Recent reviews by Cailín

it's the best game i'm ever played, and i'm not ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ kidding. i know it's not gonna connect with everyone, but it connected more deeply with me than anything ever has. so idk, maybe that'll be you too <3

glad i never ended up spoiled in this, because it is in fact one of the best mystery/detective games ever damn made. one of those you'll wish you could forget and do over again, and is exactly wonderful because you never could.

you spend your time pouring over every detail of what happened on this ship, if you love picking through the details and being rewarded for smart deduction you'll ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ love this. don't be afraid to cheese a little too.

i think the ending leaves a little to be desired, but otherwise a thorough recommend. it's incredible what small teams can accomplish, this game is razor focused on what it needs to be, how good it needs to look, how long it needs to be. more games should be like this.

the "half-life-like" marketing is definitely a bit reductive for the sake of marketing, there's a wonderful thing going on here. and it's story (barring that ending which i hope precedes a sequel that goes a little wild) it's fantastic. you'll find an amazing assortment of details and worldbuilding, discovering the character of the world you're in. it's great when a game gives you just enough to build a big picture, and to feel really smart figuring it out.

it's not the same game as oxenfree and a lot of its signatures, especially the incredible myriad of secrets and endings, aren't really here. if oxenfree was a game about looping, about acceptance of the past, oxenfree II is kind of the opposite. it's the loop closing, and thinking about the future.

and i think it's maybe a bit of a lesser game, it's not quite as potent, but it's also the right kind of story to make i think. it gives closure (or helps, i'm still obsessed rn) and i think it's better than trying to just redo what oxenfree did, that would have been way worse.

it's like 4-6 hours, i think worth a replay after a few days to soak in more details. and who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and see oxenthree (he he) in another 6 years.

an absolutely stunning little game, that takes all the parts i enjoy about overcooked and replaces all the parts that i don't. instead of lots of little puzzles you have to figure out with an inflexible timer to beat instead it's all about planning how best to survive. get people served quick, clear tables to keep the queue moving, it's a fun goal that's *always* keeping you on your toes.

you pick up cards that make things more difficult and buy new appliances and tools to make things easier. figuring out the right combination is essential and extremely fun. if you've got enough friends to have to front of house staff then pile away on desserts and toppings, if not maybe focus down on a limited selection. how much can you automate and how does your whole workflow fit in the varying kitchens? can you afford to upgrade an appliance or do you need it right now?

what it might lack in some of the presentation and unique puzzles of overcooked it overwhelmingly makes up for in how it stands alones with its sheer potential depth. crafting that perfect kitchen has so much more going for it, and the game readily feeds you new content to try stuff out and it even has endgame content (franchises) and an endless mode already. i sincerely hope it gets well-supported DLC to keep adding more to it like that.

the remote play is *fantastic*, you never need to worry about convincing enough friends to buy the game to join. you can always invite others to hop on, just make sure they have a controller as steam has limits on keyboard use. i really hope this investment pays off well and gets more people playing the game and wanting to buy it.

my main criticism would come from balancing the rerolling, it seems 100% random so there's no way to safely bet on spending your money rerolling looking for specific items. if maybe it balanced showing a range of different item types (i.e an automation, an appliance, a tool)? and also if maybe you could cycle through automations to let them take from the side of themselves too? that would lessen the need to roll on automated kitchens.

got suckered in by Angory Tom and Northernlion playing this. 20 minutes till dawn is a real "just one more turn" game, my mouse is clamby, my fingers hurt cos i want keep pushing a bit further or try a new combo. it's also £2, what in the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. if you refund this game or give it a negative review you have no damn soul. even if i never played it again that's an incredible price, it was very worth it! so i can only hope it's drawing ppl in. only meaningful request? keybinds, i got RSI so it's essential for me, and dual-binds are a god send.

Probably the perfect party game, and I have the mountain of party games/local co-op to make that claim. Happy to finally have it in my own library.

It's small and simple enough that anyone can pick it up really quick and easy, but it's got more than enough content (that is ever mutating) to be enjoyable to replay over and over. A lot of local games are only good at one of those, not both.

There's enough skill to it that you can really *go for it* and get super sweaty and into it, but also enough silliness, RNG, and unexpected modifiers that new players aren't gonna get depressed from being curbstomped by a more experienced player.

And the presentation is just lovely, it's cute, easy to read and understand what's going on, and the music is *fantastic* and I was bouncing along the whole time I played.

Definitely looking forward to more, and a definite recommend.

i'm here cos daddy doc needs some healthcare, and this was one of the few games I put myself through the pain of RSI to play

it really did live up to the hype, in a way that I'm not sure any other game has for me

the lesser fidelity of the game is washed away so quickly by the sheer quality of the story, and in that way I'd describe it as perfect

and that story, christ

the voice acting is beautiful and the writing feels *precise*, it knows exactly the best thing to say. and that's all meshed together with wonderful game design, a series of spaces just to let these characters talk

so much of the farmer's story resonated with me, made me cry and then totally broke me in a way i didn't think would happen AT ALL. I always thought i was way too resilient for games to do that time, aside from maybe Disco Elysium

it's a true masterclass, and you're doing yourself a disservice by not buying this game, playing this game, and reviewing this game

I bloody love this game and look forward to getting hundreds more hours of play out of it, but I can't recommend it. The DLC Policy is completely unreasonable for new players and well beyond prohobitively expensive.

I personally think all DLC from at least a year ago at any given time should be rolled into the main game for no cost at all, and that the base game should be vastly cheaper. If this game is to be a success again it with the current model of DLC production then they should treat it like they don't get a sequel, and work for the long-term sucess and not the short-term.

UPDATE: Since I wrote this review the latest DLC has had significantly more content in it and I do think it was worth the price of admission for it. I think if this trend continues I'll be happy to change my recommendation however I still stand by my opinion of rolling in old DLCs into the main game to reduce the cost.

Essentially, if you feel you can drop the money on this game then I would recommend it but again I doubt many people can "drop" this amount.