Game Reviews (101)
With many different farming sim games on the rise like Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and many others, it's not surprising that other companies would like to take on the challenge of making the next great farming sim. Fae Farm is the newest cozy farming sim from the developers at Phoenix Labs and is sure to turn some heads.
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg (Switch) Review
Written by Ken Dubois
The Atelier series has been around for decades and is still a widely popular game as of recently. Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg is one of the older titles that brings the series back to its roots with enhanced graphics and quality-of-life improvements for a more modern experience.
Like others, I have immersed myself in the world of Animal Crossing during the pandemic, finding solace and joy in its slice-of-life gameplay and charming characters. So, when news of Hello Kitty Island Adventures broke, a game that seemed to bear a striking resemblance to Animal Crossing but with the addition of beloved Sanrio characters, I was excited but skeptical at the same time. Find out if Hello Kitty Island Adventure lives up to the Animal Crossing legacy.
As a kid from the 80’s I have always enjoyed the old-school run-and-gun genre of games with their fast paced action and fun characters. Spidersaurs looks to resurrect the nostalgia of a run-and-gun game inspired by old Saturday morning cartoons and the ever-popular Contra series.
Four years after the original release of indie game developer Grace Bruxner's The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game, Frog Detective 3 works as a cute and decently satisfying conclusion to the series. With nearly double the length of the first game, gamers once again get to don their trench coat and return to the adventures of their favorite amphibious detective. This time to investigate the case of the missing hats in Cowboy Country.
Souls. In and outside the realm of video games, that word would conjure up vastly different imagery. In our domain, it has become synonymous with one of the most unforgiving franchises in gaming history; so when a game brands itself as a “souls-like” game, naturally it will turn some heads and attract some challenge seekers. Lost Epic draws our attention not only with its offer of a challenge, but its beautiful anime-esque art style will pull in even those who shy away from adventure.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that adding a cat to almost anything on the internet is sure to garner more upvotes, likes, thumbs ups, or whatever internet point system is in vogue at the time. Likewise, former Ubisoft developers and BlueTwelve Studio founders, Koola and Viv were definitely onto something with the cat-centric Stray, which has garnered attention with its feline protagonist amidst the backdrop of a dystopian city. While many would jump at the opportunity to have the orange tabby of Stray as their companion, it may not immediately be clear how fun it would be to explore the city as the unclaimed felid.
Oftentimes, when games tout a one-man development team, it is used as little more than a marketing scheme or to preemptively excuse the title’s shortcomings. In the case of Bright Memory: Infinite, an FPS action title from rookie developer Zeng Xian Cheng and studio FYQD, it comes across as a shocker that will grab any gamers’ attention with the game’s beautiful textures and exciting gameplay.
The story of Neon White follows a group of assassins from Hell called Neons who are sent to heaven to compete with other demon slayers for the chance to stay in Heaven forever. The main protagonist White has lost his memory and doesn't remember anything from his past life.
You collect a lot of hats in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Kena assumes the role of Spirit Guide, adventurer, and friend of furry little spirits known as the rot. Kena will adventure through a vast forest and many mountain shrines to uncover the secrets behind her forgotten village.
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After seeing it on a hololive-EN livestream, my curiosity got the best of me when it came to wanting to play the Frog Detective series. While I missed the original launch of the series back in 2018, as a fan of visual novels, and 90s adventure games, the quirky blend of witty writing and children’s style illustration immediately drew my attention and I’m glad it did. After having played through the first two games, I can say that this series is a fun and wholesome way to spend a few hours engaging with the series' colorful cast of anthropomorphic characters and of course the detective himself.
I have always had a love-hate relationship with the Disgaea series. At its core, the series has deep and addicting strategy RPG mechanics and more ways than ever to max out your characters to create the most elite party to rule the netherworld. Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny expands all of this and more to its absolute limit. Did I forget to mention the new level cap is 99,999,999?
Eastern Exorcist is a new side scrolling action RPG that is still in Early Access. Nevertheless, there is still much to appreciate with the three chapters worth of gameplay currently on offer. You play the role of Lu Yunchuan, a Taoist Exorcist who hunts demons and evil spirits in a fantasy version of ancient China. Your first mission goes horribly wrong, two-thirds of your fellow exorcists are killed, and you are expelled from your order in disgrace. Your last task is to take the ashes of your dead comrades home to their villages where they were born so that they can be laid to rest. Unfortunately, in this world demons and evil spirits have run amok and Lu gets forced into saving said villages and exorcising evil.
"What was the last memorable summer you had?” Key’s latest visual novel Summer Pockets was originally released in 2018 and is their newest entry in the company’s long history of producing nakige-style (moving players to tears) games. Having been officially released on Steam earlier this year, Summer Pockets revolves around the main character Hairi Takahara and his summer visit to the island of Torishirojima to escape his painful past. On his first day there, he meets a young girl who will shape his destiny for the better. If that sounds similar to some of their previous games, that’s because it is.