| # | Title | Length (h) | Comments | Rating |
|---|
| 10 | Senren*Banka | 26 | Another moege by Yuzusoft and a pretty consistently good visual novel; it does not reach the highs of Sabbat of the Witch, but it also does not reach the lows of SotW, which was pretty inconsistent across routes. | ★★★★ |
| 11 | Utawarerumono | 13.5 | I read that since the 2nd and 3rd Utawarerumono titles had been re-released and really enjoyed it. At its core, it is just a bunch of slice-of-life scenes set between the more significant story-bits, with light tactical combat every once in a while. The main draw was the main story-line and the expansive cast of characters, who also took the center-stage in the many interstitial scenes. This was the fan-translated 18+ version, but I am confident in saying that little will be lost when the all-ages remake is released. | ★★★★★ |
| 12 | Marco & The Galaxy Dragon | 4 | The demo made me very hopeful about this visual novel, but the story ended up being told at such a break-neck pace that it often felt confusing, and the sheer contrast between the slap-stick humor and the grim-dark antagonist made the latter feel out of place in the story. But art, characters, humor, and music all came together and made it an highly enjoyable experience, and made me hopeful for a sequel. | ★★★ |
| 13 | OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos | 3 | A short and mostly light-hearted yuri romance visual novel; it is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, nothing more and nothing less, but worth reading if that is the kind of story you are looking for. | ★★★★ |
| 14 | WILL: A Wonderful World | 13 | A puzzle-game/visual novel; play the role of a god and tweak the chronology of events to bring about different, better(?) outcomes for those praying for your aid. While the puzzle-elements were weak, and often boiled down to just trying all combinations, the stories that were told through them were highly enjoyable. | ★★★★★ |
| 15 | Painkiller: Black Edition | 10.5 | Painkiller was not the most exciting FPS when it was first released and time has not been kind to this game; between a story that takes itself too seriously, boring weapons, repetitive and largely uninteresting enemies too many of whom do hit-scan damage, uninspired levels, poorly signposted boss mechanics, and sluggish movement (pro-tip: jumping is faster than running) the game simply does not hold up these days. I will however give a shoutout to the last level in the main game, hell itself, which is presented as a journey through the many wars of human history. The DLC adds a couple of enjoyable weapons, but otherwise suffers from the same issues. | ★★ |
| 16 | DOOM Eternal | 22 | DOOM Eternal takes the very successful formula of DOOM (2016) and adds additional layers on top. On one hand the result is great, just like the previous title, but on the other hand the additions start to make the entire thing feel a bit over designed. The story also takes itself way too seriously and the game seems to be missing that charm that set DOOM (2016) apart despite its grim setting and story. It is not a bad game, far from it, it's just not quite as good as DOOM (2016). | ★★★★★ |
| 17 | Eliza | 5 | A visual novel from a developer mostly known for their complex puzzle games. It is a story that deals with AI, psychology, human interaction, and the ethical implications of intrusive technologies, and it will probably be especially poignant to those who are interested in such technologies. Eliza is also notable for its high production values; not only is the art and writing excellently realized, the game also features very good English voice-acting. | ★★★★★ |
| 18 | DOOM 64 | 6.5 | It's an old-ass DOOM, but despite being old as hell it is still very fun to play. I found it notable how just about every weapon felt more satisfying than those of Painkiller. However, later levels started to get a bit too obtuse, there were too many death-traps that could pretty much only be avoided through foreknowledge, and the final boss was straight up bullshit. | ★★★★ |
