I was sent Beyond Sunsetas a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions of the game. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.
Beyond Sunset is a retro-style arcade shooter out now for PC. Use your powers to defeat enemies as you zip through a futuristic city, trying to earn back your memories. What truths will your deeds unlock?
Beyond Sunset plays like a sped-up retro shooter like Doom but with enough modern tweaks to make it interesting to new and old fans of the genre. Players have access to fun and unique weapons to hack or shoot away unique enemies as they fight their way through a vibrant cyber-punk-inspired city. While this game may seem simple, the speed gives this game its challenge. Zipping and maneuvering through the hoards of enemies gets some getting used to. You will die a few times, but have a blast doing so.
As you fight your way through the city, you’ll pick up upgrades and new weapons that affect gameplay. While it does make some encounters easier, there will always be enough of a challenge to keep the game engaging. Success in this game boils down to careful maneuvering and appropriately timed assassinations. While there was an occasional stutter here and there, the game ran great. I honestly forgot it was an early-access title.
I had a lot of fun with this game. I love the pixel-art cyber-punk aesthetic, the high-speed gameplay, and the amazing synth-wave soundtrack. If you are a fan of the classic FPS, Beyond Sunset is a very welcomed update. If you need a new title to pass some time, Beyond Sunset is a fantastic addition to your collection. I know the game isn’t finished yet, but it honestly isn’t a problem. There is enough content available already to be worth every penny.
You can pick up Beyond Sunset on Steam for $9.99. It is currently on sale for $8.99 until November 15, but there is a demo available if you need further convincing.
I was sent Fabledomas a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, this will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.
Fabledom is an adorable city builder available on Steam. The game is in early access, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. It’s also got a healthy roadmap, and I am sure the game will get better. If you are looking to get into the genre, or simply looking for a new title to get into, Fabledom is a fantastic place to start.
Players start with a small population of peasants, limited resources, and an easy-to-follow tutorial. As your village grows, you unlock new mechanics. Fabledom lets players practice diplomacy with neighboring kingdoms, raise renowned heroes and armies, and find their true love.
Don’t let the adorable fairytale facade fool you. You’ll need to be tactical about how you grow your village. While I never hit the point where my village failed, I did hit bottlenecks in my progress that stemmed from my mistakes. I am sure there are guides designed to play Fabledom optimally, but I like learning from my failures. I always recommend going into these games as blindly as possible. It’s more fun that way.
I am obsessed with this game. The gameplay is relaxing yet engaging, the art style is cute, and the music is such a vibe. This is one of those games you need to try at least once, especially if you are curious about the genre. You can pick up Fabledom on Steam for $11.99 (normally $15.99) until October 30th. It’s worth it at either price!
I got to try the Cowboy 3030 demo, which will be featured in the Steam Next Fest. The Steam Next Fest is a multi-day event where gamers can try new games, chat with devs, and learn about upcoming releases. The Event runs from October 9th to the 16th, so make sure you tune in.
Cowboy 3030 is a rogue-lite Wild West-themed shooter set in the future. Choose your cowboy and fight your way through the endless waves of goons from the evil Nebularos gang.
The demo lets players choose between two cowboys: Calix and Keri. Calix is fantastic at short-range combat with his revolvers, electric lasso, and flash grenade. Kari is your girl for long-range combat with her arsenal of riffles, access to a defensive electro screen, and an exploding bowling bomb. Both have distinct playstyles, and the game has a unique skill tree that ensures each run feels different.
Players will start their runs by choosing a loadout. As you play, you will unlock new weapons and characters to help you hone in on a playstyle that works best for you. The goal is to clear as many of the procedurally generated levels without dying. Throughout each run, you level up your tree and collect money to buy upgrades. The tree is a large grid that gives players the freedom to build their character to their liking. The tree is randomly generated, but I never felt like the RNG ruined any of my runs.
Cowboy 3030has a solid demo. The game looks great and runs well, the mechanics are fun, and players get a nice taste of what is to come. Obviously, there isn’t enough content to judge it too harshly, but I enjoyed the demo enough to recommend it. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the Steam Next Fest catalog, Cowboy 3030is a solid place to start. It is a nice relaxing rogue-lite that will keep you entertained for a couple of hours. The game is planned to be released during Q1 of 2024, but you can try the demo out today!
Spasms of Stupidity fell into my inbox, and I thought I would share it because it is a neat concept. Spasms of Stupidity is a roguelike wargame for pc reminiscent of the DragonForce game for the Sega Saturn. The game is still in its early stages, but I can see the potential.
You command a legion of demons on a campaign to take over the world. There are skill trees, item crafting, and a campaign to complete. You will arrange your troops, set your orders, and watch as your army does battle. As you play, you will unlock new characters, skills, and items to help you with future runs, which is to be expected from any roguelike. If you enjoy war simulators, especially ones on a large scale, this project might be worth supporting. There are some complexities and mechanics I am I am brushing over, but the video does a better job of showing them in action.
The game is still in its early stages, and looking for funding on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter launches on November 1st. It isn’t going to be for everyone, but with diligence, I can see it satisfying in its niche. Always be mindful of backing a Kickstarter, but someone has to bid on the little guys.
If you want to stay up to date on the news, check out the Steam and Epic Games Store pages. If you’ve been enjoying these updates, make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.
I was sent Dance Dashand the remote straps for the Meta Quest 2 to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game. If you’ve been enjoying my reviews, make sure you like, comment, and share this with your friends. I’ve got a bunch of games lined up for future posts, so don’t forget to leave me a follow as well!
While you don’t necessarily need the straps to play Dance Dash, the experience is better with them. The straps are a solid build quality and are sturdy. They both held the Quest remotes snugly and securely to my feet without incident. It did take some time to become comfortable with having the controllers on my feet, but even at my wildest, there wasn’t much danger. That said, be careful when using these accessories and playing this game. I recommend you use shoes as instructed for added security. Playing barefoot didn’t allow enough clearance to between the sensors and the floor to play this game safely.
The only real issue I had with the straps was when the game made me jump over obstacles. While the remotes were secured safely, there was always enough of a shift during the jumps to make me uncomfortable. Investing in dedicated feet trackers might be the optimal way to play this game, but I only recommend that route if this becomes the only game you daily drive. Otherwise, the straps (or something creative like it) will suffice.
Dance Dash is a solidly built game. It runs fine for a rhythm game, but make sure you play in a well-lit room to ensure proper tracking. I also recommend turning off-hand tracking. I found that the game would often confuse the controls and stop tracking my feet. This would turn the game into a sort of drumming game which can also be fun with a bit of tweeking. The graphics are fun and good enough, the hands-free controls work well, and the mechanics left me breathing a little harder than Beat Saber. The music is fine, but you can always use the free Dance Dash Beatmap Editor to make and upload your own.
Dance Dashis fine if you are looking for a new rhythm game and don’t mind buying into the accessories. They aren’t required, but they make a difference. You can pick up Dance Dancefor Steam VR for $19.99. You can also pick up the bundle with accessories for Meta Quest 2 ($29.99), Vive (49.99) and Valve Index ($29.99)
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I was sent The Wandering Village 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.
The Wandering Village is a cute and casual village builder with beautiful art, interesting mechanics, and a solid soundtrack. This game easily became one of my favorites due to its casual atmosphere. This game is simple enough to pick up quickly but offers enough of a challenge without becoming overwhelming. This game is the perfect entry point to the genre and a fantastic addition to any library.
The world has become toxic and uninhabitable. The few remaining survivors have found refuge on the back of a giant wandering beast, the Onbu. Together you will wander the world as you attempt to rebuild a symbiotic civilization on the back of the Onbu.
The Wandering Village is a beautiful game with many moving parts. I recommend you play a few runs without looking up guides. I believe most of the fun is trying to figure out how to grow your village properly, failing, and doing it better the next time around. I am sure there is an optimal way of running through this game, but I had as much fun failing as when everything was running smoothly. This game is casual enough that guides aren’t necessary.
The Wandering Village is one of the more casual village builders I’ve played. Worker, resource, and resource management are challenging enough to keep the game engaging without becoming overwhelming. There are settings you can tweak that makes the management mechanics more difficult, but I never felt like it lost its casual vibe. What does create a challenge is adapting to the random encounters throughout the Onbu’s journey. The types of scouting missions that become available, the types of biomes it walks through, and the Onbu’s health all affect the growth of your village. Players will often have to readjust quickly to changes. I lost a few villages because I wasn’t planning properly. You will eventually be able to have more control of the Onbu, but I enjoyed the random nature of the journey. It makes every run unique, giving the game lots of replayability.
I had a lot of fun with The Wandering Village, and recommend it to anyone in the market for a new game. The art is beautiful, and the mechanics are fun and interesting. The game just got an update that added a new biome, buildings, and encounters. You can pick up The Wandering Village on Steam and Xbox for $24.99 or play it for free if you have Game Pass.
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I’ve always enjoyed the village builder genre a bit more than I should. I can lose weeks playing a good village builder, and I will always recommend the genre to those looking for a casual and relaxing experience with enough of a challenge to stay engaging. I typically do my best to avoid titles in the genre because of how much time I end up spending on them, but I like to keep my eye out for what’s available just in case.
I’ve been eyeing The Wandering Village for a while now, but I have been strong enough to not pull the trigger. The art is cute, the music score is nice, and the gameplay is what I’d expect from a cute and casual village builder. Now is a great time to get into the game because it is now available on Game Pass for both Xbox and PC, and it is getting its biggest update since its release. Players will now have access to the ocean which introduces a new biome, mechanics, and structures. If you are looking for a cute and casual entry into the village builder genre, it might be worth looking into The Wandering Village.
If you don’t have Game Pass, you can pick it up on Steam for $24.99. It’s currently on sale for. I just got my review code and will post a review as soon as I get back from vacation.
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I was sent Backpack Heroas a review code, and while I am grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Backpack Hero is a charming little inventory roguelike that deserves a lot more attention. It has a cute art style, a nice soundtrack, and fun gameplay. This game is a lot more fun than an early-access game has the right to be. If you are looking for a chill game that will challenge you, get Backpack Hero.
Dive through procedurally generated dungeons as you fight enemies, find treasure, and manage your inventory. Space in your bag is limited, so choose carefully. How will you brave the unknown? Will you use magic? Poison? Swords? Ninja stars? The choice is yours! (and RNGesus’)
Players start with limited inventory space and gain more as their character levels. Dungeons are full of monsters, treasure, and random events that award players loot to shuffle around. Weapons, items, armor, and potions have unique skills that can interact with each other based on their placement in the backpack. Inventory management is almost like a deck builder as you work towards specific builds by collecting certain items.
As deceptively simple as this game appears, I spent a lot of time theory crafting and optimizing my build only to have my run ended by an enemy or ability I didn’t plan for. Losing was never a frustrating experience in Backpack Hero. I understood my shortcomings and planned for a better run. There are special challenges you can run if the normal game because too easy, but I mostly played in normal because I enjoyed the chill yet challenging vibe that came with it.
What I liked most about this game is how different every run felt. I never had the same build, even when I started building toward a familiar one. There was always something dumb and alluring I wanted to try. It didn’t always work out, but I had a lot of fun exploring and testing my options. The combat is a little simple. It is turn-based, and what you can do is limited by action points. You spend your action points by casting spells, attacking with weapons, or blocking with shields. I never felt like combat got stale because my strategy was constantly changing. Some runs were more fun than others, but such is life with RNGesus.
Inventory management is the most important mechanic in Backpack Hero. If you’ve played any MMO or RPG, you’ve become too familiar with the concept. I used to joke that most of my playtime on Guild Wars 2 was spent in my inventory. In Backpack Hero, you will consistently make difficult choices as you arrange and rearrange your bag. What you choose to keep in your bag affects how you play each round, so make sure you choose carefully. There are vendors and special events that will give you access to random and sometimes cool items, a smith that will upgrade your gear, and cursed items that will mess up your whole strategy. I spent a lot of time theory-crafting the perfect build and had a blast doing it, even if I never got impressively far. There are probably guides out there for the most optimal run, but I recommend you fail a couple of times on your own first.
If you have been considering getting this game or looking for a new game to get into, Backpack Hero is worth every penny. It is a cute casual game with enough kick to it to keep you entertained for hours. You can buy Backpack Hero on Steam for $16.99. Now would be a great time to pick it up because it is 20% off ($13.59) until the 13th.
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I enjoy village builders a little more than I should. I may not be good at them, but I have been known to no life them when given the chance. It is the reason why I uninstalled City Skylines. I would never get any work done otherwise. Because of my unhealthy love of the genre, I am always looking for a new fix.
Today I saw the trailer for Airborne Empire, and this game looks like a lot of fun! The art style is beautiful, the flavor is interesting, and it is coming to us from our friends at Stray Fawn. They’re responsible for The Wondering Village, another village builder worth looking into.
Players in this game must build an empire in the sky. They collect resources, gather treasures, and defend against marauders. I am always down for another village builder, but the defending against hostiles is what gives this game its hook. I know I won’t be good at this game, yet it draws me with its siren’s call.
Airborne Empire comes to early access for Mac and PC in 2024. Add it to your Wishlist to stay up to date on all the updates.
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I was sent the Battle Shapersdemo to review, but it is unfair to review a game that is still this early in development. While the game looks fine, it isn’t finished. Instead, I will write about my impressions of the demo.
Battle Shapers is a fast-paced arcade shooter for PC where players fight off hordes of robots as they try to take their city back from the evil overlords that now run it.
This demo is not the best start for this game. If the goal was to spark interest for the game, it fails to do so. I wasn’t able to enjoy the demo because it stuttered so badly that it became unplayable. It isn’t a hardware issue because my computer can easily run this game on the highest settings. I tried playing the game on the lowest setting, but encountered the same issues. It might be an issue with Windows 11, but I am unable to test the theory. I forced myself to play this game as long as possible, but the constant stuttering ruined the experience.
If ignore the performance issues, the game play is okay. I enjoy the fast pace, there is an interesting melee mechanics, but I can see it become a bit repetitive. You make your way through areas, clearing room of mobs, and gathering loot. Unless the full release comes with different areas, mobs, and bosses that introduce different mechanics and require different strategies, this game is doomed to grow stale. It’s a game that sort of reminds me of Borderlands, but I would rather be playing Borderlands. At least based on my experience with the demo, this opinion could change at release.
It is a shame because the game looks cool. I love the art style, I enjoy fast pacing, and it has a fantastic sound track. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend it because it isn’t a good demo. I can only hope that they patch the demo and start working closely with the community to make the game better, or at the very least playable. I’ll keep an eye out for future updates and try to get my hands on the full game, but as it stands, I am not impressed.
