Golden Krone Hotel
Latest (Experimental) Update Review
The updates for this game have elevated this game to the status of roguelike gem in my eyes. Before, I would have recommended this to anyone who is interested in roguelikes. Now, I would say it is an absolute must-play for any roguelike fan as well as point to it as THE quintessential introductory roguelike. I would say it is certainly better than the standard introductory roguelike recommendations (Brogue and Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) because of its streamlined controls, well-implemented mouse control (you can do everything there is to do in the game with a mouse), well-designed menus (best menus in any roguelike I can think of), high customizability (can play with 4 directional or 8 directional movement, with mouse+keyboard or controller, with tiles or ASCII), rebindable controls (surprisingly not common in roguelikes), gameplay that isn’t dependant on spoilers (lots of roguelikes require spoilers to progress), difficulty settings (so a new player can actually see the end of the game and learn of mechanics that would otherwise kill them), great visuals (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup has static and admittedly subpar tiles while Brogue has ASCII that Golden Krone Hotel simply beats with animated 8-bit tiles), music and sound (once again, not common in other roguelikes), and just the fact that it presents interesting mechanics and gameplay to players much sooner than any other roguelike typically does (a common complaint with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is that the game isn’t interesting until you reach Lair).
– Real player with 85.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Vampire Dungeon Crawler Games.
Disclaimer: This review is for version 1.8 of the game which is the only one that I played. My understanding is that the game has improved significantly since its release and some of the features that I talk about here have been added after the original release (for example controller support).
Pros:
-
The music is great and fits well with the vampire theme of the game.
-
I love the controller support. This is very uncommon for rogue-like games and allowed me to play the game exclusively on my tv.
– Real player with 63.9 hrs in game
Cute Bite
Cute Bite is a fun raising sim where you take control of a butler (whose name you can decide, but her default is Saule) who is in charge of training the daughter of her former vampire master. The “Little Mistress” (also nameable; default is Buttercup), as Saule calls her, is far older than Saule herself, but after being confined to a coffin for centuries, she has lost many of her skills and reverted to the form of a child. It’s the player’s job to make Buttercup powerful enough within a year to complete the blood ritual which allows Saule to live.
– Real player with 25.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Vampire Life Sim Games.
A vampire has been locked away so long that her body has reverted to the size she was when she first became a creature of the night – when she was child. After being freed, she must build up her various skills to restore her adult form. Her faithful butler is more than happy to assist, but is she hiding something?
Information
• All romances take place after she regains her adult form. This game does not involve or promote pedophilia.
• Gameplay involves stat raising (which determines endings), and a hunting mini-game (to replenish energy via biting people for blood), along with other fun mechanics.
– Real player with 21.0 hrs in game
Cursed Lands
An outstanding VN-RPG-quest crossover
I was expecting another bland, unnecessarily dragged out visual novel with uninspired, repetitive missions, but I was taken for a real treat here—kept replaying with different initial conditions (race, job, supporting character branching choice) over and over, enjoying every single play.
Visual Novel (VN) perspective: Story branching is rich and, as general VN WinterWolves titles go, you have an almost immediate option to go back—typically less than half a minute in gameplay, couple minutes or hours in the game world—to the last choice and change it to study other outcomes. I like this unique branching feature—it is like a quick time machine, or a very smooth and synoptic reload action that permits me to change my choice without having to repeat a known portion of play and grind once again.
– Real player with 132.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Vampire Dating Sim Games.
I bought this game on sale, and I’m glad I did, it wasn’t worth the full price. I bought it because it was created by the same team who did Loren Amazon Princess, a game I loved. It’s unfortunate then, that this game is average at best. There are a few problems I have with this game that I feel affected my enjoyment of the game:
1. Characters/Romance
This is the big one, so i’m putting it first. The characters all had great introductions, and are really interesting. Unfortunately, the game screws this up deeply as it progresses. You don’t get to chose when to talk to the characters, their icon’s pop up when the game decides it’s time for their event to start, so you never truly get to know these characters beyond their surface introduction. The game prides itself on giving you romance options, and even advertises that you can trigger more then one romance scene. It isn’t hard, it’s like the game WANTS you to be a serial skirt chaser, and even when you do trigger these scenes, there’s no build up. Characters will spontaneously confess their feeling for you, claiming they always felt something for you. Your character will reply in kind, but you know this is false. Your POV character never felt anything of the sort, their lying.
– Real player with 41.7 hrs in game
Vampire’s Fall: Origins
The Good
-
Lots of character combination and class types – the caster, rogue, or hearty tank.
-
Excellent art work and atmosphere – although I like to think of VFO as ‘discounted dark fantasy’ it still has some nice moments.
-
Can confirm from trailer there definitely feels like there’s 100+ hours of gameplay, or at least two characters to test different combinations.
-
Random encounters means you could end up fighting a rat or some creature living under a tree that eats rats and who might one shot you if you’re not careful.
– Real player with 40.8 hrs in game
Overview
Vampire’s Fall: Origins (VFO) is an Indie turn-based isometric RPG set in a medieval fantasy world, populated with sparse human settlements and covered in large part by wilderness. Players will impersonate an inhabitant of a small village, and start their career as members of the city guard. Soon, events take a dark turn and the main character is transformed into a vampire against its own will, afterwards sets on a quest to exact revenge against those responsible.
🔵 Pros
– Real player with 29.1 hrs in game
Hunt: The Unknown Quarry
I’m thoroughly enjoying this game. It’s a great alternative to Cluedo, but slightly more challenging and in-depth, in my opinion. It may take a few games to get to grips with the mechanics, cards and options available, but it won’t be long before you find yourself either being targeted/preyed upon or interrogating/attacking other players. It’s a dog-eat-dog type of survival game, where everyone’s out for themselves including the monster. The theme and daunting background music enhance the game, making you feel slightly uneasy (like prey), not knowing for sure who, what or where the monster is, unless they reveal themselves. Also, playing as the monster is an additional challenge, which requires an alternative strategic approach. You’ll soon find you can’t just go around munching on fellow opponents in broad daylight, but have to maintain a far more stealthy disposition. I felt the game was fairly balanced well, particularly if playing the monster against AI opponents (for mediocre players). However, I haven’t had the chance to properly play any friends online yet, so can’t say if this will be the case against live players, who I think will be a little more savvy. In any case, I believe this could only enhance the game further, making self-preservation more challenging. I’ve seen other comments related to lack of online activity (no one to play with) and about playing for free. For me personally, it’s no big deal, never felt the real need to be able to play strangers online. I took a gamble, bought the game and tested inviting a friend to play (for free), which worked fine, no issues. I was sceptical at first after reading some comments, but am extremely pleased to say how glad I am that I made this purchase. I can’t recommend ‘Hunt…’ highly enough, for those who love Cluedo, Mystery of the Abbey (tabletop games), but then maybe I’m just extremely optimistic and easily pleased.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
Okay I love this game. Like a lot it mixes a lot of elements I like. It has a huge learning curve as many said which I think could be cut down like if you had a sheet or a tab to check what monsters did what that would be cool. Other than that the people complaining about assholes in chats and that didn’t group play I bet, its would be much easier playing with just friends than random people
Over all I don’t make a lot of reviews but i love this game so fucking much I’m leaving a review.
– Real player with 20.1 hrs in game