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Ash of Gods: The Way doesn't shy away from the realities of war, whether it's the unpredictability on the battlefield or the impacts it has on those involved. The story sucks you in as you try to end the war, but your decisions result in non-linear gameplay that makes you wonder if you made the right choice. Combat is strategic and forces you to plan ahead, using all resources available to you to overcome your enemies. The difficult Challenger battles sometimes feel blatantly unfair and having only a single save file does create issues you can't easily resolve. But if you persevere and come up with new tactics, you are rewarded with a great story and gameplay that makes you feel like a real tactician.
Fundamentally, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores repeats a lot of the same beats as the main game, and doesn't explore much new territory in terms of world-building or gameplay. However, the minor gameplay additions are certainly fun and welcome, and if you enjoyed the base game, this expansion is certainly still an enjoyable time, prolonged final boss fight aside. As an epilogue with some fun diversions, which also expands upon Aloy's character arc from the base game and introduces a great new supporting character, Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is definitely worth checking out for anyone wanting a good excuse to return to the game.
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is a fantastic sequel. The art style is simple but amazing, the music is great and the ambient rain is relaxing. Choices do indeed matter in this game, and with a (pretty hard to miss) mistake, you can cut off character arcs completely. Admittedly, there are some annoying bugs, and issues with the social media app. But the game is so grounded and authentic in its characters that each of them has their own wants, desires, and problems. While you can't solve them with a coffee, you can help steer them in one direction or another. Their issues still feel really natural, even if they're not human. Coffee Talk 2 is a beautiful game, and I can't wait to jump back in again to collect all the nick knacks.
Varney Lake tries to be a compelling thriller that obviously wants to keep its players guessing. The narrative lacked in its ability to keep me entertained and wanting to know what actually happened during that summer. What kept me interested was the way it looked, sounded and made me feel. It pulls off the "pixel" elements but very much fails to live up to the exciting, suspenseful narrative of the pulp fiction genre. If you're into game and audio design, or love the pixel artstyle , you may be able to forgive this, but if you're looking for a narrative that will have you clicking your mouse for more, best look elsewhere.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is one of the better returns to a classic tactics series. Both individual games have aged exponentially well with campaigns that are more enjoyable and charming than you'd think, and just as many thrilling fights to match. Developer Wayforward deserves credit for earnestly including quality of life and approachability options for more players, but it can ever so rarely leave a difficulty imbalance from level to level. However, that is hardly a scuff on the excellent product provided. Smart battlefield design accompanied with engaging objectives make for some excellent missions to chip away at. Similarly, the colouring and model design is superb, further immersing the player in commanding a battlefield as an ultimate strategist. Players are in excellent hands with Re-Boot Camp. It's up to them to use those tools to triumph in battle and come out on top. Hoorah.
Minecraft Legends is a fresh spin on a classic game that isn't afraid to boldly try something new. Come for the battles, but stay for the tender storyline that empowers the player with how their actions are affecting the game world as they take down the Piglin forces. This one feels like it's for Minecraft fans in one way, but in another it's all about battling and sadly this leads to player imagination jumping in the back seat. Regardless, it's either a fresh spin that will be your jam, or you'll be craving the freedom of the original.
Dead Island 2 is a silly, slaughter-filled take on the zombie apocalypse that is very entertaining without pushing the envelope of game design beyond the expected. HELL-A is the perfect bright setting to soak the streets in blood, and the little visual details ensure that there's always something eye-catching that grabs your attention. Some of the objectives can get repetitive and combat itself could use a little bit more variety, but considering its painfully long development time, Dead Island 2 still makes for a satisfying adventure with a good sense of humour stitching together its various generic zombie parts into something worth celebrating.
Arcana of Paradise – The Tower is a decent addition to any roguelike deckbuilder fan's library. With its real-time gameplay adding tension to what is generally a slower, more tactical affair, it's a refreshing twist on the formula. The inventive combination of card-based gameplay and puzzles also incentivises experimentation in an interesting way. Unfortunately, despite its gameplay strengths and gorgeous presentation, the shallow setting and lack of sufficient encounter variety cause the experience to become repetitive after only a few hours.
Moviehouse – The Film Studio Tycoon is an ambitious attempt at showing the ups and downs of the film industry. You gradually work your way up the ladder and producing great movies feels good. It's a pity the game suffers from some issues that weren't foreseen or accounted for. The charm of creating a good movie disappears when you realise you can make more money from buying out other studios. As your studio gets bigger and you hire more people, the user interface struggles to keep track of the relevant details. It's a fun game at the start, though the long time it takes to produce movies can wear you down. For a simulator that passes some time, this will be great, but it does need some more refining to be a good management experience.
Murderous Muses is a bite-sized mystery with an entertaining gimmick and a lush background of lore, and it's a taste of what might be the next frontier for FMV; puzzle exploration. The overarching mystery is enough to keep players engaged for the 10-15 hours it takes to unlock everything, though the simplicity of its puzzles otherwise limits its replayability. The video performances are a bit hit-and-miss, but the camp vibe of the entire experience makes it all part of the show.
Overall, Mile 0 just isn't as strong as its predecessor. It somehow feels both like there were too many and not enough changes made to the formula. Maintaining the dialogue options made the story feel diluted and weak, but abandoning the setting of the open road loses a key part of the game's identity. It's a hard spot to be in. This isn't to say that Mile 0 is a failure, just that it doesn't manage to improve on the shortcomings of the original or capture what made it work in the first place. The music is still very good and the characters interesting, but letting the player control their actions removes any potential agency and kills what could have been a great story.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is smaller than the game it's a sequel to. It had to be, due to painful real-world events that affect the developer to this day. But by streamlining mechanics and sticking to what they do best, Frogwares delivers a refreshingly focused experience. Despite its gruesome subject matter, the game is a joy to play, taking care not to cause anxiety through gameplay. This is a masterful detective game, giving you the tools to figure out complicated mysteries on your own. The final chapters may leave certain things open-ended, but that only raises hopes that Frogwares can make another fantastic game next time. Based on their past work, I know they can.
Tron: Legacy is a great and fitting return for the sci-fi franchise, providing a gripping neo-noir story that bubbles away on a single moody, rainy night. Foundations of the exciting, futuristic world explored years prior are now realised even further thanks to the highly detailed writing talent at Bithell Games, making you feel like you're there amongst the chaos. Though at times missing some of the typical visual novel conveniences and containing crunchy 3D models, the world laid bare - the world of Tron - is exciting once more. Striking character profiles, eloquent writing and effective puzzles all help in reminding us of the fact that Tron as a franchise is special and a little weird but most importantly here to stay. Remember that.
Rendezvous is a beautiful-looking game let down by some unfortunate gameplay design decisions. It has a stunning visual aesthetic, blending retro pixel art with modern lighting and rendering effects to create a suitably atmospheric and moody cyberpunk vibe. However, it is held back by bland combat, cheap instant-fail stealth segments, and puzzles that vary between overly-simple and frustratingly unintuitive. While the city of Neo-Surabaya is vibrant and intriguing, the action-movie main plot doesn't leave much space for exploration or immersion. There are some neat ideas in Rendezvous, but fans of adventure games will be left wanting.
With thoughtful Australian representation, Innchanted is sure to be an incredible experience for all gamers. The puzzles, music, and themes are so enjoyable that it's hard to put the controller down. There's something new with every level, making the game increasingly engaging as you progress. Plus, up to four-player multiplayer lets your friends join in on the fun. Throw in a plethora of cute costumes that you can collect and a storyline so intriguing that it won't leave you disappointed, and you're left with a recipe for a good time!
Overall, Wildfrost is an incredibly well-designed gameplay experience that is sure to delight. Through its dynamic attack counter system, combined with features like charms, encounters, and randomised hero stats, the gameplay feels as dynamic and challenging on the twentieth run as it does on the very first one. No matter whether you're a complete newbie or a card game veteran, Wildfrost is sure to entice you with its beautifully hand-drawn graphics, charming soundtrack, and engaging gameplay.
Kabaret has ambition, but that ambition gets in its own way. It asks tough questions and never shies away from the realities of life. Different perspectives are properly explored which provides depth for each viewpoint. It deftly weaves Southeast Asian culture into the story and it immerses you in the culture. But the story becomes too complicated and loses its best messages towards the end. The lack of stakes for the mini-games also makes them less appealing. Preparing tea is unnecessarily hard and vague, becoming a frustrating activity instead of a relaxing one. It's a good visual novel with stories that don't shy away from difficult content, but one you're unlikely to revisit often because it feels like a lot of work.
Wall World is a challenging roguelite with superb gameplay. Mining through varied and engaging environments is satisfying and pushes players to find out what's just beyond the next layer. Procedurally generated levels and a vast range of upgrades keep each run feeling fresh, enhancing the robospider to inch closer and closer to the end. However, that end doesn't meet expectations and annoyingly relies on luck for a few elements to align. Still, Wall World is a fulfilling mining-crawler with an addicting gameplay loop.
Storyteller makes the player a would-be narrator, with a focus on finding the correct story under the guise of narrative independence. It's a polished experience that's very interactive and easy to pick up. The levels pad the game's length out nicely to create an experience that can be played in a single sitting if you don't get stuck. It's just a shame the replayability suffers when the player realises there isn't room for agency in a prewritten story.
Never quite sure what's lurking below the surface, Dredge captivates from the jump with a well-defined and engaging gameplay loop built atop the foundation of a creepy and beautifully atmospheric setting. The storytelling and questing push this fishing management game into new territory as you uncover just how deep this ocean runs. Some repeated quest archetypes aren't enough to drag this gem down as Dredge continues to surprise and delight from the moment you first set sail to when you finally hang up your sailor's hat.