Nick: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
What I found most interesting about this title when I reviewed it, was how this title was an all-new story and a brand-new game, and yet somehow almost immediately familiar and comfortable to me at the same time. Kudos to the audio in particular, with Troy Baker’s take on Indian Jones having been fantastic and music that knew the right moments to swell or to take a back seat to more subtle sound effects. There were times this felt a bit like an older first-person Fallout game, while having newer mechanics like the whip adding agility and platforming to the well-established formula. As someone who grew up on the Indiana Jones movies, this video game felt like a better successor than some of the more recent movies.
PY: Cronos: The New Dawn
The Bloober Team’s Cronos: The New Dawn has pretty much lived in my head rent free beside Clair Obscur. The treatment of the landscapes and the small bits of information in this dystopian post apocalyptic hell that you find yourself in was damned near flawless.
The general vibe was tension making me grip my controller tighter than I should have just to be ready when the music, or lack of music, shifted. With the only complaint being that monsters took too much ammo to take out at times, the rest of this horror-like adventure has me planning on coming back to it as I would love to play against knowing what I know now.
Susan: Escape Simulator 2
My significant other and I had a chance to play Escape Simulator 2 recently and it was a blast. We went through many of the levels together and it was fun to see how each level changes based on if the game is a solo one or a multiplayer one. We played this together because we played through the entirety of the first one and we had a blast with it.
What makes Escape Simulator 2 the most memorable of the games I played this year is the fact that the solutions to a few of the puzzles were much harder to solve. One puzzle in the crypt of Dracula's Castle took me for a ride and while I knew roughly what needed to be done, I struggled so much on it. Another thing that made the game memorable is the delivery of the hints - if you use them. The game doesn't give you the answer, it gives you a cute little picture with a nudge in the right direction. And you can't get all of the hints right off the bat, you have to wait time before you can request for another.
I'm impressed by how much of a step up Escape Simulator 2 is from the original version. Though it only has three main level sets to begin with, players can try escape rooms that others in the community have designed. The graphics in this game have improved but it's difficult to explain how or why. There's something about being able to walk around a space but looking like you're in an augmented reality that stunned me. Some of the levels were incredibly fascinating and some of the puzzles were visually spectacular. And with the fact that Escape Simulator 1 has come a long way from where it started, I expect that Escape Simulator 2 will do the same and expand over time. Besides, this game also has several puzzles that can be completed in the main lobby area which is quite fun. Just be careful, some of the hardmode puzzles are brutal. Trust me.
Valerie: Blue Prince
Ah Blue Prince. From the first opening cinematic, to all the rooms one moves into, you have me in your clutches. This game reminds me of Botany Manor, but with oh so much more to it! A mystery to solve, many puzzles to complete, lots of nooks and crannies to discover, Blue Prince has it all.
The music added that final touch to the experience and had me smiling when I would discover something new.
Richard: Shuten Order
Good god the plot bombs were more tactical plot nukes. While the gameplay felt a little incomplete, I’m gonna remember the plot reveals for a long time to come.
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