DENNIS GAGLIARDOTTO
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.
Aliens: Dark Descent Review
Aliens: Dark Descent is without a doubt the best Aliens experience since Alien Isolation. However, just because it's the best experience *since* then, doesn't make it on par with what is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror experiences in all of gaming regardless of your attachment to the Alien IP. Its flaws unfortunately tend to bring the overall quality of the game down, though it’s arguably got some of the best cinematics gaming has seen to date.
EDENGATE: The Edge of Life Review
There are a lot of Indie games that do their best to make a grand event out of a small budget. In some cases, it can be an impressive feat, but in other cases, it can be a massive letdown when a bigger budget could have helped the game reach its full potential. EDENGATE: The Edge of Life sits somewhere in the middle, but it has its heart in the right place and makes use of its resources the best it can to present a game that's entertaining and interesting enough to be worth completing all the way through, even if its story lacks a clear-cut vision.
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars Review
Even though it's wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, there's still enough about Asterigos: Curse of the Stars that makes it a great game in its own right and provides its own identity, and a big part of that has to do with its flexibility, accessibility, and simple intuitiveness of its gameplay that makes it a comfortable and enjoyable experience compared to most within the genre.
V Rising (Early Access) Review
V Rising adds itself to the list of ever-expanding lore and content within the vampire genre, and does so with an influenced yet identifiable panache that helps it give it a life of its own, all while remaining incredibly engaging, visually appealing, and most importantly fun to play, and even in its Early Access state V Rising has already begun to feel like the true definitive vampire experience.
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.
White Shadows Review
With such a creative and visually appealing direction, there's no denying that White Shadows could be up there with the greats of the genre such as Little Nightmares and Inside, however a sloppy checkpoint system that feels simultaneously fair and unfair can lead to frequent frustrations. In the end, however, White Shadows is yet another wonderful addition to the narrative genre of dark, side-scrolling puzzle games that tell a story through its environment, and wonderfully weaves in a unique creative direction to tackle sensitive subjects.
YouTubers Life 2 Review
YouTubers Life 2 is a rather enjoyable management sim that takes the formula of what would normally be in a cheap mobile game and gives it a nice big-budget polish that makes it a formidable game amongst others in the genre. While most will judge from the title of the game alone and assume it's a nonsensical grab at popularizing YouTubers and getting fans close with some of the site's biggest names and influencers, it's actually more so about building your own empire in a fictional world and city while you run around in various locations in a simple yet well-built town and get yourself accustomed as you follow your dreams towards a successful channel and career.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review
Even with its combat not being up to par because of a few things, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is without a doubt one of the most beautiful, polished, and engaging adventure games in years that in ways feels like a love letter to the platformers and adventures of yesteryear that helped define the genre to this day. The 10 to 15 hours you'll spend in Kena's shoes will shower you with one of the most captivating experiences that's difficult to put down, and for Ember Labs' debut title, this has easily and quickly put them on the map for one of the most talented studios currently in the business.
Calico Review
Calico gives the perfect opportunity and setting to give you the cat game you’ve always wanted, building the cat cafe of your dreams while you pet, ride, adopt, and play with tons of animals across a colorful open-world, but unfortunately the game simply feels like it was prematurely released with unintuitive controls that hinder the experience, and performance issues across PC and Switch that make what should be a serene experience a frustrating one.
Observer Review
Observer, brought to you by the talented folks behind a horror hit Layers of Fear, has a cyberpunk setting that's believable and curious to go through. You'll play as an old man, Dan Lazarski, who's been a neural detective - a specialty officer with the ability to hack into the minds of suspects - for quite some time that's looking into the disappearance of his son, who suddenly calls him one day but seems to be in a need of help...
Tacoma Review
Tacoma sees developer Fullbright take on their next mission with a title following their big hit Gone Home, which captured the minds, hearts, and feelings of players around the world back in 2013 on PC before being ported to consoles just last year. Though Tacoma has a lot of similarities to Gone Home, it shouldn't be seen as such just because it's the same developer. Traits carry over, but despite that, the overall atmosphere, premise, and execution is very different from what players had to go through with Gone Home. There will still be tons of emotional value and context provided in the game, with a diverse cast to help bring the narrative to life, and as the player explores the ship of Tacoma, they will uncover the secrets within and all the events that have transpired since the ship has taken off and the people on board had joined the crew.