Sippy Disco: Light Up the Dance Floor is a colorful, cute puzzle game with some good ideas. The puzzles started easy, but got really hard very quickly. But there is just so much incomplete about Sippy that it feels like a prototype. I like the basic structure, and I like the puzzles, but I’m afraid this game is not worth picking up.
I was so disappointed in Small Town Detective. I wanted to love it, but it was so hard to get into and figure out. This game was a massive disappointment for me.
Step By Step Hero has a lot of heart in it. You can tell it’s a pet project that someone poured a lot of thought into. But like many loved projects, this one suffers from what feels like a lack of play testing. There is so much going for this game, and it could be really fun if it weren’t for the step counter. It is incredibly difficult to make a walking simulator, and this one just missed the mark. With all that being said, I am looking forward to PixelSlop’s next title. I’d be interested to see what this developer has learned from making Step By Step Hero and what changes they plan to make in their next title.
I don’t like this game. Under The Moon is in need of some honest playtesters that are looking to improve the game’s appeal. I think it could be amazing with some simple editing: Edit the riddles for grammar. Put a little more effort into the riddles that are just descriptions of objects. Make the roads much, much shorter. Worry less about ray tracing and worry more about making what is there interact well with the world.
I get where the developers of Model City were going with this game. It has a lot of potentials to be fun, but a lot of changes will have to happen first, in my opinion. Needless to say that I was super disappointed with this game. I really hope the developers rethink Model City and rerelease it; I know that with its pretty graphics and interesting puzzle setup they could do a lot more. I know I could have figured out the math behind this puzzle game had I spent a lot more time with it, but I really, really didn’t want to. There was nothing to pull me in and keep me spending time with Model City.
I can see the value in this as an educational tool, but it’s not entertaining to play. Not to mention that it’s easy to tank your own business. It’s incredibly detailed, but the details are laid out in a way that is just boring. For $30 USD, I wouldn’t recommend this game to almost anyone.
Overall, The Hundred Year Kingdom was just kind of boring to me. I liked the look and the idea, but it didn’t feel like any of the decisions I was making actually mattered. There wasn’t a whole lot to do except look at the cute anime girls. I didn’t really get the whole idea of the game. Perhaps I didn’t play enough of the game to get to the fun part, but in my humble opinion, games should lead with the fun part.
Sadly, the story of Entwined: The Perfect Murder feels rushed and the characters are bland. And although there are some unique puzzles, they are rehashed too often. This game is only worth picking up if you really, really love HOG games. Otherwise, there are better point-and-click adventure games out there.
I had a very hard time getting anywhere near the end of this game. It was so slow; it would have been better off as a real visual novel instead of making the player do long, boring hours of forced labour. Delivering real mail would be a lot more interesting. The delivery mini-game padding in this game makes it less likely that visual novel fans will love this game, and the repetitive nature of Lake will ensure that adventure game lovers will also not really dig this title. I’m not entirely sure who the target audience for this game is, but I feel like it misses the mark completely.
In all honesty, I was pretty disappointed with Doctor Cat. I like the idea, and the artwork is spectacular, but the execution is not amazing. If you are looking for a jigsaw puzzle-type game and you are willing to shell out $6 USD for 12-24 puzzles, I can recommend this game. The puzzles are pretty fun. However, the rest of the game, from the music to the text, kind of let me down. I’m not sure how I feel about Doctor Cat. I am certainly not in love with it, and I know I am disappointed at what was missing, but I did have some fun with the actual puzzles. However, I’m not sure I can recommend this game.
Poorzzle – Puzzle Alive is one of those puzzle games that is particularly frustrating. It’s clean, the action is great, and the sound design is okay, but the overall product is not as much fun as it could easily be. I was very disappointed with how this turned out, considering how good the basic idea, look, and feel of the game was. Free or not, I think this developer needs a few more playtesters and translation help.
I have a lot of mixed feelings here. As I said before, I like the vibe. Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator has a lot of great things going for it, like the music, the look, the movement, most of the sound design, and the freedom the game gives you. But there are a lot of downsides keeping me from making up my mind. The items are cute, but if you try to do too much at once, your game freezes. I adore the aesthetic, but I really hated the inventory system. After a lengthy debate with myself, I think I like Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator. But I just can’t make myself recommend it to anyone. It feels finished, but the polish that games like this need to be fun is missing. I don’t think I can make a 100% sure statement on whether or not you should pick this up. If you really love the idea of gardening in a sim and you don’t mind the weird noises and the terrible sorting and menuing, then I could see wanting to spend $25 USD on this title.
I don’t think I can properly evaluate whether or not Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics as I bounced right off of it (pun intended), and I can’t give you a great reason for why. It’s cute, it’s polished, it doesn’t crash or do anything weird. The puzzles are different and challenging, but I’m still not convinced. With such a low price, though, you should try it for yourself if you dig these kinds of games.
Mimi the Cat – Meow Together is not the best Sokoban cat game I’ve played for LadiesGamers. I was kind of disappointed with this one; I feel like it wasn’t playtested at all. Or perhaps all the problems were on my end. Either way, I’m not sure I can formulate an opinion on it.
DREAMERS: A Nostalgic Adventure seems like a super fun game with a lot of heart, a cute and cozy story and many puzzles. Unfortunately I didn’t get to play much of this title because of the issues I was having. I would suggest that if you want to play the game you chose one of the other consoles.
Overall, Apothecary has a very “first game” kind of feel to it. It’s a fun premise, but it’s dizzying and difficult. I think it needs some love and playtesting, but it has a good foundation for a fun, relaxing game that could possibly go places.
Overall, I would have to say that Homestead Arcana is aggressively okay. It tries really hard to be fresh and different, and I appreciate that. However, the amount of empty space makes it feel unfinished. There was a bug that seemed to ruin my playthrough, and there were no NPCs to talk to give me a better sense of place. While I had a cat to chat with for the couple of hours I played and a shopkeeper showed up every morning, it was so lonely and vast that I felt how the world was falling apart. This could have been used to the game’s advantage, but it just fell flat instead of using that space to remind you of what you left behind to become a farmer at the very edges of the safe zone. I like Homestead Arcana; I feel like it has a lot of positive things about it. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is in great shape currently.
I like the look of SUBNET. It’s complex and interesting. Some of the puzzles are great. Some are very, very not great. There is no hint system, which I dislike. My save file was nuked from space, which I dislike a lot. Despite it being interesting, I can’t fully recommend this game.
I like Castle Renovator. There is a lot of potential in what is presented. However, considering that this game was released in late 2022 for the PlayStation and Xbox, you would think most of the jank would have been addressed before the devs decided to port this to Switch. There is something missing in Castle Renovator that is hard to pinpoint exactly. It’s the heart of whatever made House Flipper so fun to play. The comedy and weirdness that made Powerwash Simulator what it was, the smoothness of movement and the beauty of the graphics that just isn’t there in Castle Renovator. There were a lot of interesting ideas here. Little mini-games to unlock new furniture, interesting designs to make a home with, and a funny premise to tie it all together. Castle Renovator could have been a ton of fun; it has much to do, a small price tag, and okay graphics. I think it just needs some more playtesting and a little more love. I’m not saying fixing the jank is simple, but it would be worth it. Castle Renovator feels like someone put a lot into it; it just fell short of the mark a little. I look forward to returning to this title in a year or two. Hopefully, the devs will have read all the criticism and implemented some changes by then.
Unprompted is a weird game that can be a lot of fun to play with the right group of people. It’s unique, challenging, and can make for a good time. However, the way the prompts are judged by the system is inconsistent and sometimes incredibly picky. While many of the groups of images are easily guessable, there are several single-picture prompts that are just impossible to guess, even when you’ve been playing for a while. I like the concept of this game; Unprompted really is the most unique title I’ve played in years. However, it feels unfinished. I think this game needs a lot more love and a little bit more playtesting before it could actually be called a finished product.