Recent reviews by Royce

Great puzzles, and more of that delicious Psychonaut taste! If you like Adventure games and you've got a VR headset, this game should be a no-brainer!

This is what relaxing feels like, right? Relaxing with a nice rhythm game?

Chill ambiance, good conversation, and it's a nice time imagining what the drinks might taste like.

Fun and cute! I was actually expecting a few more loops out of it, but was pleasantly surprised that it keeps up a pretty spritely pace. For a game about repetition, it's got excellent forward momentum, and more than enough variation to keep it lively. Looks like I gotta play Of Stars and Time next!

I've only just started, so I'll update later on with more, but so far I'm astounded by the amount of fun I'm having with this! The original 7th Guest is like a half-remembered dream from my childhood- a positive experience, but a vague one. I know that it helped shape my taste in horror and gaming, so I was prepared to have a fun little time with the VR game, and enjoy it as a curiosity.

But whoa, even if I'd never heard of this game before, it would have had me hooked. The ambiance is positively sumptuous, and I'm astounded by how well they've implemented the live-action actors. I'm not too far in, so the puzzles are still easy, but the tactile sense of interacting with Stauf's mechanical gadgets is very charming and satisfying. The lamp mechanic interacts well with all the paintings to give that old "click-to-interact" vibe you'd see in early 90's adventure games. The assorted creepy moments and laughs from them are playful, and there are enough of them and they can be viewed quickly enough so that everyone's likely to find a few favorites.

It can't have been easy translating such a cheesy, very 90's style of comedy and horror for modern audiences, but I feel like the heart and joy is still here, even if there's such a thick coat of fresh paint on it. My immediate impression is that this could well be the gold standard for a remake: people who know what they're doing, bringing their marvelous and keen eyes to something older, giving us all a new way to enjoy it.

I played this game in short weekly increments with my Mom! Even though we live half a continent away from each other, I streamed it on Discord and she took notes. This was a great game for bouncing ideas off each other, and the slow, exploratory pace meant that it was fine if we got a little off-topic or started chatting.

Having just finished it now, we were both really impressed by how many different types of clues and logic may be necessary, and deeply satisfied by the gameplay loop. Story was compelling, and the mechanics highly intriguing. Would recommend playing it solo, too, but hey! If you've got a mystery enthusiast in your life, maybe this is your sign to get into contact with them and spend some quality time!

Years ago, I was a Higurashi fan, and I tried watching the Umineko anime. I made it through all 26 episodes, and absolutely hated it. I disliked the presentation of "Mystery vs Fantasy," and the massive chunibyo themes left me with such a bitter taste in my mouth that I steered clear of Umineko with a vengeance.

I am SO glad that I grew up and gave Umineko a solid chance.

Like with Higurashi, the introduction leans into some obnoxious early aught otaku themes, but I did find Battler here to be a much more quickly likable protag than Keiichi (and Keiichi's great, so that's a rad thing!). His battle with Beato is deeply fun; if you like "enemies to lovers," then stay away, that tag is too frequently used for milquetoast rival pairings. But if you want to see a bare-knuckle verbal BRAWL between your protag and love interest, then get ready to eat up! Also, characters who bothered me and I despised when I was a teen feel well-rounded now, and my adult heart breaks for them.

Maria, I am so sorry. I get it, kid.

The word count is intimidating, I get it. I like long books, and I honestly can't think about where I would trim the fat. The precision in this prose, and the extended spirals into overindulgent and hammy spectacle can sometimes try my patience: there's one BIG mystery at the heart of these interlinked serial murders, and I'm much more interested in understanding the metaphor and understanding that truth than I am in the detailed specifics of exactly how each closed room murder was NOT committed. XD But I do understand, I think, what they're trying to get at here, and even if at can be a bit of a slog, look at my playtime. Even in the depths, it kept me compelled. Even the longest sections are just build up for something really stellar and special.

The meta writing in this is absolutely top-notch. There is no flippant, cynical fourth-wall breaking here, every level within this fiction feels meticulously tied to the metaphor. Trying to determine what's "true" and what's "not really happening" is a sheer joy. Ryukishi07 and the scripters are slowly unveiling something astonishingly tender and hyper-complex.

I'm currently working through the Answer Arcs. I started Umineko again not just because I wanted to be entertained, but because I thought that it might have a lot to teach me. I've always loved mysteries, and a fresh perspective on them is a treat. But underneath all the anime silliness, there's a very mature perspective on the nature of trust and the malleable nature of subjectivity. I wanted to know if I could see something new through Umineko's perspective, and I'm very very glad that I've grown to love this story.

After all, if I hadn't been able to view it with love...

I initially played this on itch.io, but was more than happy to return to it for Steam. A deep, heart-wrenching, and insightful experience.

By this point, you should really get the Ultra Deluxe version instead of the 2013 release. But this has been one of my all-time favorites for over a decade now. It's a little scary, a little sweet, and endlessly playful. It's got a wit that ranges from deeply dry to enormously silly, and you'll always feel a little unsure if you've entirely plumbed its depths. Whether you end up rethinking entirely how you engage with games, or just leave with a light chuckle, this is an easy purchase that belongs in most steam libraries.

If you're looking for atmosphere, this game is second to none. The bright, isometric halls of The Sexy Brutale are well worth lingering in, and the soundtrack is something I frequently return to while working. I likely listen to it every other month.

The puzzles are solid, but if they weren't motivation enough, the characters range from intriguing to heart-breaking. You will very much want to save each and every one of them, and when a new section of the game begins, the real-time nature of the puzzles means you'll know EXACTLY when someone you previously saved is off dying alone in the new timeline. This means that every triumph or joke is also drenched in a sort of exquisite dread. You are haunted during every minute of this game, both as the timer ticks down to failure, and as literal echoes of other victims sound off across the mansion. Because of the looping mechanic, it's less stressful than you might expect, instead becoming devastatingly beautiful.

The ending of the game is somewhat easy to predict, and I might well have rolled my eyes at the conflagration of cliches...however, the skill with which it is all executed elevates it well beyond a simple wikipedia summary. If you have had ending spoiled to you, it will in no way communicate the weight of walking those steps and seeing it depicted firsthand. Jump into the loop, and Lafcadio's story can begin once again.