It was part of the "Missing Calm" Bundle (the publisher) that contained the game "Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk" that I really wanted to play. The bundle was around 5 dollars. I thought I'd give it a shot since it was in it.

Brief Description

This game is a short visual novel based around the day of a light house keeper. He is dealing with some emotions in regards to his obsession with the lighthouse. There are two puzzles that lead to two different endings. The art style of this game pulled me in as well.

Pros
-I really like the scenic shots. The visuals in my opinion really make this game nice looking and unique.
-I like the writing quite a bit; very interesting. Having the reader agreeing with such an unhinged protagonist is very neat.
-Cool ambiance and sound usage; I enjoyed it.
-I like the theme of the game and the endings. I think it is very interesting seeing a protagonist written like this-- where he is obsessed with the lighthouse and is engulfed in selfishness. It really makes for cool endings that leave you feeling a bit disturbed.
-I love how you can skip/click past text you have already seen. Playing "My name is You and it's the only unusual thing in my life" really made me appreciate that feature so much more.

Cons
-The narration was not bad in my opinion. I think the dude did a good job. However, him mispronouncing words in English was a tad bit distracting. But overall, I enjoyed the emotion he put into it; but the slip ups took me out a little of the immersion.
-Some scenes are used a lot more than once on one playthrough. Can be a bit repetitive.
-Not too much too it content-wise, but considering the price that's what I expected.

Neat visual novel. I probably would not play it again, but I think its a good short story, especially considering the very fair price.

It was part of the "Missing Calm" Bundle (the publisher) that contained the game "Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk" that I really wanted to play. The bundle was around 5 dollars. I thought I'd give it a shot since it was in it.

Brief Description

This game is a visual novel, that includes occasional two-option choices. There are three chapters. Decisions do not affect the chapter after it.

The protagonist is a guy named "You" and he goes through a lot of silly stuff. You are finding more about your medical condition and trying to go to work constantly. Took me like half the game to figure out what type of company he works at because it just doesn't mention it in some routes (it is an insurance company). That's all. That's the entire game. Honestly, once you find out more about "You", you realize it was not worth 1.4 hours worth of time.

Pros
-I like the fact that this game is original. It is so easy to use bought assets, but it seems like this game was created from the ground up.
-I think the game is crisp. The font and presentation is cool. Not much really to mess up there though.
-I only found one grammar error and I wish I remembered where to help the developer or translator.
-The OST/songs are neat.

Cons
-This is the main reason why I do not recommend this game. This game is unfortunately, for me, very sleep inducing. It is so boring. I did not enjoy reading it. The black out and phase in transitions (MUCH like a powerpoint slide) add too many seconds to the game and you cannot even speed up parts you have already read. It is really bad for a visual novel to not have that mechanic.
-I really do not like the narration. I think its preference, but also I really disliked the narrator raising his pitch so much for a woman character, and lowering it for other male ones. It just sounded so goofy. I turned off the voice narration immediately. Even without the narration of other characters, I just found it quicker and better to read it myself.
-There is no main ending. Completing this game felt so abrupt and, once again, you do not see or learn anything substantial about any plot. Yeah, that means the title of the game is accurate in a sense, but it doesn't erase the fact that this felt not worth playing.
-Visually speaking, this game is well made but nothing interesting about the design. Most of the backgrounds are honestly very dark to see.


I played this game the first day for 20 minutes and thought to myself, "Hey, you did not fully play through the game and also you do not know half of Chapter 3. Why don't you finish it?" The game even convinced me to continue as it essentially says at the beginning "Hey, you are far from the truth, and even though this game seems like its just chaos-- you will uncover more by playing." I think I gave it a fair shot completing all of it, and I really appreciate this game as a written art piece, but I did not enjoy it.

I like creepy visual novels and the art style and limited color palette pulled me in.

Brief Description

You play as a girl, whom you name, and she is going to attempt to buy a bag of milk. The game is very linear in its dialogue and has two endings based on some conversation options.

Pros
-I think it was achieving what it wanted to achieve. Being a visual novels that described a girl's mental struggles and how that can impact her stream of consciousness and behavior.
-I like how somethings in this novel are left up to audience interpretation.
-Art style is cool

Cons
-Some of the dialogue is really cheesy, especially when it tries to get a little meta and fourth-wall breaking.
-Not much content, but it is literally $0.99.

Not sure if I'd ever play the first one again, but I definitely intend to get the second game at some point and play it. I like visual novels, so this was neat to me.

I want to play this series for Alucard. He slays.

Brief Description

Retro NES Sidescrolling platformer. Very fun, very challenging. You play as Simon Belmont going through Dracula's Castle to take him down!

Pros
-I like the challenge. The character designs are cool I guess. Item system is neat. Level design is a headache but in a likeable way.
-Simply iconic
-Where it all began. (it being the franchise)
-Neat little fantasy story. Not hard to follow or elaborate.

Cons
-Very hard to complete without a save state.
-Sprites glitch if there are too many on screen due to console limitations with the version I played. Not a fault of the game itself, so not using it to dock the review.

It good. I might come back to test myself without save states.

I have always wanted to play this game. I remember when I was a wee lad, this game was raved about over a decade ago on launch. With its prominent, unique design of the protagonist and appealing, beautiful art style-- it seemed to be a must-play. Critics gave it, seemingly universally, 9 out of 10's and five stars. Spoiler! I have to agree with them.

Brief Description

A shooting star falls from the sky. It is you, you realize as you awake in the nothingness of the desert. You look around, a beam of light on top of a mountain beckons you to investigate. You start your journey.

Journey is what I thought for an entire decade to be a singleplayer game. It just LOOKS singleplayer. The main marketing of the game showcases the protagonist walking around alone in an isolated desert. I started this and then was nicely greeted by a person playing, whom I knew was NOT an NPC by their chime button usage and behavior. That was a "Woah!! Cool!" moment for me. If you somehow get disconnected or distanced from your player 2 (assuming you were matched in online coop), the game does a great job at introducing someone else at that exact place in the game so you can pair up and progress together.

Pros
-The best thing, in my opinion, that this game gave you, is each other. (Awww!) But yeah I think they companion system that you get from the online system really makes every playthrough unique. You are going to get multiple different people who, with limited controls and possible actions, behave differently. It is really cool to see human behavior shine through limitations, and the idea of someone sticking by you in a journey full of hurdles is always so comforting.
-The game is short, which is a pro as it allows you to complete it easily in one sitting the way it is intended. Sticking by one companion is very very good and honestly adds to the plot (but do not freak out if one of yours DCs lol)
-The plot and overall themes/symbolisms of the game is awesome. I love what they were going for and how excellent the execution was. It was and can be emotional for some (not me, I guess I was not in an emotional mood playing it), but overall I think its brilliant.
-The art style is awesome! I think a lot of games use the same aesthetic of lack of outlines/harsh shading, but this game utilizes it in a way that is unique. The color usage and scenic/character designs makes this game what it is. The protagonist is iconic in my head.
-Obviously, sound design is amazing. Found myself taking in all the ambience and music a lot, as well as literally sparing some moments of my time to really listen into the pitter-patter of my feet along the sand.
Cons
-If people just stop playing this game, I wonder how the experience will be when there are no human players on the servers. Will it just be forced to be a singleplayer experience? Because as the focus of the game is heavily based around that "companion" experience, that WOULD detract from that. However, since that is not the case right now, I will obviously not take that into account in my final opinion of the game.
-I lost connection with my partner, like, halfway through the game, and then it cycled me through a couple of people who either DCed as well or just wandered away. So, for a period of time, I was alone. I think it added to the feeling of isolation to some parts, but also felt a little sad as it kept cycling through people that could not stay in my game for a period. Took a little bit from my first playthrough experience, but I would not let that detract from my review. (just did not seem to be a big hinderance)

I think this game is fantastic. It literally does everything right. I am a very social person and love lighthearted interactions with people, so seeing all the different ways people can walk with you during your journey is incredible. This game feels like a very fun, enjoyable, art piece in a weird way. I love everything about it and will hopefully take some time to replay it again. I am interested in getting some of the achievements that I missed prior, and like I said before, each playthrough is unique.

Lastly, a shout out (I say like I am gonna reach anyone I played with lol) to my favorite companions!
-"Grump": You were my favorite companion, as we spammed the chime button at each other and you helped me so much collect the light up symbols. I am so so sorry I had to be afk for like literally 3 minutes but you could have waited. You went on without me, and that is probably up there with one of the most heartbreaking moments in my entire life. It actually made the middle part of my game very sour LOL
-I had a last one with no name but just know I thought you were incredibly silly as you just did not care about certain environmental hazards. Like, at all.
I also played with ZJ Sky, Angel, 3495975030, & 420QQQ. Hope you guys are doing fantastic. Bye now!

I simply cannot believe this game is a year old. This literally feels like it came out a month ago. It has always been on my radar as it genuinely looks like a good game, and I love visual novels too.

Brief Description
You take the perspective of a little purple dude who just started their job on a train. The conductor who hired you is retiring. It is Amy's birthday and she is have a fake murder mystery party. The sonic cast all attends and they are given different lore roles (Shadow is "the locksmith", Espio is "the poet", Tails is the "detective", Knuckles is "the cowboy", etc.). The game is a visual novel where you progress to find out more about what happened and who "killed(?)" Sonic. It has "Think" minigames during interrogation scenes, where you aim to collect a certain amount of rings. There are also dialogue choices (kinda linear, which is fine). That's the gist.

Pros
-Really appealing art style. You do not know how many screenshots I took of still frames, haha. As an artist myself, I absolutely love seeing all the characters and backgrounds.
-The dialogue is very well-written and extremely charming. Not too corny for the average Joe. Good for all ages in my opinion
-I'm such a big fan of investigative visual novels. Reminds me of Danganronpa and potentially Ace Attorney.
-This visual novel has gameplay! I really appreciate that and opens it up to a lot of different audiences. Some people do not just want to read.
-Nice little references to the sonic lore.
-Well thought out "aha!" moments

Cons
-Literally none. It was what it wanted to be perfectly.

I am happy to have played this neat little game. Very enjoyable!