andrew_mc
2022
A lot of fun, a great little world to run around, although wore a little thin by the end.
Once again, I had this whole game stuck in my head for days after finishing it. I adored Outer Wilds, and this expansion was more of the same in the best way.
Although I didn't feel like it quite reached the highs of the base game, it was a 10-hour rollercoaster of tight puzzle design and a new mystery that totally drew me in. The horror elements didn't quite gel with me at first, but they really grew on me after a while, especially once I'd figured out how to get around them (which I think you can do in almost all cases, although probably not without hindsight). I also really appreciated the small changes to the main game ending, which I revisited after the expansion.
Although I didn't feel like it quite reached the highs of the base game, it was a 10-hour rollercoaster of tight puzzle design and a new mystery that totally drew me in. The horror elements didn't quite gel with me at first, but they really grew on me after a while, especially once I'd figured out how to get around them (which I think you can do in almost all cases, although probably not without hindsight). I also really appreciated the small changes to the main game ending, which I revisited after the expansion.
2020
I played maybe two hours of The Pedestrian and, although the core concept is intriguing and the puzzles are well put together and occasionally really shine, after the first hour I was tired of it. Maybe I've just played too many puzzle platformers, but I understood what was going on pretty quickly and after that there wasn't enough pulling me in to make me want to spend another 4+ hours picking up keys and pushing boxes.
2019
My girlfriend and I played through most of this, but we set it down around the four hour mark and never picked it up again. I loved the artwork and the characters, but overall it felt like it lacked substance.
I picked this up after I saw a clip on Twitter of Sakuna picking up two dogs at once, and oh boy am I glad I did. I wrapped up after around 39 hours, but with the exception of resource farming getting a bit repetitive I loved every moment. It has some really cute moments paired with some very satisfying combat, and the rice farming was varied enough that it held my interest until the very end.
2021
Death's Door was everything I look for in an action-adventure game. A beautiful world to explore, a mystery to solve, satisfying and interesting combat, and unusual and interesting characters to encounter. Honestly I can't fault it, and although I was sorry to leave it once I was done I do think it was just about the right length.
2021
I totally adored this game. A masterfully crafted mystery puzzle, interesting and engaging characters, and an exquisite environment to explore. It's all so meticulously put together that it's clear that so so much care went in to this, and it really pays off. My only minor criticisms would be that the facial animations were a tad 2012 and that grabbing that flower from the lake was impossible, but neither of them really got in the way of the experience.
2017
Beautiful art, lovely music. Interesting and initially mind-blowing core mechanic which could have been played with a bit more, but for the short length of the game held its own. Rather bland story that felt like it was getting in the way a bit.
2021
A really neat core concept with a lot of variability in the different weapons. The beast designs were great and the levels very satisfying, but I'd have preferred the game to focus on that and be a bit more arcade-y. I didn't love the characters, and every time I had to talk to someone or search the map it felt like a chore. I just wanted to smash some blocks.
2021
Minus points for very awkward controls, feeling a bit 'on rails' at times, and not doing more with the EMMIs, but otherwise an incredible and atmospheric game with some unbelievably good boss fights.
2021
I really loved Sable. It captures everything I love in open world exploration games -- lonesome treks across the map, meeting new people, exploring new areas. The environments were stellar, I loved the ships and the lightning village and the giant bridge.
It was only marred by a few quirks with the controls and graphics, and the fact that I didn't realise there were stamina upgrades until I was almost done lol. And also that I only found the hidden temple right at the very end, and had to leave the game running for about an hour before I could finish it.
It was only marred by a few quirks with the controls and graphics, and the fact that I didn't realise there were stamina upgrades until I was almost done lol. And also that I only found the hidden temple right at the very end, and had to leave the game running for about an hour before I could finish it.
2021
I'm ambivalent about this one. I loved the vibe and exploring, the cooking minigames were neat and I did enjoy the fishing and writing, but by ~6 hours in I'd gotten to grips with it all and it started getting a bit repetitive. The final straw was when I hit a bug (stuck in the shop UI) that meant I'd lose like an hour of gameplay and I just gave up and watched the rest on a Let's Play. Also, shout out for including pronoun selection for you and your partner (even if some NPC dialogue doesn't seem to account for it)
The port is a bit janky, but I had a ton of fun with this. Easy to see why it's a classic with such an instrinsically joyful core mechanic and a tremendous soundtrack. (warning: playing this literally melted the thumbsticks on my gamepad... I mean it was on the way out anyway but the left one is no longer circular)
2019
😍😍😍
2018
Very pretty, lovely soundtrack, but beyond that a fairly straightforward platformer with #indiegamedepressionmetaphor vibes.