Swan Song is a story told through letters and audio revolving around the actions of a small family dealing with a terminal illness. The presentation is cozy and pretty. The story chronology is disjointed, and the characters are difficult to connect with. The puzzles are simple, numerous, smartly iterative, interactively frustrating, and unrewarding. The game did not reliably engage my attention during the nearly six hours it took to complete.
Echo Isle is a top-down action-adventure with dungeons and exploration, and it transparently honors its retro roots. The design successfully distills the essentials of the genre into a single sitting and is a complete and pleasing experience with bright, charming visuals and little to no gameplay friction.
MotorSlice is an exceptional platformer and titan battler with a cinematic style and a chill atmosphere in which you fight construction equipment with a chainsaw. The combat and parkour challenges rise in difficulty in a way that is ingenious, gradual, and inviting. The protagonist is bizarrely objectified. The setting is imposing and hostile. The game was immensely fun over the roughly 14 hours I played.
Gecko Gods is a visually stunning and mystically ambient exploration adventure. The movement mechanics are nothing short of brilliant and satisfying, and the puzzles range from simplistic to masterful, with a few too many on the simplistic side. The collectibles and optional secrets are mostly superficial and unfulfilling, but you get to eat bugs and squeak on command, which are both imperative and cherished public services.