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The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales offers some enthralling storytelling and creative gameplay that ensures its book-trekking adventure is a memorable one. Sure, its puzzles aren’t particularly challenging and some of the choices you make can feel inconsequential to the overarching plot, but it does more than enough to ensure its adventure remains captivating as you play through each little tale and twist them to suit your needs.
Greyhill Incident has an interesting concept, but its poorly executed gameplay mechanics can make for a tedious and dull experience. The lack of signposting can make exploration a chore, whilst the frustrating stealth mechanics and aggressive enemy AI can make encounters with the aliens a real pain – especially with your low stamina that makes it hard to get away. There are things I liked about the game and the story is cool (in that ‘so bad it’s good’ kinda way), but it’s really hard to recommend Greyhill Incident. Refugium Games are working on some patches to improve the experience which is good to see, but as it stands? You’ll probably want to steer clear of this alien invasion.
Layers of Fear brings plenty of new additions and refinements to each game, ensuring it is the definitive way to experience the series. The visual upgrades look absolutely outstanding, whilst the new story content fleshes out the narrative in an intriguing and cohesive manner. The refinements to the to the gameplay help streamline the experience too, and whilst some of the changes are better than others, it helps ensure that the haunting gameplay feels fresh and intriguing. Will it win over players who had mixed feelings about the original releases? Maybe not, but it’ll definitely be a treat for fans of the series that have been itching for more. I definitely had a good time with Layers of Fear, with it acting as the perfect reminder that Bloober Team certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to horror.
Amnesia: The Bunker is an unnerving experience that’ll both terrify and enthral players in equal measure thanks to its gripping gameplay. I loved exploring the bunker, finding clever ways to progress, and carefully evading the wrath of the creature, whilst the moments where it was on my back were always exciting as I fought for survival. And sure, the open-world design of the game isn’t always executed perfectly, but the sense of progress you feel as you open new pathways and complete objectives is always satisfying. It’s just a really fun direction for the Amnesia series to take, with Amnesia: The Bunker delivering the scares that the series is known for in a very different way. Its individual components of gameplay may not necessarily do anything you wouldn’t have seen before, but put together? They make for a really good (and really spooky) time.
Homebody certainly kept me on the edge of my seat with its horror-themed time loop puzzling, even IF some aspects of it don’t always deliver. The creative puzzles ensure players will be kept scratching their head when playing, whilst the eerie atmosphere keeps the tension high as the malicious killer stalks each room of the cabin looking for blood. It does have a few issues, with the camera and controls the main offender, but they don’t stop Homebody from being a lot of fun to play. It does something a little different in the horror genre, both thematically and from a gameplay perspective, whilst the old-school vibe will tick plenty of the right boxes for players.
Bleak Sword DX might keep things simple with its combat and visual style, but it makes for an engrossing experience that’s a ton of fun to play. I loved the gameplay loop of progressing between levels, levelling up, and dealing with every new threat the game sent my way, whilst the more challenging moments (and many deaths) never feel like a massive deterrent thanks to the game’s bite-size level setup. And sure, it can be rough losing your items and experience points, but with players getting a shot at redemption, it never feels unfair.
We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie is a real joy to play, with the zany gameplay and creative level design making for a real good time. The additional Royal Reverie content is a treat too, whilst the sheer amount of content players have to get through in the game will keep them busy for quite a while. And sure, the controls can be a little fiddly to get used to, but when you get the ball rolling (literally and figuratively), there’s PLENTY of fun to be had in We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie.
Street Fighter 6 is an outstanding fighting experience that complements its stellar combat mechanics with addictive game modes. World Tour Mode is an absolute blast for those who want a story-driven experience, whilst the Battle Hub is fully fleshed out to keep competitive players coming back for years on end. Add to that the improved accessibility that makes it easy for newbies to dive right in, the wonderfully vibrant visuals that bring the action to life, and the fantastic roster of characters made up of iconic favourites and new faces, and it’ll be clear that Street Fighter 6 exceeds the high standards of the series. Well done, Capcom… you’ve delivered ANOTHER banger.
The Tartarus Key is an old-school puzzling treat, with the mysterious story and clever puzzle design making for an enthralling experience throughout. I was a big fan of the PSOne-style visuals, whilst the game’s foreboding atmosphere will certainly leave players on the edge of their seat – even if the occasionally cheesy quip sways the mood. It wouldn’t be a 90s survival horror-inspired experience without them, right? There were a few little hiccups along the way with a couple of overly obtuse puzzles and the lack of voice acting, but they didn’t stop me from having a blast as I slowly unravelled the unnerving mysteries of The Tartarus Key.
Killer Frequency’s slick twist of clever puzzling and comedy-horror is a whole lot of fun, even IF it isn’t a particularly challenging experience. But hey, whilst the puzzles aren’t too tricky, the way they’re presented is undeniably cool, whilst the radio DJ role you play is wonderfully executed in-game. Add to that the 80s vibe and charming presentation and it’ll be clear it definitely deserves your attention. I just had a really good time with the game, and whilst I’ll admit that it might have been even more fun to play in VR, helping folks survive the wrath of a killer on a rampage was a blast.
Protodroid DeLTA is a slick action-platformer that is a whole lotta fun to play through thanks to some great level design and slick combat. And sure, it might wear its Mega Man inspirations like a big badge of honour, but it also does plenty of its own little things to show that it hasn’t borrowed EVERYTHING from Capcom’s beloved series. It’s just a really cool experience, and one that reminded me a lot of the joyful early days of 3D platforming (and I mean that in the best way possible).
Lunark is a gripping action-platformer that perfectly captures what made the old-school titles that inspired it SO good. Between the creative level design, the slick platforming, the creative puzzling, and the wonderful visuals, it gets so much right, and whilst some aspects of its design may feel questionable to those who aren’t experienced with this style of game, it felt brilliant to me. Just PLEASE, Canari Games… add an auto-save to each checkpoint.
Planet of Lana is simply mesmerising, with the stunning world and engrossing puzzling ensuring it truly shines as a puzzle-platforming spectacle. Sure, it might not be the most original experience when it comes to the gameplay and it’s rarely challenging, but the variety and creativity it showcases ensures it still feels captivating to play – just don’t expect to see too many ideas that you wouldn’t have seen before. It didn’t stop Planet of Lana from being a wonderful experience though, and it’ll always stands out to me as one of the most beautiful games that I’ve ever played.
LEGO 2K Drive is a fantastic racing experience that’s sure to appeal to both younger players and those who take their driving VERY seriously. The open world looks great, is full of events to complete, and lets you unleash your destructive side by smashing through seemingly endless LEGO blocks, whilst it’s super rewarding to show off your creative side with the robust vehicle creator. Plus, the racing feels great, which is perhaps the most important aspect of all.
Bramble: The Mountain King offers an adventure that’s beautiful and horrifying in equal measure, so expect to be kept on the edge of your seat when playing. Don’t get me wrong, it can be guilty of keeping things simple and there’s not much here you wouldn’t have seen before from a gameplay perspective, but the way that it keeps players hooked in with its luscious world and terrifying encounters with enemies is simply enthralling. It’s rare that a game manages to shock me time and time again when playing, but man, Bramble: The Mountain King maintained that unnerving sense of fear right until the very end.
Another Fisherman’s Tale is another enjoyable puzzler that introduces plenty of new ideas to keep the experience fresh and unique. It feels completely different to the first game, and whilst I’d be lying if I said I preferred it over its predecessor, it certainly offers more variety and creativity across its larger adventure. It’s not a particularly challenging experience and the controls can be a little fiddly to get used to at first, but Another Fisherman’s Tale still shines as a captivating virtual reality puzzler that showcases Innerspace VR’s creative skills as a virtual reality developer.
Tin Hearts is a wonderfully crafted puzzler that’s unique, clever, and tells a heart-warming story to go along with its cute toy soldier escapade. It mixes together a variety of puzzling mechanics in a creative and whimsical way, whilst the way that everything ties into the use of toys always kept a smile on my face. And sure, the time manipulating mechanics mean that the stakes aren’t too high when leading your toy soldiers on their way, but they don’t stop the game from feeling super rewarding when you finally solve each tricky conundrum.
Mile High Taxi offers a cool and unique take on the Crazy Taxi formula, with the manic driving through the city’s sky making for a good time. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s lacking a more interesting city to speed through and there are quite a few technical issues that I came across, but they don’t stop the core gameplay loop from being a lot of fun. It definitely sets the perfect foundation for the developer to build upon and I’d love to see more from the game in the future.
Redfall is a bit of a technical mess right now, but there’s no doubting that behind the issues there’s a satisfying vampire-slaying romp for players to embark on. It won’t win points for originality with its gunplay and the missions can get repetitive, but between uncovering the sinister sights of the town, working with friends in rewarding co-op action, and utilising the wonderful abilities of your character, there is a good time to be had. As it stands, though? It really needs some work. I would recommend holding off on Redfall until it has a couple of patches to fix its issues, but when the game is finally in full working order, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Death or Treat has a charming Halloween vibe, but its repetitive gameplay mechanics and awkward loot system do make it hard to recommend when compared to other roguelites. It’s not that anything is bad at all, but rather that it lacks to depth and creativity to keep players hooked in for long – especially with its tiring emphasis on gathering randomised loot. It just doesn’t do anything I haven’t seen done much better in other roguelite titles. The visuals are great and the whole ‘us versus the corporation’ vibe of HallowTown was fun to see unfold, but Death or Treat just lacked that special *something* to stand out in what is a very crowded genre.