April'24: cats, guitars and existential dread

Looking back at April I can definitely say I am proud, because it was full of sg wins completions. Right now I am a little ashamed because I keep winning things I really like and yet I find it hard to find time or be in the right mood to play something. Well, after all, I am in a difficult situation cause since I got Vampire Survivors I can't focus on anything else. Reminds me of times when I was playing The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth every day and damn, life was so good (but jobless lol), and the same excitement blows me away as I start a run in this one. But enough of that and lets look at what was done mid spring.

I remember being addicted to Garden In! – a sandbox game where you grow your plants and they grow real time so it takes literally days to create your big garden. Sadly my computer turned off because lights went off and as I booted my game again all my progress vanished and it made me so sad. There was no way to restore my save and I got so mad that I uninstalled the game, but now as I think about it I might get back to it. I was also playing Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator in April, but gonna talk about it in May’s update, since I’ve beaten this game back then.

A Musical Story rhythm adventure story rich finished in 2024 played on deck

A Musical Story is definitely one of the highlights of the month. It's a short rhythm game that at times can be challenging, but it's still a very enjoyable experience. I bought it because the artstyle is quite unique and eye-catching, and I didn't miss, the whole game I just wanted to take screenshots, that's how beautiful it was for me. The story is told through different songs and animations that let us follow our characters at their spiky road to the Pinewood, where they can hit big at the musical festival. The story isn't anything crazy, and that's alright, it's very down to earth, telling us about friendship and breakup, failure and success, dreams, hopes and mistakes we make and regret later. Speaking of gameplay, you listen to the rhythm first, then you try to repeat it perfectly, hitting the notes on the curved track the right time. Oh I absolutely loved the soundtrack. I loved the blend of genres and instruments in these 70s inspired songs, psychedelic rock, jazzy beats, they grab you by your soul and do some magic to your heart. I'd call musical tracks here "bewitching", honestly.

As much as I loved the game, I can see it being definitely not for everyone. It can be stressful, since basically if you wanna go for all achievements and complete the story, you must finish each song perfectly without any mistakes. Many times I was messing it all up right at the end and going back to the beginning to try again. Well, that's what you get for being impatient. Gameplay is not forgiving, which might be a problem for some people. I do not think it's really that bad. The dopamine upon clearing the song perfectly was worth the extra effort for me. I played the game through a few evenings and there was no stress and no hard challenge.

Kitaria Fables action-adventure farming cats finished in 2024 won on steamgifts

Every single game that has cats in it must be in my library. How happy I was when I won Kitaria Fables and finally got my hands on it! It's a very cute and charming action-adventure game about a true hero. Equipped with a sword, and having a devoted magical companion by our side, we must fight off the approaching darkness. Kitaria Fables has a cute story, plenty of characters and quests, lots of monsters and mini-bosses to fight with swords, bows and spells of our choice. I wouldn't call this game cozy, it's not cozy at all since the grind here is CRAZY. Most of the time I do not mind grinding, I'm a Taurus, I am not against repetitive work lol, but I absolutely hated the achievement for defeating 3000 enemies. Also... money. Oh my goodness how hard it was to get money, all the upgrades of your weapons and spells or getting new stuff is VERY expensive. Most of the time I was fighting monsters again and again instead of farming since I decided for myself defeating monsters for their loot is much more rewarding than waiting for my potatoes and pumpkins to grow, so I was busy at the garden only when I needed something for the quests. I was playing this game after work so it was just more work after work. Grindy part was a bitter pill. I do not know how this didn't make me hate the game as a whole.

I enjoyed Kitaria Fables anyways, I just think this game truly has a soul, yes, it's not perfect and sometimes buggy, but you can feel it was made with love. At least that's what I think. I loved the world of the game, our adorable companion Macaron, lovely villagers and night merchant Pumpkin... Even though it's December as I am reviewing this game to myself, the memories of it are still so bright and clear, for me it means I truly enjoyed it and it has a place in my heart.

Metamorphosis adventure puzzle noir finished in 2024 won on steamgifts

I believe everybody knows a story about Gregor Samsa who one day woke up in a body of an insect. Even though I read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" back in school which was kinda long ago, I remember it quite well and while being kinda a depressive read, it's very thought-provoking and unique. Unique, just like this game. Metamorphosis is strange and bizarre, its visuals intrigued me and the game turned out to be nice. While being named after original novel "Metamorphosis", I feel it's more influenced by other works of Kafka like "The Castle" and "The Trial", so it's more of a blend of all Kafka's "favorite" themes and narratives. Existential dread, powerlessness, anxiety and fear being so little in the face of those who are more influential and more powerful. Covering all of these topics, Metamorphosis surprises with great storytelling, characters, world design that all together craft a very special experience. Poor fella transformed to a bug, and must find out what the hell happened and why. To answer all the questions, go back to the usual human form and help a friend in need, we crawl up walls, slip through narrow spaces and parkour while doing puzzles here and there, trying our best to avoid drowning, falling down, getting crushed or poisoned, even though there is an achievement for dying every single possible way in the game lol. Controls might seem weird at first and it's hard to move around without struggling, but it's exactly done on purpose to make us feel as we are in not our own body.

While being not that graphically impressive, marvelous visuals are truly the best part of the game. Not just because of the looks but making you feel that fear of being so little in a horrendously big world. Disgusting giant humans with their huge awkwardly moving hands, legs and mouths, and huge object around us sometimes were making me feel uneasy. I remember getting to The Furnace level and it was stressful for some reason. Anyways, to progress the story we complete level's objective and move forward to another location. You can't really get lost, just stuck a bit due to encountering some bugs here and there. Well, bugs and way too easy puzzles are the only turn offs in Metamorphosis, but overall it's a great experience worth the time.

april completed

Keep in Mind: Remastered

2.8 hours playtime
no achievements
Lost Grimoires 2: Shard of Mystery

3.3 hours playtime
12 of 12 achievements
The Whispered World Special Edition

10.5 hours playtime
20 of 20 achievements
Creepy Tale

3.1 hours playtime
13 of 13 achievements
A Musical Story

3.3 hours playtime
54 of 54 achievements
My Dream Setup

2.9 hours playtime
16 of 16 achievements
Ikenfell

30 hours playtime
27 of 27 achievements
Last Call BBS

30.8 hours playtime
9 of 9 achievements
Kitaria Fables

31 hours playtime
41 of 41 achievements
Metamorphosis

5.7 hours playtime
26 of 26 achievements