Recent reviews by Corey Willis

Such a fun game to play on the TV when you've got some friends over and you want a break from Jackbox. All of the games are easy to pick up, but are so engaging and fun once everyone starts getting competitive.

A short, but sweet co-op puzzle game in the styling of the We Were Here series. An interesting aspect of this game is that you're not actually connecting to another player online or local. You're simply selecting one of two characters and providing each other information the other player needs to progress. The story is decent, but I would love to see something more fleshed out in a sequel.

I enjoy so-called "Walking Simulators," and I even enjoy subtle games like Virginia that have no dialogue, but Fugue in Void feels more like a college motion graphics final project that lacks direction or vision. I even enjoyed the game Proteus, which is directionless, but that game still managed to still make me feel something at every stage. I simply felt bored and annoyed with Fugue in Void. There were a few moments where a piece looked interesting and creative, but it felt like a blip in an otherwise boring and meaningless experience. Maybe that's the point, but it wasn't presented in a way where it felt like that was the point. It's like a bad poem that doesn't land well and the author will bitterly protest that people just don't get it.

I found an article on Waypoint about the complexities of how the architecture had all of this meaning and powerful impact, but honestly, I feel like they're either reading into a little too much or gleaned some of those details from the dev. It's a drab experience, on which you shouldn't waste your money.

This game is creepy and bizarre, and I love it! At its core, it's a tower defense action game where you lay traps for the werewolves, and run around on foot during the onslaught similar to Dungeon Defenders and Sanctum. The added layer of the creepy story and setting make for a very unique tower defense game.

The narration comes off a little cheesy at first, but it grew on me. It's a well made exploration and story game that keeps you intrigued and begs questions to be answered. The visual and audio design are lovely and draw you into the world.

Edit: Go into the graphics settings and set the framerate to 60. The game will tell you that it isn't meant to be played this way, but it's total BS. It was feeling motion sickness before switching it back to 60 from the recommended 30. I think they want a "retro" vibe with that, but it's just silly.

While on the short side, even when compared to similar "walking simulators," Virginia is an intriguing experience that is well worth the $10. The characters and the story are captivating, even without the help of dialogue. It makes your brain work extra hard to follow the thread of the events without the characters telling you exactly what's going on. It can be slightly confusing during certain moments, but the story is generally pretty clear by the end.

If you're a fan of Fire Watch, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Gone Home, or The Stanley Parable, you should play this game.

If you create things (stories, art, whatever), I feel like you need to play this game. Don't watch any videos. Just play it. Some people complain about not finding it emotional. I feel like you could only appreciate parts of it if you actively create things. No knock against those who don't. This game is very different and totally not for everyone. For those it is for, it's something very special. As someone who creates and struggles with depression, I found it very moving.

If you're a fan of survival games like Don't Starve, you will feel right at home here. The visual and sound design are excellent. From my limited playtime, I can say that the gameplay is interesting enough, but I will update my review as I experience later game content. My main concern is that it could be frustrating to play the early sections on repeat, but it does seem like the random generation is pretty decent. It feels like the early part of the game has been sufficiently unique each time. It is surprisingly polished for an Early Access game.

Update: They have patched the frame rate issue that I mentioned in my review. I still may have some issues with the general gameplay in that final section so I'm going to play it again with a playable frame rate.

Original text:
Albino Lullaby is a very strange game and that's exactly why I love it. Well at least the first episode as of this review. The world is inventive and intriguing. I read every bit of paper I could find. Normally reserved for Slender knock-offs, I usually ignore these collectibles. In this game, they are short, sweet, interesting, and often pretty funny.

It straddles a strange line between creepy atmosphere, interesting world building, and humor. My only major issue with the first episode was the frame rate on the final chapter. Before that point in the game, it was smooth sailing. I was down into the 15-20fps range with a GTX 660 at the end, which is not great. It reminded me of the Meat Circus in Psychonauts before the recent patch. The solid frame rate combined with amazing level designs of the earlier sections were thrown out of Psychonauts and this game at the end, which is a major bummer. I don't think it completely destroys the game, but I would recommend waiting until they patch this bug. I simply turned the graphics down and ran it at 720p to make it playable for this section.

If you're a fan of creepy, interesting worlds, check this game out!

Edit: So for some reason my Steam install of YNAB is outdated. I was able to get the key and activate the latest version I downloaded from their website with the key. I would recommend buying YNAB directly from the source to avoid Steam issues like this. The program itself is great.

Original review: The Steam version is outdated and therefore no longer works with the phone syncing features. The updated version uses DropBox for syncing and so does the phone app. The problem is that I have the latest phone version and the outdated Steam version so it's a little busted for now. I will change this review once they resolve this.