Preview by Matt S. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a 2D platformer… but it’s also so much more than that. It’s a surprisingly complex rice-growing simulator, and that side of it is something of deep cultural value and meaning to the Japanese. With the preview embargo for the game…
Read MoreReview by Harvard L. Chinese Parents looked like a harmless enough life sim. What harm could it do, with its colourful, cutesy art-style and the premise of tracing a young Chinese child from birth to their eventual undertaking of the Gaokao (the university entrance exam)? As I now know, it…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Through the Darkest of Times is a critically important game that is so relevant and poignant today and we should all play it (and then be terrified by its implications). It’s the kind of game that belongs in schools and museums because the points its making…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons; this is a continuation of the old Harvest Moon, and Harvest Moon in the west now is actually a different series. I know it’s confusing, but it is what it is) is like Animal Crossing but with just a little…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Idol Manager has been plugging along as an indie project and in beta on Itch.io for quite some time now. The good news is that its horizons have expanded even further, as publisher, Playism, has picked up the rights to it. It will be getting a…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Finally, the Nintendo Switch has a simulator of a reasonably high production standard and is also enjoyable to play on the console. Finally. There have been a number of very good smaller simulators by indies (Project Highrise, for example), but the one really big fish effort…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. Railway Empire is the latest simulator to land on Nintendo Switch and, after a couple of prior disappointments, it is a delight to have one this of this high quality to enjoy. It is a truly excellent, spot-on port of an excellent train network simulator. In…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Kairosoft has released TWENTY-SIX of its light simulation games on to Nintendo Switch now. I own at least half of them. Every time I get hooked deep into the simple, charming presentation and super-accessible, comfortable gameplay loops of…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Gaming Minds Studios and Kalypso Media have, for some years now, delivered a great little B-tier strategy/simulation series in Port Royale. The fourth game in the series now finally has a release date – we’ll all be playing it on September 25. Related reading: Our review…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Esports Legend is so many unpleasant things all at once. It’s a shallow, vapid, mobile-game like “simulator”, and it is utterly without charm or depth. Esports can be an exciting thing – I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Esports but I know full well that…
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