Recent reviews by Mayumi June

KIND WORDS è un piccolo angolo della Rete in cui scrivere delle lettere brevi, anonime, su qualcosa che ci tormenta o ci impensierisce, e poi aspettare che qualcuno risponda, sempre in anonimo. Non si può rispondere alla risposta, si può solo rispondere agli altri utenti, e una volta sola.
Non è un gioco, ovviamente,
Si tratta più di un angolo in cui rifugiarsi quando il mondo non sembra un posto sicuro, e funziona. La community è incredibilmente supportiva, incoraggiante e affettuosa. Lo consiglio davvero, più di una volta mi ha salvato la vita, per così dire.

It's a Sunday in which Steam wants me to update a review in order to get a medal. I don't see why I shouldn't give Steam want they want in exchange for a medal, so here we are.

Sims 4 is the best in the franchise. Simple like that.
BUT this applies only to people who are either new to the franchise or Sims 2 lovers.
If you love Sims 3, you'll be hugely disappointed.
Why? Ask people who love Sims 3. EVERYONE (well, ok, the vast majority) hates Sims 4, Lord knows why.
Expensive? Yeah if you want to get every-single-expansion. But only a few are necessary (because they add quite important gameplay).
Then, you have CC content and mods.
And a great community.

Now I better go eat my veggies before I forget and they get cold.

They will tell you that Stardew Valley is addictive, but is it really?
The first time I played it, I was bored and annoyed. The whole management of the farm, like getting rid of stones and wood? Boring. Stamina ending before the day was over? Annoying. Days going too fast? Annoying. A town with a map that looked like a labyrinth where everything was hard to find and harder to reach? Annoying. Quests, like having to greet all the people in town? Boring!
So I quit and forgot about it.
Then, during 2019 Summer Sale, the game was listed as part of the daily tasks, so I decided to give it another try.
This time I looked for a guide, and while reading about the proper way to organize a day, what to do, where to go and such, I started to think that this game was really not for me: I hate routines, and the gameplay suggested in the guide was very routine-oriented.
Did I really need to check TV at every waking hour? Did I really need to check birthdays on the calendar to be always on point?
In the meantime, my potatoes were growing, and looking for shells on the beach while listening to the sound of the sea was relaxing... I had already crafted my first chest, which I painted purple, and if I needed company, I could always count on the Saloon, that place was always so crowded!
Now the Egg Festival was approaching, and I was wondering if Sebastian would make an appearance...
No, that couldn't be, the Egg Festival?! Not something for Sebastian, but where to meet him then? I absolutely needed to find a way to talk to that boy.

But wait...
Why am I here, what was I writing about?
Nothing important, I guess, better to go back to my farm...
A way to approach Sebastian, that's what I should focus on...

You know social anxiety? Do you ever feel sorry for yourself and all the stuff you are going through? Do you cry a lot and sometimes suffer for silly things? Do you find it hard to beat your own laziness? This game is for you.

I was looking for something short and relaxing to play - while looking at beautiful artwork - and this is why I chose Message Quest. What I didn't expect was to have my heart melted in a puddle of pink fuzzy feelings.
Message Quest is family friendly and puzzles are not really hard. The hardest ones took a few tries to be solved and I got to finish the whole game in exactly 100 minutes.
All characters speak an invented language - kinda like Sims do - but there's voice acting and it's so well done that it gives the feeling they are really speaking existing words.
The plot surprised me. I assumed it was heading to a specific direction... but it didn't. There's a few plot-twists that I really appreciated and I truly found it inspiring and thought-provoking.
I also appreciated all the times it broke the fourth wall: with elegance and purpose.
Most of the achievements you'll get just by progressing in the story. A couple will need you to pay some more attention.
The gameplay is mixed. A few turn-based duels that cracked me up, a few hidden objects and a few puzzles in the strict meaning of the word. Overall I enjoyed the variety and never got bored.
Message Quest left me wanting for more. I'd really be happy if developers made a sequel, and possibly a ten-times longer one.

Run, kid, run.

And stumble, fall, get back on your feet and run some more. Then,
jump, swim, crawl.
Hide.
They're after you, all of them.
They won't let you go.

I can hear you breathe, your heart is pounding.
Scared and brave, you keep going, keep running.
Where are you taking me, kid?
Where am I taking you?

Oh, how many dark places, such dangers we have encountered.
Yet you keep running, they won't stop you, I promise.
I will help you.

Because that's what you want me to do, right?


°°°
Sometimes the word "game" doesn't fit well. If something wraps you in its world, atmosphere and doesn't let you go, not even when the whole thing is done, if you feel you're not the same anymore once it's finished, "game" can't be the right word.
Yet, INSIDE couldn't be more classic in its gameplay: a 2D side-scrolling platformer without levels, with puzzles to be solved in order to progress, jumps to take, dangers to avoid etc.
Yet again, it's immersive in such a powerful way that it makes you forget that those are mere gameplay mechanisms: you are in the story, so each action you perform is part of that.
The music, or better, the lack of it most of the time, just the ambient sounds from a deserted landscape, the kid's hearbeat sometimes, so that when music suddenly starts, it leaves you speechless (there's a specific moment when this happens underwater, whose beauty and feeling of agoraphobia I won't easily forget).
And the dim light most of the time. So that each time you run into sunshine, you want the kid to bask in it... and stop for a little, because you have no idea when - and if - he'll feel that sunshine again.

Overall, its bleak atmosphere engulfs you in ways that I'm finding hard to explain.
As I previously said, INSIDE stays with you long after everything is done, leaving you with countless questions and a mix of inexplicable feelings.


I nominated INSIDE for 2017 “Haunts My Dreams” Award.

When I first entered Morphopolis, I found myself inside a painting. Gentle background music embraced me, and I felt safe.
This game is a soothing emotional experience. It's about forgetting all your troubles and let yourself immerse in the colors, in the heart-warming atmosphere.
More on a technical side, Morphopolis is a 'hidden object' game, where you need to look around to find all the items from a list... and resolve puzzles.
It's one of those sweet, slow-paced relaxing games to play before bed, sipping a cup of tea.
Oh and it's only 0.99 Euro.

This is the game I'm playing before going to bed, generally in 30 mins sessions.
Everything is so relaxing, peaceful and gently colorful, that it helps me to unwind after a long day of work.
From what I can see so far, it's all about completing jigsaw puzzles and finding hidden objects.
It's not particularly challenging, certainly needs a keen eye!
The artwork is lovely, I really recommend it.

A little fellow needs your help to reach a certain place. All he needs is ten minutes of your time.
He promises to be quiet, he'll follow your instructions and patiently wait for you to figure out what needs to be done.
You won't have an hard time helping him and there will be music ― gentle music ― to accompany the journey of you two.

And if you happen to feel sad, this journey will mend some of your wounds.
At least, it did it for me.

A must-have for the lovers of storytelling.

Think of Serena as an interactive story: you need to click on things to collect info and, piece after piece, you'll begin to understand what's going on. If you enjoy reading and investigating, just download it. Otherwise, don't.

For the ones interested, this is what is going to happen: Serena will take about one hour of your time and you'll probably leave the finished game thinking: "Well? Is this all? It's so obvious that things went THAT way..."

Then, you'll go back to your life.

Later on, you will remember one small detail and think: "But if things went THAT way, how should I explain... this?"
Another detail will haunt you. And another one will follow.

At this point, you'll realize there was much more depth in this free yet precious gem than what you first assumed, so you'll feel compelled to start all over and try to make ALL the pieces fit together.

At least, this is exactly what happened to me.

Serena is a wonderful gift to the community and I really recommend downloading it.

Let me present you one of my favourite games and a very underrated title.
TOKI TORI 2+ is different from anything else played before in similar genres.

You'll need to figure out how to use and combine the 'tools' given at the beginning, because nobody is going to tell you - and I found this an amazing idea.
I don't think this is a game for kids - despite the cute graphics - since some puzzles are really hard to solve.
Great soundtrack, relaxing atmosphere.
Seriously, the soundtrack works perfectly here.

If you love the Myst series as I do, you're going to love this.
If you love cheery/colorful platforms, you're going to love this.
Forget the first Toki Tori, this is totally another experience. :]