Minimap's Reviews
The reality of things here is that MindsEye was simply not ready to be released. It needed more time in the oven. In fact, I’d even go as far to say that if it had more time in the oven, it wouldn’t be as critically panned. Do I think it would’ve been good at all? Not necessarily. There are many core issues MindsEye suffers from that are key to it not hitting its full potential. MindsEye is a game that exists, a game that didn’t deserve the fate it received, but it is what it ended up being.
After taking a step back to see what a normal experience would be, having to buy the game and the issues widely reported, I can say I would not buy this game. Even though I enjoyed my time in the Playtest, I cannot give 40 dollars to an early access game from a company with no reputation.
"Mixtape is a game which understands its influences but not why they work. The discourse around it has made that harder to see clearly. It is a game made by people with clear passions. Having love for your inspirations does not equate to creativity or good execution, though. With Mixtape, it results in a mediocre coming of age film in the form of a video game."
I think this game was fine. I think my expectations were too high, and that maybe I should have played the first game because I was hearing so many good things, which might have heightened my thoughts on what a sequel would have been. I feel like I got a decent amount of satisfaction out of the game. In terms of recommending it to someone, I think they would need to be more invested in the storytelling compared to wanting a great platforming or puzzle experience.
This has been an overly negative review, and I recognise that this game has a lot to improve on, however, I genuinely think that there's something here that could be unique and fun, as long as Accidental Studios are able to lean into what makes Subliminal unique.
If you are someone who misses the feeling of old-school, minimalistic RPG Dungeon Crawlers, fear not, the art of these games has not been entirely lost.
Hyper Light Breaker is in its infancy of Early Access. Heart Machine has plenty of time to iterate and turn this into a great game, and they’ve already acknowledged the flood of player complaints and vowed to quickly release patches. I am concerned, though, that even as performance is improved and new content is added, they might never manage to refine the gameplay loop to the point of actually being fun.
I think that the premise was good. A cat-themed cafe is cute. I just think the game didn’t have the right amount of direction to make it stand out. Yes, the finished drinks are adorable, and I think it shows the charm the developers were going for, but that is about it. Once you unlock everything the game has to offer, it’s just grinding to earn all of the achievements, and that takes an unnecessarily long amount of time. That, paired with the amount of quality of life issues I found, this just is not something that I can responsibly say is worth the money. Cats & Cups has earned a 2 out of 5 stars from me. I feel like the game needs more substance, and that would have bumped it up substantially.
With its excellent pixel art and slick UI, Desert Race Adventures makes a great first impression. Unfortunately, this light management strategy game runs out of gas far too quickly. With frustrating gameplay that relies too heavily on a limited set of random events and minimal variance from run to run, there’s simply not enough to justify playing beyond a few attempts.
Dice a Million has a plethora of potential, more so than other games that attempt to emulate Balatro. As it stands, its lack of balance, punishing bosses, and almost near-absence of build diversity make it hard to recommend.
My ending thoughts are that this game is too highly priced to justify recommending at full price. If Toree Saturn goes on sale to match the price tag of the previous games, then I think it’s a good buy. I think it’s fun, but there are other games that focus on speed that I enjoy more. I do plan on getting a hold of the other Toree games to see how this one fares compared to the whole series.
High on Life 2 is unfortunately a game not worth recommending. For a price tag of a full $60, players should expect a level of polish, content, and quality that the game simply does not harbor for itself. Along with regressing in many areas and doubling down on an identity that doesn’t entirely work in 2026, one begs to question who High on Life as a franchise is exactly for.
In the end, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles feels like a missed opportunity. With its strong source material and the potential of its various gameplay elements, it could have been a standout title. Instead, it settles for being a passable, if forgettable, entry in the ever-growing JRPG game genre. Like its protagonist, the game attempts to absorb various elements from different sources, but unlike Rimuru, it fails to transform them into something greater than the sum of its parts.
As much as I enjoyed the turn-based combat and RPG systems, they comprised too small a portion of the overall product for me to recommend VED. I do hope this game can find an audience that appreciates it for what it is; there was clearly a lot of passion put into this project. The development team Karaclan, which consists of three brothers from Lithuania, has been working on VED for twelve years.
Deck of Haunts has “good bones,” but it needs renovating with more content, better balance, and some polishing. It’s a clever combination of deck-building and house-construction strategy that is undoubtedly fresh and fun at first, but lacks the challenge to stay that way for long. The potential is there, and I commend Mantis for developing something creative in a genre containing far too many copycats.
After playing both Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 in 2025, I am flabbergasted at why Obsidian feels the incessant need to continue recycling this structure of game. I cannot help feeling as if I’ve essentially played the same game three times already. There is nothing inherently wrong with these games at a base level. They’re built well and are mostly technically sound. The engine has these games function well enough and they are fine to play. Being simply ‘fine’ is utterly disappointing however relative to what Obsidian can accomplish as a studio.
This is a very creative, beautiful, and unique game but unfortunately the extremely slow pacing really hurt the experience for me. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who enjoy this just for just the art alone, but about a third of the way through this 7 hour game, I was ready to move on with something else.
Raccoin isn’t a bad game by any means, and it stands as being good, actually. It is inherently disappointing when you consider what it could’ve been if the concept strived to be more unique rather than largely reusing an existing formula.
The tactics gameplay is genuinely a lot of fun, with exciting abilities and environmental hazards that provide several options to dispatch challenging foes. However, it never justifies its roguelike structure, with dull upgrades, limited variety, and slow metaprogression holding it back. Thankfully, there is a solid foundation, and developer Unfinished Pixel can use this Early Access period to flesh things out, but I can’t recommend Blightstone in its current state.
Confidential Killings - A Detective Game’s artwork, which combines 1970s glamour with a noir aesthetic, has plenty of style. However, the puzzles lack substance, kneecapping attempts at intrigue and challenge by showing their hand far too early. There’s a decent story, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some fun filling in the blanks of these deadly scenarios, but this was far from the killer experience I was hoping for.