Ann Achronist: Many Happy Returns

Pros: - really unique mechanics - great writing - gripping storyline - stayed up all night to finish it Cons: - not always clear what to do next - later puzzles are really hard - having to repeat a day if you make a mistake - stayed up all night to finish it

I picked this up on sale and then spent quite a lot of time completing it in a couple of days. I thought it was really charming and quirky and I enjoyed the time travelling mechanic. Recommended!

A fun little game to play, though challenging. Sometimes it's not clear what to do next, so the only thing you can do is try different things and pay attention to what people are saying and doing.

A really good first showing from the developer. The dialogue and characters are the highlight, and I especially liked and sympathised with the main character Ana, her struggle and desire for a better life while not really knowing what that entailed was something I think most people can understand. The game takes place entirely within one village, with multiple 'endings' everytime you manage to change the course of Ana's present, being able to unlock more things to do in the village as you gain more Ana's with more abilities. I'll be honest, I never knew I'd be so excited to unlock the ability to read. I don't want to get into the story because I really think the game is far more enjoyable if you play it yourself without any guides or any idea where the story is heading. I will say, getting your palm read and asking for guidance in the village are good ways to find out what you can do next to complete more quests and unlock more abilities. Definitely happy with my money spent.

Good.

Disclosure: Daniel Carter is my bff and I got to playtest and watch this game go from a half-formed idea to a really polished adorable narrative adventure. It was crazy cool. The central premise of the game is that you have one day in the past which you replay repeatedly with new skillsets to work your way through a series of progressively better outcomes for yourself in the present. You even canonically retain your knowledge of each iteration in-universe. It actually reminded me a little bit of Virtue's Last Reward which has a similar parallel timelines mechanic, and VLR is one of my favorite games ever! Anyways, so the objectives revolve mostly around not-so-subtly influencing the life of one of your ancestors and returning to the present to see how that affects Ann's life. It's rarely all peaches and roses though, since cause and effect is unpredictable, and hence the need to keep going back to fix your progressively weirder messes. The writing is full of heart, and the characters all have their own fun and unique personalities. There's one stand-out in particular, but I'll leave you to figure out who that is on your own :) The setting is really flavorful as well, and a lot…