Tag Archives: choose your own adventure

video game reviews

The Nameless: Slay Dragon is My Favorite Fantasy RPG

October 4, 2024 josechurape 2 Comments

I was sent a free copy of The Nameless: Slay Dragon to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinion. This will be my honest review.

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What is The Nameless: Slay Dragon

The Nameless: Slay Dragon is a choose your own adventure style RPG game out now on Steam.

You watched your village burn after a vicious dragon attack when you were too young to defend yourself. You spent the rest of your time training, preparing for the day when you can take your revenge. Now with a few years of training under your belt, you set off to become a royal knight and slay some dragons. This is no easy task. The road is full of bloodthirsty monsters who will tear you down mercilessly if you aren’t prepared. Gather your party, buy the best gear, and set off on an unforgettable adventure. Do you have what it takes to defeat a dragon?

Gameplay

The Nameless: Slay Dragon is a unique choose-your-own adventure game with interesting exploration, combat, and skill check mechanics. Players progress through the story through a series of nodes. Nodes let players mine for resources and progress the story, but they can also trigger skill checks and combat. The player can and should plan how to approach their adventure, but some events will be unavoidable. Players are always a bad skill check away from a total party kill.

The Nameless features an interesting crafting mechanic. Players can farm nodes for materials for potions, weapons, and gear, but farming increases a character’s fatigue. The more fatigued a character is, the higher the chances are they will fail a skill check. This creates an interesting dynamic where players have to balance between crafting and exploring or risk burning out early.

Combat in this game is what you would expect from your typical RPG. Players choose the party actions at the start of each round, but the party always acts together. The initiative is determined by passing skill checks. I liked this system because it made planning my turns easy and it felt less RNG reliant.

Combat can be unforgiving if players aren’t prepared. While the player does have some freedom in how they approach the story, there is always a chance of running into an impossible enemy or scenario. This game will kill its players at early levels for choosing the wrong node or failing a skill check. Choose wisely.

Does it Work on the Steam Deck?

The Nameless: Slay Dragon is my favorite game for the Steam Deck. It not only runs great, but it is also the perfect portable experience. This is a chill game you can play anywhere, especially on the couch when you’re just trying to relax. The text is legible on the aspect ratio, and the gameplay is involved enough to be engaging without requiring too much skill and precision. If you’re looking for a unique and fun RPG for your Steam Deck collection, you can’t got wrong with this one.

Review

I love this unique RPG. It has great art, a good story, and interesting mechanics. I love the choose-your-own-adventure feel of the game and the challenge of the dungeons. Exploring the dungeon was fun because there was always that lingering fear that the next turn would spell the end of the party.

The Nameless: Slay Dragon does have a grind that can get a little repetitive at times. The combat system does a good enough job of keeping things moving, but there will be some times when you will have to repeat encounters to level up skills and abilities mindlessly. I found the grind therapeutic, but it isn’t going to be for everyone.

The Nameless: Slay Dragon is a fantastic addition to any collection. It is a great RPG with a fun twist and some solid replayability. This is easily one of my favorite games of the year, and it can easily become one of yours too.

You can pick up The Nameless: Slay Dragon on Steam for $17.99.

video game reviews

Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader is as fantastic as I expected

December 12, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

I received Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader 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 or the rest of my content, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.

Rogue Trader is the cRPG you should be playing right now. As the newly appointed Rogue Trader for the Imperium, you must brave the uncharted reaches of space, face its terrifying dangers, and make that money in the process. Face off against heretics, fight off bloodthirsty Xenos, and make the choices that will determine your future. Do you have what it takes to survive the grim-dark horrors of the 40k universe?

Owlcat Games has done it again by creating another game you want in your collection. If you enjoy Tabletop Roleplaying games but need that fix off the table, you can’t go wrong with any of the Owlcat Game titles. I love their Pathfinder games, but Rogue Trader has easily become one of my favorites. I love the flavor of the 40K universe, and I prefer the combat system in Rogue Trader.

Rogue Trader is an amazing-looking game. Warhammer fans will appreciate the amount of effort put into creating such an authentic experience. New fans will be left wanting more. The story is a nice dive into a fantastic universe, and I struggled to pull myself away. Everything from the dialogue, the music, and the gore all worked together to create an atmosphere you’d expect from a game set in the 40k universe.

The gameplay is where Rogue Trader earns its love and reputation. I love playing TTRPGs, and this game provides the perfect substitute outside my weekly sessions. I love that there are failable skill checks and social interactions. I even love that my attacks can fail. The randomness of the dice rolls makes everything more exciting. Most of all, I enjoyed that I could roleplay my character how I wanted. Want to take charge and treat everyone like the lowly scum they are? Want to be an overzealous devoted follower of the Emperor? The choice is in your hands and the choices you make matter. With the amount of customization and choices available, this game has a good amount of replay value.

The combat is my favorite part of this game. I don’t normally like strategy games, but Rogue Trader does it right. I played on normal difficulty and found it perfect for my skill level, but you can get as hard-core as you want. The mechanics are easy to learn, and combat is engaging enough without becoming complicated. But mostly, I enjoyed watching enemies explode.

My only complaint about the game is that some objectives are hard to see. To avoid this, press the tab to highlight all clickable items on the map. This was never a deal breaker, but it is a cruel reminder that I am getting old.

I loved everything about Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader. If you are looking for a new game, check out Rogue Trader. You don’t need to be a Warhammer fan to enjoy this game. The story is pretty straightforward, and the game translates any words you might not know in an easy and convenient format. The only downside is that you’ll want to know more about the universe, but there are a lot of great videos on YouTube to help fill the gaps. Keep in mind that there is a bit of reading and random chance involved if that matters to you. Otherwise, Rogue Trader is a fantastic 40k RPG. You can pick up your copy for $49.99 on Xbox, PlayStation and PC via Steam, GoG, and Epic Games.

Board Games and TCGs, video game reviews

What Lies Beneath is the most fun I’ve ever had with a Choose-your-own adventure book! Go back it on Kickstarter

October 17, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent an early copy of What Lies Beneath, and while I am very grateful for the opportunity, this will be my honest review. If you enjoy these reviews, make sure you like, comment, follow, and share them with your friends.

What Lies Beneath is a choose-your-own-adventure game with unique skill checks and a fun story. The game will be available in an interactive PDF and Printed Book format when the Kickstarter is fully funded. I got to try the interactive PDF, but there shouldn’t be a difference between versions other than the satisfying tactile experience the book provides.

The PDF is great! Choices are hyperlinked, and navigating through the adventure is easy. Having to look for items in the appendix was a bit of a hassle, but it’s not a deal breaker. It only made me want the book more for the ease of flipping to the back when I picked up a new item. Keep in mind that you do get both versions if you are back at the book level.

Players start each run by rolling to choose from the available classes: Bard, Berserker, Druid, Rogue, Warrior, and Wizard. You roll two dice and choose between the results. This gives the game a bit of randomness without taking away a player’s choice. Each class has unique stats that affect the many skill checks made throughout the adventure.

Skill checks are easy to learn and make the game unique and engaging. While a wrong decision will kill you, your fate rests on the result of these skill checks. Some skill checks are simple rolls with modifiers, but others, like the Dex Checks, are a fun little mini-game that makes the adventure very interactive. You can use the alternate rules to make your checks rolls, but I recommend you play the game as written first.

What I love most about this adventure is how quickly it is to get set up. All you need to get started is to grab your materials, open your book to the first page, and get rolling. The game teaches players new mechanics as they are needed, with clear and easy-to-follow instructions. I can’t stress how easy this game is to pick up, even if you’ve never played a board game.

I loved every minute of this adventure. It took a couple of tries to make it to a good ending, but it was a very satisfying journey. The skill checks definitely kept the game from growing stale and repetitive. It is inevitable to run into the same encounters on multiple runs, but I never felt it was an issue. If you are a fan of the choose-your-own-adventure genre or simply want to pick up your first, go back What Lies Beneath on Kickstarter. It has a fun adventure, impressive mechanics, and some solid replayability. At the very least grab the free demo!

The Kickstarter is live until November 16th, so make sure you go back to it. You can pick up the print-and-play version for backing at the $6 tier, which is a fantastic deal. For those needing something more tactile, the book is available at the $12 tier. While you’re there, might as well back the whole project. For $50 you get a very nice update to the deck-builder dungeon-crawler, Dungeon Maker Deluxe, and the PNP version of What Lies Beneath. I haven’t played Dungeon Maker Deluxe, but it looks like a ton of fun, especially with a group of people. There are rules for solo play available. Go back the Kickstarter!

Board Games and TCGs, gaming news

Two unique dungeon-crawlers from Fervent Workshop are hitting Kickstarter on October 16

October 11, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

Fervent Workshop is launching two unique games in their upcoming Kickstarter that you should look at if you like choose-your-own-adventure books, deck builders, dungeon crawlers, or Dungeons & Dragons. The campaign starts on October 16 and will feature the games What Lies Below and Dungeon Maker Deluxe. This will be a short campaign, so go back early.

I play a lot of One Deck Dungeon, so when I saw the campaign for What Lies Below, I knew I needed to try it. This is a solo game where players dive through an immersive story-driven experience where danger is real, death is permanent, and your decisions matter. All you need to play this game is a pencil, a character sheet, and some luck. The game features unique skill checks, 14-win conditions, and many ways to die. Do you have what it takes to make it through once?

The game comes in two editions: Print-and-Play and bound printed book. The PNP version of What Lies Below includes an interactive PDF and a printable character sheet to get you started. Those who prefer physical media and have shelf space should opt for the book because you get both versions. Early backers will get an exclusive reusable dry-erase character sheet to use on their adventures. Most importantly, the Kickstarter will have a free sample of the game available for download. Make sure you grab your copy and try it out. If you like D&D and dungeon crawlers, you need to look into What Lies Below. I’ve got an early copy of the game and will post my impressions as soon as I get a few runs in. Stay tuned for that.

The second game making its debut is the dry-erase edition of Dungeon Maker Deluxe, which is an update to the existing Print-and-Play edition. Dungeon Maker Deluxe is a dungeon-crawler deck-builder that supports up to six players, with an option for solo play. Players draft from a deck of monsters and use them to fill the rooms and fortify their dungeons to keep out pesky adventurers. With all the possible combinations of dungeons, characters, abilities, and monsters, you are always guaranteed a unique delving experience. Do you have what it takes to stump your friends?

This game looks like a lot of fun, especially in a large group. I don’t have friends to play with, so I appreciate the solo play option. Dungeon Maker Deluxe combines all my favorite formats in one. If you like games like 7 Wonders or Tapestry, then you need to look into this Kickstarter. This update will include 36 unique cards (versus the 18 in the original), streamlined gameplay, new character art, and the dry-erase sheets.

If you want to see how these games are played, Board Games for One made a great video showcasing both. He gives a clear and easy-to-follow explanation of how to play the games and runs through a few scenarios to provide a solid preview of what to expect. Go check it out, and make sure you follow the Kickstarter. The campaign starts on October 16.

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video game reviews

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie – The beautiful visual novel you should have in your library

June 26, 2023 josechurape Leave a comment

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Harmony: The Fall of Reverie was sent to me 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.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a visual novel available now for the Switch, Xbox, PS5, and PC via Steam.

Polly discovers that she can travel between her world and a spirit realm ruled by five aspirations: Glory, Bliss, Power, Chaos, Bond, and Truth. The two worlds are on the brink of collapse, and Polly is the only one who can save it. Although Polly can rely on her loved ones and the Asperations for support and guidance, she is the only one with the power to decide. Polly must make the difficult choices that could save the world. What kind of story will your decisions unlock?

The choices players make are what drive the narrative. Players are presented with multiple possibilities, but their path narrows as they make choices. Players will find themselves locked out of certain outcomes because of a previous decision. It is a cool way of making players live with the consequences of their actions, but it also makes the game highly replayable.

The game is beautifully illustrated with terrific voice acting, a fantastic soundtrack, and a compelling narrative. I finished this game in one sitting because of how much I enjoyed the story. I even debated starting a second run to experience a different outcome. I now understand why this game is award-winning. Even though you are essentially just sitting and listening to a story happens, it is a good story to sit through.

My only recommendation is that you go into this game as blind as possible. Your first playthrough should be unaffected by outside influences so that you can get a story of your own choosing. You can look up guides after if you need them, but it’s not difficult to work towards your desired outcome.

I don’t want to say more because I don’t want to spoil the story or influence any decisions. This game is worth your time and money. There are so many choices, paths, and outcomes in this game that it is going to be hard to only beat it once. If you are looking for a new visual novel, or simply trying to get into the genre, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie should be in your collection. It is available now on Switch, Xbox, PS5, and PC via Steam for $24.99.

If you have been enjoying my content and want to support what I do make sure you like, comment, and subscribe. You can also buy me a coffee

If you have been enjoying my content and want to support what I do make sure you like, comment, and subscribe. You can also buy me a coffee