another great puzzler.
I quite like the idea of an advent calendar in video game form. The individual puzzles offer enough content to keep you interested in short gaming stints, with the addition of multi-player and several levels. The levels also have a short tutorial and are obviously made with care. This will get you in the Holiday mood, and offer some relaxing quality time as well. Overall, this puzzle game will give you relaxing moments and get you in the holiday mood at the same time!
Windosill is fun and unexpected and you can let your imagination run wild. Don’t rush through it to solve the puzzles but take time to try it all. It’s short, if you rush through it, very short. But as I already highlighted that’s not the point of Windosill. Your child in your lap, trying it all out together and marvelling at what you see, hear and feel. That’s how it should be played. The price for the Switch version is higher in comparison to the iOS and Steam versions. But the game isn’t just ported, it is fully adapted for the Switch. It now has multiplayer added and a collection of lovely sketches from the developer. Having said that, it’s still an experience that I wished had lasted longer!
When you start with BunHouse, I can imagine someone looking for action and entertainment being disappointed. However, this is just my cup of tea: a management game about a topic that I love. This is the first game I ever played that actually feels as if you’re really gardening. When I have the bunny sell the plants, you see the root system and it fits with the actual way a plant’s root system looks. For example, one of the Forget-me-not is an actual clump, straining for a bigger pot. This tells me that Patrick Gauthier really paid attention to his plant knowledge. BunHouse is a great management strategy game, that is cute at the same time. It’s coming to the Switch as well which is great news, as it works well in handheld. For how it performs on the Steam Deck, and the game itself, I can only give it one verdict.
Hokko Life doesn’t deny where it found its origins, mainly in being inspired by Animal Crossing. Being a small development studio Wonderscope clearly shows this for the passion project it is, and one that the fans of the genre will love. As I couldn’t help but compare, some niggles do pop up and I found that the game is awfully slow in really getting interesting. Once Hokko Life gets underway it gets interesting, and there are some things in Hokko Life that go quite a bit deeper than you would expect. Custom designing is really hands-on. I found it a bit fiddly on the Switch, but I saw projects up on Steam that really inspired me. It’s fun to see how they re-invented bits of the well-known gameplay, and I think this could be a real-time sink!
At first, I felt a little overwhelmed by all that Dreamlight Valley had to offer. There is just so much to collect, so many things to do and so many tasks and quests. Added to that, Gameloft is sprinkling treasure chests into the game daily and sends mail containing all kinds of goodies. I mean, isn’t this little fellow brilliant? By now, I’m wholly committed to the game, and loving my time with all the familiar characters. The only reason I’m not giving it a Two Thumbs Up at this time is because of the bugs and other things that need adjusting. But, after all, that’s why it’s an Early Access version. This is a must for any Disney fan, and if you’re into simulation games, this is one for you too. You can wait for the free version, but I must admit I’m happy to pay the price for my Basic Edition.
Ooblets is fun to play. The sim elements of dance battles, farming, crafting and questing are combined in a nice way. I love games with lots of questing and tasks, and it didn’t bother me that the story is thin. It kept my interest due to the things added along the way. I have some minor niggles: the info text in the inventory is annoyingly over the rest of the items in stock. Switching back and forth to the farm field view doesn’t feel very effective. Still, this is a game I can easily sink in many hours of gameplay. The fact that it’s cute and colourful, and has an uplifting beat will make sure that I won’t even regret the hours spent with my Ooblets.
We are OFK certainly brings something new to the table: a video game that is more of a tv series to promote a soundtrack for a new group. A group that only exists in pixel form, but that makes nice music. I have found the characters that I followed relatable and endearing, but I didn’t like all the strong language that is included. It’s not a game I’d recommend for kids, but I suspect young people will embrace this with gusto. The storytelling is great but I could have done without the mini games at the end of each episode. With all of this in mind I must conclude that I love this new territory that Team OFK is exploring!
Farm Manager 2022 is the best that Farming Management Sims have to offer, or so I think. It has a lot of improvements over Farm Tycoon and has much more elements to manage. It is less hands-on though, but it does give the opportunity to delve deeper into statistics such as Market prices. Not surprising when you realize Farm Tycoon is Farm Manager 2018 under a different name. The current game I am reviewing now is much more evolved, though the fans might miss the more hands-on element. It’s a pity not all button choices work well nor intuitively. And that it can crash when the farm gets bigger. But with a good tutorial, campaign, scenario mode and several difficulties setting in free mode there are many, many hours worth of farming fun to be had!
If you expect a visual novel with cute guys or girls and lots of romance, Long Live the Queen isn’t it. Don’t be fooled by the title image, as not all is pink and rosy. It is a novel alright, but it is a story that has you making mainly political choices. Elodie has to deal with betrayal, civil wars, assassinations, invasions, and magic… Who knew leading a kingdom could be so difficult? You can’t be a universally loved queen, you will have to make tough choices. Some will hate you, some will think you are doing okay. And all neighbouring countries try to influence you to benefit them. If you like a story where you have to build stats and have trial and error lead you to various endings, this one is for you. This is not an easy game, and if you want to reach all endings, you will have to play the same parts over and over again. There is a skip button, however I do wonder if players will be engaged enough to search for all endings. Make sure you have a notebook handy to jot down the choices you make and save often. That way, if Elodie meets a bad fate, you can still reverse it!
Sorcery! is a classic fantasy novel and game rolled into one. The elements all fit together. The storytelling is ace, there are many, many choices to make all leading to a different storyline. It’s the kind of tale where you have to remember who you met along the road, pick up keys you find, try to find magical elements and more. It’s like you are stitching loose pages of a book together in the order you want them to be. The graphics are gorgeous as is the soundtracks. If you have never played a Sorcery! game and you love your fantasy books, this is a lovely one to go for. And even if you have played the chapters before, it’s great to have them all rolled into one.