LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
Historical Fashion Dress Up is a short game that can offer some delightful moments for fans of fashion and history. The artwork is great, and the option to print out the dolls as paper dolls gives us some interesting possibilities, whether for entertaining the kids in our lives while educating them or perhaps for use in some craft projects.
Sunny Cafe is a sweet story of young love, touching on some deeper topics that mirror the way adolescents view life’s goals. It strives to include knowledge about making coffee in a very charming and graphically beautiful way. I would have liked this part to get more attention, combining the visual novel part with a management part for serving the customers the right coffee. But that may just be my personal preference. The visual novel tells the story in very descriptive and flowery wording but still has some translation errors, as well. Graphically Sunny Cafe looks nice and crisp, and it reads like a nice book.
Distant Bloom has a lot of elements that attract me to a video game. Exploration, crafting, managing seeds and turning a barren landscape into a lush environment. Giving your crewmates little gifts ups their friendship levels. All of this is set against an unusual scene of an alien planet and an alien crew. The Assistant and KEi.Ki are busy bees and it’s very satisfying to make the sick planet, plants and animals healthy again, just by sowing seeds. Collecting strange-looking seeds that produce interesting plants adds an extra incentive to Distant Bloom, as well as unraveling the mystery. I am really loving my time in the game, and I love the little humorous touches in the conversations between the crew mates and quirky things like adding a trademark sign to the Exomulti. Oh and…. did I tell you you can pet the animals?
Caves of Lore is an impressive RPG in so many ways. If you just judge it by the game alone, it’s a deep and engaging RPG that allows plenty of player choice regarding how to proceed through the experience. Sure, there are rough edges. Battles can feel excessive at times, and it can be tricky to figure out how to progress. However, it’s an experience that is just as enjoyable in small gaming bursts as it is on long, lazy weekends. Then we get to the price, which is an utter steal for the quality of the product on display here. On top of all this, Caves of Lore is an inspiration to anyone wanting to take on a big project and maybe a little scared to take the first step. Caves of Lore is evidence with a lot of patience and dedication you can get there no matter what your circumstances are in life. I absolutely recommend this, and even if you feel this is not the game for you, be sure to tell a friend about it or just consider gifting it to them on Steam.
Overall, Bounties of Babylon is a good game. While I enjoyed playing it for this review, dice games are not my go-to genre. However, I can see the game would be enjoyable for those who enjoy this type of game. For those players, I recommend you give Bounites of Babylon a roll of the die.
There are a lot of mechanics to discuss in Millennia, and there is too much to put into a review of the game. However, with plenty of depth on offer in Millennia it is sure to please any long-time fan of this genre, and it also doesn’t overwhelm you with options thrown at you all at once. I found Millennia to be a refreshing strategy game that is enjoyable to play, and I can see myself playing it for a good while to come.
Mike’s Garden is a modern, visually pleasing take on the classic Match-3 games. It offers a mix of new and old and tried elements to form a cozy, casual puzzle that will most definitely delight fans of the genre.
Lost and Found Agency Collector’s Edition has all the hallmarks of a good hidden object game: gameplay, artwork, soundtrack, no timer, and hints galore. However, it was not smooth sailing for me, and this is why I can’t recommend it. On the other hand, it has plenty of satisfied players out there.
I did not enjoy Pocket Fishing. It’s been some time since a game made me genuinely as miserable as this. Awful controls combined with bugs and glitches made this a game I can not recommend in its current state. Possibly, with some significant tweaking and optimization for the Nintendo Switch, this game may become a straightforward fishing game to enjoy in small bursts. But that’s not the game I played here.
Match Village is available for a nice price. It doesn’t offer a visually wowing experience, but it looks colourful and clean. Though placing the tiles is a strategic challenge, there is no deep puzzle gameplay mechanics to consider. Surprisingly, I found the gameplay very relaxing and rewarding. Just place the tiles in the best way you can and see how far you can progress. The sounds of plopping down a tile and getting new tiles as the structures combine are very satisfying. For this little game, made by a solo developer, the name Match Village is well chosen. Get to matching, and populate your islands in the process.
Passing By: A Tailwind Journey retains its cohesive style and substance, and it runs beautifully on the Switch. Its quirks and issues will undoubtedly be no problem for some fans looking for a well-priced, lighter survival game that’s heavy on gathering cute collectables. However, I personally have trouble finding it as cozy as its sale copy suggests, with meters that are harsher than more action-forward survival/collection games like Core Keeper and puzzles that, while not difficult, are a pain to overcome with both the current control scheme and those meters at your heels. As the first game from a new indie developer, I do give the game its proper dues for its polish and its eagerness. I think Studio Windsocke have a bright future ahead, and, as I say, there may be those who click with the game, especially if you can overcome or alter the control scheme. Unfortunately, this game is not for me. It may be for you, so please remember that all reviews are subjective and that this is still a game with a lot of heart inside of it. That’s why I’m giving it a neutral score, and the developers my very best wishes. Available now on Nintendo Switch and PC/Steam.
With Hidden Cats in Berlin, we have yet another winner in the hidden cats genre. I am always excited to play this game series and urgently await the next title. Hidden Cats in Berlin is a great addition to an already great series, and if you need extra incentive, it’s also 20% off until the end of March.
Rebel Transmute is a good action adventure, but it’s not for everyone, including myself. The difficulty of this game is pretty harsh in the first half of this game, with fiddly platforming and touch-as-nails boss fights requiring quick reactions and patience to succeed. It’s a barrier of stress that won’t work for everyone. If you can make it through, there is plenty to like. Customizing your build with various augmentations provides flexibility to the gameplay, and once you have a huge map to explore, you will have multiple secrets to uncover. So, if you find most adventure games too easy, then consider this your next gaming project.
Jewel Legends: Tree of Life is a casual, cozy Match-3 game. With its colorful graphics, pleasant soundtrack, and smooth gameplay, it can quickly suck you in for a few minutes. Getting stuck is almost impossible, so there is no stress. As an added bonus, it’s a game you can play while doing something else.
Sharing a style similar to all the Kairosoft management simulation games, TV Studio Story is reassuringly familiar with bright colours and cute pixelated characters. However, I wish there had been more opportunity to see the adorable characters wander around, but the pop-up messages got in the way. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the same satisfaction in playing TV Studio Story as I have with similar games. The allocation of TV show stats was a bit too random for my liking, and although selecting the best genre, theme, and set combination was a fun challenge, it didn’t have the same appeal once I’d completed all the viewer requests.
William and Sly is a cozy and relaxing game about exploration and mushroom hunting. It offers a perfect escape for a few hours for any fan of cozy games and foxes.
The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is what it is, definitely, and nothing about its remaster changed what the game was like on release. With its unspoken story and non-traditional levelling system, this is not going to be a game for everyone. But its refreshed accessibility and the fact that there are plenty of in-depth guides out there with oodles of still relevant information makes this an interesting way to find out if you’d enjoy similar, harder games like SaGa Frontier. Or if you’d enjoy Alliance Alive, which was also remastered several years ago for the Nintendo Switch. This is where I admit I’m an old-school gamer, and this is my kind of thing. I grew up on obstinate, mapless, pain-in-the-rear dungeon crawlers, and this pretty, cosy (and low on fan service) homage to the genre is just the right kind of game for me to laze on the couch and play. It’s asking for patience from its players and a little investment to figure out how to make your party strong enough to wear down bosses. It requests your imagination to fill in the gaps of its story, giving you the freedom to think pretty much whatever you want of your journey through this ruined isle. If you’re like me, this is a special treat, a game that’s both different than anything else currently on the Switch and familiar to those of us who grew up with graph paper and clue books you had to mail away for. That’s why I’m rating this game so highly, as I’m the exact audience this game is seeking. Its quirks may not be for you, but if you’re willing to give it a try, whether on Switch or on Steam, both of which I prefer for this style of game, it’s doing its best to help you out. And it’s looking good doing it.
Highwater gives off an eerie post-civilisation feel, so kudos to the developer for getting that point across to the player since it is set in a post-apocalyptic world. As for the gameplay, I have very mixed feelings about Highwater. Firstly, I think that the different elements of the gameplay don’t gel well together. The boat journeys were the most enjoyable part for me, especially at sunset when the sun was creeping down the sky; the artwork illustrated that well, whereas the rest of the gameplay left me feeling kind of indifferent.
Quadrium 3 is a nice puzzle that offers enough challenges for a few hours. It looks deceptively simple, but it’s definitely not a game that allows you to be distracted while playing. Still, it can get repetitive, so play in small doses.
One More Dungeon 2 is a step up from its predecessor in terms of graphics and gameplay. But it doesn’t quite shine in all areas on Nintendo Switch. Combat and platforming feel clunky, and the performance on Nintendo Switch takes a hit, likely due to its hardware. Despite my niggles every time I finished a run, I still had the itch to try one more dungeon. So long as you can put up with some rough edges, One More Dungeon 2 still makes for some good looting.