I was sent Arcadegeddon as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Arcadegeddon is the quirky, hyperactive looter-shooter that should have been released as a free-to-play game. The game runs great, the art is unique, and the music is great, but the game is boring. Once you get past the novelty of the colorful chaos, the game feels empty. There is a story, but it isn’t very well written.
A mega-corporation is taking over gaming, and a lone arcade stands in its way for total domination. The owner asks for your help, but the fight against the corporate machine won’t be easy. Earn the trust of the local gaming gangs and make gaming fun again.
The gameplay loop is a little too simple for this game to be charging money. You dive into the dungeon, fight the swarms of enemies, complete any objectives, and move on to the next floor to do it again. The goal is to get to the highest level possible without dying, and there is even a leaderboard for further incentive. You start each run with simple weapons and find stronger ones throughout the level. The guns are fun and unique, but there is always the chance that the RNG will make your runs miserable. There are daily missions, special quests, and gang quests that you can complete throughout the run to unlock new perks, weapons, and cosmetics. I didn’t find much incentive to keep playing after the first few runs.
You can play Arcadegeddon solo or with other people. The solo experience stops being fun, and I never had any luck with the matchmaking. The game supports crossplay, but I’ve seen comments complaining about it not working properly. I didn’t see an update and couldn’t test it, so keep that in mind before you make the purchase.
I can see this game being fun with friends, but I still think $15 is too big of an ask. The game isn’t bad, but I would rather play something like Wayfinder or Destiny 2 instead. Unless there is a major update to the gameplay loop or a healthy influx of enthusiastic players, I don’t see a real reason to buy into this game just yet. There really isn’t much more I can say about this game because as flashy as it is, it wasn’t very impressive. You can pick it up on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC via Steam and Epic Games, but I wouldn’t go rushing to buy it.
Pokemon Worlds Results and announcements: New Mechanics and the location for next year!
The Pokémon World Championship has ended, and it was an exciting time in competitive Pokémon. Those fortunate enough to attend the event in Japan got a unique Pokémon experience, and those who got to watch got the excitement of watching pros play the games we love. I mostly watched the TCG coverage, but you can find the complete coverage of important matches of every event on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
I did not intend to watch as much as I did. I was just going to earn my packs and move on but was quickly sucked in by the fanfare. It made for terrific background noise, and it was cool to see how people played the different decks in the meta. I learned a few tricks that have made me a better player.
Congratulations to this year’s champion, Vance Kelley! As someone who plays a lot of Mew, I was very excited to see the deck perform so well at worlds. I picked up a few new tricks that I am sure will elevate my game, but it was such an exciting match. I recommend you check it out if you have some time.
And the deck that won it all:
- Pokemon – 13
- 4 Mew V FST 113
- 3 Mew VMAX FST 114
- 1 Meloetta FST 124
- 4 Genesect V FST 185
- 1 Oricorio FST 42
- Trainer – 40
- 1 Judge SVI 176
- 2 Nest Ball SVI 181
- 1 Pal Pad SVI 182
- 4 Ultra Ball SVI 196
- 2 Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis) PAL 172
- 2 Choice Belt PAL 176
- 1 Iono PAL 185
- 2 Switch Cart ASR 154
- 1 Box of Disaster LOR 154
- 2 Lost City LOR 161
- 2 Lost Vacuum LOR 162
- 3 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
- 1 Escape Rope BST 125
- 1 Path to the Peak CRE 148
- 1 Crystal Cave EVS 144
- 4 Battle VIP Pass FST 225
- 4 Cram-o-matic FST 229
- 2 Elesa’s Sparkle FST 233
- 4 Power Tablet FST 236
- Energy – 7
- 4 Fusion Strike Energy FST 244
- 3 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
Worlds 2024
The location for next year’s Worlds was also announced. Next year, the event will be held in beautiful Honolulu, HI.
But as exiting as this news may be, it is such a tragedy what is going on right now with the wild fires. In an efforts to help the families devastated by the fires, The Pokémon Company International has donated $200,000 to the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund. If you have the means, please consider making a donation.
New Cards and Mechanics
They also announced that ancient and future Pokémon, and ACE spec cards will be coming to the TCG in the set we are getting in November. We got teased some very cool cards that I are sure to shake up standard.
Pokémon UNITE
It looks like Blaziken, Mimikyu, and Meowscarada are joining the roster in Pokémon
Blaziken is expected to release on September 19th, the rest are yet to be announced.
Path to the Peak
And if you haven’t done so, make sure you watch Pokémon: Path to the Peak. It is a cute miniseries you can watch free on YouTube!
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Mobile Suite Gundam U.C. Engage is coming to Android and IOS. Preregister today!
Preregistration for the mobile game Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage is now open for Android and IOS devices. This Gotcha game brings over 200 classic characters and mobile suits to a tactical game that might be pretty cool if you are a Gundam fan. I’ve already seen a few characters I will be chasing at launch.
The game looks like an auto battler, as most Gotcha games often are, but you have control over where your Gundam are placed on the field each round. The animation isn’t the most exciting I’ve seen in a Gundam game, but I’ll take what I can get. Most of the strategy I assume will come down to what suit and pilot you have on your team, their level, and the gear have. RNG is always most of the fun for these games, and I can only hope that the pull rates aren’t predatory and the story is good. This game promises a unique story set in the universe, and it seems to have some solid voice acting. I’ll have to try the game out first, but I have seen enough to spark some interest.
I am still looking for a Gotcha game that will replace Dragalia Lost. This is coming to me at a time when I am super into Gundam. I have a couple of Gunpla kits I am working on and have been slowly making my way through The Witch From Mercury. Go check it out on YouTube if you already haven’t.
I’m excited to try out anything that will give me Gundam, especially if it is free. I’ve already registered and will be playing at launch. Stay tuned for my full review then. Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage is scheduled for release on October 25th.
There is currently a preregistration event going on, so make sure you sign up to earn some pretty cool perks at launch. 100,000 preregistrations will score users with a UR Gundam and 3,000 diamonds, enough to pull 10 times from the Unit Assembly.
- 10,000 preregistrations: 100 diamonds
- 30,000 preregistrations: 200 diamonds
- 50,000 preregistrations: 400 diamonds
- 80,000 preregistrations: 800 diamonds
Based on the picture and all the promotional videos, I can assume it is the RX 78-2 Gundam is the SR unit we’ll be getting.
Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage will be available on both Android and IOS devices. Don’t forget to follow them on Facebook to stay up on all the news.
Nocturnal just got its first major update!
I was very fortunate to get to review Nocturnal Earlier this year. Nocturnal is a beautiful and unique platformer for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation that might be worth looking into even if you don’t enjoy the genre. I had a lot of fun with this game and recommend it to those interested. Go check out the full review if you want to get the full opinion.
Well, Nocturnal just got its first major update, and I felt the need to share the news. The new update brings with it some much-needed quality-of-life changes, a new enemy, and new story bits to play through. The update introduces a new performance mode that opens up the game to lower-spec computers, which I always love to see. I remember the days when my toaster could barely run anything, it’s nice to see when companies care about their players.
There are also some nice updates to the level and UI design and improved combat feedback for both players and bosses. The game has been released, but it is nice to see the devs are still passionate to make the game better for their customers. It is even nicer that this update isn’t locked behind paid DLC.
I recommend you look into this game if you are in the market for something new. It looks like there are still plans for future updates. It is currently on sale on Steam for $11.89 (normally 16.99) until August 7th. PlayStation also has it on sale for $14.99 (normally $19.99) until August 16th. Sorry Xbox mains, you have to pay the full $19.99 for now.
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I picked up Revita and thought it was cute and fun, but is it worth it?
I picked up Revita for the Nintendo Switch because I was in the market for a casual game that didn’t require much commitment. The game features cute art, a fantastic soundtrack, and promised gameplay that seemed manageable with my current skill level. Revita delivered on most of my expectations. The game is a fun casual journey through a cute world that I will continue to pick up.
Revita is a unique twin-stick shooter roguelite with procedural dungeons. There is a story, but it serves more as flavor rather than creates the game’s identity.
The gameplay loop for Revita is simple. You start each run with a set amount of life and fight through the floors of enemies until you either clear the tower or die and start again. Each floor is randomly generated, making each attempt feel unique. The RNG isn’t always fair, but you can easily and quickly restart without losing your progress.
What makes this game unique is that it uses life as a currency. You can trade life for randomly generated upgrades at shrines or stores to give your character an edge against the monsters and bosses. There aren’t many chances to regenerate life. Life in Revita is a precious resource and the source of many difficult decisions. How much life will you be willing to sacrifice for power?
Revita is a game where you will die a lot by design. As you play the game and collect resources that you can use to buy permanent upgrades that make future runs easier. This game has a grind, but it doesn’t feel soul-crushing. The gameplay is a bit repetitive, but I found the repetition relaxing. That said, this isn’t a game I can main or no life because the loop gets stale after a while. This is a game you pick up in quick bouts when you don’t have enough time to game or are just looking for a quick and fun distraction.
I had a lot of fun with Revita. The art is great, the soundtrack is amazing, and the gameplay is solid. While I don’t necessarily regret my purchase, $17 is a bit too much for this game. Unless you know you are going to love this game and will be putting hundreds of hours into it, I would wait for it to go on sale. You can pick up Revita on Switch and Steam for $16.99. It is currently on sale on Steam for $11.04 until August 7th.
Don’t forget to check out the soundtrack!
The Wandering Village: A cute casual village builder you need to try once
I was sent The Wandering Village as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
The Wandering Village is a cute and casual village builder with beautiful art, interesting mechanics, and a solid soundtrack. This game easily became one of my favorites due to its casual atmosphere. This game is simple enough to pick up quickly but offers enough of a challenge without becoming overwhelming. This game is the perfect entry point to the genre and a fantastic addition to any library.
The world has become toxic and uninhabitable. The few remaining survivors have found refuge on the back of a giant wandering beast, the Onbu. Together you will wander the world as you attempt to rebuild a symbiotic civilization on the back of the Onbu.
The Wandering Village is a beautiful game with many moving parts. I recommend you play a few runs without looking up guides. I believe most of the fun is trying to figure out how to grow your village properly, failing, and doing it better the next time around. I am sure there is an optimal way of running through this game, but I had as much fun failing as when everything was running smoothly. This game is casual enough that guides aren’t necessary.
The Wandering Village is one of the more casual village builders I’ve played. Worker, resource, and resource management are challenging enough to keep the game engaging without becoming overwhelming. There are settings you can tweak that makes the management mechanics more difficult, but I never felt like it lost its casual vibe. What does create a challenge is adapting to the random encounters throughout the Onbu’s journey. The types of scouting missions that become available, the types of biomes it walks through, and the Onbu’s health all affect the growth of your village. Players will often have to readjust quickly to changes. I lost a few villages because I wasn’t planning properly. You will eventually be able to have more control of the Onbu, but I enjoyed the random nature of the journey. It makes every run unique, giving the game lots of replayability.
I had a lot of fun with The Wandering Village, and recommend it to anyone in the market for a new game. The art is beautiful, and the mechanics are fun and interesting. The game just got an update that added a new biome, buildings, and encounters. You can pick up The Wandering Village on Steam and Xbox for $24.99 or play it for free if you have Game Pass.
I was wrong about Krzyżacy: The Knights of the Cross, the game was rather disappointing
I was sent Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross is a pixel art deck builder based on a book of the same name. Unfortunately, the English localization is bad. I stopped reading the story early on because the effort isn’t worth it. The source material might be worth reading, but this adaptation isn’t. With only gameplay left, there wasn’t much reason for me to keep playing once the novelty wore off. Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross becomes a boring grind with cute pixel art, but you can find a better game elsewhere.
Like most deck builders, you start the game with a basic deck and slowly build a stronger one as you progress through the campaign. What makes this deck builder unique is that you can recruit units to help you in battles. These units will perform actions based on the combination of cards you play during a turn. This creates an interesting dynamic where you are trying to create combos from your hand that synergizes with your companions. The problem I have with this system is that if you don’t meet the basic requirements for an action, the unit sits idle. This game is not forgiving when it comes to the action economy, and wasted turns result in more unnecessary grind.
I recommend you look up guides or build toward a two-color deck early on to make sure you play efficiently. The amount of gold and xp you earn and the global healing you can do is limited. These limits are standard in the genre. The problem is that you can get stuck in the campaign if you haven’t been using your gold wisely. Most deck builders let you easily redo the run, but Krzyżacy forces you to sit through the cut scenes and restart from zero. This is great if you are good at these games and love the strategy, but bad for the casual players. There are global perks you can earn by playing the game that alleviate some of this grind, but it stops being worth the trouble. The game is short enough that the reset isn’t a huge issue, but I couldn’t find the motivation for a second one.
Don’t get me wrong. I like that this game offers difficult choices to its players and rewards efficiency, but I wish the story was better and it was easier to reset the run. I kept hitting a point where I didn’t have money to buy companions, cards, or heals, and my deck wasn’t strong enough to get through the story, and I couldn’t justify going through the grind.
If you are looking for a fun deck builder, there are better options. The art is cool and it introduces interesting mechanics, but as is, this game isn’t worth buying into. The localization of the story isn’t good, and the gameplay isn’t fun enough to justify the price. You can get it on Steam for $14.99, but I suggest you hold off for a sale or some major updates.
The Wandering Village huge update and release on Game Pass for Xbox and PC
I’ve always enjoyed the village builder genre a bit more than I should. I can lose weeks playing a good village builder, and I will always recommend the genre to those looking for a casual and relaxing experience with enough of a challenge to stay engaging. I typically do my best to avoid titles in the genre because of how much time I end up spending on them, but I like to keep my eye out for what’s available just in case.
I’ve been eyeing The Wandering Village for a while now, but I have been strong enough to not pull the trigger. The art is cute, the music score is nice, and the gameplay is what I’d expect from a cute and casual village builder. Now is a great time to get into the game because it is now available on Game Pass for both Xbox and PC, and it is getting its biggest update since its release. Players will now have access to the ocean which introduces a new biome, mechanics, and structures. If you are looking for a cute and casual entry into the village builder genre, it might be worth looking into The Wandering Village.
If you don’t have Game Pass, you can pick it up on Steam for $24.99. It’s currently on sale for. I just got my review code and will post a review as soon as I get back from vacation.
Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross: The beautiful pixel art deck builder coming to steam July 20th!
If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning or have seen the recent state of my blog, it is no secret that I love card games. I’ve spent way too much money on trading cards and am always looking for a new deck builder to add to my collection. The latest to catch my eye is a little game called Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross, coming to Steam on July 20, 2023.
Play as a knight who must help his people defeat the Teutonic Knights. The game is based on an award-winning story of the same name that covers the conflict between the Polish-Lithuanian people and the Teutonic Knights in the 15th century. I haven’t read the book, but I hope that means the story is good. I also hope the game is an accurate adaptation because I love learning about history.
As the knight, you travel the real collecting companions to fight with you and cards to make your deck stronger. There are 30 characters you can collect and level, and the freedom to build a deck that fits your playstyle. The combat looks like a strait forward deck builder but with a story and some RPG elements that might help it stand out against the genre. The game has seven chapters, 200 side quests, and a roguelite mode for hours of gameplay. That probably means this game is going to take me forever to complete.
What excites me most about this game is the art style. I love pixel art, and the design for Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross is amazing! The sprites are cute, the characters are cool, and the animation looks fun. There is a bit of fan service, but I don’t mind it. I’ve seen a lot worse, and the characters are too cool for it to matter.
I just received my review code for this game, and am super excited to try it out. I haven’t started the game, but I am also under embargo so I won’t be able to share my thoughts on the game just yet. I’ll get my review out as soon as I am able, so make sure you’re subscribed. Until then, make sure you add Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross to your wishlist.
Backpack Hero: The inventory management roguelike you should be playing
I was sent Backpack Hero as a review code, and while I am grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Backpack Hero is a charming little inventory roguelike that deserves a lot more attention. It has a cute art style, a nice soundtrack, and fun gameplay. This game is a lot more fun than an early-access game has the right to be. If you are looking for a chill game that will challenge you, get Backpack Hero.
Dive through procedurally generated dungeons as you fight enemies, find treasure, and manage your inventory. Space in your bag is limited, so choose carefully. How will you brave the unknown? Will you use magic? Poison? Swords? Ninja stars? The choice is yours! (and RNGesus’)
Players start with limited inventory space and gain more as their character levels. Dungeons are full of monsters, treasure, and random events that award players loot to shuffle around. Weapons, items, armor, and potions have unique skills that can interact with each other based on their placement in the backpack. Inventory management is almost like a deck builder as you work towards specific builds by collecting certain items.
As deceptively simple as this game appears, I spent a lot of time theory crafting and optimizing my build only to have my run ended by an enemy or ability I didn’t plan for. Losing was never a frustrating experience in Backpack Hero. I understood my shortcomings and planned for a better run. There are special challenges you can run if the normal game because too easy, but I mostly played in normal because I enjoyed the chill yet challenging vibe that came with it.
What I liked most about this game is how different every run felt. I never had the same build, even when I started building toward a familiar one. There was always something dumb and alluring I wanted to try. It didn’t always work out, but I had a lot of fun exploring and testing my options. The combat is a little simple. It is turn-based, and what you can do is limited by action points. You spend your action points by casting spells, attacking with weapons, or blocking with shields. I never felt like combat got stale because my strategy was constantly changing. Some runs were more fun than others, but such is life with RNGesus.
Inventory management is the most important mechanic in Backpack Hero. If you’ve played any MMO or RPG, you’ve become too familiar with the concept. I used to joke that most of my playtime on Guild Wars 2 was spent in my inventory. In Backpack Hero, you will consistently make difficult choices as you arrange and rearrange your bag. What you choose to keep in your bag affects how you play each round, so make sure you choose carefully. There are vendors and special events that will give you access to random and sometimes cool items, a smith that will upgrade your gear, and cursed items that will mess up your whole strategy. I spent a lot of time theory-crafting the perfect build and had a blast doing it, even if I never got impressively far. There are probably guides out there for the most optimal run, but I recommend you fail a couple of times on your own first.
If you have been considering getting this game or looking for a new game to get into, Backpack Hero is worth every penny. It is a cute casual game with enough kick to it to keep you entertained for hours. You can buy Backpack Hero on Steam for $16.99. Now would be a great time to pick it up because it is 20% off ($13.59) until the 13th.