Recent reviews by janner66

Pepper Blast pleasantly surprised me, needing some deep tactical thinking to succeed. I was expecting the usual casual endless match 3 game play but with this one you need to stop and think about every move. Your moves are limited and in each level you will have an objective to meet which you must complete to move on to the next stage. This might be matching patterns, like four yellow peppers followed by three red ones, or destroying so many coloured peppers, or getting pepper blasts etc.

I've managed to complete three stages so far, but it is very challenging and I have had to repeat the same levels over and over again before winning, trying different tactics and approaches. The game is very addictive and some levels seemed impossibly difficult but they are very satisfying to complete once you try something and it pays off. I think I have got to the point now where it is too difficult though and it's stopped feeling fun and it's all down to that stupid cat!

As you make matches of the same coloured pepper, they get bigger and bigger until they eventually explode which instantly makes all of that coloured pepper one size bigger in the process. If another one bursts, making the others one size bigger again, and another one bursts, then you start getting a chain, and if nine of the same coloured pepper bursts in a row you get a pepper blast. Sometimes, a pepper blast is part of an objective.

The stage I am on at the moment is ice block which means some of the peppers are encased in ice and they need peppers to explode to destroy the ice. Enter the cat, whose job it is to pop up and steal your peppers, yet he doesn't just steal any old pepper, he steals inflated peppers, and not just one but all of them in a whole row. So, all your hard work is taken away in one fowl swoop and it feels very disheartening because there's very little you can do about it. On all of the other stages I have found ways around difficulties, including the cat, but this seems ridiculously difficult and I have been stopped in my tracks.

I really enjoyed my time up to that point though, but beware the game is quite challenging.

It is a bit misleading to say there are five different modes because you cannot just pick a mode and play it, these modes are unlocked as you play through the game, and basically new mechanics are introduced as you complete each stage, so stage one is classic, stage two is rock, stage three is ice block, stage four is thief and the last stage is fusion, so you will only experience all the modes by completing the game.

As a match three game it has some satisfying bells and whistles with great sound effects in all the right places like explosions, fireworks, and lots of fanfare moments. The sound is great. Unfortunately, there are no options for screen size or resolution. When you start the game, a small window opens which is about an eighth the size of my monitor screen. The window can be enlarged but the quality of graphics suffers the more you stretch it, and in the end I just played it in its original small window. I think this might be a non starter for some people and it is unacceptable. I hope they fix this issue.

Pepper Blast is an addictive and challenging match three game with a lot of tactical thinking needed and a bit of luck to succeed.

I loved the presentation of the game but beware that the game play window is very small on loading and there are no options to resize apart from stretching the window. If you can look past this, then you'll find a clever and well designed puzzle game.

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I think this game deserves some attention because although it is only 90 minutes long, it is full of clever, touching, and unusual moments which flow perfectly creating a unique experience.

The game is interactive through the movement of two characters as they work together exploring the galaxy. It's not quite a puzzle game, although there are certainly watered down puzzle elements, but more of a walking sim set in Space. If you are unsure what to do next, there are hints as to what limb you need to move, and what movement to perform, so it is unlikely you will get stuck, but it is nice knowing you are controlling the characters rather than just watch the story pan out.

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There are five small chapters which fit into a larger picture about exploration, imagination, and rebirth. In each chapter we meet a new character or experience a new thing to do. The stories are bizarre but very imaginative and original, and the characters are memorable too. The whole experience is accompanied by a very relaxing and otherworldly soundtrack that was beautiful to listen to and the animation is very smooth and artistic.

There are 13 achievements to earn, which does require you to play through some of the chapters more than once because there are choices to make about which way to go, or whether to interact with something or not, which have achievements attached to them. After you finish the game you are able to start from any chapter which makes mopping these up much easier.

The Bear is an imaginative and whimsical interactive adventure about co-operation, inspiration, and rejuvenation.

Although it is short in length it still packs a punch, and as I was playing it I thought this would be a wonderful game for a parent to play with their child, as I am sure they would find it fascinating, and it wouldn't be too hard to control the characters with the parent's help.

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This game is very enjoyable and purrfect to unwind and relax to with its beautiful classical piano arrangements playing in the background. It gave me a new appreciation of classical music. Most of the tracks I have heard before, and you will probably recognize them too, but they fit in really well with the subject matter of art and masterpieces and it gave the experience a very cultural feel.

The game is based around creating famous pieces of artwork, like Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream and arguably less known pieces like American Gothic by Wood and Abaporu by Amaral. I might well be showing my lack of knowledge there though. There are six pieces of art to complete in total and one painting will take you around two hours to complete, giving a total play time of around twelve hours.

The game play is based on Shikaku rules and played on a rectangular grid. Some of the squares in the grid are numbered. The objective is to divide the grid into rectangular and square pieces such that each piece contains exactly one number, and that number represents the area of the rectangle. The puzzle is divided into many separate pieces so you only concentrate on a tiny bit of the painting at a time and don't see the whole area at once. This is a great way of tackling the painting because it would get very difficult if you tried to tackle the whole area at once because one mistake would have huge ramifications on the rest of the puzzle. It also makes the game feel much more bite sized and you can come and go as you please with your progress saved, which makes it ideal for dipping in and out of. The game naturally can feel a little repetitive so this is a great design choice.

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There is the option of zooming in and out of the painting and there is a hint button and an undo option. There are unlimited hints to use and a hint identifies a correct placement on the grid. There is no recharge counter either so it can be used as much or as little as you need. I found it was a great way of putting you back on track if you found yourself in a bit of a mess or it is a good way of starting off the puzzle and giving you a good start.

The user interface is so easy to work with and I really couldn't find any flaws in the game play at all. Everything you need to enjoy the puzzle is there at your fingertips, and even when I found myself in a muddle, it was so easy to correct my mistakes by moving areas to different locations or resetting them. The difficulty levels range from easy to moderate I would say, because the grids you work in are always quite small so that makes it easier to correct mistakes, but there were moments when I thought it was impossible, which makes it very satisfying when you do finally figure it out.

My only suggestion would be to have a little write up about the paintings themselves and a little description of the artist who painted them. I think that would be a nice addition.

Mewseum Masterpieces is a very relaxing puzzle game with the addition of cats replacing famous people in renowned pieces of artwork, which looks very cute.

The game play is exceptional and the user interface is easy to use and a joy to work with, and although the game can feel a little repetitive after a while, the bite sized grids and the ability to automatically save your progress, means you can come and go whenever you like. I'm sure I will keep this installed and return to it now and again to complete.

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The cats have been hiding in Japan and it's your job to find them. Luckily, they are all contained in one location so you don't have to go scouring the country.

I haven't played many of these games in the series but they seem a little different to the usual ones I play.

For a start, hints only kick in when you have ten cats left, which is fine, and then you have as many hints as you like without time restraints. The hint zooms you into the area the cat is hiding. Once you have found all 100 cats, the screen colours and you enter coloured mode where you can find them all over again. They're in the exact same locations as before but you get no hints and the colours actually make it harder I think. There's no achievements attached to this mode so it's just an extra bit of fun.

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There are around ten different objects to find which can be interacted with like Chinese Lanterns that fly into the sky, or lights you turn on to make the restaurant come to life. Try to find the radio because it offers you three different tunes which I think are better than the one you start with. There is even a little puzzle with the vending machine where you can remove all the drinks. Again, there are no achievements attached to these but it's there if you want to find them and it tells you which ones you have found and which ones you are left with in the menu.

If you enjoy a timed option, you can set this in the menu too and see how fast you can complete the game with your time recorded on a leader board. By default, the time is turned off.

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The cats are quite difficult to find and I did struggle with a few of them and had to use hints. I think this is due to the artwork. It's quite Bohemian in style and there are a lot of squiggles and pencil marks where the cats can hide. Of course, it's obligatory to have a cat masquerading as a floor board so check him out!

Cats Hidden in Japan is an unusual hidden cat game and has some features I haven't seen before in other games of the genre. It makes the game last a bit longer, but I would have preferred if all those features had achievements attached to them. For the content though there is a lot of bang to your buck, and it literally is only a buck.

The cats can be quite difficult to find in the rough edges and squiggles but there are hints to help you so you shouldn't get stuck. Recommended.

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An enjoyable and nicely made retro inspired platformer with lots of charm, but it's quite easy.

Ronny has entered the annual climbing contest to see who can climb their mountain the highest. He soon realizes that it's not all going to be fun and games as he encounters hazards, monsters, and some unexpected rivals.

Ronny's Climb is quite an easy retro platforming challenge, although there are some difficulties throughout the journey, and although you probably won't have too much trouble completing the climb, it is very difficult to collect all the diamonds on each stage, which most of the achievements are attached to, and there are some very tricky quests to complete which will test you. I tried getting some of the achievements and they are where the challenge lies in this game. Each stage is also timed and there are times to beat to get further achievements. Your best run is recorded for each stage.

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Collecting all the diamonds is definitely a challenge if you want to aim for the achievements because there are hidden passageways, levers which control lifts, and doorways which send you to different places and it is quite hard to navigate around the levels to find all of them.

There's also lots of dangers like flying bats, jumping frogs, bees, spikes, and falling stalactites that are all ready to ruin your climb and take away one of your lives. There are checkpoints throughout each level which you will start at again if you lose all of your lives, but to be honest the amount of lives you get is very generous and if you collect enough diamonds in each level you get awarded a permanent extra heart. If think I ended up with six permanent lives and there are lots of opportunities to top up your lives as you progress so you don't actually die that often.

A few new mechanics are introduced as you climb, namely higher jumps, dashes, and a ground thump, which will help you reach more ledges and ladders and break fragile floors where diamonds might be hiding. There are occasional puzzles where you have to push blocks to reach ledges too and Trampolines can help you spring to higher ground and wind currents can elevate you too.

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There's quite a lot of charm to the game with a retro soundtrack and some cute encounters with the inhabitants you are racing against. Quite often you'll be able to stop and talk to them for a bit of light-hearted banter, which was nice.

Apart from the story mode there is a time trial mode and a chapter select so it is easy to repeat levels if you want to try and beat your current time or get more achievements.

Ronny's climb is a decent platformer which is enjoyable to play. The actual climb is not that difficult and probably could have done with some different difficulty levels to appease all skill levels, but collecting all the diamonds and finding some special items is challenging, so there are more difficult aspects of the game.

I liked the retro aesthetic of the game and the catchy soundtrack and appreciated the little sprinklings of charm as you engaged in witty conversations with your rival climbers.

The game takes about 90 minutes to finish the climb but for people trying to get all the achievements you can add a couple of hours more so it is good value for money too. Recommended.

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I have fond memories of playing Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy on the Spectrum so Diamond Thief caught my eye and I thought I would give it a go.

I don't think this game quite has the charm of those classics, and you can easily play them in your browser if you do a Google search, but this comes close and is good enough to scratch that itch if you have it.

There are over 60 levels which get progressively harder as you explore. You begin with eight lives and have to collect all the diamonds in a level and then escape through the air conditioning (I think that's what it is). If your lives do run out there is a continue button, but you only get three lives through using the continue, which makes progression even harder. Perhaps, five lives would be better because at the end of the day we just want to get to the end.

The game demands timing with both jumping and setting off on your route because things like collapsing floors or timing bounces of an enemy need to be measured, so the game is quite difficult. I would have preferred it if the diamonds you collected in a run were kept once you died but it is staying true to the original I suppose. I'm not sure if there are any extra lives available but that would definitely be welcomed. It is a shame there is no high score table, leader boards, or achievements too.

It has a nice retro feel with an even nicer retro soundtrack which you can change the volume of if you wish. I quite liked the characters and environments on offer and altogether it was a pleasant retro themed game to play.

Diamond Thief is a retro themed 2D arcade platformer mimicking the classic ZX Spectrum games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. I think it succeeded in providing a more up to date experience but I don't think it quite had the charm of those pioneers.

The game is quite difficult with some precise timing needed to succeed so it would suit someone after a challenge. I never completed the originals and I doubt I'll have the skill to complete this one, even though there is a continue option. Give it a try if you enjoy classic retro platformers.

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This is a nice little game for the price and Very Very LITTLE Studio have a good track record in these types of games so you are in safe hands.

It has a well drawn picture with cats that look like cats but still well hidden. I didn't particularly enjoy looking at the scene because they contained things like a butchers shop, hunting lodge, and zoo, to name a few sections, but it was fine. I know not everyone is going to be bothered by that. I managed to find all the cats without hints but it was a struggle so the game is challenging but perfectly doable without using hints, but it's good to know they are there anyway.

The formula follows their Find All series with certain sections being coloured in as you find the cats within them. There are only cats to find though and not lots of other objects revealed in sequences. The game should take you between 20 -45 minutes to complete depending on how many hints you use.

Hidden Cats 2 Crafts is another nice game from the studio who brought you The Find All series.

This one is more of a watered down one however but the price reflects that and it's enjoyable for the 30 minutes or so that it lasts. Recommended.

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I guess it's difficult to leave anything other than a positive review for this hidden object game because it is free and does most things okay. The game will only take you between 5 and 10 minutes to complete because there is only one scene that fits onto your screen, unless you zoom in which is a feature.

There are a couple of achievements to gain, one for finding all the cats and one for finding a not so missing elephant. The game has unlimited hints but I did manage to find all felines without using one. Be aware though that there is a bit of artistic license in how the cats look and a bum or a face on ordinary objects is enough to warrant it being a cat. If you've played these games before you probably know what to expect.

The scene is quite nicely drawn though and there's a pleasant enough tune playing in the background.

Apartment Filled with Cats is a very basic hidden object game that will take you between 5 and 10 minutes to complete depending on whether you use hints or not.

All the features you would expect are here and the game is free so there's not really any harm in trying it. Just be aware that there are some funny looking cats in that apartment.

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Ever wanted to be a sniper? No, me neither. Too much lying around in long grass for my liking. I heard you can get ticks.

The Shape Killer lets your inner sniper be released onto the unwitting public without recrimination however.

Play either story mode, which doesn't actually have a story; quick play, where you can play your favourite mode, if you have unlocked it in story mode; and compete on online leader boards with the best times recorded for prosperity and notoriety.

There is a rifle store where you can upgrade your gear by earning money from shooting bank notes on the maps and completing missions.

I really enjoyed The Shape Killer. It's a sort of mixture between a hidden object game and a sniper game. If you play in story mode, there are a few different modes where you have to complete missions and earn either gold, silver, or bronze to unlock further chapters. The medals are awarded for speed, but you can collect bank notes on the map which also register in your attempt but don't seem to have any affect on the medal you win. Your time is recorded on leader boards for that particular level.

There are a ton of different levels spread over rookie, professional, and elite difficulty levels, with each difficulty having to be completed before you get to the next one. Each chapter has a mixture of different modes so on one mission you might be looking to detonate dynamite before they explode, looking for unique characters to assassinate, or locating a particular individual or individuals to shoot. The characters are comedic to look at and remind me a little of The Minions as they waddle around the maps and scream and flee when you shoot nearby. You might have guessed that the game is called The Shape Killer because the inhabitants have either triangular, square, or round heads, and a face that is either of those three shapes also. It's a really neat idea actually, and also they will be different colours too. So, you might be looking for a blue dude with a triangular head and a square shape as his face, and a red dude with a circular head and a circular face, for example.

As you progress, things get harder, quite quickly actually, and it can be confusing looking for all these different shapes and colours and you might accidentally kill some civilians (oops), and receive a time penalty. The maps start to get larger, and targets start appearing in moving vehicles and in buildings. There are loads of civilians wandering around and sometimes quite far away. You have a scope which can zoom in slightly and a feature where you can stop breathing for a few seconds to steady your aim, which is crucial because otherwise it floats everywhere. Things like your scope and ammunition can be upgraded in the rifle store but it is quite difficult to accumulate enough money to buy these upgrades so a bit of grinding is needed.

There is a little luck involved in getting a decent time depending on where you look and whereabouts your target is. I'm pretty sure the levels are randomly generated so sometimes they might pop up right in front of you and other times they might be on the other side of the map. I've had targets get stuck on scenery before and be at an angle so you cannot see their face but it was seldom. Being able to see their face is a big factor because you will usually always be able to see the shape of their head but sometimes you will have to wait until they turn before you can see the shape of their face.

I enjoyed some modes more than others. There are only five different modes mixed between all the levels, and although the difficulty does ramp up as you progress, the game play remains the same so it can become a little repetitive. It will take you a couple of hours at least to begin the next difficulty level and it is quite hard to unlock them because they require a lot of gold awards which means you may be repeating levels a lot.

The Shape Killer is a cool little game, especially if you enjoy sniper type experiences. Part of the fun is actually locating your targets and then the heartbeat rises as you try to eliminate them against the clock. All the different shapes and colours can throw your brain into a spin sometimes but that's part of the charm.

I'd definitely recommend this one for a bit of a time killer. There's lots of content and enough variety to keep you interested with five different modes, three different difficulty levels, and leader boards for each level. The difficulty ramps up quite quickly but it is very addictive in short bursts.

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I would describe Once Alive as an ambitious and atmospheric first-person walking simulator with light puzzles. It doesn't quite fall under the adventure game bracket for me because game play is too linear and you are reliant on uncovering events in a certain order, usually by geographical order, so if you miss one cut scene you will be stuck until you uncover it. This actually happened to me which resulted in a lot of searching around and the issue arose because I thought a door was locked when it wasn't. The area was very dark, and the mechanism to pick up objects and open doors is a bit fiddly and relies on getting the positioning just right sometimes. In the preview video it shows placing a plank of wood over a gap, but I had great difficulty in doing this because the controls feel very wonky.

The game can feel a little rough around the edges in places with some graphical stuttering and frame drops here and there and a cumbersome inventory slot. You cannot actually see your inventory in one place, but instead have to scroll through it to view items. Thankfully, any item that is needed in a situation is automatically chosen so it is forgivable that the inventory is so basic in features.

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There is a bit of freedom to walk around and explore the area although you will be prevented from straying too far by boundaries. When you enter a room, and there are plenty of rooms and environments to look around in, you won't be able to search areas like drawers and cupboards, and any items of interest will be clearly marked usually, although occasionally they might be hidden under a rock or need some intervention like smashing a glass cabinet to retrieve an item. I did find that the character walked a little too slow for me, especially on his initial trek, and when I did find the run button it was more of a fast walk then a run which can feel a little frustrating at times.

There are light puzzles in the game which will prevent progress if you cannot crack them. They range from very easy to moderate and usually involve finding keys to unlock doors or finding objects to solve puzzles. There is a puzzle where you need to find the combination to an electric lock which may stump some people but generally they are welcome additions to the game.

The story is where the game shines, and the tale is told very well with a nice build up and some tense moments. I was engaged throughout and was interested to find out what had happened. Instead of a series of notes laying around to read, although the game does incorporate some of these, the story is mainly depicted using ghost like reenactments of past events, like many other games have used. This means there is some voice acting present and this ranges from good to mediocre. Sometimes, you have to reposition your character to hear the conversation properly, although there are credits too, but I don't know why this happens and I have noticed it in other similar games too. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I presume there is another installment to be had at some point?

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I think the graphics and sound are worth mentioning because they are both done quite well. There are times when you will be impressed with the visuals and there are some nice moments when a particularly pleasant soundtrack will kick in and sound very nice. Personally, I would have liked to have more atmospheric sounds during the game but the sparseness added a layer of solitude to an already barren post-apocalyptic world.

Once Alive is an interesting walking simulator that felt more in depth and atmospheric than a lot of similar games I have played. The world building is done very well and there are moments where the game really excels but also times where it felt disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed the game and was completely invested in it from start to finish. The tale is not too long at just over three hours but I think it is worth a look if you enjoy walking sims in a post-apocalyptic setting.

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