Way of the Samurai 3
I love the Way of the Samurai franchise, but i think WoTS 3 is the worst game in the series for several reasons.
- Bad Stuff -
1. The job system is one of the most frustrating systems i’ve ever encountered in gaming. I cannot stress how bad this mechanic is - it will be a deal breaker for many players. Most of the job quest involve extreme tedium - for example like finding 3 missing kids (no map markers, can take 10-20 until you memorize the locations), pushing an old lady to the toilet without staggering her, and following npcs around for +5m sometimes till they meow so you can identify them as a robber. Many of the quests involve “finding a person who is hiding” and they can be in crazy places like on the roof, in a tree, or in a patch of ivy you are trying to search at night. Worse, the jobs take place in the same few locations - so you are stuck searching the same few zones over and over again with little variation. Why do these tedious jobs? Well job quests are essential to gain money, collect certain swords, and gain faction rep for certain endings. Finally, to finish a quest and ask for a new quest, you need to submit the quest, walk to leave the zone, get a loading screen, then return to the zone, get a loading screen, then go back to the quest giver to get a new job. Overall, i feel like this game completely disrespects your time with pointless tedium. You aren’t a samurai, you are playing where’s waldo for most of the game.
– Real player with 41.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Sandbox Action Games.
IF A KUROSAWA FILM AND A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BOOK HAD A BABY TOGETHER
PROS:
–combat seems simple, but is deceptively fun and addictive
–15 different endings based on player choices
–lots of interesting and idiosyncratic characters
–character customization
–skin swaps for said character customization (can play as any NPC in the game)
–Story and character interactions are highly enjoyable
–replay value for days
CONS:
–dated graphics
–movement in and out of battle has probably not aged that well (shouldn’t be that much of a problem though)
– Real player with 40.0 hrs in game
Way of the Samurai 4
Mmmm… good
– Real player with 164.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Sandbox Action Games.
Makes prison seem enticing
– Real player with 95.5 hrs in game
After The End: The Harvest
Originally written for early access version 0.9u3 - 29May2017
Edited for version 1.4 20Jun2018
After nearly 90 hours and having seen the game to its completion, I’m finally comfortable editing in a final review.
Pros:
–- The game’s description and screenshots are very accurate for what you’re getting here: an expansive open-universe RPG with the look and feel of an old action-adventure SNES game.
— Among the biggest selling points for After the End continues to be developer interaction. Throughout the early access period and post-release, The Sworn has consistently been available to field questions and bug reports in the forums. I very much value this!
– Real player with 86.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Sandbox Hack and Slash Games.
UPDATED REVIEW:
In a time of loot box gambling and unfulfilled promises many devs have been screwing over customers so it’s nice to see
an early access dev actually keep true to their promises and finish their game. This game has a couple of small issues, but what it does achieve is
so fun and refreshing that it is worth peoples attention.
I originally played through and finished the game during its 0.08 alpha.
It was prety different but i loved it! You can read my original review under this one.
– Real player with 60.0 hrs in game
Into The Eternal
I like the game and I think it has a lot of promise but I don’t think $20 is a good price for the current early access portion of the game. Only the first two areas of the game are available. TLDL video linked below:
What is available is a lot of fun to play. Its a little rough around the edges but I think the game play could easily improve with time. I like the humor in the game and I find the current story elements interesting. A huge monster has disrupted the kingdoms and everyone thinks the world is doomed. The player embarks on an adventure to retrieve a mythical sword from the Eternal to defeat the monster. Pretty straight forward but there seems to be a nice dual economic system in the game where both gold and beastiary coins are used to purchase items in the game.
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
This spiritual successor to Zelda II is a fantastic action RPG. Tough but fair 2D combat mixed with platforming dungeons and caves along with a gorgeous 3D over world map. Discover secrets and upgrades as you look to save the world from the giant monster that is ever looming in the background.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
SunnySide
You’ve purchased your first plot of land in an aging post town in the heart of the Japanese countryside. Now, it’s up to you to create a homestead to be proud of. Cultivate the land, nurture your budding crops, and care for your animals. Use technology to keep in touch with new friends, access online shopping, and store your favorite farm fresh recipes.
Spend time getting to know the residents of SunnySide - old and new - all while balancing your newfound farm life. Don’t forget to take pause and enjoy the wonders of the Japanese landscape whilst discovering more about yourself and the world around you.
Modernize your farming experience with new technology that brings the classic, farming sim genre to the 21st century. Build solar panels, electric water pumps, contemporary machines for food production, and continuously upgrade your tech to improve your farming experience.
In SunnySide, we want you to enjoy all aspects of farming, especially in growing your own food. With modern technology, you can worry less about tedious daily tasks and more on living a life of balance.
With a focus on individuality, you will be provided with unique opportunities that allow for creative freedom and self-expression. Your avatar, homestead, and even your in-game cell phone can all be tailored to your preferences and desires. Customize buildings, layouts, decorations, clothing, hair, and more on your journey of self- discovery.
A proper homestead is self-sufficient, and your home in SunnySide is no different. Learn to collect your own water, generate power, grow and craft various food items, and cultivate your land to help support the local economy.
When SunnySide fully releases, you’ll be able to ferment your own soy sauce, slice tofu, grow and grind flour at the local mill, and craft artisan cheeses. The real magic of food, however, is what happens in the kitchen. Take produce a step further by cooking a wide variety of dishes in a kitchen you’ll be able to design and upgrade yourself. Nothing satisfies hunger like a home cooked meal after a long day’s work.
While a quiet life in the countryside is nice, life in SunnySide isn’t perfect. The locals have distinct personalities, stories, and issues which - through your decisions - can be uncovered. SunnySide has spent the last decade on a steady decline, but perhaps you’ll be the one to breathe new life into this desolate town.
Form bonds, join groups, attend events, and maybe even find someone special to share your days with.
Disclaimer: This game does not contain watering cans, shipping containers, incessant gifting, mayonnaise machines, and endless walking.
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS™ 2
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a fantastic building game for a solo player. Most aspects of this game are done in the form of a checklist, from story mode to the individual Tablet Targets and the item checklist on individual Explorer Islands as you pursue an infinite supply of particular resources. This type of gameplay allows for a player to learn what the game is capable of without being forced along a linear line in this otherwise sandbox-y game.
Pros:
-
Quirky characters in a quirky world
-
Story gets more interesting and engaging the longer you go on with it
– Real player with 1050.8 hrs in game
I just saw a “not recommended” review that i couldn’t comment on and was misleading thus the separated review here;
it was saying that this game has fake multiplayer, which is not true. He most likely misunderstood visiting someones island from the noticeboard with actually going online to connect with friends.
Multiplayer works like this;
You finish the first chapter with furrowfield and revisit your island (island of awakening).
there the hairy guy talks to you to introduce you to multiplayer with that ground portal.
– Real player with 467.6 hrs in game
Mageo
WHY DOES THIS GAME WANT YOU TO LOG INTO FACEBOOK CAW CAW
FACEBOOK IS CRINGE CAW CAW
THERE ARE NO FEMBOYS IN LINGERIE ON FACEBOOK CAW CAW
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
Waste Walkers
A surprisingly well excuted use of the RPG Maker engine to produce something more than the usual fare. Mechanics are about as would be predicted for the engine and genre, extended to include welcome survial elements (which I believe can be turned off? Wasn’t intrested in doing so myself but do recall seeing that).
The setting might be said to be like Fallout, but unlike Fallout which takes place many decades after an apocolyptic event, Waste Walkers places you in the role of a survivor shortly after whatever happened (it seems to be one of the mysteries of the game) happened. Resources are scarce and heavy enough to make you concerned and wish to create stashes around the city, but not so far as to panic. Combat is very challenging but not impossible, and the survival element is reinforced by some encounters consistantly costing more resources than they reward, making ‘fight or flight?’ an important question throughout the game.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
April 26 2020 edit
Theres now literally no way to be lost in the game. The map you start off with has every single individual building marked with their names. Now you can go to wherever a quest tells you to.
Very cluttered, mostly readable. But you can definitely find anything for the most part.
–——————————————————————
MARKED AS RECEIVED FOR FREE SINCE A NICE STEAM FRIEND SENT IT MY WAY BUT I FORGOT WHO GAVE IT TO ME :(
After posting this review, i noticed the store page description of the game does it a very good job.
– Real player with 29.8 hrs in game
Mainframe Defenders
After playing this for 22 hours, I must say it has been one hell of a ride. Its a nostalgia trip back to XCOM without having to worry about cover but more on your current position. At the highest difficulty, the limits of your tactical prowess are tested to its limits. You need to shoot and advance/retreat at the same time constantly. Thankfully while this is a roguelike, for now, you can return to the main menu and retry again. Why go for the easy mission when you could strive for the harder ones and reward yourself for the hard work?
– Real player with 45.1 hrs in game
A great little tactics game with lots of style and a fair deal more depth than would first appear on the surface.
Its visuals are stellar, if you’re into the retro style, with plenty of very satisfying little animations and effects. The menus, explosions, and gunfire all look and feel amazing. Perhaps not as stylish as something like Cogmind, but definitely in the same wheelhouse.
The audio is fantastic, with really nice oldschool techno beats that feel straight out of synthwave cyberpunk fare, alongside unique sound effects for just about every gun and enemy in the game.
– Real player with 41.8 hrs in game
OCTOPATH TRAVELER™
The most important thing I can say about Octopath Traveler is that it can restore a childhood-like imagination in you… if you let it. To get the most out of this game, you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief and fill in some blanks with your own thoughts. Don’t rush to complete it mindlessly… take your time with it, and explore at your own pace. If you let yourself be immersed into its world, both inside and outside the game (more on that later), Octopath Traveler will take you on a truly memorable journey. One that will feel like your own.
– Real player with 140.2 hrs in game
Wow, this is a hard game to review, particularly as you have to give it either a thumbs up or a thumbs down when all is said and done.
Okay, full disclosure: I played this during a mammoth replay session of the Legend of Heroes (Trails) games, in preparation for the release of the Geofront Zero translation, and Cold Steel III to hit stores. As a result, that may bias my opinion of this game, as I was used to a certain quality in storytelling, character development, and the like.
I bought Octopath Traveller hoping to be transported back to the golden era of Final Fantasy - ie Final Fantasy VI - but with the sort of QoL improvements that time has granted us.
– Real player with 116.4 hrs in game