Recent reviews by Beaker

Dispatch is an excellent short game with amusing characters and simplistic core gameplay. It's one of the best visual novels I've played with beautiful animation, excellent voice acting, and a solid soundtrack. The main game is a simple management game that kept me engaged for the runtime. It's not particularly long, but it delivers a lot. If you are looking for a fun story with irreverent superheroes, you'll likely enjoy Dispatch.

Haste is a charming, fast-paced parkour game with a roguelike structure. It's so easy to get into a flow state as you race across the levels. It gave me what I always wanted from a Sonic game - the feel of going nearly-uncontrollably fast. If you enjoy racing and like the cartoony style, you'll enjoy Haste.

Slime Rancher is a game about herding adorable slimes and exploring a pastel wonderland. It's cute, chill, charming, and just plain fun. If you look at the face of the slimes and smile, I'd recommend giving Slime Rancher a try.

Blue Prince is one of the best puzzle experiences I've ever had, and one of the most frustrating games I've ever played. It starts from the premise of "What if I built a fun drafting game" and stuffs secrets and puzzles into every possible location, leading to an astoundingly deep game and a jarring mix of mechanics. The designer did a great job finding every way to interweave the mechanics, story, and meta-progression of the game. At the same time, the interweave of mechanics is itself the main flaw felt by most people who play it.

Blue Prince is a game that gave me some new gaming highs through excellent puzzles and rewarding my desire to explore. There were also times that were a slog and I would have stopped if not playing with someone else. I cannot recommend this game to the everyman, but I do want more people to experience this wholly unique, if deeply flawed game.

Monster Train 2 is an excellent rogue-like deckbuilder and a worth sequel. It delivers a bunch of new mechanics to try and synergize around, while being familiar to anyone who played the original. If you enjoy games like Slay the Spire or it's predecessor, I highly recommend Monster Train 2.

Megabonk is a silly, enjoyable roguelike in the mold of Vampire Survivors. It is easy to pick up, the builds seem quite flexible, and the unlock system is engaging. While the art style is a little chunky, the good vibes and memes make up for a lack of fidelity. If you've played Vampire Survivors or others of the genre and had fun, I'd recommend giving Megabonk a try.

Hades 2 is more Hades, meaning it's one of the best action games of the past decade with excellent characters, enjoyable gameplay, and music that will be stuck in your head for days. If this looks even remotely interesting to you, I highly recommend both Hades and Hades 2.

Potion Craft is a relaxing game about making potions. The core mechanic, using ingredients to explore a range of effects, is interesting and tickles the same parts of your brain as a puzzle game. It doesn't have the best tutorial experience and the haggling can get boring quickly, but the core challenge is enjoyable and worth some time. If you want a relaxing puzzle-esque experience and enjoy the fantasy of running a shop, consider picking up Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator.

Citizen Sleeper 2, much like it's predecessor, is a phenomenally written RPG that will make you feel things. It's a mechanically simple game, but the fun comes from making difficult decisions with weighty narrative consequences. The characters are all interesting, some quite adorable, and others intentionally hard to love. For fans of a good story or people who just want to think about what it means to be human in a rough world, I highly recommend Citizen Sleeper 2.

Chants of Sennaar is a lovely puzzle game about language. It really twisted my brain, trying to decipher the grammatical structures and vocabulary. I recommend it for folks who enjoy puzzles and are looking for a solid 8 hour experience.