In May I posted a compilation of reviews of games that I had played for a few events that were happening simultaneously, and since I liked the format of combining reviews of games I had played recently I decided to do it again. The following are reviews of games that I received either in full or as demos from the publishers and from Keymailer. Thank you to Keymailer and to the individual publishers for sending me these games.
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions
I was excited to play Spirit City (#spiritcitylofi)... or rather, I was excited to try this beautiful productivity software, so when #Keymailer gave me a chance to use it I jumped. Spirit City has some game-like moments -- you can unlock various spirit friends by doing different tasks in the game -- but primarily it is a piece of software made to enhance your work environment. Not only does Spirit City offer a beautiful view of a room and your preference of window scenery, but it also includes calming music (and there's a lot of music to choose from) and helpful tools to improve your workflow. In the above screenshot you can see that I decorated my room, dressed up my avatar, and chose a snowy scene outside the window to trick my brain into feeling a little cooler (even though I live in one of the hottest parts of the United States and it is currently summer).
In this screenshot, you can see the screen of my Steam Deck right now as I am writing this post. I'm vibing to the music while I write and I have a little to-do list telling me the one thing that I most need to accomplish today (to write and publish this blog post). As a wheelchair user I really appreciate that my character is able to be shown sitting in a wheelchair. I hope to be able to use and play around with this software more in the future (right now my desk is inaccessible due to the "spring" cleaning we're doing in my house, but when I can work at my desk again I'd like to play this software on my second screen and see how that helps me!).
Two Falls: Nishu Takuashina
Two Falls (#TwoFalls) was sent to me in full by #Keymailer, and I was very excited to play this one, considering the historical literary premise. According to the Two Falls official website, the purpose of the game is to,
"Explore 17th century Canadian wilderness in Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina), a linear 3D narrative exploration experience. Live the intertwined adventures of Jeanne, a shipwrecked French woman crossing the Atlantic in hopes of starting anew and Maïkan, a young Innu hunter who is trying to discover what is disturbing his native forest, land of his ancestors. Your choices shape the traits of your protagonists, so make every decision with your heart." (Source)
Unfortunately I was unable to play the game past the first chapter, so I can't provide a complete review. The following is the review I posted on the game's Steam page. I hope others will be able to play this one, since it seems really promising, but my motion sickness wouldn't allow me to play it.
"I'd like to give this game a positive review, but right now I can't. The visuals and controls are very choppy and jerky no matter how I tinker with the settings. I'm playing on a Steam Deck so I'll do some research and see if I can figure out how to fix this, but right now I physically can't play the game because it's causing motion sickness.
I got through the first chapter before I gave up (due to the aforementioned issues). The story seems like it should have promise, and I'd like to find a way to finish it. The writing isn't the best, however. A lot of the dialogue seems off to me, and the subtitles look like they were written by my boomer stepdad (why are so many random words put into quotation marks?).
So far I think the soundtrack is my favorite part of the game. The scary music is REALLY scary and the rest of the soundtrack fits nicely with the tone of the moment."
Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile
I've been a huge fan of Agatha Christie's books since I was a teenager, so I get really excited every time a new game based on the Dame's work is announced. The latest game, set to release in September of 2025, is Death on the Nile (#DeathontheNile), based on the Agatha Christie book of the same name. This particular story is currently popular because a movie version was released just a few years ago in 2022, starring Gal Gadot as the murder victim. The movie took some liberties with the story (I won't say more for fear of spoiling it), and from the little I was able to play in the upcoming game's demo, it looks like there will be some changes to the story in the game, as well. For one, there is a new detective character added to the story who will be assisting Poirot. For another, it takes place in the 1970s... several decades after the book was actually written.
I was only able to play the early part of the game in the demo so I can't yet judge the full game, but I was impressed with what I saw. The way that you put clues together in your "mind map" menu could be interesting and inventive, but I could also see it being a tedious mechanic after playing for a long time. Compared to much older Agatha Christie games I've played in the past, this game feels like a "real" game, as opposed to the "licensed shovelware" that was And Then There Were None on the Wii. (Great book, terrible game adaptation).
I am eager to play the rest of Death on the Nile when it releases in September -- check in later to hear my thoughts on the complete game!
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of these products from https://www.keymailer.co
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