Mind the Vikings

Mind the Vikings

I loved this game at first, and even gave it an excellent review but now its dead. One developer lout of the 2 working on it left. I wasted my money for a broken, buggy, incomplete game. First time I’ve been burned by early access. I hope the remaining dev is able to sell the title to a different studio that can complete it, but no one should waste their money on this. You can get other games with the same concept that are complete. If i could, I would return it. I was unfortunate enough to play it for an extended period of time.

Real player with 14.7 hrs in game


Read More: Best Immersive Sim Sandbox Games.


PROS:

Great art style

Simple gameplay but still very fun

Actual people who interact with eachother

Factions

Personality

CONS:

Kinda unfinished

Overflow of bugs (see in comments how many bugs)

People cannot interact with relics

SUGGESTIONS:

Add a map, with different islands. Make people fight for the islands. Also add a “peacefull” gamemode with no other vikings.

Make people interact with relics, like climbing the relics.

See people actually coming by boat to the island.

Please dont make the suggestions a DLC.

Real player with 3.7 hrs in game

Mind the Vikings on Steam

Endless ATC

Endless ATC

This is an amazing little game.

The game starts out very simply, with just a few planes to control. As you guide them successfully to their destinations, the number of planes in your space increases, and so does your mental load.

A simple and effective interface lets you put your air traffic plan into action almost as quickly as you can think it (via any combination of keyboard, mouse, and touch).

Before long, you must be completely focused on managing the traffic to keep everything running smoothly and your score increasing.

Real player with 512.4 hrs in game


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I’m not easily impressed, but this is really good.

It has all the complexities of the real thing:

  • Standard Instrument Departures

  • Standard Terminal Arrivals

  • Parallel approaches

  • Airspace restrictions

  • Minimum Safe Altitudes

  • Separation criteria

  • Wake turbulence separation

  • Emergencies

And it’s all packed into a UI that is so easy to learn and simple to use, it actually makes the complex task of controlling air traffic look like child’s play.

Designers of RL ATC software, move over! Look at this title and explain to me why “the real thing” always looks so damn complicated, because this simulation here proves what an intuitive UI can look like.

Real player with 73.2 hrs in game

Endless ATC on Steam

Safe Not Safe

Safe Not Safe

Ever wondered how stealth games of the future will look like?

This is how. Safe Not Safe reinvigorates the genre in several fundamental ways.

Meaningful exploration

Every mission is a completely new procedurally generated level. Explore freely and find your own way to the goal without a pre-designed solution.

Worthy Opponent

Powerful AI controls the whole base and commands robotic security. The AI is adapting to your actions and builds smarter and stronger defences on the fly.

Real Challenge

Rogue-lite elements are challenging but fair. No saves during the missions – success depends only on your plan and the way you combine your skills and gear.

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Read More: Best Immersive Sim Roguelite Games.


Safe Not Safe on Steam

KNIGHTS

KNIGHTS

Gameplay:

How to play the game:

Very simple, anyone who’s ever liked playing chess will definitely learn how this game is played instantly. The game is about moving red and blue knights over boards of chess to red/blue highlighted tiles, as in a game of chess, knights can only move in L-shaped direction (2 tiles straight and then 1 tile to side), the knights can jump over whatever it’s standing in their way, as long as the tile they’re meant to go to is empty. To clear a level, every red knight has to stand in a red tile, as well as every blue knight in blue tile (the easiest levels only contain knights of 1 color).

Real player with 577.2 hrs in game

even though I’m not into chess, I had a good time playing knights. there’s not much to it, you can only move the pieces like you would if you were playing chess, but you only have different colored knights here that you have to move around until they end up where they should be, blue ones on a square with a blue silhouette, red ones on a red. yellow figures are just there to cause you pain and block your movement but they can also be moved around.

Real player with 25.9 hrs in game

KNIGHTS on Steam

Space Ribbon - Slipstream to the Extreme

Space Ribbon - Slipstream to the Extreme

Cool and original game!

It’s like racing on a roller coaster track in space :-)

Single player: Campaign with three speed classes.

Multiplayer: Up to 4 players can play in splitscreen and optionally 1 of the players can play as the paver which creates the track.

Racing

Slipstream:

The core mechanic is using slipstream to boost your speed which makes it possible to catch up and often makes the races very intense close to the finish line.

Side barrier:

Another “mechanic” is the side barrier. STAY away from it as it tends to slow you down a lot. It’s better to ease off on the gas and make a corner than smashing into the side.

Real player with 47.1 hrs in game

For my first Early Access game, this is pretty darn good. Not a bad way to go for $1 during the Steam Summer Sale. There does exist some balancing issues, which can make the game frustrating at times, but overall, it is all I ever hoped for in this game as an Early Access title. It’s a good way to start. Oh, and the demo doesn’t do the game justice. Developer, please remove the demo or update it please!

If you start a race with a mouse/keyboard, it locks you out of the Xinput controls (such as an Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller). It doesn’t allow you to switch on-the-fly or on-demand. You either have to exit the Grand Prix or restart the game to make sure to use the other control scheme. My prefered method of control is a controller, not keyboard/mouse.

Real player with 12.6 hrs in game

Space Ribbon - Slipstream to the Extreme on Steam

Child of Lothian

Child of Lothian

The beautiful culture and atmosphere of 18th century Edinburgh disappearing beneath the shadows of witch hunters looming in the streets. Hushed whispers appearing in every corner and suspicious gazes of townspeople falling upon their neighbours as friends become enemies. What is your role to play as a child, in the 18th-century witch trials?

AGAINST ALL ODDS

The world around you feels intimidatingly large and crowded. It sometimes just feels like all the odds and people are against you. Yet you learned to survive the harsh conditions of the streets of Edinburgh. Hide and disguise yourself to escape the witch hunters and steal items from others to survive.

CHOOSE YOUR PATH

Choose to engage in dialogue to find the information you need to complete quests or decide to pickpocket, eavesdrop and steal to reach your goals. The choice is all yours.

YOUR SHELTER IS YOUR SAFE SPACE

The only home you’ve got where you can take a breather and feel comfortable, sleep to venture in the dark of the night or at day- and plan out your next moves for the dangers you’ll encounter once on the streets of witch-hunter invaded streets of Edinburgh.

Stealth Mechanics

  • Pickpocketing

  • Stealing

  • Hiding

  • Disguising yourself

Traversal

  • Free roam

AI Behaviour

  • Advanced stealth guards AI

  • Reputation system for NPC’s: Communciation between NPC’s on player behaviour

Camera

  • Cinematic camera during dialogues

Narrative

  • Dialogue

  • Environmental storytelling

  • Immersive UI

Systems

  • Quest system

  • Inventory system

  • Day / night system

Child of Lothian on Steam

The ORBITAL

The ORBITAL

Orbital - first person sci-fi survival horror. You are one of the last, (or maybe last) crew member. Your mission is to find out what is going on and get out from the spaceship. Will you survive, or not, will depends only on you.

You are an ordinary member of an expedition to explore new worlds. Your responsibilities include maintaining the ship’s subsystems and maintaining the working equipment. After another expedition to the surface of the nearest planet, you began to notice some oddities in the behavior of an electrician. But you blame this on the unexplored effects of exposure and the electromagnetic field of the new world. And one day you wake up as usual. But nothing else is normal on your ship.

Can you be smart and get off the ship that has turned from home to your worst nightmare?

We are participating in the Unreal Engine Dev Contest 2021. There are a lot of great projects coming out this year. And we are honored to be a part of this holiday. Follow the links, subscribe to our social networks, evaluate the project in the competition and add it in your wishlist!. We are glad to see you!

Features of the game

Several unique types of monsters

You will not feel safe in any corner of the ship. Only by getting used to one situation in the world can you unexpectedly find yourself in another. And what worked before may now be useless. Can you adapt?

The same spaceship - a different place

The location of the items changes and the available rooms change after each failure.

Different scenarios

Explore the ship, collect notes about the last moments of the life of the crew and find a way to get out of there.

Dangers and Opportunities

Using the work tool, discover new places and previously inaccessible areas. You don’t have a chance to confront your enemy directly. But you can distract and run away. If you’re careful

Death is the loss of everything

If you are lost, this is the end. When you die, you will start the game from the beginning. On a different ship, in a different situation. Another person. Good luck.

The ORBITAL on Steam

Ecoplanet

Ecoplanet

Ecoplanet is a tycoon-based eco-simulation game with a variety of opportunities to manage, design and expand your own islands. You are free to place whatever animals, plants and scenic objects you desire. But be warned because every action has a consequence and you wouldn’t want your ecosystem to collapse! Work with E.Corp to become an island expert and make your millions.

You will be working with a company called E.Corp who are your friend when it comes to making money and progressing through the game! You will need to send them your animals to help them out, whether it’s for a new exhibit in a zoo or to be used for research. You should assist them as much as possible and make a pretty penny at the same time!

As you get deeper into the game and earn more money, you will be able to unlock many new species of animals and plants! There are various ways that you can do this, the easiest is by completing missions. The next method is animal research, this will cost you but after funding the research of an animal you will be able to unlock and purchase them for the island. Finally, you will get random visitors throughout your time playing Ecoplanet, to get them to stay you must meet their requirements and convince them your island is the best to call their home.

Open up your very own island tours business and let guests view your island in boats, helicopters and submarines. Open up food, drink and souvenir shops to maximize your profits and keep your customers happy. Increase your island rating to attract more customers and become an even richer island owner!

Breeding is one of the most important systems implemented in the game, not only will it be necessary to maintain a species but you also have the creative freedom to selectively breed your animals to produce animals with specific traits/genetics. Some of the genetics that you can breed for are below:

  • Height

  • Hunger

  • Speed

  • Lifespan

  • Reproduction Rate

Using the terrain editor you can create tall mountains and deep rivers to accommodate for the animals on your island. Let your creativity flow and create an island exactly to your needs!

Ecosystem designing doesn’t stop on the land! There has been an abundance of marine creatures made for life in the ocean! Make sure you learn to build above and below water to maximize your profits whilst creating beautiful islands.

Its just me! My name is Brad and i’m the solo developer of Ecoplanet. The idea started in September 2018 but it was designed to be an educational simulation tool as part of my university degree. However after two years of developing, once graduating I decided I wanted to turn it into a commercial game. I have always been a fan of tycoon games ever since I started playing Roller Coaster Tycoon so I have used that as inspiration to fuel the tycoon side of the game, with other inspirations coming from more of my favorite games such as Viva Pinata!

Ecoplanet on Steam

Above the Fold

Above the Fold

Full Disclosure- I got my key at no cost, from the developer, to playtest the game, from Alpha 4 on.

This in no way affects my review of the game. If it sucked, I would be brutally honest about it. I call then like I see them.

Okay, that said, up there ^^^…

I don’t really tend to enjoy manangement sim games, I usually find them too simple, shallow, or just plain uninteresting.

This game is different. It may be because I have been inside, watching it evolve (and will continue to do so through Early Access, and beyond…), but this game has depth. The subject matter, a paper print newspaper from the 1980’s- (when I was a teen and young adult) is very relatable for me. The game is still in development, but it already very rich with details that hold your interest, tension that makes you hustle and make snap decisions, humor that pops up and relieves some of the tension, in a very silly way, and more challenge than I expected. I like challenge.

Real player with 65.0 hrs in game

Its very early and developed by one person with a budget smaller then my allowance during all 4 years of high school combined. That probably isn’t true though.

Anyway, this game is a gem, and will be a gem in the future.

Yes, turn your music off asap or adjust using your systems audio mixer, that is a bit of feedback that can be acted on.

At the core this game is charming, you have a deadline you need to meet, an owner that can get angry with you, but also praise you. I imagine it is as similar to managing a news paper in the late 90’s was, and a news website today is. This is after all a simulation.

Real player with 47.8 hrs in game

Above the Fold on Steam

Nightvision: Drive Forever

Nightvision: Drive Forever

“AWESOMELY TRAUMATIZING”

So there I was, just minding my own business, driving through a mountainous highway. I wasn’t quite sure what I was running from, or exactly sure where I was going. I was admiring the beautiful sky, excellent lighting effects and great overall graphical presentation. I was navigating the treacherous highway and unpredictable traffic pattern, slowly falling into a driving rhythm guided by the soundtrack of chill electronic beats held together with adrenaline filled undertones. My will to survive was at an all time high. I dodged left around a vehicle, then right around a vehicle. I could clearly hear the sound of the air rushing around me as I narrowly missed multiple commuters, each miss slightly closer than the last. After clearing a few of these early morning drivers driving to who knows where, I let out a sigh of relief. No traffic was in sight - only me, the open road, the beautiful scenery and the mesmerizing music. I was 2 miles in to a 6 mile trek, and I knew the worst was behind me. I came around a slight right kink in the road, with my high beams on to increase visibility ahead. The road straightened out, and I began to make my way up a small hill in the path. Up ahead, I could see a bright beam of light - I flashed my brights on, then off, to try and signal the other driver to do the same. The light kept getting brighter and was nearly encompassing my entire screen at this point. I made my way to the far right of the road to give them as much room as possible, with no knowledge of the other driver’s level of competence. Just as I was cresting the hill, BOOM!!!! My heart nearly stopped. My car did stop - and shortly after I lifted my hands off of my Logitech G29, which is superbly supported in this game. I took a 1 minute break to allow my heart rate to slow down. I grabbed a clip of the incident to confirm what I had already suspected - as I crested the hill, the unpredictable computer driver moved into my lane at the last possible moment. We had a head on collision at over 100 MPH. The image of that burgundy SUV is now forever burned into my retinas. I have awoken in screaming agony every night since the incident. My heart has still not recovered, and most likely never will. 11/10 would crash head on into a computer player again!

Real player with 10.4 hrs in game

What are you doing procrastinating by reading the reviews? Buy it already!

I love this game, and I shall tell you why, if you’ve read this far but still not bought it…

Story mode gently eases you in to the high speed mountain driving experience. The difficulty starts to ramp up as you progress through the film noir style story mode, and new challenges are introduced gradually as you progress: with more winding roads, beautiful but treacherous weather conditions, and increasing traffic all coupled with the need to keep your speed up at all times.

Real player with 9.2 hrs in game

Nightvision: Drive Forever on Steam