In Cocoon, the strangely beautiful alien setting is a meticulously well-done job that, in general, compensates for the minimalism of the almost non-existent narrative structure. The journey is filled with puzzles that work with the elegant cohesion of a living organism, flowing into an experience that, on the one hand, is harmonious and rich, but on the other, is simpler and more restrained than it should be.
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Everhood: Eternity Edition brings to PlayStation platforms intense rhythm challenges, good electronic music, surrealist story and a lot of psychedelia. Fortunately, difficulty options help make this trip more accessible to those who want the dreamlike experience without suffering (too much) from the required reflexes. It may not be for everyone, but its peculiarities will fall in the taste of the target audience.
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Pizza Possum delivers on its promise and the arcade loot chaos is a lot of fun, a well-done arcade feast that gets even better for those who want to steal food for two in co-op mode. However, like all yummy and ephemeral food, it leaves the taste of wanting more.
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Paleo Pines hits the mark by putting its main attraction at the center of everything: the dinosaurs. Opening up more areas and finding out new dinos makes the campaign have a natural rhythm to it, always advancing a little more. Though the visuals aren't generally anything special, the cute design of the prehistoric animals charms us with its charisma and works in harmony with the lighthearted management.
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The rich setting of a city that has succumbed to its own ambitions is a great highlight in Lies of P, even though its potential is partially undermined by the gray and opaque look that permeates the landscapes. Likewise, the commitment to refined level design loses some of its luster due to the strict linearity of the campaign. The biggest problem lies with the bosses, their fights are always long and disproportionate to all the challenges posed by the region under their control. Therefore, it is difficult to recommend it as a gateway to soulslike, a genre famous for its punishing combat, but enthusiasts will certainly enjoy wandering around Krat in search of secrets and dangers.
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Beautiful, intelligent, compelling, challenging and deeply human, Chants of Sennaar was to me a unique experience through its many faces. The concept of linguistic puzzles doesn't make it an adequate recommendation for every person, but those who like to explore the form and meaning of words, even if not through formal studies, should find satisfaction in deciphering the languages and its peoples who are simultaneously the lock and the key to this mysterious world.
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Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy follows the formula and pleases, but it doesn't decide to take a step forward in its structure, nor in the shallow combat. Even so, the triad formed by the beautiful settings, the platform design with puzzles and the cooperative mode continues to be its biggest attraction, guaranteeing fun for veterans and newcomers to the saga of heroes who work as a team.
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Ashina: The Red Witch comes to expand on a story told in other games, but it works on its own as a supernatural mystery tale that, even without being especially striking, can please those who like Japanese folklore. The gameplay is kept to a minimum of finding and delivering items and its simplicity disrupts the pace at times when the player would rather continue the story instead of making trades that don't seem relevant. Recommended for anyone who wants a playfully dark tale in retro game form and for those who enjoyed My Big Sister and Red Bow.
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With well-done writing, dynamic battles, and luxurious pixel art adorned by vivid lighting, Sea of Stars passes the test of being a retro and modern turn-based RPG at once retro. We can still notice some outdated little legacies of the genre, but that doesn't affect the enjoyment of embarking as young heroes to save the world in an epic and witty campaign worthy of the new old days.
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Modest, beautiful and simply human, Boxville offers a point and click adventure that needs no words to satisfy the puzzle gameplay and emotional connection. The story of a tin can looking for its missing dog takes us on a short walk through the daily life of a handmade city and hits the setting with its beautiful hand-painted art, but that can lead to the frustration of eventually getting stuck in puzzles and compromising the fluidity of progress – a common problem in the genre.
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Simple and creative, Moving Out 2 is a fun evolution on everything its predecessor had to offer. Physics isn't always your friend, but that too is part of the hilarious mess of transporting objects and performing changes in inventive scenarios. The variety of mechanics refreshes the course of the campaign without settling for mere repetition. The mood, however, can be fickle depending on who plays. You can move alone without any problems, but it's best to bring friends to carry sofas and break furniture as a team.
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The entire identity of Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara is in the charisma emanating from the art and characters that make Mara an archipelago endowed with a community personality, where everyone knows everyone else. It's a lovely piece of work, very well done, with the potential to win the sympathy of anyone who lets himself be carried away by the unpretentious adventure. The gameplay is also light, but in an ambivalent tone; even if the set satisfies as a 3D platformer and is accessible to little ones, the ideas cling to a superficiality that doesn't sail with the same captivating quality as Koa and his pirate friends.
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Gravity Circuit takes inspiration from Mega Man X to create a retro robotic adventure that goes beyond the nostalgic to deliver an exhilarating 2D action platformer with the fluidity suited to a modern audience. The game builds each point competently, from the well-told story to the energetic music and customizable moves to the player's taste.
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Viewfinder is a puzzle game that, on the surface, does the genre justice. Starting from a remarkable concept and presented through well thought out mechanics, deep down the game is limited in developing its ideas to more complex and surprising levels. Just like the gameplay, the narrative and visual aesthetics are always pleasant and keep the appeal of quiet fun, but the undeveloped potential is very clear. Even though it's a good game while it lasts, its moderation in exploring its own limits prevents it from being memorable and putting itself alongside the great puzzle titles.
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Layer upon layer, Buddy Simulator 1984 extends its mystery by following the maxim that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With that, it allows itself to vary by different designs that form an unexpected and gradual evolution to explore the good, the bad and the ugly that there is in friendship. The textual adventure's slow start makes sense within the bigger picture, but it's a relief that the gameplay prefers something more dynamic for the rest of the game. Behind the simplicity, the nonsense, the cuteness and the macabre, a subtle mystery awaits those who want to venture into this fable of an artificial intelligence endowed with human anxieties.
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It is necessary to recognize the merit of such a well-constructed investigation adventure. The Forgotten City has no excesses: all the pieces fit together to form a kind of narrative diorama that we can see from multiple angles until reaching the satisfaction of, like an oracle, understanding the whole of that multifaceted community that was masterfully woven into a network of intertwined wires. Time loops set in motion the hero's continual progress, transforming the vulnerability of ignorance into the power of knowledge to defy fate.
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Despite being essentially an interactive narrative experience, I feel Dordogne had to embrace the game format to meet its goal of having us inhabit the countryside region, [feeling] the childhood nostalgia, the characters and their relationships. A movie, comic book or some other visual art medium would not represent Mimi walking through an expressive watercolor [environment] made up of colors, lights and memories in such an immersive manner, even if the gameplay interactions here are shallow.
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The constant and dynamic use of fire gives Nocturnal a very satisfying identity. The elegant visuals and the melancholic atmosphere are captivating in their own right, but they don't hold the player's interest when falling into repetition. It doesn't take long to reach the end of the game, which is a shame because what it offers us is well done and leaves very clear the potential to take the world, the combat and the mechanics to further developments, with the certainty that the studio would be capable of good additions. Thus, the title closes its beautifully and competently outlined cycle, albeit more concisely and humbly than it should be.
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Toodee and Topdee is an interesting twist that blends two classic platforming perspectives to create clever and enjoyable puzzles. The same adjectives hold true for the story, which gives narrative context with its amusing, metalinguistic dialogue. Most of the time the active participation of the duo is well balanced, although this isn't always the case. I recommend the cooperative mode, but this game can also be fully appreciated by those who will play it solo.
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Fun and unpretentious like a good adventure cartoon, Bat Boy doesn't intend to reinvent the platform genre, but it takes its inspirations from the right places and adds its own contribution by bringing together sports elements to the combat. It's a charismatic retro game and competent in everything it does, although there was room to explore more intentionally the batting mechanics and techniques of the other sports already presented in the game.
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