Game Reviews

Game Title: Entropy Effect Released:  February 14, 2024 Game Length: 18 Hours Grade: B   Characters Background:  Are you familiar at all with the BlazBlue franchise? What if you were to take the characters from that series and made a game that revolved all around building attack patterns? You don't need to know much of the story, the characters, or the background since an entirely different team pulled the existing elements of the intellectual property into a glorified test ground. You can play by yourself, with another character next to you, or online with another player. Not all characters are available from the start, but unlocking one of them is as easy as completing a full run or two of the game. Menu:  To access certain parts of the game, you run this little bot around the office. These include setting up the difficulty and character of a run, installing modifiers, accessing small Phenomena  cutscenes from an unusual character, listening to a girl who tal...

Game Title: Doloc Town Released:  August 6, 2026 Game Length: N/A Grade: A Story Characters:  Proti, or whatever name you give your character in the beginning, will be permanent. You are transferred to help a place called Doloc Town after the great robot war. Claud is the Mayor who has been around leading the people ever since the train was stopped in the middle of nowhere. There are four characters that make up a rag-team of defenders:  Orlando  the overzealous leader that still runs the guild alone,  Hult  who is now stuck in a wheelchair after an accident,  Zenis  the tavern maiden, and Ponka who heroically saved the people.  Ponka  is a robot you will hear a lot from the locals who traveled far to keep a secret project intact after the war. You follow the breadcrumbs through many different locations to piece together the  Environmental Modifier  that slightly cleans up the area in small ways so more fish and vegetation can...

Game Title: Seeds of Calamity Released:  April 13, 2026 Game Length: N/A Grade: B Mechanics Farming:  Planting items require the right season and a dug spot with your hoe. You can use your watering can or use automated sprinklers. Seeds can be obtained from the shop, but there are random seeds you can get from fishing (if you click on the treasure purple bar). Seeds that grow into trees do not need to be watered. Make sure to plant acorns and pinecones since  seeds don't naturally drop to grow more trees .  Beehives  will require you to have 8 flowers planted completely around them. Other things like tree sap, pickle barrels, and wine barrels are also available.  Geodes  can be broken up from your workbench.  Reading:  Another unusual choice in this game is the option to load up your bookcase with a series of books. Sit down and advance time a little to read a portion of a book. There is an actual story you can read a few lines at a...

Game Title: Voidwrought Released:  October 24, 2024 Game Length: 10 Hours Grade:  A Gameplay Story:  The first thing we need to address is the chaotic nature of the story. Putting together what is going on can be exhausting. Everybody points to  this Steam post  for the best summation. You can tell where a lot of elements are placed as gameplay mechanics first and lore supposition later. There are a couple of main characters observing from above who play around with this weird void that looks like a black hole until a red star forms and begins creating abominations. You can travel through 12 regions (the void counts as one) and obtain 20 journals that help explain more. You can stumble across Ose the archaeologist who leaves holographic devices at certain locations and commune with 15 stones that tell a little more of what happened in each region. Home Base:  You start the game with barely anything available at the Shrine . The first thing to do is place o...

Game Title: MIO: Memories in Orbit Released:  January 20, 2026 Game Length: 28 Hours Grade: C+   Exploration Map:  After playing  Solateria , this Metroidvania feels much more punishing with how it handles your map. For starters,  the map does not show rooms as you explore . Even from the beginning, you must wait until you "Attune" with a Network Gate to mark where you have been. There is a chance you will see a faint yellow trail as you move around the environment until then. Red lines are locked gates you have to open using a key or from the other side. Faded blocks represents something inaccessible that can range anywhere from passages that need to be broken using an energy shard or a breakable wall. One icon represents a Crystalliser that turns your Nacre Droplets you obtain from enemies into a more solid Crystallised Nacre that you don't lose after all your protection is gone. A Nacre Basin  is shaped like a fan and can restore any protection you...