Latest Reviews of Merge Games Games
Review Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition (PS5) - A Beautifully Brief Adventure
Foxy
Republished on Wednesday, 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. It’s been a year since Spirit of the North first took us on an adventure on PlayStation 4, but with the PlayStation 5’s recent launch, Infuse Studio has...
Mini Review Foreclosed (PS5) - Cool Comicbook Framing Can't Mask Careless Gameplay
Shut it down
Foreclosed is a story-driven, third-person shooter set in a cyberpunk world where people are augmented with implants at birth. As a result, inhabitants are essentially corporation property as soon as they leave the womb, and this unsettling thought is at the heart of the game's narrative. You play as Evan Kapnos, a rather generic...
Mini Review Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (PS4) - Who Thought This Game Needed a Remake?
Not a miracle worker
Before there was Sonic the Hedgehog, there was Alex Kidd, SEGA’s defacto Master System mascot. Once the blue blur took the spotlight in the ‘90s, Alex’s franchise was left as a relic of an older time, appearing only in a few compilations over the years. That was until a remake of the original game, Miracle World, was...
Mini Review Buildings Have Feelings Too (PS4) - A Management Game Lacking Solid Foundations
Bricking it
Buildings Have Feelings Too is essentially a city-building management game without the people. Instead of keeping a growing population happy, you instead have to please personified houses, office blocks, industrial chimneys, and more as you work through Victorian times to the modern age. It's an odd but likeable premise, and certainly...
Mini Review Cloudpunk - Sci-Fi Noir Deliver 'Em Up Does Just Enough
UPSo-so
Cloudpunk is the name of a legally ambiguous delivery company that operates in the future city of Nivalis, delivering whatever — or whomever — the job requires and asking zero questions. They're a bit like Yodel, only they've got flying cars and they actually deliver your packages. Anyway, you play the role of Rania, a newcomer to the...
Mini Review Bounty Battle - A Truly Terrible Attempt at Indie Smash Bros
Wanted dead
In concept, Bounty Battle is the Super Smash Bros. of indie games. In reality, Bounty Battle is nothing short of a disaster. It's a terribly made brawler that, at its worst, is borderline unplayable. It's a joyless, almost baffling experience that'll make you wonder how the heck it even managed to secure characters from Owlboy, Darkest...
Mini Review Sparklite - A Sparkling Rogue-Lite Adventure
Shine bright like a diamond
Weaving the charm of 2D Zelda games with rogue-lite mechanics, Sparklite is quite literally a gem to be uncovered. Set in the ever-changing land of Geodia, and the balloon powered hub-ship above, you play as Ada, a sky-refugee turned Titan slayer tasked with collecting all the Sparklite she can. The titular currency...
Avast, landlubbers
A long ocean voyage to a distant snowy land gets off to a disastrous beginning when a storm scuppers your plans and leaves you washed up on a tropical island. You’ll need to find your crew, build a little base camp, explore, and try to find a way to escape. One of the first things you’ll notice in Stranded Sails: Explorers of...
