Recent reviews by Renzey

If M.C. Escher played Antichamber and decided to make his own video game, Manifold Garden would be it.

Screw this game.
Screw it for having a beautifully painted artstyle that makes you think this'll be a wholesome adventure with your animal spirit pals.
Screw it for having incredibly well-written dialogue and characters that make you connect with them as if they were part of your real life.
Screw it for having a great sense of humor in its moments and animations. Daffodil, I'm looking at you.
Screw it for the plethora of unique crafting minigames, especially the cooking one.
Screw it for the many hours it takes to get through the whole story, ensuring my friend and I had many nights to enjoy the game.
Screw it for having a heartfelt soundtrack that swells up at JUST the right time to pull my heartstrings straight out of my chest.
And finally, screw it for making me cry each and every time I had to say goodbye.
This game touched my heart in a way very few have, and very few will.
10/10 would ugly cry again.

Go into this game knowing nothing. The little you know, the better your experience will be.

This game is lovingly crafted from every facet. Each planet has purpose, and the various story bits are scattered throughout for you to discover. Each tidbit lets you assemble the story akin to a mystery being solved by using a board with a bunch of red strings connecting pieces of information. The soundtrack follows you in your journey and underscores each location and discovery, encouraging you to find the next bread crumb. It's a bit tough to put down sometimes, but you'll find good places to stick a bookmark in it.
Some parts involve a bit of creative thinking to solve a puzzle, and that can be frustrating. I highly encourage you to stick with it, because the payoff is worth it.
Everything in the solar system is governed by the game's physics simulation too, for that added layer of coolness. It doesn't place you on rails or shoves you into unskippable cutscenes.
The Outer Wilds is yours to explore. Let your curiosity guide you.

Mary White: LEAVE OR DIE
Friend 1: MARY WHITE MARY WHITE MARY WHITE MARY WHITE MARY WHITE MARY WHITE
Friend 2: Dude you are totally gonna die.
Me: I'm going back to the van.
GUESS WHO DIES

10/10 would spook again

Quern is a wonderfully charming puzzle-island game with similar flavors to Myst and the like. The world is beautiful and the puzzles make sense given the location. Everything has a purpose, even more than one. It feels like there is next to no dead space or useless dead ends, and the more you progress, the more interconnected the island becomes with new shortcuts. The sketch feature is welcome, though could benefit from being in color. Voice acting is great, and the story is easy to follow. A questionable feature is the capacity for elements in your inventory to have more than one use in more than one puzzle. While innovative, It can possibly lead to a clogged inventory and increased confusion. Overall, it's a great game if you like puzzles with a mysterious atmosphere.