Aspire: Ina’s Tale was an engaging and delightful experience. That being said, don’t expect it to be a necessarily happy romp, as most of it is quite melancholy. The ending might not have been the biggest surprise, but the journey was well worth it. The characters, tone, atmosphere, and music made Aspire: Ina’s Tale a memorable adventure.
As someone who played the Sam & Max games back when they first released, I am really loving diving back into these wacky adventures with all of the new quality of life upgrades. I highly recommend Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space Remastered for fans of the series. If you’ve never played them before, but like point-and-click adventures and have a twisted sense of humor, then I highly recommend them for you as well.
I truly cannot recommend A Short Hike enough. The trailer is both misleading and yet also tells you exactly what you can expect. The experience you have and what you’ll get out of it is up to you. If you skimp on the side stuff and only focus on getting to the top of the mountain, then you’ll probably feel disappointed, especially since you can do so in under an hour. If you take your time fully exploring the island and helping the locals, then you’ll discovery a surprisingly rich and rewarding experience. A Short Hike is a journey you won’t soon forget.
I will admit that were some truly frustrating times when I needed to do something that wasn’t explained well, but for the most part, that wasn’t an issue for too long. What kept me going was just how enthralling the cases and characters were. It’s been a while since I’ve been this engrossed by a detective series and its world, but Frogwares took notes from their other games and righted a lot of wrongs. It might not be a perfect game, but Sherlock Holmes Chapter One is a great time in a rich world.
I really enjoyed my time with A Boy and His Blob. I definitely understand now why this adorable little game won the hearts of so many. It might not being the most challenging game on the market, but it’s still a lot of fun. The levels are all very brief, which makes it an ideal game for the Switch. It’s the perfect game to pick up and play on-the-go.
Psychonauts 2 is not just a rare example of a sequel that delivers an experience to rival or outperform its predecessor, it’s truly a masterpiece in its own right.
All in all, I loved Night Reverie. It’s an extremely accessible game, with its puzzles successfully walking that fine line of being clear enough to solve without getting frustrated and still providing just enough challenge to stay interesting. Their variety keeps the game feeling fresh the whole time as well. Underneath its adorable aesthetic and cute characters is a surprisingly deep story that I didn’t see coming. Night Reverie provides an experience that you won’t soon forget.
I highly recommend Happy Game, especially if you’re looking for something creepy to play around this time of year. As someone who really enjoyed Chuchel and loves the macabre, Happy Game feels like it was tailor-made for me. It might not be a very long game, only taking about two to three hours to complete, but it’s an inexpensive game and well worth your time. Happy Game is extremely creative, and somehow is equally grotesque and charming. I adored every second of it.
I was expecting Damn Dolls to be a bad game, but I wasn’t prepared for just how atrocious it would be. In a way though, it’s almost charming how terrible it is. I feel bad ripping on it because I know it was made by one person, but the scares fall flat in every conceivable way. I wouldn’t recommend Damn Dolls if you’re looking for a genuine horror experience, but if you want to play a game that’s entertaining in a “so bad it’s fun” sort of way, then feel free to check it out.
Despite its flaws, I really enjoyed my time with Xuan-Yuan Sword 7. Being able to play a game set in ancient China was a breath of fresh air. There’s so much rich lore and mythology surrounding that culture, which has been largely underrepresented in the West.
It seems to be at odds with itself as to what kind of game it wants to be. There are calm moments of catharsis and reflection, but this is undercut by enemy encounters and poor flying mechanics. Even the brief sections where you are allowed to walk around are frustrating because Mei moves like she’s wading through honey. There’s an interesting concept in here, but it’s lost under the shortcomings of the rest of the gameplay. There’s simply nothing memorable about JETT: The Far Shore.
All of the twists you can see coming from a mile away. The deduction system is atrocious and offers nothing aside from an aggravating experience. On top of that, there’s absolutely no challenge, which makes playing it feel almost worthless, especially since you know how the story will end long before it actually does. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you’re looking for a Hercule Poirot game, you should play Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders instead. At least that game has fun puzzles and an actual level of challenge.
Cruis’n Blast is a triumphant return to the franchise after a very long wait in between games.
I’m fairly disappointed Blair Witch: VR Edition. Yes, it is definitely more immersive than Blair Witch, but a lot of that immersion is frequently broken by the horrendous pop-ins, clunky controls, and ridiculously short chapters. Regardless of playing it on hardware that is definitely showing its age, that still doesn’t stop the game from being boring most of the time.
I’ve been a fan of Myst my whole life. I was already impressed with realMyst released last year, but playing this version in VR is a whole different experience entirely. It looks better, sounds clearer, and plays smoother. If you’ve never played Myst before, then you need to check it out. If you have played Myst before, then you need to check it out in VR to experience it in a whole new way.
There’s absolutely no challenge in I Am Dead, aside from the easily missable riddles. I understand that some games are about the journey and not the challenge, but most of I Am Dead is a bore.
Dreamscaper is an amazing indie gem and is an easy recommendation for fans of roguelikes/lites. Much like with Hades, the combat is fun with an addictive gameplay loop, plus the fact that the story gets deeper and more is revealed as you play will keep you wanting to come back for more. Each time I dive in I have a hard time putting the game down.
I really enjoyed my time with Omno. I didn’t realize at first that it was a purely combat-free adventure when I started it, but the mild disappointment I felt from that revelation quickly disappeared as I got lost within its world’s secrets. It’s a mellow time, full of discovery and wonder.
Honestly, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed my time with Cris Tales. There are seeds of a fantastic game in here, but sadly none of them were able to fully blossom. I would really love to see a sequel where they expand upon what they’ve built already, because the idea of defeating your enemies using time magic along with other spells is wonderful. It lends itself to a lot of creative battles if explored in more depth.
I enjoyed my time with Black Book, but it’s definitely held back by some of its shortcomings. This isn’t necessarily due to lack of skill from the developers, but more an issue with such a small budget. However, I think they would have benefited from a different art style, perhaps like the one found in their other game, The Mooseman.