Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a “murder mystery”-like visual novel game. The protagonist enrolls at one of the most prestigious schools by pure chance. However, after fainting when entering the school, he finds himself trapped in a dangerous game of life and death. Throughout the course of the story, characters murder one another and it is up to the player to figure out “whodunit”.

Danganronpa leaves the player confused for much of its story, but this is, in fact, one of its strengths; the game pushes the player to imagine the possible scenarios each case brings instead of only letting them passively follow the story. Questions consistently outnumber answers until the end of each case, where everything seems to satisfyingly click into place. While there are a few instances in the story where a person’s motive for performing an action feel slightly forced to fit the narrative, none are egregious enough to feel completely unrealistic. There are plenty of personality and character hints for their behavior, and the player’s suspension of disbelief towards character actions is seldom required to find the story enjoyable.

The idea of “shooting” contradictions with the correct fact is a novel twist on the familiar “choose a dialogue line and contradictory evidence” from the Ace Attorney games. It is genuinely satisfying to shoot an incorrect statement with the appropriate evidence, especially when managing to do it on the dialogue’s first appearance (instead of missing it and having to repeat the lines again). However, it is easy to resort to trying every statement-bullet combination, which can be particularly irritating when already aware of the answer but not of the specific statement-bullet combination the game wants. This is especially true when the required evidence does not actually contradict the statement, making the correct choice feel arbitrary rather than satisfying. Similarly, the “Flashback” mechanic, while interesting in theory, is difficult to apply in practice due to how often it does not form a true contradiction with the statement it should be used on. This is made worse by the fact that some Flashback bullets are used in an earlier dialogue, forcing at least one redo of the dialogue reads; this should either have been clearly explained when introducing the flashback mechanic, or all dialogue lines using the mechanic should have been rearranged so they could always be beaten in a single read. Allowing the player to beat the mini-game in one go makes it all the more satisfying when they do, and simplifies the (already rather complex) game mechanics, on top of making more sense from a narrative point of view. Overall, though, the mini-game is fun to play and is generally very satisfying.

The other mini-games have different ranges of enjoyment. The Hangman’s Gambit, while a good idea in theory to let the player discover the next clue in the case on their own, often falls back to just two cases: either the player knows what the solution is but not what exact word the game wants, or the player does not know the solution at all. Both cases just force the player to shoot random letters until they find what the word is. And even if the player does know what the word is, it often feels like a longer and more boring endeavor compared to simply selecting one piece of evidence which would have achieved the same result. The Bullet Time Battle is incredibly satisfying to get right, but can take a while to get used to due to its lack of intuitiveness; it is also ported incorrectly to the PC version, as the slower song of the three is not synced correctly with the metronome (but apparently works fine in the PSP version). Finally, the Closing Argument is a strange but entertaining minigame to end each case and serves as a nice way to recapitulate the case from beginning to end. While not particularly challenging, its purpose is more to allow the player to round off the entire case in a satisfying manner.

The game oozes charm. The story, characters, and setting have all been carefully crafted to form a narrative which the player can truly soak in and enjoy. The music is very distinctive, being all-around incredibly well-crafted to fit what the player could currently feel. And while the graphics leave something to be desired for today’s audience, the animations when entering a room are very charming and the cutscenes manage to bring a bit of action and liveliness to these otherwise still (but never emotionless) characters. The art never becomes a hindrance to enjoying the story, to the contrary, it supplements it remarkably well, allowing the player to be immersed in the game. One of the things perhaps lacking from the game is player agency, as there are no story paths nor impactful changes to make to it. However, the amount of work required for doing so would have been significant, and it is better to go with one great story rather than multiple mediocre ones.

Overall, the game presents a phenomenal story, with characters who have plenty of personality (even if some of them lack significant narrative impact). Despite its small flaws, the player can get deeply attached to the game and its story, with all of its twists and turns, constantly wondering what will be thrown at them next, and whether they will be the next victim in this dangerous killing game.

Tetris: The Grand Master is the iconic Tetris game but with an achievable end goal. The game has you stacking blocks and clearing lines just like your usual Tetris game, but with gravity increasing and decreasing at set intervals to challenge the player, until reaching level 500 which is when gravity reaches 20G (making pieces immediately touch the ground when spawning) with the goal of reaching level 999. Each line cleared and each piece placed increments the level by one, and a line clear is required every 100 levels (to go from level 99 to 100, 199 to 200, etc., and from 998 to 999). Reaching level 999 in a certain amount of time and with a minimum score will grant the player the title of Tetris Grand Master, but doing so isn’t easy.

Originally an arcade game (but now available for play on the Nintendo Switch), Tetris: The Grand Master (also shortened to TGM) is a faithful Tetris game that manages to make Tetris work as an arcade game: since players pay for each game they play, TGM gives them a progression through levels (by changing the gravity) which challenges them, and a grade which they can attempt to improve through multiple plays, all while keeping individual games under 15-20 mins in length.

Most solo Tetris games are either infinite, or stop the player after a certain number of line clears, incrementing gravity linearly with the number of line clears. TGM is original in its own way: not only are levels incremented by 1 for each piece placed and line cleared, the gravity progression is not even monotonic, leaving players a little breathing room by decreasing slightly at level 200 and just before level 500 (when the maximum level is reached for the rest of the game). This is ingenious game design, as it allows both newer and more experienced players to take advantage of this lower gravity to fix their stack (hopefully filling up holes) before the gravity bumps back up to bring back even more of a challenge. A newer player might then top-out at that point, but frustration with the game is kept to a minimum (since the game gave them a chance to fix their previous gameplay) which means players are more likely to try again and insert another coin.

TGM features a unique scoring and grade system. The grades go from 9 to 1, then S1 to S9, and finally GM. The only requirement for each grade (apart from the GM grade) is score. While the specifics of the scoring system are relatively complicated, TGM heavily rewards Tetris clears (clearing 4 lines with a single piece) and combos, incentivizing the player to go for slightly riskier play styles. Additionally, if the player wishes to get the GM grade, they need to clear certain sections with both a minimum score (or grade, given they are directly correlated) and a maximum time. These requirements of score, time, and survival (to level 999), push players to make good stacking decisions (to survive) in a short amount of time (to pass the time requirements), all without letting them make easy decisions (to get a good score). Players can feel the progress they are making as they see improvements in each of these three areas. It leads to very satisfying and mesmerizing plays, as well as a very challenging but fair game, where players are forced to admit the mistake is theirs when they do not manage one of the three requirements.

TGM also features the Arika Rotation System (or ARS) based on the SEGA Rotation System which does not allow many rotations a player might expect, especially once the piece has touched the stack. (While the game does feature wall kicks, allowing pieces to be rotated even if touching the sides of the playfield, it does not feature any floor kicks, making many rotations impossible once the piece has touched the floor.) This can be frustrating, especially for a Tetris player used to SRS (Super Rotation System) which allows rotations in almost all situations. However, ARS requires the player to stack even more cleanly to have the chance to clear levels 500 to 999, which is much more of a challenge (especially given the game does not feature the “Hold” feature many newer Tetris games have) and can make for a very satisfying Tetris experience.

Overall, TGM is a nice arcade experience and a tight Tetris challenge. It also features a 1v1 mode, and although it is quite robust and can bring hours of enjoyment with a friend, it is nothing extraordinary as a multiplayer Tetris game; it is designed, first and foremost, as a single player experience. And at that, it succeeds brilliantly. Attempting to get GM on TGM requires thorough knowledge of the game, countless hours of practice, and a pinch of luck. TGM understood exactly what would make a challenging Tetris game, and managed to implement it incredibly well.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a visual novel set in the future. You are Jill, a bartender in a small bar who meets eccentric clients and serves them drinks all while listening to their life stories. As a warning, the game does feature alcohol, cigarettes, and mature dialogue not suitable for children.

VA-11 Hall-A does not give the player any choices to make. Or at least that’s what a player starting the game might be led to believe. Instead, all branching dialogue comes in the form of drink-making. Serving a customer a different drink, adding a little alcohol, or making them drinks they didn’t even ask for might lead to different dialogue. Apart from the occasional break from this gameplay, that is all the game has to offer: clicking through dialogue and making a drink for the customer every so often. Yet, as a visual novel, it does not claim to offer anything more than dialogue, and the game shines in its dialogue.

The story of VA-11 Hall-A is incredibly gripping. Characters are given realistic personalities and have stories and problems which leave the player always wanting to know more about these mysterious people and the life they live. With no dialogue options, Jill the bartender has her own personality and talks with the customers, letting the player slowly get to know who this strange bartender is, and the differences between her bartender persona and personal life. The dialogue between Jill and everyone else flows amazingly well from the first moments of the game all the way to the end, never letting the player think for a single moment that this is just a game.

The story’s pacing is perfect or, at the very least, near perfect. The player slowly gets to know Jill, her colleagues and her first few clients, all while getting familiar with the drink system the player will be using for the rest of the game. This gameplay choice to only let the player change the story through drink-making is a very odd one, but pays off: instead of thinking about dialogue options, the player is forced into the world of VA-11 Hall-A by thinking of which drink to make, its ingredients, how to mix it, and more. The player is thinking as the bartender, instead of as a visual novel player. This makes the player incredibly invested in the game, and the game even occasionally rewards that focus with special dialogue if the player can remember customer’s orders.

The music and visuals are nothing to scoff at either. Adding to the already wonderful story and interesting gameplay is great diegetic music and amazing pixel art. The music (being relatively upbeat and going from pop to techno) is sometimes a little odd to hear when the current dialogue is in complete contrast with the music playing, but this almost makes it more realistic as the player is the one choosing the song playing on the jukebox. The pixel art is incredibly well-made, with character models talking during their dialogue and blinking every so often. While there are no animated cutscenes, the game manages without them, the character models and user interface being more than enough to occupy the player’s vision while reading. The game also features gorgeous backgrounds in certain scenes which only add to its charm.

Overall, the game is a wonder to play and read. Its gripping story hooks the player from the beginning, all the way to the end, where they are left wishing the game was longer in order to experience even more characters and well-crafted dialogue. The game itself recommends getting something to drink or eat and to relax while reading and making drinks. With a story which just begs to be read, the music, visuals and gameplay are all beautiful icings on the already delicious cake.

The Station is a story-based game set in space. A space station was sent by your species to a hostile alien planet in hopes of investigating the reason the other alien species is so violent and always in conflict with members of its own species. This space station then goes radio-silent and you are now tasked with going onboard that space station and finding its 3 crew members.

The game itself is visually pleasing, albeit overall a little dark, with an art team who clearly knew what they were doing. The darkness serves a very specific purpose: the game wants you to treat it as a horror game. It tries to achieve this objective through its visuals and well-placed auditory jumpscares to create a horror atmosphere, such as with doors abruptly opening and lights turning on only as the player enters the room, or some actual scares as the lights turn off and a menacing sound is heard from the hallway. However, there are no actual threat to the playable character, and the player can easily fall into a comfortable rhythm playing the game, only occasionally jumping at the odd jumpscare (which, while unpredictable, are never given any kind of explanation). It is clear the developers never wanted the player to replay a portion of the game by having an actual threat in the game, but some kind of risk-reward is inherent and required for a game trying to pass as a horror game, without which the player just feels like they are moving through a pre-programmed story (which, in this case, they are).

The puzzles themselves serve a gameplay purpose, but never go above and beyond. The player is left to wander through room after room, while occasionally challenged by puzzles with wildly fluctuating levels of difficulty. The locker/pattern puzzles are too complicated relative to the other puzzles to the point of requiring some kind of external guide for the average player. The other puzzles feel more like a programmed number of steps which need to be done rather than an actual puzzle requiring reasoning to be solved.

Where the game really shines is in its story, with intricate lore, details of messages and emails between crew members, side stories and a big reveal becoming clearer and clearer towards the end. With a well-crafted and paced story, the game doesn’t overextend itself, giving the necessary details to the story and ending the game perfectly once the player understands the story. However, at a meager playtime of around 60 to 90 mins (120 when struggling on puzzles or trying to get every single secret), the game still feels deceptively short. At the end, the player is left with the feeling that some very good story writers were tempted to create a game without carefully considering the best gameplay ingredients.

The Station clearly had a good art and writing team and this is visible throughout the game. For people who simply want an atmospheric game with excellent writing and visuals to support it, this game will provide a wonderful experience. But without adequate gameplay, it feels like it would probably have been more successful through a different medium. The game just feels “short” in most senses of the word, from lacking gameplay, to strange unexplainable jumpscares, to simply being a short game, not surpassing Steam’s two-hour refund limit. With an asking price of €15, The Station is offered at a steep price when compared with other indie games which can offer a more meaningful experience at the same or a lesser cost.