With Distorted Reflection just around the corner, lets check out the starter decks. First up is Diana, Moonpiercer, the Water/Astra Ranger deck! The deck releases on July 25th with an MSRP of $14.99. Make sure you always support your LGS, but you can always grab your Diana, Moonpiercer Starter Deck on TCG Player through my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you do.
The List
Material Deck Spirit of Water x 1 Diana, Aether Dilettante x 1 Diana, Judgment’s Arrow x 1 Diana, Moon Piercer x 1 Bauble of Abundance x 1 Foresight Lens x 1 Ranger Boots x 1 Refluxal Ribbon x 1 Seeker’s Aetherwing x 1 Tariff Ring x 1 Aquamirage Whisper x 1 Pleiades, Celestial Genesis x 1
Main Deck Aetheric Calibration x 4 Backstep x 4 Charge the Soul x 4 Idle Thoughts x 3 Prudent Nock x 4 Reposition x 4 Stalwart Shieldmate x 4 Corsair Captain x 3 Dissuading Aether x 4 Drown in Aether x 4 Undercurrent Vantage x 3 Astra Sight x 3 Constellation’s Blessing x 4 Guided Starlight x 2 Meteoric Volley x 2 Poised Occlusion x3 Sidereal Spellshot x 3 Starbirth x 2
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.
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.
I was sent a free copy of Ruffy and the Riverside 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.
An ancient evil has reawaken, hungry to reclaim this world as its own. Its power has corrupted the land, caused wide spread destruction, and damaged the world core. It is up to Ruffy and his special powers to travel across the whimsical world of Riverside, and restore the peace it once knew. Using the powers to change the world around you, solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and repair the world core. Do you have what it takes to restore this world’s peace?
Gameplay
Ruffy and the Riverside is a 3D adventure game with a unique gimmick. Ruffy has the power to change the world around him in a way that helps him move through the world by copying elements and pasting them elsewhere. For example, he can copy a piece of ice to freeze a lake so he can walk across, or turn a stone pillar into wood to create a bridge. The game gets extremely creative with this mechanics, and it is one of those things you need to experience first hand to appreciate. The game is filled with collectibles, puzzles, riddles, and enough platforming to keep its player base busy.
Review
I have been excited about Ruffy and the Riversidesince I first saw the trailer. It looked like a cute platforming adventure, and I was not disappointed. I did try the demo out as soon as it went public, and I recommend you check that out if you’re somehow still on the fence. The demo provides the perfect snapshot of what to expect, and full game only gets better.
First off, this game has a fantastic art style. I love the 2D figures moving through a fun 3D world. The world is chaotic, with lots of wacky details to build its whimsy. I had so much fun exploring the world, that I kept forgetting to play through the main quest. There is so much to see, and even more to collect which is fantastic for those who value good world building in their video games. There is also a fun soundtrack to keep things light which is always appreciated.
The story itself is cute. I enjoyed the humor and quirks, and it honestly kept my attention. Despite being constantly distracted by the world, I did genuinely want to know what happened next. It definitely is a silly story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it is all part of the whimsy.
The gameplay is the reason to get this game. If you enjoyed Spyro or Banjo Kazooie, Ruffy and The Riverside should be in your library. The game has a fantastic gimmick, with fun creative puzzles to make full use of it. The puzzles in this game are challenging. I almost broke and looked up solutions, but it was much more satisfying to solve it on my own. While the game does shower the players with achievements, nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment when you figure out one of the challenging puzzles. Best of all, it runs great on the Steam Deck.
This game is easily one of my favorites from this year. The game is fun, the concept is interesting, and the aesthetic is cute. If you’re looking for a new game, you can’t do better than Ruffy and the Riverside. Go get it now.
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.
Yosei Warsis 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 Warsis 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.
I was sent a free copy of Scar-LeadSalvationto 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 reivew.
Scar-Led Salvation is a 3D third-person action shooter out now on Steam and PlayStation.
Willow wakes up in a strange robot testing facility without the memories of her identity. With the help of her advanced AI companion, she must make her way out of the facility, and maybe find out what is going on. But this won’t be an easy task. The facility is filled with robots ready to attack, and its hallways are a winding and confusing maze. Will Willow find out what happened to her, why she is here, and who she is?
Gameplay
Players control Willow as they fight their way through rooms of enemies. Combat is a pretty strait forward third person shooter. Players gear Willow with random weapons and abilities they find throughout a run. These weapons and abilities can be upgraded through out the level at upgrade stations. If Willow dies, she is reset at save point with only her basic weapons and abilities.
Review
Scar-Lead Salvationis a fun game, for the first few minutes of play. The game looks fine, combat feels good, and discovering the right weapon is exciting. Once the novelty of the game wears off, the game starts to feel repetitive.
One of the issues I have with the game is with the gearing system. Once you find a build you like, which happens early on in the game, there really is no reason to try anything new. Most of the drops become useless, and I started ignoring loot pretty early on in my playthrough. There really is no reason weapons should be drops since a lot of the time, they offer nothing new. In a looter shooter like Borderlands, even when a lot of the drops are useless, there is always a chance you get a weapon with a cool ability worth swapping into. Here you might find a gun with slightly better stats, but the difference it makes isn’t worth the time it takes to verify.
Combat in this game is smooth, but there really isn’t anything exciting to it. Enemies have the same patterns, and once you learn them, you aren’t dying. It gets very repetitive, especially since most of the rooms feel the same. I do like how that abilities charge by parrying successfully, but it doesn’t add too much depth to the game. The abilities don’t add much to the game either.
This is a game that does railroad its players through the story. There is no room for exploration because the rooms are bare and simple, and most of the loot you find is pointless. The story itself is fine. It has solid voice acting, but its not good enough to play through the game to find out what happens.
The game isn’t bad, but there also isn’t anything that leaves an impression. This is a game I will definitely forget playing, and one that I would have been mad if I paid full price for. It feels dated, and not in a good way. If you like the art style, I would wait for sale. If you are looking for a new game to play, I’d probably look elsewhere.
Maestro sent me the2001: A Space Odyssey board game for free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. Always support your LGS when buying board games, but you can pick it up from Amazon through my Affiliate link if you want to help me out. You can also check out my newest sponsor NordVPN if you’re looking for a good one and want to help me out.
What is 2001: A Space Odyssey – The Board Game?
This is a one vs many game based off the iconic book (or movie) of the same name. It is a 3-5 player game that takes about 30 mins to play through and rated for ages 10 and up. It is available now on the official Maestro Media store.
Players split off into two groups: the players who play as H.A.L and the crew who tries to stop H.A.L. This is a card game where players go back and forth, playing cards to either blow up the ship or shut down H.A.L. H.A.L can shut down systems, target players to slow their progress, or close doors to slow their movement. H.A.L can also listen to everyone on board the ship, so players will need to be clever with what they say to each other or risk getting caught by H.A.L.
The players on the other hand must move through the ship using their cards to undo the damage H.A.L. has done. They each have special abilities and can trade with one another, but H.A.L.’s ever pretense makes it difficult to work together.
H.A.L. wins if it is able to shut down the three systems or life support. The players win if they are able to shut down H.A.L.
Review
Before you get discouraged, you don’t need to know anything about the book or the movie to enjoy the game. People who have might enjoy the flavor and catch some solid reference to the source material, but it isn’t mandatory for understanding the game. In fact, this is one of the easiest games to teach and learn. Most of the time, I need a video because that is how I learn, but the rulebook is easy to read and the game play loop isn’t too complicated. This is a great game to pull out for people who don’t play many board games because onboarding is so easy.
The game itself is beautiful. The pieces are well printed on high quality cardboard. The game pips are bright, colorful, and with a good amount of detail. The cards are a little thin, but they are high quality prints that are easy to read. I sleeved my cards because I am a crazy person who sleeves everything, but you can get away with not sleeving them if this isn’t your go to game. The box has a beautiful thematic design with enough space for sleeved decks and the remaining game pieces. I love this box and it will be one that I keep on display.
Now the H.A.L. screen is flimsy and will fall. I wish it was made with cardboard, but I also understand keeping the cost down. It isn’t a huge deal if you’re only pulling the game out once in a while, but you will probably need to create your own if you pull this out every day. This isn’t a huge deal breaker, but it can be annoying if you have fix it every so often.
The gameboard is beautiful. The print is vibrant and the words are clear and legible. The board is a little thin, and I advise caution when opening it. I ripped mine a bit because I wasn’t paying attention to the direction of the opening. This is not the company or the boards fault, I was just a little too excited and didn’t open it correctly.
Most importantly however, the game is fun. Maestro does a good at creating the appropriate ammount of tension through the game’s mechanics. For the crewmembers, having that limited movement coupled with the limited resources as you race across the station trying to shut down H.A.L. is hard. Having to do it with a team but not being able to talk to them without giving too much away makes things tricky. Finding ways to communicate and work together makes it fun though. For H.A.L., having multiple crew memebers working against your goals is frustrating. It is frustrating to watch crew members undo your hard work, but it is so much fun figuring out what your players are up to, and shutting them down.
One thing I will say, RNG can scew a game, so make sure you shuffle well. Either side having a stacked deck because the cards weren’t shuffled properly can ruin a game. I recommend picking up some cheap sleeves for easier shuffling.
If you’re looking for a cool scifi game, or need a break form your favorite TTRPG, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great place to start. It is a good looking game with fun and easy to learn mechanics. It is great for beginners, even those unfamiliar with source material.
it is finally happening! After a long anticipated wait, we finally get a date for the Drakantos closed beta! The closed beta will run from July 25th – July 27th, and signups are live! Make sure you join the official Discord and add the game to your watchlist! If you don’t know what Drakantos is, make sure you check out my initial post.
This will be a short post because not much is known aside from the dates. We will get news about the playable characters at a later date, and I will be sure to cover it then as well. For now, all we know is that you will be able to invite your friends to the beta if you get in (provided the Steam function properly works properly that weekend).
I have been following Drakantos since I got a chance to talk to a few of the devs during my time at GDC a couple years back. Every Dev log, and I recommend you check them all out both the official coverage and my own, has added to my excitement and made me impatient. I am really rooting for this game’s success because I love the art, the flavor, and the passion that is going into the project. I can’t wait for finally get my hands on this game! Until then, we wait for more news.
I was sent a free copy of Star Overdrive 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.
Bios finds himself stranded on the planet Cebete as he searches for his beloved Nous. Armed with only his Keytar and handy hoverboard, Bios must race across the strange planet to find her and bring her back. But the journey won’t be easy. The world is full of strange beasts he needs to fight off and strange machines he needs to activate. Can he find the right upgrades to conquer the terrain, save the girl, and get back home? Will he learn what really happened here?
Gameplay
Star Overdrive is an openworld adventure game with a hoverboard gimmick. The hoverboard can be upgraded, tuned, and customized to fit a players style. Players can do tricks, do jumps, and go through special gates to gain boosts. If you aren’t moving fast across the map, you aren’t doing it right.
There is a crafting mechanic baked into this game. Players will collect materials along their adventure to craft different upgrades for their board, or to change the aesthetic. The farming can feel like a grind, but it is worth the trouble, especially if you like to consistently change your boards style. The board will wear with use, and having a fresh coat of paint and polish will make it perform better.
Combat in this game is simple. Players use the keytar to chain normal and heavy attacks, and can earn new powers along the adventure. Players can mostly look forward to exploring the vast world, searching for new styles, upgrades, lore, and some cool tracks to listen to.
Review
I really like Star Overdrive, but not as much as I thought I would. While I do love the flavor, the gameplay, and the concept, I found it a bit lacking. I am aware that there were some limitations baked into the game so that it can perform for the switch, and it definitely feels like a switch game.
One issue I have with the game is how empty the world feels after a while. Everything in this game looks cool, but once you start exploring the world, there isn’t much more to see. Some of it has to do with how they need to make room for the hoverboard riding mechanics, and the other has to do with maintaining the performance. It made me not really want to explore the world, and instead, I tried to finish the story as soon as possible.
The story itself is fine. I liked collecting the small tidbits and piecing together the events of the catastrophe. All the voice logs, journals, and the story itself was fun to collect. I think it is the only reason I kept playing.
The gameplay is fun, until the gimmick wears off. Combat is simple, but it makes the game the casual RPG I’ll occasionally pull out. Riding the hoverboard is so much fun. once I figured out the mechanics, got a few upgrades, I was sold. I wouldn’t say it has revolutionary movement mechanics, but they are good enough to keep players engaged. Zooming through the desert doing tricks, landing sweet jumps, and listening to good music made this game hard to put down.
One thing I did not like about the hoverboard was the upgrade system. I like that the upgrades felt meaningful, and I like that there was unlockable customization, but I don’t like the crafting system. The crafting system is simple, and it produces visible upgrades to the board, but it makes upgrading the board a grind. You have to constantly be farming materials and gambling on the part you get in return. It doesn’t take away too much time from the game, but I would have preferred to find the parts as random loot.
Combat was fine, but it gets better once you unlock a few powers. There were abilities that did feel broken, but it was a fun little loop that kept me engaged.
Despite its flaws, the game is a solid open world adventure with a solid story and a cool gimmick that is worth trying once. Whether or not you value exploration and deep combat may be the deal breaker, but I enjoyed it for the casual fun it is on my Steam Deck.
The Broken Palaceis book two of the Shades of Path adventure designed to take players from level 4 to 6.
The players venture deeper into the broken palace on their search for Lady Nalushae, but find themselves trapped in an ancient cellblock. Now, they must venture into its dark, dank, vampire infested prison for a way out. With their supplies dwindling and threats around every corner, players must learn to be resourceful. Can they make their supplies last long enough to save the world? Can they navigate the complex tensions between the three vampire factions that rule the Underheaven? What secrets will they uncover? What treasures will they find?
Impressions
The cover art is an immediately draws the eyes. I love the use of red. I love Naulusha’s design and how her pose strikes commands attention. I love the image of what I can assume are player characters struggling against a vampire. This series is supposed to be a darker, more horror oriented type of adventure, and the cover does a good job at setting the appropriate mood. The art throughout the book is equal as striking, and I enjoy flipping through it, just to look at the art. If you like vampires, undead, and horror, the book has some very good looking flavor and some fantastic flavor to go with it.
Now the overarching meta story is solid. I enjoyed reading the different bits of lore, and the warring factions are interesting. Most importantly, the book gives players many ways to solve the story. It doesn’t have to all be fighting, but it can be if that’s the kind of table you have. The dungeon design is fine. It has some neat encounters I will definitely borrow, and it builds a good amount of tension and urgency.
One thing to note about this adventure is that there is a survival mechanic that you will need to manage. Players will need to keep track of their food and water supplies to survive. The game does streamline the mechanic so it doesn’t feel like work without taking away any of the tension, but GMs are free to get as hardcore with their mechanics as they want. You can play without this mechanic, but I felt like it took away a lot of the urgency and tension. I like how there is this pressure to save the world from eternal darkness, the desire to explore this tomb of an advanced civilization, and the ever present threat of dying from starvation along with all the other threats that lurk in the shadows.
Overall, the adventure is fine. I enjoyed the flavor and lore, and there are some very cool encounters and monsters to play with. It was a fun path to explore, but I think my table is a bit too casual to take advantage of the survival mechanics. The survival mechanics are easy to manage, but we would often forget to keep track and that definitely took away from the tension. We still had fun, which I’d argue makes the adventure worth trying, but there are definitely some decisions my players wouldn’t have made if we were keeping better track. There is also the danger of being too hardcore about the survival mechanics. If the survival mechanics is that if it takes away from the story or fun, you’re doing too much.
Honestly, if you like vampires and don’t mind the survival mechanics, this is a solid horror campaign. It has a cool creepy setting filled with neat monsters and encounters and I am very interested to see what comes next.
I do want to take the moment to commend Paizo for the quality of their books. Everything I’ve gotten so far has been printed to a very high standard. Everything is clear, vibrant, and the books feel durable. I spilled all of my coffee on this book, and while I don’t recommend anyone try it themselves, I was surprised by how good it cleaned up. There is some warping and some staining, but the book looks good, and is still very usable.
I was sent the Sintopia demo to review for my blog. I understand the game isn’t finished yet, so I will be a bit more lenient with my review. That said, I these will my honest impressions.
Sintopia is management god game planned for Early Access on September 4 2025.
You are in the business of sin, and sinners are your most valuable resource. Structure your bureaucratic hellscape to tourcher repenting souls you’ve led astray while keeping your employees happy. Use your powers to grow, guide, and kill off Humus to keep a healthy supply of sin flowing. Can you run your world efficiently enough to gain recognition from the big guy himself?
Gameplay
The demo is the game’s tutorial. Players learn important fundamental mechanics and enjoy a bit of flavor and lore. Sintopiais a management game, with a few different parts: overworld, underworld and employee management.
In the over world, players influence how a society grows and expands. Players can kill kings they don’t like, they can influence people to sin, and kill them to feed their souls to hell. The humus, for the most part, will grow and expand their civilization on their own and react to a players actions.
Once souls go into hell, players can farm them their sin through different buildings and structures. Players are essentially creating and managing a maze. Players will need to hire imps, give them a wage, and keep them happy. Players must also create a maze that can effectively harvest sin from lost souls, while also managing the living. All this is done to earn the currency needed to upgrade the buildings that will make hell more efficient.
The imps that run the various points of a player’s hell also have needs. On top of managing and maintaining a civilization of Hummus and their souls, players need to worry about their imployees. Imps have needs, require breaks, and expect a certain wage. They also have their quirks that can affect productivity. Finding the perfect staff of imps that doesn’t bankrupt you at an early stage of the game is important. Juggling this with the other two tasks is what is going to make or break this game.
Impressions
Sintopia is a very interesting entry to the genre. The game has a cool artstyle, a fun tone, and terrific flavor. There is clearly a lot of effort being put into making this game silly and lighthearted, but also offer an engaging and meaningful experience.
The demo does provide a good sense of what to expect, but the tutorial is slow. I like to jump into these games and figure things out on my end, then look up tutorials for any mechanics I might have missed. This isn’t the right way to do things, but it is how I have fun. I’ll need a full version before I can make my decision.
Sintopiahas some interesting mechanics that are worth looking into. If you like management games, this is a promising title, for those who enjoy a busier game. There is a lot going on in this game. It is manageable, but it can feel like work if you aren’t approaching it with an appropriate strategy. The tutorial does a good job of giving the players the tools they need with a fun voice acted story, but it is so slow. I just want to sit back and build stuff. I also wasn’t a fan of the overworld tasks. Killing Humus feels tedious sometimes, keeping track of what they do feels like work, and I never really knew when to kill their king. There seems to be too much going on, if you’re looking for a casual management game. If you are looking for a hardcore management game with fun flavor, this one looks very promising. While I am not just yet convinced if I like this game, you should definitely check out the demo if you like managing resources, building efficient infrastructure, and aren’t afraid of a little sin.
