Dream Town Island is a dream come true. Watching the cute pixelated characters go about their daily lives, falling in love and starting a family is delightful. There is a great balance in progressing through the game, playing mini-games, unlocking facilities and building your dream town.
Although I enjoyed the different course locations and the concept of unicorns rather than karts or motorbikes, Wildshade: Unicorn Champions doesn’t bring anything new to the racing genre. If more could be made of the breeding option, allowing the characteristics of the horse or unicorn to have some bearing on performance, it would make Wildshade: Unicorn Champions a more exciting and memorable racing game. As it is, it seems off the pace and, for me, fell at the first hurdle.
Hamster on Rails definitely has some momentum behind it. The beautiful dioramas are a joy to look at. There is a good balance between challenging and straightforward levels, with many techniques to learn and apply. There is also the added bonus of customising your hamster explorer.
Mail Time is definitely one to write home about. The short adventure delivers you to the whimsical world of Grumblewood Grove, with its quirky houses and fascinating residents. The imagination in both the scenery and characters makes for a truly delightful experience.
The bright colours and lovely pixelated characters of Cafe Master Story fill the screen with familiarity. Designing the best trio of drinks to recommend to customers is one of the best mini-games I’ve played in a Kairosoft game. Cafe Master Story is not as complicated as some of the other Kairosoft games and with the on-screen help to get you started, it’s an ideal introduction to this type of management simulation game.
A Tiny Sticker Tale is one of the most adorable games I’ve played this year. The graphics are bold and colourful, removing and placing stickers is good fun, and the quests are satisfying. Designed to be a short adventure, A Tiny Sticker Tale packs a lot in and definitely a game to get stuck into!
Dolphin Spirit – Ocean Mission navigates the right balance between being an enjoyable game and explaining real-life ecological hazards. The accompanying music is beautiful and enhances the experience. I learnt quite a bit from my ocean adventure. So dive in, splash around and see what you discover.
Although it shares a similar style to the other Kairosoft games I’ve played, the gameplay is vastly different. It’s a coffee break game rather than a long gaming session. However, I found it just as addictive and enjoyable as the others.
Alchemy Garden is a pleasant life sim, with growing flowers and making potions as the source of income to buy decorations for your house, shop and garden. At the moment, it’s more decorating than farming, but I hope the developers continue to invest time and passion in the game to expand its repertoire. Unfortunately, the port to the Nintendo Switch isn’t as smooth as it could be, which has lowered my final verdict
Manic Mechanics is motor mayhem in every sense. In each neighbourhood, there are different vehicles and different challenges. Sometimes the levels were really enjoyable with a feel-good factor. At other points, they were too frustrating, and it took willpower to battle through. It’s a bit soulless for one to play, but it is definitely better with friends.
Side Decide is a great puzzle game. A simple concept of wooden blocks and matching shapes, but it’s not all child’s play. Trying to reach the goal is challenging, but with multiple levels to tackle in any order, it makes progress easier and not as frustrating as other games in the genre.
I don’t get the same warm, fuzzy feeling playing Zoo Park Story as I have with other Kairosoft games. It shares a similar style, and the pixelated animals are adorable especially the baby ones. I enjoyed building my zoo and collecting all the animals. However, it isn’t as addictive to watch and too time-consuming clicking through the numerous on-screen messages.
There isn’t a huge amount of gameplay in Flutter Away, but you get a delightful adventure. This first-person game transports you to the Amazon rainforest, where you can explore and photograph some of the wonderful flora and fauna there. The graphics and soundtrack compliment each other and enhance the overall experience.
If you like the pressure of timed levels and find fun in mashing buttons, then Agriculture might be the farming game for you. The concept and graphics are great, and the strategy in some of the levels is appealing. However, for me, there needs to be a few quality-of-life updates for it to be a truly enjoyable game.
Forest Golf Planner scores a hole-in-one! The familiarity of cute pixelated characters and a straightforward, well-guided structure make this Kairosoft offering a truly delightful and enjoyable game.
In its style and presentation, Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island is aimed at a young princess-type gamer. I don’t fit that description, but I still enjoyed my time on Carrot Isle. It’s a stress-free dip in and out of the game, which is bright, colourful and full of sweetness.
Alchemic Cutie is a game of highs and lows. The concept is great, and I adore the pixelated format. Wimba Island is full of mystery, and I’m keen to find out more. Unfortunately, the faded or night time colouring when it’s raining and the complexity of the jelly colour palette make it hard to give our top rating. The developers have clearly invested a huge amount of time and passion in the game, and I hope they continue to do so. Ideally, I would rate this as “I Like it a Lot”. However, the poor performance on the Nintendo Switch version renders it impossible to recommend at the time of review.
Skye Tales is a beautifully crafted and carefully thought-out game. There is a wide-ranging selection of puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty. There is much to delight the casual gamer!
Garden Simulator is a great gardening game, balancing the strategy of unlocking all the items with the simple pleasure of creative design. Unfortunately, the size of the text reduced my overall enjoyment.
The concept of Animal Shelter Simulator is really great. I like the idea of running my own animal shelter, and the game gives some great educational insights into animal care and management. However, the awkward use of the controls and the game’s instability left me feeling too frustrated to find it truly enjoyable. I hope the developers can spend more time improving Animal Shelter Simulator, as there is a really good game hiding in the current offering.