Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Reviews
Octogeddon refers back to the arcade cabinets of the '80s, both in the simplicity of its opening premise, and in much of the presentation. But it is its own unique idea, that while not world-changing or particularly revolutionary, is quietly brilliant in its delivery. I only worry that it's slightly too quiet.
This is a decent, very peculiar puzzler, that does entertaining nonsense to the insides of your brain. Hard not to like.
You might as well just play (or replay) its many post-campaign side missions and modes, really.
For me, the more of it I played, the more I found it got in its own way. Its clumsy prose is a struggle to read, its difficulty spikes are aggravating, and the sense of being directionless is too all-pervading. I feel certain this will find its audience, and what a joy for them. But sadly, not so much for me.
Celeste is a difficult game about overcoming difficulties. Come for the challenge, stay for the joy of Madeline's company and the generosity of this wonderful game.
So much of this world is best experienced via first-hand discovery.
In the end Iconoclasts wasn't quite what I expected, but I greatly enjoyed my time with it, and would recommend it to any platformer fan.
If you've any interest in transhumanist philosophy or even ethics in general, then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. If you don't, then The Red Strings Club should still hit the spot – and you might find you have more to say the next time someone asks you about the nature of happiness.
The Tomb Kings are ultimately a great addition to Warhammer's perpetually pissed-off factions, but their poor integration into the Vortex campaign suggests that Creative Assembly haven't quite figured out how to add factions who don't share the core participants' objectives.
Even though being a whaler boils down into fairly basic and repetitive actions, there's a texture to Nantucket that I appreciate. It's a fine place to spend time, even if a lot of that time is spent against the grindstone. And the more I play, the more there is to do and see, I just wish it cut to the chase much more quickly.
Paradise is a very satisfying and deeply peculiar game.
If you already love these puzzles, this is a must buy, and if you want to get into a smart, engrossing, and perfectly delivered pure puzzle game, this is an amazing place to start.
[PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds] is best when one round you're a Ghillie-suited assassin and the next you're a struggling nobody with a gun you've never seen before. When you aren't at either extreme, the highs and lows of play can begin to even out and round after round can begin to blend together.
This could have been the Hidden Folks of murdering. And it's all there, underneath the mess, waiting for someone to rescue. Sadly that has, so far, not been realised.
On the whole, though, Okami is a delight from start to finish. It gives you the freedom to savour and indulge in every last drop of its ink-washed world, and its combat and story are both superb – particularly if you have even the slightest bit of interest in Japanese mythology.
Shadowhand is built entirely on a foundation of muddy luck. Sometimes the cards come up in such a way that you can combo twenty or more in a row. Sometimes you have to pass your turn over and over again, waiting for a useful 7 or 5 to show itself. That's why I find it unsatisfying.
You absolutely should play it if you've played To The Moon. If you haven't, you should blooming well go and play that, and then this.
SpellForce 3 is a game that, when pulled apart, doesn't always come out looking great, but that I've still really enjoyed.
It's a lot at once, and so sumptuously animated throughout, that its brevity is a bonus, not a loss.
It might not fully satisfy match-3 fans, then, but this is still a delectable puzzler wrapped in an engaging fantasy story, served with a side of so-so platforming. It's with great skill that Trinket Studios has managed to make that unusual combination work at all, even if I'm left longing for a more developed follow-up that makes the most of every one of its inspired ingredients.