CEEPO'S CORNER

VA11HALLA

one of my personal favorite games ever.

va11halla (or VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action) is (as its full legal name suggests) a cyberpunk bartending experience.

it is a cozy visual novel with an emphasis on mixing drinks for patrons to steer the conversation in different ways, thus replacing "dialogue choices" with a drinks menu instead. very clever 10/10 for that alone

every ounce of this game oozes charm, style and personality and every character that walks into the bar has that on FULL DISPLAY

the art is very well done and Japanese pc-98 inspired with a hint of cyberpunk dystopia. the soundtrack (which you get to pick before the start of each shift) is very well done and does a good job of bringing home that "cozy bar" feel

This game is a must-play for those into visual novels or those looking for a cozy experience and to immerse themselves in a new experience.

p.s. this game genuinely changed my outlook on life when I played it at a decently low point in my life and I hope it does the same for you if you seek to play it :)

PERIPETEIA

peripeteia (or simply "Peri" as i will call it here) is a first-and-third-person role-playing stealth game in a dystopian cyberpunk Poland. It is developed and published by Ninth Exodus.

Peri plays similar to an immersive sim like those made around the time of the old DEUS EX games. its a niche genre for a lot of people but I think many people can find fun in it.

there's tarkov-like inventory management (grid-based inventory with ammo and mag rationing) and gunplay combined with RPG elements of finding various ways to complete a level.

one of my favorite aspects is how you can learn and explore levels to go from taking hours to complete them to a mere few minutes. the game allows many ways to solve problems as most of the environment is parkour-able and interactable.

the artistic design is stunning and it nails its dystopian cyberpunk aesthetic perfectly. the music is also full of banger tracks.

my only issue with Peri is that it is in early access currently and it shows. the game has a fair share of bugs and glitches and needs some revamping on the AI interaction, both quests and enemies, but otherwise, there's great potential here.

PICAYUNE DREAMS

Picayune Dreams is a combination of roguelike "upgrade per run" games similar to vampire survivors with bullet-hell gameplay. it is developed by Stepford, Andyland, and milkypossum and published by 2 Left Thumbs.

I'm not going to lie to you, this game is very strange in terms of literally everything but in the best way possible. the game is very psychedelic and will make no sense (narratively) most of the time. HOWEVER, the gameplay loop is very refreshing and addicting. it does more than just be a "vampire survivors clone" in an already pretty saturated market.

the upgrades are fun to try out. the bosses are fun to get good at. the roguelite progression keeps things unique every run and it will demand you get good or keep dying trying.

the visuals in this game are so beautiful and truly special. Andyland did an amazing job delivering a dream-like and glitchy aesthetic and wrapped it up with a nice bow.

the music is so so good, genuinely love listening to this OST.

please try this game if you are looking for a bullethell game to sink some time into.

STUDIO SYSTEM

Studio System (or better known as Studio System : Guardian Angel) is an interesting take on the fixed-camera survival horror genre. it was developed and published by alreti circle.

this game is mostly for those that don't mind fixed camera perspectives i.e. old resident evil style. during my playthrough of this game, i was immediately hooked on the premise and surrealist nature of the environments and characters. it reminded me very heavily of the 1999 cult classic anime Serial Experiments Lain and i believe that is where most of the inspiration for this game comes from, everything from character interactions to pieces of the soundtrack so bonus points for that :)

the character sprites and 3d models for friends and monsters are also really well done and i enjoyed them a lot as i've never seen models look as unique as this in a game.

now this game isnt without its flaws unfortunately. the gameplay has a bit of a jank to it. nothing too horrible or unplayable but just a *jank* that i could feel. i think this game is worth a fair shot and its also not too long to play through and rewards multiple endings.

PROJECT SILVERFISH

Project Silverfish is an immersive sim (i've been loving these lately tbh) that is currently in early access. it scratches a stalker sorta itch that i enjoy. it is published and developed by Siris Pendrake (what a dev name).

like i mentioned before, the core gameplay boils down very heavily to stalker (i can't be bothered to put all the dots). you are placed in an area in a hostile zone and must survive encounters with enemy factions and anomalies. you even have artifact hunting to further cement the parallels. BUT this game does the formula so right and takes out some of the more tedious aspects of stalker, in exchange for a less realistic environment.

yes, the game is made by a furry and has strong furry ties that are obvious. but that should not worry you. everybody knows furries know ball when it comes to details. the gunplay and combat here is so much fun. you get a degree of player choice in how you make your character in terms of customization which is always nice. you can choose how you look, what skills you have, what factions you like/dislike, and where you spawn among some others.

speaking of factions, the AI in this game is pretty solid. the AI will fight eachother, roam around, grab loot, or even trade with the player. the only issue is that they have literal aimbot all the time. it gets so annoying with how accurate they are. but that's my only real issue.

i never ran into any other issues besides this though, the game ran very smoothly and i encountered 0 bugs or glitches that stood out to me. the game is in early access so that's pretty impressive. anyways, check it out if you like stalker or immersive sims.