Game Quicky: Superliminal (Switch) ~ Objects are differently shaped than they appear.

Nintendo.com micrositeWikipedia entry

I remember seeing a game floating around on the internet many years ago. I even bookmarked the page I saw it on, since I wanted to keep myself up-to-date on future updates. It looked extremely cool and had a lot of potential to have amazing puzzles and mind binding twists. But that was in 2014-2015 if I remember correctly. Then, I honestly forgot about the game, and it fell off my radar. Not too long ago, I was cleaning out my overload of bookmarks and I suddenly found that game again. That reminded me about the game and when I suddenly saw it on my Nintendo Switch eShop that evening, I knew that I had to buy it right away. So, the game released a year ago, and I totally forgot about it. Oh well, that’s no big deal. Since, now, I have a lot of time to find out if my expectations were correct or if I shouldn’t have started playing this game. Now, while I have beaten the game now, I’m going to review this game in my game quicky style of articles since it’s rather short. But more on that later, let’s find out if this game is good or not, while I invite you to leave a comment with your thoughts and/or opinions in the comment section down below.

Objects are better shaped than they appear.

In this game, you are taken on a trip to the Pierce Institute to help test a new technology. This new technology is to help people with therapy using dreams. In these dreams, you can manipulate objects in some very strange ways. But, since this is a video game, something goes wrong. Instead of waking up, you get stuck inside the dream world due to Emergency Exit Protocol failing for whatever reason. So, it’s up to you to figure out why and to leave the dreamworld.

Now, I wish I could say more, but it would spoil the amazing story and strong message that this game has. This game is, give or take, 3 hours long if you only want to beat it and not 100% complete it. The story telling and voice acting in this game is so well crafted. The game spoke to me on a personal level several times. The game is also filled with some amazing life advice, and I’m so glad I played through it.

The main mechanic in this game is that perspective matters. A lot. You can enlarge or shrink certain objects in this game, so you can reach higher ledges or jump over huge gaps. The best way I can explain it, is if you go away from objects, they appear to “shrink” and when you get closer, they appear to “enlarge”. Now, image that when the “shrinking” or “enlarging” is happening, the object actually takes those dimensions. So, suddenly the cheese wheel can become a giant ramp for you to walk on. If you don’t really understand what I’m trying to explain here, take a look at these gifs, I think they might explain it way better.

I’m not going to show more or explain more of the mechanics since, it would ruin the surprises and the unique and amazingly crafted puzzles that this game has. This game can become quite tricky, but remember, it’s all a matter of having the right perspective and understanding the space you are in. Each section introduces its own unique spin or mechanic on the perspective puzzle theme, and it’s just great. I had so much fun trying to figure them all out.

Something that surprised me is that with the various elements that this game has and with the unique shrink/enlarge mechanics, it’s so well optimized. I didn’t experience any slowdowns nor did I experience any graphical glitches. Now, this is when you play the game normally. And why am I saying this? Well, it’s because the game actually encourages you to speedrun it once or twice. The Steam achievements of this game are ported over to the Nintendo Switch version. And I think I might give it a go myself one day. The controls of this game are solid enough and I think they are responsive enough for me to speedrun this game. I learned them extremely quickly and mastered them fast as well.

It would be an amazing way to dive right back into this amazing adventure and to go through the well detailed levels again. Visually, this game is stunning. While I think that the game has some moments that might trigger players that aren’t too good with flashing lights, I was amazed with the detail and visual presentation that this game has. The game also has a lot of triggers, so you don’t softlock yourself. For example, if you shrink the exit door and throw it in a trash can, the exit door spits it right back out. One animation detail I loved is seeing all the different jokes the developer made with the loading screens. You’ll have to see it to understand what I mean, but they were a nice way to do something unique with a loading screen instead of having a boring static or short moving image…

Apart from the objects you can interact with, this game doesn’t have a lot of animations. But, the animations it does have pulled you into the game so much more. Including with the enjoyable sound design. It has been at least a month since I have beaten this game since I’m writing this article and I can still remember the sound effects, how the voice acting sound and how the music sounds.

Speaking about the music, most of the soundtrack of this game is extremely relaxing and sounds extremely dreamy. The great use of the piano and, which is the center instrument in this soundtrack, and it’s just lovely. It’s that lovely, I actually bought the game again on Steam since it includes the soundtrack and some official Lo-Fi remixes as DLC.

Objects are worse shaped than they appear.

So far, I’m talking quite positively about this game. While I enjoy this game an awful lot and I even dare to say that it wouldn’t surprise me that I put it on my top 10 games of 2021 list, I do have several things that I disliked about this game and that made the experience less enjoyable.

While I barely experienced any bugs, I did fall three times through the map in similar ways. Once, I was pushed out of the map when I made a way too big object fall on me. Another time I fell through the map when getting on the roof of a building and trying to get onto the wall (which wasn’t the solution, by the way) and I don’t remember what triggered the 3rd time. Thankfully, the game autosave quite often, so I didn’t lose too much progress. But, it was a bit annoying that there is no death plane underneath the maps that automatically reset you to the latest checkpoint. So, thankfully, you have the “reset” option in the game.

Something I feel extremely mixed about is the game’s length. This game is so short but the mechanics it has, have so much potential, it’s a shame. I really think that this game should have a sequel where even trickier puzzles are introduced. On the other hand, due to the short length, the story has barely any bloat or unneeded sections and flows extremely nicely. Let’s just say that I’m quite jealous of the Steam workshop features that the PC version has. While it’s amazing that I can take this game on the go and show it off to other people, I’m also glad I bought the PC version to not only have the DLC but play more of this game.

Now, while I personally had a ton of fun with this game… When I really look at the game and take a step back… In terms of gameplay, this game could have been so much stronger. I honestly have to agree with what other critics are saying about this game to a certain degree. That some mechanics are seriously underused. Not to say that the puzzles in this game are bad, far from it. I think the biggest issue is that the games’ hooks are so good that the short length to conserve the story flow actually hurt it somewhat. I do heavily disagree with the “lackluster” story. But that’s maybe because it spoke to me on a personal level.

But, yeah, the underused mechanics are such a shame. Yet! Don’t care because it’s over, be happy that it happened. And maybe play some custom-made workshop levels via the Steam version. Meanwhile, I’m crossing my fingers for a sequel or DLC content to expand on the universe and lore of this game.

Objects’ true sizes

So, in conclusion. What do I think of the Switch version of this game? Is it worth your time, or should you buy another version or totally skip this game? Personally, I would highly recommend this game. But, do play it in one sitting. I personally think that the message that the story has it that much stronger when you get it all in one go.

The big novelty of the Switch version is that you can easily take it on the go. Of course, with the right laptop you can also take this game on the go, but the Switch is more convenient. But know that this game’s short length might annoy you, since like I explained earlier, the hooks of the game are that good. If you want to get the most out of this game, I think that the PC version might be the better option here, since it looks like it’s more actively developed, and it has the Steam Workshop with custom content!

Overall, this game does do a lot right. It has a strong story, fun and unique mechanics, amazing atmosphere, great visual presentation but due to some minor bugs and especially the short length, this game might be a difficult sell for some people. But if anything sounded interesting from what I have said in this article, please give this game a go. I really meant in what I said earlier. I wouldn’t surprise me if this game turns up in my top 10 games of 2021 list.

If you are interested in this game, I highly recommend going as blind as possible in this game. Reading too much about this game will ruin various surprises and twists this game takes. It’s like the Stanley Parable. A great short game that leaves so much impact on me as a player, and maybe it does with you too. And if it doesn’t have the same strong impact on you, you might have played a unique puzzle game that challenge your perception abilities and skills. Since, I think this game found the right perception.

What that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

Score: 90/100

Want to read another review of this game? Well, visit my friend Indiecator, Dan or Magi and read his review here: https://indiecator.home.blog/2021/11/11/indietail-superliminal//

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My Favorite Gaming Music #21 – Time for a REMIX.

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There are two reasons why I wanted to talk about my favorite music in video games today. One, I didn’t have a lot of time to play a new game to review on my blog. Two, it has been too long since I wrote an entry in this series. So, that’s why I’m doing one of these again. Normally, the rules are that I’m only allowed to talk about original tracks from the games and only one track per franchise. This time, it’s different. One track per franchise remains, but now, it’s a remixed version of the track. So, I hope you are ready for some amazing music since here we go!

Hyrule Lemon – Essence of Lime (Remix: The Legend of Zelda – Oracle of Ages Intro & Title)

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In my Creative Christmas series, I have mentioned the Essence of Lime & Lime of Seasons albums. I seriously can’t get enough of these tracks.

When I found this album and heard the first track and heard that they added various sound effects from the games, I was sold right away.

For those who don’t know, this whole album is created by Hyrule Lemon and a team of various artists to remix the soundtrack of the amazing Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. Seriously, this music is so well made! I hope the remix other soundtracks as well since the talent behind this album is just amazing. They made an album using the music I’m so nostalgic about. Thank you for these guys and girls! Thanks.

Pascal Michael Stiefel x OC Remix (VGR) – A Hat In Time Main Theme (Remix: A Hat In Time Main Theme)

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This album just came out a few days ago. And it’s amazing. OC Remix is an amazing website where various artists come together to show off their remixes of video game music.

Indie dev team Gears for Breakfast teamed up with them to create a new album called “B-Side Soundtrack”. And, it’s amazing.

Now, I recently gave A Hat In Time a perfect score. I even said it was my favorite game of 2017. Now, when this track pulled my emotional string right around the 1:20 mark, it just blew me away and I bought this soundtrack on Steam. This soundtrack is only 5€ for 85 amazing music tracks. Again, only FIVE euro! That’s a steal! Seriously, if you enjoy this one, go and buy it on Steam.

Dunderpatrullen – Mega Man (Remix: Mega Man 2 Dr. Wily’s Castle)

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Now, I have never really played Megaman 2 so I don’t know the soundtrack that much. I still do recognize Megaman tunes here and there.

Why am I telling you this? Well, when I discovered Dunderpatrullen, I was looking around for more music that they created and I found this track they preformed live on a DreamHack event.

If you never heard about Dunderpatrullen and you enjoy chiptune, electronic music; please fix that. Give their music a try. Let me throw in as a bonus this video game medley to enjoy. While I know I mentioned this in one of my Creative Christmas articles, I still wanted to give the spotlight to these artists since I think they are amazing and I really hope they create some new music in the near future!

The GAG Quartet – 8-bit Anthem Medley (Remix: various ones)

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Something I have a real soft spot for is medleys and nostalgia. This is one that combines both.

I think that a lot of my fellow bloggers will enjoy this track, since you have Mega Man, Pokémon, Monkey Island, Zelda amongst various others.

The visuals in this video made my nostalgia go in overload. It’s very well made and this was actually the track that made me subscribe to their stuff. I simply can’t wait to see more music created by these guys. Also, if you are interested, they also created a medley with various internet memes from the past couple of years. So, give that a listen if you are interested.

Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion Song (1000 Doors)- The Living Tombstone -feat. BSlick & Crusher-P

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I have no clue why I bought this game. I hate jump scares in horror games. Yet, I enjoy playing this game. It’s very well put together and it’s pretty challenging.

Now, The Living Tombstone, some remixes from this artist I dislike and others I really like. This is one I really like. Maybe, the fact that Crusher-P helped with this track since I like his stuff as well. On the other hand, I really like the Living Tombstone’s original track “Cut the Cord“.

So, talking about the game; I still have to play a bit more before I can actually review the game. Maybe this Halloween if no other game distracts me? If you would ask me, really give Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion a chance, it’s an enjoyable game and I can’t recommend it enough to horror fans who want a “light” horror experience.

Final words

So, that’s everything for today. If you guys & girls ever find an amazing remixed track of a game you enjoyed playing, don’t hesitate to leave it in the comments.

I’m really curious to hear your opinion on the tracks I chose to feature in this article. Do you hear about them or are these the first time you heard about them? In any case, I hope you enjoyed listing to them and maybe discovered some new artists.

Thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

First Impression: Mind the Vikings (PC) ~ Very Alpha

mind of the vikingsOfficial Steam page

The game I wanted to talk about today is already released in an early alpha stage of development. The name of the game is “Mind the Vikings”. This game has been released in early January on Steam. While I got a review code from the developers, they wanted that I wrote 100% my opinion, and that’s what you will be getting. For this review, I played version 0.4.1. The game was also updated with various new features while I was playing this game for this review. In any case, let me talk about my first impressions of this game. As usual, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below with your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article.

Vikings in a sandbox

20180128213340_1Do you remember the first night you had in Minecraft? The time you are dropped into a sandbox with a world to explore. Well, I got that feeling when I first started to play Mind the Vikings. Like Minecraft, this game doesn’t really have an overall story.

This is a breath of fresh air for me. If the developers are planning to add a story in the full release of the game, I hope that they make it a separate mode to the main game. In this game, you start in a randomized land and you must decide where you place your main base.

When you decided on a spot, Vikings start to join you. The goal of the game is to create a base for them and decide which jobs they do. Also, you should maintain peace, to a certain degree, in your clan.

Something I decided is that I want to know as little about the future of the game as possible. I really think that this game will be much more exciting if I don’t know what other features this game will bring. There are already a bunch of hints on the Steam Store page and they all sound interesting.

It didn’t take long before I had a small Viking village up and running. Various lumberjacks gather, and miners were gathering resources. At first, I was going to complain about the lack of the tutorial, but I think the game doesn’t really need one at this moment. If the developers decide to make a tutorial, I think it would be a great idea to do something like Minecraft and achievements. Where the achievements are there to guide the player but if you want to learn to play this game by playing it, you can ignore the achievements.

Early Stages

20180128210813_1At this moment in time, the game is in pretty early stages of development. There isn’t too much to do in this game, but I do have a few things they can polish up already.

First, the camera is pretty good if you have a QWERTY-layout. The game didn’t recognize my AZERTY-layout. You can also move the camera with the arrow keys, but I much more prefer the ZQSD keys, since around there, the buttons to turn around the camera are located.

Secondly, I want to talk about the “exit menu”. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s the strange name the “pause menu” has. Something I found strange is that you can still interact with the game to a certain degree while the pause menu is open. Two examples: you can recruit new Vikings or click on a house and navigate to the location of the Viking who lives in there. I think it would be better if the pause menu appears in the middle of the screen and makes you unable to do interactions like that. Because this menu appears in the top right of the screen, underneath the gear icon, I didn’t always know if the game was paused or not.

Third, I think it would be helpful more things in the UI had visible “quit” buttons. A button to close the options menu for example. I know that this menu is closed by using the right mouse button, but I have a feeling not everybody will realize that.

Fourth are two minor things. Why do I always see the company’s logo when I go back to the main menu and why isn’t there a load option on the pause menu? Two minor things which would be a great improvement of the game is this is fixed.

Fifth, put an invisible wall at the end of the map where the camera can’t go past.

So, when you are reading this, you would think that this game isn’t that good and is rough around the edges. You would be right about one thing; this game is rough around the edges. That’s why feedback for this game is so important. The developers ask for feedback like this on their Steam page. So, if you start to play this game and find a bug or have a suggestion, please go to their Discord server or on the Steam forums and talk about it. You will help to improve the game.

The right track

20180128204023_1When I read the description of this game, I thought that this game would be full of action and split-second decision making to raise towns and fight various big battles on the sea. Well, that you don’t get into this game at this moment. Maybe in the future.

Instead, you get a rather relaxing game where you have to manage your civilization. In terms of gameplay, you can compare this game somewhat to Age Of Empires with a bit of The Sims sprinkled on top. I do have to say that I got myself relaxed while playing this game.

Even while this game is in the early stages of development, this game does somethings pretty good already. For example, music. It fits the game like a glove. The music is more ambient and relaxing like the music you can hear in games like Minecraft. I tested out this game with Minecraft’s soundtrack playing in the background and I must say, I think they made the right pick in terms of music.

Visually, this game is extremely well made. I really like the world and animations this game brings to the table. If this is the style the final product will be in, I’m quite pleased with the result.

Something I also really like is the way how you can build paths and how builds align themselves to the paths. When you built a path, you click somewhere to start a path. When you click again, you can make the path turn in a different direction. You must use “enter” to place the path. Now, it sounds confusing when I write it down here, but trust me, it’s so easy and great to use in the game.

At this very moment, the game isn’t difficult nor easy. This is because there isn’t an end goal for this game. And to be honest, I think that’s okay for now. This game should have a possible end goal like conquering x-number of villages or owning x-amount of land or defeating a certain general, but I think that this game will be better if it doesn’t have that.

While I could continue to talk about this game for a bit longer, I think I’m not going to do that. I’m going to follow the upcoming patches and new things added to the game. This game has a lot of potentials to become an amazing experience. I’m having a lot of fun playing this game and seeing it develop. I love to see the community around this game helping the developers out and making this game even better. At this moment, this game has an asking price of 11€. If you want to see this game get further developed, I encourage you to buy this game, play it and give feedback to the developers! I really want this game to grow to its fullest potential.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this article. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day.

Creative Christmas #12 – Game Of The Year (2017)

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Yesterday was the final day of double articles since the holidays are almost over for me. So, I to start today with is the final article in the creative Christmas collab I did with LaterLevels. It was quite an enjoyable ride and I hope you all enjoyed the stories told in the past few days. The question for today is a question that sort of relates to yesterday’s article where I talked about my favorite games of 2017. Now, I have to make a hard decision. Just look at the question to understand why. Also, remember, this is my opinion here okay? 

You wake up the following morning, hungover but happy – you have an entire day of gaming ahead of you. You start thinking back over the video games you played during 2017; what was your game of the year?

This year had a lot of great games released. While I haven’t played them all, I do have to admit that I had a lot of fun. While I personally dislike picking one game and putting it at number one, to say it’s the best game made that year; I’m going to do my best this time to pick a winner.

So, the rules for myself here are: the game had to be released in 2017 and I had to play it for at least 3 hours. This narrows down my list to quite a few games. It makes it easier to work with too.

layton lady katrielle mystery journeyThe first two games that I scrap from my list are two amazing 3DS titles. Those are Metroid Samus Returns and Ever Oasis. Both games are great, but I felt that I enjoyed other titles more this year on the 3DS.

Now, I’m left for the 3DS with the amazing titles of Corpse Party and the new Layton game. Since the Corpse Party game is a more expanded port/remake of the PSP version of the game, I’m going to put the new Layton game in favor of the handheld games. The first nominee is Layton’s, Mystery Journey.

BreathoftheWildFinalCoverIn terms of systems where I can play the newly released games on, I think I can still count the Wii U. While barely any games released this year for the platform, one of the biggest titles ever made on the platform. I’m talking about The Legend Of Zelda – Breath Of The Wild.

This game was finally released after years of waiting. I’m assuming that the needed all this time to polish up this game. It’s an extremely large game and there is a lot to do in the game.

Now, I do know that this game got a lot of prizes at the Game Awards this year, it got even Game of the Year from the press and critics at that show. But, will it get my spot for my game of the year? Well, keep reading this article to get your answer. Unless you spoiled yourself and already read the bottom of the article to get your answer.

A Hat in Time2But before I can say which is my game of the year, I do have to look at the PC. I have also played a ton of games on the PC this year. Games that were released in the past and games released this year. If I have to pick one game for the best game this year on PC, it has to be “A Hat In Time“.

This game surprised me to no end! I’m still amazed at how much fun this game is. This game also knew a long development process and it’s quite clear that the developers really want this game to be the best it can be. They try and fix reported bugs as quickly as they can. They also talk to their fans over at their Discord server.

Also, I’m waiting for the upcoming DLC that this game is going to get in the near future with more vanilla content. Meanwhile, I’m keeping myself busy with various mods and trying to 100% complete the game and get all achievements. For my game of the year pick on PC, I have to say “A Hat In Time”.

Now, let’s think about that, what game shall I put as my game of the year in 2017? Now, I think it’s best that I only pick a game that I have already beaten. That means that Layton’s Mystery Journey falls off my list.

This means that the selection is between Breath of The Wild and A Hat In Time. Now, I’m going to surprise a lot of you readers. If you keep in mind that I’m such a big Zelda fan and I have put over 120 hours into the game. While I only put roughly 20 hours into A Hat In Time and it’s a new IP.

But, my game of the year pick has to go to one game, a game that won by an extremely small margin. And the winner is:

A Hat In Time

Why not Breath of the Wild?

Oh yes. A Hat In Time. Now, why didn’t I pick Breath Of The Wild as my game of the year? Why does a Zelda fan pick a different game than a Zelda game as his game of the year? Now, let me explain where I’m coming from here.

First of all, I think that some mechanics of BOTW don’t really fit the Zelda Universe. I know that the Zelda formula needed some changes and some new ideas, but I feel like they changed a bit too much. Personally, I adore the open world and all the various things you can do in the world, but still.

I miss the lengthy dungeons and unlocking every new skill in a sort of order. Now, what I mean here is that this game misses two big elements. One is the large dungeons since the divine beasts aren’t long enough. In addition to that, I feel like the first part of the game is just, too restrictive. All the powers you can use in the game are given to you at the start of the game.

I would have loved a way to discover the world and discover some areas and find those powers myself. This would have been a much better way to introduce the player to the mechanics.

Korok-SeedIn addition to that, I feel like the game is a bit too big for its own good. I’m not complaining that there are too many or too few contents, but I feel like some shrines and some Korok seeds were a bit uninspired. For example, I felt that there were too many “Tests of Strenght” shrines.

botw shrineI think I can explain myself the best by saying that Breath of The Wild misses something in my opinion. I think the issue I have with the game is that it is too repetitive. Please, don’t misunderstand me now. I’m not saying that the game is bad or that it isn’t a Zelda game.

After you looked for a few shrines, did a few Korok Seeds or did a few side quests, you have seen all the main mechanics. Of course, they are used in different situations, but some things just feel the same with a different coat of paint.

Also, after a while, you feel like you are overpowered and you can handle anything in the game. There is barely anything the game can throw at you to surprise you. Besides, powering up the enemies you find in the wild.

Besides that, I do feel that the game missed something big. Why can’t I have two save files without having to fear to lose access to one? If that’s possible, please tell me. Since I want to start a new save file in Master mode without being afraid that I lose access to my “non-master” mode save file.

Why “A Hat In Time”?

Hat In Time.jpgSo, why did I pick “A Hat In Time” as my favorite game of 2017? Well, the first reason is that it’s the biggest surprise for me this year. I didn’t know I would have so much fun playing that game.

So, remember that I kinda felt that BOTW was repetitive after a while? Well, A Hat In Time doesn’t have that at all in my opinion. Sure, each level requires a healthy dose of platforming, but you are doing something different each and every time.

In one world you are in a world between two different movie directors and in the other world, you are running errands for that big creepy monster that stole your soul. The game oozes with personality and cuteness. Even the finer details like wearing a raincoat during the rainy levels and playing with dolls as an idle animation is the strength of this game.

While it’s a rather short game, I feel like everything is polished to near perfection. I rarely felt that I was unable to do something in the game.

This game made me even enjoy stealth gameplay, something I personally dislike a lot of games. But, Gears For Breakfast made it quite a lot of fun to play. Thank you view cones for that!

For some reason, since I started to play “A Hat In Time”, the game sort of stuck with me. I lost count how many times I listened to the soundtrack while I was at work and I had various tracks from it as my ringtone or my alarm.

In addition to that, I had various scenes from this game as my desktop wallpaper on my computers and my smartphone.

The competition was fierce this year, but I’m still surprised that this game didn’t make it on barely any big awards list. For real, I did an experiment and that is to google “Top 10 PC games of 2017” and looked at all the lists that the first three pages gave me. And I found this game only on 2 lists!

Maybe I’m fanboying a bit too much about this game, but I feel like this game doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. This game proves that it’s possible to make an amazing game using crowdfunding.

While it’s extremely hard for me to choose between Breath Of The Wild and A Hat In Time, I feel that, in my opinion, A Hat In Time is just the better game. Not by much.

If I would be allowed to pick two games, I would surely pick Breath of The Wild AND A Hat In Time as my game of the year for 2017. Yet, both games deserve the praise and recognition they get. Both games were delayed several times to polish the game and make the game better for it.

Both games were amazing games and made me so happy to be a gamer. These two experiences were the best times I had in 2017, gaming-wise. If you feel a bit salty for my pick, maybe this can help. My game of the year from triple-A developers is Breath of the Wild and my game of the year from indie developers is A Hat In Time.

So, that was my answer to today’s question. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this article. I hope to be able to see you in another article on my blog but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care!

 

Game Quicky Review: Adventerix (Android) ~ Old yet new

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So, this month will be filled with GBA goodness. But let me start with a quick article about an Android game I was asked to review. I had to push the review back and back because I was busy, and I had other articles planned. In any case, I think it’s time to give this an honest review. But because this is a small game, I don’t think it can have a full-blown 1000-ish word long review. That’s why I do a quicky on this. With my new format 🙂

Google Play Store link

Before the start

I have this thing in my personality… The thing is that I’m quite polite. So, I wanted to thank the developer to give me this chance to review their game. While my critique / review can rip some games apart, I always try to do it with respect for the developer.

They gave me a review copy of this game, and they told me that they were a small indie company working together on this game. Because this is their first game they wanted to make sure it’s good so that they can do this kind of things in the future.

The good

ss (2014-10-09 at 08.05.07)This game is rather nicely put together. It’s quite clear that this game had a lot of care and thought put behind it. For a couple of people, the quality is pretty nice. The gameplay is also quite unique and are fun to play with.

It’s exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a Tetris-ish puzzle game.

The “meh”

The music that plays in the background doesn’t put the right mood. It plays some Scottish sounding music. This doesn’t put you in the mood of playing a sort of Tetris game at all. At least in my opinion. At least it isn’t a cheap Tetris remix, and they created original music. It deserves a “meh” because it isn’t really fitting.

Visually, the game looks and plays quite pleasant. But the enemy design just looks silly to me. The small alligators just don’t click with me. Maybe they should change it to the natural enemies of the frog? That way you can sneakily educate players on frogs.

The bad

In every level you get one additional hit, for some reason. But you can’t see if you used up that hit or not. That is pretty lame.

Also, sometimes I wasn’t able to move my Tetris pieces just right. Because there isn’t a tutorial, it isn’t clear how to move the Tetris pieces around.

Guys, it’s quite nice to show you my score, but could you please just show a high score list then? Since now the score is just kind of there, serving no purpose.

Conclusion

So, if you ask me, this game is worth it. While it’s not perfect, it’s quite enjoyable to play. The price isn’t wrong too. For one buck, this is something that you won’t regret buying.

I have a good feeling that the developers of this game are going to add more levels and content so, about the current short state of the game… I’m totally not worried about it. The advice I’m giving them is that the game needs some additional polish. I think the best idea is to do that while you release new levels. Otherwise, it might get stale to others.

Anyway, I think I’m going to leave it here for this quicky. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. The next article will be my first in the GBA month. So, get hyped.

Score: 4/5