Darkest Dungeon II is a gruelling experience where you constantly fail and luck isn't on your side. But as you learn from your mistakes and unlock more resources, the challenges can be conquered, and it feels mighty good to do so. Veterans of the previous game will be surprised by the reworked mechanics, and it will take some time to adapt. Though that doesn't take away from the huge amount of enjoyment the game is able to instil and the exhilaration you get when exploring Darkest Dungeon II with an open mind. For a roguelite experience that pushes your creativity and tolerance to the limit, you'll struggle to find much better than Darkest Dungeon II.
Pikmin 4 gets off to a slow start, but it quickly drags you into a world of vivid exploration. Learning how to use the Pikmin and getting through different scenarios is entertaining. The planet is a joy to explore and the puzzles are the right difficulty. Learning combat and taking risks is tricky to learn, but nothing you can’t pick up. Your journey with the Pikmin will be a tough rollercoaster, but every step is worth it.
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative can throw a lot of information at you, and it will take some time to digest the tutorials and the events of the game. But once you manage to find your footing, you will be investigating an intriguing mystery that crosses different timelines with powerful tools. It’s a story that requires patience, understanding, and some outside-the-box thinking, but it pays off with a fantastic resolution when you reach the real conclusion.
As Dusk Falls tells a wonderful story that is not only thought provoking, but willing to discuss difficult subjects that aren't often talked about.
Two Point Campus takes its time to teach you the fundamentals of running a successful university, with free reign on how you complete your objectives. The depth of the resources given to you and the amount of customisation for each of your campuses shows great attention to detail. The game is filled with wacky, silly, and sometimes dry humour that you can't help but laugh at. While there are annoying inconveniences, success is still in your hands. It can be hectic, but you won't find a better university management sim than this.
SIGNALIS never stops feeding you a truly terrifying experience. Something could scare you around every corner, and there's nothing you can do to push that feeling away permanently. Enemies are constantly on the prowl for you and will show up when you least expect it. Loud sounds are rare but pierce through the normally quiet setting. There's a non-stop source of terror and it creates a fantastic horror experience. SIGNALIS' story isn't the strongest, and it could have benefited from investigating characters more often. Although despite the narrative shortcomings, SIGNALIS presents a horror experience you won't soon forget.
Weird West’s combination of the Wild West mythos with dark fantasy elements brings together an enjoyable RPG experience. Being able to forge your own path through the world with your actions and combat is a fun and enjoyable experience. While there are some noticeable flaws, Weird West does a great job of giving you the tools you make to create your own legend in the West.
Scars Above sets out as a standard sci-fi action game and experiments to great success. The story intelligently weaves in some horror elements to keep you hooked with a level of narrative consistency and cohesion that keeps things simple yet enjoyable. Combat is fun and forces you to think on your feet, leaving you properly immersed in the gameplay. With only one save file and a lack of voice and mouth synchronization, the game certainly isn't beyond criticism. Although despite the shortcomings, Scars Above is a great example of a game that isn't afraid to push boundaries, and succeeds in delivering a fun experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Ash of Gods: The Way doesn't shy away from the realities of war, whether it's the unpredictability on the battlefield or the impacts it has on those involved. The story sucks you in as you try to end the war, but your decisions result in non-linear gameplay that makes you wonder if you made the right choice. Combat is strategic and forces you to plan ahead, using all resources available to you to overcome your enemies. The difficult Challenger battles sometimes feel blatantly unfair and having only a single save file does create issues you can't easily resolve. But if you persevere and come up with new tactics, you are rewarded with a great story and gameplay that makes you feel like a real tactician.
Astronaut: The Best is a challenging space simulator with a dark sense of humour. Sending astronauts with varying personalities to space is a challenge even in the best of times, and you must make tough decisions. The humour keeps the game entertaining as you struggle to grasp the game's unpredictability. There's a steep learning curve since unforeseeable events can turn even the greatest successes into colossal failures. But it keeps gameplay fresh and motivates you to learn everything. Soon you will masterfully send crews to space and even achieve objectives, something that continually stays fun even after the story ends.
Affogato takes the much-loved Persona formula and runs with it, adding its own twists to the story and gameplay to be unique. The time management and character relationships are familiar gameplay elements, but the story and combat truly stand out. The story is relatable and not afraid to touch on serious topics, while combat hits the right balance of challenge and strategy. While there are some minor flaws, they don't pop up frequently and don't have a large impact on the experience overall. Just as cafes can turn familiar cups of coffee into unique creations, Affogato takes standard JRPG elements to make an amazing game you won't soon forget.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage gives you an engaging Assassin experience that enhances gameplay. Doing additional work to reach your target immerses you in the assassination experience. Using different weapons and objects is engaging and lets you find your preferred playstyle. Finding items and exploring locations have several benefits that make it worthwhile. There are some visual glitches and indoor navigation is difficult, but it’s a solid game that is worth exploring.
The Outlast Trials takes its bone-chilling horror and extends it to a multiplayer aspect. The series retains its horror roots that scare you at every turn. Completing missions also makes you feel like you are improving, giving you goals to work towards. However, part of the fear is dampened when you realize that failure isn’t as painful as it used to be. Missions also take a long time, subtly encouraging you to play with friends.
South Park: Snow Day! brings a snow day to life by letting children direct power struggles between nations. The trademark humour of the series returns, making you laugh every step of the adventure. A robust combat system helps you coordinate with your allies while encouraging exploration and taking advantage of your environment. Even if you are alone, AI bots are trustworthy allies who do their best to help. Upgrades are also handled nicely, giving you a variety of playstyles for your character. While chaotic combat and satire might not be for everyone, this remains a solid game to play with others.
Withering Rooms provides a great horror RPG experience with its gameplay. You never stop being a fragile girl trying to leave a horrible dream. But the tools to fight back give you courage and let you battle the undead. Coming up with strategies is genuinely rewarding and adds variety to the combat. Learning from your mistakes and making death painful forces you to pay attention. The story isn't as strong as it could be and some aspects could use better explanations. However, Withering Rooms is not a horror experience you want to miss if you've been looking for a challenge.
Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei has great world-building and complex characters that helps to deliver a powerful story. Being able to shape the personality of the main character and feel invested in their adventure immerses you into the story, and you are tempted to see how everything ties together. The visual novel helps to break up the story and makes it easier to follow along. Replaying for different routes can be difficult since it’s not always clear what your choices affect, and the intensity of the action scenes isn’t helped by the visual novel medium. Despite its flaws, the story remains excellent, and you will be interested in seeing how the characters determine their future.
Miasma Chronicles takes the turn-based strategy formula and throws on additional layers of stealth to enforce guerilla-warfare strategies. It largely succeeds in this goal, ensuring players take in their surroundings while taking out as many enemies as they can. When combat starts, you use various abilities and character strengths to survive. This gameplay immerses you well, making you want to plan out your next strategy as soon as possible. There are some flaws in the gameplay, such as abilities and environmental objects not working as intended. It's also too easy to accidentally commit to a mistake while looking over the battlefield. But there are more strengths than weaknesses that allow Miasma Chronicles to deliver a fun strategic experience.
Layers of Fear is a great finale to a frightful series, tying together all loose ends and scaring you at every turn. The staggered story structure is confusing at first, but pays off when the game finally ends. Unexpected jump scares and a dark environment terrify even the most experienced horror veterans. Learning the backstories of each character and choosing different endings gives you control of the narrative. It's also easy to replay stories if you want to see different endings. The note-based storytelling and navigation difficulty can turn away players looking for a simpler experience. But for a psychological game that chills you to the bone, it's hard to find something as good as this.
ANONYMOUS;CODE is a story that requires a solid time investment from you. It's a difficult story to grasp at first and things only get weirder from there. But if you do put in the time, you will experience a thrilling sci-fi adventure like no other. The concept of reloading previous saves is taken to another level and it's done well. You really feel like you stepped into a realistic future that we might experience one day. It's not a perfect story by any means and there are moments where the immersion is broken. But even with the flaws, it's a visual novel that delivers on its premise and keeps you hooked.
The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition succeeds in being a more immersive rogue-lite than others in the genre. You are encouraged to be strategic, taking risks for greater rewards or playing it safe to survive. It's also easy to find weapons that work when you match them with the right perk, meaning there are no terrible options. However, longer episodes can make the randomisation aspect more punishing, and a lack of healing makes the game very difficult. It's a big time investment but there's a lot of fun to be had if you are willing to spend the hours.