Heroes of Magic & Cards Demo Review

The nice people over at First Day Entertainment sent me a copy of the demo for Heroes of Magic & Cards, and I have to say, it plays far better than I expected. I was a bit skeptical of a deck builder based on Poker hands. Despite the success of Balatro, what Heroes of Magic & Cards is attempting to do is a completely separate thing.

This time around, to attack, you use cards to power those attacks. For example, your basic attack is any 2 cards. This is quite simple, but more powerful attacks require more finesse. For example, you eventually can train at a camp to learn an attack to use the combined power of all the cards used to hit all enemies. This can be potent, but you need to have 3 cards in a straight. Having 2,3,4 would hit every enemy for 9 damage. This is nice, but it isn’t always easy to pull off.

Shields work in the same way; in fact, if you have played any card battler, you are familiar with how the game works. What is new is simply how you deal damage, and that alone is enough to make Heroes of Magic & Cards worth watching. I tried a couple of runs, and Elite enemies never disappointed. A spider would hit my cards with webs, disrupting my strategy of holding onto certain cards to use later, and others would hit hard and force me to use healing items I wanted to save for the boss at the end of the run. My first win was actually so close, I had one hit point left.

I obviously won’t be giving a demo a real score, but you will definitely want to keep an eye on this one. I, for one, can not wait to get my hands on the full release. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Deadly Days: Roadtrip Steam Review

Deadly Days: Roadtrip was sent to me by the fine folks at Pixelsplit Games, which is always appreciated. This rougelike has a very basic premise that is simple to get behind. Take your yellow school bus to each level, kill zombies while you collect loot, and gather enough fuel to make it to the next area. Rinse and repeat.

The concept being simple doesn’t mean the game is simple, however, as there are plenty of things that can go wrong. You have a radar that will guide you to where the treasure is, and while most zombies can be killed with one or two shots from most guns, there are plenty of more powerful zombies. My favorite is the football player zombie that charges at you.

The graphics are cute and, as you can imagine, are simple pixel graphics that really set the tone well. The controls are simple; you move the same way you do in most PC games, and the character shoots automatically. You do have the option to use the mouse to click on zombies or items you want to shoot at, specifically. This is a nice touch for when a special zombie or crate shows up and you want to target that first.

Each run gets a bit easier as you collect power-ups in between runs. These are bought with special items and are permanent. These allow for deeper runs and make collecting more items easier. It makes for a satisfying game loop. With a price point of $15, very positive reviews (450 total reviews), it’s hard to argue with this being worth the money. A solid 7/10 early access title. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

First gameplay trailer for Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown

Daedalic Entertainment is one of those companies you probably don’t know the name of off the top of your head, but you have definitely seen their games around. In fact, I reviewed Yield! Fall of Rome Steam Review not long ago. Today, they released the first in-game look at their upcoming title, Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, and it looks fantastic. The ability to change Voyager as you make the decisions as you traverse the Delta Quadrant, as you make your way home, has been a dream for many Star Trek fans for decades.

Soon, for the first time, you will get the chance to find out if you are truly a better captain than Janeway. Enjoy the trailer, and may the gaming gods bring you glory. Also, promote Harry Kim; he deserves it.

Trails from the Sky 1st chapter PS5 Review

Trails From The Sky 1st Chapter was sent my way by Gung Ho Entertainment, which is always appreciated. Now I know some people just want to skip to the good stuff how how is the game, is it worth buying? It is a Trails game. If you enjoy the series, feel free to stop reading, spend the money, and just start playing; you won’t be disappointed. If you are on the fence, maybe stick around.

The first thing we need to touch on is the fact that this isn’t some epic reimagining of the original Trails game. It is more along the lines of an update that fixes some old issues and makes it more modern. It also gives many people their first chance to play the Trails games from the very beginning.

The combat itself also takes a lot from Trails Through Daybreak in that you can pretty much swap from real-time and turn-based battles, which many people will appreciate.

Estelle and Joshua are interesting characters, two Bracers who are a bit naive and get caught up in things they really didn’t mean to, and of course, need to save their home. Liberl Kingdom is as beautiful as ever, and if you don’t mind the one main complaint that I have had about all of these games, it is basically the only complaint I ever hear about them.

However, it is still a slog to play at times due to the immense amount of story that you will sit through with no break. Some people love this aspect of the game, but I complain about this and get asked if I am crazy. Other people I say this to, and they agree completely. There is no reason not to buy this 8/10 game if this doesn’t bother you. If it does, it is still worth playing. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Folly of the Wizard Steam Review

Folly of the Wizards is the newest roguelike from Numbskull Games. They tossed me a copy of this one, which is always appreciated. The story is quite simple: you are one of four wizard apprentices attempting to defeat evil, but you aren’t exactly a good wizard. You are simply the apprentice and the wizard who happens to be around. That’s right, this is a comedy.

The game takes place in procedurally created dungeons, so no two runs are ever the same. In fact, besides starting in the same room with a guy who has no issue feeling sorry for you, you don’t really know what you are walking into.

My only real issue with this game is the button layout. While the game looks beautiful, and the sound and music are great, the button layout is atrocious. The jump and dodge buttons being on the trigger just feel awful to me, and with no way to change it, it took a lot of getting used to. In the first few runs, I died before the first boss.

It didn’t take long to get used to it, however, and after that, I was making deep runs consistently and taking out the first few bosses without issue. I mention the controls not because they are somehow impossible to get used to, but because, as of now, they can’t be changed on console. I don’t know if this will ever be an option, but I do know that for some people, this might be a deal breaker.

It shouldn’t be, however, letting this get in the way will make you miss out on what is a great all around game. Unlike most roguelikes, there isn’t a huge time sink per run; you can make it through a dungeon in probably 5 minutes or so, meaning each run can be quick and entertaining when you just want something to fill some time. It is a solid 8/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Trailer Park Tycoon: Raccoon Ranch Steam Review

Trailer Park Tycoon: Racoon Ranch was sent my way by the folks over at S-Grade Games, and I am, of course, grateful for the chance to check it out. The game itself is quite simply a store simulator.

This one has a bit of a twist to it, however. Instead of buying things from an app, you play as a raccoon that creates things all on their own. For example, you start out turning apples into apple juice. You do this by watering a tree that grows apples, then turning the apples into juice. You then sell this in your store, which you can customise however you choose.

The game itself is quite easy to manage and control, with numerous animals to interact with and engage in conversation. There is also a shooting mini-game that I was not a fan of. It felt out of place, and the controls for it just didn’t feel right at all to me.

That is really my only complaint about the controls, which is surprising for a game of this price point (just under $12). Other areas of the game have some small issues, but many of them are being taken care of as we speak. In fact, some I had were taken care of before I could even write this review. For example, an early issue I had with the mini-game for the cash register staying above my head is just gone now. Show management could still use some work, for example, when you open and close your store, it’s completely up to you and is nice, but even with employees, there seems to be no way to close your store automatically and send employees home when product runs out.

The game is still solid for its price point and is sitting at very positive reviews with 59 reviews in. It is a 7/10 experience that will improve even more as the game is worked on. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly announcement

Another beloved horror series I never got to try returns. Honestly, if it’s done with the love and care that the majority have shown, I welcome it. Many friends have praised Crimson Butterfly as a great horror game with a great story. This remake is definitely on my playlist for 2026. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Frostpunk 2 PS5 Review

Frostpunk 2 on PS5 was sent my way by the fine folks over at 11 Bit Studios, and I have to say, it is greatly appreciated. As a huge fan of the first Frostpunk, getting the chance to play this before release was a special treat.

Fans of the original will already know how it plays out, and it does continue the story of the first game. Now that you have saved your people, you are old, and the torch, so to speak, must be passed on. Things aren’t going great 30 years after the “great storm,” but your people are alive. Now it is up to someone else to expand the resources and keep the people alive.

The campaign consists of 5 chapters, which basically act as a tutorial for the real challenge of Frostpunk 2, which is the Utopia Builder. The game will even tell you when you try to play that it recommends playing the story first.

The actual gameplay is a bit different from the first one. For example, you no longer build individual buildings; you build districts, such as for housing or food, etc. At first, I didn’t like this, but after an hour or two, I realized this really freed me up to bite into the political and law systems.

These new systems take center stage in a lot of areas; for example, you can now pass entire edicts to change how your people behave or how they work. It will also improve your standing with the different factions within the game. Don’t ignore these factions, or you will find yourself out of a job and lose the game. Even one being too upset with you can have devastating consequences.

Another great piece of advice that it took me longer to notice than I would like to admit: if you think you have enough of anything, produce more of it. While you could get away with producing slightly more than was needed in the past, this won’t fly here. One snowstorm can ruin the entire run when it brings your economy to a crashing halt.

The one thing to touch on is how the game functions. Well, at first I was actually disappointed, there were some issues with the controls and cut scenes that made the game awful to play. These issues were sorted out well before release, however. This actually doesn’t surrpise me because 11 Bit Studios has always been solid about fixing issues. Frostpunk 2 is on my list of games I will be playing for a long time to come. 8/10, and well worth the wait. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Formula Legends PS5 Review

Formula Legends on PS5 was sent my way by 3DClouds, which is always appreciated. There are a couple of things you need to know going into this game and going into this review, for starters, while I enjoy racing games occasionally, I am not what you would call a huge fan. I am also certainly not a fan of watching racing. I know enough about the sport, but it just isn’t my thing.

You should also be aware that this is not an officially licensed game, so it does not feature real racers or tracks. None of this prevents the enjoyment of the game, mind you, but for some people, this matters. What matters to me, however, is how the cars look and feel. They look great, by the way, graphics are not something I can complain about here.

The rain soaks everything, just like life

The sound is also pretty spot on; the cars sound powerful regardless of the era you play in. Cars from the 1960s sound powerful and vintage, while cars from the modern era roar down the track, much like they do on TV. I do wish they sounded better when they hit things like dirt and walls, probably because I hit them so much.

This brings me to my biggest issue with the game. The controls don’t always feel like an F1 car. Some aspects nail it. If you are at a stop and just put the pedal to the metal, you are going to spin the car out. Don’t stomp the brakes because you will lock them up and lose control. The issue is that it doesn’t seem consistent; some turns you can ease into just fine, but other turns, this doesn’t work, not because the turns are vastly different or you are moving at a different speed, the car just suddenly handles differently.

This also happens with accidents. Small bumps into or from other cars seem to create an odd stick where you can’t remove yourself for a brief instant. This also happens with walls, where a small bump will send you from well into first place into dead last with no recovery.

The game is still fun, and these flaws really do only come down to more of a “skill issue.” The game is far from easy. It is a 7/10 experience that I will probably continue to play when I am bored. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Cheat Death Announcement. The Roguelite Horror game, where you roll the dice with the Grim Reaper

CHEAT DEATH Steam Page

Key Features:

– Build a powerful hand from occult cards found on your journey. Each card is a stolen secret or a forbidden tactic, giving you a fleeting edge against the inevitable.

– Embrace the chance to seize victory. Rolling dice unleashes raw, unpredictable power, offering high-risk, high-reward opportunities to overcome impossible odds—if you’re willing to bet your life on the outcome.

– The path is littered with eerie encounters and spectral pleas. Each event is a story waiting to be written by your choices, offering terrible bargains and glimpses into the grim world you are trapped in.

Fans of games like Inscryption will want to keep an eye on this one, which is set to release in the first quarter of 2026. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.