GameGrin's Reviews
Firegirl: Hack 'n Splash wastes no time throwing you right into the platforming action with a trusty axe and high-powered hose to navigate the levels and rescue the survivors. With only three-minutes the game forces you to think fast and figure out how to conserve your limited water supply. With procedurally generated levels, no two runs will feel exactly the same.
A storybook with half the pages missing, Little Bug rushes towards an ending whilst attempting to leave everything in the dust, including its fantastic gameplay. Take your time and you'll find a shining core of fun, challenge, and excitement, failing to be extinguished by its lacking narrative.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is a faithful recreation of the PlayStation titles that weren't available to everyone in the '90s. The CD monster creation system has been replaced with a large music catalogue and the ability to fast-forward through battles is a welcome addition as the game can feel very repetitive when you are constantly in tournaments.
This is The President won't deliver much in terms of strategy, but will provide great writing that should pull you through an entire term of virtual presidency.
An intriguing concept that falls flat thanks to a repetitive mission structure, a lack of rover variety, wonky controls, and nothing to keep players engaged. Enjoyable for an hour or so, but by then you've seen everything Rover Mechanic Simulator has to offer.
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is a great fighting game and a great sequel to an old franchise which successfully caters to both genre veterans and newcomers. It is a bit on the expensive side, but the gameplay, art, and music all justify it.
Undungeon is a great game with tons of unique innovative designs that I have never experienced. If the staggeringly large amount of text doesn't scare you off, and a sci-fi story is something you're interested in, I definitely recommend it.
A short but fun platforming experience. Explore a castle; fight goblins; even play as a dog that collects bacon! There are a few flaws in certain areas, but as a whole this is a fine game.
The Kids We Were is a must-play game with an incredibly good story that focuses on childhood friendships and family. The voxel-style graphics look beautiful, the cicadas in Japan sound great, and a catalogue of items from the 80s to collect made me feel so nostalgic.
Part Pikmin with a splash of Metroid, The Wild at Heart takes these concepts but never utilises them to their full extent. That said, it is fun in short bursts when you need to unwind. With a touching plot and beautiful hand-drawn visuals, this is an impressive first outing for developers Moonlight Kids.
Archvale is just plain fun. It does what it does well, and as a bullet hell provides a serious challenge without feeling unfair. I cannot recommend this game enough.
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 is a surprisingly calming game that teaches you more about motorcycles, with deep customisation and attention to detail that could make you lose hours of your life.
Despite trying to present itself as an advancement of the series, Battlefield 2042 instead feels like a severe dumbing-down. The Battlefield Portal offers some familiar fun, but it's just not enough to warrant buying the game.
An open-world experience that loses interest in its own promising setup over time, before finding renewed interest in the idea of "AFK gameplay" instead. An experiment that just barely succeeds in its endeavour, despite uninteresting characters and lacking visual design attempting to drag it down.
Brain Meltdown Into Despair is a beautiful game that really lives up to its name. It delivers an incredibly difficult experience that changes the way you have been controlling your game character for years. Controlling two characters at once sounds easy, but it's not!
Faraday Protocol is an interesting first-person puzzle game that has an intriguing storyline and puzzles to challenge your brain. The unique combination of futuristic visuals and Egyptian themed elements creates a mysterious and unique world for you to explore.
The gameplay is pretty good, but it is sadly sullied by a lack in all other areas. The story is almost non-existent, the graphics and audio are merely adequate, and there is a definite lack in replayability. A real shame, but there is potential for more in the future.
I will say if you even remotely like the look of the art then Blightbound is a must buy to experience that alone, it's worth every penny in that regard, but if you are looking for anything more then I'd sadly give it a miss. I really wanted to like Blightbound, it's clear there is some real passion and brilliance in places but it just never reaches anything close to its potential. The rabbit hole is horribly shallow, the promising first leap into the magical world being cut horribly short as you hit the earth with a deafening thud.
If you like insane difficulty, oddness, and prog rock, this game is for you.
Although somewhat lacking on the horror front, PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is a fun time with an interesting story and gorgeous graphics. The audio could use some improvement, but the pros far outweigh the cons.