Reviews

An in-game screenshot of the video game Eclipsium. From the first-person perspective, a man's arm reaches out towards a burning woman on a stake. Her face is obscured with white hair and bloodied wounds. Fire rages around her.

REVIEW: Incomprehensibly beautiful and oppressively tense, Eclipsium is a stunning technical achievement in horror gaming

Full-body tension and an experience that overwhelms the senses, in the best way.

Nate Hermanson

2 hours ago6 min read

An in-game screenshot of Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree. In a forest environment, a warrior spins in a red arc to slash at some encroaching demons.

REVIEW: The action roguelike's new era is marked by games like Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree

Hard to say goodbye.

Nate Hermanson

2 days ago8 min read

An in-game screenshot of Consume Me. A teen girl sits at the dinner table, looking nervously down at a plate and oddly shaped blocks of food. A ham is a cube with a small one block addendum. A steak is shaped like a T. A corncob is a line. They align on the plate, covering various parts of the plate. A conveyor belt on the bottom shows incoming food blocks: a cookie and egg as small three-block L-shapes and a cubic piece of watermelon. A dog hovers to the right, hoping to be fed something off the conveyor.

REVIEW: Authenticity, charm, and empathy make Consume Me one of 2025's best

As advertised: It did consume me.

Nate Hermanson

Sep 248 min read

An in-game screenshot of Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1 Re-Raptored. A man with black hair, black shades, a red shirt, and a bulletproof vest, stands in front of a locked gate that blocks his way into a mansion ahead. He says: "They don't make 'em like they used to."

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1 Re-Raptored skewers the industry once again with match-3 action

If you enjoyed the challenge of late-game CRDM3, you'll thrive from beginning to end.

Nate Hermanson

Sep 237 min read

An in-game screenshot of Arctic Awakening. From the first-person perspective, a person examines their wrist compass and a map simultaneously in an arctic setting. A round robot floats ahead of them, with a worried look on their face.

REVIEW: Arctic Awakening's blend of narrative walking sim and survival game mostly works

While Arctic Awakening sometimes left me feeling frosty, there's a definite spark that shines through.

Nate Hermanson

Sep 187 min read

An in-game screenshot of the game Henry Halfhead. A paper airplane with eyes flies over a messy classroom. Paint marks are all around the floor, a piece of homework with an incorrect answer scribbled in lays next to the mess, and a chalkboard at the front reads: MATH!

REVIEW: Henry Halfhead joyfully brings to halfmind the simpler things in life

A game for those with whimsy in their hearts — and anyone looking for a gateway to finding more of it.

Nate Hermanson

Sep 166 min read

An in-game screenshot of the game Herdling. A young person in a red hoodie stands in front of a campfire, surrounded by strange horned beasts in various states of rest. The fire is burning and the young person holds a staff with authority.

REVIEW: Lead the herd and develop bonds in Herdling

Herdling's story is one of survival, collaboration, and family. Okomotive balances your emotions beautifully, giving you tense moments of fear as you face the perilous natural obstacles on your journey to bring these creatures home — but then offering heart-soaring moments of joy in equal measure.

Nate Hermanson

Aug 218 min read

An in-game screenshot of The Drifter. A man with a graying beard is tied to a brick underwater, panicked and wild-eyed. A gas canister floats past him and a variety of bodies in a similar state float around him, long dead.

REVIEW: The Drifter's thrilling pulp action takes a step forward for modern point and clicks

One of the best games this year and an all-time point and click must-play.

Nate Hermanson

Aug 157 min read

An in-game screenshot of Time Flies. A fly sits on a vinyl record atop a record player that has had its power switch flicked on.

REVIEW: Time Flies makes the most of its short life

Even as it brought a newly heightened sense of my own ever-ticking life clock, I found that Time Flies was time well spent.

Nate Hermanson

Aug 17 min read

An in-game screenshot of Wheel World. A cyclist with a white cap and a cropped red hoodie pushes their bike along as they walk away from a series of statues showing a variety of other cyclists, each with some glowing bike part.

REVIEW: Wheel World - A chilled out open world where your PR is the hill to conquer

Hopping into Wheel World did feel "just like riding a bike" — it was easy to slide into its world and fall into a practiced rhythm.

Nate Hermanson

Jul 237 min read

An in-game screenshot from Popucom. A split-screen view of a mini-boss fight, with two characters running in an outdoor stage with a bipedal monster made of various colored blobs runs at them. One of its legs is shorter than the other, having been shot by the players through the match-3 color shooting mechanic.

REVIEW: Popucom's a brilliant bubble blasting co-op bash

Popucom is an absolute delight and one of the best co-op games we've played in years. It stands atop the mountain alongside experiences like Split Fiction and Portal 2.

Nate Hermanson

Jul 187 min read

An in-game screenshot of TMNT: Tactical Takedown. Michelangelo, an anthropomorphic turtle ninja with an orange hachimaki band around his eyes, stands triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air. He says: "There's nothing we can't do together, dude!" Donatello, an anthropomorphic ninja turtle with a purple hachimaki band around his eyes, beams back with pride. Behind their illustrated cutouts is the backdrop of a grid-based city street.

REVIEW: TMNT: Tactical Takedown turns beat-em-ups tactical without sacrificing any of the adrenaline

TMNT: Tactical Takedown is full of great ideas that, while only half-realized at times, make for an undeniably fun tactics experience for gamers of all levels.

Nate Hermanson

May 297 min read

An in-game screenshot of StarVaders. It depicts the game's combat screen. A wave of alien invaders descend downward through a tile-based grid. Two long snake-like aliens prepare shots that go straight forward and down two diagonals. Many of the invaders have blue shields around them. The player controls a red robot at the bottom of the screen by choosing from one of a few cards shown in their hand.

REVIEW: I never want to stop playing StarVaders

StarVaders burns bright and is no flash in the pan. I can't stay away from it and neither should you.

Nate Hermanson

May 217 min read

The key art for the game Despelote. A photograph of a city is tinged with a dark pink tone while black and white line art of kids playing soccer on the street is overlaid. There is a black and white flag of Ecuador, a group of people sitting around a TV in plastic chairs, and various other people milling about.

REVIEW: Despelote's part-game part-documentary speaks to the power of sports in community and simpler times

Ecuador, 2001: A boy, a ball and a country on the cusp of greatness.

Nate Hermanson

May 57 min read

An animated GIF of Wanderstop. It starts with a sword flying through darkness before cutting to the main character Alta wincing and shaking her head on a bench. She's got white hair done up with a yellow bandana and what looks to be a black leather jacket. It cuts to serene shots of nature and hanging pots before cycling again.

REVIEW: Wanderstop's therapeutic and tactile tea-making brought me to tears

Walked a chamo-mile in Alta's worn warrior boots.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 298 min read

An in-game screenshot of Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. A man with short brown hair who wears a green t-shirt and a black bulletproof vest stands with his hands at his sides and he speaks nervously to a tiny raptor with a pistol. Their conversation goes: "Freeze!" "You freeze! I've got a gun!" "OH MY GOD YOU TALK."

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 - A matchroidvania RPG about a fake game series represents the rage of an entire industry

When passionate folks fight for the marvelously strange ideas, for the oddball characters, and for match-3 games, a clever little project like Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 just might make it to your PC against the odds.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 227 min read

An in-game screenshot of Promise Mascot Agency. It depicts a conversation between Pinky, the severed finger, and Tofu, a giant block of Tofu. Pinky says: "We're all about making dreams come true and if your dream is to make a difference in people's lives and crush old men under your boot, we're here to help."

REVIEW: The stray mascots of Promise Mascot Agency gave me hope we'll survive 2025

The last place I expected to find hope for the nightmare year that has been 2025 is in the giant sparkly eyes of a severed pinky. But that's just the kind of world we live in right now.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 108 min read

An in-game screenshot of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza. On the deck of a pirate ship, various crew members pose for a photo. Some cross their arms, some raise a fist in glory. In the front, the game's protagonist Majima points at the camera. Next to him, a young boy stands with his hands at his waist, and his father stands next to him in a backwards cap raising his fist. A baby tiger sits off to the side as well.

REVIEW: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the definition of a side story... and that's not a bad thing

Being a pirate captain for a "short" 40 hours in the Like a Dragon universe is a dream I never knew I had.

Nate Hermanson

Apr 78 min read

REVIEW: Typing is terrifying in Dead Letter Dept.

Psychological safety in the workplace? You won't find it in Dead Letter Dept.

Nate Hermanson

Feb 125 min read

REVIEW: Who needs dating apps when I can just match-3 with some hotties in Spirit Swap?

Spirit Swap: Lo-fi Beats to Match-3 To is everything I could have asked for in a return to Panel de Pon match-3 gaming — and then some.

Nate Hermanson

Feb 88 min read

REVIEW: Incomprehensibly beautiful and oppressively tense, Eclipsium is a stunning technical achievement in horror gaming

REVIEW: The action roguelike's new era is marked by games like Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree

REVIEW: Authenticity, charm, and empathy make Consume Me one of 2025's best

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1 Re-Raptored skewers the industry once again with match-3 action

REVIEW: Arctic Awakening's blend of narrative walking sim and survival game mostly works

REVIEW: Henry Halfhead joyfully brings to halfmind the simpler things in life

REVIEW: Lead the herd and develop bonds in Herdling

REVIEW: The Drifter's thrilling pulp action takes a step forward for modern point and clicks

REVIEW: Time Flies makes the most of its short life

REVIEW: Wheel World - A chilled out open world where your PR is the hill to conquer

REVIEW: Popucom's a brilliant bubble blasting co-op bash

REVIEW: TMNT: Tactical Takedown turns beat-em-ups tactical without sacrificing any of the adrenaline

REVIEW: I never want to stop playing StarVaders

REVIEW: Despelote's part-game part-documentary speaks to the power of sports in community and simpler times

REVIEW: Wanderstop's therapeutic and tactile tea-making brought me to tears

REVIEW: Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 - A matchroidvania RPG about a fake game series represents the rage of an entire industry

REVIEW: The stray mascots of Promise Mascot Agency gave me hope we'll survive 2025

REVIEW: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the definition of a side story... and that's not a bad thing

REVIEW: Typing is terrifying in Dead Letter Dept.

REVIEW: Who needs dating apps when I can just match-3 with some hotties in Spirit Swap?

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