Arietta of Spirits is a Pleasant, Streamlined Mini-Adventure

Arietta of Spirits opens with Arietta and her parents visiting the island where her grandmother once lived before her recent passing.  It’s not long before she discovers that she can speak to spirits, including her Spirit Guide Arco and her grandmother’s ghost.  During her subsequent quest to defeat the Roamers who have overrun the island,…

Dredge is a Seemingly Relaxing Fishing Game with an Eerie Undercurrent

Dredge is an intriguing fishing game where something sinister lurks beneath the surface.  Shortly after you are hired as the fisherman for a sleepy little town by the name of Greater Marrow, you soon catch on that something’s not right.  People warn you not to go out after dark.  The mayor asks you to deliver…

Little Kitty, Big City: Comfort Gaming at its Best

As much as I enjoy my big, flashy games with hectic boss fights, fancy weapons, piles of loot, and immersive storylines, sometimes, ya just gotta chill. To a degree, the Ace Attorney games have filled this role in my recent gaming life; however, working through their twisty-turny logic in trying to defend clients is often…

The Gravity Trickster: Demo Review

The Gravity Trickster is a puzzle-platformer where you play as a robot and navigate floating stages to collect keys and reach the exit.  The full game is 150 levels, while the demo spans 10 of those.  Various hazards include slippery ice, dark levels with low visibility, and electrical panels that appear when you approach.  You…

Tetragon: Demo Review

Tetragon is a 2D puzzle game that follows the story of a father looking for his missing son.  The demo covers a good handful of these puzzles, all of which take place within a square-shaped space.  While your character cannot jump, he can climb and utilize two tools for changing his environment.  First off, you…

Angst and Admiration Abound in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

It seems like only yesterday that I began tackling the weird and wild world of law under the guise of fresh-faced defense attorney Apollo Justice. In fact, it’s been a few months since I began that journey thanks to the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy for the Switch, and it just recently concluded. When I…

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince is a Beautiful Dream

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince follows three heroes, Amadeus the wizard, Pontius the knight, and Zoya the thief on their quest to find Prince Selius and figure out a solution to the young man’s rampant nightmare magic.  The game is a puzzle-platformer, and thanks to each character’s unique moveset, there are multiple ways to progress…

Oddworld: Soulstorm: Demo Review

I first heard of Oddworld when I saw an advertisement for Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee on the back of a poster for Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge.  (Betcha didn’t know there was a Banjo-Kazooie game for the GBA!)  The series remained in the back of my mind for the ensuing 20 years until I found the demo for…

Big Times in Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Over my winter break, I was looking to clear out my backlog a little, and I stumbled across Sackboy: A Big Adventure. It had become free at some point through PS Plus, and as I had heard decent things about it when it was new, I snatched it up…only to have it sit, sit, and…

Fall of Porcupine: Demo Review

Fall of Porcupine follows the story of a new doctor named Finley at the underfunded St. Ursula’s Hospital in the small town of Porcupine, inhabited only by anthropomorphic animals.  The demo took me about 1.5 hours to complete, and in that time, I mainly focused on treating three patients, hanging out with fellow coworkers Karl…