I can save you the time of reading this review by saying one thing: there is only one thing truly "wrong" with Lacuna -- it's only a few hours long. While I love the #shortgame culture, this game made me want to spend hundreds of hours in it's realized world.

Now the real review:

Lacuna is a pixel noir detective game that was made by a humble team of developers that have created something that rivals most of the AAA titles in the genre.

The pixel art is absolutely stunning. I found myself marveling at the attention to detail. I wanted more areas to explore, more backgrounds to interact with, more chairs to just sit in and witness the world the team created.

The story is exactly what a noir game deserves - just enough intrigue and twists to keep you hooked while the character drama gives the world substance and detail. The world-building that this title does in a few short hours should make any writer blush. Each character feels multi-faceted and full of secrets of a life we will never get to see. There's also plenty of world-building hidden into the UI, with news articles and emails that are totally optional.

Speaking of the UI, it's equally exceptional and pleasing to work with. Everything about this experience is polished and comfortable.

If you enjoy the detective genre, then this is one for you. If you appreciate indie titles, then this is one you shouldn't sleep on. If you enjoy pixel art, then you could just look at this one and savor the artwork.

Oh wait - I thought of another thing that's wrong with Lacuna... nowhere near enough people have played it. Do yourself the favor and enjoy this pulp noir gem.

an intriguing and charming murder mystery that actually makes you think by showing you the clues but making you put them together. I like the clue menu and the hint system; if I got stuck it wasn’t ever for long. I think the writing was trying a little too hard to be quirky at times but it didn't come at the cost of the story so I didn't mind it; they all served a purpose and the characters themselves were unique and memorable.

I didn’t make much sense of the reveal though, the motive felt weak to me, and the ending felt somehow monologuey and abrupt at the same time.

This was such an amazing emotional rollercoaster.

I was searching for a good game with farming mechanics included and remembered that I wishlisted Harvestella 2 or 3 years ago and decided to try it. I am so happy that I made this decision because I loved every second of it.

Harvestella combines both farming and combat. The main story is combat-focused, and farming seems like a side job that earns you money, but it's really not. You have 4 seasons, each with specific crops, crops that you can plant in all seasons, and loads of machines to make something from everything on your farm.

I was not impressed in the beginning and didn't really like the world, but when I spent time in it, it became more beautiful. There is really good art direction in this game that you won't really mind the bad fidelity in graphics. There is no voice acting in this game, which is a bit disappointing because this is a Square Enix game that came out in 2022. Combat is not so good either; it just feels like a really old game. But at some point, you don't really care about that much because farming is more fun and enjoyable. Dungeon designs, for me, were beautiful, but the gimmicks were really old-fashioned, and there are so few puzzles that the game gives you solutions with text.

The strongest point of this game is the story. It's not really unique, but the interaction with your friends and dialogue between them are really good. It may seem too basic for a first-time player at first, but as you read the main and character stories, it really picks up and keeps you interested. The main story, at first, is too basic, but as you progress, it becomes really interesting, and you want to keep going. When you feel overwhelmed, you can focus on your farm, clear your head, and continue, and I really like that. Some games just infodump you all the way to the end. There are really shocking and emotional moments; the plot twists are awesome, and story points connect beautifully as you read it.

I'm not sure I'd call this a true horror game, but it's a pretty good open world survival horror game. This is exactly what I'd imagine an evil Thomas the Train to be. This game is unfortunately extremely short and takes less than 2 hours to finish the game. Normally I wouldn't recommend a game this short, but it is a great game for what it is. I'm hoping that in the future we get a second game that expands on this concept as there are very good elements in this game.

Adding a Nightmare mode added to the replay ability of this game. Nightmare mode is no joke, the atmosphere is significantly darker, Charles is incredibly more aggressive, and will hunt you down faster. There is a lot more strategy that goes into this game mode as you almost have to pre-plan your route to a certain degree. A lot of what you do in this game mode is dictated by Charles and one wrong step spells the end of the run. Having one-life makes it that much harder. After getting my ass kicked 3 times right out of the gate by Charles I finally planned my route and BARELY beat Charles in the end.

Regardless of the fact that this game is a s^x game, it is actually a pretty good rogue-like dungeon crawler. It reminds me a lot of Rogue Legacy or Dead Cells, just on a more simple, "lewd" front. There are actually a decent variety of weapons and rarities to choose from, various spells, and various accessories to aid you on your journey. This game has 15 different levels and 5 boss fights to get through until you beat the game. The boss fights are very different and have some interesting mechanics. There are also a bunch of different monsters with unique move sets to find as well.

It took me 34.5 hours to 100% this game and two playthroughs. Once through normal mode, and once through hard mode while also maxing Scarlet. Overall, it's not bad and could actually have been a pretty good rogue-like if it wasn't a s^x game.

Shenmue was the most comfortable game I've ever played in my life.

Playing a Japan simulator, waking up early in the morning irl and ingame, going outside and running around Sakuragaoka while it was rainy IRL and also rainy in the game, while it played the FREE 1 soundtrack, just going around talking to people... It's so soothing, it made my entire being relaxed, immersed. I felt true happiness, a true sense of belonging in that world Yu Suzuki created. I wish this game was infinite and we were allowed to just live there forever.