Phoenix Springs offers a stunning experience. The art is wonderful, and the sound is excellent in accompanying the visuals. The hand-drawn scenery is an amazing setting that holds a strange, twisting narrative. The voice actors are an asset to the game, bringing the world more to life, and the gameplay is a great vessel with which to explore this experience. Some clues are a little less based on logic than others, although whether that is an issue or not is mostly down to personal preference.
Copycat is made to pull at your heartstrings, which is what it will do. The gameplay is the least effective part of the game, but an experience held together so tightly by narrative, such as this one, can get away with this. There are enough fun elements to look past this, and the story is worth enjoying.
Caravan SandWitch is an amazing addition to the landscape of cozy games. The story has a great narrative that will keep you interested for the long haul. If nonstop action is your thing, then this is not the game for you. However, the fun quests and the developed world available to explore have more than enough for gamers wanting their next story-led escape.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a fine way to experience the magical game of Quidditch. It is far too busy, and there is a huge skill ceiling that isn't introduced to the player well enough. The tutorial goes through each role, which is helpful, but more than that is needed to understand the flow of the game. While being a fun game with friends, it sadly lacks when playing alone, and the limited substance makes the whole thing feel like more of a DLC than a full game.
The story of Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit is self-contained; if you are an avid FNAF theorist, there is plenty to find in the game, but the simple story told is great and fulfilling without a huge breadth of wider knowledge. The gameplay facilitates this story perfectly; the tension is built as the nights get harder, and the chilling atmosphere is great. There is a lot of backtracking, as is the case with many horror games, although this is an opportunity for more scares, so it is a pro or con based on preference alone.
Creatures of Ava is a great game for those looking to explore a new world in an exciting way. The graphics and sound make the world feel real and add so much immersion to the game. The story is also simple enough to allow you to jump in and out of the game, which is great for a relaxing game you may want to play for just an hour at a time rather than all at once.
Closer The Distance is a fantastic game told in a beautiful way. The gameplay adds to the story in a way that helps you understand how a tragedy can affect a whole town. Every character feels deliberate, as if they exist with a purpose in the story, feeling fleshed out with a history rather than existing just to be a character in the town. The sound and graphics add to the story, both being beautiful and making the world more unique and real.
Until Then was missold as a mystery, instead, it tells an intense and beautiful story of coming of age, dealing with loss, and making hard decisions in friendships and relationships. It is an experience that is begging to be replayed, not just because it is a great story, but because each subsequent playthrough comes with its own ending.
INDIKA is a fantastic experience. It is, ultimately, a walking sim, however there is a great deal you can do to interact with the world around you. The story is a lot of fun, and the personal story poking through is a very interesting one. The ending is simple, some have described it as underwhelming, although I found it a fitting end to a great story.
The Outlast Trials is an amazing addition to the Outlast franchise. While not a completely tonal sequel, although it could be if you chose to play the trials alone, the heart and soul of the first game and DLC in particular are all over this one. The enemies are terrifying and the additions to the gameplay all work perfectly with the great bones of what was already there. This game is worth playing every time, especially if you can get a team together.
Rauniot is a really good point-and-click adventure with a fantastic story it has to tell. Every aspect of the game exists intentionally to help tell the story at hand. This includes the rich and detailed settings, the excellent sound and voice acting that makes the characters all feel unique and stand out, and the amazing gameplay that allows for adaptation and invention as you explore the harsh world you are thrown into.
Ereban: Shadow Legacy is a great addition to the stealth genre. Subverting expectations with a well-lit area being the most dangerous possible. The story is engaging and works as an excellent backdrop to the great gameplay. The movement is swift and exciting, and the combat is really well implemented. The world feels real and fleshed out, while also being fun and stylized with the cell shading graphics. Ereban: Shadow Legacy is well worth playing, being a great introduction to more stealthy games.
Saviorless is a fantastic game. Coming from a small studio, using a mixture of Midas that are not normally seen together, the success Saviorless has to its name is a wonderful underdog story. The gameplay is really fun with issues being minimal and none of which are truly frustrating or game-breaking. The story being told is complicated and intertwined perfectly with the merging narrative. The graphics are fun and show a great artistic eye from the devs with beautiful scenery and fun characters.
Alone In The Dark is a loving remake, as well as an epic stand-alone. Even if you have not played the original, this is well worth a play. The scares are effective, and the tense nature of the game can’t be expressed enough; you will be terrified every time Dercito changes into something more sinister. The stealth elements aren’t perfect, and some of the movement and gunplay need some tweaking, but overall, the story is amazingly told with complex characters and a stunning narrative.
Even those who are not fans of turn-based combat should check out Highwater. The combat uses the environment in a way that feels unique and like a puzzle to be solved rather than a strategy to be bogged down in. Exploring the environments is rewarding and fun, with a great radio to listen to as you travel and a very interesting world around you to explore.
Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons was already an incredible game. The original graphics were just dated enough that the larger, higher resolution screens we have available to us today were causing some of the beauty to be lost, unable to stand the test of time. The updated version not only adds to the incredible scenery but also allows the nuance of expression that adds to the already amazing storytelling.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft is a faithful re-release of the original games, although it lacks a lot of care and attention that is part of what made the original games so loved. While the game runs well, the controls are poorly explains, and very poorly modernized. The graphics are upgraded but there are some odd textures and a lot of clipping issues in both the new and old graphics.
Crumbling VR is a fun, unique concept that is a new way of navigating the VR space. The combat is fun and has enough variety to keep you entertained with the perks and upgrades available from the very opening. There are a limited number of worlds, and Crumbling VR would certainly benefit from adding more to the roster, as well as making a few quality-of-life changes, such as allowing the narrator to reread sections of the comic book and possibly adapting the movement system to something that causes a little less whiplash. Despite this, Crumbling VR is a fantastic game and well worth trying out if only to see VR used in a unique and very interesting way.
The Universim is an amazing god sim that adds wit and humor into the genre, creating an addictive game that is so much fun. There are some teething issues that have mild quality of life problems, but with a team being so willing to listen to fans and work with them to make improvements and tweaks where needed. Beyond this, however, The Universim is an amazing game. The progression between eras feels natural and strong, the skill tree for the world is fun to move through, and each research section takes the perfect amount of time to not be too long and boring. It is 100% worth checking out to those who are fans of simulators.
Lil’ Guardsman is a fantastic, fun story with a whimsical tone that allows the voice acting and art direction to shine in the fully developed world that has been created. The gameplay is polished, although there is a little confusion about how certain characters should be questioned. If you are a fan of characters full of life and fun, a story with choices that have lasting effects, and a fascinating cast of characters, then Lil’ Guardsman is undoubtedly a game for you.