DENNIS GAGLIARDOTTO
PachiPals Review — These Pals Hit Different
PachiPals delivers an exceptional nostalgia trip in the most contemporary way, providing a wonderful blend of some of RPGs greats from the Game Boy Color-era and fusing monster-collecting, pinball, and pachinko mechanics for a fantastic amalgam of retro dream-like excellence.
Monster Crown: Sin Eater Review — No Need to Atone
A sharper, darker evolution of the original, Monster Crown: Sin Eater delivers refined mechanics, richer pixel art, and a story that finally realizes the series’ potential. It’s weird, heartfelt, morally tangled, and absolutely worth your time if you love monster‑taming games with bite.
Lumentale: Memories of Trey Review — Worthy of Remembering
Lumentale: Memories of Trey is a great game that modernizes a formula that some companies have gotten all too complacent with, all while making it feel like a memory—familiar, warm, a little sad, a little hopeful, and ultimately better in almost every way, really taking on the phrase “what’s old is new again” and creating something truly enjoyable for those that grew up with these types of games and those looking to get into it.
Planet of Lana II Review
Planet of Lana II doesn’t try to reinvent what made the first game special. Instead, it deepens it and feels like a continuation not just of a story, but of a philosophy—one that believes games can be quiet and still speak loudly, that simplicity can be profound, and that side‑scrolling narratives can carry the weight of entire worlds as much as AAA blockbusters.
Nova Antarctica Review
Nova Antarctica is imperfect, yes, but it’s quietly compelling in a way that lingers after the credits, and its imperfections oddly give it more charm than not, even when you know there’s potential for something so much greater.
Apartment No. 129 Review
Apartment No. 129 on Xbox delivers a moody, folklore‑driven horror experience with flashes of genuine tension, but it struggles to maintain that momentum due to uneven pacing, clunky mechanics, and a narrative that never fully capitalizes on its eerie premise.
The Coma 2B: Catacomb Review
The Coma 2B: Catacomb may not live up to the strengths of its predecessors, but it’s still a formidable entry in an under-looked series that excels at horror. Catacomb still provides all those signature DVORA flavors that make these games so memorable, and while it’s weak by comparison, it’s still worth a playthrough and picking up at a more-than-reasonable $14.99.
Flowstone Saga Review
Flowstone Saga has an equal number of pros and cons that balance itself out for better or for worse, so ultimately a game like this, while creative, still leaves a lot to be desired and may leave players yearning for more, but you also won’t find a game quite like Flowstone Saga, and it at the very least set out to do what it wanted to do very well, combining two beloved yet very different types of games in a harmonious way.
Loddlenaut Review
For those looking for a calming experience in the deep blue, Loddlenaut is a wonderful way to do so. Being a mix of a collect-a-thon and exploration with little-to-no dangers or frustrations, Loddlenaut is bound to give any and all an incredible time that also won't ask too much even for those with limited time.
Paper Lily — Chapter 1 Mini Review
Paper Lily is an incredible RPG horror game in which the player experiences a multitude of puzzles and outcomes tailoring the player's adventure. With stunning pixel art graphics, a complementary score to accentuate the atmosphere, and a gripping storyline that's impossible to put down, Paper Lily - Chapter 1 is an exceptional indie darling that deserves the utmost recognition and success.
Mika and The Witch's Mountain Review
It's easy to see with Chibig's latest release, Mika and The Witch's Mountain, how far the studio has come both from a technical and artistic standpoint in providing what might arguably be their most cohesive and wholesome game yet.
Voyage: Xbox Edition Review
Voyage right away leads players into a vibrant adventure with an emotional story driving the immersion and pacing, and does so in a mostly efficient way depending on how the player can reasonably handle two characters at once.
Time Loader Review
Time Loader won't blow puzzle fans away by any means, but it's a nice and relaxing enough trek through a time period that's so vastly overlooked in favor of the decades between the 40s and 80s we see so much of, though its caveats and slow-paced nature will likely bore more than entertain, and it's a shame when a lot of detail has clearly been put into its level design despite the lack of graphical fidelity on Nintendo Switch.
Ocean's Heart Review
Ocean's Heart from top to bottom is a beautiful game that no doubt wears its inspirations on its sleeve and showcases them in a way that feels both nostalgic and modern, with a familiar UI reminiscent of the greats, and takes you on a genuine journey throughout a multitude of towns, dungeons, and areas across the seas that feel fleshed out and polished, all while remaining immersive and fun.
Seed of Life Review
Even for its lack of polish in a lot of areas, Seed of Life does feel like a decent enough effort that it's worth sinking some time into if you're looking for a unique platformer to play regardless of the size and scale. Unfortunately, Seed of Life also feels too much like a proof of concept for a bigger AAA game and a little disjointed and misguided because of the ambitions that were set in place from the studio that simply couldn’t hit the mark quite right.
Button City Review
Button City is not only an immensely relaxing experience but one of the most wholesome and memorable games in a long time, leaving a stamp on its mark in Indie games thanks to its unique gameplay and feeling of nostalgia for a time and place you were never originally a part of.
A Way to be Dead Review
A Way to be Dead consists of a design that we’ve seen grow in popularity over the years with a group of players going against one other that typically sees the group at a disadvantage to make up for the difference in numbers, and A Way to be Dead rests more in line with the likes of Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th in this regard, but its Early Access state and multiplayer-only gameplay leave it dead on arrival with a virtually non-existent ecosystem of players that serves to make the game literally unplayable and dead weight.
Forgotten Fields Review
Forgotten Fields is a fine game that explores the day to day of our lives and what it's like being an adult simply trying to "make it" in the sense that they're happy doing what they do - almost the sort of pursuit of happiness - but its focus on the mundane and the more depressive things in our lives with little else to do makes the game a boring trek and an overall banal experience that feels like a drag despite its short duration.
Lust from Beyond Review
Lust from Beyond is a successor to Lust for Darkness in more ways than one as it's not only much more polished and refined than its predecessor, but also a bigger, deeper, and dare I say more *fleshed* out game as a whole. While the narrative isn't as strong or consistent as Lust for Darkness due to its change of characters through its chapters and back and forth between its real and erotic dimensions, the vast environments give much more flavor to Lust from Beyond's setting and makes it much more enjoyable to explore and play through, with a few collectibles hidden throughout and enough puzzles to keep things engaging and the brain stimulated.
Clea Review
Clea’s approach to survival horror is unique thanks to its fantastic art, cute protagonist, and skill-based over jump-scare filled gameplay, but its structure and progression feel more like a test of patience and choreography rather than any meaningful experience where you’d have any fun.