Even without the many problems, I didn’t enjoy my travels in Hidden around the World. So much effort and detail had been put into making the cities feel authentic, only to be ruined by generic objects cluttering the scene inappropriately. Some of the objects are just too small to be distinguishable, especially in handheld mode, so it makes the whole experience disjointed.
Clue: Murder By Death has a great framework for a video game. Appropriate graphics and a clever use of different dialogue give the game an authentic feel, more than just a remake of a classic board game. However, with slow loading times and character movement, it misses the mark and leads to cumbersome and frustrating gameplay. Clue: Murder By Death would have benefited from more user testing and proofreading to capture the typos and grammar mistakes. Although I initially liked the game, the game-breaking crashes mean I really can’t recommend it at this time.
I’m sure many Simon the Sorcerer fans will appreciate the trial and error approach to the problems, be thrilled to hear Chris Barrie bring Simon back to life, and laugh at the humour which fills the dialogue. And whilst I appreciate the passion, dedication and effort put into Simon the Sorcerer Origins to rekindle those 1990s classics, the lack of a hint system ruined my experience and highlighted the other shortcomings of the game, which in other situations would have been overlooked.
ILA: A Frosty Glide has some excellent gameplay – I thoroughly enjoyed exploring and collecting. There is a lot to savour and take pleasure in when roaming around, uncovering the secrets and customising Ila’s appearance. If rating the game solely on that aspect, it would score highly. However, I found some of the platforming too frustrating and too difficult to look fondly on my time with ILA: A Frosty Glide. The extreme highs and lows of emotion in trying and just not succeeding left me disheartened. If you like challenging platforming and lots of exploring, then this game might be for you, but for me…
The graphics in Upin & Ipin Universe are beautiful and give a real flavour of a Southeast Asian tropical village. Riding the tandem round the village was a definite highlight. Unfortunately, the uncontrollable camera and timed mini-games made playing Upin & Ipin Universe a frustrating and stressful experience. For a game based on a children’s animated TV series, it didn’t portray the childhood fun I was hoping for.
There are some nice touches in Ashwood Valley: unlimited pockets are always welcome, and your little character happily runs around the valley, making exploring quick. However, the controls are unresponsive and slow to trigger, making the farming and animal management a tedious process. The main objective is too easy to complete, and then there is little to keep you truly engaged.
Care Bears: Unlock the Magic did not rekindle any of the Care Bear magic I remember from childhood. Although the bright colours and bouncy music are enjoyable, the repetition of the same 8 mini-games quickly grows tiresome. Ultimately, I’m not sure who the target audience is. I think, those who are inspired by the Care Bears: Unlock the Magic TV show, would find the levels get too difficult, too quickly. Those who would enjoy the challenge, would not be inspired by the theme. I had high hopes for Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, but as it is…
There is a lot to like about Sugardew Island. The Forest Folk are so cute as they run into the shop to purchase the items you’ve worked hard to produce. The colourful graphics, delightful animals, and straightforward gameplay are appealing, and although the island locals aren’t the most chatty, it’s fun to learn about their stories. However, with the issues around upgrading tools and the numerous software crashes, I can’t recommend Sugardew Island at this time. Hopefully, the developers will hack away these thorny problems very quickly because there is an adorable farm shop simulation game waiting for us on Sugardew Island.
Orange Season has a wide range of produce, some interesting livestock options, and different types of festivals to similar games in the genre. However, I was disappointed in the overall balance, with no long term plan to keep me playing. I really wanted to like the game and find out what was going on in Orange Town. However, once the coop is out of order, it is impossible to complete some of the tasks, and for that reason, I can’t recommend it.
Initially, I really enjoyed playing Tiny Little Farm. The music was relaxing, and although the quests were challenging, they were achievable with perseverance. Unfortunately, though, I can’t recommend it at this point. The unpredictable vanishing trees, compounded by the fact that you can’t replant them, means that playthroughs could be impossible to complete. I hope the developers can correct the issue, as there is a great little game hiding in the undergrowth of the Tiny Little Farm.
I like so much about Garden Witch Life . The bees buzzing round the hives, the roses growing up the trellis fences, the exciting and different areas through the magical portal, the cooking mini-games and no dangerous mine monsters to battle with. However at present it feels more like an early access version, and whilst updates are welcome to resolve issues, I shouldn’t have to restart in order to benefit. It is for the numerous issues I encountered that I can’t recommend Garden Witch Life at this moment. I sincerely hope that the developers weed out the problems, as there is a great farming/life sim game waiting to be unearthed.
Some games take you on an emotional roller-coaster. For us, PlateUp! was more of an emotional freefall. First impressions were great, it was challenging, but doable, and even failing had an element of fun to it. However the constant new options meant that practised recipes and restaurant layouts meant nothing, each attempt was totally new and this started to frustrate. However, the lack of explanation of how appliances, upgrades, speed-runs and franchises work took away the enjoyment. One of my co-oped friends would rate it as ‘I don’t like it’, bitterly disappointed to have wasted so much time. The other would rate it as ‘I like it’ but would not play it again. I know PlateUp! has a loyal following, but for us, it was undercooked
Although I enjoyed the different course locations and the concept of unicorns rather than karts or motorbikes, Wildshade: Unicorn Champions doesn’t bring anything new to the racing genre. If more could be made of the breeding option, allowing the characteristics of the horse or unicorn to have some bearing on performance, it would make Wildshade: Unicorn Champions a more exciting and memorable racing game. As it is, it seems off the pace and, for me, fell at the first hurdle.
If you like the pressure of timed levels and find fun in mashing buttons, then Agriculture might be the farming game for you. The concept and graphics are great, and the strategy in some of the levels is appealing. However, for me, there needs to be a few quality-of-life updates for it to be a truly enjoyable game.
Alchemic Cutie is a game of highs and lows. The concept is great, and I adore the pixelated format. Wimba Island is full of mystery, and I’m keen to find out more. Unfortunately, the faded or night time colouring when it’s raining and the complexity of the jelly colour palette make it hard to give our top rating. The developers have clearly invested a huge amount of time and passion in the game, and I hope they continue to do so. Ideally, I would rate this as “I Like it a Lot”. However, the poor performance on the Nintendo Switch version renders it impossible to recommend at the time of review.
The concept of Animal Shelter Simulator is really great. I like the idea of running my own animal shelter, and the game gives some great educational insights into animal care and management. However, the awkward use of the controls and the game’s instability left me feeling too frustrated to find it truly enjoyable. I hope the developers can spend more time improving Animal Shelter Simulator, as there is a really good game hiding in the current offering.
Has Digimon World: Next Order made me a Digimon fan? No. I’ve got a love/hate relationship with Digimon World: Next Order. I love the strategy involved in Digivolution, the auto-battling suits my gaming style, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the vast map. However, I found the unpredictability of death slightly distressing, the relentless cycle of caring for and retraining my Digimon frustrating and the unbalanced questing disappointing.
Memorrha is a game of two halves. A fantastic start, with a steady flow of puzzles (which can be solved with logic or trial and error). In addition, there are some amazing locations to travel through and enjoy. The second part, still featuring marvellous graphics and clever puzzles become a little too repetitive.That, combined with performance issues, didn’t make it enjoyable. I wish Memorrha had ended at the hidden sanctum and left me wanting more. Instead, it continued and fell short of my expectation.
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster. At times, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing it – galloping around the wide and varied landscape (the scenery is stunning), planning and building my estate. At other times, I’ve plummeted into an abyss of despair, dangling in mid-air with no option but to reset, and losing hours of gameplay as the autosave didn’t work properly. This is a brilliant game but it needs a lot of improvement to reach its potential. The publishers said that all versions are going to receive additional development to improve quality and fix some bugs. However, at the time of publishing this review, it’s not clear when that content will be released and what will be fixed. So until then, I can’t give this game any thumbs up.
TEMPUS has moments of brilliance, some of the puzzles are cleverly constructed and satisfying to complete. However, the console controls for moving the on-screen cursor are too frustrating to make the overall experience pleasurable.