This will not be a review, since I haven’t finished the game yet. Yet, I find myself compelled to talk about The Alters. I’m not going to go into too many mechanics, as I mostly want to talk about the impressive narrative structure. I’m not sure if I have actually experienced anything similar. Not in this genre at least, which is some kind of base-building/management game.
Continue reading “The Alters – Are You Me? [Field Report]”
After a thousand years in space, slowly floating from one uninhabitable planet to the next, the distress call was finally picked up by HMS TomsGamingVault, and the package was retrieved. After carefully thawing out the mysterious object, it—lo and behold—turned out to be the sequel for the awesome Alien defense simulator Xenonauts—the people of Earth cried out in rejoicing! Hence, the artifact was named Xenonauts 2.
Now, the question to ask—is it a worthy successor, or not? Read below and find out!
Continue reading “Xenonauts 2 – The Boys Are Back In Town [Review]”
The Viking saga NORSE: Oath of Blood is here, and it’s primarily a bitter tale of revenge—fitting for the historical theme of the game. When I tried the demo, I came to like it, but it was clear to me that it needed a lot of polish and optimization. Did they succeed? Not quite, in any real sense to be totally honest. I was expecting a Viking X-com, but instead got a very linear experience with a heavy focus on narrative and cutscenes.
Continue reading “NORSE: Oath of Blood – Viking Retribution [Review]”
The early access release of Menace is here, and after giving it twenty sweaty coffee-infused hours like the nerd that I am—I’m ready to give my first early impressions. While I do feel it’s a much better experience than the demo, since we are actually in control of progression and the campaign now—sadly, my issues with the general gameplay remain. This means that the combat is still mostly abstracted, with a strong wargame (board-game) feeling that work against the immersion in parts.
Continue reading “Menace – Early Access Impressions”
My first impression of the Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown demo wasn’t too great, as it felt more like a proof of concept, than an actual slice of the game. No voice-acting, and everything seemed to have a cheap “visual novel” kind of design, with very little input from you required to do anything. But after the tutorial let go of my hand, I started to see the potential of this title. Now, for the decision-making, and story it never really leaves the visual novel phase, but as a complete package, I’m captivated regardless. And that is largely thanks to the ship management, exploration mechanics and how crew skills play into your judgments, and success.
Continue reading “Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown – Demo Impressions”