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video game reviews

Into the Emberlands is an Adorable Village Management Game

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I was sent a free copy of Into the Emberlands to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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What is Into the Emberlands?

Into the Emberlands is an adorable village management survival game out now on Steam.

A deadly miasma spreads across the Emberlands, consuming all who dare step into its mist. Luckily, the light from the magical lantern at the center of town has the power to repel the mist. Fill your lantern with its magical embers and venture into the mist in search of materials, loot, and new members for your village. Can you find the means to thrive within the encroaching miasma, or will you be lost in its poisonous clouds?

Gameplay

Players will begin their game with a basic village and a few quests to begin their expansion into the miasma. Players then travel through the forest in search of materials, loot, and new villagers. Players can only travel into the forest if they have magical light to guide them. Each step a player takes within the miasma consumes fuel. Players only have a limited amount of fuel for this light, and running out of fuel means death.

Fuel can be replenished by returning to the base, collecting random nodes of embers, or saving a stranded villager. The amount of fuel a player can carry can be upgraded through quests, increasing the number of steps a player can make in the mist, but these upgrades are lost upon death. Make sure you always move carefully, and you are always questing efficiently.

Eventually, the village will become more complex with different helpful buildings, resources, and villagers. The distance that can be traveled will also increase, making the game feel less repetitive.

Does it work on the Steam Deck?

Yes, and it is a solid port. I preferred playing Into the Emberlands on the Steam Deck despite the slight awkwardness. The game runs great, but sometimes the cursor would disappear and other times the camera would be annoying to control. None of these issues made the game unplayable, but they did pop up enough times to be mentioned. Regardless, Into the Emberlands is fun and casual enough to make it the ideal couch or travel game.

Review

Into the Eberlands is a fun new twist to the village management genre. The game runs great, is super adorable, and has a fun yet challenging gameplay loop. Gathering in this game is simple and repetitive, but the ember mechanics make the loop exciting. It is easy to find that you have ventured too far from the village without enough resources to get back. It is also exhilarating to barely make it back to the village after making a series of risky gambles.

It could easily lose days to this game because of how fun, cute, and exciting the loop is. I recommend everyone try at least once.

You can pick up Into the Emberlands on Steam for only $6.59. The game is still in Early Access, but I feel comfortable enough to recommend it. You’ll at the very least get your money’s worth.

video game reviews

Pathless Woods is The Cutest Cozy Survival Sandbox Game

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I was sent a Pathless Woods for free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials. 

What is Pathless Woods

Pathless Woods is a cozy open-world survival game available now in early access on Steam. Players will travel through an adorable thematic world, gathering resources, building bases, and doing everything necessary to stay alive. The game offers a single and multiplayer mode, allowing gamers to choose the type of experience they want to play. This review will be based on the single-player mode.

Gameplay

The game starts with an easy-to-follow tutorial quest line to help guide players through the essential mechanics. While a guide might be needed for efficiency or more complicated recipes, the game does a fantastic job of getting players up to speed without feeling slow. Farming and gathering doesn’t feel like an unnecessary grind, and the recipes are pretty easy to follow. Some recipes are locked behind the quest line, but the game does this to teach players some of the less intuitive mechanics unique to Pathless. 

Pathless Woods is an adorable entry to the genre, with enough depth to deserve its attention. Building and gathering mechanics are all designed for relaxing sessions, but the recipes and gathering locations might require a guide to be tabbed. Combat in this game is cute, with enough options for strategy without things getting too sweaty. The game’s survival mechanics like thirst, hunger, and illness make a meaningful impact without ever becoming unmanageable. If you enjoy survival games but aren’t in the mood for anything hardcore, Pathless Woods is an answer. 

Impressions

I had a lot of fun with Pathless Woods. The game is adorable, there is a lot to do, and it never became a job. The game is still in early access, so there are some imperfections, but none of the glitches were game-breaking. Sometimes I couldn’t lock onto an enemy, or things wouldn’t load, but I could still play the game and have fun. 

What sets this game apart is its cozy aesthetic. The art design, music, and mechanics all come together to create this relaxing and chill experience. You can die if you aren’t careful, but I never felt like I was up against impossible odds. This experience can change in multiplayer. 

I am a huge fan of Fantasy Life, and this game had similar vibes but with a lot more content. If you like survival games or are just looking for something cute and chill to play, you need to get on Pathless Woods. I wouldn’t be too worried about the game’s Early Access status. The game is playable, it’s fun, and there have been consistent updates since I started playing. There is also a demo available if you need further convincing. Honestly, if I didn’t have to move on, I’d still be playing. 

You can pick up Pathless Woods now on Steam for $17.99 (normally $19.99) until April 16. 

video game reviews

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic is simply adorable!

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I was sent Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic for free to review for my site. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic is an adorable hidden objects game with terrific flavor and a ton of content. If you ever enjoyed the I Spy books or have kids who do, this is a great game to add to your collection. The game features an adorable art style, a relaxing soundtrack, and simple but challenging gameplay.

The gameplay loop is simple: load up a map and find the hidden objects. You’ll need to actively change the environment like digging up holes, opening doors, or changing the weather to find some objects. While the game may appear cute and childish, there is enough of a challenge to stump players. There are clues available for when you get stuck, but even then it takes a bit of work to find everything. It isn’t an impossible game, but it is a lot harder than it looks. 

There are a few ways to play this game: play through the campaign, create your own maps, or play through the community maps. 

The campaign has themed levels based on popular myths and legends. I enjoyed the flavor, but I loved the rate of progression. Players start each level with a small map and a small list of items to find. The maps and lists get bigger the more levels they play through, and finding the objects gets progressively harder. 

The map editor is easy to use and offers a lot of customization options. I am not creative when it comes to map-making, so I only messed around with it for a bit. I was overwhelmed with how many options were available, but was even more impressed by the community content that is already available. Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic is a game whose longevity hinges on its community, and the community is vibrant. I was blown away by the amount of fun and creative maps already available. There is always a danger of inconsistency with these types of games, but it’s not so much an issue with games. At least for now, you’ll be busy for a while.

I enjoyed this game for the relaxing change of pace that it is. The game is cute, simple, and relaxing, but it isn’t a game I can spend hours on. I don’t have the attention span for this kind of game, but that is a personal problem. The game runs great, and If you enjoy the genre or are looking for a change of pace, Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic is a solid choice. This is also a fantastic game for kids, but it might be a little difficult if they are on the younger side. 

You can pick up Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic on Steam for $12.99. 

video game reviews

SteamWorld Build A Cute New Casual Village Builder with a Twist!

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I was sent SteamWorld Build as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave me a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

SteamWorld Build launches on Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and Steam on December 1st. If you enjoy village builders or are in the market for a new game, you need to buy this game.

Take command of a group of robot settlers as they make their last-ditch effort to escape a dying planet. Together, they must build a settlement, recruit new citizens, and mine for the materials that will lead to salvation. But getting off-world won’t be easy. Can you find a way off the planet before the monsters destroy your settlement?

SteamWorld Build is an adorable addition to the SteamWorld universe and a must-have for any fan of the series. The game does a wonderful job of capturing the quirky and delightful vibe of the franchise without sacrificing any of the fun. You don’t need to have played any of the other games to understand the story, but you are going to want to after. SteamWorld games are always a quirky good time and a fantastic addition to any library.

The art, graphics, and animation for this game are adorable. The scrappy design reminds me of the Warhammer 40k Ork Aesthetic, and I love it! If you are a fan of the SteamWorld games, you’ll appreciate the attention to detail put into capturing the essence of the series. If you aren’t a fan, you’ll appreciate the amount of detail put into bringing this world to life. Little details like watching them walk through the wash or getting a drink at the saloon as they carry on their tasks make the experience feel vibrant and alive.

Be prepared to lose a couple of days as you scrutinize the most efficient way to grow your settlement. I had so much fun with SteamWorld Build that it became an addiction. I restarted a few times as I tried the different maps and strategies until finally forcing myself away long enough to write this review. The casual gameplay yet engaging gameplay, the cute and quirky gameplay, and the pacing all come together to create an experience worth having.

SteamWorld Build is a fantastic blend of village building, resource management, and tower defense. It starts like any traditional village builder, with limited resources and a space to build. As the settlement grows, new mechanics are introduced to keep the game feeling fresh. Each world is split into four levels, each with unique gameplay and design. At the top is a basic settlement game where players recruit new citizens, keep them happy, and trade with the passing train. Lower levels introduce a mining game where players dig for resources, maintain the mine’s stability, and defend against oncoming threats. The lower you go, the more dangerous it is. It feels like playing three games at once, but it never becomes overwhelming. Building inefficiently does impede your progression, but I wouldn’t worry about that until your second or third playthrough. I recommend you go into this game as blindly as possible before looking up guides because learning from your mistakes is half the fun.

I love SteamWorld Build and recommend anyone looking for a new game these holidays to pick it up. It’s cute, it’s casual, and an addicting amount of fun. SteamWorld comes out on Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and Steam on December 1st. Don’t forget to wishlist if you haven’t done so already!

video game reviews

Game Review: Super Meat Boy Forever

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I was sent Super Meat Boy Forever as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity, but this will be my honest review.

Super Meatboy Forever brings the infamously difficult platformer to Android and IOS. DR. Fetus has stolen the meat baby Nugget, and it is up to Meat Boy and Bandage Girl to get him back. But can they survive the deadly traps that wait for them?

I’ve only ever played the unreleased Dr. Fetus’ Mean Machine, so I can’t speak on how it compares with the original platformer. I have never been a fan of platformers, so I’ll admit that I was hesitant to start this title. I quickly learned that as frustrated as this game made me, I couldn’t put it down.

In classic Meat Boy fashion, this game is hard. You will die a lot, but the sense of accomplishment when you finally complete a level remains unrivaled. There were moments when I couldn’t put it down because I just needed to beat the level.

Super Meatboy Forever plays like the Super Mario Run mobile game, but I would argue it is more fun. The characters run automatically, and you tap either side to jump or complete other actions. When you die, you restart at a checkpoint. This game is generous with checkpoints, so you won’t need to replay too much of a level when you die. To clear a world, you must complete a set number of stages before facing off against the world’s boss. Boss fights are creative, but you might break a few phones trying to clear them. This game also has challenges, a leaderboard, and collectibles to help motivate players further.

Super Meat Boy Forever is the cutest platformer to make you angry. I loved this game despite my aversion to platformers. The gameplay loop is addicting, the art is great, the music is fantastic, and the story is adorably dark. If you are looking for a fun phone game and don’t mind the challenge, you need to buy this game. You can pick up Super Meat Boy Forever for $0.99 on Android or IOS, and for that price, it’s worth it.

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