Matthew Pollesel

Ottawa

212 games reviewed
71.8 average score
70 median score
47.6% of games recommended

The First Cases is a good tribute to one of the classic characters of fiction, and anyone who likes to curl up with a good mystery should find this to be to their liking as well.

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The controls are so bad, in fact, that they outweigh whatever good or interesting or intriguing things Pendula Swing may be trying to do here. There's a lot going on, and there are all kinds of ideas, but the only way to experience any of it is by dealing with constant frustration, and in the end it doesn't seem worth it.

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Aug 25, 2022

Two Point Campus is basically a perfect management sim. It's filled with content (with more likely on the way, if Two Point Hospital is any guide) and it's absurdly accessible, and it's worth picking up no matter your usual interest in the genre.

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Even if Blossom Tales isn't all that original, that doesn't make it any less fun. The world is fun to explore, the puzzles are fun to solve, and the story is engaging and enjoyable. It may not make you forget its obvious influences, but at the very least, it does right by them, and tries its best to live up to their sterling reputations.

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Aug 30, 2022

If you've ever wondered what Portal would be like if it had an ancient Egyptian theme, wonder no more. It would probably look somewhat similar to Hourglass.

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Please, Touch The Artwork is a nice-looking puzzle game that leaves you awash in good vibes.

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It's still not a complex game, obviously. And you're still likely to eventually get bored by its relative simplicity. But it's a mark of how enjoyable Bit Orchard is that you'll almost inevitably find yourself getting sucked right back in.

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Sep 7, 2022

PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC may not be one of the greatest games of all time being brought back for a new generation to discover, but it's still a decent enough 3D platformer that lots of people -- myself included -- are going to enjoy.

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Sep 8, 2022

Pure Crosswords is a very good take on the genre. I mean, it doesn't reinvent what people have been doing with pencil and paper for the last 150 years, but it also doesn't need to do that. It just needs to approximate the pencil and paper experience on a Switch screen, and it does just that.

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Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! is the kind of game you can play over and over again as you try to uncover all the different twists and turns you missed the first few times around (and given the sheer number of possibly story combinations, you'll need to play through the game several times and several ways to see everything). Much like inkle's other, later games, Sorcery! is highly replayable and an essential experience for anyone who's even kind of interested in adventure games.

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C - Yuoni
Sep 14, 2022

If you're fond of stealth horror and don?t mind a bit of shallowness, then Yuoni could be something you'll enjoy, at least for a short time. But for anyone else, I don't think it'll be nearly as appealing.

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Sep 15, 2022

There are worse ways to waste three hours than in the presence of very good voice actors doing their thing over gorgeous visuals. And, like I said, the game always tries to make you feel like you're in the presence of something great. But the reality is, no matter how much South of the Circle aspires to greatness, with a story like this, it's never more than merely okay.

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Sep 16, 2022

Hell Pie clearly isn't for everybody, but if you're the sort of person who loves pushing boundaries -- and your definition of boundaries hasn't changed much since you were in high school -- then it might just be the game for you.

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Sep 19, 2022

You wouldn't think a fishing game, of all things, as being cuddly and cozy and inviting -- but Moonglow Bay proves that it's not just possible, it's also pretty fun.

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B - Voyage
Sep 19, 2022

Voyage is probably the first game I've ever played from Ratalaika where its visuals are so good that they make the game worth playing, even if the gameplay itself isn't that challenging or exciting. It may not mean that you need to stop what you're doing right now to play Voyage, but it does mean that if you decide to pick this game up, you may get a lot more out of it than you could've possibly expected going in.

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Sep 21, 2022

It's not inconceivable that LEGO Brawls could turn into something fun one day. If it were beefed up with loads more content, along with more interesting and more dynamic fighters, it would definitely be a lot more interesting. But in this state, with so little content -- and with the content that is there being of such poor quality -- there's no way to classify LEGO Brawls as anything other than a massive disappointment.

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Sep 22, 2022

Royal Frontier is enjoyable enough -- and short enough -- that it's worth playing through. It's fun to see a game adding new elements to a well-worn formula, and it makes this game an easy recommendation.

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It's that simplicity that's SD Gundam Battle Alliance's bigger problem. Simply put, the fighting just isn't that interesting. You have a couple of different melee and ranged attacks, but you just do them over and over again until you've wiped out the enemies, ending with a big boss fight, and it never really mixes it up.

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Sep 26, 2022

Gigapocalypse is an odd mixture of games. You wouldn't think there's an intersection between Rampage, Tamagotchi, and clicker games -- and yet, here we have a game that combines all three. And you know what? It mostly works.

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Sep 27, 2022

Lack of story aside, it's hard to argue that Research and Destroy doesn't do a decent job of developing its own niche within this crowded turn-based strategy genre. It's definitely better if you can play it with others ? whether in-person or online -- but it's solid enough that even if you're playing solo, you should get a few hours of fun out of it.

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