Game Reviews8.7/10
Stardew Valley’s First 10 Years Prove a Farming Sim Can Refuse to Die
Stardew Valley review: ConcernedApe's solo farm sim sold 50 million copies, reviving the genre with seasons, bundles, marriage and a broken town to rebuild.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Tag: Indie Games
Game Reviews7.3/10
OlliOlli World’s levels are built to keep skaters in rhythm, not to punish them
OlliOlli World review: Roll7's 2D skateboarding platformer trades pixel art for hand-drawn Radlandia, adds quarter pipes and branching paths. Score: 7.3/10.
Game Reviews8.2/10
Kena: Bridge of Spirits Review: A Considered Action-Adventure
Kena: Bridge of Spirits review — Ember Lab's debut action adventure scores 8.2/10, blending grief-driven storytelling, the Rot, and Balinese gamelan music.
Game Reviews8.3/10
Unpacking earns its calm
Unpacking turns the mundane chore of putting things away into one of the most quietly affecting puzzle games of its year, and it earns every bit of its calm.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Bugsnax Review: A Comedy Costume Over a Puzzle Game That Works
Bugsnax review: Young Horses' 2020 puzzle adventure sends a journalist to Snaktooth Island to catch 100 snack-bugs and find a missing explorer.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Carrion Review: A Sharp, Strange Reverse-Horror That Runs Out of Monster
Carrion review: Phobia Game Studio's reverse-horror gem lets you play the monster in the vent, devouring Relith Science. A sharp, strange 7.5/10.
Thousand Hells rewards its players with vivid infernal tales, but its losses sting terribly
A grim tale of doomed voyagers cast into infernal realms, whose triumphs and calamities alike stir terror and wonder.
Game Reviews9/10
Balatro Review: A Solo Side Project That Became a Card-Game Compulsion
Balatro, the solo-built poker roguelike from LocalThunk, sold over 5 million copies and won Game of the Year. Our review breaks down why it works.
Game Reviews9.1/10
Animal Well Review: Billy Basso’s Seven-Year Hole in the Ground
Animal Well review: Billy Basso's solo Metroidvania about a yellow blob in an underground labyrinth, seven years in the making and one of 2024's best games.
Game Reviews9.1/10
Mina the Hollower Review: Yacht Club Games’ 9.1/10 Mouse Inventor Adventure
Mina the Hollower review: Yacht Club Games trades the shovel for a whip and a Game Boy Color palette, selling 500,000 copies with a 9.1/10.
Game Reviews9/10
Hollow Knight Turns Bug-Hunting Into a Masterclass in Metroidvania Design
Hollow Knight review: Team Cherry's 2017 Metroidvania built by two people in Adelaide, nine years on and still the genre's most complete work.