sucker for love: ★★★
to the end of days: ★
the toy shop: DNF
charlotte's exile: ★★★★
diving bell: ★★★★
squirrel stapler: ★★★
touched by an outer god: ★★★★★
solipsis: ★★★★★
arcadletra: ★
another late night: ★★
undiscovered: ★★★
the thing in the lake: DNF

definitely stronger contenders this time around, and what i did enjoy i absolutely loved. the "launcher" has received a massive facelift and was a large part of my enjoyment, being less of a menu and more of a 3d playground of puzzles to progress through more of the entries. there's some regular suspects regarding the work of returning developers though i feel a bit less jaded about these experiences enough to talk about a few of them.

sucker for love - surprisingly enjoyed for someone adverse to parody visual novels as the vehicle remains an ironic whipping boy. the interactivity really carries the experience and the scares are pretty effective. i loved the artwork and ending cgs as well, i wouldn't be opposed to trying to full launch titles of this one.

to the end of days - it's weird, because i know scythe dev team are capable of some interesting and decent work seen in the northbury grove arc particularly, but their entries for this anthology series thus far have been the most gruelling and unsatisfying gaming experiences i've had in a long while. imagine my reaction when giving this team another chance and after fumbling through a level using the slowest shotgun with hitscan opponents, i'm faced with the return of carthanc's screeching enemies which made me hate it so much. it felt like a bad joke.

charlotte's exile - this created quite the vibe! the static position of the player and the limited perspectives afforded to them makes the approaching entity really terrifying. you can't get too engrossed in your work though it's satisfying to complete.

diving bell - ohhh i love cabin fever/isolation horror, especially when it derives from a place of sanity-consuming guilt. the repetition to the tasks tanked this a little but the writing of the dialogue and atmosphere were awesome genuinely.

squirrel stapler - david did it again here but the quality of presentation and horror factor are overshadowed by the length. a really disquieting experience that unfortunately drags its feet, loved the ending sequence and a minor scare which can occur on one of the last days.

touched by an outer god - i wanted a full length game out of this more than any previous title. absolutely adore the transformation themes and the way they alter how you play, i ran through this one a few times just because it was so fun.

solipsis - simple but effective, it felt a little like i was playing darkwood. not at all surprised to find this was the pony island and inscryption dev (which i do want to replay/give another chance). the FMV elements were awesome.

this second entry has definitely invigorated interest in the series, hope i can afford to play the others soon.