Savior Gaming

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.

• Blumhouse Games launches Crisol: Theater of Idols on Feb. 10
• Loan Shark Xbox Review
• Blightstone Steam Review
• Gedonia 2 Steam Review
• Loan Shark Coming to Playstation 5 January 20th

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.

• Blumhouse Games launches Crisol: Theater of Idols on Feb. 10
• Loan Shark Xbox Review
• Blightstone Steam Review
• Gedonia 2 Steam Review
• Loan Shark Coming to Playstation 5 January 20th

Deathbound is the new and ambitious single-player party-based Souls-like from Trialforce Studios and Tate Multimedia. They were kind enough to send me a review copy to check out, and there is quite a bit to discuss so let’s get to it.

Deathbound starts off with you controlling just one character a sort of Paladin that worships the god of Death. He is your typical sword and board fighting style. You quickly learn the basics of combat from guarding and parrying to standard normal and power attacks. If you have okayed any Souls game in the past this will simply be a quick refresher.

You will quickly pick up your second character, a stealthy woman who can use a crossbow and eventually poison enemies. The game does a good job of introducing characters and how they work. Each essence feels like a completely new character and you can either use the Dpad to swap to a character you want or just tap the triangle button to pop over to the one with the highest stamina. This is great for combos, for example rushing in with for a couple quick strikes to poison someone then quickly swap to our swordsman for defense and stronger attacks.

The characters also don’t necessarily get along. Or death worshipper is hunting essencemencers and your third character is of course an essencemencer. This introduces you to the fact that your characters can get buffed by other characters they either like or dislike which is shown by a blue or red line connecting them.

While these are all great in concept, the practical aspect is a mixed bag of results. The combat sometimes feels clunky, mostly when trying to swap characters for combos. And the decision for characters’ max stamina to be connected to their current health was also odd to me. While each character in your party gets its own health and stamina someone taking a couple hits quickly makes that person pretty much useless since attempting to strike the enemy leaves them unable to do much of anything. Since swapping has some lag to it occasionally, resulting in a few deaths.

The news isn’t all bad, for example, the character designs are nice, and the first boss you run into is well done as a fight and also looks great, with each stage showing off how visually appealing the game can be.

The game has its issues, and there are better options out there. However you you need something to play because you played all the Dark Souls series games this will help you scratch that itch. The game is nice 7 out of 10. Outside of a few minor complaints and the characters being somewhat one-dimensional the game is still fun to sink your teeth into. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

• Blumhouse Games launches Crisol: Theater of Idols on Feb. 10
• Loan Shark Xbox Review
• Blightstone Steam Review
• Gedonia 2 Steam Review
• Loan Shark Coming to Playstation 5 January 20th