Recent reviews by marglark

Plays a little bit like the Stanley Parable, if a little more irreverent and low brow. But it's a similar premise of playing with player choice, narrative convention, character self-awareness and empty stares at the fourth wall. The voice acting is top notch, and really truly uplifts the already funny writing. Fun times.

The legends are true. This is an innately fun game that seems to have influenced all that come after it.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I just felt the bite sized nature of the game more than I did with, say, The Moon Sliver or The Music Machine. The concept an its execution were great, but there is only 3 pages of writing + initial dialogue to the whole game. It's a little thin.

An old humble bundle feature, languishing in the backlog for so long. I don't think i will beat it. It's a game with simple mechanics that it explains only through poetry. The trouble is that it's very difficult and based in randomness, and the road to the alignment of the RNG is rocky, not necessarily fun packed. It's a neat experience, but it gets in its own way in terms of fun.

A cute little game. It's deeper than it lets on, and has an indie charm, with a few glitches that can be exploited in your favor. The cohesive art style and narrative, which critique modern corporate culture, are just icing on the cake.
Played on Steam Deck.

To be honest, I was disappointed by this game's lack of depth. I'm a huge fan of games like Hollow Knight and Castlevania, and I found this game lacking. One of its main mechanics rewards speed, which I'm not sure was a good design choice. Rushing past the same skeletons moving back and forth, focusing on items that increase percentages and DPS, redoing the first levels over and over, it started to feel samey. I was expecting a deep intricate adventure, and I don't think I really found it. Maybe I need to play it more, or "git gud," but I'm not sure I want to lend time to this game over others (including other metroidvanias).

An absolute masterpiece. Everyone should play this game if they can. You may have heard that it is hard, but the game gives you enough resources and flexibility that there will always be a way forward. Good luck, tarnished!

A very cute and stylish game, with a surprisingly heartwarming ending. On the surface it might appear gimmicky, but it manages to be interesting and unique with every level. A little on the short side, but definitely worth a play.

I love this little game. It gives me a lot of nostalgia as it comes from an older age of video games. I originally was exposed to the game more than ten years ago, as it was included in a humble bundle (before humble bundle became what it was today). I was motivated to play this game about dreams after having recently finished Superliminal.
TRAUMA is art and experimentation in games before those things became what they are today. Not to say things are worse now, they're just different (definitely better in some ways, for instance, more inclusive). The game just reminds me of finding a hidden gem flash game that really deeply commits to its idea, and takes you on a journey. While TRAUMA holds your hand in terms of gameplay mechanics, making it very easy to play, the concepts and subject matter are deliberately rough and painful. The voice acting is excellent, and strikes a perfect balance between serene and creepy. The photos bring you to derelict places you often imagine going in real life, places no polished game takes anyone now. What a breath of fresh 10+ year old air.

A great puzzle game in the style of Portal, Antichamber, and Stanley Parable all at once, yet it has its own unique style as well. I will agree with some other reviewers that there aren't that many puzzles, so it doesn't completely explore the possibilities of each puzzle mechanic. I suppose that's what the level creator is for! What puzzles there are, are well done and woven into an interesting narrative. I love this game!