JOIN tiles feels like it’s in Early Access or Beta testing and not a finished product. Overall, the idea is wonderful, but the execution is lacking. I really hope that the developer takes some time to add a little more love and time to this game to make it live up to its very pretty potential.
In all honesty, I think the developers really hampered themselves on this one. They should have sent out the PC version to reviewers in the first place. Overall, I love the game on PC. But I have to review the copy I was given, and the Switch port just isn’t good.
I love Hidden Cats in London for the cats and the art, but it has a lot of problems. For less than $2 USD, it’s fine. But I would pay a little more for a game that the developers actually play-tested and perfected.
The whole reason that I never found out if you can do any of these things is that this game is kind of hard to play. It was not very fun while I was fumbling with the controls for the first bit, then it was fun for a while, and then it got boring. I didn’t get to do anything but deliver packages, throw myself at impossible speeds across the world, and then fill my house with furniture. Once my house was full, I didn’t have anything to do with my money and I was delivering packages for no reason. I liked the concept of the game, I just wish there was a little more to hold my interest. This game has a lot going for it, but I’m not sure if this game is enough to hold anyone’s attention for more than a few hours.
I was not too fond of this game, but I am also not this game’s target audience. My left hand is not coordinated enough to control another character with another Joy-Con, and I have a feeling that I would have had a lot more fun with a keyboard. That being said, it is cute, it’s pretty, and it’s a very reasonable price. So I think for the right person, this game is a worthwhile investment.
While most of the art for Mira’s Brush is beautiful and fun, the opening scene was so egregiously colored that I had to turn down the brightness of my screen just to get through it. The alternating bricks of pink, yellow, and blue in pastels made my eyes hurt so badly, I barely took in what was happening in this scene. Thankfully, this game is in early access, so it still has some time to fix its issues. And I’m really hoping that the controls are fixed soon; this game could be so much fun if it was a little easier to control the heroine
I did not care for this title. But I feel like most of my ire was centred on the weird Native American folks and the addition of the slur “g*psy.” It’s really easy to just say “fortuneteller” instead of insulting an entire population of humans that have been oppressed for generations. Also, the tutorial was brutal; with a few changes, this could actually be a fantastic game. It has the makings of an interesting title if there had been just a little more care taken in the execution of the game.
For a simulation game with a lot to do, this game is okay. I didn’t find anything so special about it that I would pick it up over any other sim game; there are so many out there that are more fun to play and are cheaper. This game doesn’t quite do enough to stand out from the flooded building simulation market.
There are a lot of negatives in this list, but the positives shouldn’t be forgotten. Mina & Michi is cute, short, and a co-op two-player game that can even be played with younger kids. While it is frustrating at times, it did have some things going for it. Overall, Mina & Michi was such a mixed bag of pluses and minuses, I’m not really sure how to feel about it.
I like Corbid! A Colorful Adventure: it’s a colorful, innocent, and fun little puzzle game that is family-friendly. The main character is cute, and I love that he can change colors. You get friends and fix robots, and all sorts of other fun puzzle things. It has really good movement, interesting puzzles, and cute characters and animation. It has issues, but overall, I like it. I think with a few fixes, Corbid! A Colorful Adventure could be a really good game.
Overall, Alchemy: Origins is fine. It’s not new or unique, even with the upgrades to the original. It works mostly pretty well. However, it feels a little boring to play. I miss the joke combos, and I liked the tactile feel of clicking and dragging the items together on the screen. There just isn’t much that would make me want to purchase this one over playing some of the free-to-play versions available outside of Steam. However, it’s a cute game of blending items and getting new ones, and I don’t dislike the look, feel, and play style of Alchemy: Origins.
Aqua Pals is a cute little sim with some heart but a whole lot of problems. I like where it is going, but it feels like it is not quite there yet. That being said, I hope to see some updates from this title soon.
Haikuna has the feeling of a first-time game that hasn’t been playtested by anyone yet. It has a lot of interesting things to say with fun sound design, interesting poems, and a whole lot of heart. But it just doesn’t feel quite like it’s done. Between the unnecessary flashing lights and the weird directions, I have a feeling that if Haikuna has had playtesting, it’s not from people who play video games. Regardless, there is a lot of potential for a unique little educational indie game if it gets a little more work.
At Winter’s End is okay. I didn’t fall in love with it, and the dice rolling aspect didn’t add anything to the game. However, it is super cute, beautifully rendered, and worth a playthrough if you like visual novels.
Overall, Dreaming Diorama is fine. The puzzles are interesting and could be relaxing if the business doesn’t bother you like it did me. I like the concept, and I think it runs very smoothly on my PC. Overall, it’s an okay game that just needs a little love.
Yes, the puzzles in Twistingo: Turtle Bay Collector’s Edition are nothing new. Yes, the faces are weird, and maybe it’s just a little too much of the same as other similar games. But you know what? It’s relaxing and fun. I had a good time playing it. If you like games like this, you will like this one. It’s simple, it’s clean, it’s polished. But it is nothing new to write home about.
Recollection is not bad. It has a good message, some of the mini-games are interesting, and the visuals are simplistic but neat. I liked the first playthrough much better than the second, and not because the subject matter was darker, either. I think it would have behoved the developers to have a bigger range of playtesters and a little more thought into the mini-games. But overall, it has a nice message and is an okay time.
Overall, this game is cute. It’s useful for anyone learning Kana. However, there are some things that I don’t love about it. Its lack of word-teaching moments and its weird hyperfocus on doing the puzzles in the least number of turns aren’t made up for entirely by its cute pixel art or Kana learning. I think one of the things that bothered me a lot is that the title of the game is written in Katakana on the cover rather than the Hiragana you are actually learning. I don’t really understand who this game is for, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Sail Forth is not for me. But I think it is a great game for what it is trying to do. Overall, the game is cute, humorous in a child-friendly way, and filled with open-world sailing adventure. It’s Windbound without all the survival and debarking from the boat stuff that I loved about Windbound, just leaving the kind of boring sail mixed with some awkward combat. But it has loads of auto options and tons of accessibility options for players to make Sail Forth their own, and that’s something I love a lot. However, I think that someone who is a fan of this sort of sailing game would love it much more than I ever could
Aka is cute, smart, clever, and sad. It’s beautiful and a kid-friendly introduction to loss. Players can choose their own adventure here; there is no pressure to get anything done in this game. You can do as you like and take as much time doing those things as you want. That being said, it has its issues. I think this game just needs a little more love, and it could be a perfect relaxing game for the whole family.