GamesFinest

“Once again, Arte France has shown a knack for creating interesting games that are not only fun to play, but also look beautiful and introduce players to new themes. 30 Birds is fun to play thanks to its colorful, handcrafted world, the sometimes funny and quirky characters and the background music, but without slipping into the ridiculous. And birds.”

“PRIM is a great little point-and-click adventure game with well-designed characters in a creepy yet endearing setting. The story is interesting and leaves you wanting more after the rather short playing time. The ending definitely raises hopes for a second part, which might then take you on a somewhat longer excursion into the underworld.”

“A gripping story, well-written dialog and incredibly beautiful background music ensure that Closer the Distance takes you on an emotional journey that will move you. The approximately 11 hours of game time fly by and invite you to take a second trip to Yesterby. The needs management feature is unfortunately quite superfluous, but that doesn't detract much from the game's great overall package. Just the thing for the next cozy autumn evening on the couch at home.”

“Hauntii is moving and thought-provoking without being forced. The game may not be particularly challenging, but it doesn't have to be, because the focus is clearly elsewhere: beautiful images, a great soundtrack and an interesting story take you on a great journey into eternity.”

“CLeM is a small but lovingly designed puzzle adventure game that is perfect for a cozy evening on the couch or for a short puzzle fun in between. With a playing time of only around three hours, this indie title is not really long-term entertainment, but it doesn't have to be. With a great drawing style, a slightly spooky atmosphere and well-designed puzzles, the title stands out in its very own way and is well worth a place in your games library.”

“Quantum Recharged basically can't do much wrong and comes across less cluttered than, say, a Geometry Wars. The fan community that still has enough reflexes to prove their skill, wants to invest a few hours in perfecting their combo moves and doesn't mind the squeaky color explosions will certainly get their money's worth. Everyone else will keep their hands off Quantum Charged, as expected.”

“Curse of the Sea Rats is a good game for those who want to get into the Metroidvania genre or don't have too high demands on the technical implementation. Veterans, on the other hand, might still lack the final touch, especially in direct comparison with the genre classics. Otherwise, Curse of the Sea Rats is quite entertaining with about 12 hours of gameplay and a detailed world.”

“The game "Can't Drive This" proves to be an entertaining fun racer in our test, which invites to wacky duels on the track. Although the multiplayer title does not offer any noteworthy depth, the long-term motivation is kept at a high level thanks to the different modes. The combination of track building and driving also works very well in "Can't Drive This", so that the right skill is not only required on the virtual track. Although "Can't Drive This" can by no means compete with the well-known genre greats, the title still promises some fun multiplayer duels with friends.”

“Operation Tango offers what hit games like It Takes Two lacked: a real challenge. The separate screens and the puzzles that can't be solved at first glance make teams communicate with each other efficiently and thoughtfully to get ahead. The puzzles, while not unsolvably difficult, do require thinking around the corner a time or two. We hope that this innovative approach will be followed by many more, because despite the shortness of the title and the somewhat meager story, we had this above all: a lot of fun and a lot of brain training.”

“The Nintendo Switch port of Dead in Vinland leaves me with mixed feelings. While managing one's own village and several individuals is a lot of fun, the fear of the permanent death of a character drives me and the size kills me in a positive sense, unfortunately I can't ignore the quirks of the title. The fighting system lacks the necessary depth and the finishing touches, the presentation of the many texts in handheld mode is cruel and the dialogue system isn't flawless either. For the rather low price, however, genre fans get a concentrated load of Survival RPG here, which can tie them up over 40 hours before the switch. But for that you have to be able to overlook the errors.”

“Alt-Frequencies has become a nice little in-between thriller that works especially well on a smartphone. Just don't expect a gripping story on triple A level and don't be disappointed by the sometimes simple puzzles. So the title does justice to its price of just a few Euros and is suitable for a longer train or car ride.”

“Overall, Windscape is a successful indie title. An affectionately arranged world with many facets invites to some hours of fun. The game isn't perfect and doesn't offer the greatest challenge, but entertains well over the season and has its own charm. For fans of RPGs and Action Adventures it's well worth a look. Due to its rather short-lived quests it can also be played with little time and doesn't need any intensive activity like most RPGs. Windscape is therefore a kind of mini role playing game, which works very well without a skill system.”

“The biggest problem with 'Harvest Moon Light of Hope' is ultimately the existence of competitor Stardew Valley and the associated evidence of how it simply gets better. Quests and tasks in 'Light of Hope' are extremely repetitive and only slightly loosen up the already monotonous daily life of the farmers. The extremely obscure balancing of the sources of income on the farm and the profitable secondary occupations is more than questionable and motivational. Exclusive features for the Nintendo Switch as well as the PlayStation 4, a dissipated (background) story as well as animating card expansions during the course of the game show the first ambitions of developer Natsume to bring the framing series back to its successful roots. In combination with the inorganic and lifeless game world and the futile prioritization of the main quests, 'Light of Hope' looks like an ambitious but never-ending attempt to pull the Harvest Moon series out of the swamp of trifles. At no point does the farming simulation dare a fight with King Stardew Valley's genre - the chances against the heavyweight genre would also be truly hopeless. The competitor 'Harvest Moon Light of Hope', which is over 30€ more expensive, loses not only in terms of price-performance ratio. Those who wish for an idyllic life on a farm - without cutbacks, technical mistakes and in a loving pixel look - should continue to pick up the indie hit Stardew Valley.”

“"Pizza Connection 3" proves to be a nice economic simulation that skilfully takes up old roots. Despite small improvements, the game doesn't make full use of the given possibilities and lacks a lot of playful variety. We would have liked to see more innovations here, so that the title could also play with the big ones. Nevertheless, fans of the series will enjoy the game and can revive the good old days.”