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video game reviews

Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For is a Quirky Horror Visual Novel

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I was sent a free copy of Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For 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. Don’t forget to follow the socials! I’ll be opening some Wixoss on my TikTok and YouTube. 

What is Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For

Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For is a horror visual novel out now on Steam.

A mysterious note brings you back to your hometown of Sacramencho. Your parents have gone missing, but it seems like they aren’t the only ones. A demonic presence has taken root in your childhood home, and it is up to you to uproot them. But this won’t be an easy task. Demonic creatures and a misguided cult hunt you down. Can you survive the horrors of the Black Woods long enough to reverse the curse? Will you find love in the process? You’ll have to play to find out. 

Gameplay

A Date to Die For is a horror visual novel with some light dungeon-crawling elements. While the trailer may suggest this game is a dating sim, it isn’t. The game is a horror story with some flirty tones, but not a lust-filled story about demon girls it appears to be. 

The game is split into story and exploration. There are different stories, each with a true ending, and choices matter somewhat. The stories have a solid cast of voice actors, and the stories are all entertaining. The story deals with topics of human sacrifice, murder, and demons. This is your official content warning. 

Exploration has players crawl through this decrepit house in a retro-style dungeon crawler. Players click through this creepy 3D space in search of materials to perform rituals and avoid danger. Once a player collects the right materials and meets the correct circumstances, rituals are cast by dragging the mouse. If a player dies, they’ll have to restart from the last checkpoint, but the checkpoints are pretty generous. You can even go back to try for a different ending at any point. 

Impressions

I enjoyed A Date to Die For, but I understand it isn’t for everyone. I think the tones, themes, and art will scare off some folks, but it is a solid horror game with a decent story if you can get past the waifu art. 

What this game excels at is creating a creepy atmosphere. The music, the sounds, the map design, and the jump scares all come together to create a very cool horror environment. I never felt like I needed to play with the lights on, but it did make me jump a few times. 

The story is pretty good. It is quirky, dark, and a lot of fun with some interesting twists. A Date to Die For is a sequel, but it exists as a stand-alone story. I didn’t feel lost by the events or feel it necessary to play the first game. People who have played the first game might not like it as much, but I don’t have that point of reference and can’t compare the experiences. 

Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For is a great visual novel. It has a solid cast of voice actors, cool art, and a fantastic creepy retro vibe. If you can get past the waifu art, it isn’t as shameless as it seems. Aside from some of the main characters, the game is pretty tame. This isn’t a dating sim. If you are looking for a quirky horror story about cultists and demons, A Date to Die For is what you’re looking for. 

You can pick up Sucker for Love: A Date to Die For on Steam for $12.99. There is also a demo you can try if you don’t believe me. 

video game reviews

Adore is a Refreshing take on the Creature Capture Genre

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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. 

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Order World Beyond Product on Official Akora Website Today!

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World Beyond is officially live on the Akora website. If you’re trying to get into Akora, this is a solid set to start with. The set will include some exclusive promos you’re going to want to get your hands on. While I enjoy the cozy vibes of the older sets, this new set has some art cards I want in my collection. Too bad I don’t get paid till Tuesday. Stock is still available, but it is limited. Act before they’re gone!

You can find out more details about World Beyond from the official website and Discord. I’ve also collected all the spoilers in a post for those who want it. If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials. I am opening packs of Spellbound Wings on my TikTok and YouTube. 

Full Store

Collectors Box $150

Booster Box $80

Blister Pack $9

Fire Theme Deck $15

Darkness Theme Deck $15

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Wondrlnd has Some of the Most Beautiful Art in Any TCG

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I just came across the Wondrlnd TCG and was blown away by how beautiful the art for this game is. The cards have such a good layout, and while I don’t know how to play the game, I am willing to learn. As a collector, I want them all. If you’re a fan of Anime and are looking for a new tcg to get into or collect, Wondrland might be the one. 

I’ve collected the card list for the Binary-Mind set which is available now on their site. You can get a booster box now for $80 (normally $100) which is a fantastic way to start collecting. Maybe you can split the cost with a friend and draft. I’m not affiliated with the game, I just thought I would share because I think the art is cool.

If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials! I am currently doing pack openings of Battle Spirits Saga on my TikTok and YouTube.  

video game reviews

Why You Should be Playing Minishoot’ Adventures

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I was sent a free copy of Minishoot’ Adventures 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. Don’t forget to follow the socials. I am currently doing pack openings of Battle Spirits Saga on my YouTube and TikTok. 

What is Minishoot’ Adventures

Minishoot’ Adventures is a twin-stick bullet hell Metroidvania. Players take control of an adorable spaceship as it adventures over a strange land, fighting enemies, and unlocking power-ups. A strange new enemy has risen from the darkness and trapped everyone you know in a corrupted crystal. Will you be enough to save them? 

Gameplay

Minishoot’ isn’t your typical top-down bullet hell shooter. Instead of fending off waves of enemies in a limited arena space, players fly their ship over creative and well-designed maps. It feels like a retro Zelda game with a unique bullet hell spirit that makes it the perfect casual gaming experience.

Players start with a simple ship that they upgrade over time by fighting different enemies. The game offers players a decent-sized skill tree, and the freedom to upgrade their ship for a customized play experience. Dying resets the ship at checkpoints, but players don’t lose their progress. This is nice for casual gamers and those who don’t have too much time for gaming.

Despite the casual feel of the game, the enemy design in Minishoot’ Adventures offers enough of a challenge to keep things engaging. Combat bundles with the game upgrade system give the game enough depth to set it apart from other similar titles. Most importantly, the game runs smoothly and looks great. You won’t die needlessly to glitches or bugs.  

Impressions

I love Minishoot’ Adventures. It features an adorable art style I can get behind, a solid soundscape, and fun gameplay. It is such a cool and unique blend of genres, and its execution is perfect. If you’re looking for a fun and casual adventure game, Minishoot’ is a perfect solution. I love the casual vibe that it captures, but it always provides enough of a challenge to get me thinking. Trying to find the proper combination to beat certain bosses was fun, but it all comes down to how good you are at kitting. I don’t think you’ll need a guide to beat this game unless your goal is to minimize your ship. I enjoy building the ship to my taste, even if the build is wrong. Whatever gets you to the credits is fine by me. 

Minishoot’ Adventures is a cute, fun title that isn’t a huge commitment. Even if you aren’t looking for something this casual, Minishoot’ Adventures should be in your library. You can pick it up on Steam for $14.99, and there’s a demo available if you don’t believe me. The demo save carries over if you end up liking it.  

gaming news

Drakantos March Devlog: Iris Teasers, Challenges, & Mounts!

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The March Devlog just went up for Drakantos, and I am hyped for what is to come. Each update brings us closer to a release date, I just hope I can get into a beta soon. If you’re looking for a game with a classic MMO vibe, a cool pixel art aesthetic, and the portability to play it anywhere, you’re going to want to look into Drakantos.  

Make sure you check out the Devlog for all the juicy details and don’t forget to add Drakantos to your wishlist. If you enjoy my comment, please give this a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!

Iris Teaser

The community has voted, and this month’s teaser is Iris gameplay. Make sure you join the official Discord to stay up to date on all the updates and to get hyped with the growing population of fans. Iris is a sorceress who uses illusion magic. She can create illusions of herself that can also attack, portals to teleport, and a magical shield. She definitely seems to be one of the flashier heroes I’ve seen gameplay for.

Challenges

Nil’varix is a demon clown who will appear to characters and offer them special challenges on their missions. Accepting these challenges will add new mechanics to a mission for added difficulty. One example is a giant demonic hand that follows the players and tries to smash them. Completing these challenges increases the rewards received by the players at the end.

Nil’varix is a demon clown who will appear to characters and offer them special challenges on their missions. Accepting these challenges will add new mechanics to a mission for added difficulty. One example is a giant demonic hand that follows the players and tries to smash them.

This sounds like such a cool feature because it gives some added diversity to the grind. Players may learn and memorize the mechanics for a certain mission, but you can never really be ready for the randomly generated challenges Nil’varix. I can see this being an issue if the game loops through the same type of challenge, but we’ll have to see the implementation.

There are currently 15 challenges programmed at the moment, with more planned for the future. Some examples given are:

  • Chain the players together, requiring them to move within the chain’s limited range.
  • The players swap places every X seconds.
  • Every enemy you kill drops a bomb that explodes after a while.
  • Randomize a card for each player, and some enemies will have this card displayed on their heads. The corresponding player must remove this mark. If the wrong player hits it, he will receive damage as punishment.
  • A giant hand follows your team for the entire mission, trying to smash you.

Traps

You can’t have a fantasy game or a dungeon without traps. Having environmental challenges and traps adds some depth and flavor to the world. I’ll have to see how random the traps are. It be cool if there were characters who could disarm traps in dungeons or use them against enemies.

More Mounts!

Adventurer’s Guild Tavern

The Adventurer’s Guild Tavern will be one of the main player hubs where players can buy supplies and accept missions. I love the flavor and aesthetic that went into this design. I love all the art that has been coming out for this game, and I can’t wait to see more.

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Full Akora Lines Teased for the Upcoming World Beyond Set

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Akora TCG’s newest set, World Beyond, releases on May 31st, and we got some more spoilers. We got a few new Akora lines teased with some full art I need in my collection. All the lines are cool, but Venn has to be my favorite. I love the colors and the art is so cute! I’m about to finish my box of Spellbound Wings, and I wouldn’t mind opening a few more boxes of Akora. 

If you’re looking for a new TCG to play, the official Discord is full of friendly faces eager to bring new folks into the hobby. The community is part of the reason why I still cover the game if I am being honest. It has a cozy art style and a unique gameplay loop. I’m excited to see more of the set because it has some cool-looking Akora, especially the Electric Mage. 

If you want to pick up Akora, always support your LGS. TCG Player also carries Akora at great prices, but there aren’t any listings for the World Beyond set yet. I can’t wait to see more, but let’s check out the spoilers. 

If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Make sure you follow the socials, I’ve been opening packs of Akora on my YouTube and TikTok, and use my affiliate links when possible. 

Venn Line

Denzun Line

Killi Line

Izono Line

Heristra

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Dissonance Diva Coming to Wixoss on April 19th

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I just watched the trailer for the newest Wixross, Dissonance Diva, and it got me curious about yet another card game. The set releases on April 19th, with pre-release events running April 12, 13, and 14. Check with your LGS for more details. The set will introduce a new setting, new forms, and a new story. The rarity breakdown is as follows:

The game isn’t going to be for everyone because it is a little waifu-centric, but the gameplay is solid and the art is great if you like anime. I’ll have to add it to the list of games I need to try because what I’ve seen so far has me interested. I’ll be back with a card list as soon as it becomes available, but here’s what we know so far:

Special Illustration Full Art

Box Toppers

New Dissonance LRIGs

DISSONA Saga

I always appreciate good lore in a game, and Wixoss has a lot of it. The game has an established anime, manga, and comics that I am trying to make time for. If you’re already caught up, here’s the preview for what is to come!

Conclusion

I’ll be following this game for a bit. I love the horror aesthetic of the game, and the mechanics seem fun. It’s definitely on my list of TCGs I need to try. 

Dissonance Diva hits stores on April 19th, so make sure you put in your preorders. Always support your LGS, but you can always get Wixoss on TCG player if they don’t carry it.  DISSONANCE Diva is listed, but there isn’t anything up for sale yet. I would check after launch.

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

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Discover Newest Indie TCG: Chronicles of Arcane

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Chronicles of Arcane just had their first set drop and it is beautiful. I love the art and flavor, and the gameplay seems interesting. There is still product available on the official site, so make sure you pick up some before it is gone! 

I’ve gone ahead and separated all the cards from the first set and separated them by faction. This is a cool-looking game, and I bet the physical cards look even better. If you want to know more about the game, or just want to find some people to play with, join the official Chronicles of Arcane discord. 

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

AIR

Earth

FIRE

VOID

WATER

neutral

Board Games and TCGs, Other TCGs

Chronicles of Arcane is a Neat New Indie TCG with Passionate Devs

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In celebration of the Foundry of Existence set launch, the fine folks behind Chronicles of Arcane held a learn-to-play event with the community over on their official Discord. It is cool to see creators, developers, and artists share their passion for the game with the community. 

The event was a three-hour affair where developers showcased gameplay, answered questions, and did a couple of giveaways. I didn’t win, but it is nice to see the company giving back to the community. A game can’t exist without its community, and the Discord is shaping into an active and passionate one. If you want to stay on top of all the news, join any future events, and meet some cool people, make sure you’re already joined. 

Aside from the cool art and flavor, the game features mechanics that have me on board. Chronicles of Arcne has five factions a player can control: Air, Earth, Water, Fire, and Void. Each faction has its unique quirk and win conditions, and based on the showcase, water seems to be my favorite. I’ll need to try the game myself, so I’ll need to make time for the TTS mod. 

What makes the game unique is its Floating essence mechanic. Essence is the game’s mana system. It is what is used to cast spells and summon creatures. Each player starts the game off with a free, non-target permanent known as an Ancient that generates a floating essence at the start of a turn. The Ancient has other abilities, but those make more sense when during actual play. 

A floating essence disappears at the end of turn, so it’s best to always use it first. There are other ways to generate essence similar to MTG’s land system, but I love that you always have access to this free one. You can still encounter mana problems like in other games, but it doesn’t feel as bad when you can at least play your one drops. 

Combat and casting are straightforward like you’ve seen in other TCGs but with the added position and movement mechanic. The battlefield is split into a front and back row. This affects who can block and attack based on what is in front or behind them on the field. There are only six slots (3 on each row) that you can fill with permanents, but you can use their action to move them around the battlefield for a tactical advantage. Movement in a trading card game isn’t a novel idea, but it is nice to see.

I don’t want to get too deeply into the gameplay because there is a rulebook available, and a video of gameplay on the way. I’ll try to update this post with the video as soon as it becomes available, but its a good idea to join the Discord to make sure you’re always up to date. 

I was impressed by the presentation and I am interested in learning more about the game. The cards look very cool, and the devs seem passionate. If you want to pick up Chronicles of Arcane, there are still boxes and decks available on the official website. 

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