Though it has strong building blocks and sounds like a good initial idea, the game is a bit lackluster in execution. The story is a bit cliché with predictable plots and cringe moments. The puzzles are a bit too simple with not many actual puzzles between numerous cutscenes. Visuals are decent, but are a bit rough around the edges. I'm willing to give it some points due to the game's ideas, but doing poorly in these areas massively impacts the score.

Ember Island looks cute on the surface, but the gameplay underneath is too simplistic and broken to be warrant more than a quick glance.

I do wonder why this game was not made to be on mobile, outside of if you are using a steam deck. This could be a free, match 3 mobile game with ads/optional ads—a casual game to play during a commute. I would be a bit more understanding of the limitations. Regardless, I hope small quality of life updates are made to at least improve on the decorating aspect outside of the match 3 game.

The meditative repair work is there, and the busted garage gives you a goal to strive for, but it’s dragged down by everything else. From the ugly human models to the awful controller support. The fact that the racing is so awkward and unsatisfying means that that engine repairing is all you’ve got. If you can lose yourself in that, then you’ll find some fun. In the end though, you’ll be asked to drive the car to the drop-off location and it’ll all go downhill.

Truck Driving is a simple game. This makes it tedious and lacking in focus. Sadly, it was too quick and a lack of challenge holds it back. Consequently, there are better games in the genre.

Monday Syndrome is fun. It’s chaotic. It’s cathartic. The foundation is there. The price tag doesn’t ask much but once again that’s not the issue. Once the developers bring this title up to what has been promised I’d be happy to change my score but for now, I say give it a miss.

Shroomtopia could have been an amazing puzzle experience. However, the lack of guidance or hints holds it back. This was a shame as the core concept is fantastic.

Project Motor Racing is not a good game. The frustrating vehicle gameplay, the violent A.I that comes to make your life a living hell and the fact the game punishes you for its own mistakes, really bring this game down. It isn’t fun to play and the online mode is evident that a lot of people don’t care about this game. Despite having nice looking cars, tracks based off of iconic locations and a career mode that does offer lots of freedom, it doesn’t make up for the poor gameplay. This is one race simulator you need to steer clear of.

Drywall Eating Simulator is a bite-sized comedic adventure. Developed and published by Peripheral Playbox, the game consists of four scenarios and plenty of contemporary satire. Players must manage their stress levels in order to complete tasks and find the exit. Interacting with NPCs and hearing the annoying things they say will increase stress, which reveals new walls to break down. To calm down, players can break these walls down and eat the pieces of drywall. Gameplay is simple and straightforward, but is a bit lackluster overall. This might be a game best played by content creators as a fun indie side game rather than having a large player base on its own. I remain hopeful for more content to be added in the future, but I suppose we will have to wait and see!

Ayasa: Shadows of Silence has some potential in its world and atmosphere but is so broken and awkwardly designed that it becomes a miserable experience.

I do not recommend buying Blood of Mehran. They’re asking £21 for this; you can get a modern Assassin’s Creed or Dad of Boy for cheaper than that. I could barely stomach 2 hours and in that time I learned all I needed to know. It’s not even bad in way that’s entertaining or campy, it’s just mediocre at its core, kinda nostalgic in a weird way, like a clumsy PS2 game that’s been given a fan made texture mod. Both the gameplay and storytelling are beyond archaic and it has no place to stand in an industry with increasingly high standards. Sat next to me when I was playing it, my flatmate said it “looks like a mobile game from 2011”. And he’s right.

Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection should have stayed a retro platform only experience. This collection doesn't work particularly well and I was disappointed by 90% of the action. This was a shame as I hate to be so negative. However, this is one collection to avoid.

Folly Of The Wizards is just a boring, repetitive game. Mechanics, relics and weapons are never fully explained. The affinity system is interesting but never becomes something good. Another confusing addition that is just confusing. All this makes the game frustrating. Graphics and the level design is good and some of the boss fights are cool and challenging. Unfortunately, this is one roguelike where you do not want to try again after dying. There are better options out there in this genre. Folly Of The Wizards isn’t one of them.

This game, priced at $60, is not even close to an indie game in terms of visuals, story, gameplay, or even story length. The only positive thing about the game is its boss fights, but it still costs $60, while maybe $10 would be a better price. I do not recommend this game at all, especially at its current price.

Playing through this game, I am reminded of a similar game that came out last year. That being TCG Card Shop Simulator. The concept of a store management game isn’t new, but both games share that similarity and that you sell items of a specific hobby. While the gameplay loop was enjoyable, it sort of wears at a certain point. Sure, I’m making a lot of progress in improving my store, but it feels like a lot of the same for each in-game day. There doesn’t seem to be any unique events or changes throughout the days. Because of this, the game loses steam and ends up being very repetitive. As of writing this, the game is still receiving updates, so there may end up being improvements to the game.

DUCK: Dangerous Ultimate Cartridge Kidnapper is a retro mini-game experience that should have been great. Unfortunately, it has too many flaws and this prevents it from excelling. A game that should be avoided.

Overall, Goosebumps Terror in Little Creek was pretty lackluster. Looking at the devs and publishers of the game, it kind of checks out that this game turned out this way. The developers PHL Collective and the publisher GameMill Entertainment are known for putting out low quality licensed kids games. Not to mention the pricing for Goosebumps, in my opinion, is not worth $40 USD for how short and barebones the experience was. On top of that, the game also has a $15 USD DLC pack that seems to only provide cosmetics, a 3D model viewer, and a concept art viewer. I can only recommend getting this game on a heavily discounted sale if you’re interested. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend this game, even if you wanted to buy it for your kids.

Call it a climb, call it a journey, call it Samsara if you want. But don’t call it an adventure. My vote… Just don’t play it.

A Dream about Parking Lots is a pretty drab affair. It is slow, repetitive, and a little tedious. Furthermore, the gameplay doesn't evolve and it is over in less than 2 hours. Though I like the dream-like design, it becomes stale very quickly!

Thief Simulator: Mastermind edition has a nice enough premise, but it's dragged down by poor AI, ugly graphics and a loop that descends into tedious grind. Feels very much like quantity over quality.

For everything that I’ve said about Spy Drops, some and hopefully all the negatives I’ve had with the game will be fixed. At the time of me making this review, the developers, Rainy Night Creations, announced that they will be replacing the AI voices with actual voice acting. Rainy Night Creations is a small dev team, but hopefully they can deliver on that promise and work on the other issues with the game as well.

It’s a game that mistakes introspection for depth, and in doing so, loses itself entirely.

Gore doctor tried to be a gory, scary and memorable experience which left the bad animations, voice acting and boss designs etched into my mind. If you’re bored and want to play a short low quality horror game to earn easy trophies then go for it, otherwise I’d steer clear…

A pretty city builder, with an air of depth about its mechanics. Unfortunately, at the moment, the mid game collapses into tedious micromanagement, number watching and thumb twiddling. [Early Access Provisional Score = 60]

With a storyline clocking in at three hours, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos succeeds in embodying more elements of a larger game’s series of side quests than it does a worthwhile spinoff. While there is oftentimes a critical inconsistency in accounting for a price when reviewing a product, this title makes such ignorance impossible. Complaints that could usually be considered minor hiccups, such as fluctuating graphical fidelity, a lack of variety in content, and performance issues, instead resemble ugly burps that reflect a blatant disregard for the audience willing to spend forty US dollars on a series that has earned their trust. To that crowd, shining moments of straightforward gameplay and satisfying voice acting do exist between these outbursts, making it apparent that there are components worth salvaging here. For a deep sale, perhaps the most devout fans of the Neptunia series will find the silver lining of this underwhelming spinoff worth enduring. For me, there is no fuel left in this ride.

A decent skeleton that needs a good bit of filling out to stop it from becoming a bit too repetitive. [Early Access Provisional Score = 70]

Motocross has a solid history within video games, but MXGP 24: The Official Game falls short of the greats. Building up speed can never match the adrenaline expected when the player is, more often than not, interrupted in immersion-breaking ways. The competition can’t carry the same sort of rivalry found in sports when multiplayer options are scant and AI behaves a world away from holding a sense of realism. After a three-year absence, MXGP 24: The Official Game’s functions fine enough to let players cross the finish line, but no first-place victory validates what is flawed about this package.

Praising the game’s competency is difficult under the weight of its indifference towards anything but mimicry. It’s a title that more immediately identifies as a dime a dozen, uninspired app store experience more than anything else, one amongst many that are starting to populate platforms such as the Playstation Store, Steam, and the eShop. The dusty corners of these catalogs once fostered games capable of delivering on players’ faith that they might discover an overlooked gem. An overpopulation of undercooked experiences and titles drained of spirit has made a history of such hope, an especially harsh realization given how the niche audience for a series like Pilotwings genuinely yearns for a modern counterpart crafted with care. Pilot Sports is, unfortunately, not that game.