Gaming-Village's Reviews
Catto’s Post Office is a short delivery adventure. An hour is more than enough to finish the game at a leisurely pace. The story is predictable but cute, just like the various cats. There’s no real challenge to speak of, apart from a bit of fiddling about with objects in the environment – though this is mainly down to the controls. Furthermore, the options for interaction are very limited. Catto’s Post Office is fine as a little game to play in your spare time, but it doesn’t offer much more than that.
Review in German | Read full review
Dear me, I was… is a lightly interactive life story that truly shines through its distinctive art style. While the narrative itself isn't particularly extraordinary, the visuals and music are employed with remarkable effectiveness.
Review in German | Read full review
Dungeons of Hinterberg is a relaxed Zelda-like action-adventure that shines with well-crafted puzzle design and an unconventional game structure offering great freedom in dungeon selection. Those who miss the classic Zelda formula and are inclined toward Social Sim elements—or can at least live with skipping them generously—will undoubtedly find their match here.
Review in German | Read full review
Cave Crave is a solid VR caving simulator. The story is rather functional and, unfortunately, still feels a bit unfinished at this stage, but otherwise it provides a nice backdrop. The crawling mechanics work well for the most part, and the climbing hooks in particular feel substantial. However, there are a few minor bugs, and hand-tracking isn’t always reliable. Furthermore, the scope of the game is rather limited at present, and many of the crawling sections feel rather pointless.
Review in German | Read full review
It gets a lot of the things you love about classic horror games just right and presents them in a visual style that’s rather unusual for the genre.
Review in German | Read full review
Despite everything, I played extensively and will continue to play. I had fun with Death Stranding 2, and still do. But in all that time by the beach, the sand seems to have smoothed out a few too many edges.
Review in German | Read full review
All in all, Jump Over the Age has once again created a superbly written game with a slightly optimised gameplay experience, which, whilst setting new priorities, also feels fresh and brings out new facets of the fantastic sci-fi world of the Sleeper series.
Review in German | Read full review
April Grove builds its woodcutting loop quite effectively, with skill upgrades, increasingly difficult trees to fell, and a gradually expanding movement range. However, the integrated idle mechanics make the grind feel somewhat excessive, as the game does not automate progression enough for its cutting requirements, while at the same time the automatic woodcutting is too slow to fully satisfy active play. In addition, side characters and the surrounding world lose much of their significance over time, fading into the background. As much as I enjoy chopping and collecting wood, the slow progression makes this woodcutting simulation unsuitable for everyone.
Review in German | Read full review
The fact that I personally felt rather emotionally distanced is a shame, but I don’t hold that against the title. What is actually more problematic are the obstacles present in each subsequent playthrough after the first. Repeated sections can usually only be fast-forwarded slowly rather than skipped entirely. With a single ending, this would not be much of an issue, but with a total of four character routes, large portions of the playtime end up consisting of repetition. This is especially unfortunate because the individual routes can be quite compelling, yet overlapping events significantly lose their impact. In a sense, it makes it difficult to find a way forward.
Review in German | Read full review
Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer is a successful implementation of the arcade classic at a fair price, which can be wholeheartedly recommended to arcade racer enthusiasts who are aware of the game's limited scope.
Review in German | Read full review
The way the menus and settings are implemented provides a consistent experience, meaning you don’t have to familiarise yourself with everything from scratch every time you play a game. The same applies to optional settings and button mappings. Whilst this does take away a little of the feeling of ‘complete games’, the convenience features more than make up for it.
Review in German | Read full review
Copycat is a compelling story about the search for a home. Whilst Dawn reflects very human emotions, her feline nature is not overlooked either. Technically, however, the game isn’t quite flawless. Given the harrowing moments, I’d recommend playing it with care; if you do, Dawn will reward you with a deeply emotional journey.
Review in German | Read full review
Blades of Fire is a solid action adventure/RPG with an elaborate weapon and smithing system. However, navigation in the winding areas often proves difficult. Story and characters fade somewhat into the background, but know how to entertain. The combat system with the various hit zones is interesting and works well.
Review in German | Read full review
Tatake! Big Fighter offers intense arcade action with varied enemy and level design, making it a solid choice for arcade shooter enthusiasts. The ability to switch between the two forms is unusual but gives the game a successful individual touch.
Review in German | Read full review
Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled is a fun racing game with an interesting boost mechanic and intense track design in the final third of the game.
Review in German | Read full review
Dagger Froggy is a cute little survival roguelike, but it didn’t manage to hold my interest for long enough. Whilst the time limit is supposed to be long enough to make survival actually feel like a struggle, the gameplay didn’t keep me engaged for even ten minutes at a stretch.
Review in German | Read full review
The otome visual novel Battlefield Waltz dances rather at the edge of the battlefield, yet largely masters the steps there. The routes are varied and fun to play, even if the pacing doesn't always work perfectly.
Review in German | Read full review
I had fun with the new Atelier title this time as well. The open world invites exploration, and the characters, style, and music are appealing. Unlike Yumia's more adult design compared to other series protagonists, she fits in character-wise, yet she is not yet in the middle of her life.
Review in German | Read full review
The Smurfs 2: Prisoner of the Green Stone starts off extremely disappointing, but recovers significantly around the midpoint and ultimately becomes a decent 3D platformer by the end.
Review in German | Read full review
CrossCode is a very well-designed role-playing game featuring entertaining, fast-paced combat and clever puzzles, as well as numerous optional side quests. The puzzle concepts feel fresh and the dungeons are impressive in their sheer scale. All of this is underpinned by an interesting story and an appealing pixel art style.
Review in German | Read full review