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Snail Simulator is a silly, but charming little game where you can live your wildest dreams and become a snail. That pretty much sums up the entirety of the game. If you're not interested in becoming a snail, give this one a miss.

Snail around the low-poly environment to discover landmarks and meet other fellow gastropods on the way. Decorate your head with a party hat (or top hat) and even decorate your shell with one too. Every other snail is a real player, and when I played for an hour there were around 22 people in the game, although I only saw a handful of them, many were sitting idle (likely due to the time-related achievements).

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3167848178&tscn=1708841101

The only method of communication is via your snail character saying hello, and jumping which makes a small sound (yes, snails can jump here). There is no voice or text chat, but there is a Discord server for the community which also features some snail party events. The bugs (pun not intended) in the game make it even more comedic as you get stuck on things or are catapulted into the air or clip into objects while other players are watching. Of course, you move at a snails pace and it will take a very long time to get from one side of the map to the other. Thankfully there is an auto-move toggle button which makes things easier.

For the cheap price of $AU2.95 this would be a funny game with friends for a few hours, but I hope to see some new content added in to encourage more player numbers to join.

There's really a game for everything now

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Very short and cute hidden object game. It only took me about 15 minutes for 100% so the content is very limited as it is only one screen, but for $1.50 this is completely fine. There's no hint button but the rabbits are very easy to find and I enjoyed playing this in the background while I watch YouTube. I did test the audio and its quite cheerful music with a bubble sound once rabbits are found. However, it is one of those games with a spam of achievements, 100 achievements to be exact... one for each rabbit you click on which is overkill, filling up the whole screen with achievements and the sound effects from them.

The colour of the found rabbits can be changed to your favourite which helps personalise the experience which is nice. The solo developer has also created other games of the same premise, just with different animals. I'd like to see a bit more depth to the games in future, but if you are looking for a quick 10-20 minute hidden object session, this is a cheap and decent pick.

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An adorable hidden object game that will last you a few hours... and did I mention it's free?! Meow Moments: Celebrating together has one single level to find 100 cats, balloons and other non-cat characters. It only shows you three of each category at a time so it is a bit of a memory game, however these can be cycled through as well if needed. It also has a "hint" mode that will allow you to zoom in on an area where a needed object is, which helps to extensively narrow down the search area.

The game also has more DLC on the way and a community level editor. For fans of this genre this is an absolute hidden gem, especially with that free price tag!

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Galaxy Pass Station is a colony simulator featuring gameplay near identical to that of Papers Please. Although it is a management game at heart, there are ample methods of lowering the focus on this, or increasing it if you wish. Regardless, it does suffer from repetition and fails to truly engage players like that of its inspiration, struggling to capitalise on its uniqueness, leading to feelings of uniformity developing early on in the game. Despite this, its quirky setting and document-checking stipulations are sure to provide a few hours of fun for fans of the genres.

Pros

• Alien space station setting with multiple peculiar characters
  
• Detailed document-checking, reminiscent of Papers Please! gameplay
  
• Multiple endings in story mode & freeform mode
  
• Comprehensive management sim with a freedom to create & design

Cons

• Daunting gameplay HUD with excess of somewhat irrelevant data
  
• Repetitious
  
• Many procedurally generated events did not occur during my playtime

You are in control of constructing and managing a space station for all life-forms, from aliens to humans and robots. Ensure all visitors to the space station have their needs met, with adequate seating, accommodation, entertainment and more. Of course, they should only be allowed entry if their galactic credentials are correct. If not, they must be denied entry to prevent financial repercussions.

The story is very vague, and players are mostly kept to their own devices, which I still enjoyed. There are multiple endings which seem to be caused by how happy the different species are on the ship, but I am not 100% sure. I received the good ending and discovered each of the extraterrestrial races & species except one. However, I was confused at the beginning as there is an overlay that says something like “finished task. Awaiting further task from curator.” I thought my game had glitched as it had been 5 hours and I had not received another task, I just kept going about my days on the space station, checking documents. It seems this is just the line it says before you reach the end of the game? I did find it a bit confusing and was unsure if there would be more direction or story, of it players are just supposed to do run the station independently. I do not mind either way, but wish it was clearer.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3139990887

Essentially, this is a management sim with Papers Please gameplay aspects. Research different elements (that take time to finish), decorate the rooms, build more rooms, place down builder, cleaning and working bots. Hire staff to automate the document-checking process and so forth. Visitors will rate their experience at the station and may point out specific flaws such as wait time, cleanliness and more. Time can be paused, or sped up and the day is ended either when it gets to 11pm or you manually choose to sleep to end it. Mass resources are needed to run the ship, such as power, tools, money and more. These can generally be farmed by manually doing the credential checking for differing species. Although, if you are low on a resource that continues to be drained, trying to find out what is draining that resource is unnecessarily difficult. Having to go through 8+ floors with 10 rooms on each floor, hovering above each equipment or staff to try and find what is costing you.. is a waste of time. This should be easily collated into a tab, or be revealed when you hover over that resource.

Document verification
This was the only draw-card I needed to want to hop into Galaxy Pass Station. Papers Please. is one of my favourite games and whilst the management genre is not something I typically gravitate towards, I was ready to delve into it… and it does not disappoint! Each of the 13 species are either unique in the documents they have, or will adhere to different rules such as being unable to travel to different planets, some may have extra visas and so forth. There is an optional scanner that makes things much easier, it can compare two bits of information automatically and will alert you to any discrepancies. Gameplay is different to that of its inspiration, as there is generally many more things to check, and long number chains that require the use of the scanner. Whilst the process can be automated, you generally will not get as many resources this way. This was my favourite element so I did most of this myself and although it did overstay its welcome slightly towards the end, it gave me such feelings of nostalgia.


https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3139990916


Procedurally generated events
Much of the gameplay is supposed to be randomised, including types of criminals, mysterious callers or events relating to that specific day. This is a good idea as it aims to keep gameplay fresh, however, at least for me, this was not the case. During my 6 hours of gameplay (where I finished the game), I only encountered one criminal. My station was never set on fire, there were no thieves, mimics or cyber-hackers which are all mentioned on the store page. I also did not understand how to arrest the criminal as it happened to me early on in the game and never again. Usually when workers wanted to quit, they all called at the exact same time, saying the same things, 3-5 times in a row. I came to expect it and nothing felt “random”, but poorly scripted. As I reached the concluding days to my playthrough, things felt quite stale. Nothing new was happening, I had an enormous amount of every resource I needed and it felt I had reached this stage too quickly… until the game suddenly ended with a small amount of dialogue to read.
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3140078204


Visuals are very colourful and busy. There is A LOT going on on the screen, a bit too much for me. I do see some complaints discussing stuttering or lag when the station is filled with visitors and although this did not happen to me, the daunting HUD was not too inviting, at least to newcomers of the management genre as things are not explained too well. Otherwise, I loved the bright characters and bustling space station.

I did not enjoy the soundtrack or audio from the characters. Each species has their own sound and once you interact with them for the 20th time, the same sound effects became irritating. The backing soundtrack also just felt a bit stale, and I preferred to listen to my own music while playing.

This game was played using a keyboard & mouse, and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: 6 hours.

Controller Recommended? No.

Replayability value: Yes, for different endings or freeform mode.


Galaxy Pass Station features a unique management twist on the bureaucratic Papers Please. Clearly heavily inspired by this cult-hit, the document verification gameplay did not disappoint, however some tycoon elements were tedious and missed their mark, specifically the lack of procedural generation which added to the repetitious nature of the game. Despite this, I enjoyed its light-hearted nature and was always eager for more visitors to arrive who need their documents checked! Recommended on a sale to all Papers Please and tycoon fans.

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SIGNALIS is a captivating survival horror that plays homage to the classics of the genre. Cleverly pieced together, it wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but still managed to enchant me from the very beginning. I have not played a game quite like SIGNALIS in recent times, yet, I still felt so eerily familiar with its core gameplay. This feeling of familiarity was charming, yet simultaneously vexing. The indisputable nod to classics such as Silent Hill & Resident Evil (RE) is palpable and although I felt right at home playing it, developer duo rose-engine had many of their own unique ideas to bring to the table, creating an exceptionally unique experience, and one I recommend.


Pros

• Homage to survival horror game classics in every facet
  
• Unique blend of Japanese & German cultures set in a dystopian future
  
• Inspired by “classic cosmic horror” (eg/ Hideaki Anno – Neon Genesis Evangelion, Stanley Kubrich – The Shining)
  
• Distinctively peculiar futuristic story
  
• Deeply twisted, unforgiving and brutal gameplay
  
• Oozing tension & atmosphere
  
• Multiple endings

Cons

• Narrative is very slow to unravel

SIGNALIS features complicated lore within its 9 or so hour playtime. It has the tricky job of explaining a brand new dystopia to players, all while telling it in a haphazard, hazy fashion. This forces players to question what is reality, is this the past, the present? The narrative, I thought, was brilliant. You have to think about what is happening, analyse what you are doing. Not simply press next on the screen. Yes, there is ample reading in the game with pages of journal entries to read and collect throughout, but none explicitly reveal the intricacies of the universe. It is difficult to explain how the story-telling of SIGNALIS succeeds, and although it is off to a slow start in the beginning. If you stick with it, there are many rewards.
https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3134051775

So, what is it? A quick snapshot
Humanity has colonised the solar system. Planets are run aggressively through an oppressive regime who utilise many “robots” or humanoids. All humanoids have different features and many are integrated within the population. The protagonist, Elster (a humanoid android) wakes up to disarray. The ship is dilapidated, her whereabouts are unfamiliar, and other androids are acting disorderly, sick and defective.

SIGNALIS uniquely features an almost female-only cast and story which I only recognised near the end of the game. All androids (except one, I believe) are of female appearance, this includes all aggressive and ruthless humanoids, the bosses, relationships etc. Whilst not exactly a most noteworthy feature, it was an element I have so rarely seen in any game, particularly in this genre, that I felt was worth mentioning.



Classic survival horror
Earlier I stated the game plays homage to classic survival horror titles, and that it does. Familiar mechanisms will greet you here. Some examples include strict, limited inventory management, saves limited to rare specific locations (no auto-save), lack of a “to do list” (have to use your noggin here), puzzles that are not limited to one location and do not provide detailed hints so you will need to trek across the maps (and make sure you bring the necessary items with you, or back to the storage crate you go!). Tense atmosphere, the overwhelming damage done by enemies & lack of ammo that it is typically best to run through them. I could go on, but these elements describe SIGNALIS’ gameplay well. In my introduction, I called these features charming, yet vexing, and I think that sums it up. Many times, I was fuming at my lack of inventory slots. How can there be so many keys needed and I have so few slots. Why is the storage crate so far away. Why is ammo so scarce, WHY, WHY, WHY! Modern games almost abolish this feeling of annoyance within gamers, most things are easily within reach. Whether it be an ingame HUD, fast travel, or you name it. Convenience is always a priority, but not here, which was a welcome, yet sufferable slap in the face. I found a quote from one of the developers, Yuri Stern that sums it up well “…I think if you're comfortable in a survival horror game, something isn't quite right. To me, pushing the player to make decisions that make them uncomfortable is what horror is often about.” Although I would say at times I felt very … aggravated, I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment and respect the developers for their vision.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3134815557

Elster has limited weapons at her disposal, and even less ammo. There are enemies lurking in many hallways, and many will simply respawn. Conservation of resources is key, knowing when to sneak by and when to confront becomes a core skill to advance in the game. She must make her way through the maze of hallways and rooms, completing puzzles throughout, finding keys and so forth. Puzzles reminded me of the original RE games in terms of difficulty. Some examples include equalising water pressure, and sound/frequency puzzles). Majority of puzzles are multi-part and involve a collective of steps to complete, typically resulting in a key to use in yet-another puzzle. Whilst the game is combat heavy, and the array of weapons are fun to use (especially the up close and personal stunrods), puzzles are of equal importance here and if you are reading this and thinking, “ew, puzzles”, perhaps this game may just not be for you.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3134816284


The art of SIGNALIS is one I struggled to think of a description for, thus I will take directly from the store page in calling it a “brutalist nightmare.” Its retro-inspired, low res graphics, juxtaposing bright blocky text fluttering across the screen, cyberpunk, dystopian cinematics all mixed in with modern fluidity was a treat to experience. There did not need to be hyper-realistic art to convey the sense of dread, desperation and horror that SIGNALS portrays so brilliantly through atmosphere alone.

The apprehensive and uneasy feel created by the soundtrack brilliantly matches the jitter and uncertainty of the game. This purposeful creation of anguish not only by the loud screams from enemies when they see you, but the low, whaling distortion of sounds with intertwined static and misaligned instruments, ending in the clash of percussion instruments is just…. Creepy. In the best way.

This game was played using a keyboard & mouse, and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: Approximately 9 hours.

Replayability value: Yes, for other endings.


SIGNALIS was in development for 8 years, made by German-based developers rose-engine, comprised of only Barbara Wittmann & Yuri Stern. It is a fantastic, challenging throwback to the classics of survival horror. Near perfectly matching the uncomfortable feeling of anguish through atmosphere and tension alone, not to mention the classic gameplay elements included here. The unique dystopian story helps to shape the game into its own identity and although the limited inventory system and select-saving locations gave me more grief than I had anticipated, it is extremely well deserving of its accolades and deserves to be remembered. I highly recommend this game to all survival horror enthusiasts.

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Spiritfarer is an exceptionally unique, cozy game that tackles the usually difficult topic of death. It is beautifully symbolic and recognises dying is part of life, taking solace in the many stories people have to share. Their regrets, struggles, triumphs, and experiences that made them who they were. It is mainly a management / colony sim with crafting, exploration, collectathon and a rich narrative to go with it all. Despite its sombre premise, this game will stay with me for a long time, and I cannot say I have played anything remotely like it.

Pros

• Character-rich narrative that tackles a variety of deep topics
  
• Addictive gameplay loop
  
• Variety of genres
  
• Gripping & emotional stories
  
• Beautiful art
  
• Lengthy gameplay time
  
• Moving soundtrack

Cons

• Over abundance of items, can be difficult to remember everything
  
• One achievement requires the game to be completely replayed, but the choice is not overly significant to warrant this (nitpick)

You play as Stella. Stella is the newest Spiritfarer which is essentially a ferry master for the dead. Help them pass over by fulfilling their last wishes, making them happy, providing them with the best food and finishing up the last requests they had. She takes charge of an enormous ferry that is extremely self-sufficient, home to a foundry, loom, chicken coop, kitchen, orchard and so much more. Stella is responsive for all the ships inhabitant’s wellbeing and will receive unique individual requests from each of them. These requests are an integral part to their “moving on” and once their request line is finished, they will be ready to take the next step. To proceed to the Everdoor. The Everdoor is the last place the characters will go before they say their goodbyes and can be quite emotional, as the characters typically stay onboard the ship for a lengthy period, and it is inherently easy to form attachments to them. Making it harder to say the final goodbyes.

I was in awe of the overall story of being a Spiritfarer, but also the individual stories that were told from each of the 14 characters. They all have their flaws, their challenges. Some welcome death with open arms, others are more reticent. The heartbreak of watching the elderly characters bodies and minds slowly breaking down before your eyes feels hopeless, especially after seeing them at their best, recounting the excitement they once had in their lives. Yet, as time goes on, and they start to accept their fate, it is terribly forlorn, but also poignant. The game indirectly stresses that death is a part of life, and whilst some characters have mental or physical incumbrances due to age, it is not something to fear, but a part of life. I found Spiritfarer to have a lot of life lessons to teach and was extremely thought-provoking and well executed. Despite its emotional arcs, I just could not put this game down.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3109581397


Spiritfarer may be classed as within the “cozy games” or casual genre but boy is there a lot to do here! It is predominantly a management style game where you expand your ship with all sorts of useful buildings to aid you in your quests. To construct these buildings, specific resources must be gathered. Resources can be gathered by visiting the plethora of islands around the map and collecting them there, or purchasing them. Return to your ship and use one of the buildings such as the Foundry to make ingots of all the diverse types of minerals collected. Cut down trees and make them into planks. Plant seeds and farm them. Harvest wool from your sheep and use the Loom to make wool fabric etc. Each of these has many steps to make one item and it is not necessarily straight forward. Completing a request or building a specific building that had hard-to-get materials can really feel like a triumph. Trying to track down where a specific type of mineral is, setting sail to get there and then finally crafting it into an ingot to use was just satisfying. That being said, there is A LOT to collect, and I found it difficult to remember where things are, or how to make certain things. I found I had to write down a lot of the different combinations I needed so I could refer back to it when needed. Or where specific things can be found around the world. I would have liked to see some sort of glossary ingame that had all this information collated for me, especially in the late part of the game.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3113518634

Along your sea-faring travels, you will come across different spirits that can be interacted with to bring them to your ship. Your ferry can be upgraded to increase the amount of space, speed, and also specific features to allow a wider access to other parts of the map. There’s treasure hunting, riddles, and other optional quests to do with different townsfolk that do not form the main questline of the spirits.

Whilst I am not a major fan of management sims or collectathon games, I became quickly addicted to Spiritfarer’s gameplay loop. There is just so much to do and lots of room for creativity. The combination of this style of gameplay with the emotionally rich narrative creates such a unique and memorable experience, one I recommend to all.


Spiritfarer has a beautifully vibrant world, filled with rich colour hues, especially the Everdoor area. The art seems inspired by Japanese culture and the anthropomorphic characters are all unique in not only their personality, but how that personality is conveyed through their attire, species and so much more. The beautiful displays of the comet showers and other events was just stunning. Each area felt unique, from the chilly north with ice and snow, to the dark and gloomy misty east.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3109581869

The OST is also just as memorable as the game itself. From the orchestral swells of instruments when at the Everdoor, the quirky bus stop music to the awe-inspiring clashes during the comet events. The soundtrack gives the game a large part of its beauty, whilst encouraging player reflection throughout.

This game was played using a controller and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: 30 hours (game completed – but still finishing up achievements and additional content provided in the Farewell addition)

Controller Recommended? Yes.

Replayability value: Yes, there is an immense amount of content to explore.


Spiritfarer is an impeccable, thought-provoking, and wholesome game about death. Whilst “wholesome” and “death” are two words not commonly used collectively, Spiritfarer manages to achieve this symbiotic relationship throughout its 30+ hour playtime. Its addictive gameplay, mass of quality content and resonant storytelling make this a truly memorable title. It is well deserving of its “overwhelmingly positive” rating here on Steam, but still managed to fly under my radar in its release year of 2020. If you have not yet played this title, but enjoy cozy/wholesome games, Spiritfarer is well deserving of a place in your library.

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The Gallery is the latest FMV game to come from the mind of writer-producer Paul Raschid (The Complex, Five Dates) and is also produced by Wales Interactive. This one focuses on two separate timelines that essentially tell the same story, just in different eras covering times of similar socio-political unrest in Britain. I consider myself an FMV enthusiast but I found this one to be extremely boring with a repetitive story and a plot that failed to engage me, despite the decent talent and cinematography.

Pros

• Varied choices that are all mostly entwined into each other
  
• Decent acting with famous talent (Anna Popplewell from Chronicles of Narnia)
  
• Ample replayability value with different endings and 150 scenes in each

Cons

• Both eras (1981 and 2021) are almost identical, making replays of each repetitive (and unskippable)
  
• Scenes already witnessed are too slow to skip and do not skip sequentially when already seen
  
• Main plot is tiresome and disengaging (perhaps unless interested in art or the political climate of Britain or portraiture)

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Choosing to play in either 1981 with a female protagonist, or 2021 with a male protagonist, you play as the curator in a small-scale art gallery that is about to host a famous painting that will draw immense outside attention. Each era is described as having socio-political unrest in Britain and the “villain” wishes to capitalize on the famous painting being brought in and make a stand against oppression, the government etc. The story is all very washed out and is not a topic I expected as typically the past FMV games by these dev/publisher team have been about characters and making decisions that impact their lives, not a political commentary piece. Whilst The Gallery does have this and other subplots… the main plot was putting me to sleep. Regardless of my thoughts on the plot type as a whole, being around 1.5 hours for one playthrough, there is not nearly enough time to develop any understanding for each of the characters, particularly the political meaning behind the “bad guys” actions or understanding the state of Britain. The game is designed to be replayed which I have done three times, however due to not being able to properly skip scenes (discussed below) I have lost my willpower to continue.

Both 1981 and 2021 plots are almost identical, just differing in the technology used and the relevance to the time. The characters also swap positions from good guy to bad guy, but the script is almost verbatim, except this time, as you technically have not seen this exact scene before, it cannot be skipped.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097313291

Other plot points were especially obvious, particularly in relation to the bomb, however no options were given to pursue this the way I wanted to until much later, but the characters still reacted like it was the biggest revelation and not brain-dead obvious.


Being an FMV game, the only gameplay is to make decisions. Choices that impact how the story unfolds and have a domino effect. I very much enjoyed the sub-plots that focused on moral choices such as Morgan’s brother or her relationship with Nicky, yet as aforementioned, the main plot is not something that resonated with me.

The Gallery, alike others of its genre, is designed to be replayed and only playing it once will not reveal the full story. However, replaying it has some issues that could be easily flattened out. If you had already witnessed three consecutive scenes in a prior playthrough, you cannot skip all three at once. You must skip each one separately, and it is not immediate either. Often waiting 10-20 seconds before being able to press skip, then getting to the next scene that you had already seen only to wait some more before being able to skip that too and so forth. An option to just skip all previously witnessed sequential scenes in one button press would be far less tedious, especially with the 100+ scenes in each era. Perhaps my patience was already worn thin due to my overall distaste of the story, however this function seems a basic request given that it is paramount to the design of the game.


Cinematography appears well done, set mostly in a small room, but does not feel limited by this. Acting is decent, especially Anna Popplewell who is known for her role in the Chronicles of Narnia. It was also interesting to see each actor play the reversed role of their characters in the different eras.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097313227


Playtime: 1.5 hours for one playthrough but perhaps around 8 hours for full achievements

Controller Recommended? Yes

Replayability value: Yes


The Gallery was a rather disappointing entry to the FMV genre and Wales Interactive catalogue. With a disengaging plot, unrefined basic features and a verbatim repeated script, I cannot recommend it and instead would recommend the countless other games developed and published by Wales Interactive.

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Jusant is a climbing game from developers, DON’T NOD. Despite being known for their skilled writing in narrative adventures, Jusant is distinctively divergent and instead focuses on its climbing mechanics and atmospheric world. For those following these developers looking for another enthralling narrative game, this is not it. However, whilst it strays from their usual formula, this reflective experience has a lot to offer players, as long as you are content with climbing!


Pros

• Fluid climbing mechanics
  
• Diverse, stunning biomes
  
• Myriad of collectables
  
• Gorgeous visuals
  
• Relaxing experience

Cons

• Minor colliding issues where I would become stuck in the ground/wall
  
• Notes in earlier chapters felt lacklustre

Jusant is labelled an “action-puzzle climbing game” by developers and the story is minimalistic. It is uncovered through wordless cutscenes and reading optional letters (collectables) scattered around the levels. You play as a lone wanderer, exploring abandoned villages and old civilisations, slowly climbing to the very top of a tower. The oceans have dried up, which seemingly has resulted in the ancient civilisations also fading away, in search of the necessity…water. Humans have adapted to living in tunnels, caves and along cliff faces in order to survive.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3081762623

Alongside the protagonist on his journey is an adorable little blue blob that helps point players in the right direction and can also interact with the environment to cause sprouts of flora to grow and act as new handhelds to climb.

Each of the letters detail the inhabitants past and what life used to be like. In the first few chapters I did not find any interest in these as I did not feel like I had any understanding of the setting or basis of the plot, making these nameless characters issues completely void, as I was never introduced to them. However, as time goes on, they improve and I wanted to discover more to work out the truth behind this civilizations past, where did they go, what happened? Why is there no ocean? Each of these questions are very loosely answered and is not only dependent on player interpretation, but also how many notes players find. Rushing through this game is far from the recommended thing to do, as it is about being a meditative experience, however if you do not seek out any of the notes, little will make sense. Admittedly, I have come to expect good writing from DON’T NOD’S games and this is just average. There is no focus on immersive storytelling, it is all about the climbing


Despite being a tad disappointed by the story quality, I was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity of the gameplay. Yes, the climbing is fun, and it is well done. The starting tutorial teaches you all that you need to know and starts off slow. Before long, I was climbing with ease and swinging around the place. Players must monitor their stamina bar when climbing, it will slowly drain as the character exerts himself, and also deplete much quicker when he is in direct sunlight. If it starts getting low, you can take a quick rest to free up one arm, gain a bit more stamina back and continue. If you keep doing this then eventually the stamina recovered from resting will lessen each time, and only completely refill when at a designated rest point or when your two feet reach the ground again.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3081713184

Majority of the game is climbing and only small segments involve running around tight corridors searching for notes or collectables and cutscenes are rare. The climbing felt effortless yet also challenging in specific areas where the handhelds were few and far between, or if they were moving and timing was of the upmost importance. There are a few smart additions to the game which I enjoyed such as the flora sprouted by our mysterious blue friend will wilt quickly if the plant is in direct sunlight, providing a bit of tension for players as you will need to quickly rush through that part or risk falling. I also liked the heavy wind greatly impacting the climb, often hindering my jumps or if timed correctly, would help boost me to the handhold I was aiming for. To make falling less risky, you can place extra pivots to save your spot incase you fall, swing from the ceilings, wall run, hold onto a flower as it grows or be carried upwards by fireflies. The climbing controls are great and help keep momentum going in large climbs, making it very satisfying to watch how quickly the character can move, simply by taking turns pressing LT/RT when moving from handhold to handhold. Jumping and double jumping will cost more stamina and if you miss the handhold and had not placed a second pivot to catch your fall, you will typically fall right to the beginning of that climbing section. Whilst I did not feel that the game was extremely challenging nor frustrating, it was still enough to give me a feeling of triumph once I finally reached solid ground.


Minor bugs & Issues
I did experience minor issues where I became stuck in the ground and couldn’t move for a few seconds, or If I fell from a large height I often had the rope tangled obtusely and my character would glitch into the map and bounce around. These instances were relatively rare however in the last chapter, it was much more common and I became frequently stuck. I did not need to restart or reload any saves as I would teleport out of my stuck position within around 10 seconds.


Jusant is beautiful, from the breathtaking views from the top of the tower, to within the blue luminescent caves and sun-filled cliffs. The visuals help give the game its meditative vibe justly described by developers on the Steam Store page.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3081762916

There is no voice acting, but the harmonious orchestral music added to the high stakes of the characters climb, yet simultaneously felt very peaceful.

This game was played using a controller, and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: Five hours for one playthrough

Controller Recommended? Yes

Replayability value: Yes, for collectables only


Jusant is an interesting title that is very different to what I had initially expected, due to being a fan of the developers previous releases ( Life is Strange, Gerda: A Flame in Winter or Harmony: The Fall of Reverie.) Jusant is definitely a different turn for the developers, stepping away from a heavy narrative focus and instead to a focus more on gameplay, and the specific action of climbing. Whilst I still would have liked to see a better introduction to the story and more engaging notes (perhaps voice overs or flashback scenes), I still enjoyed my climbing trek. The fluidity made every move satisfying and the mysterious world was alluring and gorgeous. Jusant may not a narrative masterpiece, but for anyone wishing to spend a few relaxing hours climbing at your own pace, discovering an ancient civilization and gawking at the beautiful views, I recommend this game.

Key kindly received by developers, courtesy of IndieGems.

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Garden Buddies is an extremely cute and wholesome game that appears to be aimed at a younger audience, but can be enjoyed by all cozy game fans.

Pros

• Extremely wholesome & relaxing
  
• Conveys a great message
  
• Multiple mini games
  
• Easy 100% achievements

Cons

• Extended loading screens that cause crashes
  
• On the pricier end for 1 hour story gameplay

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Work together with Mutsy, an adorable apple seedling to create a beautiful comfy space for all their new friends. Spread kindness, love and joy to all the flora and fauna of the forest, help those in need and join in on the celebrations.

In the story mode, there are short segments where players can design a garden with different objects and flowers to decorate the space with. This will also progress the story where players will encounter a few different types of minigames such as memory based puzzles, rock stacking or rhythm based games. Each are extremely easy but charming!

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3062747454

The game is very heavy on positive affirmations, dealing with anxiety via encouraging breathing techniques and reflection. For its short one hour playtime, it can seem a bit excessive but I suppose it is aimed at a younger audience which makes sense. Overall, it has a wonderful message to everyone and is a great game to relax to. I was a bit surprised at the full price tag of $AU21.95 for such a short game, however there is another mode to focus solely on the garden building but it still seems a bit steep for the cost.

Loading times & crashes
Despite being a calm, anxiety-free game, I experienced two crashes in my one-hour playtime. Both crashes occurred when transitioning to night and the loading screen exceeded over two minutes before crashing to desktop, needing a full restart. I hope this issue can be promptly fixed as it ruins the tranquillity the game creates whilst also creating further doubt on paying the full price tag.

Playtime: Around one hour.

Replayability value: Not really, there is not enough detail in the garden crafting/decorating to keep players interested for long past the story mode.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3062750432


Garden Buddies is a wholesome game filled with charming characters that is sure to put a smile on your face. The moral messages it discusses are great for young children to experience, but are also something that adults with busy lives can learn from too. Overall, its price seems a tad steep for its short playtime, especially with the numerous crashes. However, its abundance of cuteness and funny dialogue make it one I can recommend on a sale, especially if the crashes are patched.

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Boti: Byteland Overclocked is a classic 3D platformer that can be played completely in coop. With a cute, quirky story set in the components of a computer, gorgeous vibrant visuals and varied gameplay, there are definitely some excellent elements. However, with almost unplayable coop, a plethora of glitches, poor optimisation and some of the most obnoxious voice acting and broken dialogue that I have ever encountered, I cannot recommend it.

Pros

• Gorgeous, vibrant visuals
  
• Unique plot centred around tech
  
• Varied gameplay

Cons

• Poorly optimised
  
• Unplayable coop
  
• Annoying dialogue & voice acting that seems overly immature
  
• Plethora of glitches
  
• Unresponsive controls

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The story is one of the elements I enjoyed the most (despite the dialogue). I very much enjoyed the setting being within a computer and having each level set in a different component such as GPU, PSU etc. Having this jumbled together in a kid-friendly platformer was just a lot of fun, and it was clear how many unique ideas the developers had when creating it.

You play as Boti, a data bot alongside their two companions Zero and One. Boti and his companions work together to free glitches from the network to find the root of the problem and abolish it. Each bot has a different personality with one being overly serious and cautious, and Boti being very carefree and spontaneous. The dynamic in their relationships is the forefront of much of the dialogue in an attempt to be witty and fun, however it felt too overdone to be humorous. The humour may be more suited to a younger audience.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3061815547


Gameplay resembles a classic 3D platformer and felt heavily inspired by the era of collectathon PS2 platformers. It is fun to slide, swing and punch your way through Byteland, with gameplay continuously changing one moment to the next. There are some minor puzzles such as using levers to line up platforms in the correct spot or using magnets to push and pull objects into their allocated position. The puzzles and combat are not difficult, and are never overly used, ensuring the pacing maintains its speed throughout the game. The rhythm-inspired slides were one of my favourites, being able to quickly speed down slopes, collect things and dodge obstacles all at high speeds was a lot of fun. Interestingly, although I enjoyed the crux of the gameplay, many players have not completed the game with the rare achievements popping up after level completion after level 4, with only 4% of players having actually finished the game. Admittedly, it did feel like a chore to finish the game, so I can understand these harsh statistics (although they may also be influenced by the issue with achievements too).

Co-op
Unfortunately, even with the gameplay being such simple fun, coop was completely unplayable for me. The core game design does not seem to be made with coop in mind, but rather was added as a second thought. Playing in split screen coop, the second player would constantly respawn on the other side of the map, within the map boundaries and would be locked out of getting back to where I was. Dialogue in combat segments was atrocious and needed to be muted. Once again, it is not optimised for two players meaning that whenever one of us hit an enemy, dialogue lines would start such as “sock it to em’ Boti” or “yeahhh that showed em!” Now, imagine this constantly happening, playing over each other as you, or the other player make one, single punch… in a game filled with enemies and items to hit. This also blocked the actual narratives dialogue as it just became a jumbled mess of words. Yes, it was unbearable. Even in solo these annoying lines play too much but they never played over the top of each other like they did in coop. The most game-breaking bug in coop was definitely the abundance of glitches, however, many puzzles are only designed for one person, so having two can make one player wait while the other player completes the puzzle. There was nothing interactive which felt like a missed opportunity.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3061815449

Dialogue
As aforementioned, the dialogue was extremely cringe-worthy, obnoxious, and too many lines were repeated. The dramatized, repetitive American accents and immature lines made me want to turn off the game on numerous occasions. In cutscenes, they are better but overall, my patience was tested many times with wanting to uninstall the game, simply due to the awful voice actors that felt forced with monotonous tone-deaf dialogue.


An element that Boti Byteland Overclocked does well is the bright, vibrant visuals. With all sorts of fun things on each and every inch of the screen, there is always something popping up or to interact with.

I have already mentioned the dialogue audio in numerous segments however in short, it is atrocious and as a result I had to mute most of the game and therefore cannot comment on the soundtrack.

https://sp.zhabite.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3061815683

This game was played using a controller, and with the following PC specs. I experienced many issues.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Bugs & Glitches:
Not mentioning the bugs mentioned in the coop section above that make coop completely unplayable, but I constantly fell through the map. Loading screens showed Boti in the middle of a blank screen or spasming around. Running into walls with the bumper car also caused Boti to uncontrollably spaz around. Consistent FPS drops, achievements seem bugged as I got achievements for completing later levels, but not the initial first few levels. Prompts for controls display in Xbox, PlayStation, and keyboard formats, irrelevant of which device I was using. Controls when balancing on the thin slide were unresponsive or just not calibrated well, resulting in Boti struggling to connect with the rail and if trying to jump on it and land back on it…. This was near impossible. Trying to jump from one magnetised wall to another was also difficult as it relies on quick button presses, and there seemed to be some input delay.


Playtime: 3.5 hours

Controller Recommended? Yes

Replayability value: For achievements only (however many seem bugged)


In summary, I am disappointed with Boti: Byteland Overclocked. For a game where glitches are part of its narrative, it was ironic to see how many actual bugs were in the real game. I was excited to play this in coop, only to discover it unplayable and undesigned for it. Combined with a myriad of glitches and extremely grating, repeated voiced dialogue, these downfalls all hindered the positives of the game, being the visuals, quirky PC and tech setting and the classic 3D platformer gameplay. Whilst there are some redeeming features and it was far from awful, I encountered too many problems with it to be able to positively recommend it.

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