It feels like an extremely polished peak for the Bioware style RPG with 5e tactics gameplay, fairly simplified all told but far from simple.

On the whole, it's fun, there's certainly a lot here, but the depth can feel like it's puddled in very specific places.

It's probably a great game but I feel like I only like it while I'm playing it, the moment I step away I feel like it's aggressively mid.
No idea why, just can't shake it.

Something's missing... but this is the sort of game we need to encourage.
A team that's clearly passionate and capable of taking their time to make a highly polished, and entirely finished video game.
no DLC, no microtransactions, no bullshit.
just an actual game.

Many of us are too young to remember that before it was live-service/micro-transaction hell, we had clone games.

the many pong clones of the first gen, the many pacman clones of the second, etc..etc... down the line to the shooter wars of the seventh gen and the BR wars of this gen.

Sandtrix harkens back to the era of tetris clones. a bit reminiscent of pyramid in a way.

Completely bonkers as a concept, had it been released back in the day it would have been a minor riot, but as a modern gag game for itch.io, it's absolutely adorable.

Everyone learning to make games should try making their own version of tetris with a bonkers gimmick.

I don't recommend you actually beat this game, but you really should at least pop open an emulator and play it.

Valhalla Knights is a strangely compelling little action RPG with little to no story, VERY PSP graphics, and slightly clunky gameplay.
Crucially, however, it's fun.

There's nothing quite like this game mechanically except maybe its sequels.
It's a big team dungeon crawler with shockingly harsh leveling and economy, there are no random battles, it spawns enemies in that you can mostly avoid if you have to.

The dungeon crawling part consists of pathing out small levels, finding switches to open locked doors, and occasionally finding quest objectives.
The quests give you zero guidance and little reward, except the ones that randomly award you a party member that's absolutely essential.

Almost everything about this game is extremely obtuse, but I kinda just love it.

Combat has a surprising amount of strategy and fun to be had, the atmosphere is perfect.
If you're nostalgic in any way for ps1/psp graphics, this game can be a treat to look at.

I dunno, definitely don't try beating it, after the halfway point the game absolutely DEMANDS you grind your way to max level, which takes literal hours of tedium.
but the first 15 hours is genuinely enjoyable. Just know that the story isn't getting any better than the first hour of nonsense and call it a day.

I've played some wildly inadvisable games on PSP but this takes the cake.

First off take a look at that cover art and take a wild guess what type of game this is... I'll wait...

Didya guess marble platformer? no? well me neither.

Ok fine, I'm a fan of venineth and marble madness, I'll bite... actually it's sort of a marble... suggestion game...

no really, you don't actually play the marble, you play a column of light that DIRECTS the marble, awkwardly.
You can increase or decrease your influence on the marble and even toss it a tiny bit by hovering over it directly. It's one or the other tho, you can't exactly tell it to jump one way or another all that well.

On the whole, a monumentally bad way to control a video game. I cannot imagine this had a very confident development cycle.

Also, the end gates have a massive hitbox meaning you'll finish levels whether you want to or not.

A really well-polished 2-d stealth platformer, the speed-run twist doesn't motivate me personally but the core mechanics are all solid.

It has some of the best stuff from games like gunpoint and trilby the art thief: levels of visibility, and manipulating shadows.
beyond that the tools are a bit limited.

so while it doesn't quite compare to Mark of the Ninja/AC Chronicles, it's still a great stealth game if you're weird like me and crave these kinds of games.

A combination of a maze game and a hidden objects game.
Pierre the Maze Detective has you chasing your nemesis through highly detailed and animated, hand-drawn setpieces to catch your nemesis.

Along the way, you can find tons of adorable interactables and collectibles.

This game is basically Where's Waldo by way of Pajama Sam.

It exudes charm and exemplifies simple fun.

Edgy abrasive outsider art.

I originally didn't give this a review because I feel like it doesn't need any more praise, but it is good.

It exemplifies art that defies its viewer. Some art is supposed to be hard to understand or appreciate. Positivity isn't the only human experience.
if art is fundamentally about sharing ineffable experiences, then why can't we share pain/frustration/despair?

Despair is the easiest to convey, or at least the most acceptable. We can relate to despair but it's usually catharsis that makes drama enjoyable. I challenge you to watch a movie by Lars Von Trier. Stories that unapologetically hate the viewer. His two part Nymphomaniac is an open letter to critics of his past movies and giant middle finger to the audience. Is this allowed? can it be called great art?

I have no idea, but Cruelty Squad is no different.

This game hates you, the dev told you to pirate it, so why would you play this?

Because sometimes feeling pain is its own reward: be grateful for these anxieties, someday they will be gone.