Something I decided to play on a whim, Western Press turned out to be a simple enough game to grasp, but like it tends to be the case with such games when there's some degree of manual dexterity involved it just means game pushes it to the extreme. What does that mean? To win these old Western style duels, narrative even frames them as simply being the method through which problems are resolved and everyone's always itching to draw iron for the most minute of matters, you input commands lined up in sequence on your side of the screen and pray your trigger finger is faster than the other dude's. That reaction time is all it boils down to. Seeing as online is pretty much dead I only played through the singleplayer which is brief and has you going up against nine bots with increasing difficulty levels. Worth noting is there's a memory mode which turns the tables by having you memorize commands and then input them. In case you needed a change pace.

VERDICT: Singleplayer offering is clearly there to wet the appetite more than anything, but based on it and it alone I can't really find fault with the game for what it is. Raw pixel graphics could be a major letdown for some if that's important to you, but this is a very distilled package you'll either love or hate. With 30 odd minutes of content without the online component it's not much of an investment.

Ramping up of the opponent's reaction time is gradual enough to adapt... until Wyatt Hurt.

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Returning to first-person walking simulators for, what, a third crack at the thing I find myself yet again let down, but with enough visual presence to hold me engaged this time. Scanner Sombre absolutely nails the latter with its LIDAR scanner system, primary spice added to good old “hold W to move forward” seeing as you now have to hold the left mouse button as well, with which you essentially “paint” the levels in otherwise pitch black darkness based on object proximity. Game does eventually expand the scanner's functionality by introducing upgrades you come across like beam spread regulation and others, but you absolutely don't need any of these to finish the game. I would be remiss not to commend the level designer for making it all work despite player having only dotted shapes to work with and I found myself turned around only once when I had to find my way through a narrow maze-like area which proved to be somewhat cumbersome when you have overlapping colors changing hues based on proximity. Sadly, I also have to take back some of the praise because, yes, designers could not avoid indulging and having monsters you have to avoid if only for a very brief period. Which could also be entirely missable if you're not as bad as I am.

As far as story goes there is one and it involves someone going into ancient caves to explore some old forgotten cult, but this is one of those “open to interpretation” kind of setups where things were seemingly intentionally left vague. Most of it is delivered through protagonist's own thoughts as you venture through the unknown, but some clues are only discoverable on NG+ when you have access to fully upgraded scanner from the very get-go. Also, mandatory twist ending because I guess you can't do without one if you want to make a DEEP story demanding to be taken seriously. Spookiness abounds through.

VERDICT: Not exactly my kind of thing yet despite that I found myself rather taken in by what I experienced for almost two hours or so. Worthwhile noting is how Scanner Sombre actually takes advantage of things like level design and player's ability to navigate through said levels without holding his hand. Removing some low points and adding tighter narrative may have improved the game and made that rather impressive soundtrack have much more significant impact, though.

Very rarely you will come across set scanner posts meant to help you along.

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Boiling the title down to its very essence it's pretty clear what Tiny Echo is, that being a point & click adventure game. Strangely enough developers seem to have decided for a half-way measure when it came to how much modern day convenience they wanted – you can hold the right mouse button to display where the exit areas are and how many letters you've delivered, as well as key character you're supposed to deliver them TO when they're on-screen, but not much else. This just nudges you to click on things and use your eyes, though. Some you'll have to do like figuring out how to cry into pots to make flowers grow and some like clicking on side characters just shows off how much effort was put into the game on the artistic side of things.

Speaking of letters I should point out that's what the game is about. Player getting duped into becoming this world's postman. Well, extremely cute eyeball... being, who gets woken up to deliver thirteen letters and seems constantly on the verge of falling asleep. In fact, nodding off is part of the idle animation. To top it off this is a rather surreal fantasy setting in its own right which happened to become the primary draw for me. Just to give you an appetizer I'll add these letters have shadowy forms and are opened in dreams of the recipients. I'll leave the rest to you to find out.

VERDICT: I have a soft spot for adventure games and Tiny Echo has a lot more going on in the presentation department than it does with mechanics. This is a world I want to know more about, yet one that probably functions perfectly condensed into this concise message. Puzzles themselves are largely non-existent and we get pictograph communication instead of traditional dialog for a change. As long as you have tolerance for slower paced games and keeping short play time in mind, I'd feel pretty safe recommending this to genre fans and beyond.

Wholesome as hell. Or is it?

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Breaking away from my comfort zone I decided to try something way out there and Aaero brought rhythm action as you fly your ship around around following a light beam to the beat of various EDM music I know nothing about. Needless to say a concept like this, which doesn't let you import your own music the way Audiosurf does, because this time levels are actually unique with their own aesthetic and atmosphere, has inherent limitations and doubly so when you add licensed music. What I'm trying to say is Aaero is really quite short unless chasing high scores is your thing. To be perfectly honest I must confess to barely getting through Normal mode as some of those curves you're supposed to pull off with your analog stick definitely take a while to get used to. Gamepad is mandatory, by the way. Next to flying and matching up to light beams you'll also be doing some light shooting meant more to distract and rob you of your three hit points.

VERDICT: Not really my thing, which means no story to speak of, but I don't really see any fault with the game being what it is. Soundtrack included is obviously something that will depend on your personal taste, and buying more in the form of DLC is recommended if you like game's rather short basic offering, but I still enjoyed tubular shmup bits. This is one of those games you can return to after “finishing” it to try to beat your score or play on higher difficulties.

What's not, in fact, being portrayed is frantically trying to lock-on bombs attempting to suicide your little ship.

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Proving you can tell a touching and relatable story without a single word Old Man's Journey sure makes the titular old man move about. After getting a letter of extreme importance our protagonist sets out on a journey to sort out his past life and maybe even his biggest mistake. Without any doubt this is a case of artwork, but even more so SOUNDTRACK, hogging all the attention for a breathtaking final result that kept me engrossed throughout. This is a very light game, though. Technically an adventure, but more on the “narrative experience” side of things. I did find it strange that main mechanic was shifting landscape around which lets you jump from background to foreground as you connect landscapes to progress. Simple enough system that varies it up a bit from simply walking between points you usually get in point & click adventures.

VERDICT: Concise and finalized nature of the story leads me to recommend Old Man's Journey in a heartbeat. Just keep in mind it's very short and you're there to bask in the emotions it eventually immerses you in as story unfolds through gorgeous flashbacks giving current events context. This is otherwise a very simple “move from screen to screen” affair if you were looking for devilishly difficult puzzles or volumes worth of backstory to delve into. I was moved more than I would admit to anyone beyond internet strangers.

Hope you enjoy picturesque landscapes. I mean, who doesn't?

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Crawl crept up to me as quite the surprise. I went in expecting a simple roguelike or side scrolling action, but what I found instead was frenetic and brutal action game built on competitive play. What is it, though? I got some parts right – you start the game by choosing which god your character follows and each god provides a bonus as well three monsters to work with. Going into the dungeon with its many floors you're essentially racing level up your hero and get funds to procure better equipment from the shops until you reach level ten and can use the portal to fight the boss to win. There's a fine balance going on with the whole “do I rush to defeat the boss or do I take longer to upgrade my stuff as monsters get more powerful?”. Speaking of monsters...

There are four playable slots when creating a game. If the player occupies one, what about the remaining three? Well, those are actively trying to STOP you from winning and they all have their heroes. Only one hero is material and doing hero stuff. Others become immaterial ghosts who posses traps/throw objects around and use summoning circles to conjure monsters they then assume direct control of to stop the hero. Where hero collects gold and experience other players collect ectoplasm and Wrath as hero levels up. This is then used to upgrade monsters to provide escalating challenge. They also seize control of the boss fight which can make or break it depending on how many there are or bot difficulty you've chosen.

VERDICT: As shocking as its terrific opening narration Crawl had me by the neck even before tutorial had even ended. I imagine this is probably one of those games that ends friendships and I would hesitate to call it a “party game” yet that's kinda what it is. Just wrapped up in RPG elements, brutal combat and highly pixelated art style that still punches through with grim and gothic atmosphere. Highly recommended and something to put additional hours in.

Four players turn the game into a veritable mess when monsters and traps collide.