LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
SteamWorld Build is a delightful game where you always work towards interesting goals. The combination of city building and mining work in tandem together extremely well. It’s a brilliant pairing of opposites, from the bright sunshine on the surface to popping into the mine, which is dank and dark, with the SteamWorld aesthetic tying it all together.
I liked Worldless, but I wasn’t very good at it. Visually, the game looks great, and I had a lot of fun exploring the world and trying to make sense of the vague story while taking in the scenes and listening to the score. Combat, however, is tough. It’s not broken or glitchy. It just takes some fast fingers and careful attention to really master it. I liked it in principle, but it just didn’t click for me. I still give Worldless a solid recommendation. If you’re up for the challenge, you will discover a unique adventure that’s well worth taking the time to master.
DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC doesn’t add much new to an already solid formula. There are new fish to discover, new rods to collect and a cool new tool for your ship. It’s about an extra two hours of gameplay to add to the main content. If the main game hooked you, this DLC is well worth dredging up your copy of the game from your backlog to play.
Heroes of Drakemire is a good RPG, but it doesn’t bring much innovation to its classic formula. For some players, that will be perfectly fine. Heroes of Drakemire will take you back to a simpler time with straightforward turn-based combat and no overly complicated mechanics to get your head around. For me, the game fell a bit short because of the grind. After too many sessions, I found myself grinding away on battles, trying to gather loot to improve my skills rather than progressing. It just came across as tedious, and as a busy parent, it didn’t fit well into a busy schedule where gaming sessions are quite precious. However, if you have the time to spare and love the genre, give this a try and support an indie developer.
While Meowing Point is not a bad game, it doesn’t yet feel good either. It needs a lot more polishing and content. The idea behind the game is excellent; dragging a fully 3D-rendered picture around to change the perspective and unravel hidden nooks within it is very clever. Look at the trailer on the Steam page. If you like the style, you might enjoy the game as well. For me, though, Meowing Point is a great idea, the execution of which needs a lot more work before I can recommend it wholeheartedly.
At the end of it all, I had fun with the Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection. The games are an unusual mixture of difficult yet intriguing experiences; some hit the mark while others certainly didn’t. Little has been done to make the games more accessible outside of save states and a rewind button. With that, it makes it hard to recommend for everyone. If you utterly love Jurassic Park or want an affordable way to play some obscure retro games without going to the expense of finding the original cart or hardware, then this Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection is worth the price of entry. My inner child was certainly happy I got to experience the games.
Train Traffic Manager offers a lot of content and hours of gaming fun, alone or with friends. You have to keep your head in the game. It’s not a puzzle game that you can play while multitasking. But if you want to exercise your brain and planning capability, Train Traffic Manager is a good one to pick.
Although I enjoyed the different course locations and the concept of unicorns rather than karts or motorbikes, Wildshade: Unicorn Champions doesn’t bring anything new to the racing genre. If more could be made of the breeding option, allowing the characteristics of the horse or unicorn to have some bearing on performance, it would make Wildshade: Unicorn Champions a more exciting and memorable racing game. As it is, it seems off the pace and, for me, fell at the first hurdle.
While I have nothing wrong to say about Paraido, there is also nothing groundbreaking about the game. It would’ve been nice to be able to skip any level, not just some. If you need a couple of minutes to unwind or destress and like puzzles, this one might be for you. It requires thinking and is far from mindless clicking to finish a level.
I haven’t quite finished Ugly, but I am definitely going to. So far, it’s been without bugs, fun, interesting, unique, and has a wonderful story. The environment is so rich with details that it tells its own story; the mechanics are interesting and different. I love the music, the movement, and everything about Ugly, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Dave the Diver is a wonderful dip into the ocean. For me, this was the game that kept on giving. With so many options during gameplay, I could not honestly cite a point where I felt bored. Dives were wonderous with plenty to explore and seek, whether it was finding new fish or discovering something sinister in the depths. Running the restaurant was also much more fun than I expected, far from a throw-away mini-game but an in-depth management sim. Either of these two elements of gameplay would make a great game but on top of all that, you have all the little surprises that make this something I could not recommend enough.
Overall, if you are a keen fan of the Harry Potter universe, you will likely enjoy Hogwarts Legecy on the Nintendo Switch. What I like the most is walking around Hogwarts, watching students and seeing the talking, moving pictures and bumping into ghosts. As you pass by, some NPCs will throw a couple of phrases in your direction or play a piece of music; this makes the world feel alive. It’s a huge world with more to offer as you go. It also shows how much effort, dedication and passion Avalanche Software put into the game. Hogwarts Legacy is a labour of love in every detail.
Loddlenaut is a beautiful gem to add to your collection if you’re into exploration and foraging. With no gameplay clutter, you can get right to do what you want, and with a cozy post-game, you can keep going as long as you like. Combat-free, stress-free, and super cute, there’s no wonder this game is already getting awards in the wholesome indie market. It isn’t everything, but everything it is is admirable. Dive into it for yourself!
I really liked Colored Effects. There was something about this simple puzzler that really resonated with me. Maybe it was the rewarding puzzle design that felt challenging but not to the point of stress. Even when I did hit a puzzle wall, I happily walked away to try again later. For a very low price of entry, you can enjoy one of the best puzzle platformers I have played on Nintendo Switch this year. Colour me surprised.
American Arcadia is a fun, colorful adventure with a sense of humor, clever puzzles, and enough sense of danger to keep you going forward. It’s the perfect escape for the wintry months ahead!
Lake – Season’s Greetings DLC came out at a perfect time for me. Not only that, but it is entirely worth the wait. It is a beautiful, well-crafted addition to an already great game. I hope this is not the last DLC we see for Lake.
Astral Ascent offers a compelling journey into the roguelite genre that I found worth taking. While the genre may be packed with heavy hitters, Astral Ascent hits all the marks of quality that make it easy to recommend. A unique variety of characters with their own play style, beautiful graphics and that ever-addictive gameplay loop is calling you to try again, even against impossible odds. To top it all off, you can bring a loved one along to enjoy the journey together.
Even though it could be a tough playthrough at times with the heavy topics and the despair, Virche Evermore ~ErroR: Salvation~ is one of the top Otome games of this year. They have done a phenomenal job with the storytelling and even the characters are intriguing and going through their own character development in their routes. If the themes mentioned at the start of the game do not scare you away, I would definitely pick this game up.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World is a surprisingly good adventure game that really captures the joy and spirit of its source material. Though it takes on the familiar exploration formula, its unique approach to combat and beautiful art style make this something quite special. However, while I do recommend it, you may want to hold this on your wishlist on Switch until all its issues are ironed out. In a way, the game needs to go through its own redemption story, hopefully before Christmas arrives. Once that happens, which I like to believe it will, this will be a wonderful adventure that’s not just for Christmas but any time of the year.
Though the format of Garden Buddies feels far more suited to a mobile app than a game for PC, that makes it stand out on Steam, and Nintendo Switch doesn’t have many tiny games marketed purely as mindfulness aids. I respect it for giving us a solid option. If your child does get a phone or tablet, this is easy to recommend to have as something calm and brief. I appreciate that Garden Buddies has some direct instructions for fighting stress, as well as a variety of games to choose from to release that tension.