Playtime: 11h. I had fun watching the cutscenes. The story is well written, the main characters have just enough depth to be captivating, and the plot unravels in a satisfactory, if sometimes predictable, manner. The “dispatch” part of the game, which is really the only “game” part of it, is fun. Managing your roster of heroes, trying to figure out which hero (or group of) is best for a task, and how to translate the mission’s requirements to stats, seeing synergy develop between them, all of that are fun game mechanics. ...

Playtime: 24h. After being done with Simon on Clair Obscur, I needed a palate cleanser. Something short but entertaining enough, since I wouldn’t have much time to sink my teeth on some long title before the Christmas break. While consuming content related to E33 (I know, I know, I’ll stop talking about it; eventually) I heard its publisher, Kepler Interactive, get constantly mentioned as publishing good indie titles, such as Sifu. That rang a bell. “Hey, I have that game!”, I thought. I even started it, but never finished it! ...

Playtime: 110h. Hats off to the best video game I have played in my adult life. It’s no joke. No superlative. It is so good that I think I’ll have to go back and decrease the rating of other games that I’ve rated 4 or 4.5 stars. They shouldn’t be so close to Expedition 33. I completed it 100%, got all achievements, and yet I keep desiring for more of the magic and dopamine hits this game kept on giving. I’m constantly listening to the soundtrack, watch any making of video I find… I’m an Expedition 33 stalker at this point. ...

Playtime: 123h. I enjoyed this game, I really did. Could it have been a DLC for the first game? Maybe. There was enough story content in it to warrant a new installment, but all the game mechanics (combat included) felt very same-y to me. The game looked and ran just as the 2018 piece. Which is to say that it is a stunner, for a PS4 game, so it runs as smooth as silk on any modern hardware. Including PC, which is to say that the game is well optimized. ...

Playtime: ~18h. Quite a nice little game! Having missed the golden days of the GameCube and Wii, I had not played the original and had bought a copy of this remaster long ago. I’m glad I got to play it. The game content and play style does show its age, but that is not necessarily bad, as I found it to be very charming in its own way. ...

Playtime: 16h 30m. Brilliant! I haven’t had so much fun with a game in a looong while, certainly not with any of the other games here reviewed. There are differents kinds of fun to be had while gaming, but Split Fiction excels at the best two kinds: fun while collaborating, discovering with, and sabotaging (why not?!) a friend; and some primitive, core kind of of fun, that makes you giggle like a baby non-stop because “this idea is stupid, outrageous! how can it be so fun?”. ...

Playtime: 67h 30m. A beautiful game. This stylized version of ancient Japan couldn’t be more appealing to the eyes. The plot does work, although it can be easily predicted from the first hours. But the friends you make are imperfect enough to be believable and captivating. Well, except that damn fighting monk. Exploration is rewarding, but can easily become a game of clearing map markers, which, admittedly, I did. ...

Playtime: 5h. Once I was done with Lies of P I had some time to start a new game before the holiday season. What I wanted to play next was Ghost of Tsushima, but the idea of starting the game, having the holiday break, and then resuming it on 2025 didn’t appeal to me. So I looked for a bite-sized indie game on my wishlist and found Cocoon. ...

Playtime: 42h. A surprisingly good game, with balanced mechanics and combat. Full of depth. Only sometimes frustrating. So here I was, days before my birthday, but not allowed to purchase and play the games I actually want to (Ghost of Tsushima or God of War: Ragnarök) because I gave put them on my b-day gift wishlist that my wife always ask for and, like magic, I end up being gifted by either her or my friends. ...

Playtime: 2h 36m. A delightful little game that has been sitting on my Steam library for I don’t know how long. It is easy to see why it is such a classic. So many interesting gameplay ideas implemented with simple controls: directional and 2 buttons, jump and action. Still on the “doing so much with so little” topic, there is also an interesting story being told during the bloodshed playthrough. ...