Psyvariar 3 Xbox Review

Psyvariar 3 was sent my way by Red Art Games, something I always appreciate. First, a little good news, bad news. Bad news, Psyvariar 3 takes place many years after Psyvariar 2, and the stories are connected. Good news, it doesn’t really matter. Reading the game’s description, or my review, will catch you right up. Basically, a group of people decided Earth was too important to leave abandoned and went back and resettled it. Now an alien signal sends everyone off to war. I am, of course, paraphrasing.

Ok, now that the story is out of the way, which let’s be honest, I can’t be the only one that didn’t care, I just wanted to fly cool ships and blow stuff up. With 7 playable characters and Cotton from the Cotton series to fly around as each with their own way of shooting and their own bomb type, there are plenty of ways to play. On top of this there are numerous game modes, ranging from arcade to quicker mission based modes.

The gameplay felt a bit, odd to me however. You don’t really collect power ups and level up in the typical way. See you get “buzzed” by enemy fire, this is essentially getting hit but not quite hit to gain shields and levels that power you up. This is basically skilled flying giving you an advantage. It takes a lot of getting used to, and at times it felt like what counted as getting “buzzed” one time got you blown up the next. This may have been on me, but sometimes it felt more luck based than skill based. That isn’t to say the game isn’t fun, I had plenty of fun with it.

More importantly, the game stacks up well against games at a much higher price point while this one cost less than $20. For fans of the genre this is easy to recommend. it is a 8/10 experience. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Florist-Gardens of Death gameplay trailer

So once again I came across a game channeling some old school horror vibes ala the Tortured Souls series. Admittedly this game gives off a huge, classic Resident Evil 1 vibe with the scenery. What I think is cool is the idea of killer plants and plant monsters. In that regard I was getting a lil bit of Poison Ivy’s section of Batman: Arkham Asylum feel too. The tank camera is a lil bit of a con but if the game is smoother, I’ll be ok with it. In the end, I’d definately would keep on eye out for it when it comes to PS5. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Lanterns trailer 2

So likely due to the backlash over the first trailer for the latest DC show, it was pulled off much of the internet. So now we have round 2 and I think it looks much more promising. There’s a few scenes of Hal Jordan looking pretty badass. The sci fi elements came through a lot more and it’s at least starting to look like a Green Lantern property. I’m not super sold on the suit still, I think it’s still too brown and unappealing for my liking. I can’t say I’m super hyped for this show, but I’m starting to see some promise which is a big step forward. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ledgerbound, the comedy tactical RPG from former Helldivers 2 leads comes to Steam on 14th July!

Get your paperwork in order, because Ledgerbound’s launching on Steam on 14th July! The turn-based tactical RPG, featuring comedic writing from Helldivers 2’s former Narrative Director, blends tactical party-based combat, bureaucratic worldbuilding, and very peculiar love interests to romance (all HR approved, of course.)


Processing paperwork and saving the world may seem like the most crucial tasks ahead, but even Employee-of-Every-Month Rayna knows that love is worth fighting for. Meet the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in the new Release Dating Announcement trailer:

About the game:

Life as an insurance adjuster was fantastic: overtime, exceeding quotas, denying claims and increasing profits for the Shareholders’ benefits. But when world-shattering tragedy strikes, it’s your turn to step onto the battlefield as a company-sponsored Hero. With a quest to fulfill, goals to hit, and a peculiar party of characters to join you in battle and get to know in a (HR-approved) dating simulator, overtime is looking likely.

Features:

  • Pencil Pusher: Explore the bureaucratic realm of Eldarra, where corporate culture reigns supreme.
  • Compelling coworkers: Form a D&D style party of allies, and deepen relationships over time.
  • Workplace romance: Grow even closer to your party via the HR-approved dating simulator.
  • Turn-based combat: Conquer all who stand in your way with a Rock Paper Scissors battle mechanic.
  • Quarterly bonus: Trade in a company vouchers for stat-boosting corporate swag

Directive 8020 PlayStation 5 Review

Directive 8020 was sent my way by Supermassive Games, and anyone who has played their games knows they are sort of hit and miss, even for their fans. They are narrative-heavy cinematic games, and while they are all beautiful, if you don’t get sucked into the story, all is pretty much lost. I thought Until Dawn was fantastic, but The Quarry left me feeling meh. So, how does Directive 8020 stack up?

Well, like many sci-fi games, Earth is dying, and you are on a crewed ship sent to find a new home. Tau Ceti F seems to be a good place to look, 12 light-years from home. You start playing as one character to set you up, and you will see different viewpoints as the story unfolds. Some may live, and some may die; this is up to the choices you make. Luckily, with the new turning point system, this is easier than ever. You can see branching paths easier than ever. I love this system because I can make a choice, see what happens, then simply go back and see what happens the other way. You can realistically see everything the game offers in around 20-30 hours, depending on how you play. You can also just play straight through like a movie in about 9.

I don’t want to get to indepth with the story; anything I say will involve plenty of spoilers. The game looks great on base PSS5, however. There are plenty of things for people who want to explore and discover more of the story, but if you want to just blaze straight from plot point to plot point, feel free; the game makes this pretty easy to do. This brings me to my only real sticking point with the game. While the atmosphere is tense and the music and sound are top-notch, they, for some reason, feel the need to use jump scares more than they need to. It isn’t really a lot, admittedly, but they never really had to. The story does an amazing job building tension, and cheap jump scares took away from that for me, especially when they were so telegraphed at where they would be.

The game is great, all the same, it won’t bring new fans into the genre, but it is a 9/10 for existing fans. This is Supermassive Games at their best. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hotel Architect Steam Review

Some of you may remember that a long time ago, I played the Hotel Architect Steamfest Demo Review, and now they were nice enough to send me the full game as it hits 1.0. So if you still haven’t checked out Hotel Architect from Wired Games, now is a great time.

First, as I noted in my Steam Demo review, a game that revolves around building anything, how building functions matter more than anything. It felt great in the demo, and it feels even better now. The menus aren’t clunky, and sorting through different things like carpets and wood floors is simple and intuitive. This applies to anything you want to build, from rooms to items for the rooms. Even adding an extra floor is super simple.

The graphics are also great, I love just watching my little characters bounce around the hotel, cooking meals, or cleaning, and my guests hitting the gym or relaxing. I do mean my people because, since my last time playing, you can create your own guests and workers. The community as a whole is pretty great. I’ve been in their Discord for a while, and there always seems to be some sort of contest going on if that is your sort of thing.

It is also nice how all the menus are crisp and clean and easy to understand. I was never left guessing what a customer wanted or why a critic left unhappy. Don’t let the cute graphics fool you; the game isn’t easy. I have made mistakes that were hard to come back from. The early levels will lead you into a false sense of security.

Which leads me to my only real complaint. There does seem to be some odd difficulty spikes for me. Nothing that can’t be handled, mind you, but they did seem odd. Like going from playing a game on very easy to suddenly being on normal. It was a bit jarring. It is still one of the best simulators out there currently. 9/10, best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellforged Playtest Thoughts

Hellforged recently had a public playtest. In fact, I believe it is still going on, so go check it out. Grindstone Games was actually nice enough to let me into the test a bit early. You may know them for Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel, PlayStation 5 Review, which is fantastic in its own right. With this being a similar game, their experience comes in very helpful.

The basic gameplay is the same for every roguelike like this, except it isn’t quite a roguelike. While it has a similar game loop, kill things, level up, pick new moves and powers. The game is really an extraction game. You will collect new weapons, and if you finish the level or manage to make it to the extraction point, you keep them. You can equip them, level them up, etc.

Of course, if you fail at either one of those things, say goodbye to everything you just found. The look is actually very satisfying. Don’t worry about griefers either, since it is a single-player experience. I’m not going to give this a real score. With a release date later this year, there is plenty of time for them to mess with the balance, either good or bad. But as the game sits, it is definitely one to watch. I had a lot of fun and look forward to the full release. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Death end re;Quest: Code Z Playstation 5 Review

Death end re;Quest: Code Z was, believe it or not, sent my way recently by the wonderful Idea Factory. For those keeping track ( I know you aren’t), this sets the record for longest since release I have been sent a released game, and I think that is awesome. But is that confidence warranted?

The artwork is beautiful

First off, the artwork is beautiful. That alone makes the game a solid playthrough if that is the sort of thing you like. I don’t mean that in a perverted way, though the game does earn its M rating for both gore and suggestive themes. It is simply very well done.

That does bring me to my next point: if you are the type of person who is turned away by a sexual innuendo or gore, this game is not for you. If you find those things funny or intriguing, however, we should go out for drinks. Also, this game will be fun for you.

The story and combat are what really matter, and I can’t say too much about the story because right from the start, you will be learning things that fall heavily into spoiler territory. Let’s just say the game takes place in a parallel universe, one of many. You basically control a girl in one of those universes that mirrors our own from the 2000’s. I won’t like it, that hurt a bit because I remember when doing that to the 80’s was considered the decade to do it with, but I digress.

The gameplay is a typical dungeon crawler. The world itself exists only to serve as a story and shop HUB, but the strained area acts as a dungeon where you will spend most of your time fighting and dying. And yes, you will die a lot. This is a non-optional activity during normal gameplay, and this brings me to my one and only, and very major complaint about Death end Re; Quest Code Z, besides the insane name. There are three main ways to increase your power level. Normal levels, your gear, and dying. To each enemy three times. Twice in battle and once in battle, while being essentially driven crazy by being in the dungeon too long. You also have to die to traps, bosses, and yourself. There are over 100 different ways you have to die. This is directly tied to leveling your character, as well as a trophy if you care about that. This just is not fun to do, and the artwork, much of which repeats, just isn’t worth it. If there were fewer deaths, maybe half of it wouldn’t be so bad. As it stands, the game is a nice 7/10. It is fun, but don’t try to collect all the deaths.

Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 R-Type Dimensions 3 PlayStation 5 Review

 R-Type Dimensions 3 was sent my way by Inin Games, and there is a pretty excellent physical edition available on their website. I know how much you guys love that. ( I do NOT make any money if you buy it from that link) I just know many of you enjoy that sort of thing. Anyway, on to my review.

As you can tell from the trailer above, it is your typical old-school side-scrolling arcade shooter. If you like that sort of game and how they play, and you want to be able to play in the old-school 2D or new 3d graphics, you will be happy here. The sounds and music are fantastic, and the controls are crisp and clean.

Now I am sure you are wondering, I said a lot of good things all at once. The review can’t be this short. Is there that much bad stuff? No, not at all. The bad things I have to say aren’t even that bad, but admittedly, they will either have you running to the store to buy it or running away from it. Let’s hit the story first. It is pretty standard stuff. You fight for the Earth Defense Corps, flying the R-90 Ragnorok. A new ship dedicated to defeating the Bydo Empire, a sort of bio-machine empire trying to destroy humanity.

Onto the bad. This game is hard. I don’t mean like when people say something is hard, but it was hard for them. The game has two modes, normal and infinite. Infinite gives you unlimited lives just to let you learn how to play the game and see all the levels, so you can memorize them without having to restart over and over again. There are entire sections of the game where there is only one place on the screen you can go, so you won’t die. The game is fair, I never felt the deaths were cheap, or because the game didn’t co/ntrol well. This is just the design of the game and who it is made for. It is an 8/10 title. I enjoyed my time with it. Not everyone will feel it is worth the $35 price point, though. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

1492 – Colonization of the New World

1492- Colonization of the New World was sent my way by Salty Olives, and as of 5/17/2016 are facing some legal issues with the title. Which before I get to my review, I will copy and paste their statement.

The store page for 1492: Colonization of the New World is currently unavailable due to a legal notice.
We are reviewing the situation and working to resolve it as quickly as possible. The game will return to the store once this process is complete.
Thank you for your patience and support — we’ll share updates as soon as we have more information

This situation is new for us, so we don’t yet know how long it will take. We’re working to resolve it as quickly as possible so we can get back to Update 1.1.

To clarify what’s happening:

Take-Two Interactive has sent a legal notice to Valve Corporation regarding alleged IP concerns. We have not been contacted directly, this is between Take-Two and Valve.

1492 is inspired by Sid Meier’s Colonization, which we’ve always been open about. We’ve only used elements we believed to be in the public domain, but Take-Two appears to disagree.

We’re reviewing the notice and will respond via Valve. Some minor changes may be made.

That said, based on our initial review, we believe there is a possibility that this notice may be automated (AI?) and triggered by specific words or phrases found in the game.

At this stage, we are not convinced there is a valid case. It’s not uncommon for larger companies to take a cautious and wide-ranging approach to IP protection.

Without being out of the way, let me get to my review. The game is much like Civilization on a smaller scale and in a different role to start. You aren’t on your own as a new country, but as a colony of said country. I started by making my own city with a few people and attempting to get things rolling. I had a single ship to send back to England with some furs and to get new people to help run my new settlement.

Thankfully, the ship, after it hits the open see will simply travel to England, then let you decide what you are doing there, then come back. You can, of course, control it on your coast. I really like this approach because it lets me focus on my side of the ocean.

How you handle things like the natives and other countries in the Americas is up to you. I chose not to make my life harder by going to war with them, but it is an option. I simply enjoyed trading and setting up new settlements. You do have to be careful, however, since not everyone will just take whatever you stroll up to their town with. I learned this the hard way with a (metaphorical) truckload of furs nobody wanted until I got to what is probably modern-day Texas from Pennsylvania.

Now I won’t lie to you. The sound and graphics of this game aren’t the best, but the game is fun. It is a nice 6/10 title I enjoyed, but can’t say there isn’t better out there. It is, however, a nice change of pace, and if their legal issues get straightened out, I can see it having a fan base and, with a few updates, being a great game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.