Gana
2019
Genius combat system. I love probabilty and gambling type stuff, so this is right up my alley. I think it could use more in terms of equipment options to boost variety between runs, but overall the game is super fun.
Also, ignore the reviews saying that combat is too luck based. huge self report there tbh, just build your shit better
Also, ignore the reviews saying that combat is too luck based. huge self report there tbh, just build your shit better
The thing that stands out to me the most about this game was it's willingness to do new things. The deckbuilding, the card based battle system, the field magnus, the fact that cards age into other cards, SP combos, the list of things this game was just willing to throw at the wall never really stops. I do think it gets a little long in the tooth towards the end, but overall this game just has a really earnest feel to it that I can't help but respect a ton.
I do wish the remastered version had left the english dub in as an option, because I do have to say that, while the QoL features added (no encounters in particular) are nice, nothing beats the original's hilariously bad English voice acting.
I do wish the remastered version had left the english dub in as an option, because I do have to say that, while the QoL features added (no encounters in particular) are nice, nothing beats the original's hilariously bad English voice acting.
2020
I see what this game was trying to do but I don't think it succeeded. It was basically asking for me to make morally questionable choices as a part of my job, like a papers please type game, except it gave me no stakes. No real reason to do these things, cause my character is literally already dead and the only things I can buy with my pay are worthless trinkets. Maybe that's the point? I don't know. I got it for free, so no real loss.
2019
2018
2019
2000
2024
Extremely good fangame. If you're a Portal fan I highly recommend checking it out. Generally good puzzles, a bold attempt at a plot, and it does a lot of things that I also liked in Portal 2.
Disclaimer: I got about halfway into this game before I decided I got my fill. It's possible that lategame improves on things I mention, though from reading other reviews, I'm doubtful.
After some hours I did get my fill, and decided to stop playing prematurely. I think something that happens with a lot of Portal 2 fan-campaigns/mods is that they get stale in their puzzles after a while. Portal 1 and 2 both introduce mechanics one at a time and then start combining them together, such that over the course of an entire game you never really go too long without getting some new stimulus to process. Most fan content obviously can't do that. They use the tools that are provided in the box, and are generally designed with the knowledge that a player has already finished the main game and knows how everything works.
Portal Revolution advertises that the puzzle difficulty picks up right where Portal 2 left off, with some new mechanics added, and that playtime ranges from 5 - 7 hours. However, while the difficulty picks up where Portal 2 left off, I felt as if it also plateau'd there. The time between new mechanics made me feel as if things were getting long in the tooth before I'd even reached them. Remember, Portal 1 is 3-5 hours, potentially shorter if you already know what you're doing. Making a fangame longer than Portal 1 is truly no small feat, but I do think it points to a lack of brevity in the team, something that can often happen when a team is too passionate about its own work to have restraint.
I don't want it to sound negative, honestly the game is still fun to play. It's just that it's easier to make criticisms when the only positive things I have to say are that I enjoyed the puzzles.
Disclaimer: I got about halfway into this game before I decided I got my fill. It's possible that lategame improves on things I mention, though from reading other reviews, I'm doubtful.
After some hours I did get my fill, and decided to stop playing prematurely. I think something that happens with a lot of Portal 2 fan-campaigns/mods is that they get stale in their puzzles after a while. Portal 1 and 2 both introduce mechanics one at a time and then start combining them together, such that over the course of an entire game you never really go too long without getting some new stimulus to process. Most fan content obviously can't do that. They use the tools that are provided in the box, and are generally designed with the knowledge that a player has already finished the main game and knows how everything works.
Portal Revolution advertises that the puzzle difficulty picks up right where Portal 2 left off, with some new mechanics added, and that playtime ranges from 5 - 7 hours. However, while the difficulty picks up where Portal 2 left off, I felt as if it also plateau'd there. The time between new mechanics made me feel as if things were getting long in the tooth before I'd even reached them. Remember, Portal 1 is 3-5 hours, potentially shorter if you already know what you're doing. Making a fangame longer than Portal 1 is truly no small feat, but I do think it points to a lack of brevity in the team, something that can often happen when a team is too passionate about its own work to have restraint.
I don't want it to sound negative, honestly the game is still fun to play. It's just that it's easier to make criticisms when the only positive things I have to say are that I enjoyed the puzzles.
This review contains spoilers
Blue Lions route. I really liked some of the characters in this game, and a lot of that group was in Blue Lions, so that's nice. Dimitri is especially good and is a great take on the standard "Lord" character, though I think even he could've been done better.
this game having 3/4 routes was weird. the way that the early chapters's conflicts tied especially well in with BL characters made me think that pre-timeskip was different depending on your house, but i guess i was just lucky. the game not changing stuff around based on what route you pick in the early game is pretty lame and is the main reason i haven't done a replay. also i was falling asleep mid-combat towards the end of the game and started skipping months just to finish the game sooner. still good but too much content for its own good, i think
this game having 3/4 routes was weird. the way that the early chapters's conflicts tied especially well in with BL characters made me think that pre-timeskip was different depending on your house, but i guess i was just lucky. the game not changing stuff around based on what route you pick in the early game is pretty lame and is the main reason i haven't done a replay. also i was falling asleep mid-combat towards the end of the game and started skipping months just to finish the game sooner. still good but too much content for its own good, i think
This review contains spoilers
Very nice game. The small setting and cast make for a place you can get really emotionally invested in and allows for the writers to put a lot of focus on characters and places that you get to spend a lot of time with. The Trade Conference was incredibly good political intrigue and the rest of the chapters all had really good character arc type stuff.
I'd say my only big issue was the combat. Suffers from the problem of regular encounters being way more fun than boss fights. The bosses have bloated HP pools and immunity to all status effects, so every fight is just a war of attrition. Still very enjoyable overall.
I'd say my only big issue was the combat. Suffers from the problem of regular encounters being way more fun than boss fights. The bosses have bloated HP pools and immunity to all status effects, so every fight is just a war of attrition. Still very enjoyable overall.
2009
2016
I can conceptually understand why people like this game. From my perspective, Stardew Valley is a matrix of progression bars from top to bottom. Every aspect of the game feels like you're accomplishing something, from raising your profits, to completing bundles, to raising friendship meters, to getting through the mines, filling up the museum, even harvesting a single crop, it's all Something meaningful, something to make you feel both like you're getting valuable work done but also that there's always more work to be done.
What I can't comprehend at all is how people find this game "cozy". The second you wake up the clock is ticking, NPCs, stores, even the fish are on their schedules, you have to manage your crops, and make sure you set up automation so that you don't spend TOO much time on your crops, and try to get as much of a season's exclusive items as possible so that you can get the community center going without having to wait an extra year, and get back from the mines to Clint's Forge before 4:00, and make sure your energy doesn't get too low too early in the day (and have food ready if you think it will), and...
When I play this game I feel like I need to have a spreadsheet open just to track what things are worth doing, but the thing is, everything is worth doing, and I have no time at all to do it, so this relaxing, comfy, chill game is more akin to the experience of eternally feeling like I'm not accomplishing enough with the limited time I have available in a given day, season, year, play session.
I'm not saying the game is bad. I would ordinarily consider it a good thing to have a game with this much content, to make it feel like everything you're doing is relevant, all while maintaining a comfy atmosphere. It's just that when the game, journalists, and fans all act as if this is a relaxing farming game it drives me a little bit insane, because I think it failed completely in this regard and is at best a game that satirically presents itself with that aesthetic when that couldn't be further from the truth.
What I can't comprehend at all is how people find this game "cozy". The second you wake up the clock is ticking, NPCs, stores, even the fish are on their schedules, you have to manage your crops, and make sure you set up automation so that you don't spend TOO much time on your crops, and try to get as much of a season's exclusive items as possible so that you can get the community center going without having to wait an extra year, and get back from the mines to Clint's Forge before 4:00, and make sure your energy doesn't get too low too early in the day (and have food ready if you think it will), and...
When I play this game I feel like I need to have a spreadsheet open just to track what things are worth doing, but the thing is, everything is worth doing, and I have no time at all to do it, so this relaxing, comfy, chill game is more akin to the experience of eternally feeling like I'm not accomplishing enough with the limited time I have available in a given day, season, year, play session.
I'm not saying the game is bad. I would ordinarily consider it a good thing to have a game with this much content, to make it feel like everything you're doing is relevant, all while maintaining a comfy atmosphere. It's just that when the game, journalists, and fans all act as if this is a relaxing farming game it drives me a little bit insane, because I think it failed completely in this regard and is at best a game that satirically presents itself with that aesthetic when that couldn't be further from the truth.