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Inbento is a neatly packaged puzzler with enough challenge to keep you engaged and just enough charm to keep you sane.
Stunning visuals and brilliant music is just the first course in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. With its large world, lavish combat, and a smooth implementation of the metroidvania design, this sequel is a must-play for fans of the original, and highly recommended for everybody else.
The Political Machine 2020 doesn't really capture the magic and madness of the US presidential race. It looks better, and can offer a few rounds of strategic election planning, but on the whole it's a bit dull and lacking in variety compared to the previous version.
One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows may please some fans of the overpowered warrior, but the repetitive campaign missions, formulaic fighting mechanics, and underwhelming presentation will limit the appeal of this fighting game.
Effie isn't going to blow any minds, but its tried-and-true action and 3D platforming design makes for a delightful callback to yesteryear.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a game about what happens in between the life-changing moments. About how everyday interactions and conversations are interesting in their own way. It's a memorable experience built around relatable characters, fun dialogue, and clever gameplay moments.
Underhero is a memorable and charming little adventure. By constantly mixing things up, the gameplay never feels stale. And the plot twists your expectations in ways you would have never seen coming.
Uncovering the past has its ups and downs in The Suicide of Rachel Foster. While not a horror game, it only needed a slight nudge to become one and it would have been better for it. At least its roomy hotel setting is nice to explore, even if the world needed more detail and excitement.
Taur has a few exciting moments and addictive progression elements to get you far into the campaign, but repetitive design, uneven difficulty, and unsatisfying combat eventually wear out its welcome.
Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate chooses quantity over quality. While it includes tons of characters, the bland level and mission design lose their allure far too quickly, which is a shame. With a little more care and tweaks to mechanics, it could have been a strong entry in the series.
Dreams is a creator-focused set of tools more so than a video game. If you've always wanted to get into game making, collaborate with the like-minded community, and weren't sure where to start, this is a great option. But if you're primarily after some quality gameplay, and not just bite-sized imitations, it's best to look elsewhere.
Almost every good piece of design in Last Encounter is knocked down multiple pegs thanks to an oppressive grind. It successfully manages to invest you in the world and its systems, before quickly erecting barriers that direct away from the interesting features. Had the game been a bit more generous with its upgrades, or toned down the monotony, this could have been a solid roguelike.
As a visual novel, Coffee Talk relies heavily on its writing, but the characters and the plot are so dull, they offer you no reason to care. Instead of visiting this fictitious coffee shop, find a local one in the real world - you'll have more fun.
LUNA The Shadow Dust is a streamlined point & click adventure that offers superb art design and peaceful music. While many of its puzzles are simple, some late-game challenges make fantastic use of the two well-animated characters in a brief tale told adequately without words.
Kunai is a short and sweet metroidvania with an exciting premise. In this era of rapid technological change, however, Kunai ultimately doesn't do enough to separate itself from the pack.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics isn't a swing and miss, because there wasn't a swing. This is a quirky and strangely-charming world, but the game has dulled it to a bog-standard strategy game, leaving behind the technical prowess that made the show interesting, and playing it safe in a way The Dark Crystal creator, Jim Henson, never would.
Kentucky Route Zero is an incredibly dull and over-embellished text adventure that fails to engage, entertain, or provide much value to anyone but perhaps the uppermost art connoisseurs.
Lightmatter rests somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to first person puzzlers. It uses the basic light tools satisfactorily, and the sharp visual style and brisk pace help it succeed. Unfortunately some technical blemishes offset its better qualities.
Despite its accessibility, Red Bow is not going to be for everyone. This isn't just because of its darker themes, but its rigid, basic structure that shifts between item gathering and NPC interaction. Even at the $5 asking price, it's tough to recommend to anyone but those who really fancy horror adventures with ample reading.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot isn't a bad game as much as it's a boring one. Turning the series into an open-world RPG seemed like an interesting challenge, but the game goes about that challenge in the dullest way possible. Putting effort into the series' highlights and dismissively padding out everything in between.