HIGH A great balance between cozy and challenging, plus frogs with hats.

LOW A few visual glitches and some awkward tools.

WTF I’m afraid we’ll need to use… math.

One of the best things about videogame simulation is how vast the genre is. Some will let players build vast cities, others will have them flying planes. Mudborne, however, had me breeding frogs.

It’s not just a management sim, though. I’d also argue that it’s a puzzler on top of that. What starts out as a cozy adventure to rebuild a population of frogs in a pond becomes a story about unraveling a conspiracy that threatened all of frogkind — but to do that, however, I had to breed frogs in this 2D, pixelated adventure.

Creating new batches of frogs served the purpose of rehabilitating the population, but also served as a way to provide me with the keys to open up the world as my new, small friends could be used in a variety of ways. Some could press buttons, some would open doors too small for me, and some could power machines. A few could even be used to affect the weather, temperature, or hydration levels in a small area.

Many, however, were used to open “genetic locks” — a lock that required a specific kind of frog. These existed on many objects and were used as gates to progress. As I made my way through the campaign, these locks became more complicated, requiring frogs that had a specific ancestry.

This meant that I had to be strategic about the various traits I bred frogs with, and one of the ways to accomplish this is to use mushrooms to create “magic mud”, which would then be used to alter one or more of the seven traits of a frog. At first, this was simple, but I soon needed to create hybrid mushrooms that could modify multiple traits at once, creating a genuine challenge that I really enjoyed. The last genetic lock, in particular, was a wonderful head scratcher that I figured out after over an hour of messing around with new hybrids.

As I carried on, the new frogs I made would soon start appearing in the pond without my help. This was a nice touch, and also helped keep me in stock with little buddies who could assist me with various tasks.

For those who might not have frog breeding in their veins, a quest guide and other tutorial books often offer just enough advice to get past a sticking point. All this genetic manipulation might seem overwhelming, but I never got too terribly lost or confused as to what steps I needed to take next.

Another great feature is that there’s an alternate, dreaming world that I would sometimes need to go into. This place was an otherworldly version of the waking land, but there were inconsistencies. Sometimes, a bridge was available here where it had collapsed there, or rain would fall up, instead of down. While beautiful and breathtaking, I wasn’t there for the scenery. A door could be shuttered in the waking world, but open here. These new areas often helped me find a tool or a clue needed to progress.

Mudborne also has a wonderful aesthetic look reminiscent of 16-bit efforts on the Super Nintendo, which helped to create a charming and vibrant atmosphere. The music was also stellar, and one of my favorite things about it was that it was altered slightly in the dreaming world to have a more haunting and echoing feel.

While Mudborne nails much of what it goes for, there were some rough edges. A couple of the tools it provided felt underutilized and, in one case, didn’t really work. For example, the Heater was only used for a single quest objective (and an optional one at that) but otherwise was not utilized. The Stagnator, which creates stagnant pools, didn’t even seem to work, but thankfully I found such pools in one section of the world, so I was never left hopping mad about it.

There was also a weird durability system that didn’t feel necessary. Certain tools, like nets and hammers, could only be used a number of times before they broke. This was in stark contrast to magic mud, which could be used over and over again. I don’t see much value in making these tools break, requiring players to craft new ones. There were also some weird visual glitches that I found from time to time, such as coloration and pixel placements getting messed up. These broke my immersion, and were a bit of a sore spot.

Despite those small issues, Mudborne was charming, and offered a level of challenge that kept me on my toes. The beautiful world, fantastic gameplay, and lovely soundtrack were all compelling and kept me moving forward as I kept exploring, discovering, and creating every kind of frog breed.

Sometimes, a frog is all one needs to have a truly exceptional adventure.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Buy Mudborne: Steam – itch.io

Disclosures: This game is developed by ellraiser and TNgineers and published by Future Friends Games. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PC. Approximately 49 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game has no ESRB rating. However, the game does not include any violence, sexual imagery, or anything else that would be considered harmful to younger players or merit parental guidance. The word “ass” appears in the credits.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Text cannot be resized. This game is not fully accessible. Some text boxes could be difficult to read at times, and resizing would have helped make this text more readable. Some objects in game had text that could also be difficult to read at times.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are partially remappable. PC controls can be remapped, but controller inputs cannot.

The post Mudborne Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH A wonderful aesthetic and gameplay loop. 

LOW Weird holdovers from its mobile origins.

WTF Why the hell did this game open with a plane crash?

Hello Kitty Island Adventure was originally released in 2023 for Apple Arcade, the exclusive subscription service offering games for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV — it’s the tech giant’s own version of Microsoft’s GamePass. Based on Sanrio’s most popular character, Hello Kitty, the title combined elements of life simulators such as the ever-popular Animal Crossing and standard adventure-platforming games. After little over a year of mobile exclusivity, HKIA finally has a console release with the Nintendo Switch. 

Players start by creating their avatar, choosing between a limited selection of face, clothing, and color options, with more to be unlocked later. I created a brown dog in a green shirt, and then the story began.

The player’s avatar starts on an airplane with Hello Kitty and her friends, all of whom are on their way to a mysterious island where they intend to open up shops or find spots to relax. All is good until the plane is about to crash and everyone on board is forced to jump out, only to land on their destination.

The game is played from an isometric point of view and the island can be fully explored. Players are tasked with completing quests given to them by an array of characters, with an interesting and surprisingly addictive gameplay loop. 

Quests are varied and involve different tasks, such as exploring the island, finding new tools, and trying to reach higher friendship levels with the population. For example, an early mission tasked me with looking for folks who were scattered across a section of the island after the crash. It was there I met with a few familiar faces — My Melody (a pink and white rabbit who opened up a furniture store) and Badtz-Maru, a penguin who has a comic book shop on the docks. 

Talking to them introduces players to the concept of leveling up their friendship, which is achieved by completing quests with specific characters or giving them gifts. The latter part of that process is one of the most prevalent aspects of play, as players can give NPCs items from their inventories. Everyone on the island has interests such as sweets or items for crafting. For example, Hello Kitty loves and will accept pineapples from the player. 

The gift-giving option is an easy way to raise friendships but comes at a cost, as players can only gift things three times per day. I suspect this was a holdover from its roots as a mobile game and to prevent players from jumping a bunch of levels by simply unloading multiple gifts at once. Thankfully, there are other ways to level up friendships (such as completing quests) so this method being nerfed isn’t an issue. Reaching certain friendship levels nets rewards such as customization items, new items, and even brand-new quests. 

Completing tasks on the island is enjoyable, and I liked how each one led to some discoveries or new thing to try. For example, one quest had me exploring the island for yellow gear that opened a gate. One piece was across a huge body of water, so I had to complete a quick favor for My Melody, whose expertise in her furniture store allowed her to fix a bridge which then enabled me to cross the water.

There is an abundance of things to do, and as someone who isn’t big into life simulator games because of their lack of direction and goals, I appreciate Island Adventure’s more focused approach to progression. Completing quests nets the player tons of rewards, like customization options, crafting recipes for new items, and even furniture for the player’s home, and these were a great motivator. 

Another aspect I loved is the focus on platforming and adventure gameplay. There’s a jump button that makes moving around the island easier, and some areas require light platforming and a few simple puzzles to solve, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s shrines. There’s nothing deep about the platforming elements and it won’t dethrone Mario, but it does add variety to Hello Kitty‘s open-ended island to explore and the seemingly inexhaustible supply of things to unlock.

Presentation-wise, HKIA is a winner with a bright and colorful aesthetic throughout. The island is full of charm, and the biomes looking great. I also appreciated that the character models are expressive, with the dialogue matching their personalities. My only knock is against the few moments of slowdown that happen when walking around the island, though long loading times can be an issue as well. None of it is anything major to disrupt my enjoyment, but the issues are still a little annoying nonetheless. 

I’m a huge fan of licensed games and I was definitely in need of a calm experience. Hello Kitty Island Adventure fit the bill and ended up being a good time, as it kept me engaged with a satisfying gameplay loop and cute looks. As the weather outside remains frightful, taking a trip to this tropical paradise and meeting a few new friends is a great choice. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is published and developed by Sunblink. It is available on PC, PS4/5, iOS and Switch. This copy was obtained via publisher and was reviewed on Switch. Approximately 10 hours were spent in single-player and the game was not completed. There is multiplayer.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. According to the site: This is an adventure game in which players help Hello Kitty and friends restore a mysterious island. Players explore the island, interact with friends, complete quests, and engage in various activities (e.g., cooking, fishing, gardening).

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not present in the options menu.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are subtitles and visual cues such as button prompts and a minimap. These elements cannot be resized but the game is fully accessible without sound. 

Remappable Controls: The controls cannot be remapped. There is no control diagram. B is to jump, X is to use an item, A is to speak or interact with NPCs and Y is to give gifts. The bumpers and triggers are used to navigate menus and open up quest lists.

The post Hello Kitty Island Adventure Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Unique setting and tone. Charming aesthetics.

LOW Lackluster quests and NPC interactions. Frustrating combat and farming mechanics.

WTF Not having a grid for interior design is a huge blindspot for a cozy game.

Mirthwood is a new farming sim/sandbox RPG from Bad Ridge Games in collaboration with V Publishing.

At first glance, it would appear to be nothing more than medieval Stardew Valley, but that’s neither wholly accurate nor a fair thing to say, even if that might have been what the developers were going for.

In many ways, it follows the formula established by its predecessors — the player starts by creating a character who then travels to a faraway place where they receive the deed to a remote homestead to do with as they will — but it differs in setting and overall tone.

Everything looks as if it were pulled straight out of some Eyvind Earle concept art, between its storybook-like character models and layered forest scenes that seem like setpieces on a stage, allowing the player to be swept off to their very own farming fantasy.

The adventure opens with a brief cinematic before launching into a prologue where the player will learn the basics of movement and interact with NPCs before a horde of bandits descends upon their family home. At this point they learn the basics of combat, fighting their way to the nearest ship bound for the Free Lands.

As one might expect from a title that is a farming sim first and a RPG second, the combat is basic — there’s a light attack, a heavy attack and the ability to block or sidestep. It resembles fencing in that the player must be lined up with their enemy in order to attack or evade, which wouldn’t be a problem if the game was entirely 2D. However, because it’s isometric, such limitations make combat frustrating as the engine will sometimes lock the player into attacking in a certain direction even after the enemy has changed position.

Once the player arrives in the Free Lands, they can set their own pace as they develop their homestead, harvest crops, chop wood, forage for plants and mushrooms, explore the surrounding environs, aid NPCs and find their footing in pastoral medieval life — warts and all.

Once at their homestead proper, the player will be greeted by a mysterious plague doctor who says the player can do whatever they wish with the property. I started with the first items of business — gathering the resources needed to restore the dilapidated cottage and planting seeds for what would become the garden.

I used my starter axe to chop down enough wood to replace the worn-down floorboards and my basic pickax split enough rock to replace the crumbling walls which instantly turned what was a dirty hovel into a cozy cabin.

Just as one would do in something like Animal Crossing, I started adding decor that I had crafted, like a cooking pot, chest and wardrobe to make it feel homey, but I was disappointed to find that there was no grid to help guide my interior design ideas, and no ability to change viewing angles or use anything except for the very back for wall decor.

When I finally made my way into town, a host of NPCs flooded the screen, greeting me as I passed by. These greetings opened up multi-path dialogue chains with options such as romance, gossip, joke, etc. While there were plenty of people to interact with, nearly all of them left me wanting as they lacked any semblance of depth or nuance, which are key components for any farming sim/RPG worth its salt. Meeting back up with the enigmatic plague doctor was little better — the quests he offered me were underwhelming, amounting to glorified fetch quests.

However, there was one side quest that I was invested in — investigating what happened to the Medville family meadery outside of town.

Arriving on the scene, I fended off attacking bandits and poked around the ruins, finding a few letters written by the owner, Duncan Medville, who described a tragic chain of events that led to the fall of the meadery in harrowing detail. The second part of fulfilling this side quest was to venture across the continent to track down the owner’s surviving wife and deliver the news of her husband’s passing.

Rather than receiving a weapon or armor set as one might in a typical RPG, however, she gave me a lucky rabbit’s foot which merely buffed the efficacy of other equipped items — the equivalent of going through all that and getting a t-shirt emblazoned with “I traveled all the way across the Free Lands and all I got was this shitty rabbit’s foot.”

From that point on, I became all too aware of the feeling that I was wasting my time in Mirthwood, which in my mind, is the mark of an experience that is mediocre at best.

Ultimately, I see a lot of unrealized potential here. Blending cozy gameplay with dark subject matter, Mirthwood offers an experience that is pleasantly familiar, yet distinct enough to stand out from other games of its ilk. That said, it’s not an experience that appeals to me in its current state. Once some changes are made to the combat mechanics and NPC dialogue, perhaps I’ll want to return to the Free Lands and finally see my crops bear fruit.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Disclosures: This game was developed by Bad Ridge Games and published by V Publishing. It is currently available on PC. It was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 5.5 hours were devoted to the campaign mode. The game was not finished. There is no multiplayer mode.

Parents: This game is not yet rated by the ESRB but there is some blood and violence. The player will frequently encounter enemies in the wilderness who will attack them, as well as commit acts of violence against other NPCs. They will have to fight to survive and make decisions about whether or not NPCs should be executed. Thus, the game will likely be rated T.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game features dialogue presented in text format. Incoming threats are indicated by exclamation points flashing above attacking enemies and there are no sounds that affect gameplay. This title is fully accessible.

Remappable controls: The controls cannot be remapped.

The post Mirthwood Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH It’s a fantastic reinterpretation of the metroidvania formula.

LOW Being unexpectedly locked out of the explorer frog’s sidequest.

WTF Hummus is easily available on a world like this??

Sparky has done a great job in covering Caravan SandWitch with his main review, and I don’t disagree on any of his points, other than perhaps the degree to which we enjoyed the experience. For me, it was easily one of the year’s best.

One thing that made it stand out were the vibes. As he correctly indicates, it’s an extremely chill experience, and that laid-back quality was was quite welcome in this tumultuous year of chaos. The lack of fall damage and combat were revelations, and after spending 12 hours with Sauge trying to complete every quest possible, I rolled credits without missing either. SandWitch didn’t need them, I didn’t crave them, and it says a lot about how certain experiences can choose non-traditional paths and thrive.

I also loved how the overall world design dovetailed with this fresh direction. The conceit of a large multi-galaxy conglomerate leaving the planet and abandoning all of their facilities, robots and gear was fascinating — coming across huge warehouses with the goods still in them, secure areas left unguarded, power plants sending electricity to nowhere, and autonomous robots performing tasks that no longer serve a purpose were all excellent world building, and spending time with the people left in capitalism’s wake is perhaps a tiny peek into our own future.

The scope of SandWitch was quite welcome, too. While the map makes the available territory seem much larger than it is, it’s quick and simple to cross from one end of the land to the other in a matter of minutes, and that was just fine! It never felt onerous or tedious to get anywhere, and I never felt like I needed or wanted tons more space. In fact, this cozy area suited me so well that I eventually became familiar enough with the landscape that I knew where I was going, even without the map.

With both the setting and size taken into consideration, it was then a bit of a revelation to see a truly fresh application of the metroidvania formula laid atop SandWitch‘s foundations.

SandWitch takes the traditionally-2D system of finding powerups and opening skill-gated parts of a world and successfully extrapolates it to a fully 3D open world environment. Rather than closing off sections of the world, certain buildings were closed or key facilities were inaccessible, so the freedom of being in an open world was still present. Of course, there were certainly places that the player would have to mentally make note of and return to later once they’d received some of the tools that Sauge eventually adds to her arsenal, but it felt logical and organic, and never artificially constrained. I’m honestly quite tired of the metroidvania formula as it is traditionally interpreted, but something about SandWitch made the proposal feel so new and curious that I was immediately sucked in and wanted to uncover every single secret.

Unfortunately, Sparky is dead correct when it comes to the story and the translation. For a game that clearly displays so much love and attention in so many aspects, it’s a shame that the script, dialogue and individual conversations fall flat.

Throughout the campaign there are tons of examples of phrases that feel slightly off, of someone’s point not quite being made, and a general lack of dramatic buildup to the climax despite of the fact that there are many, many opportunities for poignant moments and unfolding revelations.

I must stress to every developer reading this review — don’t skimp on the translation!! Don’t give it to AI for cleanup, and don’t give it to a friend who kinda-sorta knows English. A script can make or break an entire experience, and while Caravan SandWitch is something I absolutely loved, this could have been an all-time classic if the characters and story were better written. The translation is a huge, avoidable mess for a title that is otherwise precisely on-point, and it pained me to see how uncaring I was about the story in general.

With a script that’s so off, it really says something that not only was I invested enough to play Caravan SandWitch to completion, but that it ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the year in spite of the poor dialogue. Exploring this extremely chill, open world while digging around amongst the ruins of corporate greed held my attention from start to finish, and even by the time I had solved all the mysteries and had done all the things, I was still quite ready to spend more time in this world. It’s not without its flaws, but Caravan SandWitch remains one of my favorite experiences of 2024, and I would strongly encourage the developers to continue their work — I look forward to being delighted with something new.

Rating: 8.5

Disclosures: This game is developed by Studio Plane Toast and published by Dear Villagers. It is currently available on PC, PS5 and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via retail purchase and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Language and Violent References. This is a terrible classification. The mentioned violence is no worse than your typical 6PM newscast and I can’t recall Sauge ever going harder than “drat”. My main reservation is that in one of its endings a character commits suicide by choosing to remain behind (offscreen) in an exploding building. Even with that, I would not put this above E10. The world’s most tedious and unlikable people (perhaps the ESRB raters are among them) will also be annoyed that Sauge has two dads and many individuals are referred to with they/them pronouns.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game is fully accessible. All dialogue is in text, but text cannot be resized or modified. There are no essential sound cues in gameplay.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls on PC. MK controls are as shown in the attached images. Controller defaults to X for interaction, Y for exiting / returning to van, A for jumping or acceleration boost (in van), B for exiting dialogues. Left and right sticks default to move and look, respectively, left and right triggers default to decelerate (in the van) and accelerate (on foot and in the van).

The post Caravan SandWitch Second Opinion appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The environments and movement combine for immaculate vibes.

LOW The free-flowing movement can get out of control.

WTF The protagonist’s eyes make it look like he’s possessed.

I don’t think there is a game that embodies the spirit of Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli movies more than Europa — but instead of being a cheap copy, it carves its own path through stunning environments, whimsical gameplay, and a thoughtful message about mankind’s relationship with the natural world.

Europa is a 3D platformer where the player begins as Zee, an artificial boy equipped with a magical levitation device strapped to his back. With this jetpack full of whimsy, Zee gets to explore the idyllic paradise that is Europa, an extraplanetary colony meant to be mankind’s next utopia. Along the way, Zee collects pages of a journal from his dead father that guide him through this world as he uncovers the mystery of what happened to this abandoned paradise planet.

As his father’s narration via journal explains, Europa was a human utopia long in the making. Europa was supposed to be a place where humans could live without worry, but all that Zee can see are long-abandoned ruins without a trace of human activity. The only things left are the “gardeners” — a legion of AI-powered robots that made the planet liveable. The player gets to see thousands of these gardeners along their journey, as they’ve evolved into life forms that resemble Earth’s animals. I got to see herds of real deer along herds of robotic deer living together in harmony with flocks of mechanical birds flying above me.

All of these lifeforms live in the paradise that is Europa. It’s a world filled with peaceful environments taken straight out of a painting. Rolling hills, snowy mountaintops, endless oceans filled with bioluminescent life — it’s a miracle that all of these locations fit into this game cohesively, yet it’s crafted so seamlessly that I didn’t bat an eye.

However, traveling in this environment takes some getting used to. With Zee’s jetpack, he can hover just above the ground, charge up a tall jump, or fly across entire areas with the help of hundreds of pockets of energy (to keep his flight sustained) scattered around the world of Europa. Abundance and flow are critical gameplay themes in Zee’s journey, as every part of Europa’s movement ties into each other, and I was never far from another ball of energy I could use to power up a new flight, and I would often find myself chaining power jumps into hovers into longer flights as I flung myself across sections of the map.

At times this movement is clunky, since it’s difficult to slow Zee down and change direction when he reaches breakneck speeds, but since there’s no penalty in the form of losing health or “dying” if Zee gets blown off course, it’s fairly easy to reorient him. A core theme of the story is how mankind interacts with the natural world, and Zee feels like an integral part of the environment he is exploring, frictionlessly flowing in and out of areas. It’s like Zee is a leaf on the wind, and we’re just riding the current.

Zee’s journey isn’t just leaping and bounding around the world, though. Between every major area are usually a few simple puzzles and some collectibles for Zee to pick up. Featured treasures include items that boost the capacity of Zee’s jetpack and hidden emeralds that are the side collectibles of Europa. These emeralds reward player exploration and experimentation, and I wasn’t able to get even half of the forty available. However, I was able to complete all the puzzles around Europa.

Despite their simplicity, there were a few ideas that really stood out amongst other 3D platformers, including rotating platforms, disappearing blocks, and keys filled with energy scattered away from their appropriate keyholes. They’re all a bit rough around the edges, but they achieve their purpose in Europa’s overall narrative. That said, with only about six hours of total runtime, it’s unclear what these puzzles could have looked like with a few permutations thrown in the mix for a longer experience.

In a larger sense, what Europa is, more than anything else, is simple — yet not in a way that detracts from the overall experience. It’s incredibly focused in trying to show an idyllic paradise that happened to fail because of human hubris. The puzzles don’t need to be complex stratagems that take more than five minutes to solve. Some of the best moments in the campaign involve Zee simply flying around the world, carefree and exploring how alive Europa can be.

Interspersed with the wonders of this natural world is narration from Zee’s father. Rarely do I think that narration adds to an experience in a videogame, but Europa’s does the clever thing where they don’t tell the player exactly what they’re seeing, but they fill in the gaps where the player has questions. The writers lay out the story along Miyazakian principles of capitalism, exploitation, and destruction of the natural world eloquently, but in an innovative plot that flows between these themes. All of this is told by the deceased narrator, Zee’s father, who was supposed to be the architect of this paradise, yet ultimately found more happiness in his relationship with Zee.

Despite its simplicity, Europa establishes itself as a whimsical, wondrous experience floating through the wilds of a fallen utopia. I won’t forget it anytime soon.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

— Jack Dunn

Disclosures: The game was developed and published by Helder Pinto, Novadust Entertainment, and Chozabu (Alex PB). It is currently available on PC and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 6 hours were devoted to the game, and it was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Mild Fantasy Violence. There is no combat in the game, but the main character does have to dodge energy blasts from hostile turrets and mechanical birds that try to knock him out of the sky.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: There are subtitles in the game, and no audio cues are required for gameplay. The subtitles can be resized into 7 different sizes. The game is fully accessible.

Remappable controls: Controls are fully remappable.

The post Europa Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Engaging enemy design. Great platforming mechanics.

LOW One of the cooler combat features is hard to pull off on a controller.

WTF A boss called “Grief” is too real for a game about dead cats.

Crypt Custodian is solo developer Kyle Thompson’s third game released in four years. While he humbly admitted in a Reddit thread on how poetic it’s been to stick to such a schedule, it’s a doubly impressive feat considering that these frequent releases haven’t shown any drop in quality. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Following in the footsteps of his previous titles Islets and Sheepo, Crypt Custodian has the level of polish, completeness, and whimsy of nearly any metroidvania released by a major studio in quite some time.

Crypt Custodian opens with Pluto, an animated cat who’s recently passed away. Thanks to the frog boss of the afterlife preventing him from gaining access to cat heaven (he was judged a bad kitty) Pluto is sentenced to be a janitor, tasked with cleaning up any and all messes that the residents of the afterlife leave behind.

Although not shown from the typical 2D side-on camera angle, Thompson’s top-down title is a metroidvania by any other name. There’s interconnection, backtracking, and item discovery, but Crypt Custodian offers those experiences between charming interactions with supporting characters. When not chatting with acquaintances, Crypt Custodian’s gameplay involves wandering the afterlife, tracking down other ghosts to meet, and cleaning up their messes. Pluto is armed with nothing but a broom that he uses to sweep his enemies away.

Crypt Custodian‘s world isn’t the typical metroidvania affair, either. It tasks the player with navigating through regions of the afterlife held together by… nothing in particular. Floating islands and drifting bogs are everywhere on the map, seemingly represented as pieces of worlds littered with trash ready for cleanup. The crazier landscapes range from a bioluminescent fish graveyard to a broken-down amusement park emblazoned with devil imagery. There’s a sense of disconnection between them all yet it makes a haphazard sense and brings a kind of messiness that Pluto needs to sort through.

Pluto’s mechanics are similarly erratic — there are buttons to jump, sweep, and roll out of the way of dangerous enemies, yet each enemy never posed any particular threat at close range, instead being much deadlier with projectiles they emitted. Some took normal shots straight at Pluto, but others released devastating area-of-effect strikes, homing projectiles, or waves of damage that move around the screen in unpredictable ways.

This combat actually accentuates Crypt Custodian’s themes of disconnection by directly linking to how the encounters are designed. In certain rooms, Pluto needs to cross many platforms to get to an exit, and these exits are often blocked by hordes of enemies. However, Pluto can’t just run around at random. Every room needs to be planned out carefully with a series of dodges, attacks, and jumps to sweep all the enemies off their feet. Add in Crypt Custodian’s “curses” (extra challenges like enemies shooting more projectiles or limiting Pluto’s health to one hit) and these skirmishes are more like precise puzzles rather than rooms to brute force through.

Bosses follow this same pattern. I fought about twelve throughout Crypt Custodian and while I didn’t find any to be particularly difficult, each presented unique challenges via their attack patterns. Some of the first few were just massive versions of smaller enemies I’d already seen, later foes were more creative. Between a lunar-faced man, a rail-riding devil, and bosses that phase-shifted in and out of reality each time I dashed, I was pleasantly surprised and challenged with every new opponent, and ultimately I found these encounters to be the most engaging parts of Crypt Custodian.

The only downside to the combat is that outside of the broom and a special attack that charges, there isn’t much variety. Pluto does eventually get the ability to throw his broom around as a “broomerang”, but it’s a bit clunky to execute on a controller.

Beyond combat and bosses, Crypt Custodian is littered with extra platforming challenges that give Pluto upgrade points, new special attacks, and upgrades to his damage and attack speed. A few noteworthy challenges involved phase-shifting platforms, a series of switches that Pluto had to press in a certain order, and dodging waves of damaging poison attacks. Many of them are on timers, but thankfully they don’t punish the player if they don’t nail them on the first try.

Finally, tying together the world navigation and combat is a fairly charming story. While Pluto’s main objective is to clean up trash and defeat bosses, the real objective is to make friends along the way. Pluto will be tasked with countless side errands from finding wandering souls to looking for someone who will listen to them. In a world of convoluted lore-based metroidvanias, it’s nice see Crypt Custodian offer hilarious (yet engaging) dialogue based on the most mundane situations of life, like getting ready for a dinner party or babysitting.

You could make an argument for any one part of Crypt Custodian being the thing that holds it together — the writing, the tactful platforming, or even the somber-yet-delightful world design. But while no single part stands out, these disconnected parts make the whole world worth exploring, experiencing — and yes, cleaning — to its very end.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

— Jack Dunn

Disclosures: The game was developed by Kyle Thompson and is co-published by Kyle Thompson, Top Hat Studios, and H2 Interactive Co. It is currently available on PC, Switch, XBX/S/O and PS4/5. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on Switch. Approximately 10 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Comic Mischief and Mild Fantasy Violence. All of the violence in is in fighting the various enemies and bosses with a broom, and no blood or gore is depicted.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: The only dialogue and sounds are communicated through speech bubbles. The text for these speech bubbles cannot be resized. There are no relevant audio cues needed for gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable controls: Controls are fully remappable.

The post Crypt Custodian Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Delightfully lively, humorous, and lovable characters. 

LOW Retracing steps gets old in the later hours.

WTF Just what exactly are those bones next to Swamp the rat? 

For those in the market for an engaging, introductory 3D platformer for a younger child or gaming newcomer, I’m happy to report Mail Time is a sound option. With the whimsy and charm of Winnie the Pooh and forgiving platforming that doesn’t sacrifice freedom, Mail Time is a lovely “cozy” game.

Mail Time sees the player assume the role of the newest Mail Scout trainee, tasked with delivering letters to the animal residents of Grumblewood Grove. The player will jump and glide around the serene forest while making friends, discovering relationships, and collecting badges to signify their accomplishments as a Mail Scout. 

Grumblewood Grove is a lovely locale for Mail Time and offers a sprawling forest, muddied swamps, a treetop village, and even a larger-than-life tea party. Though occasionally hindered by some pop-in and a camera that will sometimes get caught behind larger setpieces, the graphics look solid for something coming from a small development team. The Mail Scout’s movement is basic but satisfying. With a jump, a double jump, and a glide, the controls are easy to pick up, even for even the greenest of players. 

Mail Time’s main loop consists of interacting with the forest’s residents, listening to their quandaries, and delivering a letter to whomever might be able to help with their situation. Once a letter is received, it will pop up on the left side of the screen along with the face of the villager the letter is to be sent to. It will also be recorded in the journal — a helpful tool to keep track of the many letters in the player’s pouch. 

Mail Time’s greatest strength is undoubtedly the colorful, memorable characters that inhabit the forest. Not only are their models simple, yet charming, their dialogue is smart and humorously written. Some of my favorites include Max the capybara who’s looking for his orange hat, which he insists is not an actual orange (spoiler: it is definitely just an orange), and Haley the goose and Donna the snail, who both have a crush on each other but are too shy to admit it. 

The act of delivering letters expands each character’s storyline and fleshes out their relationships with fellow forest residents. For example, Egbert the stuffy squirrel hates his upstairs neighbor Clarence the woodpecker for playing his loud music at the very late hour of 8pm, and sends him multiple complaint letters for doing so. But, once finding out they both share the same passion for woodwork, he asks Clarence to help him make an anniversary present for his wife, Annie. Though some mail delivery plotlines are more engaging than others, they serve as an excuse to get to know the characters and be treated to more witty dialogue. 

Exploration and mail delivery, however, can grow stale quickly. With no map provided, the player must remember where each character is in the forest — a difficult task in the early stages when I was still discovering new characters, and my mail pouch was overflowing with deliveries.

Once I learned where everyone was, it did feel as though I was retracing my steps over and over in what felt like a glorified fetch quest, sometime just running back and forth between the same two characters over and over. Though covering the forest repeatedly might be satisfying for a younger gamer, with no additional or more interesting options, more experienced gamers’ patience might be tested.

Luckily, Mail Time’s ambiance and memorable characters outweigh the backtracking issues. I loved getting to know the residents of Grumblewood Grove and helping resolve their conflicts — it really felt like I was making the forest a better place. Mail Time is a lovely cottagecore adventure best enjoyed with a younger gamer, or those looking for a relaxing escapade to be enjoyed on a rainy afternoon.

Score: 7 out of 10 

Disclosures: This game is developed by Kela Van Der Deijl, and published by Freedom Games. It is currently available on Switch, PC, PS4, and PS5. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 2 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There is no multiplayer mode. 

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. No official description of the game is offered by the ESRB. This game can be enjoyed by all ages and is suitable for even the youngest of gamers! 

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game features subtitles, which cannot be altered and/or resized. Audio cues are not needed for progression, making this title fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. A picture of the controls is not included in the game, but they are very straightforward — left control stick to move, right control stick to move the camera, and X to jump and interact with characters and objects.

The post Mail Time Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro is a creator like none other, having brought titles like The Missing, D4, and of course, Deadly Premonition to gamers everywhere. It’s no secret that we here at GameCritics are huge fans of his work, and we’re thrilled to be able to present this interview focusing on his next title, The Good Life.

Described briefly in the PR materials:

Upon beginning her investigation, Naomi — camera in hand — soon realizes that the town and its eccentric residents are hiding all sorts of secrets. She discovers an inexplicable phenomenon in which the townspeople transform into cats and dogs as night falls. Then, just as she’s looking into that mystery, a murder occurs. The Good Life’s captivating adventure story will invite you to explore a large open world, following clues in conversations, tracing for pointers to uncover the town’s dirty secrets. You must eat, sleep, shop (using your skills as a professional photographer to earn money), and learn the arts of crafting, farming, and time management!

*

Dan Weissenberger: Many of your games (Deadly Premonition 1 & 2, The Missing, and now The Good Life) take place in rural or pastoral areas. Why do small towns appeal to you as settings for video games?

SWERY: In all my works, I usually strive to provide ‘experiences to the people who play them. I want people to be able to remember the towns and places they’ve visited in my games, as well as the characters they’ve met as if they were real-life experiences. That’s what I always aim to achieve when I create, so in that regard, (assuming that many gamers live in cities) I try to pick unique places that stand outside the common idea of ‘daily life’ to make people feel like they’re traveling somewhere new.

That’s the thought process I always use, so when I think about the settings for my game, I’m always fascinated by rural towns and other places surrounded by nature, small islands, or small, isolated locations such as inside an airplane or a single apartment (even though it’s inside the city — in other words, places where I can really focus on the details).

DW: Do you have a favorite side activity or minigame in the Good Life? Which minigame or side activity do you think will be the most popular among players?

S: My favorite are the in-game mechanics of taking photos and uploading them to Flamingo, a social media app in the game. When you use your camera, tags will appear to mark things that Naomi herself thinks will earn her a lot of likes on the platform.

From there, players rely on tags to take pictures that they’ll later upload to the social media app, which will result in them gaining a lot of likes, or “Emokes” as they’re known in the game. Boring photos won’t earn you much. Surprising things may end up creating buzz, and photos that you personally love may end up not generating very many likes. In that regard, it’s very true to real-life social media, which I love.

I really wanted to make it so that when you uploaded a photo to Flamingo, it’d also be uploaded to real-life social media such as Instagram, but we weren’t able to take it that far this time.

DW: How involved were you in the English localization of The Good Life – are there places where you wanted to see specific lines of dialogue or descriptions used?

S: First off, I should explain that all the scripts I’ve written recently (D4, The MISSING, and DP2) have been translated by my partner Dan. (He’s also the one translating this interview. Thanks, Dan!) He also made sure to have The Good Life’s English localization proofread by a British English native advisor that he personally hired.

After that process was complete, we went to our previous partner The Irregular Corporation (based in London), and had their localization manager proofread the British English once again, with Dan and myself approving the final changes. As a result, we worked with several talented people to complete the transition from Japanese to British English (and not just any British English, but unique northwestern British English).

Throughout the entire process, everyone made sure to check with me to see how I felt about everything, so I’m confident that nothing from the original Japanese was lost in translation.

DW: Do you have a favorite dog or cat in the game?

S: Oooh, this is a tough question. I love all cats and dogs, but if I had to pick, I’d say the design of the British Shorthair wearing armor is my favorite.

DW: Is the town of Rainy Woods inspired by a specific location in England?

S: On my location hunting trip, I mainly traveled around the Lake District. I visited Windermere, Grasmere, Skelwith Bridge, Hawkshead, Castlerigg, Wray Castle, Kendal, National Trust Sizergh, Clitheroe, Whalley, Osbaldeston, and Manchester, among other places. On a separate trip, I also visited London, Hitchin, Luton, Rye, and some other places. In the end, I feel like I visited so many places and covered so many areas that I can’t just say “Rainy Woods is based on THIS town!”

DW: What kind of research went into designing the traditionally rural English design of the town?

S: Atmosphere, scents, sounds, temperature and humidity, wind…the people who live there. I went there to find things that could never be felt from photos and videos.

DW: Were any of the game’s characters inspired by real people?

S: The inhabitants of Rainy Woods will seem even more bizarre than the characters that have appeared in my previous works. They may seem more like people who live in a fairy tale world or a dream world rather than people living in the real world. If I had to say, there’s a drunk pastor in the game who reminds me of a drunk monk that I know very well in real life.

DW: Beyond the name of the town, can we expect to find any other Deadly Premonition Easter Eggs in The Good Life?

Hahaha. It wouldn’t be a proper GameCritics interview without a question like this! But I don’t think it’d be very tactful for a creator to talk about easter eggs before people get a chance to play the game, so first I’d like everyone to play the game and try to discover some on their own.

DW: What was the most challenging gameplay mechanic to implement in the game?

S: In this game, there’s a system where you upload the photos you take to a social media app called Flamingo and earn money based on advertising. It was really difficult to balance this system with the existing economy system we used of also being able to earn money by selling materials/crops and completing side quests.

However, by working with Grounding, my new partner, I feel like I was able to make a game where all the moving parts are more tightly connected than any SWERY game thus far. Everything the player does will affect Naomi’s health, and you may need to find materials or run around the mountains finding things in order to fix certain problems you encounter… It was extremely difficult and challenging to tie all these different elements together.

DW: Can we expect the inhabitants of Rainy Woods to have full schedules they follow over the course of a day? If so, can interacting with them at different times lead to optional conversations and scenes?

S: Yes. The inhabitants of Rainy Woods all operate on their own schedules. Their schedules change depending on whether it’s raining or clear water, as well as whether it’s a full moon or a new moon…there’s a big secret behind that one.

Their dialog also changes depending on the above, as well as how far you’ve progressed through the story. It always takes a ton of work to implement this sort of thing, but I think it’s something that everyone always expects from my games, so I did my very best.

DW: Is there anything (a gameplay mechanic, a character, a plotline, etc…) you’d wanted to include in The Good Life but were unable to?

Being able to swim when you transform into a dog. I didn’t want it to just be a specific action, but something that could lead you to new stories or things that you could only acquire by swimming. Then I started thinking about what those would be and how you’d be able to use them…and things got bigger and bigger, so ultimately we were unable to implement it. I wanted to put in fishing as well. I thought about making it so that you’d be able to cook the fish you caught yourself, but ‘fishing’ is something that’s already in a ton of games, so it’s kind of old hat… In the end, I decided that it was more important to focus on implementing ‘new things’ and gave up on it.

*

Infinite thanks to SWERY for taking the time to chat with us here at GameCritics, and to his translator and the PR reps who were all necessary in making it happen!

Players interested in seeing the new world SWERY has created can check out The Good Life when it comes to PC, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox this fall.

The post Interview With SWERY On The Good Life appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The art style is wonderful.

LOW Time-gating content holds the experience back.

WTF Postmaster Bear received a package of bloody bear claws…

I am a Spirit Scout, floating along the sea on a mission to a colorless island that rumors say is pretty haunted.

On my first day, I pitch my tent and get my campfire roaring. The fire’s spirit, Flamey, tells me that there are other spirits here and that it is my duty as a Spirit Scout to assist them.

After looking around, I find a ghostly-looking bear. This bear used to be the ranger of the island, and she tells me that it’s official name is Camp Cozy Grove.

After talking with the bear (her name is Charlotte) and helping her, the island begins to grow and color begins to return.

There are many, many lost souls on the island that need, and there are many, many places still lacking color. This is how my mission begins.

Cozy Grove suggests some distinct inspirations, from the 2D characters in a 3D environment art style, to the concept of taking an abandoned island and building it up — both Animal Crossing and Don’t Starve come to mind. That said, Spry Fox’s work has much deeper story elements going on.

After going through the first day on the island, I was able to help out a couple of spirits who each had their own quests, although most of the time it boiled down to searching the island for specific items and bringing them back. After completion, the Scout will get some coins and maybe an item or a ‘spirit log’ for Flamey the campfire. Some color will also return to the island.

This color appearing is a wonderful sight to see as things start to come back to life. Of course, there are still huge areas of the island that stay colorless at first, but as the days go on, meeting new spirits and taking on their quests will revitalize the area.

Unfortunately, after I logged off for the day, returning the next time shows that the island loses the color the spirits brought back the day before, and the process of re-revitalization would have to continue by progressing each spirit’s story via tasks like harvesting ore or collecting plants. Luckily the tasks don’t take too long to do, and bringing back the color every day is a satisfying feeling.

Speaking of progressing the stories, Cozy Grove seems cute and chill at first, but I suspect that more time will reveal some darkness. For example, I completed a quest for the Postmaster, and he told me that he gets weird packages delivered. The last one he received? A box full of blood-soaked bear claws. Considering this spirit tells the Scout that he was in the military before becoming a spirit, I have a feeling this story is going to get rough. I haven’t fully finished any of the individual stories as of the time this review was written, but it’s a slow process as much of the content is time-gated.

I have to be honest, I’m not a big fan of games slowing down the process of seeing new content. After my first day with Cozy Grove, I had only played about 30 minutes of it before Flamey told me to come back tomorrow for more stuff to do.

This basic rhythm repeats every time the player logs on — helping the spirits is almost like doing dailies in an MMO, and once that’s done there’s nothing substantial to do. There is some decorating to do and some crafting available, but the only useful items I found were lamps that create light to bring more color to the island. Otherwise, these tasks can get old pretty quickly.

After a few days of Cozy Grove for 20-30 minutes at a time, I started to forget about the game entirely, and several days would pass before I realized I hadn’t played at all. making any real strides is a pretty slow process, but I will say that meeting a new spirit is exciting since each one has their own personality and job. From the giant fox-bear that is the camp’s merchant to a shipwrecked seagull that doesn’t realize it’s a giant bird, they’re all strange, but strange in the best way possible.

Cozy Grove‘s time-gated content slowed the pace of play too much for me. I love the art style and bringing color back to the island, but when each session’s content ends up being exhausted after 30 minutes or less, it was too easy to forget the whole thing and divert my attention elsewhere. I do look forward to learning more about the spirits, I just wish it wasn’t so slow!

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Spry Fox LLC. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4, Switch, iOS and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 8 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Alcohol References and Comic Mischief. I never came across any alcohol references, but the one-off comments spirits make about their deaths can be a bit dark. One character talks about drinking poison, while another talks about bloody bear claws.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles for everything. There is no voice acting. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized. (See examples above.) There are no audio cues needed for gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. There is no control diagram.

Touch Screen Controls: Walk – Tap to walk to the location tapped, or tap-and-hold to follow the cursor.
Run – Double-tap-and-hold.
Interact – Tap objects of interest.

Gamepad Controls: Walk – Use the D-pad or left stick to walk in the corresponding direction.
Run – Hold the B button (Xbox/Switch) or Circle button (PS4 controller) while walking.
Interact – Press the A button (Xbox controller) or X button (PS4 controller) near objects of interest.

The post Cozy Grove Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.