A RIEview on Life and games

Hi all! With the posting of the final review on Gourmet Story, this project that started from January 2020 has finally come to an end. Yes, there are mixed feelings, but overall I'm pretty content with how far I've come. I can now cross-off 'Blogging' from my bucket list after nearly 10 years of procrastination and simply being occupied with other real life matters.  The fate of this blog will still exist, until the time when I decide to publish another game review. There are too many games on my hands that I don't know if I should download anymore!  -insert nervous laughter here-  Currently in real life there's a bunch of things I need to settle (eek!) before tackling my next project, which is editing my old stories! Yes before blogging I used to enjoy writing, but then life happened and I just... stopped. I actually planned to write a new series but it's an uphill struggle to get back into my writer self. Hopefully through editing my old works I can redisc

  With the wide selection of fast-paced games in my collection, I wanted to expand my casual game collection. Gourmet Story is an idle casual game revolving the most important need of man – Food. But not just any kind of food, if you could understand Chinese, that is. The game is actually developed by Japanese company Flyhigh Works and ASOBOX, but has been translated to English for Nintendo Switch.  I personally got the Chinese version on the App Store for free, so I’m not sure if this is the same for all regions (except Japan, of course). Because there is an English version, I will not be translating the stories as I initially planned to do. This post contains a review and a mini guide, similar to the previous post on Love ToDo. Read on to see how this game fares! Game Plot  You play as the protagonist, a Royal Food Advisor tasked to restore the once bustling World Tree Marche to its former glory – a once popular food truck hub boasting of many delicious cuisines. Armed with your expe

Love ToDo 恋爱番茄 (LianAiFanQie; i.e. Love Tomato) isn’t a game per say, but rather a time-management app! It’s made by Taiwanese developer Minus40 and subsequently launched in September 2020, that incorporated romance elements to draw people using the app, and me being a sucker for pretty art, I downloaded it. As the game is developed in traditional Chinese script, I will only provide a guide in the Game Mechanics section on how to go about using the app.  At first I’ve also considered translating the plot, but as the translation would basically give everything away and inevitably cause players to skip using the app, I decided to not translate the stories. Perhaps in the future once the app gains a considerable fanbase will the developers translate to English, but until that day comes, consider using the app as is! Now onto the review!   Game Plot  The app begins with a prologue describing your first day in the company where the characters work in. By choosing your first character to rom

  As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I tend to avoid games that require a high level of hand-eye coordination. But you know, there’s a lot of good games out there that need this skill, take Final Fantasy and Genshin Impact for example. I was ready to give up and avoid staring at the beautiful graphics when the Cat Quest went on sale in the App Store. For a short period of time it was free, and I caved in and downloaded it. How was it, you may ask? Well, read on to find out! Game Plot  The story begins in Felingard, set in the medieval age and where anthropomorphic cats exist. All is well and perfect until the dragons attack, of course. The only cat that can defeat the dragons – Dragonblood. But one day the Dragonblood disappeared, and the rest of the cats were left to defend themselves against the dragons. You play as the protagonist, who sets off to rescue his catnapped sister and subsequently discovers that he’s a Dragonblood! Together, you will embark on a journey to discover th

As an avid fan of visual novels and make-your-own-choices games, I came across Surviving High School and later Cause of Death. Well, even though Surviving High School and Cause of Death no longer exist in the App Store, the plot twist was that its developer Pixelberry actually released Choices now years later ! But how does Choices fare in comparison with its older games? Game Plot  Choices host a number of titles in the app, so the quality of the plot is dependent on each title. There are a variety of genres, such as romantic comedy, slice-of-life, fantasy, etc. If you’re ever lost on what to read next, check out the comment section in the wikia fandom here ! Verdict (4/5) The titles I’ve read so far are pretty good. I highly recommend High School Story and its 3 seasons. For standalone stories, Veil of Secrets is a mystery title that is packed full of suspense and action, with a tinge of romance sprinkled to keep the stakes high. Character Diversity & Personality  With so many t

  Ah, Disney. I remember growing up with Disney movies, be it the princesses or the Pixar movies. I will say that I prefer the movies released in the 1990s and early 2000s, before Disney decided to take the 3D-fying route with its animation. A real shame, but understandable all the same. Anyway! I came across this game in the Play Store and decided to give it a go, so read on for the full review! Game Plot A magic storm mysteriously appears and strikes the Disney realms. The aftermath is disastrous, and the princesses require your help in repairing their kingdoms. There are also questions on the origin of the magic storm that remains to be answered – who is behind the storm, and why? Verdict (4/5) The initial stage mainly deals with the aftermaths, and yet to touch on the origins of the storm. Currently the main issue is the lack of new updates, which hopefully Disney will get around correcting it soon! Character Diversity & Personality There are 4 main realms: Mulan’s, Jasmine’s,

It’s hard to believe that this is a mere beta game, especially with such a wonderful premise! The premise is that players will run a sanctuary caring for old dogs, and the best part – it’s inspired by a real life dog sanctuary! Read on to see the full review below!   Game Plot New town, new beginnings! You have just arrived in the nick of time to start an old dog sanctuary – with your first dog Mack! Each dog has its own storyline, and at a point in their story you will unlock the next dog and so on. All the dogs are based off real life dogs in Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, and you can also check out their real life adventures through the game’s official Facebook here . Verdict (5/5) I love the premise, and even more so the individuality in each dog’s story.  There are points in time in the story where you have to make a choice, which does influence how the dog will react to your choices. Unlike otome and romance simulation games, there is no clear indication on how the choices yo