2012
Altar of Rites literally fixed every problem this game's itemization system had. It may not have the investment building of its peers (no skill points here!) and a more fantasy-than-dark atmosphere, but I think it's sort of like a platonic solid for the ARPG genre. Simple, direct, easy to understand. Mow down hundreds of thousands of mobs for currency and loot and buildcraft your way to absurd power, with minimal friction. It's a virtue and a flaw for sure, but it's probably the second best Diablo (after 1)
2023
It's hard to really recommend Diablo 4 to people because it sought to "return to the dark fantasy of the first two games" as a reactionary response to Diablo 3, but... Diablo 3 is good! It looks good and with the Altar of Rites they've fixed basically all the problems I had with the game's itemization economy! It's probably a better entry point for the series!
And now Diablo 4 has to go through the same growing pains because we are cursed as an industry to forget the lessons of the past in favor of constantly chasing an imagined ideal which is fundamentally unattainable. Oh well!
The open world is a big plus, as well as bringing back dungeons and giving you items to make them harder in favor of better rewards. I'm glad they tried something relatively new with how a game like this is structured.. Diablo 4 understood one of Destiny's core points: that it's cool to randomly team up with people in the wilderness to do public events. More ARPGs should try this, but they'd have to invest in the complicated networking infrastructure to do so, and that's something I think only the big boys can feasibly do.
Anyway, I like this game and I think it's pretty good, but if you want a fully mature loot grinder experience, Diablo 3 (if you wanna focus on buildmaxxing / grinding) or Grim Dawn (if you want the grim aesthetic and a more "investment" type build experience) will probably do you better.
My barbarian build where I apply huge bleed stacks to an enemy and then shove my polearm into their guts and kill them instantly is VERY satisfying.
And now Diablo 4 has to go through the same growing pains because we are cursed as an industry to forget the lessons of the past in favor of constantly chasing an imagined ideal which is fundamentally unattainable. Oh well!
The open world is a big plus, as well as bringing back dungeons and giving you items to make them harder in favor of better rewards. I'm glad they tried something relatively new with how a game like this is structured.. Diablo 4 understood one of Destiny's core points: that it's cool to randomly team up with people in the wilderness to do public events. More ARPGs should try this, but they'd have to invest in the complicated networking infrastructure to do so, and that's something I think only the big boys can feasibly do.
Anyway, I like this game and I think it's pretty good, but if you want a fully mature loot grinder experience, Diablo 3 (if you wanna focus on buildmaxxing / grinding) or Grim Dawn (if you want the grim aesthetic and a more "investment" type build experience) will probably do you better.
My barbarian build where I apply huge bleed stacks to an enemy and then shove my polearm into their guts and kill them instantly is VERY satisfying.
2020
It sure is pixel art Diablo with even less story. Fun little grinder though.
1994
Some pretty wild puzzles and truly atrocious ammo economy (so stingy with the pickups!!!) on the hardest difficulty, but otherwise a classic for a very good reason! Durandal is a good boy and did nothing wrong.
2024
Functional but extremely bland. Don't really know what else to say. Most comparable to Risk of Rain 2 but has none of the fun synergistic builds or wild situations. Just mindless grinding.
2023
Ugly and over-animated. I'm a sucker for art that looks like this - being a big fan of the British comics underground it's obviously inspired by - but it looks fucking awful in motion.
Story and structure seem fine. Combat is... okay? Except parrying is inexplicably strict and fails seemingly at random. By-the-numbers in a boring way. If you're looking for "Guacamelee but Jamie Hewlett" this will likely please you. I found it vapid. Still might finish it though!
Story and structure seem fine. Combat is... okay? Except parrying is inexplicably strict and fails seemingly at random. By-the-numbers in a boring way. If you're looking for "Guacamelee but Jamie Hewlett" this will likely please you. I found it vapid. Still might finish it though!
2019
It sure is a traditional-style rogue-like!
2024
Farming game with a "space homesteader" aesthetic and a focus on helping the environment rather than obliterating it. I like the presentation and ideals, but I wasn't super into the early-game farming loop and ended up falling away from it. Might get better as it grows in Early Access.
2023
Straightforward combination of Tempest and bullet hell games. It's quite clever, and does a lot with the premise. Your movement is constrained to a circle, and you must dodge bullet patterns and moving bosses while grazing bullets for your laser and damage powerups.
My main criticism is the controls are a little finicky. In most bullet hell games, you can hold a button (usually fire) to slow your character movement, to make weaving the patterns easier. There's none of that here, it's just raw analog stick input, which means you have to be ~extremely~ precise in your thumb movements to properly graze (which gives you bomb and score). Perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but the tension in my thumb started to hurt my hand after a little bit.
Well worth it for people like me looking for a unique take on some well-trod arcade design.
My main criticism is the controls are a little finicky. In most bullet hell games, you can hold a button (usually fire) to slow your character movement, to make weaving the patterns easier. There's none of that here, it's just raw analog stick input, which means you have to be ~extremely~ precise in your thumb movements to properly graze (which gives you bomb and score). Perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but the tension in my thumb started to hurt my hand after a little bit.
Well worth it for people like me looking for a unique take on some well-trod arcade design.
It's whatever. Match-3 rogue-like that massages the design issues with incremental upgrades. Serviceable but ultimately not particularly good.
2021
Supremely clever roguelike about dice-rolling, risk management, and buildcrafting. Each character class has a unique die that you can manipualte the sides of with equipment, and upgrading classes gives them stronger (and more niche) elements to their kit. You get perfect awareness of enemy intent so planning how to defend is as important and fun as planning how to attack.
2022
Feudal colony sim akin to Rimworld or Songs of Syx that focuses on the politics / social interrelations of feudalism.
You aren't just an omniscient ruler with perfect control over your subjects or the direction of your kingdom; you have to actually engage with establishing households, families, lineages of artisans. Your resources are taxed from the holding families rather than fully controlled, and to establish new families or improve existing ones you have to enable them to trade with each other as well as help them directly with gifts of materials.
In that respect it's particularly unique. Pretty tough to get into though, with a long tutorial that still leaves you feeling a little adrift in the main part of the game.
You aren't just an omniscient ruler with perfect control over your subjects or the direction of your kingdom; you have to actually engage with establishing households, families, lineages of artisans. Your resources are taxed from the holding families rather than fully controlled, and to establish new families or improve existing ones you have to enable them to trade with each other as well as help them directly with gifts of materials.
In that respect it's particularly unique. Pretty tough to get into though, with a long tutorial that still leaves you feeling a little adrift in the main part of the game.
2023
Vampire Survivors meets Yume Nikki. The story and aesthetic carry this game; the buildcrafting element doesn't even rise to the level of Vampire Survivors, unfortunately. But it's serviceable enough and the surrealist elements + bullet hell bosses make runs pleasant. Worth it, but could be much better.
2023
What if Vampire Survivors had a backpack management minigame? Good, but not superlative. Kind of generically ugly in that fantasy way, and the lack of real level design is super boring. The backpack part is fun though.
2021
Somewhere between Diablo and The Last Federation. Fly around killing generic pirates for a while, collect loot, and then eventually aid one of the factions. In the background, all the factions are playing a mini-4x game that you can influence by completing quests or just massacring the faction fleets. These factions research and improve where you can't, so picking the one making the parts you want for your ship is an interesting "specialization" choice with real ramifications and investment.
My main issues with it are it's ugly as orange piss and very stingy on bag space at the beginning. As such you have to push through the bad early game to start getting to the fun stuff. But once it clicks it's quite enjoyable!
My main issues with it are it's ugly as orange piss and very stingy on bag space at the beginning. As such you have to push through the bad early game to start getting to the fun stuff. But once it clicks it's quite enjoyable!