2023
Sorry We're Open is a breath of fresh air in the beloved RPG genre.
I (shamefully) played this before Oats earlier titles mistakenly thinking this was the first (by steam publish date).
But man what a good title to start with.
Taking notes from roguelikes and visual novels Sorry We're Open has a completely unique approach to how you progress in it's world.
And boy is it's world well crafted.
The most jarringly accurate representation of what working a job is actually like perfectly replicated.
This depiction feels borderline cathartic.
The entire soul sucking aspect of labor represented as the horror it should be.
Watching party members (co-workers) come and go all in their wild range of usefulness (and as someone who didn't use that many it was a bit of a treat when it was over).
Resource management is the name of the game and your job title! and it's good, finding new employees with Job Titles and Quirks that work well with each other is a bit challenging at first but once you figure it out, you'll have a well oiled team that can take on anything.
Which is again too accurate to how things work irl.
I (shamefully) played this before Oats earlier titles mistakenly thinking this was the first (by steam publish date).
But man what a good title to start with.
Taking notes from roguelikes and visual novels Sorry We're Open has a completely unique approach to how you progress in it's world.
And boy is it's world well crafted.
The most jarringly accurate representation of what working a job is actually like perfectly replicated.
This depiction feels borderline cathartic.
The entire soul sucking aspect of labor represented as the horror it should be.
Watching party members (co-workers) come and go all in their wild range of usefulness (and as someone who didn't use that many it was a bit of a treat when it was over).
Resource management is the name of the game and your job title! and it's good, finding new employees with Job Titles and Quirks that work well with each other is a bit challenging at first but once you figure it out, you'll have a well oiled team that can take on anything.
Which is again too accurate to how things work irl.
Interested in trying the others but this one wasn't too impressive.
even though it is short it doesn't make me want to playthrough it over and over because of it force closing on death and the slow movement speed.
However as a sample it peaks interest for the following games.
The concept is strong as they are supposed to be based on real events to deliver a different kind of horror compared to most games.
As the name suggests rather than "facing the unknown" the situation is very real which, even as silly as its presentation is, does inspire a different kind of horror experience.
even though it is short it doesn't make me want to playthrough it over and over because of it force closing on death and the slow movement speed.
However as a sample it peaks interest for the following games.
The concept is strong as they are supposed to be based on real events to deliver a different kind of horror compared to most games.
As the name suggests rather than "facing the unknown" the situation is very real which, even as silly as its presentation is, does inspire a different kind of horror experience.
Ass
2024
banana
2024
Apple
A rather short horror experience with a solid premise.
You have Five minutes to find 15 objects that have random locations all while spooky stuff happens.
Unfortunately all the scares are in set locations/times.
And it's only one location.
Some variety so that there would be more replay value would've added a lot to the experience.
However even as is it's enjoyable.
You have Five minutes to find 15 objects that have random locations all while spooky stuff happens.
Unfortunately all the scares are in set locations/times.
And it's only one location.
Some variety so that there would be more replay value would've added a lot to the experience.
However even as is it's enjoyable.
2022
Better than a lot of of their past work.
It's a pretty easy resource management focused RPG.
This ends up fixing part of my issues with their game "I Hate You Please Suffer" by having the central gameplay loop revolve around paying rent proper.
However it falls short by being short, having lived through this pandemic working a similar job to not only the artist but also the character, the "despair" the game attempts to imply is weak compared to actual events in my real life that could cause the resource management aspect far more compelling.
It's a poor man's Paper's Please set instead of an authoritarian government facing war, it's an Amazon worker during the pandemic.
Instead of trying to take care of your family and attempting to do a good job to avoid real stress, you just gotta eat and use better abilities you get using your stress stat.
The artist's claims of "bad vibes" is really just them venting about their real life, and complaining about straw men, so it's not really "bad vibes" just uninteresting ones.
If you were very mad at stupid shit that happened during the pandemic maybe you can relate more?
It's a pretty easy resource management focused RPG.
This ends up fixing part of my issues with their game "I Hate You Please Suffer" by having the central gameplay loop revolve around paying rent proper.
However it falls short by being short, having lived through this pandemic working a similar job to not only the artist but also the character, the "despair" the game attempts to imply is weak compared to actual events in my real life that could cause the resource management aspect far more compelling.
It's a poor man's Paper's Please set instead of an authoritarian government facing war, it's an Amazon worker during the pandemic.
Instead of trying to take care of your family and attempting to do a good job to avoid real stress, you just gotta eat and use better abilities you get using your stress stat.
The artist's claims of "bad vibes" is really just them venting about their real life, and complaining about straw men, so it's not really "bad vibes" just uninteresting ones.
If you were very mad at stupid shit that happened during the pandemic maybe you can relate more?
2018
Evie is very cool, looking back at one of the developers first projects gives good insight into how they approached their storytelling and environment design.
While my score is low I find it quite interesting and if you're a fan of their work it's worthwhile to look where they came from to see how impressive their newer titles are.
The story itself hits on some great ideas and has some great expression to it, but it's presentation is lack luster, and again using it as a look back shows you how much skill they've developed.
While my score is low I find it quite interesting and if you're a fan of their work it's worthwhile to look where they came from to see how impressive their newer titles are.
The story itself hits on some great ideas and has some great expression to it, but it's presentation is lack luster, and again using it as a look back shows you how much skill they've developed.
2023
Have you ever wanted to play a game where it feels like you're in the other room while a conversation about the game is being had?
This game somehow gives off less feedback than games I've played in Betas.
The driving controls are serviceable however the terrain based switching between Off-Road and On-Road vehicles matched with their completely different physics make staying in control of your car more of a challenge than it should be, not even mentioning the aspect of "boats".
It's a game that has a lot of fun elements and looks more fun than it is to play. Building your own cars and the story mode are additions that almost make up for the lacking of feedback but not enough to retain my interest personally.
This game somehow gives off less feedback than games I've played in Betas.
The driving controls are serviceable however the terrain based switching between Off-Road and On-Road vehicles matched with their completely different physics make staying in control of your car more of a challenge than it should be, not even mentioning the aspect of "boats".
It's a game that has a lot of fun elements and looks more fun than it is to play. Building your own cars and the story mode are additions that almost make up for the lacking of feedback but not enough to retain my interest personally.
Have you ever wanted to play a game?
2024
Free 100% Orange Juice clone, it's not as good but the art is fantastic.
TBD
Lumba is a classic tale of the absolute desperation of humanity.
Locked deep within this treacherous bullet hell is a story of betrayal and misery.
On the surface killing an entire office of your co-workers sounds like a blast.
But the voices that persuade you to commit these joyous acts that bring you ultimate happiness don't have your best interests in mind.
Proceed with caution as the moving tale of Lumba erodes away at your fragile humanity.
Boss fights set you in perilous encounters of which that last boss took me over half it's runtime to beat, not because it's difficult but because my sense of self had been stripped away by the deep philosophical nature of the story.
How could I bring myself to destroy the one part of myself that kept me going, the part that brought me so much joy in the previous hour of gameplay.
I've been loaded up on so much lumba when I wrote this review that even these words as I'm typing them look like they need shot in the head.
and as the "Post review" button stares at me disappointed in multiple of my life choices, I feel the need to just click it
Locked deep within this treacherous bullet hell is a story of betrayal and misery.
On the surface killing an entire office of your co-workers sounds like a blast.
But the voices that persuade you to commit these joyous acts that bring you ultimate happiness don't have your best interests in mind.
Proceed with caution as the moving tale of Lumba erodes away at your fragile humanity.
Boss fights set you in perilous encounters of which that last boss took me over half it's runtime to beat, not because it's difficult but because my sense of self had been stripped away by the deep philosophical nature of the story.
How could I bring myself to destroy the one part of myself that kept me going, the part that brought me so much joy in the previous hour of gameplay.
I've been loaded up on so much lumba when I wrote this review that even these words as I'm typing them look like they need shot in the head.
and as the "Post review" button stares at me disappointed in multiple of my life choices, I feel the need to just click it
2016
Steam says I have 4,920 hours in this game
2013
I recommend this game for when an update or remake/remaster fixes the engine issues it has.
Game could use a bit of polish but overall impresses for its time, showing genuinely interesting boss designs and inventive scenarios.
And man not to mention the Aesthetics, the style this game has is so unique and perfectly crafted to it's presentation.
To talk slightly about the story it's something akin to Drakengard meets Classic Zelda with the main characters being like Walter White?
Roy is a self absorbed asshole, who does asshole things "For the good of others".
And the world he lives in is filled with Fantasy world tropes that are "Just a bit fucked up"
This results in something that isn't wholly unique but is charming and interesting nonetheless.
(Fun fact: includes the FIRST appearance of Shovel Knight (Before his own game even))
Game could use a bit of polish but overall impresses for its time, showing genuinely interesting boss designs and inventive scenarios.
And man not to mention the Aesthetics, the style this game has is so unique and perfectly crafted to it's presentation.
To talk slightly about the story it's something akin to Drakengard meets Classic Zelda with the main characters being like Walter White?
Roy is a self absorbed asshole, who does asshole things "For the good of others".
And the world he lives in is filled with Fantasy world tropes that are "Just a bit fucked up"
This results in something that isn't wholly unique but is charming and interesting nonetheless.
(Fun fact: includes the FIRST appearance of Shovel Knight (Before his own game even))
This game promises to bring the frustrations of the real world into an RPG and empowers you to overcome them.
It does so with systems of inconvenience, something the developer explored better in a previous title “Decay”.
You can be randomly mailed a pipe bomb, some enemies stalk you and try to kill you after one conversation with them,
This is the strength of the gameplay but often feels like an afterthought
Speaking of afterthought let's talk about the writing.
The writing in this feels less than uninspired, This feels like less than a rough draft It feels like the outline of a story.
Moments where dialogue could be written to characterize the party are written with the most dry unimaginative prose.
The entire thing lacks any sense of drama, There is no sense of building tension or any sort of progression really.
Some things are written Maybe as jokes but are delivered as if it's a complaint about something that it doesn't feel as though it's dry humor or anything like that.
For example the warehouse (definitely not Amazon) somehow outsources its work?
This is a functional impossibility so you want to assume that it's a joke, but everything around it reads as if it's serious.
And what is the grand solution to this problem? diving into delusion of consumer media.
Engaging in RPG combat and becoming a adventurer, pretending to be Chainsawman when you fight, And as always most importantly being angry and annoyed by everything that inconveniences you ever.
The marketing title should be “KILL YOUR LANDLORD”
Even the delivery of Ramona not liking talking to her mom is done so ham-fistedly that it's just immediately telling you everything about it.
There's no drama, there's no tension, no build up.
It might as well have been a text box that pops up and says “Ramona doesn't like talking to her mother because she's transphobic to her”.
The last thing about writing is all of the conflict and the entire point of this just seems to be to complain about things.
From anime nerd culture (But I'm definitely not one of those guys trust me), to NFTs, Crappy Landlords, trans-phobic mothers, and sucky jobs.
After 10 Updates the gameplay remains largely the same.
An exploit I used to make the game more bearable (Saving before every encounter) has been patched out since it could cause a potential softlock.
If you like RPGs with combat scenarios which make you consider your party composition, careful planning and meaningful progression, then look elsewhere.
It appears, to dissuade grinding, that the normal encounters scale to your level, making them MORE difficult than boss encounters.
Whether you win an encounter or not is largely up to RNG, I assume this is to add to the systems of inconvenience, which themselves put you at a disadvantage, how does losing 50 Max HP randomly because you wanted to save before you faced a boss?
In which you need to leave the dungeon and make your way back to your apartment and then to get back to the boss, travel through the dungeon again.
You can just use your phone to call an uber to get teleported to the apartment instantly but that costs money and there are situations that make it so you cannot use your apartment regardless, such as when the gramophone blocks it as a result of not completing it’s quest making it so that you are unable to save as well as unable to make your characters “rested”
The Artificial difficulty of someone who misunderstood what made Drakengard great, making their game “bad on purpose” because that’s the “art” of it.
This is my charitable read of it.
What we end up with is a game that is tedious, the gameplay loop doesn’t properly revolve around the systems unlike Decay as I mentioned earlier. So it feels needlessly tacked onto a game that just talks at you from the developer’s mouth.
I may attempt to see the other content the game has to offer, but from what I have so far it doesn’t inspire much confidence about anything being of quality.
(Since the posting of my last review the developer had claimed the entire thing was in bad faith, posted publicly to his followers complaining about the review several times and then acted on the criticism and advice I gave, as well as adding me to the credits? the original review will be posted below.)
It does so with systems of inconvenience, something the developer explored better in a previous title “Decay”.
You can be randomly mailed a pipe bomb, some enemies stalk you and try to kill you after one conversation with them,
This is the strength of the gameplay but often feels like an afterthought
Speaking of afterthought let's talk about the writing.
The writing in this feels less than uninspired, This feels like less than a rough draft It feels like the outline of a story.
Moments where dialogue could be written to characterize the party are written with the most dry unimaginative prose.
The entire thing lacks any sense of drama, There is no sense of building tension or any sort of progression really.
Some things are written Maybe as jokes but are delivered as if it's a complaint about something that it doesn't feel as though it's dry humor or anything like that.
For example the warehouse (definitely not Amazon) somehow outsources its work?
This is a functional impossibility so you want to assume that it's a joke, but everything around it reads as if it's serious.
And what is the grand solution to this problem? diving into delusion of consumer media.
Engaging in RPG combat and becoming a adventurer, pretending to be Chainsawman when you fight, And as always most importantly being angry and annoyed by everything that inconveniences you ever.
The marketing title should be “KILL YOUR LANDLORD”
Even the delivery of Ramona not liking talking to her mom is done so ham-fistedly that it's just immediately telling you everything about it.
There's no drama, there's no tension, no build up.
It might as well have been a text box that pops up and says “Ramona doesn't like talking to her mother because she's transphobic to her”.
The last thing about writing is all of the conflict and the entire point of this just seems to be to complain about things.
From anime nerd culture (But I'm definitely not one of those guys trust me), to NFTs, Crappy Landlords, trans-phobic mothers, and sucky jobs.
After 10 Updates the gameplay remains largely the same.
An exploit I used to make the game more bearable (Saving before every encounter) has been patched out since it could cause a potential softlock.
If you like RPGs with combat scenarios which make you consider your party composition, careful planning and meaningful progression, then look elsewhere.
It appears, to dissuade grinding, that the normal encounters scale to your level, making them MORE difficult than boss encounters.
Whether you win an encounter or not is largely up to RNG, I assume this is to add to the systems of inconvenience, which themselves put you at a disadvantage, how does losing 50 Max HP randomly because you wanted to save before you faced a boss?
In which you need to leave the dungeon and make your way back to your apartment and then to get back to the boss, travel through the dungeon again.
You can just use your phone to call an uber to get teleported to the apartment instantly but that costs money and there are situations that make it so you cannot use your apartment regardless, such as when the gramophone blocks it as a result of not completing it’s quest making it so that you are unable to save as well as unable to make your characters “rested”
The Artificial difficulty of someone who misunderstood what made Drakengard great, making their game “bad on purpose” because that’s the “art” of it.
This is my charitable read of it.
What we end up with is a game that is tedious, the gameplay loop doesn’t properly revolve around the systems unlike Decay as I mentioned earlier. So it feels needlessly tacked onto a game that just talks at you from the developer’s mouth.
I may attempt to see the other content the game has to offer, but from what I have so far it doesn’t inspire much confidence about anything being of quality.
(Since the posting of my last review the developer had claimed the entire thing was in bad faith, posted publicly to his followers complaining about the review several times and then acted on the criticism and advice I gave, as well as adding me to the credits? the original review will be posted below.)