March'24: long time no see
It’s hard to believe time flies that fast. It’s almost November and I couldn’t find time to think about my assassinations. It’s probably gonna look weird however I want to use the remaining weeks of 2024 to look back at my yearly progress and think what games found their place in my heart, what was a big disappointment, and what I need to get back to. As for now life is busy with work as always, and with some games that suck all of my time. Not long ago I’ve finished Assassin's Creed Odyssey after more than 170 hours. I currently struggle with SILENT HILL 2 because I’m scared of the game but I am getting closer and closer to finishing it. But we can talk about it in October update. Now I wanna get back to March accomplishments!
I had my eye on Minami Lane way before it's release. Aesthetically it heavily reminds me of Animal Restaurant which is a mobile game that I used to play years ago. I do not remember why I abandoned it, but the game itself is great and still has updates if I am not mistaken. Sadly I probably lost my restaurant cause I deleted my fb account it was linked to. The similarity between these two and warm memories about my phone restaurant made me buy Minami Lane, and I was not disappointed. It's a very short game yet it's relaxing, peaceful and sweet. You have a Japanese-inspired town or I should say street, where you place houses and shops to make your citizens happy and satisfied, and earn money, of course! Game completion with all achievements takes just a few hours, however those hours are quite fun. I wish there was something like this but with an endless progress that you can enjoy daily.
Minami Lane has levels you must complete by reaching certain objectives. Every day you think of a strategy you're gonna follow to boost your villagers' happiness. There are young people and elderly and each has their own preferences and tastes you must keep an eye on. You can open book stores, flower stores, karaokes, ramen shops, boba cafes, place parks or onsens to add to street's beauty. Villagers regularly have something else on mind desiring specific bouquets of flowers or ramen recipes so they are 100% happy, so you must always pay attention to what they say and to random events that happen. There is no challenge at all so it's just an enjoyable experience that helps you to unwind in the evening when it's raining outside and you're all cozy and comfortable in bed playing something simple on your laptop or Steam Deck. By the way, it's Steam Deck verified, even though I was playing it on the computer, so not sure how it runs there, but all must be perfect.
Honestly I was not expecting Tinykin to be THAT fun. You know the game is good when you are willing to sacrifice a bit of your sleep few days in a row with no regrets. I think this is the best platformer game of the year for me, honestly. I know I've played it quite a long time ago however the memories of it are still so fresh! It has cool mechanics, interesting puzzles, cute characters and stories, incredibly colorful and detailed world to lose yourself in and enjoy every second of exploration. I loved it to the point that it was not feeling like a boring chore to search for collectibles that sometimes were just hard to find. I am so grateful that I got this game in some kind of bundle at Fanatical, I think I'd never find it another way, which would be a big loss. So what is Tinykin about? Oh yes, being tiny in a big big world!
It's a charming game. It's kind and lovely. You are running around the big house with your little helpers, tinykins, who have their own abilities that you use to complete each level of the game. They blow up, create ladders, help you to carry heavy things, and so on. Tiny does not mean useless! At the end of the game you're gonna have a whole army of those little creatures. I found them incredibly cute, especially when you leave the computer, like going to grab a cup of tea or something, you come back and see your character sleeping together with them, so sweet. Well, when you're not sleeping, you are exploring big bug cities inside bathroom, kitchen, living room, you can get into every little corner cause your size benefits you. Get inside the TV? No problem. Dive into the toilet? Lessgo man. Absolutely loved the attention to details. Also enjoyed grinding around on the bar of soap!
I do not know what else to say to praise this game enough. It's just... worth trying. If you wanna jump into something cute and sweet that reminds you of childhood, free from any worries, this is the exact game you can pay attention to.
I... don't know. I went through all circles of hell playing Lemon Cake and I am just glad I won't get back to it. I was clueless when I first saw it. It seemed so cute to me, I'm a big sucker for cooking games and I knew I'm gonna love it. Well, I did not love it, unfortunately. Why? Because it's boring. And what can be worse than playing a boring repetitive game to get all achievements? I was very close to just abandoning it but I got tips from kind users on here this winter and thanks to them I managed to finish it and uninstall it forever. I kinda feel bad hating on it so much but it was just not my thing at all.
We own an abandoned bakery that needs our time and attention to get to its glory! Everything is broken, old, there are ghosts flying around but thanks goodness they are friendly and can help us. Everything is on us, repairs, growing ingredients for our pastries, serving customers and cleaning after them. There is no story basically. You just do your thing, that's all. I actually really loved the artstyle, loved the variety of pastries you can cook. I also liked that it's not just a cafe, but a cat cafe where customers can adopt kitties and take them home. I loved the cooking gameplay where you basically have a cooking station in the middle of your kitchen and you run around to get certain ingredients, you throw them on that station and mix them then put an almost cooked pastry into the stove. Croissants, cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, bread, chocolate strawberries, cheesecakes, sweet rolls... There is a lot to choose from to create your daily menu. The problem is... it's gonna take you ages to earn money for all the upgrades and achievements. It took me 25 hours to complete the game and that's with using the strategy of cooking the same pastry every single day. Sadly, yes. It's just boring. You see everything the game has to offer after... I do not know, maybe 5 hours? It gets repetitive to the point it drives you crazy. You work hard every single shift running around 3 rooms all by yourself, cooking, cleaning tables, serving your customers coffee so they do not leave angry and disappointed, watering your plants, taking care of cows and chickens, throwing more wood into stoves so you can bake your pastries, clean up spills of dough on your kitchen cause it slows you down... Shifts go by, you buy an upgrade, few more shifts go by, you buy another one and again and again and again. I should have dropped it after it started to feel stressful so my experience is not ruined, but it is what it is.
Maybe it's a good game if you don't stress yourself out with progression and achieving something. I do not know. It had so much potential. It makes me wonder if all games of this developer are this way? I have Capybara Spa in my wishlist and I wish I had more motivation to try it but after Lemon Cake I doubt it, even if it's good...
Till this day I wonder, how the devs managed to create such a big and complicated game with an interesting writing, great story that keeps you on pins and needles, cool characters with their own charm, insanely good sound design, and an endless amount of possibilities and endings. Now this is what you call "choices matter". Never in my life I saw a game in which every single breath you take can change the outcome so drastically. Just wow. The Letter found its place among my favorite visual novels hands down. You play through each chapter from every character's perspective, slowly learning more about each of them, and unraveling mysteries that happen in the story. The Letter is inspired by classic Asian horror movies, however, nothing here feels cliché. There is a haunted mansion, a terrible curse and the truth that must be discovered. Our choices carry over from one chapter to another and indeed we can heavily feel the butterfly effect. There is a relationship system here too and via dialogue choices you can make characters fall in love, be just friends, or hate each other. I wish you could play this game comfortably on Steam Deck and you CAN, I started it on it, but as soon as I faced the first QTE I realized I must move to the computer because I cannot pass it on the console. But that's okay.
Seven characters, seven lives. Seriously, I really loved how developers put so much thoughts into their work. It's clear this project was made with passion and enthusiasm. I loved how characters that at first glance I hated, completely opened up from another side when I played their own story from their own point of view which made me love them. Shows you that you should never judge someone by only seeing one side of the coin. The writing is voiced over, sprites are moving, backgrounds feel alive too. Maybe to some the visuals of the game might seem a bit old-fashioned, not sure, however, it's very stylish and looks incredibly good. The game is not too scary, but it's creepy, it makes you feel uncomfortable from time to time, the atmosphere that music creates makes you shiver. It has jumpscares that you do not expect, and they don't make the game cheap, they fit really well. I think what matters the most in this game is it's branching paths and there are a lot of them. Literally, never in my life I saw so many ways the story can go. Loved it.
Maybe I will get back to it to complete it, it's worth exploring every branch of the story anyways. As we are getting closer to winter now my desire for reading some VNs is growing and I am soon about to dive into The House in Fata Morgana and I believe it's gonna be something interesting and impressive too.
march completed
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Redout: Enhanced Edition
13.1 hours playtime
29 of 34 achievements
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Minami Lane
5.9 hours playtime
20 of 20 achievements
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Say No! More
6.8 hours playtime
22 of 22 achievements
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Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
14.7 hours playtime
37 of 38 achievements
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Tinykin
9.8 hours playtime
43 of 43 achievements
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Candle
9.9 hours playtime
23 of 23 achievements
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Still There
9 hours playtime
23 of 23 achievements
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Children of Silentown
11.1 hours playtime
26 of 26 achievements
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Genesis Noir
5 hours playtime
17 of 17 achievements
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The Letter - Horror Visual Novel
52 hours playtime
168 of 172 achievements
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Mail Time
2.6 hours playtime
23 of 23 achievements
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Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?
2.4 hours playtime
17 of 17 achievements
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Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure
9.5 hours playtime
25 of 25 achievements
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The Ramp
2.5 hours playtime
12 of 12 achievements
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Chasing Tails ~A Promise in the Snow~
1.8 hours playtime
30 of 30 achievements
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Lemon Cake
24.8 hours playtime
17 of 17 achievements
Ah I won Tinykin on SG but still haven’t got to it. From all my unplayed wins, I think it sits among the Top 5 highest rated, and apparently it’s for good reason based on your review :)
It’s a great game, really. Hope you will enjoy it when it’s time to get into it!
I also loved Minami Lane and need to get back to Tinykin myself, but I 100% agree on Lemoncake. I think I only managed 1-2 hours myself because everything feels like a grind and there’s either too much to do at once or I just stand there waiting. Please don’t let that turn you off of Capybara Spa, though. I really, really love that game. It’s also pretty busy but there’s no issue with not getting all the capybaras into the baths - they just wander off, no consequence. Busy but overall very chill, I like to wind down some of my streams with it :)
Thank you for your thoughts on Capybara Spa. I really really hope that I am gonna love it. I do have a feeling I’m gonna love it. Even though yes, Lemon Cake drained me. Probably will grab the game when it’s on sale. These days I just want something chill and relaxing. Hope you’re gonna enjoy Tinykin, it is a true comfort game :)