John Walker

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 15, 2017

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This is charming and silly and gentle and fun, ridiculously intricate and lovingly crafted. It's not hardcore, it's not going to outfox you, but it doesn't want to be doing that. This is one of those instances where you wish "casual" hadn't become a meaningless nonsense term in gaming, because it would nicely capture the feeling of a puzzle book that's magically come alive, a Where's Wally where you get to poke and prod the characters. It's a calm, calming and pleasingly silly game.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 14, 2017

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It moves along at a good pace, introducing new puzzle concepts thick and fast rather than overly relying on what's been before. And like I say, it looks absolutely lovely as it does it. Simple reds and greys are portrayed with a deft use of texture, a lovely papery style to the defiantly 2D design.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 8, 2017

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The result is a really splendid example of the form, with enough original ideas of its own within the standard to make it interesting. It’s a good, solid game, that’s occasionally extremely tough, but always fair.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Feb 1, 2017

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This isn’t going to entertain the brainboxes who demand Stephen’s Sausage Witness before they’ll get out of their four-dimensional beds, but for a chilled puzzling time, they don’t get much better than this. It’s really splendid.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jan 27, 2017

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At a certain point it starts to feel really not OK that you’re interfering in this person’s life. You can send unfinished emails, and, well, worse, and I love that it includes this. Because at that point you really start to ask questions about what you’re doing here, and at that point the game becomes something more, something bigger than just a narrative you’re experiencing – it crosses over into feeling a teensy bit real. I love those moments. It’s to A Normal Lost Phone’s credit that it achieves this.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jan 26, 2017

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The result is something that’s… average. Average, the most boring of the conclusions to reach, to write about, to read about. So sorry about that. But as you’ll know, not the most boring to play – it just means it’s fine, it passes the time, it could be a lot better with a clearer interface, the removal of its gibberish plot, and much fairer windows for the timing challenges, but none of that would raise it much past “above average”. It’s just an average idea, done reasonably well. And sometimes that’s enough.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jan 24, 2017

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Were it to have the greater depth of a Puzzle Quest game I could see myself getting really drawn in, but as it is it’s a really neat example of the genre that still feels disposable enough that I’ll not be bothered once it finally does want my cash. It waited too long! If they’d an ounce of sense they’d drop the IAPs and just stick a £5 charge on the game. But until they cotton on to that new-fangled notion, if you’re after a smart implementation of Threes-like input and tile-based battling, Tiles & Tales does that, and is free!

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jan 23, 2017

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It’s free, it’s short, you didn’t know about it before just now and now you do and you know I think it’s not very good. I don’t feel good about that, you likely don’t feel good about that, but perhaps you’ll have become intrigued and decide to take a look anyway. Perhaps you’ll offer them some money after finishing it when prompted. I dunno. Death sucks.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Jan 19, 2017

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There’s greatness here, and damn, it’s so funny and cutesy-sarcastic. The puzzles are top notch, and the dungeons, when properly equipped, often a pleasure to plough through. But there’s just so much annoyance layered on top for absolutely no discernible reason, beyond presumably a fear that their sequel didn’t feel sufficiently different. The silly thing is, it was.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Dec 12, 2016

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This is an incredible game. I started it with no expectations at all (as I mentioned before, I can’t even remember why I’d flagged the game to look at), and have come away from it as one of my favourite games of 2016.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Dec 7, 2016

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Slick, beautiful, gently challenging and supremely well designed, it’s a stunning piece of work. Oh, and I need to make sure to remember to mention the music – ambient gorgeousness, which you can hear here. Sometimes I get annoyed with a puzzle, have to walk away for a bit, but when I come back I wonder what I was thinking. Perhaps that sort of approach is more suited to a phone, but this remains a game that plays very well on PC, and looks utterly stunning in its conversion.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Dec 6, 2016

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There is no deep understanding here, you won’t have your mind changed, and it certainly doesn’t have any of the emotional impact of Papers Please. But within its own barmy universe, it works! It’s a good chunk of fun, and easily survives at least a second play to see how much you can mess with people’s lives.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Nov 10, 2016

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Muddled? I am. There’s so much going on here, but I never really feel like I’ve got a proper grip on it. It feels like a puddle the size of the Atlantic – this vast concept, but too gossamer to sink in deep. Huge stories, but minor roles in them. Exquisite detail, but all going by too fast. And yet, pretty good with it. Just not as good as what’s come before.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Nov 1, 2016

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What a treat. And a surprisingly deep one, with compelling moments you’ll want to talk about. It’s a pleasure to control, it has impeccable difficulty balancing to keep you moving forward while always feeling like you’re being skillful, and all in the prettiest of pretty pixel graphics. Triumphant.

Rock Paper Shotgun

John Walker·Oct 24, 2016

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While it’s not as impactful as Rusty Lake Hotel, or my favourite Cube Escape, Seasons, there’s an absolute ton going on here for a crazy tiny [price].