Recent reviews by Monica

I really enjoyed American Arcadia. The story is functionally the Truman Show (which is one of my favorite movies), with gameplay being a mix of Limbo/Inside style platformer, hacking/puzzle sections that reminded me a bit of Watch Dogs, and first person puzzle sections. The voice acting and writing are great.

I did run into some technical issues - it runs well on the Steamdeck but it would crash between almost every chapter change (which would skip the mid-chapter cutscene and start me in the next chapter when I re-launched the game), so I had to watch some of the cutscenes on YouTube, which is not ideal, but I'm not sure if that's just a Steamdeck issue.

Crashing aside, it was a very enjoyable experience and I recommend it if you're intrigued by the premise.

Viewfinder is a very solid, fun first person puzzle game. The main gimmick is interesting and the game doesn't overstay it welcome. I'd compare it to games like Qube, The Entropy Center, or Superluminal - it's not perfect but it's solid and definitely worth playing if you like these types of games.

Genuinely one of the best RPG's I've played in years. The story is fascinating and heart-wrenching, the art is *gorgeous*, the music is fantastic, every new area and character is more whimsical and imaginative than the last. It's meaty but doesn't overstay its welcome, and each character's unique battle style keeps things interesting.

10/10 and definitely a contender for my GOTY 2025. If you like RPG's at all you should absolutely get this game.

This game is great - it's an extremely queer PSX-style horror game in the vein of Resident Evil or Silent Hill, but with a neat third-eye mechanic, and where every character is very *Gender* 🌈 (and to be clear, I mean this in a positive way). The character design is fantastic, the music (especially for the boss battles) is great, and the story is really interesting (even if the pace is a little uneven at times). If you're queer you'll probably love it, but even if you're not it's an extremely solid action/horror game. Highly recommended.

I've had this game in my library for a really long time and I wish I'd played it sooner. It's a really fascinating look at queer life (and specifically, the life of a trans woman) in 1993 Ireland. It hits particularly hard as a trans woman myself. It's short, cheap, and I very highly recommend it, especially if you're queer, but even if you're not.

After playing their previous game, Sayonara Wild Hearts (and becoming one of my favorite games of all time) I was extremely excited for Simogo's next game. And though the gameplay is very different, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an absolutely amazing puzzle game, and like SWH, unlike anything I've ever played before. If you enjoy puzzle games or adventure games, you owe it to yourself the play this game, it's absolutely fantastic.

Harold Halibut is an absolutely beautiful game, and definitely one of the more unique experiences I've had in gaming, even if the pacing of the story and gameplay is a little off sometimes. This game is definitely a slow burn, and chapters 2 and 4 (out of 6 total) drag on especially long with a lot of backtracking. But honestly I feel it's worth it for the beautiful hand-made claymation graphics and sweet little story. It's about 12 hours long and frankly should probably have been half that length, but I enjoyed getting to know the residents of The Fedora and exploring everything. If you like walking sims or weird artsy adventure games, this one's for you.

This game is absolutely beautiful. It's a short art piece and I loved every minute of it.

This is one of the weirdest games I've ever played. It's free and you can beat it in like 15 minutes so honestly just go for it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I really enjoyed Maquette. The puzzles are absolutely brilliant, it's a really cool concept, and the game is short enough that it doesn't outstay its welcome. I love these kind of cheap, short, interesting games that explore a novel concept like this. To be honest the story was kind of bland, but it didn't really get in the way of the puzzles so 🤷‍♀️. It may not be up there with like, Portal or Talos Principle or the Witness, but it's still a cool, well-made puzzle game that's worth playing.