Chelsea
Apr 5, 2023
Explore an Eerie Locale and Fish For Some Interesting Critters
Dredge is a fishing RPG set in a beautiful ocean where you can explore several different remote island chains. Each set of islands has its own biome, characteristics, and mysteries to uncover. However, Dredge isn’t simply a fishing game. It has a sinister undercurrent to it that really sets this apart from your typical fishing game, and the art style really enhances that sinister feel.
You play as the captain of a fishing trawler starting out in the remote archipelago called The Marrows. Take to the water to catch the 125 different fish Dredge has available in the game, and sell them to the locals. Not all of them are normal, either. Use your hard-earned money to upgrade your little boat. Buy more powerful engines, trawling nets, better fishing poles that allow you to fish in more areas, and lights that make the night time fog a little less creepy.
Along with fishing, Dredge (as its name suggests) has dredging! You can pull up any number of lost trinkets from shipwrecks, then sell those to the local trader. Someone even tasks you with digging up the past, but can you really trust them? You’ll encounter a set of interesting characters during your adventures, too. Each has their own special story, and many have quests for you to complete before you get their story. They might even be able to tell you a bit about the mysteries you face.
Available Now!
Ready to experience the spooky and eerie atmosphere of Dredge? Well, it’s now available! You can find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, and Xbox One and Xbox Series.
If you want more fishing games, but perhaps don’t like the spooky vibes, check out this list of fishing games for the Switch!
- Mar 30, 2023
Cook Tasty Treats, Potions, Grow Ingredients, and Explore
In Magical Delicacy, you play as the young witch Flora. She travels to a distant town to fulfill her dream of becoming a full-fledged witch. Flora opens a cozy little shop in the harbor town of Grat, where adventurers settled to chart out adventures to an unexplored island full of mystery. Flora cooks up some tasty treats, as well as magical potions for her patrons, all while growing her own ingredients in her backyard or gathering them from nooks and crannies in town.
The game offers a unique mechanic, too. While platformer games aren’t unique in and of themselves, Magical Delicacy incorporates platforming into the town exploration. So, instead of a flat walking or running back and forth through the maps, you’ll jump around, climb old bell towers, and delve into dark caves. You can even upgrade your platforming skills to move faster or better. Discover new routes and hard-to-reach places, or even open up new shortcuts back to the shop with upgrades. And don’t forget to uncover the secrets and mysteries the town has to offer.
Meet a number of unique townsfolk and take their orders or make deliveries. Interact with the merchants of Magical Delicacy, where you can buy ingredients if you don’t want to gather them from around town. Learn magic from the two leaders of opposing covens, Cassia and Tauno. Upgrade your cooking tools, and unlock new rooms in your shop. Discover new cooking recipes. Decorate and organize things to fit your style, too.
Coming 2024
This charming little game will come out some time in 2024. You can Wishlist it on Steam now. It will also be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. It will be available for Xbox Series S and Series X.
Looking for more witchy games? Take a look at Wylde Flowers, Sun Haven, or Witchbrook!
- Mar 29, 2023
Uncover Clues in the Search For Your Missing Best Friend
in Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories, you play as Honeydew, the bunny headband-wearing protagonist and melon soda factory worker. Recently, her best friend has gone missing, so Honeydew is on a mission to find her. Is it really safe to travel in a town where melons are illegal, though? And why is a hamster that’s trying to sneak into Kitten King’s castle?
Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a short, but full little game with a fun callback to the green-tinted retro games of the past. Meet a variety of fun characters with unique personalities and some with tragic backstories. Unravel additional mysteries as you meet them, too. Collect clues about the disappearance of your friend. Sneak through the seedy underground of Hog Town. Use your quick wit and keen eye to put together the pieces of the puzzle to solve the mystery before it’s too late.
Along with the green-tinted monochrome pixel graphics, Melon Journey has more than 90 different electronic and jazz-inspired tracks for you to listen to while playing. It also includes an optional prequel game, called Melon Journey Pocket, that introduces the main characters.
Available April 6, 2023
Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories will be available April 6, 2023 on pretty much all platforms! Find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, and Xbox One and X|S.
For some more pixel graphics games, check out this wonderful list!
- Mar 23, 2023
A Musical Twist on Classic Turn-Based Gameplay
A Frog’s Tale is a turn-based RPG. Developers Norman Company and Mythcarver Games take inspiration from classic games like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Tales of Symphonia, and Kingdom Hearts, but included a bit of a twist. This game features a unique rhythm combat system, as well as rhythmic set pieces like spike traps, lily pad platforms, and rotating pillar puzzles.
You play Norman the frog who is swept up in the adventure of a lifetime. While investigating the large, aggressive bugs on the outskirts of his village, Norman meets a mysterious cardinal bird. This bird sweeps Norman off on an adventure to restore the forest.
Norman will meet a whole host of charming characters in as he explores the world of A Frog’s Tale. Complete quests for these unique NPCs, and have fun discovering their fun personalities and stories. Norman will have to make use of his frog hops and swing his sword to fight the enemies he encounters. Overcome obstacles and solve rhythm-based puzzles, too. Along the way, collect the broken shards of an ancient artifact, and learn the truth about that artifact. Does it really belong to the frog goddess, Anura, and can it really bring the dead back to life?
Release is ‘To Be Announced’
Unfortunately, this sweet little musical RPG isn’t out yet, and does not have a release date listed. However, you can Wishlist A Frog’s Tale on Steam.
For more rhythm game fun, take a look at Yum Yum Cookstar (here’s my review for it, too!) and Melatonin.
- Mar 23, 2023
The Island is Your Playground
Lil Gator Game is an absolutely adorable open-world, movement-focused adventure game. Traverse the island, where you’ll find a new friend almost everywhere you explore. Of course, making friends isn’t always easy. So, complete a quest or two for the NPCs you find to make friends with them. Then, invite them to play on the island’s playground.
As you explore Lil Gator Game, you’ll get to experience seeing the world through a child-like sense of wonder and adventure. Climb huge rocks, glide through the mountains, run through the forest, and slide down big hills. You’ll also collect arts and crafts supplies as you wander. You can use these to craft yourself all sorts of things. Craft fun goodies to liven up the playground, and craft yourself new abilities like skimming rocks or a ragdoll teddy to allow you to ragdoll down a mountain.
This game is perfect for relaxing after a long day, and great for including your little ones! Lil Gator Game has no combat system or health bars to stress you out. You’ll encounter a variety of baddies made out of cardboard cutouts that you’ll be able to hit, but they cause you no damage! This is a no-pressure game with a focus on adventure and play.
Available Now!
This sweet little adventure game is available now on Steam. For those of you who like portable gaming, it’s available on the Nintendo Switch, as well as Steam Deck verified!
For more imaginative and cute games, check out The Plucky Squire and Lost in Play.
- Mar 16, 2023
A Combination of New and Familiar
Jump into the fantastic world of Togges, where an endless wall keeps the known universe safe from the dangers of the unknown. The leaders of each domain maintain the balance, and the King protects all of existence.
It’s your job to solve puzzles and use the living blocks, called Togges, to do so. Spread and stack the Togges around the vibrant world to keep the threat of the void at bay and save the galaxy. Complete 7 massive levels, but take your time. There’s so much to discover and look at in the world. You’ll discover a futuristic city in the Savannah, and explore the whole kingdom that’s made out of carrot cake. There’s no lack of interesting and fun things to find in Togges. Make friends all around the cosmos as you adventure, too. Each character has a unique story for you to listen to, packed with humor.
Along with the 7 main levels, Togges has 30 bonus levels for you to puzzle through. Use the different abilities of the different colored Togges to solve puzzles, as well as find all sorts of collectibles. This game takes inspiration from fan favorites like Katamari, Pikmin, and Super Mario Galaxy, and boasts about being a revival of the golden era 3D platformers, so it’s sure to be packed with loads of fun.
Available Now!
This colorful and beautifully designed game is available pretty much everywhere now! You can find Togges on Steam (where it’s on sale until March 23rd!), Epic Games, GOG, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, and Xbox.
For more platformer fun, check out Frogun and Pile Up.
- Mar 15, 2023
Explore An Open-World and Compete in Courses
Some of you might be familiar with mobile game developer Foxie Ventures. They’ve put out games such as Virtual Sim Story, Wolf Tales, Dino Tamers, and Horse Riding Tales (which is also available for free on Steam). A few months ago they put out incredibly cryptic ads to sign up for their new game, Star Equestrian. Now, Foxie Ventures has released this new mobile game, and of course I’ve been playing!
Star Equestrian is a beautiful open-world MMO adventure game that centers around, you guessed it, horses. You play as a character you create, with a name you choose, and experience a traumatic riding injury. Once recovered, you don’t allow that accident to keep you from horses, and re-establish yourself as an experienced equestrian.
Explore an open world where you can collect items like carrots and lettuce to feed your horses. Go in search of your lost horse, Snowdrop, and complete quests for the residents of Evervale to see if they have any information on him, too. Ride around practice arenas, sprint across cross country courses, and participate in show jumping to improve your horse’s skills. You’re not only chasing down your lost horse, but chasing your dream of becoming the best rider, the Star Equestrian.
You’ll also get to build your very own ranch, where you can customize the interior of your home and build stables to house your horses. And what I think helps set Star Equestrian apart from some other mobile horse games is the ability to interact with your horse. You can pet them to help raise the bond level, which unlocks certain skills. It makes the game feel a little more personal and cozy. I have high hopes for this game, as so far it ticks what I want out of a horse game (quests, competitions, story, and interaction).
Available Now for iOS!
Star Equestrian is currently available for iOS devices through the Apple App Store. There are plans for the game to be available on Android via the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the game will be released for Android, though. You can pre-register on the Play Store to have it automatically downloaded when it is available!
You can also checkout Horse Club Adventures and Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch for more horsey fun!
- Mar 9, 2023
Survive a Harsh Post-Apocalyptic World
I’ve written about a couple of incredible little building simulations (Tiny Glade and Gourdlets) that don’t have combat or objectives, and instead are just perfect for relaxing and getting creative with your building skills. So, I thought I’d change it up a bit and present The Wandering Village!
The Wandering Village is the third simulation game from indie developers Stray Fawn Studio. The world has mysterious plants spreading across it that emit toxic spores, merciless weather patterns, bloodsucking parasites, and many more challenges to face. The game goes a step beyond being a simple base builder where you create a village. Instead, a small group of survivors have taken refuge on the back of Onbu, a giant wandering creature. Become the leader of the survivors, build up a flourishing settlement for your people, and will you live in symbiosis with Onbu, or will you make choices for the well-being of your people only? It’s up to you
It’s your job, along with the other survivors, to build a functioning village. Onbu is large, but there is still limited space. You’ll need to plan the village well to include homes, farmland, and much more. Be sure to plan your production chains and optimize them to make use of every little bit of space as efficiently as possible. The Wandering Village even features different biomes that you’ll have to adapt your village to, also. Don’t worry though, you’ll be able to pull out some old-world knowledge to conduct research. Unearth technologies that can help your village flourish, but be careful. Progress can be a double-edged sword, and potentially harm Onbu.
Available Now!
The Wandering Village is available now in Early Access on Steam. It is verified Steam Deck compatible, too. There are also plans to release the game for Xbox, though there is no specific date for that yet. The game should make its way to Xbox Game Preview sometime this year.
Looking for more base-building? Check out Before We Leave, Foundation, Dwarrows, or The Crown.
