BLACK BIRD
BLACK BIRD has easily been one of my biggest shmup related surprises of the year. I follow shmup releases as close as possible and as a result I feel that I’m aware of most upcoming STGs on Steam. The first time I heard about this game was around the time CAVE employees streamed it on their Twitch channel. I came across it again by chance in the 2018 Winter Sale and decided to purchase it.
This game is the debut of Japanese indie developer Onion Games on Steam. I’m not familiar with them but evidently they’re known for a few games including Million Onion Hotel. BLACK BIRD’s story is about a little girl that dies in the street. After dying she is reborn as a crow and starts to destroy everything. The story, graphics, music, and environments are all well designed. I’d call it almost a steam punk style opera type of aesthetic. When I originally saw the game on CAVE TV the style didn’t connect with me, but when I actually played the game I enjoyed it.
– Real player with 14.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Replay Value Shoot 'Em Up Games.
Imagine a remake of Fantasy Zone with Tim Burton’s flavor of adorable bleakness, japanese attention to gameplay detail and quirkiness. The game starts with a young girl reborn from despair as a Black Bird to destroy the world. The more you kill, the bigger and more powerful you’ll grow. This dark premise is offset by cute spritework, silly animations and a very eccentric soundtrack. It’s just a delight to consume the cruel world, which left you to die. The gameplay and its scoring is well tuned. The player is constantly managing risk, reward and greed. Nuking a whole screen at max combo with a completely pumped up bird is the most satisfying climax very few shoot ‘em ups manage to pull off. The first play through is easy mode and completion unlocks the slightly harder true mode. Online leader board for global score chasing just adds to the replay value.
– Real player with 12.8 hrs in game
Mortal Glory
Mortal Glory is a fantastically fun little game where you manage a team of gladiators in a fantasy setting, competing to achieve the glory of victory and appease the Emperor and masses alike. The gameplay follows a simple but addicting structure:
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Hiring gladiators
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Equip/upgrade your team with items, skills, and training
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Go forth into glorious battle
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Encounter a random town event which may aid or debilitate you for the following match
Within this structure, the player focuses on economic/team management and battle strategy used in other turn-based tactics games. A lot of the fun comes from making decisions about who to hire and what to buy with your limited resources. Perhaps you focus on beefing up one gladiator that can take on multiple foes and then save money to hire stronger allies. Maybe you are able to buy a fantastic item that offsets a cheap gladiator’s weaknesses. Before entering the arena, you can also see the stats of the foe you’re about to face, so you can plan accordingly. As your team develops, you may have different members specialize into classic roles, (tank, mage, etc.) or create hybrids to deal with multiple situations.
– Real player with 94.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Replay Value Turn-Based Tactics Games.
Mortal Glory has meaningful tactics with a gentle learning curve. What it lacks is tedium. These fights go fast, and when you’re not caving in skulls, you’ve got a bit of light shopping to set yourself up for success. No deep intricacies here. Just kill and keep moving.
If you find Mortal Glory too easy, you can make use of its challenge toggles along with the additional Glory ranks (think Slay the Spire Ascension). Alternatively, there’s a Relaxed difficulty for an easier time, though I don’t know how easy that actually is. Tactical vets should have no trouble starting with Normal after a gander at the small tutorial.
– Real player with 61.8 hrs in game
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon
So, my first thought about this game was: “Hold up, Konami’s making games again?!”
Second thought was: “….and it’s a niche title and NOT a more recognised name.”
Third thought was: “…. and sh!t, it’s quite good! Even for early access! You guys OK down there at Konami HQ? Just that you’re acting like…… well NOT Konami.”
…In all seriousness though, taking the rogue-like approach to a metroidvania title is an interesting spin, and fundamentally, it works well. Gameplay leans heavily towards being more tactical and methodical than it does being stylish and fast. And since you have limited ways of healing, you’re forced to consider how best to dispatch your enemies while taking as few hits as possible. It’s not quite dark souls, just enough to keep you thinking.
– Real player with 74.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Replay Value Roguelike Games.
Writing this review while playing the v0.4.10 update (Nov. 4th 2021), and the game is in Early Access so take the review with a grain of salt upon further updates. I like this game and can’t wait to see how it evolves but at this stage I do not recommend anyone buying it right now, wait until it is fleshed out and hopefully perfected.
PROS:
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Beautiful artstyle, boss intros are honestly to die for and sometimes have me rewatching em cause they are so pretty.
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Good music that is nice but doesn’t get stuck n your head in a grating way.
– Real player with 69.8 hrs in game
Tainted Grail: Conquest
Song: Tainted Grail Artist: Vlakabaka
“Sometimes I feel I’ve got to, run away, i’ve got to, play a chill card game for a run or two
And the love we shaaare for card games is all in d’ere, with 9 classes, lots of deckbuilding and re-play-aability
Some runs might end baaad and some might go well but with this game time seems to goo noo-where
And this Tainted Grail is full of story, voiiiice acted characters in a daark tainted woorld
So taaake Gabens tears awaaay and buyy diz game here, cause you dont want to hear any-moe from mee
– Real player with 73.6 hrs in game
It’s very similar to Slay the Spire and Monster Train but you’ll like it more than either of those if you prefer a dark aesthetic. The music and story are also more substantial here than other games in the genre. You get access to 3 classes (basically archer, fighter, invoker) which determine the type of base deck you’ll play. Every class is broken into 3 subclasses (i.e. invokers can be summoners, blood mages, or necromancers) that each have unique passives and a unique subclass ability. It’s honestly pretty remarkable how each subclass feels very distinct from its counterparts.
– Real player with 69.4 hrs in game
The Last Spell
A fun and addictive game that’s essentially tower defense with elements of party management/rpg, town/resource/strategic management, and enjoyable “rogue-like-lite-whatever” persistent unlocks over time. Maybe even a dash of almost RTS with how worker management flows.
The gameplay loop itself is simple - defend your little “city” against hordes of monsters by night, build/develop base/heroes/etc by day - repeat til you fail or win - earn unlocks to get stronger for the next time - and repeat.
– Real player with 136.8 hrs in game
It has been a long while since I enjoyed game this much straight on launch, last game I sank this many hours in on launch was Trails of Cold Steel IV on PS4 launch even if it is ‘just’ early access game right now there already is plenty to play and explore, in the roughly 10 hours so far I already unlocked good chunk of upgrades… And I barely made dent in the actual % of them
There are some weapons that are very obviously superior to others, at least that’s how I feel personally so far, like Spears and Daggers are ridiculously OP if you can grab bit of mana regen or in case of dagger/hand crossbows getting few multihits in, poison dagger toss is strong enough to hold a side on their own for first 4-5 nights which I think is silly (But I don’t say this cause I think it should be nerfed mind you, I actually think it is good thing that there are simply weapons that are better, while other have a nieche they can fulfill, like I personally don’t think Hammer is too good in general, but the aoe stun is good for stalling, it won’t work long term though unless you heavily spec into that kind of playstyle with your hero)
– Real player with 75.5 hrs in game
DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED
What Dark Souls is not:
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the hardest game of all time
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in any way polished (even in the remaster)
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remotely functional as a game
What Dark Souls is:
- one of the most interesting, inventive, atmospheric action RPGs ever created
This is my favourite game of all time, but it’s not for everyone. It’s less about tight, high-octane action and flashy spectacles and more about atmosphere, exploration and trying to make head or tail of a game that does a lot of things and refuses to explain any of them. That or just breaking the game’s mechanics until you ascend to godhood.
– Real player with 510.9 hrs in game
The first dark souls game. ‘Remastered’ Note, I don’t agree with them taking down the prepare to die edition.
Pretty good PVE and fun but imbalanced PVP.
PVP is a backstab fest and heavy armor/poise is meta. You’ll sometimes see Mask of the Mother, Havel/Giant armor and great club using tryhards who will kill you in one backstab. Backstabs are very latency and connection based. However the PVP is still a blast when fighting people with more normal builds. It’s flawed but good fun.
PVE is the more well done part of the game. Only complaint really is that you start off in New Game plus once you kill Gwyn, you don’t have the option to not go into new game plus like in Dark Souls 2.
– Real player with 223.7 hrs in game
Selenwald
Prepare to face the unimaginable magnificence of the university of Selenwald!
Enter the halls of Selenwald to learn forbidden knowledge never meant to leave the cursed edifice. Meet madmen and face horrors that cannot be described by mere words. Discover the truth that terrifies scientists and priests alike.
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Challenging Combat - Fight for survival having ultimate control over your character’s actions. Engage in melee combat or take enemies down from afar using firearms and powerful magic. Aim carefully since every attack can miss if executed blindly. Dodge enemy attacks and adapt to enemies’ behaviour. Use stealth and assassinate or sneak past enemies to avoid risky encounters altogether.
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Resource Management - Most of your combat and survival capabilities are dictated by what resources you find. Resources are limited and so is the character’s inventory. Make choices on what to bring with you every time you descend to a lower level. Every bullet, potion and spell makes a difference.
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Character Development - Every class has different starting traits and types of inventory slots available. Make choices when being presented with new random traits to gain power and build interesting combinations. Modify your inventory with acquired accessories to further customize your character.
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Permanent Death - If your character dies, they die for good. Choose a new, random adventurer and embark on a new adventure. Even if you don’t manage to go far, your actions will have consequences that carry over to subsequent playthroughs. Dying is a natural part of the game.
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Random Dungeons - Every playthrough brings completely different areas to explore. No shuffled predefined rooms - truly original locations every time.
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Unique Setting - Visit Western Europe of the late 1700s to discover how scientists isolated from the outer world crossed boundaries dictated by known science to gain access to powerful forces reminiscent of magic. Gain answers to mysteries never before found on the pages of written history.
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Mature Story - Unravel the dark, rich story of philosophical nature. Witness how a groundbreaking scientific revelation drives even the brightest minds into madness. Meet tragic characters with intriguing past. Discover the very foundations of life and death and see the true, terrifying nature of matters humanity has desperately tried to explain with religion.
Darksburg
I’m writing this review for everyone who is thinking about picking up this game, but isn’t exactly sure yet.
At first I want to give a rough overview about the game and talk about positives and negatives after. Darksburg is an isometric cooperative 4 player game, thats heavily influenced by Left 4 Dead, Warhammer Vermintide and your typical ARPG title or even MOBA.
At the point I’m writing this review we have 3 different gamemodes: coop survival, last stand and PvP.
In the coop survival mode you have to get from point A to point B while defending yourself against hordes of attacking zombies and special infected, finishing different tasks like finding wooden planks and nails to repair a church door.
– Real player with 451.6 hrs in game
+============+
Updated based on ‘Going Rogue’ update.
This update is literally a game-changer! The new mode is a loooot of fun, with every single character receiving some great quality of life updates. It used to be ‘Varag is meant to be able to tear people apart’, well… you got what you asked for - now he can! Dolorosa has been an amazing addition (the 5th playable character), with some of the best CC in the game, which you need when there are now hordes of zombies coming for you.
In previous updates the hordes just kind of waited sometimes for you to come near, now they seek you out which feels much more zombie-horror-survival. There have been some minor art improvements which I love (though I am biased as I already love the setting) and oh so much more…
– Real player with 289.1 hrs in game
DEADHUNTERS
A cooperative rogueplaying game.
Choose your hero, embark on missions and make decisions together.
Loot, level up and die again and again in an ever changing world of darkness.
Conquer the damned and earn your rightful place in the Guild of Deadhunters!
SKILL BASED HACK’N’SLASH COMBAT
In DEADHUNTERS every hit counts. You need to aim all of your attacks and make sure that you dodge those of your enemies! If you are skilled enough you can make your enemies hit each-other, helping you get rid of them all!
EXTENSIVE PROGRESSION SYSTEM
Collect a wide variety of weapons and magical artifacts to inflict as much damage on your foes as you can. Level up your characters and unlock their unique traits to help you defeat the Dead Plague!
CHOICE BASED NARRATIVE
Whether you play with others or alone you will have to make decisions on every mission you take on. On the way you need to choose where to go, who to fight and what to discover!
GRIM ATMOSPHERE IN A UNIQUE STYLE
Immerse yourself in this cursed world filled various intriguing characters. Enjoy their banter and get to know their stories as you progress in the game!
PROCEDURAL ENVIRONMENTS
Along with the changing narrative your surroundings change as well. The world of DEADHUNTERS is unforgiving and you will suffer ceaselessly but never in the same place!
Hell’s Gate - Slide Puzzle
Hell’s Gate makes you FEEL like Jeffrey Dahmer.
From the wailing of lost souls condemned to endless torture in the depths of Tartarus, to the occult and bizarre imagery plastered onto the puzzle pieces; This game really lets you immerse yourself and walk in the shoes of a deranged madman that will go to any means necessary to keep playing his sick and disturbed game!
Here’s the Keyes! Knock yourself out!
– Real player with 8.4 hrs in game
If you like puzzle games, you must get it.
An immersive soundtrack, good graphics, and challenging puzzles.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game