Travis McMullen's Reviews
A beautifully dark tale woven around an adequate management game.
The depth of combat is immensely satisfying, however the relatively low number of questlines for an open world roguelike results in some tiring repeats.
A Warhammer 40K spaceship RTS of epic proportions. Great visual design and an engaging story make for a unique dip into the sci-fi behemoth.
There is a lot to love about Stories: The Path of Destinies; clever craftsmanship of the branching narrative; vertically intricate level design; and being able to see events unfold differently as characters relationships shift is a compelling and original experience. Unfortunately it is let down by, while not uninteresting, monotonous gameplay with no real substance or relation to the broader story.
A supremely addictive and visceral vertically scrolling shoot’em up. Its solid, yet short, 6 stage campaign and endless mode is extended with the choice between 14 unique ships. While difficult enough for the veterans, there is ample difficulty customization for newer players. Its energetic and exciting gameplay make this an easy recommendation.
We Are The Dwarves is a tactical and rewarding action experience.
The Flame in the Flood is a beautiful rogue-lite that leans heavily on its charm and original concept. However, monotonous gameplay, simple crafting, very little world-building and a number of technical issues make it a taxing experience that I am in no hurry to revisit.
Sorcery! Parts 1 and 2 is the reincarnation of a classic game from a classic era. While the new polish is inspiring and makes it much more more accessible to a newer audience, there are still a number of issues that arise from its dated design.
Aviary Attorney is a vision to behold, genuinely funny at times (assuming you enjoy a good pun) and has a solid backbone of mechanics.
Poncho is a blast to play. It's difficult, yet rewarding;the punishment for failure is minimal. The levels are unique and the puzzle designs are effective. Traversing the "parallax layers" is an elegant mechanic that circumvents traditional concepts of movement and level design. It's only held back by its overreliance on collectables and weak narrative.
It takes a lot to stand out in the world of puzzle-platformers and unfortunately Albert and Otto – The Adventure Begins gets lost in the crowd.
A fantastic action-platformer with roguelike elements; Downwell is a pleasure to play. It's easy to pick up with a very high skill-ceiling. At such a low purchase-price it is hard not to recommend to anyone who enjoys a bit of challenging, fast and rewarding gameplay.
Kingdom is clever and definitely a fresh experience. A solid management system is held back by a lack of control and stumbling AI. Growing your kingdom is a satisfying feeling, however you'll be pulling your hair out by the time it comes crashing down.
The ingenuous movement mechanic and clever level design make Mushroom 11 a standout in a market saturated with physics-based puzzle platformers.
Dropsy is a stand-out in the point-and-click genre and a resurgence of classic mechanics. A simultaneously heart-warming and heart-wrenching experience, this game is able to convey emotion unlike any game I have played in a long while.