Not A Game Review

Image Credit: CBE Software This is probably the first time in my life that I am writing about a game that was released just last month; if you didn't know already, I almost never play games upon release. I might catch up with some a year later, or a decade - my habits are simply too erratic in this matter. Someday You'll Return is a game that starts off really well - it checks all the right boxes; music, setting up the story, a beautiful environment. But the closer you look, the cracks start showing up, until they're impossible to ignore. And then, the only thing you can do is marvel at how something that seemed so unique and promising simply failed to live up to its appeal. It was an uphill battle finding the patience to see it through to the end.  Simply put, it's buggy - I couldn't get a decent framerate at anything but low settings even though my machine more than meets the recommended specs. There are audio issues. The voice acting is average at best....

Image Credit: ONE-O-ONE GAMES I've never been one to state my opinions publicly. Deeply rooted beneath the strong belief that arguing over one's point of view on the internet is an exercise in futility (I'd rather do actual exercise) lies a tendency to disown the things I like for fear of being judged. But recently, someone close to me has been encouraging me to be more confident. There's a difference between keeping a distance from online debates that lead nowhere and not having confidence in oneself. So I'll just say it: for all the controversy surrounding it, I enjoyed playing The Suicide of Rachel Foster. You play as Nicole, returning to the family hotel to conduct an inspection to follow through on selling the property. In typical horror fashion, you get trapped there owing to a particularly severe snowstorm. The hotel itself is very spacious and beautifully designed. Described as an indie game, I definitely wasn't expecting this level of visual p...

Image: Remedy Entertainment In between bites of triple-choc ice-cream and thoughts of the recently beaten A Machine For Pigs, I sit down at my desk and surprise myself by writing about a completely different game instead that I can't seem to get out of my head since the last few weeks. I'll be honest - I tend to avoid shooters. Many of them fall prey to a pitfall of the genre - repetitiveness. That's a major reason as to why I give them a wide berth and stick to acclaimed, narrative-rich walking sims. This probably comes off as ignorant - I know there are tons of shooters out there with a gripping story - but for me, the first ones I came across were made by Remedy. Today, five years after I first encountered Max Payne on a seedy website that promised me a free .iso, I'll happily fight swarms of enemies if it's a Remedy game. I always appreciate innovation in a game. Nothing does it for me like the feeling of playing something new, something never seen before. ...

Witty writing with several genuinely hilarious moments. Don't go into this expecting a re-run of Oxenfree and you will most likely have a good time. 

Image Credit: Rewind The first thing that struck me as I started playing Amnesia was the ever-present darkness. It's overwhelming, stifling and instills into the player a sense of dread that can only be surpassed by the telltale grunts of a monster shuffling around the corner. Welcome to Brennenburg Castle. I have always been a sucker for games with a unique gameplay trait, or a rich story. Amnesia has both, which only makes it natural that I would thoroughly enjoy it. Though the game has monsters (or "grunts") that actually have the power to kill you, darkness is the real enemy here. When you're in the dark, you have limited visibility, barely enough to navigate. Stay in the dark too long and you start losing your sanity. You have the ability to light torches and candles wherever they might be present, but each one costs you a tinderbox, which are extremely limited in supply. Terrifying-atmosphere-wise, this is the closest I've seen to simulating a real...

You're invited to a party. You don't get out much, you don't have any friends. This occasion marks a deviation from your usual routine in life. You're worried about fitting in. Part of you doesn't want to go, but the one that's eager to experience life like the others do overrides your fears. Quite predictably, you end up getting bullied and locked up in a confined space. Did I groan at this sequence? No. On the contrary, I got chills because it felt like an episode right out of my life. I wanted to love this game, I really did. Coming off the high that was Detroit: Become Human, I went in with really high expectations. I'll get the good points out of the way first before I delve into the remaining part of my strongly mixed feelings. One thing that I could find no fault with were the performances by Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe; I imagine they'd practically feel right at home in a game that plays out like a movie. Another point worth mentioning is ...

A charming adaption of a best-selling novel (which I am yet to read) with genuine, heartwarming moments. It follows multiple storylines which - you guessed it - intersect at many points throughout the game. There's romance, political intrigue, choices and consequences - sometimes heavy ones. That said, this was definitely one of the most engrossing stories I have come across in a game for a while; I can only imagine how gripping the novel must be.  Definitely a must-play if you are looking for a touching story told in a point-and-click adventure format.