Recent reviews by Xaph

I loved this game!! The art style, soundtrack, and gameplay were all top notch for me. The difficulty really pushed me in ways that I had never been pushed before as well, which actually made me more eager to try out more soulsborne-inspired games (a genre I've mostly ignored in the past). There were a few moments in the midgame when I lost huge chunks of geo, got really frustrated, and had to set it down and play other games for a little while. But then once I picked it back up and pushed through to the late game, I was having a blast again. I would say the Ori games are still my personal favorite metroidvanias, but this comes VERY close.

I really loved this game. It reminded me of another favorite of mine, Return of the Obra Dinn, but with a totally different aesthetic and narrative style. I wasn't completely sold on it early on - there are some stealth sections that I found annoying, even though they were not difficult at all, and very forgiving when you mess up. However, by the end it had fully won me over with its charm. I was incredibly touched by the final reveal right before the credits. Would recommend this to anyone who likes narrative-driven puzzle games.

Pretty much my favorite game of all time. It has stuck with me in a way that no other game ever has (which is saying a lot, because I have gamed my whole life). One thing that I wish I had known: some of the puzzle solutions can be obscure enough that you will be tempted to look them up. If that happens to you, I highly recommend visiting the Outer Wilds subreddit or Discord server for a gentle, spoiler-free push in the right direction. The people there love to help, and that way you'll still get most of the satisfaction of solving it yourself without spoilers (and once you get through it, you'll understand why that is so important).

I finally played through this game right after playing COCOON, which was a newer game made by some of the same people (and it's also amazing). INSIDE is a really captivating game - it hooked me hard enough that I ended up playing through it all in one sitting. Great atmosphere, great puzzles, and some absolutely crazy moments that will stick with me for a long time.

One of the coolest and most memorable puzzle games I’ve ever played. My favorite thing about it was that the difficulty level felt absolutely perfect. The game has ways of gently guiding you in the right direction without making things too easy. Great if you’re like me and can start to get impatient when you get stuck in one spot for too long. Would highly recommend to anyone who likes other games in this genre.

I thought this was a great mystery/puzzle game. I was super engaged in the whole process of deduction from beginning to end, and every breakthrough that I had was extremely satisfying. The only minor complaint I have is that some parts of the narrative felt a little too subtle for me. Even though I solved the book 100%, I didn't fully understand some of the major plot points until I watched a story summary on YouTube. However, I still thought this was an excellent game.

Incredible game overall. I loved the visuals, the music, and the story. I didn't expect it to have as much suspense and action as it did, but that was a pleasant surprise and reminded me a bit of the Little Nightmares games, which I am also a big fan of. I have to shout out the cat's animations too, they seemed super realistic and reminded me of my own cats. Being able to knock stuff off of shelves, claw up furniture, and hide in boxes, among other "cat things", was a great touch. I played through all of Stray in one sitting, it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

This remaster was pretty unplayable when it first came out with all the bugs and other issues, but I came back to it a while later and it is pretty good now. I still feel like it's not an amazing remaster overall, but I do really like the updated facial animations and lipsyncing. I think that small extra sense of "realism" is nice, especially during the more emotional scenes. If I have to choose thumbs up or thumbs down, I choose thumbs up overall, but it is far from perfect and the original game still holds up just fine IMO.