I firstly met this game through gamepass some years ago(it is still there, so a good way to test it if not sure about buying). I thought it would be just a silly generic poke clone, but I was very wrong, this… game simply is incredible, seeing it again here even made me want to play it again. The mix of using metroidvania mechanics mixed with the monsters is made spectacularly, a must play for fans of this kind of game
It's not a bad little game, you can tell that a lot of heart was put into it and for the most part I enjoyed it. The levels are nice and varied with great backgrounds and ambient sound and music. The puzzles… aren't hard but they are varied, some can be completed with 3 adjustments and others take a decent amount of fiddling around to get the puzzle to complete even though the object is clearly "finished" and you just need all of the surfaces to be within the necessary 1cm boundaries. The only other issue I ran into is that the lack of distinct borders or outlines can make orientation of the pieces a chore, you have no easy way to judge depth outside of rotating the entire thing which you might not want to do based on the piece you are manipulating. A minor gripe is having to go back to the little gumball machine to get another level, it's cute but it kind of breaks the flow and doesn't add much aside from that slight aesthetic. Overall a good little game to puzzle over while listening to a podcast.
I came to the Spelunky party later than most, somewhere in the 2016-2017 era. It was initially launched in its HD form in 2012 to Xbox Live arcade, and I had already played games like Limbo and Braid through the Arcade feature… and didn't want another sidescroller. Man, was that ever a miscalculation. Even though Limbo and Braid are fantastic in their own right, they are limited, 2-5 hour experiences. I must have over 150+ hours in Spelunky alone, not including its sequel (which improves on this game in every way and is 10/10 in its own right). This isn't to say that playtime is equal to quality or value, but only to illustrate that even with 150 hours, I would still go back and play this with enthusiasm and most likely continue to find new and interesting niches of this incredible game. This game was apparently the turning point for many developers; it gave rise to incorporating more "Rouge" like elements into their design. Once they saw Mossmouth's application of the procedurally generated levels, random events, the 1-1 restart instead of the traditional checkpointing in the action-platformer genre, the niche gameplay of 'Rouge-likes' exploded. It spawned an entire sub-genre that then also changed and grew, things we now commonly see as rouge-lites. (This was something that at the time was seen as heretical to OG Rouge fans, but the genre moved forward regardless.) But don't mistake the forerunner as something to only acknowledge, play this game. It is difficult, chaotic, and downright cruel sometimes, but even despite the challenge, its gameplay and controls carrying you forward as you learn everything about it. Eventually learning the secrets of the world to delve even deeper. The reward is a game that is tuned to always respond in a predictable way, even if it may predictably lead to your demise. (Those stupid bats!)
Wargroove's strategy kept me entertained but didn't enthrall me to the point of completion. The pixel graphics are well done and bring a lot of production value despite the limited fidelity. I remember various scenarios and characters from the campaign years later,… so I have to give it a thumbs up on narrative as well even though it wasn't revolutionary by any stretch. Overall decent, bigger fans of Fire Emblem may enjoy it even more than I did.
Dwarves love digging for gold, and you'll definitely find your inner dwarf in DRG. The class variety ensures every team mate has something very useful to assist others with, as every class is a bit lacking on something (though never completely out… of it). Digger makes tunneling through terrain a breeze. Gunner keeps everyone alive with shields and raw damage output against swarms and bosses. Scout keeps visibility high and swoops in to hard-to-reach places (like saving your butt). Engineer ensures the whole team gets around areas safely and efficiently with platforms and ziplines. Between your varied mission types, you'll enjoy DRG's generous character customization (cosmetic only), progression (never paid, only unlocked) and schenanigans in the base with magic-infused brews, exploding-barrel-basketball, and zero-G.
Risk of Rain has an excellent core loop of killing enemies, opening loot chests, challenging bosses, and zipping to a new map in pursuit of the final challenge. The slower you go, the stronger the final boss gets, so hop to it!… While the mechanics and gameplay are all worthy of a purchase on their own, the way every upgrade you collect is physically attached to your character model is just exquisite. Chef's kiss, perfection. Hits the absolute maximum dopamine of highrolling a build that does everything you wanted, then resets you to go try for it again or perhaps chase down some challenges or secrets in the various maps. The game is content-rich and addictive, then you layer online co-op on top to drag your friends in for an hour ish on a run. I have 8 hours on Steam and ~30 on PS4 (latter is not explicitly tracked), ergo the sum time is greater than what's listed on Steam.
The story takes place in various settings and all of them are great. You will be surprised by how the game evolves. After getting through that however many times you're interested in, there's a 'skirmish mode' of sorts that I've put hundreds… of hours into as a time killer after workouts or during meetings.
Part of what makes Torchlight 1 (and 2) feel good are the moments of challenge and friction where your build is struggling to overcome tougher enemies or certain mechanics, right up until you get a special loot drop, level up, or other… progression that helps you blow right through it and keep pushing onwards. Torchlight Infinite simply doesn't have that. I went from dealing damage numbers less than 100 to over a hundred thousand per hit in almost no time. Virtually every enemy (and lots of bosses) vaporize themselves upon contact with any button you accidentally press while walking towards the indicated objective. Add onto that a pet-gacha system powered by microtransactions that left a sour taste in my mouth, and I was done with this entry in the franchise. The narrative did nothing for me, and while that has never been particularly strong in the series it was probably the last hope for me to say much of anything positive about my experience.
The bones of this games' mechanics and artwork are absolutely fantastic, and based on how the developers treated their prior title, Monster Sanctuary, I have confidence this game will mature well. The current offering includes a decent selection of monsters that offer… a really fun strategic sandbox for you to mix-and-match with. There are some progression elements, but it's pretty short in the version I played and is likely to be a large part of what is fleshed out over time (in addition to more monsters to fight and use on your own teams!)
Full disclosure: I got this game as part of a Humble Bundle, so I wasn't seeking it out, but I did try it out! The blend of tactics and board-game strategy seemed interesting, but similar to other Civ-style map games it can… take a very long time to make your way through a match, even the tutorial one! I think this would be more up your alley if you're a bigger fan of Civilization and those kinds of games, but I'm not. Aside from that, I can vouch that the artwork is really well done and I don't recall the game being obtuse to understand or under-performant in any way. If it sounds like a better fit for you, I'd be more willing to endorse it, but it did not win me over as a fan within the ~80 minutes or so I gave it.
You have a royal flush? That's cool. I have 5-of-a-kind Aces! Balatro's basic formula is "(card value) x (game multiplier) = score", which leads to very creative strategies and outside-the-box thinking. Instead of betting chips, you need to accumulate a target score… within a fixed number of hands. Need more score? Maybe delete some cards from your 52-card deck so you can more consistently sculpt a higher-value hand. Maybe add some cards with special rules, like replaying themselves when scored in a hand. Maybe pick up some jokers, which passively change the games' rules so you can do crazy things like copying cards, gaining score multiplier for making hands with red-colored cards, or perhaps get some planet or tarot cards to upgrade the basic score + multiplier of particular hands or upgrade your deck! Balatro further innovates with different starting decks, a neat progression system for unlocking content based on achievements, and challenging "enemy" mechanics that may undo your carefully planned strategy at the most inopportune time. Don't sweat it if you fail a run, maybe next time you'll get a score so big that the game resorts to using scientific notation to keep up with your numbers!
Stolen Realm is a fantasy tactics game where you'll start as a single class (for instance, Warrior, focusing on Might for damage and Armor to shrug off incoming attacks) and quickly evolve into an insane multi-class godlike creature (the Warrior is now… also a Monk, rapidly moving about and throwing enemies into one another, but also a Thief who steals enemy actions and backstabs for criticals!) The equipment and "fate" systems allow you further angles to develop your own unique play style as you progress your campaign. There's also the pure roguelike mode that speeds up progression considerably while dropping out the between-dungeon segments done in town during the main campaign (those segments are fun for the campaign though, as your progression really shines there!) Co-Op is done with simultaneous player turns followed by all enemies, permitting ridiculous schenanigans with your friends. And if you're the type that doesn't have friends, you can play as many characters per human as you want up until the party cap is filled, though it really helps to spread the mental load amongst people or just run 2-4 characters. When playing as a duo (most of my playtime), we each run two characters and that grants everyone plenty of fun synergies and things to do without getting TOO crazy!
You should enter Inscryption knowing as little as possible for the best experience, so I'll be intentionally vague. The narrative is the game's strongest point, but the gameplay involves unique resource systems, replayability mechanics, and surprises that are sure to delight anyone… who enjoys deckbuilding games. It took me about 10 hours to complete, then I stuck around for an extra 6 chasing down various things and just enjoying the game -- it's not a forever game, but it is one that will stick with you in a good way well beyond any notion of hours spent in game.
Fishing games are classic staples--often a highlight worthy mini-game within other games. Dredge expands upon it by giving you 3D control of a little boat that you can upgrade to catch more fish as you progress in a short, but rewarding and… well-paced journey. Couple all of that with its beautiful art style and horror-inspired self-explored narrative, and you're sure to enjoy more than mere fishing. It's short but worth your time. It's cheap especially during sales. It's relaxing but not boring.
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