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Crypt Custodian

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Game Title: Crypt Custodian Released: August 27, 2024 Game Length: 11 Hours Grade: B- Setting Design: What if the developer of Islets decided to create a metroidvania game from an isometric point-of-view instead of a side-scroller? That's exactly what you get with Crypt Custodian . This time you are a cat that is given a body after being thrown into an odd place after your death. Unfortunately, you are judged for your actions to be a janitor for all eternity. As you explore the various regions, you realize that a number of other characters were similarly destined with the same role. You gradually learn that these folk have long left their responsibilities behind, lost their bodies, and lived on as spirits taking on a hobby or two. Collectibles: What is drastically different than the previous game are the number of things you can find in the wild. You can find discs in each region that you can load into the jukebox at the bar. There are jars you can break open to find 20 spir...
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Islets

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Game Title: Islets Released: August 24, 2022 Game Length: 7 Hours Grade: B Setting Design: You are a mouse going on an adventure. You hear about these five islands that have been broken apart. After some mishap, you crash on one of the islands until someone lends you their ship to take off again. Conceptually, the artist drew the characters and enemies to be very simplistic. Half of them appear as moving blobs while the other half might appear as some odd beast or critter. This actually relates to the story somewhat and makes it easy on the eyes. They all have their own set of unique attack patterns that doesn't take too much effort to learn. There are a number of fantastical characters that will change-up the gameplay with their hobbies or activities.  Environment: While there is a map that updates with each room and interconnection with the islands, there isn't any form of mini-map that you can glance at while exploring. There are two types of rest areas marked - a save...
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Sanabi

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Game Title: Sanabi Released: November 8, 2023 Game Length: 9 Hours Grade: A- Story Gut-Punch: Sanabi is sort of an enigma where telling you what happens will spoil the whole point of playing the game. The very beginning of the game starts you off playing some make-believe with your daughter. After a fun and loving tutorial out in the middle of nowhere, something tragic happens. Some of you will be appalled by the depressing introduction while others will question what really happened. As the story unfolds, you realize how important those feelings from the beginning are as you discover the truth behind an evil mastermind that has infiltrated a city. I'll let you know ahead of time that while the denouement is beautifully done, the bittersweet ending doesn't leave on a cheery note. Breadcrumbs: While a lot of the game is built around a ridiculous future where there is an enormous city the size of an entire country that requires transportation to travel vertically just to ...
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Skul: The Hero Slayer

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Game Title: Skul: The Hero Slayer Released: January 20, 2021 Game Length: N/A Grade: B   Development Patches: This might seem rather weird to hear but the game is somehow still receiving updates after all these years.  What seemed like minor additions to the base game actually came way later in patches. A number of characters, tweaks, and adjustments were implemented. Little things like looting adventurers and being able to choose from several different types of rewards after defeating a boss came in a couple of updates after release. January 2023 brought along the Dark Mirror update which is sort of a hardmode extension with a couple more chapters related to that mysterious cliffhanger you never did get answers for in the base game. There was one character added as tribute to a patron in April 2024 and some more general adjustments made on June 26, 2024. DLC: In November 2023, the developers added a free " Demon King's Castle Defense" patch in addition to their Myt...
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Cuisineer

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Game Title: Cuisineer Released: November 9, 2023 Game Length: 30 Hours Grade: B-   Patches Flavoursome Fixes: Back in June 2023, there was a demo released for the game. It had a very cute aesthetic but the mechanics of the game were quite limiting. Within its first couple weeks of release in November 2023, they released Flavoursome Fixes that allowed you to turn off the eating sound in restaurants (for those with Misophonia), toned down the audio pickup sound, increased the stack size to 30, added the option to pause the game in options, pause the game if your controller becomes disconnected, adjusted cost values and itemization. Month by month, they slowly fixed bugs, balanced mechanics, and added quality of life features like being able to sell weapons and furniture. These were all minor but essential things the developers were able to focus on a few at a time. Fresh Features: January 28th, 2025 came a massive patch full of new features. They added a music player that chang...
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Heroes of Hammerwatch II

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Game Title: Heroes of Hammerwatch II Released: January 14, 2025 Game Length: 10 Hours Grade: C Game Lineage  History: A very long time ago, the company  Crackshell released a game by the name of Hammerwatch in 2013. I had a set of friends who loved playing this game. The game was relatively interesting with its similar build to the 1985 game  Gauntlet . Five years later, they built upon that game and released Heroes of Hammerwatch in 2018. For the next couple years, they added three new downloadable content packs - Witch Hunter, Pyramid of Prophecy, and Moon Temple. I never played this game or was even aware of its existence when it released. Crackshell then went on with an odd choice by releasing  Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition and Hammerwatch II before quickly switching over to work on Heroes of Hammerwatch II . The Town Shared Resources: The game does something odd by having your characters collaborate with each other. Each character will be unique and ...
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Luma Island

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Game Title: Luma Island Released: November 20, 2024 Game Length: N/A Grade: A Gameplay Progress: Let me preface this by saying that the vast majority of the game is optional . You do not need to take on professions. You don't need to repair everything in town. If you aren't concerned about the good ending, you don't even need to hatch any pets. You'll need to at the bare minimum build the main bridge to reach the forest, repair the gondola to head up into the mountains, and repair the lighthouse to learn the secret location of the jungle. You don't have to open every chest you see. However, that would make the game pretty boring. In each region, there are a number of books you can collect through hidden areas and at the end of each temple. These books simply provide you a way to craft more decorations for your farm. Items like moss, clay, nails, and glue are all designed to help build houses and expand things for your farm. While not specifically mentioned, the i...
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