Simsinnati
2021
Nice pixel art work here, and it has some nice gimmicks with trying to figure out the synergies to build decks around. But there's far too much grinding necessary, and far too much repetition between games. And for a deck-building game there really didn't feel like enough variety in cards. Maybe I just didn't make it far enough into the game, but at least early on it doesn't feel like there's enough cards for there to be very many different strategies, and it takes a round or two to get enough resources to unlock a single new card.
The gameplay also feels a little awkwardly paced. With your character auto-battling and you just putting new cards down as they come in, it feels like you want to just leave the game idle, not giving it your full attention. But then with the speed cards come in, and the limited inventory size, you can't idle too much or you just won't get anywhere and end up losing. I think the issue is just that there's too much in the way of menial tasks to do with putting the same cards down over and over, without enough meaningful decision making in between.
The gameplay also feels a little awkwardly paced. With your character auto-battling and you just putting new cards down as they come in, it feels like you want to just leave the game idle, not giving it your full attention. But then with the speed cards come in, and the limited inventory size, you can't idle too much or you just won't get anywhere and end up losing. I think the issue is just that there's too much in the way of menial tasks to do with putting the same cards down over and over, without enough meaningful decision making in between.
2022
A combination rogue-lite dungeon crawler and town builder. These two gameplay sections feed into each other to create a satisfying game loop: doing the dungeons earns you materials to build up your town of cultists, building the town earns you better weapons and spells for the dungeons. However, neither of these elements are strong enough to stand out on their own.
The game does have a lot of style and it's fun enough for a while. Just would have liked a little more depth.
The game does have a lot of style and it's fun enough for a while. Just would have liked a little more depth.
2020
Got this game through Jingle Jam 2021.
I'm not much of a VN fan, but I do enjoy some Picross, so I thought I'd give this one a try. I played for about an hour, and in that time I only got to play 2 or 3 Picross puzzles. I would hope that was just because it was the intro to the game and they wanted to get the exposition out of the way, but it really put me off. I thought this game would be mostly Picross with some story elements on the side, but there was a lot more story than I anticipated. And the story wasn't really hooking me in, I didn't really care for any of the characters. I'm sure this game might be great for the right audience, but it wasn't for me.
I'm not much of a VN fan, but I do enjoy some Picross, so I thought I'd give this one a try. I played for about an hour, and in that time I only got to play 2 or 3 Picross puzzles. I would hope that was just because it was the intro to the game and they wanted to get the exposition out of the way, but it really put me off. I thought this game would be mostly Picross with some story elements on the side, but there was a lot more story than I anticipated. And the story wasn't really hooking me in, I didn't really care for any of the characters. I'm sure this game might be great for the right audience, but it wasn't for me.
This is a game that I want to love so badly. The art is fantastic, I love the atmosphere and feel of the world. I enjoy the FTL x tower defense style gameplay. But it feels like there's just something off about this game. I don't know if there's just something fundamental that I'm missing about this game, but it feels like they overload you with a lot of strategic options, while most of them are not viable for winning. Even trying to look at guides for this game, it seems like there's one correct way to play to win, and anything else will lose. Again, I could just be missing something here, but to me, this game comes very close to being amazing, but just doesn't quite hit the mark.
2021
Short but very refined, an interesting take on movement shooters that feels very satisfying to play. My only complaint is that it's maybe a little too short
2019
Absolutely stunning world and mind bending physics. Puzzles felt satisfying, never too challenging.
2021
So this game was designed to be a sort of companion piece, released along side a metal album by the same name, creating this sort of video game opera metal experience. Let me just say that the album is fantastic, I've listened to the album several times on it's own at this point and thoroughly enjoy it. This isn't a review of the album however, this is a review of the game.
This game is perhaps the most stressful experience I've ever had in a game. It is essentially a puzzle / adventure game with branching stories, set to this wonderful orchestral metal music. The problem comes in with how they tie the music to the game. They put this massive time constraint on you, giving you the length of a song to explore a room and complete certain tasks. But in almost every circumstance, I felt like I barely had enough time to take in my surroundings before it was time to move on, let alone complete the tasks they wanted me to finish. And if you fail the tasks, there's no do-overs, the game just marches on, making you feel like you're heading towards the bad ending because you can't complete the challenges. The game as a whole is not satisfying to play.
So then you have to ask, if this game was released as a companion piece to the album, does it serve to enhance the music in any way? And to that, I would have to say no. If anything, playing the game distracted me and prevented me from really getting to listen to the music. It was only on going back and listening to the album separately that I really appreciated the music. So this game fails both as a game and as a companion to the music.
I do appreciate it for what they were trying to create though. The whole idea for this game was crazy, and experimental, a strange mix of mediums, and I love it for what it tried to do. It's execution, however, was very flawed.
This game is perhaps the most stressful experience I've ever had in a game. It is essentially a puzzle / adventure game with branching stories, set to this wonderful orchestral metal music. The problem comes in with how they tie the music to the game. They put this massive time constraint on you, giving you the length of a song to explore a room and complete certain tasks. But in almost every circumstance, I felt like I barely had enough time to take in my surroundings before it was time to move on, let alone complete the tasks they wanted me to finish. And if you fail the tasks, there's no do-overs, the game just marches on, making you feel like you're heading towards the bad ending because you can't complete the challenges. The game as a whole is not satisfying to play.
So then you have to ask, if this game was released as a companion piece to the album, does it serve to enhance the music in any way? And to that, I would have to say no. If anything, playing the game distracted me and prevented me from really getting to listen to the music. It was only on going back and listening to the album separately that I really appreciated the music. So this game fails both as a game and as a companion to the music.
I do appreciate it for what they were trying to create though. The whole idea for this game was crazy, and experimental, a strange mix of mediums, and I love it for what it tried to do. It's execution, however, was very flawed.
2019
This review contains spoilers
Absolutely loved exploring this little universe and discovering the story along the way. The way they present the story is great. Minor annoyances with being under a time pressure while exploring
2021
Got this from Jingle Jam 2021
Satisfying little puzzle game, not too long, not very challenging either though.
Satisfying little puzzle game, not too long, not very challenging either though.
2021
Gameplay felt amazing, mechanics are buttery smooth. Art and sound were great, loved the setting and world. Story was kind of lacking. I wasn't expecting political commentary in my Jet Set Radio x Shadow of Colossus game.