Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Played on: Nintendo 3DS (emulated) / Rating: ★★★★☆
After playing Symphony of the Night and loving it dearly, I was really excited to keep playing the Castlevania saga. I'm not following any particual order other than Aria of Sorrow > Dawn of Sorrow, but that hasn't seemed like a problem to me. Aria of Sorrow presents a different setting, now we are in the future, and our main character is not a vampire. These things took be aback when I started playing it, but as the game advanced, I ended up enjoying it a lot. There are interesting mechanics such as the Souls you have to equip and the Floating Garden area. Symphony of the Night stays at the top, but this was a really enjoyable experience and I definitely recommend it.
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★★
⚠ ︎Pretty much everything
I don't even know where to start. This game is really something else. I've been a fan of the original novel that inspired this game for a while, and after seeing a few of my friends playing it, I really wanted to try it out. To no one's surprise, I liked it a lot! I was really invested in the plotlines even if I had already read the book. This game presents the story through the 5 different points of view of the prisoners, and that's what really got me engaged. There's something that I wasn't a fan of but I can totally understand it because of the context of when this game was released: Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get through the good endings without a guide next to you. I got stuck in a few instances and had to look for help on the Internet. Now, when this game was released back then, you would get a mini book or a paper that served as a guide, and was intended to be played with said guide in front of you, so I get that these kind of things get lost with the death of physical games.
You Will (Not) Remain
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★☆☆
I don't have much to say about this game other than it's obviously a post-pandemic. It's not bad, in fact, it reminded me a lot of Yume Nikki and OMORI, which are two of my favorite games ever, but there was something lacking that I cannot pinpoint. Overall, it was a game that just didn't stuck with me after I finished playing it, but the aesthetics and the atmosphere where enjoyable plus it's really short so I recommend it.
500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ (Demo)
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★☆
Hey! This game is pretty fun! For now, only the demo is available to play, so I don't want to say too much, but the first impression was really good. The game is fun and you can spend endless time jumping around and discovering little things around the map. The aesthetics are beautiful, with an early 2000s looks and a trailer inspired by the early web Youtube videos we would make in Windows Movie Maker. I love the overall idea and the gameplay is super cool, I can't wait to see more!
Hearthstone
Played on: PC / Rating: ?
I would have never thought that I was gonna be playing a Word of Warcraft card game, but here we are. I started playing because my boyfriend wanted someone to play with and I was happy to provide. He has taught me a few things about the meta and overall it's a fun game. However, I've decided that I'm not gonna rate online competitive games because my experience depends a lot on the different patches that are dropped from time to time, as well as what people are playing at the moment.
VVVVVV
Played on: PS Vita / Rating: ★★★★☆
Very simple but interesting concept. The game is fun and sometime it can make you rage which I lowkey love lol. I don't really know what else to say about this game other than it's a really cool and fun idea.
Super Meat Boy
Played on: PS Vita / Rating: ★★★☆☆
Okay, I kinda get it (? Like, I understand why this game got the repercussion it got and I think it's well deserved, don't get me wrong. The mechanics are simple but really fun, the characters are memorable even if their designs are really simple, and I like that it's really bizarre and sometimes gory. However, I don't know why I haven't bonded with this game, I think it's not really for me.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Played on: PS Vita (emulated) / Rating: ★★★★★
What can I say... This has become one of my favorite games of all time. It may be because I love both metroidvanias and vampires a little too much, but man, this is beautiful. The visuals are stunning, with this fantasy gothic look that fits just perfect. I loved the different creatures and monsters, how each of them seemed to belong to the castle, making you look like the outsider. It's like an echosystem that works and exists with or without you. The gameplay is really fun, at least for me since I'm a sucker for a good platforming, there are boss fights that make you rage and want to tear your hair out, different mechanics such as shapeshifting, becoming mist, using certain power ups that you pick up along your adventure and dashing. Overall it was an amazing experience and I felt really empty once I finished it, so I'm looking forward to playing more games from this saga.
The Path
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★☆
⚠ ︎Depictions of sexual assault
This retelling of Little Red Riding Hood had been in my list of games to play for a while but somehow I always ended up postponing it. This game is... a lot. I read some reviews calling it a "walking simulator" and the more I played it the angrier I got at this description. Yes, this game has a lot of walking, it's the main mechanic of the game, however, it's much more than that. The game tells the stories of 6 sisters, each of them in a different time of their life, ranging from 9 to 19 years old, the tale of the Little Red Riding Hood is used to talk about their struggles and hardships in life, some of them because of their age, others because of their choices and the conditions that have made the girls take them. Each girl has her own wolf, and finding it results in different endings, all of them heavily charged with symbolism. This game can be a gut wrenching experience, but also a really cool and visually appealing ride. I would like to get into detail about every topic that this game covers, but there are a lot of articles and videos that will do it better than me. Recommended, though not for everyone.
Papers, Please
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★★
⚠ ︎Nudity
I've already played this game multiple times, but this was the first time I actually finished it and got all the achievements. This game is so fun and unique and I have a place in my heart saved for it. Don't have much more to say about it, just an overall nice experience.
Faith: The Unholy Trinity
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★★
⚠ ︎Body horror, religious trauma, blood, gore
Honestly, as bad as it can sound, I feel like this game was made for me. It has everything that I really really like in art pieces: religious topics, horror, gross stuff, captivating stories and, in the case of games, a really cool and fun gameplay. The mechanic of the crucifix can seem simple but it's actually really interesting to play. I have to say that I have almost reached all the endings but have a few left to find. The ones that I've got I've liked them so far, and the "main" one is really satisfactory and leaves you wanting for more. This has become one of my favorite games, from the aesthetics, to the rotoscopied animations, to the stories, the music and sounds... It's just perfect.
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★☆
⚠ ︎ Depictions of social anxiety, depersonalization and schizophrenia
This visual novel tells the story of a girl who is assigned the task of going to buy milk. Even though the premise is simple, this main objective is used to cover topics like having to interact with strangers in public while suffering from severe social anxiety, overthinking every single step that's taken, suffering from hallucinations due to a severe level of dissociation and overall realizing how hard and tedious normal tasks like having to buy milk can become to people who suffer from mentall illness. As someone who has gone through similar experiences as the main character, this game hit hard for me. In my opinion, I think it's a really accurate depiction of how it feels to go through stuff like this. I know that some people find these kind of "creepy" depictions of mental illness offensive and of bad taste, however I think that using horror to talk about these topics doesn't always have to be hurtful and, in this case, I find it really adequate. Overall the visual novel is really short and only has two endings ("good" ending, bad ending) so I recommend everyone interested to give it a try, since it won't take too much of your time.
Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★★
⚠ ︎ Depictions of social anxiety, depression, depersonalization, schizophrenia, agoraphobia and suicide.
This visual novel is the continuation of Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. This time, it's a point and click mechanic alongside different dialogue choices. I liked this game better than it's prequel, maybe because it's longer or because it speaks more explicitly about the topics it covers. I really relate to Milk girl, just like in the prequel, I think she's a nice depiction of how living with this kind of mental illness can be like. The game it's interesting, the story is really cool and you want to keep knowing more about the main character. It has multiple endings and each one of them covers different aspects of Milk girl's life, which I found really cool. Please give it a try if you can and give Milk girl a chance to be understood.
Three Verses
Played on: PC / Rating: ★★★★☆
Such a fun and interesting game, I finished it in one night. This is a really cool experience if you like nonsense and chaos. The mechanics are simple but fit well with the game, you have to type manually different verses and attacks, as well as information in a sort of notepad that's given to you. Doors open to rooms that just make no logical sense, characters are everything but human and interacting with them can lead to really funny and messy moments. This game is a really nice time, it's free and doesn't take too long to finish, so PLEASE try it!! It's so much fun!!