Pedro Cooray

“Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus wears its inspirations boldly – Hollow Knight in particular – but makes its unique mark in a delightfully crowded modern Metroidvania market. The platforming is difficult but the level design is creative. The boss fights are too long but encourage you to use what you've learned. There are UI issues but they don't occur often enough to ruin the game. The bridge section is brutal but shows an impressive confidence in the level design that persists until the end. The writing, art, and music are sublime. You should play this if you're a genre fan with more patience than me.”

“RKGK is a tight, smooth platformer that lets you take your time exploring each level, then challenges you to rush out and apply what you've learned. It packs a ton of fun ideas and a wide spectrum of difficulty into 6 hours, and gives you more than enough reasons to return to earlier levels for more things to find. It's all about art, down to how you will accidentally create art based on how you play. There needs to be more games like RKGK. It's simple, sweet, and leaves you wanting more.”

“Seemingly made by a single person, Protodroid DeLTA is a riveting action platformer clearly inspired by the Mega Man franchise, but easily able to stand as its own title. Brilliant level design and mechanics pair with impressive writing to deliver a title that's difficult without being frustrating. At roughly 6 hours, it doesn't overstay its welcome and raises hopes for future titles from the developer.”

“Trinity Trigger is an enjoyable action RPG that successfully calls back to classics like Trials of Mana. Switching between 8 customisable weapons, and the worldbuilding and narrative, are all wonderful concepts executed well. It's dragged down by inelegant systems, like item management, having to switch characters perhaps more than intended, and those awful barks. But if you're a fan of 90s RPGs, or if you want to see what they were like, Trinity Trigger is a decent place to start.”

“Tales of Symphonia Remastered is not the best version of the GameCube original, but that doesn't mean it's a bad experience. The story still holds up, combat is still exciting, and the characters are some of the best in the series, but all these systems take getting used to compared to newer games. Worst of all is the Switch version, which brings several new technical issues to the game, includes short but repetitive loading screens after you do almost anything outside of menus. It may be a deal breaker for some, but for others it might be a small price to pay to play an RPG classic on modern consoles.”

“Mothmen 1966 is ultimately a terrific little horror game, reminding us that the genre can be more than first-person jumpscare factories. As the first episode of the 3-part first volume of Pixel Pulps, the adventures of Holt, Victoria, and Lee provide a terrific first impression of what will hopefully be a memorable series. The brief interactive interludes do not hold up to the polish of the writing, soundscapes, and graphics of Mothmen 1966, but LCD Game Studio have a chance to update those mechanics when the next episode, Varney Lake, comes out later this year.”

“Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is a fantastically paced game seemingly designed to be experienced in bite-sized chunks with challenging controls that could be mastered by those willing to put in the effort. With all the thought and care put into representing these beautiful creatures and their heartbreaking lives, the game’s issues appear to stem from a lack of resources, not passion. Despite the repetition and technical struggles, it’s a short, sweet experience whose positive elements are more memorable than its faults.”

“It’s cheery, lighthearted entertainment, but the focus on local multiplayer comes with the loss of a stronger game for solo players, where it’s a lot easier to think about the missed opportunities and strange restrictions contained within its bright facade.”

“FixFox is a delightful title that manages to be a comfortable experience despite the at-times heavy themes. The self-fulfilling loop of repairing machines is the highlight, and it’s what you’ll be doing most, outside simple puzzles. Occasional unclear objectives, however, drag the experience down during specific moments. But once you get past FixFox’s quirks, it confidently takes you through a gentle, emotional ride.”

“Pupperazzi isn’t difficult or cerebral. This photography simulator doesn’t have the budget or serenity that other games in the genre might provide, but handily makes up for it with charm, personality, and hundreds of dogs being big goofballs. Even playing the same level multiple times will give you a random assortment of dogs and toys to mess around with, so the game doesn’t grow stale easily. It’s a fantastic example of a video game letting you live out a simple real-life fantasy: walking around without a care in the world, taking photos of endless dogs, and their fluffy, scratchable butts.”

“Where The Heart Leads is a terrific narrative game that has you make hard, fascinating life choices on behalf of its characters to create a story that feels your own. It utilises its surreal elements sparingly, instead opting to focus on the realistic personal lives of its many richly nuanced characters. Despite some slight issues with dialogue, menus, and the camera, Where The Heart Leads is a great experience, and a fascinating exploration of issues rarely covered in games.”

“Studio Fizbin have crafted a wonderful experience that achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It’s set in an intriguing world and tells an emotional story that explores a specific type of sadness, and how it affects relationships between loved ones. I can’t remember the last time a game affected me so much that I yelled at my screen due to something a character said. Despite my pedantry, I had a brilliant time with Minute of Islands and look forward to playing it again some day.”

“Chronos: Before the Ashes is not a bad game. It just feels like, by transitioning out of VR, it may have lost some of its original polish. It’s got plenty of smart ideas in its gameplay and world design. But apart from its aging mechanic, it felt like Chronos wasn’t doing anything that other games haven’t already done – and done better.”

“Death end re;Quest 2 is an experiment, which by itself is a great thing. It attempts to hybridise two genres of games that don’t normally share the limelight. But in the end, there is very little cohesion between the game’s two halves. It’s a JRPG with poor character development, and it’s a horror game that isn’t all that scary. And apart from the amazing battles, the game is frustrating on multiple fronts. There are parts of Death end re;Quest 2 that could be salvaged and made part of a better game, unfortunately that doesn’t amend all the shortcomings that are prolific within this title.”

“Dungeons 3 – Complete Collection is not a bad game. It’s just got a lot of issues that some may notice more than others. Actually building and managing your dungeon is rewarding once you settle into the rhythm of gameplay. The bulk of the story and humour – which, if you couldn’t tell, is not my cup of tea – tends to stay out of the way during these moments as well, letting this bureaucratic megalomaniac power fantasy do it’s thing.”

“Fury Unleashed doesn’t hold your attention for very long. This is a good thing. This isn’t the kind of game you play for days on end, perfecting your run. Rather, this is something to come back to every once in a while, when you’ve got a few minutes to kill.”