Category: Game reviews

Drova is a new action RPG made with Pixel art that Deck 13 and Just2D were kind enough to send me review copies of for both Steam and Xbox. Normally I don’t do this but I’m glad I did on this one because there are a few branching paths so to speak where you can side with one faction or another and it does change how the game plays out a bit. I won’t warn you about where this is because the game makes it obvious and it would spoil some story for you and I avoid that where I can.

What I will do is point out differences in the versions of the game. For example graphically I didn’t see any real difference between an average run of the mil computer and my Series S. My friend’s higher end computer seemed to get a more steady frame rate but not enough to choose that over my Series S,and you will definitely want to play this game with a controller.

The game play is also identical with no difference in story. The opening sequence of following druids into the woods, getting lost in fog and waking up alone in Drova doesn’t change. The first person you meet will teach you a few things and you will get a warning about being careful. Take this warning very seriously. I won’t help you avoid the mistake I made but I will tell you even in Drova we should all choose the damn bear.

  If there is one place this game feels a little flat to me it’s the combat. On PC or Xbox it just felt stiff to me and hard for the wrong reasons. And remember I consider Bloodborne one of the all time best games, I don’t mind hard. But half the time I felt like dodging was just a random activity. And each weapon felt similar with a slightly different speed.

  That’s a minor complaint however when comparing it to the world itself,which is a pretty substantial size and it feels like a living breathing world. This faction hates that faction, some people just want to live in a bar or to run their farms. Monsters will defend their territory against other monsters. I once watched flies fight frogs for no reason other than to see who won.

  The game isn’t perfect,and if you prefer PC over Xbox or Xbox over PC pick your poison because the game plays very well either way. The game won’t be for everyone,but it is a solid 7/10 and I can definitely see this being one of those games that attracts a large following for years to come. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

  TCG Card Shop Simulator from OPNeon Games is a rare game that is sent to me that actually surprised me a lot. My friend sent me a video of him playing the game, so of course I asked the fine people over at the company if I could check it out and they were only too happy to send me a copy as the game is still in early access.

The concept of the game is simple, you open a card shop, you start with a small amount of money, put up a couple shelves buy some basic card packs, sell them at a reasonable price and make some money. You can also open them to hopefully find more rare cards to sell individually for larger profits. Some cards may be worth a dollar or two but some can be worth thousands.

There is a ton to do here despite how simplistic the game is. Putting in tables for people to sit down and play is a great option for passive income. Build up an assortment of different stock to keep customers happy, from different types of card packs, boxes of those same cards, stuffed animals, starter decks, dice and so much more.

The game has also been updated twice since I started playing it. The first update added board games while the second added the ability for you to add movable trash cans so you can more easily stock your shelves and for customers to review your store.

Reviews help you know what customers want, be it different stock, lower prices,or even if you have too many smelly customers stinking up your store.

While I am still figuring out different strategies for making money, I have seen different people online so assorted things and tried them out myself. For example I’ve noticed simply stocking many of the same items will result in people buying more of them occasionally. Higher priced cards while more profitable will take longer to sell especially when your store is smaller.

  Right now the game cost $12.99 on steam,and if you are a fan of simulator games it’s a must buy, 9/10 game. It is actually as close to perfect as any game I have ever played  with only a few minor issues, occasionally customers will walk through a desk or a wall or some other piece of furniture. I’ve also bumped a box and had it fly across the room like it was its job. It is probably the best early access game I have ever played especially at this price point. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

   Bloomtown A different story is a game tossed to me by Lazy Bear Games that I feel did a terrible job showing us just how great of a game it was with its initial trailers.

The trailer does a nice job showing you the game, sure. But what is it? Well it is essentially Persona mixed with Earthbound. Your mom and dad separated and your mom sends you to stay with your grandfather for the summer because she has to work. This introduces you to the town of Bloomtown.

Quickly you will be introduced to,well the devil. He isn’t fond of the demons making more work for him basically and he books you up with your own little inner demon to go beat up other demons. You think this is a dream until you stumble on a missing kid in another dimension more or less and use your new demon powers (that you can lend to friends as well) and take it on yourselves to save this kid and others.

This is what leads you on the adventure of a lifetime. When you aren’t growing stuff on your grandfather’s little farm behind the house, trying to collect all the fish in town or solving random crossword puzzles. There are plenty of other things to fill your time when you aren’t hunting demons, saving kids or working your part time job at the local grocery store to earn money to buy replica weapons from the local pawnshop.

  Another great part of the game to me was the battle music,I found myself taking my time picking what to do next in battle just to hear the catchy pop music just a little longer. Which is a good thing because even some of the standard battles can be a bit of a challenge of you fall behind on keeping up to date on gear or simply try to rush through the game without leveling up a bit or picking up supplies. Many spells will combo with each other for extra damage and it is well worth your time to defend for being back your SP to keep those combos going.

It would also be a bad idea to forget that collecting demons even just to level up your favorites is well worth the effort.

Graphically the game is also quite nice with them having a noticeable difference between the real world and the underside which I felt was a nice touch. You will notice I haven’t spent too much time on the story and this was intentional. While there isn’t anything you probably haven’t seen here before, spoiling it wouldn’t be fair of me either as what is here is a treat. RPG fans will love this one and for the price? He game is definitely a 9/10 experience. Best wishes and may the Gaming gods bring you glory.

• Shelby Oaks
• New Loot-Driven Extraction Bullet-Heaven Hellforged Revealed
• Return to the Frontlines: Sudden Strike 5 is Out Now!
• Fear Tall Grass: New Dark Fantasy Strategy and Roguelite Monster Battler for PC and Consoles
• Cryptic Studios Launches “Quick Start” Event Across 3 MMOs, Unveils New Roadmaps & Partnership

  Fabledom by Grenaa games is the newest city builder that they were kind enough to send me which is always appreciated.

The game starts out much the way many of these do. You and a few others with a small stockpile of supplies building basic buildings and housing as you get started on your way to a sprawling assortment of farms, wells, construction buildings and defensive structures.

Playing on consoles is always going to be a scary situation, because the controls are very easy to screw up in a game like this. Happily Grenaa and other companies in recent years really seem to have gotten this down as I haven’t run into a game that’s truly screwed this up and while they aren’t perfect in Fabledom they are solid.

  Graphically the game is cute, watching my little people roam around and build things or chop lumber is as cute as you would hope and watching your main character do the thing she does (I don’t want to spoil anything) is a treat.

The game isn’t without its issues however, ranging from save issues on PS5 to all sorts of technical issues on PC. Luckily I played on Xbox where I didn’t have any of these issues in my 12-15 hours.

The one thing missing on Xbox was fun, I felt like I was just going through the motions after awhile. Fun however is subjective and I won’t be taking points off for that,and the game is still a solid 8/10 in terms of functionality. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

  Dungeons and Degenerates Gamblers, a game tossed my way by developers Purple Moss Collectors tossed my way is a roguelike where you play people in a classic game of blackjack. Closest to 21 wins. Loser takes the difference as damage.

The game is simple to learn, in fact I just taught it to you with the exception of some specialty cards each that does different things. For example some may damage your opponent directly or give you shields against damage or various other effects.

  Each suit also has a special effect for when you hit exactly 21, for example hearts will heal you. Certain enemies will have special gimmicks as well, a vampire you might run into will heal with every card it plays.

  The game is fun for a while and has some decent replay value for the price but it isn’t as great as it could be. I unlocked most of the decks on my first play through. I would like to have seen some variety in it. It’s a solid 7 out of 10 tho and it is definitely worth the price. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 Turmoil has been out for a while,but Gamious was nice enough to send me over a copy to check out anyway and I always appreciate that.

The concept is quite simple, buy some land, find some pockets of oil in what I can only describe as the American old West, mine it with some drills, get rich. The idea is simple. The game play is even more simple,it all involves clicking your mouse.

Master that game play look however takes a bit of strategy. There is a sales point on the left and right of the map with fluctuating prices to sell your oil at,and sometimes it is best to simply hold onto the oil rather than sell it. With each map having a time limit on it tho you need to make sure you will be able to sell it all before that time runs out and selling it at 20 cents is better than not selling it at all.

  Added to this there are gas pockets that can be used to force up the oil faster,or hooked up to a sales point to boost the price of sales. The technology to do this can be pricey however,and it’s possible you won’t make this back right away if at all.

The overall goal is to buy a 50% stake in the town so you can become the new mayor. I’m not really clear on why you want to be the mayor but hey, there’s worse goals in life. I had a lot of fun with this one and I plan on playing it more. For fans of these quick sim games it’s a must buy, 9/10. Best wishes and may the Gaming gods bring you glory.

Bloodless from 3D Realms is a retro-style action game with a rather interesting premise. Unlike most games that are based on a Sekiro-type game you don’t actually kill the enemies. The game revolves around counterattacks that disarm the opponent. This is a game I am glad they sent me to check out because honestly I probably would have missed this otherwise.

The game is far from easy, I died quite a few times just getting the timing down. Like every other Souls game enemies have patterns you can memorize to make life easier. Some enemies have slow strikes that are wide and hard to dodge if you aren’t ready while some quicker enemies may toss a knife right before they attack meaning you need to dodge that before you counter the main attack.

Some attacks aren’t even something you can parry and you will need to dodge and wait for a new opening. These are shown with a different color slashing or windup motion to let you know, but even with that advanced knowlege it isnt as simple as hanging back and waiting. The game rewards aggressive behavior just as much as it punishes being careless.

The graphics are beautiful and the story is well thought out. One I won’t spoil, but the runaway friend or family member that returns home to save the day trope is alive and well, but it is done in such a way you don’t mind it.

If there were any negatives about the experience its that I wish there was some sort of fast travel option that didn’t cost money and could be used more frequently. The one in place is limited in scope and I would have liked to have had it be a bit more useful. That being said the game is a great 9 out of 10 and worth picking up. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Shelby Oaks
• New Loot-Driven Extraction Bullet-Heaven Hellforged Revealed
• Return to the Frontlines: Sudden Strike 5 is Out Now!
• Fear Tall Grass: New Dark Fantasy Strategy and Roguelite Monster Battler for PC and Consoles
• Cryptic Studios Launches “Quick Start” Event Across 3 MMOs, Unveils New Roadmaps & Partnership

Tales and Tactics is a rogue-lite auto battler from Yogscast that they were kind enough to send me a copy of to check out as it releases from early access on August 15th. The gameplay loop is super simple to get into but much harder to master.

You start by picking a couple monsters and placing them on the board. From there the game fights out the battle. You can advance decently by picking random monsters but it isn’t the best way to do it. Each monster however has what amounts to classes and jobs. For example one of your monsters might be a ghoul and a tank. These excel at taking damage, and if you have multiple ghouls or tanks this will unlock more abilities for them to use.

You can also level them up by having 3 of the same creature. This will combine them into a higher class of monsters for you. Higher classes mean stronger and harder to kill.

This is the basic gameplay loop and it is quite satisfying. As you play more you will eventually lose and have to start a new run, but by doing so you unlock more abilities and creatures that will help you advance even further.

The part I enjoyed the most is the game comes with a pretty extensive tutorial which is a nice change of place. You aren’t left guessing to figure out what to do which lets you jump right into enjoying the game and building new strategies. Fans of roguelikes won’t want to let this one pass them by. While it doesn’t look as good as one of the AAA titles, it does look nice, and the controls function great. It is quite easy to see why the game has such positive ratings on Steam, and it truly is a 9 out of 10 title. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Cultist Simulator from Klabater and Weather Factory is at its core a card game. A card game they were nice enough to send me a copy of, which then drove me nuts for hours.

 

I don’t say that as a bad thing,quite the opposite in fact. The game tells you very little and that is part of the charm. Each character gets a job that you need to go to. This makes you money. Money cards are needed to pay bills, bribe people and visit certain places.

  Mood cards can be used to improve your job,or make it worse. The more cards you play the more stuff you unlock,for example talking to people to join your cult. The more people that join your cult the more options you have for other stuff.

Each decision you make with help or hurt your cause. Running out of certain causes is a death sentence. For example I routinely run out of health,get sick and die. That’s how most of my games have ended.

  The game rewards experimentation and has plenty to see, probably close to 60 or 70 hours worth of stuff if you want to see it all. The reply value is tremendous. The question is,will you care to do it. I can’t answer that for you,but if you don’t like being left to your own devices with next to no guidance this game isn’t for you. For those that enjoy it however you are in for a treat. Cultist Simulator on PS5 is easy to control and nice to look at and is an 8 out of 10 game. Best wishes and may the Gaming gods bring you glory.

• Shelby Oaks
• New Loot-Driven Extraction Bullet-Heaven Hellforged Revealed
• Return to the Frontlines: Sudden Strike 5 is Out Now!
• Fear Tall Grass: New Dark Fantasy Strategy and Roguelite Monster Battler for PC and Consoles
• Cryptic Studios Launches “Quick Start” Event Across 3 MMOs, Unveils New Roadmaps & Partnership