SCHiM is a game that initially shows a lot of promise with a truly unique concept that is realized through expert-level design and makes the world around you feel believable and dynamic. It's a blast to hop around and enjoy the lazy afternoon tunes as you experience a quaint, if rather unremarkable, silent narrative. In the end, however, the game fails to squeeze all the juice out of this fantastic concept, offering far too much filler content to pad the experience and not enough unique puzzles, engaging platforming challenges, and environmental gimmicks to justify the number of levels present. The optional challenges and collectibles will appeal to some who are able to make their own fun, but overall, SCHiM feels like a wonderful proof of concept that fails to achieve its true potential.
There are so many games in the zeitgeist that focus on offering the most realistic or the most refined and polished experience on the market, but often this can be to the detriment of fun. Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip knows this all too well, focusing solely on bringing the fun factor. It's a love letter to successful mascot platformers of old while offering some much-needed fan service to the kid-friendly GTA-clone sub-genre that gave us The Simpsons Hit and Run and Lego City Undercover. It's not a game that's going to change your life, but it's a wonderful, action-packed romp that just might make a lazy afternoon a little more memorable.
Nine Sols is a Metroidvania that does what many have failed to do within the genre and actually creates an experience that feels like an authentic, grueling, atmospheric and unique 2D Souls game. Artistically, it's hard to find any fault with it as the blend of Tao Tradition and Cyberpunk dystopia is captivating. The narrative is gritty, mature and uncompromising, which leads to an engaging story from start to end, and the gameplay is a refined showcase of combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The difficulty settings may be a little askew, and some may feel that the central themes are too graphic and unsettling at times. But all in all, Nine Sols, in a stacked year, as far as Metroidvanias are concerned, does more than enough to force itself into the conversation, as it could be a contender for indie game of the year.