This game doesn't look and feel like a game released in 2015. It feels like a pre-Newgrounds style platformer... but not really in a good way.

This 2D jump and run is as simple as you can get - you have to collect x amount of crystals to win the level. The shoehorned mechanic of swapping characters is just boring, annoying and just not fun or engaging. The health/respawn system is what killed it for me - Gettin' one hitted by some dumb ass enemies is just annoying. I dont want to waste my time playing games like these.

The manifestation of simple and elegant design. The foundation is so trivially easy to understand, I am suprised such a game didn't exist before. The UX and UI is child-like, logical and sophisticated at the same time, creating a refined experience for the player to interact with the few systems the game throws around. What makes Mini Metro so compelling is its ability to create an identity for each map by just adjusting a few systems. Whether that be the number of lines you get, the number of bridges, the influx of new passengers, etc.. These "minor" adjustments can change the entire flow of the level, which makes this game so compelling and engaging in the long run. While some one-off mechanics get introduced here and there, it isn't the backbone of what makes it engaging - the developers are confident with the core gameplay loop that they can just tweak some parameters and create a familiar, but different level experience every single time. The use of global transits as the backdrop of each level create a relatable, grounded and almost educational experience.

Although the janky difficulty curve could need some improvement, I highly recommend everyone to try this game out.

We Were Here sets a strong foundation for an asymmetrical, co-op game. Puzzle-solvin' usually boils down to "communicating something to the other player" - the difficulty (and fun) comes from this. The only truly "difficult" moments come when the game decides to break: For the both of us, the more "grander" puzzles broke down halfway through, fillin' us with frustration. Nearing the end, the walkie-talkie mechanic - while fundamental and unique in its function - ended up being a subject of frustration for both of us.

"Janky, but charming" is a good way to describe this game. While it is free and I definitely enjoyed my time with it, beware that this game's controls are a bit finicky and bugs are prone to happen.

Remnants is about a person going deeper and deeper into a hole, discovering remnants of the past and other mildly weird things. It creates a strong and creepy atmosphere with very little, thanks in part to the excellent execution on the sound and art design. The context bubbles the player gets when interacting with the environment create a good sense of character and also develop the game's world + narrative quite well. I love the title/name each room is given (reminds me VVVVVV). The bold and vivid colors create both an alien-like an nostalgic scenery.

While I would've wished for a more fleshed-out/fulfilling ending (or perhaps a crumpet of gameplay), I enjoyed this experience quite well.

On paper, Kero Blaster isn't anything special. It's a back-to-basics run-and-gun shoot-em-up with a japanese vibe/aesthetic coated over it. It doesn't innovate on anything - everything you see in this game has been done to some extend.

Yet this is the first game in years that I bothered to "Master". I don't 100% games or go achievement-hunting - it's just not for me. But for some reason, this game compelled me enough to suck all of it's content dry in just a few days. Is it because of the classic-inspired combat? Is it because of the artstyle and it's charming characters? Or is it because of it's tightly-crafted levels? It's all of it combined: Kero Blaster isn't elevated by just one stand-out quality, but by the sum of it. However, you can say that to any video game. I think Kero Blasters accels in two aspects quite well:

1. The game respects the players time. The game feels (and is) small and the game knows that. Because of that, it doesn't dwell and waste it's time on a lot of stuff the player already knows about. This can be seen in the level design: Instead of a Mario-like process of babystepping the player a level mechanic throughout the whole level, alot of the tutorialization or learning process happens at the same screen the level mechanic gets introduced, thereby avoiding the common pitfalls a lot of other short games tend to fall into, where the whole game is a glorified tutorial and the player doesn't truly feel like playing the game. What get's worse in these games is that once the game is finished doing that, it just ends. Kero Blaster avoids this by making every moment count and not dragging the game wastefully out. Even the story goes straight to the point: We don't know the names of the characters, but the few lines they speak already gives us the gist on what's all about. There are only 4-ish weapons, but each feel distinctly different. The upgrade system isn't just a plain stat booster, it keeps the weapons fresh as they transform and extend their characteristics. The bite-sized delivery of encounters, rewards, progression empathizes every moment without feeling fatiguing or boring. Even the different "modes" aren't just cheap reskins: The Zangyou mode, titled "Hard mode", is just a lie - it feels more like the 2nd act of the game, with remixed stages, different encounters and even new content. Even the NG+ mode (Omake) introduces something new. It's just great.

2. The game feels non committal. This is more a plus on my end then I assume for anyone else. For me, it's hard to get invested into games, films or stories purely because I have to commit to it. Errant Signal talk about that in his "Gaming In the Quarantine Years" video and it perfectly summarizes my dilemma. It's hard to force myself to "consume" something without having a deadline or reason to. (This the reason why I didnt play all them popular games yet) Kero Blaster's "familiar from a distance" aesthetic combined with moment-to-moment arcadey gameplay eliminates that problem. Coupled with the short playtime, it was easy to get into, because I didn't have to commit to it for 20+ hours. It doesn't look that special and the gameplay pleases my "peanut brain" and the short length allowed me to chip away at this game without havin' to really "invest" myself in this game.

By and large I am just so suprised by this game. I highly recommend this game for bite-sized, cute fun.

It kept popping around the backloggd sphere. Given the title, I thought it was some random meme game. (I guess everyone assumed that)

It's a 3 minute "experience" made in bitsy. It's a super personal piece to the point that relating and/or understanding it is impossible for me (thats not a bad thing really lmao). Given the use of bitsy, I persume this was made in the rush of the moment - very quickly and just trying to get the feelings/idea across while it is still fresh in their mind without having to commit to building a lot of system and tech beforehand. While minimal in its tech and execution, it still creates a strong sense of nostalgia for me - even though I never played Cave Story nor relate to the stuff said in the game.

In the end, I don't get why this got so much traction. I guess the title got some heads turnin'.

Tunnel-vision: the game

While it is a bit of a prick sometimes, the game is one of the most visceral and unique-feeling games I've ever experienced. The visuals are one-of-a-kind, the gameplay is brutal - it's hard as fuck.

Visual clarity however is kind of dogshit: By the end, I turned my montior's brightness down a couple notches since I was bascially assualted by effects n' shit. The visuals are basically a contributor to the game's difficulty - you sometimes cannot parse some stuff and thus get punished for no reason.

However, I don't think this is a problem. The biggest problem I have with the game is the "Laser" mechanic. It feels forced, annoying and straight up lazy. In comparison to the other mechanics, it feels super disjointed in comparison.

All these issues aside, the game is insanely good and I recommend everyone to play it, especially til' the end.

Look, it's a game where u are a silly frog and solve some crimes. It's nothing profound. just sit back and enjoy some quirky dialogue and some rudimentary puzzle solving.

I guess there lies some sort of deconstruction and subversion within the game's general presentation - it's a parody on the detective/noir genre seen in movies. Instead of controlling a brooding, jaded detective, we get an apologetic, witty frog. There isn't any revelation or apotheosis in the plot - the mystery is as shallow as the water around the coast of the island.

Using the term "detective" in the title and general presentation of the game is "kind of" misleading. There isn't any mystery-solving fantasy to be fulfilled. Rather, it's used as a backdrop to present a comedic, dialogue-driven adventure. It's akin to an episode of a saturday morning cartoon, where today's plot just happens to use the detective genre as it's "narrative piñata" to poke at and make fun of.

No, the focus lies strictly on the writing. In my opinion, the writing is done quite nicely and I thoroughly enjoyed it through it's short playtime. It is kind of deadpan, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Gameplay-wise, its just fetch-quests. They are just there to progress the plot and allow for more dialogue. It's trivial, but not bad.

Does the writing offset the lack of any real puzzle solving? Ehhhh, I think so? It works because the game is so short. The game has some ideas, it executes them and boom - the credits roll. If the game went on for 5 or 10 more minutes, I probably would've started to get bored.

The artstyle is unique with strong shape-design and unlit shading. It's goofy and cute at the same time. There is some neat little shader work done for the game (magnifying glass and outline shader). However, I've encountered questionable performance dips when I approached any NPC. It was noticeable, but not fatal. Overall: neat and cute.

To conclude, Frog Detective lays a good foundation for a fun, light-hearted adventure with a short play-time. I'm interested to see how the sequel improves and iterates on it. If you got an hour to spare, play it!

It's as if you are listening to an album using the free, ad-ridden, Spotify version.

It feels like Sayonara Wild Hearts takes a lot of liberty and references from AAA cinematic games, i.e, they try to evoke a thrilling blockbuster experience with trivial movement sequences, heavy cutscene usage, forgiving checkpoints and some quick-time events sprinkled throughout. It's technically that but with a
pop-music aesthetic wrapped on top of it.

It's weird to constrast it to games like "FOOTSIES", which stripped a genre to one base fundamental to create a new, but familiar, experience. SWH, on the other hand, desperately feels like it tries to eat more than it can chew instead of properly scoping the game.

At it's core, the game is (grossly simplified) a Subway Surfer-like with some quick-time events. This description doesn't really do justice what the game tries to do, but it is a far more accurate description that labeling it as a "rhythm" game (like the Steam page does). The controls can feel rather sluggish and undercooked in some parts, but it serves it purpose. It is kind of sad that the game just boils down to: quick time events -> subway surfer part -> quick time events -> rinse and repeat.

What sets apart Sayonara Wild Hearts to other similar games boils down to their audiovisual department - the unique artstyle, strong color choices, dazzling shaders/effects and heavy camera usage all create a refined, unique and thrilling experience. The Soundtrack creates a good addendum to the entire experience, but I wouldn't really listen to it outside of the game - it's ok.

The story kind of flew over my head a bit (I persume it's about growing as a person and moving past internal termoil?) since everything story-related was presented in such a rapid-fire fashion I didn't really have time to process it.

Unfortunately, what really irked me and kind of tainted my experience was the constant break of flow: Halting the pop album adventure after every single song is soo damn annoying and jarring and kinda gets you out of that fun/flow zone. It's as if I was bombarded with Ads after every song - kinda ruins it.

Despite all of that, I still recommend the game. It accomplishes one thing quite well: the games serves as a great "mood lifter" and boy, did I need that.

Another twin-stick top-down highscore game from the Itch Racial Justice Bundle. You control two circles using both joysticks and have to destroy enemy projectiles by letting them collide with the line that goes through both your circles. I guess highscore games aren't for me? Like mechanically you kinda get everything the game throws at you in 10 minutes or so and I ain't a fan of games where the main clue is that the "controls are janky/weird". It's competently made and if you need a time waster, perhaps this might be an interesting game?

It has all the ingredients of a great game (technically a demo, but you know what I mean): Funky writing, an adorable pixel-look and an interesting enough setting. Yet I cannot say that I've truly enjoyed my time with it. I rarely abandon games: I still march forward with the most terrible of games - Mostly due to morbid curiosity, but also because it gets me this twisted sense of validation to be able to give my opinion on a game.

Now that isn't to say that this game is bad. Sure, it has janky/questionable design decisions (why does the dash have no cooldown) and frustrating little bugs (why doesnt the UI account for controller deadzoning?!), but it's quite competent in what it tries to do. The puzzle and level design ultimately led me to dropping this game: I often felt lost or stuck with no real idea on how to progress. The clues barely helped at all and once I finally did solve a puzzle, I was hit with yet another dead end. By that point, I just closed the game and just went on with my life.

This game is just not for me I guess.