Recent reviews by V O º I D *

A wonderful interactive piece about life, choices, hopes and dreams and how ultimately they shape who we are, and how we wish the world would be, so it could fit our personal preferences.

For the asking price you can't go wrong, it's short but it asks you to contemplate about several conundrums, both big and small, which were as often hilarious as they were tragic.

I caught myself often pausing and really considering my decision, and one of them I regretted as soon as I had chosen, particularly when confronted about it later by my mentor - I felt the weight of the responsibility in my hands, and the fact the game was able to capture that feeling so vividly truly impressed me.

I wish there was more, and I wish it provided lasting consequences for some of the choices we made along the way, but besides those nitpicks, the game is worth a playthrough and has a memorable presentation and intention that left me happy I experienced it.

A short but interesting game where you explore a tower once used by alchemists for their life-bending experiments in 16th Century France.

The gameplay consists of exploring levels with several interactable objects, in order to find key items to solve environmental puzzles, which are blocking your path further down the tower.

The unique idea this game puts forward is utilizing tank controls to navigate said levels, and fight the few enemies you encounter along the way, but be warned combat is neither the main focus here, nor do the mechanics ever provide enough depth in that department for it to be truly satisfying.

Its best accomplishment besides its simplicity, is the game managing to never drop its heavy atmosphere, as it manages to create tension and dread with effective use of its visuals, and particularly its amazing audio queues.

The game's runtime will range between 1-3 hours depending on how long you spend figuring out its puzzles, and although I did enjoy my time with it, I was hoping for a bigger playthrough to both deepen its mechanics, but also to better explore its story and the implications of the alchemists playing the supposed role of God.

If you get it on a sale, I think you won't be disappointed.

One of 2025's biggest surprises for me, in a year filled to the brim with great indie titles from small teams, or in this case, solo dev projects.

This game stands out particularly because it captures what a great dungeon-crawling adventure should:

- Its mechanics are unique enough so as to change our original pre-conceptions, making you have to adapt and feel like a noob when you first launch it;
- Its enemies are lethal and highly aggressive, leaving the player no room to second-guess himself;
- The bosses are challenging and fun to fight;
- The world is alluring and hiding many secrets within its layers, as you descend this literal wizard's tower;
- The sprites are well drawn and highly immersive;
- The lighting is dynamic and eye-catching, making you question if leaving your lantern behind for another weapon was actually a run-ending decision once you first reach a pitch-black area (not fun haha);
- The atmosphere in its short notes and pillars containing lore-entries are very intriguing, and beckon you to explore deeper and more thoroughly every time you attempt another descent.

Overall, a great mix of Demon's Souls and Hotline Miami - for those inclined for such crass comparisons. I believe this game is living proof of what a single individual can create in today's gaming landscape, a solid game in every front, a fresh take on a familiar genre and mostly, a challenging but fair game that actually teaches the player with each failure, instead of being the typical roguelite where you become so overpowered after the first dozen runs that it quickly turns into a mindless cakewalk to the finish line.

Very thoughtful game design on display here, and coming from an experienced gamer - one of the best games I've played in recent years.

I was so excited for this game to finally release, that I completely forget to check the minimum requirements before I purchased it... If you have a PC on the lower end such as myself, with only 8GB of RAM, then perhaps get this game on PS5, it's also a little bit cheaper, costing only 25 euros.

I won't refund this version here, although I'm already playing it on PS5, because I've loved every game Matt Nava has released and don't mind owning two copies of the title, since I'll surely revisit this game one day on PC when I get an upgrade.

If you loved Journey's jaw-dropping landscapes and dunes, Abzu's stunning ocean waves and floating fish and lastly The Pathless' verticality and movement mechanics, then you certainly won't regret buying it.

It's a gorgeous game in every single way, from its visuals to its architecture to its incredible music. Another banger from Giant Squid and Austin Wintory.

It's also much closer to The Pathless (praise be) due to its movement being the main highlight of the game, which adds a layer of fun to a formula that prioritizes exploration and player discovery at its forefront. It's amazing.

A deceptively deep real-time strategy game where you defend your islands from incoming invaders.

Despite wishing we had access to more classes, such as the enemy horde does, the game still kept me engaged long enough that I played it twice to the end.

The Campaign set to Hard was a wonderful challenge, to the point where I had to retry some islands upwards of what felt like 20-30 times, just to keep all of my commanders alive for the hardest achievement.

The abilities are sweet but highly situational, so it's essential to master positioning and timing of your attacks to get the most out of them. After a while you just intuitively know when to throw that bomb or where to place that mine to devastating effect, and it's an amazing feeling when you land a perfect hit on a large group of enemies.

The visuals are minimalist but lovely, with high readability which helps keeping track of everything as fast as possible. The audio is crunchy with a suitable yet short soundtrack accompanying it. It's also one of those games where you can turn off the in-game music, and play one of your favorite albums to change things up a little, which helps get rid of the repetitive nature of the game.

For its content, it's certainly worth full price, but if you can get it at a discount this title is an absolute steal.

Highly recommended.

One of my all-time favorite experiences. I still remember fondly seeing footage of this game for the first time back in 2011, and waiting until its March 2012 release date to buy it day-one on PSN, because I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

After revisiting it recently, I can safely say it is a timeless mood-piece, one that will keep enchanting and provoking deep thoughts about life, discovery, fear and purpose to anyone that is lucky enough to stumble upon it.

It also helps that the game will never stop looking gorgeous and sounding amazing, due to its stylized aesthetic which brought Matt Nava to my attention, and a brilliant award-winning soundtrack by Austin Wintory.

Once you're done with this one, I highly recommend playing Abzû, The Pathless and eventually Sword of the Sea (once it releases) by Giant Squid - which Nava formed after he left thatgamecompany.

A stunning journey up a mountain that left me wanting more.

This game oozes charm, with its painterly textures, soft melodies and evocative writing. The gameplay feels great, but it ended sooner than I was expecting, so I really wish we had at least 3 or 4 more chapters before the credits rolled in.

My biggest hope is that we get a sequel someday, because there's plenty of room to expand these mechanics, and make the game more complex and challenging. Puzzles would also be a great addition to this, since the game already plays well with verticality and a massive sense of scale - so more gameplay variety would only help make it more dynamic.

In conclusion, a spectacular experience, that you should get on a sale so you won't feel disappointed once you quickly reach the finish line.

The surprise of the year for me, which feels immediately engaging with its blend of tactics and action.

The fact they created real-life dioramas of the levels gives the game such a unique feel. The soundtrack and audio design evoke that classic Japanese sound, and remind me of playing Okami on my PS3 many years ago.

I really hope this game sells well, so Capcom has more reasons to fund interesting smaller projects, such as this one. Hopefully it'll get a sequel. The game has an excellent foundation to build upon, both in terms of its combat and strategic elements.

I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys hack and slashes and real time tactical games.

I purchased this on discount and it's given me more content than I even asked for.

Devs keep adding new systems as well as revamping entire systems already in the game, while adding a stream of quality-of-life improvements and new content in a short amount of time.

If you enjoy Bullet Heavens, you will love this game. Well worth it!

* Hint: Turn the spell opacity down to about 20-30% visibility, you can thank me later ;)

BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK
Return of the Funky Uncle