2019
Persona 5 Royal
Developed by: P-Studio
Published by: Atlus USA (@Atlus_West)
For years I’ve heard about how great the Persona games are and despite owning multiple consoles and handhelds I never dove in and played one until now. Persona 5 Royal on the Xbox Series X is an incredibly well put together game.
In Persona 5 the player controls a troubled teenager “Joker” shortly after being falsely accused and found guilty for a crime he didn’t commit.
The premise of the game is that via a “supernatural” ability Joker and his friends have the ability to enter the psyche of individuals and change their warped personalities.
Persona 5 explores a lot. Grief, stress, emotional and physical abuse, and more. Heavy issues are tackled but the game always remains fun to play and engaging. There are plenty of light hearted moments mixed in to give the player a break from the heaviness.
Persona 5 is a jrpg. My first run to get the “true ending” took me roughly 140 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The soundtrack, visuals, and art design are brilliantly executed and the game runs smooth at 4k/60FPS.
If you have Xbox Gamepass and are a fan of jrpgs this is a must play game.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 5/5
Developed by: P-Studio
Published by: Atlus USA (@Atlus_West)
For years I’ve heard about how great the Persona games are and despite owning multiple consoles and handhelds I never dove in and played one until now. Persona 5 Royal on the Xbox Series X is an incredibly well put together game.
In Persona 5 the player controls a troubled teenager “Joker” shortly after being falsely accused and found guilty for a crime he didn’t commit.
The premise of the game is that via a “supernatural” ability Joker and his friends have the ability to enter the psyche of individuals and change their warped personalities.
Persona 5 explores a lot. Grief, stress, emotional and physical abuse, and more. Heavy issues are tackled but the game always remains fun to play and engaging. There are plenty of light hearted moments mixed in to give the player a break from the heaviness.
Persona 5 is a jrpg. My first run to get the “true ending” took me roughly 140 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The soundtrack, visuals, and art design are brilliantly executed and the game runs smooth at 4k/60FPS.
If you have Xbox Gamepass and are a fan of jrpgs this is a must play game.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 5/5
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Developed & Published by: Spike Chunsoft (@SpikeChunsoft_e)
Danganronpa V3 follows the premise of Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair. A new set of students are kidnapped and forced to take part in a killing game. Like the previous games the cast of characters is diverse and the over arching mystery is captivating and engaging. Danganronpa V3 is funny, disturbing, frustrating, inappropriate, insightful and most importantly fun to play. The narrative for me went off the rails during the last three quarters of the game and as a completionist I couldn’t be bothered to 100% this game as some of the requirements are absurd. I enjoyed my time playing Danganronpa V3. I feel like it’s the weakest game of the main trilogy. If you have Xbox Game Pass and have played Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair I would say this game is worth playing. Just be prepared for a wild experience.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Developed & Published by: Spike Chunsoft (@SpikeChunsoft_e)
Danganronpa V3 follows the premise of Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair. A new set of students are kidnapped and forced to take part in a killing game. Like the previous games the cast of characters is diverse and the over arching mystery is captivating and engaging. Danganronpa V3 is funny, disturbing, frustrating, inappropriate, insightful and most importantly fun to play. The narrative for me went off the rails during the last three quarters of the game and as a completionist I couldn’t be bothered to 100% this game as some of the requirements are absurd. I enjoyed my time playing Danganronpa V3. I feel like it’s the weakest game of the main trilogy. If you have Xbox Game Pass and have played Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair I would say this game is worth playing. Just be prepared for a wild experience.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
2022
Somerville
Developed & Published by: Jumpship ( @jumpshipstudio )
Somerville is a fantastic immersive adventure game that’s brought down by its clunky controls and for completionist multiple endings. The art design, sound design and music in the game are top notch and the puzzles while somewhat challenging aren’t frustrating and they don’t contain “moon logic” to figure out. The environmental story telling is top notch. Somerville is a game that takes place during an alien invasion. It has the vibes of “War of the Worlds” and leans on sci-fi tropes but overall it executes well on what it's trying to accomplish. Personally speaking, I enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere of Somerville. I enjoyed my time with Somerville overall but I’m not sure if I’d recommend this game to anyone that doesn’t have Xbox Game Pass. The game took me roughly 2-2.5 hours to complete. As a completionist playing portions of games over and over again to experience different endings has become tired. It’s a lazy way of prolonging someones time playing a game. I understand it’s completely optional but as a completionist it’s not something I can avoid.
Pros:
The art design
The sound design
Environmental sound design
The atmosphere and narrative experience
Cons:
Multiple endings
Controls
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Developed & Published by: Jumpship ( @jumpshipstudio )
Somerville is a fantastic immersive adventure game that’s brought down by its clunky controls and for completionist multiple endings. The art design, sound design and music in the game are top notch and the puzzles while somewhat challenging aren’t frustrating and they don’t contain “moon logic” to figure out. The environmental story telling is top notch. Somerville is a game that takes place during an alien invasion. It has the vibes of “War of the Worlds” and leans on sci-fi tropes but overall it executes well on what it's trying to accomplish. Personally speaking, I enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere of Somerville. I enjoyed my time with Somerville overall but I’m not sure if I’d recommend this game to anyone that doesn’t have Xbox Game Pass. The game took me roughly 2-2.5 hours to complete. As a completionist playing portions of games over and over again to experience different endings has become tired. It’s a lazy way of prolonging someones time playing a game. I understand it’s completely optional but as a completionist it’s not something I can avoid.
Pros:
The art design
The sound design
Environmental sound design
The atmosphere and narrative experience
Cons:
Multiple endings
Controls
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Chinatown Detective Agency
Developed by: General Interactive Co. (@genintco)
Published by: General Interactive Co. (@genintco) & Humble Games (@PlayHumbleGames)
I wanted to like this game but the atrocious save system and buggy nature of the game ruined the experience for me. It’s left me furious. I tried doing everything I could think of to unlock all of the endings and achievements but I'm either missing something incredibly dumb or the game is bugged. Maybe I’m being unfair? I don’t know. I’ve never written a review like this before. The game was great at first. Great voice acting, great pixel art and an interesting story. Unfortunately it all falls apart. I can’t recommend this game. Maybe the steam version is better?
Pros:
Cons:
Save system
The game is buggy
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 1.5/5
Developed by: General Interactive Co. (@genintco)
Published by: General Interactive Co. (@genintco) & Humble Games (@PlayHumbleGames)
I wanted to like this game but the atrocious save system and buggy nature of the game ruined the experience for me. It’s left me furious. I tried doing everything I could think of to unlock all of the endings and achievements but I'm either missing something incredibly dumb or the game is bugged. Maybe I’m being unfair? I don’t know. I’ve never written a review like this before. The game was great at first. Great voice acting, great pixel art and an interesting story. Unfortunately it all falls apart. I can’t recommend this game. Maybe the steam version is better?
Pros:
Cons:
Save system
The game is buggy
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 1.5/5
2020
Coffee Talk
Developed and Published by: @togeproductions
Coffee Talk is a visual novel that was released in 2020. In Coffee Talk the player controls a barista working in a coffee shop in a fictional, fantasy version of Seattle. The player is tasked with making drinks for the shops various patrons and in doing so will learn about their lives, careers and problems. It’s an endearing and immersive game. The music, and art style are great and the entire game gives off a chill and relaxing vibe. If you’re a fan of the genre it’s hard to not recommend Coffee Talk! Check it out on Xbox Game Pass.
Pros:
The art style,
Characters
Cons:
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Developed and Published by: @togeproductions
Coffee Talk is a visual novel that was released in 2020. In Coffee Talk the player controls a barista working in a coffee shop in a fictional, fantasy version of Seattle. The player is tasked with making drinks for the shops various patrons and in doing so will learn about their lives, careers and problems. It’s an endearing and immersive game. The music, and art style are great and the entire game gives off a chill and relaxing vibe. If you’re a fan of the genre it’s hard to not recommend Coffee Talk! Check it out on Xbox Game Pass.
Pros:
The art style,
Characters
Cons:
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
2022
Scorn (@scorn_game)
Developed by: Ebb Software
Published by: Kepler Interactive (@Kepler_Interact)
Scorn is one of the most unique games that I’ve ever played. Scorn is an atmospheric first person horror adventure game that’s primary focus is puzzle solving. Visually, Scorn is incredible. It’s graphic, goring and unsettling. The game world is disgusting and immersive and the sound design and soundtrack are both incredibly well done. Unfortunately, Scorn is brought down by its horrible combat segments. The weapons aren’t fun to use and while enemies are avoidable for a large portion of the game their attacks are hard to dodge and very powerful. I almost quit Scorn a couple of times but was determined to see it through and I’m glad that I did. If you have Xbox Game Pass and like horror experiences it’s hard to not recommend Scorn. It’s definitely not a game I would purchase unless it was heavily discounted.
Pros:
Atmosphere
The visuals and game world
Soundtrack
Cons:
The combat system
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3/5
Developed by: Ebb Software
Published by: Kepler Interactive (@Kepler_Interact)
Scorn is one of the most unique games that I’ve ever played. Scorn is an atmospheric first person horror adventure game that’s primary focus is puzzle solving. Visually, Scorn is incredible. It’s graphic, goring and unsettling. The game world is disgusting and immersive and the sound design and soundtrack are both incredibly well done. Unfortunately, Scorn is brought down by its horrible combat segments. The weapons aren’t fun to use and while enemies are avoidable for a large portion of the game their attacks are hard to dodge and very powerful. I almost quit Scorn a couple of times but was determined to see it through and I’m glad that I did. If you have Xbox Game Pass and like horror experiences it’s hard to not recommend Scorn. It’s definitely not a game I would purchase unless it was heavily discounted.
Pros:
Atmosphere
The visuals and game world
Soundtrack
Cons:
The combat system
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3/5
2008
Dead Space (@deadspace)
Developed by: EA Redwood Shores (shut down now)
Published by: Electronic Arts (@EA)
Dead Space is an incredibly atmospheric, gruesome, sci-fi horror adventure game.
The player controls Isaac Clark, an engineer who is sent to fix the communications array on a mining ship known as the USG Ishimura. Things quickly go off the rails and from the moment Isaac boards the Ishimura it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong. In classic video game story telling Isaac upon boarding the Ishimura is quickly isolated from his team. He encounters the former crew of the Ishimura who are no longer human, but monsters that the called Necromorphs. Isaac is thrown into the battle of his life as he struggles to complete his mission and survive. He improvises weapons from mining equipment and his current environment throughout his journey. Plasma welding guns, buzz saws, flamethrowers etc. Dead Space is a gruesome game. The player can target and dismember enemies bodies piece by piece targeting their legs, their arms, and even their heads. There is no shortage of blood and gore in Dead Space. If you’re squeamish this is NOT the game for you.
The story in Dead Space isn’t told through elaborate cut scenes. It’s told through audio logs and encounters with other characters throughout the Ishimura. This makes Dead Space incredibly immersive in my opinion. The player is constantly in control of Isaac, never truly being taking out of the experience to watch a dramatic, cinematic pre rendered cutscene.
It’s evident that for its time Dead Space was a revolutionary game in terms of its sound design, atmosphere and combat. Playing this game in 2022 I found aspects of the game frustrating. They are multiple times throughout Dead Space where the player is thrown into a situation where they have to do something to free themselves and the controls are definitely frustrating. They don’t really make sense and personally speaking they ruined my immersion of the game at times because I struggled to do what was required causing me to have to replay a portion of the game over and over gain. In a modern game the situation I’m talking about would most likely be a QTE instead. I’m keeping it vague for spoiler reasons! Sorry if you find that frustrating.
Dead Space overall is a great game. It’s unique, it leans into being sci fi horror and it accomplishes what it sets out to do and that’s create an incredibly dark, atmospheric, intense sci fi horror experience for the player. With the remake coming I highly recommend that people either play the original (it’s on Game Pass via EA Play) or buy the remake. Dead Space is one of the best horror games of all time.
Pros:
The narrative/story
The atmosphere
The enemy design
The sound design
Cons:
Out dated gameplay at times
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
Developed by: EA Redwood Shores (shut down now)
Published by: Electronic Arts (@EA)
Dead Space is an incredibly atmospheric, gruesome, sci-fi horror adventure game.
The player controls Isaac Clark, an engineer who is sent to fix the communications array on a mining ship known as the USG Ishimura. Things quickly go off the rails and from the moment Isaac boards the Ishimura it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong. In classic video game story telling Isaac upon boarding the Ishimura is quickly isolated from his team. He encounters the former crew of the Ishimura who are no longer human, but monsters that the called Necromorphs. Isaac is thrown into the battle of his life as he struggles to complete his mission and survive. He improvises weapons from mining equipment and his current environment throughout his journey. Plasma welding guns, buzz saws, flamethrowers etc. Dead Space is a gruesome game. The player can target and dismember enemies bodies piece by piece targeting their legs, their arms, and even their heads. There is no shortage of blood and gore in Dead Space. If you’re squeamish this is NOT the game for you.
The story in Dead Space isn’t told through elaborate cut scenes. It’s told through audio logs and encounters with other characters throughout the Ishimura. This makes Dead Space incredibly immersive in my opinion. The player is constantly in control of Isaac, never truly being taking out of the experience to watch a dramatic, cinematic pre rendered cutscene.
It’s evident that for its time Dead Space was a revolutionary game in terms of its sound design, atmosphere and combat. Playing this game in 2022 I found aspects of the game frustrating. They are multiple times throughout Dead Space where the player is thrown into a situation where they have to do something to free themselves and the controls are definitely frustrating. They don’t really make sense and personally speaking they ruined my immersion of the game at times because I struggled to do what was required causing me to have to replay a portion of the game over and over gain. In a modern game the situation I’m talking about would most likely be a QTE instead. I’m keeping it vague for spoiler reasons! Sorry if you find that frustrating.
Dead Space overall is a great game. It’s unique, it leans into being sci fi horror and it accomplishes what it sets out to do and that’s create an incredibly dark, atmospheric, intense sci fi horror experience for the player. With the remake coming I highly recommend that people either play the original (it’s on Game Pass via EA Play) or buy the remake. Dead Space is one of the best horror games of all time.
Pros:
The narrative/story
The atmosphere
The enemy design
The sound design
Cons:
Out dated gameplay at times
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
2022
Beacon Pines (@BeaconPines)
Developed by: Hiding Spot (@hidingspotgames)
Published by: Hiding Spot, Fellow Traveller (@FellowTravellr)
Beacon Pines is awesome! Beacon Pines is a point and click adventure game with fantastic voice acting, a great soundtrack and unbelievable art. While Beacon Pines on first glance might appear to be a “childish” or “PG” game, it’s definitely much more than that. Beacon Pines tackles some heavy topics and is much darker than it seems.
The premise of Beacon Pines is that the player controls Luka, a teenager who lives in Beacon Pines with his grandmother, after his fathers death and mom’s disappearance. Luka has a best friend named Rolo that he likes to go on adventures with and when they’re not out adventuring spend time together in a treehouse in the woods reading comic books and planning more adventures.
The gameplay in Beacon Pines isn’t complex. The player controlling Luka travels throughout Beacon Pines interacting with objects, and other people living in the town and the narrative unfolds. While doing this the player will pick up “charms” which are key words that will allow them to replay certain scenarios of the story and go down a different path. The different story paths are unique enough that they are worth experiencing, and will help the player piece together the bigger over arching narrative of the game.
Beacon Pines is worth experiencing, especially if you have Xbox Game Pass.
Pros:
The art style
The narrative
The voice acting
Cons:
If you're not a fan of point and click adventure games this isn't a game for you.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 5/5
Developed by: Hiding Spot (@hidingspotgames)
Published by: Hiding Spot, Fellow Traveller (@FellowTravellr)
Beacon Pines is awesome! Beacon Pines is a point and click adventure game with fantastic voice acting, a great soundtrack and unbelievable art. While Beacon Pines on first glance might appear to be a “childish” or “PG” game, it’s definitely much more than that. Beacon Pines tackles some heavy topics and is much darker than it seems.
The premise of Beacon Pines is that the player controls Luka, a teenager who lives in Beacon Pines with his grandmother, after his fathers death and mom’s disappearance. Luka has a best friend named Rolo that he likes to go on adventures with and when they’re not out adventuring spend time together in a treehouse in the woods reading comic books and planning more adventures.
The gameplay in Beacon Pines isn’t complex. The player controlling Luka travels throughout Beacon Pines interacting with objects, and other people living in the town and the narrative unfolds. While doing this the player will pick up “charms” which are key words that will allow them to replay certain scenarios of the story and go down a different path. The different story paths are unique enough that they are worth experiencing, and will help the player piece together the bigger over arching narrative of the game.
Beacon Pines is worth experiencing, especially if you have Xbox Game Pass.
Pros:
The art style
The narrative
The voice acting
Cons:
If you're not a fan of point and click adventure games this isn't a game for you.
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 5/5
Final Fantasy 8 Remastered
Developed by: Square Enix
Published by: Square Enix
Man, what’s there to say about this game? I just finished my first play-through since the 90s when I was a kid and it still holds up.
The remastered version contains enhanced character models and some QOL gameplay modifiers that can also be found in the FF7 remaster. The modifiers are 3x speed, no encounters, and max health in battles.
The gameplay is the biggest source of controversy when it comes to Final Fantasy 8. People seem to either love it or hate it. While you're able to level up your characters in Final Fantasy 8 like other Final Fantasy games or RPGs this game is designed to encourage the player to NOT level up. The game wants the player to strengthen their party members by mastering the junction and Guardian Forces (GF) ability system.
In Final Fantasy 8, GFs can learn abilities, such as no random enemy encounters, HP+20%, Speed+20% and so on. These abilities alongside junctioning magic make the players party stronger. Let me explain "junctioning." GFs give the player the ability to “junction” or “add” magic that is extracted from enemies (primarily) onto your party members to raise their stats, their HP, speed, etc. The lower level you are, and the better magic you have junctioned the stronger your party will be. Furthermore, to explain why this game encourages the player to not level up is the fact that enemies level up with your character and party member. They gain more health, more powerful attacks and can be extremely frustrating. Grinding is definitely not encouraged in the traditional sense in Final Fantasy 8. It can take multiple play throughs to fully understand the junction system if you’re playing the game blind and without a guide. It is NOT for everyone.
With that being said Final Fantasy 8 has a fantastic cast of characters, a sometimes crazy, and absurd plot that is filled with great moments of character development and sentimentality. The soundtrack is incredible and I’d say under-rated and under appreciated, and the cut scenes are still impressive to this day when you consider the fact that the original Final Fantasy 8 was a PS1 game.
My biggest frustration while playing Final Fantasy 8 was the controls. Multiple times I found myself traveling in a direction I wasn’t pressing, and in moments where I had to search an environment for an item the sensitivity to where I had to stand to find the item was incredibly annoying. It felt like I had to be pixel perfect and multiple times I just ended up spamming the x button over and over again until I located the item I was looking for.
Overall, this is a quality remaster. Completionist will have an easier time playing Final Fantasy 8 Remastered than they did playing the original back on the PS1. Hours normally spent grinding GF abilities or Triple triad cards will be greatly reduced if the player use the 3x speed feature. Players will also find the no random encounters and max health features useful if they're not playing the game for the challenge and just want to experience the story.
To wrap things up I beg people to give this game a chance. It is a severely under-rated game.
Pros:
The Triple triad card mini game still holds up
QOL improves such as 3x speed
Soundtrack and story
The characters
Cons:
The controls,
The junction system isn’t for everyone
Story (it’s divisive, people either love it or hate it)
Played on: Xbox Series X, purchased digitally via the Xbox store on sale.
Review score: 4/5
Developed by: Square Enix
Published by: Square Enix
Man, what’s there to say about this game? I just finished my first play-through since the 90s when I was a kid and it still holds up.
The remastered version contains enhanced character models and some QOL gameplay modifiers that can also be found in the FF7 remaster. The modifiers are 3x speed, no encounters, and max health in battles.
The gameplay is the biggest source of controversy when it comes to Final Fantasy 8. People seem to either love it or hate it. While you're able to level up your characters in Final Fantasy 8 like other Final Fantasy games or RPGs this game is designed to encourage the player to NOT level up. The game wants the player to strengthen their party members by mastering the junction and Guardian Forces (GF) ability system.
In Final Fantasy 8, GFs can learn abilities, such as no random enemy encounters, HP+20%, Speed+20% and so on. These abilities alongside junctioning magic make the players party stronger. Let me explain "junctioning." GFs give the player the ability to “junction” or “add” magic that is extracted from enemies (primarily) onto your party members to raise their stats, their HP, speed, etc. The lower level you are, and the better magic you have junctioned the stronger your party will be. Furthermore, to explain why this game encourages the player to not level up is the fact that enemies level up with your character and party member. They gain more health, more powerful attacks and can be extremely frustrating. Grinding is definitely not encouraged in the traditional sense in Final Fantasy 8. It can take multiple play throughs to fully understand the junction system if you’re playing the game blind and without a guide. It is NOT for everyone.
With that being said Final Fantasy 8 has a fantastic cast of characters, a sometimes crazy, and absurd plot that is filled with great moments of character development and sentimentality. The soundtrack is incredible and I’d say under-rated and under appreciated, and the cut scenes are still impressive to this day when you consider the fact that the original Final Fantasy 8 was a PS1 game.
My biggest frustration while playing Final Fantasy 8 was the controls. Multiple times I found myself traveling in a direction I wasn’t pressing, and in moments where I had to search an environment for an item the sensitivity to where I had to stand to find the item was incredibly annoying. It felt like I had to be pixel perfect and multiple times I just ended up spamming the x button over and over again until I located the item I was looking for.
Overall, this is a quality remaster. Completionist will have an easier time playing Final Fantasy 8 Remastered than they did playing the original back on the PS1. Hours normally spent grinding GF abilities or Triple triad cards will be greatly reduced if the player use the 3x speed feature. Players will also find the no random encounters and max health features useful if they're not playing the game for the challenge and just want to experience the story.
To wrap things up I beg people to give this game a chance. It is a severely under-rated game.
Pros:
The Triple triad card mini game still holds up
QOL improves such as 3x speed
Soundtrack and story
The characters
Cons:
The controls,
The junction system isn’t for everyone
Story (it’s divisive, people either love it or hate it)
Played on: Xbox Series X, purchased digitally via the Xbox store on sale.
Review score: 4/5
2022
Escape Academy
Developed by: Coin Crew Games (@CoinCrewGames)
Published by: iam8bit and Skybound Games (@iam8bit, @skyboundgames)
In Escape Academy the player has just arrived at Escape Academy, a school that specializes in training students to become Escape Room Masters.
The game consists of a simple narrative designed to push the player forward from escape room to escape room. Each room is unique and presents the player with its own unique puzzles and challenges. There is a sense of urgency as rooms will sometimes have an overarching threat that will “kill” the player if they take too long such as the room flooding, burning down or filling up with poisonous gas. The controls at times can be “clunky” and laggy but they didn’t take away from my overall experience.
I enjoyed my time with Escape Academy but the game overall wasn’t anything special. If you’re a fan of Escape Rooms and puzzles and have GamePass this game is hard to not recommend.
Pros:
The escape rooms - their design, the puzzles and overall presentation
Cons:
The controls
The narrative
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3/5
Developed by: Coin Crew Games (@CoinCrewGames)
Published by: iam8bit and Skybound Games (@iam8bit, @skyboundgames)
In Escape Academy the player has just arrived at Escape Academy, a school that specializes in training students to become Escape Room Masters.
The game consists of a simple narrative designed to push the player forward from escape room to escape room. Each room is unique and presents the player with its own unique puzzles and challenges. There is a sense of urgency as rooms will sometimes have an overarching threat that will “kill” the player if they take too long such as the room flooding, burning down or filling up with poisonous gas. The controls at times can be “clunky” and laggy but they didn’t take away from my overall experience.
I enjoyed my time with Escape Academy but the game overall wasn’t anything special. If you’re a fan of Escape Rooms and puzzles and have GamePass this game is hard to not recommend.
Pros:
The escape rooms - their design, the puzzles and overall presentation
Cons:
The controls
The narrative
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3/5
2022
Tinykin
Developed by: Splashteam (@SplashteamDevs)
Published by: tinyBuild (@tinyBuild)
Tinykin is a FANTASTIC platformer! Tinykin is collectathon at heart that immerses you with its gorgeous art style, environments, and engaging gameplay.
The premise of Tinykin is that you, the player are Milo, a tiny space man who has crash landed inside someones house on Earth. Think “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” Everything inside the house is “normal” size but you, the player as Milo are the size of a bug.
The players goal is to travel throughout the house looking for components to rebuild Milo’s spaceship. As the player travels through each room they will come across various items to collect and a small cast of unique but fun characters.
What takes this game to another level is the “Tinykin.” A small creature that once you free them from their eggs will follow you around and assist you in various ways. Some Tinykin will lift heavy objects for you, some will create platforms, some will conduct electricity and others will stack and allow you to use them as a ladder to reach high out of reach locations. It elevates the gameplay and is one of the most creative things I’ve experienced in a game in years.
The fun gameplay, and mystery surrounding the house immersed me from the very first cut scene. This game is one of the best games I’ve played this year. A must play game if you enjoy platformers.
Pros:
The art style
Gameplay (specifically the story)
Music, and sound design
Cons:
Length of the game. (I was left wanting more because it was incredibly fun which I guess isn’t really a con? It didn’t overstay its welcome)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
Developed by: Splashteam (@SplashteamDevs)
Published by: tinyBuild (@tinyBuild)
Tinykin is a FANTASTIC platformer! Tinykin is collectathon at heart that immerses you with its gorgeous art style, environments, and engaging gameplay.
The premise of Tinykin is that you, the player are Milo, a tiny space man who has crash landed inside someones house on Earth. Think “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” Everything inside the house is “normal” size but you, the player as Milo are the size of a bug.
The players goal is to travel throughout the house looking for components to rebuild Milo’s spaceship. As the player travels through each room they will come across various items to collect and a small cast of unique but fun characters.
What takes this game to another level is the “Tinykin.” A small creature that once you free them from their eggs will follow you around and assist you in various ways. Some Tinykin will lift heavy objects for you, some will create platforms, some will conduct electricity and others will stack and allow you to use them as a ladder to reach high out of reach locations. It elevates the gameplay and is one of the most creative things I’ve experienced in a game in years.
The fun gameplay, and mystery surrounding the house immersed me from the very first cut scene. This game is one of the best games I’ve played this year. A must play game if you enjoy platformers.
Pros:
The art style
Gameplay (specifically the story)
Music, and sound design
Cons:
Length of the game. (I was left wanting more because it was incredibly fun which I guess isn’t really a con? It didn’t overstay its welcome)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
2021
Death’s Door
Developed by: Acid Nerve (@acidnerve)
Published by: Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital)
Death’s Door is a game that encourages the player to explore and is engaging, challenging and rewarding from start to finish.
In Death’s Door, the player controls a crow who acts as a reaper, assigned to retrieve specific souls for the Reaping Commission.
The world design, the art style, and soundtrack are all beautifully crafted and designed. The environments are unique, as well as the enemies and bosses found in each one.
An action adventure game with unique characters in a beautifully crafted world, Death’s Door is a must play game for fans of the 2D The Legend of Zelda games or similar games.
Death’s Door is definitely in the running to crack my top 5, even 3 when it comes to my “the best games I played this year list.”
Pros:
The art direction
The soundtrack
The gameplay
The story
Cons:
No map
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
Developed by: Acid Nerve (@acidnerve)
Published by: Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital)
Death’s Door is a game that encourages the player to explore and is engaging, challenging and rewarding from start to finish.
In Death’s Door, the player controls a crow who acts as a reaper, assigned to retrieve specific souls for the Reaping Commission.
The world design, the art style, and soundtrack are all beautifully crafted and designed. The environments are unique, as well as the enemies and bosses found in each one.
An action adventure game with unique characters in a beautifully crafted world, Death’s Door is a must play game for fans of the 2D The Legend of Zelda games or similar games.
Death’s Door is definitely in the running to crack my top 5, even 3 when it comes to my “the best games I played this year list.”
Pros:
The art direction
The soundtrack
The gameplay
The story
Cons:
No map
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4.5/5
2022
Immortality
Developed by: Sam Barlow (@mrsambarlow)
Published by: Half Mermaid Productions (@HalfMermaid)
Immortality is the story of the disappearance of actress Marissa Marcel, developed by Sam Barlow and his publishing studio Half Mermaid Productions.
In Immortality the player is given a variety of footage from Marcel’s unreleased movies, and is tasked with examining each one for clues in order to find out what happened to her. There are three movies in Immortality that the player will be examining and each one is unique and honours a different period of film making. There’s 1968’s Ambrosio, 1970’s Minsky, and 1999’s Two of Everything. The player can fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom in or out of each clip, as well as interact with objects in a selected clip to uncover new ones.
Immortality is an immersive experience. If you’re drawn in like I was you’ll find yourself examining each clip multiple times looking for hidden clues in order to piece together the over arching story of what happened to Marissa Marcel. The story is not told in chronological order if that wasn’t clear by now.
Personally speaking I was drawn in by the stellar performances of the cast and the mystery that was crafted by Sam. Immortality is a game where I kept telling myself “5 more minutes” because I wanted to figure out what happened as soon as possible.
Performance wise Immortality crashed on me a few times which was disappointing and one achievement was bugged for about a week. Half Mermaid Productions worked quickly to fix the bug and was communicative throughout the process.
I played Immortality on Xbox Series X via Xbox GamePass and would recommend Immortality to anyone that is a fan of Sam Barlow and enjoyed his previous work, Her Story and Telling Lies.
Pros:
Brilliant performances
The story
Cons:
A core mechanic of the game at times doesn’t feel smooth or “right.” Hard to explain without spoilers
Bugs (when I played it one achievement was bugged and the game crashed a few times)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4/5
Developed by: Sam Barlow (@mrsambarlow)
Published by: Half Mermaid Productions (@HalfMermaid)
Immortality is the story of the disappearance of actress Marissa Marcel, developed by Sam Barlow and his publishing studio Half Mermaid Productions.
In Immortality the player is given a variety of footage from Marcel’s unreleased movies, and is tasked with examining each one for clues in order to find out what happened to her. There are three movies in Immortality that the player will be examining and each one is unique and honours a different period of film making. There’s 1968’s Ambrosio, 1970’s Minsky, and 1999’s Two of Everything. The player can fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom in or out of each clip, as well as interact with objects in a selected clip to uncover new ones.
Immortality is an immersive experience. If you’re drawn in like I was you’ll find yourself examining each clip multiple times looking for hidden clues in order to piece together the over arching story of what happened to Marissa Marcel. The story is not told in chronological order if that wasn’t clear by now.
Personally speaking I was drawn in by the stellar performances of the cast and the mystery that was crafted by Sam. Immortality is a game where I kept telling myself “5 more minutes” because I wanted to figure out what happened as soon as possible.
Performance wise Immortality crashed on me a few times which was disappointing and one achievement was bugged for about a week. Half Mermaid Productions worked quickly to fix the bug and was communicative throughout the process.
I played Immortality on Xbox Series X via Xbox GamePass and would recommend Immortality to anyone that is a fan of Sam Barlow and enjoyed his previous work, Her Story and Telling Lies.
Pros:
Brilliant performances
The story
Cons:
A core mechanic of the game at times doesn’t feel smooth or “right.” Hard to explain without spoilers
Bugs (when I played it one achievement was bugged and the game crashed a few times)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4/5
2022
As Dusk Falls
Developed by: Interior Night
Published by: Xbox Game Studios
As Dusk Falls was a frustrating, but engaging and entertaining experience. A “choose your own adventure” style game similar to Telltale’s The Walking Dead or Quantic Dream’s Detroit Become Human, As Dusk Falls has many branching storylines and is filled with little moments that will effect the way you view a character or their character development. As Dusk Falls has decent voice acting, some well written and not so well written characters and great art design. The game isn’t revolutionary in any way and your enjoyment of the game will 100% will rely on your investment in the characters and the over arching storyline.
While I enjoyed my time with As Dusk Falls as a completionist towards the end I started to wish that the developers had put in a “speed up dialogue” button in the game. Having to rewatch scenes over and over again to pick a different outcome felt tedious and not enjoyable.
With that being said I still enjoyed my time with As Dusk Falls and would recommend this game to anyone that’s a fan of Telltale or Quantic Dream, or Dontnod style of games. I played As Dusk Falls via Xbox GamePass on Xbox Series X.
Pros:
The narrative
Graphics and the art design
Depth of branching storylines that encourage replayabliity
Cons:
Some voice acting is subpar
Occasional lag and unstable frame-rate
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Developed by: Interior Night
Published by: Xbox Game Studios
As Dusk Falls was a frustrating, but engaging and entertaining experience. A “choose your own adventure” style game similar to Telltale’s The Walking Dead or Quantic Dream’s Detroit Become Human, As Dusk Falls has many branching storylines and is filled with little moments that will effect the way you view a character or their character development. As Dusk Falls has decent voice acting, some well written and not so well written characters and great art design. The game isn’t revolutionary in any way and your enjoyment of the game will 100% will rely on your investment in the characters and the over arching storyline.
While I enjoyed my time with As Dusk Falls as a completionist towards the end I started to wish that the developers had put in a “speed up dialogue” button in the game. Having to rewatch scenes over and over again to pick a different outcome felt tedious and not enjoyable.
With that being said I still enjoyed my time with As Dusk Falls and would recommend this game to anyone that’s a fan of Telltale or Quantic Dream, or Dontnod style of games. I played As Dusk Falls via Xbox GamePass on Xbox Series X.
Pros:
The narrative
Graphics and the art design
Depth of branching storylines that encourage replayabliity
Cons:
Some voice acting is subpar
Occasional lag and unstable frame-rate
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 3.5/5
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Developed by: Ninja Theory
Published by: Ninja Theory
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an experience, a one of a kind experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Hellblade: Sensua’s Sacrifice despite feeling uncomfortable, and unsettled the entire time. This is a game that is carried by a strong narrative, incredible graphics and unparalleled sound design. The combat in Senua’s Sacrifice is intense but simple, but also incredibly satisfying.
Hellblade on the surface is a story of a Picts warrior named Sensua who embarks on a journey to Heilheim to save her loved ones soul. On the surface is the key part of the previous sentence if you didn’t pick up on that. This game is about so much more than that. It’s an examination of psychosis, how it can effect someone and the people around them. Hellblade will be too much for some people to handle. If you’re someone that deals with psychosis or a mental illness I’d recommend consulting your psychologist or psychiatrist before playing this game or at least doing a bit more research on what to expect.
Hellblade is going to stick with me for a while. I’m glad I finally gave it a shot after hearing about it for years. This game is an experience as I said at the beginning of my review. I highly recommend it at the end of the day.
Pros:
The narrative
Sound design
Graphics and the art design
Cons:
A pretty linear game without a lot of exploration
Lack of variety when it comes to enemies (if that’s important to you)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4/5
Developed by: Ninja Theory
Published by: Ninja Theory
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an experience, a one of a kind experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Hellblade: Sensua’s Sacrifice despite feeling uncomfortable, and unsettled the entire time. This is a game that is carried by a strong narrative, incredible graphics and unparalleled sound design. The combat in Senua’s Sacrifice is intense but simple, but also incredibly satisfying.
Hellblade on the surface is a story of a Picts warrior named Sensua who embarks on a journey to Heilheim to save her loved ones soul. On the surface is the key part of the previous sentence if you didn’t pick up on that. This game is about so much more than that. It’s an examination of psychosis, how it can effect someone and the people around them. Hellblade will be too much for some people to handle. If you’re someone that deals with psychosis or a mental illness I’d recommend consulting your psychologist or psychiatrist before playing this game or at least doing a bit more research on what to expect.
Hellblade is going to stick with me for a while. I’m glad I finally gave it a shot after hearing about it for years. This game is an experience as I said at the beginning of my review. I highly recommend it at the end of the day.
Pros:
The narrative
Sound design
Graphics and the art design
Cons:
A pretty linear game without a lot of exploration
Lack of variety when it comes to enemies (if that’s important to you)
Played on: Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass
Review score: 4/5