Game Watch
Game Watch
Explanation: Every now and then, there comes a time when the list of suggested games pile up too long. They appeal to me but there is something about them that keeps me from properly playing through the game. Consider this a lightning round post of games that I tackled through with brief summations of my experience or lack thereof.
Black Skylands - There was something special about this game with its top-down approach that's similar to Smash TV. Add to the fact that you will be constructing your own air blimp with pirate cannon action against an armada of bugs and other foul things flying at you. Unfortunately, the concept seemed short-lived as controlling your grappling gun and ship was very robust to the fast-pace I anticipated upon first seeing the trailer to this game. Ultimately, I had to make a pass for something else that might hold my attention beyond the tutorial.
The Last Alchemist - While digging through the bottom of the barrel, this cute game about mixing essences together caught my eye. You gather substances, combine them in a sort of Tetris-style chemical reaction, and make friends to the local mushroom people. The immediate problem with the game is the limited controls without controller-support or the ability to rebind keys. The second problem is how very rudimentary the system is in assisting you for supplies. You will need to remember what each item provides and where to locate them as you are only allowed to quickly glance back to a handful of notes like bookmarks to a website. The game is interesting, but not enough to maintain the kind of memory my mind has for this style of gameplay.
Frostpunk 2 - While the original Frostpunk tackled the mechanics of the cold north, its sequel seems to be more focused on the politics. This is both good and bad. I love the fact that you have to incentivize offers to the people to sway their vote in a public hearing. There is some passionate work extended to this system with how details from each and every person is listed among the council. There is a lot more involved in collecting resources when you have to plan out where to dig through the ice, allocate structures, and establish backup plans when things don't go your way. The game shifts when you have to make a decision on whether you side with the people who want to traditionally reach out into the wilderness for help or build internally a massive city with the resources you have on hand. Despite my desire to keep playing this game, the game requirements eventually were way too demanding for my computer to handle. Perhaps I'll approach this game again another time when my hardware gets an upgrade.
Urban Jungle - What seems like a cute and cuddly approach to house games like Unpacking turned out to be a difficult scavenger hunt for things around the room. Situating the plants in just the right spots was a very fun mechanic, but sorting through books and other objects to advance turned me off from playing the game any further.
Derail Valley - This game gets a special mention since the trailer alone demonstrates the type of quality work that was poured into the realistic mechanics. It is odd that there are a number of things that don't appeal to me such as how it is still in Early Access six years later, emphasis is placed on Virtual Reality, the $40 price tag, the simulator aspect based on real life mechanics, or the fact that you are working on a train. Yet, there is enough there to add it to my list. The game could very well be something I try when growing a bit older in age.
TerraScape - I've had this game on my radar for a long time when it was in its early prototype stage. Unfortunately, the concepts are far too complex for my tastes. Unlike a number of other games where you expand tiles, you build on existing tiles from a number of random cards you draw from your deck. What structures you place down is as important as where you place them. The points you earn are dependent on how close they are to the type of resources and whether they combine to form new merged buildings. Unfortunately, the learning curve can be incredibly steep as you continue to evolve into even more complex combinations. I decided to give this one a pass.
Unepic Games - This last category includes three games from the same developer. There's the original UnEpic adventure where you play as a modern guy in an old dungeon format, a twist of the future with Ghost 1.0, and the agent on a mission that mocks Metal Gear Solid with UnMetal. I tested the waters of the first game released back in 2014 and found a passionate game filled to the brim with language, difficulty, and profile settings. Despite its age, there could have been enough to hold my attention with the amount of wit thrown into the dialogue and wild approach to the genre. I also played a little bit of the second one in 2016. Unfortunately, the "ghost" approach wasn't enough to hold together its very repetitive gameplay. I decided to pass on the third after figuring out that the developer's style of mechanics just might not be the right fit for me.