Overview: A game about persuasion; engage in conversations
20250228:
Setup: Played with microphone
Steam Game Time: 44 minutes
First Impressions:
Creative use of technology to drive gameplay.
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Talk to Me Human (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Talk to Me Human (Steam Store Page)
Friday, February 28, 2025
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Inkborn (PC) (Demo)
Overview: A roguelike decbuilder.
20250228:
I didn't want Ben playing games today, but I felt okay booting this game up and having him make a couple small decisions.
Steam Game Time: 21 minutes
First Impressions:
So far seems decent. Game plays similar to existing deckbuilders like Slay the Spire. Perhaps just a different theme and artwork. Well, not to downplay that aspect, the paper folding theme and artwork are aesthetically pleasing. I'd have to play a little more to get a better feel, but given the choice, I'd probably just play Slay the Spire.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Inkborn (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Inkborn (Steam Store Page)
20250228:
I didn't want Ben playing games today, but I felt okay booting this game up and having him make a couple small decisions.
Steam Game Time: 21 minutes
First Impressions:
So far seems decent. Game plays similar to existing deckbuilders like Slay the Spire. Perhaps just a different theme and artwork. Well, not to downplay that aspect, the paper folding theme and artwork are aesthetically pleasing. I'd have to play a little more to get a better feel, but given the choice, I'd probably just play Slay the Spire.
Demo Rating: 4.2 out of 5
Inkborn (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Inkborn (Steam Store Page)
TypInc. (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Typing game.
20250227:
Steam Game Time: 53 minutes
First Impressions:
Simple game but super punishing on an error: when the player makes a mistake, the score multiplier resets to 1. In games where score is constantly accumulated, the multiplier resetting isn't a big deal. But here it somehow affects the total score and just overall feels bad. As such, the game currently encourages careful slow gameplay with zero errors for the most efficient progression. However, this feels anti-fun. In the developer's request for feedback, many users have mentioned this topic is some form. The developer seems receptive to addressing the issue.
Repeating music track is good, but I'm not sure how I feel about the beeps.
The reward for finishing quickly feels broken and, well, unrewarding.
Game doesn't have a save feature to come back and resume progress. It's 30 days or nothing. Someone mentioned this on Steam Discussions as feedback and the developer plans to develop a save feature or similar to address it.
At a high level, I have an issue with the pacing. I find typing games are usually action-based and should have a rather consistent flow. The game as it stands is slow paced and constantly being interrupted by choosing slowly showing the payout and picking a perk. Speaking of the perks, they are such passive perks that I don't really have a sense of which ones are beneficial. And to some extent they don't really matter. I just made sure I got to $50, then thereafter the pay plus interest pays for my letter upgrades which I just assume is boosting the scores.
While the game has some potential, this demo sits at a below average experience when it comes to typing games.
Demo Rating: 2.8 out of 5
TypInc. (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
TypInc. (Steam Store Page)
20250227:
Steam Game Time: 53 minutes
First Impressions:
Simple game but super punishing on an error: when the player makes a mistake, the score multiplier resets to 1. In games where score is constantly accumulated, the multiplier resetting isn't a big deal. But here it somehow affects the total score and just overall feels bad. As such, the game currently encourages careful slow gameplay with zero errors for the most efficient progression. However, this feels anti-fun. In the developer's request for feedback, many users have mentioned this topic is some form. The developer seems receptive to addressing the issue.
Repeating music track is good, but I'm not sure how I feel about the beeps.
The reward for finishing quickly feels broken and, well, unrewarding.
Game doesn't have a save feature to come back and resume progress. It's 30 days or nothing. Someone mentioned this on Steam Discussions as feedback and the developer plans to develop a save feature or similar to address it.
At a high level, I have an issue with the pacing. I find typing games are usually action-based and should have a rather consistent flow. The game as it stands is slow paced and constantly being interrupted by choosing slowly showing the payout and picking a perk. Speaking of the perks, they are such passive perks that I don't really have a sense of which ones are beneficial. And to some extent they don't really matter. I just made sure I got to $50, then thereafter the pay plus interest pays for my letter upgrades which I just assume is boosting the scores.
While the game has some potential, this demo sits at a below average experience when it comes to typing games.
Demo Rating: 2.8 out of 5
TypInc. (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
TypInc. (Steam Store Page)
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Backpack Battles (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Inventory management auto battler.
20250227:
Steam Game Time: 2.5 hours
First Impressions:
Time flew buy as I played this game. Rearranging and micromanaging was addicting.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Backpack Battles (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Backpack Battles (Steam Store Page)
20250227:
Steam Game Time: 2.5 hours
First Impressions:
Time flew buy as I played this game. Rearranging and micromanaging was addicting.
Demo Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Backpack Battles (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Backpack Battles (Steam Store Page)
Circular Fever (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Rhythm game
20250226:
One level with four difficulties, the second of which was broken.
Setup:
Non-intuitive key binds. Eventually found them to be DFJK. I would have thoguht QWER or ZXCV. Possibly mirrored to the other side.
Steam Game Time:
First Impressions:
I wouldn't have minded one great level, but the notes coming down had little to no relationship with the music. This was the case at all difficulties (i.e., often in rhythm games, sometimes some notes in the track only get played by the player on higher difficulties). On top of this, the game was displaying the feedback messages right in the middle of the game field. Super distracting! Overall, I didn't see what the game was contributing to the genre.
The game is self-described as "A Classic 4-Key Rhythm Game." The genre might be classic, but this game will likely not be. It's more like "A bad demo imitating classic 4-key rhythm games."
Demo Rating: 0.2 out of 5
Circular Fever (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Circular Fever (Steam Store Page)
20250226:
One level with four difficulties, the second of which was broken.
Setup:
Non-intuitive key binds. Eventually found them to be DFJK. I would have thoguht QWER or ZXCV. Possibly mirrored to the other side.
Steam Game Time:
First Impressions:
I wouldn't have minded one great level, but the notes coming down had little to no relationship with the music. This was the case at all difficulties (i.e., often in rhythm games, sometimes some notes in the track only get played by the player on higher difficulties). On top of this, the game was displaying the feedback messages right in the middle of the game field. Super distracting! Overall, I didn't see what the game was contributing to the genre.
The game is self-described as "A Classic 4-Key Rhythm Game." The genre might be classic, but this game will likely not be. It's more like "A bad demo imitating classic 4-key rhythm games."
Demo Rating: 0.2 out of 5
Circular Fever (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Circular Fever (Steam Store Page)
Is This Seat Taken? (PC) (Demo)
Overview: Everybody has placement preferences (e.g., seat on a bus or in the movie theater) and it's up to the player to find a solution that satisfies everyone (for a perfect score)
20250225:
Charming little puzzle game.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Is This Seat Taken? (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Is This Seat Taken? (Steam Store Page)
20250225:
Charming little puzzle game.
Steam Game Time: 30 minutes
Demo Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Is This Seat Taken? (PC) (Demo)
Relevant Links:
Is This Seat Taken? (Steam Store Page)