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Of course, visual novels, management games, and choices matter games are not for everyone. However, if you enjoy the idea of ruling your own magical tower, sending knights out on various quests, and turning back time to ensure everything is perfect, I highly recommend this game. With a fun cast of characters, lots to find, and plenty of reason to challenge yourself with turning back time (or not), Sovereign Tower is definitely one to enjoy this year.
Kynseed has its grubby, overachieving, honey-soaked fingers in many pots. It looks fantastic, the world and its style suit it extremely well, and it sounds amazing. The menus, quality of life, and user interface make it an easy game to play, albeit having a deep, and steep learning curve. It has many jobs and social-building responsibilities that I would NEVER EVER want to do in real life, but I find them cozy in video game format. Not only that, but a combat system that completely took me by surprise! Like, what even is this game? The story is wacky, the NPCs are mean to me, and the jobs are stressful, but it’s a world that I want to be in, and if you take the time to learn it, a world you can be in forever.
Through laser sharp design in its progression and combat mechanics, Splatoon Raiders offers one of the best shooter campaigns of the year. It takes all of the learnings from its predecessors and expertly adapts them to an addictive looter shooter that’s packed to the gills with content and wrapped in a delightfully endearing package.
While Midnight Moments may not be for everyone, that’s exactly what makes it stand out from others. It isn’t trying to be filled with objectives or fast paced. So many times games try to add so many elements that key gameplay gets drowned out. Developers Happy Volcano on the other hand chose to stick with one element and do it well. They embrace slowing down, and focusing on a more a tranquil experience. Simply enjoying the lulling sounds of the rain and vibrant neons, being truly immersed in a cyberpunk oasis.
The missing features might hurt another game much more but, Avatar Legends gameplay is so good that it still didn’t deter me from playing it a ton. Mechanically, I truly think it may be the best fighting game to come in a long time and if those issues get sorted soon, hopefully the game can see a long life cycle within the fighting game community.
The Green Light is a competent, eerie walking simulator which delivers suspense, some good environments and better than expected sound design. Fred may have seen the lighthouse at the end of his monotonous career tunnel, but with some of the plot being thin or confusing, it’s not the games brightest light. However, much of that is acceptable for a solo-developed title. The Green Light is worth the small price of admission if you have an itch for a new one-sitting horror game.
It’s disappointing that even in the three and a half hours I spent making my way through Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!’s story, I was validated in feeling like I’d seen everything after my third or fourth romp around its small open-world. While I admire the modest scope that Strange Scaffold set out to achieve with this tightly focused premise, its structure is quickly burdened by a lack of variety.
Case Solved: London Files really got my brain moving. It’s nice to not have time limits or pressure of decisions. Just a relaxing set of puzzles to work your way through. The smooth jazz and 2D hand-drawn art were the icing on the top of the cake.
Steeped in style, with excellent animations, Kusan is a stunning neon world with its own unique way of telling a gritty story through a graphic novel. This game exceeded every expectation, even having played the demo. I sincerely hope we one day see a successor, even if it’s just to parry the brains out of every wolf once again.
While The Planet Crafter has some technical and progress halting issues, its sense of exploration and scale over time are something I don’t come across in many games. The game is absolutely worth checking out, even if you’re not into the survival genre. With the addition of co-op up to 10 people, this is a game that gives you almost limitless ways to shape the world how you want it.
25 years later, there is a reason that Halo remains so highly regarded. It is a shooter with an excellent story, a tremendous arsenal of weapons and vehicles, and some highly memorable missions. The new prequel chapters are not alone worth playing the game for. But, combined with a wider package that offers plenty of replayability solo or co-operatively, Halo: Campaign Evolved is the best version of Halo 1 there is – albeit with some technical issues.
Fading Echo is a great debut. It’s a stylish game that’s easy to recommend. However, I think it stops just short of being able to be called a must-play. The transformation mechanics and elemental gameplay are genuinely fun for a time but can get repetitive. The art direction is wonderful, and the lead actor’s performance carries the game where the gameplay and choppy cutscenes can’t always support it on their own. Some minor technical hiccups and confusing navigation undercut an otherwise satisfying experience. All in all, none of the negatives are enough to sink the game. I think it’s a game you’ll enjoy for the ride, and it will definitely make a few waves.
Overall, High Times was exactly what I thought I’d be getting into, although probably at a longer length than I expected. Of course, this could have been based on the donuts I served or perhaps I made some of the wrong choices, but it definitely took a bit before I got to the romance ending I was looking for. It feels as though the right way to play is not to try and power through, but to enjoy the journey just a bit at a time. This may have also helped the financial management aspect feel stronger but once I was safely within the $100 range, money never became an issue.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is a thoroughly enjoyable romp that succeeds in bringing a refreshing, real-time pace to the gorgeous world of HD-2D. It is a game packed with earnest charm and visual splendour, though it occasionally trips over its own feet. By throwing an oversized weapon arsenal, deep magicite customisation, and a five-tier fairy puzzle system into a relatively easy action loop, the experience ends up feeling bogged down by one too many mechanics that the core gameplay simply doesn’t require you to master.
Lobo Sagaz Studios made a game that knows exactly what it wants to be: a boss-rush game with immense replay value, featuring a dynamic difficulty system where your decisions determine how strong the bosses are. A game that feels good to control, a concise world that’s fun to explore and NPCs with lore waiting for you to discover. I often dislike boss-rush games, I’m not going to lie; however, Gurei gave me a satisfying challenge that I was dying to overcome.
Advent: Dawn is exactly what I wanted in my next visual novel. Something that would grip me with its story and characters while not overstaying its welcome. With the flow chart, varying endings, and how it all ties together, Advent: Dawn exceeded my expectations while keeping me guessing in certain moments. It’s a game that doesn’t question your intelligence while also breaking down concepts and theories in digestible nuggets.
If you are into horror and have a great team of friends to play with, The Mound is going to be an incredible experience full of joy and frustration. However, if you are a solo player or are going to rely on joining randoms, you are going to struggle with the difficulty of The Mound.
Denshattack! takes all the best from its long list of influences and mashes them up into a truly one-of-a-kind experience, complemented even further by fluid controls and stunning artistry in its art and music. That being said, an unengaging story and intrusive technical issues tend to derail things, making for a bit of a bumpy ride.
So, does The Mermaid Mask structure that decent denouement? Absolutely. The Mermaid Mask is a polished, clever, and thoroughly charming addition to the Detective Grimoire series. It manages to iterate on the mechanics of Tangle Tower without losing the cozy, inquisitive spirit of the original flash games.
As often seen in games published by Annapurna Interactive, D-topia is a narrative-driven game with optional puzzle gameplay, both of which Marumittu succeeds in. Tackling the idea of humans, imperfect and unpredictable, living in an AI-driven world is one that is incredibly interesting to me. Though the narrative delivery could’ve been more effective with voice acting, the thought-provoking story carries well. Coupled with a well-designed, sufficiently challenging set of logic-based puzzles, though practically optional, D-topia is a game that I can easily recommend, especially if you’re already familiar with Annapurna-type games.