Recent reviews by Indie Dev Dad (Don)

Bluma is a puzzle platformer that stands out for its gentle, heartwarming atmosphere. As an old man who’s spent countless hours on similar games, I find Bluma to be a true delight. You play as a magical chinchilla who doesn’t fight but grows and explores and meets new friends along the way. It’s the journey, not the destination. Building her own platforms with vines feels like real craftsmanship, and the physics-puzzles are smart without ever feeling cruel. Travel by gliding and bubble-hopping through four elemental realms, planting seeds in a greenhouse, and making friends along the way. It’s refreshing, peaceful, and generous in spirit with devilishly clever puzzles. And butterflies. This is a cozy, thoughtful adventure that’s just the sort of calm respite that one needs at the end of the day that pairs well with comfy pajamas and a dry martini.

The last time I enjoyed an 8-bit RPG game this much the developer hadn’t been born, yet. This is fun, silly and wholesome edutainment like Oregon Trail without the dysentery. There are bats and bullies, robots and Imagidust. With party based combat it has a strong Jumanji (the movie, not the book) vibe. The game is solidly put together, flows well and lacks any glitches that I’ve been able to determine. I sat down for an hour and played for three before being called to dinner.

Scarlet City of Devils throws you into a sprawling dystopian, neon-drenched City of Devils overrun by feral creatures and those who would take down the city. Taking on the role of Scarlet, a mysterious warrior armed with a razor-sharp sword and axe (and more abilities to find) you carve your way through interconnected zones teeming with secrets, challenges, and lore.

Exploration is key, as are upgrades and new abilities, to unlocking new areas of the sprawling city. It’s a stylish, fast-paced adventure blending precise platforming with brutal hack-and-slash combat. Added into this is a little puzzle solving.

An eerie, synth-heavy soundtrack pulses in the background, perfectly capturing the tone of the city. Whether you're sneaking through shadowed corridors or locked in a high-stakes boss fight, the music adapts to amplify the tension. Sound design, from the clashing of blades to the sultry opening voice over is equally well-crafted.

Valley of Shadow is a thoughtful, introspective puzzler as well as a journey of self-discovery. It is a deeply personal story that I, as a father, husband, and son, can relate to even though my life is a generation and half a world away from the protagonists of the story. Anyone who has grown up with video games, particularly puzzlers, will delight in following the journey of self-reflection as well as the subtle and not so subtle nods and homages to games we've all played (or watched being played). Come for the puzzles and stay on for the journey.

Having followed the progress of this game for years, I'm glad it is finally out and I can enjoy the finished product. This is a delightful and whimsical puzzle-platformer. The art is engaging and lovely, the dialogue cheerful and funny, and the characters are adorable. It is a lovely landscape upon which one embarks on a mind-reprogramming puzzle journey. The puzzles are devilishly difficult, but not impossible (yet - I've finished the demos and I foresee many, many days of working my way down this puzzle path). I like the mechanics, wherein one can Q roll back moves and try again (and again, and again) or just R rage quit the level and try again later after a bowl of ice cream.

After a few years of playing The Sand Knight at indie game conventions and saying, "This is a pretty good game, I'd pay money for this," my wish was granted and now I can play this nostalgic (for me), 8-bit, post-apocalypse-like, mech shooter without having to listen to Rick sigh every time I die.

Was a fan of this game before I played it. Saw this was to be one of the featured games at Magfest MIVS 2019 and followed the development team on twitter. This is a fact-based, fun, strategy, resource management game that I highly recommend.

If you bought a VR headset for Christmas and everyone wants to play, you need VR Party Club! I've played this at various cons and found it easy to play and a good VR primer. A VR headset was a Christmas gift and I knew everyone would want to try it. VR Party Club is the perfect game to introduce the whole family to VR. Ages 19 to 79 played and everyone was able to quickly grasp how to use the handsets and a great time was had by all. At this writing VR Party Club is in early access, but it is a fully realized set of games and we encountered no bugs. You need this in your library for the next inter-generational party.

Note: I've played this game a lot longer that the Steam record shows.

Took a bit to figure out the controls and the naming system. However, once we figured that out, I very much enjoyed the game with friends. Even a gaming novice can figure out the stradegy and dominate the game. Btw, enjoyed talking to you guys at MAGfest.

- Don