Recent reviews by EmiKong

Sorry We're Closed is more than just a game- it's a ponderment of love, loss, and the ethereal. So brilliantly written, designed, directed, produced, and queer! Thank you, to the Devs, for bringing this masterpiece to life.

This game is nothing short of a masterpiece.

I adore Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER!! I played the demo at PAX East 2023, wishlisted it, and hopped on the release! Overall, the game is GORGEOUS (stunning pixel art and color palettes). The ladies and theydies are hot!! The OST is stuck in my head! The pastel-pixel-cyberpunk-noir plot captured my intrigue; I was craving each next chapter!!

TL;DR pretty, queer, fun :)

I first discovered the Coffee Talk series while at PAX East 2023. Coffee Talk 2 was pending release so I hopped on the original. It is an understatement to say I adored the first installment and I quickly hopped on the second.

Coffee Talk 2 is one of the best sequels I've ever played. It took 90% of the elements from the first Coffee Talk and expanded perfectly upon them in this one. Notably, Coffee Talk 2 includes new characters, old characters with continuing plot lines, new barista ingredients, an item system, and updates to the phone apps. I enjoy loading up Coffee Talk 2 in the morning with my own coffee or tea, setting the dialogue to auto, and getting through an in-game day. If you're an achievement person like me, Coffee Talk 2 will satiate your appetite, especially while following one of the many detailed walkthroughs (thank you LeeThePhoenix!).

If you enjoy cozy, narrative, colorful, beautiful, whimsical games- Coffee Talk 2 is still serving :)

Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is so incredibly well-written, cute, quirky, and a lovely shade of green. The game's design triggers my nostalgia for GBC Pokemon. I don't often encounter games where I want to interact with every pixel and speak with every npc, but this is one of them.

I cannot recommend Chicory highly enough!I was left speechless upon credit roll. I enjoyed literally every second of this game; I cannot wait to 100% it!

Easily a 10/10 gaming experience.

If you're like me and complain that there isn't a single, modern-day, hidden object game as good as an iSpy book, then I'm happy to report this is no longer the case. Hidden Folks is not only HECCIN' charming, but presents a sufficient hidden object challenge. Hidden Folks is hand made and mouth-made (?) seeing as all of the sound effects are made with the human mouth -a level of care and detail I seriously commend. There are a lot of levels to explore and a nice mix of smol and "oh my god where do I start" sizes. The maps have a plethora of interactive objects that encourage creativity in finding folks-I REALLY enjoyed that the maps are not static. There are prompts connected to each hidden object that provide a hint as to their location and there are Steam guides available that either provide location hints or full-blown answers. It may also be helpful to know there are 3 background settings- white, tan, black- to customize your viewing experience, since your eyes will be glued to the screen.

TL;DR I enjoyed every minute I played!!

Call of the Sea is a cozy, narrative, puzzle adventure set in 1934 Polynesia. The story is interesting and unique. The graphics and textures are beautiful. The main character narrates often, so I didn't feel a sense of loneliness while exploring a desolate, shipwrecked island. There is a lot to "collect" and achievement hunt (I 100%'ed the game in my 10 hour playtime). The puzzles are very intuitive- an added bonus is that all relative information that the MC interacts with is logged in a journal. It is entirely possible to complete this game without a guide (I used one for achievements and a couple smooth brain moments).

I was relatively stress free while playing, however I was anxious in the deep water areas, so fair warning to anyone who is ocean phobic. There are only a handful of instances that had me stressed, but the awareness that nothing will harm you in the game should help (aka yes approach the spooky things).

I highly recommend the purchase and playthrough of Stacking.

Double Fine did not miss with Stacking; I absolutely adore this game. It is a cozy puzzle game at its core, with a storyline that is a scathing critique of 19th century industrialism (we love to see it). It is easy to achievement hunt, which is a pleasure for a completionist like me, has a great OST and aesthetic, and is so quirky, well-written, hilarious, charming. The list goes on. A casual playthrough (without hints) took me 5 hours, the remaining 6 were of me taking my time achievement-hunting and completing the Hobo King DLC. The hint system is a wonderful component to jog my puzzle-solving abilities, the dozens of in-game achievements incentivize creativity and exploration. If played "correctly" every inch of every level is interacted with and I find that a hallmark of a good game to not waste *any* time or space.

Stacking is honestly a perfect game. Please do yourself a favor and experience this game and have a laugh while you're at it.

I found Paper Dolls to be a sufficiently scary game and I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzles and overall concept. Some of the reviews here are pretty scathing, which I disagree with. I am an admitted horror novice and regular at Super Weenie Hut Jr. however I think foundationally this game is well-written, clever, suspenseful. I am personally a fan of fetch-quests, trading sequences, returning to areas and Paper Dolls executed it very well since the setting is literally a haunted house. I felt excitement every time I found a token or a key to progress further into the mansion. For those who negatively reviewed the environmental sounds- lighten up please, because they did well to drive the suspense of certain roaming ghosts. My play time is true to completion, 5 hours one session. Two of the puzzles are of Chinese cultural origin and will likely need a walkthrough ( this is just a heads up, not a detriment). I've got my eye on PD2 tbh. In summary, I recommend giving Paper Dolls a try.