Tag: gaming

Bladesong Steam Review

Bladesong is an interesting title sent to me by the fine folks at Mythwright. I always appreciate it. The game hails itself as the ultimate sword-making game, but we will get to that.

The game starts out by letting you make some choices about your character, such as what kind of person you were in your village. I won’t spoil the story details, but these choices do matter a bit. They make certain things easier and change small things. Nothing that will make you want to pick certain things over another in terms of how you play long term, but enough that you might want to check them out.

The real bread and butter here is the sword making. The tutorial starts by teaching you how to make a sword, and you will be making the entire sword. You will start with what is essentially a block of metal, and you will flatten it, shape it, sharpen it, add a handle, and a pummel. Bassically if you have to do it to make a sword, it is here.

Admittedly, they do make it easier and quicker because it is a gam,e and it has to be fun. But when they say it is the ultimate sword-making game, they mean it. You will be upgrading your forge, learning new skills, taking on customers, making custom pieces, or simply sharpening blades for people.

As the game progesses you will be making more intricate pieces, and if you are wondering if you can name them, you absolutely can. All of this means nothing if it is hard to do these things, and I am happy to say they nailed the controls. From shaping blades to damn near a needle point ( thankfully, undoing this is also easy; it’s a game, not a simulator) to making a curved blade is all done quite simply with easy-to-use sliders and such. The whole game is very user-friendly. I would like to see more variety of weapons as early access moves on, but the sheer number of swords is impressive. For a $20 game, this is an 8/10 experience that I can easily recommend. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

DWARVES: Glory, Death and Loot – Launches on 1.0 from Sidekick Publishing

Following its popular Steam early access period (with over 130,000 units sold and ‘Very Positive’ from 1,735 reviews) Dwarves is taking the leap into 1.0 like that one dwarf in that battle that one time who didn’t want to tell the elf. Available on PC (Steam), Switch and mobile (iOS and Android), the platform expansion brings the infectious dwarven mayhem to handhelds and pocket devices for exciting pick-up-and-go action.

“Four years of development and beards that grew longer with every iteration. This game was born from sleepless nights, wild ideas, and amazing community feedback. It’s an homage to dwarves, chaos, and the sheer joy of letting things escalate.” says Rafael Weilharter, owner and Solo-Developer at Hamma Studios.

To celebrate the 1.0 release and platform expansion, Sidekick Publishing has launched a brand-new trailer born from a spontaneous and very fitting collaboration.

“We wanted to celebrate Rafael’s incredible work and vision with a trailer befitting of pure dwarven energy, so a Scottish accent was a must,” says Jasmin Oestreicher, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Sidekick Publishing. “Having met Ravs from the Yogscast at TwitchCon last year, Melvin [Melvin Frank, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Sidekick Publishing] and I reached out via Discord and he was on board instantly. It’s a great example of why we value direct, authentic relationships with creators who share the same spirit we do.”

On porting the game to handhelds and mobile Sebastian Tobler, Co-Founder and General Manager at ATEO says “Our core challenge was fitting the scale of a chaotic dwarven raid onto a handheld screen. We delved into the depths with Rafael, digging all the way to Moria to forge a Switch and mobile experience that captures the true essence of the game.”

In Dwarves, players build a fully customisable army from ten unique dwarf classes that eat rocks for breakfast. Take your cohort of tanks, assassins, mages and more on in a familiar roguelike loop to conquer orcs, great foes and dragons in auto-battling carnage that will have beardlings such as ‘Simon’ chomping at the bit to get back in the action with full meta progression. With millions of army and loadout compositions possible, strategy and loot are everything. Gather gear, muster the troops and master the loop for glory, for death, for loot!

Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot follows hot on the heels of Sidekick Publishing’s first published title, Deadly Days: Roadtrip which launched into early access in September 2025.

Main Game Features:

Auto-battler – give those thumbs a rest and watch the chaos unfold

💎Roguelike meta progression – permanent upgrades keep you coming back for “just one more run” and endless loot

👑 Fully customisable armies – customise your beardlings to your heart’s content 

✏️ Hand-drawn pixel art – from solo developer, Rafael Weilharterm marvel in the beautiful hand-drawn characters and world design

Blumhouse Games launches Crisol: Theater of Idols on Feb. 10

Blumhouse Games will be launching Crisol: Theater of Idols Feburary 10th. For those who don’t want to wait, the demo is live on Steam now. The cost on Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Steam will be a very reasonable $17.99 and will be 10% off at launch. Their previous game Sleep Awake Playstation 5 Review was great, and I have no reason to think this will be any different. Enjoy the trailer below, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Uncover the chilling history and twisted folklore of Tormentosa, a beautiful but malevolent island.Traverse eerie landscapes and take on monstrous foes as you peel back the layers of cults and bloodsacrifice.Crisol: Theater of Idolsis a gripping first-person horror/action adventure set in the haunting world ofHispania, a nightmarish reimagining of Spain. Playing as Gabriel, a soldier who can use his own blood asa deadlyweapon, you endeavor on a journey to fulfill a divine mission from the Sun God.PRODUCT FEATURES●Ammo system:Reload with blood and sacrifice your health, making every shot a risk●Spanish folklore:A nightmarish world of rituals and iconography●Exploration:Uncover secrets in the haunted streets of Tormentosa●Survival:Face grotesque foes, scarce resources, and tough choices●Upgrades:Enhance weapons and upgrade your skills to stay alive longer●Atmosphere:Chilling visuals, eerie sound, andconstant tension

Loan Shark Xbox Review

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.

Blightstone Steam Review

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.

Gedonia 2 Steam Review

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.

Loan Shark Coming to Playstation 5 January 20th

Loan Shark is a game I have long wanted to play since I read about it on PC, and I am currently reviewing Xbox ( you will see it soon), and will now be out on PlayStation. In fact, depending on where you live, it is probably live now. Enjoy the details and the Xbox launch trailer below. ( I can’t find one for PS5)

In Loan Shark, players step into the worn boots of an indebted angler trapped in a cycle of obligation he cannot escape. A single night at sea, meant to be routine, becomes something else entirely. The water feels heavier. The silence stretches. And when the nets finally come up, they carry more than fish.

That is when you meet Cagliuso, a one-eyed, talking fish whose strange gift promises salvation. His offer is simple, almost reasonable. Too reasonable.

What follows is not a power fantasy, but a slow, unsettling negotiation where every gain seems to leave something behind. Time, certainty, morality — all become part of the exchange.

Drawing on classic “deal with the devil” storytelling, Loan Shark unfolds as a compact psychological horror experience focused on pressure, choice, and consequence. The sea becomes both workplace and threat, and the ticking approach of unseen creditors ensures that nothing ever feels truly safe. The horror lies less in what is shown, and more in what is implied — the sense that something is watching, waiting, and counting the cost alongside you.

Key Features

  • Compact yet memorable experience — A focused narrative horror adventure, approximately 30 minutes in length
  • Underwater eye-cam mechanic — Track bites from below the surface while eerie watchers lurk in the depths
  • Fish & gut gameplay — Catch fish and carefully gut them under pressure, missteps have consequences
  • Surreal dialogue & choices — Bargains from Cagliuso force players to weigh risk versus reward
  • Time pressure & looming threats — With creditors closing in, every second counts
  • Atmospheric psychological horror — A restrained, unsettling tone driven by sound design and implication

Rogue Night Steam Review

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 Steam Review

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.

Deep Fringe Debuts in Early Access Jan 15

Deep Fringe from Publisher Thousand Generation releases into early access today and is a hardcore tactical RPG. You can watch the trailer above and read the features below about what looks like an amazing game. You can also wait a bit to see my full review, as they were kind enough to send me a review copy. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Key Features of Deep Fringe

Shape the Battlefield Your Way

With limitless tactical possibilities, every moment is an opportunity to redefine the fight. Reshape the terrain, destroy obstacles, or create new pathways. Position your squad to dominate from the high ground or outmaneuver enemies in the chaos. Knock foes into traps, hurl them into hazards, or send them tumbling off the map. Switch seamlessly between top-down and isometric views to gain the perfect perspective on battle.

Command Powerful Units

Each character has unique destructive or support abilities and distinct combat roles. With a wide variety of units to command, players can unleash devastating attacks and reshape the fight with every move. Deep customization through skill trees and cybernetic enhancements adds further depth, allowing for tailored strategies and new layers of tactical complexity in combat.

A Gripping Story Lore

Venture into hostile territories to uncover the secrets behind the apocalypse and the factions vying for control. Each expedition reveals a new chapter in the war-torn world’s mysterious past. Form alliances or spark rivalries with factions and characters you encounter. Your decisions shape the course of the conflict and how the story unfolds. The Early Access version offers 10 hours of main story content, plus plenty of side maps to keep you engaged.

Nostalgic Art Direction

With its hand-drawn retro style, Deep Fringe offers a visually distinct and fractured world. The detailed artwork brings to life a world full of unsettling creatures and decayed landscapes. Whether you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic settings or just appreciate art that feels alive and raw, Deep Fringe delivers a visual experience that sticks with you.

Highly Customizable Level Editor

Unleash your creativity with an easy-to-use graphical editor that lets you create your own levels, characters, and campaigns. Share your creations with the community through the workshop for limitless player-made challenges.