Overview: A turn-based strategy RPG whose battle mechancis is a mix of Yahtzee (roll dice to make actions and rerolling) and deckbuilding elements.
20241025:
I played this game while waiting for the kids to fall asleep.
Setup: Steam Deck
Steam Game Time: 61 minutes
First Impressions:
First off, the game had a character customization section! Love how such a feature is looking strong in the demo.
Second, the game has great artwork and style. The overall feeling of the game with the way characters are introduced and the story builds up reminds me of Hades, which I'm saying as a compliment.
One problem I had with the game, and it could be due to playing on the Steam Deck, was that it was sometimes hard to select enemies, because one needs to point at the hex they're on and not just at their body, which makes sense. And in one instance I used the character's special move which deals damage through all enemies he/she passes through and I wasted the attack because I didn't actually go through any enemies. With that being said, the game does indicate if an enemy will be damaged, and I just hadn't noticed. I suppose what this means is that there is a small learning curve with respect to the game's interface.
One question I have is the it's possible not to throw all the dice. But I'm wondering what situation there would be not to throw all the dice. Just to build suspense?
As an aside, the demo had some minor bugs, but none that affected the gameplay.
Overall, I think this game has potential, and I like it more than the Knights in Tight Spaces
demo I played yesterday.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Dice Gambit (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Dice Gambit (Steam Store Page)
Friday, October 25, 2024
Knights in Tight Spaces (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A turn-based tactics deckbuilder.
20241024 AM Hours:
I loaded up this game at around 1 AM, and it seemed interesting, but I was getting sleepy and had to stop after 6 minutes.
Setup: Mouse
Steam Game Time: 6 minutes
20241024:
After a long day working, I was ready to resume this demo. I played until being defeated.
Steam Game Time: 84 minutes (cumulative game time) / 78 minutes (session game time)
First Impressions:
I enjoyed the strategy involved with this game. The controls are simple and the various icons are easy to understand but can be a bit much to take in all in even with the tutorial. Even so, I like the spatial component of the game as opposed to most deckbuilder games where the strategy is mostly focused on attacks instead of movement. However, it is hard as a beginner to the game to understand the turn order. This, however, is a problem that would go away with sufficient gametime.
On a different note, I love the artwork and animations.
Overall, the game seems like it would be a lot of fun, but I'm reserved to give it a 5.0 since I think there are plenty of games I'd rather play instead of it. At the same time, I do think it's more my style of game when compared to Karate Survivor which I gave a demo rating of 4.8.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Knights in Tight Spaces (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Knights in Tight Spaces (Steam Store Page)
20241024 AM Hours:
I loaded up this game at around 1 AM, and it seemed interesting, but I was getting sleepy and had to stop after 6 minutes.
Setup: Mouse
Steam Game Time: 6 minutes
20241024:
After a long day working, I was ready to resume this demo. I played until being defeated.
Steam Game Time: 84 minutes (cumulative game time) / 78 minutes (session game time)
First Impressions:
I enjoyed the strategy involved with this game. The controls are simple and the various icons are easy to understand but can be a bit much to take in all in even with the tutorial. Even so, I like the spatial component of the game as opposed to most deckbuilder games where the strategy is mostly focused on attacks instead of movement. However, it is hard as a beginner to the game to understand the turn order. This, however, is a problem that would go away with sufficient gametime.
On a different note, I love the artwork and animations.
Overall, the game seems like it would be a lot of fun, but I'm reserved to give it a 5.0 since I think there are plenty of games I'd rather play instead of it. At the same time, I do think it's more my style of game when compared to Karate Survivor which I gave a demo rating of 4.8.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Knights in Tight Spaces (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Knights in Tight Spaces (Steam Store Page)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Somber Echoes (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A Metroidvania.
20241024:
I was putting the kids to sleep and whiel waiting for them to fall asleep I looked at the demos on my Steam Deck and decided to play Somber Echoes.
Setup: Steam Deck.
Gameplay Log:
Got energy ball jump
Got float down (what's the point of this power?)
Got spear
After a few deaths and not wanting to retrace my steps anymore, I decided to stop playing.
Steam Game Time: 89 minutes
First Impressions:
Right off the bat, I like the narration. The game has a strong focus on the story. However, deeper into the demo, the game sometimes mentions names from Greek mythology without any context. It makes for a superficial feeling story. In contrast, to how characters are introduced in Hades. Every character in Hades is tangible and I got hooked into learning more about them and their role in the story.
With that being said, the game eventually introduces a mechanic that's fun to use: a launch jump (enter an energy ball and choose a direction to launch the player character). The energy ball state can also be used to enter small tunnels (similar to Samus ball).
Moving from fun to not so fun, I was less excited about the parry and deflecting projectiles from certain enemies. The player character starts out with three health and the basic projectile enemy hits for one health. That means three failures to parry an enemy attack or deflect a projectile means having to start over from the last save point. This feels brutal - at least for someone like myself who is beginning to focus less on the challenge of games and more on the fun of games.
Finally, the element that bugged me visually was the jump animation. It often feels like the character is snapping onto a high ledge, that visually looks out of reach but the game allows a buffer zone to latch on. I think it would feel and look better just to give the player character some extra height in the jump to alleviate this weird uneasiness of feeling as if I'm constantly not going to make a jump.
On the topic of visuals, I sometimes liked the character model and sometimes I thought it looked weird. And I liked some of the attack animations, but I didn't like others. Overall I had mixed feelings on the game's look and feel.
Ending on a high note, I thought the spear was cool. The player character eventually gains a spear which can be thrown, but cannot be thrown again until retrieved (or reset when a new area loads).
Demo Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Somber Echoes (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Somber Echoes (Steam Store Page)
20241024:
I was putting the kids to sleep and whiel waiting for them to fall asleep I looked at the demos on my Steam Deck and decided to play Somber Echoes.
Setup: Steam Deck.
Gameplay Log:
Got energy ball jump
Got float down (what's the point of this power?)
Got spear
After a few deaths and not wanting to retrace my steps anymore, I decided to stop playing.
Steam Game Time: 89 minutes
First Impressions:
Right off the bat, I like the narration. The game has a strong focus on the story. However, deeper into the demo, the game sometimes mentions names from Greek mythology without any context. It makes for a superficial feeling story. In contrast, to how characters are introduced in Hades. Every character in Hades is tangible and I got hooked into learning more about them and their role in the story.
With that being said, the game eventually introduces a mechanic that's fun to use: a launch jump (enter an energy ball and choose a direction to launch the player character). The energy ball state can also be used to enter small tunnels (similar to Samus ball).
Moving from fun to not so fun, I was less excited about the parry and deflecting projectiles from certain enemies. The player character starts out with three health and the basic projectile enemy hits for one health. That means three failures to parry an enemy attack or deflect a projectile means having to start over from the last save point. This feels brutal - at least for someone like myself who is beginning to focus less on the challenge of games and more on the fun of games.
Finally, the element that bugged me visually was the jump animation. It often feels like the character is snapping onto a high ledge, that visually looks out of reach but the game allows a buffer zone to latch on. I think it would feel and look better just to give the player character some extra height in the jump to alleviate this weird uneasiness of feeling as if I'm constantly not going to make a jump.
On the topic of visuals, I sometimes liked the character model and sometimes I thought it looked weird. And I liked some of the attack animations, but I didn't like others. Overall I had mixed feelings on the game's look and feel.
Ending on a high note, I thought the spear was cool. The player character eventually gains a spear which can be thrown, but cannot be thrown again until retrieved (or reset when a new area loads).
Demo Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Somber Echoes (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Somber Echoes (Steam Store Page)
Trainee Death Simulator (PC) (Demo)
Overview: You're a Trainee Death making choices to survive as long as possible.
20241023:
Before going to sleep, I decided to play this demo.
Setup: Mouse
Steam Game Time: 35 minutes
First Impressions:
Basic rules/mechanics are similar to Reigns / Reigns: Her Majesty except with a different theme: the player is presented with story cards and makes one of two options. Options will increase/decrease the player character's four attributes and the player's run ends when an attribute is completely filled or completely defeated.
The artwork here is a mix of anime and chibi drawings. The story is the player is a Trainee Death (i.e., a Death-in-training) and must harvest souls to pay off a debt. The debt seems to act as a secondary loss condition, where the player may succeed in maintaining the player character's attributes, but fail to harvest enough souls to meet the debt. In this manner, the player cannot be too conservative with attributes staying in the middle, since this will likely result in falling short of souls.
Overall, the theme is decent and I didn't really encounter any particular element that clearly pointed to the game being clearly better or worse than Reigns: Her Majesty (I have yet to play Reigns).
Demo Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Trainee Death Simulator (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Trainee Death Simulator (Steam Store Page)
20241023:
Before going to sleep, I decided to play this demo.
Setup: Mouse
Steam Game Time: 35 minutes
First Impressions:
Basic rules/mechanics are similar to Reigns / Reigns: Her Majesty except with a different theme: the player is presented with story cards and makes one of two options. Options will increase/decrease the player character's four attributes and the player's run ends when an attribute is completely filled or completely defeated.
The artwork here is a mix of anime and chibi drawings. The story is the player is a Trainee Death (i.e., a Death-in-training) and must harvest souls to pay off a debt. The debt seems to act as a secondary loss condition, where the player may succeed in maintaining the player character's attributes, but fail to harvest enough souls to meet the debt. In this manner, the player cannot be too conservative with attributes staying in the middle, since this will likely result in falling short of souls.
Overall, the theme is decent and I didn't really encounter any particular element that clearly pointed to the game being clearly better or worse than Reigns: Her Majesty (I have yet to play Reigns).
Demo Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Trainee Death Simulator (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Trainee Death Simulator (Steam Store Page)
Monday, October 21, 2024
As We Descend (PC) (Demo)
Overview:
20241021:
Next up on the demos I have downloaded is As We Descend. It will also be the last demo for the day as I'm feeling sleepy.
Setup: Mouse. Initially ultrawide, but then a function for rerolling a card didn't work until I resized the screen to 1920x1080.
Steam Game Time: 64 minutes
First Impressions:
The game says there is no tutorial, which I love it being upfront about. But in fact, the options for play are intuitive and the game mostly eases the player in. The player can also opt into learning about the mechanics by choosing dialogue to learn more.
One element I didn't quite get was healing. Units heal at a base rate when they are not used in battle and at a reduced rate when they are. However, that is likely my fault for not fully understanding the instructions. A different aspect, however, which was less obvious to understand was the usage of favors. It became apparent during my last battle (in which I depleted my favors and losing the battle) that some cards have a favor cost in addition to the heat cost.
While I spent some time with the game, I felt there was just too much reading involved.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
As We Descend (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
As We Descend (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
Next up on the demos I have downloaded is As We Descend. It will also be the last demo for the day as I'm feeling sleepy.
Setup: Mouse. Initially ultrawide, but then a function for rerolling a card didn't work until I resized the screen to 1920x1080.
Steam Game Time: 64 minutes
First Impressions:
The game says there is no tutorial, which I love it being upfront about. But in fact, the options for play are intuitive and the game mostly eases the player in. The player can also opt into learning about the mechanics by choosing dialogue to learn more.
One element I didn't quite get was healing. Units heal at a base rate when they are not used in battle and at a reduced rate when they are. However, that is likely my fault for not fully understanding the instructions. A different aspect, however, which was less obvious to understand was the usage of favors. It became apparent during my last battle (in which I depleted my favors and losing the battle) that some cards have a favor cost in addition to the heat cost.
While I spent some time with the game, I felt there was just too much reading involved.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
As We Descend (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
As We Descend (Steam Store Page)
Mandragora (PC) (Demo)
Overview: "2.5D side-scroller action-RPG with deep Metroidvania and Soulslike elements"
20241021:
Next down the list was Mandragora. I had thought about skipping to another game but then I realized from the Store Page that Mandragora was a Metroidvania.
Setup: Keyboard
Gameplay Log:
Defeated the giant rat
Talked to Commander Clayborne
Briefly explored Wickham Sewers. After a successful run in a loop of the area, I went to save and decided to stop playing. Moreso because I figure I would potentially play this game in the feature so it'd be a waste to continue on now
Steam Game Time: 78 minutes
First Impressions:
From what I played, this game potentially has some depth with multiple classes (though only one is available for the demo), a passive skill tree, loot, and crafting.
One great feature I found tucked away in the menu screen was the Glossary. The Glossary explains all the terms used, including what the various attributes do. Prior to finding it, I was wondering which attributes I should allocate to the first triple attribute node I came across. Note that each allocation within the node requires a skill point and one doesn't need to fill all three unless one wants to get the bonus passive. Early game it might be better just to allocate one passive and pass through the node.
In any case, due to the nature of the game, it's possible to grind XP and loot if one is having difficulty with an area. Related to grinding is the subject of the penalty incurred when dying: losing all XP gained. The game gives the player a chance to recover the XP by returning to the location of death (or rather the safety point before death, e.g., when falling from a great height or into a pit).
While I was enjoying and focused on the gameplay, the graphics were of decent quality. Overall, I believe the amount of time I naturally spent with the game is an indication of how much I liked it.
Demo Rating: 5.4 out of 5
Mandragora (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Mandragora (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
Next down the list was Mandragora. I had thought about skipping to another game but then I realized from the Store Page that Mandragora was a Metroidvania.
Setup: Keyboard
Gameplay Log:
Defeated the giant rat
Talked to Commander Clayborne
Briefly explored Wickham Sewers. After a successful run in a loop of the area, I went to save and decided to stop playing. Moreso because I figure I would potentially play this game in the feature so it'd be a waste to continue on now
Steam Game Time: 78 minutes
First Impressions:
From what I played, this game potentially has some depth with multiple classes (though only one is available for the demo), a passive skill tree, loot, and crafting.
One great feature I found tucked away in the menu screen was the Glossary. The Glossary explains all the terms used, including what the various attributes do. Prior to finding it, I was wondering which attributes I should allocate to the first triple attribute node I came across. Note that each allocation within the node requires a skill point and one doesn't need to fill all three unless one wants to get the bonus passive. Early game it might be better just to allocate one passive and pass through the node.
In any case, due to the nature of the game, it's possible to grind XP and loot if one is having difficulty with an area. Related to grinding is the subject of the penalty incurred when dying: losing all XP gained. The game gives the player a chance to recover the XP by returning to the location of death (or rather the safety point before death, e.g., when falling from a great height or into a pit).
While I was enjoying and focused on the gameplay, the graphics were of decent quality. Overall, I believe the amount of time I naturally spent with the game is an indication of how much I liked it.
Demo Rating: 5.4 out of 5
Mandragora (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Mandragora (Steam Store Page)
My Arms Are Longer Now (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Play as a very long arm and steal items from people
20241021:
This was the next demo on my list of recently downloaded games.
Setup: Keyboard
Gameplay Log:
Hand was stuck under the train, and had to restart
I didn't know remember how to have the hand elevate up and had to restart again
Apparently the necessary key when using the keyboard is the "Shift" key. This would have resolved the hand being "stuck" as well.
Completed the demo
Steam Game Time: 15 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo was short but comical. Note that I had to restart the game because I didn't remember how to have the arm fly up (to break the glass with the hammer); it was the "Shift" key. I also had to restart
While moving the hand around can feel clunky (and perhaps the developer intended it to feel this one), the game has funny dialogue. In fact, I would say the focus of the game is moreso the funny dialogue as opposed to the gameplay itself. One could say the game is also about the player creatively interacting with the NPCs.
Overall, I don't see myself picking up this game and playing it myself, but I would enjoy watching someone play it or speedrun it.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
My Arms Are Longer Now (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
My Arms Are Longer Now (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
This was the next demo on my list of recently downloaded games.
Setup: Keyboard
Gameplay Log:
Hand was stuck under the train, and had to restart
I didn't know remember how to have the hand elevate up and had to restart again
Apparently the necessary key when using the keyboard is the "Shift" key. This would have resolved the hand being "stuck" as well.
Completed the demo
Steam Game Time: 15 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo was short but comical. Note that I had to restart the game because I didn't remember how to have the arm fly up (to break the glass with the hammer); it was the "Shift" key. I also had to restart
While moving the hand around can feel clunky (and perhaps the developer intended it to feel this one), the game has funny dialogue. In fact, I would say the focus of the game is moreso the funny dialogue as opposed to the gameplay itself. One could say the game is also about the player creatively interacting with the NPCs.
Overall, I don't see myself picking up this game and playing it myself, but I would enjoy watching someone play it or speedrun it.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
My Arms Are Longer Now (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
My Arms Are Longer Now (Steam Store Page)
The Spirit of the Samurai (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A 2D action adventure. Play as a samurai named Takeshi, a Kodama, and a cat.*
*I did not play far enough in the demo to play as the Kodama or the cat, but they are in the trailer.
20241021:
Officially Next Fest is ended, but I'm going to go down the list of demos I have installed and play them. The first such demo was this game.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Gameplay Log:
Got to the training exercise.
Couldn't figure out what turning when covered meant.
Exited the game. Came back had to do the training agian.
Finally figured out that "covered" meant "defending." I think the developer should have explicitly instructed what keys to press. I nearly quit playing the game because of this.
I found the woman in the well, but she asked me to go find a root. I stopped playing the demo there.
Steam Game Time: 54 minutes
First Impressions:
Straight away, it's clear the game has amazing graphics, particularly beautiful cutscenes, and excellent story telling.
I find the fighting mechancis to be underwhelming relative to the excellence of the graphics and story telling. In particular, I think the window for parry can be widened to be a little more forgiving.
As a more minor nitpick, the game has stats that can be improved, but it isn't explained what the stats do for the character. As another minor nitpick, I dislike the feel of the short pause that occurs after a parry is successful.
Unfortunately the trailer shows more to the game, but I did not reach that portion of the demo.I would give the game a demo rating of 4.4, but some players may find the fighting mechanics to be perfect in which case the game would be at least a 5.0 for them.
Demo Rating: 4.4 out of 5
The Spirit of the Samurai (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
The Spirit of the Samurai (Steam Store Page)
*I did not play far enough in the demo to play as the Kodama or the cat, but they are in the trailer.
20241021:
Officially Next Fest is ended, but I'm going to go down the list of demos I have installed and play them. The first such demo was this game.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Gameplay Log:
Got to the training exercise.
Couldn't figure out what turning when covered meant.
Exited the game. Came back had to do the training agian.
Finally figured out that "covered" meant "defending." I think the developer should have explicitly instructed what keys to press. I nearly quit playing the game because of this.
I found the woman in the well, but she asked me to go find a root. I stopped playing the demo there.
Steam Game Time: 54 minutes
First Impressions:
Straight away, it's clear the game has amazing graphics, particularly beautiful cutscenes, and excellent story telling.
I find the fighting mechancis to be underwhelming relative to the excellence of the graphics and story telling. In particular, I think the window for parry can be widened to be a little more forgiving.
As a more minor nitpick, the game has stats that can be improved, but it isn't explained what the stats do for the character. As another minor nitpick, I dislike the feel of the short pause that occurs after a parry is successful.
Unfortunately the trailer shows more to the game, but I did not reach that portion of the demo.I would give the game a demo rating of 4.4, but some players may find the fighting mechanics to be perfect in which case the game would be at least a 5.0 for them.
Demo Rating: 4.4 out of 5
The Spirit of the Samurai (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
The Spirit of the Samurai (Steam Store Page)
The Precinct (PC) (Demo)
Overview: An open world police game.
20241021:
Various players highlighted this game so I gave it a try.
Setup: Xbox Controller
Gameplay Log:
First mission with pursuit
- the player needs to shoot the suspects. I don't recall being instructed on how to do so while in the vehicle, but eventually I saw the word shoot at the right of the screen (along with the letter (A) on the gamepad
End day 1.
Parking violations
Graffiti fines and arrests
End day 2.
Steam Game Time: 35 minutes
First Impressions:
The game opened with a great visuals followed by some quality narration. Then the game appropriately sets the stage and introduced the player character.
The first mission is exciting and the instructions were generally clear. The next day starts with parking violations and graffiti infractions. The game has a handbook which indicates proper procedure. As such, even the tutorial of something mundane as a parking violation was - at least in the demo - a neat action.
As an aside, this game, if I recall correctly, is the only game that I launched on PC thus far which plays at the full resolution of my ultrawide monitor (5120 x 1440).
Nowadays, I think the only open world games I'd want to play would be comic based (e.g., Spider-Man, Batman). However, the demo of The Precinct indicates the game will be a great one - perhaps even attract enough gameplay to become a fairly popular game.
Demo Rating: 5.2 out of 5
The Precinct (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
The Precinct (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
Various players highlighted this game so I gave it a try.
Setup: Xbox Controller
Gameplay Log:
First mission with pursuit
- the player needs to shoot the suspects. I don't recall being instructed on how to do so while in the vehicle, but eventually I saw the word shoot at the right of the screen (along with the letter (A) on the gamepad
End day 1.
Parking violations
Graffiti fines and arrests
End day 2.
Steam Game Time: 35 minutes
First Impressions:
The game opened with a great visuals followed by some quality narration. Then the game appropriately sets the stage and introduced the player character.
The first mission is exciting and the instructions were generally clear. The next day starts with parking violations and graffiti infractions. The game has a handbook which indicates proper procedure. As such, even the tutorial of something mundane as a parking violation was - at least in the demo - a neat action.
As an aside, this game, if I recall correctly, is the only game that I launched on PC thus far which plays at the full resolution of my ultrawide monitor (5120 x 1440).
Nowadays, I think the only open world games I'd want to play would be comic based (e.g., Spider-Man, Batman). However, the demo of The Precinct indicates the game will be a great one - perhaps even attract enough gameplay to become a fairly popular game.
Demo Rating: 5.2 out of 5
The Precinct (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
The Precinct (Steam Store Page)
Empire of the Ants (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A real-time strategy game where you play as an ant, "103,683rd," and command legions of ants in tactical battle.
20241021:
This game was mentioned on Reddit and I decided to try it out. I completed the initial tutorial and then initated a mission, but decided to end it there.
Setup: Keyboard and mouse
Steam Game Time: 28 minutes
First Impressions:
The first thought is this is an amazing 3D game. The ants look real.
My second thought is that the UI looks great and easy to understand.
Even as someone who is not really interested to play real-time strategy games of this nature anymore, I felt a slight pull to spend more time with it. As I wanted to move onto other demos, I opted not to. Overall, while I wouldn't want to play it myself, I would highly recommend it to those who do frequently play RTS games.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Empire of the Ants (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Empire of the Ants (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
This game was mentioned on Reddit and I decided to try it out. I completed the initial tutorial and then initated a mission, but decided to end it there.
Setup: Keyboard and mouse
Steam Game Time: 28 minutes
First Impressions:
The first thought is this is an amazing 3D game. The ants look real.
My second thought is that the UI looks great and easy to understand.
Even as someone who is not really interested to play real-time strategy games of this nature anymore, I felt a slight pull to spend more time with it. As I wanted to move onto other demos, I opted not to. Overall, while I wouldn't want to play it myself, I would highly recommend it to those who do frequently play RTS games.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Empire of the Ants (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Empire of the Ants (Steam Store Page)
Karate Survivor (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A survivor game where the player character is fights enemies similar to being in a Jackie Chan movie.
20241021:
Back to randomly choosing demos (as opposed to focusing on Metroidvanias), I decided to play Karate Survivor.
Setup: Controller.
Steam Game Time: 66 minutes
First Impressions:
This game is awesome! Because I was catching up on work last week, I didn't have much time for demos. As such, I tried to play as many demos as I could today. In particular, I was intending on playing one about every twenty minutes. I could not, however, put this one down and I was shocked to find I played it for 66 minutes before stopping.
Although many advanced upgrades are blocked in the demo, the demo still features a variety of awesome attacks inspired by Jackie Chan movies:
- throw items at enemies (e.g., plates, bottles)
- use everyday objects as weapons (e.g., broom, bread)
- roll over surfaces (e.g., countertops)
- push objects into enemies (e.g., shopping cart)
- use the environment to attack enemies (e.g., open a refrigerator door)
While progression is slowed by upgrades, I believe this is typical in survivor games. Unfortunately, the only survivor game I am currently familiar with was a temporary game mode for League of Legends: Swarm. What I felt was different between this game and Swarm is how the upgrades help defeat higher difficulties, but that skill or correct choices are sufficient in succeeding at the lower abilities. In contrast, the progress in Karate Survivor feels slower, which is not fun.
Overall, while I was hooked, I think the game needs to be tweaked. Items feel so much stronger than attacks, but I think the gameplay needs to revolve primarily around the attacks. I think with the right tweaking this game could be 5.0 or over. As it stands, I'll give it a 4.8.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Karate Survivor (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Karate Survivor (Steam Store Page)
20241021:
Back to randomly choosing demos (as opposed to focusing on Metroidvanias), I decided to play Karate Survivor.
Setup: Controller.
Steam Game Time: 66 minutes
First Impressions:
This game is awesome! Because I was catching up on work last week, I didn't have much time for demos. As such, I tried to play as many demos as I could today. In particular, I was intending on playing one about every twenty minutes. I could not, however, put this one down and I was shocked to find I played it for 66 minutes before stopping.
Although many advanced upgrades are blocked in the demo, the demo still features a variety of awesome attacks inspired by Jackie Chan movies:
- throw items at enemies (e.g., plates, bottles)
- use everyday objects as weapons (e.g., broom, bread)
- roll over surfaces (e.g., countertops)
- push objects into enemies (e.g., shopping cart)
- use the environment to attack enemies (e.g., open a refrigerator door)
While progression is slowed by upgrades, I believe this is typical in survivor games. Unfortunately, the only survivor game I am currently familiar with was a temporary game mode for League of Legends: Swarm. What I felt was different between this game and Swarm is how the upgrades help defeat higher difficulties, but that skill or correct choices are sufficient in succeeding at the lower abilities. In contrast, the progress in Karate Survivor feels slower, which is not fun.
Overall, while I was hooked, I think the game needs to be tweaked. Items feel so much stronger than attacks, but I think the gameplay needs to revolve primarily around the attacks. I think with the right tweaking this game could be 5.0 or over. As it stands, I'll give it a 4.8.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Karate Survivor (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Karate Survivor (Steam Store Page)
Sunday, October 20, 2024
THE GOOD OLD DAYS (PC) (Demo)
20241020:
The last of five Next Fest Metroidvania recommendations found in a Reddit post.
Setup: Xbox controller
Steam Game Time: 9 minutes
First Impressions:
The premise had some humor in it, and the game seemed neat. However, I felt it was progressing too slowly for my liking. This perhaps may be in part how the pacing of the game contrasts with the pacing of the demo I just played, Voidwrought..
Demo Rating: n/a
THE GOOD OLD DAYS (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
THE GOOD OLD DAYS (Steam Store Page)
The last of five Next Fest Metroidvania recommendations found in a Reddit post.
Setup: Xbox controller
Steam Game Time: 9 minutes
First Impressions:
The premise had some humor in it, and the game seemed neat. However, I felt it was progressing too slowly for my liking. This perhaps may be in part how the pacing of the game contrasts with the pacing of the demo I just played, Voidwrought..
Demo Rating: n/a
THE GOOD OLD DAYS (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
THE GOOD OLD DAYS (Steam Store Page)
Voidwrought (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Metroidvania.
20241020:
I look back to a list of a Redditor's favorite Metroidvania or Metroidvania-adjacent demos during the Next Fest. That list mentions five games and, including Voidwrought, I've played four of them.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Steam Game Time: 60 minutes
First Impressions:
This is perhaps the only true Metroidvania I have played during this Next Fest and it's a killer one. Here are some aspects I love about the demo:
- great artwork
- cool execution of traditional mechanics (attack, dash, charge attack, and grapple)
- relic / accessory system to upgrade
One aspect I didn't always love was the speed at which the player character moved. Sometimes the player character moved too quickly for my liking, making it hard for me to latch onto a ledge.
As a minor gripe during the demo, I felt the mini-boss required too many hits to defeat.
Demo Rating: 5.2 out of 5
20241126 Comment:
I've been going through and adding pictures to my posts. When I came across this one, I was surprised by the 5.2 rating. I distinctly remember the dissatisfaction I had with the speed of movement. I would downgrade to 4.8. Especially consider the other demos I enjoyed more.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Voidwrought (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Voidwrought (Steam Store Page)
20241020:
I look back to a list of a Redditor's favorite Metroidvania or Metroidvania-adjacent demos during the Next Fest. That list mentions five games and, including Voidwrought, I've played four of them.
Setup: Xbox controller.
Steam Game Time: 60 minutes
First Impressions:
This is perhaps the only true Metroidvania I have played during this Next Fest and it's a killer one. Here are some aspects I love about the demo:
- great artwork
- cool execution of traditional mechanics (attack, dash, charge attack, and grapple)
- relic / accessory system to upgrade
One aspect I didn't always love was the speed at which the player character moved. Sometimes the player character moved too quickly for my liking, making it hard for me to latch onto a ledge.
As a minor gripe during the demo, I felt the mini-boss required too many hits to defeat.
Demo Rating: 5.2 out of 5
20241126 Comment:
I've been going through and adding pictures to my posts. When I came across this one, I was surprised by the 5.2 rating. I distinctly remember the dissatisfaction I had with the speed of movement. I would downgrade to 4.8. Especially consider the other demos I enjoyed more.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Voidwrought (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Voidwrought (Steam Store Page)
Symphonia (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A difficult platformer.
20241020:
Of the demos I had installed on PC, I randomly decided to try this demo next.
Setup: Started off on keyboard but then my controller vibrated and I realized I could use my controller.
Gameplay Log:
Found four notes
Reached the end of the demo
Steam Game Time: 18 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo was very short, and didn't have a boss. As such, the demo focused solely on the platforming aspects of the game. While there were some novel movements, and the controls felt great, the difficulty of the game was mostly in not knowing how to pass an area until failing to pass it a few times. Personally, I find this type of gameplay to feel unpleasant.
For example, there's one area where the player makes a jump and must follow with a bounce to get over spikes. But it would be uncanny for someone to react to the existence of spikes to execute the bounce in time. Necessarily the game expects the player to fail and correct the second attempt with a bounce. Only to find there needs to be yet another bounce. This iterative style of gameplay is not enjoyable in this setting. To me, the magnificence of artwork and music in this game needs to be paired with obstacles that are fully reactable - or perhaps closer to 90% reactable with the occasional 10% to slow the pace of the game down.
With that being said, as I mentioned in passing, the artwork was top-notch. It reminded me a little of Teslagrad, perhaps simply for a steampunk kind of vibe.
As a remark, for a game titled Symphonia, I felt the musical aspect of the game to be lacking. That is, while the soundtrack is good, I thought mechanically music would be more involved than occasionally playing the violin to open a door.
Overall, despite the amazing graphics, solid controls, and good music, there seems to be a missed opportunity in pairing gameplay with the music. As such, I'll have to give this game a lower demo score of 4.0.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Symphonia (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Symphonia (Steam Store Page)
20241020:
Of the demos I had installed on PC, I randomly decided to try this demo next.
Setup: Started off on keyboard but then my controller vibrated and I realized I could use my controller.
Gameplay Log:
Found four notes
Reached the end of the demo
Steam Game Time: 18 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo was very short, and didn't have a boss. As such, the demo focused solely on the platforming aspects of the game. While there were some novel movements, and the controls felt great, the difficulty of the game was mostly in not knowing how to pass an area until failing to pass it a few times. Personally, I find this type of gameplay to feel unpleasant.
For example, there's one area where the player makes a jump and must follow with a bounce to get over spikes. But it would be uncanny for someone to react to the existence of spikes to execute the bounce in time. Necessarily the game expects the player to fail and correct the second attempt with a bounce. Only to find there needs to be yet another bounce. This iterative style of gameplay is not enjoyable in this setting. To me, the magnificence of artwork and music in this game needs to be paired with obstacles that are fully reactable - or perhaps closer to 90% reactable with the occasional 10% to slow the pace of the game down.
With that being said, as I mentioned in passing, the artwork was top-notch. It reminded me a little of Teslagrad, perhaps simply for a steampunk kind of vibe.
As a remark, for a game titled Symphonia, I felt the musical aspect of the game to be lacking. That is, while the soundtrack is good, I thought mechanically music would be more involved than occasionally playing the violin to open a door.
Overall, despite the amazing graphics, solid controls, and good music, there seems to be a missed opportunity in pairing gameplay with the music. As such, I'll have to give this game a lower demo score of 4.0.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Symphonia (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Symphonia (Steam Store Page)
Dinocop (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A graphic adventure game where the player character is a Dinocop (a dinosaur cop).
20241020:
Arrived home, but in transitioning/downloading some games to PC, I first played Dinocop on my Steam Deck.
Setup: SteamDeck.
Gameplay Log:
What's the jerky?
Escape from the ZOmbie Humans
Only found 11 out of 12 before 6 pm
Be a victim
Steam Game Time: 34 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo mainly revolves around Dinocop's ability to smell. Some minor usage of the magnifying glass is also used. Overall this mechanic was okay.
I think the main appeal of the game was the funny and witty dialogue. However, the dialogue is very much for adult players because the themes and topics include profanity, philosophical musings, and political-adjacent commentary.
Overall, I probably wouldn't play the game when it released, but I found the demo to be a decent half hour experience.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Dinocop (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Dinocop (Steam Store Page)
20241020:
Arrived home, but in transitioning/downloading some games to PC, I first played Dinocop on my Steam Deck.
Setup: SteamDeck.
Gameplay Log:
What's the jerky?
Escape from the ZOmbie Humans
Only found 11 out of 12 before 6 pm
Be a victim
Steam Game Time: 34 minutes
First Impressions:
The demo mainly revolves around Dinocop's ability to smell. Some minor usage of the magnifying glass is also used. Overall this mechanic was okay.
I think the main appeal of the game was the funny and witty dialogue. However, the dialogue is very much for adult players because the themes and topics include profanity, philosophical musings, and political-adjacent commentary.
Overall, I probably wouldn't play the game when it released, but I found the demo to be a decent half hour experience.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Dinocop (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Dinocop (Steam Store Page)
Thursday, October 17, 2024
StarVaders (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Build a deck and fight against aliens on a grid.
20241017:
Steam Game Time: 118 minutes
First Impressions:
This game pulled me in. It is in the same/similar genre as Slay the Spire: roguelike deckbuilder.
Even though I gave Rift of the NecroDancer a demo rating of 5.0 out of 5, I think I would also want to give this game a demo rating of 5.0 out of 5. I might downgrade later.
If Slay the Spire didn't exist, I would consider getting this game. However, Slay the Spire does exist, and I've barely scratched the surface of it. As such, I don't think I would get this game until I exhaust the gameplay in Slay the Spire (which may never happen). Overall, this game, at least as displayed in the demo, seems much simpler in strategic depth when compared to Slay the Spire.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
20241021 Comment:
Based on other ratings, I will downgrade this to 4.6.
Demo Rating: 4.6 out of 5
StarVaders (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
StarVaders (Steam Store Page)
20241017:
Steam Game Time: 118 minutes
First Impressions:
This game pulled me in. It is in the same/similar genre as Slay the Spire: roguelike deckbuilder.
Even though I gave Rift of the NecroDancer a demo rating of 5.0 out of 5, I think I would also want to give this game a demo rating of 5.0 out of 5. I might downgrade later.
If Slay the Spire didn't exist, I would consider getting this game. However, Slay the Spire does exist, and I've barely scratched the surface of it. As such, I don't think I would get this game until I exhaust the gameplay in Slay the Spire (which may never happen). Overall, this game, at least as displayed in the demo, seems much simpler in strategic depth when compared to Slay the Spire.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
20241021 Comment:
Based on other ratings, I will downgrade this to 4.6.
Demo Rating: 4.6 out of 5
StarVaders (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
StarVaders (Steam Store Page)
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Rift of the NecroDancer (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Rhythm game set in the NecroDancer universe.
20241016:
I played through Rift of the NecroDancer today and played up to the last track available on medium difficulty - 9x skull intensity; I did not beat it yet. I've yet to try any tracks on Hard.
Setup: Keyboard
There was some idle time because I was multitasking.
Steam Game Time: 63 minutes
20241017:
Steam Game Time: 104 minutes (cumulative game time) / 41 minutes (session game time)
First Impressions:
A fun rhythm game with the music similar to that found in Crypt of the NecroDancer. Currently the demo's "Story Mode" is locked. I'm excited for that, because I found the story to be part of what made Crypt of the NecroDancer an all-around excellent game. With that being said, even playing through the limited tracks which are available, I couldn't help but repeatedly saying "one more try." To be clear, I could have spent forever with the tracks available in the demo, but I wanted to ensure I could get some time in with some of the other demos available during NextFest - especially because I would actually probably buy this game when it comes out.
I would say one really neat feature when first launching the game was the calibration for audio and video latency. After the initial calibration, the game does a double-check and adjusts the game again. It was magical how the adjustment magically resulted in hitting perfects.
As this game is a rhythm game, one can't help but focus on the intricacies of the track to help defeat the enemies. In contrast, while the music was equally exciting in Crypt of the NecroDancer, I recall being much more focused on defeating the enemies. Of course, I like how there was much more on-the-fly thinking in Crypt, whereas the current basic gameplay here leans towards memorization. Watching the developers pre-recorded stream, it seems there may be some sort of mode that is less memorization-based.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Rift of the NecroDancer (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Rift of the NecroDancer (Steam Store Page)
20241016:
I played through Rift of the NecroDancer today and played up to the last track available on medium difficulty - 9x skull intensity; I did not beat it yet. I've yet to try any tracks on Hard.
Setup: Keyboard
There was some idle time because I was multitasking.
Steam Game Time: 63 minutes
20241017:
Steam Game Time: 104 minutes (cumulative game time) / 41 minutes (session game time)
First Impressions:
A fun rhythm game with the music similar to that found in Crypt of the NecroDancer. Currently the demo's "Story Mode" is locked. I'm excited for that, because I found the story to be part of what made Crypt of the NecroDancer an all-around excellent game. With that being said, even playing through the limited tracks which are available, I couldn't help but repeatedly saying "one more try." To be clear, I could have spent forever with the tracks available in the demo, but I wanted to ensure I could get some time in with some of the other demos available during NextFest - especially because I would actually probably buy this game when it comes out.
I would say one really neat feature when first launching the game was the calibration for audio and video latency. After the initial calibration, the game does a double-check and adjusts the game again. It was magical how the adjustment magically resulted in hitting perfects.
As this game is a rhythm game, one can't help but focus on the intricacies of the track to help defeat the enemies. In contrast, while the music was equally exciting in Crypt of the NecroDancer, I recall being much more focused on defeating the enemies. Of course, I like how there was much more on-the-fly thinking in Crypt, whereas the current basic gameplay here leans towards memorization. Watching the developers pre-recorded stream, it seems there may be some sort of mode that is less memorization-based.
Demo Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Rift of the NecroDancer (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Rift of the NecroDancer (Steam Store Page)
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Leaf Blower Sim (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Clean up leaves with a leafblower
20241015:
Setup: I lowered the resolution (1920x1080) and framerate (60fps) to get a smooth experience. Windowed. But I also increased the quality settings.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes
First Impressions:
I was excited to play this game, as it looked like a fun casual game. However, I felt the gameplay was underwhelming. While the game offered different nozzles, they failed to differentiate themselves enough to suggest any importance. Perhaps, at the end of the day, I would have preferred a non-casual leafblowing game where cleaning up the leaves as quickly as possible and with some sort of other hectic motivations would make the game exciting.
As an aside, I was experience a slight headache. This generally happens to me when playing first-person shooters and possibly third-person shooters, as well as a mix of how much caffeine I've recently had. However, I recall intaking caffeine well before noon and it is now the evening time.
Demo Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Leaf Blower Sim (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Leaf Blower Sim (Steam Store Page)
20241015:
Setup: I lowered the resolution (1920x1080) and framerate (60fps) to get a smooth experience. Windowed. But I also increased the quality settings.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes
First Impressions:
I was excited to play this game, as it looked like a fun casual game. However, I felt the gameplay was underwhelming. While the game offered different nozzles, they failed to differentiate themselves enough to suggest any importance. Perhaps, at the end of the day, I would have preferred a non-casual leafblowing game where cleaning up the leaves as quickly as possible and with some sort of other hectic motivations would make the game exciting.
As an aside, I was experience a slight headache. This generally happens to me when playing first-person shooters and possibly third-person shooters, as well as a mix of how much caffeine I've recently had. However, I recall intaking caffeine well before noon and it is now the evening time.
Demo Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Leaf Blower Sim (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Leaf Blower Sim (Steam Store Page)
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
From Dust (PC) (2011)
20241008 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 3.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 3h 19m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20120909
20241008:
Going down the list of games I previously played, today I came across From Dust. And while I started my original blog back in 2009, well before the 20120909 date attributed to the time I last played this game, I don't seem to have a post for it. The game, however, is referenced in my post for Reus.
Setup:
Had to play on UHD instead of ultrawide monitor because the game wasn't adapting correctly to the ultrawide.
Gameplay Log:
During Mission 4 The First Power, the game crashed as I was sending a person to the power
Steam Game Time: 3.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.5 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
Decent visuals
Neutral:
Initial gameplay involves picking up and release either dirt or water...
Cons:
Without a workaround, requires Ubisoft Connect
Game crashed
Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Summary:
The game was midly interesting, but when the game crashed, I was okay to call it quits. I would note that the game had decent visuals.
From Dust (PC) (2011)
Relevant Links:
From Dust (Wikipedia.org)
From Dust (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
From Dust (steamdb.info)
From Dust (Steam Store Page)
Steam Game Time: 3.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 3h 19m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20120909
20241008:
Going down the list of games I previously played, today I came across From Dust. And while I started my original blog back in 2009, well before the 20120909 date attributed to the time I last played this game, I don't seem to have a post for it. The game, however, is referenced in my post for Reus.
Setup:
Had to play on UHD instead of ultrawide monitor because the game wasn't adapting correctly to the ultrawide.
Gameplay Log:
During Mission 4 The First Power, the game crashed as I was sending a person to the power
Steam Game Time: 3.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.5 hours (session game time)
Thoughts:
Pros:
Decent visuals
Neutral:
Initial gameplay involves picking up and release either dirt or water...
Cons:
Without a workaround, requires Ubisoft Connect
Game crashed
Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Summary:
The game was midly interesting, but when the game crashed, I was okay to call it quits. I would note that the game had decent visuals.
From Dust (PC) (2011)
Relevant Links:
From Dust (Wikipedia.org)
From Dust (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
From Dust (steamdb.info)
From Dust (Steam Store Page)