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Vampyr excels in making its mechanics, systems, and presentation mirror its protagonist’s inner struggles. It associates vampirism with disease and corruption, immersing us in a claustrophobic, hostile city whose inhabitants are at the mercy of predators of every kind – including the main character, Dr. Jonathan Reid. The game starts with a discussion on mortality, framing dying as a blessing: …

Indivisible is a curious mix of RPG and Metroidvania that boasts great art direction, building a colorful and vibrant fantasy world, but is unfortunately marred by some questionable design choices that take the fun out of combat and exploration. The story follows Ajna’s quest to avenge her father, who was murdered in front of her by a soldier named Dhar. …

Orange cats are Jellicle cats. I could could happily ramble about the nature of a Jellicle cat for hours, and explain how they can fly on a broomstick to places far distant or sing, in more than one key, duets by Rossini and waltzes by Strauss, or even more importantly, how Jellicle cats can, would, and do, but suffice it …

Last Stop presents three different stories set in the same city, mixing family drama with the fantastical: they are mostly well-told tales, featuring endearing characters and some neat ideas, even though they take too long to converge into a proper climax, which consequently feels rushed and underdeveloped. There are three main characters in Last Stop. We have John Smith, a …

One of the main distinguishable elements of the Gothic genre is the spectral presence of the past, which returns to haunt the characters and remind them of the things they want to forget – and usually the more we live, the more we want to forget. The setting in What Remains of Edith Finch is a house built on memories, …

The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk bartender game in which you pour special drinks to get information out of people. And although it largely succeeds in developing its discussions on free will, power, and (the lack of) agency, its all-over-the-place structure hampers some parts of the experience. We mainly play as Donovan, the bartender of The Red Strings Club, …

Remember, red means danger. This review contains spoilers. Metro: Last Light is a fitting sequel to the good but problematic Metro 2033, sharing many of its strengths and weaknesses: if it still excels at creating an oppressive atmosphere that enhances its survival-horror aspect, it still fails at building its stealth sections against human enemies, which tend to morph into cluttered …

The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is an effective point-and-click adventure game that excels at creating an ominous atmosphere that carries most of its cosmic horror story. With a focus on characters and setting, the game only falters in the abruptness of its ending, whose anticlimax avoids some important confrontations. We play as Thomasina Bateman, a young archeologist who receives a …

Beware: this review contains psychic spoilers that will be sent straight into your mind. Through a psychic technique called “reading.” It’s late at night when Pierre, the purist, flies over to Retro Studios headquarters, looking for some executive to drink. To his dismay, however, he finds no one there but some tired programmers and artists working overtime, who are people …

Based on a Russian novel of the same name, written by Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter that excels in atmosphere and worldbuilding, providing a tense and memorable experience due to its striking, stress-inducing setting. However, the game’s bare-bones story, with its paper-thin characters and a noble but naïve anti-war message, ultimately rings hollow. The world of Metro …