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At the end of the day, Angels Fall First can be really kind of whatever you want it to be. Whether that’s a solo game, a server of your own, or just a jump in and fight. Whichever you end up choosing, it allows for robust customizability to tweak things however you want. Although it does have various ways to play and ample customization, it felt very overwhelming as a new player. It is built for a very particular kind of player. There is a dedicated tutorial where you are able to play around with the various scenarios, but it doesn’t really cover loadouts and customization and how those mechanics work. The UI is a bit overwhelming as well. With these items in mind, I’d give the game the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Dystopicon is a really fun little simulator game. It’s story telling is whacky but interesting. It never feels like you’re sat waiting for the time to pass. The management elements of the game are really well done. I’ve given in the Thumb Culture Silver Award simply because the lack of the pointer really did ruin the experience for me. I’m sure this will be something that is fixed in future updates but for the time being I’ll have to leave it at that.
Whatever the world has in store for us, Doloc Town can be ranked up there with the cosy farming sim greats to provide a little bit of happiness. While initially very overwhelming and keeping your inventory organised is rather finicky, the gameplay is exceedingly rewarding. Building up both your farm and Doloc itself keeps you coming back just one more harvesting session. What it lacks in tight combat mechanics and inventory management, it makes up for in spades with charm, ingenuity, and character. A post-apocalyptic pick-me-up that warms the cockles and inspires you to build a legacy from something raw, no matter how small the result or how rustic the tools. I give it the Thumb Culture Gold Award to display proudly on the skull above Zenis’s Tavern. To the future, friends. Cheers!
Overall, I enjoyed my time with The Planet Crafter much more than I thought I would. Despite the opening hours being a bit slow and repetitive, once things get going, then this is a game worth investing some time into. Base building is intuitive and works well using a controller. The lack of danger may not be for everyone, but I found this a perfect title to jump into after a stressful day at work. Therefore, The Planet Crafter receives the ThumbCulture Gold Award!
Love it, simply love it. Whilst Esports Manager 2026 is not perfect, it achieves what it has set out to do perfectly. I think that there are some elements that can be added (call me) to enhance the gameplay, but in general, love it. Very excited to see what enhancements Neurona Games have in store in the future. I have given Esports Manager 2026 a Thumb Culture Gold Award
Corsair Cove doesn’t try to compete with massive pirate adventures packed with cinematic storytelling or endless action, and I actually think it’s better because of that. Instead, it focuses on creating a relaxing settlement-building game that’s easy to pick up and surprisingly difficult to put down. The combination of exploration, resource management and gradual progression creates a gameplay loop that’s consistently satisfying. If you’re someone who enjoys watching a small settlement slowly grow into something much bigger, you’ll probably find yourself sinking plenty of hours into it. The camera can be a little awkward to begin with, and there are moments where the gameplay naturally slows while you gather resources, but neither issue takes away from what is an enjoyable experience overall. Corsair Cove feels like it knows exactly what it wants to be. It isn’t trying to reinvent settlement builders, but by mixing elements of games like The Settlers with light exploration and a pirate theme, it delivers something that’s relaxing, rewarding and very easy to recommend. If you’re after a game you can unwind with after a long day, this is definitely one worth adding to your collection. I give Corsair Cove the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
It starts strong with great gun-play, and exploring the ship, but I do feel like the Stalkers take too much away from the game. Senara: The Sacrament quickly loses the horror atmosphere once the second threat begins to appear, mainly because of the damage output. They also love to camp around nearby making navigating corridors a little bit challenging. Overall though the game runs great, with only a couple of visual bugs when it tried to load things in. I did enjoy exploring overall, and that Senara: The Sacrament, makes it really clear when you will need to make a choice key. I found saving is a must since endings like the helicopter one, does seem a little unforgiving, but I won’t spoil it. Well, I am giving it the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
After trying to give The Relic a fair shot I just could not continue. The bosses are unbalanced, and combat is just too janky to really enjoy it. Statues effect are very punishing with some of the first few bosses you will encounter. I’m not sure why the game decided to riddle the world with notes, and make them right next to each other at that. With me even counting 11 notes exactly one after another, that just led to a boss fight. An empty, lifeless world with side-quest that end up feeling like just filler. But honestly from the 8 hours I spent with The Relic, the whole time has felt like useless padding. A very large amount of my frustration comes from just how bad the hit boxes are. Tie that with the severe dropping in frame rate over nothing going on in the world. And even worse when you actually fight one enemy let alone a group or boss. Everything is just a chore, and I just couldn’t push through. I really don’t have any praise for The Relic: First Guardian. It’s definitely the Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
I initially thought I was going to be overwhelmed by the mechanics in Fogpiercer. Thankfully they were easy to pick up and understand after a few short runs. The deckbuilding and strategy aspects make this roguelite stand out from others, on top of crisp graphics and audio. It’s definitely one I’m going to keep playing and I recommend you check it out as well. Well deserving of the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Honestly, Viking Frontiers is an unfinished game that should never have made its way to consoles. I have a soft spot for other games of its ilk, such as Bellwright and Sengoku Dynasty. But this is one I absolutely cannot recommend this. There are countless games in the survival genre worthy of your time, but Viking Frontiers is not one of them. As much as it pains me to say this, Viking Simulator, unfortunately, is getting the ThumbCulture Broken Award.
The game offers some fun puzzle with more of a spooky vibe, rather than an overall horror. As most of the jump scares come from failing tasks. Escape From Umbra is extremely easy when it comes to avoiding minions or even umbra herself. And if you managed to use the lanterns every time you passed one, then you don’t have to worry about loosing progress. I’d give the game a solid Thumb Culture Silver Award. If you want a nice little game to stimulate your brain then Escape From Umbra isn’t a bad shout.
The idea of Forensics: Crime Scene Detective sounds really good on paper; however, I am not sure if this has translated well. I can certainly see the game being rather repetitive and becoming tiresome to some people. However, if you’re a lover of simulation games, then this may be one to add to your list. I enjoyed the time I spent with the game, and I would be interested to see how it develops. However, it is not all there for me to say that it is a game that I would come back to again. Therefore, I will award Forensics: Crime Scene Detective with the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
I have had a really good time with Celestial Return so far and look forward to playing more. There is a surprisingly complex narrative and socially relevant too. There are lots of shades of grey and not just because of the dystopian cyberpunk setting. Leaning into Howard’s 5 mental traits was interesting, especially when feeling a little gung-ho. I do wish the dice mechanic was more generous, as it often led to hitting a wall in the story. The graphics and audio were great at setting the tone and scenes, especially as there’s plenty to do in the game. I give Celestial Return the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Cat Mail Co. was actually an unexpected game I felt like really needed at the time. It helps calm all the noise in my head to just help fellow cats send mail over to family and friends. Sure there are times that some of them made me want to put a laser pointer towards the door. However, it made it feel like I was part of a community on an island all over again. This game is a great addition to my cozy/brain off collection. I give Cat Mail Co. the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
The Mermaid Mask is to me difficult to say if it’s great or amazing. The reason I hesitate is because of the fact, that I don’t want to discourage SFB Games from making another entry into this series. Sure the last game was back in 2019 being Tangle Tower and I cannot blame them. Making something as great as the Tangle Tower is difficult. However, they should know that they lived up to that game with The Mermaid Mask. It goes to show that since Newgrounds when they made the first Grimoire game. Then made the next entry on PC which surpassed the Newgrounds version. Following after with Tangle Tower and now Mermaid Mask are all showing that you guys haven’t lost your touch. Here’s to hoping for another entry in about 6 or 7 years from now. I give The Mermaid Mask the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
If the overuse of perfect didn’t give it away, I have to give LIFTED the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. This game really is just a nice break from other games that are coming out at the moment. After seeing how highly Stu rated the demo I was a little apprehensive, but I can fully agree that this game definitely deserves to be added to everyone’s Steam library.
Rhythm Paradise Groove is a great game, one that you will absolutely love playing. I personally wouldn’t wait to pick this up and go and get it now. For me, this is an essential Switch 2 purchase. Rhythm Paradise Groove gets the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok is a really good expansion to this great game. My only thing is the heavy amount of monster quests that need to be done in order to start the content. With a wall like that, it slightly killed my momentum next to the grinding needed to continue. Luckily, we can get early access to the Conflux Surveys and can start the smooth grinding. But to me that’s just like using a coaster on a wobbly chair. I hope that if they make another DLC to this size or larger…please let us start the story before making us have to drag the grinding fest. I give Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok the Thumb Culture Gold Award
All in all, Moonlight Peaks is such a lovingly crafted twist on the cozy farming genre. From the incredible attention to detail and cute atmosphere, to the great story and massive quality-of-life features, the game just has so much going for it. The slow pacing isn’t the biggest issue in the world, just a personal preference, and any lag issues or bugs can easily be fixed with updates down the line. If you are looking for a new charming farming sim to pick up, you should absolutely give this one a go! Today, I am giving Moonlight Peaks the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
I may have mentioned several other games in this review; however, Denshattack! is really unlike anything else. There is virtually nothing negative I have to say about this game. Sure, it can get incredibly challenging, which leads to some frustration. But that was down to my own skill issues, rather than any unfairness from the game’s design. This is an incredibly fun, well-crafted title that I believe could be an indie smash hit. If you have any interest in original game ideas, you absolutely need to check out Denshattack! Who knew extreme sports: trains edition could be so much fun? Therefore, Denshattack! receives the ThumbCulture Platinum Award!