Gaming-Village's Reviews
Alchemic Cutie struggles with poor performance on the Nintendo Switch and repetitive gameplay. With the severe frame rate drops, I can currently only give it a red rating. Otherwise, it would be yellow. Even then, the core gameplay largely consists of constantly gathering resources or slimes with very little variety in the breeding process. The colors are often pretty, but there are far too many of them—at least in its current state. Just having information about which color I actually need would already be very helpful. As things stand, I have to guess and experiment too often to find the right color. Not to mention that I currently cannot save my progress at all. But even if I could, Alchemic Cutie would still feel too sluggish. Even for me, despite usually not having any issues with simply picking up random plants from the ground. At present, I can only advise against the Nintendo Switch version of this slime-breeding game. But even independently of that, Alchemic Cutie is really only suitable for players who can derive enjoyment from collecting repetitive resources.
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At least Albatroz is a short experience—within about eight hours you’ve already seen most of what it has to offer, unless you accidentally spent the entire time walking in the wrong direction… I cannot recommend Albatroz, primarily due to its poor technical state. Rarely have I encountered such a rough implementation. Long loading times, bugs that obstruct progress, stuttering, and even complete freezes all contribute to a consistently negative experience.
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INDUSTRIA II feels very much like the kind of horror movie sequel that gets rushed to market after the moderate success of its predecessor. The story is continued competently enough, but the gameplay feels abandoned halfway through development. Ideas that the original INDUSTRIA introduced — whether narratively or mechanically — are only superficially touched upon here, leaving them unable to make any meaningful impact in Industria II. And then there is the technical state of the game, which ultimately becomes the final nail in the coffin and pushes an otherwise merely dull experience firmly into frustrating territory. As things currently stand, I simply cannot recommend Industria II. Perhaps Bleakmill will manage to bring the game closer to a solid state through extensive updates, at which point it might become an easy recommendation for fans of the first title. I certainly hope so.
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Echo Isle is a successful homage to the GBC Zelda games, with compact level design that effectively conveys the gameplay experience, but does not develop the concept in any way. In this respect, it is worthwhile primarily for a short nostalgia trip for longtime Zelda fans.
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The combat system itself is quite enjoyable for a while. But the intense accumulation of various bonuses and extra effects during a run makes it hard to keep track of things, both in the menus and during fights.
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In this way, the entire repertoire gradually expands without becoming overwhelming. However, for me personally, it could have progressed quite a bit faster, as Life Below tends to slow down the pace of progression. A few of the intermediate steps before I could expand my settlement again already felt a little repetitive to me. Even so, I enjoyed continuing to develop my own zone, attracting more marine fauna, and simply taking in the atmosphere. But despite that, the spark never quite jumped across for me.
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The light we followed as Will ultimately turned out to be a will-o'-the-wisp. Will: Follow the Light has some good ideas, and the gameplay variety in particular is not lacking. I could happily have spent an entire game sailing in the way it is implemented here. But aside from its strong opening and a few recurring motifs that run throughout the game, the narrative leaves much to be desired on almost every level. Above all, the emotional core simply fails to land because the storytelling and presentation lack the necessary craftsmanship. Everything is in part there, but much like the town at the beginning, the remains of a solid story can only be glimpsed beneath a landslide.
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Aragami 2 was something I was curious about after hearing that it would feature a more developed combat system. For me personally, however, this did not turn out to be an improvement. I do appreciate the option to incapacitate enemies without killing them. Unfortunately, the voice acting is once again largely unintelligible apart from a few recognizable terms. The shift toward more open areas, and with it more aimless wandering, is something I enjoyed less. In addition, not only do you revisit the same areas too often, but there also feel to be simply too many missions overall, making the game come across as unnecessarily stretched out. Ultimately, my conclusion remains that different does not automatically mean better.
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Even though stealth games are not among my favourites, I still found Aragami: Shadow Edition quite entertaining. I chose a rather brutal approach: waiting for enemy movement patterns, warping between nearby shadows and striking, hiding the bodies again, and returning to the darkness. If a guard became alerted, I would eliminate them with an ability and make them disappear as well. The fact that enemies show no concern for missing people or bloodstains? Well, for me that was secondary—the fun came first. I also liked the idea of displaying shadow energy and selected abilities through markings on the character’s cloak. With a mostly slow and cautious playstyle, I was able to progress through the game quite comfortably. Of course, this does make the pacing suffer somewhat. At times, I also would have preferred more generous checkpoints. In the Nightfall campaign, I had to abandon my approach of eliminating as many enemies as possible, as the difficulty became too high for that style of play. Additional challenge is provided by the third difficulty level and optional medals. Unfortunately, performance issues slightly detract from the experience. I would also have preferred full voice acting, as it would have supported the atmosphere better. At times, it is also not entirely clear why certain areas—such as rooftops—cannot be reached, even though they appear to be within range and sufficiently shadowed.
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April Grove builds its woodcutting loop quite effectively, with skill upgrades, increasingly difficult trees to fell, and a gradually expanding movement range. However, the integrated idle mechanics make the grind feel somewhat excessive, as the game does not automate progression enough for its cutting requirements, while at the same time the automatic woodcutting is too slow to fully satisfy active play. In addition, side characters and the surrounding world lose much of their significance over time, fading into the background. As much as I enjoy chopping and collecting wood, the slow progression makes this woodcutting simulation unsuitable for everyone.
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Another World Mahjong Girl did not turn me into a Mahjong expert. Even by the end, I still hadn’t memorized all the possible winning hands. You also shouldn’t expect much of a story here, and the flavor text for the opponents is not particularly meaningful either. That said, I do find the character style quite appealing. In the gallery, you can view individual girls you have either recruited or defeated. You can also interact with them for reactions, although many of them are not particularly positive. After all, winning at Mahjong alone is not the same as winning someone’s heart—who would have thought?
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Another Fisherman’s Tale is a sequel to the much-praised 2019 title A Fisherman's Tale, and narratively it does have its heart in the right place. The game offers a number of pleasant ideas, although they only rarely develop into anything truly complex. Several moments and sections are also visually quite impressive, thanks to the imagination and surreal storytelling of Bob. However, there are also repeated moments that were physically very taxing for me. The frequent texture shifts in my field of view, as well as the often unreliable hand tracking, left me feeling quite exhausted. Another Fisherman's Tale did not provide me with a comfortable VR experience in this regard. This ultimately dulls an otherwise rather positive impression, and leaves me still waiting for a truly standout PSVR2 experience this year—at least beyond titles that were already available on PSVR.
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Ancient Farm is a rather uneven farming simulation. The fact that I am mostly alone on my farm—apart from the occasional trading ship—does not bother me at all. The tutorial is quite extensive, but beyond that there is a lack of incentives to engage with the various gameplay systems. In particular, the acquisition and use of water is overly complicated, requiring too many tools. On top of that, these tools break far too quickly. The seasons only differ in terms of which crops can be grown, which makes the overall experience feel somewhat shallow. As a result, the game comes across as a bit thin, and I can only offer a limited recommendation.
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Airoheart is a decent Zelda-like clone, but it struggles significantly with navigation, suffers from technical rough edges, and unfortunately brings very few fresh ideas to the table. Anyone looking for an indie experience in the style of classic Zelda games is arguably better served by the two Ittle Dew titles, the two Blossom Tales games, or Oceanhorn. It’s a shame, because the initial impression from screenshots and videos was quite solid.
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Age of Mythology: Retold is, in my view, a fantastic time capsule of a genre that has become almost lost, especially among major publishers, even if the 22-year-old game still shows some minor flaws. Yet it never truly drew me in. While playing the missions, I often felt more like Sisyphus, endlessly rolling his boulder uphill again and again. Or like Tantalus, because all the mythology, monsters, and gods looked so enticing, yet never quite managed to fully satisfy me. This may sound harsh, but Age of Mythology: Retold and I—we were not great friends. I can recognize its qualities and its deeply layered systems, but I don’t truly feel them. On a personal level, this is probably the “worst” verdict I can give. Or, more simply, it is a genre game for fans of other genres.
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The fact that I personally felt rather emotionally distanced is a shame, but I don’t hold that against the title. What is actually more problematic are the obstacles present in each subsequent playthrough after the first. Repeated sections can usually only be fast-forwarded slowly rather than skipped entirely. With a single ending, this would not be much of an issue, but with a total of four character routes, large portions of the playtime end up consisting of repetition. This is especially unfortunate because the individual routes can be quite compelling, yet overlapping events significantly lose their impact. In a sense, it makes it difficult to find a way forward.
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I find it really unfortunate. On its own, Ad Infinitum is not a bad game, but for me it simply falls short when it comes to its horror elements. On top of that, the gameplay can feel somewhat too shallow at times. In contrast, the story and its moral exploration of the horrors of war are genuinely well done. It is clear that the developers at Hekate put a lot of effort into this aspect. However, because of that, I can unfortunately only recommend the game to players who are specifically interested in experiencing its themes and narrative. If you are expecting a genuinely frightening and mechanically engaging horror experience, Ad Infinitum sadly leaves a lot to be desired.
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Adore is one of those rare games where I find myself genuinely conflicted about whether I can or should recommend it. It does very little outright wrong, yet so much of what is there merely hints at the game’s underlying potential rather than fully realizing it. Fans of monster-collecting games may still want to take a closer look, but for everyone else, Adore will likely disappear into the overwhelming flood of indie releases. That's too bad for Cadabra Games.
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This certainly made the experience more enjoyable, but I never fully warmed up to how heavily I had to rely on target tracking against moving enemies, especially since many opponents simply seemed far more maneuverable than my own aircraft. The story mode is also not particularly long. After finishing the game, the total recorded flight time was around nine hours, although that figure also included an abandoned run on Normal difficulty as well as a few free missions.
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Kioku: Last Summer is a relaxing summer vacation adventure that unfortunately still struggles with a number of technical issues. The in-game week offers plenty of variety through all kinds of holiday activities, and while the overall tone is cheerful and lighthearted, the story also includes a few more serious moments, particularly during interpersonal conflicts. At the same time, however, the adventure is not yet entirely polished on a technical level, and some of the bugs are distracting enough to noticeably affect the experience. As a result, I can currently only recommend the title with some caution.
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