Savior699

Project Gorgon, initial thoughts

Over the years, many of you probably noticed that MMOs aren’t really my thing. Sure, I had a nice run in 14 with my pladin, checked out the free-to-play Neverwinter, and even played Elder Scrolls Online with my daughter. But they are the type of game I pick up occasionally then move on.

This brings me to Project Gorgon, a game that I can honestly say makes very little sense sometimes, and I mean that in the best way possible. I walked up to a bookshelf, and there were real books, written by players. Half the books were just advice from players for new players, and the other half consisted of short stories players made up about their in-game characters.

My first death leveled up my dying skill. Yes, death in this game is a skill. It offers perks for all sorts of things. Unless you decide to play in hardcore or permadeath mode, dying has no real consequences. It does offer you an excellent chance to role-play, however. Every time you die, you get hit with a random, let’s call it a debuff. The game tells you outright what it is and that it is only for roleplay purposes, and it ranges from your character being paranoid that people are reading your mind, to they forgetting how to speak.

I can’t speak much on the story, some hag wipes your memory for reasons I don’t know after 25 hours of play time and dumps you on an island. You then play that island as a tutorial ( there are a few ways to get off it) before reaching the main world. This is where you can start doing favors for people, trying to learn skills like carpentry or foraging, or ingredients to cook new foods. You can even decide to learn some sort of magic.

Now, don’t take this as a review for Project Gorgon, 25 hours into an MMO, is still learning how to play it. I have barely cracked the surface of what there is to do in this game. I am really just discussing how it really lets you feel like the world is open for you to just live in and do things. It is absolutely worth checking out, especially since it has no monthly fee and only costs $20. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Fruitbus PS5 Review

Fruitbus on PS5 is an interesting title from Silver Lining Interactive LTD that they were kind enough to send me. I always enjoy checking out new titles, and this experience is no different.

The general idea here is that your grandmother ran a food bus her entire life, one that you would often help her run when you spent time with her. Now that she has retired, she has left it to you. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, however, it ended up in the junk yard, and you need to fix it up and start from scratch.

The gameplay loop is rather easy. After a quick tutorial, you will park your fruibus somewhere, explore the area, gather supplies, open up shop for the day to sell some fresh-made goodies with the fresh-picked fruit, then repeat the process.

There is a story here as well. Your grandmother made one request when giving you this bus. Gather all her friends and throw her a retirement party. She did mention one small issue, she kind of pissed some of them all off and they don’t want to come. Others are just really busy. Except your mom, she just hates how she was raised because grandma spent all her time at work. This isn’t anything you can’t handle, though, right?

The real question with Fruibus is, how much do you enjoy cooking games in general? The game has adorable characters, easy controls, and a fun loop. Upgrading your bus is simple and rewarding, and collecting fruit isn’t as tedious as you would expect. It is a solid 8/10 experience, but only if you enjoy this type of experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bellfortis Steam Review

Bellfortis is a strategy game similar to Crusader Kings, this time developed by Rake in Grass, which they were kind enough to send my way. I always like to express my appreciation at the beginning as a disclosure of sorts.

The game itself takes place on a map of Europe, as you would expect. The map itself looks nice, and it is quite easy to navigate with a mouse. All the information you need is easy to find. Little pictures show you mountains or fields, if you are better off focusing on farming or production in a particular province, for example. A quick glance will let you know how happy your people are, and if you lower or raise taxes, you will see the people’s reactions fast and in real time.

Diplomacy is also done quickly and at the click of a button, with each option quickly laid out for you, and when this fails and war is inevitable, as it often is, battles break down, with you being able to control your troops in real time. Set your archers behind your foot soldiers. Watch as your horsemen slam into your enemy, or if you don’t feel like it, let the computer just do the battle quickly. Wars can be fast and furious or slow and methodical if you want.

The downside, if you can call it that, is that many of the features we have grown accustomed to over the years are missing from Bellfortis. While it is possible to get married, don’t expect deep friendships amongst warlords or to have children. If you happen to remember the old NES game Defender of the Crown, it is quite similar to that in many ways. The ruler you get at the start is just your ruler. When you get married, that will be your wife. The game trades in many advanced this for a streamlined and simplistic approach, even research is broken down into a few tech trees that you research.

Random events are straightforward as well

I say all this as a positive. The game costs a very reasonable $20 and is worth the money. You can learn it fast, unlike most games in the genre, and it doesn’t require a huge time sink to play, but that doesn’t make it easy either; it can be as hard as any other game. The game is a solid 8/10. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Medieval Supermarket Shop Simulator

Medieval Supermarket Shop Simulator on PS5, developed by CGI LAB SRL, is an absolutely horrible game. If you played any of the TCG Card Shop Simulator (Steam Review) copies out there, you might be expecting a passable game that is fun to mess around with. This is not it. Everything, however, about this game is pretty atrocious. The controls are pretty unresponsive, they go unexplained at pretty much every turn as well as don’t even make much sense.

You can only really set prices by moving them up or down from market value by 10% in either direction. This may not seem like a big deal, but it does limit your options for controlling what you can do. Restocking the store is also a hassle because you have to run a decent distance to the guy selling merchandise to buy things, then pick up the boxes and run back to your store. If this wasn’t bad enough, you don’t seem to be able to put boxes down once you pick them up. I may be wrong on this, and I just never figured it out, as I said, the controls are very poorly explained, and it is pretty much just trial and error.

I spent less than $3 on this game while it was on sale, and I kind of want my money and the 2 hours I spent playing it back. To make matters worse, the platinum trophy is very achievable simply by playing the game. It wouldn’t need a big time sink to get it, but it sits at a huge .3% or so.

If you are considering picking this game up, don’t. Please don’t make the same mistake as I and encourage these types of games any more than we already have. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine PS5 Review

How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine on PS5 is a sort of escape room puzzle meant for 2 people. It was sent my way by the guys and gals over at Just For Games, and I always appreciate that.

Playing this with my girlfriend actually gave me a fun perspective. See, only one person needs a copy of this to play, one person plays from an app on their phone, and the other one from their PS5 ( it is available on Xbox and Steam), and you are both given different info. One can explore the ship and mess with different controls. For example, in the first room, you can look through a periscope to see lighthouses or some controls. The other person can see some menus on how to operate those controls.

The two of you must work together and pass information back and forth to unlock the room and get to the next room. Each room has different controls, items to find, and puzzles to solve. If you are like me, this is fascinating and a lot of fun. If you are like my girlfriend, this is torture, and you demand to know why I am doing this to her and what she did to deserve this.

After a couple of rooms, I was forced to pick a different partner and restart the game. I figured my ex-wife would be a great choice. This turned out to be an even worse choice. It was sort of like doing an escape room with someone who has no desire to escape because eventually someone will open the door for you, or because they know the rest of the class will do all the work.

I then moved on to my third choice. My 19-year-old daughter. This time went much better, I let her take the console and I used the app on my phone. It felt nice and was easy to use. We managed to get through the game fairly well together.

The story is fun and the game functions well, and the app works well even on my phone, which is in dire need of replacement. With a price point of about $13 regardless of where you buy it, calling this a 7/10 game that escape room fans will love is a fair statement. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Announces Ashes of Elrant, the official DLC for Acclaimed ‘Chained Echoes’ (JRPG) (PC/SW/XB/PS) is releasing August 7th

Many of you may recall my coverage of the Chained Echoes PS5 Review, where I told you it was a must-buy RPG of 2022. We are getting the long-awaited DLC Ashes of Elrant on August 7th. Enjoy the trailer below, and don’t wait to pick this one up; it’s sure to be amazing.

Section 13: Online Co-op Comes to Console

If you remember my review of Section 13 PS5 Review, I mentioned that Co-op would be coming soon, and the good news is that it is now here. Check out the details below and give it a shot.

Workplace associates rejoice! Ocean Drive Studio and Kakao Games have launched the highly anticipated co-op mode for Section 13, a fiendishly ferocious twin-stick shooter.

S2P Corp recognises the importance of positive workplace relationships and wants to support this with a teambuilding exercise! Online co-op will now be available on Xbox and PlayStation, giving employees the chance to survive the horrors below together. As the saying goes, the more, the messier and there’ll be plenty to clean up when the interdimensional forces of evil have had their fun.

Step into the monstrously challenged and health-and-safety unapproved Section 13, grab your lasers, hold onto your health packs and be prepared for death. After all — apart from taxes (*please see last week’s memo on new deductions) — it’s the only certain thing in life, and you’ll get to experience it plenty of times.

If the notion of dying over and over and over does not appeal to you, please see the most recent trailer below. Corporate assures us that it will change your mind:

So grab a friend and save the world, or at least the only world that matters — your job! Enter the hazardous world of Section 13 today on Xbox, Playstation and Steam and show those monsters who’s boss (it’s Corporate, but you’re a close second).

Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping Steam Review

Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping is a small title from Lunheim Studios with a straightforward concept. One, they were nice enough to send me to check out, and I always appreciate that.

The idea is to let you build your own virtual fish tank. You can buy eggs of different qualities, and they hatch into random fish. And don’t worry, while you can separate them into fresh or salt water, you don’t have to. The fish won’t even eat each other. This is a stress-free environment for you and the fish.

Other people can come and visit your tank and leave little reactions if they enjoy it, and you can do the same for them. It is a nice touch that there are sometimes rewards for doing. You can’t spam the reactions ( you are limited to about 5 a day), but you can view all the tanks you want.

Another nice touch, if not a bit unethical, is the ability to get a group together to go fishing. This seems to increase your odds of catching more rare fish to toss in your tank. (Don’t do this in real life)

/ So what are my thoughts? The game costs $5 and has the option to just sit on the bottom of your screen while you do work, or you can focus on it when you have some time to kill. The graphics are cute, and it functions very well. I wish I didn’t have to spend so much in-game money just upgrading my tank to keep more fish, or that it was easier to get the decorations I want, but the game is great for what it is meant to be, an easy 9/10 must buy for this genre. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Maximum Football PS5 Review

Maximum Football on PS5 is a free-to-play football game from Maximum Entertainment, but as always with my full disclosures, they did toss me this a bit early and with a few freebies tossed in so I can dive in and really check out the customization. So if you are one of the people who played the Scranton Dragon Fire, you are welcome. I am horrible at this game, but my team looks damn good I think.

Honestly, the gameplay is solid, I would say don’t come in here expecting Madden, but I don’t know if that is a compliment or not. Running feels nice, and while I may be the world’s worst QB ( Dak Prescott during the playoffs excluded, Go Eagles!) the game does play well.

There are a lot of small things I love about this game. While they take a great pro football approach, there are some arcade aspects to it. For example, I haven’t played a game where someone hasn’t gotten hurt, and the game always tells me exactly what it was and how long they are out. Big hits also look vicious without looking cartoonish.

My only real issue is that, for a game with a ton of custom options and that is made to customize everything, basically everything is locked. I know they need to make money, and not everything requires real money to unlock, but damn even with a headstart I had to make a lot of choices.

All this being said, if you want to play football and don’t want to spend $60 on Madden, this is a 7/10 experience. There is no reason this should not be in your rotation if you enjoy sports. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

LumenTale: Memories of Trey Demo

LumenTale Memories of Trey is an upcoming monster-collecting RPG from Team 17 and Beehive Studios . They tossed me this demo to check out, and it is a demo from the early build, so this definitely is not a full review by any means. More a collection of thoughts on something they were nice enough to let me check out.

The story is rather interesting. For a long time, the world was peaceful. This peaceful emperor died, as often happens, a civil war broke out. There was a huge war until a very dedicated portion of the old king’s military decided to defend the people who lived in fear; this brought a new peace.

Who cares about that? We are here to catch monsters, in this world known as Animon. With 140 known types and 13 different elements, there are plenty of options to choose from, and with duels and 4×4 battles to choose from, there will be a ton of strategy to work on.

Before you get to all that, however, you will have to slog through an opening stealth section with a girl trying to find some fruit. I promise this is legitimately necessary for the story. It just wasn’t fun. The pacing in the early game feels pretty off to me. It isn’t bad or uninteresting, mind you, it’s just slow.

The designs for the Animon are as cute as you would hope in the early game, with some of them becoming creepy or more aggressive-looking as you would expect later on. The game looks great and plays fairly well.

My only other real issue is that the demo isn’t exactly optimized. My laptop heats up something fierce while playing, despite the fact that I am on relatively low settings and am well beyond what I would need to play the game. All that being said, the full release shows a lot of promise. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.