Glyph is one of the more unique approaches I’ve seen when it comes to 3D platformers. While it hits all the genre’s familiar notes—running and jumping between platforms, avoiding obstacles and collecting treasures—it’s got one little change that makes a big impact: you’re a ball, with the ball-like physics that …
Ever wanted to fly Firefly-style around the ‘verse, on the run from the law with a ragtag crew, taking on whatever odd jobs you can find to keep your supplies up? Ever wanted to do that, but in a game that puts queer stories front and centre? Ever wanted to …
I can’t tell if I love Cultist Simulator or loathe it. In some respects, it’s a remarkable game: a wholly unique mix of card game, text adventure, and resource management. Its fragmented narratives unfold in a mesmerising way through the cards played, inviting you into a grim, fascinating world of …
For Thomas Olsson of Skeleton Crew Studio, Olija is a very personal project. It’s a game about being a foreigner in a strange land, drawing from his own experiences as a foreigner living in Japan—an experience that can be exciting and awe-inspiring, but also lonely. Olija may take a swashbuckling …
Often when someone opts to make a retro-styled shoot-’em-up, there’s a deliberate choice to carry that inspiration through all aspects of the design. An old-school aesthetic comes with game systems that overtly channel those of yesterday’s classics, and the technical constraints they were built within. There’s plenty of appeal in …
There’s a lot more to a good roguelike than just permanent death and randomised dungeons. What makes the best of the genre work so well is the way they encourage experimentation with different weapons, different items, different builds—driven in part by necessity and in part by a game loop that …
Stormind Games, the developers behind the Remothered series have announced their next project—and looks like quite the departure from their survival horror roots. Batora: Lost Haven, currently in development for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, is a story-driven action RPG “based on …
Ivan the blacksmith didn’t believe in bad luck. He was happy with his simple life as the village craftsman. He was content. But that all changed when a sudden encounter with Likho, a monstrous embodiment of pure misfortune, chopped off Ivan’s arm and cursed him to a life of ill …
The line between a soothing, relaxing puzzle game is often a thin one. The design of the puzzle obviously contributes most to that, but the right setting and atmosphere can create a relaxing experience out of even the most obtuse puzzles. The Pillar: Puzzle Escape is a good example of …
Games that use shadows as a key aspect of the game design aren’t exactly a rarity, from the shadow-based platforming of Contrast to the shadow puppet puzzles of Shadowmatic, but it’s still a concept with so much untapped potential. Case in point: NEXT Studios’ Iris.Fall, a game that brings its …
