Recent reviews by Kabal

Good puzzle games are hard to come by, and they often fit into categories that are exclusionary to different subsets of people for one reason or another. This game does a remarkable job of recreating the experience of being a modern peasant, a voyeur through media, examining the world of the ruling class. It isn't especially sordid, and perhaps because of this restraint, it fails to accurately encase the moment. However, it feels familiar and accessible, and the structure of the family tree completion is an important gameplay mechanic that builds on the search-based gameplay from Her Story. Onloading the entirety of the Roottrees century of success into your mind is a fundamental lesson in the importance of working memory in completing a great work. As a player, the great work you complete is this game, and anyone with the patience to play will find the enjoyment, and relief, of finishing it.

In 1992, my father traded our fish tank to a friend of his from work. In exchange, he received a box of NES games, the console, controllers, and various other accessories. In this bygone era, one had to rattle through their game collection, judge the proverbial book by its cover, and plug it into the system to discover what was inside. Some were great. Some were junk. You tried them all, though, and there was a limitlessness to the experience. Even if there were only 20 games in that box, every time you played was different. You brought friends to the experience, or a parent to watch, or you perused the depths of a player's guide to discover something new in the collection. If nothing else, you had changed, and were growing every day. That collection changed you, too. UFO 50 is the renewal of a dead age. The games in this collection are often more sophisticated, but equally mixed in their appeal. It's fun, but the experience is different now. You're older, and although answers have never been more readily available, discovery is harder to come by. UFO 50 isn't really offering nostalgia, it is a window through time. Peering through the glass, you can see yourself squatting on the carpet, and taking a turn at every game. I am there now, and someday I will be there again.

The DnDification of the Divinity model is transformative in all the right ways. Whether it's lore, fantasy flavor, game systems, stronger writing, or another set of improvements altogether, Baldur's Gate 3 is now the definitive Divinity experience. Like the Witcher 3, it will in many ways define the genre and studio for years to come.

Different sized ovals cut at each other in a land of gray mud. The main oval goes back and forth through the same places because they are lost. The hidden oval (you) presses shift-tab to speed things along, and the experience is made better for it. The game could use some reshaping.

Most open world games don't quite hit the mark, and neither does this one. The twist is kind of cool, though.

Stardew Valley is life in a farming town seen through the eyes of a child, but it shrinks your brain down to match it, and you live blissfully in your own tiny hell.

You play it until you become the kensei. You are one with the blade; the controller your hilt. You are fatter and weaker than Sekiro, but your fingers are lithe. You beat the game four times, and turn your back on battle forevermore.

A game that breaks you down into your essential, pitiful human components, and isolates the piece of you that just wants to tidy up. I am a worm, and I endorse this game.

It's a puzzle game masterpiece. They don't happen very often; cherish your time with it.

At first I was underwhelmed. Next I was frustrated. Then I was engaged. Then determined. Eventually I was satisfied. Tumbleseed sucked me in and spit me out, and made me grateful for the ride.