Recent reviews by AlexKalopsia

YES

Disclaimer: I know some of the devs

I played minit without really knowing much other than the minute-long gameplay loop mechanic (which I guess it's what most people know about anyway).

I really loved how the game focuses so much on initially showing you obscure elements ("what is this place?" "why is this thing here" "how can I get to that place") and then allowing you to put all the pieces together as you progress through the tight minute-long loops. In this sense the level design is also super clever, compact but broad enough to make you wonder "how can I get there in the most efficient way". This never ends up being a hardcore challenge because of how the screens are all nicely interconnected by shortcuts you unlock as you progress.

My favorite thing about minit is the way it always rewards your curiosity. My best moments in the game happened when I thought "wait, maybe if I do this thing, then this other thing happens", and the game ALWAYS rewarded me for doing so. This sense of open playfulness triggered some great childhood gaming memories, something that not many games manage to do these days.

After finishing my first run I am now left with a lot of secrets and obscure rooms and characters, many of which I know exist but I am not sure how to make sense of yet. The sense of curiosity is still vivid.

Disclaimer: I know the developer who made the game.

Engare is a really unique puzzle game about art and motion. The game features many levels, some of them really accessible, others particularly challenging. The progression is linear and you unlock one new level at the time. This might sound harsh in case you get stuck, but this actually makes you focus on the specific level until you really comprehend the motion you are asked to reproduce.

It is possible to complete all levels between 1.5-2 hours, but the game features an amazing sandbox mode (actually, 6 sandbox modes!) where you can explore how motion can create shapes. The game even allows you to export the pattern you create and even apply to a dome (and export it as a 3d object). You can really get lost in this mode, and the results are often truly spectacular.

Engare is a truly beautiful and unique game.

Disclaimer: I know the developer and I contributed to the community translation

Hidden Folks is a cute little game with beautiful illustrations and really funny sound effects. The game is very playful and is perfect to play both alone or with friends. There are several levels and all of them are rich of details and feel alive: the player can click on almost every object in the attempt to find the specific targets, and this results in a very relaxed and playful experience. The game also includes useful accessibility options to help finding a good balance for the player's eyes.

If you liked Where's Waldo and if you are looking for a laid back playful experience, Hidden Folks might be the right game.

If you love arcade first person shooters, this is an absolute no-brainer.

The level design of DOOM is incredible, the game has a linear structure but the way you can approach every situation changes a lot depending on your style. There are tons of different weapons, each one of them with nice special abilities that are useful in specific situations.

The game is FAST, I would advise you to start directly from the hardest difficulty (you can unlock two extra ones).

The story elements are minor but well integrated. Don't expect anything from the plot; it's there just to give some meaning and guidance to the player.

The only big disappointment is that the game suffers from save data corruption. My save data got corrupted and I didn't find the motivation to start over again. Many users reported the same problems after 10+ hours of gameplay, which is really really bad.

Nevertheless, id Software did an amazing job reboothing the saga.

EXTRA: the game has a killer soundtrack

I got Thumper because I love rhythm games and the game was described as such. The more I played the game, though, the more I realized how it evolved from its rhythm based premise to a pure trial-and-error experience which - to me - is a big disappointment.

If I had to judge Thumper on the first 2 or 3 stages alone, I would give it a positive review. It features beautiful visual and sounds, everything about the game is captivating, the game mechanics work nicely and you really feeling 100% immersed in the game flow. Unfortunately this changes over time. The stages don't get more challanging, but just more unfair, with incredibly harsh sequences that the player cannot remotely foresee. The vibe of the game becomes monotonous, the rhythms fairly similar throughout the entire stage.

Once again, if you come with the idea of getting a good rhythm game, I would probably not advise you to get Thumper. On the other hand, if you think that you will only play the first few stages and you are intrigued by its beautiful audio-visuals, go ahead and get it, don't even hesitate.

Wheels of Aurelia is a very original game. The way the developers merged a narrative based game with a racing game formula is quite unique. Great writing mixed with a beautiful art direction. As an Italian, it is a joy to revisit tragic details of our recent history in a videogame. I guess you need to be familiar with the Moro Affair in order to fully grasp the context of the game, but the personal story of Lella and the clever dialogs with the hitchhikers make the experience enjoyable nevertheless.

On top of this, the game features an amazing soundtrack (which comes together with the game). A single run of the game is fairly short (20 minutes), but the 16 endings push the total count up to 5+ hours of gameplay if you are willing to explore the branching narrative.

NOTE: I've played the game before the release on Steam, so the played time doesn't fully add up.

NOTE: Probably because I didn't launch the game from the Steam app, it didn't correctly count the amount of hours I played it. I think I got to the end of the game in a couple of hours.

If you like short and linear interactive stories (where interaction is fairly basic), this might be a game you want to play. The things I liked the most were its structure and the writing: a simple honest story of love and loss.

Incredibly well written. Beautiful lore. Mediocre combat system. An incredible game experience.

I've played the few single player challenges that the devs added to the game and they are already fun to play (they act as a sort of tutorial for the multiplayer). The game looks really good for an Early Access, and the game mechanics (that mix action and stealth) make it stand out. I'm looking forward to playing it with friends :)