Adore

Adore

With the latest update, Adore is in the best state it’s ever been, and keeps me coming back to play in a way the original gameplay loop, while innovative, just didn’t manage to accomplish.

To those out of the loop: before the Welcome Home update, the play loop of Adore was structured more traditionally ‘roguelike’ in terms of run progression, with a groundbreaking summoner/moba-like combat system, but relatively light on the ‘creature collecting’ part of the game, simply because that' difficult to incorporate in any roguelike. There was a metagame hub where some creatures (not many) could be ‘stored’, essentially, and the only way to get new ones ‘stored’ was to start runs with empty party slots and capture new creatures, which you could then choose to bring with you or not when the run ended/failed. There was an element of ‘trading up’ through a run to a degree, starting with a few keeper creatures and some filler, and then capturing/releasing others as you went to keep pace with the difficulty curve (which, let me not forget to mention, is surprisingly steep and still is. not unfairly so, but definitely unforgivingly so). This resulted in some awkward tensions, such as situations where you could theoretically capture a new creature (that would then have full health) to replace your trained up creature that was at critical health to keep the run going, but would result in giving up the ‘keeper’ creature etc. It had phenomenal per-run gameplay and combat mehcanics, but had self-admitted struggles making the roguelike and creature collecting parts of the game - the blending thereof being what makes Adore so innovative - play nicely together. As a result, it was primarily a ‘roguelike with creature collecting elements’.

Real player with 37.8 hrs in game


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I came back a second time to edit my review after almost a year of not playing.

TLDR: This is a genre-defining title, and the devs are CLEARLY on to something.

insert sound of audience clapping, whooping, and throwing roses

Wow you guys have done something incredible with the soundtrack. The music is a sincere joy to experience, in fact when I came back it was the FIRST thing I noticed/remembered. I thought to myself “I cannot believe how good this music feels to listen to, like calm in your soul.” Every zone’s track brings me this internal feeling of ethereal serenity in my soul. I mean FFS guys, I could feel the music in my chest. I heard it with my heart, not my ears. Y’all obviously LOVED making the music for this game, and as a musician myself, I feel that that passion is what has made this game so wonderful.

Real player with 29.1 hrs in game

Adore on Steam

Reknum Fantasy of Dreams

Reknum Fantasy of Dreams

REKNUM Fantasy of Dreams is an action, exploration and 2D platformer videogame, it is the latest installment in the REKNUM saga in which Cheri awakens from a fantasy to start the real adventure! Explore the thematic levels, unlock new weapons and upgrade your skills, fight fearsome bosses inspired by classic gameplay, decipher the poetic words of the ancestors when you travel through the dreamworld and reach the real final outcome.

What would you do to mend the past? Is facing your fears the solution to become stronger?… or perhaps the key to making amends? change or protect the future, what would you do to make up for an injury done to a loved one?… Let’s look for answers in this classic platform adventure full of challenges, puzzles, combats and more!


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Reknum Fantasy of Dreams on Steam

Bugsnax

Bugsnax

Bugsnax takes you on a whimsical adventure to Snaktooth Island, home of the legendary half-bug half-snack creatures, Bugsnax. Invited by intrepid explorer Elizabert Megafig, you arrive to discover your host nowhere to be found, her camp in shambles, and her followers scattered across the island alone… and hungry!

It’s up to you to solve the mysteries of Snaktooth Island: What happened to Lizbert? What are Bugsnax and where do they come from? But most of all, why do they taste SO GOOD?

Features:

  • Discover, hunt, and capture all 100 different species of Bugsnax using a variety of contraptions and bait!

  • Explore the diverse biomes of Snaktooth Island to track down and reunite the inhabitants of Snaxburg.

  • Follow every lead to learn more about Lizbert’s band of misfits and the mysteries of Snaktooth Island.

  • Stuff your new friends with Bugsnax to customize them with countless new looks.

Also coming next year: The Isle of BIGsnax!

With the BIGsnax update, you can explore a mysterious new island crawling with supersized Snax! Back on Snaktooth, you can complete challenges from your mailbox, collect decorations to personalize your hut, and most important of all: put hats on your favorite Snax!


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Bugsnax on Steam

BURNT ASHES

BURNT ASHES

BURNT ASHES is actually a pretty darn good scary game for the price you’re paying! I did get scared quite a few times! You start out in a prison cell and now have to navigate around the prison in order to find a tool. This tool is key to move onto the next area. But beware, since there is someone roaming around with you….

Although their is only one monster in the game that can kill you, it is at times pretty scary. It is a pretty short game, although you will have spent more time looking for the items than anything. I don’t know if there is an actual story besides escaping the prison and island, so there’s that. The mechanics are pretty good, the graphics are alright, nothing too major but nothing too bad. All in all if you’re looking for a pretty short, fun, and sometimes scary game, I’d recommend this for the price! I did a full game playthrough of this game if you want to check it out. Thank you and have a blessed and awesome day! :)

Real player with 2.6 hrs in game

Decent game, good atmosphere the only thing I’ll say is you can get lost real easy. And this might be a spoiler so stop reading if you don’t want to see this. The creature on the second part needs some tweaking, you can’t out run it. And when trying to get the items you need if you stop to grab them you just die. That could use some work. But over all a decent game.

Real player with 1.0 hrs in game

BURNT ASHES on Steam

Bushfires: Animal Rescue

Bushfires: Animal Rescue

Another one of those spread awareness game… this one is about bush fire / forest fire, probably inspired by the recent fire in Australia… but still a good idea to spread awareness and knowledge for the younger generations.

At first glance, one would thought this game is made for kids, but after trying it myself, all i can say is the difficulty balance needs to be lowered if you want kids to enjoy the game. It’s even a bit hard for the adults, and i mean it’s actually needing the players to memorize the map and plan a strategy on the go type of high difficulty. If you plan to sell this game to the adult, then you might need to reconsider the overall design in graphics and all that to a more adult-like design to tell them this isn’t a game for kids.

Real player with 5.2 hrs in game

I am giving some leeway with this review since it is an early-access game.

Overall, I would recommend this game. The gameplay and concept appear quite simple, but it is in-fact quite a challenging game. While you are attempting to rescue the various animals, you are also under a strict time-limit. Balancing the two means that you have to make on the spot decisions about how many animals you can afford to rescue (while still making it out in time).

There are certainly some issues with the game. The lack of camera controls (the camera is fixed to behind the vehicle) can make it rather frustrating at times. Both the landscape and fire can obscure your view of the car, and there have been a few times that I’ve ended up driving right into fire & dying because I couldn’t see where I was going. I think the net-throwing mechanic needs some refinement, along with the animal movements. Animals sometimes get stuck (allowing for easy capture), or glitch up to the top of the cliff (preventing capture). Capturing birds is rather difficult - you almost have to guess - as the pointer (which shows you where the net will land) clips through the rocks that the birds land on.

Real player with 1.1 hrs in game

Bushfires: Animal Rescue on Steam

Chainmonsters

Chainmonsters

Chainmonsters is a massive multiplayer online RPG where you catch, battle, trade, explore, and combine different types of monsters and abilities to create your own style of play. No game subscription required. Explore the vast lands of Ancora together with your friends on Steam, iOS and Android!

Key Features

Massive Multiplayer allows you to join your friends on an epic journey and complete quests and dungeons together.

Cross-Platform Play across Steam, iOS and Android.

Catch over 135 unique Chainmons with diverse traits, types and abilities. Combine into multiple Squads for various occassions.

Story-based campaign. Join the N-Corp agents and discover the mysterious disease that is affecting Chainmons across the land.

Dungeons and Raids challenge those that are eager to dive deep into the world and defeat special Raid bosses.

Dynamic day/night cycle not only alters the visuals but also has gameplay effects.

Chainmonsters on Steam

Lendas

Lendas

Denied from both heaven and hell, the Corpo-seco was forced to roam the world like a lost soul.

Lost by hatred, he swore revenge on gods and humans.

In his quest for power, he allied himself with an immortal Witch named Cuca and thus acquired the power of domination over almost every magical creature in the world.

What is Lendas?

Lendas is an action RPG with focus on exploration and survival in a living ecosystem procedurally generated.

You will harvest resources, defeat powerfull creatures and borrow their powers to defeat the Corpo-seco and the mighty Cuca.

Lendas on Steam

Matanga 2

Matanga 2

Matanga 2 - Atmospheric, story-driven horror, Many interesting quests that you will need to go through.

The atmosphere of fear and horror, great graphics for an indie project. The game constantly drives you from fear to laughter and back again.

In the first part I am not a game, so I can say that I liked the second part.

Real player with 3.7 hrs in game

English player here; as someone who didn’t play the original Matanga, I immensely enjoyed Matanga 2. This story is mad, and I enjoyed every twist and turn!

Just in case you want to see some gameplay before you buy: https://youtu.be/k2lNLqBKrUc

Real player with 1.6 hrs in game

Matanga 2 on Steam

Costume Kingdom

Costume Kingdom

I wanted to wait to post a review until I had completely beaten the game- (All of the achievements, that is. Though there is one side-quest I haven’t finished yet). Overall, I really enjoyed the game! I liked the stylized cartoony visuals and the fun Halloween aesthetic! The different Hallowmon were unique looking, and interesting. The open-world is large enough to make it interesting to explore, and the side-quests were also fun. The story being told is intriguing as well, and I of course won’t spoil anything in this review. The extra things you can get by collecting candy is nice too, such as unique trails, and a really cool retro-effect. I’ve had a ton of fun with this game, and I believe that I will continue to enjoy it! I also cannot wait to see what Stratton Studios creates next!

Real player with 9.2 hrs in game

Costume Kingdom on Steam

DOGS.IO

DOGS.IO

Wholesome and funny. DOGS.

Real player with 1.3 hrs in game

i am extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Real player with 0.6 hrs in game

DOGS.IO on Steam