TheGamer's Reviews
It’s beautiful, frantic, challenging, and a delight to play.
Even though I reached the credits after just a few hours, that didn’t stop me from diving back in to uncover as many secrets as possible. This is the first Five Nights at Freddy’s game that has captured me like the original trilogy did, but it’s also the first to stand on its own two legs beyond the allure of what’s happening outside of the screen. Into the Pit is exactly what the series should be, and I hope future FNAF games are taking notes.
The Iron Rig is a great addition to Dredge, but going any further would be scraping the rotting guts from the bottom of the barrel. The second piece of DLC already reminds me of the Lazarus taxon that Ironhaven Corp’s scientist explained to me early on; it raises a seemingly extinct game from the dead and gives it life once more. I loved my time with the DLC and binged The Iron Rig over the course of a day in a way that I rarely do with games any more, but the game itself offers a warning to developer Black Salt Games: drilling too greedily and too deep can have devastating consequences.
Leximan is one of the most unique games I’ve played in a long time. It’s a love letter to old-school gaming and retro fans are sure to appreciate the genre medley. While a few points felt a bit clunky or unclear, the humour and unique gameplay shines through and though it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I’m glad I played it.
Cat Quest 3 lured me in on name alone but won me over with its great gameplay loop. A better tale might have worked wonders for it, but start to finish, it’s still a good time.
There are a number of elements present in Cygni: All Guns Blazing that underwhelm. From its unremarkable enemy designs to its banal story, it simply doesn’t feel like it has a strong identity. However, for all its shortcomings, it does deliver seven action-packed stages of controller-gripping, shmup goodness. The ship customization stuff is neat, the energy allocation mechanic is novel, and it features some highly enjoyable boss battles. When all is said and done, I doubt Cygni will make much of an impact with the general gaming populace, but I suspect that bullet hell fans will find something to love here.
I love the world of SteamWorld. Heist 2 is as flavorful as ever, with great characters, funny writing, and a great soundtrack by Steam Powered Giraffe. The overworld exploration is charming too, with its own pirate ship progression system and simple naval combat. I really want to like SteamWorld Heist 2, but I can’t get past the more tedious aspects of the grind, or the long, punishing missions in the late game. It’s an improvement over the original to be sure, but I’ll have to wait patiently for SteamWorld Heist 3 to see if this series can finally reach its full potential.
Despite its flaws, I’ve never played a game quite like Closer the Distance. It somehow successfully manages to turn the difficult process of managing a community’s grief into a playable game, prompting you to ask yourself difficult questions without being hamfisted with its themes. It tells a deeply moving and compelling story about what it means to take care of others, love those we’ve lost, and honour their memories in ways that respect them while making sure we keep in mind the people left behind. And it does all that while maintaining gameplay that never feels tiresome, balancing the repercussions of your actions in a realistic way, and making you really care about its characters. I’ll be thinking about this game for years to come.
Even with its short length and simple gameplay, Thank Goodness still stands as one of my favourite indie games in recent memory. Thank Goodness You're Here's consistently giggle-inducing jokes and wonderful visual humour are great, but its surprisingly authentic and heartfelt interpretation of England is what made me reyt chuffed wi’it.
Despite my frustrations with math and science, the game is carefully designed to encourage experimentation and exploration. A wealth of resources and notes in the encyclopedia help guide you to finding the cure for your illness all while working alongside the most adorable mushrooms you’ve ever seen.
Earth Defense Force 6 is everything I expected it to be, which is both a blessing and a curse. Sandlot has no intention of shaking up its B-movie arcade shoot ‘em-up formula, and I’m not complaining, but when there is obvious room for ambitious expansion that wouldn’t harm the moment-to-moment joy of mowing down giant insects and evil aliens, I struggle to figure out why the developer is so stuck in its ways. I’ll always love this series, but maybe it’s time for a change?
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is both a pleasing and frustrating puzzling journey that leaves you thinking both about the steps you make in-game and the ones that you might or might not make in your real life. This could have just been a small game about a cool and strong mechanic, but it ended up being
Despite all this, The Operator’s concept is fresh and compelling, and generally well-executed. Even with my misgivings about the small flaws that made themselves apparent during my gameplay, I thoroughly enjoyed the minute-to-minute experience of playing, and the cliffhanger worked on me – I do want to know what happens next, and how the gameplay will change given the ending’s repercussions. If you’re able to ignore these things, and you love detective games, The Operator packs a lot of fun into a bite-sized package.
Ete might be simplistic, but it has so much heart and gives you so much room to express yourself that, like a paintbrush and an easel, it can be more than its parts. Technical hitches disrupt its flow and a shallow narrative can hold it back, but it’s worth seeing what you can create for yourself.
In the end, though, Vampire Therapist is every bit as compelling as the name would lead you to expect. Sam is a wonderful protagonist, the writing is well-balanced between humour and pathos, and it does a great job telling disparate stories that have full arcs. The commitment to depicting CBT faithfully could go further, but it remains an impressive effort. Overall, this is bloody good stuff.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus tries its hardest to break out of the staples of genre contemporaries, such as with its folklore backdrop and a handful of new abilities, but it sometimes results in being more convoluted than necessary. Still, it’s set in a beautiful world that’s a joy to explore, with tough bosses and platforming that provide a rewarding challenge.
It’s still a serviceable enough story to keep you invested until the credits roll though, and while some twists and turns may not be as impactful as you’d like them to be, Flintlock is still definitely worth playing for its combat and focus on exploration. I had a blast, and while it’s not as polished as other soulslikes, it deserves to sit up there with the likes of Nioh and Lies of P as valiant attempts that just fall short of FromSoftware’s masterpieces.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate might not manage to reach the same heights as the game it so clearly takes inspiration from, but ‘being as good as Hades’ is perhaps an unrealistic goal for any game and it's a wonder that it comes even close. It still provides a satisfying roguelite experience with one of the best interpretations of the TMNT universe I’ve seen in some time. It won’t be replacing Shredder’s Revenge as the franchise’s best modern game, but it’s sitting nicely in second place.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a breath of fresh air. Its tireless commitment to its aesthetic, and enticing, varied gameplay make for a memorable experience. One that is as charming as it is enthralling. In an era where Capcom largely produces remakes and sequels, games like Kunitsu-Gami are more important than ever. Every inch of Kunitsu-Gami feels deliberate, and the passion of those who developed it bleeds through. Kunitsu-Gami is carving a path forward for Capcom, and at the end of that path is a more creative gaming landscape.