Recent reviews by Angry Cow

A game made by Ace Attorney fans for Ace Attorney fans. It doesn't shy away from using the tropes of the series, but brings enough of its own new elements of the table to be a worthy game in its own right. Anyone who enjoys courtroom antics and shouting objection should give it a shot.

The best autobattler on the market.

The setup of this game is clever, marking the player as an insurance adjuster for a ghost ship that has floated into harbor. Sadly, the meat of the game doesn't live up to its premise. Most of the time is spent figuring out who has what name, sometimes in a fashion very much reminiscent of Guess Who. But the part of the detective work that is usually the most interesting- the How and Why- is no mystery at all. Through the powers of apparently magic, you are just shown outright. Rather than a complex plot to unravel with your deductions, you are matching names to faces as you watch it play out before you. A plot that itself isn't as interesting, as the game needs to spend so much time to let you identify 60 people that even the most important characters don't get much development.

And the signature art style ends up being a hindrance to the main gameplay, obscuring key details. Not the interesting sort of 'obscuring' that detective games do with red herrings or dubious witnesses. No, this is literally staring directly at the clue and not being able to make out what it is supposed to be due to the lack of color and resolution. On top of that, the minimal UI adds layers of tedium. Navigating memories is clunky, and the first time through you are constantly interrupted to look at some other memory or fill in the book. Since you need to use this book all the the damn time, its weird you cannot make your own bookmarks, or that there is no hotkey to open to the manifest or sketch, which you will reference constantly. Speaking of the sketch, boy would I have loved the ability to jot down my own notes on it. Given how scattered clues can be, you will really want to have a spot to write down relationships, ideas, and findings directly adjacent to the face that matters.

As an avid fan of a good mystery, this one disappointed given its sterling reputation.

A game of mystery mad libs that is hard to put down. There is a built in hint system but you won't want to use it. Finding the connections yourself generates many "Aha!" moments that drive detective games. And the developers left multiple breadcrumbs to get you there. As a backup, the game gives you a nudge when you are close. Just enough that you won't be tripped up by a misplaced word or two, and not too much that they take the thrill of deduction from you. The story builds from scattered and strange to something disturbing leading up to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion.

It has all the wit, charm, and humor of the older Monkey Island games. Unfortunately, it also has the same terribly botched ending sequence. Play this game for the journey, because the destination isn't a good send off for the series.

Spread Democracy. Splat Bugs. Blow up Bots. Bring friends.

A PvE co-op shooter with great theming, many toys, and an addictive gameplay loop.

This is a sokoban puzzle game. That is to say, a puzzle game about counting your steps and interactions carefully. Other reviews or word of mouth may tempt you with whispers of more under the surface. There certainly is, but this a sokoban puzzle game. There are grand comparisons to other off the wall games, like Outer Wilds. But this is a sokoban puzzle game. There is a story peeking in at the edges, leaving you with questions you want to answer. Yet, it is still a sokoban puzzle game.

I don't like sokoban puzzles. I therefore don't like this game, no matter what else is going on. I became bored long before even seeing all the puzzles, only to learn even if I finished I would have to do them all again. Repeatedly. Void Stranger is certainly not the game for me, and any other perspective players should be warned.

The cost to playtime ratio on this game cannot be beat.

This DLC takes everything that makes Outer Wilds an amazing and unique game experience and just throws it out the airlock. The freedom to explore is ripped away from you in pieces. The atmosphere of dangerous but rewarding discovery is replaced by generic spooky frights and jump scares. And even when you get past the complete genre shift, the new puzzles to solve and areas to explore are just dull. What a total disappointment, and one I cannot recommend even after ranking Outer Wilds one of the best games of all time.

One of the best game experiences I have had. A shot at true exploration, minus distracting puzzles or combat. Other than that, don't let yourself get spoiled. Just play it for yourself.