WingedKagouti on 9/9/2022 at 07:55
Quote Posted by Tomi
Crusader Kings always seemed interesting to me, but like all Paradox games that I've played (not that many), I bet it takes like months to learn just the basics.
Like a lot of Paradox games (and especially the other CK games), CK3 is very indepth and there's a ton of DLC with new mechanics. As per usual Paradox bundle strategy, you only get the base game. If you aren't into long term historical strategy and politics, this is very much a game to skip.
Quote:
I've never played a
Just Cause game, are they any good? Should I play the previous games first? JC4 was a freebie on Epic Games so I already had this anyway.
If you want to run around and get rewarded for blowing stuff up, then Just Cause 2, 3 and 4 are for you. They play mostly the same with some new gadgets in each game, but the plot is largely irrelevant and most of the characters are very one dimensional.
If you already have JC4 from the EGS giveaway, give it a spin and see if you like the gameplay it offers. Just don't expect an epic story that will stick with you.
demagogue on 10/9/2022 at 02:30
Re: CK2
Paradox GrandStrat games are complicated, but in terms of actual mechanics and the gameplay loop, they're also pretty rock-in-a-bag simple too. I mean, you can start a game, do nothing, and just watch what happens right up to the end, and you're still "playing" it. Then from that baseline, you can just add little interventions one at a time and just see what happens. It's kind of built around experimenting and learning as you go.
I like how it's designed like that. It's a game that can be as complex as you want it to be, or as you want to invest into getting into the guts of it (that's not entirely true; it doesn't take too long to reach its limits), but by the same token, it can be as simple as you can handle.
Re: Descenders
I got into this game in a big way. It plays to that elemental rush of barely controlled speed and coordination of the tricks with an endless loop of new tracks, so you're not just memorizing lines, you're learning the skill to take on any track as it comes. I don't know if I can boil it down any more. I just really liked running the tracks for its own sake.
Tomi on 5/10/2022 at 07:50
October games are here! There's
Deathloop! :) And... not much else at first glance?
Inline Image:
https://i.ibb.co/crSQHys/octgames.jpgLet's take a look at the "not much else" category:
Monster Train: roguelike deck builder, good reviews. Quite a bit like
Slay the Spire, but still radically different. This looks pretty fun tbh!
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope: interactive horror story, mediocre reviews. More fun in some sorta co-op mode apparently. I think I'll pass.
Disciples: Liberation: single-player RPG, average reviews. Looks incredibly generic to me. Fun combat and exploration, but not much else apparently.
Maid of Sker: first person survival horror, mediocre reviews. Another horror game. Some puzzles to solve and simple stealth that can be frustrating at times. Great sound design apparently. It's a short game so I may even give it a try at Halloween or something.
Epic Chef: farming/cooking sim, mediocre reviews. Has some RPG elements in it, side quests and crafting and that sort of stuff. I think it looks quite awful, even though many reviews seem to call it "charming".
Railroad Corporation: railroad strategy, bad/mediocre reviews. As much as I like these old steam trains, I always find these games really dull. This one's also buggy and badly designed. I bet there are other games in this genre that are much better.
Golf Gang: arcade mini-golf, average/good reviews. Quite a typical mini-golf game, except that you can (and should) hit a ball that is still moving, which games the game more hectic and possibly more fun. I'll definitely try this one.
Tomi on 11/11/2022 at 19:18
November seems like a pretty terrible month.
Inline Image:
https://i.ibb.co/kh8hdpZ/novemberhumble.jpgHell Let Loose: realistic multiplayer FPS set in WW2. Not very original, and not my thing anyway.
Kingdoms of Amalur: remake of a mediocre RPG. Seems incredibly generic. Doubt that I'll want to play this after my current adventures in Witcher 3.
Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice: I wanted to like ST when I tried it a few years ago, but I couldn't get into it. Perhaps I'll play Desperados 3 instead.
Roboquest: fast-paced roguelite FPS. Seems fun enough, but I don't really like its visual style.
Eldest Souls: isometric Souls game with pixel art graphics. Doesn't look bad, but I find it hard to get interested with yet another Souls-like game.
Unmetal: old-school isometric 2D action for Metal Gear fans. I've never played a MG game in my life, so I think I'll pass.
Raji: An Ancient Epic: indie action adventure. Not many games about Hindu mythology out there. This one actually looks pretty good.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes: another isometric Souls games that has got mediocre reviews.
Verdict: bleh.
WingedKagouti on 11/11/2022 at 19:56
Quote Posted by Tomi
Kingdoms of Amalur: remake of a mediocre RPG. Seems incredibly generic. Doubt that I'll want to play this after my current adventures in Witcher 3.
The two original DLC campaigns (which are included in Re-reckoning) are of higher quality than the main game, but take a bit of time to get to. Teeth of Naros is available about 1/4th into the game while Legend of Dead Kel needs you to go through about 2/3rds of the game before you can access it. The bundle version also includes the new DLC exclusive to the remaster, but I don't have the remaster myself so I can't comment on the quality of that DLC.
The standout feature of the game is the action oriented combat system, which seems to try to emulate a lite version of games like Devil May Cry. These days it's not that special for a RPG, but it was a major thing setting KoA apart from other RPGs when it was originally released.
If you haven't played KoA, I'd say it's worth at least trying out for 4-5 hours. For those who do get the bundle at least.
Tomi on 9/12/2022 at 08:19
Dammit, I always forget to skip the bad months in Humble Choice. Now I'm about $10 poorer and stuck with those November games.
Oh well. The December bunch of games looks a bit better, or what do you say?
Inline Image:
https://i.ibb.co/FVnGz7t/decembergames.jpgWasteland 3: Never played a Wasteland game before, but this one's supposed to be good, right?
Greedfall: Another good RPG, I think this one looks even more interesting actually.
First Class Trouble:
Among Us but with shinier graphics. Multiplayer only. Meh.
Backbone: It's a "post-noir roleplaying detective adventure" where you play a raccoon. Nice pixel art graphics.
TOEM: A charming little "photography adventure", whatever that means. I think I've heard good things about this game.
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine: A narrative game that's
all about the story (or stories). Lots of text here. I actually played this before and sort of liked it, so I think I should give it another try.
Blade Assault: 2D roguelike platformer set in a sci-fi world. Nothing special here, but it's apparently quite decent.
Super Magbot: A challenging 2D platformer where you use magnetism to get around instead of jumping. It looks fun but potentially very frustrating too.
henke on 9/12/2022 at 08:44
I played TOEM earlier this year. Short and sweet and utterly forgettable. I enjoyed it while I played it and haven't thought about it since. I also played a chunk of Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, it had some nice writing but didn't really grab me.
Sulphur on 9/12/2022 at 09:21
Greedfall is very eurojank, with obvious seams and cut corners in visible areas like dialogue trees, but it's an interesting RPG. I'm not sure its treatment of fantasy indigenous races and colonialism is at all deep or even lands in the correct spot, but I guess I'll have to play more of it first.
Wasteland 2 and 3 are... okay. They failed to keep my attention, because they seemed a bit like a phoned-in post apocalypse with almost enough flavour to not be dry as a bone, but I struggled to keep invested in the experience, unlike say, FO1/2/NV.
Backbone is something I really want to play, because I hear the ending loses the plot so comprehensively it's left a collective welt on the minds of people who played it. I'm hoping it's at least as distinctive as Fahrenheit's ending.
edit: might as well add, you might already have Backbone if you got the itch Bundle for Ukraine.
Aja on 13/12/2022 at 23:40
I couldn't get into Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. The writing was pretty good, with a sort of southern gothic magical realism vibe, but the gameplay that happens between reading was so tedious, including a frustrating whistling-while-you-walk mechanism that forces you to choose between walking at a decent pace or not having to listen to annoying whistling and perform timed button presses. Plus the dev frequently and publicly complained about its reception, which felt to me like it was in poor taste given that the game had widely-acknowledged issues aside from people just not wanting cerebral games.
(give me Kentucky Route Zero all day, every day)
Tomi on 3/1/2023 at 21:16
January 2023:Inline Image:
https://i.ibb.co/5cHNZwv/januarygames.jpg* Doom Eternal
* Tribes of Midgard
* Encased
* OlliOlli World
* Grow: Song of the Evertree
* Conan Chop Chop
* Hokko Life
* The Serpent Rogue
That looks like a decent bunch of games. I haven't played a
D00M game since the good old
Doom 2, so maybe it's time to try out another one? According to the reviews right there it should be great, but the experts at TTLG say that it's not much of a DOOM game.
Tribes of Midgard looks like a fun enough action RPG, but it's not grabbing my interest.
Encased is yet another post-apocalyptic RPG and it was a freebie on Epic a week ago, so that's a double-meh!
OlliOlli World is a skateboarding game and I don't know what to think about it, but it sure looks fun.
Grow: Song of the Evertree is an overly cute world building game that I could probably play with my kids some time. Can't have a Humble Monthly without some indie rogue-lite, and that's where
Conan Chop Chop comes in. It looks silly and could be fun, but apparently it's designed for co-op, so I think I'll pass for now.
Hokko Life is another overly cute farming/building/life sim that's not that good judging by the reviews, but it could be one for the kids again.
The Serpent Rogue is a pretty cool looking fantasy adventure.
So out of this bunch, I'm not terribly excited about any of the games, but I'll probably end up trying Doom Eternal, OlliOlli World, The Serpent Rogue, and possibly either of the cute games.
