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Wednesday, April 29, 2026

English Country Tune (PC) (2011)

Overview: 3D puzzle game.
20260429 (AM Hours):
I was browsing the recommended games on the Steam Deck and decided to play this game. I didn't realize it's a puzzle game. I only played a few levels before getting stuck. The 3D nature of the game makes for a surprising layer of challenge.

Setup: Steam Deck

Steam Game Time: 18 minutes
20260429:
Steam Game Time: 37 minutes (cumulative game time) / 19 minutes (session game time)

20260501:
Tried to play one level. I love the creativity of the mechanic but the logic of most of these levels typically escapes me. I like being able to feel as if I figured the solution out (e.g., Baba Is You) as opposed to stumbling upon the solution through pure trial and error.

Steam Game Time: 54 minutes (cumulative game time) / 27 minutes (session game time)

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ 3D puzzle game is interesting.

Neutral:
~ Too difficult?

Cons:
- The UI shows completed levels as blacked out but it's not easy to remember and the individual levels don't have names. This makes it hard to quickly navigate

Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Summary:
Perhaps I'm tired of thinking after playing a bunch of Baba Is You.
English Country Tune (PC) (2011)

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

Monday, April 27, 2026

Pilgrims (PC) (2019)

Overview: An adventure game with multiple solutions to puzzles.

20260427:
Was looking for a game to play and I think this was one of the Steam Deck recommended games.

Setup: Steam Deck

Steam Game Time: 86 minutes
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Love the artwork
+ They allow to fast forward through scene

Neutral:
~ Doesn't seem the walking can be skipped or fast forwarded

Cons:
- It's possible due to using Steam Deck, but the controls feel clunky
- Some of the solutions are likely repetitive and fully completing the game might feel like a grind

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Summary:
None at this time
Pilgrims (PC) (2019)

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

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Quest of Dungeons (PC) (2014)

Overview: Roguelike
20260415:
Tried playing this game today.

Setup: Steam Deck. Wizard.

Steam Game Time: 18 minutes
First Impressions:
In the time that I played this game, my impression is I'd much rather play Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Quest of Dungeons (PC) (2014)

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

Monday, March 30, 2026

Knights of Pen and Paper: +1 Edition (PC) (2013)

Overview:
20260330:
After completing Gambit Shifter, I was ready for another game. I tried playing Knights of Pen and Paper but I got sleepy. I had defeated an enemy.

Setup: Steam Deck

Steam Game Time: 8 minutes (cumulative game time)

[20260404]
20260331:
I tried picking up from where I stopped playing. Unfortunately, it lacked an appeal. I stopped after I defeated two enemies.

Steam Game Time: 16 minutes (cumulative game time) / 8 minutes (session game time)

Rating: 2.4 out of 5

[20260404]
Summary:
None at this time
Knights of Pen and Paper: +1 Edition (PC) (2013)

Relevant Links:
Knights of Pen and Paper (Wikipedia.org)
Knights of Pen and Paper (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Knights of Pen and Paper (steamdb.info)
Knights of Pen and Paper: +1 Edition (Steam Store Page)

Sunday, March 29, 2026

5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (PC) (2020)

Overview:
20260404 Snapshost:
While on vacation I tried playing this game a couple of times. While I initially tried to play a game, I then moved to trying some of the puzzles which helped understand the game, but were also difficult in an unenjoyable way.

Setup: Steam Deck

Steam Game Time: 34 minutes

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Novel
+ Excellent UI

Cons:
- Unintuitive
- No save system

Rating: 1.8 out of 5

Summary:
The title and theme are appealing, but I had trouble liking this game.

5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (PC) (2020)

Relevant Links:
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (Wikipedia.org)
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (steamdb.info)
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (Steam Store Page)

Gambit Shifter (PC) (2024)

Overview: A puzzle game that makes use of chess-like pieces. In each level, you start as a pawn and your goal is to capture the "king" in the level. More complex mechanics consist of transforming into other chess pieces (Rook, Knight, Bishop) and avoiding capture by enemy pieces.
20260329, 20260330:
I acquired this game in a Humble Bundle and made sure to install it on my Steam Deck prior to traveling. I previously played a demo of the game that featured 18 levels. I played it from 20260329 to 20260330, getting all achievements except for a hidden one.

Setup: Steam Deck

Steam Game Time: 3.5 hours

[20260404]
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Simple

Neutral:
~ Dying results immediately in starting over, from which the player can still undo. Personally I'd rather not have it automatically start over, as the more likely action is to just want to undo immediately, and the time spent where the level restarts is annoying.

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Summary:
Some levels force the player to use trial-and-error to some extent. And some levels don't, but trial-and-error is often the fastest solution. I only needed pen-and-paper to help with one of the puzzles. As such, overall the game was definitely on the easier side of puzzle games, but was fun while it lasted.

20260404:
I completed the hidden achievement. I had looked at the name of the achievement via Global Achievements. Then tried to infer what it meant.

Then I went on to play the first set of DLC puzzles.

Steam Game Time: 4.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

Gambit Shifter (PC) (2024)

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

Thursday, March 12, 2026

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC) (2015)

Overview: Dark fantasy online co-op.

20250530:
After trying to play Typing of the Dead: Overkill (no remote play together), Crypt of the Necrodancer (remote play together, but friend couldn't control), and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (I didn't want to figure out adding a controller for the game) with my friend, I decided to try this game for which I had an extra key. It plays similar to Left 4 Dead 2, but in a dark fantasy setting where the enemies are humanoid vermins (instead of zombies). There are, however, five different classes to choose from and each player must play a different class.
Setup: Keyboard and mouse.

Steam Game Time: 56 minutes
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ great looking graphics
+ coop
+ decent bots

Neutral:
~ game crashed twice with high graphic settings and widescreen

[20250530]
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

[20260312]
Summary:
None at this time
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC) (2015)

Relevant Links:
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (Wikipedia.org)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (steamdb.info)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (Steam Store Page)