DeVuego ES_COR

If you’re both a fan of Summer in Mara and enjoy action-platformers, it’s a solid addition to the IP with many returning characters and locations smartly reworked into stages. If you’ve got no familiarity with the IP but enjoy classic action-platformers, there’s still a lot to like mechanically but the narrative context will mean little and it feels like you’ve walked into a movie halfway through. Regardless of which category you fall in, I’d recommend tackling Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara in short bursts – maybe tackling a region per session as a breather from other games – so the formulaic structure doesn’t undermine the solid core gameplay.

The Waylanders desperately needed more time in the oven and hopefully, a re-launch if they’re planning on console versions. I hope GATO STUDIO can find the time and budget to rework the combat; trim the many lengthy conversations in which you have no input; and go through the game, scene to scene, ensuring each one has an equivalent level of polish. As it stands, I’m not planning on pushing on to the end until more patches are announced and I suggest you hold off for now too. Maybe we’ll eventually get a polished and consistent experience?

If you can look past the rough presentation and forgive the lack of a timeline feature, The Song Out of Space offers a compelling enough experience that feels smartly developed on a tight budget. It’s the type of game you’ll play through twice in your first sitting, then start mulling over narrative diversion points and start planning a replay or two. If you’re looking for a bite-sized, point-and-click-style narrative-adventure, there are far worse ways to spend $5.

Epic Chef does a wonderful job of combining life and cooking sims with a light RPG adventure. The stellar writing and uncomplicated but fun cooking mechanic helps to set the game apart from others in the genre and is worth a taste of your time.