If you are a fan of the old-school Megaman games, Gravity Circuit should already be on your radar. The game promises an intense 2D platformer experience where you take control of Kai as he makes his way through a post-apocalyptic world full of bloodthirsty robots.
For those curious, you can download a demo on the steam store. I played a bit of the demo, and although I am terrible at platformers, I enjoyed the experience. It reminded me of the frustration I felt when trying to beat the original Megaman games. This game will carry a level of difficulty that will frustrate most players, but the feeling of achievement at the end will be all the sweater. If you are a fan of these types of games, this game is probably already on your wishlist. For those who aren’t familiar with the genre, I recommend you try the demo before making your decision. I had a hard time with this game on normal. I can only imagine the challenge involved in higher difficulties. If you have never played these games before, prepare to die a lot.
Gravity Circuit has great art with fun gameplay. It has been announced to release on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC. Check it out today!
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I got to play YSIX: Monstrum Nox when it was free on Amazon Luna, and I quite enjoyed the experience. This isn’t a promotion for the platform, it was a game I was interested in, and I got it free through my Twitch Prime membership. If you don’t know, Luna is Amazon’s cloud gaming solution. For 9.99 a month, you are able to play any game in their library without the need to download the games. This is a great solution if you have a good and stable internet connection but don’t have the money for the hardware. I mostly played on my iPad, but it ran nicely on my PC as well.
YS IX is an action RPG that sort of plays like GenshinImpact. You take control of characters with unique abilities as you try to solve a mystery and fight monsters. I was able to solve the mystery immediately, but I enjoyed the journey. The game is divided into chapters and each is dedicated to a playable character you unlock along the way. The stories are a bit of an anime trope, and the cast is full of familiar archetypes. I like anime so I had no problems with the story or the characters.
The gameplay is a lot of fun. Like any RPG, you can craft items, buy upgrades, and change the skills you use. I am not the best at theory crafting so I often went with whatever was fun. The game is limited in its exploration, but I was here for the story anyways. Combat was fun and the game does a good job of keeping it fresh by giving you new characters and abilities to use as you explore the city and advance the story. I loved that I could switch between characters at will so I was always allowed a unique combat experience. There is a slight grind as is tradition in these types of games, but I didn’t feel like it was that bad. I never felt the need to spend hours fighting the same mob in the forest in order to advance. This is also a pretty contained game, I was able to finish it quicker than most of my RPGs, but your mileage may vary.
This game is the 9th installment of the YS series, but it isn’t necessary to play any of the others. This was my entry to the series, and I never felt lost. Outside of a few references to the previous game, the story in IX exists independently. YX has been announced for 2023, and I can’t help but feel excited about more news.
You should get this game if you are in the market for something new. The combat feels great, the story is fine, and the art is awesome. YS IX: Monstrum Nox is available on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Amazon Luna.
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The Synced beta is now live until January 15, 2023. Sign-ups are open on the Synced official page or through Steam.
Images and video taken from the game
Synced is a 3rd person looter-shooter survival game where you must travel over a post-apocalyptic landscape fighting monsters called Nanos. Synced is another zombie hoard game with a pet mechanic that I found interesting. The beta offers two modes of play: a hoard Co-op PVE survival mode and a PVP mode that needs more love. The PVE mode has you in a team of three as you move from checkpoint to checkpoint collecting weapons and upgrades and killing everything in between. PVP has you pit against another team as you fight over resources. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get into PVP mode and won’t be able to speak on that experience.
To start, you select a Runner and a Nano Companion. Runners are survivors with unique abilities, and Nanos are the robot pets that help you in battle. The flavor of runner only really changes the type of grenade you get to use, but the nano you choose plays differently. I liked using the Crusher nano because he was bulky and hit hard. I found the pet mechanic easy to manage and a lot of fun. I loved the feeling of dropping down a giant onto the battlefield to take off agro and do my bidding. I will eventually try the other Nanos, but at the moment, Crusher is bae. During matches, you can find better weapons and earn currency to exchange for upgrades like in any other survival game. Upgrades are randomly generated, but I found the RNG to be fair.
Synced has a leveling system where you are able to unlock better weapons, upgrades, and characters as you finish matches and quests. At the moment there is a holiday event where you can earn skins for your character.
I am having a lot of fun with this game. The gameplay is smooth, and I haven’t found any bugs. The graphics and the concept are interesting. My only complaint is that wait times can be bad depending on when you play. During peak times, you can get into a PVE match pretty quickly, but I have yet to try their PVP mode. I have a feeling that PVE is going to be where I am going to spend a lot more of my time anyways. If you are looking for a game to play, check out the Synced beta. It’s fun, it’s free, and it is looking very promising.
Spriggan Is anime’s generic attempt at bringing Indiana Jones to the future. While a neat concept, it feels rushed and underdeveloped. It may not be the worst anime I’ve seen, but it makes it hard to recommend.
Spriggan is about a secret government agency whose mission is to collect powerful ancient artifacts and keep them from the clutches of evil. The story focuses on Yu, a talented high school kid who, with the help of a powerful mech suit, goes travels the world hunting these powerful relics. Each episode focuses on the lore and retrieval of a different artifact.
Right off the bat, I am not a fan of the art style. It feels stiff, fragmented, and cheap most of the time. The combat is okay, but it is anticlimactic. Most of the problems are solved by ex-Machina. My biggest issue with this anime is that Yu is a generic cocky male protagonist who is perfect. Most of his dialogue involves him being cocky about his skills, and it gets annoying. When he does struggle or start to get beat, he is saved at the perfect time, and the whole thing doesn’t matter.
Another issue I have with this series is that there isn’t a good villain to drive the narrative. This series revolves around different organizations whose motives are uninspired and lazy. Most people are evil for the sake of being evil. It doesn’t help that they are destined to lose to Yu.
The problem with this anime is that it is limited to six short episodes. While I appreciate that they didn’t drag this out as much as they could have, it isn’t long enough to build the world or develop its characters. Each episode is a different adventure, and all of them are generic. This series left such a small impression on me that I have already forgotten what it was about.
You can stream Spriggan on Netflix, but it isn’t worth it. It looks cheap, the story is rushed, and there isn’t anything worth watching in it. I could make the case of throwing it on for background noise, but there are better anime out there more worthy of your data.
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Blizzard sent out a trial for their new Dragonflight expansion, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve played World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, and I played a lot of Shadowlands. I played Shadowlands until Nvidia no longer supported my graphics card which was right around the time Blizzard was in the middle of their big scandals.
I have since moved on to other MMOs and haven’t resubbed because I don’t have time. I made time so that I could no-life the limited experience Blizzard had gifted me, but I wasn’t very impressed. They should have allowed me to get a lot farther into the story because there wasn’t enough to grab my attention in what little I played. I felt like I was barely scratching the surface of what the expansion had to offer. A few extra levels would have left a better impression.
I love the look of this expansion. I love how vibrant the Dragon Isle looks and the aesthetics of the armor and creatures that fill it. I played as the new Dracthyr race introduced in this expansion and was a bit underwhelmed. The visage (human) form had some nice customizations, but I wasn’t a fan of the dragon form. This is a personal issue. If you like the dragon aesthetic then it should be fine. I didn’t think it was as cool as it could be. The new race comes with new mechanics that make travel in the new zone very fun. You can fly around either with the Dracthy’s natural abilities or with a dragon mount you unlock by doing the story.
Flight in this zone is limited by a stamina bar that fills automatically over time. From my understanding, you can obtain more stamina and flying abilities the deeper you get into the game, but I didn’t feel limited by what I started with. Flying makes Dragonflight a better expansion than Shadowlands because travel in Shadowlands was annoying and cumbersome. Unfortunately, these flying mechanics are reminiscent of those introduced in Guild Wars 2 a while ago, and I would rather be playing GW2.
I thought leveling at this time was more fun than in Shadowlands, but that isn’t saying much. I was eventually bored and underwhelmed by the experience. I get a lot of joy from the grind of leveling and not from dungeons, although I will dabble in PVP from time to time, the leveling grind is what makes an MMO for me. While this expansion doesn’t feel as big of a grind as others have, I had trouble convincing myself to keep playing. I appreciate the attempt to make this game fresh with the introduction of a new class, race, and mechanics, but it grew stale as the novelty wore off. Maybe I have outgrown this World of Warcraft, or have become accustomed to a more active experience like those of games like Guild Wars 2 or Phantasy Star Online 2. I just can’t justify subscribing to something that won’t get fun until I am deep into the end game.
Images are Screenshots from game
The worst bit of this game is that it isn’t stable. With a worse graphics card on a worse setup, I was able to play Shadowlands on the highest settings without issue. I encountered performance issues in Dragonflight that affected my gameplay. Spells would take moments to register if they registered at all, and frames would drop. I wasn’t alone in my experience; global chat would flood with people complaining about the sudden spikes in lag and instability. I expect these types of performance issues from launch or an MMO made by a smaller company, but this is World of Warcraft. This is an established title from an established company, and we are far into the launch. Performance did get a little better the deeper I got into the story, but I had to die more than usual to get there.
I tried out the Evoker class that comes with the Drachyr race. I thought it was an interesting change in pace that introduces some interesting mechanics, but I will probably switch back to my shadow priest if I ever upgrade to this expansion. I loved the mobility of this class and the lore behind it, but combat kind of grew stale for me. Maybe this class is better the deeper you get into it, but I will never know.
One of my favorite additions to this expansion is the new UI. It is so pretty, and it offers more customization than previous expansions. I remember having to load my game with all these add-ons like Bartender and Bagon to make the game more efficient. These features are now all baked into the game. I spent a lot of time rearranging my UI, setting up my skill bars, and reading through all the settings before playing this game. It is a much-welcomed experience, but I can’t believe it took this long for it to happen.
So is this game worth the purchase and the subscription? It isn’t for me. I wasn’t hooked by the story, which is one of the reasons I play World of Warcraft, leveling is boring, and the game is buggy. A lot of the new mechanics that are introduced in this game are mechanics that Guild Wars 2 has had for a while now, and I would much rather play Guild Wars 2. I had a lot more fun with Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons expansion than I did with this game. The story is better, and the gameplay is a lot more fun.
I always end up buying back into World of Warcraft, but this time I am glad I got to try it first. I think this expansion is a neat concept, and it does bring in much-needed improvements, but it isn’t for me.
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I never played any games in the Xenoblade series, but I thought it was about time I tried. The trailer sold it very well, and I was in the market for a new Switch game. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a turn-based JRP with a unique twist on the genre. Where most games in the genre let you plan your turns, this one makes you wait for cooldowns. Attacks are automatic, but you have full control of your abilities and positioning. If you haven’t played any games in this series, this mechanic will take some getting used to.
At first, combat feels very passive. I felt like I was waiting around for cooldowns, and a lot of it is, but as you start unlocking more skills and classes, it becomes more about managing your teams, builds, and abilities. If you can make it past the tutorial, this game becomes more enjoyable. I found the grind very relaxing, but I suggest you play on mute, or else you will get tired of the voice lines.
There is a strategy to this game as you build your characters and combos, Don’t be discouraged. As dumb as I am, I was able to figure it out. I just went with whatever worked with my play style, but there is ample opportunity to min-max. I am sure there are guides available to help you do so.
The game keeps combating interesting by introducing new classes, mechanics, and abilities as you get deeper into the story. You are encouraged to explore, do side missions, and play different as different characters, but it isn’t mandatory. There is a lot to do in between cutscenes, but it doesn’t get overwhelming.
The story is the main draw for this game. I loved the story, but it is a bit of an anime cliché. I didn’t mind it because the voice acting was fantastic, and I love anime. One thing to note about this game is that the cut scenes are long. The game has enough gameplay in between that I can’t count it as a visual novel, but be aware that you will have to sit through a lot of narratives. But trust me when I say, it’s a great one.
This game is a huge commitment. It takes about 100 hours to complete, more if you start doing side quests. I skipped a lot of them because I wanted to finish them while I still had free time, but I will be going back to do them on my second playthrough. I didn’t feel like I needed to do them, but they will help and add valuable world-building. It is up to you how much time you want to invest in this world, but the investment is worth it.
There is a reason Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was nominated for game of the year. The story is great, the gameplay is fun, and the art is cool. That said, this is a very niche game. I didn’t like combat at first, but I found myself enjoying it more the more I played. I found it a relaxing experience, but one that proved a challenge if I wasn’t cautious. If the gameplay is something you can sit through, then I highly recommend this game. If you want a game with a great story, add this to your collection. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is only available on the Nintendo Switch. Go get your copy today!
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I haven’t played this game in a while now because I’ve been too busy. A few people in my comment section have voiced their concern about the current state of the game that you should consider. It seems it has become a bit more toxic than when I first got to play it. It might be a good idea to do a bit more research before diving in.
All Screenshots are taken from game
I want to give out a huge shoutout to Michaël Janssens for buying me some coffee. I really appreciate the support and yes the coffee is going to taste so good. I hope you have a great day, stay blessed!
I got to play HorizonXI over the weekend during their official launch, and I was blown away by how smoothly it went. HorizonXI is a private server where you can play the classic MMO Final Fantasy XI. Sure its launch wasn’t without its issues, but it was a better experience than a few modern MMO launches I tried this year. If you were a fan of Final Fantasy 11 when it was alive and thriving, you need to get on this game now. If you are like me and never got the chance to play it back in the day, give this game a try. Final Fantasy XI is a classic MMO at its finest. Best of all, it is free. All you have to do is download the client from the official HorizonXI website and you are good to go.
At its peak, the server held about 3000 players and it ran well. I didn’t notice any performance issues, but the server did shut down a couple of times for bug fixes and resets. The shutdowns were rare, and the developers did a fantastic job at keeping the base informed on any news. If you are going to play this game, join the official discord server. This is a great place for questions, tips, parties, and for keeping up to date on news and the status of the server.
The gameplay so far has been a lot of fun. This is an early MMO so the grind is very noticeable, but I hear that it isn’t as bad as the original. Early leveling is chill, but it can be competitive at the start, especially during peak times. You will be competing for mobs in this game since you can’t attack an enemy that has already been tagged. I spent a lot of time in the starting zone rushing around mashing the enter key hoping that I could tag anything. If you find yourself in a competitive starting zone, find a bunny or worm and camp its spawn. I recommend you don’t start hardcore mode on a character until you are at least familiar with the game or else you will die to user error.
There is little hand-holding in this game. There are no arrows or markers to tell you where you need to go. You will be given directions, and you will have to find your own way. I have a terrible sense of direction. I spent a lot of my time running around in circles. I suggest you activate the allmaps addon from the start.
If this is your first time playing FFXI, the interface is going to be tricky. Spend some time learning the menus and adjusting the interface to your liking. You can use a keyboard and mouse to play, but I found the best configuration for me was to use the keyboard alone. I use the arrow keys to move the camera and asdw for movement. Controlling the camera with your mouse is a terrible idea, but if it works for you, go for it. If you prefer to use a controller, Horizons makes it very easy to configure through their launcher.
The HorizonXI Launcher is incredible. You can configure your resolution, select the language, and activate addons to help your play experience. Make sure you check your window resolution before you launch the game. Mine was set way too small. I am not sure if this has been fixed, but when I launched the game, everything was in Japanese. I had to go back into settings and change the language to Japanese and then change it back to English for it to work. The texture addon is on by default, and I recommend you leave it on because the game looks better with it on. Other addons are included with the launcher that you can activate with a flip of a switch, but your stability may suffer so be conscious of what you activate. There is a full list of allowed addons on their website. If there is something they don’t offer, you can always request it or install it through Windower.
HorizonXI is intended to be community-driven, and the actions from the developers have proven this fact so far. They are very active on their discord and will quickly address issues as they arise. One thing to note is that this project is run by passionate gamers who do this for the love of the game. There will be issues that arise, but they have proven that they are more than capable to keep the game afloat. Please be patient with the incredible people who are working on HorizonXI. They do this in their free time so there are bound to be issues, but best believe they will work on ironing them out when they can.
I love the experience so far. It may not be the high-paced MMO experience I am used to, but it feels more meaningful. One thing to note is that this game feels a lot more turn based than traditional MMOs I’ve played, and this has made for a chill early leveling experience. I love the leveling experience in MMO. I find peace in a certain amount of grind, so the early leveling in MMOs is a huge determining factor of whether or not I will stick with a game. I have dropped a lot of the modern titles because the experience was empty. FFXI is giving me a sense of peace that I have been savoring because I know the challenge that is to come.
So what are you waiting for? Head over to HorizonXI and experience a brilliant classic MMO worth your time and attention.
I want to start by saying that I was sent this game as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let this sway my opinions. This will be an honest review of the game.
Video and screenshots were taken in game
Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune is an anime-themed Metroidvania game available on PC that you should consider if you enjoy the genre. I love the art, the voice acting is amazing, and the gameplay is solid. The game is still in early access, and while the bugs don’t leave the game unplayable, they do exists. That said, the developers have been very consistent with updates, and I don’t do that they will continue their efforts to make this game perfect. This game is not in the early stages of early access, but it is something to consider before buying.
I’ve had a fantastic experience since booting up the game. I have never been able to get into the genre until I got this game. I can’t compare it to any of the classics, but I found that this was a great place to start.
You can play Frontier Hunter with a keyboard and mouse or a controller, but I believe the controller offers a better experience. Ultimately, this choice comes down to reference.
There is a story to this game, but it feels like your typical anime story. The story isn’t bad, but it isn’t amazing either. I would say that the main draw to this game is the gameplay. It is a lot of fun but be warned that this is a bit of a grind. You will find yourself cycling through the same rooms and beating the same enemies as you farm materials and levels or are rushing toward a save point. The types of enemies do change the deeper into the game you get, and bosses and crafting breaks keep the game feeling fresh. Make sure you explore everything to ensure that you always have the most powerful builds.
Don’t let the waifu art fool you. There is a complexity to this game. The gear, abilities, and orbs you put into a character matter in this game. You will constantly have to fiddle with your builds if you want to make any meaningful progress in this game. While it may be easy to memorize enemy patterns, having the right weaknesses, abilities, and resistances is the only real way to get through this game. Trust me, this is an easy mechanic to pick up. I am usually terrible at these types of mechanics, but I was able to bash the right combination together. It is very satisfying to be able to finally easily overcome an enemy once you have figured out a build that works. It is a bit of a grind to get the right materials and blueprints, but it isn’t a terrible one.
This game is worth the $18 it is asking for. If you are curious about the genre or already enjoy it, this game should be on your wishlist. I loved the feeling of accomplishment I got when I was finally able to find a new checkpoint. The boss fights are fun, the music is great, and the combat is very satisfying. What more can you ask for from your Metroidvania?
If you buy this game, make sure you are always well-fed and try to break all the walls! You can buy this game now on Steam, but there are plans to bring it to the Epic Games store.
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It’s finally happening! The second season of The Legend of Vox Machina is set to premiere on January 20, 2023, on Amazon. If you haven’t seen the series, now is a great time to start. Check out my full review of the first season for more information. Trust me it was a fantastic season. Even if you aren’t a fan of fantasy, this series will blow you away and leave you wanting more. It has everything you want in a show. It has fantastic characters voiced by amazing actors, a great story, mayhem, and lots and lots of blood. If you aren’t a fan of fantasy, prepare to be one. It has beautiful art, epic action, and lots of humor. It is a bit on the adult side so viewers beware.
This post isn’t sponsored, I am just very excited about a series I absolutely love. The trailer has just dropped, leaving me incredibly impatient for what is to come. This second season promises an even more epic adventure as Vox Machina must band together and save the world from dragons! Why have the dragons banded together to attack humanity? Why dragons? It is probably Tiamat, but we will have to wait and see. Check out the trailer, mark your calendars, and go watch the first season!
This is not a sponsored post. I just found out about an interesting indie project to revive the classic MMORP Final Fantasy XI. While I never got the chance to play the game back in the day, I am excited to try it out this weekend.
HorizonXI is spearheaded by a collection of passionate fans who want to bring their favorite game to a modern audience. It is important to note that everyone working on this project is a volunteer, and while I am sure they have done a wonderful job, don’t expect it to be perfect. This is a passion project that I am sure will improve as it gets more love and attention.
Their latest Dev Blog has me excited for what is to come. They have attempted to fix a lot of the issues that were present in the original. There are bug fixes, quality-of-life changes, and some new features that I’m excited about are the addition of a hardcore mode. Earn unique cosmetics as you try to reach level 75 without dying. Can you manage? The Dev blog goes into much more depth, and it is definitely worth the watch. Go check it out and show them some love.
This game will be free to play, so you have nothing to lose. If you want to relive some Final Fantasy XI nostalgia or want to experience some that you missed, head over to Horizon XI. I will be doing my best to get into the game this weekend, and I will be back with my first impressions. As with MMO, I am sure the servers will be overloaded, so please be patient. I hope to see you there! Don’t forget to join their Discord.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today! You can also try Amazon Prime with my Affiliate link!
