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The easier puzzles can be banged out in less than a minute once you know what you’re doing, while the larger puzzles offer more substantial challenges. And with more than 350 puzzles to get through — the majority of which can be found in the harder difficulty settings — there’s plenty of game here to keep you busy in the long term.
The challenging, cerebral gameplay of Alice and You in the planet of numbers might not be for everyone, but the sheer level of charm on display in this game will inspire many people to make an effort to understand what is actually going on from a mechanical perspective. Allow yourself to get drawn in and there’s potentially hours of number puzzling fun to be had here; certainly a nice bit of light relief from the more chaotic, action-packed games out there.
It’s not a game that demands hours of your time at once, nor one that has a vast amount of content to keep you busy in the long term — but it is a game that is fun to boot up once in a while when you fancy some straightforward arcade action that rewards you with the very pleasant sight of some awesome, kick-ass military and mecha girls for doing well.
Gnosia is a game that’s bound to be incredibly divisive. While I found the main gameplay loop uninteresting, fellow writer Lilia left with a far more positive impression. At the very least, I can appreciate the attempt at creating something fresh, even if I didn’t think it worked in the end. If another game of this style was released with improved gameplay, then I’d still be willing to try it out. It absolutely has potential — potential that I feel Gnosia just couldn’t realise.
Gnosia excels at being whatever you want it to be. As a single-player deduction game, or as a slowly revealing, spine-chilling story with amazing characters in the forefront and lore behind it, Gnosia has immediately become a must-play title for 2021. Just as I had hoped.
Prodigal is merely £7.19 to experience, and I cannot recommend it enough. Additionally, both old and new fans of the title still have even more to look forward to with Prodigal, as its final and biggest update will drop mid March with additional content: four new dungeons, two hidden bosses, updates to tools, two new minigames, a handful of quests and Zaegul’s not-so-secret shop opening up.
For me, the highest praise I can give Persona 5 Strikers is that it feels like a worthy sequel to one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Whether it’s the music, the visuals or the triumphant return of a near-flawless cast of characters, it has brought me incredible joy. Ryuji is still dumb and loyal as ever. Makoto is still scary and hot. Yusuke is still weird. And Futaba remains an adorable little gremlin to protect at all costs.
It’s pure, psychedelic, completely surreal escapism that will help you forget the “real” world for a few minutes or hours — particularly if you have the means of immersing yourself fully in it with a PSVR headset and a good pair of headphones cranked up nice and loud. In the world we live in right now, experiences like this are especially important — and I know I’ll certainly be making good use of it whenever it all gets a bit much!
All in all, Natsuki Chronicles should be considered an absolutely essential purchase if you have the slightest interest in shoot ’em ups. Even if you’re not typically great at this sort of game, Natsuki Chronicles provides plenty of support to help you get better and make consistent progress — while if you’re a hardcore veteran, the game’s tougher difficulty levels coupled with the ability to turn off the various “helper” features will provide you with a stiff challenge.
Ultimately it’s safe to say that if you enjoyed the first HuniePop, you will very much like HuniePop 2, because it offers more of the same — but better. Much, much better. The first game is still worth playing — if only to have the chance to get to know the fairy Kyu a bit better, since she claims she’s no longer allowed to jump into bed with her clients in this one — but HuniePop 2 improves on it in almost every way.
Food Girls is a thoroughly likeable game that does its best with what it has, much like the girls in the street market. At times, its low budget and lack of polish is apparent — most egregiously with a couple of untranslated lines that are still in Mandarin Chinese — but for the most part, the heart, soul and passion of its developer shines through, creating an enjoyable, memorable and thoroughly comfy experience.
If you’re looking for deep gameplay and an intriguing story, TheDawn might not be the right game for you. However, if you’re interested in a simple shooter with a cute anime girl to fill an hour of your life, this is a free game worth checking out. For a game made by a bunch of students, it definitely overachieves in the best way. I really hope they got a good grade for this in the end.
Overall, this is definitely a game for fans of the original. However, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity still delivers the fun action of Dynasty Warriors is known for while looking and feeling like a true prequel to Breath of the Wild, which is not an easy feat.
Melody of Memory is a competent if simple rhythm game that serves as a solid recap of the series for existing fans, making it a worthwhile purchase if you’ve followed the escapades of Sora, Donald, and Goofy through the years. However, it does showcase how impenetrable the plot has become, but even seasoned fans will get enjoyment out of the confusion. Its what we’ve done all this time anyway, right?
Overall, the title has an immersive story and impressive world-building, making it an easy suggestion for those who are new to the otome genre who may or may not be the targeted demographic. It’s simply that good. With a story rich in detail and the especially exciting moments of exploring the “Isekai” side of the game, it’s filled with unexpected twists and turns by the latter part of its story. Café Enchanté is in the higher tier of otome titles to me, with a plot that exceeds expectations and is equipped with one of the most endearing and delightful otome casts within the genre. It sits comfortably up there with the likes of Collar x Malice and Code: Realize.
While I may have criticized Yakuza: Like a Dragon for a decent chunk of this review, there’s still a lot to love about it. Ichiban is the perfect character to usher in this new era of Yakuza, and the amount of things to do outside of the main story is almost overwhelming. However, Yakuza 8 will need a lot of work put into it to make the RPG elements more balanced and engaging.
While I’ve played worse, Vigil: The Longest Night just has too many flaws for me to wholeheartedly recommend it. The visual style, despite the bad animations, is still pleasing, and you’re generally rewarded well for exploring. I just wish that the combat had more impact to it, especially the bosses.
If you enjoyed Monster Prom (which you did because you have excellent taste), then Monster Camp is a great continuation of that experience. It doesn’t change things up massively as far as gameplay goes, but that’s because very little needed changing from the original. Monster Camp is still one of the most exciting dating-sim/visual novel releases this year, with mountains of content for those of you get through. So gather your friends, get on voice chat, and get ready to woo some monsters.
While the tech used for Mario Kart Live is undeniably impressive, most people will get more out of the £100 required to play it by getting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a few years of Switch Online instead. The way tracks are created in game limits the designs you can create, and you’re out of luck if your house has a limited amount of useable space, or flooring that isn’t completely flat. Still, there’s fun to be had for at least a few hours before the novelty wears off, and it’s hard not to enjoy seeing Mario speed around track you have made. There’s potential, just not enough for this to be worth it for most Mario Kart fans (though cats certainly seem to love it).
Genshin Impact is genuinely fun, is set in a wonderfully vibrant world with stuff to be discovered everywhere you go, topped off with some fantastic waifus and best boys. As someone who is entirely free-to-play, the gacha system is horrendous. However, it doesn’t take too much away from the general enjoyment that I get from the game. You should definitely give the game a try.