Category: Reviews

Short games aren’t bad! I’d rather play a three to five hour title where I enjoy most of the gameplay systems and elements than a 30 to 40 hour ones a lot of times. Darwin’s Paradox is one of those short delights. Depending on how good your are at stealth sequences, you could probably finish it in around three hours. Which is really the only downside. Darwin’s Paradox can be a clever game with a lot of charm, but the emphasis on avoiding being seen coupled with a Switch 2 version that doesn’t always look and feel quite right holds…

History has shown that we humans like the movement of light – babies, children, teenagers, adults, and even the elderly are drawn to flashing colors with matching rhythmic sounds. It’s why slot machines, televisions, phones, and yes, video games, keep us glued to their presentation. Poncle’s latest game, a first-person dungeon crawler aptly titled Vampire Crawlers, uses these sensations to bring to life its simple but effective deckbuilding roguelite in a way as idiosyncratic as its parallel predecessor, Vampire Survivors. And though I find my enjoyment crossing back and forth between a TikTok-like compulsion (derogatory) and a genuine craving for…

The holo Indie games based on Hololive and Holostars Vtubers can be a mixed bag in terms of quality and depth. In some cases, you can tell it’s perhaps a one person project. Ones like Holo X Break, Idol Showdown, and Chrono Gear: Warden of Timecan feel really solid! HoloVillage: Our Cozy Days, an anticipated Animal Crossing style title, is unfortunately not one of those types of Hololive games. It feels more like it should have been released in early access due to a lack of quality of life features and abundance of bugs. It’s cute, especially when you can…

Image: Naughty Dog | Published: Jan 16, 2024 09:00 am It feels like the time between original releases and remasters grows thinner by the day. Still, not all remasters are created equal, and new content, upgrade paths, and smaller price tags can make buying the same game again feel more acceptable. Thankfully, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is on the better end of the remaster spectrum with substantial new additions and just enough polish to make the jump to next-gen feel worthwhile. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered coats the already beautiful PS4 game with some next-gen…

EXD – Extra Dimensional is not the sort of game that I’d normally choose to play. Its world is grisly, doused in shadow and psychological grime. It relishes in making you squirm with environments, enemies, and gameplay that are all visceral and brutal. Yet I can’t help but recognize craftsmanship when I see it, and Extra Dimensional is certainly a well-crafted game that knows exactly what it wants to be. Aside from a handful of shortcomings, it’s a mostly successful take on the grim fantasy combat genre. The FactsWhat is it?: EXD – Extra Dimensional is a narrative adventure fantasy…

The majority of Princess Maker style games tend to follow in the exact same sort of narrative framework as the original child-raising and stat management simulation. The “princess” in question is magical in nature. She’s not related to the guardian raising her. We’re seeing her starting at about 10 years old. There might not be as strong of a connection at the start. Neotro and Magi’s Magical Princess feels more like a family simulator at times due to some of the narrative choices throughout, as well as includes more social elements, resulting in more of a connection as we raise…

Games in Sigono’s Opus series tend to be thoughtful titles that explore elements of life, the nature of existence, emotion, and humanity. Opus: Prism Peak is no exception. It’s designed to get you thinking about your past, present, and future, as well as how relationships and interactions. It might be a bit slow, asking the player to move at a certain pace when making discoveries and forming bonds with Ren and spirits. However, it feels rewarding if you put the time into it. Opus: Prism Peak begins with an overview of Eugene’s life starting from when he’s about five years…

Find Your Words feels like an educational experience hidden inside a cozy, friendly simulation. Yes, we’re watching our new avatar make friends. We’re perhaps taking photos. There’s a puzzle element to learning how to communicate with a binder that gradually gains more words we can use to talk. But what’s even more important is while we are enjoying the experience, we’re being taught about accessibility and learning what it could be like for someone different than ourselves to interact with the world in a warm and welcoming way. Find Your Words starts out simply. We pick an avatar for ourself,…

Lord of Hatred offers a grim, emotional, and satisfying conclusion to the Age of Hatred saga that began in Diablo IV’s original campaign. A gripping narrative paves a perfect playground to explore the newly introduced Skovos region as the expansion’s entertaining new classes: Warlock and Paladin. Tack on new endgame systems designed to simplify and further incentivize post-story activities, and Diablo IV has another strong argument to dive back into Hell.Picking up directly after Vessel of Hatred’s cliffhanger ending, Lord of Hatred wastes no time raising the stakes, often to heart-wrenching degrees. The race to prevent Mephisto, who takes the…

Idols of Ash reviewA brief, delightfully freaky blend of cyclopean architecture and freefall, with unlockable modes and maps for speedrunners. Developer: Leafy Games Publisher: Leafy Games Release: April 9th, 2026 On: Windows From: Steam, Itch.io Price: £2.12/€2.52/$2.39 Reviewed on: Intel Core-i7 12700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3060, Windows 11 When I think of Idols of Ash, I think of seven sounds, listed here in order of deepening dreadfulness. The first and nicest sound is the clink of my silvery grapple sinking its hook, interrupting the rush of air past my ears as I fall. That’s the second, less nice…