LadiesGamers.com's Reviews
Forest Golf Planner scores a hole-in-one! The familiarity of cute pixelated characters and a straightforward, well-guided structure make this Kairosoft offering a truly delightful and enjoyable game.
Not long ago, I watched a film starring Nicholas Cage, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. There’s a scene where Nicholas Cage (starring as himself) is talking about his favourite films, and his fan, played by Pedro Pascal, says Paddington 2 (an excellent film which I recommend). Taken back by the response, Cage asks for more information, and Pascal explains the film made him want to be a better person. That quote is probably the best way I felt coming out of Smushi Come Home. On observation, some might not see the point of a game lacking significant challenges. I often feel this way while playing some walking simulators, but Smushi is one that lets the player go at their own pace in a stress-free setting. Explore as much as you want, engage with the quests or simply focus on the main mission. It’s so rare to see a game incorporate education well into the design by learning about real-life mushrooms. The biggest achievement of all is the game just made me feel good. As someone who works a high-stress job, it’s greatly appreciated. So absolutely buy Smushi Come Home, and then consider gifting it to your friend who needs a hug or a smush if you prefer.
Overall I like Nova Lands a lot, it has fun and engaging gameplay mechanics, and the gameplay loop is addictive. It’s the kind of game you want to return to after playing for a while. I enjoyed exploring and setting up the production line on the islands and building my home; also, watching the bots run around doing their work is surprisingly relaxing.
Trails of Trainspot is an enjoyable puzzle game for all ages. The storyline is fun and engaging, and the puzzles are challenging without frustrating the player while completing them. For fans of puzzle games, I’d recommend helping to place the tracks and giving Trails of Trainspot a go.
Marvelous did a great job on the remake, STORY of SEASONS: A Wonderful Life is a good game, even 20 years after its origins. You should be aware that STORY of SEASONS: A Wonderful Life tells the story of a farmer’s life. At first, there isn’t a huge variety of crops, fish and things to dig up. Still, your focus should be on trying to make the farm profitable and socializing with the people in the valley. The first chapter is only the intro. New things are introduced in the other chapters as well. And while your family expands, the other people in the valley get older, too and have their own stories. The management part of the game is deep, maybe even deeper than later Story of Seasons games. Soil quality is important, for example, and sometimes crops just wilt without any indication. The quality of milk is important and not constant over the seasons, and you can influence it by breeding your cow after a certain time. Overall, I think the fans of Story of Seasons will be pleased!
While Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 4 is by no means a groundbreaking game, it does what it intends very well. It offers the player a few hours of relaxing, unhurried puzzle-solving while also offering some interesting tidbits about some of Europe’s best places.
Avia Corporation is a minimalistic strategy game in more than one sense of the word. It’s minimalistic, from the graphics right down to the tutorial. Having played many similar games in the economic strategy genre, I wanted to like Avia Corporation. Unfortunately, that was hindered by a poor tutorial that doesn’t explain the game properly and a gameplay loop that feels uninteresting and dull.
I didn’t get too far into Logicats, but everything I played was unique and interesting though. While I personally don’t like Logicats, I still think it’s a very well-done game. If you think programming-style puzzles will appeal to you, I would try this little game. It’s probably one of the more polished indie puzzle games I’ve played in a bit.
I was excited for Annie and the AI, and in general, I think it is a very solid game with what it strove to do. That being said, I feel like it should be known that it touches on some very serious issues in the family and school, which might not be anyone’s idea of fun. However, if you are okay with those topics coming up in games and you like visual novels and AI, I think you’ll like this one.
We Are Eva has plenty of appeal, which you can see for yourself on the Steam page here. I do like how witty Eva is to the game player, and she even points out how many deaths they have accumulated. If you need a precision platformer this summer, I’d suggest giving We Are Eva a go.
Glass Masquerade 3: Honeylines is a great addition to an already great game series. While it is an absolute must for fans of the games, it also makes for a great entry for new players to join in on the fun. The game is guaranteed fun with its gorgeous art, beautiful music, and smooth controls. I can hardly wait and hope for Onyx Lute to release some DLCs to go with the game.
Candle Knight is a solid game with some interesting ideas. This is definitely a title that fits into the category of a diamond with some rough edges. I liked how it tried changing the familiar adventure formula with its adaptive difficulty and balancing combat and exploration. This is helped further with good visuals and a soundtrack. The trouble is many of its elements feel a bit clunky, much like if you were wearing a suit of armour yourself. Combat is hard to grasp at times, particularly when blocking, and some of the platforming is a bit fiddly. But the game isn’t unplayable. Most players should easily see past these issues and enjoy a nice candlelight gaming night (actual candle optional when gaming). If you have room in your gaming schedule for another adventure, then Candle Knight may just be the light you are looking for.
I find it difficult to rate Jack Jeanne because I just could never really get into it, due to my own busy personal life at that moment. But looking at all the great elements this game has: visuals, music, characters and the story, I can recognize that this is a great and unique game, and definitely an innovative step for otome games. I would recommend that everyone gives it a try because there is something for everyone in Jack Jeanne.
Dordogne is as close to perfect as a game can be. There is a little jank, and a little weirdness in the UI, but the beauty and depth of the game make that absolutely forgivable. I don’t think I will be playing Dordogne again any time soon; I think I need to recover emotionally from the story. But I do want to try it again from the beginning and see what other hidden wonders might be around the corners of Dordogne.
Daydream: Forgotten Sorrow is a solid cinematic platformer if you’re looking for a short and sweet adventure that can be completed in a few gaming nights. I often find myself mixed with games like this. I hated the gotcha moments and became frustrated with the platforming, especially during action sequences. Although it was never to the extent where I threw in the towel, something drove me to carry on and see this game to its conclusion. For every issue I had, I could point to something I liked such as the rewarding puzzles, the captivating presentation and the dreamlike soundtrack. It really is a roller coaster of a video game. Ultimately I liked Daydream. Through all the highs and lows I had with my time, I walked away satisfied and wanting to cuddle a teddy. But since I’m a bit old for that now, I’ll cuddle my son instead.
In its style and presentation, Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island is aimed at a young princess-type gamer. I don’t fit that description, but I still enjoyed my time on Carrot Isle. It’s a stress-free dip in and out of the game, which is bright, colourful and full of sweetness.
Alchemic Cutie is a game of highs and lows. The concept is great, and I adore the pixelated format. Wimba Island is full of mystery, and I’m keen to find out more. Unfortunately, the faded or night time colouring when it’s raining and the complexity of the jelly colour palette make it hard to give our top rating. The developers have clearly invested a huge amount of time and passion in the game, and I hope they continue to do so. Ideally, I would rate this as “I Like it a Lot”. However, the poor performance on the Nintendo Switch version renders it impossible to recommend at the time of review.
Don’t be fooled by the simple graphics, shapes, and “mobile game-esque” presentation. Drop It: Block Paradise has some good ideas, clever design, many achievements to collect, and a fun level editor. All it needs is some polishing with the controls across various inputs because the game is really tailor-made for all ages. I also found the game to perform a bit sluggishly on low-spec computers, which is a bit surprising given the graphics. However, the sheer number of levels is enough for me to give Drop It: Block Paradise the green thumb of approval.
Tiny Thor, for me, was a pleasant trip down the retro platforming avenue. Although I enjoyed it, the experience might not be for everyone. The game does bring with it some of the retro baggage. Levels do get very tough, requiring precision platforming to fully conquer. The health system isn’t that great, and levels do feel a tad long, reducing the drive to go back to explore for all the secrets. Still, the game gets so much right with tight controls, brilliant presentation and a challenge that may be tough but is rewarding if you stick with it. You will likely feel worthy if you decide to take up the hammer with Tiny Thor
Speed Crew is another recommended game to add to the co-op game night. As is often the case with these games, this is not recommended for those venturing alone. With other players, the experience is fun and addictive. A few niggles hold it back from top-tier greatness, with items appearing a bit too small on screen, and it’s sometimes hard to tell what exactly needs fixing on the car due to colours blending together. However, my friends and I could look past these and still thoroughly enjoyed our time with it. Speed Crew makes it through the finish line with some dents but still takes first place as a co-op game.