Recent reviews by Indie Game Pulse

Included in my indie update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZW3ah4rmI

Epic Chef feels like a culinary combination of Fable and the Lego franchises, with a side of anime and searing humor. So pretty much, a lot of things that I enjoy. You play as Zest, an up-and-coming chef new to the area, who just bought his first home sight unseen, and it’s the village eyesore, a haunted house.

The main story honestly takes a back seat for me most of the time, because there are many areas to explore, people to meet, and ingredients to collect and grow on your own farm. There’s light crafting as well, but the most fun aspect for me is the cooking, where you’ll combine up to 3 ingredients, stirring and shaking the pot to get just the right amount of aroma and taste, and whenever you eat you’ll gain experience.

Cooking also unlocks more of the story, as you’ll need to show your skills to some culinary connoisseurs (like a pegasus/unicorn hybrid) and take down the opposing chef simultaneously. I meant to only sit down for a preliminary play session, but I got lost in the sauce for several hours. It is surprisingly delightful! If you like open-world RPGs, especially those with a dash of wit and a heavy dose of meta-references, I highly recommend you play Epic Chef.

Included in my indie update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZW3ah4rmI

Really enjoyed it! It plays like an action shooter, with a strong focus on your melee attacks too with your shiny sword. The plot is somewhat standard, with our main character being dropped behind enemy lines and often needing to sneak about and use cover to get through dicey situations, but where Bright Memory Infinite shines most is in its sci-fi aspects, from the exo-suit which powers grapple and EMP attacks, to the black hole in the sky which, from time to time, will cause ancient guards to arrive and try to behead you. If I haven’t convinced you to play yet, the boobas have great physics...

Similar to multiplayer shooters, you can unlock new character skins by beating the game on harder difficulties (or buying the bikini DLC), and new weapon camos by reaching higher kill counts with each gun. There is a simple leveling system too to help you gain power over time, but in all, Bright Memory Infinite is a rather short affair, clocking in between 2-3 hours.

Included in my indie update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPZW3ah4rmI

This is somewhat of a point-and-click adventure, where you follow the characters Theodore, Sonny, and Lambert. I started off with some of the racing trials, and using a wired keyboard for controls, there is some input lag. Maybe it’s by design to make the clunky-looking vehicles maneuver poorly, I can see that, and it takes some getting used to.

But as far as the story mode goes, this game is rough, and frankly, boring. For a game with the words “Grand Prix” in the title, it moves about as quickly as a roman chariot without wheels...and horses. If you’re a Pinchcliffe fanatic, perhaps you’ll enjoy bits and pieces, but the dialogue runs about as smoothly as my 1995 Mercury Sable, with 5 second hiccups between each character’s sentences, and once you click on an action to move a character, if he completes it on the first try and doesn’t bumble around like a buffoon, count yourself lucky.

It seems the developers have opted to stretch the length of the game by introducing drawn out conversations and actions repeated by multiple characters. I played for about 15 minutes and didn’t even get through the opening dialogue and tutorial. This is a point and click game, not Age of Empires.

Does Pinchcliffe Grand Prix do some things right? Sure. The vehicles are interesting and funny to look at, the world building and 3D character models are well done, but you just have to sit through so much slog to get to the goods. It’s like watching 30 minutes of cinema trailers just to watch a YouTube short.

Treasures of the Aegean was one that I highlighted in my Top 10 of November, but I was basing it mostly on the artistic style personally, but man, the gameplay is just so smooth and addicting. You play as Marie, a parkour master in search of the lost treasures of the Minoan civilization, and her colleague James Andrew is helping behind the scenes to translate certain paintings and writings, and share the significance of the many artifacts you’ll find and collect.

This is a time-loop game, and your loop will get longer with each artifact you collect, ranging up to a little over 20 minutes per run. During this time, you’ll be filling in missing sections of the map, restoring gems to the temples of the gods to gain slight powerups, and working to unlock Minos’ tomb before it’s too late. And as you collect artifacts and unlock more of the map, you’ll learn more about Marie and Andrew in the present day too in cutscenes between runs. It’s a wonderful looped system, and it hooked me within the first hour, and didn’t let me go.

The gradual map discovery reminds me of Hollow Knight, but with even more symbols at your disposal to remember key areas and events, and the platforming is very challenging at times to reach the most valuable artifacts. I spent 6 hours playing this in one day, and I’m dying to finish it out soon. This is definitely one not to miss if you enjoy a good treasure hunting tale and great platforming

Explore the imaginations and memories of a child in this coming-of-age story, where you’ll use cards to bridge gaps, step up to higher levels, weigh down floaty clouds, and so on. Upon finishing each level, you’ll be shown a small snippet of the protagonist’s life, and while at first I was very confused by the different characters and having trouble keeping them and the narrative straight, after about an hour I had a solid hold on what was happening, and was really enjoying the story.

While it isn’t clearly spelled out with words or voiceover, there are some noises akin to The Sims dialogue, just garbled nonsense that still put a smile on my face. And the gameplay, while simple in premise, can get a bit tricky, even early on in the game. You can place the moveable decks of cards that you’re given in each level, and once you’ve positioned them, you can stretch them across an open area, and expand them so your character can move toward the exit. Often, you’ll need to build, move, tear down, and then rebuild a couple times, or shuffle the different decks around, in order to reach your goal.

Each new area introduces a new deck to use, like the peaked roof houses that allow you to walk up a level, or new environmental hazards like clouds that need to be weighed down. There are over 50 levels, and I’m probably almost halfway through the game, but this is one that I’m looking forward to finishing sometime this week.

The thick voxel art style is wonderful, and the game utilizes a lot of destructible elements for progression and hiding secrets in every level. You’ll crawl your way through 7 levels, each one bringing you new wands and more information on your missing wizardry teacher, and each culminating with a boss fight.

While the first dungeon, I felt, was very simple and easy, things stepped up a bit in the second, and progressively so on the third and so on. While you’ll acquire more powerful wands and weapons, they will drain more of your mana, so be on the lookout for those purple mana potions or refill pools so you can keep hammering away the enemies without much trouble.

I did unfortunately have to give this game up after about 45 minutes, when I started to become very motion sick, so if that’s something you struggle with, you might want to keep that in mind. It’s a pretty and fun little game, with simple run and gun mechanics, and the bosses and level design just get better over time, so I wish I was able to dive deeper into the world of ARKOS.

For those of you who enjoy casual games, especially those with a soothing soundtrack and lots of little easter eggs to be found, you owe it to yourself to play Unpacking. This one comes from a small team at Witch Beam Games in Australia, and is a far cry from their last game Assault Android Cactus, which was a bullet-hell twin stick shooter. The most action you’ll get in Unpacking is, well, none at all.

It’s quite a relaxing affair, as you’re able to take your time and sort through your belongings and find each one a new place as you move into your new space. This plays out over several years, beginning with your first room as a child, then moving to college, and so on, with a new page being added to the scrapbook of your life. Along the way, you’ll bring some familiar items, and learn a bit more about yourself, your goals and ambitions, your hobbies, and the people you live with.

The story, as vague as it is, does wrap up nicely at the end, without tying up all the loose ends, which is my favorite type of ending since I can still imagine what happens after this chapter closes. The gameplay is very pleasing too, with a place for everything, and eventually everything in its place, it’s like if Marie Kondo and Tetris had a baby. Home decoration on shelves and invisible grids, with very little room for error, but you never feel stressed about it either.

There are several little easter eggs that can grant you stickers and Steam achievements, if you need something to work on after you’ve finished the game. It has a nice photo mode to showcase your room after you’ve finished, and a gif maker to show your entire unpacking process in each room.

In all, I spent about 4 hours playing, and I can't complain about the price. I pay $12 to go see a 2 hour movie with no replay value, and I actually will probably replay Unpacking a bit to get all the achievements.

Tianding is a savior of sorts to the downtrodden and oppressed people of colonial Taiwan, and he will do everything in his power to steal from the rich and corrupt and give back to his people. However, he is constantly on the run from authorities, so much so that people barely recognize him when they see him.

While the character animation in between gameplay sections leaves a lot to be desired, looking akin to a mobile game, the gameplay is a lot of fun, from kicking some bad guy butt, grabbing their billy club or pole staff, and then smacking their friends upside the head with it. You can even pick up guns and bombs, and small talismans and other objects to help you become more effective with these weapons.

There are also combos to learn and use, and by the end of my 3-4 hour play session, I was combining moves into chain combos that were reminiscent of Smash Bros. The story is deep with lots of little history elements and lore to be found in the items you pick up, but I did think the narrative sequences were just too long. Like I wanted to learn the story, but at the same time I’m playing a game, not reading a book. I had a lot of fun overall playing it, I just wish I’d gotten to play more and read less, especially early on.

Watch my 5 minute review here (or read below at your own pace): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nDLU-0OQ8o

Gameplay-
Tandem is one of the best puzzle platformers that I’ve played recently, even throwing in some challenging platforming sections that I had to try multiple times in order to complete. As Emma, you’ll explore the lower areas of each location as you enter the Kane Mansion, from the gardens, ascending through the boiler room and kitchen, and so on, and she’ll have to avoid the many thematic hazards that impede her way. In the gardens, strange spiders with laser eyes will try to wrap her up for a tasty treat, and in the boiler room, some strange liquid goo with eyes seems to be following her every move.

Not only will you be trying to avoid these threats, but in every room of each location, there is a crystal key which Fenton will need to collect in order for the two to progress. Fenton being a teddy bear destined to stay in the shadow realm, can only move in 2 dimensions, and can walk on top of shadows, but not in them.

And this is where the beauty of Tandem’s puzzle platforming really starts to shine. Emma carries a handy lantern, and can cast shadows around each room in order to help Fenton reach the key. You’ll be switching back and forth between the two characters frequently, but this mechanic is the basis of the game, and it works splendidly.

The solutions to each level weren’t evident at first glance, but at the same time, I never felt just stuck on a level. At most, a level took me 10 minutes to complete, and never broke my brain, and all but a few early levels were rewarding to figure out. Especially when you get to some of the later levels that require some faster platforming, and precise timing in switching between the characters and triggering actions simultaneously. The more I played, the more I was having fun with the platforming, and feeling in a groove with the mechanics.

Art-
I think this game is launching at the perfect time of year, just before Halloween, as the entire setting is macabre, but in a cartoonish way, similar to movies by Tim Burton and Henry Selick like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. The rich colors and the balance of light and shadows which pervades the gameplay all contribute to this spooky mood, not to mention the many dangers that lurk in the shadows and crevices of the landscape too.

I’m not a horror fan, but I love this setting and style, creeping forward towards the red eyes of a spider, wondering how close is too close, until suddenly it’s chasing me, with nowhere to run. And then you respawn and move forward with the knowledge, hoping not to encounter another giant spider anytime soon.

Hidden in the beautiful architecture and scenery are paintings, which you can collect to be showcased in your Gallery on the main menu. In my couple hours of playing, I only managed to collect one, although I found a couple others and simply didn’t have the patience to pursue them. There is an overworld map of sorts which shows off each area, and allows you to re-explore earlier levels for any hidden secrets or art pieces.

Music-
Also great, featuring dissonant tones with lots of chimes, kind of haunted music box vibes, and that’s just in the garden section. As you progress to new areas and rooms of the house, the music changes to fit the mood, featuring heavy organ tones in the boiler room, which also for some reason features an organ in the overworld map. Emma is voice-acted, if you’re curious, and if I have one minor complaint about the game, it’s that the story just doesn’t progress very quickly. Or at all in the first couple hours.

Story-
Through the first two locations, there is almost no mention of Thomas or revelations of his whereabouts, with most cutscenes focusing on how the characters are progressing to the next location, and a little speculation about it. With the story being introduced in the opening minute of the game as an epilogue of sorts, I would have liked to see more of this story driving the narrative and focus of the game.

The story is fun, and while nothing revolutionary, it’s a good one that sets the stage for the mysterious mansion you’re exploring, and also gives credence to why this teddy bear can walk and help Emma. He did fall out of the magician’s carriage after all.

TL;DR-
I recommend it. The gameplay mechanics are solid and challenging, and the platforming especially just gets better with time. The art is perfectly grim, and the soundtrack works well with it, changing to fit each new location, which I really love. If you’re looking for a spooky game to settle down with this Halloween, but one that won’t make you run to bed after turning the lights off, look no further.

If Isaac and Gungeon had a baby.

This is already in my conversation for top indie games of 2021. Check out my 5 minute review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PneNUps_-Lk