Game Master Plus
Story
The first half of the game doesn’t have much plot beyond clearing game boards because of the protagonist’s curiosity, though there is some lore about the previous heroine. The second half has more lore and more stakes, as well as several plot bombshells. While I did like the story of the second half, I can see the lack of real conflict in the first half turning new players off before they can get to the better half.
Gameplay
The first few parts of the game make it hard to gather any resources. Enemies don’t drop money and they aren’t guaranteed to drop sellable items, meaning the player is stuck in a resource drought situation if they try to do traditional grinding. This can be intimidating because in the beginning, the only way to fully recover the robot is to pay 10 cents, which means inefficient gameplay can result in waste of limited money. The resource situation does get better in the later parts of the game, since the player can find free healing/save statues and an accessory that increases the drop rate.
– Real player with 30.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Character Customization Turn-Based Combat Games.
An easy but very nice RPG game. Its style really attracts me, and maybe anyone who loves ‘nostalgia’.
And if you love collecting things, or riddling, this game can be unexpectedly a little hard for you.
BTW bugs are seen too often, and the scene called ‘Sesame Hideout’ even disappears! Hope it can be fixed sooner.
– Real player with 28.4 hrs in game
Vaporum
I’ve just finished the game at 15 hours, and it was an enjoyable experience (mostly) throughout! I have a few gripes, but let’s start with a list of Pro’s and Con’s and go into more detail a little later.
PROS:
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Dungeon crawling is fun!
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Nice enemy variety!
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Difficulty is mostly fine, with hiccups.
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Price-to-playtime ratio is pretty good.
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Definitely replayable! Especially for secrets.
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Three unique ‘classes’ that are very distinct.
CONS:
- Some riddles are a little obtuse…
– Real player with 38.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Character Customization Dungeon Crawler Games.
TL:DR - If you are looking for another dungeon Crawler of the Dungeon Master Variety, then I can recommend this product without hesitation. If you are wondering what separates this title from the rest of the options that are on the market now, then you will want to read a little further.
Bottom line, I can definitely recommend this title, as I have enjoyed the 6+ hours I have been entertained by, by the time of this review. I may have more to add to this review, when I finally complete the game. This review is entirely based around a 6 hour preview of the game title, and I am not sure how much longer I have to complete the game.
– Real player with 27.3 hrs in game
Fog Factory - Game Maker
I expected much more. This Game-Maker sadly suffers from a lack of ambition and creative thought. The UI design is lacking, the audio rarely works and the game is incredibly imbalanced. Hopefully in the future this can be improved, although that may take a lot of work.
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
Slimey Champions
It’s terrible
– Real player with 0.2 hrs in game
Winds Rhapsody
This is a short game (3h) with a lot of potential. It is nice for beeing free, but so far it is nothing special. Nevertheless I am looking forward for more.
There must be more to discover and more to upgrade. Plus the right motivation. I like to have some freedom, like a discover mode and a fight mode …
– Real player with 3.1 hrs in game
I really enjoy this game and the story lines so far. The only problem I have is having to wait for the bar to refill just to make a choice of attack, special, and so forth. Other than that, it’s great and hope a new update for it comes very soon.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura… oh, this game…
In spite of my low ownership, I am more than familiar with this bizarre, wonderful masterpiece, a game I sometimes thought was a complete fever dream from the depths of my imagination, among a strange number of other games including an action game involving Skittles and a dark knight. I’m still not sure that one still exists, though.
Arcanum is NOT a fever dream, however, and does in fact exist and is a masterpiece of a forgotten era where computers had the ability to deal with the unique and antiquated graphical features on their own. Because Microsoft doesn’t know how to keep good features from previous operating systems, it is imperative that you look up a tutorial on how to play this game, and while on your way, pick up an unofficial patch and maybe a few mods; one of which being Virgil’s Debug Menu. You won’t regret it.
– Real player with 684.3 hrs in game
In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#450 out of 612)… it’s time for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura.
Arcanum is one of the finest CRPGs ever made, and arguably the most impressive product legendary (if somewhat infamous) developer Troika Games ever built. It’s a massive,, brilliantly open game in the vein of Fallout that offers players an unprecedented degree of freeom with regard to how they build their characters, how they play the game, and how they progress through the world. It’s difficult to overstate just how deeply engaging Arcanum can be—this one is a classic roleplaying game for very good reason.
– Real player with 124.4 hrs in game
Scarlet Republics
Scarlet Republics is what would happen if Fire Emblem had a love-child with Divinity and a Joe Abercrombie book. It’s a turn-based tactical RPG set in a fantasy world inspired by the Italian Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci’s imagination
The game is set in the vibrant and treacherous City-states of Corsano, a fantasy world inspired by the Italian renaissance and Leonardo Da Vinci’s imagination. The game tells a mature fantasy story of vengeance and conquest, with plenty of choice, consequence and wit.
KEY FEATURES
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Turn-Based Tactics - In Scarlet Republics you guide a squad of mercenaries in turn-based combat. The game features 7 unique classes divided over 20 playable characters. It is up to you to pick and mold your squad to suit your playstyle and strategies.
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Get Creative with Squad-Building - We have built the RPG system to match customization with organic, pseudo-random growths with a focus on squad building and gut-wrenching choices for how to grow your characters. Experimenting with different builds and synergies is a key aspect of creating your perfect mercenary company.
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Choice and Consequence - How you progress depends entirely upon your decisions. Large parts of the game, including entire battle-maps and quests, are choice specific and it is impossible to see it all in one playthrough.
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A Living, Breathing World - Inspired by the Mediterranean, the Renaissance and the vineyards and olive groves of Italy and Greece, Corsano is a land of vibrant colors, heady spices, merchant lords, pirates, politics, intrigue and, of course, war.
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Da Vinci and Tango - The game’s art style is inspired by renaissance art and the sketches of the master Leonardo Da Vinci. The soundtrack mixes classical fantasy with inspirations from tango and flamenco for a dramatic sunset vibe.
Erannorth Chronicles
I got this game for free because I won it as part of a modding contest for Erannorth Reborn. So I had to put effort into making the mod and win the contest. So it wasn’t really a handout.
This is the best deck builder RPG I ever played.
The character creation alone allows a degree of freedom that no other game like this can hope to achieve.
“A-Stranger” and “DaGibus” reviews already say pretty much of what I would say myself (and much better than I would too). So I will point at their reviews instead. Let’s just say I agree with them.
– Real player with 439.9 hrs in game
Edit: With the introduction of Pariah mode I’m having a lot more fun and feeling a good sense of progression. I’m getting some loot rewards that I can’t use yet which is a great motivation to keep going and get stronger. It was really tough to start out in that mode so I ended up starting in Quest mode until I felt I had good enough healing and crowd control to move my toon from the Book of Heroes to Pariah mode.
This is a really fun deck builder for people who love theory crafting and min/maxing character concepts. Many combinations of customization to explore. I like that you can play in different game modes so if you want to explore a world map you can do that, but if you’d rather just get to the tactical fighting you can run a gauntlet instead. You can also customize a lot of game parameters such as the number of enemies that will arrive in a typical encounter, etc.
– Real player with 158.4 hrs in game
Hydraulic Empire
This could have been a cool tower defense game, but as others have already mentioned, the balancing is way off. Some maps are literally impossible to solve unless you select the exact tower placement (and thus force the enemies on the specific path) that is required. No matter if you have ultra-upgraded towers or not, you simply will not win unless you get the path correct. While some may find this challenging, I found it tedious in the extreme - playing a level over and over. Note also that this is based on the “medium” difficulty setting. There are two settings higher than this. I doubt I will explore them.
– Real player with 34.6 hrs in game
Update: A developer responded to my review and updated the game based on the feedback. I have not had time to play through it again, but I appreciate their effort. If you read the original review below and are on the fence about Hydraulic Empire, you might consider giving it a chance. My intention was not to be the bad review that killed their business; I was genuinely frustrated at the time. I don’t know if it’s better, but they seem to be honestly trying, which is commendable. Original review follows:
– Real player with 22.6 hrs in game
Spellpowder: Uprising
Class Tree
Promote your characters to 18 different character classes. From hard as a rock tank to a devastating spellcaster.
Player Character
Create your own custom character to lead the squad. Select from various fantasy races and backgrounds.
Fantasy steampunk setting
A place where technology meets magic. Explore industrial cities, sacred woodlands, vast seas and cold tundras.
Story and Sandbox modes
Experience uprising in a semi-linear style, as in classic tactical RPG’s or power up your squad trough random missions in sandbox mode.