This isn’t really a review so much as it is an acknowledgement of its existence and an experience. My daughter, like many kids loves Roblox. And of course like any good parent,I monitor what she does so I watch her play these games. She started with things like Daycare Story and Obbys.
Eventually,she came across Dandy’s World. For those that haven’t played it or seen it you play as one of a bunch of different characters and will be attempting to avoid their “twisted” counter parts as you fill machines with ichor.
Old picture,there are even more now
My daughter loves Pebble because he is “super cute” and I have to admit,it really is. That being said, I can’t deny the game is pretty well made and interesting. Each character has its own stats and abilities that make them pretty unique. They can be further customized with items and skins.
The games only real downfall is that you only start with one character and you need to unlock the rest through a combination of buying them with ichor and in game tasks. The ichor can be earned or bought with robux which unfortunately does encourage people to use real money, but the in-game fast can’t be avoided.
All in all,while I would never play this myself,it was a fun way to spend time with my kid. Best wishes,and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Hellcard, published by Skystone Games and developed by Thing Trunk, is a cooperative rogue-like deck builder that was recently sent my way. Don’t worry, you can pick this bad boy up on any console as well as Steam.
So, how do you play hellcard? Same as every other card builder. You pick a character, a basic warrior, mage, or archer to start ( you can unlock another by winning your first round or through DLC), and go it solo or find others to play with. If you decide to play solo, you can get NPC characters to play with that you will control. There is no real disadvantage to playing alone in terms of being overwhelmed by enemies.
The battle map will be split into sections based on how many of you there are (up to 3), but you aren’t obligated to stick to your lane. As a mage, for example, I found it prudent to use my area of effect spells many times to level the enemies close to the archer I was teamed up with, since his abilities were weakened against enemies within melee range. In return, this allowed him to use his distance to kill the enemies approaching me. These small details really set the game apart from other deckbuilding games.
Another nice touch is that each person individually picks a path to walk as you descend further down. I might pick a path that allows me to heal, while someone else picks a path for more cards. So while my area may have me fighting skeletons, someone else may bring spiders for us to fight. When we win and reach the rewards, we can select one reward from each location. So now, we can heal, get a card, and a relic. Or maybe we all chose to heal. Communication is beneficial to determine how a run is going to progress.
I can’t say Hellcard is the best roguelike or cardbattler I have played, it really isn’t. It is a solid one, however, that brings enough new things to the table that make it worth the $25 price tag. It’s graphically nice, and the sound is well done, and all in all, a nice 7/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Void Crew has finally made its way to consoles, and Focus Entertainment was nice enough to send me a couple of copies, so @torstenvblog I could check this bad boy out. We are both extremely grateful. Void Crew is a rogue-like space adventure. You can play solo, with ships designed specifically for this play style, or you can gather friends (up to 6) and see how far you can go. With different objectives that will see you doing things like raiding ancient space stations for loot, escorting friendly ships while they void jump out of dangerous areas, and so much more.
This map is how you decide where to go next
Since I have been playing before launch, I can honestly say the tutorial will help get you started with the basics. It does a fantastic job teaching you the basics of getting your ship up and running, and how to use the weapons system, repairing the ship, and how to fly. Everything you need to know. The day the game launched, however, there were entire groups of players from PC that had groups dedicated to nothing more than teaching step by step not only how to play the game, but how to excel at playing the game.
I, of course, joined a couple of these groups. I wanted to see if this was a toxic community or not, and it was very eye-opening. Every group I joined was friendly and welcoming. Mistakes were not only corrected in the best way possible, but instantly forgiven, and were followed by a hilarious story about their own example of how they made them.
I was struggling with hard-level missions when I first started, almost afraid to even leave normal-level missions. Now playing solo, I look for the best rewards possible, not at the difficulty level.
Now, a great community means nothing if the game isn’t good. With a 4 out of 5 stars ranking on PS5 and a very positive rating on Steam, with over 5500 reviews, it’s hard to argue that the game isn’t good. Graphically, the game is beautiful, and the controls are great. The rewards for leveling up are points to put towards your favorite style of play, whether it’s piloting, gunner, etc. These can easily be changed even while on a run with enough slots to have multiple builds, you don’t have to worry about needing to worry.
I do have one complaint, and it is kind of a big one. It is being worked on, and if you go to Reddit, the devs are willing to work with you if you are hit with this bug. It isn’t game-breaking by any means; it is simply annoying. But occasionally, when you quit the game, regardless of whether you simply close it out or you quit to the main menu ( quitting to the main menu first does lower the chances of it occurring), you will lose levels and the cosmetic items you received from those levels. I lose some cool stuff that way. Don’t worry, it is being worked on, and since there are no paid cosmetic items or anything like that outside of a founders pack you can buy you aren’t at risk of losing any real money. It doesn’t seem to be widespread either, but it is something to be aware of.
Do I recommend Void Crew? Absolutely. Even with the issue I mentioned, the game is a 7/10 experience. Once that is fixed, it will be 8/10. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Update: Just a small update to note the devs on Reddit are very active as they work to fix the issue with level and process loss and make an effort to go in and fix each person’s loss by increasing levels and giving loot crates to people,and you are not limited to a one time help.
Rise of Industries 2 was sent my way by Kasedo Games, which I always appreciate. I was especially looking forward to this one because I love games like this, so getting to review it is even better.
This game immediately hit me with things I wish more games like this did on console, for example, UI scaling. Not enough of these games come to consoles, realizing players don’t all sit directly in front of the screen like PC players. I didn’t have to use this function, oddly enough; one of the few times a game includes this is when I don’t need it.
The game is also graphically beautiful. I loved watching the little cars drive around and flames shoot out of industrial buildings. There are a lot of little things like this; you can tell Kasedo Games put a lot of love into the small details of it.
The tutorial, which is separate from the campaign and sandbox, does a great job of teaching you to play the game. It walks you step by step on how to build a functional complex, whether it’s to mine iron, or change that iron into steel, or something else entirely, like creating VHS tapes. It is the 1980s after all. This is all extremely well done.
That is to say, it is extremely well done until it’s not well done anymore. Eventually, you are going to have to work with the menus, find out out to research new technology, transfer stuff from one complex to another, or just buy and sell things. This is something you will see over on Steam reviews, or in other reviews, time and time again. These menu systems are horrible and just a pain to navigate and use.
I don’t even truly know how to begin to explain them. Sometimes you will need information that is on multiple different screens in different places, that can’t be left open, so you need to bounce back and forth. (This is true regardless of platform) Meanwhile, getting to that information will require you to click on multiple pictures of coal or iron, then scroll around. Again, this isn’t exclusive to consoles. What is exclusive to consoles is how you get between the sections is kind of a mystery. There is a dedicated button to tab between pages, but between sections within the pages? That is almost a rage-inducing guessing game. Sometimes you can just hit left or right and get there. For others, it isn’t so easy.
I enjoy Rise of Industries 2, but I should LOVE Rise of Industries 2. However, what should be an 8 or 9 is busted down to a 6/10 experience due to the horrible menus and frustrating design choices. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
This won’t be my typical review, but Avalanche Studios Group was nice enough to hook me up with a copy of the new DLC for The Hunter: Call of the Wild. ‘Pump, Flip, and Fire’ Weapons Pack DLC is available wherever you play the game and consists of a .22 caliber rifle, a .257 pump action rifle, and a .410 folding shotgun.
Now, are these three guns worth $5? That depends on what you are looking for. If you think these guns are going to magically make you a better hunter, or that they will be overpowered wrecking machines, then no, they aren’t what you are looking for. None of these will allow you to drop a moose without a well-aimed shot. In fact, none of them are even designed for that; they are made for small ( the .22 and the shotgun) or medium game (.257 and again the shotgun, depending on ammo)
I would say that if you enjoy hunting in general, they do add an element of realism and versatility to the game. Longer ago than I care to admit, my dad took me hunting for the very first time, and we went for squirrel with his .22. This brought me back to that time. This DLC isn’t made for everyone, but the people that it is made for will enjoy it. It’s DLC done well, 8/10. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Duckside (Early Access) was sent my way by TinyBuild, and the game is honestly the definition of mixed feelings for me. I always appreciate being sent games, and as a person who loves survivor games, this was a nice treat. If you ever played The Forest or DayZ, you know what to expect here. The standard PvP and PvE stuff applies. You build a base, scavenge for supplies, cook food, raid bases, either PC or NPC.
This game, however, has the twist that you are a duck. The added feature that you can fly from the very start is also pretty cool. Everything honestly functions as it should, and there aren’t any weird glitches or anything. There is just one major issue that I have with the game.
I have never seen anyone play it. I mean that quite literally, after being sent the game early and building numerous bases ( all of which, for some reason, just disappear when I sign out and come right back in), every server was just empty. One time I randomly came across a sleeping duck that I killed and got starter equipment from.
Checking Steam views reveals that fewer than 70 people are playing as I write this, with 82 being the peak for the last 24 hours. The game is fun, and at $15, it is well worth the money, but with no player base on Steam, be wary that it could quickly become a ghost town on console as well. It is still a 7/10 experience, however. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
There is a lot to be excited about here, but for the very short round-up, come October 2nd 2025, the fantastic RPG and Japanese learning game Shujinkou will be coming to Nintendo Switch. For my PS5 review, check Shujinkou PS5 Review and Language Learning Trailer.
There are some details to know, however. There is a major price change, and for a very good and valid reason. (No, it isn’t tariffs) The PS5 and PC versions contained essentially 2 games in one: Genya and Sabaku Arcs. Each is about 40-50 hours. The Switch version cuts he price in half and sells them separately, which lowers the barrier of entry in case you want to try the game out without dedicating the price of a full game to discovering it isn’t for you. This was an intentional choice by Julian Rice and his team in hopes that more people would give the game a try.
The standard edition will be $29.99 (US), with the super deluxe being $69.99, and in my opinion, worth every single penny of it. Between the fascinating characters, the interesting story and world, and the option to get to know a new language, the game is pretty one of a kind. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Grim Trials is an upcoming game from Glory Jam that they were nice enough to send me a preview of to check out. I have to say it is coming along very well. For a game that isn’t fully finished and still has some time to cook, so to speak, the combat is very fluid.
Each weapon has a unique weight and feel to it, with some swords being quick and easy to manage, while others are bigger, scythes and hammers being slower and needing better timing while hitting for more damage. The dodge function can’t be spammed and needs to be thought about.
The power-ups also each have meaning. Do you take the extra attack speed, or do you want your dodge to do some damage as you leave the area? There is no wrong answer, and your weapons and armor do factor into your decisions.
Each death is truly a new beginning however. With the souls Avelin collects as a new reaper, she can unlock permanent upgrades, but just as important, she collects ingredients that can be turned into new weapons, armor, and potions. These are just as important as any other decision you make, possibly even more important.
For a game that’s not quite finished yet, it has a pretty impressive level of polish to it, and finishing the demo does grant you access to a weapon recipe called a Soulforge Hammer. So definitely go check that out. It currently sits at an 8/10 experience for me. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Plan B: Terraform is pretty calm and going, but far from a simple game sent to me by the fine folks over at Gaddy Games. The concept is simple. With Earth no longer being in very good shape, take this newly discovered planet and turn it into something humans can live on. You will do this in various ways. Start small with mining the resources that can be used to build factories. These factories can be used to build different buildings that eventually lead to things like greenhouse gas generators or to dig up ice to make rivers.
Now, if you are wondering if this only matters in the background, it doesn’t. There are shifting weather patterns; it will eventually start to rain on your planet, for example. (hopfully) And like many games before it, the main goal here is to automate as much of it as possible. Think Factorio without all the stuff trying to kill you.
But is the game good? Honestly, the game has Mostly Positive reviews and Steam and rightfully so. The game looks nice and plays well. The tutorial isn’t bad, but admittedly could be better, but it will get you to where you need to be. The game, however, is very much a mileage will vary situation. I didn’t really enjoy my time with the game, and that is very much on me. As much as I normally enjoy games like this, I just couldn’t get into the flow of this one. It isn’t that I couldn’t figure out what to do; I absolutely could. I just didn’t find any joy in doing it. It is still a 7/10 game, and if you enjoy games like this, it is worth playing. It just isn’t for everyone. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Every so often, I come across a game and I think, damn, I need to play that game. Not because it looks amazing graphically. Just because it looks like one of those games I used to play when I was a kid. You remember the type, you would rush home after school, pop it into your Super Nintendo, and just lose yourself until your parents inevitably said, “Hey, time for dinner,” or “Get to bed.”
Quartet on Steam (consoles coming Q4) is that game, and the great people over at Something Classic Games were kind enough to send me a copy to check out.
The first thing to get out of the way is the combat; it is very fluid and easy to get into. Nothing fancy is going on here either. If you love old-school turn-based RPGs where your strategy matters, the combat for Quartet is something you are going to enjoy. It clicks all the boxes. Exploiting enemy weaknesses, defending to lower damage, restoring AP (ability points), buffing your characters, and debuffing enemies. Most battles, you can just power through but bosses and higher difficulties, these buffs and debuffs will make or break your battles.
Speaking of battles, this game won’t waste your time with random battles. You can see the enemies on screen, and if you feel like you need to level up, you can usually find more to fight, but mostly, you will always be at an appropriate level to get where you need to go. I rarely say this about a game in 2025, but Quartet really tries and succeeds at respecting your time. Maps aren’t small, but they also aren’t huge for no reason.
This brings me to one last point. The story, you guys know, I am not going to go into a ton of detail about the story because I don’t do spoilers. Just know the story deals with magic, a government conspiracy, and a poor cook named Ben who just wanted to go to work. The game starts by letting you choose between one of four characters to play as for their introductory story. While you play through all of them, I recommend starting as Ben. He doesn’t have the best story exactly, but what he does have is the best mixture of story and humor, and that is where this game shines.
Nobody bodyslams the train
There are a few things I would have liked to have seen, maybe some more interactions between certain characters, but truly, for a game that you can beat in about 20-25 hours, I understand what they were going for. Something they may have left out in favor of a shorter experience, and I can’t be mad about that. This was a 9/10 experience for me, and I will be playing through this again. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 