Tag Archives: video game

video game reviews

Drakantos Closed Beta is Live: First Day Impressions

Leave a comment

Intro

The wait is finally over. After years of waiting and following this game, I finally got my hands on beta. The Drakantos closed beta will run from July 25 – 27th and it is looking like a very successful run. With over 150k applications for entry, this game is getting a proper test. Make sure you apply over on the official Steam page if you haven’t done so, and don’t forget to wishlist. It looks like they are still rolling out keys in waves. Make sure you also join the official Discord, you might get lucky with a giveaway.

Shameless Self-Promotion

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link. You can also always buy me coffee!

What is Drakantos?

Drakantos is a free-to-play pixel-art MMORPG coming to Steam and mobile devices. Players can choose from a collection of 20 diverse heroes as they explore the world of Eldras. Players can enjoy the worlds facinating story, fight players in a competative PvP Arena, or help each other out on PvE content. There are plans for raids, world bosses, and everything you’ve come to love from a PvP, but accessible to everyone. One thing to note is that all characters will not be playable at first. Characters will need to be unlocked through play or a battle pass, but I hope that none of it is locked behind a pay wall. I was assured that the cash shop would only be cosmetic last I spoke to the devs, but we will have to wait and see. I’ve been covering this game in great detail for a while now, make sure you check out my other articles on the subject.

Impressions

I have beta test a few of the newer MMO’s in recent years, and none have gotten me as excited as Drakantos. I know I’ve only played the game a day, but I am prepared to spend my Saturday playing this game. I love how alive the game feels in the hubs and in missions, which gives me hope for its success. I love the art. The game does a good job of creating fantasy through its pixel-art, and it has been a lot of fun exploring the world. Some of the maps do feel a little busy, but its nothing that will get me to quit. Playing this game on the Steam Deck gives me the nostolgic feeling of the gameboy days I spent playing JRPGs, and I am here for it. The fact that I can play this game properly on the Steam Deck during a beta is also a huge plus. Everything feels snappy and optimized, and I am preferring the handheld experience.

The combat uses a simple cooldown system. Instead of mana, players will need to wait on cooldowns. While the game looks simple, there are some nuances in rotation, and some skills you need to aim or hold. Make sure you read your spells

The grind so far has been pretty fun. Players have story content to play through that slowly introduces different mechanics. There are also a few side quests to fill space and unlock more content like gathering. Mostly, players can queue up for random jobs that scale based on a player’s power level. These jobs rotate on a timer and randomly pairs players into teams of threes (unless you have friends). There are different types of quests that scale with your power level, and give loot. They make it beneficial to explore the whole map and kill everything with hidden chests and additional rewards. You get more loot the more enemies you kill. There is no PvP yet, which is fine for the beta.

Now it is only the first day, so I need a bit more time for a fuller picture. I will be doing a more detailed version of my impressions when the beta is over. For now, I am very excited to keep playing more. Now if you’ve made it this far in the article, I do have an extra key to give away. First person who contacts me, gets it. Good luck!

video game reviews

Why Citizen Sleeper 2 is the Best RPG of the Year

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link. You can also always buy me coffee!

What is Citizen Sleeper 2?

Citizen Sleeper 2 is a dice-driven RPG out now on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.

You have made your grand escape and for the first time since you’ve been created, you are free. But freedom comes at a price. Your captures are hot on your trail, and there is rarely a place where a sleeper isn’t recognized. Gather your crew, upgrade your ship, and complete contracts as you travel across the Starward Belt, avoiding your pursuers. Will you ever be able to truly escape?

Gameplay

This is the closest you’ll get to a table top role playing game. During a cycle, players will have access to a dice pool they can spend on different checks. Checks will will progress the story, unlock new areas on a map, and generally allow players to complete actions. These checks are based on their stats in certain skills, and they can be failed. The outcome of the story is based on a players rolls and decisions, giving the game a good amount of replayability. Players will need to plan their days and missions properly because failing too much or taking too long has its consequences.

Review

I can’t believe I waited so long to play Citizen Sleeper 2. This is easily my favorite game of the year. I don’t think there can be a title that will beat the perfect gaming experience that is this game. If you like tabletop roleplaying games or text based rpgs, this is an excellent example of the genre. Everyone needs to play Citizen Sleeper at least once in your life, but you aren’t going to want to stop at one play through.

I have only played the sequel, and don’t think playing the first one is necessary. I am sure I missed a few references, but the story is pretty self contained and there is enough context to get me caught up. Don’t get me wrong. I will be playing Citizen Sleeper after this, and you should start at the beginning to get the whole story.

The story is fantastic. The writing is excellent and the adventure is full of agency, tension, and epic moments. If you enjoy RPGs, you will appreciate the difficult choices you will have to make, and the chance at failing the most critical moments. For those of you who can’t find a play group, or just want your TTRPG fix, this is a fantastic surrogate.

As far as gameplay goes, this has some fantastic mechanics that are engaging, but not so much that they take away from the story. I like the dice pull system, being able to push my rolls, and the gambling aspect of every choice. The chance of failure makes the successes more rewarding, while failing gives the story its intensity. It was very hard to pull myself away, especially since I had to keep reading till the next checkpoint. This game does not let you save when you want. Instead, you will need to read until you can go to your hub or your ship. This makes your choices matter, and it also means you will have to replay your game if you want to see different options. Make sure you choose carefully.

Citizen Sleeper 2 will pull you in with its beautiful art, powerful story telling, and solid mechanics. If you like TTRPGs or just want to sit back and enjoy a good story, it needs to be in your library.

You can pick up Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector on Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation for $24.99.

video game reviews

Gaucho and the Grassland: A Cozy Adventure Farming Sim Review

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Gaucho and the Grassland 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Gaucho and the Grassland?

Gaucho and the Grassland is a adventure farming sim out now on Steam. Make sure you check out the demo.

Your father was worked on keeping the balance between the spirit world and the human world. Since his death, this balance has shifted, creating a bit of chaos. Luckily, you are here to take the mantel and restore order. With a bit of guidance, travel across magical and diverse landscapes as you help locals, farm materials, and build your farm. Luckily, you have the help of your horse and dog companions. How much of the world order will you be able to restore?

Gameplay

There are two parts to Gaucho: the farm sim and the adventure game.

The farm sim is straight forward. Players collect materials and use them to craft, repair, and build the world around them. Players can buy land to build on, capture and keep animals, and help other citizens with their issues. Helping locals will earn favor that can be used to unlock other areas.

What makes Gaucho and the Grassland unique is that it has set goals. Players can spend time building their farm and crafting, but the game incentivizes exploration through its story and quest line. Players need to restore order by traveling to the different realms and completing its quest lines. Questing unlocks new buildings, items, and crafting recipes.

Review

Gaucho and the Grassland is my comfort game. It features a cute art style with a cozy gameplay loop that had me hooked out the gate. I love farming sims, and Gaucho has a lot of flavor with a few interesting mechanics that set it apart from others in the genre. The pet mechanics are my favorite, and I love that they are customizable with unlockable skins to work towards. Questing can feel a bit repetitive, but it is a very soothing form of repetition. Gaucho is easily one of my most relaxing titles in my library.

What I love about the game is that it gives players a bit of direction. Players have to complete quests to unlock resources, materials, and items they need for farming. There is nothing wrong with games give you the freedom to create your own content, but exploring the different realms, solving the different problems, and learning about the lore makes this game worth playing through once. If you don’t get distracted by how much there is to do in this game.

The game does need a bit of work. On PC, the performance was solid with a few glitches here and there. Nothing game breaking, but they were noticeable. The game doesn’t run well on the Steam deck. There were noticeable drops in frames that made the game look ugly. Turning the camera too close to trees caused the most issues. While the controls felt fine, and ideally I would prefer playing on handheld, the optimization isn’t there. It is playable, but the drastic dip in performance makes it difficult to go from PC to the Steam Deck. At least the sync works flawlessly.

That said, Gaucho and the Grassland is a cute and cozy farming sim that deserves more attention. It is a fun game with enough passion to give me faith that updates are coming, and the game will only get better.

You can pick up Guacho and the Grassland on Steam for $19.99. There is a demo available if you don’t believe me.

video game reviews

Striving for Light Review: A Unique Blend ARPG You Need to Try

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Striving for Light 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Striving for Light?

Striving for light is a roguelike RPG that lets you build your own skill tree.

Travel through stylized dungeons as you fight off monsters and their bosses, collect loot and upgrades, and unlock new powers and characters. With an endless amount of possibilities, players are promised a build that fits their playstyle. What secrets will you uncover? What upgrades will you unlock? Jump in and find out!

Gameplay

Striving for Light is a like if Diablo had a baby with Vampire Survivor, and it kind of works. Players fight through different dungeons, grinding for XP and mats for upgrades, and occasionally finding rare loot. The twin stick shooter mechanics for combat give the game its casual feel, but its deep and customizable skill tree give the game its depth. As players level, they can start buying nodes on a skill tree to customize their character. Nodes can be changed and added with gems found as random drops. Players can easily get lost in the intricacies of the skill tree, but there is definitely enough room for fun.

Review

I almost gave up on this game, but I am glad I stuck with it. While the artstyle is fantastic and flavorful, the game feels very clunky. Combat also feels stiff at first. The problem was that I was treating it like a survivorlike instead of the ARPG that it actually is. Once I started being smarter about my grind, and found a weapon I liked, the game became a lot of fun. It became harder to put the game down once I started customizing my skill tree and finding a build that fit with my play style. There is probably a way to min-max and find the perfect build, but the fun comes from exploring the different weapons and builds.

I personally like the simple combat system because it gave me a casual experience when grinding XP, but I appreciate the depth of the skill tree system because it keeps me engaged. Even though I found a build that I really enjoyed, there is so much more I want to try and explore. It is going to be very hard to put this game down.

I like that the game has different types of activities to mix up the grind. I also like that there are different challenges for added diversity in the maps. The scaling for the monsters kept me on my toes, and the boss fights were unique. There are points where the game does get a tad bit repetitive, but there is something soothing about the repetition that keeps me logging back in. There is an online multiplayer mode, but I only stuck to solo mode because I am a filthy casual.

If you like the art, want something similar to Diablo or Path of Exile, this game is a fantastic option. The game has great art and music, the mechanics are chill, and the skill tree is fantastic. It does need a bit more work, but I am willing to stick around to see where the devs take this game.

You can pick up Striving for Light on Steam for $17.99.

video game reviews

Unlock New Adventures with Secrets of the Eastern Sea DLC

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of the Wandering Sword: Secrets of the Eastern Sea. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. Make sure you check out my review for the base game.

Shameless Self-Promotion

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Secrets of the Eastern Sea

Secrets of the Eastern Sea unlocks a new area to explore, new martial arts (Quingyun Fan Technique) to explore, and a new character to unlock. You will need the base game to play this game. This is midgame content that will unlock a series of new quests and story which is great for those replaying the game, or just getting into it. Those who enjoy cosmetics can collect two new mounts (white and gray seals), and a few new outfits for some added flare. Players can also create their own island retreat where they can gather resources and trade with visitors, for those who enjoy that type of management game.

Review

I really enjoyed the Secrets of the Eastern Sea DLC. The DLC takes full advantage of its beautiful art and creates a unique and interesting island adventure. I love the vibe, music, and flavor of the new area, and I had a lot of fun exploring as much of it as I could. The new characters and martial arts are strong, and a lot of fun to use. The quest and story are worth playing through. It does a good amount of world building, and a must buy if you want to know more about the world. It is a little short, but for $7, it is not a problem. Especially since it is mid-game content.

You don’t need to buy the Secrets of the Eastern Sea DLC to enjoy Wandering Sword. The base game is fantastic and worth your time on its own, but the flavor, characters, and settings the DLC adds are worth visiting at least once. If you’re looking to buy into Wandering Sword, or want to support a very good game, go pick up Secrets of the Eastern Sea on Steam.

video game reviews

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

Leave a comment

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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

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.

video game reviews

Afterlove EP Review: A Journey Through Grief and Healing

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was a free copy of Afterlove EP 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Afterlove Ep?

Afterlove EP is a stylistic slice of life visual novel out now on Steam.

Rama was a promising musician when tragedy strikes. Rama loses his girlfriend suddenly, and weight of her absence upends his life and everyone else who knew her. Play as Rama as he struggles through his grief, mends the relationships he pushed away, and tries to find the inspiration for his next great song. With the help of friends, music, and a little bit of therapy, Rama just have what it takes to move forward and achieve the his dreams. All he has to do is get through it.

Review

If you enjoy visual novels, Afterlove EP should be in your library. I could not put this thing down. The quirky art style and animation make the game feel cozy, even though the subject isn’t. The soundtrack is fantastic. There is not a bad song in the batch, and I loved playing the rhythm games as Rama worked on discovering his new sound. Most importantly, the story is fantastic.

I haven’t been captivated by a story like this in a while, and I am very glad I picked it up. The story is sad, and it depicts grief in such a realistic way that I have to leave you with this trigger warning: don’t get this if you’ve lost someone and it is going to make you sad. I cried, but I am in the stage of my grief where it felt revealing. It was kind of nice to experience grief through someone else because it felt less lonely. A lot of Rama and the people around him feel after Cinta dies mirrors what I’ve felt. It is a very nice wholesome story about grief that I recommend to everyone, but there are parts that will make you sad. But there are also parts that will make you smile. I think the art style plays a huge roll in taking away some of the darkness that can come with grief so that people can focus on the process and not just the tragedy.

Afterlove EP is a must read for anyone who likes the genre and doesn’t mind feeling a little sad while reading it. I would even argue that you should read it if you do mind because it might help you go through it.

Do yourself a favor, pick up Afterlove EP for $19.99 on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. It is Steam Deck certified, and it looks great on the Steam Deck.

video game reviews

Hellbreak Review: A Fast-Paced Roguelike Shooter

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Hellbreak 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.

Shameless Self-Promotion

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is Hellbreak?

Hellbreak is a 1st person roguelike arena shooter out on Steam Early Access.

Fight for your eternal salvation as you enter Hell’s deadliest arena. Earn a daemon lord’s blessing as you fight off endless waves of demons using your weapon, magic, and anything else you find along the way. Can you earn enough power to repel all enemies, entertain the lords of hell, and earn your salvation?

Gameplay

Like all other roguelikes, players choose a starting loadout and try to survive the waves of enemies until the boss fight. Players will earn random buffs or weapons at level up and can pick up ammo, health, and other useful power ups from random enemies. The round is over when the boss is defeated or the player dies. Between runs, players can buy permanent upgrades for their weapons, blessings, or skills. There is also a quest system that helps give players the currency needed for some of the more important upgrades.

Review

One thing I will say about Hellbreak is that it does take some warming up to. Choosing the wrong weapon, picking the wrong blessings, and bad RNG will ruin a run and can ruin a first impression. I was ready to write this game off because there are better titles in the genre, but then I found a weapon I truely vibed with and it was hard to put it down. Don’t get me wrong, the game does have a kinks it needs to be ironed out, but nothing that can’t be fixed with future patches.

Aesthetically, this game looks great. The monster design, the levels, and the weapons create an interesting hellscape. The game also has a solid sound track to make your fight through hell a little more epic.

Gamplay wise, the game is fun. I enjoyed the fast paced chaotic nature of combat, and the different playstyles the weapons and blessings offer. Some of the weapons and skills do feel bad, but players can swap out the starting loadout until they find something they like. The RNG also doesn’t feel fair yet. There were a few runs that were ruined because I didn’t get any good blessings. The game feels a little solvable for this reason, and choosing anything less than optimal feels bad. Personally, I would appreciate the freedom to choose any wacky build that fits the mood so every round is different, instead of hoping for the good blessings each time I level up. It gets a little better as you unlock new abilities, but it makes it feel like there is a grind.

Overall, if you want some fast paced Doom-like action and don’t mind the roughness of the Early Access, this game is fun. While there is some roughness and room for reworks, the Hellbreak is in a good enough place where I can recommend it. Go check it out!

You can pick up Hellbreak on Steam Early access for $14.99.

video game reviews

Emotional Journey through Puzzles in After Light Fades

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of After the Light Fades 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do. If you’re looking for a VPN for some added protection, check out NordVPN through my affiliate link.

What is After Light Fades?

After Light Fades is a sokuban-style puzzle adventure out now on Steam.

After the loss of her partner, Alice must travel through a magical land, collecting memories and learning to let them go. Alice must go back to the places she shared with her partner Aura as she works through her grief with the help of magical artifacts. What she will uncover along the way? Will she be able to let things go?

Gameplay

After Light Fades is a top down puzzle game where players must interact with the parts of the map to find a path forward. There are over 100 puzzles to solve, each guiding the player through an emotional narrative of grief. The game also have a level creator for those who are feeling creative.

Review

After Light Fades is a hardcore puzzle game that will test a players patience and challenge their problem solving skills. Puzzles are creative, and they get challenging once it teachers its players the core mechanics. A guide might be needed in a few places, but it is satisfying to beat the harder levels. I appreciate how creative the game gets with its mechanics and solutions.

One aspect I didn’t like is that the interactions can bug out. Sometimes, you will move a piece on accident because of how interactions work. It isn’t a deal breaker, but it does lead to some frustrations. Other than that, the game is solid, if you’re looking for a puzzle game. It definitely does feel a little more niche side of puzzle games, but it has a decent story with some interesting puzzles.

If you enjoy Sokuban puzzle games and want a challenge, After Light Fades is for you. If you don’t want to think too much, this game closes its chill pretty early on. I thought it was fine, but I’d recommend checking out the demo before making the decision. The niceness of it all makes it hard to recommend.

You can pick up After Light Fades on steam for $14.99.

video game reviews

Yosei Wars Review: A Cute Retro Adventure

Leave a comment

Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Yosei Wars 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

If you’re looking for a way to upgrade your aesthetic, check out my latest reviews for the Epomaker TH85, Epomaker HE68 Mag, Cypher81 or the KiiBoom Moonshadow V2. Check out my latest review of the Fifine M9 Microphone System and the Kiwi Ears Aventus Wireless Headset. If you’re buying anything from Amazon, feel free to use my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do.

What is Yosei Wars?

Yosei Wars is a retro inspired arcade platformer out now on Steam.

The evil Junk Food army has invaded, taking the Tooth Faries Hostage and threatening tooth health. It is up to you to jump through its colorful world, fight off the many Junk Food monsters, and save any Fairy in your way. Do you have what it takes to be be the champion of good dental hygiene, or will this world rot away like an untreated cavity?

Gameplay

This is a very straightforward 2D platformer with some clear inspiration to its retro predecessors. Players will jump through colorful thematic levels collecting teeth, fighting monsters, and rescuing faries. There are 36 levels total with 6 unique bosses to overcome, and a fun little story to tie things together.

Review

Yosei Wars is an adorable nod to a classic era of gaming that I didn’t know I was missing. This game is cute, simple, relaxing, but offers enough of a challenge to keep things engaging. I love the colorful retro aesthetic, and the fantastic score that accompanies it. I would check this out if you’re looking for a cute and dose of nostalgia, I don’t think it gets better.

I’ve never been a fan of these types of platformers, but something about Yosie Wars kept me playing. Part of the draw was the retro colorful world, but the rest was the gameplay. The platforming is managable, the ramp in difficulty is fine (and the game does get hard), and the bosses are creative. My only complaint is that I could not get it to work on the Steam Deck. The game feels good on a desktop, but I would have preferred to play it on handheld. Maybe with enough attention, we’ll get that update.

Aside from that personal gripe, this is a solid game if you’re looking for something cozy, cute, and casual. Especially if you’re in the mood for something a little retro. You’ll definitely get $5 worth of fun out of this game.

You can pick up Yosei Wars on Steam for $4.99.