Oliver Shellding


166 games reviewed
69.8 average score
75 median score
51.2% of games recommended
Are you Oliver Shellding? If so, email [email protected] to claim this critic page.
7.5 / 10.0 - The Good Life
Oct 26, 2021

It’s quite expansive and filled with things to do, the plot twists are intriguing and engaging, and Naomi does smooth her edges down the further along you get, though she never totally hits for me. If you need a good dose of high strangeness coupled with a lot of things to do, there’s no better time to move to Rainy Woods and get a peek into The Good Life.

Read full review

9 / 10.0 - Cupid Parasite
Nov 1, 2021

Cupid Parasite was enjoyable from beginning to end, which is not something I can often say about this style of otome. Top notch voice work, enthralling soundtrack, excellent design and solid story beats that kept me locked in and even made me laugh out loud.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0 - The Immortal
Nov 4, 2021

Once everything is clean and clear, you’ll stun yourself to find that you can go from start to finish in about 30 minutes or so, and that’s all there is to it. For a game with such a grandiose title, The Immortal has a shockingly short life, but it’s a colorful one. If you missed this as a child or simply want to see why your father grew up to hate video games, you’ve come to the right place.

Read full review

7 / 10.0 - Tunche
Nov 4, 2021

This is a great game if you have friends, as you can really see how the chaos and mayhem can be well balanced with cooperation and communication. For a solo endeavor, though, you need to love, and I mean love, the art of the brawl. So either grab a friend or grab a bottle, because you’ve got a lot to see on your way to find Tunche.

Read full review

Nov 5, 2021

So go, good people of the Switch. Go enjoy Mario Party Superstars. It’s a brilliant entry point for those who didn’t play the old ones, and it’s a welcome revival to those who remember the classics fondly.

Read full review

Nov 7, 2021

Sometimes there’s an update or a DLC that changes a game forever and finally makes it accessible to the people at large. Repentance is not that DLC. If anything, Repentance can and will scare off newer players who feel like they’re just getting their bearings when a flood of new stuff comes screaming in. But, for long time players, this is the parting gift they were all waiting for.

Read full review

Nov 12, 2021

Venus: Improbable Dream sits in a very odd position in the visual novel world, and I’m not sure if it’s for better or worse. It doesn’t nearly have the teeth of something like Steins;Gate or The Way We All Go, but it also isn’t as saccharine as Strawberry Vinegar, instead floating somewhere in between. Kakeru and Haruka are a cute pairing without too much insinuation, and Kakeru himself is a fine protagonist, but just fine. He doesn’t have enough humor in his self-loathing, and he has too much awareness in his talent to make his modesty seem genuine. He isn’t unlikable, but he also isn’t the best dude to have to follow around.

Read full review

Nov 15, 2021

Mario Golf: Super Rush isn’t a bad game, but it simply isn’t that great, either. It’s not golf enough to pull serious sports enthusiasts to the bedside, but it’s not Mario enough for casual players to keep the game going once you’ve played all the courses a couple of times.

Read full review

Nov 16, 2021

Next Star Rebels is an ugly but necessary forced marriage between two warring factions in order to preserve the whole. If you only had a rocket building game without the context as to the how or why items are introduced, you’d get a visually impressive but somewhat pointless game. Kerbal Space Program is more for the hardcore creators, and Next Space Rebels is for those of us with no great bearing on physics or angles, but are willing to learn through trial and error.

Read full review

7 / 10.0 - Gynoug
Nov 18, 2021

While I don’t think there’s anything here that’ll dethrone a current favorite, it’s still fun, and that’s more than I can say for some. It ain’t Ikaruga, but it’s a solid game for seven bucks, and definitely worth your time.

Read full review

Nov 22, 2021

If you are a huge fan of games that never seem to end – Animal Crossing springs to mind – Grow: Song of the Evertree is a exceedingly charming title that brings you on board, whole hog, and gives you endless reasons to stick around. If, like me, you want a game to give you play in bite sized pieces, the servings get too meaty very fast, and you’ll quickly fill up on Grow without having room for more. It’s an excellent experience, but it’s simply too much: I have to take a step back and imagine that Alaria flourishes without me.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0 - Archvale
Dec 1, 2021

It’s well designed, it’s approachable, it’s clearly explained both in plot and gameplay and it’s quite open while still being directed in where the game is going. To be honest, I might pick this up on the Switch at some point in the future. I don’t think sitting down and playing Archvale for long stretches of time is the best way to enjoy all of the havoc the game brings, but having bursts of dungeon action in between other activities and then focusing when you’re in the overworld for longer, more relaxing explorations is the key recipe to success.

Read full review

Dec 6, 2021

It’s fun, it’s replayable, it’s frustrating as all hell when you just can’t get the right movement card to get out of a sticky spot, and it keeps drawing me back in to prove that I’m not a loser. I may keep getting killed during missions, but I’m doing it with style, and that’s all anyone can ask of me. Okay, they can ask that I complete the mission and not die, but hey. Baby steps.

Read full review

8 / 10.0 - Unreal Life
Dec 21, 2021

I like to walk away from games with something to take away, something to remember my playing by. Unreal Life has left me thoroughly disquieted, filled with ideas about what it means to connect, to be a part of someone’s life. How much our own illusions can protect us from what might seek to harm our livelihood, and how fragile a person can be, even if we feel the change is minor.

Read full review

Dec 22, 2021

I went into Horatio Goes Snowboarding with an expectation on where the game would take me, but I never expected a cross between Papers, Please and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Philistines will only see a simple arcade game, but I’ve peeled back the curtain to witness the true message within, and it’s a glorious indictment of the world around us.

Read full review

Jan 11, 2022

I’m trash at bullet hell games, but I love to try and I love to fail. Castle of Shikigami II makes me feel like a glorious disaster, and it’s so much fun in the process. It’s got the heart and excitement of something visually-novel adjacent, and it’s got the chaos and erratic heartbeat moments of a proper danmaku. Take some time and dive in, but be warned: it’s hell, and a controller is not going to be your friend. Get ready to ride the keyboard, cowboy, we gotta save Tokyo.

Read full review

8 / 10.0 - RPGolf Legends
Jan 19, 2022

KEMCO has partnered to create something special, and I have walked away from this with a brand new lens through which to view their creations. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s engaging. Although, if they want to patch in a toggle for timer elements (they have toggles for both combat and golf difficulty), I think it’d make everything just that much cleaner. RPGolf Legends is, hands down, my favorite title that KEMCO has ever published, and this is a clean drive into a beautiful birdie for players everywhere.

Read full review

Jan 25, 2022

Here’s what I’d say: if you’re the type of person who consumes this sort of pulp-grade mystery story, then you’ll have a fun time. There’s enough meat here to spend a full day with, the ambience of the voices and music are good, and the first time through the pieces make sense. If you’re looking for a long-time investment with a game, you seriously need to look elsewhere.

Read full review

6.5 / 10.0 - PopSlinger
Feb 1, 2022

As much as Popslinger ticks all the boxes for me – great setup, banging soundtrack, beautiful aesthetics – it just isn’t fun. It turned from a game into a chore, one where I felt obligated to try and go further and see more to justify where I was. I think, with some gameplay tweaks, this could be a really successful game. As it stands, however, Popslinger just doesn’t hit the high notes and leaves the player feeling pretty flat.

Read full review

6 / 10.0 - Castle Morihisa
Feb 9, 2022

Castle Morihisa is a pretty facade with some unique ideas and the skeletal integrity of an arthritic horse. It might carry you a short distance, but it’s going to collapse, and definitely before you get to where you want to go. Some players might find satisfaction in conquering a game that feels stacked against them, but that’s just not my cup of tea.

Read full review