DeVuego ES_COR

Etherborn is a space and gravity bending puzzle game that challenges your spatial awareness, however despite a very compelling hook and lovely visuals it runs out of ideas very quickly.

Effie is a 3D puzzle platformer with a strong nod to games of yesteryear. Simple combat as well as a lack of any real challenge and samey boss fights make it a title best suited to a younger audience.

Candle: The Power of the Flame is as much a failure as it is a success. There is something wonderful and lovely in it, but it is repeatedly let down by the things that paradoxically make it great. A good puzzle game communicates its solutions to the player through a variety of means, often audio and mostly visual and Candle does do this sometimes, but more often than not it simply doesn’t. The complexity of some of the solutions hidden within incredibly detailed scenes are bound together by the exceptional work of the voice actor as the narrator that does make the frustrations more bearable. However, if you have patience and a keen eye for detail there is much to enjoy with Candle, if you don’t, or you have trouble holding lots of seemingly disconnected bits of information together then you may struggle to enjoy what Teku’s adventure has to offer.

Aragami is a super stylish stealth ninja game that blends a lot of familiar ideas into an exciting action game. The levels are constructed in such a way as to encourage multiple playthroughs, while the placement of the upgrade scrolls ensures that every inch of the beautifully-rendered environments is examined. With no real weapons other than a close quarters blade, you are forced to think strategically about each move, whether to utilise one of your precious finite powers or attempt to sneak past the enemies to your objective. Each level is consistently exciting, gradually adding more complexity and challenge as you progress. The story, told through limited dialogue and minimal cut-scenes, is enough to keep you invested until the end, but it is the gameplay itself that demands your attention. The liquidity and grace of Aragami’s move-set combined with the clever level design really make this a superb stealth game.