Couple's Kitchen

If you're following us, hey there. We've been more or less absent for quite some time. And at the moment, we're working on all of our pages. You may find some real-time changes going on as we're doing a pretty big overhaul. Please excuse the mess! If you're just discovering us, welcome! You can find us in these locations:

Curator Page

Blogspot

twitch (well, one of us anyway)

YouTube (again, one of us really)

Now, for the update!

[the below text has been taken directly from our blogspot]

Our reviews have not started back up again. We're hoping to return to writing reviews in July of 2024. It's been a while, but life has presented many obstacles in the past couple of years and we've experienced great losses. That being said, we're still here. We've just been doing other things. We planned in the past to redo all our older reviews, and that's still on the table. We have also received new titles since we last posted publicly, so we're going to review those as well. The schedule for all of these specific things, however, is kind of up in the air. We do have a few newer things to include now though. And if you've been missing our awkwardness and cringey wit, you're welcome to join us during one of our streams. We will also no longer be posting negative reviews to our tumblr or blogspot, and they will remain only on our curator page. While we've always tried to be compassionate and speak with constructive criticism, we fear that even this amount of scrutiny may negatively affect those who have devoted their time and care into the games they're creating. And, after all, we are just two people. We can't speak to what everyone will enjoy. We'll only go into depth on the things we really want to encourage in the future. Game Reviews: the 9th and 23rd of each month. Anime Reviews: once a month, on the last Tuesday of the month (once we begin, as we want to get our game reviews started again and don't know how much extra time we'll have to devote yet). Manga Reviews: once a month, on the first Tuesday of the month (as with the anime reviews, these likely won't begin as soon as we return). Curator Page: reviews for our curator page will be posted as soon as we've formulated a thought about the games we're reviewing. The full reviews will fall into line with our schedule as they've been completed, with games that have been gifted to us taking priority over others.

Streaming

Streams will be on Mondays and Fridays. At this point, there is no specific time to when these will begin, but we will post over on the paptain tumblr roughly thirty minutes before the stream starts. Since we have already been streaming so many different games, there will be a cycle between the streams from month-to-month. If this system works well, then we'll continue doing it. If not, we'll slowly phase out the cycle once each game is completed. Month A Monday Rotation: Dark Chronicle/Dark Cloud 2 > Persona 3 Reload Friday Rotation: Ys VIII > (Unannounced) Month B Monday Rotation: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel > NEO: The World Ends with You Friday Rotation: Persona 4 Golden > Saturnalia

VOD Uploads

What would happen if a paranormal game actually worked? That is the question that The Elevator Game with Catgirls, a horror visual novel by NoBreadStudio, presents us with. This tale focuses on Kirin, who accepts a dare from her classmate, Sapporo, to play Elevator to Another World, and what ensues as her girlfriend, Asahi, begins the search for her when she seemingly disappears without a trace. Much to Asahi's dismay, her only hope of finding Kirin is to perform the ritual herself. Steeling her resolve, she returns to the building where her girlfriend disappeared and enters the elevator. The following events can only be described as a nightmare, but Asahi is steadfast in her mission to rescue the woman she loves.

In The Elevator Game with Catgirls, the player assists Asahi in her investigation, directing her actions through dialogue choices and point-and-click elements. As she scours the Otherworld for clues, the player will have to solve the occasional puzzle which reveals pertinent information needed to progress the game, or collect red and silver notes to shed light on what else may be occurring. On top of that, Asahi quickly learns that the alternate universe is unforgiving to those who wander its grounds. Danger lurks around every corner, and Asahi is bound to meet her doom in various bad endings. If the player uses their wits and thoroughly examines their surroundings, they can also uncover secret endings, Easter eggs, and other elusive details. Unearthing all of these carefully hidden mysteries can make completing the game feel much more rewarding.

Although the premise of this visual novel is already eerie, the unsettling atmosphere really emphasises that sentiment. From the very beginning, the game does a stellar job establishing a feeling of dread, evoking immersion as Asahi herself is gripped with an unshakeable fear. Stranded in an unfamiliar world, her unease is evident through her thoughts and actions, which only serves to heighten the tension the player feels when navigating the Otherworld. The elevator rides in particular expand upon this dread, with the apprehension building as you arrive at each new floor, unaware of what may be behind the next door. Since the scenery subtly shifts after each new discovery, it keeps the player vigilant for any impending frights. Taking these factors into account, the horror never really feels stale or predictable, and though some plot points may be easily foreseeable, every bit of polish that goes into this visual novel feels fresh and maintains interest until the end.

The well-rounded characters are just another aspect that complements the content of the game. Each character serves a unique purpose, and due to the Otherworld's sinister nature, it casts doubt on whether they seek to help or harm Asahi. Such questionable motivations add intrigue to the experience and, as the game progresses, the true nature of the people she knows becomes less muddled.

Providing voice acting for these characters also significantly enhances the experience. The chosen voice actors are suitable for their roles, and lend their own unique charm to their characters. The delivery of the lines never sounds stilted or misdirected, rather genuine and realistic for the given situation. Having high quality spoken dialogue makes scenes more impactful, especially during the game's emotional moments.

Another beautifully executed element is the art. The rough, sketch-like art style blends in nicely with the dismal backgrounds, forming a distinct flair. Even the 3D-modelled assets feel lovingly crafted, combining with the 2D character art to create an allure that is seldom found in mainstream visual novels. The one flaw we ever found within this game was that the falling snowflakes seemed to have minor visual stuttering whilst moving the mouse, but that hardly impedes the enjoyment.

Lastly, the music plays an instrumental role in highlighting the atmosphere—from scary encounters to poignant scenes, the composition from OddTillTheEnd is masterful, to say the least. The theme song of the game, Masks and Illusions, plays at just the right time as well, sweeping the player up in overwhelming emotion and punching them right in the feels. And that's just what NoBreadStudio does best with their games—taking your breath away.

Paratopic is a short, atmospheric game with PSX era graphics that presents more questions than answers. From the very beginning, the player is enmeshed in a haunting mystery—one that is riddled with death and malevolence alike. The root cause of all these problems seems to lie within mysterious, banned video tapes. These tapes are the only form of pleasure found in this broken-down, pitiful world, but it comes with the price of corrupting mind, body, and soul.

One of the main strengths of Paratopic is its ability to create an unsettling stage for which each scene plays out. From distorted voices and faces to an eerie landscape, it easily succeeds in increasing the player's apprehension. Multiple instances of waiting idly during scenes also contributes to this. These suspenseful moments include little to no player interaction, leaving time to wonder if something is lurking around the corner. However, they can sometimes feel a bit overdone, such as in the notorious long driving sequence which repeats over the course of the playthrough. It certainly adds to the narrative, but it is a slight hindrance for the player. In most cases, time slowing to a crawl in these scenes enhances the experience, as long as you have enough patience to endure them.

Besides the atmospheric touches, the progression of the story also adds to the intrigue. Although there are dialogue options sprinkled throughout the game, the story is a straight line, with a non-linear chronology, leading the player to a single ending. What makes Paratopic unique, however, is how the scenes are presented. They are spliced together with no transition whatsoever, giving only vague hints of where they fit together in the overall plot. It is up to the player to unravel these threads, piecing them together to create a coherent representation of the timeline. The way the player is dropped in carelessly emphasises the ennui of this grimy, desolate world. Such a subversion challenges the expectations that modern games have adhered to, making Paratopic stand out from the crowd.

FAST FOOD SHOP ONLINE is advertised as a solo or multiplayer (up to 16 players) pizzeria simulator in which the main objective is to keep customers happy by completing their orders on time, with the difficulty gradually increasing. To counteract the difficulty, you may upgrade your shop. It is also necessary to buy produce from time-to-time. While running a pizzeria with so many other players is an interesting concept, FAST FOOD SHOP ONLINE falls short of meeting expectations. Unfortunately, there are numerous faults that must be addressed before considering purchasing this game.

First, there are a few bugs that detract from the experience. When playing in online mode, the dough maker will become out of sync between players. Initially, it appears to be a shared batch of dough for pizza crust, but over time, the second player was unable to make pizzas as they no longer had any dough to do so, despite repeated attempts to replenish it.

Another unfortunate bug is the volume setting. It is only accessible from the main menu, but even if the volume is lowered or muted, the setting resets to the default once you enter the game. As jarring as that is, it is significantly more frustrating when you take into account the one tune that loops throughout the game. At first, it's a pleasant little melody, if a bit ill-fitting, but after hearing it repeated over and over again, it becomes unbearable to listen to.

While not a bug, the means of communication are limited as well. For a game that encourages hosting large lobbies, there is no in-game text chat to speak of. This could leave out people who aren't able to voice chat with one another and foster miscommunication while working on orders. Additionally, there are a couple of typos scattered throughout the interface, such as "firends" on the main menu or "worng order" during the game. These are not always glaringly obvious, however, they do come across as careless.

Another area that needs work is the representation of crafted pizzas. The customers' orders and the pictures on the shop marquee don't match the pizzas you're actually making. For some reason, when you apply an ingredient to a pizza, it only places a single topping whereas everywhere else in the game they resemble fully fleshed out pizzas. It only took one attempt to add additional ingredients to realise that this is just how the developers chose to represent the recipe. It's a bit off-putting and never truly looks right.

There is no save function to the game, which is fine as it isn't necessary anyway. After upgrading everything, there's nothing else to do except endlessly make the same pizzas that you started with. Only now, with no option to raise the difficulty. And that's another thing—the proposed challenge that the game offers is non-existent. One of the upgrades is to increase advertising for your pizzeria in order to pull customers. So, the difficulty ramping up with time as the Steam page suggests is entirely player driven. This causes the upgrades that you strive towards to feel like vain attempts to pad the game with content.

Besides these caveats, additional areas could have been expanded upon. There is plenty of freedom to explore in the thirty seconds between each new customer (before your first advertising upgrade), however, the player can only stay within certain boundaries as the game will automatically teleport them back to the play area if they wander too far from the pizzeria. This seemed a bit strange, considering the map was so intricately designed. It does have some nice visual touches, but decoration does not equal content. This feels like a missed opportunity. If it had been polished to its full potential, it might very well haven been a game that we would have spent a lot of time with.

The scenery is charming and interesting to look at, and the surrounding shops are just begging to be utilised. For example, players could go to the neighbouring produce shop to buy their own supplies, rather than ordering them from a computer and having them delivered by a van that arrives and disappears in an instant. A clothing shop could have been implemented to allow player customisation. The pizzeria itself could have been optimised as well—seating for customers to dine in, requiring someone to bus the tables, delivering pizzas around the map, and so much more. Such features could have made the vast player lobby feel worthwhile. Unfortunately, this is not an early access game. There is no indication that the developers ever plan to revisit this project.

A quick search of the developer's other games show a pattern of similar behaviour: releasing games that are intriguing at face value, only for many of the reviews to reflect our own comments about this game. There is clearly some amount of effort put into these creations, but it doesn't do them justice when they are released so haphazardly. The game is rather cheap at least, yet it doesn't feel like you get your money's worth. It's disappointing, because the concept this game presents aligns with our interests. It just happens to fall flat of our expectations. That being said, with all these issues, we can't recommend FAST FOOD SHOP ONLINE.

Ys I & II Chronicles+ offers a fresh coat of polish to the first two games in the long-standing Ys franchise. The series, for the most part, delves into the tales of fearless adventurer Adol Christin as he explores the vast world around him, somehow running into trouble at every turn. Because he is such a worldly young man, nearly all of the Ys games are standalone stories. However, Ys II directly follows the events of Ys I, which is why they are so conveniently packaged together in this neat little bundle.

For those who are motivated to follow a series from its inception, Ys certainly offers little Easter eggs throughout its many instalments—mostly in the form of referencing past events or revisiting characters from previous games. In essence, the games all take place in the same universe and follow a particular chronology, but as mentioned, it isn't really necessary to play all of the games, or even all of the games in order (with the exception of the two in this bundle). You generally won't miss much if you pass over one of the games.

It is probably no surprise that Ys I & II Chronicles+ gets our stamp of approval. We love the entire catalogue of Ys games—the challenge of powering through Nightmare difficulty, the ever-endearing characters, the intriguing story- even the developer. But if you've been following this blog for a while then you know that we try to mix our opinions with a hint of objectivism. There are, of course, reasons that people might shy away from tackling these two games.

Suffice it to say, video games have evolved in the decades that we've all been playing them. They're now much more user friendly. Puzzles usually make quick sense and the majority of games are geared towards making you want to continue playing them, avoiding any of the frustrating pitfalls that can sometimes crush a person's spirit. That's why in the past, video games were more of a niche hobby than they are today, and the older Ys games are just that—older games. It's something that is assuredly felt throughout, and if the somewhat outdated graphics aren't enough to remind you that this is a remaster of two much older games, the occasional challenging puzzle and lack of overall guidance is sure to bring it front and centre. It is completely understandable if someone were to want to skip these instalments entirely, though there is no shame in using a guide to get through them either.

Another make or break aspect of this game is the combat. Ys I and II employ a later retired combat system known as the "bump system" which requires the player to attack enemies by pushing Adol into them. If you attack at an angle, you have the chance to parry and take no damage whatsoever. It's an obstacle in and of itself, especially so in Nightmare mode where an enemy can incapacitate Adol in only a few hits, forcing you to reload a previous save. This requires the player to exercise a high degree of skill to survive each battle. As is to be expected, the difficulty consistently ramps up with each new area. It's a thrilling challenge, but it can also be aggravating at times dying repeatedly. On top of that, the difficulty is actually escalated on modern computers, with many people complaining that the final boss fight is impossible—however, this can be easily remedied. There are many fixes floating around out there, but the solution that worked for us is to open the configuration tool before you begin the game and change the refresh rate to 60hz.

If you're at all curious, we do suggest giving it a try. The game is fantastically worth playing, and we aren't the only ones who think so. While it is by no means a household name, Ys has long ago cemented itself as a beloved ARPG classic. It has evolved with time as Falcom continues to release new entries in the series, with a new one being recently announced. Overall, Ys I & II Chronicles+ is primed to welcome new and veteran players alike to the beautiful and imaginative world of Ys. With its vibrant scenery, incredible music, and gorgeous character art, it is easy to immerse yourself in Adol's world as he overcomes the odds. Though these two games are shorter than the later entries in the series, and can feel somewhat typical of the RPG genre, they evoke the warmth of nostalgia and a thirst for adventure. The beginning of Ys sets a precedent for outstanding narrative and interesting characters in Falcom games, which is a reputation that they never cease to stay true to.

Life of Pepe is a game that promises "gathering resources to survive and thrive," "crafting tools and weapons," "building and furnishing a homestead," and "battling hordes of enemies and brutal bosses," among other things. The art style is endearing, though not for everyone, but that is just about the only positive feature of this game upfront. The UI is minimal to the point of confusion, the controls are wonky, and objects in the level clip through one another. The floating tutorial text persists on the screen regardless of whether or not you acknowledge it, which can quickly become annoying.

Disclaimer: Mr. Couple's Kitchen fell quite ill before we were invited to review this game, so he was only able to play one stage at a time before having to stop and rest. This review cannot cover the overall storyline of the game for that reason. Though, as a former athlete, this game is right up his alley and will see more playtime in the future. This review may or may not be edited if there are more things to add at a later date.

Burnit Quest is an interactive fitness game that makes exercise fun and entertaining. By using a smartphone as a controller, players can do exercises in real life to match the action in game, making it a very immersive experience. Different stages are offered to push players to the limit, challenging them to overcome obstacles through running in place, doing squats to make the character jump, and punching their way to victory (just don't accidentally throw your phone). Stretching sequences are incorporated at the beginning and end of play sessions, and encouragement is intermittently given by a friendly hamster companion to cheer players on. To incentivise completing stages and beating records, achievements are offered for accomplishing certain goals, and skills can be purchased with points from a skill tree to make the game more interesting. Colourful, eye-catching artwork and pleasant music serve to complement the player experience as well.

There were some minor drawbacks. For one thing, the hamster voice quality sounds a bit off. There seems to be an echo, but thankfully, you have the option to mute the voice volume if this becomes off-putting. We also checked to see if it was possible to cheat the game, for experimental purposes, and it does seem rather hard to do so. While this works out perfectly for the purpose of the game, it works almost too well. At least for us, we could never truly get the jump mechanic to work. Rather, we achieved jumping by swinging the phone back and lifting it quickly. The game works well other than this, and we only saw a few hiccups in our time playing it. Not being able to cheese through certain parts also means that the player should be mindful of their limits and take breaks often.

Lastly, there is a co-op mode, but because there is only one smartphone between us, we were unable to try it out. From what we could gather, you play as the hamster in their floating hamster ball and run in place beside Player One. This makes sense mechanically, of course, though some players may not like that. It also seems that the two players have to be on the same local network to play together.

Gear of Glass: Eolarn's War is a visual novel that tells the tale of two siblings desperately trying to survive in a land stricken by poverty and disease. The story picks up some time after the protagonist and their sister, Innocentia, ran away from an orphanage, risking life on the streets to prevent being separated. Unfortunately, life beyond those walls is bleak--food is scarce, disease runs rampant, and danger lurks around every corner. Just when the protagonist closes their eyes, certain it will be for the last time, they awaken to find themselves safe in a room with a bed and a roof overhead. A mysterious child named Darius appears every so often to feed and treat them, and they are soon reunited with their sister. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is more going on than meets the eye. Besides beginning to appear more like a prison than a hospital or a safe haven, there is another "patient" who is looking for a way out. What happens next comes down to the player's choice, and with the Steam listing boasting of ten different routes and eight romantic interests, there's certainly a lot to uncover.

Summary aside, this game was a hard one for us to review. We eventually settled on a positive review, with some major caveats to take note of. For starters, the story is pretty interesting. There's a lot going on, and every major character has some aura of mystery and intrigue to them. The art and music are inviting, and fit each scene nicely. Some may also find the option to choose the protagonist's name and gender quite appealing. The story of Gear of Glass: Eolarn's War is dark and clearly aimed at an adult audience (though the game is very clear to inform you that there is no erotica), and it definitely does its job of setting the stage for the story it's trying to tell. On these merits alone, we'd recommend the game.

However, there were also glaring flaws that we could not overlook. This visual novel was originally written in Russian, and while there is an English translation available, it suffers from unnatural wording and grammatical mistakes. For the most part, it's easy enough to follow the story, but much of the immersion is broken by these garbled sentences. At times, especially during action scenes, it can be hard to imagine exactly what is happening. This is in part due to another problem: it is exceedingly common for the protagonist's pronouns to switch genders. Thankfully, this doesn't happen with every character, though there were a handful of instances where it wasn't clear at first (or occasionally, ever) who the text was referring to.

There are some parts that don't make sense in the translation that might weaken comprehension of events in the story, or even worse, weaken the impact of the narrative. These issues don't always detract from the enjoyment, but cleaning up the script more or having a native English speaker take a look at it would help tremendously in enhancing key moments.

The text is understandable in context, but clearly in need of some work.

In addition, there were some issues with the settings that should be fixed. The first being that there seems to be an option for voiceover, though it's unclear if this is a mistranslation or if there is actual voiced text in the original Russian version. I know that myself and many others would not mind if any verbalised Russian dialogue was left in the game, but it's far more likely this is just a confusing mix-up. Overall, a very minor flaw, but one that should probably get some attention nonetheless.

Lastly, upon launching I was greeted to a game window that runs offscreen at the top and at the bottom. Simple fix, right? Wrong. There is no setting to change the game's resolution, and going into fullscreen makes this issue worse. All of my monitors run at 16:9 aspect ratio, and as far as I know this is pretty common, but because there is no way to change the game's resolution, we had to play with an invisible fraction of the screen. While this is inconvenient, it mostly goes unnoticed until you reach a longer block of text. The fourth line will always be cut off, whether in fullscreen or windowed, which sometimes causes you to miss out on important bits of context.

TANKBOX is a top-down perspective arcade shooter with a simple concept. The player controls a tank with the objective of defeating all other opposing tanks in each level. There are several different types of enemy tanks and a handful of obstacles to encounter. The player must avoid being shot by an enemy tank, as well as watch out for bullets that bounce off of walls - including their own. Playing co-op with a friend doubles the trouble of friendly fire. The game is straightforward, which is not in itself a bad thing. Unfortunately, TANKBOX falls short in several areas.

In spite of all the obstacles and enemy variations, TANKBOX quickly becomes repetitive. There is not quite enough change between levels for them to feel unique, which is made worse by the sluggish movement of the player tank. The opponents also seem to fall flat, with none of them seeming like much of a threat at all. The biggest concern for the player is their own ricocheting bullets rather than their enemies. Boss tanks, or even quicker movement speed, could really go a long way to increasing the challenge and making the player strive harder to succeed.

Quite possibly the worst offender of tedium in the game is its single, looping music track. The first time you hear it, it seems almost fitting, if not a bit childish. However, the high-pitch melody soon begins to grate on one’s nerves level after level. There have been many games that subsist on their minimal or even non-existent soundtrack, but it is the ever present jarring quality of TANKBOX’s lone melody that really makes it hard to look past.

Playing through the game with a friend at least breaks up the monotony some, however, in our experience there was no indication that co-op progress is ever saved. Each time we opened the game, we were back at level one with no option to load a previous run. Because singleplayer progress saves, it is unclear whether this is intentional or a bug that has yet to be ironed out.

Stories of Mara is a slice of life visual novel detailing the inhabitants’ lives on the tropical island of Mara. There is currently only one chapter available to play, with more seemingly coming in the future. This first chapter, told in a series of acts, follows a local blacksmith named Akaji as she struggles to find motivation for her work. Early on, she learns that a child named Koa (the protagonist of the preceding game, ‘Summer in Mara’) has disappeared, the only hint about her whereabouts being her abandoned boat. In spite of how important this may seem, the other islanders are hardly concerned, and even Akaji goes about her business mostly as usual. As a disclaimer, this is as far as we were able to get in the story, having had to stop in the middle of Act 3 of (judging from the Steam achievements list) eight acts.

Stories of Mara is a beautiful game with a ton of heart. The visuals are stunning, and the music is terrific. The characters and backgrounds are unique and well-designed, and the amount of love poured into this game is evident. Unfortunately, it suffers from some poor execution.

For starters, the game lacks many of the typical features that are commonly found in visual novels. There is no manual save, no dialogue backlog, no option to skip previously viewed texts, and no option to change the screen size. The game relies entirely on autosave, which by itself is not a game breaker, but the autosave locations are far spread out. If you have to exit your game for any reason between saves, you are forced to re-read all of the story up to the point that you left - and that is assuming you get lucky. The real game breaker is playing halfway through a scene and having to exit out of it, only to come back later and find that the autosave has assumed the scene played out in its entirety. Whether this experience is a bug or how the coding managed to work out, it certainly causes some confusion.

One feature that also falls flat is the ability to travel to different locations between scenes with a map of the island. This has the potential to be an interesting addition, however, up to the point that we played, all of these options lead to dead ends except for whatever choice progresses the story. It seems more logical to just transition into the next scene rather than shoehorn the player into a choice, even if this feature later has a real use.

On top of this, there was a bug encountered in act three that prevented any progression of the story regardless of visiting every location on the map. This is where our playthrough ended. It is totally disheartening to have to restart the game from the beginning and button mash the spacebar just to get back to the same point, thanks to there being no way to load a previous save.

On another note, the story and characters do seem interesting, but Stories of Mara by itself does not provide enough depth to make their quirks endearing. It seems to be a necessity to have played the previous game to really get to know the characters. There are also some points in the story that seem directionless. A character speaking at length and reiterating the same things needlessly, for example. In addition, while the biggest conflict is finding out what happened to Koa, Akaji often gets side-tracked and focuses too much on trivial things, downplaying the importance of Koa to not only Akaji, but the other inhabitants of Mara.

Viking Trickshot is a fun and challenging physics game based on the age-old lawn game, “Kubb.” The game tests your skills in hurling projectiles to knock over logs across various stages. While the premise may be simple, mastering the game takes time. There are two versions of the game: a free base game which includes multiplayer, and a full game DLC with a plethora of new levels. Each version offers the same enjoyment, but the expanded game provides additional obstacles for dedicated players. There are also a wide variety of diverse, unlockable characters, each drawn with personality and style. Additionally, a two player mode opens the way for some friendly competition, allowing you to show off the skills you’ve honed in singleplayer.

While Viking Trickshot is entertaining, it can be a bit difficult initially to learn how to aim the projectiles. The first few levels in singleplayer mode sport a handy arrow that serves as a guide, but after progressing past these levels, the game no longer holds your hand. Rather, the game encourages you to become more comfortable aiming independently. Without the arrow’s support, the player must learn through trial and error how to determine their desired trajectory. It is not a particularly hard endeavour to learn, however, it is worth noting that multiplayer mode expects you to already know how to aim without the arrow.

Each level provides unique trials with different setups that ensure you never get bored. Mechanics are introduced periodically which shake up the gameplay - whether that be new types of logs or batons to learn to use. Players must sometimes utilise their surroundings—boulders, wooden planks, mushrooms—to triumph, and sometimes those surroundings are the key to setting a new high score. An added difficulty factor lies in the king log and blue logs. The king is only intended to be toppled after all other logs have fallen; knocking it over prematurely results in an automatic loss. The blue logs, on the other hand, deduct points from your score if knocked over at all.

Another challenge that players will face is Blitz mode. After throwing their first log, the player’s score will begin to decrease until the round is won, rushing the player to complete the level before their points run out entirely. All of these obstacles serve to make an immensely rewarding experience, although the game is never so hard that playing it feels futile.

Everything about this game is well-polished. The art has its own distinct style, with an obvious amount of dedication placed in each and every detail. The music is fitting and pleasant to listen to. Even bugs and glitches have been ironed out. There is also no pressure to play the game continuously—you can pick it up and put it down anytime, without forgetting where you are or how to play. Overall, the game is a ton of fun, and the choice to allow players to sample a significant amount of gameplay before deciding to purchase the full version is an admirable one. Though, with the amount of entertaining content to be found, it’s hard not to take the plunge and invest in it.

fault – milestone two side:above is the direct sequel to fault – milestone one, and the second instalment in the fault series. After encountering a slew of setbacks in Kadia City, Ritona and Selphine welcome another travelling companion to their party—Rune Zhevitz. Although the girls are filled with a fresh sense of optimism upon preparing to leave the Outer-Pole, the treacherous nature of their journey is made apparent once again. With a new friend in tow, they must band together to overcome any obstacles blocking their path to Rughzenhaide.

In fault – milestone two side:above, there are countless improvements that make it shine brighter than the previous instalment. Although the story in fault - milestone one was engaging, the narrative in this instalment is even more compelling. Social commentary discussed is intriguing and offers insight into real world problems. The emotional narrative interwoven into the game allows the players to forge a strong attachment to important new characters. Exploring the plights of these characters creates a more meaningful and heartrending ending.  

In addition to the story, the characters, music, and visuals are equally compelling. Where the previous game highlighted Ritona’s strengths more, this instalment lends the spotlight to Selphine and Rune. Struggles that are faced by the characters—new and old—can hit close to home for some players as well. The visual and audio aspects also have improved in this game, with a dynamic camera that draws inspiration from cinematics. This focus on certain portions of CGs and facial expressions adds another level of depth. The coalescence of impressive art and audio combine to craft a wonderful experience, enhanced by breath-taking attention to detail that helps this already exceptional series flourish.

In a kingdom engulfed by flames, mysterious assailants target the life of Princess Selphine Rughzenhaide, heiress to the throne of Rugzenhaide. They scour the castle for any sign of her, eventually coming face-to-face with her Royal Guardian, Ritona, unaware that Selphine hides nearby. Although Ritona thwarts their plan and teleports herself and the princess to safety, it is a hollow victory - the girls soon realise that they are far, far away from home. With an even bigger problem now bearing down on them and no familiar face in sight, their peaceful days have come to an end. Now heralds the beginning of a treacherous journey back home.

fault - milestone one is an unsung kinetic visual novel that deserves more appreciation. One of its merits lies in the emotionally gripping story. There are heart-breaking and heart-warming moments alike, and it is almost too easy to lose yourself in the narrative with such an engrossing script. Additionally, the characters breathe life into the world themselves, serving to be both empathetic and entertaining. It is only natural to become attached to such a lovable cast.

Another aspect that helps fault stand out from the crowd is the beautiful artwork. The artist of the fault series is exceptionally talented at their craft, which is evident in the illustrations. The characters are easily distinguishable from one another, and their personalities can be pegged at a glance. The art is expressive, with endearing artistic touches such as Selphine’s hair bouncing when she’s excited or Rune’s gesticulating when she’s nervous. Moreover, the CGs never feel out of place—they accurately deliver and elevate the events of the story. One can enjoy these powerful CGs again by visiting the gallery after the game.

Similar to the artwork, the music complements the scenes nicely, with each individual track standing on its own. Whether the music is played during a battle or a light-hearted moment, it serves to amplify the emotion projected across various scenes. Character themes encapsulate their counterparts’ personalities as well, making for a memorable soundtrack. Some players may be pleased to learn that the game has ten supported languages available, and while there are sentences (at least in the English translation) that can occasionally feel stilted, it doesn’t detract from the overall experience.

Blankspace is an escape room visual novel with profound emotional depth. The protagonist, Chris, awakens to find himself trapped in an eerie greyscale room. He's not alone, however, and must work alongside his fellow captive, Beryl, to find a way out. Despite being in the same predicament, Beryl is calm and even alludes that she is not unaccustomed to waking up in similar situations. Chris is naturally sceptical of Beryl at first, but through solving puzzles and interacting with her, the mystery of their circumstances begins to become clear. It is up to the player to guide Chris to freedom, or lead him to an even worse fate.

One of the many strong points of Blankspace are the characters. Chris and Beryl are well-written and easy to emphasise with, making their struggles feel realistic. Their chemistry together is natural and doesn't feel out of place or forced. Most of all, the relationship that develops between them over the course of the game's good endings really touches the heart. It isn't difficult to get heavily invested in their wellbeing or their relationship with each other. Regardless of what ending is unlocked first, becoming so emotionally connected to Chris and Beryl can create an incredibly intimate, memorable experience that leaves a tremendous impact on your heart.

In addition to well-written characters, the story is captivatingly composed. As with most visual novels, the writing can make or break the experience, but Blankspace rises above its constraints. The writing elevates the journey, completely immersing the player in the bleak world that Chris and Beryl find themselves in. While the core of the story deals with heavy subject matter, there are also moments of levity that offer reprieve from those tense topics. The story exists in perfect equilibrium, capturing the player's attention with raw and vivid emotion while softening the blow with a certain light-heartedness that Chris and Beryl both deserve.

There are other ingredients to Blankspace that add to the experience. The music, for example, is fitting and emotionally compelling. The art is lovingly drawn, with characters whose appearances are indicative of their demeanour. Even the puzzles are well done, with a balanced mix of easy and challenging to keep the player on their toes.

A darkness encroaches on the secluded settlement of Mundaun where our protagonist has returned after receiving a disturbing letter. His grandfather perished in a barn fire, however, the local priest urges him not to return home. It has been many years since he last spent time there with his grandfather, but resolved to see things with his own eyes, the protagonist heads up into the mountains.

It is apparent in the early moments of the game that something sinister is afoot in Mundaun. What may have once been an idyllic place is now home to dark mysteries and frightening nightmares. However, the game introduces these things at a leisurely pace. There is ample opportunity to explore: items are hidden throughout the environment, including coffee and tobacco which the player may take a moment to enjoy. There are very few people who inhabit the area, but all of them are somewhat haunting. Interactions with these few will always create more questions than answers. One girl in particular, Flurina, appears to be the most off-putting, but her presence is a welcome respite in the cruel mountainside village.

Players must remain vigilant for enemies while exploring, as spotting enemies can petrify you and make it harder to escape. For those with poor vision, the hand-drawn style of the game may inhibit their experience. Some clues may be hard to see, and as you scan the horizon to pinpoint what momentarily triggered the action indicator, they may prove frustrating to find again. There are also times when the game can be a bit unclear. Even though the hints are fairly obvious, the way they are displayed can sometimes make it harder to put things together.