11 November 2024

Velvet 89 is a Where's Wally-style game, albeit with a much more sombre atmosphere. Relaxing fun but also tells the tale of the Velvet Revolution through a range of testimonials. Interesting history.

06 November 2024

Citadelum is a relaxed citybuilding experience. Features all the expected content as well as some limited exploration & combat. Also features access to sandbox & user-made missions. Beautiful game.

Read the review here!

05 November 2024

Gutter is a quirky rpgmaker game that's quest- instead of narrative-driven. Features combo-based combat. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for with a distinct and interesting setting.

04 November 2024

Best VS DLC yet! Bloody huge and the gated map (explore & beat monsters to unlock new areas) means it takes several runs to beat. Features tons of hidden passages and more enemy variety than usual.

Read the review here!

01 November 2024

Another gorgeous little hidden item game by Sons of Welder. More of the same - 2 beautiful detailed levels, 100 cats (& 100 rubber chickens!) to find. My kids loved it too.

29 October 2024

Spotless is an interesting take on a shooter. You use your brush to kill dust bunnies, but also to clean. Time is short so you have to be efficient. Get good and you'll unlock upgrades for better runs

27 October 2024

Last Man Survivor is an interesting, under-stated survivors-like. It takes a fair whack of grinding to unlock characters & new weapons/abilities but still super fun & addictive somehow.

26 October 2024

A lovely new story-driven point and click with a solid range of puzzles and a great sense of humour (very Addams Family). Highly polished, a solid gaming experience.

Read the review here!

23 October 2024

The Best Treasure is a short-ish (still 100 levels!) precision platformer. Surprisingly chill. Looks & sounds great. Levels are well made, traps well placed, and new mechanics every ~10 levels.

22 October 2024

Abyssal Blood is a cool take on the bullet heaven genre. Simple but fun 2d sidescroller with an interesting dual wielding system with a mix of swords, guns, and spells and ammo/mana/charge abilities.

20 October 2024

Europa is a nice piece of visual storytelling, though I think it might be aimed at slightly younger gamers. I most enjoyed the story that unfolds as you explore the ruins of the utopian moon.

Read the review here!

14 October 2024

Melon Head's really well done. It's obviously a bit bizarre but that fits the point & click genre really well. Actually the inventory items are some of the most normal I've encountered, though the characters & story certainly aren't. Solid puzzles, no pixel hunting or broken logic, well-written, good sense of humour. It's a winner. 

13 October 2024

As always, 100 Hidden delivers a short but sweet hidden item experience. The pictures are bloody gorgeous. Most cats are easy to find but there's a few tricky ones. Chill game. Kids will enjoy too.

12 October 2024

Super Video Golf is a faithful throwback to the old Links games from the 90s. Plenty of levels and their all designed well with a range of putting & longer-range challenges. Looks & plays great.

11 October 2024

Little Rooms is a nice little hidden item game. Love the range of game modes, especially the riddle mode. Plenty of levels. Could use a little more value add like timed challenges. Chill experience.

10 October 2024

Bearnard is an exceptional platformer. Has a great sense of humour, plenty of secrets, consumables, enemies, bonus challenges. And it features a clever turn-based tactical combat system. It's awesome

09 October 2024

Iron Meat is an awesome run and gun. Looks and sounds awesome, smooth controls, super polished. Fast-paced, brutal (get touched and you die!). Awesome levels and boss fights. Great for co-op too!

07 October 2024

An Everyday Story's a nice little piece of interactive storytelling. Voice acting and art direction are both lovely. Actual gameplay's very simple and linear- best for younger audiences. Short & sweet

06 October 2024

Silence of the Siren is a HoMM clone, sure. But with a unique setting and factions & so much attention to lore it's much more than just a re-skin. Interesting level design & combat, well-written.

05 October 2024

Devil's Hideout is a small but solid point and click. Nails the terror vibe it's trying for. Strong art direction, characters, writing, and voice acting. Simple puzzles but memorable story

03 October 2024

Idylls of the Lunar Maria is a quirky match-3 game where you match tiles to attack, defend & heal while trying not to trigger enemy attacks. Can also combo into more powerful abilities. A tad easy.

01 October 2024

Paws for Adventure is a charming and relaxing game that sees you playing as a cat - hunting (sneaking, pouncing), fighting, & exploring. Quite a few nifty puzzles snuck in too. Be great for kids.

28 September 2024

Fun but exceptionally short (a single map, which I beat in 5 minutes). Art style is awesome. Would love to see some value-add features like time challenges added. Chill scavenger game.

27 September 2024

Drill Core is a highly polished mining game with a fun defender phase that even includes some cool boss battles. Can get a tad repetitive at times but it's fun and has a great sense of humour.

Read the review here!

26 September 2024

Frostpunk 2 is an exceptional game, just don't go in expecting a continuation of the original. It's focus on expansion rather than survival and offers a very different gaming experience. Still awesome

Read the in-depth review here!

21 September 2024

Edge of Sanity is a quality Lovecraft-themed sidescroller. Doesn't break any new ground but it's high quality - looks great, well-written, plenty of action. Embrace the trauma.

Read the review here!

19 September 2024

A murder mystery presented faithfully as a graphic adventure with text parser in gloriously garish EGA colours. A touch tedious at times but has an interesting story & characters, well-written

Read the review here!

18 September 2024

Hackshot is an interesting hacking-themed puzzle game built on slingshot mechanics. The puzzle is in resource management and careful shot planning to beat a range of obstacles. It's thoughtful and fun

17 September 2024

Exceptional retro platformer - the arcade mode's tough as nails. Story mode's great for getting through all 45 levels (you'll die often, especially on boss levels!). Smooth controls, great soundtrack.

15 September 2024

Orbs of Chaos is an interesting bullet hell / heaven hybrid featuring an intricate and hard-to-master spell combination system, timed events, and intense boss fights. UI needs work but solid gameplay.

12 September 2024

Mystopia is a cute little builder where you're supplied with a constant stream of new tiles & decorations randomly. I'd prefer goals personally but it's definitely super chill. Great for casuals.

11 September 2024

Micro Star Command is an exceptionally modern take on the old Caesar's Legion puzzle. Features great graphics, formations, good range of upgrades. It's a hard game but has lots of difficulty options.

08 September 2024

Demon Loop is an interesting digital boardgame with lots of unusual mechanics but it all somehow works. Levels are challenge-based which is fun. Also has a nice little story to tie it all together.

Read the review here!

07 September 2024

CyberRush is a bizarre modern take on the old Tomy Racing Turbo dashboard game except with guns, police, even a boss battle. Only 8 levels but very challenging and also has an endless mode. Addictive!

06 September 2024

Turbo Sliders is a delightful spiritual successor to games like Micro Machines that I loved in the 90s but with sexy modern graphics. Controls are perfect, levels are well-designed and challenging.

01 September 2024

FlipScapes is a brilliant new pinball game that absolutely makes the most of its digital nature with highly interactive levels, dynamic objectives, characters and special abilities. It's top notch.

31 August 2024

Grimstone Valley is a fun little twinstick "shooter" (except you have an eldritch lasso arm) with a weird west theme, some unusual aesthetics which I've grown to love, and a surprisingly strong story.

30 August 2024

Hadley's Run is a solid twinstick shooter with excellent progression and metaprogression so it never feels tired. Good range of enemies and bosses but the environmental challenges are the best feature

26 August 2024

Defenders of the Omniverse is a top shelf Survivors-like. Looks & sounds great, good range of unlocks, enemies and fun boss fights. Love that each character's perks put a twist on core abilities.

21 August 2024

This review took me a long time to work through (it's big! And relatively complex) - new Vacation Season DLC adds almost a whole new game-within-a-game to Highrise City.

Read the review here!

20 August 2024

100 Hidden Cthulhu Fish is a short but sweet item finder. The fish are easy to find, making for a chill experience. The two overarching images are fantastic but I'd love more - beat the game in 10mins

19 August 2024

JDM: Rise of the Scorpion is has a nice little story told through a manga but the real star is the drifting. It's an arcade racer (not a racing sim) so just strap in and have fun - handbrake to drift!

Read the review here!

17 August 2024

While Silent Depth 2 is a fairly clunky experience with small scope at the moment, the roadmap looks promising. This is a sim-lite, not a spiritual successor to Silent Hunter. Go in with an open mind.

Read my First Impressions here!

16 August 2024

DeathBound's a clever fighter with a gnarly modern fantasy vibe and tons of demons ripe for slaying. You control a bunch of characters with totally different attacks/abilities, it's challenging & fun.

Read the review here!

15 August 2024

Baimason's Thing Finder's as relaxing as it is fun - or race against the clock. Proc-gen and daily challenges keep it endlessly replayable although it could use just a touch more variety

14 August 2024

Forgotten Mines makes for a very tight tactical experience. The maps are small and fixed, loaded with obstacles to manoeuvre around, and you're constantly overwhelmed. It's tough. Tons of unlocks.

Read the review here!

11 August 2024

Mini Airways is intense! Planes come from all directions and you have to somehow guide them - around mountains - onto tight runways that also have planes taking off. Gets the blood pumping!

10 August 2024

Soul Park is a theme park tycoon with a sweet spooky supernatural theme, a few side games (fixing your rides & catching intruders). Simplistic as far as tycoons go, which makes it kid-friendly.

08 August 2024

Features different worlds with a roguelike campaign approach and shorter, mission-based levels. Graphics are pretty sweet too. Rogue Genesia is a sweet, top-shelf survivors-like, check it out.

Read the review here!

05 August 2024

No Creeps Were Harmed is a highly polished tower defence game with some great level design and an even better sense of humour. Upgrades can be grindy but there's plenty of them. Fun, addictive.

Read the review here!

04 August 2024

Huge game with excellent range of maths, text, rebus, and logic riddles/problems. Fun and challenging as is but could use more QoL features (progressive unlocks) and a better clue system.

31 July 2024

MOODS is a sweet roguelike shooter with an unusual theme. Good variety of characters and play styles straight out the gate, plenty of unlocks, good range of enemies, boss fights are awesome.

30 July 2024

Outrage: Fight Fest is a fantastic party brawler. Highly polished - it looks great, sounds great, plays smooth as. Fast-paced, non-stop action, plenty of game modes and variety. Full of attitude!

Read the review here!

28 July 2024

Tachyon Dreams is a fantastic homage to Space Quest and its ilk. Puzzles are occasionally obtuse but solveable through experimentation. Love the palette & faithful retro art style. Well-written

26 July 2024

Treasure Journey is a surprisingly challenging puzzle game. The premise is simple with limited mechanics but it uses 3 dimensional space well. Good range of levels with rapidly increasing difficulty

24 July 2024

Towerful Defence is a fun survivors-like that swaps mobility for control. Hold up to four weapons & configure their targeting or control manually to maximise efficiency. Fast-pace endorphin rush.

23 July 2024

Read the review here!

22 July 2024

Seraphim Slum is a quirky visual novel about ... fallen lesbian angels. Also love and lust and freedom and control. Visuals are all over the shop but it's well written and voiced. Weird & interesting.

21 July 2024

Virtual Presenter Room is easy to use; you just screenshare it to any conferencing client and away you go. Looks great, user friendly. Would also be a fantastic tool for roleplaying sessions.

20 July 2024

Read my First Impressions here!

19 July 2024

Kriegsfront offers scrappy tactical mech combat in which resource management is crucial- you might win the battle but you have to survive the war. Also features narrative adventures and a strong story

16 July 2024

SCHIM combined platforming with visual story telling. Love the shader art. Very simple start but puzzles become more challenging as more moving parts are introduced. Nice game for younger players.

Read the review here!

14 July 2024

Reminiscent of MW3 but in a delightful roguelike format involving resource management and upgrading your mech after every level. Solid variety in mech components and weapons for different playstyles.

10 July 2024

Block-ed is an exceptional puzzle game. The premise is simple but the mechanics (bombs, lasers, teleporters, splitters, moving platforms) combine well. Has community maps and a great level editor too!

07 July 2024

Metroplex Zero is a very solid card game involving resource and party management, deck building, and collection. Scenario-based combat. Actually requires strategy and synergy to win, it's great.

Read the in-depth review here!

06 July 2024

Read my First Impressions here!

01 July 2024

Grapplers is an exceptional party brawler. Great level design with heavy environment & trap focus. Grapple as both movement and attack makes for an interesting challenge. More players = more fun.

29 June 2024

Kurwa Sprint is a faithful Mario clone. The environment's a little more forgiving but the enemies are a little tougher. Coins to collect, secrets to find, and it's a tough game, 90s-style. Cute & fun.

28 June 2024

Giltsteader's a TD \with a stack of quirky features that set it apart from the others. Towers are random and must merge to upgrade, and there's farming. Very interactive, there's never a dull moment.

20 June 2024

Ad Fundum is a simple but addictive mining game. Dig for minerals, sell for $. Pressure is on managing fuel, temp, health & storage - oh, and earthquakes! Surprisingly large variety of upgrades.

19 June 2024

Swarmsign is simple but very fun topdown shooter. Farm defence mode is good but herd defence is even more fun. Offensive mode's pretty cool too. Good variety of enemies & weapons/abilities. Moreish!

16 June 2024

Quantum Conflict plays a lot like Asteroid or Gravitation. The graphics are much flashier and modern, and there's a good range of special pickups. Little clunky but still a fun multiplayer party game.

15 June 2024

ZpellCatz is a fun dungeon crawling looter-shooter. The graphics are cute and child-friendly although the game itself is surprisingly generic. But executed well - combat is fun, plenty of variety.

12 June 2024

Pre-release review: Has some promising aspects; looks good, and bullet hell-style boss fights seem promising. Right now, it's a little clunky and the level & enemy attack patterns need more work.

Read my First Impressions here!

08 June 2024

Echoes is a visual novel that starts as a detective murder mystery but unfolds into a dark supernatural government conspiracy. It's very well written and the art style perfectly fits the mood.

07 June 2024

Check and Slash is not what you'd think. It's essentially realtime hack-and-slash (except the baddies shoot) with some rogue elements. It's a bit grindy and repetitive but the boss fights are decent.

06 June 2024

What the Car? is a bonkers fun party-style racing game full of all manner of zany "driving" mechanisms. Levels are packed with shortcuts and alternative routs and the "bonus" levels are awesome.

Read the review here!

04 June 2024

Whispers in the Moss is a fairly traditional JRPG but with retro text-based UI. Interesting characters, decently writing, interesting locations to visit, and the ANSI/ASCII art is impressive.

31 May 2024

The Last WarMage could use a little more polish but it's a lot of fun. Essentially tapper but with weapon & enemy variety, ammo management and dynamic controls. Thoughtful and can get hectic

29 May 2024

Archaeogem looks good and plays smooth even if the whip mechanic is a little counter-intuitive. It's a challenging precision platformer with huge levels that require both thought and reflexes to beat

27 May 2024

Operation Guns is a massive DLC and totally worth the price even if you know nothing about Contra (and of course there's a huge nostalgia bonus if you are familiar).  It comes with two new maps; the main map is huge and I think one of the most interesting in the game with different regions separated by bridges, buildings, secret passages through forests, and of course it's populated by hordes of Contra baddies. The big mecha bosses are particularly cool.  Also, Operation Guns comes with a whopping 11 new characters (and of course I absolutely love Bill Rizer with his long gun), and 22 new weapons - machine guns, homing missiles, and some cool new passive upgrades that don't take slots. As if that wasn't enough, there's also a new adventure.  Oh! And the new music is bangin'!

Read the review here!

26 April 2024

Songs of Conquest is an impressive homage to HoMM while featuring enough subtle but key differences - lore, story, factions, mechanics - that it stands up on its own. Love the campaign & aesthetics

Read my First Impressions here!