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Pathfinder 2E: Wardens of Wildwood – Pactbreaker 1st Impression

June 27, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent a free copy of the Pathfinder Adventure Path: Wardens of Wildwood 1: Pactbreaker by Andrew White to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. I haven’t had a chance to run the game, but these are my honest first impressions.

What is Wardens of Wildwood?

Wardens of Wildwood is a three-book adventure module for your next Pathfinder campaign. Pactbreaker is the first of the books.

The Greenwood Gala is held in honor of the yearly signing of the treaty between the empire of Taldor and the citizens of the Verduran Forest. The treaty allows for peaceful and regulated trade between the two groups. This Gala is a large festival held leading up to the signing of this treaty, and it attracts people from all over to join in this magical week of revelry.

This year’s Gala is going to be big, and the organizers need additional volunteers. You and your party have been recruited to help keep the peace, but not without enjoying the festivities. The festivities end abruptly when several of the Verduran Forest’s leaders are murdered. It is now up to your party to find out the culprits and return peace to the forest without spilling too muchblood shed. Do you have what it takes?

The Book

The adventure comes in a nicely printed softcover book. The illustrations are beautiful, and the quality is sturdy. You will get a crease in the cover from use, but it isn’t a deal breaker. While hardcovers are always nice, I do appreciate the small form factor. The whole adventure is the size of a magazine, which makes transportation and storage incredibly easy. The included maps feel a little small, but you can cut them out or make copies if you would like to use them. Overall, Pactbreaker is a fine and quality product from our friends over at Piazo.

Impressions

Pactbreaker is the first part of the Wardens of Wildwood adventure path. All three parts are now available for purchase, but I only have access to Pactbreaker at the moment. I’ll be working on getting the other two installments. Stay tuned for that.

Pactbreaker is designed to take adventurers from levels 5 – 8. The idea is to give players access to a character that can make an impact in the world but still has room to grow. I enjoy running level 5 campaigns because players have enough tools to make things fun without being overpowered.

One important thing to note is that you will need access to the 2nd Edition rulebook. While most of the adventure is self contained within the book’s pages, it does not contain the rules. There is a list of supplemental reading materials for additional background and context for the campaign setting, but it isn’t needed. You can run this campaign with just the adventure book and a copy of the rulebook.

I like the flavor of the campaign. If you like woodland fantasy with cool druids, living plants, and ancient turtles, Pactbreaker is a great place to start. The adventure has cool lore, an interesting cast of NPCs, and some neat monsters that can carry into your other campaigns.

The adventure starts with a couple of encounters, but the focus of the first chapter is the downtime activities. I did find the initial encounters flavorful and open to creative solutions. I am sure your players will find a way to break them.

A big part of the first chapter will be spent on gaining influence with the various important NPCs and playing festival games. If you have ever wanted to run a festival in your campaign, the book has a good amount of rules for how to run all sorts of games. While the adventure will eventually have dungeon crawls and combat, your table should be comfortable enough with each other to participate in the festival. I can see this section being the most fun if your players are into the roleplay.

Pactbreaker is a great way to start your adventure in Verduran Forest if you don’t mind running a festival. I don’t think the festival is bad, I’ll be using some of the games in future adventures, but it isn’t going to be a fit for everyone. Once you get past the Gala, the adventure has a solid pace and a decent mystery. It definitely made me excited for part two.

You can pick up Wards of Wildwood: Pactbreaker on Amazon (using my affiliate link) or the official Paizo website for $29.99 ($19.99 for the pdf). If you run games online, you can pick up the official Foundry Module on the official Paizo website for $14.99. If you don’t know what Foundry is, check out my full review.

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Life After Pixelborn: My Adventures in Lorcana

June 26, 2024 josechurape 1 Comment

Pixelborn has shut down, but my Lorcana journey will not end with it. While it was the best solution for playing Lorcana online, other options remain. Tabletop Simulator is a fantastic program for anyone trying to play their favorite tabletop games online. There are thousands of freely accessible mods available for download, including one for Lorcana. While this solution has its quirks, it is a solid solution. You can also check out untap.in which is a fine FREE browser-based solution for all your TCG needs, but it does require a bit of tinkering.

On an impulse, I opted for physical product. My buddy and I picked up an Ursula’s Return Illumineer’s trove and ran a draft using our pulls. A treasure trove is an 8-pack kit with special-themed dice, a cardboard spin-down counter, and a storage box.

The storage box looks nice, but it feels cheap. It is not surviving any serious wear and tear. The themed dice are nice, but not enough to chase treasure troves. I use the spindown because I paid for it, but there is no reason to use it over the app. I would have preferred buying packs instead. I know that it is always better to buy singles, but we enjoy cracking packs.

Drafting with eight packs is tricky because there aren’t enough cards for a two-color deck. We did three colors instead and reduced the deck sizes to 40 cards. We just shuffled the three colors we liked the best and enjoyed the randomness, but you can play without color restrictions and attempt to build a more coherent deck.

We played over Facetime and I had so much fun, I went and picked up a starter deck. If you’re getting into Lorcana, starter decks are a great place to start. Keep in mind that the decks are a little slow compared to meta decks, but they are good enough to build your foundation. My friend is pretty good at deck building. While he may be running decks he believes are fun, he had access to the better toolset. I still had fun, but now I need to fight to urge to buy more Lorcana.

Lorcana is a fun TCG that you can enter as casually as you like. The game is easy to pick up but with enough strategy to keep things engaging. Games do tend to become this race to 20, but it is a fun race that I enjoy participating in. As a collector, I love the art and quality of the cards. As a player, I enjoy the accessibility. Personally, I like that it gives me an excuse to hang out with a friend I hardly get to see anymore.

If you’re thinking of getting into Lorcana, find a playgroup and do it. Check with your LGS for a scene, or search one out if there isn’t one. I’ll be slowly amassing my collection as I continue to play casually with my friend.

If you enjoy this content, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. If you’re looking for any Lorcana product, like the new Ursula’s Return set, get it at TCG Player using my affiliate links.

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Grand Archive Meta Watch: Chicago Regionals Top 4 (06/24)

June 25, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

The Chicago Regional at 401 Kollectibles was this weekend, and it looks the meta is staying firm with Wind Allies Lorraine on top and Wind Tristain and Norm Tera Silvie following close behind. While it is kind of a bummer to see the same old archetypes in the format, it is important to remember that this is a young meta. I am curious to see if there will be any surprises come Ascent Chicago in August.

This time I will be featuring the top 4 decks since the top two are variations of Wind Allies Lorraine. You can check out the full event on Omnidex. I’ll also leave TCG Player affiliate links to the singles for those who need them.

1. Wind Allies Lorraine – Matt #162 (4-0-1)

Material Deck

Main Deck

Material Deck
1 Gwendolyn, Spirit of Wind
1 Lorraine, Wandering Warrior
1 Backup Charger
1 Eye of Argus
1 Grand Crusader’s Ring
1 Ornamental Greatsword
1 Safeguard Amulet
1 Sword of Seeking
1 Tariff Ring
1 Water Resonance Bauble
1 Wind Resonance Bauble
1 Smoke Bombs

Main Deck
4 Charged Mannequin
4 Lurking Assailant
4 Manufacture Cell
4 Andronika, Eternal Herald
4 Armored Valkyrie
4 Eternal Magistrate
4 Fairy Whispers
4 Favorable Winds
4 Rallied Advance
2 Reclaim
4 Rose, Eternal Paragon
4 Second Wind
4 Shimmercloak Assassin
4 Stifling Trap
4 Windrider Vanguard
2 Zephyr

Sideboard
1 Fire Resonance Bauble
2 Incapacitate
2 Attune with the Winds
2 Cry for Help
4 Trained Hawk
2 Zephyr

2. Wind Allies Lorraine – uwupuppygirlnyaa #101 (4-1-0)

Material Deck

Main Deck

Material Deck
1 Spirit of Wind
1 Lorraine, Wandering Warrior
1 Backup Charger
1 Eye of Argus
1 Grand Crusader’s Ring
1 Ornamental Greatsword
1 Poisoned Coating Oil
1 Safeguard Amulet
1 Smoke Bombs
1 Sword of Seeking
1 Tariff Ring
1 Viridian Protective Trinket

Main Deck
4 Deflecting Edge
3 Esteemed Knight
4 Gildas, Chronicler of Aesa
3 Imperial Recruit
3 Inspiring Call
4 Lurking Assailant
3 Woodland Squirrels
4 Aesan Protector
4 Attune with the Winds
3 Dream Fairy
2 Eternal Magistrate
3 Phalanx Captain
2 Rallied Advance
2 Rose, Eternal Paragon
1 Second Wind
3 Stifling Trap
2 Vigilant Sentry
3 Windmill Engineer
4 Windrider Vanguard
3 Zephyr

Sideboard
4 Incapacitate
2 Cleansing Reunion
2 Cry for Help
1 Dream Fairy
1 Phalanx Captain
1 Stifling Trap
2 Trained Hawk
2 Verdigris Decree

3. Wind Umbra Tristan – TeamTrueTerry #111 (3-0-2)

Material Deck

Main Deck

Material Deck
1 Spirit of Wind
1 Tristan, Underhanded
1 Tristan, Hired Blade
1 Tristan, Shadowdancer
1 Tristan, Shadowreaver
1 Backup Charger
1 Grand Crusader's Ring
1 Poisoned Dagger
1 Safeguard Amulet
1 Assassin's Ripper
1 Windwalker Boots
1 Shadow's Claw

Main Deck
4 Dungeon Guide
2 Incapacitate
4 Mastermind Scheme
4 Sable Remnant
4 Sadi, Blood Harvester
1 Turbo Charge
4 Corhazi Outlook
4 Dream Fairy
2 Ensnaring Fumes
4 Fairy Whispers
3 Innervate Agility
4 Reclaim
4 Stifling Trap
4 Surveil the Winds
4 Veiling Breeze
4 Windmill Engineer
4 Shadowstrike

Sideboard
2 Incapacitate
3 Reprogram
3 Slice and Dice
3 Arrow Trap
3 Cleansing Reunion
1 Ensnaring Fumes

4. Norm Tera Silvie – Guruthos #327 (3-1-1)

Material Deck

Main Deck

Material Deck
1 Spirit of Slime
1 Silvie, Wilds Whisperer
1 Silvie, With the Pack
1 Silvie, Slime Sovereign
1 Backup Charger
1 Beastbond Boots
1 Quicksilver Grail
1 Covenant of Thorns
1 Gaia’s Blessing
1 Horn of Beastcalling
1 Stonescale Band
1 Verdant Scepter

Main Deck
4 Baby Gray Slime
1 Bestial Frenzy
2 Blissful Calling
4 Dungeon Guide
2 Engineered Slime
4 Escape the Wreckage
4 Forest Cake
4 Limitless Slime
1 Turbo Charge
4 Baby Red Slime
3 Slime Eruption
3 Baby Blue Slime
4 Gather Slimes
4 Baby Green Slime
4 Slimeshield
4 Storm Slime
4 Ethereal Slime
2 Lustrous Slime
1 Slime King
2 Vampiric Slime

Sideboard
1 Tithe Proclamation
1 Bestial Frenzy
3 Reprogram
2 Resolute Stand
2 Twilight Slime
2 Hymn of Gaia’s Grace
2 Verdant Slime

video game reviews

Tarisland Launches as the Most Disappointing WOW Killer

June 23, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I followed Tarisland since its announcement. I got into the beta and played as much as possible before realizing that this alleged WOW killer failed to deliver on its promises. While I vowed never to pick this game up again, I wanted to give it another chance since it had just gone live. After giving the mobile MMO my fairest attempts, I continue to be disappointed.

Tarisland was meant to be the WOW killer, but this claim typically tends to be a buzzword used to aid in a game’s visibility. Such a bold claim is good for a game’s marketing, and it didn’t hurt that Tarisland’s art style is reminiscent of wows. I was drawn to the game because it was a good-looking MMO I could play on my phone. I understand the stigma behind mobile gaming, but sometimes I can’t or don’t want to be in front of my computer. Sometimes I just want to chill on the couch and play games on my phone.

Tarisland started its journey by promising to be the first free-to-play game that wouldn’t be pay-to-win. This promise was broken after their first beta when they introduced their cash shop featuring pay-to-win items. All mentions of this promise were quickly scrubbed from all their media. These events came as no surprise and should have been a huge flag. I kept playing because I was planning to run this game so casually, the pay-to-win aspect would never affect me. I also didn’t feel like the cash shop was as predatory as other mobile games.

Another issue I have with the game is its customization. While the game looks good, character creation is limited to their premade models. You can change their hairstyle and skin color, but these options are limited. The characters are fine, but people who like to spend hours on character creation will be disappointed by the abysmal amounts of choices. I understand that this is due to the limitations of mobile gaming, but why include character creation if all players are limited to the same pool of choices? Why have character creation when there are gender-locked classes? I feel like those resources could have been spent elsewhere, like making better-looking characters.

The story is rather generic and does little to hook its players. Most players will probably skip through the dialogue in their race to the end game, but the dozens of us who want to be immersed in this new fantasy, Tarisland leave us hanging. The voice acting is either lazy and robotic, or missing altogether. I wasn’t expecting a deep compelling story from a free-to-play mobile game, but I expected the story to at least be interesting enough to be engaging.

I wouldn’t mind the lack of the story if the game was fun, but the game is boring. Tarisland feels like a cheap mobile MMO. Combat is slow, clunky, and uninteresting. It felt like I was waiting for mashing buttons and waiting on cooldowns. What few dungeons I forced myself through were boring, and the whole experience didn’t feel rewarding. Once you get past the graphics and aesthetic, the game is pretty shallow.

I took the game’s limitations going into this game. I wasn’t expecting a genre-defining title from the gate, but I did expect it to be fun. Ultimately when it comes down to it, there are better games on the market that deserve more of your attention. You can try it since it’s free, but it isn’t worth your time.

If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like comment, and share this with your friends. Check out my reviews for the Fifine H9 Gaming Headset and the AM8 Streaming Microphone if you are looking for high-quality, budget-friendly peripherals.

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Akora Shuts Down: Upcoming World Beyond set Cancelled

June 6, 2024 josechurape 1 Comment

In a bit of unfortunate news, Akora TCG has shut its doors. The upcoming World Beyond set has been canceled, and those who have made their preorders will be refunded. All the alt cards will be shipped in the next few weeks.

This sad news was delivered suddenly on the official Akora discord.

The Discord is still up and populated, but all of the rooms are now locked.

It is sad to see the end of such a unique game, but it is unsurprising. While the game held onto its closely-knit and dedicated fan base, it was slow to gain traction outside of it. This isn’t from lack of trying. The community held events and actively promoted the game on social media, but people weren’t playing at the LGS. This is common in a market that is becoming increasingly saturated. People are either already invested in their favorite game, moving towards something familiar, or afraid to try something that might die in a couple of years.

I was rooting for Akora‘s success and was excited for World Beyond. I first got Akora because I wanted a cheap booster box to open. I fell in love with the cozy aesthetic and began watching the game closely. I sat on a few events and joined Discord and liked what I saw. The community was always welcoming and friendly. It felt like your close friends got together to make a TCG, and that was cool to see. They had a solid 3 years, and I’m sure the long-time fans got their money’s worth in good times and memories.

If you’ve never played Akora, it was a unique game with interesting mechanics and flavor. The game was easy to learn, and pretty intuitive once you got used to it. You’ll probably be able to pick up products for cheap soon, I recommend you pick up a couple of the theme decks and a few booster boxes to play with friends. You can still pick up Akora product on TCG Player using my affiliate link.

I wish the creator and community well. While today marks the death of Akora TCG, it will always live in our hearts.

Tech Reviews

The Fifine AM8 is the Best Budget Streaming Mic on the Market

June 5, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent the Fifine AM8 Streaming microphone for free 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. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. If you’re looking for a fantastic gaming headset, check out my review for the Fifine H9s. Don’t forget to follow the socials!

What’s in the Box

The Fifine AM8 comes in simple, but well put together packaging. In the box, you get:

Instruction manual
AM8 Microphone
Table Stand
6.5 ft (2m) USB-C to USB-A chord

Sound out of the box

https://churapereviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/am8-natural.mp3

Sound Quality

I am pleased by the sound quality. Out of the box and without any processing, you can get a solid sound from this cool looking device. I am very impressed with how good at is at filtering background noise. There will be some bleed, but it is far better than other mics at a similar price point. With some 3rd party filtering and a better acoustic, I’m sure you can manage a better sound. It isn’t going to be studio mic quality, but good enough if you’re on a budget or are just starting out in the space. I do recommend you pick up a mic arm for the best results.

Build

The AM8 is a well-manufactured device. This mic looks fancy out of the box, with a very nice machine finish. The foam that covers the mic not only looks nice, but it is of a nice material. The RGB lighting is soft, and it looks nice. The touch controls for both the RGB settings and mute are very responsive and easy to use. The same goes for the volume controls. The nobs have a smooth glide, and being able to control the volume for the mic and headphones is a very cool feature. Most importantly, the AM8 is built sturdy. I’ve already dropped the device a few times, and haven’t noticed any damage or loss of function. I am very clumsy, so dropping the AM8 shouldn’t be an issue, even if you only use the stand it comes with.

Review

I love the AM8 streaming mic, and have made it my default setup. The sound is great for the price point, and it makes a decent DAC. You aren’t getting a professional audiophile sound stage through this setup, but it is a lot better than the onboard sound you’d get otherwise. The mic looks cool on my desk, and I love that I can turn off the RGB when I don’t need it. Most importantly, I like how easy it is to mute with a touch of a button.

When it comes to mics and headsets, you are usually paying that gaming marketing premium. You’re paying for that gamer aesthetic, buzzwords, and RGB. This isn’t the case with Fifine products. With the two products I’ve got to try out, I am impressed with how much of their promises they can deliver at the price point they exist in. If you’re looking for your start in streaming, podcasting, or content creation, grab yourself a Fifine AM8 streaming microphone. The AM8 also has an XLR port for those who need it. I didn’t get to test this feature, but it is nice to have for those who need it.

If you’re looking for a quality budget streaming mic, you can’t go wrong with the Fifine AM8. You can pick up your Fifiine AM8 Streaming microphone in Black, Pink, or White for $64.99 ($46.74 as of writing this) on Amazon using my affiliate links.

video game reviews

S.O.L. Search of Light is an Interesting Little Puzzler

May 22, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent a free copy of S.O.L Search of Light to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions of the game. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. If you’re looking for a good budget gaming headset, check out the Fifine H9s using my Amazon Affiliate link. You can check my full review here.

Don’t forget to follow my socials!

What is S.O.L. Search of Light?

S.O.L. is a puzzle adventure game with unique tower defense mechanics to keep things interesting. The game is out now on Steam, Switch, and PlayStation.

You find yourself alone in a dark and strange world. As you make your way through your journey you will uncover strange new technology that will help you find a brighter future. Build your base, search for resources, solve puzzles, and fight off monsters. Most importantly, keep your base safe. What secrets will you uncover in the darkness?

Gamplay

S.O.L. is split into three phases: build, adventure, and defense.

In the build phase, players use their farmed resources to bolster their base’s defenses. They can construct buildings, upgrade existing ones, or assign roles to their hired drones. This stage is pretty straightforward. I don’t believe you’ll need a build guide, but you should be mindful of your resources. Resources are limited, and wastefulness will be punished.

Once a player is done with their build phase, they can set off on adventures. Adventures are set up in typical randomized roguelike fashion. Players have the choice of paths and activities they can do. They can solve puzzles for coins and materials, fight monsters for resources, or recruit drones to work at their base. There are also randomized events that will either grant a player a boon or give them a punishing debuff. Resources do influence a player’s decision, but the game never feels like a railroad. Most importantly, the RNG seems fair and the runs never feel repetitive.

In between adventures, monsters will invade a player’s base. Players must defend their base against a wave of enemies. The portal closes when all enemies are defeated. Hopefully, your base doesn’t get too destroyed and you don’t die. Dying or losing your base means restarting from zero. This stage is very manageable, and I always felt there was enough time to prepare between invasions. My only complaint is that the AI for the drones is dumb, and they will run into enemies and die. In a game where resource management is important, this can be a bit annoying. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it is a noticeable issue.

Combat in this game is pretty basic. Players have access to a basic melee attack for adventure and defense phases. In the defense phase, towers and traps will do most of the damage, but well-placed melee attacks are appreciated. Enemy AI can be outsmarted, which is nice.

The puzzles in this game are challenging without being impossible. I love puzzle games, and S.O.L. is no exception. The blend of genres keeps the game refreshing. My only complaint is that it is possible to get stuck in a puzzle where you have to reset the whole game to get free. I wish there were a way to reset just the puzzle, but that would take away some of the pressure from the survival aspect of this game.

Review

The game is fun and addicting. I was either stressed about building the perfect base or stressed about staying alive. This stress made the game engaging, and even though I wasn’t good enough to make it to the end, I had fun trying.

If you’re looking for a unique puzzle game with neat flavor and interesting mechanics, S.O.L. Search of Light is a solid choice. Its cute, its fun, and its different in a good way. S.O.L is the type of game you want to pick up for a fun couple of hours, but don’t want a long term commitment.

You can buy your copy of S.O.L. Search of Light Steam, Switch, and PlayStation for $19.99.

video game reviews

Action Fubuki was Okay, but not Really Worth the Time or Money

May 21, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent a free copy of Action Fubuki 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. If you’re looking for a great budget headset, pick up a pair of the Fifine H9 Gaming headset using my Amazon affiliate link. Check out the full review here.

Don’t forget to follow the socials!

What is Action Fubuki?

The Evil Elon Dusk, CEO of the EXE Company, is using his power and influence to conduct harmful experiments on innocent people. You have been recruited by the Special Action Agency (SAA) to stop his plans and save his victims. Armed with your famous Goro Taijutsu, you must fight your way through hordes of his minions. Do you have what it takes to save the world from his wrath?

Gameplay

Action Fubuki has a simple gameplay loop. Players enter a room where they must defeat all required enemies before advancing to the next stage. The difficulty increases between rooms, and progress is reset after death. Combat is chaotic, full of explosions and flashy animations, but the performable actions are limited. While there is some story for flavor, it doesn’t matter. The goal of Action Fubuki is to get as far as you can without dying while collecting all the points.

Impressions

While Action Fubuki has some charm, I can’t recommend this game. None of the overly flashy animations can distract from the fact that this game isn’t finished. Combat feels clunky and unoptimized. While I had fun for the first few minutes, it got old quickly. Once you look past all the explosions and flashing lights, you really aren’t doing anything. There might be skill involved in this game, but the lack of optimization will ruin runs. I saw noticeable dips in the game’s performance when I tried to record it, and the game crashed a few too many times for my liking. It isn’t an unplayable piece of shovelware, but you can be spending your money elsewhere.

I didn’t hate this game, but it’s not worth recommending in its current state. What’s more, Action Fubuki seems to be an abandoned project. The game’s official Twitter has been deleted, and the game’s last update was in February. I am all for supporting the little guy, but this gamble doesn’t seem worth the investment. At least not for $11.

You can pick up your copy of Action Fubuki on Steam for $10.99, but I wouldn’t bother.

gaming news

Now is the Time to Jump Back into Destiny 2

May 8, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

The Final Shape expansion hits Destiny 2 on June 4th. In preparation, Bungie has made a few of their older expansions free for everyone. Now is the perfect time to jump into Destiny if you’re missing key weapons like Parasite (The Witch Queen), Lament (Beyond Lignt), and anything else you missed out on.

From now until June 3rd, console players can enjoy some of the older expansions including Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, and the Witch Queen. Steam players will gain access on May 21st. All Guardians also get access to past seasons including Season of Defiance, Deep, Witch, and Wish. If you have never played Destiny, or haven’t played it in a while, now is the perfect time.

I was sent a free copy of The Final Shape and will be doing my best to catch up for its release. Bungie does a decent job at getting new players caught up to the new content, but there is a bit of stuff I still need to grind for. If you end up liking any of the expansions available, I would wait for a sale. The expansions go on sale regularly for pretty cheap.

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

video game reviews

Adore is a Refreshing take on the Creature Capture Genre

May 1, 2024 josechurape Leave a comment

I was sent a free copy of Adore 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, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials.

What is Adore?

Adore is a top-down creature collecting game out now for PC. The God of Creatures has died, leaving a vicious curse to run rampant amongst his creations. As the curse spreads over the land of Gaterdrik, there is still hope. The God of Creatures has chosen you as his vessel. Together with unique creatures you capture along the way, quest across this cursed land and resurrect the dead God. Can you save the world, or will it rot under this cruel and unusual curse?

Gameplay

You play as a creature tamer. You can collect up to 75 unique creatures, but can only carry four at a time. Each creature has unique abilities that are activated on cooldowns. It feels like a top-down MOBA, but it is a dungeon crawler.

Creatures can be leveled either through combat or a unique crafting system. Sending a creature to fight helps level them up. You will occasionally find materials or items that either buff your creatures or give them new abilities. The trick is finding a combination of creatures with solid synergy, but I always ended up only using creatures I thought looked cool.

The tamer will also level as you play. You can find random permanent upgrades in dungeons like you would in a roguelike, and you can buy items with buffs at the shop. The game has enough strategy and complexity to keep things engaging, but I don’t think you need a guide to beat it. Finding the right combo or min-maxing will be rewarded though.

Only creatures you own attack. The tamer and creatures can be damaged and die. The trick is to efficiently summon your creatures to attack and deal damage while being mindful of your tamer’s health. The monster’s attack patterns are predictable, but I never felt like the game got too easy. Fights leading up to the boss fights don’t feel like a grind, and the boss fights are challenging.

Impressions

I loved this game. The art is cute, the gameplay is fun, and the flavor is fantastic. The summoning and capturing mechanics are unique, and a lot of fun. The gameplay reminds me a lot of the summoner class in PSO 2, and summoner was one of my favorite classes.

Adore is a unique and interesting game that you should play at least once, especially if you’re a fan of top-down MOBAs. The game offers a nice amount of challenge, a decent story, and a fresh take on the creature capture genre. You can pick up Adore now on Steam for $19.99, or try the Demo if you don’t believe me.

What is Wardens of Wildwood?

The Book

Impressions

1. Wind Allies Lorraine – Matt #162 (4-0-1)

Material Deck

Main Deck

2. Wind Allies Lorraine – uwupuppygirlnyaa #101 (4-1-0)

Material Deck

Main Deck

3. Wind Umbra Tristan – TeamTrueTerry #111 (3-0-2)

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