Joseph Pugh's Reviews
It’s a shame because the game is fantastic, mechanically speaking, and is very enjoyable to play. It leaves you hungry for more and it nearly feels unfinished with its lack of archetypes or skill variety. This makes it a little difficult to recommend for the full price despite how excellent Bad North plays.
The retro graphics look great and the animations are superb. But I don’t feel like there is enough “game” there for the price of admission. If you really enjoy timing or pattern memorization, the 2D action game coating could be a nice change of pace. Otherwise, try out the demo on Steam if you can or pick it up on sale.
I can’t find the entertainment in Stranded Sails. The quests aren’t fun, what little progression that exists is there to help ease the tedium of completing the repetitive fetch quests in the first place. I can’t even say it is a relaxing game because the energy bar is frustrating and the sole means of combating it lacks any kind of interesting engagement. Yet if it was removed the game’s existence would be that much more mindless bordering on an idle game.
The world is interesting, the battle system is well done, tactical and fun. You have a lot of choices to make as you play, what to upgrade, how much to explore and how to handle events. Crying Suns takes a lot of inspiration from FTL, but twists the idea into its own unique set of game-play mechanics that set it apart.
If you want to take on the role of a diplomat with a lot of character and dialogue choices, GreedFall is still worth picking up. There is a great world and story here waiting to be explored if you can look past its shortcomings. If your the type of player that skips cut-scenes and dialogue, look elsewhere.
It’s a solid title, just not a perfect one. If you enjoyed previous titles in the series then Gears 5 is an easy sale. If you are new altogether, well, there is a ton of stuff for you to dig your chainsaw bayonet in!
Remnant is overall a fantastic action RPG and great souls-like sibling. The enemy variety, stellar combat, and procedural aspect skyrocket its replay value and the meaningful loot is exciting in this gaming climate. It's challenging even on normal, but far less brutal than Dark Souls, but you can kick up the heat on a harder setting. If you enjoy games like Dark Souls or action RPGs this is an instant buy, especially if you have friends to play with.
It is a much bigger game than FTL and because of that, its flaws are much more pronounced. Yet it remains fun and I can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t enjoy it if you liked FTL. It has a ton of variation to play with and a lot to manage. Just keep in mind that the randomness is all part of the fun and sometimes you can do everything right and still lose.
It is deep, fun and has extremely high replay value. It's disappointing that the multiplayer has a couple of hiccups but the AI is solid and provides a good challenge with plenty of entertainment. Whether you're playing a custom scenario or the campaign, you are in for a good time. Planetfall may end up being my personal game of the year and I can't recommend it enough. Especially for console players who rarely get these type of games. If you like strategy or grid-based tactics, buy it immediately, you won't regret it.
Tidal Tribe takes a small mechanic from other simulation games and built itself around it beautifully. It’s relaxing to play, simple to learn, but deceptively complex to master and it has a lot of content.
Fade To Silence isn't a bad game really, it has some neat ideas. The winter landscape feels brutal, it drips with Lovecraft flair and I enjoy the base building and sieges. The cleansing and freeze mechanic work well and assuming you don't get tangled up on the terrain, the sled dog transport is neat. Some of its mechanics just work against itself. It would have been better as a sandbox, tossing away its linear nature. The time gating, lack of randomness and permadeath just don't work well in those circumstances. It is still worth experiencing though, especially if you like Lovecraft stuff, pick it up on sale.
In my opinion, Sea of Thieves was always a great game, if a bit bare bones. But after a year of updates, it’s now the fleshed out pirate game we deserve and more updates are in the pipeline. If you can reconcile yourself with what the game is, which is a game about piracy, you will have a wonderful time. It is an experience you likely can’t find in another game. If you’re looking to sail the seas in peace, you should look elsewhere. Now get out there and get that booty!
It can be frustrating at times, the game isn't always fair and a lot of its mechanics are downright frustrating. Yet after all the time I've put in, the bugs, and the horse crap. I still want to play it, because it is so much fun. I under no circumstances recommend you so just blindly buy the game, but I think you should try it. Catch it on sale or play the base game through Xbox game pass, if you like it, the rabbit hole is a deep one. I have over a thousand hours in and I'm still going strong.
The enemies in the game are well designed and all require a different approach, and visually they are awesome. But there is a smaller variety of them than I was hoping for. The shooting is somewhat basic, but that’s not really the point of the game. It’s not a run-and-gun title, it’s about planning and risk versus reward. If the objective of the game was to shoot every enemy you see, it would be terrible. It’s about leading them through that fire you saw in tunnel three or locking that big nasty guy in that room. It’s about hacking that turret, and then using a rifter gun to move it into an enemy-filled hallway. The price point is a wee bit high but overall if you like rogue-lites and games with plenty of agency. You can’t go wrong by being a Void Bastard.
For The King is overall a fantastic combination of game genres and emulates the tabletop experience quite well. Especially when playing with friends together on the couch. It has a ton of content and nature of the game and procedural generation makes the replay value sky high. The technical issues are really the only thing bringing the game down. Just keep in mind the game is challenging and even tells you outright that you are not always meant to win.
Overall Eden Rising is a solid well-designed game that is really fun to play with friends. Its a nice blend of crafting, action, explorations, and tower defense. There is a lot to unlock and the tech trees are big. If the idea of it appeals to you, it is worth the money. But why not jump into the free to play version and decide for yourself?
It's worth sticking it out though. Mushroom Crusher is a small, fun and adorable retro arcade game. Its design is solid and there is a lot to unlock and master. It's cheap and easy to recommend. Give yourself an hour to get the hang of the controls.
While I would like to see it priced at around $10.00, I can't say it is not worth the $15. It is fun, and addictive, especially when you unlock endless mode. Moss Destruction doesn't try to revolutionize any genres or break new ground. It tries to be a fun, action-packed arcade experience. In that, it succeeds very well.
It’s a game that’s definitely a labor of love. It’s well made and the art is fantastic. Its systems are a little light for my tastes but I very much found myself enjoying the choose your own adventure style of writing.
It is still very much good old fashioned EDF fun and its refined fun at that. However, being punished for using your hard earned and awesome gadgets by deducting money from your mission rewards is purely anti-fun and the complete disconnect of the on-screen action in multiplayer is unacceptable and disappointing.