Recent reviews by Diethyl

If you have even a remotely passing interest in high concept puzzles and a complex interwoven narrative with some pretty darn well crafted horror, you owe it to yourself to play this one.
Play it with a notepad, you'll need it.

when I grow up I want to work in the Labrynth of the Silver Castle

hee hoo monke

This game may not be the longest, but it's exactly as long as it needs to be for a very memorable and well written experience and mechanics that don't overstay their welcome.

In essence, it's a very organic puzzle game based on presenting limited information and allowing you to infer the answers on your own, a-la Obra Dinn or Outer Wilds, by identifying the titular strange horticulture and utilizing their unique properties.

The story has several paths and outcomes based on your choices, which is always a nice touch, and it's worth playing a couple of times to see the many resolutions to its charming characters.

I couldn't recommend it enough, if you like the sound of a very atmospheric and comfy brain teaser to spend a few hours with.

man SHUT UP man
you tryin to TRICK me man
put smoke into my freakin HEAD and ♥♥♥♥ man
man I don't know what to THINK no more man
I don't know what to freakin THINK no more man
get out of me head man
GET OUT OF ME HEAD MAN
GET OUT OF ME HEAD MAN
GET OUT OF ME HEAD MAN

I shoot the man

Probably my single favorite fighting game, so consider this a bit biased, but VSP is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ fine game. It's not perfect, and sometimes it shows its age, but there's really nothing quite like it out there.
This version has buttery smooth rollback netplay, practice mode, movelists, and everything else you could want out of a modern release. I could not possibly recommend this enough for anybody with even a passing interest in fighting games.

This is a hard review to write.
I greatly enjoy this game. The gameplay itself is fine. Fighting is tight as ever, with some mechanics to help ease new players (like me) while keeping it reasonably deep. And high level play is as exciting and wild as ever.
BUT Capcom's handling of the microtransactions is nothing short of a travesty, and it has only gotten worse as the game has gone on.
So I will recommend it, under the assumption you know that it's going to cost you either a lot of time or a lot of money to get the full experience. If you can look past the horrible business practices, there's still a fighting game worth playing in there.

Do you have an unhealthy fascination with graveyards?
Do you enjoy the zen appeal of slowly cultivating something through effort and dedication?
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be Charlie Day?

Graveyard Keeper is a fascinating game, and one that has got me seriously addicted. The comparison to Stardew Valley is inevitable, but this game has a certain charm that can't be matched.
It is grindy, but the rewards are very satisfying, and with knowledge and research you can gradually streamline it out, especially with zombies and perks.
It's frighteningly dense and doesn't hold your hand, but there's plenty of time to experiement and plenty of resources to learn as well.
Days are short and things cost a lot of energy and time, but it doesn't take long to get a steady supply of good food that can keep you going through several full bars of energy.

It's not perfect, really. It lacks polish on some mechanics, has an annoying amount of randomness to some otherwise important things (which can mostly be mitigated with perks), and it takes a fair amount of time and dedication to get to the real meat of it. But it's still ultimately a very enjoyable experience in the right mindset, that keeps pushing you to improve your stuff and plan weeks ahead of time, while never getting overbearing with its demands.

And one thing this game does that I really like, is give you control over its pace. There are basically no time sensitive events. No seasons, either. All the time-specific stuff is based on weekdays. But days are short, so if you miss a day, it won't be too long until it's back around. You can also essentially control the pace of your corpse deliveries with carrots and pallets. Some quest items are ass to get because they require specific research or items, but if you're doing well in another specialization, you can just straight up buy them.

The game is only as demanding as you want it to be.
So just sit back, grab a shovel, put on a nice podcast, and tend to your corpse garden.

I used to play hours and hours of the original mafia party game through my mid teens. Always been a fan of those kinds of games. Then I played the ♥♥♥♥ out of Epic Mafia, both with randoms and with the occasional massive /v/ room.
There are many versions of it to play online too, like Epic Mafia and Town of Salem, but I have to say, this one is by far the most polished and engaging one.

First of all, the two current gamemodes have some focus on a mechanic of conversion. Anybody who proves to be a good guy might not STAY a good guy. It's really hard to trust anyone with that in mind, because if you do, it probably will come back to bite you.
Second of all, every role has many abilities to use during the day and/or night. You're never at the mercy of waiting or unable to do anything. Smart use of abilities and just the right amount of luck can turn games around, or completely ruin them. That does mean the learning curve is a bit higher, even if the motions are generally the same, but the game has a built-in guide that lets you see all the classes any time and a wiki that's kept tidy by the ever growing community.

In other words, if you like the mafia/werewolf kinda game of deception, this is the single best one in the market at the moment, hands down. Definitely check it out.