Recent reviews by sweetcuppincakes

I'm giving this a very tepid recommend. I really liked the overall premise of Etienne's plight and some of the books he enters. Each of those books takes about an hour to complete and I would have liked to see them fleshed out more. They were compelling enough that I think some of them could be the premise of entire games themselves. For that, I recommend the game.

Negatively, I didn't get much enjoyment from actually playing the game. I understand that there needs to be some level of interactivity if you're not making a visual novel, but Bookwalker is just a step or two above that. There are turn-based battles that are pretty pointless. There is nothing complicated or puzzling about finding items and putting them in the right place in order to progress. You are given choices, but outside of a few changes to dialogue, you are essentially on rails through the game.

It depends on what kind of game you are looking for. If you care about gameplay and challenge, you should look elsewhere. If you are interested in the visuals and want unique plot(s), you might enjoy Bookwalker. However, everything else about this game is pretty weak and even interesting ideas might not be enough to get you through the dull parts.

There is a good game here. With some tweaks, it could be fun. However, I found that the difficulty hindered my interest. I was always on the verge of losing. There is very little leeway, so you can't really pivot your strategy. Money is so scarce that I could only ever afford one thing between rounds. All of this made it difficult to better learn mechanics. I felt like I had to play "cheaply" by making 2-letter words that could be counted multiple times whereas bigger words weren't worth the effort. I didn't mind the look, but some flashy visuals and more sounds would go a long way as well. I can hopefully revisit this review and change it to positive.

All the pieces fit here. Fun exploration and progression. I'm not a fan of bullet hell, but this was the right amount of challenging for me. It is a great example of solid game design all around. Seriously, if you want to make games, play this.

Quality game. Not sure why it's free. Good Metroidvania progression and Lovecraftian lore. Better than some Metroidvanias than I've paid for. Puzzles like La Mulana. Only issue I had was cloud saves not transferring between PC and Steam Deck. Definitely recommended.

About midway through Jusant, I was wondering if the climbing mechanics, as good as they were, was all there was to the game. Your voiceless character comes out of the desert that is littered with ships that no longer have a function. You climb an impossibly tall rock formation that used to be inhabited by an entire community and way of life that thrived when there was still an ocean. You read notes of people who have decided to climb higher in hopes that they could fix things. For much of the game, that's the entirety of Jusant. There is some light puzzling as you try to figure out the best way to make your ascent. Some environmental hazards are introduced. There really isn't much else to it, except for a slow build.

If climbing isn't a game mechanic you've enjoyed in games like Uncharted or Assassin's Creed, you probably won't enjoy Jusant. That climbing mechanic is the whole game. The world-building is good. I wish DONTNOD would put out more games like this, where there's more to actually play. There are flashes of (better) games like Journey or Shadow of the Colossus. I still think of those games years later. I don't know if I will still think of Jusant a year from now, but there is a small something here that channels the magic of those titles.

I refunded it because the game started off with fetch quests and grinding.

A top 10 metroidvania experience with incredible exploration and puzzling. Great music and sound combined with a beautiful color palate and visual style to create a unique mood. Layers of depth that go beyond just beating the game. The tools you acquire are fun to use and really change how you approach obstacles. Lots of thought went into each aspect of Animal Well. A little frustrating at times, but overall, great fun to play.

At its best, Indika is a shining example of how games can convey ideas and tell stories in ways that other mediums cannot. At its worst, it is dull to actually play.

Going from point A to point B is often uninteresting, but it is a way to move the story along, show off the strange world that is mystifying and familar at the same time, or gives the characters an opportunity for conversation. The puzzles and obstacles are not that interesting either. However, the mechanics, the visual style, the plot, characters, and dialogue all work together so well.

Indika most definitely left its mark. It made me feel so much hope and sorrow for the characters. It has some significant things to say about religion and faith and a person's struggle to make sense of the nonsensical.

Indika is a game that is heavy on style and ideas, but light on gameplay. There isn't really anything "fun" about playing it, but I am glad that I stuck with it. This is certainly not a game for everyone, but is one to check out for those who appreciate games as art.

Hollow Knight but with robots. Haiku is not shy about where it draws its inspiration. HK is a great game to imitate though, and Haiku does it well. The sparse color palate and somber music create a beautifully dismal world in decline. There's plenty of exploration and little details to discover. The care that went into this game shows in all aspects.

I'm writing this review after my first win and based on the collection, I have maybe a third of everything unlocked. I can see this being a game that I spend countless hours on. It is already my favorite deckbuilder. Balatro's mechanics just click for me. The poker theme may seem simplistic compared to games like Slay the Spire and Monster Train, but when a game is crafted well, you can just tell. And on top of that, the style is so crisp. The effects on the cards are great. The art is fun. As limited as a deck of cards can be creatively, Balatro has run with the theme. All around, this is a solid game that I think about when I'm not playing it. Discovering how to "break" the game is so fun. I've achieved a hand that earns me over 1 million chips (only $13), but based on Endless mode, this appears to be barely sufficient. I look forward to seeing how far I can take Balatro.