Recent reviews by ThunderWave

Phasmophobia is a horror game in which you examine a location and try to determine which kind of ghost is haunting it. For this, you have a variety of tools, and depending on which signals the ghost sends you, it's more or less simple to find out. The ghosts, however, will of course not always tolerate your presence and start to hunt - and eventually murder - the players.

This game combines a genre I love and am familiar with - puzzle - with a genre that I rarely dive into - horror. It has both singleplayer and multiplayer options, though I much recommend to play with at least two other people (I say, as someone who prefers singleplayer experiences). I find that it's more fun to have at least one experienced player on the team, given the complexity.

I personally have never gotten scared in Phasmophobia. This has two major reasons.
One - I usually play with friends, and, as many people will agree, playing together is far less scary and more funny. There is a great entertainment value in being hunted and hearing your friend scream for a last time as the ghost kills them. The feeling of suddenly being all by yourself does mess with you afterwards though, and that's about as scary as it gets.
Two - I am focused. I love being productive in games, and given the task of solving the case, I just am unable to be afraid. I am less worried about being killed by or even just encountering the ghost, than I am worried about not solving the riddle. This is not a bad thing, in my opinion. It just causes this game to miss the horror mark a bit.

While the sound design works very well with it's subtlety to emphasize the atmosphere, the visual design does just as much to hinder it. The animations are stiff, the style is somewhat realistic but just outside of creepy, and even when you find something vaguely disturbing (like a bone, or a summoning circle), it just does not hit you as scary most of the time.

Phasmophobia, as much as it tries to be, is only a horror game in name. If you want to be properly scared, play something else.
But this is not necessarily a bad thing, as mentioned.

If you see this game rather as a fun working sim, you view it in a much better light. It's especially fun once you roughly understand the way ghosts act, and the variety of reactions they give you. As you learn the game (and trust me, there's a lot to learn), you will recognize ghosts not just with the devices you are given, but also by their behavioral patterns. You will get good at your job, improving with every hour played.

Some ghosts are aggressive and will hunt you no matter what. Others may not hunt at all unless provoked, or only hunt isolated people. Some ghosts make a lot of noise, or mess with you by locking doors, while others are barely noticeable and test the players' patience. And the variety in ghost types and locations will have you on your toes, even as an experienced player.

So far, I have enjoyed every single mission - no matter whether I survive it or not, whether we succeededed in identifying the ghost type or whether we failed miserably. No round is like the other, and would I not be limited by daily life, my hours surely would have a bigger count.

All in all, I am very much looking forward to the updates for this ever-evolving game. Whenever I take a longer break in playing, I return to updates that just deepen the experience further. The upcoming horror update already has me interested, given that as mentioned, this game does not scare me. It's usually more comedic than horrifying.

I do hope that the game in the near future will manage to break my focus and have me scared enough to run straight back to the van, too terrified to come out unless my friends accompany me.


Visual Design: 5/10 - While I do like the atmosphere and style, the graphics are relatively simple and the stiff animation makes the game more comedic than I find fitting. I hope this will be fixed in the future, given its EA status.

Sound Design: 9/10 - Never trust the silence. Never trust the sounds either. This game will have you hear things, and I love it.

Gameplay: 10/10 - I can't even think of ways to improve the gameplay. There's many layers to ghost hunting, and strategies to try. It's not repetitive, as of now, and the amount of ghost types, locations and tools is big enough to make it interesting.

Difficulty: 5/10 - You can choose the difficulty and it gets easier when you play with others. Despite that, there's always a chance to die at the first hunt and the constant risk makes you wary of everything. The difficulty very much depends on the players and their competence (and confidence).

Overall Rating: 7/10 - At this point, the Horror update will either make or break this game for me. Do I like horror? No. Am I keeping my mind open? Yes. I might enjoy having to be more serious in the future and no longer laugh at my friends' screams, but rather fear that I am next.

Chants of Sennaar is a puzzle game in which we, the protagonist, climb a tower and learn the languages of the people that populate it. The core gameplay revolves around solving general puzzles and working with cues scattered in our environment to not only understand singular words, but also the rules of a language (such as sentence structure) and the culture of the people that speak it.
The babel-esque setting does not stop there, as we discover an interesting lore revolving the game's world and the importance of communication as a whole.

The art style is unique and evokes a great atmosphere, the overworld feels alive and the animation is smooth. I really liked the handwritten elements in the notebook, though the illustrations were a little bit difficult to interpret a few times.
In regards to sound design, the soundtrack was pleasant to listen to and not overwhelming, increasing its' relevance at the right moments. The sound effects were pleasant and naturally integrated into the game.

This game is a love letter to language and how it shapes a society, how important it is to connect and communicate, to share the joy of being part of a social species - but also a warning about what damage it can cause to isolate yourself in a personal bubble.
The puzzles are intriguing and strike with their complexity despite the simple base mechanics. The game is easy to understand, but fun to really get behind and presents a good challenge even for experienced players.

One of the very few flaws of Chants of Sennaar is the amount of backtracking and the occasional confusion regarding the next objective. Several times I found myself questioning "Where do I have to go?" and "Where do I find what I seek" and it did cause some frustration.
I do also think that the ending felt a little bit out of place, however it can also be perceived as an exciting change of pace and mood compared to the rest of the game. It felt a bit forced to me, but that's very individual.

In my ~12 hour first playthrough, I consulted a guide three times - One time to check if I missed any achievements, once because I had lost my way, once out of laziness (math riddle)



Visual Design: 9/10 - Relatively simple, but executed with great care and skill. The graphics connect well, nothing felt out-of-place and the general aesthetic is very pleasing to the eye

Sound Design: 7/10 - Nothing worth noting, though a game like this needs a subtle soundtrack in order for the player to stay focused and sane. Worked well in the cutscenes and the sound effects were enjoyable.

Gameplay: 10/10 - One of the best puzzle games I have ever played! The puzzles didn't feel too same-y, there was a good variety even if the core loop stayed the same. The language aspect is very unique and had a near-perfect execution.

Difficulty: 8/10 - It's definitely more on the challenging side. If this is your first puzzle game, prepare a guide. You are likely to get lost at some point and backtrack WAY too far. Trust me. That aside, you won't break your head as you play.

Overall Rating: 9/10 - What can I say, it was worth every cent. I DEFINITELY recommend this for any puzzle enthusiast, but if you're interested in language, culture and things like that, the recommendation is doubled. Chants of Sennaar definitely hit a sweet spot for me.

An Arcade Full of Cats is pretty much exactly what the title says - travel through time and find every cat hidden in the Arcades that you visit.
The 5 levels can be played in one sitting, it took me roughly 95 minutes to finish the game. The cats are well hidden and while most of them are fairly obvious, every stage has at least a hand full of cats that are quite tricky to find.
Especially the game mechanic of "Hidden Cats" which can be found by triggering certain events (like clicking a bag to reveal the cat inside) was a nice challenge. I also liked that every stage had a bonus level that could be unlocked by finding a coin and placing it in an arcade machine.
The levels also contain A LOT of pop-culture references, along with the Back-to-the-future reference that are our time-travelling protagonists, which will strike that sweet nostalgia nerve for a lot of people.

The art style is simple, yet cute, and by using mostly lineart the cats blend in neatly with their surroundings.
The music was no soundtrack-of-the-year-material but it was exactly what the game needed - a set of pleasant background tunes that perfectly convey the retro vibes. I genuinely enjoyed the music, it was not only very relaxing but I also found myself vibing along as I played. The sound effects weren't invasive at all and were well-balanced.

As a free game it's absolutely worth giving a shot, especially since it doesn't take up much space either. I'm certainly planning to buy the DLC.

My only complaints for this game are that the music loops a bit too tightly, making it a tad bit repetitive when stuck in a level for 30 minutes. The lineart-based artworks are also occasionally very obviously up- and downscaled, making the resolution inconsistent. I would guess the artist(s) did not use vectors, causing an unevenness that can be a bit confusing by accidentally "highlighting" certain parts or making some cats so low-res that they're really hard to find.

EDIT 2025 Update:

This Update was wonderful! Not only a love letter to (indie) games, but also an absolute joy to play. I loved the variety and that minigame at the end. It was actually quite tricky, I really enjoyed it.


Visual Design: 7/10 - Simple and cute, sometimes a bit inconsistent but it's generally well-done

Sound Design: 8/10 - Loved the music, however the tracks could've been a bit longer to make the loop more pleasant to listen to

Gameplay: 6/10 - Nothing special, but it's simple and fun and the few bonus mechanics kept the game interesting

Difficulty: 3/10 - Simple, can be played even without any prior gaming experience. Some cats can be quite tricky (especially the hidden ones) but usually you can get at least 75% of the stage without squinting

Overall Rating: 7/10 - It's short, it's simple, it's free: If you're into retro stuff, cats and picture puzzles this game is perfect for you!

It's a sweet little experience that manages to tell a story merely by showing you the belongings of the characters involved. The visual style and sound design is also pleasant.
If you find it on sale, I'd recommend it as a short and relaxing game, however for the full price the roughly 3-5 hour game content (including achievements) are not enough to be called worth it.
I still enjoyed the game, it's just very short and doesn't offer much gameplay.

Many survival games feel extremely similar to each other. You craft, you eat, you build, and you try to survive for as long as possible. Card Survival:Tropical Island takes this recipe and executes it in a manner that is a welcome diversion from the others.

Even starting with the easiest character, you always have some kind of struggle which I really enjoy.
The game has both very simple and more complicated mechanics and figuring out everything you can do is an absolute treat. It can be really challenging at times, especially due to the constant luck aspect that prevents even the 10th try with the same character to become boring. While still needing some focus sometimes, it's the ideal game to play while youre also watching TV due to you progressing time with actions instead of having it run in real time. Whether you play for one hour or ten, it's very enjoyable.

If the premade characters aren't for you, there's also the possibilty to create your own!
I'm very happy that you have to play the game before you can choose every customization there is, although it does take quite a while to be able to get every attribute, the difficulty of this game is highly customizable.
It's also nice that you can choose what to unlock instead of being forced through layers of unlocking things before you get what you want.
The soundeffects and visuals also support the fantasy of this game and allows the player to fully immerse themselves into the tropical island survival situation.


Visual Design: 5/10 - pleasant but nothing special, could use some more love

Sound Design: 6/10 - nice atmosphere; creates immersion, but nothing too special

Gameplay: 9/10 - innovative; enjoyable; can be played for hours and hours without being boring

Difficulty: 6/10 - highly customizable and individual; complex, but there's a very good and detailed help tool/guide ingame

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Recommend it to those looking for a less stressful survival game that still has a nice complexity

An sich ein gutes Spiel, mir gefällt das Konzept sehr und der minimalistische Stil ist sehr liebenswert.
Ein gutes Spiel zum entspannen. Man muss nicht viel denken, es ist simpel gehalten und die Musik schafft ein schönes Ambiente.
Der einzige Nachteil ist die Länge des Spiels. Man kann es in einem Tag durchspielen und bin der Meinung, dass es dringend Updates bräuchte um etwas interessanter zu werden. Der Sandboxmodus wird daher auch schnell langweilig.