Try-It Tuesday: ALLOGLOOM

Posted on October 13, 2026 by J.L. Hilton

ALLOGLOOM is a mysterious and macabre single-player point-and-click puzzle adventure described as “whimsical horror,” with beautiful golden flesh-eating moths, an adorable man-eating spider named Daisy, a half-human child queen who keeps her brother’s head in a freezer next to the ice cream, and cutesy cosmic horrors with giant gnarly toenails.

The game is like a cross between Addams Family and Brigadoon, with a goth Alice-in-Wonderland heroine who seems only mildly bothered by the bizarre, tragic and disturbing events around her. Nora lives in Gruesome Grove with her father and brother. Her mother is missing, somehow, despite the fact that no one is allowed to leave, and her grandmother keeps grandpa’s head mounted to the tree outside the front door.

I’ve wanted to play this game ever since I saw the trailer. I loved the art style and intriguing imagery, and was thrilled to be offered an advance review key on Steam so I could be one of the very first players. And now that I’ve played it, ALLOGLOOM definitely joins my list of favorite indie games, along with Wytchwood and Strange Antiquities, which have a similar grim fairy tale vibe.

All of the backgrounds, characters and objects in ALLOGLOOM are handpainted by solo developer Kate of Galactic Ghosty, and it features an original soundtrack by Kim Miller. The unique story kept me guessing right up to the epilogue. I couldn’t wait to have my questions answered but I also didn’t want the game to end.

ALLOGLOOM is rated “M” for mature, due to violence, blood and gore. I don’t recall any swearing, romance or sexual content, but there’s definitely body horror, taxidermy and dark humor.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Game Night: BOX ONE & BOX TWO

Posted on June 6, 2026 by J.L. Hilton

I recently found BOX ONE and BOX TWO for only $5 each in my local thrift store, 100% complete, no pieces missing. They normally retail for $34.95 and $39.95 respectively.

BOX ONE and BOX TWO are similar to the “escape room in a box” games I’ve played, but with an online/interactive component. In BOX ONE, you’re not actually escaping a room yourself but can help someone else escape, and BOX TWO has no escape but the puzzles are similar to those you’d find in an escape room experience.

My husband and I spent about two hours completing each box, for a total of four hours, over the course of two days. Both BOX ONE and BOX TWO can be completed by one person, but also work well with a couple or small group.

Some of the puzzles require household items, so I don’t recommend taking this to a beach, park picnic or car trip. The games can be a bit confusing and fiddly at times, especially BOX ONE which often left me wondering what to do next and BOX TWO didn’t account for my ability to figure things out ahead of the prompts. But overall I enjoyed the creativity and clever design of both games.

My biggest criticism is that a few of the puzzles require much better eyesight than I possess, even with my bifocals, but luckily there are hints available online.

Best of all, they can be reset and regifted to someone else, because there are no components that must be destroyed in order to progress.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: BRIEFCASE

Posted on May 12, 2026 by J.L. Hilton

BRIEFCASE is a puzzle game created by a single developer and inspired by the Resident Evil 4 inventory system. I received a free Steam key from the developer and this video contains my honest opinions and reactions while playing the game for the first time, completing all 50/50 puzzles and gaining all 6/6 achievements.

This one is similar to Tidy Backpack, another game I played and enjoyed, but with a noir thriller theme rather than medieval fantasy. The puzzles are similar to tangrams, with 2D objects that can be rotated or flipped to fit into a given area.

It took me about four hours to complete BRIEFCASE, but the video is edited of course.

BRIEFCASE released in April 2026 and sells for $3.99 on Steam. Any game that costs less than a movie rental and gives me at least two hours of entertainment is totally worth it, imo.

I couldn’t find an ESRB rating, but I’d say “T for teens” due to the weapons and cigarettes in the game, and the complexity of the puzzles.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: A PLANET FULL OF CATS

Posted on April 14, 2026 by J.L. Hilton

A PLANET FULL OF CATS is another hidden object adventure from Devcats, the only indie game developer I support on Patreon because I enjoy their games and support their goal of spreading love, appreciation and information about cats.

See my Devcats playlist on YouTube

A PLANET FULL OF CATS is Devcats biggest and most ambitious game yet, with thousands of hidden cats and objects, and several secret areas. The science fiction outer space theme is a great setting for a Full of Cats game, and I had a lot of fun.

But the game does have a few issues. I didn’t get locked out of any quests and I didn’t encounter any bugs like some players, but I did find the game confusing at times. The devs have already made several changes to address these issues, and I know they’ll learn a lot from player feedback to improve this and future games, because the Devcats are good like that.

Just keep in mind that A PLANET FULL OF CATS is a little more complicated than the average hidden object game. Described on Steam as “metroidvania-style exploration,” this means there’s more than just a collection of scenes with hidden cats to point and click. There’s a whole map to explore, gear and abilities to discover, and a lot of backtracking to previously inaccessible areas. It’s less casual and requires more attention and critical thinking, or in my case luck, than some of the previous Devcats games.

I couldn’t find an ESRB rating for this game but I’d say it’s “E” for everyone. There are some cartoon alien monsters and a bit of combat with a laser in the final boss battle, but no blood, gore, sex, language, illegal substances or anything like that.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: TCG CARD SHOP SIMULATOR

Posted on February 24, 2026 by J.L. Hilton

I opened my own gaming store this week in TCG CARD SHOP SIMULATOR, released September 2024 by OPNeon Games, a solo developer based in Selangor, Malaysia, who turned his love of card collecting into a fun $12.99 PC game.

Players decorate, organize, expand, upgrade, price and order merch, pay bills, work the register, hire employees and run card tournaments in the shop. A big part of the gameplay is ripping open card packs, then selling the valuable cards found inside or bundling the less valuable cards into bulk boxes.

It can be a challenge to keep customers satified and shelves stocked, but the biggest challenge of all is dealing with B.O.

I can’t find ESRB info for this game but from what I’ve seen, I’d rate it “E 10+” for everyone age ten and up. There’s no violence or inappropriate dialogue, there’s not much dialogue at all, but you do need some basic reading and math skills. TCG CARD SHOP SIMULATOR is a great game for kids ages 10 and up to practice math and learn about economics.

UPDATE JUNE 4, 2026: I played the game on my own for a few months and made another video to show what new products and features I unlocked in that time.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Glass Masquerade 4: Constellations long-play video

Posted on November 18, 2025 by J.L. Hilton

Developer Onyx Lute recently released the fourth game in its Glass Masquerade series, GLASS MASQUERADE: CONSTELLATIONS, with beautiful music, tinkling sounds and 28 new puzzles.

In the past, I’ve made separate videos of each individual puzzle in the Glass Masquerade games. But every time I play, my husband mentions how soothing he finds the music and sound effects, and he often falls asleep while I’m playing or editing.

So, this time, I decided to combine all of the puzzles into one long video, without commentary or mid-roll ads, so that people (including my husband) could put it on to relax and/or fall asleep. Of course, you can also stay awake to watch me assemble the works of stained-glass art, which revolve around space and science fiction themes.

If you play GM4, there’s a choice of easy or difficult modes, and you can choose classic stained glass cuts, if you’re a fan of the older games in the series. There are also options to have your pieces cut using the chemistry, shards, honeycomb and random shapes from the previous game Glass Masquerade 3: Honeylines.

There are some beautiful puzzles in GLASS MASQUERADE 4, and there are also some really weird ones that don’t make much sense to me. Previous games had titles to identify the artwork, which would’ve been helpful here.

If you’ve played all of the previous Glass Masquerade games and enjoyed them, then you’d probably enjoy this one, too. It’s more of the same, more or less.

GLASS MASQUERADE 4 was only available on Steam, when I checked the developer’s website. I can’t find a rating but I’d say “E” for everyone, though very young children might need some adults to assist. There’s no sex or violence, but some puzzles have the suggestion of nudity.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: HIDDEN DOGS IN THE DOG HOUSE

Posted on November 4, 2025 by J.L. Hilton

HIDDEN DOGS: IN THE DOG HOUSE is a 2025 hidden object game about dogs, with 15 hand-drawn levels. Developed by Admiral Egg Games, a new indie studio based in England.

I’ve played several hidden cat games by developers such as Devcats, Travellin Cats, Pine Studio, Sons of Welder and Peach Rain, but this was my first hidden dog game.

HIDDEN DOGS is similar in art and style to the “Full of Cats” series by Devcats. The story is about a dog named Labby and his furry friends who live in a quaint English village. There are 400 dogs and 159 objects to find, across several different scenes.

I thought this game was really sweet and perfect to play with children or grand-children. I look forward to another hidden dog game and hope it becomes a series.

UPDATE: A winter-themed expansion was released in December 2025, adding four new levels and a short storyline.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: DOLLMARE

Posted on October 28, 2025 by J.L. Hilton

DOLLMARE is a 2024 horror anomaly game about working in a creepy toy factory and sorting damaged dolls. I don’t usually like horror or play scary games, but this one really appeals to me for some reason, and it’s perfect for Halloween.

Usually, I go into a Try-It Tuesday game blind, but because of the horror aspects I watched a few DOLLMARE videos on YouTube, to see if the game would be okay for me. It’s still worth playing, even with a few spoilers, because the anomalies are random and every playthrough is a little bit different.

I love DOLLMARE and will continue to play, so I can experience the good and the bad endings, and endless mode, so check my YouTube channel for more videos.

DOLLMARE is available on PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/X/S and Switch. I haven’t been able to find an age rating but I would put it down as “T” for teens, due to blood and disturbing themes. Parental discretion advised for ages 12 and under. Even though they’re just dolls, I think they look enough like small children that some younger players might find the content upsetting and even traumatizing.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: STRANGE ANTIQUITIES

Posted on October 21, 2025 by J.L. Hilton

STRANGE ANTIQUITIES is part puzzle game, part escape room, part Gothic horror, set in the Victorian village of Undermere. I played the free demo and had such a good time, I went straight to Steam and bought the full game.

My STRANGE ANTIQUITIES playthrough on YouTube

In this cozy little slice of Dark Academia, you work for Eli White, the proprietor of an occult shop, selling and studying magical jewelry, relics, boxes and other artifacts. Eli has frequent business elsewhere, for various plot-related reasons, and you are left alone to assist the afflicted, cursed and increasingly disturbed and distrurbing residents of Undermere.

The items in the shop remind me a lot of the unique finds and handmade jewelry I sell on my website, JunkWitch.com. I also love a good story and solving puzzles, so this game ticks many of my boxes.

STRANGE ANTIQUITIES is the 2025 sequel to Strange Horticulture, a game I definitely want to play now. Both were developed by Bad Viking, a pair of brothers based in the UK.

Available for PC and Switch.

Rated E10+ for everyone ten and up, due to mild fantasy violence and mild language, but I think it’s more along the lines of PG-13. There are some dark and disturbing themes within the game, including murder, eldritch horror, old gods, human sacrifice, insanity, and animals in peril.

~ J.L. Hilton

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Try-It Tuesday: HAPPY GAME

Posted on October 14, 2025 by J.L. Hilton

HAPPY GAME is a 2021 singleplayer point-and-click horror adventure by Amanita Design, makers of Machinarium, Chuchel and Pilgrims, all games I’ve played and enjoyed in the past. I love their unique, creative style of gameplay and graphics.

“Happy Game is not a happy game,” warn the developers as the game begins, and HAPPY GAME is definitely not silly like Chuchel or charming like Machinarium. It is a psychedelic nightmare.

Available for PC, mac and Nintendo Switch. Rated “T” for teens, due to blood and violence.

~ J.L. Hilton

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