Recent reviews by Francesco

Listen here: I dunno you, but I spent years thinking about a way to play again with the games of my childhood, and I didn't want to mess again with my C64 and old floppy disks maybe not functioning anymore...Well, then with no frills, no headaches, no patches, no add ons, no craps, no infinite browsing on the web in search of occult files to downolad, simply on Steam, RETROARCH. Ok, I already knew it 'cause of Raspberry and EmuStation, but it is PERFECT for Mame32, and I use for the classic arcade with full satisfaction. But for C64, I encountered some difficulty with VICE64. Here on Steam, I get the maximum result and I can play The Last Ninja Trilogy like the child I was many years ago. Ah, 'cause I didn't want to be stuck in some compatibility problems, I got a 8BitDo controller (SN30 Pro), that is simply EXCELLENT and runs smootly. The gamer's ultimate companion. So, gates open to nostalgia and remember: GAMING IS NOT A CRIME!! Do ya agree?

Glory to Arstotzka and to Mr. Pope. Ok, somebody says it's repetitive, but it's a characteristic of a burocratic simulation, what did you expect? The interesting thing, imho, is the story evolving during the boring duty, day after day, and the consequences that differ depending from your choices. I recommend this title, Lucas Pope had a very original idea and the game mechanics are addictive, just like The Return of Obra Dinn. But this is another story.

Here you are a boomer review: LOOM represents a pure genius mechanics of play. This belongs to past, we are speaking of 1990, when LucasArts seemed to create games that still remains true masterpieces notwithstanding the years. Do we need really a PS5 Pro today? Consider I spent a considerable amount of time playing FarCry 5, and I really liked it. But sorry, it'll never reach the idea and the genuine craftmanship of these absolute wonderful adventures of 1990s. ASK ME ABOUT LOOM.

I played A Case of Distrust, and this is somehow similar. Mild catching story (a dime novel), mild interaction and elegant, minimal graphic. I can be a player also without this game, it adds nothing to my collection. Why did I buy it? If we had a neutral review, this would be my vote at a first approach. Another question: if we have developed, through decades of programming, adventures that were, several years ago, simple text adventures and nowadays, wonderful pnc games, what is the goal of such a title like Sarawak? Is this supposed to be a new genre? OK, I can agree but that is not my type. Is it an experiment? OK, good approach, thumb up. It is a pnc adventure? Thumb down. Well, after this explanation, I'll vote it as a kind of interactive literature, so thumb up. Please comment if you agree.

A bit longer than Samorost 1, cutie story with simple puzzles. Do not expect too much, but it's well hand drawn and it comes from Amanita. So if you know them and love that mood, take it, but for sales only because you'll finish in nearly 2 hours. Save your dog, little dwarf!!

I tried this because I was engaged by the positive reviews and the related franchise of short horror adventures. Ok I was enough amused, but maybe I was wrong with bigger expectations, I dunno, or a bit distracted...
Negative, just curiosity for a free product but do no expect too much imho.

Annapurna strikes back, and I had fun again. Cryptic and mysterious just like The Journey (that enchanted me), and with marvellous mechanics of game. Then Annapurna brings me also to Kentucky Route Zero, the most boring and useless "game" I ever played IMHO. Well, that's useless as Art, you may say, but I use to play to enjoy a game, not to be part of the audience. Anyway, Gorogoa is Art, but you can play it. I tasted it, chapter after chapter, even if it's a little bit difficult to find the plot of the story. Maybe it's like a good artistic craft: everyone can find a different meaning, and each of them is the right one.

This is a hide & seek, and I ain't so fond of them. Anyway, because of Debussy, Ensor's paintings, the result is something eerie and oniric at the same time. Lose yourself in the paintings, they move and become more frightening than they normally are. I enjoyed the game, even if quite short, but it's original and well crafted. Bravo Thomas Waterzooi!

Please note I just nominated this game...

Why negative? It's original and plays with the 4th dimension. Just be careful: extremely short! But anyway, there is NO game.

Ok, here you are a super condensed review: take the skeleton of a classic graphic adventure, leave just 1-2 objects to find, and leave just the dialogues. For the graphics, choose a stylish and minimal one.
Bring the atmosphere of a hardboiled novel, put a background music of that time.
So? What about the result? Neutral/Good imho. I could expect something more from the plot (even if I appreciated the ending) and from the music. Nice exercise of style, but if you want to face the hardboiled USA, please pass to L.A. Noire and leave this to a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea.