Gold-Plated Games

Alright, I’m done waiting for Steam to get their Weeklong Deals fixed. They still post them, of course, but don’t bother to make the filter work. So I’ve gone through all 800+ specials running right now to pick out the best and worst of what I’ve reviewed, just for you. And there’s a lot of notable stuff this week, lemme tell ya.

In other news, January is drawing to a close and that means Platformebruary is coming up fast. The regular schedule will be suspended for the month of February in lieu of daily reviews covering all kinds of indie platformers. The only thing I’ll keep doing is Weeklong Roundups like this on Mondays, but there will be no articles or indie reviews until March. Tomorrow we’ll have one more Curator Connect review (by popular demand), and then I’ll start the festivities on Wednesday with a special day-zero revision of an old platformer review.

Welcome Back

Anno 2070 (Review) – One of my all-time favorite city builders

Starward Rogue (Review) – Sci-fi bullet hell roguelike with some interesting mechanics and garish art style

Death Coming (Review) – Cute puzzle game about engineering deathtraps, pretty trial-and-error but worth the time

The Dream Machine (Review) – A dark point-and-click adventure through claymation realms of dream

A Story About My Uncle (review) – Charming first-person platformer with a grappling hook

Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers (Review) – Fantastic third-person puzzler with tools that can dramatically affect your environment

Shadowgrounds (Review) – Entertaining top-down shooter with solid action and moody levels

Bloody Streets (Review) – Competent top-down zombie arena shooter

The Last NightMary (Review) – Decent little casual horror game out of Brazil

Princess Isabella (review) – Princess-themed hidden object game with some interesting mechanics

Wyv and Keep (Review) – Brain-bending puzzle platformer with excellent pixel art

Goodbye Again

Cultures – Northland (Review) – Old-school RTS builder that’s too slow and crunchy to enjoy

Frankenstein: Master of Death (review) – Someone finally made a hidden object game that was too dumb even for me

rooMaze (Review) – First-person fantasy roguelike that wants you ridiculously dead

Canyon Capers (Review) – Strong contender for ugliest platformer of all time

Albedo: Eyes from Outer Space (review) – Bizarre and unpleasant first-person adventure game

Twin Sector (Review) – Legendarily bad first-person puzzler

The Emptiness (review) – Garbage hidden object horror