video games are good
Homepagevideo games are good's Reviews
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is an explosion of creativity. The team of artists behind it turned one simple concept into an adventure worth taking, turned simple tiles on a grid into a world full of imaginative concepts, and, hopefully, will turn many more slide puzzle strangers into converts overnight. If you're looking at the hefty 2024 gaming season and wondering if you should slide some pieces around to make space for Arranger, I say leave the space open and you won't regret it.
Dungeons of Hinterberg was an incredible escape, and like any good vacation, we'll always have the memories. When you play it, you can just feel it. It's a perfect blend of magic portal fantasy and quaint tourist-trap reality, of thwacking monsters and meeting eccentric people. It's made memorable by the perfect synergy of its unique systems, the love and care of a dedicated team, and, quite simply, just the fact that it basically plays like the 3D Zelda game we've all wanted to return to for years. Microbird can be proud that they've got one of the truest must-play indie releases of the last few years and one of the best games of 2024. Action adventure games are so back. Happy slaying.
Clickolding isn't a horror game in the same way it isn't a sex game. It really isn't, but Strange Scaffold uses a lot of the same tension-building tactics found in both genres to make its unique experience work. It captures every "un-" and "dis-" adjective in the book. Unsettling. Uncomfortable. Unusual. Unabashed. Disconcerting. Disarming. Dissonant. Discombobulating. And it does so with the power of Strange Scaffold's best elements: writing, atmosphere, and gameplay that aligns beautifully. For lack of a better phrase, it just... clicks. I'm fascinated to see what other people take away from a game like this. Clickolding's mere existence is a testament to, first, the constantly innovative and label-pushing work being done at Strange Scaffold, and second, the kinds of work that might only get the chance to exist and succeed with the support of initiatives like Outersloth. The video games industry needs more from both of these companies, and I'm just grateful to be around to see the weirdest stuff around get the chance to be made. Okay, click out of this review already and click over to the Steam page. The Clickold will see you now.
Magical Delicacy is almost too successful in how it captures the good and bad of the cooking process. It's more involved than you'd expect, with its processes a bit fiddly and particular, and when you're still learning it all, it's more frustrating than you might like. But the satisfaction of its end product is undeniable, and once you're on the other end, it's easy to appreciate every part of the process that much more. Skaule shows incredible talent in crafting this game as a solo developer, along with the help of the talented contractors who collaborated with him on this project, and we can't wait to see what comes next in their career.
Ewoud and Nils have crafted a special little game that has brought this writer right back to his childhood, when I'd find ways to gamify the world around me. I find myself glancing at the shadows in my world, wondering about the path I could craft to get from one end of the park to the other, because of this game. And any game that carries a feeling or a new perspective into your reality is a great one. SCHiM is a throwback to childhood joy: a reminder that tapping into your imagination and letting yourself experience the beauty of the world around you is necessary for surviving the otherwise draining experience of being an adult in the modern world. It's simple, it's short, it's sweet. And it's one I wholly recommend for gamers of all ages.
I'm tempted to say your mileage may vary with a game like Until Then. As a Filipino American, its cultural impact certainly made everything hit that much harder for me. As a narrative gamer who's gotten a lot out of visual novels and the like, its dialogue-driven adventure was easy for me to digest. And as a fan of pixel art, I loved the work Polychroma did here to bring its recreation of the Philippines to life. But even if none of those boxes are checked for you, I'm still tempted to recommend Until Then regardless. Its deeply human story, told with emotionally sincere dialogue, its ability to showcase the beauty of Filipino culture, its mind-breaking second half are all worth experiencing for gamers from all walks of life. Go play this game and let's go meet at the Jollibee to decompress after. Salamat, Polychroma.
You hear it a lot with games that feature hand-drawn animation. "It feels like playing a cartoon." But with its roots in an era I was so closely tied to and loved, #BLUD is probably the best example of that I've ever seen. It may not be perfect, but it's the kind of game I always wanted those classic tie-in games to be and never got — and that fulfillment of a lifelong dream is worth experiencing for anyone who grew up in the '90s.
Penny's Big Breakaway embodies the best of the era it's emulating and showcases just what Evening Star is capable of when not tied down by an existing IP. Its surprisingly technical platforming and momentum-based systems make for a satisfying play, even if it can be a bit much to wrap your head around when you start out. I can't wait to see what Evening Star does next, because just like Penny auditioning for the gala, this debut is an exciting look into their potential and their future.
Life Eater is the kind of game that comes with a lot of ifs. If you're able to buy into its disturbing narrative, if you're okay with abstract systems-driven storytelling, if you're okay with short and easy... then sign up! And if you are able to embrace all of that, you could come away with it being one of your favorite experiences of the year. If even one piece doesn't click for you though, the house of cards starts to fall apart. For me, it almost put all the pieces together. Its narrative stunned me, but it was over in a blink. Its gameplay systems build a fantastic foundation but never quite find that cohesion I'm used to from the team. But when Strange Scaffold only half-clicks you still come out the other end with one of the most original games of the year, one of the strongest narratives of the year, and almost definitely the best kidnapping sim ever released.
Harold Halibut is an artistic achievement that I've not quite experienced in gaming before. Every game is handcrafted in some way, but Harold Halibut takes that concept and cranks it up to 11. And while its world and story are made up of inorganic materials, Harold Halibut's clay, wood, and paint communicated humanity even more than some games that aim to directly replicate it through photorealism or otherwise. With its occasional dryness and true depictions of life's ordinariness, it steps a little too far in that direction at times. But, if anything, the fact that it isn't perfect makes it even more human.
Botany Manor is one of truest cozy games I've run into, and not in all the most obvious ways you'd imagine. It promotes accessibility in every definition of the word, it showcases that puzzle difficulty does not define puzzle satisfaction, and it does it all while telling a powerfully defiant narrative. It at times leans into too cozy for its own good and its laidback vibes may not be for everyone, but if you're the type to be happy to watch a breeze wash over a field of flowers for a couple of hours, Botany Manor may just be the game for you.
Dedication to the details takes the mech-based farming concept from a fun gimmick all the way to a genuine standout in one of our favorite genres and even in this very early stage, Lightyear Frontier already has given me some of my favorite gameplay moments in a farming sim.
Death Trick: Double Blind was a surprise in more ways than one. It tells a surprisingly warm murder mystery, is carried by some genuinely shocking twists, and successfully implements tension into a formula that games in the genre rarely manage to do in a satisfactory way.
Pepper Grinder is a platforming gem, a masterclass in taking one simple mechanic and stretching it as far as you possibly can in one tight package. Ahr Ech built this game to be as satisfying as possible. It appeals to platforming fans of all types equally (speedrunners and completionists together), and it stands as a testament to the value of not overcomplicating things. By evoking the simplicity and no frills approach of platforming greats, Pepper Grinder keeps the focus on its best bits and will undoubtedly drill down into your heart the minute you hop in.
CorpoNation: The Sorting Process is a project that almost suffers for achieving what it sets out to do. It's an excellent satire of corporate life but ends up being a little too true to life with its simulation and the claustrophobic dread of maintaining a work-work balance. I was dissatisfied by the ending and a few technical pain points, but Canteen's debut is well worth applying for regardless. Fans of routine-based games like Papers, Please; Not for Broadcast; and Do Not Feed the Monkeys will be interested in the brilliant satire and increasingly complicated gameplay systems and should get to work immediately. Ringo highly suggests you get to it. :)
Balatro is a simple and satisfying roguelike built on the familiarity of poker to make it one of the most addicting games I've played in a long time. The game's not content to just disrupt your daily routine, but also extends to the genre itself, setting a new standard for roguelike deckbuilders. By not trying to do too much, Balatro achieves gaming nirvana easily and produces an impossible-to-put-down experience that has me still hungry for more after 50 hours of playtime. For those who aren't familiar with poker or used to the cruel luck of the draw, Balatro can seem a bit brutal. But if you persevere, there's a special game waiting for you in Balatro.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is many things. It's a sequel that enhances everything that came before it. It's a look back at a series with 19 years of history behind it and a step forward into what the series might become next. It features some of the best gameplay the series has had, adapting the free-flowing beat-em-up style of the original games even more beautifully with a few key adjustments to the RPG format. And it contains so much surprising depth in almost every gameplay system and minigame hidden within. If I had to pick one RPG to take with me to a deserted island, it just might be Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. And for that reason, it gets one of the rarest scores we can give.
Pierre Feuille Studio had lofty ambitions with Chronique des Silencieux. While their dreams of making the truest detective game were held back by some perplexing translations and frustrating logic, they accomplished their goals of making something truly unique. Despite the genre's booming prevalence in the last decade, Chronique's historical fiction approach to its mystery and the relatively ordinary mysteries you're solving make for an experience unlike many of its contemporaries. With a great hand-drawn art style and the endless promise of its detail-oriented systems, it does just enough to keep you intrigued across its 10-15 hour story, if you're patient enough to bother with the piles of documents and confusing leads, that is.
Lil' Guardsman speaks to all parts of me. The child in me who fell in love with adventure games, the 30-year-old who looks back on them longingly, and the jaded human living in 2024 who needed a laugh. It's so genuinely funny, so full of heart, and it's one game you should immediately allow entry to your gaming library in 2024.
Night Signal Entertainment packed this game with a genuine love for the craft. They hand-made props, recruited their acting friends from a past life, used old photos of themselves to craft monsters. This is horror straight from the heart. That makes Home Safety Hotline a special game — one of the better analog horror experiences we've played — and it certainly showcases the potential of what Night Signal Entertainment's mixed media efforts may achieve in the years to come. If you're up for the kind of horror that crawls under your skin and has you rethinking what the rustling in the corner of your room could be, this game is 100% for you.