Barbara-ian
Game Details
Published by: Owlbear Ltd.
Developed by: Owlbear Ltd.
Genre: Action/Indie/Early Access
Release Date: 17 Jul, 2015
Completionist Gameplay: Endless
“Barbara-ian, a mythical badass with perma-rage & a penchant for smashing. “
The Gameplay
Barbara-ian is a top-down run and gun action game with a female protagonist. This should already make you want to play the game. If you need further convincing, read on.
With only one hit point standing between you and certain death (and the loss of your beloved Tome of Laser Vision), Barbara-ian is the true definition of exciting. If you liked Hotline Miami, I would absolutely recommend buying this. The game being in Early Access shouldn’t deter you. Barbara-ian is fully playable and is not missing any key components. The only reason it is still in Early Access is because the developers want to continue adding more content for us to enjoy.
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game
This game is difficult.
This game will anger you.
This game will kill you… a lot.
But all the deaths and quick restarts
make completing a level so satisfying!
Pros:
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Wonderful soundtrack
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Fast-paced combat
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Nice voxel graphics
Cons:
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Can’t switch the weapon
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Sometime is too dark
This is a good indie game!
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Elendia Ceus
RECOMMENDED Ratings 6/10 (Fun game, Good Music, A bit short)
I like the game and played it to completion twice. I did not find any bugs too, and can confirm that all the achievements are working.
However, I gave this game a rating of 6/10 because there are both pros and cons in this game.
On the pro side, the story is very interesting and well written. I also enjoy all the different cut-scenes as well. The music in this game is really top notched, especially the fighting musics which really worked me up to a frenzy. Nice.
– Real player with 38.5 hrs in game
The game kept appearing everywhere I went, so obviously that meant I had to play it. Graphics are adorable, I like the character designs, but most of all… that OST/Music!!! It is just superbly enjoyable! Great picks!
I gotta say that this game isn’t very… easy and that is okay, a challenge is a challenge. However, I had no clue about what “Astrology” meant and thank you to the kind soul for actually letting me know what it all meant, so I could properly do what I wanted to do.
The flying and exploration are fun and I hadn’t clicked on so many walls in my lifetime! There are also super hidden things, SUPER HIDDEN… good luck finding ‘em all!
– Real player with 37.4 hrs in game
Eternal Destinies ~The World of Possibilities~
In an age of barbarian invasions and bad harvests, with the gods and demons too entangled in their own conflicts to pay much heed to humanity…
A girl was born to an elderly childless couple in a small village far from the capital.
The signs were vague and sometimes contradictory.
The village priestess and a travelling fortune-teller could not agree on what her future holds.
In the end, a Sage from a nearby mountain suggested:
“Let the girl seek and fulfill her own destiny.”
The village elders agreed.
As soon as she reached the age of maturity, she was sent to the capital to seek her fortune… whatever it might be.
Form friendships and rivalries with the town’s inhabitants, or face the many enemies outside.
Conversation
It is possible to talk to almost anybody or anything with the right skill(s).
Schedule
Choose the right activities to reach one of the numerous possible destinies.
Town
Town Square
The townspeople gather here to gossip and share information.
You might hear some interesting rumors!
Marketplace
In addition to the armorer and the tailor, several small stalls offer their wares on the town market. Their contents change seasonally.
Temple
Are the gods actually listening? In any case, you can pray for luck.
Bookstore
The biggest bookstore in town. It carries many unusual titles and the selection keeps changing. The owner likes to participate in the writing contest during festivals….
Castle
Rumor has it that some unspoken misfortune has befallen the royal family.
Magic shop
Buy potions or chat with the owner’s apprentice.
The Big House on the Hill
What secrets does it hide?
Adventure Mode
Explore the areas around the capital and beyond!
Luck
An invisible force that influences everything from the outcome of battles to how likely one is to stumble upon useful items.
Luck can be improved (or ruined) in many different ways.
Special Events
Festivals are held twice per year. Observe the competitions or participate in them… or even rent a stall and try to sell the festival goers some snacks!
Barbarian invasions might occur during the raiding season.
It’s best to pay attention to the Town News!
Destiny
Many different outcomes are possible depending on your choices.
Tess Elated
Inspired by Minesweeper but unlike anything you’ve tried, Tess Elated is fresh and inspiring.
The vibrant and diverse cast of characters makes the story both interesting and rewarding with plenty of laughs.
With a colorful and fun art style and a joyful soundtrack, the game is sure to keep your interest.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
“Tess Elated” is nothing new. In fact, it’s a direct copy of “Cavesweeper”. Also it’s NOT a logic puzzle as they claim, because it requires guesswork. A logic puzzle never requires any guessing, only logic. The game has no instructions or a way to skip the long repetitious dialogues between levels. The Medium and Hard modes use three and four colors, so you will spend most of your time guessing, unlike Minesweeper which inspired it. Also, the Achievements are broken.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
Bizarre Earthquake
Bizarre Earthquake is a good casual adventure game.
It has an original storyline compared with those in the “game industry” as a whole, including the adventure genre. No horror, no blood, no zombies, no vampires, no trashy things : nothing that will hurt your feelings. It’s almost family-friendly BUT not in a way that you’ll feel like you’re playing a children game, far from it. At least it’s not violent nor gore.
Admittedly it’s not realisitic all the way (especially in the end), but it’s a game, it’s not meant to be a hundred percent plausible and the main idea remains interesting, even though certain aspects of the plot lack some depth. But given the price it’s okay and it doesn’t take the fun away.
– Real player with 44.4 hrs in game
This little charming hidden gem of a quirkily adventure (accomplished by a one-person development team) deserves a closer look/review. The puzzle (and character/dialogue) design is interesting and funny, but can get very challenging (tricky/illogical) at the end. Although, some puzzles can be skipped.
The game offers you to switch between characters and take different approaches on how to solve puzzles/on how to proceed on the main “quest/topic”. The integrated hint/help systems provides additional guidance and support. The general behavior of the game is very slow paced and you need to be patient.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
The Madness of Little Emma
The Madness of Little Emma is one of those games that was compared to another (in this case, The Binding of Issac), and that caused me to skip it for a while. Luckily, I ended up picking this up on impulse during a sale, and I have found that I like it a lot.
Now, there are some parallels to Issac, in that you have a character with a tragic backstory going a bit crazy, a plethora of characters to choose from, randomly generating maps, and loads of items you can collect. The thing that seperates it is that it becomes its own game as you play, with everything from the sidescrolling layout to the types of items keeping you wanting to play.
– Real player with 42.7 hrs in game
I was on the fence for positive/negative on this one… I’m going thumbs down.
aside Why don’t we get a scale 1-5 or something, Steam? C’mon! /aside
It’s like the creator wanted to make Binding of Isaac, but that was already done:
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Play in a series of increasingly deep basement rooms and floors? Check.
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Lots of random power-ups that can have synergistic effects? Check.
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Big Boss to fight at the end of the floor? Check.
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Body fluids as weapons? Check.
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Treasure chests, coins, and bombs? Check.
– Real player with 38.9 hrs in game
Demonheart
(Note: This review was written after chapter 4’s release. If the final fifth chapter impacts this review, I will update it accordingly. I am also a man.)
Female-driven visual novels have become increasingly common among western audiences. Unfortunately, these games are also peppered with groan-inducing young boys seeking to win the hearts of adolescent girls through affection. Where are the games with dark storytelling and evil men, and why is it taboo for women to fantasize about them? Demonheart wisely accommodates this void with a cast of evil love interests and a thought-provoking dark narrative.
– Real player with 40.8 hrs in game
Demonheart is a dark fantasy tale about a young woman, who has her life taken completely out of her own hands, in the most unusual circumstances. Follow this aberrant tale as she is lead down a dark path of no return.
Plot: Step into the role of Bright, a young red-headed maiden as she goes about her everyday life. She lives with her parents in a tiny house as the three of them try to scrape together to simply put food in their stomachs. That is, until one fateful day, an unexpected job offer reaches her. The town’s famous healer wishes to extend an invite to Bright to work alongside her in her shop as her assistant. This could be the break Bright and her family so desperately need, but is it too good to be true? Well, of course, it is or the story would end pretty quickly, wouldn’t it?
– Real player with 36.9 hrs in game
Millennium - A New Hope
My playtime: 41.2h (based on steam, 100% achievement)
Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (7 achievements).
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (45 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Millennium - A New Hope is the first out of five series of a turn-based RPG Maker game with a lot of vast dungeons, quests, and secret rooms.
Pros:
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4 difficulty choices
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Freedom to choose either random encounter or touch-based encounter at the beginning of the game
– Real player with 41.2 hrs in game
Initial Thoughts: 10 Hours (see below)
Keep in mind I’m playing on hard.
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This is possibly the most poorly balanced rpg I’ve ever played. The battles are horribly slow unless you turn on a menu option to increase the speed of the animations to 150%.
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It seems neither Marine nor Benoit have enough useful skills to properly combat enemies. The most useful skill Marine has is “Call Jeanne” which summons a fairy like creature that can attack multiple enemies and heal to great effect. This in theory could overpower a player if it weren’t possible for enemies to kill a character before you can summon the fairy and give it a command. I often found myself summoning it using it to heal twice then letting it attack. Some enemies are also totally immune to it’s attack (I just used to to heal in those instances).
– Real player with 36.5 hrs in game
Millennium 3 - Cry Wolf
Quality game all the way through. Not the top RPG (also less than top price!) but good. My second purchase of the Millennium series.
This game has custom art , music , sounds and no re-used rpgmaker stuff. The story is there and so is character development. Good stuff not great.
I would get Millennium 2 first - it’s a little better and a little longer. Millinium 1 I haven’t tried yet. Many re-used things from Millennium 2 are in the game, but many new things too.
– Real player with 25.4 hrs in game
My playtime: I have some offline playtime in this game but I finished the game in ~47.7h (100% achievement)
Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (1+ achievement, 1 achievement might take ~3h to finish).
Optional Achievement(s): No.
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Millennium 3 - Cry Wolf is the third game of the Millennium series and a sequel to Millennium 2 - Take Me Higher . This game has a labyrinth-like dungeon, more side-scrolling dungeons, and a lot of homing enemies.
– Real player with 25.3 hrs in game
Millennium 4 - Beyond Sunset
Much like the rest of the franchise its a run of the mill, JRPG.
simple with many many secrets and a good overall long running plot, with side arcs and side quests .
– Real player with 32.3 hrs in game
This is the worst game in the Millennium series. If you’ve enjoyed the series so far, you’re probably going to want to see it through. This review isn’t to dissuade any one from that, but to serve as a warning. Also, I will mention that while the fifth and final game is better it is a very disappointing wrap-up to the series.
First, I’ll talk about the one really great thing about this game: the ending. That’s not sarcastic. The end is very well-written, it’s an extremely well done moment. From a story perspective, it might be the best part of the series. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s very good and feels earned.
– Real player with 17.6 hrs in game