Knights of the Chalice – Fireball, My Only Friend [Field Report]

Welcome to this report on Knights of the Chalice. This is not a true review, since I’m far from the ending, as the game seemingly looks to be huge, with plenty of monsters and evildoers needing vanquishing. Treat this more as an ongoing field report in appreciation of what this title offers. The way I’m playing it, it fits better as an audiobook companion (don’t judge me!) than a full RPG experience that requires your complete attention—even if it does need it for success in the hairiest situations.

You see, this is a Dungeons and Dragons fighting simulator where the story only serves to take you from one challenging battle to the next. Knowledge of the DnD 3.5 ruleset is mandatory, or the orcs will make sheesh kebab out of your heroic group of adventurers before you even have time to unsheathe your sword.

Continue reading →

Crimson Freedom – what’s this?

Yellow vs. Red. I think we all know Red will win the color war

Discovered the upcoming RTS Crimson Freedom by the all mysterious algorithm on Twitter (X)—and for once I can say it did a pretty good job. No societal decay shoved into my face today to increase my ever-growing despair for the future, just pure enjoyment—thanks Elon! Jokes aside, this is a pleasant surprise, because it looks great from a visual standpoint, in a setting that never fails: sci-fi war on Mars. Other things that make this a contender is that it’s singleplayer focused, with three distinct factions. And, the Steam page promises a focus on Macro, instead of Micro. Thank the Martian gods for that, as too much micro is a modern curse upon the RTS genre. Check out the cool gameplay trailer after the jump!

Continue reading →

Grey Goo – I Got Gooed

I was playing Grey Goo, thinking that this game is pretty good—not great but very entertaining. Casually planning out my review, perhaps as a forgotten RTS gem… but then it happened. I reached part three of the campaign, when the game jumps from one group to another—to the actual Grey Goo faction. And oh boy. The game is separated by three factions, with two of the factions being fairly grounded in some kind of abstract sci-fi terms—the Grey Goo group, however. It’s like a meme coming alive, as you literally play as an undefined, boring gelatinous mass of sludge with horrible gameplay mechanics.

Continue reading →

MENACE [Full cinematic trailer]

I'm here from the future to terminate you!

When Overhype Studios released the demo for Menace, they also dropped a small teaser that showed off the brutality of their created world—in part. Well, fret no more, the full length trailer is here, and it’s awesome (as expected). Sadly, it isn’t that much longer than the teaser, but it adds context to what we saw earlier.

Two noticeable things here. The sludge that grabs a dead (or wounded) marine around the one-minute mark looks really nasty and terrifying. I foresee grotesque body-horror in the future! Also, note to self, avoid everything slimy and bubbling. Then the second thing comes at about one and a half minute in—and it’s a damn Terminator machine, directly manifested from my “future wars” nightmares. Wow! Talk about the unexpected, and it looks like what the title of the game indicates: Menacing! Check out the cool trailer after the jump.

Continue reading →

Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown – Demo 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 →