GameCritics

Causal Loop is a tale of extremes – on the one hand, I admire the intricacy of its machine, creating perfectly choreographed loops to achieve a common goal. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the repetitive nature of that goal. There’s a polish to the presentation and play of Causal Loop, but the concept itself feels underdeveloped, and the stages feel like wireframe prototypes. Despite the inherent appeal of looping clones, I ultimately came away wishing for a more exciting application than just pressing buttons.

Wreckreation has lofty ambitions, and I’d say it achieves most of them. Driving is fast and furious, and the gameplay loop kept me hooked as I was constantly discovering some new and cool thing while tooling around in my MixWorld. Countless late nights were spent beating a tight time in a race or hunting new cars to collect. While there are more minor issues under the hood than I’d like, those who crave a decidedly old-school open-world racer should take this one for a spin.

With those few gripes out of the way, this is still an incredibly enjoyable story with a wonderfully charming cast of down-to-earth characters. Playing was like having a chat with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, and in the end, Coffee Talk Tokyo is a reminder that sometimes what a person needs is an open ear, compassion, and community — and it also really made me crave a cup of tea.

Uprising is a total war conquest between all enemy factions established in the game. While it provides a welcoming level of freedom when it comes to choosing missions, it can’t maintain the same quality when it comes to mission objectives and design. It’ll be an enjoyable product for those who already love the base game, and maybe that’s enough.

So yeah, Bubsy 4D is a good game – of course it is, Fabraz made it! The bobcat couldn’t have gotten luckier with these developers. And if they make another one, or add on to this one, I’ll happily check it out. With that said, people should play Demon Tides first, and then Demon Turf, and then, even then, wait for a steep sale — there’s just not enough content here.

The Abbess Garden could have been a pleasant experience, and it has indeed pleasant elements, but it lacks both engaging gameplay and an engaging story — there’s nothing here to bind it all together. As it stands, the best part of the experience is watching our plants grow, from seed to flower, and customizing our garden, but it’s just not enough. Hopefully, MD Studio uses this game as a sketch for a more compelling project next time. It’s a shame, because the right ideas and ingredients are here, but maybe they’ll find more success in another game, in another abbey.

In a mechanical sense, there are aspects to enjoy in Mutant Football League 2. However, it’s hard to recommend thanks to its offensive humor, irritating bugs and glitches, and near-nonexistent multiplayer experience.

In the end, Fortune Seller‘s strange atmosphere kept me engrossed and organizing items was more satisfying than I would have expected. I’m still going to keep working at this shop for a while even after finishing several runs, but it’s always a challenge to avoid paying my rent in flesh to a shadowy landlord.

In fact, the whole game is good – it’s not an all-time great, but a rare, pure example of something unambitious and also essentially perfect. I’m nearing 30 happy hours spent making stained glass and, conservatively, have another 30 hours of time left here, should I choose to pursue it. Again, Glimmith is not high concept, it isn’t beating anybody over the head with its cleverness, but its calm, dependable quality flows from it like a river or a cool breeze. For those into puzzle games who somehow don’t already own it, today’s the day. Have at it.

It’s obvious that In Their Shoes was made to test and improve a player’s empathy. Although some of us have probably gone through some of the situations we encounter here, many will be outside the average person’s experience. Further, it’s mechanically not a game for everyone — it’s targeting the niche of people who love reading in games, and I suspect it will be repetitive and monotonous for most. However, pedagogically speaking, it’s worth playing as a way of training one’s ability to feel for others, and to be in the shoes of people who are different than us.