Recent reviews by Bob Pullen

Pretty, mechanically fluid and beautifully presented. Nothing ground-breaking though, and it's a short experience, so recommend picking up on sale when you fancy something relaxing/pretty to occupy you for a few hours.

Great game, with a novel (although somewhat under-capitalised) 'game within a game' premise.

You'll spend most of your time within a very primitive Atari-esque pixel environment so if that's not your bag then stay away. If it's something you appreciate/are nostalgic for though, then the atmosphere the devs have managed to create with what surmounts to a bunch of 8-bit monochrome squares and rotoscope cut scenes is commendable. If you're familiar with/have played 'FAITH: The Unholy Trinity', then you'll like this.

It's definitely not for everyone and it took a fair bit of perseverence at the start for me to understand some of the game mechanics; I can see this lack of direction/intruction being too much of a hurdle for some.

The puzzles are largely well-thought out however, there was more than one occasion when it felt I was brute-forcing/breaking something, even though I was doing what was expected of me. This was particulalry true for puzzles involving some of the items found in the Forest area of the game.

Minor quibbles aside though, this is a gem of a game that's well worth the price of admision if you're willing to put the effort in.

Lovely slice of existential psychological horror.

Despite all the pre-launch scepticism about the quality of this remake, I reckon Bloober have knocked it out of the park! It's an absolute treat from start to finish.

All the grit, emotion and themes of the OG story are realised perfectly here. The QoL improvements don't detract from the atmosphere of the original and there are some genius reworks of some of the better-known set pieces/puzzles - more than one of which will lead you to crack a wry smile if you're familiar with the source material.

Whether you've played the original or not, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not playing this (assuming over the shoulder psychological horror is your cup of tea, of course). Probably my GoTY.

Ignoring the teething bugs, this is a charming game where presentation and mechanics are definitely its strong point. It's very linear though, lacks challenge, and the few puzzles you encounter aren't particularly taxing. It also goes way overboard on the signposting/hand-holding and is missing a few QoL features.

If you're not expecting too much of a challenge though, don't mind the short length, and are the type to admire/appreciate the creative execution, then you'll have a blast.

Played through on Steam Deck with little to no performance qualms at default settings.

This game is a sheer delight. Expertly crafted exploration, inventive puzzles, and dripping in mystery/secrets just begging to be understood. I haven't felt as heavily invested/captivated in a game like this since Fez. Feel like I'm only starting to scratch the surface and can't wait to dive back in. Bravo 👏