Review

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison.

Way too eager to explore a haunted area called the 'Hill of Werewolves'

The 2.5th chapter of Thara Celehar's suffering starts off on a worryingly positive note. He gets to do normal things at his job, have minimal interactions with people in positions of power and even gets an apprentice! Fortunately we quickly return to normal, as investigating the suspected murder of an elderly marchioness leads him on the mother of all tangents, ending with something notably scarier than a ghoul and serious consequences.

Also, photography is apparently inherently pornographic...

2spooky4me

Why

• Seemed to have some creative mechanics
• Cool vibes, I definitely felt scared

Why Not

• Difficult (for me) to overlook the "checklist of stuff" gameplay
• You don't like horror

Impressions

Saw this on special for ~300yen and thought I'd give it a try to see if I'd like spooky horror games. Unfortunately it seems I don't; I definitely felt the tension and appreciated some cool ideas but overall it just wasn't an enjoyable experience.

Starting with the positives, there are some cool visuals here and it definitely nailed the spooky vibe for me....

We're all just flowers in a garden of her making

Why

• Book-quality story which wouldn't work in a book
• Every single character makes you feel something
• Respects your intelligence by giving you the opportunity to piece things together
• Always changes things up just in time to prevent getting stale

Why Not

• You absolutely need action in your games

Impressions

If you like story-driven games, or just good stories at all, stop reading and go play this. What a crazy journey, setting and incredible cast of lovable/hateable characters.

You're Watcher, one of many clones of...

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.

What if the emperor was a decent guy?

Poor Maia is the 4th son of the elvish emperor, consigned to a remote manor with his abusive uncle for the crime of being born to a wife the emperor didn't like very much. Or at least he was, until the airship his father and three brothers were on exploded, making him the new emperor.

Growing up with no one to talk to other than a drunken uncle who beats you for fun is perhaps not the most standard training for emperorhood, but...

Doesn't just jump the shark; plays hopscotch with it

Why

• Absurdly over the top, but can still get you invested in characters
• You never know what you're gonna get when you start a side quest
• Entertaining JRPG combat with depth and real-time elements
• Ichiban is strong candidate for my number one protagonist

Why Not

• Gets a bit grindier toward the end after mostly avoiding it well
• Some late game bosses are absolute tanks even if you're levelled appropriately

Impressions

Trying to predict where Like a Dragon will go next is an exercise in futility....

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison.

I came here to drink tea and solve murders

The more I read of this the more convinced I became it was partway through a series, but I never really felt compelled to put it down and check. Celehar's very matter-of-fact approach to decidedly not matter-of-fact situations is a perspective which seems like it should make him a boring character, but never manages to. Instead he's just a competent guy trying to get his job done in the midst of murder, undead and office politics.

We begin with the...

The most beautiful thing to make me want to throw my Steam Deck across the room

Why

• Distinctive art-style
• Nice music
• Some interesting puzzles/really beautiful areas

Why Not

• Platforming can be painful at times

Impressions

A beautiful little puzzle game aiming for a cozy, relaxing experience that lets itself down a bit with rage-inducing platforming.

You're a little girl minding her own business when a scary looking bug dude called the Oscuro comes along and steals the light that seems to make everything in this universe function. Since you and the bug are the...

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei.

Birds solve crimes in space

I enjoyed this while reading it, but struggle to think of anything that stood out looking back. Our protagonist (Asuka) is one of 80 crew members on a an all-female colony ship which just had its course forcibly adjusted by the same explosion which killed its captain. As the 'alternate', the only person on the ship without a clearly defined role, Asuka gets roped into becoming humanity's first space detective. Her investigations are interspaced with flashbacks to their training on Earth, providing context for her constant...

Starting a new game taken literally

Why

• Just do it
• So much creativity
• More than it seems
• Even if it was only what it seems, would still be a good game

Why Not

• The idea of battling with card-shaped objects is abhorrent to you

Impressions

Yeah just go play this one. If it looks even slightly interesting to you from the store page, or honestly even if it doesn't, don't spoil yourself by reading reviews. Trust me bro and go buy it.

If you're not willing to blindly spend ~$20 on the word of...

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.

Noir detective with magical-sister issues goes back to high school

I really enjoyed this one, even stayed up an hour past my usual bedtime to finish it off last night. Ivy is a very human protagonist who's quippy without entering Marvel territory, and the supporting cast all fill their roles well. She's a private investigator estranged from her magical sister, at least until a death at the magical high school her sister teaches at smashes them back into each other's lives.

The cast & overall story are kept tight & focused...

The Night the Lights Went Out by Drew Magary.

Man hits head, wakes up and wants fried chicken

I like the way this guy writes; even though it's kinda performative it's performative in a genuine way, probably something like how I'd write about a traumatic event in my life. There's not really one thing which makes this book interesting; you can read about the effects of a brain injuries, loving families and certainly straight white guys being idiots/in love with meat in other places, but this one pulls those elements together in a compelling way that made...

High concept scribbles

Why

• Genuinely unique art style that somehow works
• Combat is pretty engaging/complex
• If you enjoy having absolutely no idea what's going on

Why Not

• You don't like the art-style
• You hate having to do multiple (short) playthroughs for all the content

Impressions

I bought this a while ago after being drawn in by the raw, sketchy art-style then forgot about it for a while. I had some reservations about how good the actual gameply would be since enemies being collections of abstract art doesn't really lend itself to visual clarity, but...

Everything sounds cooler en français

Why

• Creative and sometimes challenging puzzles
• Distinctive art-style and beautiful soundtrack
• Creepy vibes and story
• Easy to pick up & put down for quick sessions

Why Not

• Essentially a puzzle game, so if you dislike those it might not be for you

Impressions

It's crazy to me that this only has ~650 reviews at the time of writing, it's an absolute gem. The art style and music really drew me into the vague story, which is slowly revealed by conversations between a little girl, her shadow and a mysterious...

Atonement by Ian McEwan.

Home & Away style drama but compelling characters

When I look back on the plot it seems simple to the point of ridiculousness, but the emotional highs and lows carried me through so well while reading that I didn't notice. I wasn't expecting to get so attached to a bunch of aristocrats and their ward, but Briony, Cecilia and Robbie are all deeply flawed, deeply interesting people trying to do the best they can in the world as they see it.

Unfortunately for Cecilia & Robbie, Briony sees the world as a creative...

What if INSIDE was a noir movie?

Why

• Very atmospheric & cinematic
• <2 hours to finish

Why Not

• You're playing on Steam Deck & don't like slideshows
• <2 hours to finish
• Missing the tension/sense of danger from INSIDE

Impressions

This is my first INSIDE-like after enjoying that game and its predecessor LIMBO quite a lot earlier this year. You're a helpless little raven girl in a big scary noir-style world which hates birds, only able to walk, jump and climb ladders.

While INSIDE puts the pressure on right out of the gate by having...

Becoming Superman by Michael J. Straczynski.

A lot darker than you'd expect.

Man, this guy had a rough life. The first few chapters where he lays out the (surface level!) history of his family is a tough read, and I could definitely see people bouncing off there. Things get better eventually, at least for the author, but not without chapter upon chapter of reminders that people can be really fucked up. It would've been pretty incredible for Michael to become just a functioning member of society, but the fact he went ahead and became a massive success...

Mobile games are... good?

Why

• Absolutely mindbending
• Beautifully crafted levels
• An chill soundtrack with a lot of attention given to sound effects

Why Not

• You only like games with action or conflict

Impressions

The Monument Valley series is 3 chill, beautifully designed puzzle games about (sometimes) lone wanderer traversing the ruins of an ancient civilization who played fast & loose with geometry. I played the original on one of my first smartphones and loved it, so when I saw the first two 90% off on Steam I jumped at the chance to relive my...

Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Goddamit now I have to play the Witcher games again

I first read the Witcher series in 2015; can't remember if it was because I played the games or I played the games because I read the books. Either way I absolutely devoured them; the core characters were all charming but flawed, the setting was my first encounter with a grittier, more 'realistic' fantasy and the writing had that intangible sense of 'quality' you get from a good author. It probably didn't hurt that I was all-in on the 'Witcher Expanded...

Interesting ideas don't stop it becoming a victim of 'Not Slay the Spire' syndrome

Why

• You want a bit of story in your roguelite, but not too much
• You like the idea of being able to fight or negotiate, and have different decks for each
• Or cards levelling up with use

Why Not

• For a game focused more on story the characters are pretty one-note
• I feel like sticking to a single deck might've allowed for more intersting/creative archetypes

Impressions

I got this for negative money in a bundle with Shogun Showdown so...

Killing god(s) with the power of teenage angst

Why

• Everything about it is slick, stylish and choreographed
• You will get deeply attached to at least a few of the characters, probably most
• It never feels stale over a 100+ hour runtime
• Has a low complexity floor, but Excel spreadsheets worth of ceiling
• Finishing it made me genuinely sad to say goodbye to a bunch of pixels

Why Not

• You despise anime, JRPGs or long stretches of dialogue

Impressions

There are so many great things about P5R, but its flair is likely the one that'll...

The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett.

My YA novel moratorium lasted all of two weeks

In my defense, I'd just finished Homo Deus and wanted something light after the inevitable depression brought on by thinking about the future. I really liked the main hook of the magic system; being able to just argue reality into giving up and letting you do what you want is cool. The protagonist's ability to then argue with the things arguing with reality, and exploit their single-mindedness to convince them to do things they weren't designed for, lead to some...

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari.

Turns out assuming corporations will be shitty makes you look like a prophet.

I read and enjoyed Homo Sapiens at my fiance's recommendation, so was interested to see where a forward-looking version would go. Unfortunately it mostly went exactly where I expected, since unlike history I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about technology and the horrible ways corporations use it.

This was written 7 years before ChatGPT convinced the general population fancy autocomplete meant AI was finally here, so Yuval is missing an absolute goldmine of practical evidence of the changes...

A genuinely unique 'card' battler

Why

• Deep gameplay and plenty of replayability
• Makes some big changes to the card battler format that pay off
• Cool pixel art and varied scenarios

Why Not

• You want a game with a clearly defined/visible endpoint
• You're heavily motivated by story

Impressions

This is a great game which clearly lives up to its overwhelmingly positive reviews, but after ~3 hours I'm dropping it.

It's not the game; it's me. The gameplay is great; moving from the typical many cards/few upgrades to few cards/many upgrades (and cooldowns on cards rather...

Maybe not a good sequel, but a great game.

Why

• You want a different but familiar take on Dark Souls
• You enjoy being thrown into ridiculous situations and fighting your way through
• You like power-stancing to the same unhealthy degree as one of my coworkers

Why Not

• The only reason you liked Dark Souls was the interconnectedness of the world

Impressions

This one didn't pull me in to the same degree as the original; I took two long breaks to play other games (Ender Lillies/Magnolia, then Persona 5) and I think that's the biggest...

I'm getting too old for this.

• The Day Death Stopped by Rebecca Thorne

There are a lot of problems with this book. The characters are so one dimensional and the story so straightforward I skipped from the first third of the book to the ending and still perfectly understood/expected what happened. Much of the time which could've been spent making the characters anything other than tired cliches was instead spent details which exist just to be quirky, and worldbuilding/a power system which frequently contradicts itself. I'm mildly annoyed that I wasted as much time as...

The Book of Love by Kelly Link.

Desperate Housewives but university first years and magic.

Not winning a Pulitzer, but it was an enjoyable ride. The opening gave me high hopes by teasing an interesting world beyond the protagonists' understanding, then let me down by proving it was still beyond their understanding right up to the end.

Every interesting secret or ability ended up being disgorged in their general direction or handed to them before they even needed to think about it. Need to learn magic by a deadline? Just don't think about it at all and...

An unexceptional story, exceptionally told.

Why

• Beautiful art, animation & music
• An emotional story with a message
• Plenty of delightful little details to discover

Why Not

• You need games to have plenty of action/player agency

Review

Florence is a visual novel where rather than selecting dialog options you interact with the world as the titular character, much more effectively putting you in her shoes.

These interactions take the form of simple mini-games, designed more to align you with Florence's state of mind at that point than to provide any sort of challenge. I don't...

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman.

A classic Arthurian legend; minus the Arthur.

This book subverts expectations so often that it wraps right back around to meeting them again, but it's still an enjoyable read. As the story takes great pains to impress upon you, Arthurian legends should be filled with gallant knights rescuing damsels in distress and undertaking glamourous quests for King and Country. In this version of Camelot though, the knights are decidedly human with all the vices that entails, the damsels are quite capable of rescuing themselves and the last glamourous quest severely culled...

What if Jesus where a blue haired teenage girl?

Why

• Cozy game which doesn't ask too much of you but provides some nice worldbuilding and story
• Fun core gameplay loop
• Your journal has a cool art style and offers background on the world, incentivising collectible hunting
• Overall art direction is a good fit

Why Not

• A little janky at times
• Combat feels like an absolute chore, apart from one specific enemy type

Impressions

First impressions were great, it's clearly not meant to be challenging but the movement feels fluid, voice acting and art are...

The Assassins Creed 2 of video game sequels.

Why

• All the stuff that made Ender Lilies amazing, with the rough edges sanded off
• New setting and new (slightly) less depressing vibes
• Stronger connections to all your summons as characters
• Satisfyingly links the two games in the same universe

Why Not

• Can feel a little too similar to its predecessor, at least when played back to back

Impressions

A fantastic sequel which takes the medieval fantasy foundation of the original and brings it into the steampunk-ish future. The basic gameplay and premise are the same,...

Named for what it provides David Foster Wallace while people try to guess what on Earth is going on.

• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

It's a testament to the difference between great and decent writers that I had absolutely no idea what was happening for the majority of this book, but was still enraptured enough to spend something like 40 hours finishing it.

DFW opens with the classic 'start at the end' gambit, then constantly keeps the reader off balance by jumping around in time and resolutely refusing to reveal anything resembling an overarching...

Breaking out of time loops with the power of friendship.

Why

• Distinct and interesting gameplay for each crewmate
• Having three for each run + meaningfully different ships opens up a lot of possibilities
• Funny/charming story & characters

Why Not

• You don't like card games, roguelites or quirky animal-like characters.

Impressions

As someone whose time to play games is more limited these days, my favourite thing about Cobalt Core was that it had a story with a clear and satsfying endpoint; which left me feeling I'd experienced all the game had to offer. That's not...

Smol girl with big スタンド.

Why

• You like metroidvanias, beautiful art and great sound design
• You like having varied styles of combat, without any real penalty for switching it up
• You're annoyed by never knowing if you found every secret, but don't want your hand held
• You're looking for a focused 15-25 hour experience that leaves you wanting more

Why not

• You don't like metroidvanias

Impressions

For some reason I went into this one with kinda low expectations, and man was I wrong. The first hour or so pulled me in with the visuals,...

Charming cultists conspire, cockily causing calamities.

Why

• You like cool collectibles, world building and the feeling of an answer slowly revealing itself
• Stylish cult in a pocket dimension trying to revive dead gods vibes
• Strong characters, both lovable & hateable

Why not

• You only like games which require a lot of action, or mechanical skill
• You want a mystery which requires strong deductive skills to solve

Impressions

If you like collectible hunting, you'll love this game. Right after being given unrestricted access to the world I inadvertently jumped over a railing instead of heading...

Doom's modern return is the best kind of power fantasy.

Why

• Very, very fun
• Weapon/enemy variety is great and perfectly staggered
• Frantic pace, all mechanics encourage you to constantly move
• Looks & runs great on Steam Deck

Why not

• Bosses can be a weak point
• You're squeamish
• You strongly dislike violence

Impressions

This is very different to the games I usually play. Some of my favourites are Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity Original Sin 2, Slay the Spire and obviously souls-likes. All fairly slow paced, deliberate games with excellent story telling and characters. Doom does...

A story-driven roguelike deckbuilder based on Arthurian legends.

Why

• Interesting lore, fully voiced
• Wide variety of playstyles and mechanics

Why not

• A little easy?
• Mechanics aren't explained well after first class
• Exacerbated by janky feeling UI

Impressions

This is a neat little game, and if I played it before Hades/Slay the Spire/with more free time I probably would've finished it. As someone with a full time job and hundreds of hours in two of the best roguelikes made though, nothing about this one stuck out enough to keep me playing.

I unlocked 4 or...

Implementation Notes

• 'who should buy' matrix at start

Impressions

• Very frantic at the start, absolutely no idea what you should be doing if not prepared
• Can see a lot of people taking their time and ending up way underlevelled/not knowing why
• Very interested to see solo difficulty
  • lack of other people means less pressure to play 'optimally'
  • not ruining some else's run if you just explore/try stuff
• Upgrades are not exciting, at least at start
  • Have heard character-specific ones from story are better tho
  • they are, more interesting/stronger
• wall jumping can...