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Dominated by a melancholic atmosphere and a strong allegorical structure, Rime is a touching adventure game whose problems lie in its repetitive narrative and the way its level design discourages exploration with lots of points of no return: we may still want to see what’s out there, but sadly, it’s impossible now that we’ve crossed an arbitrary part of the …

Call of the Sea is a first-person point-and-click adventure that tries to put a new spin on the Cthulhu mythos. With a colorful and vibrant art style, the game is unfortunately marred by exposition-heavy writing and questionable puzzle design. It’s the 1930s, and a woman called Nora Everharti is traveling to a remote island in the Pacific in search of …

Full of wit and whimsy, Astrologaster is an excellent comedy set in the Elizabethan era. Its characters are always introduced with song, its themes are carefully developed and subverted, its twists are made to be silly and humorous: boasting some great writing by Katherine Neil, the game more than makes up for its simple visual design. The protagonist is doctor …

Resident Evil: Revelations is a game of two halves: the first one offers a claustrophobic environment immersed in a carefully built horror atmosphere, while the second offers mediocre action sequences with endless amounts of similar, shallow enemies. The story begins when Jill Valentine and Parker Luciani – two agents working for a counter-terrorism group – are tasked with investigating a …

Length is a curious thing. Some say that a good movie (or game) is never too long and a bad one is never short enough, but there’s also the kind that is almost there, almost reaching greatness, where we feel more time was needed because the end result is, for the lack of a better word, undercooked. Arietta of Spirits …

The JRPG that began it all, establishing the tropes and structure of the genre, the first Dragon Quest has just received a substantial new coat of paint with this HD remake that presents a by-the-books, but very charming story with an intriguing combat system that is fun precisely because of its apparent unfairness. We play as the descendant of the …

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an outstanding – if too safe – sequel to the already great Ori and the Blind Forest, boasting the same mesmerizing aesthetic, haunting soundtrack – dude, this series’ main theme is ridiculously good –, and engaging mechanics, like that lovely bash ability. The story in Will of the Wisps revolves around the …

I find it quite curious that questions of identity are far from being the core themes of Tron: Identity, which is much more interested in discussing the control and monopoly of data than anything related to the construction and framing of the self. This visual novel’s very brief runtime, however, shackles the story in such a way that it leaves …

Sometimes good ideas are not enough. Pokémon Legends: Arceus, for example, feels like a promising proof of concept for what could be a terrific finished game one day, as it indeed shakes up the stagnated Pokémon formula, presenting many fascinating ideas without any type of polish, failing to make great use of any of them. Arceus’ story is an Isekai, …

I Am Setsuna is a simple JRPG that tries to discuss themes such as death and alterity but fails to do these complex subjects justice, being dragged down by a shallow cast of characters, dull writing, and a painfully unexplored combat system. The plot revolves around a tragic pilgrimage. Setsuna, a young girl who has just turned 18, is chosen …