Okay so we might technically be in a new year, but I still gotta talk about some cool games from this past month that you may have missed. I have five such games to show you all, trimmed down from a larger list of like eight or so, so not too bad this past month. Anyways, thanks to the publishers who sent these games to me in order to make this list possible and let’s get started.
Lil Gator Game
So this might just be the cutest game I have played in months. Literally, just look at the wobble as the little gator walks – you’d have to be evil not to smile at that. But yeah, Lil Gator Game was a nice little surprise. You play as… well, a little gator and your goal is basically to set off on a make-believe fantasy adventure, make new friends, and explore an island full of goodies and other hidden stuff to find. Aiding in this is a variety of different exploration mechanics, such as gliding, sliding, climbing – the full slate really.
It’s just an incredibly relaxing play all around and I absolutely adore this aesthetic. All the cute little animals, the dialogue font and the fact that it’s all in lowercase, and that there are really no stakes here – it is not challenging in the slightest and it was the perfect game to unwind to some days ago after I worked all the way to 11pm. If you’re into comfy experiences, do give it a look.
Lil Gator Game retails for $20 USD and is available on Steam. It is also available on Switch. You can get an official Steam key 10% OFF and support the channel using my Gamesplanet partner link.
Swordship
Swordship is basically what you would get if you took the dodging elements of a shoot ‘em up game and turned that into its own whole action roguelike. Gone is your ability to actually shoot and instead the focus is placed on dodging bullets and using enemies to kill one another. You line up their shots all while trying to pick up and deliver cargo to increase your own HP along with unlocking all sorts of different upgrades.
It’s incredibly fast, VERY stylized, a bit abstract, but kinda fun to play in short sessions. You’re always increasing your score which in turn unlocks more upgrades for future runs, so there’s a nice sense of progression too. If you’re into more experimental roguelikes, Swordship might be worth a look.
Swordship retails for $20 USD and is available on Steam. It is also available through GOG and on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch. You can get an official Steam key 10% OFF and support the channel using my Gamesplanet partner link.
Sail Forth
If you like the sailing elements of Sea of Thieves, but maybe not the toxicity or frustration that comes with dealing with super high level players – then Sail Forth might be worth a look. It’s literally a game all about sailing, managing a small fleet of ships, finding treasure, and even taking down the occasional enemy or two. You’re able to upgrade your ship, recruit new crewmates, and even expand beyond just your one ship to two or even three. Altogether you can then tackle skeleton forts, go fishing, complete side quests – it’s got a lot and I honestly have no idea if there is even an ultimate end goal.
I’ve kinda just been sailing, getting treasure, upgrading, all that. Again, just like Lil Gator Game, it’s oddly relaxing. The sailing controls aren’t all that complex and within just an hour I was already on a larger ship with multiple cannons taking down enemy vessels with ease. It’s pretty cool and I’d recommend it if that sounds like your thing.
Sail Forth retails for $20 USD and is available on Steam. It is also available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch.
Togges
I don’t even know how to begin describing this one. I guess I could say Togges is like what you would get if you took Super Mario Galaxy, but made it more about cubes and puzzles. Because to do anything in this game – including simple stuff like talking to major characters or entering doors – you have to place a trail of cubes. These trails can only start from specific points and you can only connect cubes of the same color. They have a limited stacking height, and you have a limited number overall, so there’s this entire management puzzle element on top of the experience.
That’s already a lot, but wow do the maps add a lot of their own too. They are dense, full of stuff to find, characters to talk to, side quests to complete. It’s like the devs took this simple concept and then just stuffed as much as they could into each game world. The experience is oftentimes overwhelming, but I kinda liked the puzzles here. It’s a simple, yet fun 3D puzzle platformer and I feel like that’s something we don’t get much of these days. Well, that and this one has the whole block gimmick thing too so I guess it’s in its own category. It’s fun though, worth a look if you’re into that genre.
Togges retails for $20 USD and is available on Steam. It is also available through GOG and on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch. You can get an official Steam key 10% OFF and support the channel using my Gamesplanet partner link.
Wavetale
Okay, so I don’t know what it was with this past December and all the comfy games, but this is literally the third on this list alone and yeah, it’s another good one. It’s called Wavetale and it’s basically a straightforward action-adventure where you play as a young girl that becomes friends with a shadow that allows her to walk on water. The world is a decaying archipelago and you’ll need to use this newfound power to surf along the water, explore all these little islands, and basically uncover what is going on. There are these shadow creatures taking over and the story itself is one about loss and reconciliation.
That sounds sad and all, but the ultimate feeling I got here was rather one of hope and optimism, which kinda goes in line with the aesthetic too – dynamically shifting from these two extremes as you play. The gameplay may not be all that complex, but I really enjoyed how fast-paced it was. You’re able to zip through the air, sprint across the waves, and the game does a really good job allowing you to keep all that momentum going as you play. It’s just a nice experience all around and I’m surprised it has gone as unnoticed as it has on Steam – still sitting at below 50 reviews at the time of writing.
Wavetale retails for $30 USD and is available on Steam. It is also available through GOG and on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch.
And that’s all I got for this month. December doesn’t really get that many big releases outside of like the first couple weeks, so I won’t say that this month was particularly stacked, but I do have to say – I really enjoyed Lil Gator Game and that alone makes up for it. See you all next month.
cublikefoot 