Posts Tagged ‘2010s’

October 17th, 2018 Featured, PC, Reviews 2 Comments »

Neighbor Review

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Developer: OTUSUN LAND
Publisher: OTUSUN LAND
Platform: PC – Steam

Despite being a pretty longtime visual novel fan, the Neighbor remake was a surprise to me – I’d never even heard of the original! Players enter the story alongside protagonist Yuuki Kae as she moves into a new apartment. Unfortunately, the place is clearly horribly haunted.

The haunted nature of the apartment is incredibly apparent right from the get go. There are entities banging on the walls at all hours, hand prints that suddenly appear on glass, and far worse. Yuuki can’t deal with it and ends up rooming with a college student in the same building. The two of them end up working to unravel the mystery behind the haunted apartment.

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It’s a surprisingly effective horror story, with excellent sound to go along with it. The scares won’t make you jump out of your seat – instead they’ll creep into your mind late at night. Neighbor is more akin to a creepy but safe campfire tale. Don’t expect to spend too much time playing, though. The whole thing took me just under three hours to complete. As a kinetic novel, there are no choices or multiple endings to explore.

Though the game might not be long, it’s still a fun little jaunt through a scary story. It’s especially refreshing to see Yuuki as a protagonist because she’s an adult in her 30s rather than a high schooler. Check out Neighbor if you’re looking to curl up with a spooky visual novel for a few hours.

Score: 4

4 out of 5 alpacas

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October 9th, 2018 PC, Reviews No Comments »

Sisterly Bliss Review

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Developer: eyephon
Publisher: MangaGamer
Platform: PC

I didn’t go into Sisterly Bliss expecting anything special. It looked like yet another short, frivolous yuri nukige. As it turns out, there’s more lurking beyond the sweet exterior. In some sense it might not even be fair to classify the title as nukige. There is a real attempt to bring life to the characters alongside a decent storyline over the course of approximately four hours.

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September 18th, 2018 PC, Reviews No Comments »

White Noise 2 Review

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Developer: Milkstone Studios
Publisher: Milkstone Studios
Platform: PC – Windows/Mac/Linux

When thinking of the worst co-op games I’ve ever played, White Noise Online comes to mind. Even so, White Noise 2 intrigued me. Would it be better after the developers refined their skills? The tweaked gameplay and inclusion of more characters is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, there’s much more about the game which remains unenjoyable.

Mainly, it still isn’t any fun. In fact, it feels way more difficult in this iteration then ever before. Players hop into the shoes of either human characters or a single monster which stalks them all. For the “hero” characters, you’ll end up playing something very reminiscent of Slender: The 8 Pages. The goal is to collect radios hidden throughout the map and then conquer the monster by destroying their totems.

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The problem is the maps are huge and enemies are quite overpowered. Initially, the monster only has access to basic moves. As the gameplay progresses they gain access to much better – and often unfair – tactical skills. Humans certainly can’t fight back. It’s especially glaring on tightly packed levels such as a hospital with tiny hallways. There’s little chance of running away for too long if a monster catches you in such cramped quarters.

Difficult gameplay is certainly fun for some. White Noise 2 is super highly rated on Steam. However, with a two player team and no memorization of the map, it’s just awful. My friend and I effectively ran around in circles on certain maps due to everything looking so similar. Maps like the carnival are better due to featuring set pieces (various rides). The game looks better, features more items, and has a good sense of humor, but it’s just not any fun to play for a novice.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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August 21st, 2018 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Your Dry Delight Review

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Developer: Argent Games
Publisher: Argent Games
Platform: PC – Windows/Mac/Linux

Why are there so few video games set in 1920’s America? It’s such a storied, unique time. Your Dry Delight brings players right into the era of Prohibition. In particular, the visual novel centers on two detectives trying to take down bootlegging operations in Chicago.

Detective Richter only needs to visit his first speakeasy to meet with an incredibly handsome, enigmatic mob boss named Meyer. From there the story proceeds into a brief, dramatic romance between them. Alternately, the other path lets players finally become closer to their boss at the bureau.

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There are only two paths in Your Dry Delight based on a small handful of dialogue choices. Interestingly, after forking, the two converge back into a single ending. It’s a cute ending – and one that fits with the history of Prohibition. The game’s quite short, though. Expect to spend an hour and a half with it at most.

I would’ve liked to see more in Your Dry Delight. There’s not enough time to learn about the characters. They’re also not super stressed about shielding their sexuality, which seems inaccurate to the time. With all that said, Argent Games released the title for free, so there’s only so much room for complaints.

Score: 3

3 out of 5 alpacas

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June 26th, 2018 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

$1 Ride Review

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Developer: BeHappy Studios
Publisher: Back To Basics Gaming
Platform: PC – Steam

There was once a time before Steam Greenlight and Steam Direct. Back then, getting your game on Steam was a real achievement based on Valve deeming your game worth being on the store (yes, somehow Bad Rats was “good enough”, but that’s beside the point). $1 Ride, shown on promotional materials incorrectly as 1$ Ride, comes from an era where Greenlight was a pretty safe ticket to publication on Steam – and it shows.

$1 Ride is incredibly simple. It’s a 2D vertically scrolling arcade-style game where your goal is to never let the space ship stop moving. This is accomplished by hitting boost icons when passing through a strip of various icons. Other icons include mud that slows you down, rockets that automatically fire if there are any in your possession, and some health.

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As the ship goes faster and faster, the camera zooms out further and the strips of icons grow wider. The hardest part is that it takes a lot of skill to ever be able to collect multiple icons at once. Ever choosing something like the health means you’re giving up on another speed boost. Without speed, the game ends, so it’s best to always try to hit the speed boosts.

That’s all there is to it. After unlocking some in-game achievements, another ship becomes available. There is an in-game leaderboard. None of this correlates to Steam achievements or leaderboards. $1 Ride also grows stale quickly due to the slightly entertaining concept being marred by less than stellar execution. At least the name is fairly accurate as the game only costs $0.99, and is often discounted further.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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May 1st, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Mini Golf Mundo Review

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Developer: EnsenaSoft
Publisher: EnsenaSoft
Platform: PC – Steam

After successful rounds of weird golfing in Golf With Your Friends, I decided to load up another mini golfing game from my Steam library. Unfortunately, this decision came before remembering the game was originally received as part of Bundle Star’s Dollar Mega Bundle. This bundle offered 28 games for $1…

Suffice it to say Mini Golf Mundo doesn’t hold up to Golf With Your Friends, or any other decent golfing game out there. There are only four stages to play with – each connected to a level of difficulty. Each features nearly the same grassy, idyllic locale with cabins and lakes surrounding the mini golf course.

The game ramps from super easy to super challenging over the course of these four courses with no real warning. You’re just suddenly faced with parts of the course disappearing and reappearing. Because you cannot “lock in” the strength of a hit, you’re forced to waste multiple swings hoping to match up the timing.

One neat bit is the final course which offers warp points. These almost add a bit of strategy to the gameplay, but quickly wear out their welcome. There’s absolutely no music in Mini Golf Mundo, either, which further reveals its failed cash grab status. Just don’t play this game.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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April 25th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Eversion Review

Eversion Logo

Developer: Zaratustra Productions
Publisher: Zaratustra Productions
Platform: PC – Steam

Eversion is one of those games that it seemed everyone had played back a few years ago. Time and time again, it saw mentions in articles and forum posts about creepy games. I bought it sometime around then, but never ended up playing the darn thing until now.

Mechanically, Eversion is a simplistic 2D platformer with a switching mechanic. It is possible to change the landscape/features of blocks at predetermined Evert portals. Aside from opening up paths through the stage, these also make the game gradually darker and disturbing. Well, as disturbing as a cartoony 2D platformer can be.

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There’s no doubt that this bait and switch worked extremely well around the time of its initial launch. At this point, however, so many retro-styled “secret” horror games are out there that it’s much less shocking. I did get a feeling of tepid surprise, but not much else. Autoscrolling stages in particular proved far more frustrating than frightening.

I likely did myself a huge disservice by waiting so long to play Eversion. This is a game that worked in a specific time and place. Sure, it only takes about half an hour to beat (if you’re not seeking completion), but the greatest asset of the game now feels stale.

Score: 2

2 out of 5 alpacas

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April 18th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Golf With Your Friends Review

Golf With Your Friends Logo

Developer: Blacklight Interactive
Publisher: Blacklight Interactive
Platform: PC – Steam

Mini golf is pretty fun in real life, but not something I typically get to play very often. Golf With Your Friends brings this simple formula to the gaming world with the right amount of seriousness (that is to say, very little at all). The point is to have fun with a decent simulation of golf alongside a heavy dose of silliness.

The game includes five courses, ranging from the initial slightly realistic one to Egypt, a haunted house, and more. Each course goes from a decent difficulty to wildly challenging with outrageous jumps and obstacles. Golf With Your Friends isn’t exactly going for realism. There’s no option to change golf clubs – all you can do is charge swings (or make the ball jump to cheat some swings).

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Golf With Your Friends, as the name implies, is a multiplayer-exclusive experience. This aspect really shines once you start customizing match options. For example, consider setting the ball to random shapes. If you thought the levels were hard, try doing them with an acorn-shaped ball.

At the time of this writing, Golf With Your Friends is on the verge of leaving Early Access at version 1.99.0. My suggestion is to buy the game now before its price increases with the full launch. It’s already entirely playable and a great time with friends.

Score: 4

4 out of 5 alpacas

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April 4th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles Review

Kitty Cat Jigsaw Puzzles Logo

Developer: EnsenaSoft
Publisher: EnsenaSoft
Platform: PC – Steam

Casual games are great. For me in particular, they grant an escape from playing other games which require more attention, strategy, and skill. Because of this habit, I’m increasingly aware of which games have serious effort into their releases versus those that are simply re-skinned releases.

Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles falls into the latter category. This developer has a handful of puzzle games and they all appear to vary purely by theme. That might not be so bad if not for the fact that the underlying mechanics and interface are totally lacking. There’s also no music! I’ll admit, it’s not quite as awful as the Pixel Puzzle series.

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At the very start, it seems like Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles is painfully easy. You actually get to see outlines of all the puzzle pieces on the game board! These disappear after a few levels, though, leaving players to deal with the digital puzzle much like a real one. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be confusing to tell if a puzzle piece sticks to the board (meaning it is in the right position) or not.

There is also no easy means of organizing your puzzle pieces prior to solving the puzzle. Instead you must click and drag them to areas outside the board to organize them as you see fit. The margin is not large enough to make this particularly enjoyable, though.  The cat photos per puzzle are cute – and they don’t appear to be stolen wholesale from various sources. But that’s basically the only good thing about Kitty Cat: Jigsaw Puzzles.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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March 28th, 2017 Featured, PC, Reviews No Comments »

Barnyard Mahjong 3 Review

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Developer: EnsenaSoft
Publisher: EnsenaSoft
Platform: PC – Steam

“Mahjong” is a term which is typically used incorrectly in English-language games. Many use it to refer to the familiar tile-matching concept, which is not the same as traditional mahjong. Real mahjong is a much more strategic, multiplayer experience. In any case, Barnyard Mahjong 3 is of the matching variety.

As the name implies, everything is doused in a barn theme. This includes the backgrounds and the tiles themselves, which feature depictions of fruits, farmers, and farm animals. There are in fact so many different visuals that it often proves tough to quickly survey the screen for potential matches.

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Each level in Barnyard Mahjong 3 features a timer. The amount of time left on the clock determines what you’re graded once finished with a puzzle. These stars are meaningless, though, as even ending with no time left still unlocks the next stage. I appreciate the game’s supremely casual attitude.

What doesn’t work is that the experience is barely enjoyable. The widescreen presentation makes it tiring to click back and forth between different ends of the screen. It’s also quite easy to fail puzzles (the remaining tiles just reset) even on easy. The music is so droll that you barely even notice it exists, and effects are incredibly anemic. Presentation is a huge part of making a mahjong game stand out and Barnyard Mahjong 3 simply doesn’t.

Score: 1

1 out of 5 alpacas

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