Gaming-Village's Reviews
The big question, of course, is whether the game is actually fun under these circumstances. To be honest, without the Infinite Mode I would probably be giving this a yellow rating, as some enemy formations feel a bit too unfair and I found myself dying constantly. Thankfully, there is no death counter at the end—mine certainly would not have painted a flattering picture. Players who are willing to invest the time to learn the game’s mechanics, repeatedly practice, memorize formations, and understand proper positioning will likely find both a great deal of enjoyment and frustration here. For a more casual shmup player like myself, that would not have been enough, but fortunately the game provides an alternative through its accessibility options. Visually and musically, R-Type III left a very positive impression on me, and I am glad to have crossed another personal gaming blind spot off my list. Shmup veterans should have no hesitation picking this one up, and everyone else should try not to be intimidated by its difficulty.
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After completing the journey, my save file in TetherGeist shows almost exactly ten hours of playtime. Ten hours in which I bounced through the seven chapters and steadily sharpened my abilities as a shaman. The individual sections are concise and consistently motivating, and thanks to the different traversal abilities, the game requires not only precise execution but also careful planning to work out the correct sequence of actions. It makes for a very successful combination—and definitely one well worth recommending.
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The creature-collecting RPG *LumenTale: Memories of Trey* brings back memories of the feeling of playing earlier creature-collecting games. The combat system seems more complex than necessary, but it works well for the most part—even when it comes to attack points and 4-on-4 battles. The Holoken offers a few interesting ways to interact. However, Trey’s journey is quite uneven when it comes to the tasks leading up to a boss battle. The fact that I experienced the biggest highlight right at the beginning makes the rest suffer even more. Additionally, an important puzzle didn’t work at another promising point. Furthermore, there is a lack of detailed explanations at times. All in all, the highlights aren’t quite enough to completely overlook the low points.
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Bubsy 4D is an enjoyable 3d platformer with a somewhat crude humour, that does not feel remminiscent of its predecessor Bubsy 3D, but that is probably for the better. Compared to the rest of the Bubsy series, Bubsy 4D clearly is the best game, but even when taken on its own as a 3D platformer, it is a well-made game. Demon Turf's influence on the game design is pretty apparent and I would rank Bubsy 4D in between the slightly better Neon Splash and the weaker original Demon Turf.
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And my most recent trip to the museum was definitely worth it again. I practically devoured the DLC, so I managed to see everything over the course of two very long evenings. In addition to the new storyline, the DLC offers tons of new exhibits and a great new system that lets us create our own pieces and sell them off. Plus, of course, tons of additional decorations. And to appreciate that the signature Two Point humor is still in full force, I’m glad I didn’t have to study humor on a trip first! So, the bottom line is: you absolutely can’t go wrong with the third Two Point Museum DLC. So grab your paintbrushes!
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Arcade Archives 2: Arkanoid is a successful adaptation of a thrilling arcade game; while it has a few minor quirks, it faithfully recreates the original experience on the Nintendo Switch 2. The optional mouse controls—provided you can get used to the ergonomics of the Nintendo Switch 2 mouse—are a welcome bonus that significantly improves the gameplay experience on the Nintendo Switch 2.
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The visual novel Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights develops organically from a humorous common route into, at times, very serious character routes. Many mysteries and character motivations are seeded early on, and the worldbuilding is equally well developed. Occasionally a little over the top, but always within a convincing framework. Even the weaker routes never left me dissatisfied, and visually, countless details contribute to the overall atmosphere.
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Date A Live: Ren Dystopia offers lighthearted entertainment and, despite its name, never really carries an overly negative tone. Its large cast of distinct characters brings plenty of humor, while the many individual routes and their manageable length make it well suited for shorter play sessions.
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In my opinion, this is probably Infinity Sweeper’s biggest flaw. The game is built on a puzzle format that only partially accommodates the random chaos of a roguelite. As a result, Infinity Sweeper strays too far from the classic minesweeper feel, yet at the same time fails to make its new gameplay experience exciting enough. In the end, there were simply too many of those recurring “impossible” moments. And in many places, the added mechanics don’t seem well-thought-out enough to allow for proper builds. Especially when I consider how many roguelites I’ve played this year alone, there are numerous other titles that have handled these tasks better. Infinity Sweeper has only superficially met my expectations for a Minesweeper roguelite.
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INDUSTRIA II feels very much like the kind of horror movie sequel that gets rushed to market after the moderate success of its predecessor. The story is continued competently enough, but the gameplay feels abandoned halfway through development. Ideas that the original INDUSTRIA introduced — whether narratively or mechanically — are only superficially touched upon here, leaving them unable to make any meaningful impact in Industria II. And then there is the technical state of the game, which ultimately becomes the final nail in the coffin and pushes an otherwise merely dull experience firmly into frustrating territory. As things currently stand, I simply cannot recommend Industria II. Perhaps Bleakmill will manage to bring the game closer to a solid state through extensive updates, at which point it might become an easy recommendation for fans of the first title. I certainly hope so.
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Sektori is a well-crafted arcade twin-stick shooter packed with mechanics that make every new run feel fresh. Ship upgrades and cards complement the gameplay in meaningful ways, and alongside the campaign, the additional modes offer plenty of opportunities for chasing high scores. The only real drawback is that the bosses on the lowest difficulty vary noticeably in how demanding they are, and a few mechanics could benefit from clearer explanations. That would also make the easiest difficulty feel less challenging overall. Even so, Sektori is always worth jumping into for a quick session.
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Once again, a handful of concepts have come together here in a combination I never would have imagined even in my wildest dreams. Yet the Tetris-inspired city-building deckbuilding roguelike Drop Duchy works astonishingly well. Every single system interlocks with remarkable care and flows together as if this genre mix had always been the most obvious idea imaginable. And it is precisely this sense of effortless cohesion that turns “I’ll just play one more round” into an entire evening disappearing without notice. How does this keep happening again and again?
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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is an unusual entry in the series, combining structural elements of the Zelda formula with action RPG gameplay. In my view, however, Zelda II is unfortunately a significant step backward compared to the first game and, due to its at times absurd difficulty level, can really only be recommended as a curiosity for dedicated fans of the series. I’m honestly glad that the third installment perfected the original formula and continued to explore it across many future titles instead of further pursuing the ideas introduced in the second game.
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The dungeon-crawling RPG Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy unfortunately ends up feeling somewhat too repetitive from a gameplay perspective. Its strengths lie primarily in the amusing dialogue and in gradually getting to know the cast of characters better over time. The combat system is solid, and the combination of different elemental attributes to create especially powerful spells adds a welcome layer of depth. However, the game constantly throws the same standard enemies at the player, and compared to the bosses they are extremely simplistic, which makes regular encounters far less engaging. Combined with the monotonous dungeon design, this makes it difficult for me to wholeheartedly recommend the title despite its entertaining story.
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Kukkoro Days once again offers its familiar light, entertaining experience. The contrast between Cattleya’s sense of chivalry and her more endearing, cute side is part of its charm. Her “kukkoro” exclamation does appear a few times, but it is more of a verbal habit she uses when she feels embarrassed or uncomfortable rather than any kind of serious plea. As mentioned at the beginning, nothing in this visual novel happens that is so severe that one would want to sink into the ground out of embarrassment or worse when it comes up in conversation.
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Scar-Lead Salvation is a mechanically competent third-person shooter with a slightly too low camera angle. Its roguelite elements strike a good balance between forgiveness—offering many ways to restart after a failed run—and meaningful risk, which often leads to interesting decisions about whether to push forward or retreat, or whether to use teleporters or avoid them altogether. At the same time, the game does not strongly encourage switching weapons or skills unless a weapon is lost on death, which makes many of the loot chests feel somewhat redundant. The room layouts are fairly schematic and similar, so repetition does not immediately stand out, but it is still present. Standard enemies also lack variety, and the brief window of invulnerability in Onslaught mode is almost negligible. For players with action shooter experience, the overall difficulty remains fairly moderate. As a result, it only just manages to earn a limited recommendation.
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What I particularly enjoyed is that the dioramas are not static. For example, I built a winter scene in the city where several characters were walking through the snow. Whenever they left one puzzle piece, they would immediately reappear on the next. It is a great help while assembling the puzzle, but above all, it is simply incredibly charming how these little details breathe so much life into the dioramas.
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Smash it Wild quickly ends up feeling like every run follows the same pattern. A match begins, you swiftly dismantle or control the opposing team however you like, and then it devolves into a drawn-out endurance phase. This creates a sluggish, repetitive loop that personally didn’t provide much enjoyment. I’ve noticed this issue increasingly this year with various roguelite titles, where the core gameplay tends to wear itself out quickly. In those cases, it was often the language barrier, the resulting need to constantly reorient oneself, and the time investment that contributed to the fatigue. In Smash it Wild, however, the problem lies more in the lack of variety and the overly simplistic approach to strategic decision-making. Forming a final judgment is difficult. I do like the concept of Smash it Wild as well as its “expanded” form of run progression. Yet after only a few runs, the game gradually worked its way out of my interest—not through a sudden, decisive strike to my taste, but rather slowly and insidiously. Ultimately, Smash it Wild fails to keep its gameplay loop engaging and varied over the long term.
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Saros is a mechanically well-executed bullet hell shooter that unfortunately suffers a bit from a lack of variety in level design, weapons, and run-altering artifacts. Because dying and retrying is a core feature, this does lead to noticeable repetition over a playtime of 20–30 hours. However, the option to start in the current biome rather than always having to begin in the first one helps to mitigate this repetition. The core gameplay—3D bullet hell combat combined with dodging, blocking, and parrying—is consistently enjoyable. The Carcosa modifiers can be adjusted to personal preference, even if there is no intrinsic reward for increasing the difficulty. Still, the game manages to surprisingly well compensate for its repetitive structure in moment-to-moment play. Overall, Saros is a good game that ultimately falls a little short of its full potential.
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Dracamar is a solid 3D platformer featuring surprisingly long levels and a generally grounded level design. Due to its low difficulty and straightforward structure, it is especially well suited for younger players and newcomers to the genre. Aside from a few minor technical imperfections—particularly in relation to culling—the game is presented in a generally well-executed manner, giving Dracamar a polished enough overall impression. This makes it a recommendable entry in the genre.
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