Nicola Ardron's Reviews
I want to like Stranded Sails, I am intrigued by a few of the artefacts I have stumbled across during my exploration and I am suitably invested in seeing the story through, however at present the game is unplayable.
There aren’t that many shooters out there that have me consistently chuckling as I play, and that is in large part to the wonderful characterisations PopCap has given each one of its characters.
Farmer's Dynasty could have some appeal with a blend of RPG, farming and life simulations, but it is a woefully optimised piece of software with frame rates that judder to a halt after thirty minutes of play.
Jettomero: Hero of the Universe is visually very beautiful, but it feels like a game that contains a number of unfinished ideas wrapped up in a gorgeous package.
It's supposed to be terrible, because it's satire, but you reach a point where you begin to feel like the deliberate poor quality is an insult rather than a jape.
Ready Set Heroes has a good concept, but the execution doesn't match up to the ideas with an over-reliance on the players familiarity with in game language, combined with unresponsive controls and frustrating gameplay
The Red Lantern is a suvival-roguelite where you will have to face the harsh landscapes of Alaska with your dog sled team. You can pet the dogs, but most of the action feels very much down to the luck of the dice rather than any active participation from you.
Tannenberg offers an authentic World War 1 experience of the conflict waged on the Eastern Front. It features excellent attention to detail in the map design, character uniforms and weaponry, but the dogged commitment to historical accuracy means its appeal is limited to a very small niche of player.
There is potentially a fun game underneath, but Citadel: Forged with Fire is mired in a relentless time-draining loop of meaningless activity
Conan Exiles excels in its sense of place, and has an absorbing and complex crafting system that will keep you coming back, but there is no escaping that it is a deeply flawed game that still feels a little unfinished.
Swap Quest is a cutesy, tile swapping RPG and puzzle hybrid with clear mobile roots. It doesn't feel robust enough on console and is better played on mobile.
Uno is a great card game, however this version fails to understand the social aspects of card games. It shines if you have friends to play it with, otherwise it's a bit of a bore.
Beyond Eyes most certainly is not a game for everyone. It's a noble attempt to show life with a disability through a clever mechanic, but sadly at times it forgets it is also a video game.
Despite the lovely voxel visuals and cute animations, Skellboy doesn't quite hit the mark. Uninspired combat, slow movement and poor objective signposting make it a little bland.
Etherborn is a space and gravity bending puzzle game that challenges your spatial awareness, however despite a very compelling hook and lovely visuals it runs out of ideas very quickly.
Uncanny Valley shows a lot of promise, but the harsh reality of its non-linear narrative structure and reliance on multiple playthroughs to make sense of it all means it is asking too much in the face of the early game's uninspired, repetitive gameplay.
Moving out is a lovely little party game. Lots of fun, and gently humorous with some good accessibility options making it easy to play with younger or less skilled players for everyone's enjoyment.
The Survivalists is the latest in a crowded genre. Bright visuals can't hide that it is a fairly light experience at present, but there is some enjoyment to be had if you can look past the slightly uncomfortable sub-text of its central mechanic.
House Flipper is a simulation game where you purchase and do up houses to sell for profit to do it all over again. It is mindless and monotonous, but there is catharsis in cleaning things up and returning them to some semblance of order.
Summer in Mara is farming and crafting sim with a lovely message around sustainability. It features some beautiful Ghibli-esque visuals and strong character writing, but ultimately descends into endless, over-lapping fetch quests with a lack of direction that make it more of a chore than the relaxing experience it promises.