Recent reviews by MrIncognito

Excellent.

Wears its gameplay inspirations (Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, etc.) and visual inspirations (Persona, Monogatari, etc.) on its sleeve, yet does enough original to keep its own identity.

The plot and characters are compelling.

The art may not be considered aesthetically appealing to some but to drop the game for that reason alone is to do yourself a disservice.

Do you like word guessing games? Riddles? A minigame that is ostensibly a card battler but it's honestly unclear how that would work in real life? Cryptmaster is a first-person dungeon crawler that has all of these and more but can also not have some of those so much if you don't want it to. There's settings.

If you have fond memories of an old PC dungeon crawler with clever writing this will be right up your alley. There are a bunch of mechanics all centered around words and it all works as a single polished experience.

Also, if you're ever worried "will the game recognize this as a valid answer if I type it", the developer listens to feedback so the answer is "quite likely". Unless your answer is wrong, in which case you have other concerns.

This game is free.
Do you want to smooch a ghost?
This game is free.
It's got glasses ghosts. It's got goofy ghosts. It's got tall ghosts. It's got ghosts crying tears of blood.
This game is free!
The gameplay is like a much-simplified PlateUp! or Overcooked if someone was trying to kill you while you went about your business.
THIS GAME IS FREE.
You have nothing to lose but your life.

It can be a chill fishing simulator or a chill chatroom. Or both. The gameplay is like Animal Crossing if it was all about fishing and you didn't have a house. And the fishing is slightly more complex. Only slightly.

First, before we talk about what The Outlast Trials is, let's talk about what it is not.

If you're looking for atmospheric horror, The Outlast Trials will not be that for long. After you get used to the game and start redoing the same missions with different variators, you start completely ignoring anything about the environment that isn't important, and you tune out the music and ambient noise beyond the tells that someone heard you or is chasing you.

If you're looking for heart-pounding chases, The Outlast Trials will also not be that for long. Once you master the mechanics and upgrade your character, you'll find yourself stymieing enemies constantly by shutting doors in their faces and throwing bricks at their heads to watch them writhe around on the ground for 10 whole seconds. No enemy will chase you for more than a few moments unless you want them to.

If you're looking for a story-heavy experience, The Outlast Trials will not be that. It is mission-based and non-linear. The only real story you get is in the collectible evidence files, which are awarded to you more or less randomly. The character you play as is very explicitly some nobody dragged off the street who does not matter to anyone and has no life worth mentioning. The closest thing the game has to an "ending" is completing the release protocol, which earns you a short cutscene showing the fate of your character before you're once again put in the character customization screen to design your old character's "replacement", at which point your next goal is just to work your way up to the release protocol again to unlock additional cosmetics and possibly a trophy for reaching a milestone number of characters released to put in your room.

With that out of the way...

The Outlast Trials is primarily the core concepts of Outlast adapted to a semi live service co-op game (even though you can play it solo). It is significantly more Video Game in its mechanics than the main series.

If you're looking for a fun PvE experience that feels like a mashup of Outlast and Dead by Daylight, The Outlast Trials will be that. Co-op is optional, but you will notice that the game is decidedly designed around that as its first priority.

Now whether this game is Metal Gear Solid or The Benny Hill Show is really up to you and your friends.

A time-murdering dopamine factory.
Do you want a twitch-action game that'll test your skills? Look elsewhere.
Do you want an engaging story and deep characters? This doesn't have those.
Do you want to feel good collecting hundreds of gems and destroying waves of monsters without lifting a finger and be dazzled with lights and sounds whenever you open a treasure chest? This is the game for you.

Countless hours of satisfaction and maybe a few chuckles await you. Checklists, achievements, and Numbers What Go Up make sure you always have something to aspire to. This game knows what it wants to be, aspires to nothing less, and needs nothing more.

And the soundtrack's pretty good, and doesn't get tiring even with the game's 30-minute sessions.

A VR room-escape-style puzzle game that truly understands the VR player. Wear everything as a hat. Set everything on fire (be careful, some things are explosive). As far as the actual gameplay is concerned:

• Retains the previous entry's elegant answer to adventure game puzzles solved (sometimes at a distance) while stationary.
  
• Not every problem has a singular solution.
  
• Humor and writing remains excellent.
  
• Levels are short and sweet, dying (as you are expected to) never puts you back far.
  
• A good mix of sections where you have all the time in the world, and small bits where the pressure is on.

An extremely polished and "smart" VR experience from a AAA developer is a rare sight, but this here proves it can happen. Feel like an action hero as weapon swapping, reloading, and grabbing distant objects with the Gravity Gloves become so second nature to you you can do them without even looking.

It captured the feeling of playing the first Spelunky for the first time, which I think is pretty much what every sequel should aspire to. As if that weren't enough, there's even more levels, branching paths complete with branching quest chains, mounts, and more.

Very important note for players of the first Spelunky:
Play it like you were playing the first Spelunky for the first time. There are new threats that can come from directions you are not used to. If you expect your Spelunky expertise to allow you to breeze through it like some kind of Spelunky expansion pack, you will die a lot, and you will be very angry, and it will be your fault.

If you have played the original Risk of Rain, it has made the transition to 3D excellently, and that's all you should need to know.

If you have not, it is an excellent co-op multiplayer roguelike-ish third-person shooter. Completing gameplay challenges unlocks more powerful random item drops and new characters and skills to vary up your gameplay. Every defeat leaves you ready to try again.