The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection

The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection

The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection delivers exactly what it promises in the name, with eight polished and very addictive variations of solitaire. Seven of these titles were originally launched as mini-games for Zachtronics titles released between 2016 and 2022, but the collection also includes one new variation. The convenience of having all these titles as part of one collection is excellent, and the updated 4K graphics are also a big plus. While solitaire fans will have a blast with this collection, it is also accessible enough to appeal to new players looking for a way to kill some time.

Gameplay: All of the solitaire variations included in this collection are very polished and highly addictive.

Graphics: Each game in the collection has its own unique look, and the overall presentation is very good.

Sound: The music is excellent, which is good as you’ll be hearing the tunes for hours while playing

Planet of Lana

Planet of Lana

Planet of Lana is a cinematic puzzle adventure where players must help a young girl find and save her sister from the alien robots that have invaded. The only real challenge in the game comes from the puzzles, but it also features some platforming and stealth sections. Planet of Lana is a beautiful-looking game, but the gameplay can feel slightly shallow compared to similar titles. While Lana herself is not a particularly memorable protagonist, it’s hard not to love her little alien cat companion, Mui, who is an invaluable asset during her quest.

Gameplay: Planet of Lana is very short and the platforming as well as puzzles are not too taxing.

Graphics: The game’s visual style is superb, and a big reason to keep playing is to see where the adventure will take Lana next.

Sound: The soundtrack is excellent, and while the voice acting is sparse, it perfectly conveys the emotions Lana is experiencing

Sweet Dreams Alex

Sweet Dreams Alex

Sweet Dreams Alex challenges players to use an array of objects and the terrain to their advantage to protect a small girl from nightmares. Using everything from switches and teleporters to playground equipment and even aquatic life, the goal is to prevent nightmares from reaching a slumbering Alex before the timer runs out. The game starts out simple, but later levels introduce a range of humorous and interesting items to keep the nightmares busy. With over 250 different puzzles and a built-in level editor Sweet Dreams Alex will keep players busy for ages and comes highly recommended.

Gameplay: Construct labyrinths using a small selection of objects to ensure that the nightmares heading for a young girl named Alex don’t reach her in time.

Graphics: The game features beautiful pixel art visuals and the six areas in the game all have unique themes.

Sound: The lofi soundtrack is a great match for the relaxing mood of the game and the ambient sound effects also enhance the experience

TOEM

TOEM

TOEM is a hand-drawn adventure game where players get to travel to various locations and perform good deeds that mostly involve taking photos. The monochrome visuals give the game a unique look and being able to switch between an overhead view and a first-person view is a cool touch. The game is very casual and relaxing, so younger players will enjoy the adventure but is also engaging enough to keep older players hooked.

Gameplay: Travel from one location to the next while snapping photos and helping out people in need.

Graphics: The combination of 2D and 3D elements along with the monochromatic visuals gives TOEM a unique and interesting look.

Sound: TOEM features a great soundtrack, humorous made-up voice-overs, and great ambient sounds

Sweet Dreams Alex First Look Video

Sweet Dreams Alex First Look Video

Sweet Dreams Alex by Clarity Games and Kasedo Games is a wholesome puzzle and construction game where players must build labyrinths full of distractions to keep Nightmares away from a little girl named Alex. As a Dream Builder, players have a variety of tools at their disposal with which to construct the winding labyrinths to delay the Nightmares until morning comes. In addition to over 250 levels, the game also features a level editor for players to design and share their own levels. Check out the video below for a quick look at the first few levels of the game

Save Room – Organization Puzzle

Save Room – Organization Puzzle

Save Room – Organization Puzzle builds an entire game around the inventory management system of games like Resident Evil 4. Players are given a limited amount of inventory space and several items that must be stored in the space. Initially, completing a level is as simple as rotating everything into the right spot, but later levels introduce new factors such as crafting ammo and healing items. It’s a relaxing game but will appeal to players who enjoy Inventory Tetris and not those who find it a chore.

Gameplay: Complete levels by rotating, crafting, and combining a variety of items to make sure that everything fits in the available inventory space.

Graphics: The visuals are very basic but functional and get the job done.

Sound: The music is decent, but the game only features one track that plays on every single level

Pretty Girls Tile Match

Pretty Girls Tile Match

Pretty Girls Tile Match tackles the match-three genre and combines it with Mahjong titles and kawai anime girls. The game features 120 levels that increase in complexity with twenty levels allocated to each girl. A combo feature incentivizes players to make matches as quickly as possible, but the addition of help functions and difficulty options keeps the game accessible. While it doesn’t do anything extraordinary it is fun and addictive enough to recommend to fans of the genre.

Gameplay: Match three identical Mahjong tiles to remove them from the board and then continue to do so until everything is cleared.

Graphics: The character designs look great and overall the game is very bright and colorful.

Sound: The soundtrack is quite catchy and all six of the girls are voiced in Japanese

Majotori

Majotori

Majotori is a trivia game that wraps its 1000+ questions in a whimsical narrative experience with over 50 branching storylines. With questions in categories such as video games, cinema, and animation the game is definitely aimed at players who pride themselves on their knowledge of all things geek, but it is also possible to adjust the frequency of certain categories. The witty writing, coupled with the colorful visuals and catchy soundtrack makes for a fun experience that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Gameplay: Majotori features plenty of questions and interesting categories while the branching storylines provide the perfect incentive to replay the game.

Graphics: The visuals are simple but colorful and eye-catching.

Sound: Thanks to a whimsical and catchy soundtrack the lack of voice acting isn’t too noticeable

Japanese School Life

Japanese School Life

Japanese School Life follows an American exchange student named Brian as he experiences life in Japan for a year. Most of this time is spent in the company of Chiyoko and Arisa, two girls in his class who take him under their wing to show him around. The game is mostly a kinetic novel, apart from a few instances where players can choose which girl Brian likes more. However, these choices do not lead to any type of romantic encounters and the focus of the game is on educating players about Japanese culture. It is a familiar concept to games like Go! Go! Nippon, but not quite as memorable, unfortunately.

Gameplay: Apart from a few choices that don’t change much about the story the game is mostly a kinetic novel.

Graphics: The only sprites in the game are for the two girls, but the e-mote system and lots of CGs make up for it.

Sound: There are only a handful of music tracks, but the Japanese voice acting for Chiyoko and Arisa are really good

Iris.Fall

Iris.Fall

Iris.Fall is a puzzle adventure featuring eye-catching monochrome-style visuals and gameplay based on light and shadows. It features a few interesting puzzles, but with only eight rather small areas to explore there’s not much to keep players hooked. In addition, the inclusion of a few tedious puzzles and a story that is not very memorable makes the game a bit harder to recommend. Nevertheless, while the game doesn’t excel in any particular aspect, it is a competent title that has its moments.

Gameplay: Iris.Fall features plenty of puzzles involving the manipulation of light and shadows along with a few other brain teasers that shouldn’t stump puzzle veterans for too long.

Graphics: The visual style looks really good and while the game does not have a lot of locations they are all very detailed and unique.

Sound: The soundtrack is rather subdued and the game lacks any type of voice-overs, but the ambient sounds do a great job of maintaining the atmosphere