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I feel bad giving this a thumbs down, but anytime I find myself looking at my phone instead of at my computer, that's a mark against whatever I'm playing. And that happened several times with this title.

There is no game: Wrong dimension is a point-and-click adventure - complete with moon logic. Your tolerance for dealing with obtuse puzzle solutions may differ from mine, but I frequently found myself more irritated than entertained by the time I worked them out. Each problem only has one solution, and the mechanics for how "physics" determines the interaction of different objects frequently changes.

That by itself would be fine, but the unskippable cutscenes just drag, and while I give full marks to Pascal Cammisotto for the love and effort he put into this title, his voice acting... is not pleasant to listen to for hours on end. He spends nearly half the time berating you, and nearly another half with his "whoops, accidentally gave you a hint!" shtick (which gets old very quickly). I honestly think I'd like this better if the virtual entities all spoke the Bebebese of the RPG hero and I had to read subtitles on the screen.

There have been many digitized voices in media, and there's a reason why C-3PO and GladOS have achieved wide popularity: striking the right tone, inflection and pronunciation for a cybernetic character is a rare skill. A skill Pascal Cammisotto - again, with respect- does not have. And you will spend several hours listening to him if you buy this.

Will you still like this title regardless? Maybe! If you're a fan of point-and-clicks, I'd say go ahead and pick it up. But personally, I wish I'd spent my time and money on something else, and for that reason I have to say:

Not recommended.

Down in Bermuda is - by time - about 75% hidden object game, 20% puzzle-box game, and 5% boss-puzzle game. On the first level, you receive an item that locks you out of an achievement for your entire run if you make the mistake of using it. Likewise, there are achievements for completing certain puzzles "perfectly" that you'll likewise need to wipe your save file for if you do them sub-optimally.

That aside, how is it? Fine, I suppose. The artwork is charming enough. The minimal story is serviceable, but introduces many questions that never get satisfying answers. If you like 3D hidden object games, you could do worse - but the trailer focuses on a couple of cutscenes and the relatively sparse puzzles, when the majority of your time with this game will be spent looking for small sparkling orbs. Even the sale price of $12 feels exceedingly steep for what you're getting, nevermind the MSRP of $20, which is absurd.

Not recommended.

A Short Hike is a very wholesome, very charming game featuring simple graphics and a cohesive aesthetic (you can turn off the pixellated look in the graphics settings if you wish). The visual comparison to Animal Crossing really is unavoidable - clearly an homage at the very least - but with a sense of mobility and freedom that those games sorely lack.

The "villagers" in this game also have a sassiness to them that players nostalgic for the Gamecube era will much appreciate - the humor in this game is well-done, I was reminded of Donut County.

I completed A Short Hike in about three and a half hours and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

Highly Recommended.

For $2, In less than 10 hours, I completed a dozen or more satisfying 4X campaigns, using nine races that all felt distinct.

The complaints about this game are valid: the single-click interface seems touchscreen-optimized, some information could be better complained to the player, and the game isn't completely stable (I experienced one CTD in my time playing). And, yes, RNG might necessitate a seed re-roll, but that's hard to be mad about if you've only lost ten minutes by the time you recognize the problem.

However, all of the decisions you make in this game are fundamentally 4X. Do I expand and stretch myself thin, or make my existing domain more robust? Do I build out my military to earn points through combat, or just double-down on research to earn points through completing the tech tree? Mini Gal4Xy delivers the 4X experience in a bite-sized package, without the accompanying feeling that you're missing out on the "real" game because you don't have the time for or interest in devoting weeks or months of your life to hundreds of hours of a marathon campaign.

I wish there were more games like this.

Recommended.

Frost is a fascinating game by a French dev team. It is also soul-crushingly difficult. If you play, you will absolutely encounter deaths that feel unfair and undeserved, because RNG plays a heavy role and it frequently seems biased against your success.

As weird as it is to say I played it for the story I found the narrative of the world profoundly interesting. Different characters have different philosophies and perspectives on what the Frost is, ranging from a creation of man (is the setting prehistoric or post-apocalyptic?) to existential dread itself. Imagining what the card interactions represent sparked my imagination many times, and the in-universe story of my character leading their survivors frequently took twists and turns worthy of a novel.

I've now reached two diametrically opposed endgame states: On one hand, the Frigomancer - a character you unlock after several others - is gloriously OP and allows me to stomp the RNG very satisfyingly. On the other hand, the Skeptic - unlocked right after the Frigomancer - is mediocre power-wise but has an absolute death march of a scenario, which is long and unfairly-difficult enough to prevent me from 100%ing the game (and save-scumming isn't possible - believe me, I've tried).

Those who know me will know that me recommending this game in spite of that, and in spite of a never-patched glitch that will end a run if you leave your game after unlocking the next region, speaks to how highly I think of Frost.

I highly recommend that you at least try the free demo, and see if you vibe with the game. If you do, there's a lot for you here.

Of all the games in the Atmospheric Puzzle Bundle, Path of Giants was the game wherein I most frequently took a moment to stop and think, "What am I trying to do, here? What steps need to be completed in what order to complete the level?"

It also looks and sounds very pleasant - your little jawa dudes hop around the terrain convincingly, and the environmental art is quite nice.

I completed it in about 4 hours and that time was consistently engaging. The "View Stats" button on the Level Select page helps you button-up those last few goals.

Highly recommended.

Real talk, the aesthetic and soundtrack of Golf Peaks is half the reason to play it. Watch the two trailers with sound on, and follow your instinct.

Personally, I liked the game so much that I bought it on the Nintendo Switch after finishing it on Steam, because I just wanted more. As small-scale puzzlers go, this one actually has quite a lot of content. And the content is good - genuinely difficult puzzles that require thought and consideration. I was honestly stumped by a couple of them.

Probably worth the money even at full price.

Recommended.

Hey, there's always room in my Steam library for another small-scale indie puzzle game with a novel mechanic. In Spring Falls, you play as the forces of erosion, probably, deciding which rock surrounding some water gets worn down first.

There's a very clear divide between the levels meant to teach you mechanics and the levels meant to test your knowledge. Like many small-scale puzzlers, most of the levels will probably come off as "too easy" if you brute-force the limited number of likely moves in different orders; if you want a challenge, you'll need to self-impose the restriction of aiming for fewest attempts, rather than shortest time. Really trying to think through the consequences of your actions and planning a few steps ahead is where the gameplay shines, and over-reliance on the undo button undercuts that.

Will it blow your mind? Unlikely. Should you get it on sale? Yeah. Still good, though? Sure. And if you like this one, I'd say go ahead and pick up the Atmospheric Bundle on the Store page.

Recommended.

GOTY 2020. Best roguelike I've played.

Carto is a clever, good-spirited little game with occasionally challenging puzzles and an uplifting story.

I beat it in less than six hours, I probably could have 100%'d it if I'd used the minimally-spoilerish guide available. (Edit: 100%'d it under 7 hours with the guide's help.)

Highly recommended.