Recent reviews by onion

Tldr: extremely strong recommend, doubly so if you have a background working in tech!

So I usually leave short punchy reviews or make some kinda joke, but Eliza really stuck with me and I felt the need to go into it a little more

I finished the game in two chunks, and took a long pause between them - this is a bad habit of mine but I’m glad I pulled back and finished it in the end. Takes about 7-8 hours, and it’s a really satisfying time. The whole time playing it I felt put in this meditative contemplative headspace in a way few pieces of art do, and it was really nice to just inhabit that space for a while.

Obviously any media about tech has a weird relationship with time, but Eliza definitely feels finely aged - AI is the new buzzword, and the game came out just a year before generative AI therapy apps became a hot commodity. There’s a saying about scifi stories, that the best works don't predict the automobile but predict the traffic jam. None of the concepts discussed in Eliza were new even in 2019, but they’ve gone from being the kind of thing discussed by west coast senior devs to pop news everywhere.

Maybe it’s because I’m in the hell of looking for a new tech job and struggling through linkedin and indeed and all the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ apps of the modern day but the writing really landed for me! It really captures the kind of day-to-day tiny ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of working in tech - the jargon, the automated emails, the fake little pleasantries.

The music is evocative and lands really well - Matthew Burns does it again, and he also did the writing, neat! - the art is simple and memorable, and the voice acting is surprisingly good for a small indie title!

Zachtronics games are designed for computer engineer type brains, and Eliza is very much a meditation on the human side of that lifestyle, warts and all.

Man it would be ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up if Seattle was real huh?

buny buny

tldr: If you are a fan of Slay the Spire, Into the Breach and the whole genre those have spawned, grab this immediately and you will not regret it!

Game that deserves more attention and love. It's the first genuine unique iteration on the slay the spire-format that's become all the rage - having your cards be "dice" that can be individually altered adds another dimension of deckbuilding, the healing and corruption systems are very cleverly used and intuitive - a lot of really good iteration in a field that very often plays it safe!

I hope this gets post-launch support, there is a really sweet foundation here that could be iterated upon in a bunch of ways.

A much smaller scope than Pathologic, but an extremely beautiful and emotional story. A little janky controls, but the design and writing is clearly done with so much passion. If you have nostalgic memories about growing up in eastern europe, INSTANT reccomend.

Absolutely fantastic take on the classic civ style 4x model. If you loved Civ 4 and felt disappointed by 5 and 6, this will be a perfect game for you. Feels like a fascinating iteration on the formula, like what if these games had evolved differently.

A 3/5 tactics game combined with a completely unique visual style and presentation. You love to see games that do unique, experimental things and I fully reccomend this for other artsy ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ who like some crunch and tactics

XCOM meets Twilight Struggle meets Kerbal. If you're the type of person who has hundreds of hours in Factorio, Qud, Dwarf Fortress - you know you'll enjoy this. Very much a niche product and still needs a lot of refinement but super ambitious. The AI in particular is SHOCKINGLY competent and feels very engaging

Basically a 1:1 of Heroes of Might and Magic 3/5, with cute pixel art and a fun autobattler. Really simple and a great nostalgic time - captures the same feeling, but adds enough new stuff to be interesting.

Very clearly the longtime passion project of a very weird and commited dev. Absolutely beautiful presentation, an aesthetic and art that's like Homeworld combined with STALKER, and very simple but deep gameplay. Instant reccomend for fans of War Thunder type games

Incredibly fun and lovely aesthetic! devs please make a female character option and this would be my GOTY for sure