Manor Lords – Demo Impressions

Manor Lords is a village/city builder by Slavic Magic, and going by the demo it is showing great promise. It’s basically Kingdom Come: Deliverance but as a builder. The theme, setting, and even graphics are very similar. Now, the demo is pretty darn buggy, since it’s pre-EA, pre-alpha even (I hope). That is expected, though, so it’s not something I hold against the game in its current state. However, stuff that works, feels and looks good. It got the classic builder stuff that we all are used to now, but its focus on authenticity, and the realistic “slowness” of things make the title interesting to me. The focus on simulation over raw gameplay is what stands out. Which also has the effect of slowing down the game, making it a more relaxing experience, especially in combination with the fabulous music.

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The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow – Cave Doom

The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow is a point & click adventure game by Cloak and Dagger Games. It’s set in Britain during the olden times with a story steeped in British folklore, faintly sprinkled by Lovecraft. Now, I don’t want to say everything occult, otherworldly must be Lovecraft, and I wouldn’t say this was inspired by it either, until the end that is. For it’s only a small segment of the game, time-wise, but it’s a huge part of the narrative – so, there we go.

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Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Eternal Darkness is a Lovecraft-inspired survival horror from all the way back in 2002. It was made by Silicon Knights and released for Nintendo Gamecube only. However, thanks to emulators (Dolphin in this case), it’s possible for even me to play it without too much trouble. I did try it out when it was released, though, since I borrowed a friend’s Gamecube to play this game specifically and Resident Evil (the remaster). I don’t remember the reason, but I never got very far – I can only assume my focus was on finishing Resident Evil before I had to return the console. Anyway, here we are, and I have just completed Eternal Darkness, and what can I say? It’s a great addition to the genre, even if a bit linear at times. It did feel good to once again have to use tank controls and experience fixed camera angles. It’s kinda ironic because nowadays developers are hell-bent on cinematic experiences, yet, have totally ignored fixed camera angles, which to me personally feels very movie-like. If embraced, it would make their lives much easier since the game director has full control over what you will see and how.

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Dragon Age: Origins – A revisit

I have written about Dragon Age: Origins before here on this blog (mind you, it’s in Swedish), and back then I didn’t like it that much. I thought the story was way too generic, and in general, it just felt old. However, now that I’m older, and ten times more cynical when it comes to gaming (and everything else for that matter) the game is not that bad. Not bad at all, actually! It feels like a genuine throwback to a time when games were made with love and ambition. I guess I just couldn’t see it then, but that is not hard now, looking out over the microtransaction hellscape that is the AAA gaming landscape. But sure, it’s not the most innovative title ever. The RP parts are pretty rudimentary when it comes to mechanics, and the world is fairly static, but man, if it isn’t a totally charming experience to go through it now. And to add – Dragon Age: Origins was made by BioWare back when they usually produced quality stuff.

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Against the Storm – Demo Impressions

Against the Storm is a roguelite colony/city builder made by the team Eremite Games. I’m not 100% sure what roguelite means in this case, but I assume a failure state is a possibility, and that it will punish you hard – but how and what that exactly entails, I don’t know since I didn’t lose any games while trying the demo. The other genre description is easier to understand since most of what you will be doing is building up different kinds of colonies, all to serve the somewhat impatient Queen of the lands.

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