Anita van Beugen

“The Lonesome Guild is a charming yet shallow adventure that pairs colorful visuals and smooth combat with simple systems and underdeveloped storytelling, making it a pleasant but lightweight experience best suited for newcomers or players seeking something easygoing.”

“Arctic Awakening delivers a short, atmospheric mystery: as a walking simulator you trek through gorgeous, music-driven landscapes, engage in thoughtful exchanges with Alfie, scavenge food and tools (with even “useless” items aiding Kai), and make choices that shape the ending—held back only by slightly clunky first-person climbing and minor bugs/clipping.”

“Blue Brain Games’ The House of Tesla is an engaging, chaptered puzzle adventure whose smart hint system and reset-friendly design outweigh weak cutscenes and early clarity issues, coming impressively close to The Room’s benchmark.”

“Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is a Norse-myth roguelike bullet hell with varied classes, distinctive maps, and satisfying bosses, but thin long-term progression and weak tracking/unlocks sap its staying power. The fun is in short bursts rather than long grinds.”

“Ritual of Raven is a life sim that stands out with its story-driven focus and well-developed characters, offering a familiar yet engaging gameplay loop enhanced by unique mechanics like card-based machine programming and moon phase–sensitive plant care, all within a detailed 2D pixel world—though minor issues like an out-of-place alien, pricey decorations, and static museum items slightly detract from an otherwise memorable narrative experience.”

“ISLANDERS: New Shores is a colorful, relaxing yet challenging city-builder that serves as a worthy successor, offering clear visuals, strategic scoring, creative sandbox features, and amazing content for its price.”

“Despite improvements in controls and graphics, Tour de France 2025 struggles to translate the excitement of cycling into engaging gameplay, with repetitive races, limited strategy, bugs, and removed features like split-screen co-op.”

“Chains of Freedom features some strategic depth in its turn-based combat, but is held back by weak storytelling, dull exploration, poor pacing, and combat that’s often dragged down by frustrating design choices.”

“Symphonia is an absolute gem of a platformer, blending precise mechanics, thrilling exploration, and a music-driven story brought to life by a gorgeous art style and enchanting classical soundtrack—an unforgettable adventure perfectly packed into 4-8 hours!”

“Greedfall 2: The Dying World shows potential with its beautiful world and fresh perspective, but is currently a disaster due to a weak story, emotionless characters, poor combat, numerous bugs, and technical issues that Spiders must address during Early Access.”

“Amber Isle is a wholesome game where you manage a shop and restore an island, offering relaxing and varied gameplay with no energy meter, allowing you to set your own pace, though early repetition, missing quality of life features, and some bugs may detract, but its charming dinosaurs and well-designed recipe system make up for it.”

“"Artificer’s Sumerian Six is a standout in the strategy game genre, offering a challenging and unique experience with quirky characters and a storyline that blends history and folklore. While the game starts off tough and requires players to master the basics and adjust keybindings, it soon allows for creative strategy through character abilities in real-time action, complemented by a planning function that could use some fine-tuning. The well-designed levels and optional challenges provide a detailed and customizable experience for players seeking varying levels of difficulty."”

“There’s little positive to say about Stormgate; it lacks identity, creativity, and feels like an alpha product even in Early Access.”

“Puzzle enthusiasts and train lovers can dive into Train Valley World. The game not only boasts strong gameplay but also excellent level design. The creative levels are colorful and progressively more challenging. With new obstacles and more complex production chains, you'll be kept busy for quite a while. If you're looking for a challenge, you can try to complete the levels as quickly as possible, but you can also aim for the other two optional goals per level first. By earning stars, you unlock new trains and conductors, giving you more options. Since Train Valley World is so fun to play, it's a shame there are only sixteen levels. The Level Editor isn't available on the release day. However, the game currently offers enough content for the price, making it definitely worth recommending.”

“The developers of Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok have unleashed their own vision to create a game with elements from both the bullet hell and roguelike genres. I'm already delighted with the Viking theme, which is also well executed. The colorful art style is refreshing and ensures that everything is clearly visible. Roaming around is also rewarded by the altars in each realm that provide your artifacts, provided you complete the tasks. The question is whether you focus on your current run or on the long term, as you can unlock upgrades for all future runs at the Yggdrasil tree. RNG does not play a role in leveling. Each character has a Constellation Ability Tree, and that remains unchanged. This means you have less freedom and fewer choices compared to a typical bullet hell game. However, since you can shop after a wave, you get a break and can prepare for another round. With various difficulty levels and ten unique characters, the replayability factor is high. This is perfect for a game where a run only lasts about thirty minutes. You hardly notice the time passing because the soundtrack is fantastic.”

“Manor Lords launches slightly early in Early Access, but it's impressive that the game was developed by just one person. The medieval setting is utilized fantastically, and this also influences the village upgrades. As a result, the gardens of the houses have a purpose, and you need to upgrade the houses to progress. The Early Game is well-designed and requires planning. The problem is that there are few buildings and upgrades available. Due to all the missing components, I can't say that Manor Lords has a mid or endgame. Completing a scenario can quickly become monotonous. You can create an army, but combat is only a small part of the game and offers little strategy. Besides the missing content, it's also unfortunate that there is minimal information provided through statistics, making it difficult to keep track of everything. These are all issues that can be addressed during Early Access. The future looks promising, so if you want to provide feedback, feel free to purchase the game.”

“Moon Studios is already well on its way to delivering a five-star game with challenging Soulslike combat, a dark fairy tale world, and an addictive gameplay loop.”

“Ereban: Shadow Legacy, developed by a small studio, offers intriguing stealth gameplay similar to Aragami, with a mysterious story and impactful choices, though it could benefit from more character development and freedom in its short, linear levels.”

“Lightyear Frontier offers a relaxing and smooth farming sim experience with a focus on resource gathering and building, though it lacks clear goals and a developed story.”

“Classified France '44 excels with its historical context and dynamic maps, but is marred by frustrating gameplay elements and slow animations, though it remains addictive and engaging.”