Easily my favourite game that I played this year. Game kept surprising me with "But wait! There's more!" and I was genuinely bummed when it finally ran out of content once and for all.

• Great pixel graphics
• Excellent heartwarming story and characters
• Solid Chrono Trigger-esque gameplay

I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the game, but I was.

Bonus points for removing that charity fraud committing douche's cameo character.

As a rule, I am not the biggest fan of card mechanics in video games despite enjoying physical card games. Something about that style of gameplay rubs me the wrong way or just feels 'cheap' for whatever reason. This game however, absolutely grabbed me and didn't let go until I had burned through everything (and then some) in a matter of days. I'll refrain from too many details as the game really needs to be experienced with as little knowledge as possible going into it.

• Cool art style
• Exceptionally good music
• Some fun secrets if you really want to dig deep.

What I expected: A fun sandbox where I could cause havoc and mayhem like a kid on a sugar rush destroying his lego creations.

What I received: A fun sandbox where I could cause havoc and mayhem as per above, but also a really interesting game where you carefully plan out and conduct puzzle-like heists.

• Punches well above it's weight class graphically. Ray-traced voxel environments look so good.
• First half of the campaign is solid, but repetitive. Second half introduces more variety.
• The physics are fun and a treat to watch in action. Start fires, be mesmerized.
• The attack helicopter can choke on a bag of dicks.

Balls in balls in balls, the inception puzzle game. It only clocks in around 4-5 hours, which is good. I like me some bite-sized quality offerings like this as other titles have a habit of overstaying their welcome by keeping content that should have been left on the cutting room floor and diluting the end product.

• Art style and graphics are perfectly cromulent
• Puzzles and environments/themes are interesting and varied enough to keep things from getting stale
• Can be hammered out in one play session

Despite a very "meh" reception due to what I would deem poor marketing when this game was announced, this game changed my initial impressions very quickly with a pretty well thought out concept and executed on it successfully.

• Gameplay and movement feel good and smooth
• Speedrunning this game and optimizing routes would be fun and technical
• Don't waste your time with multiplayer, I ran into too many people who I swear were on dial-up based on how bad it was.

An oldie (in video game years, at least) but goodie. I revisited this game when it was added to ps extra out of nostalgia. Still doesn't disappoint, even on a replay. Looking forward to playing the sequel!

• Excellent puzzle design with optional "harder" objectives if you like to challenge yourself.
• Lots of easter eggs if you like poking around in every corner
• The final section can be a bit frustrating

I had a great time with Until Dawn, but not as fun a time with Man of Medan, so I was really hoping this was a return to form. Thankfully, it was, and then some. I thought the Quarry was a more polished game than UD, despite there being a lot of similarities in terms of gameplay. If you like cinematic experiences in game form, I don't think you can go wrong here.

• Fun to see known actors being used, helps add to the B-horror vibe imo. Lin Shaye was a hoot
• Can be marred by awkward line deliveries depending on what choices you make due to converging dialogue paths.
• Challenging to see all the content because of requiring some very specific setups/choices.

Majima: Kiwamajima is a Majima that I Majima'd Majima. With frequent Majima Majimas, it felt like the Majima really Majima'd Majima to be the Majima.

• Majima
• More Majima?
• Fuck Mahjong

I loved Lemmings back in the day and feels like a spiritual successor that successfully adds more depth and a unique aesthetic to the puzzle format.

• DOGGO
• Bitchin' soundtrack.

If I could play this game in a vacuum where it's predecessor doesn't exist, I'd be more happy with the experience and maybe give it another half an Uncle Fester. It's still a really good game in it's own right, with a good soundtrack and solid pixel art, but I much preferred the first game's punchier music design and more unique overall aesthetic.

Note: This would be much higher if the third game in the trilogy didn't suck donkey balls.