I was sent New Cyclefor free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. These will be my honest impressions of the game. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.
New Cycle is a survival village builder coming to early access to Steam on January 18. Because the game will be in early access, this will just be my initial impression of the game. I’ll revisit and review the game when they release 1.0.
Concept
A solar flare has destroyed society as we once knew it, sending the world into post-apocalyptic chaos. Those who remain must now build a new society from the wreckage of the old. This won’t be an easy task. Resources are limited, illnesses are rampant, nature is unrelenting, and morale is low. Can you usher your people into a new age, and rebuild society to its former glory?
Aesthetic and Performance
For an Early Access game, New Cycle runs fine. It still needs a bit of polish, but the game never crashed on me. The Aesthetic is a little dark, but I enjoy the sepia color scheme. It makes the game feel a lot more gritty and bleak.
Game Modes
The game offers most of its content through its game modes. You can enjoy the freedom of Sandbox, Manage a built city ravaged by a mysterious illness, or you can start from scratch in a campaign. The campaign has a few maps you can start from that affect gameplay. For example, you can start on a mountain where you have access to better mining but don’t have less food to work with. I love the work that went into the flavor. At the moment, the game has enough content to keep players busy till the full release.
Gameplay
Thoughts
New Cycle is the most technical village builder I’ve ever played, which isn’t a bad thing. At its core, it shares a lot of the core elements of other games in the genre. This game isn’t any more difficult to learn, but it is a bit more difficult to master. Where in other games I would sit back and watch my villagers live their lives, New Cyle had me worrying about all the elements that could end my civilization.
Just like any survival game, you need to worry about resources, hunger, morale, and the elements. This is a game where you have to be very careful about your efficiency because random events will set back your progress. There was a game where I ran out of food and my buildings got struck by lightning, and I had to start over because I planned poorly. I still recommend you go in blindly and learn from your mistakes, but having a guide handy doesn’t hurt.
Conclusion
This game isn’t going to be for everyone. The survival mechanics will turn away the more casual village builder fans. That said, the game is doing a good job of combining the survival and village builder genres. If you’re a technical person who enjoys the economics of survival but doesn’t mind the roughness of Early Access, you might want to look into New Cycle. To be clear, this isn’t a daunting technical game that requires good notes and a Ph.D., but it is less casual than the other games in the genre. I liked it, and can’t wait to see where they take it. Don’t forget to add it to your Wishlist!
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I was sent Brotatoas a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will keep my review honest.
Brotato is a top-down arena shooter available now on Steam. Play as a potato and survive endless hordes of aliens. This game has no story. You choose a potato and do your best to survive.
The mechanics are simple, move the potato around the arena, and your potato does the rest. You start each round by choosing a potato. Each potato has unique skills and traits that affect the gameplay. Usually, they’ll have a boost in a stat at the cost of another and some kind of gimmick. You unlock additional potatoes by playing the game and unlocking achievements.
As you kill aliens, you pick up XP to level up your character and currency to buy upgrades. At the end of each round, you chose an upgrade for every level you gain and buy items or weapons from a shop. The upgrades and items you choose from are random. While some of my runs were easier than others, I felt the RNG was fair.
The character auto-attacks, so you only have to worry about the movement. I preferred using a controller, but do whatever is comfortable. Where this game gets complicated is in the choices you make for upgrades. These choices affect how strong your potato gets, so choose wisely. Often, you will have to choose between picking up the resources you need to get stronger or simply surviving the round. As simple as this game looks, it can get pretty technical.
I loved Brotato! The art is cute, the music is great, and the gameplay is fun. It was hard to put this game down because the more I played, the more I obsessed with my strategy. This is a great casual game to pick up because it is engaging enough to keep your attention, and you can return to it without having to remember anything. Brotato is $4.99 on Steam, but it is on sale for $3.99 until June 30. Grab your copy today! The game has been announced to for the Switch, but no date has been set.
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I was sent Super Dungeon Maker as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity, but I will keep my review honest.
If you like old-school RPGs or have always dreamed of making your own, you need to go buy Super Dungeon Maker. This game has fun gameplay, an expansive dungeon editor, and the cutest art. If you have kids, this is a great game to add to their collection. The game does a fantastic job of giving players a basic understanding of RPGs so they can make their own later. The dungeon editor gives kids an outlet to be creative, and the consistent stream of content gives them hours of gameplay. Adults will have the opportunity to be creative and enjoy the return to a nostalgic era of gaming and the possible satisfaction of clearing some of the more impossible levels.
I am not creative, so I didn’t spend much time in the dungeon editor. From what little I did mess around in it, it seemed pretty expansive. I felt overwhelmed by the choices, but mostly because my brain couldn’t turn the different parts into a cohesive map. That said, I was impressed by the diverse selection of levels available this early into the game’s life.
As a player, I loved how healthy the community is. There are a lot of games to choose from, but not all of them are great. The thing about these types of games is that the fun is community driven. You need players to motivate creators, and you need creators for content. You are going into this game knowing you have to sift through the expansive library to find your fun. You don’t have to finish the maps you don’t like, but I can see people being turned off by the rough nature of the level design.
That said, Super Dungeon Maker is a fantastic game if you are looking for a classic RPG without much commitment. You don’t have to worry about extensive lore or investing in an expansive story. Everything is self-contained, cute, and fun. Now is a great time to get into Super Dungeon Maker because there is a healthy community driving and consuming its content.
Super Dungeon Maker is available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch for $19.99. I played the Steam version and loved it, and considering getting it on the Switch. Playing some of the maps, especially the Zelda-inspired ones on the go would be perfect. As it happens, Nintendo has it on sale for $15.99 until May 25th. Regardless of which version you choose to play, I guarantee it will be lots of fun.
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I got to play Liberte at GDC this year and liked it enough to try to review it for my site. I was lucky enough to have been given a review code for this game, but this will be my honest review.
Liberteis an ARPG with a unique deck-building mechanic. Instead of finding gear and customizing a skill tree, you play with a deck of cards that give your character weapons, items, and talents.
A revolution has broken out in France, and Rene finds himself in the middle. You must navigate between the four factions, choosing sides and fighting the good fight. But there is something strange behind the revolution. A mysterious plant has sprung up, turning people into monsters. Will you be able to solve the mystery, or will this be the fall of humanity?
I liked the story, but I will keep it vague to not ruin the surprise. You can figure everything out early, but I want to avoid spoilers. I love the flavor of the lore and how the game gives you choices. You choose the factions you help out during your missions, but this only affects the flavor of enemies you fight against and the rewards you unlock. I suggest you pick whatever you think is coolest since it doesn’t affect the story.
There are four factions in Liberte: the rebels, the crown, the church, and the Tribe. Each faction has a hero you can play with and unique cards you can unlock. My issue with this mechanic is that it takes a long time to unlock all the heroes. While it may be good to allow players to live with characters for a bit, I would prefer that I could choose the class from the start. There are a total of 5 classes to choose from, but I imagined Anna because she fits my playstyle the best. The character you choose only affects gameplay. You will always be Rene for the cutscenes.
Combat is what I liked most about this game. The RNG made it so I was constantly having to change my playstyle to adapt to whatever cards I pulled. This gave the game its wavering difficulty. I had the most fun on the harder playthroughs where I wasn’t pulling the cards I needed because of how safe I had to play it. The dodge and parry mechanic felt fantastic, and the kiting was very satisfying. Liberte controller support, but I preferred the accuracy I got with the keyboard and mouse.
There is an undeniable clunkiness to this game. Some hitboxes are too small, and my abilities wouldn’t go off. It isn’t so bad that the game is unplayable, but it is hard to ignore. If you run multiple monitors, you can click out of the game. This will minimize the screen without pausing it. Most of the time I was able to get back in time without dying, but not always. Dying means you have to start leveling your character all over, but you don’t lose your progress in the story. Make sure you make an offering at the altar before starting a new run for a nice little boost.
The grind for this game is the barrier to entry. To unlock new cards, you need to find blueprints, complete faction reward tracks, and farm for materials. When you get blueprints for the cards you need, you will find that you don’t have enough materials. You can increase the difficulty of each run to have better drop rates, but it will take you longer to get through the story. This wouldn’t be a problem if you weren’t constantly running through the same missions on the same maps. I found comfort in the reputation and felt the RNG did enough to keep the playthroughs fresh, but different maps and quests would have been better. The game does have a story difficulty that makes things a lot quicker. You get access to a full deck, and it is harder to die. I still found I needed to try during combat, but there isn’t as much risk involved. I suggest you try this mode if you don’t have enough time for the grind, but still want to enjoy the story.
The game is still in early access, and I find it unfair to complain about the bugs and performance. There are bugs, but the game is playable. The devs are working hard to make the game better. The launch date has been moved to May, but no specific date has been announced. It does need some polish, but the story and experience are solid. If you don’t mind the early access nature and the grind, I recommend you go pick up your copy. The aesthetic is fantastic, the flavor for the story and lore is nice and dark, and the gameplay is a lot of fun. You can grab your copy on Steam, or Wishlist it so you are ready for the full release. The game is $19.99, but on sale for $14.99 at the time of writing this.
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I got to play Kakeleat GDC and liked it enough to try to get a deeper experience. Make sure you check out my original post for additional information. Kakele is a free-to-play pixel art MMORPG that you can play on IOS, Android, or PC. There is cross-play between devices, and your saves carry over. If you are looking for and cute MMO to try, you should consider Kakale.
I played on both the PC and mobile versions and enjoyed them the same. Each version has its advantage. On PC, I felt like I had better control of my character, and made fewer mistakes in combat. Mobile was much more convenient, and I liked being able to play on the go. I loved that I could grind out some levels while I waited for my oil change. I didn’t feel an unfair advantage between devices, but most players I talked to preferred PC for endgame content and PVP.
Kakele has a voice-acted story, but there are some syntax errors due to the translation. It isn’t so bad you won’t understand what’s going on, but it is noticeable. The voice acting is computer generated, but I appreciate that I don’t always have to read the text. I found the story delightfully quirky, and it did enough to set up its lore. I am curious to see where they take the story, but the English translation needs some love. According to players I chatted with, the story is the quickest way to level up your character.
Kakele has an undeniably adorable aesthetic, but some of the maps can feel a bit cluttered. The character creation is limited to a few sprites and color changes, but they want to sell you skins. The early leveling experience is great. The game does enough to ease new players into their new roles, and there is enough to do to keep players busy. Outside the starter zone, the difficulty felt well-scaled. I felt I was given enough of a foundation to grind efficiently while still feeling challenged. It is easy to get overwhelmed by mobs of enemies if you are playing too passively, or aren’t properly geared or leveled. The combat felt active. I liked that I didn’t have to wait for global cooldowns, and had a blast kiting with the mage.
There is a grind, but it doesn’t feel any different from modern MMOs. You can pay for premium or buy boosts to level up faster, but I leveled quickly without having to spend money. There are global boosts that can be applied to the whole server in the cash shop. I was lucky and always got to play with a global boost and it made the grind more pleasant. At least this early in the game’s life, some charitable players love the game enough to help grow the community.
One issue that might be a barrier to entry is the social element. If you speak Spanish or Portuguese, you will find a healthy supply of friendly players ready to help you. I am fluent in Spanish and understand enough Portuguese to get by. All the interactions I had were pleasant and made me want to play the game more. I was never able to find English-speaking players, at least not on the North American server. I don’t think this is much of an issue because there are plenty of players walking around who will help without the need to communicate. I doubt you will have issues finding groups for PVP or PVE content. At least that was the experience on the PVE server, I can’t speak for the PVP side. If you want to level up with English-speaking players, I recommend you convince friends to join you.
I liked Kakale and played it more than I should have. I love the combat system, love the tone, and enjoy its simplicity. The combat is complex enough to keep the game from growing stale, but the simple graphics means this game can run on anything. I am a huge proponent of games made for all gamers, not just the ones that can afford high-end computers. The game is a lot of fun, and the community is very welcoming. If you are looking for a new MMO while you take a break from your main one, consider playing Kakele. It’s free to play, so you have nothing to lose.
You can download load Kakele for IOS, Android, and PC. Make sure you also check out my previous post for additional information.
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At GDC I got to try out Pool Party, a cute little party game you might want to wishlist if you have the friends for it. The game supports four-player couch co-op. You take control of the cutest pool ball character that you can customize. There are only six game modes, but they have more planned for the future. The game modes include Sumo, Tennis, Pool, Football, Jinxed, and Free For All. Each game is based on a sport and has been adapted to fit the pool theme, and it works brilliantly.
1 / 9
The developers wanted Pool Party to be skill-based. Each game relies heavily on physics. Although each round erupts into chaos, you need to put thought into the moves you make to complete the objectives. The devs also wanted the focus to be on the mini-games, so they eliminated all the boring bits you would find in games like Mario Party. Instead of waiting through boring animation, you spend your time between rounds voting on the next mini-game.
The mini-games are a lot of fun, but I loved football (soccer) the most. Having to recalibrate my approach for each game mode kept me engaged, and the chaos had me focused. You have been warned, this game might destroy a couple of friendships.
The biggest draw to this game is its appearance. This game is super cute, and the maps are vibrant and fun. The developers plan on releasing multiple maps to give the game its variety.
Taken From the Steam Page
If you are looking for a party game and have the friends to play with, you should at least wishlistPool Party on Steam. They also plan to release it on the Nintendo Switch, but there isn’t any information on that release yet. There is also a demo you can download and try before you commit.
I want to thank the devs who joined up to play and answered all my questions. I didn’t win any of the matches, but I had a lot of fun regardless. Make sure you follow them on their socials to stay up to date on all the news. You can find them on Discord, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram.
This year’s winner of the IGF award for Best Student Game went to the cute 2D adventure puzzler, Slider. Use the power of a magical artifact to change the world around you to solve puzzles, aid humanity, and save your cat. The game has nine regions to explore, each full of increasingly difficult puzzles. This game has tactical combat, grids, and time travel.
Gif taken from steam
I didn’t get to play Slider during my time at IGF, but I did see people play it. The puzzles are unique, and I am a huge fan of pixel art. There is no release date for Slider, but there is a free demo you can try. I will be trying the demo and return with some more impressions then. Until then, head over to Steam and try it for yourself. Don’t forget to wishlist it if you like it.
