There’s a lot of beauty to behold in this horror game. I can admit, maybe one of the best-looking ones I’ve seen (horror/walking sim). And while I did enjoy my time playing through it, there were some annoying bits that take you out of the atmosphere. There were a few puzzles that just seemed like time wasters. Being kicked out of the game at the menu was actually ripping me away from what I was enjoying (walking around the atmospheric horror). The story didn’t catch me as depressing, even though it was the main theme. I didn’t care about the character enough. The narrator was great at first, but eventually became an annoying philosopher whom I just wanted to shut up. He wouldn’t stop making everything have some deeper meaning. Then there were the words placed around for a puzzle. Like it would say “sound test” on the floor. It made me think of a pirated movie where the editing hadn’t been completed yet. It started off great and with promise, but then the need for the game to be “unique” threw it off the rails, not being able to be saved by the storyline.

Even if you can beat the game pretty fast, there are a lot of reasons to start another week. Getting to see new situations as well as trying to complete every scenario can be a good time. It’s quite simple, though it will test your attention to detail and memory to do simple tasks (like turning the closed sign). Things can be funny, but maybe not laugh-out-loud funny. There are some scenarios that can be frustrating, but play them enough times and you’ll get the hang of them. There is a serious frame drop that happens near one of the doors, and it is annoying enough to ruin your overall experience. Every time I suffered through the slowdown, I wanted to just exit the game. And without even turning off the lights first.

There are a lot of funny moments to experience. I really liked the humor, and it was wildly entertaining to run around and experience the interesting characters and the town. The game can be pretty difficult, with a lackluster hint system and too many items to interact with. The dream system was really clever, but at times, it could cause some headaches with figuring out what to do. A little adjustment with interactions and the hint system would have went a long way.

This might not be a great collection of games, but it is a collection. You can’t just go buy these all on their own in the Xbox store. The menu system is great, and the options to save anywhere and rewind, while not anything new, are appreciated. Some people will love the games I hated, and hate the games I enjoyed. If you have already played some of these, then you know what to expect. But it can also be a good time for newcomers to these titles.

I enjoyed playing through the game and figuring everything out. There is some room for error, but it’s great that you can replay the day and get faster each time. The controls were all fine except when you had to input numbers. It was likely made more for a mouse and keyboard, and it was specifically more difficult to open the safe. You would click the wrong buttons often because of the movement of the cursor. I didn’t encounter any bad bugs, besides one that kept the hunger icon zoomed in once, even when I ate. It’s nice to experience it, but you may not be playing it long or ever again. But I don’t regret getting a chance to escape a kidnapping while needing to pay attention to details so that I could put everything back the way it was before I touched it. It might not be for everyone, but those who love attention to detail will find this game appealing.

This is a short, easy, almost mindless game. If you’re an achievement hunter, you will enjoy it more than the average player. The graphics aren’t bad, and neither are the sound effects. But without being able to run, backtracking or looking for notes with codes can be a little tedious. The puzzles are incredibly easy, using a trial-and-error method to figure them out. This is your average game, not attempting to pull out any surprises. It has a decent story premise, but doesn’t force you to live in it. You’re just visiting briefly. Some people will enjoy searching around the prison, while others will feel the game is missing more than just other people.

The aim to make the story sad was completely pushed onto the player without choice. The writing went a bit overboard with it, trying to make the player feel sad, at the cost of being over-dramatic. Too many characters were absolutely too cruel to be believable. I went from feeling sorry for Olive to absolutely hating her. Decisions just didn’t make sense when put into the real world, which is what this game was trying to demonstrate. As far as the actual gameplay goes, it had a few good moments. Some were entertaining, while other times it felt a little bit underwhelming. Running around in the house, in particular, was poorly designed, having a lot of breaks in the walls as you turned the camera. It was an okay experience with some enjoyment to be had, but with a story that had some potential but ended up being off-putting.

If you’re after a story, you won’t find much of one here but that’s okay because this genre is really aimed at having a fun time avoiding obstacles and getting to the finish line of a level. There was no real magic about it, and maybe there would be if this was made in the 90s instead.

As far as an interactive movie, it has enough dialogue choices to let you feel in control but at the same time uncertain the outcome will be good. You can’t play it only once, because you do need to experience a good majority of the decisions in order to figure out how you want the story to end. It’s not going to put you on the edge of your seat, but there is enough content to keep you satisfied through at least a few playthroughs.

The story is excellent, the characters work well, and the art switches between colorful and gloomy whenever it needs to. Can too much of a good thing be bad? It really depends on you. If you have the patience to read through bucket loads of text (I suppose that’s why you’re here instead of YouTube) then you’ll adore this game. If you get a little impatient, you’ll probably end up fast-forwarding through most of the scenes until you get to one that looks like it’s important. I will admit, as much as I loved the story, some of the conversations just didn’t seem like they were going to end.

There are plenty of things I wish were different. The loot system, the map, the small text, gear being underwhelming, the damage types being confusing, lack of bosses, and lots and lots of running in the wrong direction while following the trail. That’s a lot of major stuff. Yet it’s still an awesome game, but unfortunately the bad is always louder than the good. While I think of these as negative, others may like it and disagree entirely. I believe it is indeed a pleasure to play but I also wish certain things were different.

I know I’ve mentioned it already, but it’s worth repeating the story truly is awful. It’s like a poison that leaked into otherwise good characters and dialogue. If you want a mystery game, don’t bother. If you want to curl up to some good voice acting and chill out while someone else drives, then maybe consider calling shotgun.

I enjoyed the short adventure for the most part, but by the end, I didn’t feel any specific emotion. The conclusion was a bit of a disappointment and afterward, I realized I actually didn’t get attached to or care much about any of the characters. Switching between the past and present was pretty neat, and I guess I favored the past because it was full of characters to talk to and seemed better suited for the visual style. I love horror but didn’t feel the tense or stressful situations that normally accompany those themes. The puzzles were average but well done for the limited areas you could explore. The biggest let-down was the movement, which is odd considering you can only go left or right.

Some of the puzzles were really fun. I enjoyed the Antartica chapter quite a lot and it was the best set of brain teasers in the game. Design is above par and there were no technical issues while playing. I especially loved the blending of genres. It never got boring. However, it ended far too soon. The story was a little messy and the big “surprise ending” was disappointing. A few confusing scenes, specifically during the lab, were a bit over the top. I think overall it’s an average game but without anything else to do after the credits roll, know that you won’t be spending much time with it.

I was not overly satisfied or dissatisfied with my time flying a helicopter above leaping zombies. The graphics aren’t the best, but they don’t have to be. It’s all for fun. I would say it’s well worth a playthrough. The physics can be frustrating at times and ruin the speed of your run, and annoyingly cannot be mastered. There’s shortness involved with completing the game, but with all the unlockables, stars, daily missions, and difficulty options, there’s sure a lot to do after you’re done the first time through.

With all of the good, there ends up being just as much bad. It’s easy and hard to like this game. Having a mission that hinders your ability to progress the story because it’s entirely luck-based is also a real shame. If given a few tweaks, it could have really shined as an outstanding flight combat entry. The heaviness of the bad mechanics is too much to allow it to soar high.

With a unique backdrop and clever use of shadows, Projection: First Light delivers what it intended. A calm and casual puzzle platformer that is a pleasure to play through. The story is delivered in a nice shadow puppetry fashion, though some may find it hard to follow because there is no talking or narration. The biggest downside is getting glitched into walls or stuck. If save points could have been the actual checkpoints, then maybe it wouldn’t have been as much of a problem. The design and music are great, as well as how the puzzles are tackled. But because you or items can be glitched in areas they shouldn’t be, it becomes a persistent hope that it doesn’t happen (again), requiring you to restart the level. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’ll take some reworking of the game mechanics to really shine.

A dark and terrifying adventure that many may go into, but only a few survive. The good is met with the bad, evening out the quality to being pretty decent. While the design of enemies and combat are great, the flaws (in my opinion) lay in the confusing areas and much too well-hidden secrets. The lack of resources that would allow you to travel hinders the overall experience. No map, limited fast travel, and zero direction on what to do next will be confusing enough to stop you from completing the game. Is it difficult? Yes, but not all in the sense of combat. It’s difficult to continue on with the journey because of hurdles that slow down the pacing. I thought leveling up was great and dying only made me try harder. However, doing simple tasks like dismantling items or picking your next weapon was a chore.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break may have worked better as an add-on for the previous title. It has a great level editor and sharing features which, paired with the numerous multiplayer modes, makes for limitless potential. The core campaign feels tacked-on in comparison, like a large batch of basic, user-created levels rather than something professionally crafted. This entry gives the impression of being more about quantity than quality, but at least the core gameplay is familiar and can still be fun.

Skater XL is a super realistic skating simulator that encourages you to simply go out and skate. If you are someone who loves skateboarding and the thrill of just getting that trick down or making a cool montage to show off, then this is definitely for you. If not, it might be a tough time. Overall it’s a good game, it just feels like it is missing something.

This was a tough review because it really is a great game, but it didn’t keep my attention which makes me conclude that, aside from some boss battles, it’s just kind of boring.

Coffee Talk is an extremely pleasant experience from start to finish that tackles some difficult social issues in the process. The characters are extremely charming and the writing is very well done. I found myself rooting for these characters and looking forward to each day at the coffee shop to see who would show up and where those situations would leave them. I am happy to report that it did not disappoint.

What it does, it does well. But what it doesn’t do is what really drags it down to not feeling like an exceptional game. I love the idea; the movement feels great; but the lack of content really made it slip to just being average. No one likes to get stuck, and shame on me for not looking up maps or guides. I know they are out there, but I was very frustrated to be getting lost all the time. I wanted something in-game to at least give me a simple hint. Even if it let me know the area that I needed to go, it would have been helpful. It’s really a pretty good game otherwise. I might try it one more time, but if I get lost for an hour I’m hanging up the tentacles for good. And sadly, I’m quite certain this will be the case.

There’s a lot of combining and mixing things from other games that result in a fun and pretty fresh experience. The characters and their abilities are enjoyable and the shooting mechanics result in a fantastic feeling. Price-based, the game sits in the middle at basically half the price of Overwatch, but still utilizes cosmetics as a form of microtransactions. I’m fine with that, but the cosmetic options available right now are boring and fairly expensive for what you’re actually getting. Luckily, you’re allowed to use an in-game currency as well. Certain modes and one specific map are a real drag. It’s hard for me to really score this as it is in kind of a pre-season mode.

If you’re looking for an optimistic documentary-esque game about diving in the ocean, you’ve come to the right place. It’s family-friendly and just a straight outlook at the various species. If you want both sides of the story, you might be disappointed to know that the real dangers involved with actual deep-sea diving are nowhere to be found.

I will probably go back and complete the third tier just to get my last achievement, but after that there isn’t much of a point in playing since unlocking the legendary character after tier 1 essentially negates all other cool aspects of the game. This might be one of the few times I felt disappointed after becoming overpowered early on in a game. Still, it’s a decent little dungeon crawler that should satisfy a good population of people.

It’s a different concept to have a mini-game that sets up your playthrough. You try your best to get what you need and can alter your experience with specific items. There’s a lot of decisions that impact your survival and it’s always a hit or miss. Such is life. While you’re in control of the decision making process you’re not always in control of the outcome. All in all, it’s a pretty well-made story with great dark humor. The biggest issue is longevity. There is a lot of replay value but it gets a bit tedious because you can survive and win, but the motivation to keep playing is only to see different endings and outcomes. It’s relatively short and you’re making quick decisions, usually just one per day followed by reading. It has some great ideas but it might not be something you play for more than a few hours.

The story isn’t anything too great, with underwhelming character development and a boring plot. Not being able to control up and down for dashing feels like it’s an attempt to make the game more difficult. Overall, I enjoyed what I played but there were a few letdowns.