The art style of this game is what caught my attention and made me pick it up. It's a very short game, but I enjoyed learning about the protagonist, despite some corny writing moments here and there. It has a solid use of sound design and uses an interesting combination of animation pixel art. As for the pixel art, it's absolutely stellar, both in aesthetic and detail. Playing through this game was thoroughly enjoyable just to see the various artworks, the story was passable and captured my interest enough during the short play through but nothing to write home about.

Its highs are damn high but its lows are lower than the pits of Tartarus

Probably the most polarising game I've ever played.
I'll preface this review by stating that I started the playthrough on God (Hard) difficulty. An extremely foolish decision on my part, but having beaten the first game in Hard and still feeling let down by the simplicity of the final boss I wanted to ensure that it would be challenging this time around. However, with this games outdated difficulty settings there's no turning back as the only option to change the difficulty is to die repeatedly until you're given the prompt to go straight to easy mode. Too prideful to admit defeat I pushed through around 80% of the game before giving in. Most frustratingly of all it wasn't a boss or even a miniboss that broke me, just a generic room. This is because the way these games scale difficulty is by ramping up enemy health, damage and spawn rates drastically with what appears to be no regulation whatsoever. Consequently, some areas are practically impossible to beat because the player becomes utterly overwhelmed with what I would call artificial difficulty, where the challenge lies in the sheer volume of threats rather than a section that designed specifically to be technically difficult. When this is the case, the player is often forced to brute force their way through, making it lot more tedious and far less rewarding when you do succeed because there was no learning curve. This frustration lead me to shelving the game, nearly indefinitely, however my desire to play the rest of the series brought me back. Reluctantly I played the remainder of the game in easy, and to my surprise it was really enjoyable. Granted, I still wish I had played normal from the start and there's no doubt in my mind I'd have enjoyed the game a lot more if I did, but that's on me.

The saving grace of this game is its story really. I am fascinated by greek mythology and it's always exciting to see various interpretations. This game exceeds the first in storytelling, having some really awesome moments and amazing twists. Boss fights in this title are also much better because they incorporate some really unique mechanics and have creative ways of keeping gameplay fresh. The final boss was really exciting this time around, with a sense of spectacle and a good difficulty level, albeit not the most creative fight in the game.

Some sections of the game were straight up trash, for example fighting Mole Cerberus and the escort level in the Temple of Lahkesis. Both of those make you want to cry because of their obnoxious anti-player and anti-fun designs. The numerous YouTube tutorials for each show I'm not alone on that.

Overall this is probably worth a playthrough if you care for the narrative of the series and while it does have some awesome moments it's nothing too incredible that warrants playing just for gameplay alone. Safe to say I'm glad to be done with this title, but it succeeded in making me excited to play the next installment.

A delightful slice of the Last of Us story beautifully interwoven with playable memories from Ellie's past.

I was so happy to return to this universe, to these characters and to their stories in this expansion. Best of all the writing is on par with the base game, often a stumbling block for additional story content in games.

It's a short expansion which is easily beaten in a short 2hrs and probably best enjoyed in one play session. Personally I'm absolutely fine with the length of this, for the story it tells it felt it was well paced and perfectly sized. Rather than expanding the world of the last of us, Left Behind feels more like the missing piece of the puzzle you didn't know was missing. For some that's a disappointment but for me, it couldn't feel more absolutely fitting.

Quite literally peak of my childhood gaming with friends. This is those warm summer nights where you stay up late and you're all laughing hysterically. Begging to host Garden Ops lobbies knowing full well I'd tank the run because my internet sucked or I'd be called down for my tea. This was my first shooter and it'll alway have a fond place in my heart. It's an amazing re-imagination of the Plants VS Zombies concept and has a real all-star cast of characters that feel unique, fun, and surprisingly well balanced (or was it that we simply didn't care if they weren't). These days pack opening is a tired concept (and a predatory monetisation strategy) but back then there was something so exciting and satisfying about completing the sticker book to unlock new characters, desperate to do it all without spending a penny of my pocket money.

A thoroughly enjoyable rogue-like to pick up and play. As someone who sucks at chess but really enjoys the concept this game fulfilled my desire to be a pseudo-pro. The characterisation of the various chess pieces is really charming and the game has a surprisingly interesting setup given that on the surface it seems like a simple concept. I really enjoyed the upgrade system and how every buff comes with a debuff, it gives the game a lot more strategy and causes you to adopt a various play-styles to match your current strengths. Overall the game is a lot of fun and it succeeds in making you feel like a powerful tyrant but its worth noting that its quite short, I managed to beat the main mode in under an hour.

Logged around 12 hours on this game on Mac, completing the majority of levels up until the end of Rapture before encountering technical difficulties that make the game unplayable. If a fix is possible I intend to complete the game but for now it's shelved. I enjoyed what I did play for the most part, it's very clear that this is a platform that prides itself on pushing the player to the limits. The extreme difficulty makes it very rewarding when you succeed and there's enough of a skill ceiling that rewards mastering the techniques to improve times, collect bandages and unlock warp-zones. Occasionally however levels feel like they have a brute force approach difficulty where luck plays a significant role in success more than anything else. These particular levels become very tedious and are not rewarding to beat as you feel less like you accomplished something and more frustrated that it took so long. Overall this game has more well thought through levels than not, however I felt that the gameplay itself felt a little dragged out leading to later worlds becoming a chore. Glad I played it at least but I wasn't as blown away as I expected to be.

A fun rogue-lite, with a refreshing sense of humour and witty commentary. Specific references feel dated already which is unfortunate as I really enjoy what this game strives for, so it's sad to think it has a sort of self-imposed expiry date.

The gameplay cycle works and progression is pretty satisfying whether you're just trying to beat each area or following the mini objectives of your colleagues.

The entire concept of gamifying the corporate art style and all the workplace do's and don'ts is super charming and I love the incorporation of colleagues as a sort of dysfunctional family that each offer their own unique perks.

I found myself genuinely interested in the story, despite its pretty basic setup and premise and that's all thanks to the characters. Dialogue is the real heart of the game for me with its compelling wacky and wonderful cast feeling like they're straight out of a sitcom. Every reaction and interaction was worth stopping and taking a break from gameplay to find out how they feel about the increasingly chaotic events.

Overall however the gameplay fell flat for me late game. I was pretty endeared by it at first and it can be pretty slapstick at times but once the novelty of wears off its clunky controls and strange physics start to nag at you to the point it feels more and more of a hinderance each attempted run. That is ultimately why I shelved this game, a rogue-lite for me needs more than just progression to keep you going or else it runs the risk of becoming too grindy and repetitive with larger and larger gaps between gameplay refreshers. Sadly even Going Under's great selection of delightful power ups fail to spice things up after your 50th consecutive run that was unfairly ended.

Minit fun racer is a perfect little appetizer for anyone who enjoyed the equally addictive Minit. It is a charming spinoff title that knows it's place, offering the typical level of depth found in most endless runner games, with the added novelty of incorporating the time pressure of it's parent title. It's hard not to adore a game with a multitude of price points to pick from where 100% of the proceeds go to charity. This amazing idea means it's an easily justifiable purchase and you're almost guaranteed bank for your buck.

A masterclass in storytelling, Firewatch uses both the unknown and the unseen to create a terrifying wilderness where the player is made to piece the truth together like a meticulously designed jigsaw. The atmosphere in this game is like nothing else, the suspense and tension keep you constantly hooked, desperate for the next slither of information. Both the writing and voice acting bring the story to life, with some of the most impressive and convincing performances I've ever heard. It's impossible not to empathise with the characters and their chemistry is astonishingly natural. Additionally, the multiple choices in dialogue trees allows the player to really feel that they are shaping the story that unfolds. The visuals of this game are just gorgeous, the unique artstyle paired with the amazing scenery meant I couldn't resist stopping and taking pictures at every turn. Firewatch is a perfect example of how graphical fidelity isn't always necessary to have a beautiful game with a strong sense of identity. Lastly, although it's short, the story feels like the perfect length, with a well rounded structure and almost no unnecessarily slower moments for padding.

If you haven't already, I implore you to give this game a go. I promise it's worth your time.