StartMenu
startmenu is a website dedicated to mentoring the next generation of games media. Since 2019 it has fostered a community of talented writers and helped dozens of people break into the industry.
Latest Reviews
Avorion
To really enjoy Avorion, you have to be willing to dive headfirst into its world. The writing and plot give you a vague direction to go in, but once you jet off into the stars with this sandbox you have to get invested in your own path. Aviorion does a...
World's End Club
It’d be very easy to just demand Kodaka and Uchikoshi stick to what they know best and pump out another Battle Royale or Saw-inspired visual novel, but it’s clear they want to explore other genres and try different things. That’s great as they clearly have a lot of ideas they...
The Ramp
That was just a glimpse at what is in store with Sable before it comes out later this year. It remains to be seen if this fantastic vertical slice can be sustained through the rest of the game, however long it may be in the end. But already I feel...
Sable
That was just a glimpse at what is in store with Sable before it comes out later this year. It remains to be seen if this fantastic vertical slice can be sustained through the rest of the game, however long it may be in the end. But already I feel...
Resident Evil Village
To me though, the major difference is in execution. RE 4 is one of the greatest games ever but it is hard to argue that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Whereas Village is short and beautiful, it continues the franchise’s story and leaves you with answers to questions you never...
Gnosia
Petit Depotto deserves a great deal of recognition for successfully making one of the most enjoyable and intriguing games we’ve had the fortune to play in years. It’s already a game of the year contender and it’s frankly a miracle that it was able to escape from being a Japanese...
Boomerang Fu
All-in-all, Boomerang Fu is a great little party piece. It’s heaps of fun in short bursts, the sprites are adorable, and the mechanics are, for the most part, well-crafted. While there’s nothing inherently bad about the game, it feels a little light on content. I’d really like to see more...
Persona 5 Strikers
Persona 5 Strikers retains much of what made Persona 5 such a brilliant game with few damaging compromises. The combat is stylishly fluid, the story carries over the hard-hitting themes of the original game, and its music is as brilliant as ever. Combat does get overwhelming at points and the...
Balan Wonderworld
The £50 price tag for the full game doesn’t help either. Do you want to know what else you can get for £50? Super Mario Odyssey, which literally does everything that Balan Wonderworld does but 100 times better and has a lot more content to boot. It’s harsh to compare...
YesterMorrow
YesterMorrow had a lot of potential to really flesh out its time travel aspect but it is either using it too much in some areas, making it feel like a gimmick, or not using it enough in protracted areas with no NPCs or puzzles to interact with. For example, when...
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond
We thought about making the subhead of this review, “What is old is new again” but that could be almost any Pokémon game if we are honest. We welcome Kyle Moffat to the site to break down what has changed and what hasn’t for BD and SP.
Ben and Dan’s games have been talking about the impending doom of the planet for a little while, but the recurring theme really hit home this year. For indie developers, it’s always a struggle to release games on the horizon of a new console generation, but with the addition of...











