Tag: Reviews

When I first saw this game by Thunderful Group and The Station,it had my interest. A trailer or two later and it definitely had my attention. Then came the fateful day I got an email saying they would be happy to supply me with a review code, and that made me very happy and grateful. It also made my girlfriend very unhappy.

See Steamworld Build seems like a simple and straightforward game. You pull up on a wagon with your little robo people and a mysterious ball talking on the back of the wagon, get a short bit comprehensive tutorial and find all the pieces to a rocket to launch yourselves into space.

And honestly, the game is technically that simple. On the surface you will build basic buildings, a warehouse, farms, charcoal kilns etc. These will keep your robo people happy and functional. It is also quite in depth with how it is done, but not so in depth that it drags. Simply build a wood cutter near trees and they will chop them down and move them to the warehouse. From there they will go to a kiln or logger etc and they will become charcoal or planks.

From there you move onto the underground section. This is where all the mining takes place where you can find different materials and even locate the rocket parts.

Down in the mines you will create different places for different robots to live, whether they be minors, guards or other things you need. There are multiple levels or biomes down here and each time you find 2 rocket parts you can move down to the next level. Each level gradually gets harder and it never feels unfair. Even the enemies on each level grow stronger,with the first level not even seeming to have any just to ease you into the experience.

Each new material underground will help you build new things and robots above ground,these will help you get further down into the mines. The whole thing is very well done and interconnected in a way that is a master class in how it should be done.

My only real complaint is that as you get new robots above ground is that you don’t build new ones, you upgrade old ones. Workers become engineers, engineers become aristocrats and those become scientists. Each new class has new requirements of things they want to live near and have access to. This made me feel like I was constantly rebuilding and rearranging my town. This wasn’t game breaking or killing my fun at all, it was just kind of annoying when I really wanted to be in the mines.

Now I haven’t really touched in the sound or graphics, and that’s because nobody expects a game like this to break new ground in these departments. The game looks good and the sound is great. I never got sick of hearing the train come in and each level of the mine had its own sights and sounds to enjoy.

The controls however will make it break this type of game traditionally on consoles,but in recent years companies have been nailing them. Steamworld Build is no exception,the controls won’t please mouse and keyboard purist, but nothing on console will. They felt great to me however,and if that’s a concern of yours this felt like one of the best to ever do it.

This game is just fantastic,9/10. I spent hours ignoring my family just to play it. Ok maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to, they simply wouldn’t let me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Whisper Games was kind enough to toss me a review copy of this one, and damn am I glad they did. It has gotten great reviews over on Steam and many other places, but I had never really heard of this action RPG with gameplay that reminded me a lot of Act Raiser.

It’s side scrolling with pretty simple button commands. Move left or right, a button to jump another to swing your sword or dodge it block and use magic is as simple as hold this button and tap a direction a few times.

These easy controls make the game far from easy easy,in fact I ended up turning the difficulty down from hard to normal. Still I don’t recommend simply running around trying to stab things with no strategy.

Another fun addition to the game is creating weapons and items from the enemies you kill. This will let you create a variety of things instead of buying them exclusively from shops. Unfortunately on the flip side, you need both money and materials to get new weapons and such from shops and that always bothers me.

All of that aside though the story is where this game really shines. It starts off with you waking up with no real memory in a cabin with a talking bird. Eventually you will leave to search for people, it will take 8 years before you finally find people. This will set off a chain of events that will send you through time itself to discover more about yourself and the other characters.

I won’t say more than that because the story is stellar, but these graphics are spectacular and the sound serves its purpose well. While it isn’t perfect by any means the setting is helped when in caves or a forest.

My biggest complaint,if you can truly call it that, was I don’t feel the level up system was explained very well. Sure you go from level one to two etc, but you also collect bonus items to increase different stats but how you get them and why just felt tacked on. It’s simple enough to figure out but some sort of deeper explanation would have been nice.

The game however is a must play for fans of the genre, 8/10 easily. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Crymachina is an action RPG from NIS America that they were kind enough to send me, so a huge shout out to them for that one.

The story is where this game really shines so I don’t want to ruin that on you. Suffice it to say I absolutely enjoyed my time playing it BECAUSE of the story. The character conversation between the ladies and the different personalities was always interesting and the different twist and turns was enough to keep me coming back for more in the around 20 hours of gameplay.

Thankfully the story is great because the combat, while smooth and easy to get into does get repetitive quite quickly. The gameplay loop itself leaves much to be desired. You will take on missions,many of which are simply on a very linear path leading to some sort of boss battle. Then you simply see some story and rinse and repeat.

Thankfully the story is worth the trip. The game is also beautiful and has the sound and music to really set the tone.

This unfortunately is one of those games you are going to want to pick up on sale. It’s a decent 6/10 and worth a play through for RPG fans, but I can’t recommend it at full price.

Disgaea 7 is the newest in the series and once again I was able to get a review copy from NIS America,so a huge shout out to them for hooking me up.

I won’t waste too much time explaining the gameplay for this one, if you are reading this you are probably familiar with the Disgaea series. The general things haven’t changed. You will dispatch your units from the usual starting point, and on a grid map turn based series of moves you will do things like toss Prinnys that explode, take out or move geo blocks to buff or debuff units and of course over the course of time hopefully deal insane amounts of damage.

The story this time around was quite fun, you start out as a rich business person obsessed with what is essentially Japanese Shogun culture a world was known for. That however has fallen to pieces much to the dismay of Pirilika. She hires a warrior named Fuji who is in massive debt to help recover sacred weapons and revive this world’s culture.

These sacred weapons allow a new form of attack for some characters called “hell mode” which allows for special skills to decimate enemies with. Think of them sort of like Limit Breaks for the final fantasy series.

There is also a new thing called Jumbofication, which essentially makes your unit (or an enemy unit) huge. This makes some battles a bit harder or easier,but really just feels like a gimmick. It’s a fun one tho, but still a gimmick.

They have changed a few things from the 6th instalment, for example maps feel better mostly, and I enjoy the cut scenes. That being said I rather hate the new way the auto battle system works. It can still be done,but now you need to beat a battle first,and have a special item to do it. The auto battle however made some of the grind feel less grindy and let me enjoy the rest of the game more. Others however will love the new system as many didn’t like the last one.

All and all tho, the reason you are here is to know if this is worth buying and the answer is yes. The game is an 8/10 and for fans of the series or just the genre in general, it’s worth picking up. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The legend of Nayuta is another NIS america RPG they were kind enough to toss me,and was originally released on the PSP.

The story itself is pretty much the greatest hits from days of RPG past,and is the definition of basic. You have your main character with dead parents, your best friend and also rival. And a mysterious girl with no memory who also happens to be your love interest. The game doesn’t break any new ground here,even when it was released on the PSP.

The gameplay itself is what we all came here to find out about anyway since stories are completely subjective. The game is a nice mix of platformer and RPG, with the RPG portion being just typical leveling and getting bigger and better weapons. You will do the typical hack and slash with some magic and dodging. Again no new ground is broken but it is fun.

Graphically,the game is solid. It’s a nice update from those PSP says and it runs smooth. I wasn’t a fan of the smaller maps and the mission format of kill X amount of enemies or the platforms that sometimes felt unnecessary, but others will enjoy them just fine.

At the end of the day tho,the game is good. Not great,but it’s worth playing. Many will be disappointed to discover it doesn’t seem to be connected to the rest of the series but there is some fan service in there anyway. It is a solid 7/10,and fans will want to pick it up. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

As always I like to start these off with a big thank you to NIS America for tossing me a copy of this one. It’s always great to be working with them. Now onto the show.

Mobius is a turn based RPG with an interesting battle mechanic to me. It’s turn based as normal, but there are multiple rings you can be on at any given time. These rings get smaller as you move towards the center and they determine turn order.

Everyone starts on the outermost and biggest ring, as you battle there are various things you and the enemy can do to move further in or push each other out of these rings and make your turn come faster.

This makes the battles a bit more tactical than normal because many times the difference between winning and losing is simply using your abilities in just the right way to get more turns than a stronger opponent.

The story itself isn’t bad either and involves a young man who lost is father discovering he may have a sister, or at least someone that claims to be. She shows up with a Raven bracelet asking for help to find their father that he knows to be dead long ago.

From here the usual set of adventures will come and go as you gather party members, go on quest and even get a mentor that loves drinking probably a little more than he should.

The games graphics are what you would expect, solid but far from outstanding,but anime fans will be happy. There aren’t any English voices unfortunately but there are busty anime women so that will make many anime fans happy. Most of the men can’t seem to keep clothes on at some point either.

The game itself was fun and turn based fans and NIS America fans will enjoy it,but I don’t think it will be changing the minds of other people either. It is a solid 7/10 tho. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Marble it Up Ultra is a game tossed to me by the fine people at, well Marble it Up. The concept for this is really simple. Get the marble from the start of the level,to the end.

Like many games with a simple concept,mastering it is no easy task. Of the 6 worlds of levels the first is basically a tutorial. These will set you up with the basics of the game and how the physics of it all works and the different power ups work etc. They work very well I might add, for the most part of the probably billion times I went flying off the side it was usually my own stupidity that caused it,the rest were me genuinely screwing around.

After the first set of levels the game really starts to ramp up and introduces new and interesting ways of playing with the game. From collecting gems and having to roll around 3D environments that gravity seems to have forgotten about to simply moving as fast as possible from one side to the other without hitting a bump that sends you flying off the map.

The game has a plethora of unlockables,all in the game. You earn special points by completing challenges which or levels faster and getting gold,silver and bronze finishes for the first time. This is also how you unlock new marbles or funny hats. (they are purely cosmetic)

The game is a lot of fun with plenty of replay value, but it isn’t for everyone. While I enjoyed it my daughter found it endlessly frustrating and had no interest in continuing after about an hour. She wasn’t bad at the game,but if you don’t enjoy puzzles this probably won’t change that perspective at all. Outside of the 6 worlds there are bonus worlds with their own sets of levels that are even more challenging.

I thought the game had plenty to offer and looked nice, but it definitely is a niche game. For me it was a 7/10. I definitely wouldn’t play it daily,but if I have 15 or 20 minutes to kill and you like puzzle games, this one is absolutely worth picking up. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sea Horizon is the latest game from developer Eastasiasoft Limited and published by SOFTSTAR the first from Hong Kong and the second from Taiwan, and they were nice enough to toss me a copy to review. So as always, big thanks for that one.

The game has three ways to play, the story mode is where to start. You start as the Adventurer (they do have real names), work your way down, and unlock new characters. This is also the best way to learn how the game mechanics and characters work.

The game itself is turn-based, mostly one side goes than the other but there are skills that mess with this as you would expect. Much like other games in the roguelike area of things you can see what the enemy is about to do and you can react accordingly. Sometimes it is better to just build up a wall of block that thankfully will stay until the enemy gets rid of it. Whatever your decisions are, a dice roll to see what resources you have this turn can make or break you. These resources are determined by your equipment, however, so if you don’t need nature resources simply do not equip any. This will prevent them from being a possibility.

The game itself has you walking around a map, or sailing on a ship on the water to travel. This for me is where the game became a bit rough around the edges. For example, you do have a food meter to watch, but in a couple of games I started out next to a camp to get food when my food meter was still full, and never came across one again. This had me run out of food prior to the last boss, and the penalty for this is to take a small amount of damage each time you move from one hex to another. In a game that rewards exploration, and combat is a huge focal point that is a brutal, and harsh way to have things end.

Now I could bore you with the technical aspects, but suffice it to say the game runs smooth, looks good and sounds great. I probably sank a good 30 hours into this one already and will probably sink 30 or 40 more into it with ease. Each run feels different, leveling characters to unlock new moves, abilities, and skins (all within the game just by playing, a novel and appreciated approach) No game is perfect, and the randomness of when things simply aren’t given is annoying at times, but for $15 US dollars this one is a must by for fans of the genre. 9/10 Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

As I always like to do with these things, a huge thank you to NIS America for tossing me a review copy of Trails of Reverie. It is always a pleasure to play these games before anyone else and share my experience with you guys.

Before I go any further, if you haven’t played The Cold Steel series for example, or the other Trail of Heroes this game is not the place to start. It contains well over 50 characters from past games to play as you continue to discover events from Crossbell and beyond with the new Trails to Walk system. You can more or less freely jump back and forth between different parties to see the game unfold from different standpoints and perspectives. It is very well done and a pleasure for fans to see, but if you are new to the series you will be lost.

The combat as you would is turn-based, and again if you are familiar with the series you know what to expect. It is beautiful and usually well balanced. There is plenty of new gear, costumes ect to find and use, but you will never be shocked or disappointed by the things you loved from the past games suddenly being changed beyond belief.

The sound is also, as the kids say, on point. I’m kidding I don’t know if they still say that, but the voice acting and music always sets the tone the way it needs to be. Lets move on to the bad however.

Remember back a bit when I said the combat was “usually well balanced”? There are a few bosses that seem to just suddenly ramp up the bullshit meter. This isn’t a matter of being bad at the game or anything like that, you will be trouncing away at everything in your path and suddenly a boss will be so much faster than you they will get what seems like 7 and 8 attacks in a row for you to contend with. A fellow reviewer claims to have been hit 17 times in a row, but I belive that may have been hyperbole because he was pissed off but I wanted to mention it just in case.

The game however even prerelase functioned pretty much perfectly and in today’s world I feel like that is worth mentioning. In a time when game breaking bugs and glitches are the new norm, being able to play a game without any day one patches and complete it without issue is a nice treat. If you are a fan of Trails series, this game is a must buy. Dont even wait for a sale, just pick this game up. It is a rare 9/10 from me. That does come with a small exception. If you haven’t played this series, do not start here. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a management simulator and help your uncle that also happened to be your grandfather run a business making illegal booze? Thanks to Klabater and Moonshine Inc I can say I do, and I am grateful to them for sending me a copy of this one.

The game starts out with your character setting off for the big city and getting a job at a local failing business that he can’t figure out how it even stays open. He soon discovers and starts learning how to make booze. After it gets raided he heads home to the mountains to help his sister and grumple make some hooch all his own.

You will start out learning to make some good old rotgut, which is basically just booze made in a bucket. It won’t taste good, but it will get people hammered. This will teach you the basics of the mixing ingredients and fermenting process.

After you bottle your illicit it is time to ship it to various places on the map, which is as simple as simple packing it into a truck and driving there. Oh and hoping the cops don’t catch you. There are many different things that can happen on the drive such as police, finding abandoned booze from other runners, and plenty of other things. The odds of this change based on your employee’s driving ability the distance you are going and of course how often you go there.

Speaking of employees, each one is going to cost you money every week so you need to make enough products at a high enough quality to pay them, yourself and keep supplies in stock. All this while keeping a low profile and improving your equipment.

The game is a ton of fun but does have its issues, but nothing a patch won’t fix I think. A few times on the map the game locked up on me so I couldn’t return to my base, but a save and a load solved that no problem. The controls at times were also a bit rough because of how stiff they could be, but nothing that took away from the fun I was having, it is just worth mentioning.

The good far outweighs the bad however, the game itself is unlike anything else on consoles in terms of personality. Unlocking new recipes was simple but perfecting them took plenty of trial and error but not so much that it was a hassle or unenjoyable.

The game is a solid choice for any fans of management sims, and at $20 ($25 for the supporters pack that comes with the soundtrack and artbook) the game is absolutely a steal. The price point and the amount of game you get makes this an 8/10 without a doubt. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.