In a world that is as toxic, complex, and fundamentally unpleasant as the one we now live, whimsical, wholesome little things like Tempopo are the escapism we need. It’s a simple puzzle game in many ways, but the sweet, buoyant presentation, and the brilliant way it integrates music into the experience elevate it to something every bit as memorable as…
I love real-world escape room experiences. You’ve got an hour or so to sort out an extended puzzle, find your way through a couple of different challenges and, ultimately (and usually with the assistance of a group of friends), make your way out in time. Escape rooms prove that a…
Read MoreRuku’s Heart Balloon is right up there with the sweetest games I’ve ever played. The developers set out to make something treacle-sweet, to the point where prolonged exposure to it may well sicken you, and they succeeded. I just wasn’t able to play it for long before desperately needing to…
Read MoreI often wonder how successful I’d be working as an air traffic controller. It seems like it would be a stressful job, given how quickly air flights can turn deadly, and how busy airports are these days. I also suspect I’d be less-than-good at the job, given how many nightmare…
Read MoreFor the last five days, I’ve found myself quite hooked on a humble minigame collection, called, simply, Advent Calendar. The game does what the name on the box promises – each day you open one new “present” under the virtual tree, and each of those “presents” is a new minigame…
Read MoreI’m not sure how the initial launch of 7 Days to End with You slipped past me, but it did. The puzzle/visual novel game is all about language, and what does a games journalist love more than games and words? Very little. In a place where you don’t know the…
Read MoreSelf-described “cozy” games are all the rage right now. Often they’re life sims, sometimes other genres, but there is nothing quite like Riley & Rochelle. I’d describe it as cozy because it is an intimate look at two young lives, and it creates a swirling warmth sensation around you while…
Read MoreOtoko Cross is basically a reskin of the Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire. There’s a Mahjong Solitaire grid there on the screen, and you match pieces to clear the board. Then, after a few rounds, you also see the character on the left-hand side of the screen change into something skimpier.…
Read MoreA game… where you might learn something?!?! Perish the thought! That is what Chinatown Detective Agency is, though. It’s inspired by the classic Carmen Sandiago (the only game we were allowed to play on school computers when I was in primary school), and it’s a puzzle-based adventure game where the…
Read MoreIn the world of PC gaming, Steam is inundated with absolute trash that only fits the definition of “game” by the slimmest of margins, and relies entirely on nudity and/or sex to make a quick dollar. It looks like Nintendo has opened the floodgates for this too, and Hentai Uni…
Read MoreLet’s get this out of the way from the outset: this is a Hatsune Miku game, and you all know how I feel about Hatsune Miku, so the score at the bottom of the review is going to be no surprise to you. It is what it is, so let’s…
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