Jieun Koo

“All in Abyss: Judge the Fake is a game built around the thrill of poker battles, where players are tasked with unmasking deception and striking back with skills and items, delivering a wicked sense of satisfaction. While it bends traditional poker rules for the sake of dramatic gameplay, it layers on deduction mechanics that turn each match into more than just a card game—it's a stage for exploring human nature. Unlike high-stakes online multiplayer poker, All in Abyss pits players against NPCs in one-on-one battles. This might dial down the psychological warfare, but boss fights bring their own brand of tension, with puzzle-like tricks that unfold in stages. There’s a strange, addictive pleasure in seeing through your opponent’s lies, dismantling their strategy, and walking away with a victory that feels as unsettling as it is satisfying.”

“Jack Jeanne goes beyond the conventions of a typical romance simulation, focusing instead on the protagonist and their companions’ journey of growth as they strive for the stage. Through the in-game performances, character emotions deepen, and the contrast between reality and the theater enhances immersion. The full-voice acting brings life to the intersection of role and self, heightening the emotional impact. While the game requires strategic stat-building and repetitive rhythm gameplay, the payoff—witnessing the characters’ development and the final performance—leaves a lasting impression. For players seeking a narrative centered on personal growth rather than just romance, Jack Jeanne offers a truly unique experience.”

“Love in Login revolves around a single heroine, featuring an immersive story and fully voiced dialogue that enhances emotional depth. The exceptional performances by the voice actors vividly convey the characters' emotions, while a setting that reflects real-life social issues adds further depth to the narrative. Additionally, the affection system, integrated with mini-games, increases player engagement and naturally develops the emotional flow. With its touching storyline and meticulous direction, it delivers a fresh and captivating romance simulation experience.”

“A typical 2D side-scrolling action game, but the unique mechanism kicks in when you become tougher and stronger as you die during progression. You’re in an underworld full of dreamy color themes. You start off as an ordinary cat, dodging traps and enemies but if you accidentally lose a life, the cat will gradually get stronger with supernatural powers and be able to attack and play aggressively. From here the player has to weigh the balance between sacrificing life to gain powers or the ordeals of responsibility by getting resurrected each time you make a mistake. The entire playtime is quite short and the boss battles may feel repetitive, but it allows players to take a unique path on approaching every combat strategy differently based on your attained skill level as you proceed towards tougher boss fights.”

“Ever wondered what the everyday ‘normal’ life would be of the Spy x Family characters? This game is basically the scratch of that itch brewed into a video game for the loyal fans of its anime series. Surely, many fans could, and may have been curious about the day of a life of the protagonist and her family. While the game’s narrative may not be canon, the surprises and expectations through the perspective of Anya is truly an exceptional experience that you would have never felt through the original animated series.”

“Another arcade favorite to enjoy at the comfort of your living room. With its wardrobe change to modern graphics, evolved music and audio based on the classic chip-tunes, the classic gameplay kept for over 40 years has gone through some adjustments with added battle royale mechanics. The change is understandable, but there hasn’t been any competitive edge where you could see a creative comeback, with players trying to focus on survival rather than strate”

“The pixel art in the game is filled with lovely designs detailing the very mechanisms of day and night cycles, weather and other beautiful visuals which tries its best to reimagine our daily lives. Players get to experience the story through the perspective of a cat in a local neighborhood, interacting with humans and other cats in town.”

“The 3 major elements of the game revolve around the battle mechanics which you’d be very familiar with if you're an avid gamer. As a deck building, roguelike genre, players are meant to explore the possibilities of different combinations but somehow the variations can get old quite quickly thank you’d think. Thankfully, the straightforward guidelines and combinations are easy to understand, making some of the players who might be new to the genre, easily experience some of the creativity it would bring to the table.”

“With the core mechanics of the game focusing on individual combat and survival to outlast your opponents, there are zombies to worry about which means some co-op action as well as potential betrayal. Multiple stage gimmicks are to be abused and a decent cleverness shown by the AI enemies are not to be reckoned with. The amount of content feels a little repetitive as a party purpose game unless it’s in battle royale mode. Which is why we would highly recommend playing this game to compete with your best mates to witness all the chaos it would bring.”

“With cute and affectionate visuals and a casual friendly character building system, some of the classic RPG meta such as inconvenient item combinations and bland turn based combat were at least given a polished look with specific tutorials and 3D artistic designs. With plenty of eye candy elements, the immersion during gameplay is also pleasantly rewarding.”

“This is a story of love and despair filled with magnificent special effects and wonderful jazz music. It offers some basic puzzles as you progress, but way too simple that you might question whether this is a video game or not. The underwhelming curtain call doesn’t seem to support this question either. But one thing for sure, the scenes and music you experience will vividly remain in your mind for a long time even after your journey’s end.”