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The gaming landscape, now more than ever with the modern proliferation of indie games, has shown that great games can come in all sizes. There are low quality AAA games that cost millions of dollars to make, and there are fantastic games from one-man studios that were crowdfunded, and some not even that. Further, while all of us wish we had the kind of money in real life as we tend to end up with in our favorite video games, that’s not always the case. And even for those who do, there is no income limit where you are required to stop being careful with how you spend your money. So, why pay a lot for a bad experience when you can pay a little for a great one? For someone with a computer, there is a vast, wide sea of Steam games that are both high quality and wallet-friendly.…

Pixel Cafe has a smooth lo-fi vibe with some of the best music I’ve heard this year. Released early October, we finally got a chance to sit down with what can be considered revolutionary in its own genre. You’ve got gorgeous pixel-art style beats, a soundtrack that kicks off from the start and doesn’t stop and a hypnotic gameplay loop that’s as mediative or brow-sweating as you want it to be. Quick note: The developers have been active in updating the game. A mid-December 2023 update introduced difficulty modes, giving the game more depth from the challenging kitchen manager that it was to a zen like rhythm game to the challenging kitchen manager that many loved as is. Let’s dig into what separates this game from others. Running the Pixel Cafe The game starts off with a cup and a coffee machine and simple instructions. The game’s complexities slowly unveil…

House Flipper 2 really elevates the iconic formula that House Flipper brought about and renovates the game from top to bottom. The biggest change comes in the form of the graphics. Whereas House Flipper originally looked more like a source engine game (now compared to the new edition), House Flipper 2 looks like a slick modern title really taking a large shine to cleaning virtual homes and laying down virtual flooring. Those tasks get elevated as well with extra polish. Everything from painting to placing items is tighter and with more controls. The leveling system is easier and the upgrades dramatically change your overall gameplay. Compared to the original there is so much more content too. A lot of different house designs and way more in terms of features to renovate. Freedom is something that House Flipper 2 gives you when it comes to doing missions and flipping houses. Not…

Backpack Hero is a rougelike that features a polyomino (think Tetris) style inventory management system that you use to develop builds which can be used in turn-based battles. After each battle loop, you return to a city to use your loot to research new items, which unlock new builds, which can in turn make you more powerful as you venture deeper into the dungeon. There’s a lot going on in the game and for the entry price alone you’re getting almost too much content. You have a city builder, inventory management, economy both in and outside of the dungeon, item builds and synergies (based on placement) and turn-based battles with NPCs that can change their next action based on what you do. You can also play several different modes, some which include a way to not even worry about the city and offer an endless crawl through the dungeon, unlocking…

Archetype Arcadia is an Isekai (Wikipedia) visual novel with an exceptional amount of content focused and a very deep story. The game has more content than the larger novels out there and it’s presented beautifully beside great backdrops and rather kicking music as you make your way through 50+ hours of gameplay. If you’re looking for a very long visual novel then the Archetype Arcadia is the hidden gem you’ve been missing. It has a story that is unique (as much as the genres and tropes it plays with allows) and the gameplay that is more than read and choose which is nice. The Story The world has fallen to a disease known as “Peccatomania” which has wiped out most of humanity. Rust, the protagonist, is immune from the disease but his sister suddenly falls ill. The only way to slow the progression of the disease is to spend time…

The Bus Simulator 21 School Bus Extension is really good. It reminds me of Bus Simulator 2008 in all of the good ways. It adds three new buses, school route related missions and new schools to act as the final drop-off for the kids. The three new buses are: The nice thing about the school bus extension is again, you get the route content meaning you can run real school bus routes. Which is really fun and a lot more interesting than moving bus stop to bus stop. What’s Cool About the Bus Extension Here’s a list of what makes the bus extension worth the $12.99 to us: The Not So Great The expansion doesn’t include a few nit picky bus features like strobe lights at the top of the bus. That’s about it. Conclusion If you want to drive a school bus, this is it. Go for it. You…

Legends of Idleon has somehow achieved an interesting status as a game that the community dislikes, across the official channels (which are moderated out) and the sub-communities. The developer, LavaFlame2, has mostly gone silent with little content since the release of companions with a high emphasis on events and quality of life updates. Understanding the Companion Update We’ve previously covered the companion update and LavaFlame2’s response that it’s a marketing ploy. The community still, since June 17th, has remained stagnant and in a constant state of burnout. The updates aren’t met with much excitement since Doot remains the critical “need” to get to the top of the leaderboards, get the most everything, do all the things quickly, etc. It’s still at a point of why use any candy if you don’t have Doot? The community remains completely openly hostile to the developer, and has increased monetization through not only the…

You should play Mondealy if you have the chance to. That’s our review. If you want to know why we say that, read on, but ultimately, we’re going to tell you to play Mondealy. If you don’t like visual novels, that’s fine. If you don’t like pixel art, that’s fine. If you don’t like indie games, that’s fine. Go play it. That’s as high of an honor as a game can get from us and we’ll gladly hand it to this year’s best visual novel adventure game. Mondealy is a journey of friendship in a weird world that exists slightly below our own. The best way to describe is what happens in Undertale if the barrier went down but no one left and classism is at the top of the discussion list. Modern culture weaves through with love and affection as Michael journeys through a world that evokes both nostalgia…