Review by Matt S. Dear game developers and publishers: if you’ve got a visual novel that needs localisation, you really need to consider the process of finding a quality localiser to be an essential step in the publishing process. Your game exists exclusively for that story, and if you can’t…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. I’m all for cultural games and that means I’ll naturally have a positive slant towards titles like Road to Guangdong. This game, penned by writer Yen Ooi and published by Excalibur Games, sees the player taking the role of Sunny, a recent art graduate in mid-90’s…
Read MorePreview by Matt C. The most immediately striking thing about Ary and the Secret of the Seasons is the quality of the animation. I’m not just talking about the specific details of how character models are put into motion, but “animation” in the bigger-picture sense: how characters’ movements and expressions,…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. How can it be this hard to do a Game of Thrones video game that does the property justice? There’s more than enough material to work with. You’ve got dark, grim fantasy, monsters and all. You’ve got dark, grim political intrigue, (human) monsters and all. There…
Read MoreReview by Trent P. Ballsy move, basing Necrobarista in Melbourne instead of Sydney (insert appropriate humour about the rivalry between the cities here). However, with the developer based in Melbourne, it isn’t really a surprise, and Sydney folk will need to give it a pass there. Regardless of city location,…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. I’ve been coming to appreciate short games more and more in recent times. With a shorter run time, the challenge is on the designer to provide a consistent and structured experience, and often this is done by cutting out the chaff from an otherwise longer game.…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. NISA’s upcoming Giraffe and Annike is looking like a true delight. As a gorgeous 3D adventure game with charming animal-like characters to interact with, and rhythm game-based action and drama it looks like it will be a vivid, highly fulfilling game when it releases on PlayStation…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The games industry has really mastered the art of taking another person’s great idea, shining it up with a bit of polish, and throwing it out as something new. Yes, Your Grace is just Reigns, but with a broader and more traditional game-like presentation. In other…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Note: I’m writing this upfront and in advance; there are spoilers in this review. The game itself has a little clip at the start asking that people don’t spoil the experience, but it’s absolutely impossible to talk about this game without discussing plot points. And let’s…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. Myst (well, realMyst, actually) landed on Nintendo Switch about a week ago, and for pure nostalgia’s sake, I decided to pick it up and give it a play. It has been a long time since I last played Myst (aside from a short go at a…
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