DeVuego ES_COR

Post Trauma offers a nostalgic journey through classic survival horror, but doesn’t quite manage to recapture the magic of its inspirations. The atmosphere and sound design provide an immersive experience, but the gameplay often feels cumbersome, and the story leaves much to be desired. While it hits the right notes for horror enthusiasts, it occasionally stumbles in execution. It’s an enjoyable ride for those seeking a taste of PS2-era horror, but it’s far from perfect.

The Spirit of the Samurai is a 2D action-adventure game combined with platforming elements and punishing combat mechanics. Its audiovisuals are impressive and successfully present a dark and desperate environment. Using a stop-motion animation style, the game stands out as one of the most aesthetically unique games of the genre. Meanwhile, each character plays a role with various abilities, making the combat and exploration enjoyable. However, the story and its delivery fall short in describing and explaining this dark, foreboding world.

TMNT Mutants Unleashed is a decent 3D beat ‘em up that has its hits and misses. It has a surprisingly unique progression system that works since it builds up on existing characters while building the world around the main cast. However, its gameplay problems, missed opportunities, and not-so-great voice acting do more harm than good. It’s quite clear that the target audience is for the younger generation similar to the film, and not a lot of people might appreciate its simple gameplay, stylistic and cartoony visuals, and snarky dialogue.

Mika and The Witch’s Mountain is basically Kiki’s Delivery Service if it was a game. It captures all the charm and coziness of a Miyazaki film, paired with its simple but equally relaxing gameplay. Sure, it has some bugs and could use a few improvements, but despite that, it's a Ghibli fan’s dream come true.

Ereban Shadow Legacy is a stark reminder that the platformer genre will forever be fascinating, and if paired up with stealth mechanics, then you have something special. It has a unique way of traversal with the use of shadows, whether they be moving or not. It’s not a perfect stealth game by any means, but the unique movement and comic-like visuals is enough for me to recommend it to platforming lovers.