PC game reviews

Hi! The reviews here are from two large itch.io charity bundles. "Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality" and "Bundle for Ukraine."  I use a random generator to decide which games I should play next! 

[manyofgames]

Don’t Take it Personally, I Just Don’t Like You

3/5 quality art and dialogue, but leaves us wanting more 

platform: Itch.io  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Don’t Take it Personally is a dating Visual Novel with multiple endings. It has well written dialogue and an interesting VHS static effect to enhance the story. 

The story follows a group of friends who go on a camping trip. There is you (you can pick gender), your girlfriend Rose, and your punk friend Mariah. The game mostly consists of having conversations and making choices that will increase your relationships. 

The game takes place in the 90′s and uses static effects to convey the tension that the characters are feeling. It often feels like its going to become a horror VN, but nothing ever happens. 

It’s hard to rate the game since it is not finished. The developer plans to add many paths and characters to the final product. Because of this, there are a lot of plot points that feel like they are leading somewhere, but underwhelm us in the end. Currently, the game is fun but won’t surprise you in any way. 

Don’t Take it Personally is a nice hour spent, but doesn’t stand out to much in the visual novel catalogue. 

[manyofgames]

House on Holland Hill 

3/5 engrossing but short experience of a pizza delivery driver. 

platforms: Steam, Itch.io (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

In House on Holland Hill, you play as a pizza delivery man who frequently delivers to the same house. As you deliver to this house over and over, you see how the characters in the house change over time. 

The game has a fascinating concept. Visiting the same people frequently and getting a glimpse into their lives as an outsider. That being said, the game did not feel long enough to expand on its characters and the emotional beats that drive it.

Overall a thought-provoking story that could have been a little more. 

[manyofgames]

We Should Talk 

3/5 an interesting but surface level experiment with conversationalism

Platform: Steam, Itch.io (Bundle for Ukraine)

We should talk is a talking simulator, in which you string together a combination of words to make a sentence. You are texting your girlfriend Sam while you spend the night at the local bar. You get to decide how the conversation (and your relationship) with Sam develops. 

It’s an interesting concept, but the game does not add much beyond surface level. It does an adequate job at representing what a struggling relationship could look like, and the effort it takes to adapt to your partners struggles. 

The concept is more riveting then the game itself, but there are multiple ending that give it pleny of replay value. 

[manyofgames]

Orion Trail

3/5 a fun concept and a good time waster, but way to reliant on rng. 

platforms: steam, itchio (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Orion Trail is a luck based choose-your-own adventure game. Similar to Oregon Trail, you have stats and different situations, and you have to choose the right answers to not run out of food,fuel, hull etc. The higher your stats are for each choice, the more chance you’ll win the situations. 

The game is a lot of fun. Entertaining dialogue and situations, A different game each time due to the different stats and crew. The only problem is that it is entirely reliant on RNG. Just about all of the gameplay is luck based.. You can be doing amazing, land on a skull and lose over 200 fuel. I once lost in two movement spaces because my hull kept getting hit. There is also not really an engame cutscene or anything so when you beat it, your just done. No conclusion. 

Overall, fun game but there is a tiny bit a skill and a whole lot of luck. 

[manyofgames]

Corinne Cross’s Dead & Breakfast

4/5 wholesome and lovable story driven side-scroller

platforms: steam, itchio  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Dead & Breakfast is a story about Corine Cross. Corinne’s high school acquaintance, Gale has recently died. She promises Gale’s sickly mother that she’ll look after the house while she recovers in the hospital. Little did Corinne know, that it was a haunted bed & breakfast! 

This game really surprised me. The game mostly consists of gardening, cooking, and talking to ghosts and living beings. Everything is really easy and it’s a very relaxing game. The characters are very likable and it has a lovely little story. 

I really enjoyed the art, dialogue, characters, gameplay mechanics, and pretty much everything. It is delightful and wholesome, with a good story. It also has a new game plus feature. I haven't used it, but I appreciate that it exists.

This charming little game will make you smile. I highly recommend it! 

[manyofgames]

1365

1/5 good message but overall not worth the time spent

platforms: Itchio  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

1365 is a platformer where you ignore your anxiety and get through your first day of school. Overall the game isn’t very good. The message is nice but you’ve seen it before. The platforming isn’t fun. The controls are too slidey and it’s hard to land on specific spaces. Some enemies were impossible to get through without getting hit. At first I thougth it was designed that way, but way to many times I fell down when it wasn’t possible otherwise. There isn’t really an ending and it just kind of abruply ends. It’s only like 20 minutes but even that feels long.

Unfortunately, 1365 is just not worth the download  

[manyofgames]

Lonely Wolf Treat

3/5 short, to the point, adorable. 

Platforms: Itchio  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Lonely Wolf Treat is a cute little rpg-maker game about a wolf who is stranded by an avalanche and forced to live by a bunnies village. The wolf, who is used to relentless discrimination, is surprised when a little bunny wants to make him curry...

 The game is very basic and to the point. No side quests or extra activities. You follow a one hour story to the end. It has nice art and music and the message is wholesome. 

There is nothing you won’t predict, but for free, its a nice one hour spent! 

[manyofgames]

Long Days Gone

4/5 A strong hook with a compelling story

platforms: Steam, Itchio  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Long Days Gone is a turn based pixel rpg. You play Rourke, a new recruit who goes on his first mission and realizes, he might be fighting on the wrong side of this war…

Long Days Gone is a surprisingly good game! It has a very interesting story with equally likable characters. The dialogue is nicely written and I really enjoyed the pixel and 2D art. The beginning is a lot more compelling them the middle, but that's because it does have a very strong hook.

The gameplay is not too interesting. It's turn-based combat with probability mixed in. You pick a target and then choose which part of his body to hit (head, arm, body). The head is critical damage but low accuracy. The body is low damage but high to medium accuracy. The arm is low damage and high accuracy, and usually has a chance to stun.

The game also uses a morale system which Is pretty unique. Depending on what missions or choices you choose, your team can gain or lose morale. If they are happy and have high morale, you get more critical hits in battle. additionally, if you use skills in battle, your character will lose morale. It's a nice balance.

The game isn't finished yet, it's missing the last chapter, but i'm enjoying it so far. It also has a ton of side missions, so you can easily spend a good chunk of time on it.

I will be highly anticipating the next chapter to this game! 

[manyofgames]

A Mortician’s Tale 

3/5 educational and interesting with a good story, but short and flat at times.

Platforms: itchio, steam  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

A Mortician’s Tale is a short little game where you just got the job at a funeral home. You have to cremate, embalm, and clean the bodies as well as attend the funerals. 

The gameplay is pretty basic and repetitive. It’s get an email telling you what to do with the body, then you do the same step-by-step processes you learned. 

 I did really enjoy the story. Especially the blog. It’s a funeral themed blog you can read which leads to some interesting and educational topics.

The game does have an abrupt ending which makes you think the game could be great if it was more fleshed out. But I think the game is worth playing. It helps with viewing death in a more informed and less taboo way. 

There are better made games, but this game dares to tackle topics we are all curious about. 

[manyofgames]

Dominique Pamplemousse: It’s All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings

2/5 strange and unorthodox point & click musical. Has charm and individuality, but it just wasn’t for me. 

Platform: Steam, Itch.io  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Dominique Pamplemousse is a stop motion point and click musical. The whole game is like a strange fever dream. The singing is very bad, especially the main character. The art creeps me out, and the story is very short (1 hr). Yet... the game was something I couldn’t quite forget. It has a uniqueness to it that I’ve never seen in another game. Plus it’s only one dollar on steam. 

Personally it’s not my type of game, but if it’s yours then it’s well worth the price. 

[manyofgames]

Destiny Fails Us: a New Life

3/5 a surprisingly well done vn with multiple thought out paths. Nothing spectacular but a good afternoon spent. 

Platform: Itch.io  (Racial Justice & Equality Bundle)

Destiny Fails Us is a choice based otome (can only date boys) about a girl named Idril. She is trying to balance school, friends, home life, and her recent breakup.

 The game actually has some darker themes that set it in a more grounded realistic world. It also has some small stat building and a text message feature where you can sometimes respond to friends or family. The writing is believable and there are many paths this VN can go. The art is not great, but it makes up with charm and it’s ability to tackle sensitive subjects. 

This VN isn’t going to amaze you, but it’s worth your time. 

[manyofgames]

  Just Another Day at the Office

1/5 bad art, bad writing, bad gameplay. Just as fun as watching paint dry...

Platform: Itch.io (Racial Justice and Equality Bundle)

Just Another Day at the Office is a sidescroller game where you get fed up at work and decide to murder your co-workers. Everything about this game is low effort. No original assets, movement and gameplay is janky. Dialogue is horribly written. 

This is just one of those games that can be made in a matter of minutes. 

[manyofgames]

welcome!

If you play online games you’re probably aware that the itchio “bundle for racial justice” came out recently and featured over 1,700 games. I normally review Steam games, but I’m excited to tackle this project. 

I made a spreadsheet of all the games and I’m using a number generator to choose randomly for me. This has so far lead to some great results, and some... not so great. I’m excited to tackle all of the games, thanks for reading my reviews!