RileyHisbert’s profile

Been gone for a while, but I am back and ready to slay that backlog!

Current Game(s): Sun Haven, Fae Farm, Palworld, Spirit City: Lo-Fi, Capybara

Some all-time favs: Frog Detective, Crime Scene Cleaner, Beacon Pines, Ace Attorney, Kingdom Hearts


October Wrap-Up!!

I think I did pretty good this month, but sadly also did add to my backlog. Still, slow and steady, right? In the future I think I’ll try to track which games I added for the month, too.

Finished and Reviewed on BLAEO:

Finished and Not Reviewed (either because I haven’t gotten to it yet or just a low substance game I didn’t feel the need to review - which doesn’t mean it’s bad, just basic):

Unfinished:

NOTES ON GAMES:
Spirit City - One new achievement for new Halloween spirit
A Little to the Left - Slowly working on the dailies :) At 30!
Paradise Marsh - Achievements seem to be broken on Steam Deck, no response from the devs yet :(
Wind Peaks - New stage with a new achievement, went back to re-100% :)
Goat Simulator - I started playing this again to resist the urge to buy Goat Sim 3. Clearly, it backfired.
Bloons TD 6 - Gotta admit, I don’t understand all the hype. It’s nice, but… I get bored fast tbh.
Grimm - Dealing with a bug on one of the stages and it’s pretty abandoned so not sure anyone will ever tell me if there’s a fix
The Garden Path - as someone who loves games like this, it’s a little bit of a let down. haven’t touched it much since the first day I played but I will give it another go.
Doodle Gods Blitz - Easily the worst of the Doodle Gods games
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy - Have played this before and seen tons of playthroughs, but I’m streaming it now, so it’ll be pretty slow going.
Lemon Cake - Not gonna lie, already pretty bored of this game. Not sure I’ll pick it up again, especially knowing how grindy it is to 100%
Steins;Gate ELITE - Of course I heard that this version is missing content AFTER I got it lol but fortunately the original was on sale, so playing that instead. I would like to go back and play this one in the future though, because the animations are really nice.
Say NO! More - Sadly I can’t figure out the controls on steam deck so will have to come back to this one at PC some time.
Limbo - great game but I’ll admit I got pissed and haven’t picked it up since xD I will finish it one day…

Total Monthly Wrap-Up Stats:

6.6 hours
Neko Akatsumi with FROGS

I was a little nervous getting this game. It seemed heavily inspired by the mobile game, Neko Akatsumi, in which there is… a lot of waiting. Fortunately, they seemed to have cut that aspect out of this game!
In fact, I found the frogs loading in too fast. Fortunately, they did add settings to allow frogs to stay longer while I was playing! So kudos to the devs for listening to their playerbase!
Essentially, you have left a busy life to come back home and start up a frog refuge with a childhood friend. You do so by placing furniture, gathering bugs and items by placing plants and ponds, and photographing the frogs that appear! You can then feed the frogs the bugs you gather in order to breed them for new color combinations!
The story was simple, but cute. You can help out a few different areas across the world to develop frog refuges and help with other conservations in the process! The new areas also give new frogs and new items to decorate with!
The achievements were mostly pretty simple and obtainable just by playing. I have heard that the sleeping one is the most grindy, but found it pretty simple by just making sure to sleep every night. Once I unlocked the firefly catching, I'd usually go to sleep around midnight and it'd still count :) That way I could catch some fireflies as well! I finished that achievement about when I finished the story. For that reason, I think the most grindy achievement is the one I didn't even try to go for - getting every single frog. I just didn't care enough about breeding to do it, to be honest. It's partially luck based and I got bored pretty fast.
The art is absolutely adorable, and a big draw point for the game. It's very soft and even though the frogs were all very similar, it was fun to see the different colors!
I think the price point is a little steep for what it is, but overall I did have a great time playing.


11.1 hours
Find the Difference

A very cute, free, 3D find the difference game.
There's essentially 3 different themes for stages, and considering the amount of stages, that means… a lot of repetition. A lot of the differences are the same between rounds, and you kind of learn what exactly to look for. This leads to it feeling very grindy, which is the only reason I haven't finished 100%ing the game yet. I did finish the 'main' part but am slowly working toward the 500 endless mode levels. You can do them pretty fast, but I just reached the point where I'd rather play other things.
The achievements are pretty simple and straight forward to get. Play all the rounds, and you'll likely get them all, plus 500 endless mode levels.
The art is pretty basic. It's definitely not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
Overall, straight forward and a pretty good time, but does reach a level of grindiness if you aim to 100% it.


28.4 hours
Bunkers and Badasses Takes a Mind of its Own

It has been a really, really long time since I played a Borderlands game, so honestly I don't remember what is special to this game, and what's usual for those, so please keep that in mind.
I overall, really loved this game. It was by no means flawless, but the characters were fun, the gameplay entertaining, and it overall kept me engaged the whole time, which can be hard for me. I've always loved the art style for Borderlands, and Tiny Tina definitely kept it up nicely with fun character designs and even more fun characters themselves.
The story was pretty basic, but I didn't find it boring to be honest. It was full of tropes, but it seemed intentional and fun, where I usually find them annoying.
The Voice Acting really stepped the game up, in my opinion. It was really well done, and suited each character really well. While the dialogue itself may not have made me laugh at times, the way it was done by the VAs did. Especially Valentine and Frette.
My biggest issues with the game absolutely come from the overworld. Overworld combat is… lame. It takes forever for the enemies to spawn some times in the encounters, so I'd just be running around waiting for them to come. And the encounter maps were kind of large, meaning the 1 or 2 enemies that spawn could be on the other end of the map as me and considering you need to kill a certain amount to END the encounter, it was just. Annoying. Plus, overworld movement speed is slowed down and just. A pain. You don't spend too much time in the overworld though, and most encounters are just for side quests, not main story, so not too bad.
To 100% the game, there's definitely a lot of grinding. I had fun doing the story and all the side quests, but then I felt done. My copy came with all the DLC, but based on reviews, I felt no need to play it, as they don't seem like they really add much aside from an achievement checked off and maybe a small, tiny story.
I really did have a great time with this game, and it's made me want to go back and finally play more Borderlands 2 for the first time in 10 years.


2.8 hours
Get Your Human Her Candy!

This game is a quick, adorable Halloween game focused around Lilpup who just wants to get her human (who is for some reason not allowed out for Halloween) her most desired candy. In order to do so, you must dress up in multiple costumes, help other humans (and some not-so-humans) with some quests, and knock on all the house doors!
It's a very simplistic game. Mostly just run around, collect candy, and do some pretty simple quests. 100%ing this game is overall pretty easy, done by doing all the quests and finding all the candy.
The graphics are very cute and simple. There were fun character designs, and of course, a wonderful Halloween aesthetic! The costumes for Lilpup were cute and fun as well.
The story was incredibly simple, but very cute, especially the ending! I really had a great time. I'm not sure I'd buy the game at full price, just due to how quick the game is (and this was me taking my time and being stupid about a few things), but on sale it was totally worth it!
Steamdeck specific, it runs pretty well, but you DO have to change the resolution when you start!


59.2 hours
Ducks

Not much to say about this game. Get ducks. Watch ducks. Become duck.

Honestly though, it's a pretty fun little thing to watch or just have up in the background. I have a few friends who like to stream it on discord while we're just chilling in calls, and it's always fun to watch! There's not too much in the way of gameplay, but some achievements do require actions, especially one that everyone I know used a guide for (the safe).

The graphics are basic, but so, so fun at the same time. The duck designs are fun, and despite there being paid DLC for more ducks, it feels worth it in that they're actually fun designs and don't feel like basic, minor recolors of other designs (even though they are technically recolors as most are done on identical bases, but you know what I mean). Plus, most of the DLC gives new maps which are fun!

The achievements are overall pretty simple. There's plenty of guides out there to help you get them. A lot of them are just gained by leaving the game open, and having random events occur, but some do require active actions!

There is nothing in the way of story here, not even hidden story, but despite typically preferring story-based games, this was still great.

So go. Become duck.


5.1 hours

I sat on this game for a long while, and I'm glad I went back to it.

I'll admit, I'm quick to quit platformers, because I get lost easy. And I did get lost this playthrough, many, many times. But it was very worth the perseverance. This game is absolutely beautiful, and manages to touch on grief in an amazing way without using words. The benefit of the lack of dialogue means that the player can interpret it in one of many ways, possibly in a way that they can relate to.

The gameplay is honestly pretty average, but not in any way bad. Basic platforming with a few special powers to help in certain areas. In addition to collecting stars to progress the game, you can also do extra platforming puzzles to collect the 'memories', which will get you an extra ending. I very much failed to do this, but it can easily be found on youtube.

I only managed to obtain the story progression achievements, so I can't really speak to how difficult the others are to obtain. Some look simpler than others, though the ones that I find most interesting are the ones that cover the stages of grief.

Absolutely the biggest appeal to this game is the art. While it's beautiful and stunning from the beginning, each chapter will unlock more color to be added back into the world as Gris learns to deal with her grief. That alone is worth the game to me, which was recently on sale for as little as $1.29.

As a side note, the devs also did just drop their newest game, Neva, which looks just as beautiful! I can't afford to pick it up right now but I definitely hope to in the future!


2.8 hours
Finding Meaning in the Stars

A beautiful game about finding stars that have fallen to the ground and taken on their 'original' form as bugs (and a few other critters).

This game has some real insightful aspects to it. Meaningful messages about looking into yourself and the meaning of things around you. While you might expect all the constellations to give you high-spirited, inspirational messages, some are actually highly relatable about… wanting to give up. Feeling paranoid. Feeling lost. Not what I expected, but I loved it.

The gameplay is very simple - run around and catch bugs in a world that has a limited set of biomes, but they generate around you as you move. It means it can be hard to find the one you're looking for sometimes, but honestly, it's a small enough world that it won't take long. Certain critters spawn in certain territories, and you can also catch some spirits to unlock bigger spirits that'll give you other tools, such as a fishing rod or a radio walkie talkie thing.

Achievements I cannot speak for, as they appear to be broken for steam deck. I know of at least myself and one other user who did not unlock any on their steam deck, so I'm imagining it's a problem with that, though I could be wrong. I did post in the discussions, so hopefully they'll be fixed! Overall, most seemed simple with maybe a few that might take a little bit.

The art is simplistic but beautiful. The music really set the mood, and it just felt like a real nice time playing it. I was able to beat the game in one sitting quite easily, though I did feel a bit bored come the end. It might have felt better to split it into two play sessions. I'm not sure the game would be worth it at full price, but having got it on sale for around $5, it was definitely worth it! Especially considering it was a solo dev. I wish them luck on their future endeavors!


4.8 hours
A Relaxing Life Post-War

It can be hard to return to a normal life post-war, so Aka decides to do it by gooing to the relaxing island his old war pal grew up on.

I loved the art and character designs in this time. It's very soft and adorable, and while the characters aren't overly detailed, they still felt unique and definitely had character. The different islands you could go to were unique and cool to explore, each having a bit of a different vibe to them.

The gameplay was… eh. I really wanted to like it more than I did. First of all, I wouldn't call it a farming game. Farming is a very miniscule part of this game needed for maybe… 2 or 3 quests. Otherwise, pretty useless. You can make yourself food, but eating it does… nothing. There's not much guidance to the game, so you kind of just have to wander and find things. Which is fine, but some essential parts are intentionally a bit hidden. I was still able to find it all without a walkthrough, but the very start definitely felt a bit… hard to figure out.

A lot of items are limited in gathering, such as iron, but at the same time, you can only use iron for so many items that can only be made once, so I actually just have. A ton of useless iron sitting around. Certain items can only be crafted for quests that would be nice to have as decorations, such as the candle item. The decorations you can get are mostly just the same handful of potted plants obtained by turning in trash, which felt quite pointless after I was just getting repeats.

The game also still has a fair few bugs in it. The ones I encountered were simple, such as after using an action not being able to move forward and needing to sidestep around, but I did see a few game breaking ones in discussions. It sounds like some have been there for a while without being fixed. There were also just a few annoying mechanics, such as moving during an action cancels it. Which can be quite annoying when trying to pick a ton of weeds or harvest all your crops.

The story itself was super sweet. It deals with regret and moving on. How sometimes, even if you are at fault, you need to forgive and continue on living. It also deals with a lot of death, so please be warned that it may be a little upsetting, but I didn't find it to be anything too much. Nothing in detail, just awareness of how someone died.

A few of the quests felt… heavily pointless. No reward, no story progression. Mostly, I'm thinking of the snowman quest. No spoilers but… man, nothing happened. Not even a playing card.

The achievements were overall easy to get, aside from 2 being very grindy - the apple tree and the playing 100 days. I beat the story of the game on day 17. The apple tree takes about 30-ish days to grow. Essentially, I just woke up and went to sleep a lot after finishing the last small quest I had to wrap up post-game. Some of the achievement titles are… misleading, by the way. One says to beat a character in the card game on hard but… a) it was the only way to battle him and b) I think that was the easiest card battle I played in the game. I also got the achievement for making every potion without making the speed potion. The misleading names didn't make it hard, though, just… wasn't expecting to get them when I did.

Overall, it was a pretty good game. I'm glad I played it, but parts definitely felt a bit boring. I can't imagine actually playing 100 days without sleeping them away because there's just… not much to do once you beat the story and finish the quests - of which there's not a lot, by the way. So as much as I wanted to love it, this probably gets more of a neutral rating from me.


3.6 hours
Survive

This game sure does HURT.

I played this game on stream at request of a friend who purchased it for me. I'm real glad I did, so others could feel my pain with me as I slowly watched half of my children starve to death. Essentially, you are playing as a mother fox in an end-of-the-world type scenario. Animals are going extinct left and right and humans are hunting down the few that are left. Your job is to protect your four cubs - one of whom gets kidnapped pretty quick into the game. You spend the rest of the game hunting it down to rescue it, while trying to keep your other three cubs fed and avoiding predators (most of which are humans).

The art is amazing. The tone of the world is really well done, with trash littering the areas, and the 'bad' humans definitely having a good villain vibe, post-apocalyptical gas masks and all. The further you delve into the world, the more destroyed it feels by humanity. It was… very interesting, and a very terrifying look at how our world may be. So much trash.

The story is heartbreaking but so well done. I don't want to spoil a single thing for it, but just go into it knowing no matter how well you play, it's gonna hurt. But be so incredibly worth it.

The gameplay was pretty simple, but engaging. You're constantly hunting down food for your starving children, avoiding traps and predators. You have to be careful not to lose your cubs by going places they can't reach, but they can also develop new skills to help hunt for the skulk. It's pretty interesting and keeps you engaged for the 30 days of gameplay. It was terrible, though, I could be doing real well for a bit and then suddenly we are all starving to death.

One mechanic I really appreciate is that all your cubs will not starve at once. You only have one hunger bar, and once one cub dies, the bar does go back up about 1/4th. And no, it's not because you eat the cub. It's just nice and made it so I did not immediately lose the game, which I appreciate.

The achievements vary in difficulty. One of them is to finish with all 4 cubs alive which… I do not foresee myself doing to be quite honest. There's a few for story progression, a few silly ones like barking in the rain 3 times, and a few sort of secret ones.

I had a great time, but I don't think I'll go back to 100% it. It was kind of intense, but in a good way. I just feel like trying to grind out missing achievements would ruin it for me - it's not the kind of game I want to use a walkthrough on, I just want to. Vibe and do my best. And I did, and I had a great time with it!


9.2 hours
Be Goat, Destroy

Does this game need an explanation?

I loved this game way more than the original, which already gets a pretty good score from me. There was a little more guidance in what to do to accomplish goals, without being handholdy. Still incredibly sandbox-ish, can go and do whatever you want at any time, but there is progression and technically, a 'story'. Which I found to be really fun and goofy.

While it still has the fun bugs everyone loves in Goat Sim, there were a lot less of the bugs that made me so frustrated I wanted to close the game, such as being unable to do things with certain skins/items on, which in the original, you needed to return to the main menu to remove. While it's less of an issue in the first place, you can also now freely change items on the go! And the items are WAY MORE FUN.

Honestly, there's not too much to say on this - it's fun, it's goofy, I feel like I more than got my money's worth already and I'm not done. While the story is complete, plenty left to discover and destroy! I haven't even touched the DLC yet.


5.2 hours
Goofy Kibby Time

This game was just as great as I was expecting, though in my experience some of the controls were a little… eh.

Overall, the game was super fun and aesthetically pleasing. The 'story' was sweet and I loved getting to know all the animals around town - especially the little ducks! It was fun to run around and wreck havoc and just have a good time as a little kitty.

For the controls… the jumping was a little, eh. Sometimes it would say I couldn't reach something when I could. If you're jumping onto something white, your indicator for where you will land is ALSO white so you can't really. Tell. There's also no way to CANCEL a jump, which can be annoying when platforming and realizing you can't make something yet. Nothing game breaking, just minor annoyances. Slapping items also felt a little, eh, as they wouldn't move no matter how much I hit them sometimes, or they'd just easily get stuck. And the jars you can break for more shinies just sometimes wouldn't BREAK.

Some of the achievements are little… grindy. While you only need to sit in 5 boxes, there's no indication of which ones you have sat in before, which is a bit annoying. The recycling achievement I feel like I found everything lose around the city and from hitting vending machines, and would just need to trip people holding cans which is… boring. I had gone into this game planning to 100% it because I really liked it, but seeing what I had left to do… nah.

Overall though, it really was a great game that I had a blast playing! While you can get through the 'main' story and task pretty fast if you're determined, it was way more fun to just take my time and explore the city and do all the little side tasks.


4.2 hours
Save the Wildlife!

This game was absolutely adorable.

It's a pretty simple game - you're a young girl visiting your grandparents on an island off of Spain, as it seems you do every summer. However, this summer you've received word that the wildlife sanctuary is being shut down! On a mission to save it, and any animal you find in the process, Alba learns a lot of lessons along the way about just how much one girl can accomplish, especially when she's able to unite a whole island in the progress.

The graphics were really cute, and I loved seeing the animals. The main mechanic in the game is photographing every animal on the island, most of which are birds. As time progresses, you can also fix birdhouses and tables, pick up trash, and heal injured animals. The gameplay itself is very simple, making it a perfect game to play with your kid! Personally, I still found it engaging enough to keep me entertained, though the movement speed did bother me at times.

The story is very sweet and inspiring, especially to a younger audience. Even one little girl can make a difference if she just keeps trying. Never give up. Those general messages a lot of kids shows push, but still, I found it very well done here. I really had a great time.

All the achievements in this game are done via story progression, though there are extra side tasks that can be done. I believe I managed to 100% everything, though there's no way of knowing if you actually picked UP every side quest. Overall, 100%ing was very simple.


5.3 hours
Overcoming Trauma

Man this game was… a lot more than I was expecting. In a very, very good way.

This game deals a lot with anxiety and overcoming trauma, though in a vague enough way that I don't think it'd really trigger anyone. The messages in the game were highly relatable and either painful or touching, depending on the message.

The gameplay itself felt very creative. You play as two characters - a young girl, and her shadow. Each character can do things to help the other progress - while the shadow is stuck to a 2D world and can only exist in the light, the girl can move in a 3D space and must stick to the shadows. Very creative and made for some fun puzzles! Most of them I was able to figure out pretty easily but I did wind up having to look up 2 near the end.

I feel like this story is vague enough that there's a lot of ways to interpret it, but overall, it's a story about finally facing some childhood trauma, accepting that it is part of you, but still realizing you need to move on. For what can be such a sensitive subject, I feel like it was really well done. The vagueness will allow people to relate in ways that a more direct story might not, and I feel like it wasn't really pushing that there is one 'correct' way to heal, which I think a lot of games/media do. It also wasn't a quick 'I've recovered, I'm better' story. The ending, while positive, doesn't say the main character is healed. Just. Working on it. Which is far more realistic than a lot of media handles things.

While I loved the game, 100%ing it seems like it might be tedious without a walkthrough. And I was unable to find a text walkthrough, only video, which I personally find far more annoying as it's harder to find the exact parts I need. In order to 100% the game, you need to find all the origami birds, which give motivational phrases upon finding them, and sometimes unique character dialogue. For that reason, I did go for all the ones I could, but there were a few I just never saw and a few I couldn't figure out the puzzles to collect. I did collect over 70 of the 96, though, so pretty good considering my skill level at platformers (very low)!

I loved this game a lot more than expected. I'm really glad I decided to pick it up and play it after having had it for a while.


.5 hours
Lessons in Life

Florence is a simple story with beautiful art that will touch your heart. While the story itself is simplistic, I think it is highly relatable to a lot of people.

Florence is a 25 year old who feels pretty alone and has a mother constantly harping on her to get a boyfriend. She's stuck in a rut, until she meets a cello player named Krish.

This story is told primarily through pictures and animations, there is very little actual dialogue. But the stories about loss and passions and moving on are wonderfully done. I feel like the lack of words makes it easier to relate, as you can imagine Florence's words as anything you're feeling.

The gameplay itself is very minimal but I felt satisfied with it. Achievement-wise, there's a lot you just get from basic progress, and the chapter select makes it easy enough to go back and get the optional ones you miss. Nothing took me more than two tries to get. While $6 feels kind of high to me for only 30 minutes of game play (I'm kind of cheap), I would recommend picking it up, especially if on sale. The devs deserve it for such a beautiful game!


2 hours
Escape Back Home

When an aviator crashes in a mysterious storm (big shocker, over the Bermuda triangle), it is your job as the mysterious magical god who can click things to help him get home.
A cute little game with beautiful graphics and for the most part very simplistic puzzles. I can admit it had me stumped a few times, but most puzzles consist of 'click all the buttons' or 'pull all the levers'. There's also a lot of finding hidden little white dots (stars) in order to unlock the gates. And if you struggle with finding them, there's a handy dandy map you can find in each level to help you find them all (though using the maps even once means you won't get all the achievements, just as a warning).
It's a cute little game. Not much story. In each level, you can find a picture of your unnamed aviator's past where he gives you a few lines about it, but that's really it. It's sweet, as it's about him and his family, but definitely very minimal.
I did not find this game to be worth it to 100%. While a lot are made through progression, there's some that you cannot go back to get without entirely replaying the game. And most of them are just to do things faster, or in less moves. I got all the gameplay out of the game. I feel satisfied with what I played, I don't feel the need to play it a second time just for a few achievements. However, the game is fairly short (2-3 hours) if you did want to go back. It'd just suck to make one mistake and miss out again.
I did enjoy my time playing this game, and since I got it on sale, it definitely felt worth the price!


2.2 hours
None
Get That Gold

It's… cute, and an interesting concept.
But it feels very thrown together and I agree with other reviews that it feels like a Roblox or Fortnite game.

It's a clicker game, I never go into these with high expectations, so no, that's not why I don't recommend.

  • The game doesn't tell you anything when you start. No preface, no tutorial, just go get coins and collect creature. yes, it's a straight forward game, but there were some things I'd have liked to know, such as what gems do (since you can get them right away but not use them until later on), and information on how creatures work? They have different stats, tell me about that.
  • I can hatch like 300 of the same creature trying to get my mythic and they are all entirely useless to me. Let me grind them into powder to level up my good ones at least, a la pokemon go.
  • The gifts feel entirely USELESS. They give minuscule amounts of coin and diamonds and i probably could have gotten more just mining in the seconds it took to open all these gifts. And the game will pop up at you if you don't open your gifts after a while, so I can't just ignore their existence.
  • There's lots of pop up events and they ARE NOT EXPLAINED. While they are pretty easy to figure out yourself, I'd still like information on them?
  • The idling aspect… doesn't always work. Even if the game is open and tabbed out, it's hit or miss if my creatures will mine anything? And closing my game, I got absolutely nothing while I was offline. I get not wanting to farm a ton being off, but there should be a few hours you can earn up to.
  • Multiple things require you to stop using your hoverboard. Including opening those stupid gifts. Just let me stay on them.
  • Just a critique but the pause menu is… ugly. Definetly feels 'babys first game' level skills there, and it just doesn't match the art of the game. I know you don't want a ton of detail in there, that'd be pointless, but it feels very much like it's the menu from a different game. Something more sleek maybe? I don't know.
  • Creature designs are just… kind of boring? All the same base shape and just feels like palette changes and a few add on mutations.
  • Supposedly there's a use to the second type of diamonds, but not in this demo, so I feel like they should have been removed

There ARE pros to this game.

  • I really appreciate that you can hover over things to mine instead of actively click.
  • The Level Up progressions seem very steady, not too long or short
  • The changing environments are very cool and nice to look at!
  • Satisfactory 'number go up makes brain go brrrr' game
  • The CONCEPT of mega and gold creatures is cool but without much info on the creatures it feels like it falls short in the end.

As someone who loves creature collectors, I felt 0 need to go back and get the ones I missed. Because they're useless. I can't even just look at them, they'll be thrown into my inventory with the other 1000s of creatures and never see the light of day. Overall this felt like… a waste of time. And I waste a lot of my time without complaining, so that says something. Fingers crossed the full game is better, but who knows.


0.4 hours
Don't Get Wet

As a piece of paper in a town where it rains all year round, life is kind of bleak.

This game is. Incredibly simplistic. From art to gameplay to story, all around, very simple. You play as an unnamed piece of paper, on a mission to get home from the bus stop without turning to mush from the water. You must avoid both the rain falling on your head(?) and the water being splashed up from cars and bikes on your short journey home. You can utilize your umbrella, shops and other buildings, and even benches on your journey.
While there are a few characters to interact with, the only story to this game is that it always rains, and some people fear it, while others have learned to adapt. Kind of cute, but not much to gather.
For gameplay, you can move, interact, and use your umbrella. Your umbrella defaults to being over your head, but you can move it in different directions to protect you from other hazards, though that will damage it. You will also take 'damage' from the falling rain while you are in that pose. The second level is a little more intensive than the first, but it is the same route with one new 'unlocked' building (that seems to provide nothing except another place to 'replenish' health.
Beating the game itself is incredibly easy. Most of my time in this game came from the hidden achievement of dying 20 times
The dev seems to be actively working on fixing bugs, and does plan to add more levels in the future! For a little, free game, it was very cute, and I definitely with the dev luck but with this game and any future endeavors :)


3 hours
None
Facing Death

Grimm's Hallow is an amazing, touching story about a girl who has just passed on and become a reaper.

Your goal as a reaper is to reap ghosts (which have become aggressive the longer they remain) and help them move on, which will earn you energy to move on. The reason you became a reaper and not a ghost is because you were not 'strong' enough to move on in the first place. The other reapers are a really fun cast of characters, especially Grimm himself.

Upon waking up, all Lavender wants to do is find her brother. She doesn't know why she's dead, and she doesn't know what she's doing in Grimm's Hollow. She heads off into the caves to find him, where she has to reap plenty of ghosts on the way. What she finds is chilling.

The gameplay is pretty simple pixel RPG, but not in a bad way! I personally played on casual, and it was a very chill time. I only died to a normal enemy once, and considering I suck at games, that proves casual is pretty simple. However, it was still engaging, and a good time! Though, the part of this game that really shines is the graphics and the story.

I am a sucker for good pixel graphics, and this game is A+. The character designs, especially the different ghosts, are so fun and creative while still staying similar enough to show they're the same basic creature. The color palettes provide the perfect atmosphere, just a little bit of spooks.

The story is A+, top tier. It is touching and heart wrenching and just. So good. This game has 3 endings, all of which are straightforward and easy to get without needing any kind of guide. Each one provides new insight to the characters and backstory, and I'd strongly recommend getting all three, even if the 'bad' ending kind of breaks your heart a little.

This game should not be free. It may be short, but it is beautiful and touching and just. So good. Please pick it up and leave the devs a good review!


0.2 hours
The Strumming Duck

Mirth Melody is a small, free game released to promote an upcoming title by Clay Game Studio, Mirth Island.

In Mirth Melody, you play as Dodo the Duck, vibing in the forest. The only other creature there is Steve the Seagull, who you can speak to while carrying the items littered around your little hideaway for some cute little lines (and to get an achievement).

The main part of the game is playing the guitar! At the moment, there are 3 songs to play, and in order to get all the achievements, you need to get 80% on each of them. According to an announcement made on Sept 1st, they do plan to release new songs (and possibly other content?) in the future! Which is awesome considering this is just a little free game made to promote a bigger, upcoming game.

My only complaint is I wish I could watch the cute little animations going on on screen while I play, but I have to focus on the notes. Not really much they can do about it beside having a static image of Dodo playing, which would honestly be lame. Looks like I'll just have to get my friend to play and stream for me so I can watch ;) (Or I could probably just play the song and not hit any notes, but where's the fun in that?)

The characters and art in this game are very cute. The devs seem very receptive in feedback and are taking notes on what to improve for future updates in both this game, and Mirth Island. I cannot wait for Mirth Island, and look forward to any future updates on Mirth Melody :)


1 hours
Fix What the Cat Breaks

A very simple puzzle game where you must piece together the objects your cat destroys!

The base game is very simple, each mug/pot having clear patterns to help you assemble them back together. It does has a nice and simple difficulty slope, the first puzzle being only 3 pieces and the final taking me a good few minutes. The art is really cute, and the pottery designs very satisfying, with a few even having cat themes in them! Very cute for a free little game.


1.7 hours
Puzzles of the Stars

A cute little puzzle game featuring cats themed around the Zodiacs!

Simple little square puzzles. I was worried at first that they were sliding block puzzles but thankfully, you can just swap pieces as you please! Borders are obvious, making the puzzle quite simple. Some of the floral patterns can be a little difficult to find the right spot for, but nothing terrible. The only downside is that you do need to play each puzzle twice - once on easy, and once on hard. However, it still took me under 2 hours to complete! The final 2 puzzles only need to be done once.


6.4 hours
Burn Baby, Burn

I think this is the third time I've played this game now? And it still holds up so well.

Had to go back and replay now that there's steam achievements. The game's art is so fun, and while the mechanics are simple, I still really enjoy them. The combos add a little bit of a challenge, but overall they're pretty simple to figure out. Parts can be a little grindy, especially if you go for the buy 3 of every item achievement, but it's really not bad. Each playthrough took me maybe 2 hours, and I believe I 100%'d it every time.

The story is deceptively dark and haunting, but nothing too intense. Just an interesting look into the future and how the world works, in a weird, twisted way. I really, really, love it, especially your letters with Sugar Plumps. I definitely plan to get the DLC closer to the holidays and replay it again, for a full 100% achievements (I got everything you can get in the base game).

Even after all these years, I still strongly recommend this game. Also, runs perfectly on Steam Deck!


5.2 hours
r/satisfying: The Game

A game about satisfying those OCD urges in a puzzle like manner.

A very cute game with pleasant graphics and overall a good variety of puzzles. Some where insanely simple (such as the first level, where you literally just make the picture frame even) and some I will admit to needing to look up because I'm kind of stupid. It's relaxing and there is no race against the clock, which just made for a very chill time with some nice vibes. I appreciated some puzzles having multiple answers, too, as it really challenges your brain to look at things in different ways. Overall, the achievements are very doable - I have all of the base game ones except for one, as it requires clicking semi quickly which can be a bit hard on a steam deck, but I may try for it on my desktop in the future.

I will say the game feels a bit short for the price point, but I do admit I can be a bit cheap with games. It was a fun experience, and I don't regret buying it. I do plan to get the DLC when they are on sale as well.


1.8 hours
A Story of Love and Loss

A beautiful game about love and loss told without any words.

The art style and music in this game are absolutely gorgeous. Which is important, as there's not a single bit of dialogue about humming. While this does mean that the story isn't told directly and obviously, I actually really enjoy that certain aspects can be interpreted differently by different people. I won't spoil the story, but I did really enjoy it.

For the puzzles, they are overall very simple with only a little bit of thinking needed for the most part. I had one that confused me and I needed to look up, but overall, very manageable. I personally didn't find them boring, however, as it felt more like a relaxing time than a difficult challenge. Most of the achievements I got through a basic playthrough, and only needed to go back to do a few - made easier with the chapter select, though you still may need to replay a good little bit to get to certain parts. As the game is overall short, this is no big deal, however.

All parts of this game felt important to the story. The puzzles didn't feel like they were there just to add gameplay, they all felt significant in Eda and Owl's lives. Every item had a bit of back story and seemed to play a part in their lives, together. It was beautifully told, something that can easily be failed at when attempting a game without dialogue.

I really loved this game. it was a nice, short little adventure that, despite being sad, left me overall feeling happy.


September Assassinations!!
Some of these games have reviews written up on my page. Some, like the tons of ‘100 cats’ games I completed, do not. If a game interests you, feel free to ask about it :)

I am too tired and sick to put these in a nice order so have a random mess of games. A few of these games were gone back to re-100% due to added content/achievements, and a few of the times are inaccurate due to idling for trading cards.

and some WIPs

So, mostly chill. Found a lot of hidden cats.

5 hours
Manipulate Maps and Find Grandma!
Played on Steam

An adorable game about using your magical cartography skills to reunite with your grandma after separated by a storm.

You play as Carto, a young, very quiet girl who is separated from her grandma and their airship during a storm. Along with being separated, the map you both use to navigate the world has been lost to the wind! Your mission is to find those pieces in order to reunite with your grandmother. In order to do that, you must manipulate the pieces of the map you have, and help others along the way.

This gameplay feels very unique, and relaxing. Some puzzles are incredibly simple, while I did have to look up help on others. Overall I'd say they're more simple than thought provoking, especially compared to other puzzle games. The adventure and characters were very fun, and I really enjoyed the story. I wasn't planning to 100% in, but I was only missing 4 achievements (plus the achievement for getting all other achievements) so I figured why not - the game comes with a nifty 'chapter select' when you finish, so it didn't take long.

Overall a very relaxing time!


Statistics
3718 games (+1 not categorized yet)
80% never played
11% unfinished
3% beaten
6% completed
1% won't play