The Synced beta is now live until January 15, 2023. Sign-ups are open on the Synced official page or through Steam.
Images and video taken from the game
Synced is a 3rd person looter-shooter survival game where you must travel over a post-apocalyptic landscape fighting monsters called Nanos. Synced is another zombie hoard game with a pet mechanic that I found interesting. The beta offers two modes of play: a hoard Co-op PVE survival mode and a PVP mode that needs more love. The PVE mode has you in a team of three as you move from checkpoint to checkpoint collecting weapons and upgrades and killing everything in between. PVP has you pit against another team as you fight over resources. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get into PVP mode and won’t be able to speak on that experience.
To start, you select a Runner and a Nano Companion. Runners are survivors with unique abilities, and Nanos are the robot pets that help you in battle. The flavor of runner only really changes the type of grenade you get to use, but the nano you choose plays differently. I liked using the Crusher nano because he was bulky and hit hard. I found the pet mechanic easy to manage and a lot of fun. I loved the feeling of dropping down a giant onto the battlefield to take off agro and do my bidding. I will eventually try the other Nanos, but at the moment, Crusher is bae. During matches, you can find better weapons and earn currency to exchange for upgrades like in any other survival game. Upgrades are randomly generated, but I found the RNG to be fair.
Synced has a leveling system where you are able to unlock better weapons, upgrades, and characters as you finish matches and quests. At the moment there is a holiday event where you can earn skins for your character.
I am having a lot of fun with this game. The gameplay is smooth, and I haven’t found any bugs. The graphics and the concept are interesting. My only complaint is that wait times can be bad depending on when you play. During peak times, you can get into a PVE match pretty quickly, but I have yet to try their PVP mode. I have a feeling that PVE is going to be where I am going to spend a lot more of my time anyways. If you are looking for a game to play, check out the Synced beta. It’s fun, it’s free, and it is looking very promising.
Blizzard sent out a trial for their new Dragonflight expansion, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve played World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, and I played a lot of Shadowlands. I played Shadowlands until Nvidia no longer supported my graphics card which was right around the time Blizzard was in the middle of their big scandals.
I have since moved on to other MMOs and haven’t resubbed because I don’t have time. I made time so that I could no-life the limited experience Blizzard had gifted me, but I wasn’t very impressed. They should have allowed me to get a lot farther into the story because there wasn’t enough to grab my attention in what little I played. I felt like I was barely scratching the surface of what the expansion had to offer. A few extra levels would have left a better impression.
I love the look of this expansion. I love how vibrant the Dragon Isle looks and the aesthetics of the armor and creatures that fill it. I played as the new Dracthyr race introduced in this expansion and was a bit underwhelmed. The visage (human) form had some nice customizations, but I wasn’t a fan of the dragon form. This is a personal issue. If you like the dragon aesthetic then it should be fine. I didn’t think it was as cool as it could be. The new race comes with new mechanics that make travel in the new zone very fun. You can fly around either with the Dracthy’s natural abilities or with a dragon mount you unlock by doing the story.
Flight in this zone is limited by a stamina bar that fills automatically over time. From my understanding, you can obtain more stamina and flying abilities the deeper you get into the game, but I didn’t feel limited by what I started with. Flying makes Dragonflight a better expansion than Shadowlands because travel in Shadowlands was annoying and cumbersome. Unfortunately, these flying mechanics are reminiscent of those introduced in Guild Wars 2 a while ago, and I would rather be playing GW2.
I thought leveling at this time was more fun than in Shadowlands, but that isn’t saying much. I was eventually bored and underwhelmed by the experience. I get a lot of joy from the grind of leveling and not from dungeons, although I will dabble in PVP from time to time, the leveling grind is what makes an MMO for me. While this expansion doesn’t feel as big of a grind as others have, I had trouble convincing myself to keep playing. I appreciate the attempt to make this game fresh with the introduction of a new class, race, and mechanics, but it grew stale as the novelty wore off. Maybe I have outgrown this World of Warcraft, or have become accustomed to a more active experience like those of games like Guild Wars 2 or Phantasy Star Online 2. I just can’t justify subscribing to something that won’t get fun until I am deep into the end game.
Images are Screenshots from game
The worst bit of this game is that it isn’t stable. With a worse graphics card on a worse setup, I was able to play Shadowlands on the highest settings without issue. I encountered performance issues in Dragonflight that affected my gameplay. Spells would take moments to register if they registered at all, and frames would drop. I wasn’t alone in my experience; global chat would flood with people complaining about the sudden spikes in lag and instability. I expect these types of performance issues from launch or an MMO made by a smaller company, but this is World of Warcraft. This is an established title from an established company, and we are far into the launch. Performance did get a little better the deeper I got into the story, but I had to die more than usual to get there.
I tried out the Evoker class that comes with the Drachyr race. I thought it was an interesting change in pace that introduces some interesting mechanics, but I will probably switch back to my shadow priest if I ever upgrade to this expansion. I loved the mobility of this class and the lore behind it, but combat kind of grew stale for me. Maybe this class is better the deeper you get into it, but I will never know.
One of my favorite additions to this expansion is the new UI. It is so pretty, and it offers more customization than previous expansions. I remember having to load my game with all these add-ons like Bartender and Bagon to make the game more efficient. These features are now all baked into the game. I spent a lot of time rearranging my UI, setting up my skill bars, and reading through all the settings before playing this game. It is a much-welcomed experience, but I can’t believe it took this long for it to happen.
So is this game worth the purchase and the subscription? It isn’t for me. I wasn’t hooked by the story, which is one of the reasons I play World of Warcraft, leveling is boring, and the game is buggy. A lot of the new mechanics that are introduced in this game are mechanics that Guild Wars 2 has had for a while now, and I would much rather play Guild Wars 2. I had a lot more fun with Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons expansion than I did with this game. The story is better, and the gameplay is a lot more fun.
I always end up buying back into World of Warcraft, but this time I am glad I got to try it first. I think this expansion is a neat concept, and it does bring in much-needed improvements, but it isn’t for me.
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I want to mention that this game was sent to me as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let this sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
Knights of Honor II: Sovereignis a medieval-themed real-time strategy game. The goal is to become the most powerful kingdom in the world. It is similar to the Civilization game but with a lot less waiting and a lot more choices. If you are a fan of strategy or want to get into the genre, this is a fantastic title to add to your collection.
First off, this game has the strange ability to manipulate time in real life. It was morning when I started my campaign, but when I got up, it was well past midnight. I still had choices to make and kingdoms to topple. Knights of Honor IIquickly became an addiction, and I don’t even like strategy games.
Choose a kingdom and start making your plans toward world domination. Victory takes many forms in this game. You can bolster your economy through trade, becoming the most prosperous. You can raise mighty armies and watch kingdoms crumble under your might. You can influence the world through your religion and diplomacy. But if you are feeling sneaky, send in your spies to sow dissidence within your enemy’s borders. There are so many choices in this game, and they all matter.
Do not be discouraged. This game sounds complicated, and in many ways it is, but it is easy to pick up. I am terrible at strategy games, but I picked it up quickly. The game does a fantastic job of giving you the resources you need to understand the game, but there are some great guides out there for when you get stuck. I played my campaigns without referencing any guides. I didn’t feel like I needed them, but I made mistakes. None of my runs were optimal. I suggest you look some up if you plan to play online. I didn’t play online, but I assume that people are a lot less forgiving than the AI. The AI is great and found it provided the perfect amount of challenge. If I made too many mistakes or didn’t think about my choices, I was easily overrun by enemy states. I have left behind my collection of failed empires but had a blast losing them.
This game is worth $49.99 it is asking for. I can play this game for hours, and I dare you to not do the same. My only complaint is that sometimes the audio would cut out, but I never play with audio anyways. Get this game if you love strategy. Get this game even if you don’t. Head over to steam and grab your copy today!
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today! You can also try Amazon Prime with my Affiliate link!
I want to mention that I was sent this game as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let that sway my opinions. This will be an honest review of the game.
El Paso, Nightmare is a Doom-like first-person shooter that proves you don’t need high-fidelity graphics to make a game fun. This high-octane, blood-pumping and disorienting experience is something that should at least be on your watchlist. Take control of Luis Rojas as you navigate through a nightmarish labyrinth killing monsters and trying to find a way out.
The gameplay is strait forward. You run around a maze picking up pills, weapons, ammo, and keys while killing the monsters that hunt you mercilessly. Don’t get caught or it’s game over!
I had a blast with El Paso, Nightmare. The music is fantastic, and I hope there is a soundtrack soon. There isn’t much of a story except for the little setup you get at the start, but the voice acting is great. I love the bit of dialogue Luis says as he tries to calm himself down. It is well-acted, and it makes Luis a more tangible character. Luis is very relatable because he is a normal guy going through a terrifying experience and the voice actor does a tremendous job of expressing this.
I don’t do well in horror games; I had a hard time at first. My heart was racing, and I almost quit after the first jump scare, but I powered through for you. The horror in this game is well done. You can hear the creatures shuffling in the distance, feel the footsteps as they chase you, and the music makes the whole experience that much more intense. It does get easier the more you play, but I always had trouble when I reached a new area of the maze.
Screenshots and Video taken from game
My only complaint about this game is that the gameplay does get a bit repetitive. When you die, the level resets. All of the monster, weapon, and item spawns stay the same. After a while, you learn where everything is. You start to form routines as you make you plan your way to the next area. It becomes tedious when you are killing the same monsters and following the same paths because there are no checkpoints. At least none that I reached. The game does try to balance the monotony by creating multiple paths that lead to other areas where you fight different monsters. I still wish there was a way to save my progress so I didn’t lose my work because I got careless.
You should check out El Paso, Nightmare. It is well worth the $5. If you are a fan of the original doom, you will like this game. If you want a game that isn’t a huge commitment that you can pick and drop whenever this is a great choice. I will be looking out for its sequel because I am curious to see what they can do. You can buy it now on Steam.
This game was sent to me as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it influence my opinion. This will be my honest review of this game.
Beyond the Wire is a World War I online multiplayer shooter that promises large epic battles. There are two map sizes, 50 vs 50 and 40 vs 40. The only game mode I was ever able to play was frontline. You capture the objective, hold it for some time, and the frontline moves till you run out of time or capture the whole map. Once in a game, you can create different divisions, each with its own unique roles and load oats. Teams are limited by the choice of load oats to promote teamwork.
This game aims for realism with its insane amount of detail towards authenticity. The uniforms, maps, and weapons have all been carefully curated to not only fit the aesthetic but to also be respectful to history. The sound is amazing. You can hear footsteps moving towards or away from you. You can hear the bullets cutting the wind as they fly by you. It is a frightening moment when you hear the bulet ricochet off the ground beside you as you try to find its source. I recommend you play this game with headphones for the full experience.
I had a lot of fun with this game when I could find a match. This game is starving for players. I was able to guess the pattern and hop on when there were people playing, but it was always a gamble. You are not getting the large battles that this game promised. My biggest match was 10 vs 10, but I was usually stuck in a server with high ping. You can always join an empty server and hope people start joining, but it’s never guaranteed. A big issue with this game is that if there isn’t anyone online, you can’t play this game because there is no story mode or bot matches.
I am not going to talk about the bugs I found because it is still in early access. The bugs I encountered were mostly cosmetic, but none of them was game-breaking. So is this game worth it? As of today, it isn’t. For the price, you should be able to pick it up whenever you want. Instead, you are bound to play with other people’s schedules.
When I was able to find a match, I had a lot of fun. I liked the anxiety I felt as I tried to find an enemy, and loved the satisfaction of finally getting a kill. I do want to send out my deepest apologies to those unlucky few I was matched with. I played terribly and never seemed to get better, but there was no flaming, and I never got kicked, and for that, I am grateful. Despite my poor performance, it was an experience I wanted to keep putting myself into.
I would wait till it goes on sale or hope that they give out a free weekend before making your decision. The population seems to be growing as of writing this. It seems to be getting easier to find larger matches, but it is still a gamble. The game is on sale now on Steam, you can decide if the discount is enough to hop on. The sale ends September 7.
