Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (2004)

Overview: An open world pirate game. This game is the 2004 remake of the 1987 game of the same name.

---

20231218:
I tried playing this game today, but I didn't get into it.

Setup:
Mouse.

Steam Game Time: 56 minutes

---

Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Very thematic

Neutral:
~ Learning curve; lack of initial clear objectives [apparently part of the appeal of the game is that you can play it how you want]

Con:
- Possibly repetitive gameplay

Rating: 3.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (2004)

Relevant Links:
Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (steamdb.info)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (Steam Store Page)

El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (2020)

Overview: A (non-violent) spaghetti-western stealth game.

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20231124:
I played this game for the first time today. So far it has some standard stealth mechanics but with a western theme. While first played with a keyboard, I think the game would be better with a gamepad. However, gamepad or not, I'm not yet pulled into the game (~20 minutes of gameplay).

Setup: Keyboard.

Steam Game Time: 23 minutes

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Decent artwork and potentially good story

Cons:
- Seemingly boring gameplay

Rating: 1.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (2020)

Relevant Links:
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (Wikipedia.org)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (steamdb.info)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (Steam Store Page)

---

Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (1997)

Overview: Help Putt-Putt retrieve items from the present which have been sent to different eras in the past.

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20231120:
My son and I played through some of this game. He generally explores and I help every now and then.

Gameplay Log:
We are in the western time area.

Game Setup: We use a little wireless mouse that is more manageable for his smaller hand.

Steam Game Time: 21 minutes [second]

---

20231202:
Gameplay Log:
After clicking around the western time area for a few minutes, Ben left for the medival times
Eventually Ben left the medival times to the future times.
Smile. "Artifact"

Steam Game Time: 78 minutes (cumulative game time) / 57 minutes (session game time)

---

20231206 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 103 minutes (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20231206

---

Thoughts:
None at this time

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (1997)

Relevant Links:
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (Wikipedia.org)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (steamdb.info)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (Steam Store Page)

Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (2016)

Overview: Develop a civilization.

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20231101:
Every so often during the past few months, I thought about getting into the Civilization series. Technically, I once tried to get into the series and played the tutorial of Civilization V for over ten hours. Today I finally went ahead and tried the tutorial for the latest in the series.

Setup: Bumped up all the graphics. 4K resolution. Very important to also scale up the UI otherwise text is too small to read.

Ready to leave the tutorial, I tried to build up a small army and launch an attack. The enemy AI, however, had some strong units prepared.

Steam Game Time: 106 minutes

---

20231107:
Today I started an actual game, but I was so sleepy that I couldn't really focus and do much.

Setup: Standard Rules, Random Leader (Pedro II), Prince, Standard, Continents, Small. Random resulted in Brazilian Empire with Pedro II. It seems the Aztec Civilization Pack is also enabled.

Steam Game Time: 2.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.4 hours (session game time)

---

20231108:
I continued the campaign today and I think I was just continuing from an autosave which may be a few turns short of where I left off, because I re-encountered Cleopatra. In any case, I'm not sure if it's my inefficiency, but the feeling of building units taking so many turns is mind numbingly slow. I think the only way to counter this is to rush settlers and risk attack by Barbarians. Speaking of settlers, perhaps I should start a new campaign because I lost my first settlers that were left unescorted and killed by another unit. While for the moment I've pressed on, I feel the delay could have detrimental ripple effects.

On a different topic, combat feels unintuitive and neither is there good in-game documentation on it. In my mind, a range unit should be able to fire from afar, but my slingers still need to be one unit away. It seems the only bonus here is that they can attack without being retaliated on.
One of the elements that adds to the game moving slow is the speed (or lack of speed) at which units move across the map. However, perhaps the game is balanced around that movement.

For a city center to be the limiter on building is very different than the feel of production in an RTS like Warcraft III or Starcraft.
Steam Game Time: 3.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
None at this time

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (2016)

Relevant Links:
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Wikipedia.org)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (steamdb.info)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Steam Store Page)

The Last Faith (PC) (Demo)

20231019:
When I was younger I played many Castlevania games and now that I'm older I've played Metroidvanias here and there but I think I'm getting too old for them. Either I don't have the patience or the reflexes I once had. In any case, I mostly liked this game, and I think it would have been a better experience if I had used a gamepad instead of a keyboard. For the most part I enjoyed the animations with the exception of how the character climbs a ladder - this animation looks odd to me. I also found the lack of mana regeneration made the game harder - unless I was missing a key mechanic.

Setup: Chose the Brawler. Played on a keyboard.

Steam Game Time: 30 minutes

Yog-Sothoth's Yard (PC) (Demo)

20231019:
Today I booted up this game with no idea what it was about. It booted up in another language and among the three options at the menu screen I chose the top option. There was a lot of dialogue and I pressed various keys based on experience until landing on the "Ctrl" key which speeds up the dialogue. I randomly chose selection options as they came up. Eventually the main game started and I was able to go into the options and switch the language to English. The game turned out to be a hotel management simulator. I decided to exit the game. At the menu, the options are "Play," "Options," and "Exit."

I then decided to hit "Play" and experience some of the initial story in English. It was so dense and overall I felt the game was not for me.

Steam Game Time: 20 minutes

The Last Campfire (PC) (2021)

Overview: Play as Ember and help save lost souls by solving puzzles.

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20230715:
My first impression was that the narration in the game is not always welcome. And when compared to the use of narration in the action RPG game Bastion, the narration here is just terrible. In particular, the game sometimes has too much dialogue over gameplay. On that note, I'm not sure I understand the story. The premise hints at idea of the story, but it is ambiguous enough for a person like me to feel a mixture of anxiety and dissatisfaciton (initially it just seemed like he got left behind, and yet...). Anyways, the initial puzzles are interesting enough to encourage further gameplay.

Setup: Steam Deck.

Steam Game Time: 40 minutes

---

20231125 Comment:
Today I was putting together the post for this game. I thought the game was titled The Lost Campfire but it is actually The Last Campfire. I believe a source of my error is the "a" in "Last," being smaller than the "a" in "Campfire," is easy to mistake for an "o."

---

20230717:
This entry is for a combination of two sessions... one at around 10 PM of 20230717 and another around 12:30 AM of 20230718. Thus far, I helped about 6 of 7 forlorn in the first world and went to the second world. Unfortunately, I find the puzzles in the game less like those in the puzzle genre, and more like those in the point-and-click adventure genre.

Steam Game Time: 111 minutes (cumulative game time) / 71 minutes (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Potentially inpiriing story

Neutral:
~ Simple game

Cons:
- Too much narration
- Too much dialogue

Rating: 2.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

The Last Campfire (PC) (2021)

Relevant Links:
The Last Campfire (Wikipedia.org)
The Last Campfire (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
The Last Campfire (steamdb.info)
The Last Campfire (Steam Store Page)

Hollow Knight (PC) (2017)

20230711:
While I played parts of the beginning of this game on my brother-in-law's Nintendo Switch, I don't remember where I'm supposed to go. Thus far, it seems like a straightforward Metroidvaynia game.

Steam Game Time 17 minutes (cumulative game time)

[20230712][20231022 Edit]

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20230713 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 89 minutes (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230712

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20230713:
Dying and losing money sucks, especially while exploring and blindly looking for the next save or travel or mapping. Speaking of which, the map system is annoyingly different from how I'm used to mapping in the Castlevania series. My logic here is that I can technically just map out the game by hand. As such, having to spend currency to purchase incremental portions of the map feels unfriendly, especially taking into account the risk of losing one's money. I wish there was at least a way to find your ghost self.

On a positive note, the healing system adds a unique dynamic to the gameplay.

Steam Game Time: 2.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

[20230714][20231022 Edit]

---

20230714:
I'm not sure how I feel about the death system. It has its pros and cons I suppose.

Steam Game Time: 4.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.8 hours (session game time)

[20230717]

---

Rating: 4.0/5

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/Hollow_Knight/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Knight

TOEM (PC) (2021)

Overview: A puzzle adventure where the player character progresses the story by solving problems using the player character's camera.

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20230417:
First session.

Camera and Gamepad Mappings at the start of the game
(more features come later)

Setup: Steam Deck.

Steam Game Time: 29 minutes

---

20230422:
My first impression of the game is that it is simple and fun. The core game mechanic involves taking pictures in order to solve various problems. In a way, it's similar to a point-and-click adventure game, but instead of fulfilling quests by picking up and delivering items, the player takes a picture and delivers the photo. In my life, I've only played a handful of games with a camera system. Off the top of my head, these include Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Beyond Good and Evil, and one of the Fatal Frame games (probably Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly).

I like the feel of the game. It has a casual, lighthearted, kindhearted feel to it. Keep in mind, however, I'm saying this with a fair background in playing video games, and it might be possible that a brand new video game player would think of this game as either easy or casual.

Steam Game Time: 2.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.6 hours (session game time)

[20230429][20231108 Edit]

---

20230502 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 2.6 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230502

---

20231108:
Today I managed to figure out some quests in Stanhamn that previously stumped me. This left me with just one undisovered quest in Stanhamn.

Steam Game Time: 4.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.5 hours (session game time)

---

20231220:
Gameplay Log:
Today I'm in the next area: Logcity.
I came down to two stamps I was having trouble with: the mysterious man and a photo with 5 living objects
I did at 6.2 hours cumulative game time find the man. I had run circles around the city many times... Not sure what had made this run different for me to choose to look where he was, but good thing I did.
Soon after I also was about to snap 5 living objects, one of which was me. Not sure, I felt like I took a picture of 5 before, or maybe the other picture I took had too many objects.
Start Kiiruberg.
While looking for the Ancient Paintings I couldn't find the sixth one. After a while searching, I read that it is in the next area (Mountain Top).
Trying to finish compendium. Can't find Tato Bug and Cosmo Deer.
Start Basto.

Completed Basto stamps. Can't find some of the Basto compendium.
Managed to find Tato Bug (required finding an energy box, which I found by hearing a strange humming and then noticing there were little black dots eminating from a location)
It was the last energy box I needed to find and I was able to talk to the man in the tower. He unlocked a portal to where I was able to collect Cosmo Deer to complete the compendium for the base game
Went to Stanhamn to figure out how to unlock treasure chest. Walked around for a while. Finally I figured it out. There was this pirate asleep and it occurred to me I should honk to wake her up. She gave me the key to the chest and that was it. Completing this last quest unlocked "Complete all quests in Stanhamn" "Complete all quests in the base game" and "Equip every base game item once" (upon wearing the paper hat she gave)
At this point I have three achievements remaining: "Self portrait" "And some more" "Cool moon" and a hidden achievement.
Back to Basto. Wasn't recorded: Coco crab (investigated rustling in tree)
Figured out the "Cool moon."
I decided to look up the "Self portrait" because my attempts at it don't seem to work. Not sure what's special about these instructions I'm reading though. Ah. Specifically the character has to sit in the chair in front of the painter! This leaves the "And some more" (Basto compendium) achievement for which I still need to find "Itsy Bitsy" and "Tato King." Then I have a hidden achievement which I saw the goal via Steam Global Achievements
I look up the location for "Itsy Bitsy":

"Inside the Cave, there are Glow Worms crawling on the wall. Aim your camera to find a crack on the wall. Splash at it until an "X" is revealed [...]"
Remark: while I had noticed this crack, I would have never thought to splash it with water...

Got the "Tato King"!
Gave a small try at the hidden achievement by looking in Kiiruberg. But it was a half-assed attempt - which I'm okay with looking up the answer to save time: "In Oaklaville, when you go into the hotel, with your camera, look up at the celiing"

Steam Game Time: 12.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 8.7 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Cute game
+ Great soundtrack
+ Fun game mechanic
+ Casual, take a picture of anything even if it's not for the game
+ Bonus area was added which extends the game a good portion

Neutral:
~ Generally the contents of pictures are recognized by the game, but there are rare finicky exceptions

Rating: 5.2/5

---

Summary:
While most of the puzzles in TOEM are straightforward, I welcomed this, and found that the game overall strikes a good distribution of difficulty. Furthermore, I found the game rather charming and worth playing for this charm, in combination with a well-executed camera mechanic.

---

TOEM (PC) (2021)

Relevant Links:
TOEM (Wikipedia.org)
TOEM (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
TOEM (steamdb.info)
TOEM (Steam Store Page)

Haven Park (PC) (2021)

20230416 (Part 1):
I started playing a couple minutes yesterday night. Sometimes the game froze, but shutting it down and starting it back up seems to always be a satisfactory solution, because no progress was ever lost.

The foreshadowing was clear with the grandma, and so the ending was sad but not that sad. On that note, while it is the protagonist's grandma, the game did not do anything to create an emotional connection with her. Had the game incorporated flashbacks or tie the grandma more intimately with the progression of the story, this may have made the ending more impactful.

Overall, the game is relatively easy. However, I did get stumped trying to find the passage up the ice area which has a broken bridge. I first explored other parts of the island because I did not realize there was a hidden passage.

As an aside, I only have some optional quests and fun upgrades left in the game. I'm not sure if there are any benefits into upgrading all the shops but I imagine each settlement will essentially pay for itself. Actually, I guess I still have to find all the items in the game that need fixing.

---

20230416 (Part 2):
So I completed all achievements except a hidden achievement. The last achievenent (outside the hidden achievement) was to "Light 5 firefly lanterns." I had to wait manually until night to collect the achievements. It's funny since sleeping allows one to bypass the night, but there is no way to bypass the day. As such, I burned about 10 to 15 minutes to wait for night, collected a firefly, and thankfully it was my fifth and final lantern.

For the hidden achievement, I looked it up and it was "Jump on a swing". I think it's a mildly lame achievement, and a very lame hidden achievement - especially because if anything can be ridden it should be the ferris wheel. In fact, while killing time for day to turn into night, my son wanted me to ride the ferris wheel, and so I tried. Unfortunately, there was no in-game option to so I just tried to hop onto it. One can kind of glitch into a seat but the game will force the player character out on top or other weird behavior. I found it very strange there was not an in-game feature to ride the ferris wheel.

Overall, the game was charming at times but lacked the polish that makes the game worth recommending. There are similar games I have played, e.g., Animal Crossing, which would likely be superior to this game. With thay being said, this game is short, which would be an upside for some players. The main story can theoretically be completed in about 2 hours; I completioned all the achievements in about 8.5 hours, but maybe without distractions I could have done it in 7 hours.

Steam Game Time: 8.5 hours (cumulative game time)

---

Rating: 3.8/5

---

20231225:
Ensuring backup of game's save files from Steam Deck to PC.

Steam Game Time: 8.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.0 hours (session game time)

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549550/Haven_Park/
https://www.havenparkgame.com/

Baba is You (PC) (2019)

20230319:
Whoa! This is such an awesome innovative puzzle game. I think it has a balance of difficulty with enough puzzles that can be solved to unlock new puzzles. But it also has challenging puzzles that are optional.

The general pattern is "Object has SomeProperty," e.g., "Baba is You" (the game's title). But soon the player learns how it is necessary to to think outside the box.

Steam Game Time: 2.2 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230321 (AM Hours):
This game was so fun. I would have played more but the Steam Deck ran out of battery.

Steam Game Time: 3.0 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230323 Snapshot:
This entry should cover play on the 21st and 22nd. I'm trying not to obsess over any single puzzle. To clarify, at least during these two days I switched to this mindset.

Steam Game Time: 6.0 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230322

[20230322][20231019 Edit]

---

20230324:
Steam Game Time: 9.1 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230331 Snapshot:
I've been playing on and off over the last few days and decided to not submit individual entries. I'm trying to go in order of areas by number and not lingering too much when I get stuck on a level. One of the tougher mechanics for me to deal with is "shift." Meanwhile "on" is challenging but somehow logically reasonable to deal with.

Steam Game Time: 24.4 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230331

[20230331][20231020 Edit]

---

20230404 Snapshot:
I'm pretty close to the point where I'm stuck on all levels which I have access to, and I'm unable to make new progress. I did, however, solve one or two difficult puzzles.

Steam Game Time: 30.6 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230402

[20230402][20231020 Edit]

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20230404 (AM Hours):
I figured out "Lovely House" (and it followed that I figured out "Skull House" which is the same). I also figured out "Lock the Door" in the Deep Forest area. I still have "Insulation" left though.

Steam Game Time: 31.6 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230404][20231020 Edit]

---

20230414 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 31.9 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230406

---

20230417 Snapshot:
By now I've definitely completed a number of puzzles that stumped me, only to encounter more difficult puzzles. The other day I completed the primary campaign level, but I'm far from being able to 100% the game.

I'm stuck on the following levels (though some I just open and immediately exit the level whenever I feel I've already spent an overwhelming amount of time on them):
10: (dot)
9: 04, 09, 11, (dot)
7: 05, (2 dots)
???: 04
6: 08, 12
5: E

I tried spending more time with "Insulation" (5E) but did not succeed at solving it. One interesting position was facing left above "Wall." This stacks two walls to the far left, but it doesn't make use of "up" and it doesn't really seem to give any advantages to the word "wall."

Steam Game Time: 41.0 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230417

---

20230704:
I occasionally turn this game on and think about a problem or two.

Steam Game Time: 42.4 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230702

---

Rating: 5.8/5

---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Is_You
https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/

River City Girls (PC) (2019)

Overview: Play as Kyoko or Misako and save their boyfriends, Kunio and Riki (the protagonists in River City Ransom), in this beat 'em up.

---

20230318:
Thus far this beat 'em up has straightforward beat 'em up mechanics. I do, however, find the game difficult. In particular, I'm stuck at the first boss, and I'm trying to figure out how to counter her running move.

Setup: using Proton 6.3-8 instead of the default (presumably the default is the latest release) allows for the cutscene before the first boss to play. It is weird why the opening intro is not affected by this. In any case, another problem on the Steam Deck is the game is wider than the display and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix it.

Steam Game Time: 44 minutes

---

20230319:
After making my notes for 20230318, I searched how to fix the resolution problem. I found there are reviews specific to Steam Deck Verified. Reviews there confirmed the use of Proton 6.3-8 as solving the cutscene issue. One review, however, also mentioned that the default resolution has an aspect ratio of 16:10, and suggested forcing the game to use 720p, which has an spect ratio of 16:9, instead. I tried it and it worked.

Gameplay Log:
After fixing the resolution problem, I beat the first boss when I realized I could walk up and down and have the boss hit the pillars.
Later in the evening I played some more in 1080p. There were no obvious instances of text which I remember but I think it was good since 1080p has an aspect ratio of 16:9. I played up to arriving at the construction site.

Steam Game Time: 2.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.4 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Good art style
+ Fun dialogue (enjoyable-to-read)

Neutral:
~ Unlock moves by collecting coins

---

Summary:
None at this time

Rating: 4.4/5

---

River City Girls (PC) (2019)

Relevant Links:
River City Girls (Wikipedia.org)
River City Girls (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
River City Girls (steamdb.info)
River City Girls (Steam Store Page)

Pawnbarian (PC) (2021)

Overview: A puzzle game which uses chess-based pieces and rules as a foundation and layers on special modifiers and a card system.

---

20230307:
This game is interesting with a lot of characters for replay value. I still getting used to some of the rules. I wish there was a way to preview a move.

After playing the Pawnbarian character, I tried the Knight Templar. The Knight-focused gameplay requires... unknown. It's a strategy which is likely out of my reach so early on. I'm still in the mindset of chess when this game is clearly not chess.

Steam Game Time: 91 minutes

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

---

20230310:
Today I played as Pawnbarian in the second area where most enemies have a spark ability, which results in me using extra actions less frequently. I was able to complete it with about three rounds into the gauntlet. However, I'm thinking maybe I should ignore the gauntlet until I play through the game with all the characters first.

Steam Game Time: 2.7 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

---

20230311:
Today I completed the second and third rooms as Pawnbarian. Then I decided to move onto the Golem Fortress as Knight Templar. Later in the evening I completed Golem Fortress and the third room as Knight Templar.

Steam Game Time: 4.4 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

---

Rating: 4.0/5

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1142080/Pawnbarian/

Hexologic (PC) (2018)

Overview: A puzzle game where the goal is to fill tiles with values so that their sums match the target values.

---

20230304:
The goal of the game is to fill spaces with values 1, 2, or 3 so that the sum of the tiles matches those indicated along the edges. In the default mode, the game will indicate if the sum of the tiles exactly matches the value indicated. In hard mode, the game does not provide this indication. Unfortunately, I did not know about hard mode and played through the first 90 basic levels in default mode. I would have easily played the entire game in hard mode.
Steam Game Time: 2.0 hours (total game time)

---

20230305:
Today I completed the game: 90 basic levels and 21 bonus levels in hard mode. It was tedious replaying the 90 basic levels in hard mode, because I didn't need to play them in the default mode to begin with. Anyways, the game is fairly easy - I don't recall any puzzles that stumped me. In general, every puzzle required finding the key, which is the part(s) of the puzzle which forced specific values. For example, a "6" which is the sum of two tiles implies that each of the two tiles is a "3". As such, this game belongs to the set of easy puzzle games where tediously make my way through the levels until I reach the end. With that being said, I like how puzzle solving in Hexologic is more rooted in logic and less in guess-and-check (e.g., Lyne is a puzzle game which heavily relies on guess-and-check, because logic can only get one so far).

While most of the puzzles were easy, there were one or two special puzzles towards the very end which I enjoyed solving due to the challenged they pose.

Steam Game Time: 4.9 hours (total game time) / 2.9 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+Great sound effects

Neutral:
~The game was mildly challenging at times

Cons:
-The UI is full of symbols and no words.

Rating: 3.6/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Hexologic (PC) (2018)

Relevant Links:
Hexologic (Wikipedia.org)
Hexologic (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Hexologic (steamdb.info)
Hexologic (Steam Store Page)

Reigns: Her Majesty (PC) (2017)

Overview: You are the Queen. Make decisions and try to reign for as many years as possible. When your reign is over, you become the heir to the throne and try again.

---

20230224 AM Hours:
The icon and title screen for this game is a deer wearing a crown. Judging a book by its cover, this often kept me away from the game, because it seemed artsy. In particular, I thought it would be similar to Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP. Little did I know, the game is nothing like Sword & Sorcery, and it has nothing to do with a deer (at least not that I know of).

In any case, the game is simple and entertaining. The game provides no instructions but it is simple enough to figure out as one plays. Thus far I've passed through being about 5 different Queens.

Steam Game Time: 34 minutes (total game time)

---

20230224:
Today I played this game some more. Thus far my record Queen lasted for 28 years (1091 to 1119). The next Queen will be the 12th Queen.

Steam Game Time: 82 minutes (total game time) / 48 minutes (session game time)

---

20230226:
Steam Game Time: 2.4 hours (total game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)

---

20230303:
I'm beginning to make less progress, and unfortunately I wasn't taking notes on how my answers affect the outcome. Feeling that I wont be able to optimize without such notes, by the end of today I felt discouraged from playing this game further any time soon.

Steam Game Time: 2.9 hours (total game time) / 0.5 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Fairly simple game mechanic; the items portion of the game seems to be a more advanced aspect
+ Fun and funny

Neutral:
~ I personally don't like how the game could be optimized based on one of the following: memory, innate intuition for the outcomes, or writing information down; to be fair, there are many games plagued with this problem - and some people are fine with this aspect while others like me may not like this type of dependency

Con:
- Can become repetitive

Rating: 4.6/5

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Summary:
None at this time

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20241009:
Revisited this game on my desktop. Starting from scratch. I tried to take notes but it wasn't practical to make a note of everything.

Steam Game Time: 3.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.5 hours (session game time)

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20241010:
Steam Game Time: 3.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.2 hours (session game time)

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20241011:
Steam Game Time: 4.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.3 hours (session game time)

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Reigns: Her Majesty (PC) (2017)

Relevant Links:
None at this time Reigns: Her Majesty (Wikipedia.org)
Reigns: Her Majesty (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Reigns: Her Majesty (steamdb.info)
Reigns: Her Majesty (Steam Store Page)

Puzzle Compound (PC) (Demo)

20230209:
Apparently this game requires 2 or more players. It seems like an online escape room.

Steam Game Time: 6 minutes

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1611290/Puzzle_Compound/

Space Channel 5: Part 2 (PC) (2011)

20230204:
I played this on the flight back from Florida to California. At first I played with wireless earbuds but the lag caused it to be difficult to hear all the music. Since the music was the only way to keep a beat, the game was unplayable with wireless earbuds. As such, I plugged in the wired earbuds provided by the airline and that was much better.

Despite getting rid of the lag, the timing still took some getting used to. The game felt less intuitive compared to a title from the Dance Dance Revolution series. In any case, while I was getting the hang of it, I still felt it wasn't the smoothest experience. Perhaps the game was not so forgiving with respect to the timing. In other words, it didn't feel beginner friendly; I would not recommend this game to a beginner rhythm player.

Steam Game Time: 37 minutes

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/71260/Space_Channel_5_Part_2/

Savage Halloween (PC) (2020)

Overview: A Halloween-themed run-and-gun shooter.

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20230201 (Part 1):
I tried playing as James. Thus far the game is kind of boring. With that being said, the sidescrolling shooter level felt difficult. I was not used to cycling between ammo types.

Setup: Normal Difficulty.

Steam Game Time: 13 minutes

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20230201 (Part 2):
I switched to trying to play with Lulu. One thing I learned during this run was how to better use direction lock. In particular, during the air combat, using lock is great to kite the enemy: move away from the enemy while still firing at them. Note that perhaps the game has audio cues during the first boss battle, but I'm playing with the volume on too low to be of use.

Steam Game Time: 50 minutes (cumulative game time) / 37 minutes (session game time)

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Rating: 3.6/5

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Thoughts:
None at this time

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Summary:
None at this time

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Savage Halloween (PC) (2020)

Relevant Links:
Savage Halloween (Wikipedia.org)
Savage Halloween (Xbox One) (MetaCritic.com)
Savage Halloween (steamdb.info)
Savage Halloween (Steam Store Page)