So Many Games
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As far as narrative-driven visual novels go, there aren’t many more high-profile series than the Coffee Talk games. This sequel/spin-off serves up more of the same, but in the best of ways. Familiar and new characters meet up and get to witness the magic of this little coffee shop in Tokyo for themselves and learn some valuable life lessons from sources they might never have expected to. You’ll fall in love with each and every one of these characters and will feel the need to brew them the perfect beverage every time (although the vagueness of their queries doesn’t always help). It’s just such a shame that there’s unfulfilled potential left here.
Fail Fail Succeed is one of those games that do what they do nigh-on perfectly. The minimalist art and satisfyingly tricky puzzles are a delight. But it’s the sense of kindness and compassion at the core of its beautifully implemented ludonarrative premise that, as it lovingly taxed our brains, simultaneously stole our hearts.
Through all of its faults, Will: Follow the Light still has something to give by shining a light on father-son relationships through an intriguing and sometimes surreal story. Its strong voice cast (including Cissy Jones) aids its pluses, and each gives great performances, but it is hard to ignore its frustrations that let it down quite considerably.
House of Hikmah is a narrative-driven 3D puzzle-platformer that explores themes of grief and legacy through alchemical puzzles and conversations with luminaries of the Islamic Golden Age. Audio is a standout with its Arabic voice acting and soundtrack featuring virtuosos of the Arab world. The game had some rough edges at launch, but all serious issues have been patched at the time of writing.
Spellgarden Games are unapologetically forward with their inclusive values, and they welcome in one and all to just enjoy the vibes with them. Thrifty Business feels more like an evolution of the developer’s first game Sticky Business rather than something completely new, but in this case that’s actually a great thing. The sense of community from that debut game is multiplied here by you actually meeting the people you’re selling to and buying from, and you get to feel like an actual part of the community you’re helping to build. If only the real world could be more like the worlds Spellgarden Games build.
While it’s a short experience, Duck Side of the Moon boasts graceful movement and controls that make zipping around a friendly little galaxy immensely fun. It does not revolutionize anything you’ve seen before that carries the “cozy” tag with it but rather shows incredible promise for a new studio making games, bringing light into a currently dim moment in the industry.
Nothing in Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta is going to blow your hair back (besides maybe some of its electric guitar riffs), but that’s not the goal of any Ys game, and for a largely untouched port of a 15-year-old entry, it’s actually remarkable how modern and fun it still feels. Its unique setup and world coupled with fast-paced and flashy fun action make this an extremely easy recommendation for not just any newcomers looking to get into the series (the unin-ys-iated???), but even general RPG fans that never got around to this entry like me.
Phonopolis’s driving narrative force, Felix, is a lovable everyman kind of character. A bit too trusting, maybe, but a good-hearted, bumbling person that finds his way forward through the red tape of bureaucracy and injustice, much like most players will when roadblocked by some of the game’s truly stumping puzzles. A must-play for audiophiles, Phonopolis sings a memorable melody against the backdrop of intriguing game design that moves to its own drummer’s beat.
In the end, Tides of Tomorrow is a beautiful kaleidoscope of possibilities, fractured by a clichéd script and some reductive gameplay sequences. The environmental design is vivid and evocative, revealing the majesty of the natural world prevailing over plastic waste. The story seed system was a genuinely interesting narrative experiment, and the resource management elements led to some superb tension in both the story and the multiplayer interactions. I hope this studio keeps experimenting with the unique ways video games can tell a story, because the ideas coming out of the Digixart lab are what make the future of the industry so exciting.
Echo Isle is a top-down action-adventure with dungeons and exploration, and it transparently honors its retro roots. The design successfully distills the essentials of the genre into a single sitting and is a complete and pleasing experience with bright, charming visuals and little to no gameplay friction.
Perfect Tides: Station to Station is a messy, disjointed and incredibly uncomfortable window into the life of a writer who still needs to find their way in the world, but all of this comes together to build an amazing narrative that engulfs the player, showing them to embrace discomfort and learn to be their best self. Sadly, a lack of meaningful accessibility options does lose the game half a star.
This probably sounds supremely, plainly obvious given the way in which I write about them, but I love video games. More than that, the best ones I’ve ever played go beyond love; they leave me with an itch, as if an electric current is running beneath my skin and reminding me of what I like about being alive. And baby, Sektori sure did leave me with an itch.
Directive 8020 is a solid sci-fi horror entry that nails atmosphere and paranoia, even if it never really escapes the Supermassive formula it’s built on. The branching choices and Turning Points system add replay value, though they can get a bit messy in practice, and the stealth sections are effective but fairly predictable once you understand the patterns. It’s not a reinvention, but it does a good job of that familiar “something is wrong on this ship and nobody is behaving normally” tension the genre lives for.
Mixtape’s series of musical vignettes is a breath of fresh air and yet another example of how indie games can do it better. There’s so much variety in the activities you actually perform, but in the end it all boils down to a story about three kids who don’t have the easiest lives, find each other, and now have to face an uncertain future. It’s a hell of a throwback, with the soundtrack to end all soundtracks, and it literally brought me to tears through its fantastic writing and, like Stacy, knowing which song to play at just the right moment.
In spite of a few gripes with the combat, Drop Duchy: Complete Edition maintains a strong and engaging gameplay loop that benefits this style of mid-paced rogue-like. If you are a fan of placement puzzles, this takes the experience to the next level – even if it does overreach at times.
Decline’s Drops might not win over many platform brawler naysayers, but damn, it is not for lack of trying. Its platforming stage design, combat encounters, and character verbset are only outmatched by the heaviest of hitters in this space, like Kirby, and even then not by as much as you’d probably expect. Couple that with world-class visuals and a soundtrack to match, and you have all the makings of a modern platformer classic that I’m truly thankful I got to sink my teeth into for review purposes, as it likely would have gone under my radar otherwise. Don’t let it go under yours.
For players willing to embrace its slower tempo, Adorable Adventures provides a memorable experience that feels both warm and engaging. It’s a reminder that not every journey needs urgency or spectacle to be meaningful. Sometimes, all it takes is a quiet path, a curious mind, and the willingness to follow wherever your senses lead.
TetherGeist is a remarkably inventive precision platformer, full of brilliant ideas and bursting with kinetic energy. Its main mechanic is a delight to use, and things are kept fresh throughout the runtime with creative new ways to swoop, swing and swerve your way from left to right. It’s unfortunate that the storytelling and writing fail to fulfil the story’s full potential, but that doesn’t stop this being one of the very best indie platformers I’ve ever played. I recommend you tether yourself to this game as soon as you can, especially if you’re a fan of the genre.
I am completely smitten with the world of Wax Heads. It has so much to offer, and it feels like a game that was made for me and my particular tastes. The game delivers on all fronts, especially as an innately human experience, much like music itself. And like a good record, this game elevates your day by spending time with it, getting in touch with its intricacies, and allowing itself to open up to you.
MotorSlice is an exceptional platformer and titan battler with a cinematic style and a chill atmosphere in which you fight construction equipment with a chainsaw. The combat and parkour challenges rise in difficulty in a way that is ingenious, gradual, and inviting. The protagonist is bizarrely objectified. The setting is imposing and hostile. The game was immensely fun over the roughly 14 hours I played.