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Warhammer 40K Mechanicus - Blast Review

Developer: Bulwark Studio Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £22.99 (Epic), £24.99 (Gog.com, Humble and Steam)

Once more we step foot into the universe of Warhammer 40,000, this time though rather than being a space marine or a hired gun we take on the role of being a member of the Mechanicus. With this game we also depart from the first person view point and instead see things from an isometric view as we command units. In this game the enemy you face against are the Necrons, for those not in the know think… technologically advanced (and I mean advanced even for the 40K universe) undead, it’s actually more complicated than that but if I were to cover that this review would be over twenty pages long.

In many ways this game plays similarly to something like X-Com, where you pick what missions you wish to go on. You won’t be able to go on all of them though as some have a time limit to them. Speaking of time limits, this game has an interesting risk and reward mechanic. You see as you explore the various ruins you raise the awareness of the Necrons to your presence. The faster you go the less of them you’ll be facing but you may also miss some rewards that taking a quick detour could have gained you.

The combat is turn based in nature which makes sense for these kinds of games, a real time battle would be very difficult to win, especially since you are usually outnumbered (and often out gunned too). Between the missions you get to customise your tech-priests making them more specialised, though doing this requires a resource called blackstone that you will attain as you play.

If you’re into Warhammer 40k this is a very good offering, it worked really well on the Steam Deck and provided some real challenge in the later stages of the game. Hell, I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a good strategy game not just those into 40K.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k #mechanicus #blast review #strategy #turn based strategy

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Sunset Overdrive feels like a game that was designed by first coming up with a mechanic and then trying to tie a story to it. There are actually many examples of this kind of game actually, the original Portal is a perfect example. Valve came up with the mechanics first and then eventually created the game as we know it now (I may have skipped a few steps but the message is the same). The issue is Portal is an example of when this method of developing a game is done excellently, however, there's something about Sunset Overdrive that feels... off.

The traversal mechanics feel wonderfully smooth and are very fun to pull off, switching from grinds to bounces and wall running. They've even come up with a way to encourage you to use these mechanics as much as possible (just in case you didn't want to) with the combo system. Simply put the more grinds, bounces and wall runs you do uninterrupted the higher your combo which in turn activates a set of powers called amps.

Throughout the game you'll be trying to avoid and/or kill the OD, creatures that were once people and became what they are from drinking too much energy drink. It's an open world game, so there are a ton of collectibles, challenges and side stories for you to complete if you wish. Personally, I grew bored of the game after a few days but then I think I'm a bit burnt out on open world games and tend to prefer smaller games (unless your game truly grabs me like Horizon Zero Dawn did).

On the whole... well its not a bad game, I'll likely return to it later when I want a lighthearted open world game. If you like open world games you can do better, but not many of them will be as bright and colourful as this one.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #insomniac games #blind squirrel games

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En Garde! - Blast Review

Developer: Fireplace Games Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £15.99 (Gog.com, Humble and Steam)

Sometimes you find a game that just encapsulates a style or specific genre perfectly and in the case of this game the genre it encapsulates is the ‘adventure movies of early cinema’. You may be wondering what I mean by that, to which I shall suggest that you search the name Errol Flynn and specifically his role as Robin Hood in 1938. That’s right this game is all about the fancy stage fencing that those movies portrayed so often, of course this time without a stage.

In this game you’ll be kicking over barrels, dropping chandeliers and swashbuckling in order to survive the onslaught of enemies coming your way. There’s just something so fun about it and this game very much has its tongue firmly stuck in its cheek.

The combat is engaging and challenging, of course I did make my life a bit harder for myself because the last game I had played was God of War which has the dodge button on [A] while this game placed it on [B]. This caused a lot of confusion for myself until I rebound the keys. Still, the combat is really snappy and keeps you engaged. That being said I do take one bit of issue which is that the camera in this game can be a bit frustrating, sometimes I couldn’t see an enemy's attack because the camera was just stuck inside a tree or a wall.

I personally really recommend this game, sure it’s not very long lasting maybe six hours but in that time you’ll be kept highly entertained!

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video game #video games #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #en garde #swashbuckler #fencing

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God of War

Developer: Santa Monica Studio Publisher: PlayStation PC LLC Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £39.99 (Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic) Released: 14th January 2022 Available on: Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad and a Steam Deck Approximate game length: 40 hours +

I’m just going to say this now, until this one I’ve never played any of the God of War games. From what I’m given to understand this game is different from its predecessors in a number of ways, not least of which being the setting. For starters, Kratos (one of two main characters) is older than in the previous games, though it’s never specified how much older, another difference is the inclusion of his son Atreus (the second of the two main characters).

God of War originally released in 2018 on the Playstation 4 but has thankfully joined the slowly growing number of games that Playstation are allowing onto the PC (albeit five years later). The game is what I would call semi open world, where you can’t go just anywhere but the space in which you do have to play is quite extensive and densely packed.

Graphically this game is absolutely gorgeous and runs smoothly (even on my rig that's starting to show its age). On the Steam Deck it generally runs wonderfully though it does drain the battery incredibly quickly while not docked. I did have one instance of the game crashing while docked though it seems to have been a one off as I've not been able to replicate it.

As I mentioned this game is a densely packed semi open world so there is plenty to do. What I find quite impressive is that as you play through the game Kratos tries to use the various side missions as a way to teach Atreus lessons. I think that's a very smart way to show how Kratos has grown as a character from the previous games (from what I can tell) without making it explicit.

The combat is engaging and fast paced with multiple opponents trying to attack you at the same time forcing you to dodge and parry blows from different directions. If you do successfully parry an attack you’re rewarded with a brief window of time where the combat slows and you can take your opportunity to strike. Unlike many other games that saddle you with an NPC Atreus is actually useful, especially in combat, as he will attack enemies of his own accord or by your command. He even will sometimes restrain enemies allowing you to get free hits in or a moment's respite.

As you fight you'll build up ‘Spartan Rage’ (as depicted in a metre below your health bar). This metre increases from both dealing and taking damage. Once you activate this ‘Rage Mode’ you cause much more damage and are totally immune to all damage for the short time it lasts.

Defeated enemies sometimes drop healthstones that restore a portion of your health, resources for upgrading your equipment or hacksilver that can be used in stores. These can also be found within breakable pottery that's scattered around the world (except the resources, those are typically found in chests). Defeating enemies also grants experience (XP) but only once you’ve completed a combat encounter.

Experience (or XP) is spent on upgrading your skills, however you can also use it to upgrade the various runes you will find in the world that can be applied to your weapons and armour. In Atreus’s case not only can it be spent on making him a much more efficient fighter but also allow him some magical affinity.

Your ‘Goals’ (read objective) screen is separated into five parts; Journey, favours, labours, treasure maps and artefacts. Journey is the main storyline, favours are side quests, labour's are optional tasks such as ‘kill X creatures’, treasure maps I feel are self explanatory and artefacts are items found in the world. All of the goals and codex screens are written by Atreus which I think is a clever idea as Kratos doesn't seem to be the type to write things down. A great example of this is when you defeat an enemy type a few times more information in the form of hints will appear in that enemies bestiary entry.

If I had to level one complaint against this game it would be that it’s slightly guilty of over using and recycling enemy types. A great example of this are the trolls, through this game you’ll face a number of trolls (about six if memory serves) however they all have the same move set, and look the same apart from maybe being bigger or a different colour.

I did wonder if this game deserved all the hype it was given back when it first released and now having played it I get it. It’s a lot of fun with an interesting plot and charming characters. If you’ve not played this game don’t worry about not having played the previous titles, it really does stand up on its own so I heartily recommend it.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #Santa Monica Studio #Playstation PC LLC #God of War #kratos #atreus

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Headspun – Blast Review

Developer: Superstring Rrp: £9.99 (Steam), $9.99 (Itch.io)

I like a quirky game and this game definitely ticks that box simply from its setting alone. It seems that in this world we're all being controlled by little people who manage our thoughts and feelings. We play as Ted, a little person inside the head of Theo. Ted's the one in charge and has ultimate control over Theo, unfortunately Theo has awoken in a hospital bed and has suffered a rather major brain injury and no memory of how it occured. It's Teds duty to get Theo back into full working order and solve the mystery of the missing memories, perhaps they can shed a light onto what happened. This game is one part visual novel and one part management simulator with some quick time event mini-games thrown in for good measure.

Unfortunately this game has a few bugs, most are minor in nature such as some input not being recognised on occasion. Thankfully they didn't stand in the way of me enjoying this game but I have a reasonably high tolerance for bugs (especially in indie games). So can I recommend this game in good faith? Tentatively yes, the story makes it worthwhile but you will have to deal with the odd bug here and there.

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#game review #games review #game reviews #games reviews #video gaming #video games #video game #indie #indie games #indie game #superstring #blast review #fmv

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Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate - Blast Review

Developer: PUNKCAKE Delicieux Rrp: £7.91 (Itch.io), £8.99 (Gog,com, Humble and Steam)

I've never been good at chess, I understand the rules but I just can't do that whole 'thinking several steps ahead' thing. But this... this I can do. You control the black king and you're trying to take your kingdom back one blast at a time.

You'd think that giving the King a shotgun would trivialise the game, and it would except each piece now has a health value and your shotgun deals inconsistent damage due to its firing spread. At the start of a run you can select which shotgun you'd like to use, as each has their own quirks. Of course, when you first start the game only one will be available to you.

Upon completing a level you have to choose between a set of cards, each set of cards has a black and a white card. The black card usually is beneficial to you, while the white aids the white pieces. These cards can completely change the way the game is played, from bishops that can move orthogonally to adding a Queen to the board every 10 turns.

This game doesn't have me clamouring to play more chess but it definitely makes me want to play more of this version. Definitely worth a look.

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#game review #games review #game reviews #video games #games reviews #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #chess #shotgun king #punkcake delicieux

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Space Hulk: Deathwing - Enhanced Edition - Blast Review

Developer: Streum On Studio Rrp: £26.99 (Gog.com, Humble and Steam)

Yet another game set within the Warhammer 40k universe, I actually have a bit of experience with the Space Hulk series as I used to play the video game as a kid. This game isn't that one though, for starters that game was a turn based top down affair and this one is a tactical squad based first person shooter. As far as tactical squad based shooters go this one isn't too bad though you're squad mates AI does have something to be desired, their pathfinding can be terrible and sometimes they just don't detect enemies.

This isn't a bad game but like everything Focus Entertainment publish it just seems to lack polish. I wish I knew what it was about that company, they just seem to always publish games with great potential but lack one or two little things. I always know I'm going to get something flawed yet interesting from them. Sadly there was a bug I couldn't ignore in this game, when using the keyboard the run function would not work consistently, sometimes I could run sometimes not, even when I rebound the key. However, on the control pad the run function worked easily, but I won't play an FPS with a control pad if I can help it, I like being able to aim accurately and quickly.

On the whole this isn't a bad entry into the many many many Warhammer 40k games, but it I really wish the developers would come back to it and add some polish to it, make it a truly great game. If you absolutely love Warhammer 40K you can certainly do much worse (and better).

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video gaming #video game #video games #warhammer 40k #streum on studio

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Papers, Please - Blast Review

Developer: Lucas Pope Rrp: £6.99 (Gog.com, Humble and Steam)

It feels strange to play this game after having played Not Tonight, because Papers, Please came out five years before Not Tonight and as such it feels relatively... sparse comparitively. That isn't to say that the game is bad it's just that by comparison it feels like it lacks something. What I can say though is that playing this felt like playing an important piece of gaming history. Of course, Lucas Pope has moved onto bigger and better things, such as Return of the Obra Dinn and whatever he has in the works next.

For those unfamiliar Papers, Please simulates the act of checking the paperwork of people as they attempt to cross the border into the glorious (and fictional) country of Arstotzka. Each day the act of doing this job will get more and more complex with new rules adding to or even superseding old ones. It starts off easily enough, check the persons photo ID, the expiry date and country of origin and accept or deny them as appropriate. But that quickly spirals as you soon have to start checking issuing cities, foreign passes, lack of documentation and of course the occasional bribe. All of this is while under the pressure of time, you can only do so much during your working hours and you are paid by how many people you process in that time. Suddenly those bribes start looking appealing, especially with those bills to pay and a family to feed.

This isn't a simply game about performing an ever increasingly difficult bureaucratic task, there's a larger plot that slowly appears that you interact with through the choices you make. Who you let through and when makes all the difference.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #Papers Please #Lucas Pope #blast review

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Wonder Boy: The Dragons Trap - Blast Review

Developer: Lizardcube Rrp: £14.99 (Humblebundle, Steam and Epic) and £17.39 (Gog.com)

I remember when I was a kid watching a friend play the original of this game on his Sega Master System. He never let me have a go, though to be honest I can see why, I was a heavy handed child who was quick to anger when thwarted so he likely feared for his control pad's safety. It's now many years later and I finally got to have my go! Hurray!

This game is essentially a metroidvania though, due to some technicalities I hesitate to truly give it that label. The thing with metroidvania's is that when you gain a power you can easily switch to a different power. In this game that isn't the case, when you defeat a boss you turn into a monster version of yourself, you can't change out of this form into another one until you kill another boss or find an altar. However, altars are uncommon and seem to change you somewhat at random.

What this game is though is beautifully animated, it has been entirely drawn by hand giving every character a wonderful sense of personality. I spent ages just watching how the mouse-man's ears wiggle. Of course, if you want to relive those old days of 8-bit you can quickly change the game to retro mode in the options menu or with the trigger buttons on your control pad. I thought that was quite a nice feature to add especially because you can choose to just change the music or just the sound effects.

Is this game worth £14.99, honestly to me no. Thankfully I didn't have to pay that, I picked it up when Epic made it free. It's just a bit too short to justify that cost to me (as I completed it in just under 5 hours), but perhaps your mileage will vary.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #video games #games reviews #video gaming #video game #indie #indie games #indie game #Wonderboy #Wonderboy the dragons trap #Lizardcube

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Road 96: Mile 0

Developer: Digixart Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £10.96 (Humble and Epic), £11.96 (Gog.com, Steam)

Last year I finally got around to playing Road 96 and it ended up becoming one of my favourite games of the year due to its well crafted and highly engaging story. So when I found out that the developers had created a new game in the same universe, a prequel no less I couldn’t help but find my interest piqued.

As I mentioned earlier this is a prequel to Road 96 where you play as one of the other characters you meet on the road, specifically a character called Zoe. You also play as another, new, character named Kaito. These two are from different backgrounds, Zoe is the daughter of a high ranking politician and lives luxury while Kaito is the son of two low level workers who effectively live in a slum. This is the story of how Zoe ended up out of that luxury and on the road trying to escape the country.

Now on its own merits this game is… fine, and sadly that’s the best I can truly give it. It absolutely fails to achieve what Road 96 did and I feel that this is in large part due to the fact it’s a prequel. The game is constrained by what narratively has to come next in Road 96, as such many of the stakes presented to you just don’t feel that meaningful. I also can’t ignore the fact that this game has a lot of QTE’s for the length of it and really liked to throw a skating mini game within each chapter. I get that these mini games were supposed to represent the character performing a task or dealing with their mental state but it felt so strange when compared to Road 96. Sure, that game has some goofiness to it but it wasn’t as concentrated as this.

Do I feel it’s worth playing? That’s a difficult question for me to answer. I won’t lie, I felt disappointed by this game. I’m glad I got to know some of the backstory to Zoe but this whole game just felt a bit lacklustre.

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #Road 96 #Road 96 Mile 0 #Digixart #Blast Review

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Cyber Crush 2069 - Blast Review

Developer: Mature Games Rrp: £1.69 (Steam)

You know how whenever Disney or some other major film company releases a new film there's always some very low budget rip off? Specifically one that has cover art that's designed in such a way as to trick someone's elderly family member into mistakenly buying it? This game is that for Cyberpunk 2077. This is the 'Little Panda Fighter' to Dreamworks 'Kung Fu Panda'. The evidence for my claim is pretty apparent but just to add more fuel to the fire lets take note that this game was released two days after Cyberpunk 2077's original release date and like Cyberpunk 2077 this game is set in Night City. I could go on but I think I've laboured the point enough.

The long and the short of it is that this game is effectively Huniepop with a Cyberpunk skin. You 'date' the five girls by performing a match three puzzle and beating its score. After each date you gain a heart up to a maximum of five hearts, if you have another successful date after that and its night (there's a day night cycle included) you can then have sex with them. Once you do you're given a 'H' scene to view (H meaning hentai).

Each of the five girls you can date are animated, bouncing and jiggling away as you converse with them on the various dates. The quality of the stories for each of the characters varies wildly, not that any are written especially well. There was one that I took more of a liking to (feel free to guess which if you ever decide to play this game) but even that particular story felt very single note. I could go into detail about the various mechanics but honestly most of it is unimportant, sure you could learn about each girls likes and dislikes but they amount to nothing. There's no loss condition, once you gain a heart it can never be lost so its not like you lose any progress.

So, is it worth playing? God, no. If you want hentai there's lots online going for free, if you want a good match three game I recommend giving Ironcast a try. I reviewed that a while ago and its far better.

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#cyber crush 2069 #match 3 game #adult game #valentines day #Mature Games #game review #game reviews #games reviews #games review #video games #video game #indie #video gaming #indie games #indie game #cyberpunk #cyberpunk aesthetic

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The Talos Principle 2

Developer: CroTeam Publisher: Devolver Digital Steam Deck Compatibility?: Verified Rrp: £24.99 (Humble, Steam and Epic) Released: 2nd November 2023 Available on: Humble, Steam and Epic Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard Approximate game length: 30+

Normally I would write a little story based on the game the review is about. However, this time I have a story that the first Talos Principle tangentially relates to. The first Talos Principle poses a question regarding souls and if machines can attain them. It also asks another question which is; Is a soul something you imprint upon through your life like a lump of clay or do you become moulded into the shape of your soul as you grow. I found this question interesting and posed it to my best friend (who I knew would love a debate on something like that) and she and I discussed it, or rather, we argued about it. During that argument we asked her partner what he thought. His response disappointed us both as he had no opinion at all about it, not even as a thought experiment. They broke up shortly after. So anyway, that's how the Talos Principle broke my friend's relationship…

This game is set in a world where all of humanity has long since gone extinct… Well, all organic humans are anyway. You may be wondering why would I state specifically ‘organic humans’? That’s because there are sentient robots that call themselves humanity and consider us (the organic ones) to be their ancestors. In this game, as it was with the last game, you play as one of those robots. In the first game you were the first of your kind to be born into the real world and in this one you are the last, specifically the one thousandth. You being the last one is apparently a big deal and so you walk out to a large celebration. A celebration that is short lived as it gets interrupted by Prometheus himself, or at least a representation of him. He just manages to command your race to investigate a distant island before being dragged off by Pandora. It seems something big is occurring and so you and a small team jet off to this mystery island.

As is to be expected a new game comes with new puzzles and mechanics, such as the RGB splitter that requires two coloured beams of light to create a third, such as red and blue to make green. There are also a lot of puzzles, within each of the nine biomes there are eight ‘main’ puzzles, two ‘lost’ puzzles, two statue puzzles and a golden gate puzzle that can only be accessed in the late game. There are actually more than that but telling more would be something of a spoiler.

The puzzles are scattered across each biome and are numbered from one to eight (except the two lost puzzles, the statues and the golden gate) and each biome introduces a new mechanic for you to utilise. While you don’t have to go through them in numerical order, I do strongly suggest that you at least start with puzzle number one before trying the others if only to get an understanding of the new mechanic being shown to you.

Hidden around the biomes are two ‘Sparks of Prometheus’, you can use these sparks to skip a puzzle. Though it takes three sparks to skip a single puzzle and there are only eighteen sparks to be found in the entire game, so if you do decide to use them be sparing with them.

As I mentioned in the story at the beginning of this review, the previous game posed a philosophical question ‘Can a machine have a soul? And if so is the soul developed over time or granted in full at creation?’ It seems the first half of that question was answered, so now this game poses many more questions such as if knowledge should be sought out for its own sake, the nature of self determinism and the direction that the new human society should take.

In the last game there was a journal that was accessed with the [Tab] key, in this game the journal has been replaced with something of a status screen. While in this screen you can read information on the things your companions have found, check the clues that the sphinx statues give, relisten to the voice logs you find (which will continue to play out of the status screen) and you can interact with the games social media. That’s right the new humans in this game have created some kind of twitter analog, thankfully this version is actually moderated and the discussions generally don’t get insulting or abrasive. You can, of course, ignore it however I would encourage you not to as the short conversations you have on there have an impact on certain events that happen in the story.

While in the first game you were all alone, struggling your way through the various puzzles. In this game you actually have companions that wander around the various biomes, they won’t help you with the puzzles at all, that’s your job, but they will want to speak to you about the various things you discover as you play. I really like the inclusion of these characters as they add moments of levity and sometimes an alternative perspective on the various subjects this game likes to throw at you. Plus some of the characters I genuinely grew to like and would seek them out for a conversation whenever something important happened just to hear what they had to say.

I have to say that Croteam certainly do create a beautiful looking game, the various vistas are absolutely stunning to look at. Bear in mind that the screenshots are from my rig which is running just a little over the minimum specifications. I will admit it does make me a little sad to see that Croteam are no longer using their own engine, they really have shown that they know what they're doing with the Unreal 5 engine.

On Steam Deck this game runs flawlessly. However, some of the puzzles (especially the ones that require you to do things outside of the various puzzle enclosures) can be very difficult to see simply due to the screen size.

If you like puzzles then this is a game I can highly recommend. I had an absolute blast playing through this, to the point that I found every secret, completed every puzzle and found the alternative ending. There aren't many games that get me to do that.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

The Talos Principle Portal 2 Quantum Conundrum

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video game #video gaming #video games #The Talos Principle 2 #CroTeam #Puzzle game #first person puzzler

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Trombone Champ

Developer: Holy Wow Studios LLC Steam Deck Compatibility?: Playable Rrp: £11.39 (Humble and Steam)

There is so much to this game that even though I really really want to write a full review on it I know it would be chock full of things that are best discovered on your own. So I’m settling for a blast review even though I literally have almost three pages of notes. At first glance this game looks like a joke version of a Guitar Hero or Rock Band style game even the character selection screen has all the characters look a lot like the Nintendo Mii’s from Wii Music. However, there is more going on mostly involving baboons. 

Playing through the various tracks, each of which lasts no longer than three minutes (so no Dragonforce style songs here), earns you ‘toots’ that you can spend on sacks that release cards. There are fifty cards to collect and they are totally optional… but take a hint here, really explore them. If you get duplicates you can ‘turd’ them which will give you a separate currency to create individual cards with.

Since Steam says that this game is ‘Playable’ on the Steam Deck I thought I’d give it a test myself. It definitely works though I found that you have to play the whole thing via the touchscreen and you’ll need to calibrate the game in the settings. However I wouldn’t recommend playing it this way, the game loses something and it’s a bit too easy.

I just love how dumb and yet incredibly clever this game is, even the somewhat awkward way you control the game has been taken into account making all your inputs chaotic and kinda funny.  This is not a game to sleep on, try it, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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#game review #games review #games reviews #video games #game reviews #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #trombone champ #holy wow studios llc #Youtube

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Backpack Hero

Developer: Jaspel Publisher: Different Tales, IndieArk Steam Deck Compatibility?: Yes Rrp: £15.68 (Itch.io), £15.99 (Epic), £16.75 (Gog.com and Steam) Released: 14th November 2023 Available on: Itch.io, Epic, Gog.com and Steam Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard / Steam Deck Approximate Game length: 12 hours +

I've been waiting for this game to finally leave Early Access ever since I saw the youtuber Manyatruenerd play it. I purchased this game fairly early in its development but held off from playing it because even though I could see its potential I wanted to see what it would blossom into.

The core mechanic of this game revolves around your inventory and what you have in it. The inventory is represented to be similar to a Resident Evil style inventory grid system, which you make use of in combat. Combat is turn based, during which most items stored within the inventory can be used. There are some examples such as armour that automatically gets used and some items have no use in combat at all. By default you start three energy points, each item you use has an energy cost (which is typically one point). Some items have adjacency bonuses or gain benefits from their position within your inventory. For example, there is a gem that adds two damage to any weapon that is two spaces away from it.

Each time you win in combat you can take up to three items, you also gain experience based on which enemies you defeat (as some enemies will flee granting no experience). Levelling up allows you to add more spaces to your inventory, depending on which character you are playing as at the time this may work slightly differently. For example when, Purse (the default character) levels up you select three spaces that are contiguous to your existing inventory. However, when Satchel levels up he gets to choose between two shapes that can be added to the existing space or can create a separate ‘pocket’. Something to note is that all your levels are removed upon ending a delve causing you to start afresh each time you try again.

Upon completion of a delve into the dungeon you return to your home village of Haversack Hill, it’s seen better days, but through your adventuring you can improve it by constructing new buildings. The buildings you construct can roughly be split into two types, resource generation and research.  Resource generating buildings will build up resources in the Haversack Hill while you’re dungeon delving. These resources are necessary for creating more buildings as well as unlocking new items through research. Research buildings allow you to unlock new items that you can encounter in later delves.  Much like with your inventory buildings also have adjacency bonuses that increase their effectiveness.

There are lots of things to discover while delving, sometimes it’s combat, sometimes its treasure and occasionally you have the chance to unlock other characters to explore the dungeon as. Each of these characters come with their own inventory mechanics that change the way the game is played.

Occasionally some of the items you find are cursed and if you don’t add them to your inventory they will follow you and begin to replace items you find in combat and from chests. To get rid of them you have to cleanse them through a healer or finish your delve. It should be noted that cursed items are almost always powerful but have a downside.

The game runs great on the Steam Deck, though I did have some minor issues specifically regarding switching between using the touchscreen and then returning to the buttons. If you use the touchscreen the game has a bit of an issue switching back to the utilisation of the buttons, this thankfully is fixed by pressing the pause button and then using the buttons to exit it.

This game was wonderful to play and an amazing example of what a simple concept can do when expanded upon. This is a game I highly encourage you to try out and see what builds you can create.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

Peglin God of Weapons

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#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video game #video games #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #jaspel #indieark #different tales #backpack hero

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Machinarium - Blast Review

Developer: Amanita Design Rrp: £12.99 (Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam)

I don't know exactly what it is about Amanita Games but ever since I played Botanicula a few years ago I started to keep an eye on them. There's just something distinct about the visual style they use that really appeals to me. It also helps that they mainly make point and click games (very quirky ones too) which is a weakness of mine. Also an interesting thing that Amanita Games does is not include dialogue of any form, everything is delivered to you through fairly easy to understand pictographs which is great because that means there isn't any language barrier to overcome.

In this game you play as a little robot (in a world that is only populated by robots) who somehow ends up in a junk heap outside of his home town and so you're first task is to get back in... well actually the first task is to put yourself back together and then get back in. As I stated in the previous paragraph Machinarium is a point and click adventure game, complete with inventory and environmental puzzles. The good thing is though that if you get stuck the game comes with a built in walkthrough, you have to complete a little minigame to unlock it and it'll only show you how to get past that one puzzle but still its nice that it's included.

I found this game to be incredibly charming everything about it shows a level of care and attention to detail, plus its pretty funny in its own subdued way.

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If you’d like to support me I have a Ko-fi, the reviews will continue to be posted donation or not.

#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #Machinarium #Blast Review #Amanita Design #point and click

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Cult of the Lamb

Developer: Massive Monster Publisher: Devolver Digital Rrp: £19.49 (Gog.com, Humble and Steam) Released: 11th of August 2022 Available on: Gog.com, Humble and Steam Played Using: Xbox One Control Pad Approximate game length: 20+ Hours

Your followers bow as you pass, some call you 'Master' others 'Holy One'. The idea of this amuses you as you cook a meal for them, one made from the vegetables you planted, watered and harvested. A meal that once they are done with it, you'll be the one cleaning up their... droppings. Perhaps they should call you 'mother' rather than Master.

Cult of the Lamb is one part roguelite dungeon delver, one part city builder and one part management simulator. You play as a lamb who was killed by four gods to prevent a prophecy from being enacted. However, a fifth god known as 'The One Who Waits' brings you back and commands you to release him which just so happens to allow you to avenge your own death. In this game you establish and develop your own cult, keep your followers happy and wage a war against the four gods.

The game is essentially split in to two parts, one of city building and management and another of roguelite dungeon delving, which called 'Crusading'. There are four dungeons for you to crusade into, each with their own biome and enemies (though some are universal). In turn each of these dungeons is split into four levels with a boss at the end of each one and the god you need to kill at the end of the fourth level. Something else to note is that each level is created of several stages, at the end of each stage you get to choose between a few paths. Upon these paths you can find extra resources, boons or dungeon areas to explore. Something to note is that time doesn't stand still while you're crusading. The cultists back in your camp will continue to work, sleep, eat and die while you single handedly work to take down a pantheon. Your crusades into the dungeons are also where you will gather the majority of the resources you need for your cults base. Sure, some resources can be found and made by you and your cultists but many of the really vital components can only be found in the dungeons, and even then it depends on which of the four dungeon biomes you choose to decide to crusade into.

Combat in this game is similar to that of Enter the Gungeon in that unlike the Binding of Isaac you can dodge attacks with a dodge roll. Of course, in this game you don't have any guns, all your weapons are melee in nature, what you do have though are curses. Essentially curses are spells you can cast that will affect the battle, some fire a series of projectiles at the enemy while others will cause no damage but will temporarily freeze the enemies around you. Each time you use a curse it will deplete a resource called 'fervour' which is dropped by slain enemies. You'll also find relics while crusading, these relics have varied and wide ranging effects but once used need to be recharged by attacking enemies.

Your cults base gets upgraded by unlocking buildings within the tech tree, doing this require you to collect 'devotion' from your cultists. Thankfully, your cultists will happily provide this for you when they have no other tasks to be getting on with by worshipping at your shrine. The shrine will only hold a limited amount of devotion though so you'll need to deplete it regularly.

Your weapons are also upgraded through worship, though in this case its only the worship they give you while performing a sermon. Each time you collect 100 worship from your cultists you can gain access to another tech tree that allows you to upgrade your weapons, curses and what relics you'll find while on Crusades.

As you play you'll be given side quests along with your main goal. Any quests give by your cultists have a time limit on them and failing to perform them will cause the cult to lose some faith in you.

You need to keep your cults faith as high as you can, if it gets too low your cultists will start to denounce you influencing more of your flock to rebel before eventually leaving. If that does happen though there are counter measures you can invest in.

Cultists are usually acquired in four ways; One, you found them in the dungeon and after beating the snot out of the enemies you send them back to the camp to be indoctrinated later. Two, when you defeat a level boss they revert from their monstrous form and you can indoctrinate them back at your camp. Three, you bought them, that's right sometimes they can be purchased you just have to meet the right npc on one of your crusades. Once purchased you can indoctrinate them back at your camp (are you sensing a theme yet?). And lastly, you'll occasionally be given a quest by one of your cultists that will involve indoctrinating a troublesome follower or an elderly one.

Do not let the cutesy art style trick you, this game is absolutely horrifying (in all the best ways). Indoctrination, sacrifice, body horror, eldritch abominations and so much more. I will admit I wasn't prepared for the sheer amount of poo this game wants you to deal with. I thought that the various reviewers and pundits that covered this game when it first came out where kidding when they said this game was all about poo. But they weren't wrong, poo features so much in this game!

This game is well worth playing, and still has more development to go as there is a road map for yet more content to appear.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

The Binding of Isaac Recettear: An Item Shops Tale Enter the Gungeon

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If you’d like to support me I have a Ko-fi, the reviews will continue to be posted donation or not.

#cult of the lamb #game review #game reviews #games reviews #games review #video games #video game #video gaming #indie #indie games #indie game #city building #roguelite #massive monster #devolver digital #dungeon delving #management sim

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The Best Games of 2023

Welcome once again to the my personal list of games I enjoyed this year. Yep, it’s my list, feel free to disagree with me but it won’t change anything. So, here are the rules;

These are games that I’ve played and reviewed this year.

The list is in alphabetical order, its not a top 10, these all feature because of how good I consider them to be.

The games don’t have to have been released this year.

Everyone clear on the rules? If not feel free to reread them.

Beacon Pines

This is a game I backed on Kickstarter after watching one of my favourite Youtubers showcase it. I absolutely loved this game to the point of feeling sad when I had completed it that it was over. This game totally captivated me and had me want to explore the various endings it has.

Curse of the Dead Gods

This is a roguelite game of risk and reward, do you keep the rooms lit and see what enemies are coming for you or do you fight in the darkness where your attacks are more potent but you can't see what's coming until its upon you. That is only one of the many risks you can take that may grant rewards, curses and glory await you within this game.

Inscryption

If Daniel Mullins creates a game I have to play it, that's how it works at this point. Inscryption preys upon one of my weaknesses in both video and real games... deckbuilding. But once I thought I had a handle on the mechanics, they shifted and everything changed. Play this game and marvel at how strange and wonderful it is.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengance

“Gloriously stupid”, that's how I described this game and I'm sticking by that statement. It's so massively over the top in everything it does. An absolute must play!

Road 96

This game was something special. You could call it a walking simulator but that would not do this game justice at all. What makes this game special are the characters you meet as you go through your various playthroughs, from incompetent bikers to conflicted truckers and cops who just want to do good when surrounded by the bad ones. I've recently bought the separate expansion 'Mile 0' because I just want to experience it again (but differently).

Shadowrun Games

Okey, this is a bit of a cheat since this is about three games at once but I'm still counting it. My favourite of the three was Shadowrun: Hong Kong because of the way the story builds up. If you're ever in the market for a cyberpunk game (that isn't Cyberpunk 2077) I heartily recommend these.

System Shock (Remake)

Another game I backed on Kickstarter, and I'm so glad I did. I loved System Shock 2 and always found it very hard to go back it's predecessor. This remake removed the clunkiness of the old game for me entirely.

Toem

Toem is a wonderful, slow paced game all about photography. Photography is something of a passion for me so this game really spoke to me. Of course, there is more to it than merely taking virtual pictures, there are puzzles, quests and side missions to accomplish.

Unpacking

Cosy games seem to be a genre that's growing in popularity quite quickly and this game is pretty much the poster child for the genre. Something I really appreciated about the game was the unfolding narrative that you uncovered from what you unpacked into the various rooms and houses you followed the character into.

Vampire Survivors

Just as Unpacking is the poster child of the cosy genre Vampire Survivors is the poster child (and possibly the original progenitor) of the 'bullet heaven' genre. What I find rather amazing is the level of support this game has been given by its creator, with lots of regular free updates that add in content as well as a couple of paid for expansions it really feels like this game will never truly die.

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This year has been amazing for those of us that love to play video games, with lots of truly fantastic games appearing with regularity. Of course, that hasn't been the case for the ones creating the games, developers are still being fired and removed for all sorts of stupid reasons and of course they like to target the newly established unions. I hope more unions appear and give these corpos the bloody nose they are asking for.

#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #best of #beacon pines #curse of the dead gods #inscryption #metal gear rising: revenance #Road 96 #shadowrun returns #shadowrun hong kong #shadowrun dragonfall #System shock remake #toem #unpacking #vampire survivors #best of 2023