Talaka Preview (PC)

This shotgun is great at dealing damage but interferes with my momentum. With snakes and weird bugs nipping at her heels, my hero needs to stay airborne as much as possible, looking out for incoming colorful projectiles to dodge. I need to take out six more opponents quickly, and I have just used my parry. Constantly jumping makes it easier to use the powerful downward attack. Stomping on monsters is very satisfying, and a good way to strike while also avoiding incoming damage. It takes about 90 more seconds to deal with the remaining creatures. Now it’s time to pick an upgrade offered by a nice god. Do I want constant healing for the future or a big chunk of hit points right now? I’ll pick the second as I’m due to go toe-to-toe with a mini-boss pretty soon. Talaka is developed by Potato Kid and published by Acclaim, Inc. I played a preview version of the title on Steam. The game combines side-scrolling combat with a rogue-lite core. The world is inspired by Brazil...

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Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Review (PC)

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault was an early access success, but we all wanted to see how its final version would pan out, and if it’s something that we would play over and over. Having spent plenty of time with this finished version, I can say that Moonlighter 2 has something for everyone. It fulfills the shop management fantasy, but at the same time, you also get your action RPG and roguelike fix with some pretty immersive battles out there as well. The main city which serves as your base is full of merchants and people that will give you a plethora of quests, and those are going to be quite immersive as you play. What I like about the game is that they delve into the Endless Vault theme to complete the story, and every new challenge is offering you additional tidbits of story. But don’t dismiss the quests from NPCs too, I found them to be fun as well, and they do a pretty good job at fleshing out the world and making it more immersive and unique, something that ...

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Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Review (PC)

The main protagonists of the A Plague Tale series, the siblings Amicia de Rune and her younger brother Hugo de Rune, take a step back in the new entry in the franchise, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. Contrary to what many might think, Resonance is a prequel, so instead of progressing the plot of the first two games, it actually brings the series to a long-awaited conclusion by answering many of the questions that the previous titles thrown at players. Even though Amicia and Hugo de Rune aren’t part of this game, fans of the series will immediately recognize the protagonist of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Sophia, who was initially introduced in A Plague Tale: Requiem. She was the first person to welcome the De Rune family aboard her ship, the Rascasse. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is set 15 years before the events in Requiem, and fully focuses on the origins of young Sophia, long before she became a famous sea captain, as well as her career. Abandoned in a ...

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Mexican Ninja Review (PC)

I enjoy beat’em’ups as much as the next guy, and if they are well-made, it’s very easy for me to spend dozens of hours in those games. With that in mind, Mexican Ninja is one of those games that bring you the intense gameplay and combos you want from this genre, along with crazy boss battles and an immersive visual style. I was hooked the moment I started playing, and that feeling stuck with me right until the end credits. Mexican Ninja has a simple story, but realistically, these games don’t really need a huge premise. Here, you have the Narkuza crime syndicate that’s all within Nuevo Tokyo, and you are trying to remove them from your city. It’s not easy, and there are lots of different bosses you have to defeat, which can be rather tricky to do, in all honesty. Right from the beginning, the game’s visuals impressed me. It’s a very distinctive visual style, and it works great for a title in this genre. I also like the character design, which is cool, and they do g...

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Feed the Scorchpot Review (PC)

I really needed extra flavor that wasn’t directly linked to dice rolls. The dragon has decided that this year sixes do not count, an expression of his spite. So I basically cannot deliver the combined eleven I need to actually make my Weiner recipe work. This means I need to rely on something else to boost my multiplier. My merchant posts can’t satiate the dragon’s hunger on their own. Unfortunately, the shop only offers Cheese Spread, which works with low values that would make it impossible for my homesteads to actually harvest anything, and a fish-based recipe that does nothing for me. There also aren’t any tools that I can activate to give myself a boost. So, I place another cairn, hoping that it will help, and push through three seasons aiming to harvest as much dairy and meat as possible. I fail to hit the dragon’s satiation threshold by a few hundred points, so my island administrator gets put into the pot and eaten. For my next run, I hope to get an initial...

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Lunarium Review (PC)

As someone who enjoys action RPGs, I am always on the lookout for games in this genre, and Lunarium immediately caught my eye. Right off the bat, the game’s hand-drawn art direction establishes an exceptional visual identity, and then you get to enjoy the intense, yet fair gameplay which is extremely interesting. In Lunarium, you play as Ave, which is a light-armored knight. Your task is to eliminate monsters that appeared right near your village. After you take down those enemies, then a shadowy force surrounds the creature and it brings that creature back to life, in a more sinister manner. Ave falls in battle, and she ends up saved by Lune. We soon learn that Lune is a Starfarer, which protects the surrounding valley and has been doing so for a long time, even if she lost her memory.  The relationship built between Lune and Ave is at the forefront of Lunarium, and in the 8-10 hours of the story, you’ll find this to evolve and grow quite nicely. Without spoiling,...

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Burn With Me Preview (PC)

Burning down the entire hand to gain a boost is a solid move, as long as just the imp who actually likes that, Gemma, is affected. Each time this imp card is burned, which means it is eliminated from the deck, she gives two base value points to every other imp I am working with. And when dealing with a demon boss, every +2 helps. Burn With Me is developed by Nozomu Games and published by Inner Pocket. I played a preview version of the game on Steam. The title combines card action with a Balatro-inspired point limit system. The game’s universe is populated by animals with the power to reason and talk, and more importantly, the ability to perform dark rituals to summon imps and battle demons. The developers are aiming for cozy creepy when it comes to atmosphere and mostly hit the mark. This is a world where people are ready to lose themselves as long as they can use occult forces to solve problems. Each chapter follows a different character, with story sequences that...

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Case Closed: The London Files Review (PC)

How good would you be as a detective in a noir London? Turns out that you can finally do that with a game called Case Closed: The London Files. It’s a game with 3 mains tory cases, along with optional secret cases and 15 underlying logic puzzle stages. I felt that the amount of content was fine for the price, but as always, once you get into the gameplay, you want more and more, and that’s exactly what I thought at the end of this experience. Right off the bat, I enjoyed the noir-inspired, hand-drawn 2D art. It’s beautiful, artsy and downright cute, which made for a very impressive and interesting setting. It also comes in handy to have a jazz soundtrack, because it increases immersion, while being a delight to immerse yourself in this. When it comes to the gameplay, Case Closed: The London Files tends to be pretty easy to understand. You need to talk with the people in each location, and you grab clues from them. Every person will tell you about a clue, and when y...

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Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Review (PC)

The original Hell Let Loose was extremely popular because it brought a lot of realism to WWII battles, and now with this new release, we are taking that gameplay to Vietnam. Naturally, like any large scale competitive multiplayer shooter, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is not free of any problems. But it does have some great upsides, and it strives to be extremely interesting and fun, even if it has its own issues. The important thing about Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is that it retains the original’s structure, at least for the most part. Matches are 50v50, so massive-scale battles that feel incredible, regardless of what role you have in the game. Being able to play alongside others and striving to eliminate enemies feels rewarding, and that sense of comradery and cooperation is exceptional, if you have the right team that is. I ended up with great teams, but also with solo cowboys that ended up dying because they didn’t work together with others. As always, Hell Let Loose:...

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Tukoni: Forest Keepers Review (PC)

How many teapots can one tea mistress need hanging outside her teapot-shaped home? And what playful miscreants take one away, knowing that this make the tea master hide in her house, unwilling to share the secrets of the delightful beverage with others? Thankfully, any past malarkey can easily be solved by my Traveller, who’s very interested in securing some precious tea knowledge. So I get some items to reach for other items and then nail the art of cramming items into backpacks. Once the greatness of the hanging teapot forest is restored, I get invited into the inner sanctum, hoisted up in a cauldron, deal with a locked safe, and get an amazing gift that my character will then use to create closer connections with others. The Traveller would probably love to stay here, spending time with friends in one of the cozy places he has discovered. Unfortunately, winter is nearing; the warm colors of fall will soon be gone, and there are more forest creatures that need a ...

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Mortal Shell 2 Review (PC)

Mortal Shell was one of those soulslike games that had a great set of ideas at first, but it was clearly made on a budget. When the sequel was announced, I was intrigued, but realistically, I had no idea what I was getting into. Mortal Shell 2 manages to refine every part of the original, it adds a plethora of bosses with their own patterns and attacks, a stunning world, along with a variety of shells, including some new ones as well. The main story here is simple, the Undermether is a god who crashes onto the realm forcefully due to a creature attacking it. The Undermether was carrying eggs called Ova with her, and those have been stolen, not to mention they were corrupted. As a child of the Undermether, you need to get back the stolen kin in the form of those Ova, and there are 196 of them in the game. What’s interesting is that you can find many of these either guarded by major bosses at corrupted towers, or at corrupted beacons, all of which usually require you...

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope DLC – Yay or Nay (PC)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was a bit of a mess at launch, especially when it came to the performance. And for some people, the story left room to grow. Since everyone was excited to see more, we now have one of the promised DLCs for the game in the form of Cost of Hope. But is this DLC delivering on its promise? It’s crucial to note that the game is updated to 2.0 now, and it comes with some new mechanics and changes that directly impact the DLC. The foliage and lighting systems are much better, the AI system is excellent, and they also added a fog system, some new weapons and binoculars. These are all meaningful changes that do help make the gameplay more fun. When it comes to the DLC itself, it has a very good story, and it will take you roughly 15 hours to complete. Cost of Hope starts at around ¼ of the original game, but they added an advanced start system, if you want to enter the DLC directly. The expansion focuses on the Duty and Freedom factions. You’ll visit a few ...

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The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition Review (PC)

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition is an improved version for a game that launched around 15 years ago and then was removed from storefronts half a decade later. For many people, it was inaccessible, even if when launched, this quickly became a cult hit, especially for the Tolkien game fans. This new Legacy Edition is bringing the game back to life with some interesting improvements, it optimizes the game for new consoles and PC, while also retaining the core elements of the original. Having played the original, I was interested to see how much they will improve, and how much stays the same. What’s interesting is that the Legacy Edition revamps some of the graphics, it increases the view distance and other small things, but the overall graphics feel very similar to what we experienced 15 years ago. However, there are some graphical improvements, for example the textures are improved, and the lighting of the game is certainly better than it was ...

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Darkest Dungeon: The Fire's Edge DLC – Yay or Nay (PC)

Darkest Dungeon already has a sequel, so no one expected that the original game would get any attention once that got released. But it seems that the devs at Red Hook Studios are not done with the original Darkest Dungeon, as they released The Fire's Edge, a new DLC full of goodies. This DLC has some interesting additions, but the main one would be the two new hero classes, more specifically the Runaway and Duelist. What’s cool about these heroes is that they are introducing some new mechanics designed to make players rethink the way their party operates. The Duelist is dependent on creating the right party, so you need heroes to protect her and manipulate positions. But her riposte is great, and it can help you destroy even powerful enemies. The Runaway is going to benefit from teams that are built around crowd control and enemy displacement. Additionally, you get some new trinket mechanics like progressive trinkets, quest charges and trigger uses. Darkest Dungeon...

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HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon Review (PC)

Of course, this cursed miner has a second form as a ghost. I started this battle with auto-launched lightning and ice attacks, powered by two pieces of equipment, which took around a third of the enemy's health. I followed up with a normal strike, eliminating one of the weaker monsters, before my hero activated her flame shield to make sure opponents get punished if they actually managed to land a big hit. It took three more attack cycles to destroy everyone, but I didn’t expect the miner to return to the battlefield. He gets two good hits in, and I’m forced to use my health crystal, which is often a sign that a fight will be tougher than initially thought. But this revenant cannot stand up to a magical weapon blow that uses my rage, and I win the fight with a loss of only about 20 health. The loot is mostly blue and not very useful, but I keep it for selling. I’ve seen a chest around a corner, and past a stationary enemy group, which will probably have something I...

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The Sinking City 2 Review (PC)

I was one of the people that liked the original Sinking City, even if it did have its flaws and it was a bit janky at times. But that game also had a great heart, and a premise that would definitely benefit from a sequel. Moving onward a few years, now we finally have that sequel, and we get to experience the city of Arkham (Lovecraft’s Arkham, not Batman’s) which was severely flooded. We have the unique opportunity to explore a flooded city using the boat, enter the various buildings that are still accessible and figure out how we can save the partner of our main character. Called Calvin Rafferty, the protagonist is new to the series, but he definitely feels very charming, and he won me over with his witty remarks and how he handled himself in this crazy world. Having your loved one in a supernatural coma already took its toll on Calvin, but he is doing everything in his power to solve this mystery, find a cure and protect his wife at all times. In order to do tha...

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Talespinner Review (PC)

I should have kept Himura in the back line more, allowing her pet dragon to tank incoming damage. Avoiding damage, using block cards, and sometimes a dodge earned from a companion yokai is the priority. But often the lure of the powerful attack cards Himura can use, one of which I upgraded for extra damage, is just too strong. Now we’re dealing with a wheel of fire demon, and things could be going better. His fiery shield is a problem, but we’ve landed plenty of blows, poisoning him when possible, and relying on teamwork to boost our damage. My heroes have fortified themselves with some sake and might eat some fish to further boost their abilities. But I need to restrain myself from making risky moves to win and hope that I’m lucky when it comes to card draws. Talespinner is developed by Flash Cat Games and published by Kwalee. I played using Steam on the PC, with the game also launched on the Nintendo Switch. The title mixes combat built around cards and unique me...

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Reanimal: The Prisoner DLC – Yay or Nay (PC)

I had a great time with Reanimal when it appeared earlier this year, and I was curious to see what their season pass will bring. And apparently, we will have 3 DLC featuring 2 new characters. The Prisoner DLC is the first one of the bunch, and it brings the soldier and prisoner, 2 new characters that need to work together to survive in this hostile and challenging world. Reanimal: The Prisoner is not a long DLC, you can finish it within an hour, but it’s all about the intensity, and the game delivers there. The story is mysterious, but it ties into the main game, which I appreciated. The game retains that Little Nightmares core, and while the coop is fun, the DLC itself rarely uses that to its full potential. Despite the short length, I feel that they were able to cram a lot of stuff inside the game. There’s a large city destroyed by war, along with some other really cool locations to explore. And of course, there are creative enemies, like soldiers with a flamethr...

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Omen Review (PC)

As someone who enjoys space exploration and just booting up a game to explore the vastness of space, I immediately gravitated towards Omen, as the title pretty much tries to deliver all of that wrapped up with a bow on top. But aside from the space exploration, Omen is also a looter shooter, and an extraction game at heart. The idea in Omen is simple, you are entering the remnants of a fallen empire, and your focus is on extracting valuable loot. You need to do everything you can in order to explore and gather items to craft new things and improve your ship. On top of that, you also need to protect your base with defenses. And that’s because not only will you have moments where the game is very intense, but it’s also pretty challenging, too. And what really matters with a title like Omen is that enemies will come to your base and attack, they won’t just sit there on maps and wait for you to attack them. The game features a system where you enter a variety of maps,...

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Echobreaker Review (PC)

I’ve always liked arcade games and platformers, but precision platformers have never been my cup of tea, aside from Super Meat Boy. That game really brought a lot of intensity and commitment out of me, as I tried to master every level and get the best possible score. Echobreaker is a game in that vein, since it has 15 levels that you need to master to the best of your capabilities. One of the things that I felt Echobreaker nails is the sense of speed, and also the animation system. The character you control in this immersive, beautifully made cyber world is very fast, but its movement system feels great, and you have an extraordinary sense of immersion. What’s great is that you can easily manipulate time here, as every second matters. Granted, you can try to speed up, but going faster does mean you are risking your run, which may or may not be a good thing. Plus, in order to complete a level, you can’t just reach the ending. You also have to eliminate every enemy o...

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Echoes of Mystralia Preview (PC)

I enjoy roguelites, but one of their downfalls is the lack of a story. Echoes of Mystralia tries to rectify that by offering a great story along with the intense, magic-infused roguelite experience. We take the role of Mazarim, which is a watcher in training. He explores this world and he is doing everything that he can in order to save people and bring order back to this realm. The visual style in Echoes of Mystralia is amazing, it’s very colorful and I appreciate the stunning attention to detail. Every single level I played was a delight to peruse and the attack animations, along with the way different spells are portrayed, it makes for a very satisfying experience. The music is also accompanying the visuals with intense or mood-setting tunes that I found to be very impressive as well. Echoes of Mystralia relies on a spellcrafting system, where you have 2 different attacks, and then they are imbued with runes you find along the way. That offers a lot of customiza...

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Pax Autocratica Preview (PC)

Pax Autocratica is a great combination of a colony sim and FPS roguelike, where your focus is to create a grand totalitarian colony. Exploring through the universe and gathering resources, expanding your home base and obliterating any enemies that come in front of you, that feels difficult, but it’s an extraordinary and very interesting experience. First, your primary focus is on understanding the base mechanics, which are quite complex. But once you get past the tutorial, you can enter expeditions, which have you going through space and trying to destroy enemy encampments or acquiring resources. Every planet is different, and it can bring some cool stuff or some really intense battles. Expeditions are the core of the game, and they felt the most fun to me. You can also recruit various people during these and then go back to base to harness their skills. For me, the main appeal of the game was to enter random colonies and obliterate them to smithereens. Every comba...

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DragonSword: Awakening Review (PC)

Gacha games are incredibly popular worldwide, but their main downside is while the game is free, it’s also a money pit, since the title is full of microtransactions. DragonSword: Awakening retains that gacha DNA. However, it removes heavy microtransactions in order to deliver a premium experience. And while it certainly has its downsides, it’s an incredibly impressive and downright exciting game to play. At its core, the game features 8 main chapters, split into 80 main quests that will push you throughout the continent of Orbis. You take the role of Lute, who is a young boy trying to make a name for himself. You meet a variety of other characters that you can switch to, such as Castella, Johny and others, each one with their own skills. The great upside is that you can easily use combos and combine each other’s powers in combat, which makes for a spectacular experience. The game’s story is quite easy to follow, and even if this is a spiritual successor to the Drag...

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Mistfall Hunter Review (PC)

When Mistfall Hunter was first announced, the idea of having an extraction game with soulslike combat intrigued me quite a bit. And it made me curious about how they would pull it off, but thankfully Bellring Games delivers in a way that I did not expect. Certainly not without its issues, of course, but this is a game that tries something new, even if it has a few failure points here and there. Mistfall Hunter takes place in the world of Weavereach, after a cataclysmic war wiped out the ancient gods of the land, and this world is now in shambles. We play as a gyldhunter, and we venture in 2 different maps, trying to eliminate enemies and bosses, accumulate loot and escape before the timer runs out, which is roughly 20 minutes. That sounds like much, but as you explore and go into different paths or battle enemies, you will have times when you barely escape at the 1-minute limit. As you get past that, there’s a battle-royale-like circle which will push you towards ex...

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Expeditions: Samurai Preview (PC)

The fourth game in the Expeditions series, which started back in 2013 with the release of Expeditions: Conquistador, is called Expeditions: Samurai. If you haven’t guessed by now, the game takes players to Japan, loosely following the path to the English navigator William Adams (of Shogun book and TV show fame) in the year 1600, leading up to the Battle of Skigahara that cemented Tokugawa Ieyasu as the ultimate unifier of Japan. Expeditions: Samurai remains an expansive party-based RPG set in our world during real historical events, which promises to offer players an intricate, branching story, as well as a vibrant cast of characters. Just like the previous installments in the series, Expeditions: Samurai is split into acts, but only the first one is available at the moment. The Early Access version of the game will continue to be updated, and the other acts will be added throughout the development cycle up to the point of the game’s launch. Now, let’s talk a bit a...

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Reap and Rush Review (PC)

Reap and Rush is a game whose focus is on bringing the action roguelite experience to the next level, and it manages to do that without breaking a sweat. It embraces mythology, while adding its own twists and a variety of quests to really bring you that innate sense of immersion and excitement. And at the same time, it does that by being very cool, fun to play and incredibly intense at times. The premise here is simple, you take the role of an underworld envoy and you try to fight various hordes of Yaoguai. But it’s not easy, as they are indeed coming towards you in hordes, and you have to figure out what’s the best way to stop them, while also staying alive in the process. That’s not an easy thing, but if you are doing it right, the results can be nothing short of incredible. The game functions like any other action roguelite out there. And the idea is simple, you have enemies that gravitate towards you, and the only thing you can do is use your abilities and try ...

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Sovereign Tower Review (PC)

My kingdom has already weathered two great threats. A Kingslayer tried to depose and kill me, and it took four knights with strong equipment and true steeds to stop him. Before that, a Dragon Knight challenged the Round Table, and the efforts of three knights, one of them an expert at hunting monsters, were needed to defeat him and gain the heart of his dragon mount. But those are glory days long past, even if they happened just a few weeks ago. Since then, one of my lovely heroes, the always helmeted Goberto, perished while trying to track down a magical artifact. Part of the fault was mine for not repairing his armor because I was low on gold. A few, like Arron and Ursula, aren’t happy with my leadership after completing quests that don’t fully align with their principles. But the biggest problem is that the treasury is always under pressure. So, I pawn equipment I don’t need and make sure that the knights go on quests with decent monetary rewards. I’m also hopin...

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Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand DLC – Yay or Nay (PC)

Company of Heroes 3 is a game that’s not strange to mods and people try to add their own spin to the overall gameplay. However, it seems that the devs decided to offer players something completely different in the form of Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand. This is a roguelite, wave-based game mode for Company of Heroes 3, which comes as a standalone release. And on top of that it’s co-op too, which is even better. Final Stand comes with a bunch of new maps, and what’s great about it is the fact that you can select the map, difficulty and faction. That matters, because you get to narrow down where and how you play, and it all becomes way more interesting and enticing. You can think of Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand as a wave-based, horde game, within the setting of COH3. It sounds a bit crazy, but it works very nicely, and it adds a unique layer of intensity as well. The concept of this standalone game mode is pretty interesting. You have a base and you are defendi...

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SENARA: The Sacrament Review (PC)

SENARA: The Sacrament is a creative horror game that embraces the survival horror element, and it puts us in the middle of the ocean, on a large ship as we try to stay alive. It gets a lot of inspiration not only from Ghost Ship and other maritime horror movies, but also the great Cold Fear game from back in the day. However, it also brings a spin of its own, and combined with elements from a real story, you have an amalgam of ideas that mostly sticks to the landing. Right off the bat, the game starts off with you being on the cruise ship, you have no idea why or how you got there. Even at the beginning, you have a couple of enemies that try to kill you, and then you slowly start meeting people, like the captain. Then you realize what happened, basically the ship was taken over by a fanatical cult who killed everyone they found on the ship. The captain tells you to try and trigger the distress beacon in order to call a rescue helicopter. He also lets you know that ...

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Corsair Cove Review (PC)

The golden age of piracy might be one of the most interesting times in human history. We had pirates doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and not taking anything for granted. Corsair Cove is a game set in that era, and its focus is on creating a great hideout for pirates, while also featuring quite a lot of battles. So, it very much allows you to live your pirate fantasy, while also being incredibly fun and quite deep when it comes to hideout building, too. Corsair Cove has a familiar gameplay core, since you exploit resources on the island with harvesting buildings, refine them into goods, and then use those goods you make to keep your pirates happy, accumulate money and of course, construct more buildings. However, you don’t have a lot of space on the island, so you have to focus on building on cliffs, which makes the hideout quite interesting. Buildings are placed on cliffs, and they are linked together by ropes, elevators, ziplines and so on. Somet...

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