Recent reviews by Emrys

Aight look. The running is great. The speed feels great. The music is pretty bop.

But jesus christ the devs seem to really not understand what's fun about their own game. It's like they were afraid to just make an endless runner, so instead, they tried to answer the question of "what does a REAL game need???"

So suddenly there are now incredibly annoying bullet hell bosses, rogue-lite elements that don't do much because you can't really make a build, there's clunky map from slay the spire, there's awkward story presented a-la Hades (except Supergiant Games know how to write and it's not as annoying to die in Hades, as it is here) and then there's final boss that simply makes you run in circles across the broken shifting terrain where you can just hit a brick wall and fall to your death, because that's what's speedy arcady runner is supposed to feel like, apparently. Not to mention the fact that the random generator sometimes gives you levels that decide to f you over for no real reason - for the last 3 shards I just turned down the damage slider to 5% because I couldn't be bothered anymore.

I was very hyped by the demo, but by the end I just left annoyed. I won't bother finishing the last boss.

Графен конешно необычный и стилёвый, но диалоги в стиле легендарного КИРИЛЛА из шестидесятого километра дольше десяти минут выдержать сложно.

I don't quite understand how games like this and ENA get made for free, but I'm glad they exist.

A nice little Point-and-Balatro for an evening. Loved the visuals, loved the music, loved the jokes. Puzzles are extremely straightforward, but it's not really a problem for a title like this. My only nitpick is backtracking - the game itself is short, but the majority of the runtime is spent running between the same locations over and over. Can't really complain though

The game is absolutely great for the first 30 hours or so. It doesn't quite stick the landing, though.

At first you think it's all pretty simple - just get to the 46th room and that's it.
Then you start getting annoyed with the drafting mechanics.
Then you realize you can manipulate the draft.
Then you realize there's much more to the game than it initially seemed.
Each runs gives you new information.
Sure, you didn't get to solve those 3 puzzles that you have in the back of your mind, but you got 5 new clues to follow in the next run!
You start screenshotting every single possible clue and writing down everything that looks strange.
You now have 10+ clues to keep track of at any given time. How deep does this go???
You've seen the credits, but there's so much more to uncover. So you continue.
The game keeps giving you more though. It's like a puzzle hydra - for every puzzle solved you get two more clues to follow.
The puzzles get more and more cryptic.
It's still fun, but now it gets tiring to go through the motions of drafting.
But the game gives you more.
Surely, after I unlock the 8 doors with 8 sigils the game will finally end?
No. No it will not.
You find even more options to manipulate the draft. But you just want it to end now. It's enough puzzles. IT'S ENOUGH PUZZLES.
Here's some more puzzles.
I'm tired, boss....
And a whole new location. With more puzzles in it.

I don't think I have the tenacity to beat all of it. And that's the main problem: there is no satisfying conclusion to the game unless you force yourself into an obsessive hyperfocused frenzy. Even if you just want to finally see the true ending and CALL IT A DAY - cheats and guides won't help you all that much.

I'm still recommending the game. Because it's genuinely unique and it does something different. And because the first third (fourth?) of the game is really-really fun to uncover. Just maybe don't expect to actually beat it.

This is a very neat little escape room that you can beat in one seating. The puzzles are pretty inventive and punch through the fourth wall several times. My only problem with the game was that the final optional puzzle was a bit too open to interpretation, so I spent ~10-15 minutes just trying out different combinations after fully understanding what exactly I need to do.

You'll also need to scan some QR codes, which - I've heard - can be problematic on Android even with different apps, but I had no problems getting them to recognize.

Besides that - no notes, definitely grab it, it's clearly a product of love (there were even some free Steam codes for the game within the game!)

It's an okay-ish puzzle that you must (not can) beat in one seating. There are no save files, so you have to see it through. It took me ~1.5-2 hours with some distractions. There are 5 case files, for each of them you must answer 2 questions, using freeform text input.

I don't really see a reason for this game to not have save files, but it's not a huge problem.

The puzzles aren't too difficult but also not all that interesting. You just read through some documents and punch in some numbers into the computer, that's it.

Still, it scratched my puzzle itch and it's not super expensive, so I'm recommending it

It's very hard to write down something specific about UFO 50, just because there's SO MUCH of it. Basically - it's a collection of 50 fully-fledged NES/SNES style games, created by an imaginary game developer. Except they have none of the old-timey jank and have lots of new and unique game design ideas. And yes, it's literally illegal to talk about UFO 50 without saying "game design ideas".

There's a:
* Strategy game, where all your units are discs that you launch into enemy discs, to cause them to ricochet from one another. Imaging curling, but with ogres
* Rogue-like deck builder about making the coolest party in town, where you have to manage popular people, rich people and trouble makers in your deck
* Super Metroid but VVVVVV
* Proto-immersive sim
* Proto-uhhh, Civilization? Or Heroes of Might & Magic? I'm not sure, but you pray to cool dinosaurs
* An atmospheric first person horror point & click quest
* 2D Splatoon
* A platformer where you have to use your dead bodies to make it through the level
* PINBALL GOLF (greatest idea in history of humanity)
* Surprisingly interesting stealth-puzzle about being a chameleon

...and more.
Some of it even has couch multiplayer!

Also there's a greatest achievement system ever: each game has 1 achievement, and if you earn it - a cute little piggie will get a gift from that game. That's what I call motivation.

It gets a bit overwhelming if you keep playing UFO 50 back to back to back, but after the initial excitement of discovery wears off it becomes a great in-between game for Steam Deck - if you have some time to kill, then UFO 50's got options for ya.

Very chill and short puzzle game, leaning on the easier side. The mechanic of taking a snapshot of reality is very unique and it's fun to play around with, "breaking" some of the levels (I'm not sure I solved some of them correctly, but hey - those are MY solutions and they're going on the fridge).

One very important note though, before you start playing: go to the settings and turn voice volume to 0%. And disable the subtitles. The writing and voice acting are incredibly obnoxious from the word "go". The "holy shi did you just shift reality?!" kinda obnoxious. I've turned everything off 30 seconds in and haven't regretted it once - it was a pretty serene and chill experience. The plot did try to reach me through phone calls, but I ignored those as well. I can proudly say that I have no idea what this game is about and I'm happier for it.

Literally A Short Hike 2, but you're a mushroom and there are zero stakes, you just chill. There's a glider involved, and you can climb stuff (sorta). Also you can ride a capybara across the lake, 10/10 no notes.

I will say 20 euros feels a bit pricey for this, but on a discount it's very much worth it.

The mechanic is unique and the game gets a lot of mileage out of it. You will fry eggs (on both sides, as always), cigarettes, cockroaches, beer and more.
The dialogue is genuinely funny.
And it doesn't overstay its welcome.