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Velvet Crowe

velvet_crowe
Member Since
03 Jun 2010
N/A
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1212
ratings
1212
Games
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0
collections
3
Recent ratings
3228
Minireviews
113
Starred reviews
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1212
Games
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3
Recent ratings
3228
Minireviews
113
Starred reviews
Bio: Former journalist, invested in humanities, fitness, and consuming garbage. Probably one of the few Criticker users who actually read comics and plays competitive video games. Subtlety is overrated. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/176986912-drew https://twitter.com/DrewStr56396515
Recent Ratings
78 76%
Bookworm (2003) - Rated 13 Nov 2026
A pretty cool merger of Scrabble and Bejeweled which I think is elevated by how much foresight you need to play this game well. It's cool how many solutions there can be on a given board and how the rng causes you to have a lot of divergent solutions. I kinda wish they game spawned the red pieces faster but this is a pretty satisfying and strongly replayable game.
88 93%
Little Goody Two Shoes (2023) - Rated 12 Nov 2026
I came to this after playing Pocket Mirror and it's pretty jarring how different it is tonally. But after experiencing the ending, I'd actually recommend going through Pocket Mirror first before because this game provides so much extra depth to what Pocket Mirror is and it also makes you appreciate what this title does more. When it comes to the moment to moment, I actually think it's less engaging than Pocket Mirror. The general gameplay loop... - Full Review
90 95%
Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum (2023) - Rated 12 Nov 2026
Pocket Mirror is absolutely beautiful visually. Not only on the use of colors and elaborately detailed setpieces but also in its use of lighting. So much of its disturbing scenes gain so much form by how it uses light to create uncertainty around its areas and to convey a sense of tragic destruction. It's also really nice looking just as a contrast to the vibrant colors a lot of the game uses, and often the difference between and danger feeling... - Full Review
72 63%
The Bunker (2016) - Rated 01 Oct 2026
A lot of people seem to hate this because its interactivity is low and I do think that's a valid criticism. The only time you really have to engage with it is the numberpad at the end and the solution to that is extremely tedious. I'm not above appreciating "story games" like this but I also think this game is overly limited in what you can actually interact with or discover through exploration. It's extremely railroaded in a way that makes the... - Full Review
57 41%
Judero (2024) - Rated 01 Oct 2026
I'm a pretty big fan of Jack Spooner, but I also come at this acknowledging that his strengths aren't really in making fun games. Judero is his attempt at making a more conventional game as opposed to his usual glorified walking sims with maybe a light gameplay element here or there. This game I do think displays some talent for game design but I feel it's a case of Spooner being more interested in his quirky aesthetic and thematic vision than... - Full Review
57 41%
Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013) - Rated 23 Aug 2026
A lot of neat novelties but god if this isn't tedious to play. Most maps start off with you running away from enemy swarms until you get enough resources to nuke them. EVERY map plays out the exact same way and there isn't any diversity in units in how they can utilize terrain or map layouts. But man, it's weird how much I like the in between the battles and boring map screen. Really makes me wish there was a better game built around that because it's the one thing I actually enjoy here.
58 43%
Paper Perjury (2024) - Rated 16 Aug 2026
Paper Perjury is interesting in that it never dwells much on its establishment. It takes its cues from Phoenix Wright and its inspirations, but those titles typically spend a lot of time establishing their overarching hook before it gets going on their mystery. Phoenix Wright needed to nail how important Mia Fey is, Danganronpa had to establish its cast and death game, Aviary Attorney had to weave in its setting, etc. Here the establishment barely matters; the only thing that matters is the base - Full Review
72 63%
Overboard! (2021) - Rated 12 Aug 2026
Kind of a trial and error thing to piece together the optimal routes and I do think it gets kinda tiring to go through the same steps every time to figure out a new piece of the puzzle but I feel it's eventful and short enough to not over stay its welcome.
90 95%
Fire Emblem: Illuminated (2025) - Rated 01 May 2026
What makes this incredible is that on top the maps having a lot of cool gimmicks and playing with a lot of cool setpieces it also a phenomenal narrative. The lead characters relationship lands but the supporting cast all have a solid narrative beats that make the whole party have value. Limiting the party to 16 units is rough for iron man runs but I feel if you're willing to accept playing this without doing so it's possibly one of if not the best romhacks for hte game you can find.
64 51%
Fire Emblem Call of the Armor (2021) - Rated 01 May 2026
The most interesting thing about this is the novel way it was produced. But it's also GBA FE at its bare minimum mechanically, and the level design was all over the place. Levels could have some obnoxious reinforcements that are poorly telegraphed while others are at best passable route maps. Units are poorly balanced which is probably to justify itself trying to be iron man friendly but over compensating for iron man runs is just really lame in my view. Story is forgettable.