DeVuego

Farlands is a comprehensive life simulation with a space travel twist. There is a good variety of farming, fishing, bug collecting and mining, driven by the need to fill a museum-type Ark. However, Farlands needs better optimisation for the Nintendo Switch and more robust testing to catch the bugs towards the end of the experience – hopefully, neither should be rocket science to resolve. So, whilst there are some non-cosy design choices, like the dark and dangerous caverns of Hafnir, overall, I enjoyed my time in the Farlands. With the caveat of the issues mentioned and the hope of a swift resolution, my final verdict is:

Clue: Murder By Death has a great framework for a video game. Appropriate graphics and a clever use of different dialogue give the game an authentic feel, more than just a remake of a classic board game. However, with slow loading times and character movement, it misses the mark and leads to cumbersome and frustrating gameplay. Clue: Murder By Death would have benefited from more user testing and proofreading to capture the typos and grammar mistakes. Although I initially liked the game, the game-breaking crashes mean I really can’t recommend it at this time.

Oppidum has taken me on a roller-coaster of an adventure; from the initial “Wow, this looks great!”, through the “I’ve got no storage” frustration, and the “I’m dead again” disappointment, right down to the “That’s a ridiculous amount, I quit!” But I didn’t quit, despite the ups and downs, Oppidum intrigues me. I want to know how the story pans out. Will I be able to save the Bennies? So by re-focusing on the main story, and getting into a routine using the teleport scrolls to keep my backpack free of clutter, I am really enjoying my time in Oppidum.

ILA: A Frosty Glide has some excellent gameplay – I thoroughly enjoyed exploring and collecting. There is a lot to savour and take pleasure in when roaming around, uncovering the secrets and customising Ila’s appearance. If rating the game solely on that aspect, it would score highly. However, I found some of the platforming too frustrating and too difficult to look fondly on my time with ILA: A Frosty Glide. The extreme highs and lows of emotion in trying and just not succeeding left me disheartened. If you like challenging platforming and lots of exploring, then this game might be for you, but for me…

Magical Bakery is a cooking-themed, time-management simulation with more than a spoonful of magic sprinkled about. It has some different elements from other games in the same genre and an intriguing background story that makes you want to cook more just to find out what it’s all about. There is a good balance between buying, selling, and upgrading in Magical Bakery, which means progressing doesn’t feel like a grind. Various options allow for a stress-free experience if necessary.

At times, I found controlling the broomstick a bit frustrating, and this did impact on my overall enjoyment. However, the scenery is great, with bright colours and a diverse landscape, and the ability to see all of this from the air enhances the experience.

TEMPUS has moments of brilliance, some of the puzzles are cleverly constructed and satisfying to complete. However, the console controls for moving the on-screen cursor are too frustrating to make the overall experience pleasurable.