It feels like video games are coming out more often than ever, and that’s why we’re starting the Waypoint Mini Review Roundup. It allows us to chat about games we’ve been playing, as well as hoping to give some smaller titles the recognition they deserve. And for this first annual edition? We’ve got quite the lineup of games to talk about. From horror to puzzlers, and maybe a bit of Schedule I for good measure, we’re here to chat about the smaller games we’ve been playing lately.
Finding Frankie- Deadly Parkour in a Twisted Playplace (Mini Review)
I’d seen Finding Frankie clips all over the internet for a few months now, as PC players were streaming them and clipping their reactions to it. You know how popular the jumpscare content has gotten. But I never really got a sense for how fun the game was either way. Well, now Finding Frankie is on consoles, and I gotta say, it’s a mostly good time. But it’s definitely a bite-sized experience. For starters, the gameplay is solid. There were a couple of times when the camera and I didn’t get along while trying to execute a couple of jumps, but it wasn’t often.
The game does a great job of operating with a level of tension for the short time you’re playing. This is a game you can see the end of in about 2 hours. There are leaderboards for the console versions, and the PC versions will come later this year, so a lot of the replay value comes down to how long you want to spend competing against other people’s times. Overall, it’s a cool game and one I enjoyed playing, but I don’t see myself coming back to it. – Anthony Franklin II
Verdict: Recommended
Finding Frankie is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Xbox Series S.
The Talos Principle: Reawakened- Apparently the Meaning of Life is Not 42 (Mini Review)
The Talos Principle: Reawakened is a remaster of the classic first-person puzzle game released back in 2014. Reawakened was rebuilt with Unreal Engine 5, getting new textures and more. The expansion Road to Gehenna is also here, and there’s a new chapter called In the Beginning that focuses on the origins of the simulation. The original game was loved for its intricate puzzles and even more intricate narrative that posed more than a few interesting philosophical questions. It’s a game that makes you think in more than one way.
The remaster is no different, and it is absolutely the definitive version of the game. This time around, it features a puzzle editor, which I’m sure the community is going crazy for. I can’t wait to see what people cook up. The remaster has lost none of what made the original game great. Each puzzle still requires both patience and genuine thought. And the bits of story and lore you get throughout remain as engaging as they were over 10 years ago. At no point did I ever feel like I was playing something dated. This is a worthwhile experience for puzzle game lovers who haven’t experienced it and for those who have already run the game through its paces the first time around. – Anthony Franklin II
Verdict: Highly Recommended
The Talos Principle: Reawakened is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.
The Cecil: The Journey Begins – An Interesting Premise Can’t Make Up for the Optimization Woes This Journey Faces (Mini Review)
The Cecil: The Journey Begins has an excellent premise. A date night gone terribly wrong, and your lover has gone missing. It’s up to you to peruse through The Cecil, the titular hotel, in search of Sarah. And while the location and the premise of the game are great, the optimization leaves a lot to be desired in its current state. I’m playing with a 4060 Ti, a card that is well above the currently recommended specs, and I’m encountering an unfortunate amount of stuttering and frame drops. I’m able to play The Outlast Trails at a pretty substantial framerate, and The Cecil: The Journey Begins is struggling hard.
If these performance issues do get patched out, however? The Cecil: The Journey Begins has a lot of potential. There’s a sequel hook at the end of the game, and I’d be more than happy to embark on another journey in this particular location. I just really hope that the development team can iron out these current performance issues before they consider jumping on the sequel bandwagon. – Shaun Cichacki
Verdict: Wait for a Sale
The Cecil: The Journey is available now on PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review.
‘VRChat’ in 2025 is Utterly Incredibly (Especially For Weeb Degens) (Mini Review)
I really think people are sleeping on VRChat in 2025. I’ve been falling in love with the experience all over again. The sheer number of avatar models are crazy. Want to be a robot girl? You can do that. Want to be an anime devil girl? You can do that too. Oh, and if you want to be a tacticool maid running around with a pistol shooting at your friends? Yup, that’s an option too. VRChat has a lot to offer in today’s day and age, and the experience is only becoming more immersive with the advent of Quest 3 finger tracking and pseudo-full body tracking in Virtual Desktop.
And all that isn’t even discussing the lewder side of VRChat. You can get a glimpse of a glimpse into that just by browsing through the VRChat category on Twitch. Girls gyrating with full-body tracking for their eager audience? Yup, welcome to the VRC experience in 2025.
Don’t get me wrong. Even though VRC is playable on desktop, enjoying the social environment in VR is still pretty costly. Getting a new Quest 3 can cost $500 alone, and for the best experience, you’ll also need a gaming computer and some familiarity with Unity. But man. In terms of third spaces, embodied digital social experiences, and pretending to be a cute girl doing cute things over the internet, VRChat can’t be beat. Case in point, here’s me as one of my favorite avatars, Torinyan’s Ranu. Just be prepared for all the gradual costs that come with achieving true VR immersion. – Ana Valens
Verdict: Highly Recommended
VR Chat is available now on Steam and Meta Quest.
Captured – With a Sequel on the Horizon, ‘Captured’ Captured my Attention quickly (Mini Review)
Admittedly, I have a bit of a soft spot for anomaly-spotting games. Games like The Exit 8 and Finnish Cottage 8 have taken up far more of my time than I’d like to admit. So when I heard that Captured was getting a sequel, I needed to boot this one up and give it a try. And it’s one of the most genuinely terrifying experiences that I’ve had playing a game. Kudos to solo-dev Puck for making that happen.
It doesn’t matter if I’m just walking through a hallway, trying to capture a creature on camera. Seeing Run at the bottom of my screen with no other context is enough to give me some heart palpitations any day of the week. Captured is best played with headphones on and the lights off. Oh, and make sure you’ve got a clean pair of underwear nearby. You’ll thank me later for that. Visually stunning and full of genuinely creepy moments, Captured has me more than excited for its second coming. – Shaun Cichacki
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Captured is available now on PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review.
Schedule 1 – Drug Dealer Sim Lets You Live Out Your Breaking Bad Dreams Without the Guilt
Like many folks, I first discovered Schedule 1 through the myriad of viral clips of the game on TikTok and YouTube. While I’ve never had any interest in drug-dealing sims, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the game’s goofy-ass Rick and Morty-style graphics and ridiculous gameplay. And after playing it for numerous hours—yeah, the game totally lives up to the hype! Is it janky? Sure. Does it have a shoestring budget? Absolutely. But what Schedule 1 lacks in production value, it more than makes up for with its addictively fun mechanics. Plus, I don’t care what genre it is—there’s just something satisfying about games that follow a rags-to-riches campaign. In the case of Schedule 1, you go from a trashy backwoods RV to a small-town drug kingpin. Incredibly, this $20 indie title has given me more enjoyment than many major AAA games released in 2025.
Shoestring Budget or Not, ‘Schedule 1 is Where It’s At
One of the best features of Schedule 1 is the ridiculous mixtures of drugs you can produce, which result in insane effects. Want your customers to piss and vomit all over themselves? You totally can. Want to turn them into a glowing green one-eyed alien? Yep, that’s in here. You can even set NPCs’ hair on fire or turn them into walking supernova bombs. All of this should be dark stuff—yet the game’s memeable art style turns everything into comedic gold. Schedule 1 gets even better in co-op with a friend, as it becomes a pure chaos simulator. But above all else, Schedule 1 is actively being updated by developer TVGS, who continues to improve the indie title every month with various quality-of-life features. There’s a reason Schedule 1 continues to remain in Steam’s top-five most played games charts even a month after launch: it’s just that good. So if you even have a remote interest in it, I can’t recommend Schedule 1 enough. – Brent Koepp
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Schedule I is available now on Steam in Early Access. A copy was purchased by the reviewer.
Star Overdrive – The Vibes Are impeccable, and The Hoverboard Is Slick as Hell (Mini Review)
Star Overdrive is incredibly fun to play. It’s easy to pick up and play, and the thought of having a game like this on the go is great. It wears its modern-day Zelda inspiration on its sleeves, all while not being afraid to form a personality of its own. Sure, it can get a little repetitive after a while, and there are some janky sections, but the overall game is worth checking out if you’re a fan of open-world exploration.
The biggest thing to note here is how well the Hoverboard controls. Zipping around the planet is a joy and a half. Throw on some music and just set out for a cruise, and you’ve got a great time on your hands. And the Switch version of the game does run rather well, even with a large world to explore. If you’ve been searching for something to scratch that Zelda itch, you can’t do much better than Star Overdrive. – Shaun Cichacki
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Star Overdrive is available now on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review.
Mind Keeper – Much More Than a Pretty Face, This Tower Defense Roguelike Has a Lot Going for It (Mini Review)
Mind Keeper is one of those games that took me completely by surprise. Tower defense on a 2D plane, with creatures that look like they were created from sketches in my high-school notebook? Sign me right up. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of tower defense games, but the style of this one immediately caught my attention. And I’m glad that it did, because these ideas were done tremendously well.
As a debut title for Blackwing Games, Mind Keeper is a brilliant game. It’s approachable, easy to decipher, and offers plenty of layers for those ready to dive deeper into its mechanics. Great for those who aren’t particularly knowledgeable in the genre, or those who want to learn more, Mind Keeper is one of those games that just shattered my expectations in all of the right ways. And it’s just plain gorgeous to look at.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Mind Keeper is available now on PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review.
‘CrazyCattle3D’ Shears Away Any Game That Dares to Compete with Its Brilliance (MAXIMUM REVIEW)
I was going to skip Waypoint’s Mini Review Debut Extravaganza (unofficial name) due to the current games I’m playing still being under embargo. But, then I remembered something, and that’s where the trouble began. That sheep. That damned sheep.
CrazyCattle3D emerged out of nowhere, a creation by its solo developer known simply as ‘anna’. I like to think it was crafted in Hell, though, and anna is secretly a demonic entity toying with humanity’s deepest primal instincts. Cattle tipping. Sheep explosions. Destroying your enemies and reigning terror over the farmland as its rightful heir.
There’s no fancy mechanics in CrazyCattle3D. And there doesn’t need to be. No shooting, no jumping, certainly no building. No, this is a battle royale in its purest, most animalistic form. You slide across frictionless grass and bonk your opposition on their side while staying firmly planted with four hooves down. Survive the livestock mosh pit, and you’ll emerge victorious. Tip over, and you’ll fucking explode. But you’re not going to explode, because you’re meant for greatness. Just like CrazyCattle3D – the best game ever made.
The wool’s no longer over my eyes. Nay, the wool is now a part of my flesh. I will claim my place in this war-torn pasture. Yes, I am crazy. I am the cattle. Now, I am the sheep. – Matthew “Big Scoop Magoop” Vatankhah
Verdict: Best in its Class
CrazyCattle3D is available to download now on itch.io.
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