Savior Gaming

I’ve talked about writing this for a bit now, but here we are. Loan Shark was recently released on Xbox by Dark Product. It was also recently released on Loan Shark Coming to Playstation 5 January 20th, and while they probably would have sent me a copy if I asked, the price is so low, I simply picked it up to support a great company.

The game costs about $5 and takes at most about 45 minutes to play. It is a psychological horror game. You play as a figherman who took out a loan from a loan shark to buy a boat, and you owe a lot of money. You need to fish to earn that money. As luck would have it, a magical fish is willing to help you catch some special fish. If you are willing to make some hard decisions.

Now I can’t say much more without heading into spoiler territory, but how you make these decisions will change how the game plays out. Hell, you can simply not make these choices and see what happens. Sit there for 45 minutes and let the timer run out if you want.

The gameplay itself is solid; it is a simple fishing game that the game does a perfectly fine job explaining. Nothing too challenging if you have ever played any fishing game or mechanic in an RPG before. Gutting the fish is also quite simple. Graphically, the game is serviceable; it won’t win any awards, but compared to most games at this price point, it is downright amazing. I have no complaints, and it is free of any glitches. The game is an 8/10 experience and well worth the money. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games’ Crisol: Theater of Idols Now Available
• Sovereign Syndicate Playstation 5 Review
• Adaptory Steam Review
• Talk to Me
• Nosferatu (2024)

Blightstone is a turn-based rogue-like that is far from easy. Recently released by Unfinished Pixel and Kepler Ghost, they were kind enough to send me a copy. The game forgoes the usual grid-based combat of these games, which is a nice change of pace and lets you move mostly wherever you want.

Another beautiful thing about this game is the tutorial, which explains everything you need to succeed in detail. This game is not easy, but it isn’t hard because of the guesswork involved. There is legitmate strategy involved in making a deep run. While progress and unlocking the right permanent upgrades matter and will help, what you do with them is far more important.

There are some downsides; unfortunately, progress feels slow at times. There are multiple in-game currencies, so to speak, to unlock as you play. One is to upgrade your crystal, and the other is to upgrade different aspects of gameplay. Both are unlocked as you win fights and defeat bosses; there is no real money involved. This isn’t a deal breaker by any means, and since battles are fun and quick, many people probably won’t even notice or care, but I did feel obligated to point this out.

Enemies in this game come in plenty of different flavors. One battle you might be fighting some villagers that are out of their minds, the next undead skeletons. One might be bugs from the depths, or even a demon summoned by an evil mage. All this before Act 2 even kicks off. I won’t spoil what comes next, but I can’t say enough about the variety of enemies. While a lot of games are happy to cycle through the same enemies, Blightstone decided to go above and beyond. This game won’t be for everyone, but for those who enjoy these games, it is a must-have. 9/10, best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games’ Crisol: Theater of Idols Now Available
• Sovereign Syndicate Playstation 5 Review
• Adaptory Steam Review
• Talk to Me
• Nosferatu (2024)

Geddonia 2 is an online co-op RPG from Kazakov Oleg Games, and honestly, this game is not worth the time. The online has no voice chat, and no text chat. How do you not even have basic text chat in an online game in 2026, when the game is all about exploring together?

To make matters worse, the game is a buggy mess. It is perfectly playable, I assure you. However, there are numerous animation issues, with instances where your NPC sidekicks will simply disappear and reappear because they seem to get lost while traveling in a straight line, or worse, stand next to an enemy and fight them without swinging. The enemy does eventually die somehow. This isn’t limited to ally characters; however, I have seen enemies do the same thing.

Combat may be the biggest issue; magic has a tendency to just not work. You will hear the sound of your magic, but it simply doesn’t do anything. Melee attacks will require multiple clicks to even attack. I assume archery will have the same issue, but I haven’t tested it. There is admittedly quite a bit of potential in this game, and with a few updates, it could be a lot of fun, but for now, there is no reason to waste your money on this one. It is a 4/10 experience at best. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games’ Crisol: Theater of Idols Now Available
• Sovereign Syndicate Playstation 5 Review
• Adaptory Steam Review
• Talk to Me
• Nosferatu (2024)

Rogue Night is a sort of survival exploration pixel art game from Grey November Games that they were nice enough to send us a copy of to check out. Now I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you, the game releases in April, and the version I played is not the final version. I believe it sits somewhere between the publicly available demo and what will be released on April 17th. I say that to tell you this: early on, I ran into a bug, a very game-breaking bug. I went to Discord and told the developer, Wes, and gave him the screenshot of what happened an figured I would wait to see. Going on 10 years of reviewing games for companies, I have had this happen before.

Before I went to bed that night, Wes had replied to my message telling me he had fixed the issue. Downloading an update later the next day, when I had time, and true to his word, the bug was gone. This has happened to different people since I joined the Discord.

Now that I have established they are working hard on this game, is it good? That will depend on what kind of games you like. You collect different weapons, many of which are obtained by killing enemies that quite literally carry them. A skeleton with a spear probably drops that spear. That spear can then be used to attack enemies and reach hard-to-reach buttons.

There are also a bunch of different resources to collect as you dive into dungeons, rescue people in need of help, and build a small town capable of supporting them. You won’t be able to forage enough food for everyone, and food takes time to grow. Death is also inevitable, but zombie heads are this game’s currency. Each attempt will allow you to buy permanent upgrades to make life easier.

So, is this game good? I love it. If you like this sort of game, you will love it. I think it will even bring a few people around. It is a great 9/10 experience. Best wishes,and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ancient Farm on Steam is another game that Ultimate Games sent me recently, and this one is as simple as it gets. You are building a farm in, of all places, ancient Egypt. While this isn’t the first place I think of farming, they obviously had them. But how does this concept work out?

Truth be told, if you looked up the word average in the dictionary of gaming, you might find a picture of this game. I don’t mean that as an insult; average is perfectly acceptable, which is why we call it average. Everything from the graphics to the sound and even the controls is exactly that, average. For $15, I can’t be mad at that; however, I can expect more.

While I can’t call them issues, things start immediately. The tutorial will teach you everything you need to know about collecting sticks and rocks, cutting down grass and building a workbench and buildings, and even growing a farm. You will then learn to grow crops and even sell them. This will move you on to animals and creating bigger and better things. There just isn’t much of a point. You are never in any danger; you have no food or stamina bar. There are no enemies to fight. You really can’t even go out of business.

I can’t bash the game, or even say don’t buy it. There is absolutely a market for a farming game with no worries. I didn’t dislike the game at all. When I score a game, I start at 5/10. If it functions as it should with no issues, that’s where it stays. I take away for bugs and glitches. I add to it if I find the game fun, or if it adds something to the genre, or has superior sound or graphics, etc. This game is pretty much the definition of 5/10. I never ran into bugs or issues. I also never ran into anything I found fun or interesting, and it doesn’t do anything new or creative. It also isn’t particularly good-looking or sounding compared to other games at its price point. By all means, pick it up if you want a game that lets you farm with no worries, but don’t expect anything else from it. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games’ Crisol: Theater of Idols Now Available
• Sovereign Syndicate Playstation 5 Review
• Adaptory Steam Review
• Talk to Me
• Nosferatu (2024)

Cakey’s Twisted Bakery is a horror game sent to me on both PS5 and Xbox by Ultimate Games. They have sent me plenty of games over the years, and I always appreciate it. They are best known for Drug Dealer Simulator PS5 review, but they make plenty more.

The gameplay is quite simple: sneak around and find ingredients to make pies and cakes. You play as a child trying to save your brother, since in this bakery, children are the secret ingredient. You and your trusty flashlight (a torch for my European readers) must avoid getting eaten long enough to bake these not-so-yummy sweets and use them as weapons against these terrifying abominations.

While this game may sound easy, it is not. It also may look cute it is definitely not made for children. There are jump scares aplenty, and the monsters will literally pick you up and eat you when they catch you. It isn’t graphic like many survival horror games, but it is more difficult than many that are made for teens.

The game does have its issues, however. The game doesn’t exactly explain much, with most of it being left to trial and error. For example, there is a crouch button, and you can simply hide in open crates. This has varying degrees of success, but since you are a child, it works out. You can also simply pile ingredients into the machine as you find them; there is no need to place exact quantities into the machine. Having to do this one at a time doesn’t make it truly worth it to stockpile massive amounts, but searching for only what you need can get you killed.

The game is fun for the $10 price point. A solid 7/10 experience. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games’ Crisol: Theater of Idols Now Available
• Sovereign Syndicate Playstation 5 Review
• Adaptory Steam Review
• Talk to Me
• Nosferatu (2024)