Game Reviews

Game Title:  Ogu and the Secret Forest Released:  July 29, 2024 Game Length:  25 Hours Grade:  A- Gameplay Story:  You are the chosen one that stumbles across a broken world to defeat the Evil God. You need to retrieve six sigils from six different biomes. As the narrative unfolds, you learn that everything was fragmented when one of the four divine beasts underwent a risky endeavor to aid the critters below. That is when trash became sentient and started to overtake the land. There were trials setup to challenge the chosen one in the way of puzzles and obstacles. Mechanics:  The controls are rather simplistic with your own attack coming from a swing from your butterfly net. Eventually, you earn the ability to shield yourself for a second as you headbutt forward to knock out enemy shields. The monkeys will teach you how to dance to heal yourself up to half your health. Full health can be obtained from food, hot springs, hats, and safe zones. This ability is...

Game Title: Roadwarden Released:  September 12, 2022 Game Length:  20 Hours Grade:  A- Goal Quest:  Your primary quest is to explore the peninsula to the north and gain the support of the locals for Hovlavan . You can choose to play a casual game with no time limit, standard game with 40 days, or restrictive game with 30 days. For someone who doesn't know how all the mechanics work or what events will happen, 40 days will not be enough to do everything. An event will happen after 20 days that will allow you to end your adventure sooner. The game also allows you to decide whether you want to report back or to indefinitely stay in the new lands. Your decision will play out in the epilogue. Reputation:  Depending on your appearance, your choices in conversation, and little things like whether you display the Winged Hourglass around your neck can make or break the respect of each faction. If you outright tell someone you aren't going to help them, you can lose a li...

Game Title: Balatro Released:  February 20, 2024 Game Length:  Unknown Grade:  B+  Prelude Style:   Balatro  is a game that was getting way too much attention in 2024. I've seen several famous reviewers who applaud the extent an indie developer was willing to go to revolutionize the game of Poker. There is a catch. The game can be excruciatingly difficult, and not just to new players. Winning or losing can boil down to knowing all the little intricacies of the game and adapting to the cards you are dealt.  It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose . Some players gloat that they can win 80% of the time while others can spend 25 hours playing before winning a single game. It really is all about 50% skill and 50% luck.  Skill Jokers:  Learning which jokers stand above the others  is one key advantage to knowing how to advance in the game. There are many joker cards that are very situational. They might only give you a perk after yo...

Game Title: Monster Sanctuary Released:  December 8, 2020 Game Length:  40 Hours Grade:  A- Prelude Development:   Monster Sanctuary   is a game that has been around for a long time. About a dozen developers have been working on this project since 2015. Around 2018, they produced a small demo and wanted to  start a Kickstarter project  for more content. Some who donated more than the others would even get a hand in helping design monsters, characters, or encounters. They were able to get so many contributors that they were able to reach their goals to produce over 100 monsters (instead of just around 60), add special game modes, and other types of support. The game would release in 2020 and add additional features in a completely free update in 2022. Levels Enemy Levels:  It is  very   important to pay attention to how levels work in this game. Each room you traverse with an encounter will increase the global monster level. The monste...

Game Title: There is No Game: Wrong Dimension Released:  August 6, 2020 Game Length:  5 Hours Grade: B+ The Beginning First No Game:  A long time ago when Adobe Flash was used by creative artists to make games, one person by the name of Pascal Cammisotto created a short 20-minute interactive experience. He even created a  preview on Youtube  showing it off. You can still play the  Jam Edition  or visit any website that still hosts HTML5 games like  on CoolMathGames . It was cute, charming, and definitely some out-of-the-box thinking when it came to an engaging story.  Failed Kickstarter:  Unfortunately, there was very little publicity when it came to those who wanted to support a full-fledged game. In 2016, he barely managed to receive 10% of the funds from his  Kickstarter Project . The video itself only received 6,000 views at the time. This was a far cry from the 4 million who played the Jam Edition on Steam. Despite the s...

  Palia Update Release:  Since August 3rd, 2023, Palia  has been slowly releasing a series of builds as early as 0.165. Although they launched on Steam March 25th 2024 with Build 0.180, the developers still had their hands full trying to keep players busy. June 2024, EG7 buys Singularity 6 and enlists  Palia  with  Daybreak . This was my moment to try the game and wrote an  extensive review  of their systems. As part of their target demographic, the game was good. My last achievement was on August 13th when I completed the Bundle of the Gales that becomes available after visiting all the temples.  Slow Builds:  Since their release, every content patch had you collecting some new decoration set, toying around with some new feature, and a bunch of new cosmetics to purchase. For approximately a year, the only new buildings that were available released while I was playing with the Grand Harvest House in May and the Conservatory in July. Tour...