Secret Government
I really want to like this game, and in a lot of respects I do. I actually wish Steam had a middle option between the binary of recommend: yes/no, and the last thing I want to see is the devs give up on this due to negative feedback. However, I’m sure most people would be disappointed by the game in its current state, so “no” it is.
It’s a great concept and it has a lot of promise, but the game is incredibly game breakingly buggy and there are some very obvious gaps where development just never caught up to what was planned. The developers have stated their intentions to keep working on the game, and I really hope I can rewrite this review into a recommendation at some point. Outside of the issues, what the devs were going for is very apparent, and I would love to see it more fleshed out. There is one circumstance in which I would recommend this game that I will include at the bottom of the review.
– Real player with 90.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Alternate History Real-Time with Pause Games.
Let me level with you: this is a thinking person’s game. Though its aesthetics reminds one of the Europa Universalis games, if you lack the patience to tackle your goals in a subtle, clandestine way, you will suffer. Unlike the EU games, you cannot simply go up to a ruler and order them to go to war with another country, nor can you simply go to the citizens and order them to support your newly created political party. In fact, it is best if neither are aware of your existence at all as they will crush you if their Awareness of your Brotherhood is high enough and it doesn’t necessarily have to reach 100 first for them to start weakening your Brotherhood.
– Real player with 54.4 hrs in game
Ultimate Arena
This game is more fun than it has any right to be.
The best words to describe Ultimate Arena as would be “Simplistic Battle Royale Simulator”. This is actually very-reminiscent of those Hunger Games simulators online, but I feel that this game has more variety, is more customizable and actually has the slightest visuals, even if it’s just a top-down view of a small map with simplistic stick figures running around. Essentially, you can set up battle royals between as many people as you like, set up a few additional rules if you want and drop everyone in, waiting to see who the victor will be while occasionally having a bit of input as to where to place mines or where to drop care packages.
– Real player with 175.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Alternate History Simulation Games.
Ok, this is a simulator. It’s pretty funny at times. You have a lot of freedom to add stuff, from characters to ways to fight and die. There’s plenty stuff at the workshop to add to the game. Now, this is not much a “game”. Yup, it is a simulator. Other than adding some mines and bring some events upon the field, you’re just watching the fight developing.
So, the fun is to have a lot of fighters, have a bunch of funny lines and events and watch your favorite people or the ones you dislike to fight till the end. Even when simple, can be entertaining for a while.
– Real player with 122.2 hrs in game
Ritual: Crown of Horns
Summary: While Ritual may be in need of some quality of life improvements in certain areas, its fast-paced action-packed and strategic gameplay mixed with a metal soundtrack and varied weapons and abilities, create a difficult yet fun and engaging take on the Wild West. 8/10
A full detailed video review can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5ZnunLsu5U
Plot:
The writing is not a case of being a masterpiece but they certainly do the job, creating engagement and intrigue throughout. The characters bounce off each other reasonably well, with them often questioning each other or even outright annoying or teasing one another. It is unfortunate however that one doesn’t get nearly as much dialogue like that of the others, but regardless character design works. There is no mistaking the plot plays second to the gameplay in Ritual, never the less for those who are looking for a decent story in amongst all the carnage, there is an interesting one to be found here.
– Real player with 15.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Alternate History Dark Games.
When it comes to top-down shooters, nothing beats tangling it up with hordes of monsters and all you have a six-shooter and pure luck. These are the kind of games that are exciting, fast-paced, and 100% rage-inducing. Ritual: Crown of Horns, from small indie studio Draw Distance, checks all the boxes.
Stylistically, this is a nice looking game. The art style heightens the grim landscape that we find our protagonist, Daniel Goodchild in. The music, a bold mix of heavy raw guitar and western-inspired melodies, only adds to the chaos that we’re about to dive into. Unfortunately, those two important elements are sometimes not enough to ease the frustrating aiming system and the unnecessarily hard stages you must clear.
– Real player with 8.7 hrs in game
Shadow Council: The Puppeteers
First of all: I do this Review especially for the developers, since I hope they will read this and respond, like they did with other Reviews.
The game has a pretty cool idea and really nice concept, however there are some slight issues or rather.. inconveniences?
For example there is a common lack of transparancy, you really should get much more information about who supports you, how much money do you get, what will exactly happen if youdo this or that - a good idea to achieve this would be the implentation of things like “military support-23% conservatives support 75% socialist support 1%”.
– Real player with 8.4 hrs in game
Honestly the game has died, for $15 this is very unfilled and doesn’t have content. The game is basically a wait along that pits you against a country (or more fittingly it’s many different provinces which I will admit have a good tid bit of backstory) fighting to get the people to uprise against their government. The game is a shell, a husk waiting to be filled by content like (not story) mechanics, game speeds, a pause option, and other valid criticisms made by the buyers of this.
And if the developer answers this, I have seen you comment and try to communicate with the community but honestly I have not seen many updates actually be fulfilled and action being done. Please, if you want to improve your game then stop using the good ol' politician’s response of promising and waiting for it all to blow right over.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Junk on Wheels
Very fun to play with friends. Driving is most fun with controller and setting it up is only to plug it in. Controls are easy to remember and driving is easy but mastering it takes time. I recommend this to everyone.
– Real player with 57.2 hrs in game
Really fun game, spent hours smashing my way to victory! Constantly getting updated and becoming better too. Reminds me alot of Mashed!
– Real player with 16.5 hrs in game
Kung Fu Jesus
I haven’t finished the game yet but this is my impression so far.
Gameplay:
The gameplay consists mostly of a “2.5D” world I guess where you move side to side and you can move a little bit up and down the environment as well with mostly simple fighting mechanics in my limited experience of fighting games. There are fun combos that you can learn from doing different things and there are abilities that you can discover as you progress, all the while gradually leveling up your total health and energy levels.
– Real player with 65.4 hrs in game
It’s painful to play this game long enough to be allowed to review it.
It’s obvious that someone put a lot of time into this game, and the whacked out story had me interested in progressing, but… the gameplay is so bad I can’t force myself to continue. Unfortunately, the game sat in my library for almost a month before I played it, so I was outside the time window for a refund. Please learn from my loss.
A short list of features:
-No indication of how to leave the first room. Maybe you’ll stumble into it. Maybe you won’t.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Midwintar
Midwintär catches you at Khazar’s Pass.
You shelter in a cave as the days and nights grow long and cold,
as the snow seals you in and as the world darkens.
Midwintär is a narrative-driven stealth action game inspired by medieval horror folklore that combines careful tactical planning with fast-paced arcade execution and innovative gossip mechanics. Play and switch between three protagonists - a werewolf, a vampire, and a moon witch - to exact your revenge on a vicious religious cult.
Off-Kilter Sunny Horror On the outside, Midwintär takes place among sunny, medieval villages populated by friendly, hard-working, and devoted inhabitants. Stay overnight, though, and you might be horrified to reveal the true nature of their sacred rituals. The world of Midwintär is gruesome and dark but also funny.
Sun / Moon Gameplay Cycle Midwintär features a 3-minute day-night cycle that changes your abilities. You must use your daytime skills such as lock-picking or spreading rumours among villagers to best prepare the terrain for the night-time havoc when you transform into a bloodthirsty, overpowered monster.
Gossip Mechanics Each villager in Midwintär has their own suspicion-meter you can influence by gossiping and spreading rumors about other villagers, and there is also a panic-meter that changes the AI behaviour of all villagers on the map. You can use this against villagers - hide the firewood to lure the lumberjack into the night, kill him near the chapel to incriminate the priest, and later spread rumours on seeing him covered in blood. He’ll be hanged in no time!
Three Playable Characters You will be able to choose, play and switch between three playable characters - a werewolf, a vampire, and a moon witch - each of whom possesses a distinctive skillset and boasts a different playstyle.
Non-linear Skilltree You will be able to customize the skillset and playstyle of each character by opting to complete alternate missions in levels, which will reward you with a special bonus skill of your choice. Will your werewolf hone his terrifying howl, or will he become one with the wolf-packs of the forest?
Co-Op Multiplayer Midwintär will feature a split-screen and a local multiplayer for up to three players, enabling all three characters to fight together.
The corrupt and self-righteous religious institution Oblique Order is attempting to destroy the peaceful cohabitation of people and magical creatures in the pagan world of Midwintär, and enforce their order by uniting people against the powers of the wild. You must stop them before they exterminate your kind…
Midwintär starts off as a revenge story that slowly shifts into an exploration about our relationship to the unknown, and about the limits of what we can hope to control or understand.
WEREWOLF
The main protagonist is the werewolf, a former disciple of the Oblique Order, disillusioned and out for vengeance. During the game, he is guided by the voice of Midwintär, an ancient force of nature. His skills revolve around spreading panic and using brute force.
VAMPIRE
The vampire, once a powerful force of the night, his might now reduced by the spells of men. He cannot cross running water nor enter houses uninvited, but his power is in his allure - he can enthrall people to do his bidding, or forge blood links to ensure undying loyalty.
MOON WITCH
Then, there is the moon witch. Saved just before she was burned at the stake, she had felt on her skin the terror of order, and wishes to rid the world of their influence. Her skills revolve around misdirecting suspicion at others and using concoctions to alter their behaviour.
“Attending the Masked Meeting, you overhear their plans - they have already set all things in motion.”
Buildest
Build up!
This game focuses on the most enjoyable part of architecture - creativity.
If you have always wanted to feel like a chief architect of the project at a construction site, but do not want to deal with endless calculations and legal disputes, then you are welcome!
Play with friends!
The game is more fun in coop mode! Team up with friends to coordinate your actions and build together!
Variety of architecture
You will visit construction sites of 8 different eras:
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Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome
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Ancient China
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European Middle Ages
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Baroque
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Art nouveau
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Constructivism
Each era contains a multitude of new architectural elements for construction. You can build unique historical buildings by combining them. Also each era brought other game mechanics as well. Discover all the architectural secrets to build your very own palace!
Features
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Travel through different eras and explore their cultural features through architecture
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Flexible system for assessing the level progress. Find your own building style. You can be a professional microcontroller and strictly position workers to achieve the best result, or you can burn a budget for improved materials and bonuses for a guaranteed victory
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Unlock new crafting recipes to create your own designs. Experiment and combine architectural elements of different styles
Evil Bank Manager
An interesting and novel idea ruined by a lack of execution. There is the base of a great game here, but as is I cannot recommend it and, given the chance again, would not buy it.
The issue with EBM is that, beyond the early game, the gameplay loop becomes insanely tedious.
In the early game, you are given a small amount of money and given the oppertunity to buy a “banking license” in a country from anywhere in 14th century Europe, North Africa, or Asia. You can invest in logging camps, real estate, farms, and luxuries like furs and gemstones and will receive their produce on the next turn. You can then sell the items, craft weapons to sell out of wood or iron, or hold onto them until the price is better. You can lend money, send out guards to retrieve loans that were not paid back, and use all the profits to buy more investments.
– Real player with 40.1 hrs in game
Evil Bank Manager is clearly an attempt to remove the sometimes mundane task of moving military units around the map from a grand strategy role-playing game. In that one aspect, they succeeded; in most other aspects, they fail.
[EDIT]
I’m retracting my con about the locks on the “exchange” page. They work with the “sell all” buttons but not the manual “sell” button.
[PROS]
A few.
- The ocean water effect was an interesting optical illusion – a crazed glass image with a translucent background that slides with the continental map above a second image of blue clouds. This is a nifty trick that cuts down on draw calls. I didn’t even notice it until around hour twenty.
– Real player with 36.5 hrs in game
SCP Strategy
SCP Strategy is a very fun game, I have had an idea similar for awhile, so im very happy to see it a reality! It is fun to create, name, and control your own MTF units, or Foundation sites, and even make your own SCPS! Though right now it is a bit lacking on the content end, as more people discover and buy the game the more progress can be done on it.
I have a few suggestions down below:
GOI’s: GOIS (Groups of Interest) are groups that interact with the Foundation, and Anomalies. Some famous ones include the Chaos Insurgency, Serpents hand, Global Occult Coalition, Unusual Incidents Unit and some more. Perhaps you could even make Custom GOIS with custom behaviors! Having GOIS to compete with would spice up gameplay, Perhaps you would have to send MTF units away from an SCP to intercept a Chaos Insurgent or Serpents hand Convoy from reaching one of your sites, or an MTF Unit to destroy a CI camp. Perhaps you can sell Objects to the GOC, they will pay you, but the Object is permanently destroyed, and you lose Research points. The UIU could provide Units and sites for a rental system, if you got the money. New Research like MTF unit specialization would be cool, you could research tech to make your E-11 better at Combat, or faster at containing. Perhaps you would lose if the Chaos Insurgency or SH got strong enough. Just some fun ideas.
– Real player with 15.2 hrs in game
This game is pretty much glorified whack a mole. There’s no real strategy to the game because there’s no real danger. Just pay your employees minimum wage and charge the nations just under max price and you’ll get all the achievements with ease. When orange lights pop up on the map, send a unit to search it. That’s the entirety of the game play.
When I saw SCP attached to the game, I had some hope that there would be something cool about it. Unfortunately the only real link to SCP the game has is that you research found SCP’s to get points and read about the SCP you captured. That’s it. That’s the entire connection. The research is either done automatically on a timer, or you play 1 of 2 minigames that have absolutely nothing to do with SCP (one where you match a set of waves, and another that it just a ripoff of every “click the thing before it touches the object” flash game every beginning programming student has ever turned in as a school project), and don’t enhance the experience at all. If you’re a fan of SCP, you might as well just go read the webpage, because that’s all you’ll do with SCP’s in game.
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game