Florence is a brief, interactive storybook, and it is one of the most unique games I've ever played in terms of actual gameplay. It's simple in its design, but powerful in its message. The artwork guides the player through the wordless story, not unlike the first 10 minutes of the movie Up. I quickly became attached to the main characters, Florence and Krish, and their lives. It only took me 42 minutes to beat this game, but I had actual tears streaming down my face at the end. I will be reflecting on Florence's message for quite some time.

I've been having a blast with Pokemon Infinite Fusion. It's the game I wish Pokemon has been for the past few generations. It's obvious that this is a true passion project from the developers and the thousands of artists that create custom sprites for the game.

I played with randomizer settings and had a blast finding new Pokemon to fuse together and find great combinations. I was pleasantly surprised to see so much of the Kanto map has been improved with enhanced towns and extra areas. Additions like side quests help to break up the typical Pokemon gameplay. I felt like some parts were actually a challenge instead of breezing through with overleveled Pokemon, especially during the plot bits with Team Rocket.

I'm not finished with Infinite Fusion. At the point of writing this, I've beat the Kanto Elite Four and will be continuing to the Johto region, which is awesome that it's included in the game. I'm curious to see what awaits me there, since Kanto was full of surprises.

My hope is that there are plans to add online multiplayer or even a third region to Infinite Fusion so that my adventure doesn't have to come to an end after Johto.

Hello Goodboy gives a glimpse of what it's like to step into the afterlife and be reunited with a four-legged friend. Coco the dog put the biggest smile on my face; the developers absolutely nailed it with his visual and audio design. I enjoyed the journey in this game, and the art style is the perfect encapsulation of a children's storybook.

I couldn't help but wish for a bit more from it, though. While I absolutely loved the message at its core, it presented itself too vaguely, leaving too much room for interpretation. Also, I don't mind the short length of the game (I often prefer it), but the developers intend for you to only visit 2 of the 4 areas in a single playthrough and then visit the other 2 on a New Game+ playthrough. With such a short length (it took me about an hour and a half), I would have preferred the game take 3 hours for a single playthrough and visit all of the areas. The decisions the game offers are hardly choices at all, but I still felt pleased with making Coco happy each time.

Hello Goodboy was so close to being an easy recommendation from me, but it just slightly missed what I was hoping it would be. Still, I can see it being a perfect bite-sized journey for a parent and child playing together.