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From beginning to end, I found myself waiting for the moment where Road 96's wheels fell off — it never came. With its ambitious randomized engine and political storyline, they had more than a few opportunities to fumble the concept. Instead, Digixart provided an interesting and human experience that we'd recommend to all fans of story-driven releases.
Ambition sells a fairly unique package for the dating sim genre. Attending parties, gathering gossip, and finding time to woo your chosen love interest truly becomes a delicate dance. Living in 2020s America as someone who wouldn't go to parties even sans pandemic, I wasn't sure how engaged I'd be with the narrative and the experience. But thanks to the game's beautiful artistic recreations of major French locales and a beautiful soundtrack of orchestral classical music, I was truly transported to revolutionary France, free to live out my bi dreams: wooing beautiful French people and starting a revolution in the streets. A story that allows a woman to wield her influence and sexuality to not only control her personal narrative but also the narrative of an entire nation is worthy of celebration, especially when it innovates on a formula that can feel a bit same-y. Ambition is a perfect experience for both fans of the genre and those who might be sick of the more traditional dating sim/visual novel experience.
All together, Nuclear Blaze is a perfect tiny package, but I had so much fun that I only craved more in the end. The developer has mentioned he'd like to make more levels — my own dream is for a tile-based level editor to be released so the community can keep the game alive eternally. Even if it never saw one drip of extra content though, Nuclear Blaze isn't just blowing smoke. These few hours of firefighting bring extremely enjoyable, bite-sized action. As I've said time and time again, I'd rather have a year's worth of these tiny experiences than some 120-hour blockbuster, so I hope Nuclear Blaze is a sign of changing tides in the indie space.
Whether you’re jumping into the game for a few hours of a campground romp, or you’re craving a new ambient game that you can return to when you want to turn your brain off, Haven Park fits the bill.
My view on Sifu is so complicated. Sloclap clearly has a lot of talent and their team has made something special on the pure gameplay side of things, although some decisions have been a bit misguided. Even with the best intentions, the impact is clear. We need to be more thoughtful with the stories that we tell and I hope that Sloclap takes this moment to listen rather than push away. Utilizing imagery of a culture carelessly is a bad look through and through, particularly in a time when members of the AAPI community are facing unprecedented harassment and violence. Ultimately, it's your decision to buy this game or not. I loved a lot about Sifu, in learning and growing through its death mechanics; in its musical and visual artistry; and in its deeply satisfying combat systems. But we can't ignore the conversation surrounding the game and its impact on the communities it claims to represent.
In nearly every way, this game is absurd. And it delights in its own absurdity. It only attempts to get weirder and weirder as it goes, and I love it for that. Strange Scaffold made a game that revels in late-stage capitalism (like...the latest stage possible) and THEY ADDED KINECT SUPPORT TO IT. Let your freak flag fly, Strange Scaffold.
All in all, Symphony of War is a mechanically sound turn-based tactical RPG that hearkens back to the best games in its genre. Dancing Dragon is clearly a team full of passionate folks who have bright futures ahead of them. It shines through in every layer of this experience, with its chapters of lore, a serious approach to war, a light approach to characters, and an intricately detailed visual style and gameplay system.
In the end, Jackbox Party Pack 9 delivers an uneven Party Pack experience. But Jackbox 9's missteps are so slight that uneven still equals a great experience. It's because the highs are so HIGH that the lows stand out the way they do, but with the right group, even the lows can be enjoyable. When you've got two games that may just be entries into the Jackbox Hall of Fame, anything can look a little paler in comparison. If you're looking for a Jackbox Party Pack that really sows some chaos within your friend group, all while truly expanding your mind with some abstract thinking and creative problem-solving — you can't do much better than Jackbox 9.
It's been some time since I finished SIGNALIS and parts of it still linger with me. I feel a chill when I think about the implications of some sequences, the dark distorted beasts glitching hidden in the shadows of the room, and the horrifying mental scars the game's characters were left with. While in the moment, the frustrations felt bigger than anything else, they've all but melted away with time. All I can remember is how great of a horror experience this was.
I am a self-admitted open-world goblin and that kind of got in the way of what makes this game so great. I was looking for something more than cosmetics when accomplishing tasks and exploring through the world, for the numbers to go up on my gear and stats. But that’s not the kind of game Awaceb was making here. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. Tchia got me to pull back, to stop and smell the roses, to be a kid again. It reminded me of the power of just wandering, of just picking a path and finding fun along the way. Of appreciating the land under my feet and the people and animals who walk it alongside me.
DragonBear's debut is a certified gem. Innchanted delivers a special brand of chaos and fun that has good vibes and good values incorporated into nearly every aspect of its design. Shouting may ensue and stress may be a primary feeling across your inn management journey, but the satisfaction of completing a day's shifts without losing your head, with pals who've been right by your side through it all? That's priceless. And Innchanted only asks you to shell out $20, so I mean... that's a good price for priceless.
Wizard with a Gun is a moody vibes-first, narrative-second survival crafting game that perfectly compresses the most satisfying bits of the genre into an engaging loop. While the light bits of story are delivered through the gaming version of footnotes, the pitch-perfect visuals of its wild and crumbling biomes and twangy music do the additional lifting needed to get players invested in its world. Its approachable and goal-oriented gameplay design are perfect for those who feel out of step with the open-ended approach to many games in the genre. Whether solo or with a friend, Wizard with a Gun has a lot more "review score up" bullets than the "review score down" ones loaded in its chamber.
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.
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.
Century: Age of Ashes has built a fantastic groundwork that, even months down the line, is worth investing time into. If Playwing could find a way to patch up holes in the new user experience, add a few new maps and modes by the end of Year 1, and pump up the player base, this would be one of the easiest recommendations I could make. As it stands though, it's a very tentative thumbs up from VGG. You might need to invest way more time than you might be interested in to get to the best of it, and that might be a hard sell, but I promise you there's something great waiting for you inside this rough and scaly surface.
When the last sips of tea are finished, Lord Winklebottom Investigates proves to be a more than enjoyable entry into the modern point-and-click adventure library. Taking key lessons — both good and bad — from the legends of the genre, Winklebottom's got all the pieces to endear itself to fans of the genre. If you've been burned by point and clicks in the past, there's nothing new that Winklebottom does to pull you in. But if a posh giraffe in a suit does something for you, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. We hope to see Lord Winklebottom back sooner rather than later and look forward to seeing what else this universe might provide in the years to come.
When you set out to make something truly unique, you may find that what you make simply isn't for everyone. Even with the short couple of hours it takes to reach one of the game's endings, I find it hard to completely recommend this to everyone. It's weird, it's abstract, and it asks more of you than you'd expect. But for the weirdos who are seeking something brand new, willing to overlook some moments of stagnancy, and are open to embracing the love of helping your fellow neighbor, Witch Strandings is worth experiencing. And if you aren't a weirdo, why'd you just read 1500 words about a "strand game?"
9 Years of Shadows is a straightforward Metroidvania with some incredible theming, unique narrative lessons to pass on, and healing — or, at the very least, beautiful — music. It keeps things simple, sometimes to a fault, but manages to keep one thing at the forefront from beginning to end. Fun. It's a shame then that, at least at launch, the game's smattering of technical issues get in the way of letting its real art shine.
Lunark is a brilliant homage to the cinematic platformer. Vinet's work in capturing the look and feel of the genre with the rotoscoped animation and methodical platforming style is pitch perfect, even if it sometimes adapts some pieces of the era that you'd rather leave behind and forgets to bring in some elements that feel crucial to the experience, like an exciting story. That said, Vinet's solo debut is a standout and one well worth embarking on. 2023 is the year of taking a breath and remembering where we came from as gamers, and Lunark is just another step in that direction.
Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a nostalgic trip to simpler times, quieter days, and a different era of gaming. It reminds me of a time when the idea of walking in a digital space, meeting eccentric characters, and becoming part of a lived-in world felt revolutionary. Froach Club's 3-5 hour story is ripe with good vibes, and while it may not ask you to parry frame-perfect attacks or min-max your character's stats to reach glory, its appeal is undeniable. Go drink a melon soda, let the breeze roll in, and wander through Hog Town.