Manuel Eichhorn

“Minami Lane is a delightful and polished simulation game that offers approximately 3 hours of engaging gameplay, making it easy to achieve 1,000 Gamerscore points. While the gameplay is well-executed, the limited freedom within the game leaves little to explore after completing all missions, which is disappointing given its overall quality.”

“CarX Street feels like a custom-built car assembled from disparate parts; while it offers an anti-mainstream thrill and potential for long-term fun, its inconsistent quality and lack of optimization lead to frequent frustrations. Despite a visually appealing open world, the game struggles with unrefined difficulty and technical issues, making it a polarizing experience that might either captivate or quickly lose its appeal.”

“Sugardew Island delivers on its promise of 15–20 hours of relaxing farming gameplay, offering a charming visual style and a laid-back experience with no time pressure or rigid rules. While some mechanics lack depth—particularly the shop system, which feels more like an idle game—the overall flow is pleasant, though the game quickly runs out of steam and suffers from slow updates on the tested PS5 version.”

“Trident’s Tale offers a charming pirate adventure with a nostalgic flair, a compact open world, and a focused playtime that works in its favor. Unfortunately, clunky combat, technical issues, and shallow progression systems hold it back from true greatness. Still, there’s potential here—and with a stronger follow-up, 3DClouds could chart a promising new course.”

“Into the Emberlands blends survival and roguelite elements with cozy vibes, offering a relaxed yet engaging experience perfect for short sessions. While the game lacks variety in later stages, its charming atmosphere and affordable price make it well worth a try.”

“I would have preferred to go without the frustrating bossfights, but apart from that, Makis Adventure is a well-crafted indie game with a great atmosphere and lots and lots of attention to detail.”

“The Ship Graveyard Simulator ended up as a big surprise for me and also earned its status as one kind of wholesome game.”

“Exploring ancient civilization in Memorrha is fun when you love puzzling and the logic of symbols.”

“Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch certainly has potential. But nearly all of it is lost under piles and piles of bugs and technical issues. It's really sad to see the game in the state it has been released.”

“Trifox is a creative game and an amazing debut for Glowfish Interactive. Playing on Nintendo Switch though I got the impression that choosing another platform for the game might be better. There are lot of technical hiccups - and also the difficulty spikes of the game which are very frustrating.”

“Bus Simulator: City Ride really is fun and I think I enjoyed it more than the other console versions of the Bus Simulator. All features are in the game but have been reduced to make an appropriate Switch version. There are quite a few issues still be fixed, however, the game could really need some more polish.”

“I like Lemon Cake and what it's offering: It's not really a wholesome game even if it looks like one. Everyday life in a bakery can get stressful after all. It's really fun though to see the bakery grow. I have a bad feeling about the high price of the console versions though.”

“PAW Patrol Grand Prix is another function, but fast-to-be-forgotten kart racing game.”

“I spent nearly 50 hours with the Apple Arcade version of Wylde Flowers. I guess the same will happen again with the Nintendo Switch version. Wylde Flowers is one of my wholesome games 2022. You get the lovely town of Fairhaven in a solid Switch port.”

“The Tale of Bistun is just a mediocre hack & slash but otherwise a strong game with many things going for it.”

“The PAW Patrol movie videogame is a very linear game that doesn't manage to tell a coherent story. The levels are not only totally simple but also nearly exactly the same. You could say this game is boring but it's also full of technical hiccups. We really cannot recommend it.”

“Train Sim World 2 can be a relaxed simulator for you. But when you choose different settings it's also one for experts and enthusiasts. Oh, and in any case, it's for people with a passion for trains. The depictions of trains and stations in this game is mostly perfect.”

“Beasties, in general, is a nice little game but it's very much on the short side, the balancing is off and there are frustrating bugs. I reckon I might forget it as fast as it was over even though it was fun while it lasted.”

“Adults may only find an easy platinum trophy and approximately three hours of solid fun in this game. For children though, it's good open-world racing as it should be!”

“Gravity Chase mainly wants to excite and challenge you with futuristic races. That it does well. It isn't too exciting as a game however and you also have to motivate yourself to stay on board.”