david.reviews: Everything!

★★★☆: Loved the premise, enjoyed the execution. Fight scenes felt long and too beholden to the rhythm of attack-rebuttal-etc. But it moved along nicely and certainly kept the audience on their toes. First half was stronger than the second. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: A tightly designed, slightly spooky, rogue-like deckbuilder that doesn't overstay its welcome. Read more in my full review! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

It's like Slay the Spire, but smaller and more focused. Read the whole thing.

★★★★: An awesome metroidbrania with some challenging platforming and a great time loop mechanic. Read more in my full review! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: One of my favorites. Walks the fine line between parody and example perfectly, catering to both crowds. Funny, scary, well thought out, and a breath of fresh air. I really liked their adherence to the rules they set up in the world. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

A new top-tier metroidbrainia has arrived! Read the whole thing.

★★★★: I liked the jump in complexity as compared to its predecessor. The story offered meaningful choices and engaging puzzle gameplay. There was the occasional dud where we had to guess, but most of the clues felt fair. It was fun to be able to pull items for customers without needing the reference material by the end of it all-- we really had learned all this stuff. It set a perfect spooky October tone, too! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and…

★★★★: An impressive, overwhelming experience. The world is huge and absolutely stuffed with quests, characters, battles, and secrets. Its open-endedness is pretty staggering- there's a bunch of ways to do every quest and you can kill every single NPC, so the quests available to your party depend on how murderous you all are. The quests were wonderfully written, with lots of twists and details that really gave you space to build your story how you see fit. There were a _ton_ of systems, many of…

★★★★: A delightful continuation of a series that's quickly become a favorite. I appreciate his commitment to fair-play mysteries even if I basically never solve much myself. The clues are there if you're paying attention though! The heist setting was great and there were a lot of layers, per usual. The whole thing is wrapped in a great frame story, too This is maybe my favorite Ernest novel yet! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the…

★★☆☆: A fun premise that actually seemed like it was written by someone who had played a videogame. Loved the idea of sentient NPCs. Lots of cute visual references and nods to existing games. But the story itself fell flat for me. They put so much energy into building that world only for the actual plot to be a forgettable series of chase scenes with a love story hamfistedly woven in. It's not a bad watch overall (especially if you love videogames) but it felt like a missed opporunity. Also the…

★★★★: Not a bad plat- just tracking everything down. The levels are just as fun as I remember. I didn't love the gauntlet sections (they punished errors too harshly) but it' just more of a good thing. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Another delightful outing from FLEB. Pint sized, clever, and beautifully put together as always. Can't beat the price either! (free) Has great Steam Controller support, too! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Extraordinary in its chaos. Zucker is the perfect (sort of) straight man amongst the other acts. Though I didn't love every one of them, everything moved so quickly that there wasn't time to dwell on any one of them. The camera moves really supported how frenetic everything felt. Decidedly earns its "nudity" warning, too. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: An absolute delight. Much like previous Hazelight titles, the gameplay is varied, co-operative, and inventive. I liked the asymmetry of it all- each player has their own overlapping puzzles and abilities. And nothing overstays its welcome.The story is... well there's a story! But it never got in the way and helped explain the variety of locales well enough. There are some truly impressive sequences too, and plenty of cute jokes, nods, and allusions to other games.Great with a partner. And…

★★★★: Excellent, if challenging, puzzle game. Enjoyed it thoroughly, but am not currently in the mood to play through the rest something so hard. Will revisit someday though, because it's some truly excellent design. Read more in my full review! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Raises the bar for musical proshots. Has a great mix of close and wide shots, letting you see both the face acting that would be hard to spot from the audience and the grandeur of the motion on the big stage. The band sounded great, as did all of the cast. You don't get to watch the dance breaks when listening to the sidetrack. They also made great use of the rotating floor and elevator. Not sure how much of Patrick Page's slinkiness was because of his boot, but it lead to some funny…

It's both easier and harder than it looks. Read the whole thing.

★★☆☆: A funny mishmash of genres. Bothered me less than movies like A Simple Favor, but it also made the film feel disjoint. There are a lot of moving pieces that acknowledge each other rather than building each other up. Main cast is great though, especially Kidman. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: On its surface, it's sort of a doofy movie. The typing scenes are overwrought and there's an undercurrent of casual misogyny that probably fit right into 90 hacker culture. I didn't really get it at first (and my early reviews reflect that).At the same time, it's just so earnest. It takes its characters at their word, no matter how silly they're being. It paints them almost as jocks, never talking down to or belittling them. The costuming and roller blading is so over the top, yet utterly…

★★★☆: Tells an ambitious story that I mostly enjoyed. Its non-linear narrative works well to keep everything mysterious while still being engaging. Its high concept world works well as a setting and the architecture of the garden was comforting while everything around it was not. The voice acting was superb, especially when performances were used to differentiate versions of individual characters. There wasn't much gameplay but had some cool ludonarrative cohesion that made it feel unique.The…

★★★★: Does a good job smoothing out the detail while focusing on the big picture. I love the media / "the revolution will be televised" angle and the intergalactic worldbuilding. Growing the ensemble is good and some of the more complex plot threads are coming to fruition. Carl is also less terrible at this point, which is probably for the best. He can't save everyone, but he does really seem like he cares.The audiobook narration continues to be excellent. Jeff Hays is an all-timer. FYI: My…

★★★★: Provides a perfect foil to the original novel. I liked Bean as a character explaining so much of his inner monologue and the political machinations around him. Some of the plotlines get wrapped up a little too quickly and cleanly, but it kept me engaged throughout. Like revisiting an old friend who's gotten a new haircut- familiar, yet treads new ground. A fascinatingly brutal world. Goes down with media like Lion King 1 1/2 to re-tread a beloved story effectively. FYI: My reviews are…

★★★★: An excellent action RPG. Loved the breezy island setting and the exploration aspect. Finding castaways to grow your base who also act as shopkeepers is brilliant design- it helps your exploration have real gameplay impact and makes the settlement really feel lived in. It's a fun supporting cast though and they hold just enough space to be distinct without feeling like there's a million people to meet.The story was interesting and runs a little long, but kept me engaged throughout. I…

★★★★: I think it's got the worst treatment of its female characters of the Bonds so far, but everything else kind of rocks. The underwater scenes are cool and the plot felt like it had real stakes while advancing the world of Bond. The climax maybe went on a little long, but some of those stunts are cool even today. It was a fun one. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Manages to stand on its own as a touching action movie, but also cash in on nearly 20 years of Spider-Men in film. It's just such a delight. A crushing, emotional delight. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★☆☆: As an unapologetic lover of the Pirates movies, this one is always a bit of a letdown. It's got its moments and a top tier cast (as usual) but it's a little too cheeky. It treads on winks to the series rather than serious character work. It does some passable work expanding the world of the Golden Age of Piracy, but it's mostly limited to a couple of lines. It's also pretty crowded - a LOT of factions show up to the climax. There are good bones in there and it's not a total loss, but…

★★★☆: A compact, classic-Zelda inspired adventure game. I like that it followed the classic formula well: 4 little dungeons, each with an upgrade and a boss.True to its word, there's no fluff. A single collectable, a linear series of areas, and few NPCs to talk with. I appreciate when games make a point to streamline their gameplay in useful ways. Much like Shapez distilled Factorio, removing elements helps what remains shine. The graphics and sound effects represent their inspiration well and…

★★★★: Perfectly paced. Great performances all around. Lots of cute moments. Some truly dangerous pranks. Where are the adults at the camp?? FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Still a little goofy in that way 60s movies were, but has a pretty straightforward plot and some fun action. Good humor too, he's cheeky. The series is really starting to come together! FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!

★★★★: Returned to the frenetic pace of the first one, which I like. It dipped a bit, especially with so many flashback clips. But the story was good and it was a light, exciting watch. FYI: My reviews are scored out of 4. Also, thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed and supporting the indie web!