DENNIS GAGLIARDOTTO
Mind Scanners Review
Mind Scanners is undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind title by Brave At Night that has players point-and-click their way through a sequence of patients, minigames, and prompts to bring back society to a normalized state correcting the insane (whether legitimate or accused), with a unique interface that has the player clicking through modules, and while Mind Scanners won’t be for everyone, there's still a lot here to be appreciated in terms of craftsmanship, and those that are open enough to always try new approaches to how we play and design games should find a lot here to love and enjoy.
Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood Review
Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood sees an exceptional increase in an already talented studio’s portfolio to give us Devespresso’s most polished and well thought out title yet. While the overall formula is familiar to their work on both The Coma and Vambrace, it feels like more of a signature, and considering their design philosophy works well, it’s definitely a “don’t fix what’s not broken” situation that gives players a stunning art direction with a great game to boot.
The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Review
The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants beautifully compiles three of the visual novel genre’s most critically acclaimed games into one package on Nintendo Switch and brings along with it unreleased content and short stories for what feels like a festival of narrative bliss in a dark gothic story involving drama, stunning art, and a slew of memorable moments.
Cozy Grove Review
Cozy Grove gives one of the more relaxing experiences in recent years in what feels like a wonderful marriage between Animal Crossing and Don’t Starve, but for all its fun and accomplishments, it’s marred by forced restrictions with time limits, repetitive tasks, and a big lack of optimization.
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.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood Review
With a potential market of werewolf fans to cater to, Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood had everything it needed to be set up for success to those that enjoy werewolves alongside their vampires, elves, and other fantasy mythical races and creatures to stand out amongst the crowd, with the ability to maul and hunt in an action RPG setting, but ultimately what was given was a feeling of a canceled game that was revived, with little to no passion or polish put into what would eventually become a banal product that feels like nothing more than a dated high school project.
Iris Fall Review
Iris Fall had everything it needed to be the next puzzle game for those that appreciate stylized and unique experiences to fall in love with, as the borderline profound puzzle games like this that tell their story through the environments and the puzzles themselves are always a sight to behold, but the continued tediousness and irresponsiveness of the controls, animations, and input lag overall feels like more of a chore to play than what could've been an immersive and truly fun puzzle-solving experience.
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.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes Review
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes may seem familiar in terms of gameplay as it’s another Souls-like game that’s added to an ever-growing genre of titles that aim to dethrone From Software’s game-changing hits, but Morbid: The Seven Acolytes provides so much more that it uses the genre as more of an inspiration as it takes things into its own direction with a wonderful retro aesthetic that makes it one of the most accessible and enjoyable Souls-like titles to date, standing out from the influx of poor attempts from other titles over the last few years.
Chronos: Before the Ashes Review (Nintendo Switch)
Chronos: Before the Ashes serves as a stylized prequel to Remnant: From the Ashes that sees a solid VR to console conversion and bringing with it unique take to the Souls-like genre with interesting mechanics that keep it fresh and forward-thinking, but makes the gameplay all too familiar despite a more accessible approach that makes it a little more palatable for new players looking to get into the genre without jumping into the deep end right away.
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.
Hands-On with Ubisoft's New Epic: Immortals Fenyx Rising (October 2020)
Back in September Ubisoft graciously invited me to see a glimpse of what the world had yet to know as Gods & Monsters under its new name Immortals Fenyx Rising. Ever since its announcement back in E3 2019, it's one of the games that has stuck with me since whenever I thought about upcoming titles I was excited for, and, though it went dark for a while, it not only met but exceeded my expectations in every possible way with my hands-on preview. October’s preview event was no different, and gave me the chance to see even more of what Immortals Fenyx Rising’s stunning world had to offer.
Cake Bash Review
Cake Bash is a new party game that offers exceptional fun with an adorable aesthetic that’s perfect for gamers of all ages looking for a good time both locally and online. Filled with smiles, laughs, and all things sweet, Cake Bash is a memorable time with clever and unique mini-games across its gameplay where delectable pastries battle it out to be the tastiest at the end and be the last carb standing. It’s a ton of fun that sees a bright future ahead of it as it’s a game that can continue to grow through supported updates expanding the community and content within.
Neversong Review
Neversong’s heavier topics keep it driven with a ubiquitous darkness throughout its narrative, but despite its somber tone it doesn’t forget to have a truly amazing and fun game there to keep players gripped within its storytelling through stellar sidescrolling platforming and a metroidvania-esque approach to its progression. Neversong is a mature follow-up to Pinstripe, and remains a fluid experience and one of the best bite-sized games the Switch has to offer.
Crysis Remastered Review
We've all heard the famous words "But can it run Crysis?" at one point or another, and over a decade later the saying still holds strong when talking about hardware that may be deemed inferior or lacking, but what the Switch does here, despite it's disadvantages to other larger hardware that can make up for the space with increased specs, should be commended and applauded with one of the games that was known not only as a technical showcase, but a fantastic game in its own right.
Maid of Sker Review
Maid of Sker is one of the better horror experiences of 2020 and gives a great look at at an immersive environment that captivates with strong atmospheres, but unfortunately it struggles with pacing and some odd mechanics that can hinder the overall playthrough.
Rainswept Review
Rainswept does well to give a proper murder-mystery narrative with a minimal art style that lets the writing take center stage in a captivating playthrough, but suffers from a slow-burn approach with repetitive and simplistic gameplay that doesn’t do it much favors in the long run, but still holds strong by the end of this noir adventure.
Creepy Tale Review
Creepy Tale has the charm and art that would lend itself nicely to a horror puzzler, but unfortunately falls flat with a trial-and-error approach that’s less about solving puzzles and more about how much patience you’re willing to have with it instead.
Summer In Mara Review
Summer In Mara introduces Chibig's new game in a line of stellar titles the studio has delivered in the past few years such as Deiland and Ankora that also have an emphasis on farming and relaxation. While far from perfect, Summer In Mara has a constant sense of serenity from the moment you begin from its stunning opening animation to the soothing music that plays throughout, delivering a comfortably familiar yet beautiful new adventure as you sail the seas and uncover the mysteries of islands.