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leonbastralle · 10 months ago

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GAMES I PLAYED IN 2023 - FIRST HALF-ISH

i've been seeing a lot of this in gif form but i do not have the energy or video material and also i'm late but i rly wanted to make a post where i say a lil bit abt all the games i played and how i liked them!

pokemon platinum, soulsilver, white, white 2, y, sun, alpha sapphire & shield: i started a big mainline pokemon marathon in 2022 but most of it fell on 2023. it was a lovely time tbh and i miss it! platinum was a bit too grindy (but we love cynthia) and soulsilver traumatised me for glitch reasons. my favorites out of this lineup were definitely gen 5 in terms of storyline and pokemon selection, the later ones were a bit too handholdy and slow for my taste, and alpha sapphire could not compete w the og emerald which is my favorite pokemon game of all time. i did rly love shield though but that's bc i'm a) a football girl and b) i played it on my wife's sofa askfjhkasjf. anyway music is bangers all around and i do love The Concept of pokemon so i didn't hate any of them.

lonely people potion shop: this was an absolute surprise indie gem that i found on my wife's itch.io in 2022 but i replayed it for her in 2023 so it counts. this game is a rly short very fruity visual novel where you make potions for people and chat with them. it's one of the most heartwarming and gentle games i've played, every character is so lovely and caring towards each other and also to you the player! 100% would recommend i cried a bit several times.

validate: i really wanted to love this game because a dating sim/visual novel/narrative fiction type game w a super diverse cast (in terms of backgrounds, body types, gender, sexuality, and mental health struggles) and such a lovely art style? sounds perfect! and it would be if the characters weren't so...unlikeable sjfhaksjfa. it eventually got so difficult for me to root for them and also kind of frustrating bc the routes overlap in a way that even if you get good outcomes in one route, you can still mess up the relationship in a different route (because you have routes for each of the characters) so i ended up not finishing it.

neo cab: another one i never finished but was rly intrigued by! another visual novel but choices matter type deal where you play as a taxi driver in a dystopian world where you're being replaced by self driving taxis. the mechanics and cast are really cool and if the storyline didn't stress me out so much i would've finished it by now but i definitely will one day!

coffee talk 1/2: barista simulator meets visual novel in an urban fantasy setting where you also kinda save the world one drink at a time! i loved the first one so so much and finally played it last year in preparation for the second one coming out that i'd been anxiously awaiting, it's so vibey and the characters and their storylines are so interesting and i loved seeing their heartfelt interactions! also the first game was giving such strong queer vibes but they kinda dropped the ball w that in the second game trying to backtrack on that. ruined the experience for me a little bit but still a very solid game w cool additions to the already great cast of the first game!

skyrim: not much to say about that one. my favorite classic walking simulator that i keep coming back to, still very much playable and so pretty even on the switch! unfortunately also incredibly broken so i can't finish the solstheim questlines kjsfhkajsfas fuck you todd howard

calico: wonky little game where you explore the world and also bake and own a café that you can fill with all sorts of animals from cats to snow foxes to capybaras because why the fuck not! absolutely delightful, 10/10

later alligator: lovely little puzzle game w great old timey detective vibes and a banger soundtrack where everyone is alligators. these characters are such great fun, i loved the writing and i loved learning about all of them and doing tasks for them! the minigames got a bit frustrating at times bc i was lacking the coordination skills or just general strategy and there are some completionist things i could never do because of that and the main character (the main guy you're doing things for, not the player character) can get on your nerves pretty quickly but otherwise a lovely game w a great twist in my opinion

strange horticulture: this one made it into my all time favorites too. you play as the owner of a supernatural plant shop in a place where A Lot of strange things are going on. it has a bunch of really cool mechanics like plant identification and a lot of map related puzzles to find new plants, secrets etc. the overarching story that gets revealed bit by bit from an unknown person's pov outside of the gameplay while related events are also happening in real time was so interesting, and there are a lot of cool choices you can make that lead to various more or less unsettling outcomes. the spooky vibe is SO good but at the same time it has a very calming homey feel AND YOU CAN PET THE CAT 10000/10

penko park: another absolute indie banger. probably something like a pokemon snap but the beasties look fucking stupid and kinda creepy and the lore is cursed as hell. throughout the game you explore the remains of a park that was built upon the abuse of all sorts of cute little creatures (and big creatures) and while you mostly try to take pictures of every weird looking fella in their different emotional states that you bring upon them in various ways, maybe there's something you can do to right the wrongs of the park founders! who knows! (also special shoutout because these are german devs and as a german, i am especially demanding when it comes to german games and this one knocked it out of the park) (haha the park get it)

#my games #gaming year in review #idk how tf to tag this so im just gonna slap some random ones that ill hopefully be reusing eventually #theres a second part some other time bc i played too many games skjdhfksdf #it was the unemployment

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splashink-games · 1 year ago

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3 Cute DU&I Puzzle Games

Last year on my birthday, I completed the puzzle game Cats Organized Neatly by DU&I. This year, I completed their two other games: Dogs Organized Neatly and Feed All Monsters!

In Cats/Dogs Organized Neatly, you're tasked to fit the unfortunately shaped animals into the given area.

Mechanically, these games are really simple! You can place them and rotate them, but otherwise, you're on your own!

With how many differently shaped animals they included in each game, I'm surprised the Organized Neatly games only last 80 levels each (Feed All Monsters lasts 200 levels in comparison). Definitely wouldn't have minded more puzzles, but 80 is a good place to stop since the puzzles were getting difficult (for me) and it keeps the games pretty short.

In Feed All Monsters, you lead a team of food delivery workers in delivering food to hungry monsters.

The premise of the game is really fun. As well, the base mechanics are straightforward. Each worker has a maximum distance they can travel and a number of food they can bring. Like the Organized Neatly games, more mechanics are introduced as you progress. And while I liked the portals near the end, I particularly liked the water mechanics!

One thing I appreciate in Feed All Monsters apart from the Organized Neatly games is that it has hints for people like me who aren't that great at puzzle games.

The art style for all three games is on point. Love how soft everything looks and their use of colour in Feed All Monsters is great in making a friendly atmosphere. Cats/Dogs Organized Neatly has a clear colour theme that works well. Plus all the animals and monsters are great.

The music could get a bit grating if you're stuck on puzzles, but I suppose that's true with any puzzle game.

DU&I making some quality games here. They're very cute and pretty difficult (again, as someone who's not good at puzzle games). Would recommend for puzzle lovers or cat/dog lovers for their first two games.

As always,

Enjoy gaming!

#ink reviews #game review #game reviews list #Cats Organized Neatly #Dogs Organized Neatly #Feed All Monsters #video games #gaming

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theanimeview · 2 years ago

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[Game Review] Blanc: Two-Player Fun

GEARBOX Promotional Image

By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Blanc, on the Nintendo Switch, is a wonderful cozy game for a night-in playing with friends or a loved one. By playing with another, you can play through the whole game in about 2 to 3 hours as either the deer-fawn or wolf-cub (or even switching between the two). I recommend that you play with another person because the controls are more of a challenge when trying to navigate both characters at the same time, though you can play this game alone if you want.

Most of the game is a mix of navigation and puzzle-solving, both aspects evoke feelings similar to playing Journey. The music is gentle, and there is no rush to complete the game, so you and a partner can have fun exploring the map a little as you travel through the snow-covered grounds in search of your respective families who have seemingly traveled the same path. One part I liked a lot is the art style, which makes it feel like something sketched into a children's storybook.

Admittedly, the game has some messy controls, particularly if you are playing by yourself but also if you play as a team. For example, the biggest issue for me as I played the wolf character was that the pull button would often get stuck on two-player tasks, making it take twice as long to complete the task as my partner waited for my character to work. It felt like this aspect could use more polish, and I think that the way the camera follows the two characters could also use an update in the future, particularly as you near the end of the chapters and enter into cut scenes because the camera will linger behind and create blind spots. However, any frustration you might have isn't going to last because those moments of being "stuck" or having to backtrack will fade as quickly as your characters advance through the story and setting.

I was hesitant over the price tag because of how short of a game it is, but I'm actually very happy with the purchase. It was the perfect amount of time for my friend and I to really settle in and enjoy the experience without feeling like the puzzles were taking too long and without worrying that we would have to pause the game and find time to finish it later. At roughly $16, it was worth the price to be able to play this short, multi-player game. It was not violent like so many two-player games often are, and it was not made up of a bunch of overly complicated puzzles. Probably the most difficult challenges were the wind-related tasks, but even those go pretty quick. I can definitely see myself playing this multiple times with friends or family members during break.

As many of you may know, I am not much of a gamer. I prefer games to be really intuitive, meaning I want something that is easy to navigate and not complicated. This game was perfect for me because that's exactly what it is–simple, cute, and fun! Overall rating: 9 /10

#review #game #Blanc #nintendo switch #nintendo #gearbox

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snowhiss · 1 year ago

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Sigma's Game Recommendations

Hii, here's some of my game recommendations with a lil blurb on why.

Games are ordered relatively neutrally, except for this first section...

Life Altering

Undertale - Multi Platform - RPG - Oh, Undertale. What is there to say about it that hasn't been...I played this day one because a friend lent me a copy from their steam. I had never heard of Undertale beforehand, but my god, would I know of it. It is a quirky little game about making friends (unless...?) and has excellent music, storyflow, and characters. I am admittedly...not a fan of the battle system, but it is unique and fits the game, so *shrug*. I acquired a permanent brainworm in the form of Gaster from this, so there's that too.

Sonic Mega Collection - Collection - Look, Sonic was my first fandom, and when the smoke clears, it will be my last fandom. Mega collection is great to dip your toe in every major sonic game made before Adventure. I'm a big Sonic 2 fan, but don't mind a little S3K as well.

Sonic Unleashed - Wii/Xbox 360 - This may be a rose tinted glasses thing, but Sonic unleashed is apologetically cool and fun to play. Especially the werehog stages. Solid story, solid gameplay, solid music. I love this game and I will kill for it.

Spore Creatures - DS - Spore, but only the creature stage as a little planet exploring game. You evolve your critter as you travel and make friends and enemies. Its a fun little ditty that I love revisiting to see my favorite biomes and aliens. I go crazy for this game ngl

PC, Windows

Golden Treasure: The Great Green - Visual Novel/Point N' Click - I picked this game to play because you can play as a dragon, but was kept playing in by the game play depth. Has very good replay-ability, some very interesting story beats, and some different walks of life you can take. I like the art style and the difficulty as well. Admittedly a bit spiritual, with some very flowery language that may be a bit difficult to digest sometimes, but I think it's truly worth it for a new spin on dragons.

Purrgatory - Visual Novel/Point N' Click - Wonderful thoughtful short game with great music and humor, and stories to discover. Emotional at times, but its a game literally about purgatory. And it DOES have a nice neat ending instead of leaving loose ends.

How to Raise a Dragon - RPG - Short pixel game about growing a dragon. Has 3 paths you can take, and you can customize your color and breath power :3 I always make my dragon blue or white!

Deltarune - RPG - Goofy ass game, but very solid. By the same people that brought you Undertale and more! Currently a demo with only 2 chapters, but looks very promising so far. I love the battle system and overworld sprites. Spamton specifically fucked up my perception of this game so now i see it with rose tinted glasses forever.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - Visual Novel/Platformer - Short, cute little game that showcases some character personality of some of the Sonic cast :) Very very goofy.

Spore - Its spore. - Ngl, I only play up to the creature stage and then start a new save.

Portal 2 - Puzzle/Platformer - Its a valve game, what's not to love. Funny, Nice atmosphere, goofy characters, lesbian romance, confusing puzzles! It has it all!

Dragon Creek - Pet? Game? - Horse game, but dragons. Fairly light in gameplay, but solid. I'll occasionally spend 30 minutes to take of a dragon.

A Little to the Left - Puzzle - Organizational game. It probably has a story, but i like puzzle :) Cute art style and has puzzles with multiple solutions.

Deponia - Point N' Click - Decently long game that's definitely made in 2014. Has a few lel edgy humor moments (i know for sure r slur is said at least twice), but for the most part is a pleasant play gameplay wise.

Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside - Point N' Click - Oh man, I was a huge fan of all Humongous Entertainment games as a kid, but I think the dark, "mature" aspect of this pajama sam game drew me in. And sam is also a snarky little kid lol. Juvenile, but honestly still a fun play. Solid game to play if you wanna see if you like point n clicks.

Web

Flight Rising - Pet Game - You can dress up dragons, train them to fight, breed them, change their appearance, and collect hoards of items and familiars (lil pets). Your dragons CAN NOT die! PLEASE PLAY FLIGHT RISING WITH ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

GPX Plus - Pokemon Clone - The only pokemon clone I've actually stuck with playing. Fairly easy to get into. I mostly play just to hatch eggs, but there are battles and quests you can do. I really like the layout, and I like that I dont have to get on the forums to play.

Rescreatu - Pet Game - I don't actively play this game, but i have to recommenced it on gameplay alone. You can find eggs to hatch pets, and while your pets can die, getting food to keep them fed is fairly easy. There's a ton of pets with all kinds of life stages you can collect. You can play by yourself, but its easier to get pointers from older players on the shoutbox. Its. Ok. I spent a good chunk of my childhood on here so it might be a nostalgia recommendation.

Felisfire - Pet Game - Its about breeding alien cats, with some other spaceship lore tossed in. I've been playing this on and off for a long time. It takes a hot minute to get into, as its breeding system is a little involved, but its a nice game to have in your back pocket for an hour of so on a rainy day.

Khimeros - Pet Game - Besties idk what goes on here tbh, ive been opening this game once a year for 10 years, breeding things and then leaving <3

Console

Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 - Gamecube - Funny monkey balancing game. Difficult, keeps me entertained with some cute graphics, music, and fine motor controls.

Spyro, Enter the Dragonfly - Gamecube - This game fucking sucks, but that's the fun of it. Was my one and only Spyro game for a long time, so I grew to love it. I like the idea of it.

#game recommendations #ok im tired of reaching into the depths of my mind for recs #if i find more ill edit #i thought about recommending some otomes but that might get its own post #critter thought #holy shit you can edit tags without deleting them????????#fresh.snow #the fucking search will NOT infec this post it makes me so sad #adding to pinned here in a sec

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miikarin · 1 year ago

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Puzzle/Mystery

Ranking on the image (with links to game page): Chants of Sennaar, Return of the Obra Dinn, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Taiji, The Case of the Golden Idol, The Frog Detective Trilogy, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Read more under the cut

So as someone with very specific aesthetics, I would definitely choose Afterimage over Grime but yet here we are, with slightly creepy, very toothy game ranked highest in this category. Even in terms of having multiple areas to explore and backtracking, Afterimage would be my pick. However, Grime's parry system made me fall in love with the combat in the game and it was so satisfying that I actually speedran the game for a bit and then devoted time to making resources for the any% run. I still need to play the dlcs but even on base game alone this game gets my vote.

Afterimage was quite a lot of fun and the vibrant and bright art was such a treat and feast for my eyes. I also really liked the different weapons and how they changed the combat. I think the story could have been a little tighter but I just fully enjoyed the time I had in the game and getting to see the areas. I wish more games had this type of colour palette and I know the whole 'grim, and dark, and moody' bit sells but I'm slightly tired of it. The Afterimage world was post-apocalyptic (or in-game analogous) but it was presented in a different manner and there were still areas that weren't all lush, vibrant scenery.

Vernal Edge is a game that I remember feeling frustration in certain areas while playing it but also it lives in my mind and I still think about it so it's next on the list. The fighting is different than what I usually experience - it's a spectacle fighter style, and there is an interesting mechanic by which you cast 'spells' and also heal. I think the character was a bit slippery at times which led to some of the frustration in the platforming as mentioned earlier. The game has some good writing underpinning it though and travelling to different islands in the sky and exploring them was a neat way to put together the world.

Pronty is interesting that it is underwater and the art is beautiful; combat is a bit removed since you do not do the fighting but instead direct your javelin fish to do it.

Lone Fungus I wish I could like more but it was a lot more platforming and very precise platforming at that, which is not where my interests lie.

Going Under is doing the heavy lifting for including Roguelike into this category mashup and the reason for that is that it is a genre that I also do not tend to play for various reasons that I may go into in the future but not here. Still, if I had to pick a game from that genre, I'd say Going Under is a good one - there's some seriously great writing here from dev Aggro Crab and it's a quite hilarious commentary on startup culture in our current times.

Not really going to go through the rest of the games since I only want to type so much and there are a few other categories to go. However, those categories will be in a later reblog.

#video games #indie games #chants of sennaar #return of the obra dinn #ghost trick phantom detective #streaming

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blueeyedrat · 4 years ago

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Steam Next Fest! New name, same idea: a large library of demos for new and upcoming games to try out. In between finishing up some games and assorted projects, and starting up some games I've been meaning to get around to, I was able to find time for some demos that caught my eye.

More comments under the cut:

Sable - This was the first and last demo I tried this time around, and it's a game I've been intrigued by for quite a while. I wasn't actually able to finish the demo either time I played; I fell out of bounds and had to restart the first time, and it crashed later on during the second. It doesn't run well on my old laptop, I suppose... which is a shame, because technical issues aside, I was really enjoying it! I don't play open-world stuff all that often, but this one definitely scratched an itch. It reminded me a lot of Zelda with a similar "run everywhere and climb everything" vibe. Gliding through the air and crossing the vast dunes on a hoverbike felt pretty satisfying, too. The designs are distinctive and visually striking, the music is nice, and the demo provides just enough hints about both the setting and Sable herself to leave me wanting more.

Terra Nil - A "reverse city builder" about restoring life to a barren wasteland. I wish I had more to say about this one, but it's another one for the "I wish my laptop could run this game better" column: the demo kept crashing before I could really get into it. I liked what little I was able to play, though. The gameplay was pretty intuitive, and the aesthetic was quite lovely. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this game, one way or another.

Patrick's Parabox - A sokoban puzzler with a recursive twist: rooms nested in other rooms, and in some cases, rooms nested within themselves. The extra dimension adds a fun spin on the base sokoban gameplay, and the demo showcased some fun ways it could be used for puzzles. I recommend looking into it if you're interested in games of this sort.

Harmony's Odyssey - A puzzle game about unscrambling colorful dioramas. The art style's cute and appealing, and the puzzles were fine, but it didn't seem to have a lot of depth beyond its basic mechanic. The interface was a bit awkward, too; the camera was either too far zoomed in to see all of the pieces, or too far zoomed out to see any of them. It was charming enough, but I'm not sure I'll be delving into it further.

Little Witch in the Woods - From one cute-witch-themed game to another, and another game I've been curious about for a while. A chill life sim with a cozy setting, a colorful cast of characters, a variety of flora and fauna to discover, and a focus on magic and potion-making rather than ordinary farming. Very charming, but also very slow-paced. While it is satisfying to process resources and concoct potions, foraging for said resources is a slow grind, and it's all too easy for your efforts to go to waste because you accidentally tossed a potion bottle in the wrong direction. Still, it seems like quite a pleasant time if you have the patience for it. I'm undecided if it's the sort of game for me, but I'm willing to wait and see.

Faerie Afterlight - An exploration puzzle-platformer with a bright, beautiful visual style. Gameplay-wise, the movement feels nice and has potential to be pretty interesting: the demo starts off with your character having just unlocked the ability to jump and wall-jump, you obtain a dash later on, and more abilities will likely come further in the game. It has some unique mechanics (like controlling a secondary character who can interact with gates and possess enemies) and the combat is okay, but the demo stumbles once or twice when it demands you manage all of these aspects simultaneously. Seems like an alright game, even if it didn't stand out to me like other games on this list.

Unpacking - A meditative puzzle game about arranging everyday objects in rooms. This is another one I've been interested in, and now that I've tried it for myself... there's a lot to unpack, if you'll excuse my wording. There's a certain weight to nostalgia and sentimentality, even when it's tied up in mundane objects like books and toys. The comfortable and familiar, the things we keep with us, and the things we discard or leave behind, everyone values them differently. Even in a brief demo, Unpacking manages to encapsulate this idea in a way that few other games can. Each segment is a snapshot of a different moment in a person's life. Through the simple task of sorting through their belongings and finding a place for everything, you learn about this person, and a narrative emerges. What they take with them, what they leave behind, and what they pick up along the way. It's a fascinating little game, and one that could be emotionally compelling in ways I was not prepared for.

OGOPOGO - An arcade puzzle game about making palindrome block chains. ...Have you ever stumbled across a game that feels like it was made specifically for you? I had never heard of this one until a few days ago when I was perusing the Steam demo list. It's a simple concept, but it trips the pattern-finding part of my brain in very pleasing ways. I can see myself sinking a lot of idle time into this one when it comes out.

TOEM - Quite a pleasant game to round out the list. There's been a renaissance of photography games over the past year or so; I still have New Pokémon Snap and Beasts of Maravilla Island waiting in the wings, and I can think of half a dozen other titles either already out or near on the horizon. It's easy to see the appeal, since it's a sort of game that inherently rewards exploration and discovery while also being pretty chill and low-stress. TOEM looks to be a fine example, with a simple, charming black-and-white art style, and a friendly and inviting world to run around in and complete tasks with your camera. Take a picture, it'll last longer.

A few technical bumps on the road, but a nice selection of games regardless. See you next time.

#game demos #sable game #unpacking game #terra nil #toem #little witch in the woods #faerie afterlight #bryan writes about games

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dragonologist-phd · 4 years ago

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Saw this and of course I had to do it! Categories and Games are listed under the cut in case that’s easier to read or you just wanna listen to me ramble a bit (no spoilers!):

Favorite Game of All Time: Pillars of Eternity. Kind of obvious if you follow me, lol. A close runner-up was Pokemon Emerald, just because I’ve spent so many hours in that game I know it like the back of my hand. But pokemon is more nostalgic, while PoE I really appreciate the writing and worldbuilding and characters. Which brings us to...

Best Story: Pillars of Eternity again!

Favorite Art Style: This is really hard, because game art styles are all so different and it’s hard to compare! I reserve the right to change my answer many times, but for now it’s Afterparty because I love the colors and it actually makes Hell look like a cool place to hang out.

“I’ll Finish It Someday”: Divinity Original Sin 2. There are a lot of things I’m liking in it but damn it is so long.

Big Personal Impact: Pokemon Emerald! Like I said, I’ve played it countless times, my best friend and I were obsessed with it as kids, and I just really really love it.

Best Combat: So just looking at this list you can probably tell I’m not much for combat heavy games. I ended up going with Superhot- a ‘fighting’ game where time only moves when you do, which turns combat into a sort of logic puzzle. The premise is really cool and it’s one of the few ‘combat’ games that was the perfect mix of difficult and fun for me.

You Like, But Everyone Hates: “Everyone hates” is probably a bit of an overstatement, but Mass Effect: Andromeda did get a lot of hate when it came out and...I think it’s a good game? I think the story and the characters and the combat is all pretty well done? But it had a messy launch and now it seems like nobody cares about it

You Hate, But Everyone Likes: Again, “hate” is a strong word, but their was so much Witcher hype and I just...don’t get it. ~to be fair~ I only played the first one, and I guess Witcher 3 is the one everyone talks about, but I was so bored by Witcher that I will probably never play any sequels. Ironically enough, I do enjoy the Witcher tv series. Maybe if Yennefer was the protag of the games I’d like them more *shrug*

Underrated: Tyranny. No long ramble here, it’s just an enjoyable game that nobody seems to know about.

Overrated: Dragon age: Inquisition. Does this make me a hypocrite? I have played it multiple times and I love my DA OC’s, but DAI is definitely my least favorite in the franchise. They sacrificed writing quality for open world exploration, and I would rather have strong writing.

“Why Do I Like This?” I don’t like Life is Strange. I don’t hate it- it’s a cool premise and there are some good emotional moments. But it employs tropes I don’t like and has a lot of awkward dialogue and is kind of pretentious. All of those things are also true of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and yet I like it so much more and I don’t know why. Maybe Chloe is just more fun than Max.

Game You Always Come Back To: Dragon Age: Origins. The first actual rpg video game I played, and all of the different backgrounds means it has good replay value. I have an OC for each origin and I love them all! For all of DA’s (many) flaws I still really enjoy this game

That Astmosphere...: Transistor. the art...the music...the conveyance of deep and meaningful relationships with very little dialogue...it’s good

Bad Day Cure: Tales from the Borderlands. I adore the ‘Rivals to Reluctant Allies to Found Family’ trope, and the soundtrack slaps. It’s all I need for a game that just cheers me up

Favorite Protagonist: This one was tought, but there’s no beating Commander Shepard. They’re just pure badass.

After Work Relaxation: Stardew Valley. Extremely relaxing.

Biggest Letdown: The Blackwell Epiphany. Oh man...I would talk about Blackwell a lot more because I do really like it (solving mysteries! talking to ghosts! family drama! inheritance of ghostly platonic soulmates!) But the ending to the series...ugh. I do still recommend the series overall if you like point-and-clik mysteries, just...maybe don’t play the last ten minutes or so.

“Back In The Day” Game: Pokemon Yellow. I still adore this game!

Not the Best, But Having Fun: Dragon Age 2 and Outer Worlds tied for this one, because neither are really the best in any particular category but I do thoroughly enjoy them

Criminally Overlooked: Tacoma. If WALL-E made you cry, you’ll like this game.

Depressing Game: The Walking Dead. Jeez, if I think about it too much I’ll start crying (in a good way!). No knowledge of the show needed- I’ve played all the games and have never watched a single episode

Favorite Active Franchise: Pokemon!!

Indie Pick: Oxenfree. It’s! So! Good! Very atmospheric, wonderful characters, fantastically creepy. I played it for the first time in my room with all the lights off during a thunderstorm and it was an experience

Not Usually My Thing, But...: Borderlands. Like I said, combat focused games aren’t really my thing. But this is one of the few fps games that doesn’t just stress me out and I actually have fun with!

#video games #rambling #feel free to ask me more about any of these im in a talkative mood today #mmm now i wanna replay so many things again #q

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eljackinton · 4 years ago

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Jack's End of Year Video Game Round-up.

There were many things I couldn't do this year, being in lockdown and all, which in turn meant I played a hell of a lot more video games than I normally do. Here's a quick rundown of what I thought of them.

Hitman 2

IO have sort of perfected the Hitman formula now, so future entries in the series simply have to ask the question of what new directions you can take that formula. In that regard Hitman 2 is a resounding success, setting sneaking and assassination in scenarios around the world from race tracks to holiday resorts, and thus making it the best entry yet. It's possible one day the Hitman conceit will wear thin, but today is not that day.

Thronebreaker

Most people will go into Thronebreaker just wanting a stand-alone version of the Gwent we played during Witcher 3. Thronebreaker is not that. Indeed, even beyond the changes to the mechanics brought in by the online version, Thronebreaker is more of a puzzle game which uses the mechanics of Gwent to concoct unique scenarios. Still, the story is pretty good and it is fun overall, even if it didn't end up scratching the itch left by Gwent.

Black Mesa (Xen)

I returned to Black Mesa after Xen was finally added, eager to see what the team had come up with. My feelings are complicated. The Xen portions of the game are really well designed, great to play and visually beautiful. However the levels hew so far from the Half-Life originals that it kind of stops feeling like Half-Life. I would have like to have seen a more faithful recreation to be honest.

Neon Struct

If you've been wanting a spiritual sequel to Thief that actually used the mechanics of Thief, here you go. Though low budget, and therefore having somewhat uninspiring visuals based on reused assets, it's still a really impressive game from what the team had to work with, and it's short enough that it doesn't outstay it's welcome.

Acid Spy

I'm generally usually okay at stealth games but this one was well beyond my skill level. Got through the tutorial but just got frustrated and quit on the first mission.

Salting the Earth

A wonderfully put together visual novel about the legacy of war and the nature of national identities. Also you date buff orc women. One of the best VNs I've played, but it does have some pretty bleak potential endings that clash somewhat with the rest of the story's tone.

Hedon

Speaking of buff orc women, Hedon is a vivid, perfectly designed retro-shooter that really uses the most of it's engine to bring it's world to life, with shades of Thief and Strife thrown in there. Wears its hornieness on it's sleeve, but if you can roll with that you'll have nothing but a good time.

The Painscreek Killings

I really really loved this immersive narrative game, where you explore an abandoned town to piece together a series of suspicious deaths. My only gripes are the town looks very British despite being set in the US, and the final confrontation adding a chase scene felt a little over dramatic.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

There are many problems with Mankind Divided. Trying to find another story to do with Adam Jensen. Making the game more of an open world by taking away the usual Deus Ex globe-trotting. The clumsy use of racial metaphor being applied to cyborgs. All in all the game just didn't really come together, which is a shame, because the DLC showed such promise, and hinted at the real Deus Ex game we could have had.

Warhammer Armageddon DLC

I managed to complete the Salamanders DLC and got stuck near the end of the Blood Angels one. All in all it's simply 'more' of what the base game offered, and I'm not sure it really needed it.

Unavowed

Easily one of the most interesting games I played this year. So good It inspired me to write a cheesy fanfic. Sure the mechanics of applying squad mechanics to a point and click are interesting, but it's the world, the art and the characters themselves that really make this game. Highly recommended.

Devil Daggers

The ultimate distillation of classic shooter mechanics. One platform, one weapon, endless enemies. I didn't get all that far into it and I think most people won't, but I'm not going to complain for the price. Overdue a revisit.

Dream Daddy

A fun and fluffy dating game that actually does a good job of putting you into the mindset of a recently bereaved bisexual dad. Come for the hunks, stay for the really affecting story of a strained relationship between father and daughter.

Greedfall

Greedfall falls short of the mark in most aspects, but I have to give it credit for being one of the few games to give us a Bioware companion-centric adventure during this drought of Bioware games. It lacks the zing of something like Dragon Age, and handles the subject of colonialism really problematically, but if you can get past those issues, it's a fun ride, and a world I'd like to revisit.

Endless Legend

I've been wanting a game to scratch the Alpha Centauri itch for decades now and Endless Legend finally did it. There is a risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of unique factions to play, and I know I still haven't really scratched the surface even after 4 full campaigns. Is that a criticism? I suppose it depends if you think you can have too much of a good thing.

Space Hulk Deathwing Enhanced Edition

A valiant effort was put in to make a faithful FPS of the Space Hulk experience, but ultimately it falls far too short. The visuals look great and the game-feel of stomping around as a Space Marine really works, but the game lacks charm and character. Up against Vermintide, there's no comparison.

Sunless Sea

This is a game that feels like a bottomless abyss of secrets and mysteries tied up in a very brutal one-life-only system. I really enjoyed my time with Sunless Seas, with the music calling me like a wailing siren every now and again, yet in many ways I did find it a bit too unforgiving, and it could have benefited from having a bit more of a progression between lives than the almost solid reset it leaves you with.

Age of Empires / 2 / 3 Definitive Editions

The first Age of Empires has an important place in history, but is borderline unplayable by today's standards. Almost every aspect was improved in 2 and going back now feels like trading a car for a horse and cart. It's clear that the game was intending your slow crawl out of the stone age through hunting and gathering to be part of the game in its own right, but today it's just tedious, and the rest of the game is just so slow.

There isn't much to say about Age of Empire 2 that I haven't already said, but I will point out that multiplayer AOE2 has kept me sane over the course of the lockdown, and I'm glad the Definitive Edition enhanced that experience.

Age of Empire 3 tried too hard to reinvent the wheel. Instead of taking 2 and building on it, it instead contorted it around a colonisation theme, and it didn't really work. On top of that, the mechanics really felt they were built more for single-player story missions. The maps are too small, and the expansion factions clash with the rules badly. Still, there is fun to be had, and I'll be checking out the campaigns next year.

Hand of Fate 2

This game takes the original Hand of Fate and adds way, way too much into it. While I appreciate the addition of companions, a longer story mode, and optional side missions, the game is far too experimental with it's formula, and leaves me struggling with complex missions around being lost in a desert or evading barbarian hordes, when all I wanted was a straight forward dungeon crawl. I tapped out two thirds of the way through the campaign.

Wild Guns Reloaded

I love the style and aesthetic, but I just don't have the reflexes (or the gamepad) for these fast paced arcade games.

Vermintide 2 Drakenfels

Fatshark gave us an entire Vermintide campaign for free this year, at the cost of having to be subjected to obnoxious cosmetic micro-tranactions. Hard to say it was worth the price, but Fatshark really do continue to improve, bringing new scope and ideas to every new mission. As good as it gets.

Pendula Swing

A fun little game that apes the visuals of a Baldur's Gate style RPG but the mechanics of a point and click adventure game set in a fantasy version of the roaring twenties. A strong introduction to it's setting but definitely needs building on if we're to see a continuation. A lot of the world-building feels too simple and half-baked at times, and the gameplay feels like too much is going on too fast. Still, a charming story though.

The Shiva / The Blackwell Series

At first I had no idea that Unavowed was connected to a host of other Wadget Eye adventure games, so naturally I had to check them out. I'd known about The Shiva and the Blackwell games for years, but never actually thought about picking them up. Playing them all back to back was a great experience, and almost felt like a prototype to the episodic storytelling many games do today.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light/Temple of Osiris

Guardian of Light is a fun, inventive co-op game for killing some time with a friend. The puzzles are often unique and interesting and get you thinking, and the story, while nothing fantastic, is fun enough to keep you interested and have a laugh about with your co-op partner in a B-Movie kind of way. Temple of Osiris adds way too much to the formula, with more characters, mechanics and more open exploration and it absolutely loses the charm of the first game, and even then it's buggy as hell. Skip the second one.

Command and Conquer Remastered

Big chunks of my childhood are taken up with memories of playing Command and Conquer and Red Alert, so it's difficult to really gauge my thoughts on the remaster. On the one hand the art direction looks great and preserves the feel of the original, and the quality of life improvements to the gameplay help make it more playable. The nostalgia hit is also palpable. That being said, the mechanics have not aged all that well, with much of the game being far, far too hard. Probably the best way to experience the genesis of the RTS genre but just know what you're getting in for.

Superhot Mind Control Delete

I wrote a lot at length about how unsure I was about Mind Control Delete at the time, and that's because it does feel a little unsure about itself. Is it a continuation of the first game? A fun bonus mode? A mediation on the nature of addiction? A critique of video game content? A joke on the player? I don't know, but I do know one thing, and that is that Superhot is still as addictive as hell.

Opus Magnum

Zachtronic's steampunk alchemy game requires far too much maths brain than I am capable of , and so I had to rely on guides a lot of the time, but that being said, it's still amazingly put together and vividly presented. Really feels like a game that could be used in schools.

Necromunda Underhive Wars (Story Mode)

I'll be checking out Underhive's Campaign mode in the new year, but for now I just want to talk about the story mode. Much like Mordheim, this is a game that's not going to work for everyone, but I really dug it and like it's unique take on a squad based TBS. However, in many respects the game does feel like a missed opportunity. The storyline is fun enough, and the arsenal robust, but much of the character of the tabletop game, the weird, chaotic, and sometimes comical things that can happen over the course of a battle seems to have been lost in translation, as has the quirky character to a lot of the gangs.

Outer Wilds

There is little I can say about Outer Wilds that hasn't already been said by others, particularly that one should go into the game as blind as possible. A beautiful piece of interactive art, words would fail me in describing it anyway.

Life is Strange 2

Fantastically written, amazingly animated, wonderfully acted, and grim and depressing as all hell. I really love Life is Strange 2, but it it a tough game to bare witness to, especially in 2020. It treats it's subject matter with great maturity, but is so dark it's hard to motivate yourself to continue each gruelling episode. Also, I really think it would have fared better if it had not named itself Life is Strange 2, as not following Max and Chloe turned a lot of people away from a game I think they'd have otherwise enjoyed if they'd named it Wolf Brothers or something.

Half Life 2 / Episodes / Portal / 2/ Mel

After playing Black Mesa earlier this year I decided to revisit the entire Half Life 2 and Portal series. What I concluded is that Half Life 2 is not really all that good. A well told story wrapped around weak combat and average encounter design. This much improves across the episodes of course, but in the end I rather feel Half Life 2 is pretty overrated.

Portal, on the other hand, still feels fresh, though I was surprised I'd forgotten just how much was added in Portal 2, to the point Portal feels more like a game demo. That being said, I think the slowly growing mystery and menace of Portal has aged a lot better than the gagfest the series became with 2. Mel, a stand-alone mod that feels like could be a Portal 3 in it's own right, returns to a more serious tone, and feels all the stronger because of it.

Control

Control has gone from a game I didn't really care about all that much to one of my favourites of the year, if not the decade. Sure there are criticisms I could make, but the world has so much depth, the characters so much potential, and the gameplay such perfectly designed chaos, that it wouldn't really matter. A great time was had.

Icewind Dale 2

Finishing Icewind Dale 2 was the final banishing of the old ghosts of Infinity Engine games I never finished as a kid. Sure there was the nostalgia, but Icewind Dale 2 also feels prefect for the Baldurs Gate era's swan song. Beautiful environments, a well written story and great interface and design, only pulled down due to some overly long busywork at various points and the plot being dragged on a little too long. Still, sad to know I have no further Infinity Engine games left to conquer.

Elsinore

The first half of Elsinore is an absolutely great time-loop mystery, which seems to be an interesting interrogation of Shakespearian tropes and asks the question of how much of a Shakespearian tragedy remains the more you change it. The second half, however, quickly devolves into a cosmic horror story that feels a poor fit for the genre and far too grim for the art style, and that's even before it basically devolves into trying to do the same thing Undertale did but worse. A well put together game whose ending did not sit well with me.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game

Since Thronebreaker didn't sate my appetite I started playing competitive Gwent. It is a wholly different game than the one that appears in The Wither 3, but is certainly fascinating in it's own right. After 200 hours I am officially addicted, somebody please send help.

And that's that. Not doing a top 5 games of the year because I played too many this year and I've spent too much time thinking about them already. Here's hoping I play less in 2021 and can get back to a more normal life.

#video games

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fridge-reviews · 4 years ago

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Mini Games 5

The criteria for this is very simple, all of these games can be completed in three hours or under (without using exploits etc). The reason for this? Well I find that sometimes, often in fact, that people just don't have time to play a longer game. So I thought I'd show some of the shorter ones some love!

GNOG

Developer: KO_OP Publisher: Doublefine Productions Rrp: £7.19 (Steam) £7.99 (Epic) £8.08 (Humblebundle) Released: 17th July 2018

Puzzle games have always been something I've enjoyed, I just find it relaxing to sit down and try and work my way through a problem that has no consequences if I get it wrong. This game very much embraces that idea.

You work your way through several monster faces, clicking, twisting and pulling on whatever reacts until you discover what the actual puzzle is and how to solve it. Typically this doesn't take too long, for me it was typically about twenty minutes for each face. Its a very colourful and whimsical game with some great uplifting music that you get as a reward for completing a puzzle.

I do have one issue with it which is its clear to me that this game was designed with VR in mind and that being able to use a mouse was something added on later. This is evident from the way that the game reacts to mouse movement, for example turning a dial feels very imprecise because of a lack of feedback.

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A Short Hike

Developer: Adamgryu Publisher: Adamgryu Rrp: £5.79 (Gog.com, Steam and Epic) Released: 30th July 2019

This game is perhaps one of the most relaxed games I've played in a long time. You have one sole goal, to get to the top of a mountain. You'll need to do a few quests first before you can do it but once you've got those covered the whole things takes about twenty minutes? Maybe a little less. The thing is there are plenty of other things you can do on the way that will net you some rewards. Like playing the hit new game beachstickball, or running in a race.

I really enjoyed my time with this game, something nice and relaxed with no loss condition whatsoever. I will admit that I changed the graphics settings to one that was not recommended because the default style was incredibly pixilated and I much prefer the polygonal look.

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Framed Collection

Developer: Loveshack Enterainment Publisher: Fellow Traveller Rrp: £7.19 (Steam) £7.20 (Humblebundle) Released: 17th May 2018

The Framed Collection is the reason I check through my discovery queue on steam regularly. You never know what interesting game will pop up. In the case of this one it was the visuals that convinced me to get it, I've always had an attraction to the comic book art style (which is part of the reason I own a comic book store) and this game makes great use not only of the style but of the convention of the comic book 'frame'.

In this game you manipulate the comic book frames on screen in order to get your character through a series of challenges successfully. Sometimes this is as simple as rearranging them into a order so that your character isn't caught by the police and in others it can mean reorientating them so that the character takes different path entirely. There are even a few that involve you having to time when to swap frames out and reuse them.

This title is definitely worth looking into although I will admit it does seem a bit pricey given the length. That being said it seems to appear on sale pretty often.

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Elegy for a Dead World

Developer: Dejobaan Games LLC, Popcannbal Publisher: Dejobaan Games Rrp: £10.99 (Steam) Released: 10th December 2014

This game is... well its a writing prompt game. I'm not sure how else to put it really, you get to wander the landscape of a world and depending on what kind of person you are document it, or write it a eulogy or even just write prose. It's such an interesting idea, and what makes it even more interesting is that what you write is shared with the world. It gets added to a archive of stories and creations, you can see how other people viewed what you witnessed and had a totally different perspective.

Another thing that makes this quite laudable is the fact that it has an... educational mode, of sorts. When you enter a world you get to pick whether you want a writing prompt, to fill in a blank, have a totally blank canvas to work with or do the grammar mode where you practise your grammar. I admit it I'm impressed on multiple levels. By the creativity of the team who made the game with their beautiful backgrounds and with what the community itself has created.

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Pinstripe

Developer: Atmos Games Publisher: Armor Games Studios Rrp: £10.99 (Steam) £12.22 (Humblebundle) Released: 25 April 2017

I bought this game with the intention of giving it go after seeing Jim Sterling highlight it... that was two years ago, which should give anyone reading this just how long a backlog I have. However I have to say it was well worth the wait as I enjoyed my time with it immensely, enough to go back and run through the New Game plus mode.

The game put me in mind of old school Tim Burton films (specifically Beetlejuice) because even though it has a wonderfully whimsical and somewhat childlike aesthetic there is a dark undertone for those that care to scratch beyond the surface.

As puzzle platformers go this one is very good, the controls feel good and the puzzles aren't overly complex, though if you have trouble or just really want to get on with the story the developers have put a walkthrough on their website.

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splashink-games · 1 year ago

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Two Zombies Searching for Their Pets

Love is Dead is a puzzle platforming game by Curiobot, based off the original game I saw her standing there. Wade through graveyards and cities, guns and lasers—all in this couple's quest to reunite with their pets!

I remember playing a little bit of the original when I was back in primary school. Yeah.

The story is super simple but highly effective. The Lovers became zombies, and now they have to reunite with their also-zombiefied pets. With long scenes at the end of chapters and short snippets told at the start and end of each stage, The Wanderer adds a dash of storytelling commentary to the Lovers' adventure.

I liked the comedy, even though it wasn't always my sense of humour. You could especially feel it from the loading screens that always changed text, as well as the game exit screen. Plus I loved that the collectibles were pancakes, the Lovers' favourite.

The graphics are fantastic. I love the bubbly, bouncy style. Everything looks great. The photographs are a super nice touch to get more familiar with the Lovers and Pets. And you can even give the Lovers pylon hats!

And the music matches well, according to themes (I liked the Space level theme the most).

The gameplay is pretty good, specifically in terms of level design. While there were irritating stages, they were very few. I also appreciated the variety of extra levels (Traps, Pancake Houses, Zoos, Smorgasbord, Gauntlet, and Photos) mixed in. Every world had a specific theme and each level within featured specific mechanics. I liked the way the game trickled each mechanic, even realizing something that could be done earlier in the game.

My biggest issue with the game was the controls. Simple in theory, but they felt horrible in execution. The bounciness of the game looks nice, but it totally messed me up on more than one occasion. Similarly, the game recommends you to hold arrow keys to move more quickly as opposed to tapping, but boy is it hard to make the Lovers' stop properly. I would've loved a more snappy control scheme and the feel almost single-handedly stopped me from finishing the game, about halfway through.

Still, the game is fun because of the puzzles and mechanics. They're very interesting. My favourites of the game are the art museum and the laboratory.

Love is Dead is a puzzle game that looks good and is designed well. If you can get past some clunky movement, I'd definitely recommend this game.

As always,

Enjoy Gaming!

#ink reviews #game review #video games #Love is Dead #gaming

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entamewitchlulu · 5 years ago

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so i did a reading challenge this year and i wanna talk about what i read

transcription under the cut

i did Popsugar 2019 and wanna talk about what i read: Book Reccs and Anti-Reccs

1.) Becoming a Movie in 2019: Umbrella Academy (vol 1) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. A fascinating take on superpowers, dysfunctional families, and the apocalypse. Can get pretty gory, confusing here and there and you have to pay close attention to panels for lore, but overall an entertaining romp.

2.) Makes you Feel Nostalgic: Circles in the Stream by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Middle grade novel about the magic of music, belief, and of course, friendship. Definitely written for kids, and has some unfortunately clumsy Native rep, but overall an absolute joy to dive into once again.

3.) Written by a Musician: Umbrella Academy (vol 2) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. Ramps up the confusion to ridiculous degrees with some absolutely bonkers, unexplained arcs, but still fun to watch this dysfunctional family do its dysfunctional thing.

4.) You Think Should be Turned into a movie: All That Glitters by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Continuation of Circles in the Stream, but with more unicorns, more rainbows, and more fae, which makes it automatically even better than the first.

5.) With At Least 1 Mil. Ratings on Goodreads: 1984 by George Orwell

1/5. I understand why it's important and all but wasn't prepared for some of the more graphic scenes and the overall hopelessness of the message. Would not recommend or read again.

6.) W/ a Plant in the title or cover: The secret of Dreadwillow carse by Brian farrey

5/5. A fantasy world where everyone is always happy, save for one girl and the princess, who set out to solve the mystery of their kingdom. Poignant and great for kids and adults.

7.) Reread of a favorite: Cry of the Wolf by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Yet another installment in the Avalon: Web of Magic series, which clearly I am obsessed with. Please just read them.

8.) About a Hobby: Welcome to the Writer's Life by Paulette Perhach

5/5. A welcome kick in the pants, chock full of great advice told without condescension, and full of hope and inspiration for writers both new and old.

9.) Meant to read in 2018: The Poet x by Elizabeth Acevedo

4/5. Absolutely beautiful coming of age novel told in verse. Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook version.

10.) w/ "pop," "sugar," or "challenge" in the title: Black Sugar by Miguel Bonnefoy

2/5. I think maybe I just don't understand this genre. Or maybe the translation was weird. I was confused.

11.) w/ An Item of Clothing or Accessory on the cover: Our dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

4/5. It had a lot more slurs/homophobia than I was prepared for, but otherwise is a very touching, relatable collection of queer characters living in a heteronormative world.

12.) Inspired by Mythology or Folklore: Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly

3/5. A girl goes on an impossible quest to save her brother from a child-eating witch. Really wanted to like it more because I loved the first one, Monstrous, but it dragged a little.

13.) Published Posthumously: The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones

3/5. I adore Diana Wynne Jones, but this one was missing some of the magic of her other books. Not sure if it was because it had to be finished by someone else, or if I just grew out of her stories.

14.) Set in Space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

4/5. Powerfully written story of a girl straddling tradition and innovation, who wields power through mathematical magic, surviving on a spaceship alone with a dangerous alien occupation after everyone else has been killed.

15.) By 2 Female Authors: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

2/5. Ostensibly a story about a revenge pact in a small island town, but leaves far too many dangling threads to attempt alluring you to the sequel.

16.) W/ A Title containing "salty," "bitter," "Sweet," or "Spicy": The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

3/5. It's okay but I literally just never know what anyone means at any time. Are they being reticent on purpose or do i just not understand communication

17.) Set in scandinavia: Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

2/5. Technically and historically accurate and well made, but the story itself is not my cup of tea. Very gory.

18.) Takes Place in a Single Day: Long WAy Down by Jason Reynolds

4/5. A boy goes to avenge his murdered brother, but ghostly passengers join him on the elevator ride down. Stunning and powerful character-driven analysis.

19.) Debut Novel: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

4/5. Charming and then surprisingly heart-breaking comic about Nimona, a shapeshifter who wants to become a villain's minion. Really love the villain/hero dynamic going on in the background, along with the dysfunctional found family.

20.) Published in 2019: The Book of Pride by Mason Funk

4/5. A collection of interviews with the movers, shakers, and pioneers of the queer and LGBTQ+ community. An absolutely essential work for community members and allies alike.

21.) Featuring an extinct/imaginary creature: Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

4/5. Incredibly charming, Calvin and Hobbes-esque collection of comics featuring the adventures of Phoebe and her unicorn best friend.

22.) Recced by a celebrity you admire: The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen

2/5. Recced by my fave author Brandon Sanderson. An unfortunately disappointing anthology proving that any story can be made uninteresting by telling the wrong section of it.

23.) With "Love" in the Title: Book Love by Debbie Tung

4/5. One of those relatable webcomics, only this one I felt super hard almost the entire time. Books are awesome and libraries rule.

24.) Featuring an amateur detective: Nancy Drew: Palace of Wisdom by Kelly Thompson

4/5. REALLY love this modern take on Nancy Drew, coming back home to her roots to solve a brand new mystery. Diverse cast and lovely artwork, though definitely more adult.

25.) About a family: Amulet by Kabu Kibuishi

4/5. Excellent, top tier graphic novel about a sister and brother who have to go rescue their mother with a mysterious magic stone. LOVE that the mom gets to be involved in the adventure for once.

26.) by an author from asia, Africa, or s. America: Girls' Last tour by Tsukumizu

4/5. Somehow both light-hearted and melancholy. Two girls travel about an empty, post-apocalyptic world, and muse about life and their next meal.

27.) w/ a Zodiac or astrology term in title: Drawing down the moon by margot adler

3/5. A good starting place for anyone interested in the Neo Pagan movement, but didn't really give me what I was personally looking for.

28.) you see someone reading in a tv show or movie: The Promised NEverland by Kaiu Shirai

4/5. I don't watch TV or movies where people read books so i think reading an adaptation of a TV series after watching the series counts. Anyway it was good but beware racist caricatures

29.) A retelling of a classic: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero

5/5. We can stop the Little Women reboots and retellings now, this is the only one we need. In fact, we can toss out the original too, this is the only one necessary.

30.) w/ a question in the title: So I'm a spider, so what? by Asahiro Kakashi

4/5. Cute art despite the subject matter, and a surprisingly enthralling take on the isekai genre. Love the doubling down on the video game skills.

31.) Set in a college or university campus: Moonstruck (vol 2) by Grace Ellis

2/5. An incredibly cute, beautiful, and fascinating world of modern magic and creatures, but unfortunately falls apart at the plot and pacing.

32.) About someone with a superpower: Moonstruck (vol 1) by Grace Ellis

4/5. Though nearly as messy plot-wise as its sequel, the first volume is overwhelmingly charming in a way that overpowers the more confusing plot elements.

33.) told from multiple povs: The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet by becky Chambers

4/5. Told almost in a serial format, like watching a miniseries, a group of found-family spaceship crew members make the long journey to their biggest job ever.

34.) Includes a wedding: We Set the dark on fire by Tehlor kay mejia

4/5. Timely and poignant, a girl tumbles into both love and resistance after becoming one of two wives to one of the most powerful men in the country.

35.) by an author w/ alliterative name: The only harmless great Thing by brooke bolander

3/5. Much deeper than I can currently comprehend. Beautifully written, but difficult to parse.

36.) A ghost story: Her body and other parties by Carmen Maria Machado

4/5. It counts because one of the stories in it has ghosts. A sometimes difficult collection of surrealist, feminist, queer short stories.

37.) W/ a 2 word title: Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

4/5. Charming, touching, and comical, probably the best take on the apocalypse to date. Also excellent ruminations on religion and purpose.

38.) based on a true story: The faithful Spy by John Hendrix

4/5. Brilliantly crafted graphic biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and his assistance in fighting back against Nazi Germany.

39.) Revolving around a puzzle or game: the Crossover by Kwame alexander

4/5. The verse didn't always hit right with me, but the story is a sweet, melancholy one about family, loss, and moving on.

40.) previous popsugar prompt (animal in title): The last unicorn by peter s. Beagle

5/5. Absolutely one of my all-time favorite books, it manages to perfectly combine anachronism and comedy with lyricism, melancholy, and ethereal beauty.

41.) Cli-fi: Tokyo Mew Mew by Mia ikumi and Reiko Yoshida

4/5. Shut up it counts

42.) Choose-your-own-adventure: My Lady's choosing by Kitty curran

3/5. Cute in concept, a bit underwhelming in execution. Honestly, just play an otome.

43.) "Own Voices": Home by Nnedi Okorafor

3/5. The storytelling style was definitely not my style; while the first book was slow, too, it felt more purposeful. I found my attention wandering during this installment.

44.) During the season it's set in: Pumpkinheads by rainbow rowell

3/5. Cute art, but precious little substance. The concept simply wasn't for me in the first place.

45.) LITRPG: My next life as a villainess: All routes lead to doom! by Hidaka nami

5/5. An absolute insta-fave! Charming art, endearing characters, an incredible premise, and so much sweet wholesome fluff it'll give you cavities.

46.) No chapters: The field guide to dumb birds of north america by matt kracht

3/5. It started out super strong, but the joke started to wear thin at a little past the halfway point.

47.) 2 books with the same title: Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roger

4/5. A brave and enduring personal story of growing up in and eventually leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. Really called to me to act with grace and kindness even more in the future.

48.) 2 books with the same title: unfollow by rob williams and michael dowling

1/5. How many times do you think we can make Battle Royale again before someone notices

49.) That has inspired a common phrase or idiom: THe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

4/5. Definitely good and deserves it's praise as something that pretty much revolutionized and created an entire demographic of literature.

50.) Set in an abbey, cloister, Monastery, convent, or vicarage: Murder at the vicarage by agatha christie

3/5. I just cannot. physically keep up with all of these characters or find the energy to read between the lines.

ok that's all i got, what did y'all read and like this year? (oh god it’s gonna be 2020)

#book reccs #lulu booktalks

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baphomet-media · 5 years ago

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Beats and Blocks and Beats and Blocks and Beats and Blocks and - A Lumines: Electronic Symphony Review

Genre: Puzzle Subgenre: Rhythm Puzzle Developer: Q Entertainment Publisher: Ubisoft Platform(s): Vita Release Date: February 15th, 2012

Lumines (pronounced like “luminous”) is a series that holds a lot of fascination for me. I played the original game on my dad’s PSP as a kid, and while I was terrible at it, I was fascinated by the game’s mix of funky electronic music and block-busting puzzle gameplay. Many years later, I ended up picking up Lumines Remastered on Switch and loved it. Now that I have a Vita, I found out that a Lumines game was published exclusively for Sony’s doomed handheld, so naturally I had to give it a try. Does Electronic Symphony live up to the series reputation?

Story

The Lumines series is mostly a pure rhythm/puzzle game, and as such has no plot or characters, however it does have a progression system. In the original game, the player could play through the game’s main mode (called “Voyage” in Electronic Symphony) to unlock new levels (called “Skins”), each with their own visual style and music track. This has returned in ES, but the game also has an XP system that rewards you for playing each mode by giving you progress towards new avatars.

Gameplay

Lumines is very much like Tetris in that the player has an empty grid into which colored blocks fall, and must manage their blocks wisely to clear them out and prevent any column from reaching the top. Aside from that, Lumines is very much its own beast. Each block you drop is a 2x2 square comprised of different arrangements of two colors. You can clear blocks by creating squares of 2x2 or larger of the same color, however matches are not instantly cleared. Instead, a vertical Timeline gradually makes its way across the grid from left to right. As the Timeline passes over matches, it registers them, then once the Timeline reaches the right side of the screen, all registered matches are cleared and the Timeline starts over from the left side. This creates an interesting dynamic where the player has to be conscious of the Timeline’s position when making matches, as making matches after the timeline has already passed that location means that match won’t be cleared until the next pass. This could also have a cascading effect, since blocks fall when matches below them are cleared, which could potentially disrupt matches placed after the Timeline has passed. Furthermore, the speed of the game generally increases as you progress through levels, making a slow and relaxed pace get more and more tense as you go along. Each skin has its own tempo, though, which affects the speed of block falling as well as the speed of the Timeline. As you progress through the main Marathon mode (called “Voyage”), you will find that the speed of each successive skin doesn’t increase linearly, and can jump around a bit to give you periods of intensity and relief.

To help you out with clutter are two special block pieces that can generate, the link piece and the shuffle piece. When a link piece is dropped, it can link with all other adjacent pieces of the same color, and cascades the effect through each linked piece, allowing those pieces to be cleared by the Timeline. This can drastically reduce clutter if used well, and can set you up for big combos by removing most of one of the only two colors on the field. The shuffle block has a similar effect, except when a shuffle piece is dropped, all cascading adjacent pieces are randomly shuffled between colors. While I found the link pieces to be immensely helpful, I mostly found the shuffle piece to be disruptive to my strategies, as there was no way to tell what it would change a large chunk of pieces into. Still, in a pinch, it can create some matches in large piles that haven’t been managed well, so it can sometimes be a lifesaver.

The game has plenty of other modes, though sadly ES has fewer than before. The modes include:

Voyage - The game’s Marathon mode where you play your way through each of the game’s skins, and unlock each skin for other modes as you reach them. If you lose, you have to start over. This is the game’s main mode, and what players will get the most use out of. I really like it, but one complaint is that runs can be fairly long. It’s difficult to just jump into, as a single run can take you around an hour or so if you’re decent at it, and a few mistakes late in the game can wreck your whole run.

Playlist - A sort of free-play mode where you can pick and choose from unlocked skins to create your own playlist. You can save and load playlists, as well. I didn’t really use this mode much, but it can be nice if you only want to play a few different songs.

Stopwatch - The game’s Time Attack mode. Select a time limit and see how many blocks you can clear within the time limit. It’s fun enough to attempt for the associated trophy, but not really interesting enough to come back to.

Master - A challenge mode of sorts, you play through five levels, trying to clear a set number of blocks in each level. Unlike Voyage, the skin is the same throughout, and the game speed drastically increases between each level. I found this mode to be the best challenge in the game, especially since you can start at any level you’ve previously beaten, but again is a bit too simple to really hold interest very long.

Versus - The game’s multiplayer versus mode. Unfortunately, the VS CPU mode from the original game is removed, so this mode is multiplayer-only. Good luck finding someone else who not only owns a Vita, but also owns this game and wants to play with you. Definitely a missed opportunity here.

The game also has a “world block” feature, which basically amounts to a number of blocks that have to be cleared in total by everyone playing around the world every 24 hours. This is an interesting feature, but eight years after the game’s launch, there’s barely anyone still playing, so the chances of anything happening with this feature are slim.

Presentation

The Lumines series as a whole is known for its quirky electronic music and flashy visuals, and ES is no exception. The vast majority of this comes from the game’s collection of skins, and ES has plenty of unique skins to go around. This time around, the collection of skins is decent, with fewer skins that I actively disliked, but unfortunately fewer that I actively liked, leaving the mix with kind of an okay middle ground. New in this game are some skins that apply a 3D art style to the blocks. While these look interesting, I found that the 3D skins are more distracting than the 2D skins, making it harder to get a feel for the state of the board at a glance.

Conclusion

Lumines: Electronic Symphony is a decent successor to the original Lumines with a solid lineup of tracks, but unfortunately has less to offer than the original, and does little to advance the series. It’s definitely a good game, and I recommend it to anyone’s Vita collection. I just feel that if Lumines Remastered didn’t exist, Electronic Symphony would have scored a lot higher. As it stands, I find it hard to recommend ES above Remastered in 2020.

Score: 7 / 10

#review #gaming #lumines electronic symphony #q entertainment #ubisoft #article

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judiciousimprecation · 6 years ago

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Co-op Recommendations

My best friend and I have been playing co-op games with each other since the days of N64. Thus, I have built up quite the list of recommendations I can share. The list favors local co-op, although most games these days that support local also support online modes. Also I have never owned a microsoft console in my life, so that’s a bit of a blind spot.

I’m ignoring pretty much the entire survival/crafting genre, since while those games can be played in a cooperative fashion, it’s not quite the same. And also there’s like a billion of them

Vaguely in approximate order of quality/strength of recommendation

Console/Local Co-op

Child of Light

An absolutely beautiful game with light RPG elements and a neat hybrid (real time & turn based) combat system. Story and writing are lovely, but the music and art style really sell it. Co-op is asymmetric, but nonetheless player two almost always has something to do, and having two players lets you do some really cool tricks in combat.

Towerfall - Dark World

The original Towerfall had 4 player PvP and 2 player PvE, and it was good enough to make me buy a full set of four controllers (and I was in college, so that was a lot of money). The (up to) 4 player co-op mode in the Dark World expansion is a substantial improvement on the base game’s co-op mode, and much richer in content. Excellent party game in either mode.

Tales of Berseria (and every Tales series game probably)

1-4 player co-op JRPG with real-time combat, interesting but not over complicated progression, awesome writing and neat level design. Plus, great art style and fantastic character design/writing.

Overcooked (2)

Work together to manage a kitchen and deliver orders! Almost as hectic as it is in real life, kitchen fires and copious swearing included. My favorite part of playing is when you fail miserably at a new level, then strategize with the group a bit and absolutely crush it on the second try. The sequel improves on everything that made the first one good without trying to stretch too far in the wrong directions.

Super Motherload

An arcade-like 2d game for 1-4 players, the simple premise (dig around and gather ores/gems for money) belies a great progression system, fun story, and quite a bit of replay value. Combos, unique characters, and an unusual crafting system add more twists. Equally easy to play for 20 minutes or 3 hours

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

This game is as unrepentantly adorable as the name implies. Play as tiny characters who have to actually run around in their (very simple) spaceship to pilot/shoot/shield/etc their way through various procedural space levels. And the bosses are constellations! Not to mention the upgrade system will have you playing longer just to find out what happens when you combine a metal and laser gem on your shield system

Trine 2

This recommendation actually comes second hand, but if you enjoy physics-based puzzle solving this is an excellent candidate

Unravel 2

More co-op platforming/puzzle solving! Only spent a few hours on this one so far, but it has some beautiful levels and hints of a strange story

PC/Online Co-op

Borderlands 2 (and the rest of the series)

Crazy FPS/RPG loot-fest with a fun story and excellent writing. You can probably pick up the entire series for a dime at the next Steam sale - do so asap. Also available on console, and supports split screen local co-op

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Literally pretty much just computerized D&D. Deep stories, tons of sidequests, and a lot of flexibility in both play styles and problem solving. And there’s a dungeon master mode!

Portal 2

If you don’t know about this already… are you okay? Do you need help getting home? Is there someone we can call for you?

Fortnite

As angry as I am about it, the co-op PvE Save the World mode is still really awesome and definitely worth a lok

Other/Special

Arizona Sunshine

Co-op shooter in VR! Already one of the best VR games out there, why not add a friend!

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Easily the most unique take on co-op gaming out there. One player sees the bomb (either VR or just blocking line of sight to a screen), everyone else get a real printed physical manual and has to relay instructions based on descriptions from the defuser. Very fun, and an excellent team-building exercise to boot.

Jet Force Gemini

Possibly the first co-op game I ever played. Player two just controls a tiny floating robot and helps shoot enemies. I loved it

Ratchet: Deadlocked

The Ratchet & Clank series was already a joyous chaotic explosion-fest, and adding co-op just sweetened the deal. My friend and I actually 100%’d the game. I still have the disk just in case a PS2 ever falls in my lap again.

Survival Crafting

Okay fine I’ll list them here anyways.

Raft

Work together to build your raft in a Windwaker-style flooded world, and don’t get eaten by the shark following you. Very nice to have someone steer (or stop!) the raft while you go diving

Don’t Starve Together

An almost roguelike take on the survival/crafting genre. Having multiple people does really help with not dying

Starbound

2D minecraft, basically. But in space, and with guns. Actually not much like minecraft at all, but still, fun

Space Engineers

Mine asteroids and build functioning custom spaceships!

#co-op games #I don't even have anything to procrastinate on why am I writing so much #rustingbridges #effortpost

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pinersierra · 2 years ago

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Goodbye deponia hints

#Goodbye deponia hints series

If you are using Maxthon or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, you should know that these programs send extra traffic to our servers for every page on the site that you browse.The most common causes of this issue are: The story is very easy to get into and having no prior experience it was a blast, it had me hooked right into the world. Daedalic Entertainment did an excellent job with this game and I most definitely recommend it and remember, Huzzah good things come in threes.Your IP address has been temporarily blocked due to a large number of HTTP requests. The witty dialogue and crafty puzzles will make you laugh, curse and will bring hours of entertainment. If you are someone like me who appreciates excellent stories, great music and art within games I would recommend Goodbye Deponia. Check out the music example below, you’ll see what I mean. In fact the music pulls you in and actually enhances the story as the musical narrator takes you through chapters of the game and explains what’s happening. It gives the necessary vibes during critical moments and never distracts from gameplay. The unique scores and songs in Goodbye Deponia fits perfectly. You know when people ask you if you could live in any video game world which would it be? Don’t people ask you that too? I would say Deponia because its stunning and everyone is charming…for the most part. Every detail pulls you into the world and makes you want to constantly see more, interact with objects and experience everything around you. You can tell that Daedalic Entertainment put a lot of effort and care into their Deponia franchise. Goodbye Deponia has beautiful hand drawn art. If you are an impatient ninny and use the hint feature then I stare at you with shame as you are missing out on the joys of exploration and admiring the fine art in front of you. You’ll get sucked into the level illustration and click everything. I did not like using the hints because I like to explore and there is a lot to explore in this game. For those with a little less patience if you push down the scroll wheel you can see all the interactive elements in the area. The game is great at letting you know when you’re doing something wrong so you can experiment and get creative which is awesome. To combine items just click on an item and click on another item and it will combine. Once you’re in the inventory screen you can see what items you have and even combine items to help solve puzzles. The old feature of the floating inventory exists but trust me use the new system it’s quite handy. To pull up inventory just scroll your mouse wheel, this is a new feature and is extremely useful. Left click to pick items up and interact with them and right click objects to view them. You point and click to make your character walk around. Top that off with an excellent story line, unique and hilarious narrative music and you have yourself an extremely fun adventure.Ĭontrols are very basic as the very entertaining tutorial points out. This is a game with personality, style, intellegent humor, dark humor and some challenging puzzles along the way. Not just any point and click adventure though so don’t you scoff, I heard that. If you haven’t experienced the world of Deponia before or know what kind of game it is, it’s a point and click puzzle based hand-drawn 2D comic adventure. You see personality growth as Rufus walks through a story of self discovery, trials and mass chaos as he tries and save all of Deponia. Rufus, a person who always knows what’s best actually discovers self-doubt. Things are never quite as easy as they sound though. Saving Deponia is right within reach of Rufus and Goal. His disregard for danger, love of himself and his habit of finding trouble around every corner help to make this story quite interesting. Rufus is somewhat of a talented tinkerer and inventor with mass amounts of personality. You play as Rufus our anti-hero that you can’t help but love. I won’t write any story spoilers so don’t worry. I was pleasantly surprised by the mass amount of personality this game has.

#Goodbye deponia hints series

After playing Goodbye Deponia you better believe I’m going back to play the first two so I can make a series review, so keep an eye out for that. Deponia is a trilogy and Goodbye Deponia is the third in the series. I jumped in for a fellow writer and took a leap head first into the adventure of Goodbye Deponia.

#Goodbye deponia hints

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the-crippled-god · 3 years ago

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Steam Next Fest, October 2021

Here’s a few sentences on the demos I’ve played thus far. We’ll see if I get to more...

A=B: Of the genre of 'Esolang programming games' (of which there are many), this might be one of the easiest to get into. However, nearly all the fun is going to come out of weird tricks you can pull off with the new instructions added in each section, which kinda defeats the premise. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at how clever the game let me be with the the base 'one instruction'. It's not really programming, it's pattern matching and replacing (that being said, folks are starting to work out that well implemented pattern matching is one of the most powerful tools a programming language can have), and a condition that if a rule matches, the instructions start over, rather than continue. I wonder if there's any real world langs that behave like this, but support regex patterns (including capture groups), it might actually be a neat way of building things like custom file renaming rules... Games like this always feel like I'm doing work while not at work, but the simplicity of the base instruction makes this feel more like a puzzle game than something like TIS-100 or Shenzen IO, so provided the extra instructions don't make it feel more like programming (avoid adding branching, don't let me loop beyond the base loop, etc.), I'll probably enjoy this. Verdict: interesting, I'll probably buy it if it's cheap.

Galaxy's Extreme: This is another "Nintendo won't make a new F-Zero game so we'll do it ourselves", and it's... fine. Momentum feels good, and the controls feel good, it's just, too simplistic. I really feel like a spiritual successor to F-Zero needs the strafe and slide turning of GX (or some equivalent), without absurd goofy snaking, it's just, not the same, let alone an escalation of the style. You also only seem to leave the ground and prescribed points, rather than behaving like a hover craft, which doesn't quite feel right. Verdict: I'll probably pass on this one, if it gets rave reviews on release, and has online multiplayer, I could see grabbing it to play casually with friends.

Rayze: There's a good idea here, this isn't a good implementation of it. Momentum feels weird, and the game doesn't use raw mouse input, for some reason. An 'Aim racer' feels like a good idea, but this is more of a puzzle game where you're trying to work out how the level designer wants you to click things. Verdict: pass, absolutely not for me.

Dread Delusion: Open world immersive sim, focused on being weird. Seems alright, demo is a little too limited to tell, and I allocated my stats wrong to be able to see all of it (you seem to need high Lore to get to a few areas), but I enjoyed what was here, and will probably pick it up as just a weird thing to explore. Verdict: neat, be interested to see how the full version is.

Titanium Hound: This one looked cool, but it's really not good. Sounds in the menus are ear piercing, control scheme makes no sense on either the keyboard or controller. None of the attacks feel like they have impact. Controls are floaty and weird, like everything is on ice. Enemy sounds are muted, music is boring. Verdict: Really disappointed in this one, hard pass.

Transiruby: C...Cute... This seems like a fun light hearted metroidvania. Dialogue is witty, Siruby and pals are cute. Music is charming. Controls are tight. Graphics lean a little to simple for my tastes, but otherwise no complaints. Verdict: I'll probably buy this, seems like a good coping game for me.

Gastova: The Witches of Arkana: Meh. Some of the cutscene and character detail art is cute. Writing feels like it has a good premise, but could use an editor to punch up the jokes and quips a bit, since they don't quite land. It's almost like English isn't the writers first language, they have a good grasp of how to put words together so they're coherent, but they're not great at pacing dialogue so it feels natural. Gameplay is, bland? This feels aggressively like a 3rd party SNES platformer, like a Super Adventure Island or something. This is in all respects. It eats inputs randomly, attacks have no impact, enemies take too many hits, basic platoforming requires you stand on the very edge of the platforms, etc. I'm sure there are people who will get a kick out of this, but it's not for me. Verdict: pass.

Ex-Zodiac: It's a Starfox clone! Kinda halfway between SNES and 64. It's pretty good, not really doing anything original, but it plays well. Only weird issue I noticed is that enemies behind you can shoot at you, and there's not really a way to avoid it. Other than that my main complaint is the camera feels a little tight, definitely more like Starfox SNES, and it's a bit annoying. Verdict: I'll wishlist it, purchase is going to depend on the length and price of the full game.

Exo One: Interesting, likely not for me. I dig the movement scheme, though certain aspects of it suffer from the minimal UI/HUD. Manoeuvring through big wide open Unity terrain maps is not really compelling to me, I think I'd really like this if it was a more concentrated experience. Verdict: Pass, but I'll keep an eye on it.

POSTAL Brain Damaged: Hell yeah, this seems good. Think I like it more than Postal 4, at least in its current state. Writing is very Postal, except weirdly more subtle than usual? Dunno, this I like it more than Postal's usual crassness. Weapons are all versatile and cool (in the demo the rocket launcher weirdly feels the worst), and level design and aesthetics are on point. Didn't finish the demo cause I'd kinda rather play this on release, but really liked what I played. Verdict: Wishlisted, to pick up next time I'm in the mood for a boomer shooter.

Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams: I was expecting something different. This seems to be a mostly linear 1st person platformer set in a childish dreamscape. It's fine for what it is, but at least as a demo, it didn't grab me. I think Anodyne 2 did this aesthetic better, this kinda feels like someone looked at Spyro the Dragon, and decided that's what dreams looked like. Maybe it gets weirder later, but I'm not sure I want to wait around to find out. Verdict: Pass for now, but I'll check the reviews when it comes out.

Cleo: A Pirate's Tale: It's alright, for a one person game, it seems pretty dang good. But, I don't think I'll play it. Everything about it is just a little off. Writing isn't quite funny, voice acting has weird intonation and direction, controls don't quite work intuitively, art style feels a touch unrealized, etc. Definitely give this one a try, especially if you liked old LucasArts games, you might love this, but I didn't. Verdict: Pass, but I have a few friends I'll probably recommend this to.

Hunt the Night: There's a good (potentially great) game here, but it leans just a little too into being difficult/punishing for my taste. You can animation cancel into a dash, except when there's hit stun from contacting an enemy with your sword, so you can't dodge ranged attacks while you're engaged in melee? Sometimes enemies are hit stunned by your attacks, sometimes the same enemies can attack through your hits? There's no stamina bar, but there's like 4 different meters to manage, and they work pretty well at forcing you to use all the options available to you. The weapons I found seemed to only differ in attack speed, melee combos did not change meaningfully, which is disappointing, but I didn't experiment much. Otherwise, for a 'bloodborne but as top-down zelda' it seems pretty great. Story seems interesting enough, if predictable, gameplay has a lot of good ideas, but it maybe needs another round of polish. A range indicator on the dash, and a solid explanation of if I'm suppose to be using it to dodge (and when I can cancel into a dodge and when I can't), along with a clear timer on how long I need to hold the heal button, would go a long way into making the game feel more fair. Verdict: On wishlist for now, because the trailer makes it look really fun, but I'll likely take a look at the reviews on release.

Anuchard: I swear I've seen this main character design before, I think they were a cameo design in CrossCode? Oh wow is English not the writer's first language, grammar issues all over the place. Thankfully, not so bad as to be incomprehensible, but I really hope they get an editor fluent in English before release. Gameplay wise, this seems a little too simple? Combat is satisfying, but you can stun lock the boss? And while the shield/heavy attack system seems like a good idea, it doesn't add much depth. Puzzle solving by bouncing the gems around feels bad. You can't aim in more than the 8 cardinal directions, and even that's inconsistent, and hit detection requires you to be really precise. Art is cute, writing seems like it has potential, if it gets a good proof read, music was interesting to good. Verdict: I think I'll pass, but I'll look into it after release.

Marmoreal: Can you tell this game wanted to be a Touhou fangame, but the art was worse than even ZUNs so they couldn't get the license? Joking aside, ignoring every art asset in this game (except the animation, but we'll get to that), this game is great. Gameplay feels really good, though I feel I need to re-map the abilities buttons a bit, I kept hitting them at inopportune times. And, the animation in cutscenes, along with the writing, make this a stupid ridiculous romp that nearly had me falling off my chair in laughter. This game knows exactly what it is, and I'm here for it. Verdict: Wishlisted, and I'll probably play more of the demo, since it's pretty substantial.

Transmute: A very clearly inspired by Axiom Verge (and maybe Environmental Station Alpha) metroidvania. My biggest complaint is the writing falls flat. Crazy shit is happening to and around the protag, and she hardly reacts (the writing puts more emphasis on her being 'anti-colonialist' than it does on the fact that she'd been in stasis for several years). Game plays well, though not being able to shoot at an angle, or downwards feels weird. Has an augment and retrieval system like Hollow Knight. the augment system even let me combine 2 things I didn't think it would allow me to. Difficulty spikes up after the 2nd boss, so I peaked my head into the 2 areas that open up, but wasn't really interested in banging my head against them when I know I'll have to start over when the game comes out. Verdict: Seems pretty well put together for a metroidvania, I'll wishlist it.

Tunic: This seems so close to brilliance, but it's just not there. The game looks adorable, but here's the issue: There's a massive amount of latency to the controls, you constantly feel like you're manoeuvring through muck. Even the most basic enemy can react to you faster than you can to it, enemies do a lot of damage, healing is very limited, and it has retrieval mechanics on death. This game feels really difficult for no reason. It's clearly trying to look like zelda, why does it play like a wannabe took-all-the-wrong-lessons-from-dark-souls game? If this game played closer to a 2d zelda game, it'd be a lot of fun, but as it plays right now, I have no interest. Verdict: Pass.

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