Gameliner's Reviews
After weighing all the pros and cons, I have to conclude that I Hate This Place floats somewhere between “I Hate This Place” and “I Love This Place,” because despite an abysmal, jank-filled start with annoying performance issues, it managed to keep me mildly entertained for about seven hours with its campy ’80s vibe and occasional paranormal quirks—like tongue-in-cheek whodunnit quests and the odd cow-beaming close encounter—but ultimately lacks the narrative depth to be memorable, making it a perfectly fine filler experience and little more.
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In a world full of Soulslikes, Code Vein II manages to stand out in its own unique way, offering entertaining (if not very deep) storytelling with a fun time-travel twist and strong, flexible combat, though technical issues, visual glitches, and some repetitive environments keep it from greatness. However, it remains a great pick for fans of challenging action RPGs (and waifus).
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Since the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in 2004, developers—including Nintendo—have searched for the next big hit, and with Escape from Ever After, Sleepy Castle Studio delivers a charming yet deep RPG that lovingly honors its inspiration while offering strong writing, rich gameplay systems, colorful worlds, a fantastic soundtrack, and only minor flaws.
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Earth Must Die is a daring, politically incorrect point-and-click adventure that revels in provocative British humor and controversial themes, delivering hours of shameless fun and satire that prioritizes laughter and boldness over polish or sensitivity.
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2XKO is a polished, fast-paced free-to-play fighter with strong competitive focus, held back by aggressive monetization, a small locked roster, and no single-player content.
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MIO: Memories in Orbit is a beautiful Metroidvania with strong world-building and clever design that will appeal to genre fans, but its overly slow pacing sometimes undermines an otherwise memorable experience.
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The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon successfully continues the Calvard arc with a strong story, colorful cast, and deep, flexible combat, and while its slow start and overwhelming systems make it far from beginner-friendly, those who push through are rewarded with a massive, memorable adventure full of standout moments.
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Big Hops delivers solidly crafted core systems and joyful 3D platforming with cozy visuals that make hopping around feel great, but a lack of tight level design, engaging narrative, and long-term incentives holds it back, resulting in a typical 3D platformer debut that showcases both Luckshot Games’ strong potential and clear growing pains.
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Pathologic 3 kicks off 2026 with an intense and unforgettable experience, blending diverse gameplay elements into a uniquely striking whole with strong design and originality, and while the lack of voice acting slightly weakens the audiovisual impact, its bold vision and distinctive atmosphere make it absolutely worth playing—especially for those seeking something truly different.
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Cozy Caravan is a warm, charming, and sincere cozy game that excels in atmosphere and accessibility, offering relaxing, inviting gameplay through adorable animal characters and simple pleasures, and while repetitive NPCs, limited dialogue, and minimal musical variety can wear on longer sessions, its strong core keeps it enjoyable and worth returning to.
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DuneCrawl is an ambitious indie experiment that shines in concept and style but stumbles in consistency: visually striking and cleverly designed, it soon reveals repetitive gameplay, weak AI, and an experience clearly built for chaotic co-op with friends rather than solo play, making its giant cannon-backed crab and appealing arsenal fun in theory, but best enjoyed with others.
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Let’s be completely honest: the odds of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond living up to every expectation were never very high, and while Retro Studios largely succeeds with superb action, satisfying puzzles, fun new psychic powers, gorgeous visuals and excellent controls, weaker NPCs and the baffling decision to lock desert music behind an amiibo dull the tone, leaving it an outstanding game that nonetheless falls short of the legendary status of its predecessors.
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Unbeatable is rhythm, rebellion, and nostalgia in one package—a seemingly simple two-button game that reveals itself as a story-driven adventure carried by music and emotion, with young layered characters, a phenomenal soundtrack, an anime-on-CRT visual vibe, some technical stumbles and on-screen chaos, yet a flow of riffs and feelings that, if you let it take you, strikes a tender chord.
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My biggest criticism of ROUTINE is simply that I wanted far more of it, because Lunar Software’s intensely atmospheric, stunningly designed, uniquely immersive and impeccably sounding horror experience boldly strays from every genre convention—even if its intentional obscurity can frustrate—resulting in one of the most distinctive and exhilarating horror titles you can play.
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Skate Story is a tightly crafted, poetic descent through a bizarre and surprisingly accessible underworld, where razor-sharp controls, clever skate-as-combat boss fights, and a uniquely soulful audiovisual style fuse into a chaotic yet captivating indie gem for anyone seeking a skategame that dares to be something entirely different.
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Octopath Traveler 0 delivers a richly told, Kefka-esque villain-laced story that shines after completing the Master of All storyline, pairing more focused narrative attachment through its single protagonist with deep, varied turn-based combat, rewarding exploration, charming HD-2D visuals, a wonderful soundtrack, and a satisfying village-building side quest—making it a must-play for anyone who enjoyed the earlier entries but struggled to fully connect with their stories.
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In the end, that bitter pill spoils Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow so thoroughly that, despite Maze Theory’s good intentions, its sweet Thief aftertaste is lost to tech limitations and janky controls—leaving a VR revival that simply can’t escape the gallows of its own shortcomings.
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It may sound terribly cliché, but Sleep Awake is the kind of obscure, brain-prodding project you have to open yourself up to in order to appreciate its intent, bombarding you for four hours with cryptic clues and disorienting FMV dreamscapes whose confusing lore and rock-opera delirium seem designed to confront you with the hallucinatory effects of sleep deprivation—an experience not meant for everyone, but one that will gladly pull you under for a few digital hours if you dare.
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Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a fun beat 'em up game reminiscent of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, featuring dual-character gameplay and combo attacks. While the action is solid and the character roster is diverse, it lacks some flair outside of combat compared to its predecessor.
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Total Chaos storms into 2025 as a brutally faithful reimagining of the 2018 mod, delivering a suffocating story, panic-drenched combat and relentless pacing that eclipse its rough edges and leave the horror lingering long after you’ve put down the controller.
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