Timelie: Demo Review

Timelie is a thought-provoking puzzle game where you have the ability to rewind and fast forward through time.  You play as two characters, a girl who can interact with switches on the walls and fix gaps in the floor and a cat who can fit through small spaces and meow to distract enemies.  Together, the two must time their movements carefully and figure out how to reach the exit while avoiding the robots patrolling the area.

The Flower Collectors: Demo Review

The Flower Collectors is a murder mystery set in 1977 Barcelona, Spain that feels like it could be inspired by the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rear Window.  You see, you play as wheelchair-bound ex-cop Jorge, who witnesses a murder one dark and stormy night.

Hob: The Definitive Edition: Demo Review

Hob: The Definitive Edition is an interesting open sort of Metroidvania where the world has been corrupted by this mysterious purple goo.  During my 20-30 minutes with the demo, I explored a lush environment with the help of a mysterious robot who was kind enough to donate its arm once I lost mine!

Papetura: Demo Review

Papetura is a unique puzzle game that looks as if it’s made entirely of paper.  The demo opens to find the main character inside some sort of cocoon, where he proceeds to hide in fear when a shadowy figure appears at the entrance.  While this game, at first glance, is rather intriguing, the demo does a rather terrible job at conveying exactly what this game is all about because, well…it lasts for a couple minutes, making it one of the shortest, and certainly the least comprehensive, demos I’ve ever played.

Imp of the Sun: Demo Review

Imp of the Sun is a Metroidvania that takes place in a world inspired by Peru.  You play as a fiery imp named Nin whose goal is to defeat the Four Keepers and end the Eternal Eclipse.  We begin the demo high up in the mountains with the eclipse in clear view behind us.  I began by talking to a few people, including Suyana, a young girl who can give you advice from a distance thanks to her grandpa’s invention, and the ghost of an explorer named Qari who has all sorts of uses, such as being able to save your progress and allow you to level up your HP, Inner Fire, and Attack Power.  And I must say, I really like the character designs in this game.  Aesthetically, the game looks quite good, but what about the gameplay?

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: Demo Review

Several years ago, a bizarre crossover was released, which combined the popular Super Mario Bros franchise with Ubisoft’s Rabbids.  As much as Wikipedia wants to insist that the Rabbids are popular and well-loved, I’ve always heard a different story, and I myself have always found the crazy bunnies to be similar to those yellow Minions that spawned from the Despicable Me movies.  Sure, they can be funny, but they can also be quite annoying.  And yet, when I saw footage for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, I couldn’t help but admit that the game looked surprisingly fun.  My interest waned, however, and several more years passed, and another entry into what is now apparently a franchise was released, Sparks of Hope.  When I saw that this one came with a demo, I decided it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

Sonic Frontiers: Demo Review

After Sega started pumping out mediocre Sonic games, I eventually gave up on the blue hedgehog altogether.  Having no intention of returning to the Sonic franchise unless they produced something that really stood out, I couldn’t help but take notice of Sonic’s first 3D adventure, Sonic Frontiers.  Nevertheless, after buying multiple lackluster games in the past starring the speedy blue hedgehog, perhaps you can understand why I was rather hesitant to jump straight into this game without good reason.  Fortunately, when I discovered that a demo was released, I was given my risk-free opportunity to try this game out for myself and see if it surpasses my, admittedly low, expectations.

Glyph: Demo Review

Glyph is a rather obscure indie game where you play as a scarab beetle.  The demo covers three stages of increasingly sparse platforms, over which you can traverse by rolling like a ball, jumping up walls, and flying short distances.  You can really pick up speed in this game and cross some mighty impressive distances, which is both the demo’s biggest pro and its biggest con.

Dredge: Demo Review

On the surface, Dredge seems like a relaxing fishing game where you’ve been recently hired as the new fisherman for the coastal town of Greater Marrow.  But something is clearly amiss amongst these idyllic isles when you start to catch strange fish and uncover eerie mysteries, such as tales of a mayor who went insane and an enigmatic Collector who is seeking out particular artifacts from amongst the many shipwrecks littering the area. (In case you’re interested, Hatm0nster wrote his own thoughts on the game a little while back on Virtual Bastion.)

Yoshi’s Crafted World: Demo Review

Having never played Yoshi’s Wooly World, I was at least given a chance to play a small portion of the game’s successor, Yoshi’s Crafted World, thanks to a short demo available on the Switch.  One of the biggest features that stand out with both games is the unique aesthetic.  Where the former took place in a world made out of yarn, Crafted World’s aesthetic is based on cardboard and crafts.  (One of the top examples that stood out to me were the fish made from paper plates that were shown in the video at the demo’s conclusion, which was just too cute.)