Nedávné recenze uživatele a cuddly whale calf

From squalid survival to sordid society, this short verb-based point and click asks you to lead a bunch of incompetent island folk, and shows us the political system corrupts all.

It's also got silly jokes designed to lighten the mood, unpleasantly-stretched-photo character art and a PewDiePie cameo, so it's an odd mix - as the game itself explains.

I wouldn't say it's the finest way to tell a story, as it relies on rather on-the-nose walls of text to set the scene and advance the story, but it makes its points clearly and got a few chortles out of me.

This was a good early game from the dev: it did what it wanted to do with minimal bugs, but also it doesn't really have engaging characters you want to spend time with (which is kind of the point it's making).

Definitely worth a play if you're a fan of Joe Richardson's later works, where he really worked cracked the art that worked best with his animation style, and told the story more subtly.

How do you top a genre-defining landmark point-and-click adventure series?

The answer, turns out, is to add top-quality cinematic-style animation and a better user interface getting rid of on-screen verbs, while keeping all the superb comedy writing, characterisation and creative puzzles the series became known for.

Absolutely recommended for anyone who loved the first two Monkey Islands. Doesn't screw anything up, moves things forward, a satisfying length, and full of laughs.

Punch, punch, kick, thwack! We're all used to our beloved retro games getting slaughtered 20 years later by a reboot that introduces a bunch of modern mechanics that don't belong.

Rage 4 is the opposite of that - in terms of the basic gameplay loop, you could believe this side-scrolling co-op beat-em-up with simple combos was released a few years after the originals, with sharper pixels but the same punky street art style.

A true continuation of a classic franchise, it only adds elements that complement the original - like the 2D weight physics on swinging objects that always ends with up hilarious results.

For those who feel the original games were too easy, there's also the option of Mania difficulty, which increases the number of enemies so much that you'll need pretty good optimisation not to slowly get your health worn down, despite the simplicity of the controls.

This sequel was made with great taste and delivers in every area. The game is a little short as it sticks to having just a few detailed levels as did the original, so the only major update I'd like to have seen is a random map generation, which could have opened up a much richer co-op experience. I think they missed a trick there - or maybe we'll see that in the next sequel! This is a game that could go a little more in the Rampage Knights direction.

Polished, satisfying and a complete and true sequel to an eternal classic that was hard to top.

This Whac-A-Mole-style timeless masterpiece FPS is finally playable and beautiful out of the box without needing to hunt around online for patches, thanks to this 25th Anniversary update.

Since 1996, I had forgotten the sheer creativity the devs ID had in finding every possible way to surprise you.

Fresh surprises I found in 2024 were how well the slick and satisfying movement mechanics and weapons still held up today, how enemies popped up from surprise platforms 360 degrees around, how consistently foreboding the visual and sound atmosphere was (thanks to the Nine Inch Nails ambient soundtrack and sound effects), and also how much challenge the grenade-launching chainsaw ogres still posed decades later.

Thanks to Doom 1993, there were hundreds of other FPSes around by the time Quake came out, however they were all of the "enemies slowly file towards you from when they see you" style. Quake was the first game that fully used player-triggered moving walls and doors to truly surprise you by opening entrances and moving platforms to hidden enemies right next to you - and it did it a lot.

By the end of the first few episodes, you feel like virtually every floating pickup is just another way for the sadistic devs to jumpscare you, and you start doing a 180 every time you go near a nice item. Every possible angle - ceilings, walls, floors - was packed with sneaky enemies and secrets. Towards the end, the devs knew you'd be getting used to that, so they then moved on to moving huge sections of floor around you, sucking you through giant pipes Mario-style and filling the room with multiple airborne enemy types at once, like the bouncy-ball-like spawn that are much harder to hit.

Another bonus for anyone picking this up today is the newly created episode from Machine Games of Wolfenstein fame - Dimension of the Machine. Absolutely top notch and varied level design that ramps up the detail, intricacy and player challenge of Quake level design, with some lovely renaissance, industrial-themed and platforming levels that feel like something out of Thief or Half-Life, and some set pieces even looking like Doom 2016.

The 25th anniversary edition also includes some of the top community-made episodes from over the years, including those from mappers who eventually joined the major game studios, which is a brilliant introduction to Quake's fan scene. Many of these exceed what you could expect could be done in the engine.

Finally a fitting version of this masterpiece on Steam.

The apex and big hit of the mom/dad cozy game genre, Unpacking asks you to sort through a girl and, later, woman's belongings each time she moves home through her life.

It strips away all overt storytelling except what you can tell from examining someone's personal possessions, and that's all you need to know how life is going.

A relaxing, sentimental and nostalgic game of fiddling about with pretty pixellated objects and beloved toys, spinning them around, and putting them in the right place with a satisfying thunk.

It's okay, you can like games this. Getting old is okay.

Ultrameta fun half hour point and click that must be some kind of record for number of puzzle types per minute.

A satisfying Witness spoof, this one surprises not only with the witty flippancy of its maze puzzles, but also some creative puzzles that could have been in the original game.

Anyone who feels the pretentiousness of puzzle games needs puncturing will enjoy this. (Or, perhaps, try Grand Inquisitor, which does its own ridiculing.)

There are some technical downsides. It's prone to crashes, and often paths need to be redrawn because of pixellation rather than having the wrong idea.

Nevertheless, at the price of free, this is one of the better spoof games out there, and one I can't help wondering would earn Jonathan Blow's nod.

I do hope Bradley Lovell's Subcreation Studio can get to a full-length puzzler – or more quality spoofs – soon. I think the Myst series could do with the treatment...

Good Sunday afternoon fun.

The most meta game imaginable, this art-house story about a self-defeating game designer manages to outdo the Stanley Parable at its own self-referential game.

Like Stanley, it's an superbly narrated visual novel, and while it's not as witty or fun-filled as Stanley, it's a fascinating glimpse into what it takes to create true art in a game, and what compromises need to be made.

Relaxing, gothic, funny, and made me feel somewhat reflective about life.

Gameplay-wise, it's a set of simple physics, item combination and hidden object games linked by a loose story where you're a slightly evil landlord, but that's okay because everyone else is just as bad.

It's part of the new genre of "make it fit" games such as Unpacking or A Little to the Left that can be enjoyed for their satisfying interaction mechanics, particularly animations and sounds. The difference is that Madison Karrh's stories have a macabre edge that gives a feeling of more depth, as well as a bit of humour as you enjoy the bizarre ways the characters live.

All Madison Karrh's games so far have been top notch. She's a unique dev to keep an eye on.

15 minutes of surreal interactive rainbow-coloured claymation.

Free, didn't outstay its welcome and pleased the senses.