DE-EXIT: Eternal Matters review
DE-EXIT is an ambitious and mostly well-crafted adventure, with great puzzle design, charming visuals, and an immersive cinematic flair. Not all of its ideas play out equally well, and a slow first half combined with minor technical issues make it a bit hard to break into, but those who stick with it until the end won’t regret the effort... Read more
The Safe Place review
The gritty, realistic urban setting is stunning, but the story of The Safe Place is so drearily centered on poverty, crime and abuse that succeeding in cracking the more difficult inventory puzzles becomes more of a struggle than a pleasure just to progress and see more misery unfold... Read more
The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales review
The Bookwalker isn’t about inventing new wheels but combining familiar concepts in intriguing ways, ably marrying point-and-click adventuring and turn-based combat to provide a dark world to explore, filled with surprises that are ultimately more intriguing than its grand finale... Read more
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals review
Bigger and better than its predecessor in some ways, more bloated and less focused in others, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is an intriguing sequel for those on the right wavelength for this kind of gameplay-lite narrative experience... Read more
Intruder in Antiquonia review
Intruder in Antiquonia's pleasing aesthetic and rural charm with flashes of something deeper aren't quite enough to compensate for the hurried storytelling and pedestrian puzzles... Read more
Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka review
This expansion to our 2022 Game of the Year proves that The Case of the Golden Idol was no fluke, making an undeniable argument for even further explorations into its addicting, vocabulary-themed approach to detective gameplay... Read more
Cats and the Other Lives review
Being a feline makes Cats and the Other Lives a fun and playful game for the most part, though the storyline you uncover along the way gets darker and darker, and all the more compelling because of it... Read more
Rendezvous review
Rendezvous offers cyberpunk with a distinctive Indonesian flavour. Its awkward combat and simple puzzles may soon be forgotten, but its gritty story and pungent atmosphere will stay with you... Read more
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie review
Don’t Nod’s visual novel Harmony is an awkwardly balanced mix of gorgeous but limited production values, clumsy choice mechanic, and an intriguing story whose best parts you never get to experience yourself... Read more
Delirium review
It may not be the most polished or user-friendly game, but Delirium’s zany night at home with two teens and a talking stuffed bunny proves to be a fair bit of fun... Read more
The Wreck review
There’s no real challenge and very little gameplay in this craftily created 3D visual novel, but The Wreck’s main character’s personal story will pull you in and leave you feeling fully invested in seeing her through the worst – and perhaps last – day of her life... Read more
After You: Level Escape review
A little too unrefined with a bare-bones narrative, After You is nevertheless packed with engaging and demanding puzzles, some of which inspire creative thinking... Read more
Amanda the Adventurer review
Unless you are either a die-hard fan of puzzles or analog horror, and really don’t mind a lackluster and increasingly tiresome version of both, there are far better and spookier games out there than Amanda the Adventurer... Read more
RE:CALL review
Combining several gameplay styles with a protagonist-switching, fourth-wall-breaking story makes RE:CALL feel almost experimental at times. But since its disparate elements ultimately work reasonably well together, it’s an experiment in storytelling that could be worth checking out... Read more
Amnesia: The Bunker review
With The Bunker, Frictional has boiled the series’ gameplay formula down to its most salient and effective horror elements while trimming any excessive fat. For fans of horror, only three words are necessary: go play it... Read more