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This is a puzzle platformer in the vein of the Abe's Odyssey games, where you "direct" the rabbits towards the goal by giving them commands such as "follow me, stay there, jump", etc. The game very quickly manages to come into its own by adding new rules and rabbit types to keep things fresh along the way while you explore the interconnected levels to search for the next opportunity to progress, which is never far away. Good soundtrack, pleasant amount of complexity and surprisingly fulfilling amount of content for a few hours. I have some minor gripes with the controls, the square screen format and some weird visual decisions (while the game is utterly beautiful at other times) but it doesnt really matter much, as this is just a smart game, very adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed helping solve those puzzles and exploring the interconnected world. 4,5/5

Absolutely gorgeous little story adventure game that is half interactive toy, half fairy tale. It has a VR mode and I wish I could have played it in VR. The animations, narration and individual dioramas are mesmerizing and use their well crafted visuals and endearing soundscape to its fullest potential to entrance the player. The puzzles are on the easy side, but this is absolutely worth experiencing. Charming and heartwarming, suitable for children too. 4,5/5

Must play for everyone who enjoys shootemups. A reimagining of a retro Shmup (Uridium), which is part of a shmup subgenre, where you fly freely from left to right and back to attack a big battleship. Great graphics, sound, VERY fun powerups and a variety of different modes and challenges per level. There is a lot to do and love here. The game even handles "continues" more beginner friendly han other shmups do as you can just retry any level so everybody can finish it if they want and then focus on the challenges and highscore gaming. Incredibly well done package. 4,5/5

Very pretty walking simulator style experience on a spaceship. It is really obvious how much love and care that small team has poured into making these spaceship sceneries feel lived in and worth exploring. The developer added some small puzzle game touches with stealth sections and codes that hide in pc messages and those aspects are not particularly strong, but I dont even care, as they just serve as a vehicle to explore the nooks and crannies of these VERY lovingly created environments, while the story of an abandoned spaceship nudges you forward. The environments and atmosphere really pulled me in and I suppose many of you will enjoy this similarly if you have an appreciation for these explorative experiences. 4,5/5

Tough roguelike air combat game with approximately a million different items and weapons that you can buy after each level with the money you gathered from defeating enemies. Presentation is a bit chaotic, but the game has a ton of content and unlockables and is a very engaging and complex take on the classic arcade fighter formula. You will need to learn your way around it and get used to the games visual presentation, but once it clicks, there is a LOT to like here. 4,5/5

Unsurprisingly I love this game as its a genre thats been near and dear to me for almost 10 years now. The puzzles are very challenging and while other games in the programming genre tend to ease people soft into it, Silicon Zeroes is a lot less forgiving. Most Zachtronics style games treat these solutions as more of a sandbox, which you can solve in a variety of ways, while the limitations many levels give you require you to search for one particular solution. Its a great game though, just not as breezy as other comparable ones, which makes it a very enticing puzzle nut to crack. 4/5

Unique match 3 and Minesweeper combination with a cool little PC themed story. The match 3 part doesnt require you "just" to match 3 and make as many combos as possible, but actually takes a more strategic approach to tile placement as you will need to find an opponent hidden below the tiles by gathering clues around the board and then exploding the right tile. That makes most of the match 3 encounters pretty quick, while the game adds more hindrances to mix up that mechanic. The only downer is the relentlessness of a restart whenever you fail, which can be a bit random for some levels. 4/5

Another great find, a decently sized RPG (12 hours-ish) with an original theme that finally gives a good reason for oversized sprites on the map (you are a giant monster/robot after all). The underlying RPG system are fairly standard, but the world with plenty surprises, characters and just pure insanity of the setting makes this a clear recommendation to check out. 4,5/5

Its a seemingly simple adventure game that says everything in cute rhymes. I thought that would be a neat 15 minute game for its novelty factor and came away with probably having played one of the best adventures games in the bundle. The puzzles are a bit easy, but this story about a milkmaid develops in rather unexpected ways, while shifting the tone enough so that it always stays entertaining and gripping throughout its 3 hours runtime. Its beautiful, contemplative and has an interesting take on an age old story trope. This is a game you should not miss, as it is an adventure full of bliss. 4/5

Beautiful simplified point & click adventure game with a few unique mechanics and a very visually pleasing and rewarding world to explore. Even if its pace is a little slow, its a bite sized story that you can finish in 1-2 hours, but the interplay between sights, sounds, subtle background details and the powers of the two main characters are so unique that this game might stick with you for a good while longer than the time it lasts. It is based on an animated movie and it absolutely shows in the care put into making the island feel warm, vibrant and alive. Small gem. 4,5/5

Very smart platformer that requires you to shape its levels to reach the items and progress. The art style is fantastic, the ambient music fits, the puzzles are clever and offer the right amount of intrigue and challenge to feel like an engaging puzzle sandbox (even if they are not that "hard"). The game will only take you a few hours, but its its an entirely enjoyable experience from start to finish with a seemingly simple, yet still unique concept that really manages to shine throughout its runtime. Definitely a game you should all check out if you have any interest in puzzle platformers. 4/5

Played this a long time ago and really enjoyed it. Its another zelda type game with a unique identity. The game quickly becomes rather surreal with enemies, locations and NPCs you meet, but its mostly a subtle unsettling feeling that it creeps into your consciousness. The combat feels a bit simple and it has some other minor rough spots, but its definitely another one of these games you absolutely should check out. The sequel improves a lot on it, but the first game has an amazing post game mechanic that you really should check out. 4/5

Relatively short hardcore platformer with tight controls, a unique restarting mechanic where you set your own checkpoints, a great soundtrack, ton of modes, level creator. Due to its compact nature its incredibly breezy to play through on your first run, while still giving you a decent challenge and then deveolves into a fantastic speedrun challenge. The sequel expands on it in every way, but Love is still a great little game worthy of your time if you are into challenging platformers. 4/5

Surprisingly challenging puzzle game that quickly goes beyond what you'd expect. It initially starts off as just a room connection game, but soon adds more aspects to its formula, be that balancing the energy levels of the rooms or controlling individuals in the rooms to turn on/off light switches. The sentient AI story delivers a good backdrop to some intriguing story beats that keep you invested, while the puzzles keep your brain busy. It is a bit unsual that you will need to work on different areas of a level multiple times, but that gives the game a rather special feel. Good stuff. 4/5

This is easily among my favourite of the coming of age/coming out stories about coming to terms with your own identity/LGBTQ stories in the bundle. Its very story heavy, supported by the top down pixel graphics and light interactions/puzzles. The game doesnt really do any big features/mechanics, but all its elements are subtly reinforcing a very cohesive whole that just works. From quirky characters grounded in realism with their own identity questions to surreal story beats about this particular library housing ancient knowledge and beings you dont understand, this just has me hooked. The game could have a few more elaborate puzzles since they went for the top down viewing angle anyway, but considering how well they use its art style to reinforce their story, it shall be forgiven. 4/5

A rather divisive RTS - Tower Defense - Survival - Strategy Game ... thing? I really adore the concept. You have a planet to defend and dangerous objects like rockets or asteroids are attacking it. You can set up a line of defense with satellite, different sensors, farms for your energy, missile defense, research labs, factories, communication towers and more. While building your infrastructure, you also need to make sure to check up on the titular repair jobs, so your systems stay in order. This is a very fascinating take on different genres as you race around the planet to build your defense structure and stay on top of the madness that is about to hit you. The game has some very mixed scores as it quickly becomes very challenging and unforgiving if you dont make a plan for how you approach it, but I absolutely adore that about it. I would love some more ingame exposition and training missions, but it is really damn fun to inch your way to success and get your planets under control. 4/5

Really well done walking simulator / adventure game mix about exploring a cult campground. The game really edges you forward constantly and intrigues you to uncover its history. I was especially surprised by the engaging audio content framing the whole experience. I do have a few gripes with how the game is structured, but its a great concept that is well worth checking out. 4/5

Now that is a Visual Novel that grabs me. The characters and world building immediately starts off on a strong foot, painting a version of the world where the 80s video game crash never happened (what could that mean?) in an arcade backdrop with a lot of videogame history lingo. The aesthetic and soundtrack are baller, the identity system makes me actually ponder my choices and the pacing is great. 4/5

Super addictive highscore game controlled with just one button that steers the ship left and right. If I wouldnt try to play more of these games I would easily fall down this rabbit hole. I wish it had more of everything, even just unlocks for the ship graphics, side panels/skins whatever to fully satiate my neverending highscore hunger, but still a great game. My record is 46, beat me. 4/5

More like an art installation than a game, ISLANDS will show you 10 normal life situations and after interacting with them challenges your expectations with a surreal dance of objects and colors. Its mesmerizing and relatively short. Everybody should give this a look when they feel like breaking their mind free of normality. 4/5

Finally managed to wrap my head around this. Not a gam everybody will appreciate as it doesnt have any instructions and seemingly no directions. However the game is actually moore than just a pretty cartograpghy tool. It is like a piece of technology nobody gave you instructions for and you are tasked to piece together the inner workings while the world you are looking at starts to take shape. Wonderful little game, hard sell though if you dont know if this is something you might enjoy, so cool more people can try it out now. 4/5

Retro top down arcade racer with a ton of modes and difficulty options. They really nailed the controls and getting a good handle on the drifting makes this just super fun and rewarding. For modes It has championship, time attack (2:31:05 minutes is my record on the first track, beat me!), local vs or hotseat modes and if all else fails, you can just create your own tracks. Only thing I would wish for is more unlockables as incentives, but that is a minor gripe. Super fun, well worth checking out if you are into racers. 4/5

RPG with a highly intriguing story about the dark side of military life. The mechanics also revolve more about military aspects and it actually is beautifully made and one of the most interesting Indie RPGs I've seen in a while. The combat has a themed touch, but is relatively straight forward, but its interesting how much more they built around that theme. Really interesting take, will need to check the story out once the game is finished to see where this goes. (Apparently they are working to release the final chapter soon) 4/5

Dont start this if you have anything to do in the next 2 hours. This is seriously addictive. It is basically an abstracted light RPG dungeon crawler in which you choose 1 action every round by clicking on a single card, which in turn decides if you pick up/use an item that might affect you or the enemies or attack with your current stats. It is relatively easy so everyone can play it, but despite looking seemingly simple, it offers just enough possibility for strategic uses of cards to optimize your chances and rewards that really trigger that "Just one more turn" syndrome. The graphics are delightful and I love the Pen & Paper game master theme. Lovely. 4/5

Gnog is a relatively straight forward puzzle game, in which you try to uncover the secrets of 9 different boxes and their inhabitants. It feels very playful as you pull all the levers and press all the buttons to see which sights and sounds they lead to. The ambient music changing while you solve the levels is fantastic and its a relatively short, but intriguing journey to uncover all the tactile secrets of each puzzle box. Even if I would prefer more challenging levels, its a delight that you should check out. 4/5

Obviously inspired by Paper Mario, this turn based RPG puts you into the role of an evil minion that suddenly finds itself having defeated the hero. Now you are on your quest for power, traversing the evil lands, using your newfound inspiration to become the strongest to overthrow the evil emperor. The theme is charming and very well done, it has many delightful interactions and some cool ideas (ever felt like talking to every monster before your curbstomp it? Now you can do exactly that!) and the combat is satisfying. My only grip with the game is the level design, which does feel a bit too basic sometimes, but this is an easy recommendation. 4,5/5

Very beautifully animated light puzzle game about an old men receiving a letter and you accompanying him on his journey to reminisce and find out about his past. The art style is sublime, the little interactions delightful and the story that unwraps before your eyes is beautiful. The puzzle elements are very light and serve more as a means to keep the player invested in the world building, which works surprisingly well. The "puzzles" are very easy, which means this is more of a contemplative experience. Very lovely and absolutely worth accompanying this man on his journey. The story beats and emotioons it evokes will linger with you. 4,5/5

Us weird people of the world can rejoice, because the bundle gets even weirder. To start: The main character is a human puppet controlled by you. And you'll die. A lot. This is a very unsettling tale with a story that I wont even try to start explaining. The art style and ideas are amazing and I love the characters. The series can be a bit too harsh and unforgiving sometimes, which unfortunately drags down the flow in a lot of reloading, but the pacing and quality improves greatly in Part 2. Part 1 isnt in the bundle, but you should absolutely play that first cause otherwise you'll be completely lost: https://etherane.itch.io/hello-charlotte-ep1 Despite the pacing and flaws, this is incredibly intriguing and just keep in mind part 2 is much more refined. 4/5

One of the first FPS roguelikes from way back in 2021 and I remember utterly being fascinated by its in depth gun simulation way back then. The game structure is relatively simple with a single level and a few types of randomly placed enemies, but learning the ins and outs of every weapon type and carefully maneuvering yourself around the environment, making it a lot more tense than many stealth games while carefully choosing your fights is still as enticing as it was back when I first played it. There isnt a lot variety, but the concept just works really well and is incredibly satisfying to pull off. 4/5

Sidescrolling brawler that made quite some waves about its unapologetic goal, which especially in recent weeks seems all the more fitting to the current political climate and it deserves some serious applause for that. Gameplay wise I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, cause I was never the biggest fan of that genre, but the addition of "crowd" control really brings this game to life for me, especially when everyone you saved starts using their tools at your command. Very satisfying, maybe a tad repetetive, but engaging to replay and to unlock the extra riot gear. 4/5