Tag: Reviews

John Wick (2014)

John Wick is a movie I somehow failed to sit down and watch all the way through for over a decade. I had always heard it was about a guy going on a killing spree because some dude killed his dog, and I assumed it was hyperbole and that there was more to it than that. Suffice it to say, I am now fully aware that this is just an hour and forty-one minutes of Keanu Reeves killing people because some dude broke into his house to steal his car and killed his dog in the process.

So I enjoyed the movie, it was fun, I won’t go on and on about it, but I do have some questions that maybe the other movies answer, but I don’t know, I haven’t watched them yet. For example, Wick kills a bunch of people in his house and a cop shows up and sees the dead bodies and just says he didn’t know John was back to work. Is killing people just legal for assassins, and did he assume John would file the proper paperwork for these?

Does he receive some sort of pay per person he kills when they get sent after him, or is his payment that he gets to live longer? I only ask because there seems to be some sort of economic system based around assassins in this world. So it seems like killing one might also get you paid.

My final question, the cleaners he pays aren’t also killers, do they have a special place they take these bodies, or are they just dumping them in rivers and unmarked graves? Because it seems like the cops don’t care about what he is doing he could just call the usual coroner. Or is this more of a professional courtesy to not bother the cops? This world seems to have some weird stuff going on. Either way, best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sirius Dice Balurs Gate 3 Treasure Pack Review

Recently, Sirius Dice teamed up with the creators of Baldur’s Gate and created treasure packs. The description on the website reads as follows.

Step into the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 with this collectible Dungeons & Dragons Treasure Pack, packed with surprise and excitement worthy of your next campaign. 

Each blind pack includes:

  • 1 oversized D20 featuring icons from fan-favorite characters like Astarion, Gale, and the Dark Urge
  • 1 collectible coin with a Baldur’s Gate theme
  • 1 embroidered dice bag to store your treasure

40 Possible d20s
21 Possible Metal Coins
9 Possible Embroidered Dice Bags

With stunning Rare, Legendary, and Artifact dice designs hidden inside, every pack is a roll of the dice and a thrill to open. Plus, lucky adventurers may uncover an exclusive Replica Astral Prism, a limited prize item straight from the world of BG3.

They were kind enough to send me a few to check out, which I am always grateful for. The sets are honestly really nice. The bags feel nice, they don’t feel cheap, and they are all pull to close and have some sort of design on them, which changes depending on who is inside.

Forgive the not-so-great camera work with my phone

The collectable coins are solid. I’m not sure what they are made from, but they should stand up well as a collectible item. I wouldn’t recommend flipping them like a coin or anything like that, but they are definitely safe to handle.

The dice themselves are nice. I was lucky enough to get the Bloodless rare dice, and they are certainly usable. I wasn’t able to get a decent picture, unfortunately. It does look pretty cool, however, and I do want to purchase more of them. For collectors and fans of the game, the cost of less than $14 is worth it once they are back in stock. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dark Souls Revisited

Dark Souls is a game I have a long history with. I played it years ago when it was originally released back in 2011 on PS3, and while I enjoyed it for what it was, I was one of the few people who recognized its flaws, I felt. Not only did it have a ton of frame rate issues, but its hit boxes were also a mess, and platforming was a nightmare. Places like Blighttown were a trainwreck due to its horrible lighting, and the frame rate drops made it even worse. Most of the levels weren’t even that good for me. When I heard about the remaster, however, I was excited because I knew most of these issues were about to be fixed, and they honestly were.

The problem is that with all of these issues fixed, the game isn’t the masterpiece people have convinced themselves it is. Most of the time when people talk about the game, it’s how crappy Blighttown is or how awful Bed of Chaos is. They say things like or well once you open up fast travel, the game really opens up. This doesn’t happen until the last 4 or 5 mandatory bosses of 23 total bosses. 26 if you count the DLC, which, honestly, without a guide, you won’t find. The DLC is possibly the most assinine thing in existence to get to.

Most of the areas in the games challenge also rely on things like walking on an invisible path that you will see if the snow falls on it, or if someone left messages. Find this random candle so you can see, or be the right build so you can cast the right spell. These aren’t good designs in all honesty; this is pretty much RNG.

None of this is to say Dark Souls is a bad game; it’s not. I’ve finished it. It is, however, not worth being so highly regarded as people think it is. It has many flaws, many of which I didn’t list. Dark Souls is a solid game, but not only is it not the first of its kind, but it isn’t the best of its kind by any stretch. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Romeo is a Deadman Playstation 5 Review

Romeo is a deadman is an action-adventure horror game sent to me by the great folks over at Grasshopper Manufacture, and I have to say, rarely do I play a game that makes me wonder what the hell I just played. I mean that as a compliment, by the way. You play as Romeo Stargazer, and as you are about to die, your grandfather saves your life by turning you into Deadman. You are given powers to fight with blood and are recruited by the FBI Space Time Police.

Using a sword and gun, and his helmet, Deadgear, you will fight all sorts of zombies and crazy monsters to stop time criminals that are using this catastrophe to cause all sorts of problems. You will also use this time to find your girlfriend, aptly named Juliet, who has disappeared. It isn’t long before you discover her, and all of this is closely tied together.

The fighting is tight, with sword and gun fighting easy to switch between and serving its own unique purpose. Some enemies have weak points that are far easier to shoot than to strike with a sword, while your sword does far more damage. A special attack powered by blood is capable of healing you, but must be charged with your standard attacks. It charges quickly enough for you to use it often, however, so feel free.

Bosses are huge

Bosses feel special, each with their own way of doing battle and with a unique look. The first boss alone can be tough on higher difficulty levels and will introduce you to the need to dodge and hit weak points while being fair.

This brings me to the one part of the game I did not like. The upgrading system does leave something to be desired. While there are a few weapons to choose from in both melee and range, upgrading your character feels like a chore with its pacman like mini game. While you can back track without losing anything to find the optimal path, it just feels like busy work rather than feeling rewarding.

The Bastard’s assistants fall into this same category; while growing them is simple, their growth in real time felt needless. You either need to spend valuable resources to speed it along or wait 10 minutes or more just to merge them and start the process over again, and it is the same resource used to increase your stats. This means you need to go grinding ( which is easy to do) or wait around.

This didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the game; I still recommend this to anyone who finds it the least bit interesting. It is one of the better games I have played all year, and I have played a lot. It is a 9/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Tavern Manager Simulator Playstation 5/Xbox/Steam Review

Tavern Manager Simulator is a tavern simulator game sent to me by the folks over at Ultimate Games, which I always appreciate. It is also available on Steam and Xbox, all of which I have played, and they have sent me. The games are all similar enough that I don’t feel the need to write a separate review for all of them.

The concept of the game is simple: you start with a busted tavern that you have to clean up and order some ale. You start out just greeting customers and selling this. Your pours can be bad, good, or perfect. This doesn’t change how much it sells for, but it does change your reputation. Once you get some dirty mugs, the game teaches you how to draw some water from the well and how to wash dishes. Later, you can get a fairy to do this for you.

The game continues like this until you can buy the first upgrade, which will get you some furniture and sausages. Honestly, this is all there is to the game. You sell things and upgrade as you become more popular and get different types of customers and things to sell them. Later on, you will learn to make stew, grill meet and be able to hire fairies to do much of the work you don’t want to do yourself.

There are some nice hidden things to find, like this bonfire or garden gnomes. The game, while simple, is fun with plenty to do and discover. For a $20 price point, I had a lot of fun with it, and I can see people who enjoy these games having a blast with this one as well. It is an 8/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dreadway Steam Review

Dreadway is a co-op horror title sent to me by Reality Twist, and I always appreciate it. I honestly don’t know where to start with this one because it has some great stuff to it. For example, the requirement to use a mic is inspired in the reason why, for example, certain monsters and doors have passwords and such that you need to say out loud for them to function, which is a cool mechanic. The issue is, this doesn’t always work. The proximity chat adds a level of intensity to the game. Knowing if the party runs off to do its own thing is fantastic and really adds to the horror aspect. Again, occasionally it just doesn’t work. I’ve had people standing right next to me not be able to hear me, even on the train, where you start.

Speaking of the train, this is a cool idea. The fact that you can start it, stop it, and store things there as a base is nice. A little safe haven in an otherwise unsafe world is always appreciated. It is one of many things in this game I appreciated, which is a small thing that adds up. The bunkers are also interesting at first; many look the same, unfortunately, and much of the fun in this game is who you are playing with.

While I can’t say the game is truly bad, there is fun to be had here, and at a price point of only $10, I will say if you don’t have a dedicated team of people to play with, maybe avoid this one. It is at best a 5/10 experience that most people won’t enjoy. There are other games out there that offer a similar experience that do it better. Some patches will definitely make this a better game, but I can’t see most people sticking around to see them. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Monster Lab Simulator Steam Review

Monster Lab Simulator is another game by Kiki Games that they were nice enough to send me, and it will be released into early access tomorrow, February 13th. The concept of the game is simple. You are a mad scientist creating creatures to fight in battles for you using genetic modifications. Now, I won’t lie, my own pet theory here is that you are a crazed fan of the in-game series from Table Battle Simulator and took it way too far, but I can prove that.

Tell me that isn’t cute

Now, I won’t lie, most of these monsters are super cute. I think that is part of how you know you play an evil scientist. He creates cute monsters for the battles and such. It isn’t all fun and games, however. You do need to care for them properly. Certain monsters prefer to live in certain elemental zones, and if you want the best creatures, you do need to combine them into bigger and better monsters.

The game isn’t all fun and games; however, things can go wrong, and you do need money for your experiments. This is why, while I do love these cute little monsters, I moved on to bigger and better monsters, so I could sell them. I assumed turning them into orbs and selling them isn’t painful. The game’s tutorial is excellent, by the way, so don’t worry about having to figure out how to play the game on your own.

This leads me to my one and only issue with the game: it does get repetitive fast, and I eventually felt like I was playing just for the sake of playing with no real end goal in sight. Now the game is early access with plenty of time for stuff to be added, and having seen others play the game, it seems like this may have been a me thing. The game is a solid 7/10, and I can see there being a huge fan base for this game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Table Battle Simulator Steam Review

Table Battle Simulator is a game that really needs no explanation, sent to me by Kiki Games. You start off with a small store and build a game figure empire. The usual rules apply. Design your store, set prices, order stock, and hopefully turn a profit. Use those profits to expand the store and sell better things. There is a small twist this time around.

Instead of opening packs to simply collect or sell, you can set up battle tables in your store and join the battles yourself. Every person who walks into your store has a rank, and as you get a better collection, you might even beat some of them. Don’t think that just because you own the store, you are the best.

The problem with these games is simple: you either love them ( like me) or they just aren’t your thing. This game has a nice twist to it; unlike most of these games, you can actually play the game you are selling the pieces to. And while the employees you hire aren’t great, they never are. To be honest, having had many jobs in my life, many times your coworkers suck anyway. This may seem like a small thing, but the number of these games I have played where I wanted to know how my cards would actually play isn’t zero.

The game is releasing into early access on February 16th, and I look forward to seeing how it grows. The game is a solid 7/10, and for an early access title, that is all you need. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Adaptory Steam Review

Adaptory recently hit early access on Steam, and Stormcloak Games was nice enough to send me a copy to check out. Anyone familiar with Oxygen Not Included will instantly know how this game is played. You crash land on a planet and must survive by building basic things and researching new technology. This will include things like power plants for coal and solar, growing food, producing oxygen, and even beds.

First thing you need to know is hit the ground running, so to speak. The pause function is your friend and abuse it. Making good decisions can take time at first, and since everything is built using dirt, ladders need to be made to get to new dirt where you dig, and putting ladders matters. My first run was plagued by me just randomly digging and putting stuff in places, and by day 6, everyone was dead.

I would like to say runs 2 through 5 went better, but I can be a slow learner. The game does give you a tutorial, but some of it is a bit vague, I feel. For example, while it won’t let you build over an empty space, you can accidentally dig under objects and take them offline. Some things are very much trial and error. I am fine with this; however, I spent hours playing Rim World just building things, trying to figure out what wouldn’t get me killed.

Adaptory falls into the same category; in fact, most of the complaints in the reviews on Steam are that it is just like Oxygen Not Included. I don’t see this as a bad thing. How many games are there similar to Super Mario or Final Fantasy? A game doesn’t have to be brand new to be fun or even good. Stardew Valley is just like the old Harvest Moon games, and people, myself included, love that game. Adaptory isn’t for everyone, and it needs some work to be the heavy hitterthat Oxygen Not Included, or Rimworld is. At $20, it may not be for everyone, but there is fun to be had in this 7/10 title, and I do look forward to seeing it grow. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Encounter: The Lost Cards Steam Review

Encounter: The Lost Cards was sent to me by Encounter GG, which I always appreciate, and going into this, I knew nothing about it beyond this trailer, and I will say no $10 card game needs to have a song that goes this hard.

Seriously, the song is great, and perfectly describes how the game is played and what it is about. The game is all about managing your inventory, using your AP in the best way possible to kill enemies, defending yourself, and winning battles. The gameplay is as simplistic as it gets. Mastering it is a different matter completely.

The game starts out with a tutorial explaining everything you need to know to get you started, but it does leave a bit out. Knowing what these Minor tarot cards even do is a bit of an oversight in my opinion. As best I can tell, they help determine what sort of things you will come across in your run as you attempt to find specific Major cards for your charactors over all goal. This changes depending on whose perspective the game’s story is being told from, which I found to be amazing. I love the story and the direction it is taking.

The biggest issue I had with the game is that there are huge, sudden difficulty spikes. One moment, you are doing just fine, and the next, you are suddenly faced with what seems like an insurmountable battle. And sin and being honorable play a very large part in the game, but often you are faced with choices that seem to force you to sin, with only two options, both leading to sin, and the payoff being sin for a lesser reward or sin for a bigger reward.

The game does have a comedic tone that I enjoyed, and while some of the characters had a sexy tone, it wasn’t over the top. For the price, I found the game enjoyable and it is a solid 7/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.