Lead
BACKER
2021
This is technically 3 games in one since it’s combined with 1 and 2’s remastered levels (with an access pass that is) so more of a collective review for all of them, but the new levels for 3 are excellent. Still has the varied objectives with amazing environments to explore, and plenty of interesting opportunities to eliminate targets (my favorite was the manor level where you could also try to solve a murder mystery).
A great game and a strong refinement on Blind Forest. The presentation and art direction are somehow even more stunning, with every area just bursting with gorgeous vistas and vibrant color. This is backed by a lovely soundtrack and excellent sound design
Ori controls perfectly and the fluidity of the platforming is just as amazing as before, with more mechanics to precisely move through its meticulously designed areas. The combat is also greatly improved with the addition of overhauled skills, upgrades, and boss fights
Ori controls perfectly and the fluidity of the platforming is just as amazing as before, with more mechanics to precisely move through its meticulously designed areas. The combat is also greatly improved with the addition of overhauled skills, upgrades, and boss fights
2012
This was solid I guess. The scares and puzzles were pretty boring, but short and has nice enough atmosphere
2011
A heartfelt game about granting a dying man’s wish to reach the moon. While the gameplay is sparse aside for point and click and a simple puzzle aspect, the story and music are really touching.
2021
I was looking forward to this one but wow what happened here. An Annapurna game about uncovering new clues by repeating 12 minute cycles sounded really intriguing, but the execution was much worse than I expected it’d be.
It wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out how to make progress in this, but I had many gripes with its structure. Playing through the same dialogue and animations to spot the little differences you need was interesting, until it got really tedious to replay over and over trying to find the one thing you need to trigger to move on.
This also did not control well. The point and click cursor is sluggish, animations were janky and kept glitching out, and the UI in general seemed much more tailored for a mouse than a controller.
The story I won’t go into, but didn’t like that either. The acting’s fine with a good voice cast (like Dafoe), but the dialogue all felt really contrived. And the ending twist was so bad that it just ruined the whole thing for me.
It’s disappointing cause the concept itself is cool. I liked the top-down perspective and keeping it limited to just a small apartment could’ve been better if the loops had more variation to it, but this wasn’t it.
It wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out how to make progress in this, but I had many gripes with its structure. Playing through the same dialogue and animations to spot the little differences you need was interesting, until it got really tedious to replay over and over trying to find the one thing you need to trigger to move on.
This also did not control well. The point and click cursor is sluggish, animations were janky and kept glitching out, and the UI in general seemed much more tailored for a mouse than a controller.
The story I won’t go into, but didn’t like that either. The acting’s fine with a good voice cast (like Dafoe), but the dialogue all felt really contrived. And the ending twist was so bad that it just ruined the whole thing for me.
It’s disappointing cause the concept itself is cool. I liked the top-down perspective and keeping it limited to just a small apartment could’ve been better if the loops had more variation to it, but this wasn’t it.
2021
This was originally a Skyrim mod that got a remake as its own standalone mystery game, set in a small Roman city. It’s pretty well made, with good writing, a creative time travel mechanic, and various ways to complete objectives.
There’s a few dull combat sections, but I liked that it wasn’t the focus in favor of dialogue and pursuing leads. It does feel a bit janky, but there were little bugs and the visuals are actually not bad at all, aside for the uncanny facial animations.
There’s a few dull combat sections, but I liked that it wasn’t the focus in favor of dialogue and pursuing leads. It does feel a bit janky, but there were little bugs and the visuals are actually not bad at all, aside for the uncanny facial animations.
2015
This is only an hour and a half long so won’t say anything too specific, but The Beginner’s Guide is not really a game so much as a story about how people interpret art.
In this case, it’s through playing these unfinished Source levels that we try to find some underlying meaning behind their creation. And as short as it is, it ended up being something pretty powerful and hit me much harder than I expected.
In this case, it’s through playing these unfinished Source levels that we try to find some underlying meaning behind their creation. And as short as it is, it ended up being something pretty powerful and hit me much harder than I expected.
It’s good. The cases are pretty interesting, the writing’s fun, and I really enjoy the expressions all the characters have. Though if there’s one thing I wasn’t a fan of, it was how overlong the fifth case was even if I liked it overall.
This felt like more of a mixed bag than the first, but ended up rating it the same. The first two cases were fine but forgettable, and the third was kinda poor at best. But then the last one was arguably my favorite so far, so does save it for me.
Cases 1-4 felt pretty consistent with the rest of the series (3 being the weakest again), but the final case caps off the trilogy really strongly. And Godot is the best prosecutor.
Was really good. Late 1800s London as a setting, its presentation, and the orchestral music made this really captivating to me. With characters that have the same level of charm as the original trilogy (like Sholmes).
The cases were good too. They did tend to be a bit drawn out, but were enjoyable overall and I liked how they all connected with each other (though case 4 felt a bit unnecessary). There’s also a few welcome additions to the formula like the jury system.
The cases were good too. They did tend to be a bit drawn out, but were enjoyable overall and I liked how they all connected with each other (though case 4 felt a bit unnecessary). There’s also a few welcome additions to the formula like the jury system.
Another great entry. Carries over the high quality of the first GAA with excellent payoff, having the same charm and lovable characters while tying together the mysteries it laid out with some of the better cases in the series and a strong conclusion
2021
A fun little game where you try to get away with murder. Each playthrough is short at only 15 minutes or so, but there’s a decent amount of replayability with multiple outcomes to find. A cool concept with good presentation.
2021
Deathloop’s a solid game, though a step down from Arkane’s other titles. It plays pretty much like Dishonored (even having the same teleport skill), but conceptually it’s closer to something like Hitman. The goal being to gather knowledge about targets and learn what they do throughout the day, in order to eliminate them all in just one loop.
The art direction’s great but the level design’s a bit disappointing, not really matching the likes of Dishonored or Prey for me. The four areas to explore are small and after the first few loops there’s not much variation to them, which could feel pretty boring after a while.
Also the AI is definitely not impressive and combat is really easy, but there is a cool mechanic where you can play as Julianna and invade another player’s game to try and take them out (and vice versa), which gave the game a bit more challenge.
The art direction’s great but the level design’s a bit disappointing, not really matching the likes of Dishonored or Prey for me. The four areas to explore are small and after the first few loops there’s not much variation to them, which could feel pretty boring after a while.
Also the AI is definitely not impressive and combat is really easy, but there is a cool mechanic where you can play as Julianna and invade another player’s game to try and take them out (and vice versa), which gave the game a bit more challenge.
For a first effort from an indie dev, this was pretty good. What stands out most at first are the visuals, Ember Lab has a background in animation and it shows with the stunning art direction and well produced cutscenes. The music is also lovely.
I was surprised by how solid the gameplay was though. The combat is simple and starts a bit dull, but it comes into its own as more abilities unlock and ended up being really fun by the end. Liked the bosses too, they were challenging but not unfairly so.
There’s some issues such as controls feeling a bit janky at times and the voice acting being a bit lackluster. Also the main currency is only used to buy hats for the Rot, which I can’t say I cared for. But overall I enjoyed Kena and look forward to what’s next from them.
I was surprised by how solid the gameplay was though. The combat is simple and starts a bit dull, but it comes into its own as more abilities unlock and ended up being really fun by the end. Liked the bosses too, they were challenging but not unfairly so.
There’s some issues such as controls feeling a bit janky at times and the voice acting being a bit lackluster. Also the main currency is only used to buy hats for the Rot, which I can’t say I cared for. But overall I enjoyed Kena and look forward to what’s next from them.