I played a Gregorian Day's worth of Vampire Survivors looking for any substance and came up empty. This game is the ludological equivalent of doodling endlessly on a pad while you're on hold with the bank. Finding out the developer worked on digital slot machines before making this game made all the pieces fall into place: you pull the arm, the images flash, the numbers go up, you die. It's sickeningly mesmeric, it reeks, it is completely frictionless. It is the exact spiritual midpoint between Cookie Clicker and a pachinko machine. I am worse for having played it and so are you, may god have mercy on us all.

Beautiful and engrossing, frustrating at times but never at the expense of the fun of it all. A perfect puzzle game in every sense: the main mechanics work perfectly and flow together seamlessly, and they aren't so obscure that you can't understand what you're looking at in a glance (once you know how it all works). The tutorial onboards the player with ease, but the moment the tether of guidance is ripped away, you freefall into a mind-melting web of paths and possibilities.

It all appears very mathematics-focused, and - I mean, sure it is, but only TECHNICALLY. Your goal in every puzzle is to solve an equation with the numbers on the board, but the cleverness of this game is that the arithmetic isn't the challenge. In the same way that the numbers on a sudoku puzzle can confuse a first-timer into thinking they need an aptitude for the numerical, Dawn of a Soul uses numbers in the same way it uses colours. These are all just symbols, and your optimal path through each maze of lines relies on your understanding of the sequence the symbols need to be encountered in.

There are opportunities for additional souls to be collected on puzzles that have multiple solutions, and sure it may help you in those moments to recognise how many multipliers you need to reach the highest possible score. Math is useful in these moments. But again, this is ultimately simple counting - I can't remember a time I got stuck aiming for an extra multiplier that required me to count higher than the fingers on my hands. This game fries your brain in the same way as an aforementioned sudoku can, taunting you with the knowledge that the answer is all there in front you of. You just can't see it until you manoeuvre your mind around it.

This would get a perfect score from me even if the presentation wasn't so beautiful. The ambient music and the blooming effects and the stellar pixal art and the sparse dialogue, it's all masterful.

Beast Breaker was fundamentally the best time I had with a single game in 2021. I gobbled it up completely, crafting and upgrading every single weapon and accessory, trying multiple different loadout configurations, testing different companions and preparation strategies. I don't think I mastered the game, because I never feel that about the best games, but I do think I capital-K Know Beast Breaker very well.

The core loop is fairly simple, but the intricacies come from the physicality of the mechanics. The quality of any given brick breaking game comes down to how frequently you're hitting those pure satisfaction moments, seeing the numbers deplete and the blocks explode with a single attack. Some of my favourites increase the momentum of this feeling by adding additional balls or multipliers (I've probably sunk a couple hundred hours into Hole Down on my phone because of how good it gets this), but Beast Breakers customisable depth adds levels of observational and experimental skill to this foundation. Certain Beasts favour certain weapons and strategies, and sometimes the perfect angle isn't possible depending on the way the Beast moves, so a successful Break attempt requires visual calculus, an understanding of the strengths of your loadout, foresight into future turns and ability management. Add to that the ever-present threat of loss due to the rampage mechanic, and you find yourself in tense late-game situations where minute degrees of an angle can spell either utter failure, or lead to living to fight another round.

This dynamic tension feels so full of friction, and brings to mind some of my favourite tactics games. Honestly, the closest tonal equivalent I can find to this game is Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, one of my favourite games of all time. In that world too, load-out, preparation and foresight are key factors to victory above any aggressive action you take in a fight. And also similarly, finding broken combinations of weapons and accessories can lead to moments of absolute joy as you let rip on an unsuspecting opponent.

At this point, I feel I've exhausted what the game has to offer, and that's absolutely fine. Not every game has to be a constant service to the player who purchased it. However if I'm going to be critical of any aspect it's that the final, multi-phase boss fight felt so great that I wish there were more like it in the post-game. Taking on that same Beast variety without the threat of losing on the 2nd or 3rd phase and having to start again took some of the threat away in a manner that felt a little anticlimactic. However, if my main criticism of this game is "I wish there was an infinite horde mode" then I think that's probably a pretty damn good thing.

I won't touch the story much, because as heartfelt and sincere as it is it wasn't the main focus for me. There are some great character interactions, and the ending was wildly and hilariously blunt in it's message (I don't think I've ever had such a colourful piece of media say to me "the people in charge will never help you" in such a delightful way). It's a serviceable veneer, in exactly the way I want it to be.

Hmmmm okay this one is really hard to rate - part of me wants to think much more highly of this, because I adore the ambition of the devs and I think Jotun is, overall, a pretty unique and fun experience. I'm conflicted because there are a lot of qualities that I appreciate here!

Unfortunately, for everything I really enjoyed I pendulum-swung back against points that kept me from loving this game. For all the abilities you pick up, combat is pretty repetitious. As gorgeous as all the character designs and animations are, the world feels too open and empty. As appealing as the structure is, by the 4th area I was beginning to lose steam with the core loop.

I am glad I finished the game because the final fight and cutscene were really spectacular. Honestly the characterisation was phenomenal, I was more hooked by the biographical snippets of the main character than I was by any of the boss fights. Also I LOVED the Icelandic dialogue, the effort put into everything is so palpable.

This is definitely worth playing, I'm glad it was recommended to me. It's imperfect but super interesting.

I have to admit, I'm a little bit of a Shin Megami Tensei poser. I only played the first couple of hours of SMT IV (which I don't even really remember), and when it comes to the Persona series I've only played and beaten 5. So, maybe my appreciation of SMTV is a little skewed, because I'm sure what I love about this game is in all of the other instalments of the series (probably done better).

Nevertheless, let me try and count all of the things I love about this game: I love the numbers, I love the frequency with which they go up. I love the demons, I love the writing, I love the negotiations. I love the fusion system, I love calculating the most ideal combination of demons to best avoid spending currency and carrying over the best set of abilities. I love the look of the game, the way the Netherworld cascades, I love the colours and the sounds. I love the music, I love every time the battle theme kicks in properly after the first attack is made. I love slowly discovering the best economy of actions in order to prolong my turn before the enemy gets a chance to strike. I love sliding down dunes, I love exploring the landscape in piecemeal chunks until I feel like I understand it's twists before moving onto the next area. I love just staring into the skybox, there's so much detail in every inch of this universe.

Here's what else I really enjoy that no-one else seems to: I love seeing the seams of the engine tear apart! This game is broken and botched in so many ways because of the weakness of the platform it's on, but I think it's great! The way the framerate stutters on an NPC in the distance and then equalises as I get into range of it is hilarious, the way texures pop in on a demon a second too late as I'm scrolling through the compendium is cartoonish. I might be in the minority here, but I actually like being reminded that I'm playing a game people have made, and seeing this stuff is like seeing the errant brushstrokes on a painted canvas up close.

Played this (partially) live on stream on the 23rd of March (twitch.tv/sleepy_nice, come thru).

I spent basically the first 5 hours of my time playing this alternating between saying "Ohhhh I get it" and "WOW". Kingdom Two Crowns has such purposeful and vivid execution that knowing absolutely nothing when I started, I felt like I was given everything I needed to comprehend what it was going for. I love this game, I think it's super special and really fun and I'd love to replay it in co-op because I think the very few problems I had with it would be completely sorted out in that environment.

I was truly compelled by the slowness of everything. You're forced to play at a speed dictated by the game for the first island or so, and judging from some other reviews I've seen that was a bit of an issue for some players. Not me though! I love that stuff. It made the escalation of your mobility feel really momentus, and the first time I was able to use a new mount I felt like I was flying across that island comparatively.

Sidenote, knowing now that the same developer who made Cloud Gardens (one of my favourite games of last year) also had a hand in Kingdom makes total sense. That guy really has a sense of pace and knows how to utilise it!

That said, I do really wish there was an auto-run button. I don't mind moving back and forth constantly but I played for a few hours last night and my thumb hurt from holding right and left (which you do uh, a lot of in this game). The only other issue I had was the difficulty in returning to islands you had been to in the past - you always have to recover your boat before you can leave again, and that felt a little annoying when there were moments that going back and forth between two islands was necessary for some unlocks.

Anyway yeah this is really great. Nearly perfect. Loved it

Nearly identical in every relevant way to the first episode, meaning I had a lot of the same problems with it: namely the open world level is too big to not have a map or more distinguishing landmarks, and the controls occasionally veer from "rough" into "irritating".

That said, I'm developing a massive taste for this series and enjoyed this thoroughly in spite of my critiques. The music is HOT, and the ability to pick up new tracks was a fun bonus that (I think?) was absent in the first episode. I like the new characters and I think over the two episodes I can see a real sense for scope in the design of the levels. I also continue to mostly love the way it feels to skate around in this game, I like the versatility of movement, and at it's best this game FEELS fucking fantastic.

I'm doing this review as a criticism sandwich, because I just remembered another specific thing I really disliked. I understand (and respect) the thematic need to have cops chase and grapple you, but sometimes its a bummer trying to nail a trick only to get grabbed and have the cop spawn with you when you restart your placement. There doesn't seem to be any way to lose them! Also there are too many of those security missile launchers, and they crowd sections that would be better experienced at full speed.

But yeah, I'll download and play every single one of these episodes man. It's good stuff! Just could be a bit better.

#1 of 2023

Brutal, vivid and explosive, but also nuanced, precise and meticulous. A pipe bomb made of razorblades. The core loop suited me perfectly: raise my heartrate to unprecedented levels, then let me peruse beautiful menus until it falls again.

Confession time: I didn't finished AC6. I didn't even complete my first playthrough. But I will, when I have the same time I was able to dedicate to Bloodborne. Even without completing it, I know for a fact that this game, even more than my trip through Yarnham, was built for me. I loved everything about the time I spent playing AC6. I loved the melodrama, the mech designs, the music, the setpieces. The enormity of it all. It delivered on a gilded platter what I love about all of my favourite space operas, and then some.

I couldn't help myself - I spoiled some things about what's to come in future playthroughs. Not so much that it's not worth seeing it myself, mind you. I will devour everything in this game, the moment that I'm ready. That might be next week, it might be in 3, 5, 10 years time.

I didn't need to play more than a few hours of it to know that it was going to be my favourite game of the year. And once I knew, that feeling never went away.

I cannot be expected to write anything about a remake of a game that means so much to me, so I'll try and keep it short, simple, and relevant to the remake rather than the source material:

The team did a really great job modernising NieR, but by bringing it closer to the memory of Automata and further from the memory of Gestalt maybe a little bit of the magic was lost to me. However everything sounds and looks wonderful, and I relished the opportunity to luxuriate in one of my favourite fantastical worlds once again.

I've had Sokobond vaguely on my radar for nearly 10 years (!!!!) when I remember it getting featured in some PAX roundups around the time of release. I feel like I may have benefitted from playing it earlier, because unfortunately now the cool things that this game does aren't particularly novel - echoes of what it's doing can be found to greater effect in English Country Tune, Hexcells, heck even A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build (which I also played as part of my Ukraine Itch Bundle deep-dive).

All that said, this is for sure a Good Puzzle Time, and the theme of putting together compound molecules tickled me just right at a time when I'm relearning a lot of high school chemistry. The music is GORGEOUS, composed by Ryan Roth who also did the music for Starseed Pilgrim, Beginners Guide and A Good Snowman (what a fun coincidence). The whole presentation of it is still delicious, even if it's not super unique.

I wasn't able to finish it in a single sitting, but can tell that I got pretty darn close - I don't want to spoil it, but as the map expands out there's a pretty cute reveal that indicated to me how far through I was. Might pick it up later, but the queue is long so who knows !

I’ve had a few cool little experiences up to now, but this is the first truly exciting game I’ve experienced thanks to the Ukraine Bundle.

Really solid concept and execution, great music, sequentially engaging. I particularly like the mastery system which reminds me of FFTA, where abilities are learned through equipment but once that ability has been mastered you don’t need to keep that piece of equipment on your team member to have them use it.

Also, the AI ripped me to pieces a few times when I tried to complete the bonus objectives, which was a nice way of balancing the incentive to try and do them every time. As a result I missed a few pieces of gear, so might go back and try and get them now that I’ve got end-game stats.

Loved a lot here that I haven’t mentioned yet - the character and team customisation is sick, the story is sparse but has a perfect minimalist shonen vibe to it. Also love that it was made by a solo Australian developer!

It’s a little rough around the edges in some aspects which keeps it from a perfect score for me. Some menuing is a bit unintuitive and occasionally the interface gets a bit cluttered with noise which made it hard to assess my best moves. Small quibbles, nothing that kept me from enjoying this for the few hours it took me to clock it.

Can’t wait to see what this dev does next!

I started Circa Infinity pretty unimpressed with what seemed like too simple an idea to be interesting to me in 2022. However by level 2 I was thoroughly hooked into the vision of this game, which is in equal parts both compelling and utterly disorienting.

This is a twitch-platformer in the vein of VVVVVV or Love, but segmented out in digestible chunks in the same way a puzzle game might do it. I think that's where my initial impression may have faltered, because I assumed the challenge was cerebral rather than dextrous. Turns out, it's both! The response-time needed for some of these levels was preposterous, but progression was (for the most part) pretty forgiving. I really liked the way checkpoints were implemented organically as circle-layers, rather than through some obvious flag the way most games do them.

I also REALLY loved the bosses, and the first was where my feelings really started to shift. Rather than simply acting as a conclusive event, they function as a test of the skills developed in each level, which is - I think - the ideal of what a video game "boss" should be. The only thing I didn't love was that, upon taking damage, each boss fight starts again from the beginning. I totally understand why this was done, but it resulted in a frustration that eventually overtook me and prevented me from getting past the fourth level.

This is absolutely a game I intend to return to and complete one day, really good stuff.

Played this live on stream on the 23rd of March (twitch.tv/sleepy_nice, come thru).

Total banger of a game, but might just be a little too hard for me to get much further through than what I've already seen. The dynamic of GoNNER rewards speed but punishes imprecision, and is a teensy bit too stressful for me - it's in my nature to try and rack up combos to collect the glyphs but I'm not able to balance that impulse with precise movement.

Loved the feel of everything, the jumps and the guns and the wall-jumping are all really finely tuned. Love the painterly style and the way the levels build around you as you traverse through them. I liked how little was communicated to you, letting you learn as a player what you're meant to be doing as you experiment. I would have appreciated a LITTLE bit more information when it came to certain masks or accessories, because the thrill of discovery was marred a little bit by the chance you had to take on a new item when you're already in the middle of a run.

There are still a couple mechanical mysteries to me. For instance, on my last run (where I managed to get the furthest I've been able to reach, just past the 2nd boss room and into level 3) I got such a good combo going that the colour scheme of the rooms changed to green. I'm not sure what that meant! It might have meant nothing.

But yeah, highly recommend giving this game a whirl but I'm still learning to be any good at it. Let's see if I ever get there.

Woah! Snake's Tale really surprised me with its depth. Did the thing I really like in level-based puzzle games where just as I've gotten my head around one obtuse mechanic, another is added. That accumulation stopped this from being your standard sliding-tile game, I can see the vision here.

There was no hand-holding either, some of the earliest levels you can access had some of the wildest solutions that I needed to come back to after understanding the way the pieces fit together. I LOVED this.

A few things stop this from a perfect score. Firstly the absurd music - it had such a short loop that drove me crazy instantly. If this had some light ambience with occasional variation I could have chilled out in this game forever, but instead I had to find my own soundtrack. Secondly the presentation of the overworld felt a little thin. It's a minor thing, but I actually love how the snakes look in the level, but anytime I had to navigate to the next puzzle it felt like I was looking at an early 00s flash game (which doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing I guess, but in this case it was).

Definitely high on my recommendations for the Ukraine Bundle