[blog] churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar

I actually have played a ton of hours of Ravenfield just messing around with the different weapons and maps the community have created for this game. It's actually cool to see this on your blog as it's a game that I sometimes play just to zone out to while listening to an album. I haven't touched it in a while so I don't know if it's still in Early Access or if it got released properly, but I will have to check out the new weapons and maps the community has made in the workshop.

I think the game with the normal skins is incredibly charming. The fact that they are simple Red vs Blue type enemies you would see in Halo: Combat Evolved's mutliplayer brings a lot of nostalgia to me especially those first few season of Red Vs Blue the Machinima (You know, when it was supposed to be a comedy and not some crazy drama?) Also, I like that all the characters have a smile on their face. It's kind of like they know they're AI in a game they think "Yeah, lets have fun. I'm gonna respawn anyways."

I agree that there definitely should be more game modes in the future like you see in a COD or Battlefield game, but I've been super happy about the Control Points mode they added to the game and have kept playing it for ages.

At the time of writing I have 78 hours on Ravenfield just messing around in it. Glad to see someone other than me is playing this game.

The Steam page still lists it as early access.

I'm so glad I found this little hidden gem, it will be my game for those times when you have only 15 minutes to play something.

The worst game so far on this list. With some good tweaking, it could become a dollar store BIT.TRIP Runner, but that's wishful thinking. No pros, all the cons.

Result: completed (30m)

Rating: 1/10

Screenshots:


Looks like something out of a cheap logo generator.


Plays worse than it looks, and it doesn't look good.

This is pretty much a demo for a new souls-like. Attack with shoulder buttons, check. Bonfire, check. Enemy respawns on death and you got to rescue lost currency, check. Attack cancellation, check.

The movement is too floaty and I got lost with its labyrinth design, but not in a good way. OK for a sale I guess.

Result: retired (40m)

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ responsive controls
+ good control layout
+ good lighting
+ runs well

Cons:
- floaty walking and jumping
- boring character design
- poorly explained stats and items
- labyrinth level design doesn't quite work

Screenshots:


Nice drawing.


Fighting your shadow.


Distributing some stats.

This game is so addictive, I just can't uninstall it. Getting the mask off the lion and hitting the witch until she bleeds is so cool. Soundtrack, sound effects and sort of old school sprites are amazing.

Result: playing

Rating: 9/10

Pros:
+ amazing graphics, sfx and soundtrack
+ addictive gameplay

Cons:
- only a single main table
- could use more music
- doesn't show current objectives on pause menu

Screenshots:


Even the logo looks good.


Bleed!

Little hidden object game. Too simple to say anything about it.

Result: completed (20m)

Rating: 2/10

Screenshots:


Easy.


Not so easy.

I liked the Find this! game. For the price it was fun. It is difficult to find items sometimes, but there are games that are way harder.

Find this one cheap on Steam, the Super Hexagon lover in me couldn't resist. It's not as good, but it was fun for (almost) an hour. Not having mouse controls is almost a deal-breaker.

Result: retired (45m)

Rating: 4/10

Pros:
+ hypnotic visuals

Cons:
- no mouse controls
- annoying last level

Screenshots:


Rotate and shoot, paying attention to the colors (red, green, blue) while the background puts in you in a trance.


While the levels are pretty hypnotic, the last one is just an epileptic seizure simulator.

I liked the Find this! game. For the price it was fun. It is difficult to find items sometimes, but there are games that are way harder.

The idea's pretty sweet, the execution not so much IMO. I have this similar one on my backlog. Looks good, but I'm yet to play it.

I would love to see video-game of this guy though:

The idea's pretty sweet, the execution not so much IMO. I have this similar one on my backlog. Looks good, but I'm yet to play it.

I would love to see video-game of this guy though:

There actually is a Where's Waldo? game on the NES... It's not good, mainly because of the fact that it has 8 bit graphics that run together and many characters look like Waldo. It's challenging but in a bullsh*t kinda way. However there was a sequal that got remade on the Wii and DS, that ones pretty good.

There actually is a Where's Waldo? game on the NES... It's not good, mainly because of the fact that it has 8 bit graphics that run together and many characters look like Waldo. It's challenging but in a bullsh*t kinda way. However there was a sequal that got remade on the Wii and DS, that ones pretty good.

Oh, you are right, by Ubisoft.

That would be a fun game to play with relatives not so used to gaming/gamepads.

I had a strange deja vu feeling with this game. I've decided to read the credits and mystery solved, it's made of free assets that I've seen before.

Very basic platformer. Controls well and there's some effort on the latter levels design, however, it lacks proper animation feedback and the menu navigation is pretty much broken.

Result: retired (30m)

Rating: 3/10

Pros:
+ basic but functional level design

Cons:
- broken menu
- horrible music
- background too bright
- lacks death animation


That as generic as a platformer screenshot can get.


Candyland.

The perfect game for Haloween, a fresh MediEvil homage. Bought day one and I'm glad I did, short & sweet. Plays just like a good game from the PSX era, which I love.

Result: completed (6h)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ great music and artstyle
+ bite-sized puzzles and on-rails sections
+ charming world and characters

Cons:
- clunky combat
- bad hitboxes


The main character.


You can purchase some different skins.


On-rails. Literally.

So I was all hyped to play 2077 this November, but I got delayed again. No worries, there's Ghostrunner, Cloudpunk, and this little game called Black Future 88.

A bit disappointed because it's yet another roguelite, but the screenshots look beautiful. It got that Metal Slug/Huntdown dark pixel art vibe but with neon lights. 50% off on Steam, couldn't resist.

What a disappointment. The artstyle is beautiful, the music is serviceable, and controlling the character is pretty good. I love how sometimes it feels like a bullet hell, how you can dash through bullets, and that you can pretty much auto-attack and focus on moving. What kills the game for me is that there's so much visual noise that sometimes I don't even know what hit me. Is that little thing coming out of the robot a grenade about to explode or just an empty bullet shell that does nothing?

Result: retired (1h 30m)

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ beautiful pixel art
+ good controls

Cons:
- horrible visual feedback
- poor enemy variety


Some boss.

I don't follow the guy on YouTube but, having recently purchased a Xbox Series S, the game pass recommendations video caught my attention. Specifically, the first game, Lonely Mountains: Downhill.

Start the game and the lack of music and the nature ambient sound immediately caught my attention, remembering breath of the wild a bit in that aspect. After 30 seconds of pedaling I was completely hooked, conducting the bicycle while feeling the momentum and the terrain is pure magic.

This game nails one of the things more important to me in gaming: movement. I got in such a zen state while playing it, it's almost like meditation. Can't wait to buy it on the next Steam sale and beat it again.

Result: completed

Rating: 10/10

Pros:
+ amazing sound design
+ easy to get used to physics
+ smooth learning curve
+ simple controls
+ relaxing

Cons:
(none)

Screenshots:


The game has a lovely tilt-shift look.


Planning your landing is a big part of the game.


Lava! That's paid DLC though.

I don't follow the guy on YouTube but, having recently purchased a Xbox Series S, the game pass recommendations video caught my attention. Specifically, the first game, Lonely Mountains: Downhill.

Start the game and the lack of music and the nature ambient sound immediately caught my attention, remembering breath of the wild a bit in that aspect. After 30 seconds of pedaling I was completely hooked, conducting the bicycle while feeling the momentum and the terrain is pure magic.

This game nails one of the things more important to me in gaming: movement. I got in such a zen state while playing it, it's almost like meditation. Can't wait to buy it on the next Steam sale and beat it again.

Result: completed

Rating: 10/10

Pros:
+ amazing sound design
+ easy to get used to physics
+ smooth learning curve
+ simple controls
+ relaxing

Cons:
(none)

Screenshots:


The game has a lovely tilt-shift look.


Planning your landing is a big part of the game.


Lava! That's paid DLC though.

I absolutely loved this game too. I tried it when it first launched on Game Pass and played nonstop until I beat it. Like you said, very meditative game.

I assume the DLC is worth it?

I absolutely loved this game too. I tried it when it first launched on Game Pass and played nonstop until I beat it. Like you said, very meditative game.

I assume the DLC is worth it?

Oh, only now I saw your message.

Well... yes, but that's because I loved the game so much, otherwise it's a little so-so. It's basically a 5th mountain without much fanfare around it. The lava thing is saved until the very last track, so it feels exactly like that, just another mountain.

If they do a sequel I'll buy it in a heartbeat. Fingers crossed.

In the spirit of finding a relaxing game to fill the gap that Lonely Mountains: Downhill left in my heart I've picked art of rally. It's a good game, but not as good. Turning off the music helped to make the game more chill but unfortunately, I couldn't disable the vibration.

The real fault of the game is the lack of objectives or actual races. You pretty much comparing your time with some hypothetical competitors' time, you're all alone in the race. They could at least include running against your ghost or some specific objectives.

Result: completed

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ simple and precise controls
+ relaxing

Cons:
- repetitive stages
- lack of objectives
- can't disable vibration
- soundtrack could be better

Screenshots:


Yes, I came here to relax.


I have to reduce the graphics a bit to get a consistent frame rate, which was surprising considering how simple the game is. Maybe it's due to the long draw distance plus lack of optimization. Oh well, I don't mind playing a Nintendo 64 game.


Words can't describe how much I hate driving on the snow stages.

I got similar vibes with this little unknown game called Castle Costume:



It's on my backlog, but I'm yet to play it. Strangely, only available on PS4.

Originally a Switch exclusive, now available on Xbox Game Pass, from the same folks of Fast RMX. Easy puzzles, platforming, and mini-games. No story, light on dialog. This is probably one of the best games to introduce a non-gamer on the basics of a video-game.

Short game, 5 hours for 100% completion (easy 1000G on Xbox, if you care about that). That's a good thing, it was over just when it started to get boring. Nothing too special, but time well spent, it was fun.

Result: completed (5h 15m)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ good pacing
+ nice graphics
+ funny dialogs
+ fun mini-games
+ don't overstay it's welcome

Cons:
- bad platforming sections
- too much backtracking


Voxels and beautiful lighting.


Partying at Ybiza.


Jett Rocket Dynamite, my favorite mini-game.

I was deferring buying this game because I've always felt it's a little overpriced, but it's leaving Game Pass this week so now was the time.

A metroidvania game with combat inspired by Valkyrie Profile by the same developers of Skullgirls. Sounds great.

I was surprised at how heavily the game relies on platforming and how good it is at doing that. On the other hand, the combat balance and difficulty curve are all over the place.

The story can be really disappointing: a naive yet brave orphan child, that is the chosen one, it's on a journey to save the world. Some characters and dialogues save the plot though (Razmi is a favorite).

I also bought the Razmi challenges DLC, but I wish I didn't. The combat challenges are either boringly easy or broken impossible. The platform challenges are great, except the later ones that push you to do very precise movements with really rough hitboxes.

I want to love this game but it's really hard without mentioning its many flaws. Unfortunately, I don't think there will a sequel for this one nor Skullgirls considering all the recent controversy around Lab Zero Games.

Result: completed (25h)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ good platforming sections
+ good character artstyle and charisma
+ fast paced combat

Cons:
- extremely easy combat
- cliché plot
- no autosave
- no fast travel
- no backstory of the characters


I love her dialogs.


Some of the environments can be gorgeous.


Main character final form.

I was deferring buying this game because I've always felt it's a little overpriced, but it's leaving Game Pass this week so now was the time.

A metroidvania game with combat inspired by Valkyrie Profile by the same developers of Skullgirls. Sounds great.

I was surprised at how heavily the game relies on platforming and how good it is at doing that. On the other hand, the combat balance and difficulty curve are all over the place.

The story can be really disappointing: a naive yet brave orphan child, that is the chosen one, it's on a journey to save the world. Some characters and dialogues save the plot though (Razmi is a favorite).

I also bought the Razmi challenges DLC, but I wish I didn't. The combat challenges are either boringly easy or broken impossible. The platform challenges are great, except the later ones that push you to do very precise movements with really rough hitboxes.

I want to love this game but it's really hard without mentioning its many flaws. Unfortunately, I don't think there will a sequel for this one nor Skullgirls considering all the recent controversy around Lab Zero Games.

Result: completed (25h)

Rating: 7/10

Pros:
+ good platforming sections
+ good character artstyle and charisma
+ fast paced combat

Cons:
- extremely easy combat
- cliché plot
- no autosave
- no fast travel
- no backstory of the characters


I love her dialogs.


Some of the environments can be gorgeous.


Main character final form.

The game interested me at first, but I don't believe it's worth the whoppping 30 USD / 150 BRL they're charging. I mean, the Switch port was 150 BRL and I know most games are way overpriced there, but they're also charging 150 BRL on the Steam version, and it makes zero sense.

The game interested me at first, but I don't believe it's worth the whoppping 30 USD / 150 BRL they're charging. I mean, the Switch port was 150 BRL and I know most games are way overpriced there, but they're also charging 150 BRL on the Steam version, and it makes zero sense.

Totally agree, it's way overpriced. Heck, 50% off and still looks expensive.

God know how many years ago (five?), I found this little Brazilian game called Momodora. I've like it quite a lot back in the day, played 1 and 2 (from itch.io) and 3 and 4 (from Steam). I was even eager to play the fifth one (which was cancelled in favor of Minoria, which I'm yet to play it).

Fast-forward to 2021 and it's there on Game Pass and I'm the mood for a replay of it. Back in the day I've loved the screenshake when hitting enemies, nowadays I hate it so much, I have to turn it off in all the games. I'm not a fan of the Souls-like item description story telling, simply ignored that. I quite like the combat of the game, but not so much the exploring.

Result: completed (3h 28m)

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ good hit feedback
+ great main character animation
+ balanced boss fights

Cons:
- disjointed story
- boring items
- uneven soundtrack
- poor metroidvania layout

Screenshots:


Look at those big round... eyes.


Despite the cute protagonist, it's a melancholic game.

Everybody keeps saying "Ninja Gaiden", but other than the character being a ninja and the game having a pretty long knockback, it doesn't remind me so much of it. It reminds me much more of Mega Man X: doctor creates robots that become evil, wall jumping, charging attacks, dashing, er, I mean running, enemies throwing energy balls in weird angles...

I absolutely love this game, it's already a favorite. I love even its unfairly long checkpoints. Everything about its level design makes me play it with skill. Beat it two times in a row, the second one without picking any HP or SP powerups. Can't wait to beat it again.

I also think this game accomplishes the 8-bit to 16-bit thing of The Messenger, but on the gameplay instead of graphics/soundtrack. The first stage feels like an NES game, jump, attack, and nothing else. On the last stage you feel like a super-hero of a SNES game, double jump, charge attack, slashing upwards, downwards, running...

There are a lot of recent (and amazing) indie games with retro aesthetics. Unlike most of them, Cyber Shadow doesn't only look like a retro game, it plays like one.

Result: completed (10h 27m and 6h 29m)

Rating: 10/10

Pros:
+ amazing controls and power-ups
+ amazing pixel art and soundtrack
+ great pace and learning curve
+ memorable boss fights
+ multiple ways to approach challenges
+ CRT filter
+ not a rogue-like
+ light metroidvania elements

Cons:
- CRT filter bug

Screenshots:


Dr. Wily?


Master.


Seven dragon balls.

I had this game on my radar for a while, the trailer looks awesome. I love games that play with changing genres and camera perspectives. Unfortunately, this one doesn't play so well. This is a really hard game, trial and error style.

You feel so underpowered throughout the game and with such a limited movement, all that against too many surprising foes. Every death feels cheap.

I'm really sad because it seems to be a labor of love, and they got a lot of things right. But it's just not fun. I wish the devs stole some ideas from Katana ZERO.

Result: retired

Rating: 6/10

Pros:
+ fast-paced
+ gameplay variety
+ interesting stage sections
+ good artstyle

Cons:
- cheap deaths
- confusing deaths
- unbalanced
- not fun
- bland music