What stands out most is how natural all of it feels. Utara Village feels like it has always been part of Dave’s world. The freshwater ecosystem gives players something genuinely different to explore, and the steady introduction of new mechanics means the DLC never becomes overwhelming despite how much there is to do. While I hope that MINTROCKET continues building onto Dave’s existing adventure rather than splitting it into separate games, I’ll happily dive back in either way.

Cairn is thoughtful, challenging, and quietly powerful. It understands that sometimes the most meaningful journeys are the ones we take alone.

Under the Island surprised me, but not necessarily in the way I thought it might. I went into the game expecting a certain experience based on the limited gameplay I had seen (which is on me). But ended up struggling a lot more than anticipated. The game is good, the story is fun, and the overall gameplay is smooth. However, the difficulty of the puzzles and the general lack of direction had me feeling frustrated.

Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth is a visually charming and faithful adaptation of the Moomins that captures the heart and tone of its source material, even if its gameplay struggles to keep up. While the repetitive task structure and frustrating navigation can wear you down over time, the game’s beautiful presentation, strong atmosphere, and authentic character portrayals make it a cosy, if occasionally uneven, experience.

All together, KuloNiku: Bowl Up! blends cosy gameplay, storytelling, and creative mechanics into a package that’s easy to recommend. It’s a flavorful take on the genre that brings just enough new ingredients to the table to stand out, one that’s well worth digging into.

Mio: Memories in Orbit surprised me in the best possible way. As someone who doesn’t usually play platformers or Metroidvania games, I went in unsure of what to really expect. What I found was a beautifully crafted experience that pulled me in through its atmosphere, movement, and quiet storytelling.

The puzzle design is strong, and the visual presentation is beautiful. The story may not dig as deeply as I hoped, but it’s a unique and welcome portrayal of how grief can be soft and swallow you whole at the same time.

Coffee Talk Tokyo is a game that explores how small acts of kindness can become lifelines, and why connection is the most powerful thing we have in life.

Mi’pu’mi managed to pleasantly surprise me with Black Jacket. The demo felt like a clever experiment, but the complete experience feels like a complete, layered game with a welcome narrative component. Playing the demo, you would be forgiven to think it was just “Blackjack with hats”. The ceiling, however, turned out to be much higher than it looked, thanks to the willingness of the team to experiment with the formula. The cards do things, the bosses feel like people, and the run actually goes somewhere. The juxtaposition with Balatro has been hovering over Black Jacket like a Sword of Damocles. To be honest, I think it’s an unfair comparison. Maybe it’s not a genre-defining game like Balatro is, but it’s a weirder and more deliberately narrative proposition. Black Jacket tries, and in my opinion succeeds, in carving their own place in the genre. I can’t wait to see how it will be expanded in the future.

There’s a meaningful, well-written story here, supported by thoughtful design choices. But repetitive minigames and a lack of guidance hold it back. Fishbowl doesn’t try to be broadly appealing, and that’s both its strength and its limitation.

My review started with me saying it is unusual for a game to grab me immediately. By the end, I understood why this one did. Tavern Talk Stories: Dreamwalker isn’t just telling a fantasy story; it’s telling a human one.

Despite its simplicity, there’s a lot of charm holding everything together. The conspiracy-heavy writing, oddball NPCs, and constant stream of strange theories give the game a personality that keeps you curious about what will happen next. Even when the gameplay becomes routine, the world itself remains engaging enough to keep pushing forward, especially as new upgrades and shop expansions gradually change how you interact with the station. Overall, it’s a cosy but slightly chaotic management experience that works best when you lean into its weirdness rather than expecting deep simulation systems. If you enjoy laid-back shop sims with personality and don’t mind some repetition, there’s a lot to enjoy here.

Bus Bound is difficult to review because so many of its features will be shortcomings for some players and selling points to others. Those craving a realistic bus or transport management sim will find the title lacking desirable features. However, players who just want to hop behind the wheel of a bus and get rewarded for exploring a city with simple mechanics will find hours of enjoyment in stillalive Studios’ latest game. Despite the issue I’ve honed in on in this review, Bus Bound remains a game I will revisit long after the review period. It offers a relaxing driving experience with the ability to curate routes and session length to your liking. It also sets solid foundations for any future updates.

Vultures – Scavengers of Death is a great time for lovers of either Tactics games or Survival Horror. If you’re a sucker for both like me, you’ve found a new obsession and a new team to keep a careful eye on.

For a couple of bucks, this won’t disappoint. It has hours of gameplay and some really well-thought-out mechanics. It’s not a total brain worm, but it’s a fun haunted jaunt nonetheless. Skull Horde might not make it to our list of greatest indie titles of all time, but very few do.

Sintopia is interesting, creative, and sometimes very funny. It just needs some tweaking to let its best ideas breathe.

High Above is, at release, a strong game, but it also feels like a game that could grow into something even better. Thankfully, the developer actively listens to his community and posted a roadmap for future updates alongside the game’s release, so I’m excited to see what High Above evolves into. If you’re looking for a game to play in the long hours of the night, this is one I’m happy to suggest to you.

The spotty performance and the lingering clunkiness keep it from greatness, and not every player will vibe with a game that actively refuses to make their life easier. But if you give the Colony the time it demands, you will find one of the most immersive RPG worlds ever made, looking better than it ever has.

This game explores grief, love, and the struggle to move forward when part of you remains stuck in the past. It doesn’t always give clear answers, and sometimes that’s frustrating. But it stays with you, and that’s what Life is Strange has always done best. My Life is Strange: Reunion review will sit at a well-deserved [85].

At the end of it all, this is one of those games I know I’ll come back to. Not because I have to, but because I want to. And honestly? That says a lot.

Aside from some goofy cutscenes, chill music, and an at base satisfying loop, Restore Your Island left me frustrated, especially for the price tag. Even with more content promised on the horizon, I can’t recommend this game, especially on launch. If you’re looking for a cozy, satisfying cleaning sim, there are plenty of options with more bang for your buck.

Solarpunk, as a genre and movement, is built around imagining better futures and alternative ways of living. Here, that idea never fully develops; there is a beautiful sky to explore, but not enough substance beneath it.

It’s a game I’d recommend with caveats: Adjust the settings, be patient, and expect to die more than you think you should. If you can meet it halfway, there’s something worthwhile here.

I was hoping for something fun and new with Crimson Capes. I am relatively fresh off SilkSong, which probably doesn’t help, but I didn’t go into it expecting something of that calibre. What I found was a game that could have had a rich world with interesting quest lines, innovative combat, and novel enemies, but really failed to deliver on every count. The world was empty, the enemies were a predictable grind, and the combat was uninspired. It’s just another 2D Souls-like that fails to bring anything new to the table.

Nova Antarctica has ideas worth exploring. Its visual identity is striking, its environmental storytelling has real emotional weight, and some moments linger as you play. But the game is let down by overworked mechanics, an exhausting UI, unclear tutorials, and a difficulty curve that feels punishing rather than purposeful.

Mythmatch is absolutely delightful. I was so absorbed playing that I lost many hours excitedly giving in to “just one more in-game day”. It’s not an experience I’ve really had since coming across Stardew Valley, and I love it.

I really wanted to like The Abbess Garden, I don’t usually volunteer or request to review games unless I think I’ll enjoy them, so I went into this one fairly optimistic. Unfortunately, it just didn’t click for me. I found the overall experience fairly boring, and both the gameplay and visuals felt overly simplistic at times. While the idea behind the game has potential, I struggled to stay engaged with what it was offering. After a while, I found it harder and harder to keep playing. The slower pacing, dialogue-heavy sections, and basic gameplay loop made it difficult for the game to hold my attention.

Starsand Island isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t need to be to be worth your time. It offers a gentle, romanticised take on the farming sim genre that feels welcoming without being stale. The affection system avoids forcing romance, the exploration feels rewarding, and the Moonlit Forest is one of the least stressful combat zones I’ve ever played in a game. [Early Access Provisional Score = 80]