Recent reviews by Unredeemable Jank

Stray Cats in Cozy Town is a lovely bite-sized hidden-object game that has the usual high quality and polish that I have come to expect from Devcats. It is a shorter experience than the usual Devcats game, but should not be missed, especially given that base game is free and money from the DLC will support The Humane Society of the United States. If you are unfamiliar with Devcats and their games, Cozy Town is the perfect introduction. Check it out!

Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is not so much a game but a focus tool. This is an especially useful application if you find yourself distracted while studying or doing remote work. The artwork is cozy as are the lofi beats, the latter of which the game has plenty of. The different spirits are cute and endearing as are the descriptions. Your enjoyment of this will likely boil down to if you are looking for a productivity tool or not. If not, probably give this a pass. To me, SCLS is a lovely combination of Kind Words and Habitica wrapped up in a duvet. There will be many more cozy lofi sessions in my near future.

Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is a steampunk metroidvania that is beautifully animated and has satisfying movement as well as the smoothest 2D combat since Dead Cells. You play as Aletheia, a badass mercenary, armed with a sword and gun in addition to both a dodge roll and a backdash. The combat is where this game shines the brightest. Sword attacks are nothing particularly unique but the gun is where the combat goes from good to great. Many enemies are mechanical and have green stagger meters alongside their red health bar. The Tesla bullets from the gun can stun the enemies with a stagger meter, causing the enemy to be staggered and you can rush them with your sword. You generate more bullets by attacking enemies and quickly shift into a rhythm where you alternate between rushing in with your sword, generate bullets, shoot bullets, then rush enemy. It feels nothing short of sublime.

It should be known that GSC is on the easier side. This does not bother me, but for those looking for a soulslike experience- you won't find it here. I only had a handful of deaths while playing through to 100%, most of which I used to quick travel out of far away portions of the map. If there was an accessory or ability to warp back to the last save point in the late game, my death total would be in the single digits. Bosses in general are not difficult, which is a bit of a surprise as they are oftentimes built up to be a complete badass, only for me to steamroll them without using a health flask. This is not intended to be a humblebrag (I am a veteran of the genre but by no means an expert), but a disparity between how the game builds up the bosses and how they actually come across in gameplay. Is this a power fantasy or ludonarrative dissonance? You decide.

Speaking of story, it is the weakest part of this game. It is a fairly standard Chosen One narrative (which is not a problem) but the great majority of the story takes place via dialogue during which Aletheia is not actually present or anywhere near the action. As a result, I did not feel myself overly invested in the overarching plot, only what Aletheia was up to, likable badass as she is. While one would think this would even out to an average story, there is a narrative decision in the last sixty seconds of the story that made me throw up my hands in frustration. I wondered if perhaps I had missed out on an item to have gotten that ending, but no- this appears to be it. Maybe this will be retconned or expanded on with additional content, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Ending aside, Gestalt:Steam and Cinder is a complete joy to play and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a breezy 2D metroidvania with phenomenal combat, a likable protagonist and beautiful setting. While it is a shorter experience clocking in at just under 10 hours of playtime on my completionist run, these cinders certainly do burn bright.

I am not entirely sure how I came across Dino Dino Playful Palentology, but I am so glad I did. It reminds me of the edutainment games I played as a 90s kid in the best possible way and warps me back to that simpler time of life. DDPP is full of lovely minigames to teach the player more about dinosaurs and it is presented in such a charming, beautiful manner. Most of the minigames are pretty straightforward, but some (the digging minigame in particular) could benefit from a quick tutorial to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Having a child of my own, if she has the slightest interest in dinosaurs, I will make sure that she plays this game. To you, the reader, if you have the slightest interest in dinosaurs or excellent edutainment games and you can spare at least $4 USD, PLEASE check this one out.

Bounty of One is a fast paced bullet hell with a unique Western theme. Each class plays distinctly and starts with unique items that makes each character feel different. Your player character automatically attacks and get additional upgrades to their stats and items as each run progresses much like any other bullet hell. The weapons are a lot of fun here and the dash feels heavy and visceral in a good way. For each run (completed or not), you gain meta currency to boost the meta-progression of your player characters. Also, in terms of meta-progression there are difficulty modifiers called Infamy which that reminds me of the Heat system of Hades that increases the difficulty of your run in different manners (more enemies, less health pickups, more damage taken, etc).

While I can appreciate the desire to make runs more difficult to keep things fresh, I do feel like the difficulty ramps up far quicker than the meta-progression allows. I got to an Infamy of 10 with a few characters (15 with one) and now I am hitting a wall until I grind out the meta currency to get more upgrades to keep my head above water. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I do feel like the advertising of the game as being "casual" is not accurate especially when any character can die at Infamy 10 in 3 hits. There are accessibility options in the form of Redemption that makes the game easier but it does not feel like it was the developer's intention for players to actually use them as it locks achievements if you use them. Further, there are achievements for clearing an Infamy level of 40 for each character, which is a level of difficulty that is very far from "casual." Maybe this is a difference in philosophy between myself and the developers or I need to "git good" but I would not say this is a casual game.

There is a deal of fun to be had with Bounty of One and while I enjoyed the first 12 or so hours, I cannot recommend it as a casual experience when there are other options out there. I do not think I will spend any more time with it until there are some robust changes to meta-progression. Until then, I will watch Bounty of One ride off into the sunset.

A Little to the Left is a chill, cozy puzzle game based around arranging items in a specific order on screen. There is not very much (any?) dialogue, the player must simply look at the sets of items and figure out what order or arrangement they should be placed. There are multiple solutions for many of the puzzles that feel organic (arranging items by height, then by color then by some other mechanism) and are a blast to figure out.

If you are having difficulty, the accessibility options are pretty solid. If the player is getting frustrated with the puzzle they are on, they can choose to skip the level or get one of the solutions to it. No fuss, no muss. The fact that there are achievements based on these two mechanics makes me believe the developers very much intend for players to use them and I think that should be applauded. In addition to the usual campaign, there are daily puzzles (that are VERY similar but not the exact same as the puzzles in the base game) and DLC which add a ton of new puzzles and variety (which I very much recommend and picked up within my first hour of play).

If there was one thing that I would hope would be improved is that some of the puzzles are very difficult to get precisely as the game desires it. There were a few puzzles (the worst offender being one involving a mirror in chapter 5) that I was convinced I knew the answer, used a hint, found out I had the exact right answer, and ended up just nudging items on screen until the solution bell rang. I can appreciate in this particular game style that it may be difficult to allow for the slightest variant of solutions, but it was a slight annoyance that did not truly hinder my enjoyment of the game.


All this said, if you are looking for a calm and cozy puzzle time, I would heartily recommend A Little to the Left and all of its DLC. I had a great time with it and I think you would too.

Little Kitty, Big City is a fun, vibrant bite-sized adventure. You play the eponymous Kitty who falls out of a window and must find the way back home. On the way, you come across the many denizens of the unnamed Big City (or is the city actually named Big City? It's unclear but I like the idea), many of whom are friendly other animals that give you missions, items or gameplay tips. The presentation and writing are so endearing, that I found myself smiling the entire time I was playing this game.

While Stray would be the first game that may come up as a point of comparison, the better analogue would be Untitled Goose Game. As the player Kitty, you mostly annoy or create mischief for the inhabitants of the Big City on your way home and it is honest to goodness, pleasant sandbox fun. The controls are solid, aside from a few janky portions, and I had a great time scaling the buildings and patrolling the streets.

It should be noted that most people will likely complete the main objective of this game within 2 to 4 hours and probably need 5ish additional hours to mop up all of the optional content. This is not a deterrent for me, personally, because I love a nicely crafted unique experience even if it is not a long game, but I know some players may balk at the game's price given that information. Regardless, I would recommend LKBC to anyone looking for a nice breezy time, even if it is not a long time.

Feed All Monsters is a charming, cozy line puzzle game. As you may imagine from the title, your goal is to feed all the monsters on a given map. The wholesome art and atmosphere had me grinning from ear to ear while playing and while the story is minimal, the setup and introduction to the world is really all you need as the player.

The game has a perfect difficulty curve introducing you to its mechanics without overly holding your hand and or under explaining. In terms of accessibility, the game does allow for some hints (telling you which characters start at what square on the board) but nothing past that. This allows for an amount of guesswork without allowing the player to spam for the correct answer/setup and does allow for a feeling of accomplishment when finishing each puzzle. The game was paced well and did not feel bloated or had any extraneous sections.

I do not have any criticism or things that I would wish to be changed/updated/fixed, this was a fantastic experience from start to finish. As of the time of writing this, this game sits at 207 reviews (100% positive) and I will add mine to be 208. I hope the response to this game was positive enough to DU&I to consider a follow up- if it was, I will be there day 1.

ANIMAL WELL is a 2D metroidvania brimming with trippy atmosphere and top notch gameplay.

While story is typically one of my top reasons to pick up a given game, the story here is non-existent or so esoteric I could not make it out. What this game does exceptionally well is developing this surreal fever dream-esque atmosphere of a dungeon inhabited by neon glowing animals, some of which are friendly and others who definitely are not. It unsettling in the best way where you really have no idea what animal or obstacle you will encounter next. Given that description of facing the unknown one would anticipate a polished combat system. However, there really is no combat in this game and other than a few aggressive animals, no real bosses.

The real challenge and heart of this game lies in its puzzle platforming. In true metroidvania fashion you obtain new items to help you unlock new pathways through this bioluminescent gauntlet. However, the true sense of discovery comes not just from unlocking new pathways but figuring out alternate uses for the items you already have. Since the feeling of figuring out these alternative uses for items are such lovely "aha!" moments (especially since the game does not offer much in the way of tutorials), I will not divulge any here. My favorite moments in this game involved my character being dropped into a room with seemingly no way out only to realize that I already had everything I needed to escape with a bit of lateral thinking. The only other game that has evoked such wonderful moments was Return of the Obra Dinn, one of the greatest puzzle games of all time.

In closing, if you enjoy puzzle platformers and do not need combat in your metroidvania, you should stop reading this and immediately delve into ANIMAL WELL.

A Tower Full of Cats is the latest hidden object game from Devcats. While this is the fourth entry in their Full of Cats series, each iteration adds something new or builds upon the previous one. The game initially appears to be a strictly linear ascending tower of cats through different time periods though different side quests pop up that makes the game a bit non-linear. There are plenty of cats and collectibles to find as well as hints in case you get stuck. The dialogue is cute, as is tradition. The music is usually a high point and Tower is no exception. The soundtrack is dynamic, changing instrumentation going from the Industrial era to Mideval times to Ancient Egypt. The dynamic OST is executed especially well and brings up memories of late 90s games such as Banjo Kazooie, which are great memories.The art somehow keeps getting better from game to game and the creativity of Devcats make me very curious what new theme they will tackle next. Regardless of setting, it does not matter; I know I will definitely be there for whatever future games they will make. If you have even the slightest passing interest in hidden object games, Tower is a complete gem and worth a hearty recommendation.