iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Denshattack! : An incredible concept, executed with style and passion. What an incredible vision for a game, a visual and auditive treat. Gameplay got kinda repetitive after a while though, and I don't think I have it in me to finish it, but I defninitely recommand you give it a try.

001

Solarpunk : Went in with high expectations, immediately fell off a cliff. A disappointing experience, feels incredibly incomplete and barebones, and looks more like an early access game. Solid base, early game could use so polish, but mid to late game could use ~two years of regular content updates.

100

(the) Gnorp Apologue : Small little incremental game with fun systems and deep synergies you need to master. Pretty short, especially for the genre, but hits the dopamine center like a truck for a few days.

100

Nine Sols : Bounced off pretty hard with that one, mainly because of the way the game implements the Dark Souls bloodstains. Really beautiful, very intriguing story, hard to master combat, but kinda shallow exploration and a difficulty curve that's out of whack. Don't think I'll be finishing it.

100

Gambonanza : "Balatro but with chess", a cool concept executed with elegance. The game is noticably harder than Balatro, especially as you rise through the different "stakes", but it also feels pretty reptitive after a while, mainly because of the joker equivalent (gambits) not feeling very deep.

100

Big Walk : A masterclass on how to do game design in a coop game. Really depends on who you're playing with, but as long as it's with the right people, an unforgettable experience. I do wish the puzzles had a little more variety, most of them boiled down to "telephone but with a twist".

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood : A deeply profound, immersive, and moving experience. This game surprised me by just how much I loved playing it, and how quickly the story grabbed me. The dialogue is funny, witty, really well written, and I wish I could have kept playing for 15 more hours.

120

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Games I've played recently Endacopia : one of the coolest games I've played in a long time. I vibed with it like I've rarely vibed with a game before, and it kept surprising me at every turn with how weird, funny, and sometimes surprisingly earnest it could be.

120

oh my fucking gooooooood 7th Prince is actually so goddamn cool Honestly such a peak shonen

100

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

the problem is that this game is just too good

000

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Levels of based I can only aspire to

000

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Sometimes, Iruma is just so good

162

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Started playing Endacopia What a tutorial

000

Betshet @betshet.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Aww that's cute (from Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times)

0265

This game was pure joy from start to finish, it is bursting at the seams with creativity and effort, and my only criticism is that there isn't any more of it.

020

As I'm sure you can imagine, I recommand you try out The Mermaid Mask. It seems that in the 7 years since Tangle Tower, the devs at SFB Games managed to not only take into account the feedback of their previous game, but also hone in on their strengths.

120

It's a small thing, usually barely worth mentioning; but I feel like especially in today's environment, this kind of effort to go the extra mile needs to be talked about and celebrated.

And the best part is : it didn't stop there! Once you finish the game, you get access to an Extras menu where the team's creativity is put on full display : sketches, concept art, commentary, developpment process...

-invested in the final puzzle as I was putting its pieces together. While Tangle Tower felt maybe a bit disconnected, Mermaid Mask feels very cohesive, and culminates in a really memorable ending.

And that's just the start of the game, because as you continue exploring the submarine and its beautifully drawn backgrounds, the intrigue gradually pulls in you in and end up taking taking center stage. This is where this game truly surpassed its predecessor for me, because I felt a lot more-

And of course, both the animation and the writing are supplemented by some stellar voice acting, which elevates the experience to a whole new level. All around, The Mermaid Mask is a joy to look at and listen to, and a perfect blend of so many different art forms.

The character animation is, as always in the Detective Grimoire games, a highlight. The characters have an impressive array of poses, expressions and gestures they can pull from, which makes the conversations feel very organic. At points, you feel more like watching a cartoon than playing a game.

There are some helps that game provides you with if you can't find where to go next, or if you are missing a crucial clue because you forgot to click on a detail in the background, but Mermaid Mask isn't afraid of letting you come to your own conclusions on your time.

The characters are witty, smart, charismatic, funny, cryptic, and the game respects your intelligence. In contrast to classic detective games like Layton or Ace Attorney, not everything is spelled out loud and shoved in your face 30 times to make sure you understand it, which is so refreshing.

Grimoire and Sally still have incredible chemistry, and bounce off each other so well. Clicking on everything become a reward in itself, because it meant I got to hear new dialogue from them. The writing was already incredibly strong in Tangle Tower, and seems to have become even better here.

This, of course, is the best part of the game. Meeting all of these colorful characters, learning about their personality, their relationships and their motives was such a pleasure, and I could have listened to each of them for even longer.

After reconnecting with Grimoire and Sally (oh how I missed these sassy goobers), we are immediately plunged into the depths of a new murder case aboard a submarine, with a whole new cast of suspects to interrogate.

And yes, there were times were I felt like the game cheated me and the controls caused my fall. But in the end, what remains of Cairn is the beauty it holds and the effort you put in, and I am glad to have experienced it.

000

The coziness of a small tent and a bowl of soup, bandaging fingers and preparing for the next day. The slipperiness of the holds under the pouring rain and smothering drakness of the night, as I try to find the next crack to wedge my feet into and look for a safe ledge.

100

But then, what stuck in my mind were the moments. The memories of hours spent putting one hand before another, trying to read the rocks, the wind, and the breathing of Aava The feelings of climbing over the edge, contemplating a stunning landscape, hands bleeding and breath ragged from the effort.

100

If all of this has discouraged you from playing Cairn, I would still encourage you to give it a try. I'm harsh on the game, but it's very much because I liked playing it. When I finished it, my first thoughts were disappointment, and longing for the game Cairn could have been without its faults.

100

This is compounded by the ending, which I found so incredibly corny and uninteresting. I won't elaborate too much on that, since I'd like to keep this spoiler-free, but maybe I'll do an addendum to this review where I do talk about Cairn's ending, because I think it is an interesting study.

100

I liked some of the NPCs, but Aava is a walking cliché, and is generally a thoroughly unpleasant character, which IS kind of the point the story is trying to make, but that doesn't change the fact that I just did not really like playing as her.

100

Finally, the story. Cairn puts a lot of emphasis on the journey Aava takes, how she's escaping her life and her own feelings by climbing Mount Kami. And some of it is pretty well told, and resonates pretty well. However, it's overall kind of a shallow story, with pretty badly written dialogue.

100

Now, of course, this can be mastered. You learn pretty quickly to always secure yourself properly, to recognize the more difficult holds, & to always be prepared for the controls to fuck you over. And like I said, 80% of the time it works, most of my falls were my own fault, not the game's.

100

-but doing so takes time, precious seconds during which Aava is hanging on to uncomfortable holds that drain her stamina. This is what I mean when I say that the frustration is unintentional : it sometimes feels like you're fighting against the game's controls more than with the actual mountain.

100

I've had countless times during my playthough where I needed Aava to move a specific limb, and the auto-select continuously refused to move it, swapping back and forth between two other limbs that I didn't want to move. This auto-select can be bypassed via the manual limb selection system-

100

Whether you're climbing at night under the rain, waking up at dawn with a heavy fog, or watching a magnificent sunset over the mointain, it's always nice to just *look* at Cairn. All of that, however, is marred by the 20% of the time when the auto-select isn't working like you want it to.

100

Here, when you look back behind you, you can see every rock you've touched, remember every fall, admire your route and truly feel proud of every inch climbed. Cairn also has a gorgeous light and weather system that enhances every moment of gameplay, and adds so much immersion to the game.

100

Cairn is a very pretty game, but what makes these moments so special isn't just the wonderful view. It's the sense of accomplishement. When you climb a mountain in Zelda BOTW, you're not really "climbing", you're pushing the stick forward and Link does the work.

100

Then, when you climb over the edge and get to a rest spot after hours of careful climbing and dozens of falls, you turn around to get a look at the wall you just climbed, and see some of the most magnificent views you've ever witnessed in a game.

100

You get in a rythm while climbing, putting one hand in front of the other, listening to the sound of Aava's breathing to know which holds are good & which ones are sapping her stamina... The simple act of moving one hand, a foot, a hand, a foot, it's almost hypnotic, and requires constant focus.

100

Cairn is special in that I don't think I've ever played a game that could get me so quickly and completely in a deep state of flow. When the auto-select works, it really works, and it feels like the game reads your mind as you're trying to navigate the cracks and cliffs of mount Kami.

100

I think most gamers are familiar with the concept of "flow", where you get so focused on a task that you enter a unique state of mind, and the world fades away around you. You get "in the zone". It can happen when playing Tetris, fighting a Dark Souls boss, or completing tasks in Stardew Valley.

The main problem is that the game has an auto-select in place, which will choose for you the next limb that you can control. And this is where the bulk of my frustration with Cairn comes from, because the auto-select works perfectly right... about 80% of the time.

100

So you move the right hand, grab, move the right foot, step, left hand, grab, left foot, step, etc. Aava will move the center of her body on her own to accomodate where her limbs are grabbing the wall, and can even stretch to try and grab something out of reach, it's all pretty well done.

100