In Tidbits we cover games that are difficult to cover in our regular review template. In this Tidbits we review Voyage, SokoChess and LOUD.
Voyage | 73% – Voyage is a Limbo-like side-scrolling narrative adventure that you can play alone or with a co-op partner. You solve simple puzzles while exploring nice hand-drawn environments accompanied by gorgeous music. It’s not at all challenging and you’ll beat it in under 1h30, but it’s a fun ride while it lasts and comes at a cheap price. Also, very much worth mentioning is the stellar soundtrack, something about the music here just makes me feel totally chill. For all you achievement hunters it will also be nice to hear that you can’t miss any achievements so this is an easy 1000G. The ending also managed to blindside me with an emotional twist. The only negative I’d have to bring up, other than its short runtime (which is fine by me, to be honest) is that I couldn’t figure out the controls and what I had to do at the very start of the game. You’ll have to move a lot of big statues with two tiny humans and I instinctively thought they wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the feats they actually achieve during the game. You can watch my playthrough here.
Written by: Robby
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
SokoChess | 75% – As the name implies, SokoChess is a chess-based game in which you control chess pieces on an unconventional board. It’s not straightforward chess since you have to move enemy pieces into certain locations determined by each stage. The tough part is that the opponent doesn’t push you; instead, it eliminates your pieces from the game like it would in a standard chess game. Since I’m not the best at Sokoban or Chess games, I can only blame myself for the fact that I was only able to complete 29 of the 70 stages. Nevertheless, I believe that adding a hint system would make the game more accessible. It is a minimalist game with classical music playing in the background, so there’s not much to say about its graphics or music. The game is kept fresh by new mechanics like locks that open when you collect a key, pawns being promoted to queens, shields that save your pieces from being eliminated, and various chess pieces being implemented throughout. If like me, you are unable to complete a level, you may go back as many turns as you wish, retry the level, or skip it altogether. SokoChess is an intriguing puzzle game that combines chess pieces and their respective movements with Sokoban in a complex way, if you’re good at Sokoban games and/or chess, it is worth giving it a try.
Written by: Colombo
Reviewed on: PC
LOUD | 70% – My first thought when I noticed this game: Guitar Hero is back. LOUD brings you a little story about a teenage girl who doesn’t like the growing-up element of life. To escape this thought she turns to the thing she loves the most: playing guitar. In this game, we follow her on the road to success. From starting in a garage to signing to a label, we get to follow her on her entire journey. The game isn’t long or that complicated, but it’s a story that gets to you. The gameplay itself isn’t that hard either. You use six buttons and press them at the right time. LOUD offers 4 difficulty levels and 13 tracks to play. And if you complete the story mode, which probably takes you around an hour or so, you will unlock one more song to play in free mode. The art style of this little game is quite basic but it fulfills its purpose. It also offers a scoring system where you can see how many points you have collected so you can compare between friends who did better. It’s a bit like guitar hero but simpler and with homemade songs. LOUD definitely gives you a good time, even if it’s rather short.
Written by: Michael
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch
Robby lives and breathes video games. When he’s not playing them, he’s talking about them on social media or convincing other people to pick up a controller themselves. He’s online so often, he could practically list the internet as his legal domicile. Belgian games-industry know-it-all.
