“To cast a shadow is to create a place where light cannot reach, and in that darkness lies the power to reshape the world..” - Haruki Murakami

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

Tandem: A Tale of Shadows offers a unique dual-perspective puzzle experience. Emma’s top-down world and Fenton’s 2D side-scrolling environment are intertwined, with light and shadow being the key to progressing. The mechanics are well-implemented, but the puzzles can become repetitive as the objectives remain largely the same across levels. The game’s world design is imaginative, with each region bringing something visually new and interesting.

🏆 Completion:

Not a difficult game to complete, but it does have several achievements that can be missed each level, but with a guide, you can easily find and get to the ones you missed.

Hours to fully complete the game: 8
Achievements: 24/24
Playthroughs: 1
Difficulty: 3/10
Steam Hunter Points: ✪ 4,063

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

Visually, the game excels with its dark Victorian atmosphere. The environments are rich with detail, and the animations are generally smooth, though some minor bugs detract from the overall experience. Cutscenes have stutter both on Steam Deck and PC. The art style fits the eerie, fairy-tale vibe perfectly, enhancing the game’s mood.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

The sound design is atmospheric, with subtle music and well-crafted sound effects that deepen the immersion. Unfortunately, the voice acting falls flat. Emma’s lines lack emotion and feel stilted, making it hard to connect with the story.

📖 Story & Writing:

The narrative is one of the game’s weaker aspects. While the premise is intriguing, the delivery is lacking. The story doesn’t build much tension, and the voice acting does little to elevate it. The plot feels like an afterthought, serving more as a backdrop for the puzzles.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

The game offers 5-8 hours of content, with some challenging puzzles toward the end. The difficulty is balanced, offering a satisfying progression curve. However, once you’ve seen the core mechanics, the novelty wears off quickly, reducing the replayability.

⭕️ Verdict:

Tandem: A Tale of Shadows delivers a unique puzzle experience with inventive mechanics and a strong atmosphere. However, its repetitive gameplay, lackluster story, and stutter bugs prevent it from reaching its full potential. It’s a good pick for fans of puzzle-platformers, but might be better enjoyed during a sale.

"This place... it’s a graveyard of ideas, where abandoned concepts rot away in the dark." - The Hex

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

The Hex stands out by offering a different genre for each of its six main characters. From platforming to turn-based RPGs, each gameplay style is a reflection of the character’s backstory, tying narrative and mechanics closely together. The constant shift in playstyles can be jarring but also keeps the experience fresh and unpredictable. Exploring the tavern itself, where you learn about the dark pasts of these characters, ties all the genres into a cohesive, intriguing story. The gameplay can be rough around the edges, but that’s part of the game’s charm as it plays with expectations.

🏆 Completion:

The Hex isn’t a particularly difficult game to complete, but it does have some missable achievements tied to specific events and secrets in each section. Some will close your game and others will require you to replay chapters if you've missed them. However, with a guide, you can easily track down the ones you might miss on your first playthrough.

Hours to fully complete the game: 17.5
Achievements: 28/28
Playthroughs: 1
Difficulty: 4/10
Steam Hunter Points: ✪ 5,156

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

While The Hex is mostly pixelated and hand-drawn, the visual style effectively sets the tone. It’s gritty, atmospheric, and fits the game’s dark themes. The visuals shift with each genre change, providing variety. While they may not be stunning in every moment, they serve the story well and enhance the overall eerie vibe.

🔊 Sound & Atmosphere:

The sound design is excellent at setting the mood—whether it’s light-hearted and quirky during platforming or unsettling during the more intense moments. However, the lack of voice acting is a noticeable drawback given how rich and complex the characters are. You do get by the end of the game a little bit of voice acting done by Daniel himself, but that's about it. Despite this, the ambient sounds and background music do a good job of immersing you in the world.

📖 Story & Writing:

The narrative is where The Hex truly shines. The game’s story is a clever critique of game design and the industry, told through the tragic lives of six flawed characters. Each character’s backstory is gradually revealed, exposing dark, twisted elements that add depth to the game’s meta-commentary. The writing is sharp, humorous, and deeply unsettling at times, which makes it hard to forget long after you’ve completed the game.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

The game takes about 17.5 hours to complete, depending on how much you explore and engage with each character’s story. Difficulty varies with each genre segment, but it’s generally accessible while still offering some challenging moments. The hardest part is often adapting to each new gameplay style quickly.

⭕️ Verdict:

The Hex is an exceptional narrative-driven game with innovative genre-blending mechanics and rich storytelling. It’s not without flaws—some gameplay sections feel rough, and the lack of voice acting limits the emotional impact. However, the unique concept, compelling characters, and engaging story make it a must-play for those who love indie games that push the boundaries of conventional design. If you’re a fan of Pony Island or enjoy games with meta-commentary and experimental styles, this is one to pick up—preferably during a sale if you’re unsure.

"We must fight with honor Jin!" - Lord Shimura / "Honor died on the beach!"- Jin Sakai

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world action-adventure game where you play as a samurai trying to redeem his land from Mongol invaders. You are given a diversified range of combat styles, from swordplay capable of countering enemies to bows, grappling hooks, and stealth elements. Progression in the story and helping out the people of the land provide you with cosmetics and gear to upgrade your stats for weapons and armor.

Exploration is done seamlessly by the use of the wind, which slowly guides you to points of interest that you can visually see from afar, like burning villages, tall buildings, and other landmarks. The world can be traversed by horse or on foot, and later on by teleporting to points of interest.

😄 Fun:

This game has been the only PlayStation game I 100% completed without having to look at tutorials or guides. I was just drawn into it. After four years of waiting, the game feels and plays just as fun as I remember it.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

This game is a visual artistic treat. It offers so much detail in the world that it's impossible not to take a few steps back and capture some screenshots. The visual aesthetics of the game aim to take as much as possible a fictional yet realistic approach to feudal Japan. From the clothing to the buildings to the landscapes, it is, in my opinion, a success.

The game offers a vast range of filters to modify your experience and enjoy the game however you like.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

One of the most relaxing open-world games to explore, for the simple fact that the music is not intrusive, is representative of the world it is in, and enhances immersion. Sound effects are great and match the style perfectly.

Voice acting is excellently choreographed. Although I like to play this game in Japanese with subtitles on, I believe the voice acting in English is just as good.

📖 Story & Writing:

The main plot of the game focuses on Jin Sakai, a fallen samurai in battle who is trying to defend his land and country from the Mongol invasion. Your journey is mainly straightforward as you transform into the character known as the Ghost, and your gameplay actions have little influence over how the story ends.

The writing is well done, with a great representation of the period and characters from that period. Each decision Jin makes leads more and more to a satisfying ending.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

It's a lengthy game. It can take a minimum of 25 hours to beat the game and up to 120 hours to complete it at the most relaxed pace possible.

The game can be difficult, especially in the very beginning as you learn how to counter, dodge, and position yourself. Lethal difficulty makes for a more realistic and fun experience where not only the aggression of the enemy increases, but also the lethality. On the other hand, you deal more damage to balance things out. It's a great balance of risk and reward.

⭕️Verdict:

Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent game that offers a richly detailed and immersive open-world experience. From its breathtaking visuals and non-intrusive music to its well-crafted story and engaging combat mechanics, the game excels in every aspect. Whether you are exploring the vast landscapes, enjoying the meticulously designed period elements, or navigating the challenging yet rewarding combat system, the game consistently delivers. Its ability to captivate players without the need for external guides speaks volumes about its intuitive design. Overall, Ghost of Tsushima stands out as a top-tier PlayStation title that is well worth your time.

"You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong." - Sue Fitzmaurice

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

A Story About My Uncle is a first-person platformer with a strong focus on exploration and movement. You play as a young boy searching for his missing uncle in a fantastical world filled with floating islands and mysterious creatures. The core gameplay revolves around a grappling hook mechanic that allows you to swing through the environment with ease. The controls are tight and somewhat responsive, making the platforming feel fluid and satisfying if you understand what you're doing.

The world is designed with exploration in mind, offering multiple paths and secrets to discover. The visual design is intriguing, with each area feeling fantastic and out of this world. While the platforming can be challenging at times, it can be rewarding when you master the mechanics and navigate through difficult sections.

😄 Fun:

The game is was somewhat frustrating at times, but can be fun for those who enjoy movement-based gameplay. The feeling of swinging through the air and chaining together jumps is entertaining at first but can easily lose its charm due to lack of complexity.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

The game is not visually impressive, despite having vibrant colors and imaginative environments. Each level is interestingly crafted. The art style perfectly complements the fantastical setting.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

The sound design is fairly good, with a soothing and atmospheric soundtrack that enhances the sense of adventure. The voice acting is more on the amateur side, and possibly the least enjoyable part of the game, but I like that the game was fully voiced.

📖 Story & Writing:

The narrative is one of the game's weakest points. It follows the journey of a boy searching for his uncle in a magical world, uncovering secrets, and learning about his uncle's past along the way. The writing is heartfelt and touching, but the end does fall short and kinda all the sudden.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

The game is relatively short, taking around 4-6 hours to complete. However, it does take more to reach completion and master the game's mechanics. The difficulty is well-balanced, being able to play and beat it without much of a challenge, but can become brutally challenging when striving to complete the game. There are some tricky platforming sections, but they are manageable with practice and patience.

⭕️Verdict:

A Story About My Uncle is a unique first-person platformer with imaginative world-building and a heartfelt narrative. While the grappling mechanics are innovative and fun, the game is hampered by its short length and occasional frustrating sections. The visual presentation is decent, but not exceptional, and the voice acting leaves much to be desired. The story, though touching, doesn't quite deliver a strong ending. Overall, it offers an okay experience for fans of narrative-driven platformers, but it may not be worth a full-price purchase. Consider picking it up during a sale if you're interested in its unique mechanics and heartfelt story.

"Everyone loves to fly, and flying underwater is even better than flying in air because there are things around you."- Graham Hawkes

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

ABZU is a swimming simulator that focuses mainly on the journey of exploration and self-interpretation of the world around you. Exploration is done area by area, with its own type of fish and animals, some having appearances later in the game.

😄 Fun:

It's great to play and relax, but can't recommend playing when tired. It can put you to sleep.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

Gorgeous game, with an impressive presentation. The vibrant and enchanting underwater environments create a mesmerizing and immersive experience. From the fluid movement of marine life to the breathtaking play of light and shadow, the game offers stunning moments that truly evoke a sense of wonder and awe.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

Sound design is exceptional and significantly enhances player relaxation without the use of voice.

📖 Story & Writing:

Despite not having an incredible story, it's still an interesting one. You play as a scuba diver who tries to explore marine life and the underwater world.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

Very short game to beat or complete. Not difficult at all. There's barely any threats and dying is not an option.

⭕️Verdict:

ABZU offers a visually stunning and immersive underwater experience, with vibrant environments and fluid animations that evoke a sense of wonder. The exceptional sound design enhances the player's relaxation, despite the absence of voice acting. While the story is not groundbreaking, it provides an interesting narrative as you explore marine life as a scuba diver. The game is very short and easy, with minimal threats, making it a perfect choice for a relaxing, awe-inspiring adventure. Overall, it excels in delivering a mesmerizing journey that captivates through its breathtaking visuals and tranquil atmosphere.

"I think all our memories, and everything in it... can be nothing but the fiction we tell ourselves." - Dr. Watts

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

Finding Paradise is a walking simulator with some easy puzzle elements. Your involvement isn't complicated for the most part, so you will mainly experience the dialogues and interactions between characters.

😄 Fun:

I really enjoyed the story. It was just as fun as the first game.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

Not many improvements were made in the visual aspects of the game. There are more moments where animation shines and is improved, but other than that, it's very similar in style to the first game.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

This time around, I find the music a lot more impactful, especially at the end. The introduction of the song was a fine touch and really touching.

No voice acting, although I wish there was.

📖 Story & Writing:

Great story overall. You start off looking after a dying patient who has a wish to change his memory and asks for the help of the Sigmund Corporation, where Dr. Neil Watts and Dr. Eva Rosalene work.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

Slightly longer than "To The Moon," but not by a long stretch. Difficulty-wise, it is just as easy as the previous games. Easy completion, to say the least, where you get 100% just by beating the story.

⭕️Verdict:

Finding Paradise delivers a compelling narrative that resonates well with fans of the series. While not introducing significant visual improvements, the game maintains its familiar style and charm. The enhanced music adds depth to emotional moments, although the absence of voice acting may leave some longing for more immersive dialogue delivery. Despite these minor drawbacks, the game offers a fulfilling experience with its engaging story, easy gameplay mechanics, and touching character interactions. Overall, Finding Paradise stands as a worthy successor to its predecessor, providing players with another memorable journey through the heartfelt storytelling of Dr. Neil Watts and Dr. Eva Rosalene.

"Everyone loves to fly, and flying underwater is even better than flying in air because there are things around you."- Graham Hawkes

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

Like the previous game, this is a puzzle game. This time around, the puzzles are distributed across a room and require memorizing and careful thinking. It's not as complicated, probably to not confuse the player, but overall, it keeps the same elements as the previous game: find missing objects, open secret doors or contraptions, and discover new elements that unlock other things. Simple and straightforward.

😄 Fun:

Not as fun as the first one, I can say that. Maybe the familiarity of puzzles or the simplicity of them really killed the fun for me. I do recommend playing games like this with a large gap between them to not feel so repetitive and boring.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

Visually, I think the game looks amazing. There are some improvements in animations, visuals, and the overall theme. This time around, the spooky theme seems to be more present, which was a fine touch.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

Great sound effects. Still no voice-acting or dialogues, except through writing and letters.

📖 Story & Writing:

Like the first game, it holds a story within the setting, the letters you receive, and the puzzles you unlock. Not remarkable, in my opinion.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

Great for one-sitting gameplay. It's short and much easier than the first game. I don't know why, but it could be due to the decision the devs made to not confuse you as you navigate around the room and identify puzzles.

⭕️Verdict:

The Room Two offers a captivating and immersive puzzle experience that builds upon the success of its predecessor. With its intricate puzzles, atmospheric setting, and compelling narrative, the game keeps players engaged for the most part, but not as much as the first game. While some may find certain puzzles challenging, the overall experience is rewarding, providing a satisfying sense of accomplishment as players unravel the mysteries within each intricately designed room. With its polished visuals and intuitive gameplay mechanics, The Room Two stands as a worthy sequel that delivers an enjoyable and immersive gaming experience for puzzle enthusiasts.

"But it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them." - Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

Dragon's Dogma is an action-adventure open-world game focused on combat, monster hunting, tactical planning, and intensive, over-the-top difficult combat. Its system focuses on the pawn system, a system used before in the first game where you control, to a certain degree, up to 3 additional pawns that serve as different classes to aid you in combat.

The difference this time around is the change in the class system, where we see separations between archer and dual-wielding warriors into two separate classes. It's a nice change in my opinion as it doesn't force you to mainly use blades despite preferring an archer class and vice versa.

The combat is intense, a lot more difficult, but feels more realistic. Pawns work together much better this time around, prompting for combo skills, and evolving in experience the further you progress in the world and face different monsters.

Physics play a nice role here and can be utilized better in your advantage. It's a lot harder to dodge incoming attacks from large beasts as the hitbox does feel change and the combos not so predictable.

Exploration is improved this time around greatly. The world is expansive, rich, full of life, with impressive visuals and places to explore, each carrying interesting places to visit.

😄 Fun:

This game is truly something else. It's so much fun and impressive for what it is.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

Gorgeous-looking game, with stunning visuals, over-the-top visual effects, and elements that left me surprised at every step. The world is filled with points of interest and attention to detail.

This time around we're introduced with some incredible visuals in cinematics that blend excellently with the game and make things fairly seamless.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

The sound effects are great and give a good sense of impact when striking. Voice acting is fairly good, but not impressive in all regards. I feel there's somewhat a mismatch between exhausting breaths and the voice of my character.

Main characters from the story are well-performed. I must remark that the loose language is very well covered by old English expressions, and foul language is well-censored by different expressions that I personally appreciate. The use of old English is interesting in this regard and it's something I don't remember being part of the first game.

📖 Story & Writing:

A step in the right direction. Despite not being heavily focused on the story and more on the experience, this game is a step forward in that area. A lot of the side quests and main quests can be missed or skipped if you truly just wish to see the game to the end. It has 3 potential endings, one being the true and the most interesting endings. The other two, despite one being good, feels somewhat like something is missing.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

It's a very lengthy game to complete, and so was the first game. Since the developers have said this game is 4x larger, you can expect a good 100+ hours to complete it. Difficulty-wise, it is fairly more balanced in a way considering the fact that there's no difficulty picking, and in Dark Arisen Hard mode, getting hit once is fatal; here, you're still challenged, but with careful positioning and patience, you can pull it off better.

⭕️Verdict:

Dragon's Dogma 2 is an impressive game and by far one of the best games I've played in 2024. I'm excited to explore and complete this game and share more if ever I change my views on the game. I only wish it would get the fixes in performance it deserves. Other than that, I'd avoid taking people's complaints on the matters they don't understand because except for Denuvo and microtransactions, the game is a gem.

"Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it." - Andy Rooney

Sum-Up

In-depth analysis further down.

In-depth

⚔️ Gameplay & Exploration:

A Short Hike is a platformer adventure game where your main objective, reaching the mountain's summit, is presented right from the start. As you embark on your journey, you're equipped with the ability to fly and glide. However, flying initially proves challenging as it doesn't provide much elevation. To overcome this limitation, you must collect golden feathers as rewards from assisting island residents, granting you additional climbing and flying capabilities.

You can gather a maximum of 20 feathers, greatly easing your ascent to the mountain peak. Gameplay centers around exploring the map, interacting with and aiding all the island residents with various tasks.

😄 Fun:

While it's a calming game and has enjoyable moments, I wouldn't say it's the most entertaining experience I've had in quite some time.

🏞 Visuals & Presentation:

It's a cute and minimalistic game that offers you the possibility to choose between playing with very pixelated graphics or not. I appreciate this feature in video games because I know that some people dislike overly pixelated graphics, so it's a good option to have.

The game can look really nice in some cases, with a calming and warm palette of colors that are pleasing to the eye.

🔊 Sound & Voice-Acting:

The music is somewhat forgettable, though not unpleasant. Characters speak in gibberish when fast-forwarded, reminiscent of Animal Crossing, which, I must admit, I enjoyed.

📖 Story & Writing:

In the game, you take on the role of Claire, a bird visiting an island from the city. She's on a quest to find cellphone reception, and rumor has it that the only place to get it is at the very top of the island.

Along the way, you meet characters, some know Claire better than others and you create relationships with some of them by helping them.

The game offers a funny, loose way of dialogue, making each casual encounter humorous and wholesome.

🧵 Length & Difficulty:

Very short and very easy game to beat and complete.

⭕️Verdict:

A Short Hike offers a decent gaming experience with its charming and minimalistic aesthetic, relaxed gameplay, and engaging exploration mechanics. While its music may not be the most memorable and its characters' dialogue may be reminiscent of other titles like Animal Crossing, these elements contribute to its overall appeal. With its mix of relaxation and adventure, A Short Hike proves to be a satisfying and enjoyable experience for those seeking a laid-back gaming session.

Verdict: Good

Skull and Bones has the potential to be a great pirate game. With an emphasis on combat and customization, this game could go toe to toe with Sea of Thieves if the developers would listen to their audience and provide quality-of-life improvements, gameplay elements, and more simulation/sandbox features.