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Blightstone: A Promising Roguelike Experience

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Blightstone 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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Table of contents

What is Blightstone?

Blightstone is a turn-based strategy roguelike out on Steam Early access. If you like Darkest Dungeon vibes in your roguelike strategy grind, this game should be in your watchlist.

Hook

The powerful demon overlord Korghul spreads his reign of terror relentlessly across this land. You command the heroes who are destined to end it, but this is no easy task. The path to salvation is full of death and despair. Fight against waves of the demon lords army, loot as much as you can, and use the landscape for to your advantage. Can you overcome death, keep the Earthglass Christal safe, and rid the world of this powerful evil, or will you be another one of Korghul’s victims.

Gameplay

Players take command of three mighty heros: a warrior, a mage, and a hunter and his canine companion. Make your way through a map full of enemies, events, and a few shops to boost your companions. Can you make it to the end before death or the blight consumes your characters?

Combat

Combat is a turn-based strategy combat. Each character has 2 action points that they can use to move, attack, or use an ability. Players can spend these actions in any order. For example, you can attack with the mage, attack with the hunter, and go back to the mage to finish his turn. Terrain affects combat. Players and NPCs can use the map to gain advantage through effective use of the cover and line of sight mechanic. Characters can heal at the campfire at the end of the day, but they cannot be revived. Once a character dies, it is gone forever.

Loot

Like most roguelikes, players can choose from a selection of random items after certain events. These items can be equipped to boost a parties power level. Items can be equipped before any encounter.

Events

As of writing this, events seem to only be additional combat or skipping additional combat. Choosing an extra encounter has a chance for an additional reward, but it is not always guaranteed. It helps to roll for map information at a campfires.

Campfire

The party sets up camp at the end of each day. A day passes after two event nodes on a map. These can be combat, shopping, or a random encounter. While at a campfire, players can spend camp points to heal their characters, activate buffs, or gain map information. Gaining map information reveals a reward on the map to help players plan their progression.

Progression

Stage progression is tied to meta progression. Players are given general quests to complete in order to move to the next map, simply clearing the stages isn’t always enough.

Review

Blightstone has a good amount of potential, but it doesn’t have enough content to make it worth it. If you want to support a game that is trying innovate the genre with a few interesting mechanics, it is worth checking out at least once. Fortunately, the devs seem to be active enough to inspire some hope, but the lack of content is a tricky sell.

Aesthetic

Blightstone has fantastic art. I love the grimdark vibe and the comicbook feel of the world. The characters look very good, and the animation is solid. It also has a solid soundtrack to get you in the mood for epic combat. Aesthetic alone should spark interest in gamers looking for something new to try.

Combat

Combat is a lot of fun. I love the gridless maps and the action economy system makes it feel like a tabletop RPG. I am very bad at strategy games, so the difficulty seems high, but that is by design. I wouldn’t call it a frustrating experience, but basic understanding of the game’s mechanics helps with the grind. There is a grind, and it does get repetitive. Some of it is due to lack of content, the rest is by design.

Blightstone doesn’t take the traditional turn-based strategy rout. The RNG upgrades make each run feel fresh, and it feels for the most part. The line of sight and friendly fire mechanic give combat its depth. I love that I can use the map to gain an advantage, it it sucks when the NPCs do the same. The NPC AI is intellegent enough to make things interesting. Having to keep the Earthglass Crystal safe also affects you move your units. I wish there was a bit more variety on the type of units so the grind doesn’t feel as repetitive, but repetition is part of the roguelike experience.

Content

At the moment, there seems to be enough content for many three hours of gameplay. The game is fun for those three hours, but it is up to you if is worth the $16. After the first couple of runs, the game starts to feel repetitive because the encounters start to repeat. There needs to be a lot more events rather than just having an extra encounter. I wish I could make a deal with a devil or encounter or random merchant, anything to add a little more choice to my playthough. I don’t mind repetition in my roguelikes, I play a lot of Encounters, but here it feels like I finish the content too quickly.

Conclusion

Blightstone is a cool game that attempts some very interesting mechanics in an oversaturated genre. The game looks good, plays well, but it needs a bit more content. It definitely needs more attention, and should be in your watchlist. Just know that at this stage in its development, you are paying to support a good demo for a game that might be good in the future.

You can pick up Blightstone on Steam Early Access. If you are looking for other cool roguelikes to add to your collection, check out Talystro.

video game reviews

Reus 2: A Cozy Village Builder You Can’t Miss

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Reus 2 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 content, please share this with your friends and check out the free ways you can support me, like using my Amazon affiliate link before you buy anything. It really helps me out if you do. You can also always buy me coffee!

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What is Reus 2?

Reus 2 is a unique village management game where you control the mighty titans of a world to help its inhabitants turn into a powerful civilization. The game is currently available on Steam, with a demo that you should definitely try.

Hook

Before man could walk, titans roamed the vast empty rock. Using their mastery over the elements, they will fill the world with the diverse ecosystems that will cause and fall of many civilizations. Everything from the mountains that line the horizon to the fish that fill the oceans must be strategically placed for a mighty civilization to flourish. Will your choices be the catalyst for the greatest group of man to fill the universe, or will they be stunted by your many wrong choices?

Gameplay Loop

Players will take control of three different titans. Each titan controls an aspect of the planet. The earth titan creates minerals and rises deserts, the grass titan creates plants and rises forests, and the water titan fills the oceans and creates animals. Space is limited on the planet, and players must decide how to spread each type of land, resource and tribe. Each tribe will spend time interacting with the environment players construct around them, and grow accordingly. Players will guide the people on their planet through the different ages.

While the game does look cute and simple, Reus 2 has a lot of nuanced mechanics that players will need to master in order to succeed. The game features a very helpful tutorial and an easy to access guide to help players. I recommend reading the guide often or looking up other helpful guides online. I went in blind, and while I had a lot of fun, I definitely bricked my runs.

Review

Reus 2 is a cozy feeling village builder with enough depth and difficulty to keep players engaged. With the recent free Keuger update and a couple of fresh expansions to freshen up the content, now is a fantastic time to pick up the title.

Aesthetic

I love the simple 2.5D artstyle. The game has a very cozy vibe, and simple effective animations that not only make the game run smooth, but give the game its charm. Reus 2 also has a fantastic sound track, and the soundscape is very immersive. I would recommend you check out the game for the art itself, but the gameplay is why you need to try this game at least once.

Gameplay

The game runs very smooth, especially on my Nvidia 3060. It may not be the best card on the market, but it gets the job done.

The gameplay loop itself is the perfect blend of relaxing idle game with enough difficult resource management to keep players engaged. The game can be difficult, especially if you aren’t paying attention or take the time to learn the mechanics. This is very smart game with flavorful mechanics to help it stand out against the rest of the genre. I usually go into village builders blind and learn by trial and error, but I hit a wall very fast because I was clearly not paying attention. Your millage my vary.

Does it work on the Steam Deck?

It does, but the font is a little small. Some people will not mind, but I am old and couldn’t read a lot of the text. It became more effort than it was worth, but it does work if you have good eyes. I prefer using a key board and mouse personally though, and having a big scream made the expience a lot more comfortable.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a new village builder, Reus 2 is an incredibly unique option that you shouldn’t sleep on. The game has a very cozy vibe, but offers enough of a challenge to keep you thinking. This game looks good, feels good, and is going to be hard to put down, especially when you get so close to the next age. I recommend you get this even as a first village builder because it is a fantastic example.

You can pick up Reus 2 on Steam, or check out the demo if you don’t believe me. I will be trying out the first expansion soon, so stay tuned for that review. If you’re looking for a fun and quirky village builder, check out SteamWorld, or Fabledom if you want a little fantasy.

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Skygard Arena: A Unique Strategy Game Worth Playing

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Skygard Arena 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.

Shameless Self-Promotion

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What is Skygard Arena?

Skygard Arena is a unique strategy indie PVP game out now on Steam (Currently 35% off until October 2nd).

Skygard has been split into five unique factions, each with their own flavor and abilities. To avoid long and drawn out wars, the five factions come together to compete in the Arena. Each faction sends their collection of their best champions to duke it out in the ultimate show of power and wit. Choose your champion as you face off against other people through epic PVP matches, or see your favorite faction rise to the top in the campaign mode. Can you master your abilities and come out on top?

Gameplay

Players take turns controlling their team of three champions as they try to capture objectives and pick up resources. Players take turns controlling each of their champions as they strategize their victory. Turns are based on the character’s priority. Each character can move, use a main action and a fast action. Each character has a movement action for a bit of added mystery. Players must balance fighting off the enemy and taking objectives. The first team to take all the objectives wins. It is a game that has a bit of learning curve learned through experience. While the tutorial and the story do a good job at on-boarding players to the fundamentals of the game, there are a few nuances (like the combo system) that the player will need to pick up through experimentation and additional research.

Review

Skygard Arena is a solid PVP strategy game that ill fill its niche nicely. The game has a cool artstyle with a decent amount of flavor (I love the distinct styles of the different factions) and sound mechanics. Those who are looking for a unique strategy experience should definitely look into this game. The game runs well and it will earn its $15.

My biggest issue with the game is that the campaign isn’t very good. The voice acting is bad and the writing doesn’t do enough to capture my attention. I shouldn’t really be expecting much for a game with the focus on PvP, but that is where I would spend most of my time. I tried PvP and got wrecked, but that is more of a skill issue. The game ran fine, I am just bad. Even so, the game does need a bigger community. Make sure you join the official Discord. The people seem friendly towards beginners and casuals, and it is a great place to keep up with news and events.

The game does give players the option to play AI matches. For the most part, these are a great feature to explore different faction, combos, and strategies, but the turns can be a little long. The campaign is still a better way to learn the game, but this option is a great for casuals who aren’t ready for PvP, or those who want to explore something new without the pressure.

Honestly, the game is fine and deserves a bigger audience. I appreciate that the game tries new things in the space. Having to balance positioning, objectives, and enemy units creates enough complexity and depth to keep things engaging. I love that there aren’t 1000 different macro/micro actions to manage. Everything is pretty contained within the arena while still allowing for a good amount of strategy. The biggest barrier will be learning each character’s abilities and how they interact with others to build your team. Whether you have time for that will be up to you, but I am sure there are people in the community currently solving the meta.

Skygard Arena is going to do well in its niche if it can build its community. It needs and deserves more players. If you like strategy games and don’t mind the PvP, Skygard has a unique twist that is worth trying once.

You can buy Skygard Arena on Steam.

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Wandering Sword: A Must-Play Turn-Based RPG Review

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Wandering Sword 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.

Shameless Self-Promotion

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What is Wandering Sword?

Wandering Sword is a martial arts turn-based RPG out now on Steam.

This beautiful game takes players back to an ancient world where political feuds and martial arts pave the landscape. A young swordsman finds himself caught up in one of these feuds, losing his friends and almost losing his life. Determined to reach the highest levels of martial arts, he trains hard and searches the word for strong allies and his powerful technique. Dive into this vast and immersive pixel art world as you fight enemies, learn new skills, and enjoy one of the many boasted endings. How far will your journey take you?

Gameplay

The game offers a good amount of exploration through its world as players move between story beats. There are a lot of side quests, and some can be missed, so make sure you look carefully. Throughout the game, players are able to recruit new units to their team. Recruiting new members are based on a friendship mechanic, so make sure you do side quests. Some characters won’t unlock unless you gather enough favor. The game also has an interesting crafting and gathering system for those who enjoy the soothing feeling the repetition offers.

The combat in this game is very creative. Combat is turn-based with grid-based movement. Units get advantage based on positioning, so make sure you move with purpose. Units can learn new techniques and ability through the game’s creative skill tree system. Players have access to a good amount of diversity in their team composition and creation and a scaling difficultly for added replay-ability. It is defiantly an ecosystem of mechanics that needs to be experienced first-hand.

Review

Wandering Sword is easily one of my favorite strategy games, and I recommend to everyone. Even if you don’t like turn-based strategy, you need to give Wandering Sword once. The initial draw to this game is its art style. The 2.5 pixel art world truly pops, and I appreciate the amount of cultural flare that goes into the flavor. If you are a fan of Chinese martial-arts movies, you will love the aesthetic.

The story is solid, and one that I had a hard time putting down. There is also a good amount of side-quests to keep players busy. I got very side-tracked early on, but I was enjoying the world-building too much to notice.

Ultimately, you are playing Wandering Sword for its gameplay. This game is fun, and it features one of the most creative combat systems I’ve experienced in a game. The positioning mechanic made kept me engaged with the game and the animations are fun to watch. I liked exploring the different units and their abilities even when I found a team I liked. I also love that there is an auto-battle system in place for when I needed to grind. There is a grind, as there is tradition in the genre, but it doesn’t feel too bad. I usually put it on auto and intervened whenever I wanted to play the game. I fought all the bosses on my own, and the bosses were fun and creative.

If you enjoy turn-based strategy with a good amount of replayability, I don’t think you can do better than Wandering Sword. The game plays fine on the Steam Deck, looks great, and it is a ton of fun. You can pick up your copy of Wandering Sword on Steam for $24.99.

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Fantasy Kommander Review: Retro Turn-Based Strategy

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Fantasy Kommander: Fascination of Evil 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.

Shameless Self-Promotion

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What is Fantasy Kommander: Fascination of Evil?

Fantasy Kommander is an homage to to classic turn-based game out now on Steam.

Take the role of Marcus III as you command and build a powerful army and vanquish any foe that dares cross your path. Make your campaign across your future empire as you go up against orcs, trolls, dragons, and other opposing factions. Every action you take matters, so make every turn count. Do you have what it takes to be the great Kommander your people needs?

Review

Fantasy Kommander: Fascination of Evil is a niche game made for its audience. If you are a fan of old school strategy, this is a solid game. The graphics, animations, and just about everything is going to feel dated if you’re coming from modern strategy. The mechanics are sound enough to make it a decent strategy game, but there are a lot of nuanced mechanics that are not going to be obvious for newer players. The game does provide a link to a tutorial, but the link is dead and you are left to figure things out on your own.

Figuring out the game isn’t impossible, I am sure smarter people can do it, but I had trouble understanding some of the movement and attack mechanics. It would make some levels easier if I knew what I was supposed to be doing. In the end, I was able to click my way through some of the easier levels through trial and error and that was good enough for me. I enjoyed my time enough to recommend it to people who like this style of game, but it is going to be a hard sell for everyone else. I wouldn’t buy this if you are new to strategy games or if you don’t like how dated it looks.

You can pick up Fantasy Kommander: Fascination of Evil for $3 on Steam.

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Is Rogue Conflict Too Hard for Its Own Good?

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Rogue Conflict 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.

Shameless Self-Promotions

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out the new Epomaker HE75 Mag or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System. I’ve also started a web novel that I update weekly.

What is Rogue Conflict?

Rogue Conflict is a turn-based rogue-like strategy game out now on Steam.

Players control various factions as they fight for supremacy. Take control of your army and use your wit to overcome different scenarios. Will you be the skill tactician this world needs, or will you be another failed campaign in the making? Grab your army and find out!

Gameplay

Players choose their faction and a scenario to play through. Each faction has access to different units, and the scenario dictates the units in the army. After placing their units, players will take turns moving through the map to complete objectives. Units have a set range of movement and attacks have advantage/disadvantage based on target type. Tanks do more damage to normal infantry for example. Terrain also give units advantage on attack or defends, as well as impede movement. Using terrain and typing effectively is key for world domination. While this game may appear simple, it demands a certain amount of strategy and skill.

Review

Rogue Conflict is fine if you like strategy games, but it feels a bit too one sided for the casual player. I’m not very good at strategy games, but I can at least finish some of the early levels in most games. Here, it felt like no matter what I did, the odds were stacked against me and I was waiting to get destroyed, or for the timer to run out. Some of this is by design. There are scenarios where you aren’t supposed to win by combat, and instead survive in an epic rush to finish the objects. I would be fine with a few of those levels, but it honestly feels like the enemy is omniscient, plentiful, and lucky. Maybe I needed to play a little smarter, but I rather be playing Advanced Wars. Rebalancing or an easier mode would be nice.

That said, a better player might get more enjoyment out of Rogue Conflict. The game runs well, the art is cute, and the game is challenging. The problem is that the game isn’t made for casuals. If you aren’t being efficient and smart about your moves, you are going to get destroyed. Some will definitely find the level of skill fun, but those who lean more to the casual side of strategy aren’t going enjoy some of the nuances of the mechanics.

If you’re looking for a strategy game that is on the harder side and enjoy the graphics, Rogue Conflict is an excellent addition to your collection. If you’re just dipping your toe in the genre, I would save this title till you’re better at strategy games.

You can pick up your copy of Rogue Conflict for $14.99.

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Discover Songs of Silence: The Casual 4X Strategy Game

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I was sent a free copy of Songs of Silence 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.

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What is Songs of Silence?

Songs of Silence is a casual yet engaging turn-based 4X strategy game out now on steam.

Lead one of three unique factions through victory as you claim land, upgrade settlements, and strengthen your empire. The world is unforgiving, but you are the brilliant strategist that will lead your people to victory. Do you have what it takes to cement your place in history as your people’s greatest hero, or will your story be lost to time?

Gameplay

Players take turns moving their units, conquering camps, building their ranks, and fighting over territory. Combat is automatic, but certain factors like terrain, the placement of units, and types of units affect the outcome. What makes Songs of Silence unique is its deck-building mechanic. Each commander and clan has a unique set of abilities they can cast on a cool down. These cards can cast abilities like healing or attack spells, or send commands to their units for powerful attacks.

Players can enjoy the rich, story-driven campaign at their own pace. The story is well written and does a fantastic job at setting the tone for the game. Players can also enjoy endless amount of fun playing against the well scripted AI as they try to conquer randomly generated maps. There is also an active discord community and online matchmaking for those who prefer to play PVP.

Review

I have been excited about Songs of Silence since I tried the first alpha, and I was not disappointed. This game has some beautiful art and incredible flavor. The story is okay. It was enough to hook me, but not the reason you should be rushing to play this game. Instead, you should be looking at this game for its unique and interesting take on the 4X genre.

Songs of Silence has the most relaxing, engaging, and accessible solo experience of any strategy game I have ever played. Its unique card mechanic keeps the auto battles from being boring, and the game demands enough strategy to be engaging without becoming too sweaty. I enjoyed playing through the campaign, but I loved playing scrimmage. I had a lot of fun exploring the different factions, champions, and units. I didn’t always win, but I had a lot of fun trying.

I did try a couple of online matches, but they aren’t my thing. I always found matches easily, but the game felt too slow sometimes, especially when I was losing. If you’re looking for a strategy game with a good competitive scene, I am not sure Songs of Silence is the place. The game has a growing active community, but I can’t speak on how good of a multiplayer game this is because I didn’t enjoy the experience. I like playing this game at my own pace.

If you’re looking for a strategy game that is unique, fun, and Steam Deck compatible, pick up Songs of Silence on Steam, just make sure you wait for the Steam Fall sale (Nov 27 – Dec 4) just in case, but you can pick up Songs of Silence and its amazing soundtrack on Steam.

video game reviews

Whispers of the Eyeless: An Interesting Take on Cult Management

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I was sent the Whispers of the Eyeless demo to cover for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinion on the game. I understand the game is still in development, and will try to be a bit more lenient with my impressions.

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What is Whispers of the Eyeless?

Whispers of the Eyeless is a unique CRPG with stylized dungeon crawling and an interesting resource management mechanic. The game will go on Steam Early Access either Q4 2024 or sometime Q1 2025. A demo is planned for February. Make sure you add it to your wishlist.

You are a prophet of the New Age of Whispers. People have forgotten the old gods, some believe them dead, but they are alive and in need of a new flock. Infiltrate the city and spread the gospel of whisper as you recruit new members to your sect, upgrade your temple, and delve into the dungeon. Will your influence be strong enough to take hold of new believers? Will you bring forth a new age?

Gameplay

Whispers of the Eyless has three gameplay loops: dungeon crawling, exploration, and resource management.

Dungeon crawling is how players earn money and influence. Players equip themselves with blessings they receive from the old gods and explore a dungeon. This part of the game feels like a choose-your-own-adventure point-and-click game with a bit of turn-based combat sprinkled in between. Players can go as deep into the dungeon as they want, but the difficulty increases with each level. The deeper a player goes, the better the rewards. Dying on the run will cause a player to lose favor, so make sure you delve carefully.

Combat is a simple turn-based system. Players choose their attacks and blessings (buffs) and try to defeat their enemies. There is an auto-battle function early on that I recommend using for early grinding. I would also speed up the animation after the first fight. While I love the style and art of this game, the grind feels too slow at normal speed. There is a strategy involved when fighting harder monsters, but it is nice to have the option to passively grind levels before then.

Exploration is a point-and-click event that happens in between delves. During these events, players can enter combat, find treasure, or have the opportunity to recruit members that grant the players valuable passive skills. Players are offered choices during these events that affect the outcome of the story, so make sure you choose carefully.

I particularly enjoyed the resource management aspect of the game. In between runs, players will have time to perform valuable upkeep for their cult. They can build new structures, upgrade existing ones, send cultists to perform jobs, and attempt to recruit new members. The choices made in the resource management stage affect how efficiently a player can maintain and grow their influence over the city. Players start with a dirty old cave with only access to the dregs of society, but they will slowly spread into the more affluent parts of the city until they gain complete control of the city.

Impressions

There are parts of this demo that feel slow and unfinished, but the overall experience has me excited for the full game. The art is fantastic, the story has me hooked, and the mechanics are solid. The art style make exploration fun, and I am obsessed with managing my cult. The amount of decisions I had to make felt a bit overwhelming at times but in the best possible way. It was cool to see my actions and decisions affecting the growth of my influence, but running a cult isn’t easy.

The combat is the only part of the game I am unsure about. The dungeon crawling is fine, but combat feels slow, even with the animation sped up. There is strategy involved, but most of the time I felt like passive farming. Thank god for the auto-battle feature. The demo only features an early stage of the game, and I am holding out hope that combat will get more fun as the game gets more difficult.

From what I’ve seen from the demo, I am ready to see more. I’ll be working on getting the full version for review, so make sure you stay tuned for that. Until then, make sure Whispers of the Eyeless is on your wishlist. Don’t forget to try the demo in February during Steam Next Fest!

video game reviews

The Neural Dominion Demo Needs Work Before it Goes Public

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I was asked to cover the Neural Dominion announcement and was given early access to the alpha demo available now on Steam. Since the game is still in production, I will try to be a bit more lenient than usual with my impressions.

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What is Neural Dominion?

Neural Dominion is a cyberpunk 4X strategy game coming to PC. A public demo will release in October, so make sure it is on your wishlist.

In the crime-ridden city of Technograd, only one gang can reign supreme. Build your empire as you establish your illegal operations, recruit new members, and stop anyone who gets in your way. The path to total domination will be paved with obstacles. Cops will want their cut and rival gangs will want your head. Do you have what it takes to rule this city, or will you be another crime statistic?

Gameplay

The demo is just the game’s tutorial with alpha gameplay. The version I got is in a rough place and almost unplayable. The parts I did get through teach players the basic mechanics of the game. Players will learn about movement, purchasing and expanding territory, recruiting new gang members, buying upgrades, and combat. The game is on a turn based system where players have a set number of action points to spend. It gives a solid introduction to the game, but I hope it is less clunky on public release.

Impressions

I had a hard time with this game because the game was unstable. The tutorial wasn’t coded properly, and it was a chore to get through. If the tutorial box came up when I had to move my character, it made the squares unclickable and locked me from progressing through the rest of the tutorial. The only fix was to rest the game and restart the tutorial. If the tutorial box popped up during combat, it slowed down the animations to a snail’s pace, even if I was at 4x speed. The only fix for this bug was to cycle through the different speeds until another text box popped up to break it again.

The parts that did work weren’t very impressive, but the game isn’t finished yet so there is still the chance it gets better. I can’t recommend this game yet because of the state of the demo. I am not asking for amazing animations, a beautiful fleshed out map, but I am expecting something that works. I am wiling to overlook a lot when trying these kinds of demos, but this one made it hard. I am hoping that the public demo will be working, but I’ll have to wait and see till October.

You can wishlist Neural Dominion on Steam and join the official Discord if you want to stay up to date.

video game reviews

Dice Assassin: Chess With Extra Steps

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I was sent a free copy of Dice Assassin to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinion of the game. This will be my honest review of the game.

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What is Dice Assassin?

Dice Assassin is a 2D minimalistic roguelike card battler out now on Steam.

With a bit of tactics and luck, you are destined to be the best assassin this world has ever seen. Fight through mobs of enemies, learn powerful abilities, and leave no witnesses. Are you lucky and skilled enough to survive?

Gameplay

Dice Assassin is chess with a few extra steps. Players only control one piece, and the spaces it can move depend on dice rolls. Dice are rolled at the start of each turn. Cards give the assassin abilities. The key to this game is moving the assassin efficiently to clear the board of enemies. Like most roguelikes, players can upgrade their assassin through random buffs and abilities. The RNG for these shops seems fair, but I didn’t have it in me to test it too much.

Review

I can’t recommend Dice Assassin because it doesn’t feel finished. There are parts of this game that aren’t translated into English. There isn’t too much to read, so the lack of a complete translation isn’t a deal breaker. The gameplay is boring. Having only one action per turn and movement and attacks tied to RNG makes it less of a strategy game and more of a gambling one. Combat is boring, and it feels more one-sided the farther you get. The boss fights seem impossible, especially if you get stuck with unlucky rolls.

I am sure smarter people and people who like chess will have a better time with the game, but there isn’t much reason to play it past the first few play-throughs. I did like their choice of minimalism, but it isn’t for me.

If you care about achievements, Dice Assassin has easy ones you can earn. If you enjoy chess and want something that is a little different, sure. Everyone else can spend their $3 elsewhere.

You can pick up Dice Assassin on Steam for $2.99 (Currently $1.64 until September 3rd)