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Alchemic Cutie is a Bright, Colorful, & Adventurous RPG

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Update: Alchemic Cutie is, once again, a game running across my desk, slated for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5 for June 2023. I really have no particular context for describing it after so long, but when I tested it on PC I felt that it fits into the few neat descriptors of bright, colorful, cute. It’s an RPG. In all fairness, it is a monster collection game, à la Pokemon-style games. In the realm of indies, it bridges stylistic notes of games like Arietta of Spirits as well as Potion Party, but goes a little more Zelda in its cutesy… Read the rest

Beautiful Halloween Games For Your Darkened Heart TOP LIST

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Spooky Station, Fifo’s Night, Haunt the House, Pumpkin Jack, and Monster League. Spooky Station is actually 9 games too, I was boggling over what games to include, but I ultimately realized: how about everything? Let’s go! Fifo’s Night is some major deep cuttage, which we love here. And some recent covered games too! Are you ready for this frightful/thoughtful indie Halloween game list? Anything could happen… Hit it! 1. Spooky Station: A Collection of Halloween Games Spooky Station is an indie Halloween game collection. It has 9 mini-games altogether, the origin of which seems to be a mystery to me,… Read the rest

Monster League Will Make You Think Differently About New Racing Games

Posted on by Dave Pizza
It did The Mash! Monster League is essentially a complete kart racing Halloween game from the makers of Medieval Dynasty. It sits on the roster of Early Access titles and has since 2019, but fans are still playing it and are still nudging the team for a full release even now. Nobody really knows what is happening, but I had a lot of fun with this game and encourage you to purchase it at its fairly modest price for your co-op party, your Twitch, or just playing something different. At the very least, why not be a bit thematic and… Read the rest

Pumpkin Jack is the Best Spooky Game Out There Now

Posted on by Dave Pizza
I petitioned my friends yesterday for a list of games they consider Halloween thematic for an easily spooked dude like myself. I knew of Pumpkin Jack as a backburner game that I had seen last year and lamented myself for not having my affairs in order to get it on the review list! That was during that standalone year of 2020 that had enough triggers as it is. That’s why, when my peers suggested Pumpkin Jack I was excited to see it as a standing contender. And to be honest, some of the non-straight-up horror genre games this year are… Read the rest

Blake is a Colorful Grit Filled Cyberpunk Visual Novel

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Blake is an interesting new visual novel from LegendOri Productions about a complacent computer programmer turned vigilante in a futuristic cyberpunk city. The primary scenario within the game involves a new technology that can make somebody totally anonymous. Even amongst the modern people-tracking computers of its era, a criminal of heinous description is leaving a fatal trace and incidentally has decided to start toying with Blake’s sanity. The visual amalgamation of all the people and places of this story looks really, really good and the art, in general, is right on the button in terms of a high-quality visual novel.… Read the rest

Onirism is A Colorful Dream & Nightmare World

Posted on by Dave Pizza
“Onirism” is a good example of another game where French indie dev teams are making games potent in fun and translates to a wide audience. This goes beyond exaggeration and is an interesting subject to me, but one which I don’t know a lot about. Regardless, I committed to this game, so I’ll take you through a brief but satisfactory run down of the world of Onirism. Additionally, the game recently received a major update and has a ton of new content. Let’s go!! By the way, thank you so much to Indie Game Collective and the developers at Crimson… Read the rest

Sable – This is a Strange Game But Freaking Beautiful

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Sable is a very promising story-rich open-world game with lots of punch in the aesthetics and some very captivating design qualities. Most noticeably, is the 2D illustration in a 3D environment, but also the story. Gamers will feel like they are flipping through a really high-quality graphic novel that has come to life on whatever system they’re using to play it on. I wondered throughout the demo whether this was an alien world, a fantasy world, an ancient world, or something that exists within its own celestial sphere of storytelling. In fact, it is all of these things. I wasn’t… Read the rest

Beacon Pines is Finally Out Now and It’s Astonishing

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Beacon Pines is interactive fiction, but really it qualifies with a new level of cozy interaction and fathoms deep optimistic complexity to its characters. The basic structure of the story relies on an interesting plot device made of… well, plot devices! You start in a storybook tale of a young fawn, though I’d say that’s up for interpretation, named Luka at his grandmother’s. Through exploration and experimentation and interacting with those around you can acquire something known as charms. Charms help change the course of the story. You may need to go back and forth to test what works and… Read the rest

OPUS: Echo of Starsong is a New Staggering & Attractive Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
OPUS: Echo of Starsong is a narrative sci-fi drama taking place in the far reaches of lawless space. The game is part of a series that are all part of the OPUS universe. I covered the previous two OPUS games in the series last year, and they were very popular, accounting for a ton of traffic on my site! I also thoroughly enjoyed them. So, when I started off today learning that I would have an opportunity to cover the third OPUS game in the series, OPUS Echo of Starsong, which was just released on September 1st, I was super… Read the rest

Kick Bot is a Fast Paced Platformer That Has a Terrific Demo

Posted on by Dave Pizza
“Kick Bot,” it’s an exciting precision platformer on the way from Two Scoops games. It’s time for Dave Pizza to step outside his comfort zone and try some of these more challenging game foes. And I’ll tell you, I thought it was broken because I didn’t know how to play it. It’s definitely challenging, but definitely possible. And with the retro-tastic sound effects and neon robot package, it’s exciting to look at and play. In fact, it does that thing where it reminds me of the 90s without cheapening it. So, let’s see what this precision platformer that got my… Read the rest

Glyph is A New Hidden Gem Platformer I Played

Posted on by Dave Pizza
“Glyph” is a puzzle/platformer released this month. I was able to secure a copy through my friends at Indie Game Collective. I was curious about Glyph, primarily because of the smooth and colorful graphics, pretty apparently Egyptian theme, and also because, while I don’t excel at puzzle platformers, I am getting better. And naturally, I just wanted to test my skills at what seems to be an extremely feature-rich game. I made it peacefully through quite a bit of the intro in the recorded gameplay and learned enough to tell you about this interesting game. Take to the ground or… Read the rest

“non – The First Warp” is a Bizarre Alien Puzzle Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
“non – The First Warp” is a unique puzzle platformer released this summer. It stirs up themes of hypnagogic-like environments and alien sci-fi worlds, that feel like a strew of estranged organs and strange puzzles. Okay, I’m in. Play a purple alien in this squishy puzzle environment, where clues seem to live within the structure of the game like some giant biological telephone book. non – The First Warp never seems to push the envelope to uncomfortable levels with its weirdness, but it will require innovative puzzle-solving. Like on the level of classics like the game Myst. Am I comparing… Read the rest

Timothy Vs The Aliens Might be the ONLY Noir Alien Invasion Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Timothy Vs The Aliens is a moderate difficulty action-adventure that takes place in a 1940s’ish era gangster-ruled city. Timothy, the protagonist, is a likable ace who derives superhuman luck from an ace of hearts given to him by a race of alien masters when he was a child. In this hardboiled work, worlds and their creatures are in separation by fluorescent color, googly-eye aliens, and the stark black-and-white nighttime of the city in which Timothy resides. The story & introduction is straightforward, but the real main draw of this game is the action. Using old-school weapons, it’s up to you… Read the rest

Doggone Hungry: This Good Boy Wants All Of Your Snacks NOW

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Doggone Hungry is a free hilarious game about an adorable pup, his favorite toy, some loveable humans, and that gosh darn cat. You’ll pounce countertops against the clock to acquire enough, and by enough I mean as many as he wants, snacks to bulk up and solve the exasperating crisis of your unreachable toy duck Quackerjack. The environment alternates between a house party or beach, filled with humans relaxing tolerating your actions as much as you can sidetrack them. Don’t be so quick to bark after lunching on some prepared hot dogs they had sitting out because you will get… Read the rest

Hoa is a New Indie Adventure With a Magical Vibe

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Hoa is an intricate hand-painted character and environment art platformer released this week. Visually it succeeds wonderfully with Studio Ghibli-like aesthetics in illustration, animation, and special effects. It also boasts an absolutely charming ambiance in its background music plus sound effects that are cinematic in quality and effect. It also is available in 10 different languages right from its launch. I feel very relaxed playing Hoa, and even watching someone playing it can be very pleasant. If you have ever been a fan of Totoro or woodland creatures with endearing hearts, fall in love as I did with the game… Read the rest

Golfie is a Cozy New Golf Card Game Indie

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Golfie is a new concept game from Triheart Studio labeled rogue-like deck-building mini-golf. They’ve just released a demo, and I was able to get a first-hand look at the game and its odds and ends. The environments are pleasant, the gameplay fun, and I’d love to see more down the line. I had to doubletake the genre with all those tags, but it’s a neat little game that actually maintained my attention quite a bit. The deck-building element was a double whammy because I know nothing of these things! Once again though, this feature is implemented in a really neat… Read the rest

Big Boy Boxing is a Great Game Homage That You Have to See

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Big Boy Boxing is a cartoony indie boxing dev inspired by Cuphead and the classic late 80’s NES game Punch-Out!! The concept is polished and shiny for contemporary indie players who thrive on retro quirks in new games. You play as a new boxer, trained up through the earnest beginning in the ring with a trainer, Coach Hank. At this stage of development, the demo is pretty short with only one contender, but there are plenty of interesting observations to be made on this neat project. I’d say it’s pretty certain by the time this is released this is going… Read the rest

The Wratch’s Den is a Feast of Excellent Challenges

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The Wratch’s Den is a rogue-like dungeon builder from the depths of the PUNKCAKE Délicieux inventory on Itch.IO. The gameplay involves building a pixel art-style base by mining the surrounding layers of cave rock. The core of the base is a simple brick square structure that houses a minotaur villain on a throne that oversees a group of minions. Progress is measured by how quickly you respond to crusading do-gooders and the retrieval of three magic orbs. When enough progress is made the arch-villain minotaur can research new areas in the base or even revive slain minions. This entire experience… Read the rest

Mini Motorways is A Little Great Game About Traffic

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Mini Motorways is a delightful traffic planning sim released within the last month. It boasts charming flat graphic aesthetics with an intuitive casual style game experience. The sleek 2D environment bleeds indie simplicity worthy of a gaming machine or a new phone. The gameplay is relatively simple but allows interactive city planning in a selection of metropolitans all around the world. Start with a small group of structures within the map and drag road tiles and other traffic structures between color-coordinated structures to advance. As you progress, you’ll learn tricks and skills to create a flawless infrastructure. I’m excited to… Read the rest

Raptor Boyfriend is A Game About Love Unlike Any Other

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance is an ambitious and masterfully crafted visual novel/dating sim that takes place in small-town Ontario. With fun cryptid characters and absolutely stunning illustrations, its gameplay value is probably some of the best I’ve seen for this genre. I have been excited to play this for some time, as a general fan of visual novels and cryptid fantasy games. You don’t have to worry about anxiety-driven creature interaction though, because this game is safe and accessible to diverse players. Shortly after the day began, I got started on this dive into the world of Ladle,… Read the rest

Dark Dragonkin is A Little, Simple Indie I Played

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Dark Dragonkin is an indie dev project from Twintertainment that is a top-down pixelized fantasy RPG/dungeon-crawler. Players control multiple characters in a group to make them work together to defeat enemies and advance the story. This game is still deep in the dev process with a potential audience of RPG fans and general indie gamers. It feels very attended to as a solo dev project though, and the potential to scale abilities and environments into a fully fleshed world is entirely real. So, I sat down with Dark Dragonkin and played through the first level. I recommend if you test… Read the rest

Toodee and Topdee is one of the Best Indie Puzzlers Out

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Toodee and Topdee is so far one of my favorite platformer concepts that I’ve ever tried. A while back I did a documentary review that talked a bit about the game Fez. While much different conceptually, they both have a neat mechanic that combined 2D platforming with shiftable perspectives. I’m not sure how efficiently I can describe this concept without getting into some straight-up academic theories involving geometry, so be sure to watch the video, but suffice it to say it is really, really neat. Plus anybody can play! The game has a compelling intro with a demagogue world-merging backstory,… Read the rest

Haven Park is One of the Best Cozy Park Life Sims

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Haven Park is here today and we’re happy to have it. Where to start? Let’s start with adorable cute animal heads making friends in the woods. I’m drawn to them the moment I glimpse at them, and my heart gets their attention quickly. Haven Park is a three-dimensional open world that expands on the social crafting genre. And it’s a cool option that addresses the demand for games of this nature. In Haven Park, you play a little yellow bird who essentially inherits a whole park from its grandmother, You are tasked to maintain the park, draw visitors in, and… Read the rest

Unbound: Worlds Apart is a Unique & Thrilling Indie Out Now

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Unbound: Worlds Apart is a unique new 2D platformer with a fantasy twist and versatile special abilities. On the surface, it’s a beautiful game, on par with the likes of Ori and the Will of the Wisps. On inspection, there’s a heck ton of attention paid to the fine details of the environment. And when you actually play, solving puzzles with your special ability rolls off your controller quite intuitively. This is a high-quality production for those who love platformers and want to really see what’s possible in this genre. If you’re ready to brave a collapsing reality inexplicably parallel… Read the rest

The Universim is a Fantastic New World Sim I Tried

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The Universim is a civilization simulator from Crytivo that combines features from planet sims with more advanced skill trees. The game touts a robust planet-level environment with the ability to manage the course of civilization from primal to advanced stages. The game is still in development but is going through a rigorous beta, although you can purchase early access on Steam, which many have. I’m kind of reminded here of experiences of other sims out there, but I saw some things I haven’t seen before too. Thanks to the collaboration between my friends at Indie Game Collective and Crytivo, I’ve… Read the rest

Mini Racing World is one of the Most Unique New Racing Games

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Mini Racing World is a newly released game that fits comfortably into the big leagues of indie racer games. As you may know about me, but probably not, I’m quite fond of low poly racing games. There are not a lot of options available for this genre, so it is refreshing to see this out there. Mini Racing World is an indie race circuit and stunt track game with an emphasis on style with a generous margin for skill tiers. Customize your vehicle, hone your talent, and progress through a variety of tracks to play. Developers call driving in this… Read the rest

Weaving Tides is a Hidden Gem I Played

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Weaving Tides sits comfortably in a genre of its own. Unlock a world map woven together through magic threads. You’ll ride upon friendly creatures known as carpet dragons and weave new threads to move forward. With brilliant surface-swapping mechanics that allow you to traverse impossible terrain, exquisite graphics, and smooth gameplay this is surely a work of art as much as a playable game. The artistic aspects of Weaving Tides are exquisite. You can just feel the silky textures of the world as you traverse, feeling perhaps you are enchanted, or simply on a very fine adventure. In collaboration with… Read the rest

Existensis is a Little Known Indie Hidden Gem

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Existensis is a hand-illustrated philosopher platformer game from the creative spirit of dev Ozzie Sneddon/Librarium Studios. In Existensis you play a masked character known as The Mayor, who is actually an artist. The objective is to gather inspiration in a journal so you can use it to create a tower to represent the journey of life. From situations and interactions with characters spread throughout vaulting platform areas and cities. You can learn more about your environment and gradually collect enough information/inspiration to enter swirling vortices around certain characters. They will help you teleport somewhere new and completely different so that… Read the rest

Go Heroes: Prometheus is an Interesting Project

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Go Heroes is a coming soon, turn-based RPG based on the stories of Greek Mythology. Each level is filled with puzzles that not only advance your progress in the game but progress the story. It is not quite isometric but rather described as four-directional–it is sort of like using a board game with camera controls. You play as Prometheus, the Greek titan, who dared give the gift of fire to mankind. I am fortunate enough to have a very early press copy of this game in collaboration with Indie Game Collective and Happyland Games. So, let’s take a look. Thoughts… Read the rest

“Say No! More” is One Of The Most Hilarious & Unique Indie Hidden Gems

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Say No! More is a super funny, narrative-driven comedy office sim. These office sims have been coming out of the walls lately, but this game is one of the most hilarious out there. It uses an experimental “combat” system, where you start a job as an intern at a big company, then, thanks to a motivational cassette tape, take over the compliance-enforced company with the powerful magic word: NO! I snagged this game on sale and played through it to give you my own first-hand account of how it is. It’s a great game, not just for the mechanics or… Read the rest

Widget Satchel is an Interesting Hidden Gem

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Widget Satchel is a cross-platform indie platformer out a couple of years but is still very fun and fresh. It’s also a great project from Mark of Nice Games Club, which is a podcast I listen to from time to time. It is currently available through the Itch.IO Palestinian aid bundle. Widget Satchel is a delightful flat graphic style game, where you play as an adorable ferret upon a space station. You start off with a satchel and explore junk-filled levels and build things. There is no game over or way of getting hurt, but plenty of challenging scenarios to… Read the rest

Potion Party is That Great Colorful Pixel Alchemy Sim Out

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Potion Party is a recently released indie co-op that involves running an alchemy shop and racing around part of your lab to create potions for hurried customers. Its style is a pleasant top to bottom, cute, pixel art environment. Get in the groove as an alchemist to the thumpy party music of its namesake. Players may enjoy reasonable tasks along with adequately challenging objectives. In addition, there is a respectable host of elements that advance the needs of player skills as levels are completed from customers to creatures. I think this game is really fun and am delighted to share… Read the rest

Indoorlands is an Awesome New Theme Park Sim… Indoors

Posted on by Dave Pizza
So, here we go with this first look at Indoorlands. Greetings gamers and spectators alike. Today, I have a showcase on a game coming soon to Steam in an early-access stage. I’ve acquired access to the game via my community at Indie Game Collective. I have a fondness for sims and a passion for indie games. So, I am mentally ready to try out Indoorlands I think. This is a concept with high sophistication for such an independent effort. And its bells and whistles are as shiny as the top contenders. Tilt-A-Whirl I’d say I’ve probably been to amusement parks… Read the rest

Black Skylands is Awesome (And Big)

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Black Skylands is an immersive fantasy sky punk RPG that takes place in the colorful airborne landscapes of another world. As an indie gamer, this is indeed one of the most optimistic projects I’ve looked at, and yet very promising indeed. Take the helm of a family airship and float between islands in the sky to claim your stake. This review is sponsored by a free copy through Indie Game Collective, which I am really grateful for, so let’s go! Get Started in Black Skylands I’ve played a few airship games here and there. It’s a very satisfying theme and… Read the rest

Runo is a Finnish Game That I Absolutely Love

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Runo is a cultural indie game and a very unique project based on the Midsommer mythos from traditional Finnish culture. Its intellectual deduction and story track lead you through a complex story that involves the protagonist’s grandmother and family tradition. The story takes place in a cabin next to a forested lake. The goal is to use clues from your dad’s text messages, your personal journal, and what you observe around you. There is a deep mystical nature to this lake and in a simple quest to find your grandmother’s hidden journal, you’ll encounter a variety of exciting obstacles. Settle… Read the rest

Twin Stones: The Journey of Bukka is the Staggering Freebie Student Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Twin Stones: The Journey of Bukka is a 3d animated fantasy platformer that was released in early July 2021. As it were, I received the privilege of showcasing my first pre-release game through my community at Indie Game Collective. The game was a very intriguing story involving protagonist Bukka, a runner for lack of a better word, and a, I suppose, serpent companion identified as Shiva, the god of destruction. The obstacles are fluid and bouncy, and the graphics are beautiful. I’ll tell you what you need to know about this game and where you can find it. Twin Stones:… Read the rest

Tales Of The Neon Sea is a Colorful Yet Dark Cyberpunk Interactive Fiction

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Tales of the Neon Sea is a bright pixel art in the hardboiled cyberpunk detective style. It’s also borderline platformer and adheres to a very high-density environment in synch with some of the best cyberpunk cinematics out there. Explore shadowy laboratories or deep dungeons sewers. This game is not for the light-hearted but it does deliver on content. This is probably the most sophisticated pixel art game I have ever played. Let’s take a look. Initiation Sequence in the Tales of the Neon Sea Heads up on a certain aspect. This game is pretty graphic. Your protagonist is a detective… Read the rest

Fugl is a VERY Colorful Little Indie That I Played

Posted on by Dave Pizza
The word Fugl means bird in Norwegian. Fugl is a casual sandbox indie game created by a small group of dedicated developers. Its story is whatever you make it, and the gameplay is most certainly endorsed by all birds. I started as a colorful neutral voxel bird in a voxel world and glide through the treetops and oceans, plus more. Interact with your environment to test new experiences. Transform into other birds, try neat stunts, and listen to the pleasant music that guides you through the map. To the skies! Fugl Tugl Mugl Bugl Gugl Rugl The Initial Bird A… Read the rest

Visual Novel Spotlight: My Cup Of Coffee

Posted on by Dave Pizza
My Cup of Coffee: The Trouble with Earl Grey is a visual novel that takes place in a turn-of-the-century coffee shop presumably somewhere within Victorian society. You play as a family apprentice of the coffee trade and you more or less are plonked right into days as a barista. The story revolves around a casual plot involving a group of customers known as the Grey family. Using clues from casual conversation, you are tasked to unravel the feeling of tension between Mrs. Grey and Mr. Grey and their maid as well. My Cup of Coffee: In Context It is definitely… Read the rest

GeoGuessr is The Best Browser Game You Can Play Right Now

Posted on by Dave Pizza
GeoGuessr… Ahh, I’ve waited so long to delve into this one. I present to you today a non-traditional game review to showcase a game that is on the fringe of traditional games but so fresh and fun that everybody is finding out about it. GeoGuessr is a browser-based game that uses images from Google Streetview. You are dropped off in a random lat/long on Earth or whichever area/theme you specify and you use clues from your surroundings to find out where you are. Any person could easily bend the rules to win. For purists, on the other hand, it’s a… Read the rest

Universe for Sale Looks Like a Good Sci-Fi Game

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Universe for Sale is an upcoming title that combines sci-fi themes and metaphysical themes into a quirky and compelling visual novel/interactive fiction. I already do not recall the main character’s name, and neither will you, as the shroud of mystery is an important part of this introduction. He is a self-described “cultist” with a floating head who drops into a tea shop on Jupiter to meet with a young lady named Lila. The prologue sets up a story involving Lila’s special gift to create mini-universes! Hence the game title. Universe for Sale: Intriguing Oddities The first thing that pops out… Read the rest

Magic Trick is A Cool Little Freebie Indie About Skating

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Magic Trick is a 3D first-person skateboarding game that combines elements of popular wholesome achievement games with a skateboarding theme. It is rich in cotton candy pastels, low poly maps, and anthropomorphic characters to interact with through each island. You can play this game with a controller or keyboard and mouse. The storyline is driven by skateboarding objectives of traditional moves like ollies, grinds, flips, and jumps. It is a fully released game and exists in the realm of dev games that are available at a very affordable price mark for lots of fun! Really Pleasant Tony the Hawk I… Read the rest

Indie Game: The Movie is An Essential Documentary For Game Devs

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Indie Game: The Movie is, suitably, a 2011 indie documentary made by Canadian Filmmakers about indie video games. It cracks open the shell of contemporary indie game development by following a handful of developers as they make their first games and bring them to market. It evokes the struggle of the indie game business model and follows artists and programmers through the lows and highs of this personal journey. This film had moments of absolute enchantment but also discomfort. I want to give this a chance though because I took something very real and personal from this documentary. First Off:… Read the rest

Astroneer Takes the Space Sim Genre to New Heights

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Astroneer is a low poly space sim with a playful and colorful, stylized atmosphere. It uses its practical fundamental mechanics and graphics to pull off an engaging and creative experience. After completing the tutorial on your basic tools and resources available, the game is essentially an open-world sandbox where you can develop your base camp or head to another planet. It is similar to games like The Outer Worlds and No Man’s Sky, without realistic graphics and more emphasis on casual, puzzle-solving gameplay. Today, I’ll take you through my experience with this game. Challenging Intro I’ve played through the tutorial… Read the rest

“What Comes After” is A Heartwarming Interactive Fiction

Posted on by Dave Pizza
What Comes After is an interactive fiction from the creator Coffee Talk in collaboration with the Rolly Glory Jam. This story-rich game takes place on a pandemic-era commuter train that transforms into a ferry for souls to the afterlife after Vivi falls asleep. There’s no set directive, but the game is experienced through interacting with souls on the train. This ranges from average folks to owls and trees! It is a highly creative and somewhat mystical story that explores deep concepts of purpose and life as well as what comes after. What Comes After: What Is It? As a preface,… Read the rest

Monster Pub is a Hidden Gem I Will Always Love

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Monster Pub is a neat and funny narrative wrapped up in a nice isometric, pixel art game that is ultra-casual. You’re whoever you want to be, a shadow-cloaked being, approached on a dark rainy street by a bright pink monster named Pfeffer. She leads you to a mysterious location that turns out to be a public house… for monsters, which is apparently based on the set for the ’80s TV show Cheers. Only here, it’s where every *monster* knows your name. Let’s play some sandwiches, Norm! They did the Monster Pub mash If you follow my reviews or know me,… Read the rest

Wheels of Aurelia 1978 is a Free Hidden Gem

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Wheels of Aurelia is an interactive-fiction-style racing game set in Italy in 1978. The left-hand steers the wheel of a gritty game that is full of themes of crime, punk, and danger. While the themes are a bit serious, its thematic integrity is in check by fun, innovative game design, and a serious historical snapshot. Drive through the coastlines in low-polygon graphics and talk to your passengers about anything. Wheels of Aurelia: Clarification There are a few things to make clear immediately here. As I said, the game is gritty. Some topics are about heavy life issues. I don’t find… Read the rest

Shu’s Garden is a Slightly Old, Fun Hidden Gem I Found

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Shu’s Garden is a game that’s part of the huge Itch.IO bundle released recently. It is essentially an open playground experience, with no strict rules or goals. Play a little space cactus named Shu, a ball of shine with a friendly symbiotic tail that bounces around planets. This game holds up well over time, and even without any clear direction or strategy, it is still quite enjoyable as a mini-session or even a tangential distraction. Let’s take a look. Shu’s Garden: Cutesie Space Playground Although perfectly unique enough to hold its own ground. Shu’s Garden reminds me of a game… Read the rest

Catlateral Damage is A Hilarious Hidden Gem

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Catlateral Damage is a game from Itch.IO that is so simple in concept, but so enjoyable that way! I also know it is time for another review! This game is part of a bundle I obtained and is one of many great games over at Itch. The game is about you, a cat, in a playground suitable for the mischievous antics of a cat. The objective of the game is to knock stuff off shelves, chase red lasers, and collect power-ups. It is very amusing and a great game for anybody because it is challenging and ready for an audience.… Read the rest

Wild Dive is A Simple Freebie Platformer

Posted on by Dave Pizza
Hello friends. Today I’m reviewing a really brief but beautiful and fun game called Wild Dive. You may have noticed some changes around here in content and how often I’m posting. No worries, this is still a regular blog, only I’ve been spending a little more of the time I allot for it on cosmetic aspects of the site and refining older posts. I’m not done yet, but it’s getting there. I also am working on some new topics such as my VMovies & TV section. It’s not all about being popular for me, but I know most of you… Read the rest