Recent reviews by Manostion

The game was free for owners of Bright Memory.

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This review contains no major story spoilers.

Bright Memory: Infinite is the quasi-reboot of the now-cancelled Bright Memory and shares a lot with that game but also deviates strongly in other aspects. Comparisons are somewhat inevitable. Find my review for it here.

The game works perfectly well on both mouse + keyboard and controller.

Bright Memory: Infinite is a visceral, fast-paced first-person shooter with some added mechanics, including melee combat, a deflect/parry mechanic, upgradeable skills, and a grappling hook that is sadly only used in fixed places for linear traversal. Combat encounters in this game are extremely smooth, brutal and weighty, and it's satisfying to deflect an enemy's bullets back to them, parry the melee strike of another one and then slice through both with the blade, severing limbs in the process.

The gun-play is serviceable, if not nearly as fun as creatively combining the different skills. While the sniper rifle can satisfyingly dispose of enemies with one well-aimed shot, the other guns, specifically the shotgun, feel like they lack punch, making some enemies feel a bit bullet-spongey. On the other hand, the aiming, recoil, reloading, as well as their animations are all well made. This is a decent shooter elevated higher by its added skills and melee. However, many skills from Bright Memory, like the Light Forcefield, the Time Freeze bubble and others are gone, as is the Style meter that encouraged a varied play-style. Additionally, reliquaries now serve a purpose but all look the same and cannot be inspected any more.

There are some sections that play differently, like driving a car or being forced to be stealthy, so there is some variety here.

Sadly, the game is extremely easy (with the exception of a certain boss encounter), which isn't helped by the highest difficulty setting, "Hell", being locked away.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2717803273


You play as Shelia Tan, a young, female operative for a futuristic government organization, who is sent to investigate and, if possible, stop a strange phenomenon, a miniature black hole, that threatens to end the world. Additionally, she is to pursue a man named General Lin, whom we (including Shelia) know very little about, aside from him being the leader of a sinister organization. Both Shelia, the average tough female protagonist, and the elusive General Lin lack any character depth or story arc.

While the story, despite having a decent premise, is somewhat generic and underdeveloped, and mainly serves as a vehicle to get you to the action set-pieces, it is told in a competent way, with fully-voiced dialogues and well-animated cutscenes. While parts of Bright Memory can still be spotted in there, that game put a much stronger focus on the relationship between Shelia and the antagonist Carter, whom Lin clearly replaces in this game. In Bright Memory, the pursuit of Carter felt much more personal, especially since the story starts with him infiltrating the base of Shelia's organization. Another antagonist gets introduced fairly early on, who seems somewhat enigmatic at first but also turns out to be shallow.

It's also a bit of a shame that the cliffhanger of the first game never got resolved. Overall, despite this game being more gorgeous and technologically impressive, as well as playing more smoothly, the first attempt's story intrigued me more. It also made more sense for Shelia to be on her own in that one, as she got sucked through a portal by accident. Here, with the world at stake, the SRO only sending out solo operatives to try and save it seems implausible, and nobody else seems to care enough to contribute. I expected more and was a bit underwhelmed when it was over.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2718274785


This game is nothing if not gorgeous! From tessellation and reflections to advanced weather effects, particles, high-resolution textures and life-like animations and models, Bright Memory: Infinite is a visual achievement that can easily compete with any "AAA" game of our time. Rain, light, blood, fog, autumn leaves, fire and smoke all look breathtakingly good, and only tiny details fall flat upon closer inspection, as lights in the distance that look like small settlements or towns turn out to just be dots of light when viewed through a scope.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2717431129

The game's sound design is pretty great as well, as is the voice acting, which features an all-new cast, with the only outlier being General Lin, whose voice (audible in the trailer) sounds a little underwhelming and almost comical. Bright Memory's Carter sounded quite a bit more intimidating. The soundtrack is nothing too special, but works well enough with the game.


Even with RTX set to "High", the game mostly runs smoothly on my hardware, with only few temporary frame-drops that don't last long. It's not ideal, but there are enough settings to play around with, as well as an DirectX 11 mode (without RTX) to make the game run buttersmooth. Given the visuals and the fact that my GPU isn't the newest model, I expected the performance to be worse, though it could also be better.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Business Model

"Cosmetics only":
Buy the game, play the game, buy cosmetic changes.
There are paid skins for both Shelia and each weapon but no "micro"-transactions.

While Bright Memory: Infinite certainly is an ambitious project for the one person who made it and a technical achievement in many ways, I'm having a hard time recommending it at full price. The pretty visuals and great action aren't quite enough to justify the price, for a game that can be cleared in roughly three hours, only has the bare skeleton of a story and offers little replay value aside from getting all achievements and unlocking the non-DLC skins. Unlocking everything there is, playing the entire game on three difficulties and extensively in both DirectX versions to test them took me a mere ten hours.

While those ten hours were fun for the most part, it feels more like a glorified tech demo than a full game. One last thing I want to point out is that, while it was nice of the developer to hand the game out for free for owners of Bright Memory, that game is still being sold, even though it's technically a demo. In my opinion the right move would have been to include Bright Memory with purchases of this game. That way owners of the first one would still have saved some money, but new customers would get a bit more for their money.

Ultimately, I'd give this a neutral rating if Steam would let me.

Follow the Devils in the Detail for infinite bright memories.

The review key was provided by the developer.

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This review contains no major story spoilers.

Controllers work but cannot be rebound and the prompts are for keyboard only; some keyboard inputs can be rebound. Connected controllers vibrate, which can't be disabled.

THE ORIGIN: Blind Maid (OBM) is best described as a first-person horror adventure. You get a gun fairly early, but you should avoid the enemies whenever possible and only shoot them as a last resort, as ammunition is sparse. Sadly, even the tutorial that tells you to crouch to avoid detection is scripted in a way that makes it impossible not to be spotted, and that is only the beginning of a long list of issues I encountered in my short time with the game.

You spend roughly equal amounts of the game wandering around aimlessly, comically running—with limited stamina—from enemies with unlimited stamina that somehow don't quite catch up to you despite you slowing down every few steps, and backtracking to pick up items that weren't there before. If you don't pay enough attention, you'll have no clue what you're doing, let alone what you're supposed to do, but if you pay too much attention, all the cracks quickly start to show.

Given the protagonist's relative weakness, the game also offers a dodge mechanic, but if you have to use it there's a decent chance you'll get hit either way, as the dodge shakes your camera like crazy and leaves you stationary for a good second—the same happens when you get hit, so both are not only disorienting but often leave you open for more punishment. Reliably shooting the attacking enemy becomes highly unlikely, once they started attacking. Additionally, the psychopath who keeps trying to brutally murder you throughout the first chapter is invincible, as the protagonist refuses to shoot at him, even if you try.

Another issue is the lack of direction throughout OBM. Where, early on, the protagonist simply refuses to take certain paths until a prerequisite is met ("I have to find Vera first"), you're later allowed to freely roam around the semi-open world, whether or not it makes sense. It's frustrating to get to a place before you're supposed to, only to see a note the protagonist refuses to pick up. You can pick up the pistol magazine and various ingredients (and take your time doing so), but to pick up that note "there's no time". It's blatantly obvious that the developers couldn't make up their minds on whether the game should be a linear, curated experience or offer freedom in a semi-open world. This also affects the various chases, as you often lead the monsters around the entire map in circles, until you find the event that makes them disappear. Other chases just make it impossible to not get hit, which is infuriating.

Yet another thing that bothered me, even if it's a minor gripe in comparison, is that you can't pick up some items while standing, meaning you have to crouch to do so. Speaking of crouching, whenever you do, your (equipped) gun is invisible and you cannot aim down the iron sights, so another useful mechanic is unavailable to you until you stand up, exposing yourself.


The plot follows a corrupt politician on his way out of the country, looking for political asylum. On the way to the border, when taking a short break for no logical reason, his driver and assistant Vera locks him out of the car and runs away, only to assault and leave him a bit later, only to frantically look for him in order to kill him right afterwards. Why he didn't kill him while he was knocked out? No clue.

Either way, it's safe to say something is wrong with him, and by reading the various notes throughout the world, it quickly becomes clear that it's not just Vera. Monsters roam around at night, and many have already lost their minds in the area. Why Vera is affected but the (corrupted, selfish) protagonist seemingly isn't, going so far as to not being able to shoot his crazed, murderous assistant in self-defense? No clue.

But since the bulletproof car is locked and later, when you have the means to unlock it, out of battery, the game quickly becomes a glorified hunt for macguffin after macguffin. Why doesn't the protagonist open the car and lock himself in until the end of the night to at least avoid the monsters? No clue.


One aspect where the game almost shines is the atmosphere. If it wasn't for some very odd sound effect choices, I'd even say the atmosphere is excellent.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2609660356

Another positive is that the protagonist's monologues are used sparingly and written believably. The voice acting in general is decent at least, and whoever butchered the written translations luckily wasn't in charge of translating the dialogues.

As I mentioned above, there are sadly some very odd sound choices: High-pitched, undefinable noises near the lake and silly and childlike monster screams ruin the atmosphere and, combined with the poor audio mixing where voices are sometimes barely audible over the music, while struggles and gunshots are almost deafening, it makes for a very jarring experience. At the dock, there's a mosquito noise that is so loud that I was looking for a football-sized bug to shoot down, before I realized it was just ambiance.

Much more annoying, however, is the fact that the game has horrible dynamic depth of field, blurring out absolutely everything when a random tree trunk is close to being on-screen, or when you're standing before a picket fence or near an open window. Disabling "blur" in the options does nothing to change this.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2612891320

OBM runs at butter-smooth 60 FPS at highest settings, although the rendering distance is pathetic, with assets popping in and out of existence at roughly ten meters away (even in the intro cinematic), so the performance, while positive, is hardly surprising.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Business Model

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

THE ORIGIN: Blind Maid has some stronger points, and the effort and love that went into it are clearly visible. Sadly, it feels like it should still be in Early Access, with its many glaring issues. And, frankly, if it still was, I would've appreciated it a lot more. As it stands I couldn't bring myself to even finish it, let alone recommending spending money on it.

Check out the Devils in the Detail curator if you want a better time-investment than playing this game.

The review key was provided by the developer.

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This review contains no major story spoilers.

Haven is a narrative-driven adventure that tells the classic, almost cliché story of two lovers on the run from an oppressive force trying to drive them apart. Luckily, the way the story is written and conveyed is pretty damn amazing and easily takes center-stage. The Game Bakers delivered something quite unique in many ways, and it is easy to fall in love with many aspects of this flawed gem.

The game works perfectly well on both controller and mouse + keyboard.

Haven's gameplay is divided into two major parts, the Nest and Source's surface:

Inside the "Nest", the spaceship that serves as the protagonists' home, you can explore its interior from a first-person view and trigger several narrative events, prepare food, medicine or combat items, heal up, sleep to progress time to the next day, as well as celebrate (this game's quasi level-ups). While the events are all great, the crafting is painfully repetitive and slow, forcing you to craft one item at a time, watching the same animations over and over. Fully stocking up on all four types of combat items (five of each type) can take up to two-and-a-half minutes.

When you leave the Nest, you take direct control of Yu and/or Kay and explore the various floating islets of Source, the planet the two have landed on, gather resources, engage in fights, and progress through the main story. You have anti-gravity boots to freely glide through the world, occasionally using the so-called flow-threads, that are spread throughout the landscape, as rails, often to reach otherwise inaccessible places. Access to new islets often has to be unlocked, in an almost metroidvania kind of fashion.

On many of the islets a weird reddish substance that reacts to flow (this universe's primary energy source), referred to as rust, covers large sections of the ground, resources and creatures. Among its other odd properties, it has an adverse effect on the animals it touches, changing their appearances and making them aggressive.

Whenever you run into one of them, the game transitions to a semi-turn-based combat screen where you fight a group of enemies. You need to knock out each one and pacify (cleanse) it with your flow before it recovers. There is no fixed turn-order, but all of your and your enemies' actions take a moment to charge up, giving it a similar feel. As every action has a build-up, it's important to use both characters efficiently, having one cover the other while they're charging up an action, or preparing the "Pacify" command ahead of time to release it right after the knock-out blow happens. Quite frankly, while the effects and animations look great and the one-liners are delivered naturally, this is also the game at its weakest, as combat can quickly feel repetitive and dull.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2530058692

The way the entire campaign can be played together (local co-op and Remote Play Together), coupled with the captivating love-story, makes it the perfect game for couples. When gliding, one player can take the lead, and the other one will automatically follow, while the second player can control a bubble to remotely pick up resources (which is exclusive to co-op). One of the odd things I noticed is that both players need to select the same dialogue option, whenever a choice occurs, which makes absolutely no sense. Instead, the player controlling Yu should get to pick her replies and vice-versa (since choosing different options doesn't progress the dialogue anyway). Likewise, in solo mode, you need to use two inputs simultaneously to cancel certain actions, as if two players were present.


Yu and Kay are on the run from the Apiary because they went against the decision of the Matchmaker by falling in love with each other instead of their predetermined partners. They land on Source and decide to make it their haven and have a fresh start there. Don't worry, those terms will quickly make sense, when you play the game.

The most amazing thing about the game is how well-written the conversations, banter, arguments and encouragements portray the protagonists' love for each other and convey their backstory and the lore of the game's world in an incredibly natural way.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2530088588

One of the first things you'll notice when you boot up the game, is the beautiful synth-wave soundtrack by French musician Franck "Danger" Rivoire. Each song has been crafted for this game, and it shows, as there is at least one for every mood the game portrays and elicits.

Another thing you'll see right away is how beautiful the game looks. Granted, the cell-shading isn't always perfect and the shadows do look a bit odd at times as a result, but the art-style is simply amazing. Haven does not shy away from bright, vivid and saturated colors and fully commits to an almost anime-like aesthetic. That's also reflected in the characters' sprites during dialogues or the artwork on the loading screens. Another thing to like about the game is its attention to details. From objects and creatures you interact with showing up in and around the Nest and being interactable to the fact that both the character models' mouths and those of the sprites move in perfect sync with the voice-over.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2529969071


In all my time with Haven, I never encountered any stuttering, freezes, crashes or other major issues. Aside from a couple of typos, I don't remember encountering any bugs at all.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Business Model

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid in-game DLCs, items, loot boxes (the soundtrack is available for purchase).

Despite the somewhat repetitive gameplay loop, I really enjoyed my time with Haven a lot, both in co-op and solo. If you asked me whether or not this game was for you, I'd have to ask you how much you value a well-told story with well-written and well-voiced characters, because the game won't be for you if you're mostly looking for action. It's one of those stories that sticks with you for a while after playing, though. Steam's maximum of 8000 characters is not nearly enough space to do this game justice.

I'm sick of the bloot they call reviews these days. Let's dump those borons and head over to the Devils in the Detail.

Controllers are theoretically supported (but it didn't work for me), inputs cannot be rebound.

THE DEVIL HAUNTS ME (TDHM) is a short Survival-Horror game in which your first objective is to gather resources, as you need a certain amount of wood, meat, and water each day. Since some of the resources are finite, you'll eventually have to start unlocking new areas, and exploring the world. Additionally, your exploration will reward you with a multitude of upgrades, both to your character, and to your tools. The systems in place are fairly simple, and thus so are the controls. Much like in classic RPGs, you can walk in all directions but neither jump nor sprint. You have an action button to use your equipped tool, and one button to zoom the camera out, while remaining stationary - and that's it.

• Gathering resources:
  As there are three types of resources, namely wood, meat and water, there are also three different types of tools, namely the axe, rifle and bucket. In TDHM, you can only carry one tool at a time, and the tool you're holding returns to its spawn points when you pick up another one or go to bed. Additionally, each successful use of a tool uses Energy, so some planning on what to gather when is required. As you'd expect, you use the axe to gather wood from trees, the rifle to hunt animals for meat, and the bucket to gather water from puddles, rivers and lakes, keeping in mind that animals take several days to respawn, while trees and puddles are finite but numerous. Since puddles are your only source of water on the starting island, you have to gather enough wood to repair one of the bridges as soon as possible.
  
  
• Unlocking new areas:
  With very few exceptions, you'll unlock new islands to explore by repairing the bridges connecting them. To do so, you just stand beside the broken spots with the required amount of wood. Since you also need five wood, per night, to survive, you'll need to gather an excess.
  
  
• Exploration:
  New islands mean new things to collect, including character- and tool-upgrades, which will, in turn, allow you to spend your days more efficiently. There are a total of 20 upgrades for your stamina scattered around the world, three hidden upgrades to your health, several (permanent) tool-upgrades, as well as some other things, so exploring every nook and cranny is a good idea.
  
  
• Upgrades:
  As I mentioned above, there are both character upgrades, and tool upgrades. While it is obvious how straight-forward the former are, increasing your attributes permanently, the latter are just as simple: Once you pick up a better version of any tool, every single spawn point for that type of tool will automatically be upgraded as well, including the ones in front of your house.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2299534301

The small amount of available actions means that, if you use external software like the Controller Companion (which is available on Steam), you can easily assign all the game's inputs to the buttons on most controllers, compensating for the lack of that option in the game (I was even able to fit my record video and take screenshot functions to the triggers).

The game comes with two available difficulty settings, aptly named Forgiving and Unforgiving, respectively. In the former, losing all your health will take you back to your bed and remove a small amount of your resources, and you can spend five nights without resources until you see the dreaded Game Over screen. Meanwhile, the latter earns its name by introducing perma-death, i.e. the end of the game as soon as your health drops to 0, and by ending the game once you've spent your third night without resources. This mode can be truly tough, especially considering how persistent one of the game's threats can be.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2299529729


While there isn't much in terms of a story, and the little there is, is up to your own interpretation, as there is no dialogue or narration, the game's atmosphere and overall presentation are absolutely excellent. With some environmental story-telling, and some gory details, as well as ambient sounds and particle effects, TDHM really sets itself apart from similar games - if you can even say there are games quite like it.


With a world in perpetual twilight, set on interconnected islands, floating over a huge, white void, the game doesn't hide how different it is. The color palette is black and white, except for blood and gore, the devil that haunts you, fire, and the things you can interact with, like your tools, or the Stamina plants. The combination of the black and white world and some very vibrant assets, creates a stark contrast that I enjoyed a lot.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2299531019

The game's soundtrack, which consists mostly of forest ambiance with some somber or menacing music every now and then, is properly unnerving and keeps you on your toes, constantly. After I was done playing THE DEVIL HAUNTS ME, the music was still haunting me.


As expected, the game didn't manage to challenge my hardware, running at smooth and constant 60fps, while barely using any resources, but I was pleasantly surprised to also encounter not a single game-breaking bug or crash. There are some small visual glitches, and the game offers to continue after you beat it, which takes you to an all white screen where you can do nothing but walk around, but nothing serious.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

With roughly two hours to clear the game in Forgiving mode, and about six to nine hours for completionists, the game is definitely worth its low price of being Free! There were quite a few tense moments in my first playthrough, and I couldn't stop playing until the credits rolled, so I'd say, definitely play this hidden indie gem, made by one person.

Free:
Just play the game.

THE DEVIL HAUNTS ME should have a less capitalized name, but, other than that, is a very enjoyable survival horror game, with a cool art style and a lot to discover. Since it doesn't cost a dime, you really can't go wrong with it, so I implore you to download it, right after you followed this link:

Don't worry, the only ones haunting you here are the Devils in the Detail with their high quality reviews.

The review key was provided by the developer.

Controllers are not supported, inputs cannot be rebound.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest (HotF) is a Visual Novel (VN), so there's not too much to expect in terms of actual "gameplay", however, unlike most VNs, the game does have a couple of RPG-systems, including meters for your Rage, Willpower, and Health, as well as character stats, and a social sim portion with all named characters and some factions, adding a lot of depth to your decisions. I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of changes my second playthrough introduced early on, based on some simple differing choices I made.


This wouldn't normally be a section you'd expect for a VN, however, given the additional systems and values, there is the risk of losing your Health (although I never managed to actually do that), and, more importantly, the constant threat of being out of Willpower in crucial moments. Willpower is a resource that gets restocked whenever you reach one of your Goals, and can be used for "difficult" actions. Since there are more possibilities to use it than there are to gain it, you'll have to take consideration on which choices are worth it for you. Sadly, it is often unpredictable when you should use it and when you should save it, and there is one particular section where you have to spend Willpower for each of several characters, if you want to learn more about them.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2287024877


The game's story follows Maia Boroditch, a young American of Polish ancestry, who travels to the Polish town of Białowieża to discover more about her roots, after being haunted by strange dreams about the local forest. Once there, she discovers that most locals clam up as soon as her last name is mentioned, and also learns about the protests against the ongoing logging of the Białowieża forest (referred to as Puszca). Very early on, your choices determine Maia's main goals and motivations, which is where the game truly starts to shine. Whereas the game becomes a little more linear near its end, you can make thousands of different choices that influence the progression of the plot in small and big ways, throughout the first acts, offering a lot in terms of replayability. Additionally, you have a character sheet that reflects how your choices affect Maia and her relations to others. A lot of the times, Maia's actions, both the automatic ones and some of the available choices, are influenced by her current Rage, her relations to characters in the scene, or her other traits, like Cunning, Analytical, or Brave, adding to each playthrough's variety.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2287002689


HotF combines hand-drawn art with photographs of townscapes and buildings and stylizes them in a very artsy way, before adding dynamic effects. Whether or not this style works for you, is highly subjective, of course, but I enjoyed its unique flair, for the most part.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2287046831

Music is used sparingly, but fairly effectively for the most part. Instead, the game uses ambient noises in most scenes that mange to both capture the mood, in a very realistic way, and react to any changes, caused by your actions. From rustling leaves, chirping crickets, and hooting owls, to screams, angry shouting, and the howling of the wolves, everything fits very nicely, and works to the game's benefit. Interestingly, in the game's settings, you can choose one of two tracks to play for the end credits. The calm "Safe World" by Polish artist Rogi Clush wasn't quite for me, but would make for a good conclusion to a low-violence playthrough. However, the song "Ваўкалак" ("Vaukalak"), by the Belarusian folk band Irdorath, is such an amazing track (about Werewolves) that I'm still listening to it as I'm writing this.


While I am a big fan of the World of Darkness franchise of fantasy tabletop games, I had mostly come into contact with the Vampire: The Masquerade branch, and didn't know too much about the Werewolf: The Apocalypse lore. Luckily, the game manages very well to highlight certain terms, allowing you to hover over them for an explanation. That, coupled with the fact that the game's protagonist is new to the world of the Garou (Werewolves) herself, mean the VN is perfectly suited for newcomers and veterans alike.


Nothing to report. No crashes, no bugs, no glitches.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Since the default font, much like the art-style, is somewhat stylized, the game offers two alternative fonts for ease of reading, allowing you to choose between sans-serif, and OpenDyslexic.


For 12,49 € / 14,99 $, you'll get at the very least 2 hours, if you're a really fast reader, but completionists are probably looking at somewhere around 15-20 hours, as the game features countless different branches and five unique endings. To be perfectly honest, the game is worth it for me, based on the quality of writing and the many options that actually change things, but it is probably best to wait for a bundle or discount.

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest offers a gripping narrative, anchored in real life events, but infused with the gothic fantasy of the World of Darkness. With realistic and individual characters and relationships, plausible motivations, and branching narratives with actual consequences to your actions, this VN does everything right. Given the short playtime, you may want to get it at a discount, but you do want to get it if you're into the World of Darkness, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and/or Visual Novels. Even those among you, who are fans of the more well-known Vampire: The Masquerade franchise, may take this chance to expand their WoD horizon.

Give in to your primal Rage, and the Devils in the Detail will fight by your side.

The review key was provided by the developer via Curator Connect.

Controllers are not supported, inputs cannot be rebound.

Obsolete is a fairly simple 2D platformer with satisfyingly smooth gameplay. Your main objective is to navigate through the mostly linear levels unscathed, with no combat to speak of. You do encounter enemies and other hazards on your journey, but your only way to deal with them is to avoid them, since a single touch will obliterate you, sending you back to the start of the level, or your last activated checkpoint. To navigate through the world, you can walk, and jump, and turn into a small blob to traverse tight crawlspaces.

In addition to the linear path ahead of you, there are also some houses you can enter, and some secret passages to explore, however, most of those are only used for environmental storytelling, or to hide one of the five Notes you can find throughout the game.

The small amount of available actions means that, if you use external software like the Controller Companion (which is available on Steam), you can easily assign all the game's inputs to the buttons on most controllers, compensating for the lack of that option in the game (I was even able to fit my record video and take screenshot functions to the triggers).

Most of the game's difficulty comes from the precise timing that some of your jumps require in order to avoid incoming damage (although there is also one fairly tough boss encounter). Some moments can indeed be quite tricky, however, the checkpoints are placed fairly close to those sections, so that the game is sometimes challenging, but never frustrating.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2290436875


Obsolete's story is one of decay, despair, melancholy, and the death of a civilization, as well as a small, faint ember of hope for a return to better days. In that, the game's tone reminds me of something like Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King, or Dark Souls. Most inhabitants of this world have either given up, spending their days doing nothing but stare into the distance, or turned hostile and deformed, trying to take lives to transform themselves back into what they used to be. Unlike those mentioned games, however, and more along the lines of something like Journey, the game doesn't use narration or dialogue to tell you this, but mostly environmental storytelling, as well as the five hidden Notes.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2290421644

Despite the simple art-style, Obsolete absolutely sells the somber atmosphere, the desperation and the decay, and the hostility of the world, beautifully. The peaceful creatures you encounter stare blankly into the distance, staying close to derelict houses they can't use anymore; all that remains of whatever flora the world used to have are dried up twigs and thorns; there is no hint of color; the world seems to be in perpetual twilight.


As I already mentioned, the art-style of Obsolete is one without colors. Almost everything in the foreground is a solid black, the rest is shades of gray. The pixel art is both cute and effective and the animations are fluid and have been lovingly crafted. Transforming into a little, almost shapeless blob to shuffle along slowly is always a treat and the simplicity works surprisingly well. Any and all emotions on the world's inhabitants is inferred only, but even that works in this game's favor.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2290423269

With soft strings and a piano, the soundtrack of the game does a good job of contributing to the overall mood, and, combined with the sound effects and the desolate ambiance noises, works perfectly to that effect.


As expected, the game didn't manage to challenge my hardware, running at smooth and constant 60fps, while barely using any resources, but I was pleasantly surprised to also encounter not a single bug or glitch. The only (very insignificant) issue I noticed was that the transformation animations always turn you to face to the right (not really a bug, but perhaps a small oversight).

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

For 2.30 € / 2.99 $, you get close to 1 hour of gameplay with little to no replay-value.

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

With less than an hour of playtime, the price may still seem too high, if you expect at least one hour per Euro/Dollar spent, but Obsolete isn't an expensive game, and kept me very entertained until the end. French solo developer leFarfelu did an extraordinary job for his very first game, and I highly recommend checking it out. Reading "Thanks for playing my first game", at the end of the credits, felt oddly touching and put a smile on my face, and I now can't wait to see what's coming next from the developer.

No matter how bleak the world becomes, the Devils in the Detail are here, unaffected by the decay.

The review key was provided by the developer.

The game works perfectly well on both controller and mouse + keyboard.

Green Hell is a first-person survival game, in which you find yourself in an unforgiving environment, full of hazards to your health, life and sanity. Gameplay consists of gathering resources, crafting tools and weapons, building shelter, hunting for food and fighting off attackers, but you also need to manage various macroelements and treat all sorts of injuries.

• Gathering:
  When you start the game (after the tutorial, or instantly in co-op/survival), you'll have nothing on you, except for an empty backpack and your watch. Since this includes any foraging tools, you'll have to start gathering materials, just as you have to gather fruit and mushrooms for food. Luckily, you can make simple tools from things you can easily gather, like sticks and stones, and fruits, nuts and mushrooms can sustain you for a while. Since you also need clean water, proteins and shelter, you'll want some tools fast, though.
  
  
• Crafting:
  Making tools is fairly straight-forward. You put materials on the crafting interface, until you see a tool you can craft. The interface has circles that indicate how many more materials you can add for viable combinations, depending on what you have already added, and recipes are stored in your Journal. You can also acquire new recipes in other ways throughout the game.
  
  
• Building:
  Once you have your first tools, you can start gathering what materials you need to start building shelter. In Green Hell you need a bed to sleep without risk, and some kind of roof to save your game, but you can build a lot more than that, including chests, planters, dryers for meat, and more.
  
  
• Hunting:
  Proteins are one macroelement, that you can hardly sustain, without hunting, as the main source of Proteins is meat. While you will occasionally find a dead bird or frog, that you can harvest for meat, that won't happen nearly enough to sustain yourself. Hunted animals also provide bones and other parts that can be used in crafting.
  
  
• Combat:
  Fighting enemies, be they tribesmen or animals, is straightforward but challenging and any wound may end up being fatal. It's fair but hard, especially early on.
  
  
• Surviving:
  In order to survive, you need to manage your macroelements, tend to your wounds, treat your poisonings and infections, and keep your sanity in check, by combining all of the skills described above.
  https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2247705610

The game's difficulty can be overwhelming at first, due to its harsh realism, but once you get a hang of the different systems and mechanics, it strikes the perfect balance of being challenging and yet manageable, almost constantly. Whenever you decide to settle down and build a base, it gets a lot easier, but even if you've built up a lot for yourself, the difficulty spikes back up, dramatically, whenever you venture more than a day's walk away from your base - your carrying capacity is limited, your food spoils, fresh water is often hard to come by, and sleeping anywhere other than a bed, hammock, etc., can be more detrimental to your health than you'd guess.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2247704850

The game's story relies on the overused plot device of amnesia, but uses it to its narrative advantage, instead of as the crutch it usually is. The protagonist only has partial amnesia, and part of his journey is to uncover his lost memories via spiritualistic Ayahuasca ceremonies. Most players won't likely know what Ayahuasca is, but, as someone who was familiar with it beforehand, I was delighted to see how well it was handled. Additionally, it turns out that the "lost" memories were in fact represseed ones, as there is a rather huge, if slightly predictable, plot-twist waiting at the end. I won't go into plot details, but it managed to grip me from start to finish, as, once again, the execution is exceptional.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2247706600

The Amazon is nothing short of breathtaking, and the game uses foliage and lighting to very effectively make it come to life. As much as Green Hell lives up to both halves of its name, there are many glimpses of a Paradise here, as well. But the many things that can ail you, from rashes to deep cuts, infected wounds to the dirt or moisture on your skin, are also extremely convincing. Green Hell goes for realism, and achieves it brilliantly.

Green Hell uses music very sparingly, but where it does, it's usually very effective in supporting the mood, be it a tragic plot revelation, or a frantic battle against strong opponents, or a hunt for food. For the majority of the game, the soundtrack will remain silent, however, and that is where the ambience takes over. From the shrieks and caws of the tropical birds, the rustling of leaves, the cracking of twigs, or the menacing low growls of leopards, rattling of snakes, or that clicking, whatever it is, that venomous spiders make in the game - you'll constantly be looking over your shoulder and carefully scan your surroundings, especially early on. Even more terrifying, still, are the songs and chants that the hostile natives make.


During all of my playtime, I've had no technical issues with the game, whatsoever.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

For a review that used lower specs, see the one by my friend Ergiler:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Ergiler/recommended/815370/

For about 20 € / 25 $, you get 20-25 hours story content, with two possible endings.
Completionists are looking at 32 hours or more, for all 40 achievements.
If you factor in co-op play, that can go up, pretty much infinitely.

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

Green Hell is one of the best survival games, I've played recently, maybe ever. Unlike many of its peers, this game manages to make you feel like you actually have to fight for your survival until the very end. Couple that with a story, that, while somewhat predictable at times, still manages to be surprising a lot, a voice actor who really sells desperation, fear, exhaustion and frustration, and a solid crafting system, and you have something great on your hands.

Whether your Hell is Green or not, as long as the Devils in the Detail are there, you're in good company.

The game works perfectly well on both controller and mouse + keyboard.

Journey is basically a Walking Simulator, in which you journey (no pun intended) through a vast but very linear world that is segmented into smaller areas. Your task, in each of those areas, is to reach and activate a shrine at its end. To do so, you must use your magical scarf that enables short-term flight, allowing you to reach high and/or distant platforms, as well as the power of your voice that serves as a means to communicate with other players and to breathe new life into the friendly Cloth Creatures you meet along the way. Press to make a small noise, hold and release for a burst around you.

Your scarf has a very limited length, i.e. capacity for flight, and you have to recharge it, by coming into contact with Cloth Creatures, before you can use it again. However, exploration rewards you with glowing symbols that extend the length and capacity of your scarf.

Whenever you reach the end of an area, and activate the shrine, you are presented with a new piece of the world's history, and ultimately future, and can then progress to the next section of the game. Additionally, there is some very limited climbing, allowing you to reach ledges that are about waist-high, and downhill sliding, which even becomes the main focus of a chapter down the line.


Another extremely important aspect of the game is the very, very unique multiplayer component. While you do start out alone, you eventually encounter other players (one at a time, and only one, if you stick together from start to finish), with whom you can co-operate on your journey. The beauty of it is that you can't see their username or communicate in any way with them, except for the little sounds you can make with a button press. You have no way of telling who the other person is, where they're from, what they usually play, what they believe in, or who they voted for, so there's no room for prejudice, and since there is no way of grieving, all encounters I had, in all of my playthroughs, have been magical in a way that no other multiplayer experience could ever provide for me, while also eliminating any language barriers.

The way it works is that you randomly see another player running around the world, and it feels like a natural thing to stick together, communicating by making small one-note noises. Of course, you can decide to do your own thing and ignore the other person, but that will not hinder them in any way, either. On the other hand, sticking together makes the journey much more pleasant and even easier, because other players also refill your scarf charge, when you touch them. Additionally, whenever a player is hit by another player's voice burst, their scarf charges also get slightly refilled, meaning that you're able to progress much faster by co-operating with other players, but at the same time can't hinder their progress in any way.

One interesting effect that had on me and others, was that, whenever I lost track of my co-op partner, I would hope that the next person I met was that same player from before, longing to be re-united with them.

At the end of the game's credits, after finishing your journey, you will finally see the names of the people who traveled alongside you.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2183511782

The story in this game is told in two different ways, namely environmental story-telling, via the ruins of an ancient civilization, and as a look back on the world's history, via simplistic but animated murals. Much of what happened and is happening is left to the player's interpretation, as the game contains no dialogue, which actually works in its favor, since that allows the journey to mean something else for everybody. And, of course, I do have my own interpretation, that makes the most sense to me, however, I'm not going to tell you my personal version, as that would not only potentially spoil the plot/lore but also potentially tilt your perspective, preventing you from reading your own messages into it.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2183561575

One thing, that does become clear, is how important the mountain is and the way this is hammered into your subconscious is amazing. thatgamecompany manages to subtly direct you the right way from the very start of the game and wherever you're going, that mountain is in the background, slowly but surely getting closer. Fittingly, the first piece of mandatory mural history you see, begins with a depiction of that same mountain.

There is a lot more I could say but the less you know approaching this game, the better.


Journey's visual presentation is timeless and looks as breathtakingly gorgeous now as it did back in 2012(!), due to its great art-style. However, that's not to say that the graphics aren't similarly great. The sand and snow react to your every move and even the weight of your scarf as you drag it along, the animations are wonderfully fluent, and the glistening of the sand, achieved by using specular maps that only make small dots shiny, looks brilliant. There are also some additional effects, like the desert heat distorting the view, or sand sticking to your clothes, that make the game that much more beautiful.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2183440432

The score is a masterpiece that supports the mood of the moment, be it wonder and awe, or dread and desperation, perfectly. There are as many hopeful tunes as there are sinister ones and they are used at just the right moments. If publisher Annapurna Interactive were to release the game's soundtrack as a DLC, I'd get it immediately.


No issues to report of.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Note:
The game doesn't run, without some fiddling around, on Phenom CPUs, so keep that in mind if you have one.

Classic:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

Rarely was a game's title as fitting as in this case. The game is awfully short but boy, is it a journey. And I think the relatively short length of roughly one and a half hours actually works in favor of the experience and helps players stick together until the end (since you can't agree on a new time to continue together).

To loop back to the initial quote, much like the game loops back to the beginning of a new Journey each time, I want to thank toaster messiah for taking almost the entire trip with me, start to finish, as well as Ya Boi for one very brief encounter early on (first playthrough).

If you take a wrong step along your own Journey and end up in Hell, make sure to visit the Devils in the Detail.

The Darksiders franchise has always been a love letter to gaming in a way, with each title emulating a different set of genres, subgenres and games (which also compliments the idea that each Horseman is unique). Darksiders III continues that tradition and takes parts of its inspiration from the Souls-like and Metroidvania subgenres, in addition to everything else, offering the most punishing and methodical combat so far and an elemental-/ weapon-upgrade-based progression.

• Combat:
  Like in the other entries, combat is one of the core gameplay elements. Fury feels a little squishy for a Horseman, especially early on, and the combat requires you to be patient and meticulous, waiting for openings, and dodging at the right times. The Perfect Dodge quickly becomes important, rewarding you with brief slow-motion and allowing for a powerful counter. You notice the Souls-like influences early on, with mistakes being punished swiftly and harshly. However, unlike most games in that subgenre, this one lacks a Stamina-system and has more options to help you out when in a pinch. On the flip-side, some less than fair situations can occur, with enemies attacking you while you're performing your Perfect Dodge Counter, which would be like getting hit during a backstab.
  
  As for things that you can do, there's your standard attack, using Fury's whip, the "Barbs of Scorn", which can be used for precision strikes and sweeping crowd control combos alike, as well as a secondary attack, using one of four elemental weapons that you unlock over the course of the game (each with a second variation in the Keepers of the Void-DLC). You can switch between these secondary weapons seamlessly, adding a lot of freedom to the way you play, and each of them comes with their own Wrath-Attack, Dodge Counter, Combos, Charged Attack, and Traversal abilities. Furthermore, you have a powerful transformation, the Havoc Form, that temporarily makes Fury invulnerable, grants her regeneration, while the form is active, and two whips, and lets all of her attacks deal Arcane damage. Initially, the form lasts very briefly and takes ages to fully charge up during regular combat, but using some of the various Weapon Enhancements, the duration can be increased, as can the rate at which it charges up, including a passive regeneration, making certain builds pretty powerful.
  
  Sadly, the Executions of weakened enemies, that the series had previously had, are missing. Only the first four bosses in the Keepers of the Void-DLC reintroduce them - too little, too late, as you could argue.
  https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2153887189
  
  
• World Progression:
  As I mentioned before, the world gradually unlocks based on the Hollows, the elemental secondary weapons, you unlock. Not rarely are you required to backtrack to a previously visited place and unlock a new path from there, but it also opens a multitude of optional, semi-hidden paths up for you that hide optional rewards like Weapon Enhancements, Soul Lurcher Clusters, et al.
  
  Traversal abilities that come with the Hollows include a fiery Triple Jump, a static Air Glide, Wall Jumping, walking on water and more, allowing for some unique environmental puzzles and some well-hidden secret areas.

The game offers two different Combat Modes, "Default" and "Classic", as well as five difficulty settings, that you can choose from when you start a new game. "Classic" mode is more similar to the first two games and more forgiving by allowing you to cancel your attacks with a dodge and skipping the animation when using an item. By combining the two modes with the five difficulty settings there is a lot of freedom for players and the game can be fairly easy as well as frustratingly difficult. For those that want to experience the plot and lore first and foremost, Classic + Story/Balanced would probably be ideal, while fans of the Souls-like subgenre might prefer Default + Apocalyptic. Since the game also offers the so-called "Armageddon" Mode (NG+), it makes sense to start out easier and save the harder experience for subsequent playthroughs.


The game is set after the prologue of the first Darksiders and before the rest of it, 100 years later, much like the second game. It is set before Darksiders II and sees the player tasked with recapturing the Seven Deadly Sins, that have escaped their prison when the Apocalypse happened and have now made Earth their domain. Fury starts out extremely uncharismatic and uncaring but has a big character arc over the course of the game, with many events prompting her to reconsider her stance on certain topics. The voice acting got mixed reactions but I think the voice actors all work really well with what they're given. Due to Fury's constant anger and early disregard of others, her performance probably feels the weakest but even she works well in the context of the story. The cutscenes are all very well made but I saw the "plot-twist" coming very early on.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2153874669

The graphics of the game are fine, nothing mind-blowing but definitely not bad. What really makes it shine is the art-style and the way it portrays the post-Apocalypse Earth.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2153872955

Cris Velasco, the composer of the first game's soundtrack, returns and delivers a score that is just as epic and also manages to be varied and have some very memorable tracks. It's not quite on the level of Jesper Kyd's work for the second game but it's great nonetheless.


While the game was very rough at launch, and still is on consoles, it now runs really well and only really rarely and briefly has the random loading that you may know from video reviews. Some containers lack a texture for some reason but other than that, I encountered no issues.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Add-ons only:
There are two paid Add-ons that expand the game, and the game's soundtrack, but no other paid DLCs, items, loot boxes.

Darksiders III has received very mixed feedback but quite frankly, it's a good game and a good continuation of the series. It does have its flaws, as we explored in this review, but it managed to captivate me for countless hours on several systems. I definitely recommend this as long as you know what to expect.

Don't commit the Deadly Sin of not following the Devils in the Detail.

Children of Morta is a Hack and Slash Action Roguelite in which you control one of several available characters, members of the Bergson family, to fight your way through procedurally generated layouts of the various dungeons. Depending on the Bergson you're using, the gameplay is either typical Hack and Slash combat or takes on qualities of a Twin-stick shooter. The pillars of the gameplay are exploration, combat and character upgrades, with the occasional addition of optional mini-games.

• Exploration:
  After choosing which Bergson to control, you get dropped into a dungeon that is randomly generated and has a lot of branching paths, secrets to uncover, temporary upgrades, environmental traps, and challenge rooms. You have a mini-map as well as a full map that gets unveiled as you discover more areas and it's up to you whether or not you want to uncover it all before you move on to the next stage. Since healing is limited and the enemy encounters can be quite tough, exploring a dungeon fully is a bit of a risk/reward system, as you run into more opportunities to be worn down and killed but also increase your chances of finding more upgrades, while gathering more experience and Morv (the currency). Completing the entire map can make a run last up to two hours.
  
  
• Combat:
  Combat in Children of Morta is very diverse as each of the playable Bergsons represents a different RPG-typical class. Where John, the father, represents the classic Warrior archetype, fighting with a sword and a shield, Linda, the second-oldest child, introduces the Twin-stick shooter mechanics as the Archer archetype. The other members of the Bergson household are unlocked one by one as the story progresses and add the Assassin, Brawler, Mage and Berserker classes in that order. Each of them has something unique about their gameplay but the basics are always the same - run, dodge, attack and two unlockable active battle abilities, as well as different gadgets you can acquire within each run.
  
  
• Upgrades:
  As the game belongs to the Roguelite-subgenre, you have several permanent and temporary (per-run) means to upgrade your characters, however in this game a strong focus is put on the family bonds between the Bergsons. As you improve a Bergson's skill tree, you will unlock certain perks that affect the entire family, meaning it is strongly encouraged to train at least some of the characters, if not all to unlock more perks.
  
  
• Mini-games:
  Throughout your exploration of the different dungeons, you may come across the occasional mini-game, presenting an optional risk/reward scenario. These mini-games are basically challenge rooms where you can gain a prize and/or a punishment in the form of a horde of enemies or an instant loss of a portion of your health.
  https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2124979933

Levels in Children of Morta get progressively more difficult and often make leaps between different areas. While the challenge is mostly welcome, you do not improve any Bergson that isn't participating in the missions, meaning that if you used Linda to unlock the next level, nobody else gathered experience for it, making them vastly underpowered for the new missions, resulting in the need to grind, but which also incentivizes using all characters.


The game tells the story of the Bergson family, descendants of a fated family of protectors, who fight back the creeping corruption of their world. It focuses very strongly on the bonds between the family members and their individual strengths and weaknesses and it offers a lot of optional side-content, exploring other stories and expanding the family. The cut-scenes are beautifully animated with those tiny pixelated faces conveying tons of emotions somehow, and while the characters are silent, the narrator and the music evoke a wide range of emotions while telling you everything you need to know.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2124978126

Children of Morta offers wonderfully animated pixel-sprites in a world that comes to life with wind effects, falling leaves and many more environmental effects. Even the color palette contributes to the dark atmosphere and it is daunting to see how the hub area transforms over time as corruption takes a hold.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2124977273

The soundtrack for this game is instrumental for the most part and manages fairly well to be evocative of a melancholic mood that fits the plot. Based on the situation, the music changes accordingly, with soothing, calm notes playing in the hub area, somewhat more menacing music during the dungeons, a frantic, epic and almost desperate tune for boss encounters and a light-hearted, hopeful guitar-only melody in safe zones within the dungeons.

To the developers:
Release the Soundtrack as low-priced DLC - I'm sure a lot of players, including me, would love to own it.

Fans of Hack and Slash and/or Dungeon Crawler games like Diablo II, Hades or Heroes of Hammerwatch, as well as fans of Pixel Graphics and story-rich games are almost guaranteed to find something to like here, as long as they come prepared to grind.


The game isn't very demanding by nature of the 2D graphics and the top-down perspective and I have experienced no frame-drops, stuttering or other performance issues, whatsoever.

Tested with the following setup:

🔀 Supports [Alt]+[Tab]: Excellently

Classic / Add-ons only:
Buy the game, play the game.
No paid DLCs, items, loot boxes so far.
One paid Story expansion planned.

If you are into story-rich games and don't mind the Roguelite model, you owe it to yourself to play this game. With its wonderful visual style, beautifully told story about family bonds and defying a dark fate, pleasant narration, amazing soundtrack and responsive and challenging gameplay, Children of Morta has all the ingredients to keep you glued to the screen for hours upon hours, while the different perks give you an incentive to play with all of the characters at least a little. Add in local and remote co-op play and you have yourself some GOTY-material.

The Bergsons well knew that even in the darkest of hours the Devils in the Detail would always shine a light with reviews that were free from the corruption.