Tag Archives: blogger

Matchmaker Agency: A Cute Management Game About Romance

February 20, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent Matchmaker Agency 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 of the game. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee!

What is Matchmaker Agency?

Matchmaker Agency is a management game out now on Steam. In a town defined by its romance, it is your job to facilitate it. Your grandparents used to run the town’s renowned matchmaker agency until their deaths. As the only other person in the family passionate about the business, your grandparents have left the keys to the business to you.

This task won’t be easy. It has been years since the shop was in business, and people have forgotten it is renowned. Build your clientele, run successful ad campaigns, make successful matches, and build your reputation. Can you build your agency to its former glory?

Gameplay

The goal of Matchmaker Agency is to build a successful business. There are logistical challenges that need to overcome like staying on top of your bills, maintaining your client’s satisfaction, building your reputation, and upgrading your place of business. These are decisions players need to make each week. While the main loop of the game is finding successful matches for your clients, staying on top of the business’ logistics keeps the lights on.

To make matches, you’ll need to attract clients. You’ll do this by spending money on advertising, good word of mouth, and buying upgrades for your shop. When you attract a client, you’ll need to interview the client to find out what they want from their match. Once you have enough data and clients, you can set them up on dates. On dates, you’ll be presented with quick time challenges to help create a spark between your clients. If your matches are successful, you can keep building your business until you’re the best in the city.

Thoughts

I enjoyed Matchmaker Agency. It had a cute premise, a relaxing gameplay loop, and a fun art style. I’m not a huge fan of the genre, so I appreciate how casual this entry is. One unavoidable issue players will face is the awkward translation. There is some odd syntax that makes interviews tricky. It isn’t unintelligible, but it is noticeable. After a while, I kind of knew what the game was asking for, but I did fail some interviews because of the translation.

Another issue I had was with the dates. On dates, players are presented with issues and scenarios they have to react to. These choices affect the success of the date, but the timer goes by too quickly. Bundle this with the awkward translations, these challenges are unnecessarily difficult at times. I failed some challenges because I didn’t have enough time to make sense of my choices. It isn’t impossible, and eventually, you’ll know what the game wants, but it is something to consider.

Despite the flaws, the game is fun. Matchmaker Agency is a casual management game with a quirky and fun story. It has a great art style, a fantastic soundtrack, and a relaxing gameplay loop. The translation issues are noticeable, but they aren’t a deal breaker. If you’re looking for a casual wholesome game and don’t mind the translation issues, grab Matchmaker Agency.

You can pick up Matchmaker Agency on Steam for $19.99 (currently on sale for $16.99 for the next 15 hours).

Board Games and TCGs, gaming news

Check out the Shadow Over Gloomshire Kickstarter – Dragonbane

February 17, 2024 josechurape 1 Comment

Update: Yon can now preorder the book if you missed the kickstarter.

I’ve been running my Dragonbane campaign for a couple of months now, and have been impressed with the system. With my campaign coming to a close, I’ve written a more detailed review that you should read if you want to know more about the system.

As I was prepared to move on to a different system, I came across an interesting Kickstarter Dragonbane adventure: Shadow Over Gloomshire. The campaign is fully funded, and with ten days left on the campaign, I thought it deserved more exposure.

If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to back the Kickstarter!

What is Shadow Over Gloomshire?

Shadow Over Gloomshire is a Gothic horror prewritten adventure for Dragonbane. It features unique hand drawn art, maps, and it introduces 2 new classes: Paladin and Monster Hunter. There are also role tables, a new location, and descriptions to help get things moving.

I’d love to play a malard kin paladin or a wolf kin monster hunter.

The temple. Once a place of worship, now home to twisted evil. Work in progress

You find yourself stranded in the remote village of Gloomshire. It’s a haunting place full of strange and frightening dangers lurking in the shadows. Travel through a haunted forest, investigate a creepy mansion, and embark on a spooky adventure I’m sure you’ll never forget.

Impressions

If you like gothic horror, it definitely seems like it has the right flavor. I am a huge fan of the artwork, and for $11, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal. There is always a risk in backing Kickstarters, but Robin Fjärem has a few other projects under his belt, so it seems pretty reputable.

You can pick up a copy of the Shadow Over Gloomshire adventure PDF for $11, or a booklet and PDF for $20 which isn’t bad for an adventure.

I like running my own adventures, but it’s always nice to take a break and build off what other people have come up with. We always end up going off script, but it is always nice to have things like role tables, encounters, and loot at the ready. I think its a pretty cool project, but go check the Shadow Over Gloomshire Kickstarter and see for yourself!

video game reviews

Clean up the City in Rough Justice ’84

February 17, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent Rough Justice 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, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

What is Rough Justice

In a city run by corruption, its citizens have banded together to create private agencies to keep their own peace. Now its time to take your city back. Lead your agency through cases as you administer the justice the police can’t. Can you clean up the city and make your agency the best there is?

Gameplay

Players start as the head of an agency. They hire freelancers and start talking cases around town. The cases get harder over time, but the freelancers you can hire also get better. Players send out their agents to cases where they are presented with skill challenges. Skill challenges are either dice roles or a timed mini-game. Mini-games are small puzzles for the players, while skill checks are dice rolls based on a character’s stats. There are items and buffs that a player can earn over time to make things easier. The goal of the game is to keep the agency running efficiently without going bankrupt.

Review

While I did enjoy the game and concept, I don’t know if it is worth $20. There are definitely better options at this price point. I loved the flavor and the music, but it doesn’t do enough to stand out. When you compare it to other games like it, you simply have better options.

My biggest issue with the game is that after a while, gameplay started growing stale. While there is enough variety in missions to keep the game from feeling repetitive, the grind involved ruined it for me. Some of the timers felt unfair, some of the rolls were hard for no reason, and I didn’t care enough about the story to become invested. Rough Justice ’84 isn’t a bad game. If you like the flavor and don’t mind the grind or randomness, you’re going to have a better time with the title. Even if you can overlook the issues, you simply have better options. You can pick it up on Steam and the Nintendo eShop, but I would wait for a sale.

Board Games and TCGs, Uncategorized

Make Time For the Tales of the Loop Alchemy RPG Workshop!

February 16, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

Free League Publishing, Start Playing Games, and Alchemy RPG have teamed up to host a free workshop for the Tales From the Loop RPG Alchemy module. Join Dan and Vinny this week as they teach players and GMs the ins and outs of the innovative Alchemy VTT and the taste of the award-winning TTRPG, Tales From the Loop.

This workshop is in preparation for Start Playing Games‘ Tales From the Loop play weekend coming shortly after. Players from around the world can join in on a game run by a professional DM. If you end up wanting to play a game of Tales From the Loop and don’t mind paying for a pro to run your sessions, this Lets Play Games is a great resource for your TTRPG needs.

What is Tales From the Loop

Tales From the Loop is a mystery RPG set in the 80s in an alternate timeline. The Soviets have discovered anti-gravity, and this discovery has fast-tracked innovation. There are giant robots, floating cars, and other wonders. But this technological race needs its discretion.

Governments form structures known as Loops to keep innovation a secret. But secrecy comes with a price. The sleepy mundane towns that border these Loops begin to experience inexplicable phenomena. While these strange occurrences go unnoticed by the adults, kids in these sleepy towns take it upon themselves to investigate.

Play as kids as you investigate the strange events happening around town. What truths will you and your friends uncover as you go on an adventure you’re sure to never forget?

What is Alchemy

Alchemy is a VTT that aims to enhance the theater of the mind. While you can use it to upload your own content, Alchemy VTT offers an extensive library of modules packed with animated scenes, overlays, music, and sound effects to elevate your experience. Alchemy VTT is easy to learn, use, and teach. It has accessibility features to accommodate a variety of technology, and some trigger warning features to ensure everyone is comfortable in a campaign.

I love that voice chat is integrated into the client. It’s nice to have everything in one spot. With the video chat coming soon to the platform, it’s going to be hard not to pass up on using Alchemy. There are also incoming streamer features that I am sure some of you will be excited about.

I’ve seen two modules so far, and I am impressed. Modules comes with everything a GM needs to run a game, including some catered extras to elevate the game. The art, the music, the overlays all look so good without being a distraction. If you play narrative-heavy games, this is a fantastic choice. You can have everything you need to roll and hand out, but you also have the option to include grid combat if the mood strikes. The more I play with Alchemy, the more impressed I am become with what it can do. If you have time this week to check it out, I recommend you sit in on the workshop. Be prepared to be impressed.

Impressions

This was another fantastic workshop hosted by Vinny and Dan. Vinny and Dan are great presenters who are both friendly and super helpful. The presentation is incredibly detailed and informative, but they will go out of their way to answer all your questions. It’s clear they are passionate about Alchemy, and their passion is infectious. If you’re shopping for a new VTT, you’re going to get a detailed walkthrough of the platform that should help you with your decision. If you’re looking for a new RPG, you’re getting a solid overview that will at least leave you curious. If you’re looking for a narrative-heavy game that you create with your table, this is the game for you.

Make sure you carve out some time and sign up for a work shop, it’s worth it!

Date	Time (Pacific Time – Los Angeles)
2/16/2024	10 AM
2/20/2024	3 PM
2/21/2024	10 AM
2/26/2024	3 PM
2/28/2024	10 AM

If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.

Altered TCG

Altered TCG: The Kickstarter TCG You Need to try Once

February 16, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

The Altered TCG Kickstarter has blown its goals out of the water and is sitting comfortably at $2,951,765. It is definitely going to break four million, so make sure you back the project and grab your product while it’s at Kickstarter prices. I’ve already written about Altered in a previous post, so start there if you want to know more about the TCG.

What is Altered TCG

Altered TCG is the game that intends to revolutionize the hobby. While most games have players combat against each other, Altered has players race against each other in an adventure. Choose your faction, and with the help of allies and magic, guide your faction leader over Asgartha in what promises to be an unforgettable adventure.

Impressions

While we wait for the launch, I went and took advantage of the print-and-play starter decks available on the official site. I started with the Muna and Yzmir decks. While I found myself enjoying the Muna deck a little more, there are mechanics in both that I enjoyed. Muna felt like a more aggressive deck, but Yzmir had some nice control. I don’t think I am smart enough for Yzmir, but I am willing to try.

I will commend the team for making the factions feel different in both flavor and playstyle, and I am curious to see what the rest of the factions have in store. I haven’t quite found the faction I want to main yet.

Altered feels like the perfect blend of board game and TCG. The game is easy to learn and understand, and it has some terrific flavor. I need to play a bit more, but here are some things that I like so far:

There aren’t any mana issues. At the start of your turn, you can discard cards into your mana zone and summon allies or cast spells using those cards. There is nothing worse than losing a game because you can’t play the game because you can’t find the right mana.
You don’t lose the game when you run out of cards, which means you can’t get milled. I am a little conflicted with this one because I love building mill decks in whatever game I play, but I play a lot of Pokemon where I mill myself because I am not paying attention. I would definitely mill out here so I appreciate the buffer.
The Reserve is an awesome mechanic. In Altered, creatures you summon need to rest, or leave the battlefield at the end of the day (turn). Unless they have the anchored ability, cards you cast go to your reserved zone. This is an extra zone that you can cast from. You can change up the cards that live in your reserve, and this will open up the game for some very cool plays.
The art is fantastic. The more I look at it, the more I appreciate the flavor and style that went into this game. I just want to crack some packs and hold these in my hands!

If you’re looking for a new TCG that is unlike anything you’ve played before and is fun, I recommend you check out the Altered Kickstarter. There are 13 days left for the campaign, so make sure you go back it now!

If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.

Board Games and TCGs

Sign up for the Free Tales From the Loop RPG Workshop!

February 15, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

Free League Publishing is teaming up with Start Playing Games and Alchemy RPG for another free learn-to-play workshop this week! GMs and players interested in running the critically acclaimed Tales From the Loop should join this free event for a hands-on look at both the system and the innovative tabletop. If this workshop is anything like the Vaesen event hosted last year, it’s going to be worth your time. To sign up, make sure you sign up on the official page, and have an Alchemy account ready to go. You don’t need to download the client, you can run it from your browser.

When?

Date	Time (Pacific Time – Los Angeles)
2/15/2024	3 PM
2/16/2024	10 AM
2/20/2024	3 PM
2/21/2024	10 AM
2/26/2024	3 PM
2/28/2024	10 AM

Sign up today!

What is Tales From the Loop

Fans of the Netflix series Stranger Things should look into running this system. The adventure is based on kids exploring an alternate timeline in the 80s where a mysterious corporation has moved into town with a series of strange phenomena following close behind. What strange secrets will you and your friends uncover in this retro sci-fi adventure?

What is Alchemy RPG

Alchemy RPG is a virtual tabletop whose goal is to enhance the theater of the mind experience. The VTT offers a growing library of RPGs and events with specially crafted modules for GMs to run the game. These modules will have a collection of sounds, music, and animated backgrounds to help a GM run their game. With integrated voice chat and character sheets, it makes things easy for players and GMs to connect through the system they love. There is an integrated video chat feature and streamer support coming to the platform, so there is a lot to be excited for.

I got to use it briefly with Vaesen and enjoyed using it. It was easy to use, to learn, and it had a lot of the features I needed. I like that I could add grid-based combat whenever I needed it. You don’t need to buy the modules to run a game in Alchemy, but it makes things a whole lot easier. After you see everything the modules come with, you’re going to want to buy them anyways. I’ll be joining and posting a review as soon as I can.

If you’re looking for a new system, make some time to check out the free Tales From the Loop. If you need a hard copy of the rule book, get it over at Amazon ($39.40) or the official website ($51.35)! If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, follow and share this with your friends.

video game reviews

The Book of Warriors: A Cute Little Roguelike for $8

February 14, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent The Book of Warriors 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, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

What is The Book of Warriors

The Book of Warriors is a cute little fantasy roguelike RPG out now for PC. Lead your party through the dungeon as you search for power, treasure, and fame. How much of the dungeon can you clear before your adventure ends?

Gameplay

You start each run by choosing a hero. There are nine different classes, each with unique abilities. Your run won’t end if you lose your initial hero. You then make your way through your dungeon, clearing procedurally generated rooms, unlocking upgrades, and recruiting heroes to your party. Upgrades, loot, and heroes you recruit are random, but occasionally you can choose the type of upgrade you can unlock. For the most part, the RNG is fair, but there are runs I lost because I was unlucky.

To clear a room, you either need to clear the room of enemies or lose your heroes. Maps will have hazards or cover that offer buffs and debuffs. Although not all the maps are fun, it does give combat enough complexity to keep things engaging.

Combat is simple. Heroes can move and perform one action per turn. The type of action changes as the characters level. The game feels a bit like a mobile game, but it is fine for the casual experience that it represents.

Like most games in this genre, the game is a little grindy, especially at later levels. You do unlock permanent upgrades the more you play, but enemies at later levels do feel like damage sponges. This is only a problem when you’re stuck on a bad run.

Thoughts

I enjoyed The Book of Warriors. The art is cute and the gameplay is relaxing. I enjoyed it for the change of pace that it offered, but I don’t see it being my main roguelike. While I appreciate the simplicity, the grind gets old after a while. You’ll get $8 worth of fun from this game, but it isn’t replacing anything in your current library. I would pick this up if you want a break from your current rotation but don’t want a massive commitment. If you enjoy tactical RPGs, or simply want to get into a new one, this is a solid option. You can pick up The Book of Warriors on Steam now for $7.99. It is currently on sale for $5.59 for the next 48 hours of writing this.

Grand Archive TCG

Mercurial Heart and Re:Collection Products coming in May!

February 13, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

The Mercurial Heart set for Grand Archive was announced over the weekend at the end of Ascent Ontario. If you want to see how the game plays, I recommend you check out the VOD of the tournament.

Mercurial Heart hits stores on May 17th, so make sure you check with your LGS for preorders and events. The set will introduce 191 new cards and 200 foils to the format and will have support for all seven classes (Assasin, Cleric, Guardian, Mage, Ranger, and Warrior). Booster boxes will be released at $89.99 MSRP and packs for $4.49, which isn’t bad for a card game. First-edition boosters are printed in a single wave, so make sure you scoop up your boxes fast.

Re:Collection Products

Fans, new and old will appreciate the upcoming Re: Collection products also coming to store on May 17th. Re:Collection products will include:

1 Reconstructed 60 card deck with 12-card material deck
100 ct matching Dragon Shield Art sleeves
A set of cards to complete play sets of cards included in the deck
1 Damage Counter
Art Devides
3 Murcurial Heart Booster Packs

They Retail for $49.99 which is a fantastic deal for what you’re getting. If you’re new to the hobby, you’re going to want to scoop this up at least to build your collection. I love that they include a playset of the cards in the deck because nothing is worse than grabbing a starter deck that doesn’t have enough of the staples to be competitive. There will be two Re: Collection Products at launch: Silive, Slime Soverign, and Tristan, Shadow Dancer. Both looks great, it’s all a matter of preference I would think.

Conclusion

That’s all we know for now, but spoiler season is just around the corner. Stay tuned for that. If you enjoy these updates, please make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. Till next time!

video game reviews

Experience the Spooky VR Narrative of Titanic: A Space Between

February 13, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent Titanic: A Space Between 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, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

If you’re looking for accessories for your VR headset, like magnetic prescription lenses or a high-quality charging cable, get it at ZyberVR. Use discount code CHURAPE for 15% off.

What is Titanic: A Space Between?

Titanic: A Space Between is a horror VR game playable on Steam VR, Pico, and the Meta Quest 2 and 3. Play as a time traveler investigating the disappearance of a woman named Diana on the famous ship as it sinks. Solve puzzles, follow clues, and survive the most famous shipwreck in history. But there is something strange that lurks in this past. Can you solve the mystery and make it back to your own time alive?

Gameplay

This is an exploration horror game where players move through the narrative by searching for clues and solving puzzles as the ship sinks. The version I received is still in development, and was still a bit too unstable to be enjoyable.

Thoughts

The game isn’t done and this puts me in an awkward position. On the one hand, the concept is interesting, and I am invested in finding out what happened to Diana. On the other, the build of the game I received is unplayable.

The game is buggy, and a few of the games broke the game. I tried to record a video, but that made the game more unstable. I got to a point in the game where I wasn’t able to advance because the mechanics didn’t work and I didn’t want to start over. I am willing to excuse bugs and glitches, but here it felt like I was fighting with the game more than I was enjoying it.

Poor performance aside, Titanic: A Space Between is a cool concept for a game. It has an interesting story, it looks good, the voice acting is fantastic, and I love the flavor. The game also has some solid horror baked throughout. With a few more patches, I can see myself returning because I want to know what happened to Diana, but in its current state, I can’t recommend it.

The game releases on the Meta App Lab on February 13th, pick it up then if you’re looking for a spooky Titanic adventure and don’t mind playing through the bugs.

Grand Archive TCG

Top 3 Grand Archive Decks – Ascent Ontario

February 13, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

Acent Ontario was this weekend, and it was pretty cool to watch the game in action. I’ve put together the top 3 decks from the tournaments, and left links to the singles for those interested. If you need any Grand Archive, like the newest Alchemical Revolution set, get it over at TCG Player.

If you enjoy these updates, make sure you leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.