The combat is uninspired and tedious, as is the music. The time mechanic is a great idea and adds a level of strategy to the game, but it’s poorly explained and results in a lot of wasted time trying to figure things out. If you’re a fan of 80’s and 90’s action/adventure RPGs, especially the Quest for Glory games, then maybe give it a try if it’s on sale.
This had the potential to be their best game to date, but due to the direction they chose to take it at the very end, it all fell apart. It’s crazy to think just how much five minutes can kill the whole experience.
While Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders has the right idea in terms of how to best present a murder mystery in video game form, it unfortunately misses the mark. Having to exit the game and come back after completing a few tasks really kills the immersion and flow. I also think not making use of the Switch’s touchscreen was a huge missed opportunity.
Potata: Fairy Flower isn’t a bad game, not by any means. It’s just simply nothing remarkable in any way. You’ve seen this story before in other games, only told better.
I wanted to like it, I really did, especially since the true premise of the game is pretty original. It could lend itself very well to other games in the future. Unfortunately, its fleeting moments of brilliance are lost within the dregs of tired horror tropes, inconsistency with its rules, uninspired gameplay mechanics, and an unfulfilling ending.
All in all, I do have to say that Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee was a nice nostalgic experience, but its quirkiness isn’t quite enough to make up for its frustrating controls and terrible early 3D platforming camera problems. It’s a shame that the recent ports have only given it a facelift and not some desperately needed quality of life improvements.
The Shattering is a game that unfortunately suffers from a lot of the same problems as a lot of other walking sims and psychological horror games. It has a good premise and gorgeous details in the explorable areas, but it has too many pointless things to interact with, no payoff for thorough exploration, nothing hidden beneath the surface, terrible pacing, and tedious level designs.
Inops is a game that has a lot of really great ideas, but doesn’t manage to pull them off as well as they would have liked. The main concept is wonderful, but the controls hinder it from turning into a new classic.
Zipp’s Café is an enjoyable (albeit short) adventure set within the wild world of the Chicken Police games. It does quite a bit within its short runtime to connect the events of the first game to the upcoming sequel, which will no doubt appease the fans (like myself) until the next full installment is released. However, it also delivers a compelling story on its own merit, making it an intriguing standalone game in its own right.
I cannot stress enough how happy I am that Devolver decided to breathe some life into this (potential?) franchise. McPixel 3 is the perfect follow-up to a largely underappreciated game from the mid 2000s. Yes, it has some shortcomings, but it’s still an unexpectedly fun game, especially when you consider that it was made by only one person. Sos Sosowksi, I applaud your efforts and am eagerly awaiting the next McPixel game.
Ravenlok won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable experience when you’re looking for a palette cleanser in between so many of the other AAA RPGs in the market right now. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from a massive hundred hour epic adventure, and have a short jaunt with something fun and whimsical. Hardcore gamers will likely find its shallow gameplay lacking, but it’s the perfect game to introduce younger children to for their first fantasy adventure. Ravenlok won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I was happy to partake in this tea party.
There have been several VR ports for games originally released on PC or consoles, but the ones that are successful are few and far between. Thankfully, Call of the Sea VR falls into the successful category. Despite some flaws, mainly with its visuals due to the limited hardware, Call of the Sea VR is an incredible addition to the VR gaming library. It’s an amazingly immersive experience that’s a must play for fans of VR and adventure/puzzles games in general. When it beckons, will you answer the call?
The Last Worker is an enjoyable time, despite some flaws with its gameplay. The regular package handling sections are a lot of fun, especially when discovering the crazy contents within each one, but the stealth and hacking sections can get pretty frustrating. Thankfully, the story is compelling enough to overlook the gameplay shortcomings, and the performances are wonderful all around. If you’ve ever worked as a low employee for a large retailer, then The Last Worker will definitely speak to you on some level.
For anyone who was a fan of Road 96, then I would recommend giving Road 96: Mile 0 a go. Honestly, I am disappointed that they got rid of the procedurally generated interactions, which made Road 96 so unique. Road 96: Mile 0 is a still an enjoyable time, and I appreciate that DigixArt continued to try new things, but it wasn’t able to capture the same magic as its predecessor. Still, it was fun getting to learn more about Petria and some of the motley residents within its borders.
I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by The Devil in Me, mainly because the past two Supermassive games were both so outstanding. The controls and visuals took a big step backward, with the controls in particular being extremely annoying. It feels like they rushed to get The Devil in Me out before it was fully ready, which is odd considering they already had two very successful titles released over the course of a year.
The Chant is a promising start for new development team, Brass Token. Its premise on the most basic level might not be something unheard of, but the way that it’s implemented and explored is quite original. I was impressed by the diversity of the enemy designs and the efficient use of a relatively small map.
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.
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.
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.
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.