Recent reviews by Anderleit

As an enormous fan of Harvest Moon 64 way back when, this game reminded me of everything I loved about farming games growing up. There weren't many, but what existed in that niche was good; Stardew Valley exemplifies all of what that once was and improves upon it. NPCs are varied and interesting, the world holds all the surprises one could ever want, and the story sets up a narrative of escaping the modern world for a more natural lifestyle in a way that, while a little on-the-nose, is still cathartic and helps the relaxing atmosphere of the game.

There is plenty to do in Stardew - almost too much - but a nice thing about the game is that you don't have to stress out about getting everything exactly right unless you want to. The game doesn't hold your hand and direct you to events, and I like that about it. There's an authentic feel to it all that makes me want to replay the game in order to catch things I may have previously missed out on, rather than save-scumming. Conversely, if you don't want to miss a thing, there are a number of fan-created wikis, resources and mods in order to help micro-manage the living heck out of your play-through.

I heartily recommend Stardew Valley for an immersive, wonderfully polished farming experience. Concerned Ape has revitalized the farming genre with this game, as well as opened it up to a whole new generation of player. The recent addition of multiplayer just adds to the whole, like extraordinarily tasty icing on top of a stellar cake. Just make sure you have hours to dedicate to a session, because this is one of those games that makes time melt away.

I admit that I'm a complete stranger to the visual novel genre - I can't even remember what led me to pick up Analogue. I do remember seeing the trailer, and being intrigued by the thought that there was more to this story than there seemed to be.

I wasn't wrong in the least.

While I don't have a solid basis for comparison, I do think that the minimalist style, smooth animations and unobtrusive soundtrack really complement the game. The focus is on the story that your A.I. of choice is telling you, and nothing else...with the possible exception of the A.I. themselves. The differences between *Mute and *Hyun-ae are profound, and only become more so as you spiral down into the mystery of the ship. While ultimately, the story here is *Hyun-ae's, *Mute's perspective provides a counterpoint essential to seeing *Hyun-ae's actions in the right light. When you're reading the story told by both women, captivated by the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, the mood can turn rather intense.

Though there is humor here, too. *Mute is remarkably crass, given her programming, and the levity her sass lends some serious situations is appreciated. *Hyun-ae is playful in her own right: should you befriend her enough, she will display different outfits for you, letting you use the in-game terminal to play a limited form of dress-up.

Speaking of the terminal, that and a Yes/No dialogue wheel will be the principle ways you assert yourself in-game. It's actually a nice mechanic. There are several times where the terminal comes in handy, and it's pretty intuitive to use. I also found the UI - probably due to that minimalist feel - comfortable to pick up.

All told, I couldn't find much wrong with Analogue. It was a wonderful introduction to the visual novel genre, and I plan to pick up it's sequel, Hate Plus. Might look into other visual novels as well, if they're half as good as this one.

This game is a labyrinth with depths so deep, they suck you in and never let you go again.

It boasts endless replayability, enthralling gameplay, and comedy so black it's grimdark.

Why the hell (no pun intended) don't you have it yet?

I've recently realized that this game satisfies a lot of my completionist tendencies, sort of like smaller games 'Upgrade Complete' and 'DLC Quest'. Not to say that Spiral Knights plays anything like those two - it's very much it's own animal. Essentially, I'd call the game a fast-paced adventure in dungeon-running, where the monsters spawn intent on ruining your day and your reflexes and gear are all you've got to defeat them.

And gear - oh, the gear. You gather materials from the monsters you beat in the dungeons, and craft them into bigger and better weapons, armor and accessories. Which you then use to become stronger, rank up, and wreck more monsters. Plus, everything you craft appears in wonderful detail on your character: a nice visual nod to all the work you do. All this makes it that much sweeter to jump in, party up and make the Clockworks beg for mercy.

This was one of the first games I bought here, and I don't regret it. This game is very short - only a Part 1 in what I assume is an impending series - but a fun point-and-click adventure with some pleasing riddles and puzzles to solve. Not to mention that "gorgeous" doesn't describe the way the game's set looks; I'm likely to replay it just to watch the camerawork, motion and scenery in action.

As mentioned above, it is definitely a Part 1; the game is extremely short, and that should be taken under consideration upon purchase. However it's sequel, Lumino City, is out now. I look forward to grabbing it and adding my review to this one.

This is definitely one of my more satisfying Steam purchases thus far. I bought it because it managed to make retro-style graphics look like eye candy; I continue to rack up playtime because of the immersive, dungeon-crawling underground, deep crafting system and near-limitless opportunities to reshape and reinvent the world(s) you play in.