cryber
2023
They did something incredibly right with this game to make me enjoy 30 hours of sokoban puzzles, and in do so in such a small span I was seeing sokobans while asleep.
The promise of delving deeper and deeper into the labyrinth for secrets was intoxicating throughout, and the puzzles themselves were always interesting.
The promise of delving deeper and deeper into the labyrinth for secrets was intoxicating throughout, and the puzzles themselves were always interesting.
2022
Quite a fun PvE card game with a decent eldritch themed VN alongside it, lots more content to dig into here than I expected going in.
A very sharp difficulty curve associated with the card game itself, which some may not enjoy as the game is largely focused on building to "counter" other decks rather than building a pile of good cards or your favorite deck type. Still, this formula works to the game's strength for most of it, always engaging and making you change up your play style.
The only real issue I find with the mechanics of Kamifuda is that later fights effectively all become both sides attempting to kill the other on the first turn due to an overabundance of 0 mana cost spells which either net advantage or refund energy, and as the AI has stronger cards than the player this basically requires you to make even more cheesey strategies like killing before first combat to compete. Thankfully this is only the last few duels, otherwise the mechanics of the game really do lend to both a challenging and fun experience.
Would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys card games, or maybe even just wants to read a pretty good story about a bunch of eldritch mages.
A very sharp difficulty curve associated with the card game itself, which some may not enjoy as the game is largely focused on building to "counter" other decks rather than building a pile of good cards or your favorite deck type. Still, this formula works to the game's strength for most of it, always engaging and making you change up your play style.
The only real issue I find with the mechanics of Kamifuda is that later fights effectively all become both sides attempting to kill the other on the first turn due to an overabundance of 0 mana cost spells which either net advantage or refund energy, and as the AI has stronger cards than the player this basically requires you to make even more cheesey strategies like killing before first combat to compete. Thankfully this is only the last few duels, otherwise the mechanics of the game really do lend to both a challenging and fun experience.
Would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys card games, or maybe even just wants to read a pretty good story about a bunch of eldritch mages.
2022
Despite a story that sometimes stretches the suspension of disbelief near its limits and a somewhat rushed ending that could have used 1-2 more hours to clean things up, Corpse Factory makes for an enthralling Halloween season read.
The main cast's voice actors do wonders with their performances. Loved the story's prose and the look into multiple twisted perspectives.
Also, I want to inject Noriko and Kojiro's characters into my veins.
The main cast's voice actors do wonders with their performances. Loved the story's prose and the look into multiple twisted perspectives.
Also, I want to inject Noriko and Kojiro's characters into my veins.
2023
Definitely some great atmosphere and sound design, but maybe proof that a game can be TOO dark? I feel like at a certain point fumbling in the dark starts to hurt the tension more than help it.
Still really strong short and sweet horror though.
Still really strong short and sweet horror though.
2023
Absolutely stellar game, Neowiz knocked the ball out of the park immediately upon stepping into this genre with a near perfect package.
It is, in fact, Like Dark Souls. However Lies of P not only meets , but surpass' Fromsoft's own efforts in many ways. While never quite reaching the highest highs of something like Elden Ring or Dark Souls 1, LoP instead maintains its high quality throughout the entire surprisingly long experience with maybe only 1 bad boss in its long lineup.
The weapon handle/blade system is amazing, the boss weapons are all extremely fun, and the build variety leaves me wanting to sink multiple playthroughs despite the game being mostly linear. The mix of deflection and parry system with the extremely quality boss roster makes this by far the soulslike where it feels the best to truly master a boss, rivaled mainly by Sekiro in that department.
While the story itself is not mindblowing, what is there is perfectly fine and made downright impressive by how it and the art direction/world still feel natural despite trying to adapt Pinocchio of all stories. Things really should have fallen apart on that end and its a testament to the art design team that they didn't.
It is, in fact, Like Dark Souls. However Lies of P not only meets , but surpass' Fromsoft's own efforts in many ways. While never quite reaching the highest highs of something like Elden Ring or Dark Souls 1, LoP instead maintains its high quality throughout the entire surprisingly long experience with maybe only 1 bad boss in its long lineup.
The weapon handle/blade system is amazing, the boss weapons are all extremely fun, and the build variety leaves me wanting to sink multiple playthroughs despite the game being mostly linear. The mix of deflection and parry system with the extremely quality boss roster makes this by far the soulslike where it feels the best to truly master a boss, rivaled mainly by Sekiro in that department.
While the story itself is not mindblowing, what is there is perfectly fine and made downright impressive by how it and the art direction/world still feel natural despite trying to adapt Pinocchio of all stories. Things really should have fallen apart on that end and its a testament to the art design team that they didn't.
Lovely artstyle paired with a roguelite card collector that removes the randomness of shuffling in favor of cooldown/buff/debuff management and attack orders. Also comes with a story that while not incredibly strong, works as a dripfeed to keep you doing runs. Could be a bit more varied in encounters overall, but otherwise great stuff.
2024
Roguelite deckbuilding boiled down to its essentials in an amazing way. A standard poker deck, 4 systems of cards that interact with it, and an unending need to make the numbers go up.
Put together with hypnotizing art direction+music makes it clear why people call this addicting, and it's not because of gambling.
Put together with hypnotizing art direction+music makes it clear why people call this addicting, and it's not because of gambling.
2023
A stale subgenre made great by injecting The Sauce™ aka an actually cool artstyle, music, and putting real bullet hell in it that makes late game/bosses feel frantic instead of routine.
2022
Jishogi is great game, and one I would consider quite underappreciated compared to its quality. Thankfully it's gotten a bit of a spotlight since I put it in the backlog last year, but since as of writing this it has no reviews on the site I figure it deserves at least some level of write-up.
Jishogi tackles some very dark subjects and features 2 wonderfully fleshed out characters, the player character Mayu and the witch Fifield. Their interplay as well as the consequences of the choices you can make were definitely a highlight of the game as a whole to me. Whether it's diving into memories or deciding whats best for both characters, the story had me hooked pretty much from the start. There's quite a bit of freedom as to how things can play out, from places I'm surprised the dev was willing to go to much more positive resolutions. Worth experiencing and not spoiling here for sure.
The one larger criticism for this game, one it seems the dev is aware of, is that the puzzles can actually be a bit reductive to its goal sometimes. There are multiple between every story beat, meaning getting stuck on even one can very well kill the pacing of the game. Either placing a memory between every puzzle or reducing the number of them would have helped. Though the puzzles themselves are still clever and enjoyable for the most part, even reflecting the personalities of the 2 characters well.
All said a great work for a solo dev, and I hope they continue in the future with more projects on this level!
Jishogi tackles some very dark subjects and features 2 wonderfully fleshed out characters, the player character Mayu and the witch Fifield. Their interplay as well as the consequences of the choices you can make were definitely a highlight of the game as a whole to me. Whether it's diving into memories or deciding whats best for both characters, the story had me hooked pretty much from the start. There's quite a bit of freedom as to how things can play out, from places I'm surprised the dev was willing to go to much more positive resolutions. Worth experiencing and not spoiling here for sure.
The one larger criticism for this game, one it seems the dev is aware of, is that the puzzles can actually be a bit reductive to its goal sometimes. There are multiple between every story beat, meaning getting stuck on even one can very well kill the pacing of the game. Either placing a memory between every puzzle or reducing the number of them would have helped. Though the puzzles themselves are still clever and enjoyable for the most part, even reflecting the personalities of the 2 characters well.
All said a great work for a solo dev, and I hope they continue in the future with more projects on this level!
2018
There's magic in these dungeons, something enthralling.
Funger's atmosphere is magnetic, it had me hooked from the very first run until the end with its cruelty, enemy design, and world. There's just something so wonderful about a game willing to kick your teeth in so thoroughly. As soon as I lost to a guard and ended up legless in a fleshpit with no idea where I was I knew it would be a special experience, which after mastering the first few floors proved to be true. What comes after those floors, while not as punishing since you're more used to the game's tricks, is still magical.
It's not flawless by any means of course, there's bugs and RPGmaker jank, but both are overshadowed by the level of love put into crafting it. If there's one main criticism I have it's that battles as the game goes on start to feel either routine(attack X part on Y turn) or lacking some complexity(spam attack torso). But battling isn't even the game's main focus so this isn't that important.
Funger's atmosphere is magnetic, it had me hooked from the very first run until the end with its cruelty, enemy design, and world. There's just something so wonderful about a game willing to kick your teeth in so thoroughly. As soon as I lost to a guard and ended up legless in a fleshpit with no idea where I was I knew it would be a special experience, which after mastering the first few floors proved to be true. What comes after those floors, while not as punishing since you're more used to the game's tricks, is still magical.
It's not flawless by any means of course, there's bugs and RPGmaker jank, but both are overshadowed by the level of love put into crafting it. If there's one main criticism I have it's that battles as the game goes on start to feel either routine(attack X part on Y turn) or lacking some complexity(spam attack torso). But battling isn't even the game's main focus so this isn't that important.
Love the art, very charming at what it goes for, and made me buy a Tiger-chan plush halfway through.
Log Wild/10
Log Wild/10
2022
A game with art direction this inspired should not be so agonizingly dull to play.
2017
I love this game(I nearly quit 30 times)! Exploring and adapting to the world was amazing(putting this death system in a platformer should have you tried at The Hague)!
Somehow still want to come back for every campaign too.
Somehow still want to come back for every campaign too.
2018
Did not go into this expecting to love it as much as I did, but the charm put into every character really creeps up on you.
I have small gripes here feeling that there were some missed opportunities to explore the rules of the death game, but they are minor in the end and far overshadowed by just how great the character writing was. Miharu especially was a star of the show in that department, though Rinka, and almost everyone else endeared themselves to me by the end. Really great read overall!
I have small gripes here feeling that there were some missed opportunities to explore the rules of the death game, but they are minor in the end and far overshadowed by just how great the character writing was. Miharu especially was a star of the show in that department, though Rinka, and almost everyone else endeared themselves to me by the end. Really great read overall!
Troubleshooter is not a perfect game. There are problems I could list with the story as it stands, or small issues in gameplay that largely live in the later game of the DLCs.
But those nitpicks pale in comparison to the passion and ambition dripping from every inch of it. A small studio decides to spend the better part of a decade on a project, one which in essence is a prologue for a somehow even larger planned story despite being well over 100 hours long, and it works.
Getting to the credits and seeing that the game had TWO programmers was an extreme shock. Seeing that the devs have a 400 page thread on Steam to take ideas and feedback they've been maintaining for 6 years was too. The fact that such a small team created such a deep and intricate TRPG is downright inspirational.
Every character is unique and fun to use. Every character has a ridiculous amount of customization. Many maps provide a challenge even on the normal difficulty. It's a massive pile of ideas and systems built up over years that should collapse under its own weight, but never does.
But those nitpicks pale in comparison to the passion and ambition dripping from every inch of it. A small studio decides to spend the better part of a decade on a project, one which in essence is a prologue for a somehow even larger planned story despite being well over 100 hours long, and it works.
Getting to the credits and seeing that the game had TWO programmers was an extreme shock. Seeing that the devs have a 400 page thread on Steam to take ideas and feedback they've been maintaining for 6 years was too. The fact that such a small team created such a deep and intricate TRPG is downright inspirational.
Every character is unique and fun to use. Every character has a ridiculous amount of customization. Many maps provide a challenge even on the normal difficulty. It's a massive pile of ideas and systems built up over years that should collapse under its own weight, but never does.