Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms was hugely disappointing, mainly due to the fact that the last game from this franchise was an unexpected delight. The controls are awful, the settings are bland, and the puzzles are a joke. In fact, about the biggest challenge you’ll find in Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms is trying to get your dragon to properly aim at a target.
I can appreciate a game with some jankiness if its world is rich, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story is compelling. I loved GreedFall for this exact reason, despite its flaws. Unfortunately, The Last Oricru feels like it’s still in early access, and none of its other attributes are strong enough to make up for its shortcomings. As it stands right now, I would have to recommend waiting for it to go on sale or until more patches are released to make it more playable.
Despite its shortcomings, The Darkest Tales is still a (mostly) fun time. I adore its concept of a fairy tale world being taken over by an evil entity that perverts it into something horrific. Most of the level designs were incredibly creative and well varied, with the only one I didn’t care for because there was hardly anything to see. The voice acting and musical score were all solid, and helped to create an unhinged world to explore. Unfortunately the platforming (particularly because of the unreliable double jump) holds The Darkest Tales back from being truly great.
Unusual Findings is an amusing adventure full of quirky characters, interesting locations, and unexpected moments. The story might tread familiar ground, but it’s so charming and zany that it doesn’t really matter. The puzzles are fun and the characters are endearing. Plus, there are multiple endings and ways to overcome obstacles, so there’s quite a bit of replayability.
I wanted to like The Outbound Ghost, I really did. There’s clearly a ton of love behind its development, especially in the art and sound departments. Unfortunately, its story is completely underdeveloped and ends without much of it being resolved or explained. The combat is fun at first, and encourages creative combinations of Figments and their Aspects, but it does start to feel repetitive after a while.
Even though it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I still highly recommend Little Orpheus. If you go in knowing it’s a laid-back adventure that’s more focused on its story than on providing a challenge, then you won’t be disappointed. Especially if you’re looking for a fun, silly, casual experience to enjoy over a few hours. Much how Lost in Play feels like playing a Saturday morning cartoon, Little Orpheus feels like a playable old school adventure film, like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
The Monkey Island series are adored because of their humor and charm, and Return to Monkey Island is no different. It retains all the same wit, puns, and groan-worthy dad jokes as the rest of the games. In fact, Return to Monkey Island feels more in-line with the earlier titles, no doubt due to Gilbert’s involvement, as well as most of the original cast. The art style might be initially off-putting for some, but it really does grow on you after a while.
The premise seemed interesting, but it gets bogged down by exceedingly dull dialogue and horrendous pacing. The visuals are an eyesore and the sound design is atrocious. On top of that, the puzzles are of the worst variety, either being too easy, making no sense, or being somewhat broken. Add in the fact that this is basically the same game from 2008, just with the slightest of face lifts, and that makes its thirty dollar price tag almost criminal. I asked you to rock me, Amadeus, not bore me to tears.
Gerda: A Flame in Winter might be a bit of a slow burn, but hopefully it’ll light a fire in you to not repeat the same mistakes of the past.
This game just proves what I’ve been saying for years, that you don’t need a massive budget and nonstop jumpscares in order to make an effective horror game. The Mortuary Assistant succeeds where so many others have failed because of its use of subtly and cleverly subverting your expectations. Even though the shifts might be short, there are multiple endings, several of which require multiple playthroughs to unlock, so there is a ton of replayablility here. On top of that, the scares are randomized, so you’ll never get the same experience twice. Despite its flaws, I cannot recommend The Mortuary Assistant enough.
If you were hoping that Kirby’s Dream Buffet would be another great entry into the Kirby franchise, then I’m sorry to burst your bubble. There’s just not enough challenge or content to justify it as an actual game. It feels like they had some leftover ideas for Mario Party games, and decided to just throw them together with a Kirby coat of paint. It’s like eagerly awaiting an entree and getting an appetizer instead. Add in the less than stellar online play, and you’ve got a game that’s not worth your time or money. Best to skip out on this course.
I was highly anticipating Lost in Play, but it far exceeded my expectations. For the most part, the puzzles aren’t overly difficult, but they are incredibly entertaining. The solutions make sense and feel organic to discover throughout the journey. The various characters and locations are fantastically weird, in the best possible sense. If you’re a fan of point-and-click adventures, or even just a big kid looking to recapture the feeling of their youth, then you can’t pass up Lost in Play.
Cult of the Lamb is an absurdly delightful time, with fun gameplay, unique ideas, and a fantastically sick and twisted sense of humor.
As a whole, I wouldn’t say Strange Horticulture is a bad game, just somewhat disappointing. I can see the appeal, but it’s honestly often boring. There are some truly great ideas in here, but nowhere near enough to combat the game’s tediously repetitive main gameplay loop. Having more puzzles, riddles, and even a few more visible environments I feel could have made Strange Horticulture a true gem of an indie game.
Cloud Gardens is a casual, laid-back, puzzle-solving experience. That being said, it’s not the type of game that you will want to play for hours on end, but it’s entertaining in short spurts. It offers over one hundred levels, which sounds impressive, but bear in mind that many of the assets are constantly reused, making levels feel tedious after a while. This makes it ideal for a system like the Switch, where you can pick it up and play here and there on-the-go.
Supermassive Games has been constantly perfecting their formula and now they’ve delivered something great. The Quarry is without a doubt their best game to date. The story unravels at a good pace and will keep you guessing until the very end. All the main characters are given good screen time (unless they die early) and are fleshed out surprisingly well. Even though The Quarry offers less gameplay than some of the other Supermassive titles, this is the first game where the QTEs actually felt like they were a natural part of the story.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story brings a commendable effort, but the whole thing feels like being at a twelve hour murder mystery dinner with intermissions of the most boring game of dominoes you’ve ever played.
Playing Card Shark feels like peeking behind the curtain of a magic show. The gameplay might involve following button prompts, but the lessons are genuine. After playing it I feel like I could use some of the skills I learned on my friends the next time we have a poker night. Uh… not that I would, of course!
There’s just enough story to have your actions make sense and have purpose, while still being open to interpretation. The lifeforms within the seascape are well varied and creepy. The possession gameplay mechanic is refreshingly different and well-utilized. Silt ventures seamlessly into feelings of tension and awe in equal measure. It’s a relatively short experience, but it’s a gem of a game that sticks with you long after you’ve finished playing.
This War of Mine: Final Cut makes players think about aspects beyond simply winning or fighting for “glory”. It asks us to think about the real cost of war. When battles are fought, it is the civilians who suffer most; innocent casualties caught in the crossfire. The main point of This War of Mine: Final Cut is when the horrors of war are upon them, even good people can turn into monsters out of desperation.