Recent reviews by Toaster

Bits & Bops is a short and sweet rhythm game that clearly takes inspiration from Rhythm Heaven. It follows that formula so well that it ends up feeling less like a clone and more like a genuine spiritual successor.

The game knows exactly what makes this style work. Each track introduces a simple rhythm idea, builds on it just enough, and then moves on before it wears out its welcome. The rhythms are varied enough to keep things fresh, especially considering how brief the game is.

The music is a real highlight. A few of the tracks are memorable enough that I found myself humming them or even listening to them after finishing the game, which says a lot for a rhythm game so closely tied to another series.

The extra bits of content are a nice bonus. They’re not essential, but they’re funny to mess around with and help capture the same playful charm as the main game.

Bits & Bops doesn’t try to reinvent anything, and it doesn’t need to. It delivers a fun, focused rhythm experience that feels familiar in the best way.

Split Fiction shines brightest when it narrows its focus to its characters and its cooperative play. Zoe’s and Mio’s personal stories are the emotional core of the game, and they feel grounded, sincere, and thoughtfully written. Their individual journeys explore personal struggles in a way that feels believable, which made it easy to stay invested in their growth from beginning to end.

The gameplay is equally strong. Playing through the game with a friend is consistently engaging thanks to how often the mechanics change. New ideas are introduced at a steady pace, keeping the experience fresh and encouraging cooperation without ever feeling overwhelming. It's a co-op game that clearly understands how to balance variety with accessibility, making the journey enjoyable throughout.

The main issue comes from the antagonist and the role they play in the story. The villain is portrayed as such an exaggerated caricature that it becomes difficult to meaningfully engage with the point the game is trying to make through its symbolism. Rather than feeling like a natural part of the world, the antagonist feels overly simplified and almost performative. This contrast is especially noticeable because Zoe’s and Mio’s stories feel so emotionally honest and realistic. As a result, the central conflict loses some of its impact, pulling me out of the narrative instead of reinforcing its themes.

Despite this shortcoming, Split Fiction remains a strong and memorable co-op experience. Its character-driven storytelling and creative gameplay more than carry it, even if the broader symbolic message stumbles. The journey with a friend, guided by Zoe’s and Mio’s personal growth, is still well worth taking.

Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane is a sincere and enjoyable homage to the Ace Attorney formula. As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the game, I'd place it roughly on par with an average Ace Attorney entry. It's not flawless, but it's consistently entertaining, emotionally engaging, and clearly made with a lot of affection for the genre.

The game’s storytelling is one of its strongest aspects. The overall narrative, character arcs, and thematic ideas are handled well, and the game knows how to build momentum and deliver satisfying dramatic payoffs. Tyrion is a likable protagonist with a solid arc, and the supporting cast is memorable without feeling like direct copies of Capcom’s characters. The fantasy setting also helps give the familiar courtroom structure a fresh identity.

That said, while the storytelling is strong, the writing itself is a bit rougher than what you would expect from Ace Attorney. The script is never bad, but the dialogue is not quite as sharp or as tightly paced, and some jokes and exchanges do not land as cleanly. When directly compared, Ace Attorney clearly has more polish at the sentence to sentence level, even if Tyrion Cuthbert often matches it in terms of overall narrative ambition.

The story also relies on some noticeable plot holes and logical leaps to make certain twists and developments work. These moments don't ruin the experience, but they can be distracting if you think too hard about them. This is something Ace Attorney itself is sometimes guilty of, though Tyrion Cuthbert lacks some of the smoothing polish that helps those moments go down easier.

Overall, Tyrion Cuthbert succeeds far more often than it stumbles. If you're willing to overlook some narrative shortcuts and slightly rougher writing, you will find a charming and heartfelt courtroom adventure. At its best, the game’s strongest cases stand shoulder to shoulder with Ace Attorney’s best moments, delivering the same tension, payoff, and emotional impact that fans of the genre look for. While it doesn't maintain that peak consistently, those highs make it well worth playing for any fan of courtroom visual novels.

The review basically boils down to this: Battlefield is back. It's a great FPS. I've only played the multiplayer, but that alone is a ton of fun.

Great indie game. Not entirely sure how much of it I have left, but right now it definitely feels like I've got plenty. The controls feel good, the dialogue is well-written, and the story is the right amount of engaging. There haven't been any unfair stretches nor any super easy and boring stretches. No matter how you slice it, it's just plain old fun in the end.

If you're looking for a fun and thought-out platformer, then you'll have no regrets picking this one up.

Simple and fun. You'll be queuing up for games all the time under the guise of "I just won, I can't stop now" or "I can't end it on a loss!" If you enjoy climbing a competitive ladder, then the ranked playlist is something you'll be spending a lot of time playing.

There's a great YouTube and Professional eSports scene as well, so there's plenty of videos of silly content or cream-of-the-crop gameplay.

So, first and foremost: if you're thinking about getting this game because you enjoyed the Harvest Moon series back in it's heyday, then I can unequivocally give you the recommendation to buy Stardew right now. It's a spirtual successor, and it's a damn good one as well.

To get a bit more granular, though, I have to say that it takes what made some Harvest Moon titles great and expands on them. Farming is still a massive part of the gameplay, but with slight twists on some items and buildings. The charm is still there when it comes to growing an empire of livestock and crops, and it's even more possible with the new additions mentioned before.

Combat is a part of the game as well, but only in some select areas. If you're familar with Rune Factor, Harvest Moon's spinoff, then think of something kind of similar to that. I'd say that it's not that deep when it comes to mechanics, though. But, that isn't so important because the game uses its purpose well.

Fishing and mining as fun as ever, especially with the new mini-game that fishing brings with it. It's a little annoying at first, but when you get the hang of it, it makes fishing much less monotonous than it was in Harvest Moon games. With that in mind, select skills such as fishing, mining, farming, and etc. all have small skill trees that let you choose perks when you gain a certain level in them. This system keeps the skills engaging and really helps indiviuality to what path you choose to pursue when it comes to specific types of gameplay.

The characters are interesting, and the developer has even gone as far as to make post-marriage dialogue less dry by patching in some more lines. (Yeah, you can get married! Even to the opposite sex, because it's 2016-17, damnit.)

There's always something to do, and it can be overwhelming at first. But, ultimately, if you decide to buy this game and feel as if you're not playing optimally due to the fact that you saw someone online have more money than you, or that your farm is ugly compared to theirs, then just remember that there is no wrong way to play. It's a great, open, and complex RPG that you can get absorbed in for hours upon hours.

My one complaint would be that there does seem to be a point where you can get TOO wealthy and not really have much to sink your cash into. But, that seems to be being worked on, as far as I know.

Again, the game is fantastic. I'll be playing it for a long, long time. 9/10!