Emily Byrnes
Despite some of its interface quirks, In Other Waters is a masterfully designed game, woven tightly into its music soundtrack and emotional chronicling of the relationship between humans, AI, and the environment.
Did I enjoy Someday You’ll Return and is it worth the money? Yes, understatement of the year. It has a few problems, but that doesn’t stop it from being a pretty great and enjoyable game.
While yes…there are still some performance problems, Saints Row the Third Remastered is a helluva fun game, especially with friends. The story missions will have you rolling with laughter, and there’s no setback if you find yourself in the middle of a shootout between all three gangs and the Steelport police. It’s just all good fun. And with all the craziness going on in the world, it’s nice to have a game to lose yourself in that makes you not take yourself quite as seriously and reminds you to be thankful for the time you have and tackle life one day at a time.
A Mortician’s Tale is a gentle reminder of our mortality and a quiet reassurance that it doesn’t have to be viewed negatively. Through informative newsletters woven in with the game’s narrative, and the passionate dream of a young woman, we find that there is peace and joy to be found in the arms of family, green alternatives, and the celebration of our passing.
Atomicrops is an exciting and challenging rogue-lite farming simulator that somehow manages to maintain its fun factor with high replayability no matter how many times you die. It can be extremely difficult for those not used to playing rogue-lite games, but its fun art style and RNG elements manage to keep it fresh and engaging.
Shank n’ Bake excels at giving the player doses of shock humor with challenging gameplay. Seriously, once you start running, you don’t want to stop.
Maid of Sker had a few jump scares here and there, but it was the tension and curiosity of the unknown that kept me invested in moving forward.
Dreamscaper is a deep, thought-provoking journey packed with some truly enjoyable combat and realistic characters. If you’ve been hesitating to give it a try-don’t.
Would I recommend Alwa’s Legacy? Yes, a hundred times over, yes. It is fun from the very beginning to end, and invites you to explore the contents of its world without hand-holding or a curfew to pull you down.
There's a lot to love about Ikenfell: its characters, charming narrative, and polished strategic combat all come together to create something truly unique and magical. While it calls on themes from other pop culture titles, the story within is all its own. Slow at first, Ikenfell's true narrative starts to unravel as you meet new friends and unlock clues behind Maritte's sister's disappearance. For $19.99, Ikenfell is well worth the price if you're a fan of pixel games with an inclusive storyline and a beautiful soundtrack.
I genuinely loved playing through The Red Lantern, and bonding with my sled team. The art style for it is charming and beautiful at times, with a lovely soundtrack that effectively adds to the atmosphere of being lost in the frozen wilderness. My first completed run-through of the game took me about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach. I didn’t fill out my journal or see every event, but if you’d like to, you can do just that after finishing the game. There are still plenty of adventures and scenarios to discover with your pups, and even more dangerous challenges to face.
If you’re a hopeless romantic like me that loves to have their heart shattered into hundreds of pieces over a thought-provoking story, When the Past Was Around is exactly what you’re looking for.
Chicken Police is the guilty animal film-noir treasure that I didn’t know I needed in my life until I took flight into the Wilderness and experienced it for myself.
All in all, I loved Heart of the Forest. I was frustrated by some of the choice mechanics, but it was never enough to make me stop playing. I wanted to push through to the end every time to see whether or not their stories could be saved. A game that keeps you coming back well after the first playthrough is a precious treat in my eyes, and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest had me eating right out of its paws.
Sarawak can be found on Steam right now for $9.99. I highly encourage anyone that's a fan of mysteries and interactive novels to give it a try, and support this wonderful new indie studio.
One plus side of this release is that Skyforge is free to play! If you own a Nintendo Switch, there is absolutely no risk at all involved for you to jump in the game and try it out for yourself. I always highly encourage anyone who has even the slightest bit of interest to try it out for themselves. I will definitely be keeping my eye on Skyforge for the next few weeks to see whether or not they pull through on their end with fixes. If that happens, I would be more than happy to update this review with a newer article, score, and impressions. For now, I’ll just have to say goodbye to my beautiful wings and halo, and hang them up for a day when they can be utilized to their fullest without the constant crashing.
Lost Words: Beyond the Page is a breathtaking, moving side-scroller narrative adventure that masterfully tugs at your heartstrings thanks to a moving musical score, a beautifully written story, and gorgeous graphics. Each piece comes together to create something truly magical that is sure to stay with you well after you've finished the game. While the gameplay is fairly casual in nature with an average of 4-5 hours to complete and easy to solve puzzles, it is worth every penny to experience Izzy's journey alongside her. Just make sure you grab plenty of tissues and turn off the lights before you do so, so you can ugly cry in peace.
For newcomers to the series, it’s a fantastic option because, obviously, you’re not gated by a hundred different consoles just to experience the story for yourself. It’s incredibly easy just to boot up one of the collections and get started carving your way through armies of heartless. For veterans of the series, it’s a great way to relive your childhood for the exact same reasons.
While there are still clearly some stark improvements that can be made, I think that Medieval Dynasty succeeded in bringing something new to an already saturated and stale genre, and can be a lasting favorite, as long as they continue to make improvements and provide updates.
Taking the time to name your dinosaurs and seeing them interact in their immersive enclosures creates a certain unmistakable bond that will have you yelling through your screen at your scaley children to get along. Losing your first dinosaur to a trial by combat is equally as emotional after you’ve invested so much time into their health and well-being. However, every new dinosaur you create is a chance to take a small mental break from park management. They each have different behaviors, sounds, and habits to observe, so take that time to zip around the enclosures and watch your dilos “Pinky” and “Brain” take a nap in the tall grass: they’re kind of cute when they’re asleep.