Alexis Ong

“Can't sleep? Moon too bright? Want to eat it? It's a simple goal for a demon in the underworld, as you'll find in this gorgeous, extraordinary narrative adventure that just so happens to require skateboarding.”

“Hercule Poirot travels to Egypt, only to get sucked into the politics of someone else's bad romance, but on the bright side, there's a lot of murder.”

“Much of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is more of the same gruelling beauty - but a shift to explict storytelling and signposting means its essence as a living, evolving shared text is lost.”

“Watcher, who worships her god the ALLMOTHER, must learn the language of resistance and uncover a thousand-year-old lie, in this intense and intimate narrative adventure.”

“In its quest to be the most meta game ever made, Alan Wake 2 becomes a spectacle about writers and writing that badly needs an editor.”

“A serviceable, sometimes-engaging official Star Trek version of Stellaris that makes sense for generic space war fans, but flounders when it comes to narrative logic and Trekkie authenticity.”

“Part visual novel, part rhythm game, part interactive animated movie, Goodbye Volcano High taps into the sacred relationship between music and coming-of-age in ways that would be impossible in any other media format.”

“An enchanting, emotionally charged visual novel with a new take on deck-building and tarot divination.”

“The original third-place-simulator gets a sequel with much of the same conversational charms, but also some rougher edges to its chit-chat.”

“Witty, observationalist writing and a hands-off approach to deduction elevate this excellent period murder-mystery to a singular work.”

“This narrative-driven dice game from Cosmo D is packed full of his signature visual and musical motifs, and loosely picks up your pizzaiolo/secret agent journey from 2020's Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1.”

“Stray is the work of sly cat people, and it’s a triumph”

“As with most horror endings, Alan comes away from his literal journey to hell and back a changed man. There’s no particularly profound message lurking here, which is actually kind of nice after all the chaos. Sometimes shit just happens, most of all in Hollywood. I leave this incarnation of Los Angeles with no regrets, but a fierce, bittersweet ache for the city I once called home, and surprisingly (and perhaps this is the benefit of distance), a twinge of affection for its insufferable movie bastards, many of whom probably, honestly, need an Edward Keller moment in their lives.”

“Chinatown Detective Agency is a solid hardboiled detective adventure with a unique DIY approach to clue-solving-but it's most impressive as a cultural artefact.”

“A dark-fantasy western RPG with a compelling world and an ambitious narrative, Weird West is undermined by awkward combat and micromanagement. Weird West's rotating multi-character perspective will be an acquired taste, but makes sense as a method of world-building. It's got room to grow, but right now, it's challenging to build momentum in the early game and to persevere through the mid-game.”

“A must-play for anyone interested in narrative-driven games.”

“Conway is a solid detective game that ticks a lot of the right boxes and fulfils standard sleuthing expectations. It leans well into the crotchety-old-protagonist stereotype which more often than not creates an interesting tension between Conway and his ensemble cast of neighbors, as well as with you as a player. It's not tremendously challenging in terms of hard solves, but it's more about the journey. You could do worse than spend 10 hours immersed in the small and all too human miseries of Dahlia View.”

“It's hard to say how impressions of Dog Airport Game might have changed if we'd gotten the game outside of a pandemic, but it's a lovely comedic slice of a forgotten time when air travel was normal. Just with tons of weird dogs and puns.”