Comprehensive Game Reviews

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From AAA titles to indie games, we cover it all. Our comprehensive reviews provide detailed insights to help you find your next favorite game.

Unbeatable ReviewA visually striking rhythm game that suffers from an identity crisis.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 10

Routine ReviewA stylish and surprising sci-fi horror game.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 10

Review: Bits and Bops Really Feels Like Rhythm Heaven Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven games work because they are such a fantastic pairing of clever music minigames with wonderful music. That formula can be difficult to replicate, since a game is going to falter if it doesn’t get both parts absolutely right. Bits and Bops is a concise little collection with minigames and music that actually does capture the same sense of whimsy. It isn’t perfect, but it is delightful. Bits and Bops is both the name of the game and a virtual record store we visit. Each minigame is set up as basically a new album, with shelves that feature 16 unique experiences and four mixtapes that combine the four from that shelf. (Think of that as being similar to the Rhythm Heaven remixes like ones we experienced in recent entries.) As we complete these games, which all might use one or in some cases two buttons, we earn little souvenirs and some other rhythm-based novelties that test timing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbziKeMD4Ok As with Rhythm Heaven , the Bits and Bops minigames are short and almost tell little stories of their own. So the first is a cat photographer on a ship photographing a seal that will pop out of the water to hit a beach ball, sometimes juggling it. The standard note pattern, indicated by audio beats, involves one button press to take a single picture. If you hear a sort of syncopated beat, then you know the seal is about to juggle it, meaning you need to press the button three times in a row to take three quick photos. Another involves a game of rock-paper-scissors, with the timing telling you how quickly to throw out your choice. The mixtapes combine clips from all of the four previous minigames for a longer song, with the animations now featuring the same characters, but with a matching theme. The fact that Tempo Lab Games based Bits and Bops on Rhythm Heaven is very obvious. One minigame involving ants marching is definitely Flock Step-like, only with the bell signifying a quick three-step instead of taking flight. One in which a robot is performing alongside two backup dancers sort of reminds me of Frog Hop in terms of gameplay, what with pattern-matching and waiting for the spin move, but reminds me of Love Rap in terms of appearance due to the use of a trio. The miner moles on a cart? That’s See-Saw. While Fort Lifter involved nabbing peas with a fork and the hammer and nails minigame involves hitting nails, the gameplay and call-response element feels the same. I got strong Working Dough vibes from a minigame about a monkey tossing coins to a snake to get them into a chest, with the money featuring the same sort of sound effect as Hole in One. There are a lot of times when I felt like it was a fan game offering updated or additional takes on minigames Nintendo’s team did before due to them feeling so similar, rather than entirely original. They’re fun! They’re also very “on the nose.” How someone may feel about that might vary. I honestly wished there were more that felt 100% totally original ones, such as the minigame about the birds talking. Screenshots by Siliconera They are quite clever, though. The music in Bits and Bops feels very much like a tribute to Tsunku’s work. The animated segments are cute and genuinely funny. There’s a sense of pure whimsy woven throughout. I will note that in the introduction and tutorial, Tempo Lab Games makes a point of trusting your ears and not your eyes. However, the only minigame that really made me feel as though that was possibly true was the ants marching one. And that’s only because during the initial tutorial, I didn’t initially catch that the quick three-step came almost immediately after the bell. While Bits and Bops is far shorter than Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven games, it absolutely captures the same spirit. It’s a clear tribute that looks and plays well. Some of the minigames might feel even a little too similar, perhaps due to the premise, appearance, or song. As long as that doesn’t bother you, you’ll likely have a good time with this homage. Bits and Bops is available for PCs. The post Review: Bits and Bops Really Feels Like Rhythm Heaven appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 10

Review: UNBEATABLE Looks and Sounds Amazing If it came down to vibes alone, I think UNBEATABLE would be a 10/10 game. The soundtrack is phenomenal. There can be some clever quips from beat. The character designs and 2D folks exploring 3D environments pops. If there were an FLCL game, I think it would be like this. But while all those elements exude style, the execution of the narrative and some gameplay elements feel a little flimsy and in need of some patches. One day, when a pink-haired girl with a guitar was laying in a field, she looked up and saw a younger, blue-haired girl. Upon Beat meeting Quaver, the latter was shocked to see the instrument and spirited her away to her home. However, this was only temporary, as Quaver then used Beat as an excuse to get away from her house and gated community to head into the city to visit a stadium. When Quaver got up on the stage to “perform,” a cop showed up and was followed by a strange entities known as Silence. While dealing with these monsters and cops, Beat and Quaver head out to form their own band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIrs322WdEY Like I said before, the narrative and atmosphere of UNBEATABLE very much reminds me of FLCL, and not just because they both feature pink-haired protagonists and a killer soundtrack. There’s a sense of rebelling against authority, determining who you are, and even a coming of age element for Quaver. There’s also a similar sort of attitude, with sharp quips and many characters having an edge to them. (In a good way, though!) It’s clever and stylish in every way, especially when it comes to its incredible music. As far as the rhythm element goes, it’s solid both in the main campaign and arcade mode. This involves two lanes of notes, with some Silence indicators showing up in the upper one and others in the lower track. The game begins with a timing input check, to ensure we aren’t dealing with lag. There are the typical types of note patterns with the Silence that come up, with some involving hitting both at the same time or held notes. In Arcade Mode it gets especially enjoyable, since there are tons of challenges and both standard and remix versions of songs from the game. Images via D-CELL So the main gameplay issues that got in the way of really enjoying UNBEATABLE involved some jarring transitions in story segments and sometimes even conversations. The big ones would come in going between one area or story beat to another. The first happened after the introductory segment, and I know it was intentional. But others seemed like maybe they weren’t. When Beat and Quaver were about to leave Quaver’s house, the game cut in the middle of a conversation before I could finish and I was just outside on the street with the two of them. When the two of them were in an arena and a police officer came up, there was another one of these sharp transitions that abruptly left the duo outside in the midst of a police chase. These kinds of awkward elements came up in conversations too. However, in this case it seemed like sometimes navigating dialogue options wasn’t as smooth as they should be. In one conversation with a security guard not long after Quaver and Beat meet, when I was making a selection, an issue with responsiveness and transitions meant I “chose” a dialogue option that I didn’t actually choose. Also, while unrelated, these text balloons can sometimes overlap in a way that keeps you from being able to read things, which gets annoying. Images via D-CELL The other gameplay elements that felt fiddly mainly popped up during exploration segments. There’s a forced camera perspective. In some situations, there might be some light climbing or moving across platforms, and it could prove challenging to stay atop without falling due to the view. (This doesn’t come up often.) While the standard rhythm game works well both in the campaign and arcade mode, as well as feature a lot of tracks, rhythm segments that don’t follow that two-line perspective with standard note indicators don’t always feel as immediately easy to figure out the timing and direction. I found the initial police chase one was the worst offender and another that was basically like dealing with a batting cage situation was best. But there are times when the more innovative rhythm segments might not hit in the same way as the traditional ones do. UNBEATABLE absolutely offers tons of style and an exceptional soundtrack, but sometimes I felt a bit let down by the execution of the story and its rhythm game elements. The idea behind the narrative is amazing and I love the plot, but I hated the sharp transitions that sometimes made it feel choppy. The traditional rhythm game moments are fantastic, especially in the arcade mode when you can savor all the tracks and take on challenges, but sometimes the rhythm minigames missed the mark for me. It very much feels like a title where, while it’s quite enjoyable now, I think it will be even better in a few weeks after some patches. UNBEATABLE is available on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The post Review: UNBEATABLE Looks and Sounds Amazing appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 9

Routine Review – My Strange, Scary, Good Work Shift Reviewed on: PC Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC Publisher: Raw Fury Developer: Lunar Software Rating: Teen There was a 20-minute period early in my playthrough of Routine where I walked back and forth between rooms and through hallways in this game’s abandoned, defunct, and seemingly malfunctioning lunar station in search of one simple thing: my own ID number. Papers plaster the surrounding walls, explaining that every person on the station must carry their ID badge with them at all times, including me. I look everywhere for that badge, needing to input my ID into a computer terminal to advance forward… well, almost everywhere. Crucially, I don’t look down at my chest, where my ID badge hangs nonchalantly. The ID I searched for 20 minutes to find was with me all along, attached to my moon suit. This admittedly embarrassing lesson reshaped my approach to Routine, paving the way forward for a sublime and highly tactile puzzle adventure that kept me glued to my mouse and keyboard. Routine isn’t filled with video game puzzles; it felt less like playing a game throughout my eight hours with it, and more like an elaborate sci-fi-themed escape room entirely based on logic. You won’t discover obtuse and nonsensical solutions like something you’d find in a zombie-infested police station, for example, but rather, codes, numbers, and remedies placed precisely where they should be. In this sense, Routine required me to rewrite my approach to its puzzles. I’m wary of using the word immersive, which varies from person to person, but Routine clicked for me when I placed myself in the shoes of this engineer – a guy whose shift today brought him to a decrepit lunar station to use computers and analog terminals to figure out what the hell went wrong. Of course, the narrative journey he then goes on speaks to something more ancient, more maternal, than the 1980s-inspired tech he interfaces with, but ultimately, Routine is about a strange and bad shift at work. Most everything in Routine happens through the lens of your Cosmonaut Assistance Tool (CAT), a square gun-like tool that is able to connect to the technology of this space station in a variety of ways. At first, it does little more than project tabs on marked walls to pull up things like the save button, your objectives, and saved media. To do that, you have to look at your CAT, press a button on it, then aim it at the specified wall to pull up the tabs. It’s the first taste of just how tactile Routine gets, and as you upgrade your tool with more modules, you unlock the ability to shock robotic stalkers, access secure doors, and find hidden messages. To do any of these tasks, you must interact with the CAT by pulling it up and pressing a button or pulling a trigger back or slotting in a cassette-like object… or something – there is no automation here. On paper, it’s an exhausting routine of pressing buttons before doing the thing you want to do, but it’s so diegetic that it’s impossible to imagine Routine without this tactility. I loved every puzzle presented to me, which often involved finding hidden codes on walls or in lockers, plugging them into terminals to unlock a new clue, and progressing to the next stage of the puzzle (often a new room or location to explore). Though watchful robots that occasionally swarm attempt to get in the way, requiring you to zap them or run, and monstrous creatures try to kill you, this antagonistic behavior is a small aspect of Routine. They aren’t harmless, but if you’re saving often, they do little to set back your progression, ultimately making them feel inessential to what makes Routine great. There are no “unlocks” or in-game celebratory moments in Routine upon completing a puzzle – just the dull droning of the electricity powering this station, the occasional beeps from monitors, your breath, and the knowledge that you get to advance forward. And yet, it’s some of the most exciting puzzle-solving I’ve experienced because of how enticing the reward of moving deeper, getting one step closer to the answer to, “What is going on?” Musical flairs from composer Mick Gordon magnetically mix with the gorgeous late-‘70s future aesthetic, itself flush with crunchy film grain and an intoxicatingly impressive attention to detail; the tactileness of Routine feels like a crucial element to rounding out the atmosphere, and knowing I needed to press a button here and open a secure door with my CATs small security module screen there while an unholy being stalked after me just a few feet behind added a thrill that left my mouse damp with sweat. Gross, like the gaping chest that would swallow me if I failed. Routine is a survival-horror game in the lightest of senses. There are robots and creatures to run/hide from occasionally, and you have little in your arsenal to fight back, but that genre tag is a misnomer – this is a puzzle experience drenched in tension and terror. With your CAT tool and the wits you’d hope appear if you, yourself, were placed in this terrible situation, a seductive Pandora’s box of escape rooms awaits you. Score: 8.5 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 9

Skate Story ReviewFusing a solid foundation of satisfyingly grounded skate tricks with a bizarre, abstract world, Skate Story wobbles a little under its weirdness but there’s no doubt it’s one of the most distinctive skateboarding games of the decade.

IGN PC ReviewsDec 9

Skate Story Review – Surprisingly delightful for a story set in the underworld Skate Story is likely the last skating video game we’ll see in 2025, and it’s one of the most unique that I have ever played. Launched globally on Dec. 8, Skate Story adds an unexpected flavor to the genre. Of course, I got an early taste with the demo, but the full game offers the entire campaign, along with some additional features. While the basic gist might be all about doing the sickest kickflip, there’s more to this one than meets the eye. The secret sauce is in the story Skate Story does both the words in its title justice, but let's start with the story. It’s unclear whether you’re a hero or villain, because rising as a demon certainly hits different. Oh, and you also need to swallow the moon to escape, and yes, there’s no typo in that statement. Screenshot by Destructoid Your journey begins with your transformation from a frail shadow to a reincarnated demon with your favorite skateboard by your side. However, skating in the underworld is forbidden, but if you don’t skate, you can’t escape. Your primary task is to follow the Rabbit, who serves as your trusted companion. While the bunny shows the way, you’ll come across mysterious symbols and interesting characters. While the core story is relatively linear, you can get the same task done in different ways. Screenshot by Destructoid The initial story chapters will teach you about the tricks you can perform, and there are plenty. You’ll get basic ones at first, like the Ollie, that are simple one-button options you can combine with other tricks. Skate Story might put a lot of emphasis on the story, but the skating part is just as fun. I also loved the Underworld's design. The nine different layers feel unique and allow you lots of scope for how you want to skate. Every path (even while you’re completing the story) allows for different approaches. Many spots allow you to Ollie over obstacles or simply glide right past. The choice is yours as you race towards the next doorway. How you manage to reach your destination isn’t very important. The core gameplay loop is thus: skate across different layers of the Underworld, complete various tasks, and build yourself up until you can swallow the moon. There are plenty of tricks to learn and master, and you'll want to master them, because that's how you damage enemies. The more complex the trick, the more damage it deals. Screenshot by Destructoid You’ll have to pay attention to the challenges in front of you, then decide which tricks to perform, and then time those correctly, too. It’s a lot, so there’s a sense of satisfaction every time you pull off a successful move. The controls feel intuitive, and when you get into a sticky spot, the game allows you to dodge failure fairly easily. Skate Story has an amazing auto-save feature with frequent saves, allowing you to pick up from before an accidental collision easily. In a world where so many video games punish you harshly for failure, Skate Story allows you to bounce back quickly. On the surface, Skate Story is a simple game where you skate to destroy enemies and solve puzzles with the sole objective of escaping the Underworld. However, there’s plenty of depth and a decent amount of replayability (if you want to solve the same chapters with different tricks). There's also a bit of customization offered by the Souls that you earn while completing the chapters. You can use them to purchase different stickers to customize the look of your board. I would have appreciated it if there were a way to remove the stickers and start fresh, so that's a slight blemish for me. Visually, the game really stands out. There’s an incredible psychedelic feel throughout every chapter and location. The prismatic glass design for the main character is great. The same can also be said about the general world design. Whether it’s a fellow demon, the Rabbit, or a gate, Skate Story really is a feast for the eyes. I usually don’t pay much attention to music in games, but Skate Story has one of the best soundtracks I’ve experienced in a while. This holds across all chapters, and I loved how the tempo builds up tension. I highly recommend using headphones as the music is worthy of its own album. My only gripe with Skate Story was the length, as the main campaign can be finished in a single day. That said, not every video game has to be a grind. Despite being short, I enjoyed every minute skating through the Underworld. Skate Story is a sweet little adventure that presents a fantastic story from the point of view of a demon. This isn’t your evil incarnate from horror movies; instead, the demon just wants to free himself from the Underworld to skate and consume the moon in the process. The post Skate Story Review – Surprisingly delightful for a story set in the underworld appeared first on Destructoid .

Reviews Archive – DestructoidDec 8

Skate Story Review – Poetry In Motion Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Switch 2, PC Publisher: Devolver Digital Developer: Sam Eng Rating: Everyone You are a demon made of glass and pain. Literally. Looking to escape from Hell, you sign a contract with the Devil to devour the moons illuminating the realm’s many layers. Your steed is a skateboard, a forbidden object you’ll use to kick and push through the Underworld, acting as the Silver Surfer to your own Galactus. Skate Story’s strange premise and surreal art direction are equal parts alluring and head-scratching. While the gameplay is a mixed bag, I enjoyed this fascinating blend of extreme sports and biblical poetry. Skateboarding enthusiasts shouldn’t expect to catch big air on halfpipes or memorize a lengthy list of tricks. This is a story-driven experience drawing narrative inspiration from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno . The skater’s descent into the depths of a humorously bureaucratic Hell is laden with quirky, tortured souls I liked interacting with. The story itself is a mesmerizing and poetic onslaught of strange moments and dreamlike destinations every player will interpret differently, but I enjoyed how its effective throughline of hope and perseverance shines through. Best of all, you get to do a bunch of sick stunts along the way.   Skating is fun and easy to grasp thanks to simple and tight arcade-style controls. Moves are introduced at a good pace, allowing me to master relatively basic tricks like ollies, varials, grinds, and kickflips without overwhelming me. The small, skatepark-like hubs making up each layer of Hell are decent playgrounds to freely practice chaining moves to create combos. Small environmental interactions, like performing varials to cut grass or hitting ollies over special manholes, reward currency to purchase new skateboard cosmetics, such as decks and wheels. I appreciate how this structure encourages and rewards hitting tricks non-stop, but the hubs never offer more than a few simple ramps and railings, so they don’t remain exciting for long. By the second half, I lost the desire to mess around in these spaces and skated straight towards the more enjoyable main objective of filling my crystalline belly with moons. Capturing a moon requires completing simple quests from the strange and tortured denizens. Finding cubes of wisdom for a sentient marble bust or helping a pigeon finish its manuscript by collecting scattered letters (a cheeky nod to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater) aren't the deepest activities, but the sheer strangeness of the situations makes them more compelling than they would be otherwise. Skate Story thrives on its surreal vibes, chiefly its captivating art direction, which offers one of the most whimsical and imaginative interpretations of Hell I’ve ever seen. It trades grim fire and brimstone for a kaleidoscopic, cosmic film grain aesthetic that’s arguably worth the price of admission just to admire. Gameplay picks up in the linear high-speed skating sequences where you traverse tricky courses and dodge obstacles across multiple checkpoints, often with a time limit. These segments are a blast thanks to a great sense of speed and how the psychedelic soundtrack swells as your skating becomes ever faster and more perilous; I strongly recommend wearing headphones. I would easily trade the comparatively flat hub exploration for a larger playlist of these white-knuckled sprints. Quick restarts soothe the sting of a wipeout, and I love how satisfyingly the glass skater shatters into pieces after an errant trick. Less cool are the occasional collision issues where the Skater clips through objects and, although less frequent, becomes stuck inside them. The most egregious example was in the final scene of the game, when I became trapped under geometry during the cinematic finale and had to restart it a few times, dampening an otherwise cool moment. Devouring moons is also a highlight. These encounters play out as celestial boss battles where nailing tricks drains the moon’s health bars based on the quality of the combo, acting as intense exams of your speed and dexterity. The bouts remain consistently entertaining as new wrinkles are introduced. One chaotic battle pitted me against the laser-shooting demons of the Underworld’s law enforcement agency. Another challenged me to chase the moon and nail tricks within its constantly moving shadow. These battles are strong exclamation points to a level, and I always looked forward to them. Thus, it’s a shame that there’s no way to replay previous chapters to enjoy these segments again; you can only load your most recent checkpoint or restart the game from scratch, wiping your original save data in the process. As Skate Story’s credits rolled, I wasn’t totally sure what to make of it. Despite its imperfections, I knew I liked it, but I struggled to articulate why. I won’t pretend that every metaphor or symbol resonated with me or even made sense. It’s a deeply poetic journey, and the way to enjoy any good poem is to focus more on how it made me feel rather than any literal interpretation. In that sense, I’ll fondly remember the awe I felt admiring this imaginatively conceived underworld, the adrenaline rush of barreling through courses as a shining beacon of defiance and perseverance, and the thrill of hitting stunts so sick that entire celestial bodies shatter at my awesomeness. Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system

Game Informer ReviewsDec 8

Review: Milano’s Odd Job Collection Is Cute Milano’s Odd Job Collection is such a surprise. An obscure and rare PS1 game made with girls in mind that combines minigame and life sim elements? It’s not surprising we didn’t see it in 1999. While there are some elements that show its age and lead to tedious experiences, it’s an absolutely adorable game and I’m glad it showed up everywhere after so many years. The premise behind Milano’s Odd Job Collection feels plucked from a slice-of-life anime. Milano is only 11 years old. Her life is upended one summer, as her mom is going to be in the hospital for about one month for an unknown reason. Her uncle was supposed to watch her, but it turns out he went out of town. So when she gets to his home, there’s a note left behind and it is empty. Basically, it’s sort of a Home Alone situation, only without the Wet Bandits thieves. Milano has 40 days to do odd jobs around town, do chores and relax in the evenings, and even decorate her current place during her stay before family returns again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXKI7CIu1d8 Since Milano’s Odd Job Collection is a life sim, going through its campaign means plotting out her days and even doing some stat and mood management. Every day begins with Milano able to go to one of the minigame part-time job minigames open to her depending on the weather, her mood, and her skill level. (Said stats also determine the difficulty levels available for available opportunities.) After a round of doing things like working at a fast food joint, picking fruit, milking cows, washing plates at a restaurant, or making deliveries, she immediately gets paid a fee based on your performance. (If you fail, no money for Milano!) Once Milano gets home after work, you get enough time to take part in two actions. These don’t earn you money, but might help with stats. For example, she could have something to eat or drink, do laundry, vacuum, feed her pet cat, or perform other actions if you purchased things like a recorder, TV, or plants. Once the day is done, it is off to bed to perhaps wish upon a star, buy things, or read a book that could also affect stats, all before eventually sleeping. Images via XSEED While this pattern works well and is generally sound, a few elements show its age. During the morning “job” part of the day, you can hang around in the square to advance time or check stats. However, if you purchased recipes to cook or new items to place in the house, you need to waste that part of the day to enable or place them. The recipes part of that is especially annoying, since there’s no notice that you need to perform that extra action for them to be available in the kitchen area menus. This comes up a bit in the actual job minigames, though being able to rewind or make save states helps with that. Some of them are very obvious and easy, such as the fast food cashier and delivery tasks. So much so that it’s almost effortless. The flying cow milking is well-balanced, though I found sometimes the timing can be a bit awkward to figure out to avoid the constant chicken being chased by another creature around the ring. (It’s easier to, if you’re actively milking a cow, to let it fly up into the air rather than attempt to jump over the duo.) The rhythm game tied to her singing career is enjoyable, while rudimentary. The bakery matching game is among the best efforts, since it requires quite a bit of thought and strategy to complete the puzzles and eliminate blocks. Meanwhile, the dish washing and fruit gathering ones felt more awkward. With the former, it comes down to the controls and dodging elements, and the latter’s physics make it very easy for fruit to miss the basket completely due to hitbox issues when dropping. Meanwhile, the nursing game involves a whole bunch of button mashing that feels more stressful than entertaining. Your mileage will definitely vary when it comes to these. Images via XSEED The repetitive nature can also be an issue. If you’re not interested in some of the furniture and accessories for the home, it might not feel like there’s much reason to keep repeating the handful of minigames. The extra money from the higher difficulties can be helpful, but things like washing dishes, picking fruit, and even milking the flying cows can get really annoying when you max that out. Since there aren’t events with other people around town and we don’t see any of her friends or family, the only personality comes from the artistic direction and animations shown when she does her jobs, performs chores, or plays at home. However, you can essentially fast forward by going not taking on any job or going to bed early, which helps. Milano’s Odd Job Collection is absolutely adorable and an example of an inventive import PS1 game, though it shows its age at times. It’s absolutely fantastic to see it more accessible everywhere. There are some elements that can feel a little tedious, as working at the jobs every day can blend together a bit. Especially since there are no scripted events or interactions with other characters. But the some of the minigames can be entertaining and even challenging at higher difficulty levels, and the items we can buy for her temporary home are quite cute. Milano’s Odd Job Collection will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on December 9, 2025 . The post Review: Milano’s Odd Job Collection Is Cute appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 8

Review: Aeruta Isn’t Loafing Around Cooking combined with battling has become something of a staple in our gaming kitchens. Battle Chef Brigade involved battles and matching games. Cuisineer is a roguelike with a restaurant attached. Magical Delicacy pairs platforming with cooking. FromDawn Games’ Aeruta is the latest to attempt the pairing, putting together a 2D platformer with some RPG elements with a bakery management sim. While there are some pacing and balancing issues, it’s a cute addition to this growing group. Chaya didn’t intend to become a baker. She wanted to be an adventurer. But when she accidentally destroyed Effie’s bakery when on a mission, the consequences involved her working there alongside her typical outings for the guild. Fortunately, fighting foes in different fields yields ingredients that can be used to make daily bread, so doing one job will help her succeed at the other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOHGTKzChSI Both elements of Aeruta feed into one another. The game, and in general things, seem to start with the 2D adventuring. Chaya will run through platformer-style stages, dealing with enemies. We can use her rolling pin, sword, or whip to attack. Investing in each one makes them better, and building up the town also increases her stats to make her a stronger fighter. Since the actual combat involves relying on combos, dodging, parrying, and precision strikes, it can feel a little like games such as Ender Lilies entries. Likewise, there are some roguelike mechanics in there in addition to the RPG crafting and building nods, due to you being sent back to the start if you die with only some of your haul. That’s also where it gets repetitive, however. The different locations feel a lot alike, as do some opponents, so it can feel a bit taxing and frustrating if you keep falling to a suddenly stronger than expected boss a few times. Because then you do restart from the beginning of the area. After a few hours, it gets tedious in a way I didn’t always appreciate. Image via FromDawn Games Fortunately, the bakery element of Aeruta felt much better paced. You’ll take ingredients you collected to make and find recipes for bed. You start with very few slots for available product options and recipes, but these gradually grow larger and allow you to select from an array of novel ideas that can bring in money. The little button prompt for the actual sale is a little annoying, seeing how often we will do it, and I felt like it could have been omitted as a quality of life and accessibility option. But since we eventually can also find and tame Patti enemies on runs that can help, with ones with skills like Checkout Expert, Cleaning Expert, and Price+ increases, it never got to be too much of an issue when I played. And they can also be used to gather ingredients, which is handy. The way the two elements feed into each other does seem well-balanced, which is good considering the situation. The rewards from going into each run feel tangible once you get back to town to start helping with a bakery shift or the rebuilding effort. Then the bonus stats and increases to Chaya and weapons can be helpful when back on assignment to fight foes. Images via FromDawn Games I enjoyed Aeruta quite a bit, with both the battling and bakery management often feeling equally satisfying. Somehow, I feel the repetition that stemmed from handling the shop became less of an issue than facing the similar sorts of hordes over and over again when heading out to fight for ingredients. The difficulty spikes for a few bosses is also frustrating. But each part of the experience is generally solid, and the charming premise and cute characters add to its appeal. Aeruta is available for PCs via Steam . The post Review: Aeruta Isn’t Loafing Around appeared first on Siliconera .

Reviews Articles and News - SiliconeraDec 7