One of the best Souls-like with a more straightforward lore and story, linear map design and exploration, good vocal tracks and an unique blend of guarding and dodging. While these make the game more accessible, this by far is the most mechanically difficult (not unfair) game in its genre without multiplayer support or high damage (cheese) builds. This is certainly not for new players but for experienced genre fans.

For the combat feel, I do like the balance between guarding (plain and perfect) and dodging:
- Red (Fury) attacks cannot be dodged and have high tracking, only perfect guarded.
- Lost life in guarding can be recovered via attacking but completely lost on hit
- Perfect guards only consume stamina and can recover lost guard life
- Some (perfect) guarded attacks have knockback or ambiguous where dodging is more viable

I do prefer perfect guard for the swag, but I utilize all three because of how difficult the game is which is fun figuring out. This is to say that avoid having preconceived expectations about what the combat should be and meet the game halfway instead.

As for minor issues:
- Boss runs should be outdated (except in some cases) which this game has a bit and respawning outside the boss room should be the norm now.
- Some skills (link dodge and getup recovery) in the skill tree should be builtin and not optional.
- Stat reset option is a bit middle in the game where it could genuinely help earlier.
- Upgrade materials are a bit stingy early as well as it discourages experimentation.
- Losing more lost ergo on hit is a bit questionable.
- Leveling up via NPC is a peeve of mine.

The biggest issue I believe is majority of the bosses have a second phase. Players must hunker down, master the first phase and prepare to die a lot which can be a difficulty spike and wall for most players. I am mostly neutral on this issue as it is complex and understandable game design, but I do want an accessibility option to practice the second phases without progressing to alleviate some artificial difficulty and tedium as a middleground which is a big ask. While it can be exhausting, I do appreciate the game demanding more out of me where I breeze through in other games.

My only real ask is a boss replay and rush mode and slightly more perfect guard frames specially for fury attacks as most are nearly unreactable based on its animations. One of my games of the year and highly recommended

As a fan of Souls-like, I am deeply curious in seeing a magic shooting element for this genre. For the most part it is basic, each element acting like a common weapon type (magnum, machine gun, shotgun, sniper rifle) with a special charged attack and buff. What I do love is how charged attacks can be sped up by dodging or attacking incentivizing an aggressive and skillful playstyle. Boss and enemy attacks are (mostly) well telegraphed making it enjoyable to do so and above all fair. The overall gameplay experience is nice, short and value for money.

Still, this does not meet my standards for recommendation because of several issue. First, it does not encourage element swapping due to the lack of system mechanics and combat difficulty. One element in particular has an overpowered charged buff that somewhat trivializes some of the fights and had no reason to switch because the others were inferior. If elements offered their own set of unique skills, passives, effects or alternate casts, it could be interesting to create combos. To be fair, the simple design may be intended given its budget, but I am disappointed.

Second is the story, pacing and characters. While I dislike item descriptions as a primary way to convey story, lore and world building, the notes here are not interesting to read nor fun to piece together. The real story is found on an external manga where it could have so much provided emotion, character and context which is such a shame. While I do sympathize with Nobeta, she is rather uninteresting without the supplementary materials. Upon finishing the game, I was not interested in anything which is sad.

The child aesthetics is a bit sketchy considering the special costumes and how the manga treats women despite the subject matter. I do want to see more children characters for the diversity and representation; however, this game really makes itself harder to recommend.

I do have some other gripes such as long boss walks, repeating cutscenes, slow dialogue transitions and so on. All in all, it is still a good game but not enough to recommend.

One of the best action puzzle RPG with simple mechanics I have ever played. What hooked me initially is how good the combat feel is specially how smooth and responsive it is. The combat really shines with elemental swapping to use different skills or to exploit weaknesses which feels really good. The skill, level and equipment progressions are refreshingly simple and not obtrusive. Rather, the game still values mechanical skill over stats.

The other hook is the mute main character herself who is quite expressive and endearing despite her limited vocabulary. Her story is quite nice as well as how the game uses its MMORPG setting wisely which is thankfully not too meta and more sincere. Side quests are strangely non-trivial which is a nice surprise. Overall, the game is well rounded exceeding my expectation for an indie game.

While I can shower this with more praise, I do have some gripes. This game has SO MANY PUZZLES that can turnoff players, but the quantity and quality kinda make this special in this genre although it is a valid pacing concern at times. The only puzzles I do not like are timed and precision based since analog aiming may not be the most accurate specially with the added pressure of enemies or bosses. Still, it is impressive the game choose its mechanics wisely and crafted so much synergy from it.

The camera with the art style can be quite unclear in terms of the Z-axis or vertical plane where it is hard to determine if a two edges are on the same level. I do wish for an accessibility option to display walkable edges and their height (perhaps with color) to mitigate this. Without some hint, platforming jumps can feel like trial-and-error and unnecessary knowledge checks.

I do like the aspect of trading instead of merely buying outright; however, it kinda feels artificial in the late game where many merchants are bundled together each with only 4 trading item limit. It does add some flavor and intentionality, I do think it can be better streamlined if the interface allowed for more. Some trades as well require an unusual large amount of craftable items bordering on unnecessary which can be an issue.

I do have some other gripes such as aim sensitivity, but overall this delivers such a great amount of value and content as well as heart which I really appreciate. Very much recommend this game and is a new personal favorite.

After getting S+ on every level, this is one of the best simple and short twin stick shooters that encourages getting high scores. With more or less 8 characters and 25 levels, this is a short game if completion is the goal and given how forgiving it is to progress. This game becomes worthwhile and challenging when trying to get S+ or trying to extend the chain as high as possible. Admittedly, some spawns, layout and design make this less consistent or frustrating at worst, but can still be overcome with practice and patience.

Given its indie scale and scope, this is very much recommended only if the player is hooked with achieving high scores or mastery in general.

The sequel to one of my favorite visual novel which expands the backstory of the ship before the incident. Since I picked *Mute as my personal companion, the reason I am bumping this to a Tier 5 game is her route in this game where the third day still still resonate to this day. I have to come to accept the result but still haunted by it which elevated this to my personal favorite. Her and the ship's backstory is pretty cool although one cannot really look past her involvement as well which makes her a more complex character.

While I prefer Mute*, I will say I went with Hyun-ae* on the prior game first to be a witness. Her route here is nice specially her request on the third day, but she is more sidelined here as a reading partner than providing meaningful insights which is fair considering her focus on the prior game. What makes her kinda shine is the non-canon route for being an emotional support.

I never thought the prior game would be beaten by the sequel being as good as it already earning my highest recommendation.

As my first Ebi-Hime kinetic visual novel, I was surprisingly invested in the well being of the girls. My favorite is Celine being the most well-mannered and the least is Claudine for being annoying despite her wit and charm.

As for concerns, I do wish there are more side characters with defined personalities and interpersonal interactions after selecting a route. The isolated routes makes sense with the setup but having more interplay is what I look for specially in a school setting. If possible, I would also really have appreciated a platonic route or choice as I care for them as friends and not as potential partners. Of course these concerns are understandable given the budget and scale but would have elevated this game.

Since I like Celine the most and seen the other routes, I have a problem with her ending. I do not mind sad or ambiguous endings as it usually forces introspection and was well aware of this issue before any route. My problem is this is quite unfair that she gets to raise that but not with the other routes. I feel this is better explored possibly on an expanded story (DLC or epilogues) for that issue to truly sit with the reader after getting to form a relationship with the characters.

Since this is my first game from this developer, I am unsure about the quality of this relative to its contemporaries. Still, I am vaguely recommending this as a chill read and just marking this a Tier 3 game for now.

As a fan of survival horror fan, the progenitor of the camera exorcism with tank controls and fixed camera angles is my jam. The setting and mystery really bring its own unique twist as well as the various ghosts and lore. The camera combat and lighting here is quite innovative during its time and still hold that tension and environment.

This game does have some major flaws. The most noticeable is the voice acting is really poor where it ruins immersion. I feel the backtracking is really abhorrent where it feels more like padding. Specifically, no clear guidance if the player needs to go to previous area without any strong reason to which just ruins any motivation to explore and combine that with slow movement speed. Puzzles are easy or repetitive and mostly not engaging considering this falls under the survival horror genre. Lastly the ending and its story feels a bit scummy, I feel so sorry for the main victim of the ritual that the resolution feels unsatisfying or perhaps questionable.

All of it understandable being the first in the series as well as of scope, but this is the weakest in the series (considering I have played /Maiden of the Black Water/) and thankfully the sequel does actually address some of the issues. I cannot recommend this unless for fans or history.

As a fan of rhythm dance games, I am really happy an indie offering has appeared. What makes this special is the ability to perform moves off the beat or simply encouraging free style expression which is unheard of. While I can understand the aesthetics and music are not for everyone, I really found this one of its charming points as well as highlighting mixed race minors as competent dancers, not just adults in media.

That being said, the game does not really have much depth to make it replayable or enjoyable to master. I think has three major interwoven issues that makes this the case. First, the scoring system primarily favors spamming character specific combos leading to a fixed style to achieve the highest rating which devalues expression or creative routes. Instead of character specific combos, I think a move combo multiplier with a stamina system or something similar to reward longer combos while making them harder will fit better. Second, the tracks are quite short and with a fixed structure (dance-beat tap-dance) which limits variety severely. I think different mini-games would have easily addressed this issue as well as varying structures like imagine holding button or sequences. Third, the moves themselves have no or little execution requirement meaning they are mechanically unsatisfying or lack intentionality. Taking from fighting games, I would really like the moves to have motion inputs or sequences rather than all characters having 1 button access to all moves. The spin moves are one example which I really like but everyone just has them so it loses its appeal.

These three issues are born from the understandable scope as an indie game. Explaining further, if the tracks were longer, character combos would stale much quicker and easier requiring more moves. If freestyle expression was more valued and moves were more complex, it would be hard to judge high scores per track as a single player game. It boils down how to incentivize players not to simply mash and be more mindful about the performance. Sadly, I think the damning thing is that I did not want to replay the game even with multiple characters and acquiring 5 stars on every track. Not all games need to have complex mechanics, but this needs more to be memorable.

While I cannot comment on the multiplayer and I do have some other minor grievances with the motion control, I do recommend this game on a sale or as a chill experience to vibe with.

As a sequel, I am quite pleased with the current iteration. The story and character dynamics have improved as well as more interesting and engaging. This game definitely benefited from its prior context and history which allowed. As a tea drinker, I do love they added Hibiscus and Butterfly Pea which are among my favorite loose tea leaves.

The same issues are still present and thankfully without "The Green Fairy" but overall more inline with its goal. I will criticize the inventory system where the player receives and gives items. There is no penalty (narrative, moral or mechanical) not to give items to their intended recipient. At certain points, inventory items will disappear with a weak justification meaning items have unknown time limits that forces loading from prior days which is just bad.

Playing the prior game, I can say definitely this is a recommendation.

A chill story about being a barista in a modern fantasy setting with various fantasy races. The potential to discuss various issues through metaphor is ripe with potential. It is also quite refreshing to actually serve various types of drinks instead of just coffee. As a chill game, this does not have an overarching plot so this carried by its customers who are more grounded in tone.

Like with its contemporaries, it also suffers from asking esoteric drinks although not as much. Without a exploration or hint system, this problem will never really go away. Aside from the base, I am a bit mixed on ingredient order. While it does allow for more recipes, it mostly added to my retries. Above all though, I feel the overall writing is not as engaging or interesting despite its unique setting. The one that gets me is "The Green Fairy" that does not actually help with conversations nor their overarching plot actually make the story better.

As an indie game, I really appreciate the effort and can slightly recommend this game.

This is a narrative game carried by its characters and dialogue with bar tending mechanics. Since this has no real overarching plot (except capitalism), it is mostly the day to day interaction with customers. My favorite character is Dorothy who is just really nice and playful sex worker who's appearance is almost a commentary on loli characters. The rest of the cast is quite memorable and just seeing them interact is the driving motivation. (The music is also nice.)


It does have some issues mainly asking for esoteric drinks. The bar tending options is also quite simple and does not offer expression aside from getting the patrons purposely drunk with large drinks. I do wish it had a log feature to read prior dialogue and the ability to show/hide the bar mechanics when not in use as it takes space while just talking. The last rent though is a bit of an unnecessary difficulty spike considering the player has made it through that far in the chill game. This punishes players who saved up for trinkets only to be told not to.

As one of my personal favorites, I recommend this very much.

This is such a meaningful art game where it shows the strength of the internet to explore oneself through different personas. Specifically here, the protagonist is exploring their gender expression through a magical girl show. While it features gaslighting, the final act really pulls through making this one of my personal favorites.

As a game about expression, I do wish it had more options to do so like with the writing. The lack of content is understandable for an indie game, but it would have really helped immersed the player into the protagonist main hobbies. As a programmer, escaping the last act really feels subpar at least in the interface and response.

This a game close to my heart and would really like to push this to a Tier 5 game, but I know it needs more. I really recommend this.

I am not a fan of this game's outdated difficulty and challenge. Unpredictable spawns, unavoidable projectiles, long checkpoints, cheeky stage hazards, mostly amounting to cheap hits given the mobility. What got me through the latter parts is mastery over the melee and dodge roll mechanic; however, some level scenes removing those are definitely not my favorite.

Despite all that, I think this is still a good game at its core. Unlocking the post-game characters have different mechanics which would have been my preferred playstyle. Playing through boss rush is probably the most fun I had even though the last boss is kinda unfair. With its difficulty and design, it still may be fun to get flawless runs.

Beyond that though, I do not have any strong reason to replay or recommend this either.