I've been a gamer for over thirty years. A Game developer for over ten years, and a programmer, a nerd, an achievement hunter, and now have become a critic. These are my reviews.
I’m Kinglink and last month I joined Retroachievements as an official developer, which means I can make achievement sets for pretty much whatever I want and there’s minimal oversight. It’s a great freedom for the developer and makes me feel like I’m part of a larger team or group, and that means I can try to develop interesting achievement sets.
But that’s not the end, it opens up a lot of doors, and one of those doors is the ability to participate in what’s known as DevJams. DevJams are a way to focus on a single system, especially systems that never had an official launch on the site, and try to work together to develop as many achievement sets for those games.
As this video comes out it’s the Sega Saturn’s turn, and honestly… I don’t have much to say about the Saturn, well I can say one thing, I think I’ve only ever seen one or two Sega Saturns if that and I’m definitely sure I’ve never seen one actually set up or running. That’s not super surprising, the console never sold well, like two million units in America. And the fifth generation was dominated by the PlayStation and even after that the N64 was everywhere, so I’m not surprised.
But I don’t want this to be a discussion of the Sega Saturn, a console I’ve really never seen, this is more a discussion of the games, and I have two amazing titles to talk about, there are technically three games in this video though.
I’m Kinglink and… ugh… Dynasty Warriors 9 is so … meh.
There’s something I’ve been struggling with for the last half of 2023, and while it’s older than that time period, I think Dynasty Warriors 9 is an example of it. It feels like games have been made to be more disposable. More designed to give you dopamine hits for enjoying it but also able to shake you off and make you go play the next thing the company produces before long or designed more with microtransaction than quality in mind. Nothing radically improves, and especially with sequels, there’s this feeling of average games being treated as great milestones because the fans want them.
But also not in Dynasty Warriors 9’s case. Oh boy no, Dynasty Warriors 9 is a perfect example of something much more problematic. It’s a sequel that simply isn’t as good. A sequel that tried something different, and has not found more than a couple of fans. And because of that… it just made me want to go back to where I first fell in love with the series.
I’m Kinglink and I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, which means it’s time for the Humble Choice January 2024 Review.
With it being a new year, it means Humble has a chance to start this year off with a bang, and I think this is an interesting bundle. There’s going to be a lot of strong opinions on this one and that’s going to revolve around the titles.
As usual I’ve played all of these titles for an hour, and once again I was able to do an eight-hour stream. No, I didn’t spend an hour staring at the Dr. Strange Model… I probably should have compared it to a couple of these titles.
But let’s get started with the game already on screen.
I’m Kinglink and I just finished off the turkey from Thanksgiving, so that means it’s time for the Humble Choice December 2023 Review.
This month we have 8 games and more. So last month I forgot to mention there was a 1 month DC Comics subscription, apparently I wasn’t alone because it’s back this month and now it’s in the list of games. Just want to mention it because I probably will forget it later.
I’ve done an eight-hour straight stream, checking out these games, though honestly, I didn’t need all that time. I’ve played over half of these previously, many on Xbox Game Pass, and now have a chance to take a second look and cover them in this series. So let’s get on with that right away.
Hey all, Kinglink here, I know it’s not the beginning of the month but I’m actually here to talk about one of my favorite games. And right here is where I first remember playing it.
And… ummm… I can just.. Pop it in… Nope… Ummm How about.. Ok. So maybe if I …
Ok maybe it’s the box, just put it on top.. So… This might be a problem …. And not just because I don’t remember where I put the actual Activision Anthology disc. Not like this would work on a PC but… the good news is we can go back to a video I did a couple of years ago, about our old friend Emulation. And before anyone asks, no this week’s game isn’t on Steam in any form I know of. Sadly… However thanks to PCSX2 we can look at this game and … oh boy.
I’m Kinglink it’s November 2023 so it’s time for the Humble Choice November 2023 Review
I’ve had a chance to do an eight-hour straight stream of the titles this month as well as having a lot of previous experience with three of them, so I’m here ready to tell you what I think of each title, what they’re like and who should check them out.
There’s a ton to talk about so let’s start with a title I already owned.
I’m Kinglink, it’s the spooky time of year, so that means it’s time for the Humble Choice October 2023 Review.
I normally wouldn’t point out that it’s Halloween month, but this month’s selection seems to be a bit themed. However, we’ll talk about that at the end. As always we have 8 titles to talk about, and an interesting mix this month. I’ve played them on stream and am now ready to tell you about them and let you know if you should check them out.
Let’s get started with the game already on screen.
The Quarry. A Slasher movie which is also a game.
Supermassive Games is a studio that’s been in Humble before with the Dark Pictures Anthology which we’ll talk about in two minutes. The Quarry is a spiritual successor to their biggest game, Until Dawn. This screams slasher movie, and while I always say I’m a scaredy cat for horror, this is great. There’s so much atmospheric pressure here, amazing use of lighting, and a few moments where the game had me on edge, but I was enthralled with it rather than scared or bored.
That being said. This is still a Supermassive Game, by that I mean it’s a game where players are going to be making choices rather than directly playing the game. QTEs rear their ugly head, and passing or failing them can change the story. Some of the writing is a little cornball, it’s a slasher-type movie after all, and there’s a mode that doesn’t require any input, called movie mode, where you can choose the outcome before you start the game. You don’t even have to play the game the first time to watch it. Odd.
Though this is a game where choices matter, at least enough choices that you’ll be able to potentially replay it if you want to. Everything appears to be well done, with great acting so far, and one thing I always forget to mention on their games is you can play this multiplayer, at least local multiplayer this time, or just watch someone else play it. Though this is more intended to be a movie with minimal interaction, than a game with a movie presentation.
Pick this up if you like slasher movies, horror movies, Supermassive games, or just want a unique story-driven experience. There are a lot of intense moments with this title, but there hasn’t been too much pure terror yet, to the point that I’m honestly going to play through this one, and I don’t play any horror titles. Maybe a bad sign for the game, but good for me. Though who knows what will happen after a little more runtime.
Metal: Hellsinger. Rocking the devil’s house.
Metal Hellsing is an FPS and a rhythm game. Players will want to try to shoot, reload, and dash on the beat to build their combo and enhance their damage. Doing both will also help build up fury. It’s a fast-paced arena shooter, only enhanced by the music. With layered musical tracks, each tier of fury brings more of the musical accompaniment, and that pushes players to master the mechanics. I might even say this has better music than Doom, and that’s a high bar.
That being said, if you don’t have rhythm this is going to be frustratingly hard. In addition, I think the best part of this game is the music and when I challenged myself when playing on Game Pass, it meant the music wasn’t as good due to the music layering. However, playing on easy might not be acceptable for other people, but it’s what I recommend for novices. Also, while the game looks great, the bosses all are the same design though a different move set, which was disappointing.
Pick this up if you like FPSes and heavy metal. If you enjoyed BPS this is perfect for you, but even if you didn’t love it, I know I didn’t, this one may still surprise you. That being said, if you don’t like this type of music, this is an instant pass.
Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes. A gory horror game.
House of Ashes is what Dark Pictures Anthology has become known for. A horror-style game, with a strong story, interesting characters, and complicated relationships between them. Player choices affect how each character will act in the future, and players will also be able to explore the environments as part of the story. The writing is good like much of the series, and the concept is interesting, especially with the main game being about soldiers trying to capture WMDs after the fall of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago in Baghdad. Yeah, that’s 20 years ago, Damn.
However, House of Ashes feels a little weak when it comes to some graphics and animations. I think at least one character has an elongated neck I can’t stop noticing. A few animations have characters looking off in a strange direction, that should have an establishing shot before it. There’s a cinematic style to the first section of the game with the horror that seems forgotten in the next section, and I hope it’s just that part of the game.
Pick this up if you like monster movies, horror, Supermassive Games, or Want a unique story-driven experience. Yeah, this is also very similar to The Quarry as well, and all the previous Dark Pictures Anthology games such as Man of Medea and Little Hope. If you haven’t played any of those, maybe it’s worth checking them out first.
Rebel Inc: Escalation. A board game about stabilizing a country.
Rebel Inc. is from the same studio that did Plague Inc but uses similar mechanics this time to find a completely different concept. This time around you’re trying to stabilize a country, forced to buy improvements, fight against insurgents, and avoid losing public reputation. It’s a lot of different mechanics that meld together. It’s more strategic planning than direct actions. Though Rebel Inc. does have players control armies when fighting insurgents, which is an active role.
That being said, I’m not sold on this game yet. I won one game and lost another, but it feels like it’s more about knowing the order to buy things than anything. The combat is interesting but can be frustrating as you need to herd the enemy into killing zones, as they always flee if given opportunities. However since they’re the big danger, it feels great when you beat them and the board basically will flip to success.
Pick this up if you like board games or Plague Inc.’s evolution style. I think this might be a step back, but it’s still entertaining and far more active than I was expecting. There’s a decent number of maps and many different variants to each stage, depending on what loadout you choose, as well as tracking how you have done with each leader in each stage, so completionists may have a lot to do.
Spirit of the Island. A Stardew Valley/Animal Crossing Hybrid with more story, possibly.
Spirit of the Island starts with the player shipwrecked on an island but quickly turns into a resource management game. This starts like a survival game talking about water, food, and sleep, but all of those are so plentiful, it’s more like a game of Stardew Valley with a few more complications. However the graphics differentiate this title, but once the player talks to the elder of a nearby town, Spirit of the Island’s differences become more apparent. With multiple islands to visit, a story at the core of the game, and a more lively and well-defined town, it’s pretty obvious that even though it takes inspiration from a lot of games, this is a unique take on the cozy game genre.
On the other hand, you’ve done most of this before. Chop down trees, Grow food, collect resources, do quests, and build relationships. While the story may be worth it, this does feel like a game I’ve seen many times before, and I haven’t seen enough of the story to differentiate it, especially when the game just waves its hand at three islands and says “Go after those pirates”
Pick this up if you need a new Cozy game. This isn’t a bad choice, and would be enjoyable but I already have at least 8 life simulators that I could play so this one feels like it’ll go on top of a stack of games I might not play. Still, if that’s your genre, this is pretty solid.
Lords and Villeins. Become a lord, with the worst vassals possible.
Lords and Villeins has the player acting like a leader who can divide up a kingdom, create houses, parcel out the land, and decide what goes on. You build your city by designing zones, filling them with blueprints, and giving the household the materials to construct those blueprints. There are a lot of levels here, and just the first one took me the entire hour.
However, after that hour, I would have put down the game no matter what. None of the NPCs seems to have a single thought in their head. You have to give them the materials for everything, you can’t just have them pull from the big warehouse, instead, you’re expected to grant or gift them items, potentially selling goods so they can build the blueprints you’ve demanded. I get this might be an attempt to replicate how the lord fiefdom system worked, and why it was bad, but it just is all micromanagement with very little payback. Perhaps later there’s a way to automate this, but it really should have been taught in that first mission because without that, the game is quite annoying.
Don’t pick this one up. I know there’s a strong community out there, but there’s a strong community for a lot of games. It reminds me a lot of Amazing Cultivation Simulator or what I’ve heard Rimworld is like, but also done in such a way I get more frustrated than feeling I have agency. Also, a lot of that hour was spent speeding up time because things take entirely too long here.
A Juggler’s Tale. Seriously stop rhyming.
A Juggler’s Tale tells the story of a girl who escapes from the circus, though it’s not clear why she was locked in a cage, or what is going on other than an attempt to get a Limbo or Inside style game. In the story, the girl is a puppet in a stage play, but also that’s part of the gameplay, as the wires get caught on things. It’s a strange idea, but a unique one that does make for a couple of interesting puzzles.
There’s one big issue, the writing in this game is bad, like horribly bad. The narrator rhymes everything, and they’re not even good, interesting, or clever rhymes, but it’s just incessant to the point where I muted the narrator even with the subtitles. Also, there’s not much else to stand out and the puzzles are what you expect from an “inside” or “Limbo” Game, not much more than that, sadly.
Pick this up if you want an average game. This is a title I don’t hate but I don’t like, it’s okay. But I want so much more or something interesting. It takes about two hours to beat, but the narrator makes it hard for me to recommend, even then, nothing makes me say not to buy it, if that makes sense. It’s just that average.
Mr. Prepper. Preparing to escape a dystopian future.
Mr. Prepper is about a prepper named Prepper, yeah whatever. Even though who he is, rather than preparing for an apocalypse as one would expect, he is instead trying to escape a version of America with some dated references, hopefully. That being said, the main game is mostly about resource and time management, trying to build out your bunker and gather resources for your escape plan, while avoiding inspections from the government itself.
Mr. Prepper though is a bit of a mixed bag, it’s mostly a version of a life simulator where players have to grow food, maintain the residence, and explore. But then there’s combat against some enemies and more of a story or quest-based system here than just survival. As a concept, it’s more interesting than I was expecting but the preparation bar so far isn’t clear what the player needs to do to “stay prepped” whatever that means.
Pick this up if you want a life simulator. It’s an interesting concept, though some of the execution can be clunky, the idea you’re hiding your basement while heavily building it out can lead to some interesting ideas. Not sure if there’s more to the story, but it seems like there’s quite a bit players will have to discover, though there are minimal hints when you’re trying to find specific materials.
And that’s the titles for this month but like usual we need to take a peek at Is There Any Deal, and the fact is there is. Both headliners, The Quarry, and Metal: Hellsinger have never been cheaper than the 12 dollars for the bundle. Mr. Prepper is shockingly hovering around 10 dollars and everyone else is under.
But I also want to mention that Spirit of the Island, and A Juggler’s Tale have been bundled before, by Humble themselves, Spirit of the Island in the Fighting Farmers Bundle from 7 months ago and Juggler’s Tale from over a year ago. While that’s a good amount of time, realize that means they went for cheap then and I usually expect prices to go down over time.
I do want to go back to the headliners and mention we have two horror narratives from Supermassive Games as well as Metal: Hellsinger, I don’t know but it does feel like there’s a bit of a Halloween theme going on this month, and maybe it’s a coincidence but that’s a nice touch. Not everyone will want horror games so there’s stuff for everyone else, but I like the idea of a spookier month.
With that said let’s talk about the tier list, four tiers. Games worth a Full Bundle, Strong Contenders, Average titles, and Misses. Normally we skip the last one, but this month, no.
Let’s just get it over with, Lords and Villeins, I’m not a fan, I struggle to recommend this to anyone, like I said, I’m sure some people may enjoy it but, there’s no way I’m going to suggest anyone pick this up, it’s not broken, it’s just not good, and I respect your time more than this.
That being said we have four games in the Average tier as well. Starting with A Juggler’s Tale. This is the perfect meaning of the word average. It’s not bad, not good, not worth talking much more about.
Next up we have Mr. Prepper, it’s an interesting concept and I could grow to love it but I also don’t know how much more I’m looking forward to checking out. Digging out your basement isn’t that new, but the concept at least is somewhat unique at first.
Following that one we have Spirit of the Island. This could be higher for the right person, but honestly, like I said, I have so many of this type of game, that I’m not sure there’s a need for this one, but at the same time, it’d probably be fun for someone who wants a new farm sim.
Our Final average game is Rebel Inc Escalation, this will be worth it for the right type of person, there’s a lot of content and gameplay here, but that type of person needs to be looking more for a board game than a video game in my opinion. Could be fun though.
This is what we are looking at after half the tiers, but we still have three titles left. Let’s do it.
The Strong Contender is House of Ashes. I’m interested in this title, but there’s something above it, and that’s what you probably should pick this choice up for. Still, this is an interesting game, and if you’ve played through this series so far, you probably know that you’ll enjoy this title as well.
This brings us to the final tier, and I’ve thought a lot about this . The bottom of the Full Bundle tier is Metal Hellsinger. This is an excellent game, I rocked out for the entire hour, and I’ll be back probably this weekend to tackle more. The music and style are excellent and if you like this, you’ll probably love it. Such an exciting game.
Which brings us to the best of the month, it’s The Quarry. The big slasher movie is a big slasher movie, but it’s so efficient at everything. I mean I wanted to show a longer segment of it so people could see how well it is shot. Still, this is the one I’m playing this weekend, I just have to know what’s going to happen next, and the first hour ends on a great cliffhanger.
So that’s how the tiers look after all the titles, it’s honestly a worthy list for the top but the rest I get why people might pass on this month.
I do want to call out one other bundle, the awesome indies games from Humble, maybe they are over-selling it a bit, but I know I wanted Dodgeball Academia, and have been waiting for it in a choice, Archvale, Flynn, Ikenfell, Ring of Pain, and Void Bastards are all worth a look. The rest aren’t bad either, and with most of these appearing in that Humble Game Collection, I doubt we’ll see them in a Choice ever, so if you’re excited about these, this is a good chance to pick them up.
Now I did mention I worked on a side project, and I’m itching to announce and talk about it, but I can’t just yet, I may be dropping a video about a retro game this month, you might want to check it out.
The best way to do that is to remember to ring the bell, and if you just want to see these videos you still should. I only put out one extra video a month so I shouldn’t bother you too much. Like, comment, and share this if you want to help out.
Welcome back, it’s September, so of course it’s time for the Humble Choice September 2023 Review.
Like always, I have played all of the titleson a Twitch stream for an hour a piece. The account name is Kinglink underscore Reviews (Kinglink_Reviews) if you want to see the raw footage or want to join my stream next month. Now I am ready to tell you what each game is like, how they play, and who will like it.
So with 8 titles, there’s a lot to get through so let’s get started with what’s on the screen.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. More Borderlands with a different name.
If you’re a fan of the style of humor that Borderlands has. The good news is that there’s a D&D-style game with all the same types of jokes, gunplay, and combat. Tiny Tina is running a new campaign similar to Assault on Dragon Keep, and with two new characters to the franchise, played by Andy Sandberg and Wanda Sykes. This is a new adventure to keep you occupied for many hours.
On the other hand, if you didn’t like the humor in Pre-sequel or Borderlands 3, this is the same humor and it’s grating. I’ll avoid the diatribe about how to set up a joke or parody for it to be funny. In addition, the game is set up to be more like an RPG, with Random encounters, and a strange map system. I don’t think this works with Borderlands’ style of combat, and that breaks what was one of the strongest things about the previous titles, the world and maps. Also, the fact that you’re just using guns, instead of them trying to do something new or unique with the combat, is a bit disappointing. Yes, Grenades are spells, but they’re still just using guns.
Pick this up if you loved Borderland 3 but want more D&D jokes, but the rapid-fire style of joke writing gets old fast, and I found it more tiresome than entertaining. Also constantly bringing up references like Butt Stallion has gotten old previously, and now it is just stale.
This version comes with all the DLC, including the season pass, but that season pass has earned quite a negative reputation on Steam.
Deceive Inc. Multiplayer spy game.
Deceive Inc.’s idea is that multiple groups of spies are trying to get access to a secret vault. Players will go undercover to search for intel, hack into systems, and find the vault. It’s a bit of a deduction game where you have to figure out who is a real person, as well as a combat game once you identify an enemy. The NPCs act believably, I’ve even seen them start running out of nowhere, so it’s possible to mistake them for players. The player base appears steady at about 300 active players at any time on Steam Charts.
However, at the end of the day, the game itself feels limited. It’s just going around and hacking multiple locations, and hacking is holding X. There are gadgets and some good ideas, but overall there’s very little “Spying” or deception, and with everyone working towards that same goal, it’s a lot like a Battle Royale, with only one team or person winning, and a smaller lobby.
Of course, there are also season passes and Microtransactions and the prices are out of whack. 10 dollars for a premium-only legendary skin or a battle pass? Like a skin for characters, no one will see 99 percent of the time? I also saw a few full black outfits on different players which probably has a competitive advantage as well.
Pick this up if you want to play a multiplayer spy game, but there’s no deception here. I’d go play Town of Salem or Throne of Lies. The art style is ok but the gameplay just never got me that excited, though I was glad to win a gun battle. Overall this left me feeling that it was lacking something.
The Forgotten City. An amazing time loop narrative.
A great narrative is what I look for in video games, and the idea of time loops if done well is always interesting. The Forgotten City does both of those things extremely well. The characters are interesting, the premise is unique, and the world is memorable and has a ton to explore. Even playing this a second time now, I remember why I was so enamored with this title.
On the other hand, The Forgotten City is a narrative game that revolves around learning about the world and the people. While there is the ability to get a bow or a gun in the game. There’s not a lot of combat in the game. This is more about solving puzzles than anything. The writing is well done, but it mostly focuses on the people and how each character relates to others.
Pick this up if you like a strong narrative or if the idea of time loops in a game interests you. This is different from Outer Wilds, but it’s also in the same vein, and I enjoyed both titles for similar reasons. What’s truly interesting here is this was made by three developers working on a Skyrim mod and they have delivered a unique experience that I think full teams still struggle with.
Aces & Adventures.A narrative poker card game
Aces & Adventures starts with players exploring a strange land. The game is broken up into multiple adventures, each taking less than half an hour to play through, and appears to have an interconnected story. There are 5 playable characters, several unlockables, and decks of thirty ability cards to take into each adventure. The sound design deserves a special mention. The narration is solid but there are great little touches that pulled me into the story.
The gameplay though is very similar to poker. You create hands in poker like two of a kind or a full house, with a normal deck of cards. With the game being all fantasy-based, it’s odd to connect this to a typical card game, but after an hour this started to work, and there are a lot of clever abilities designed around the idea. Still, it’s a narrative poker card game, that’s a strange pairing that might put off people. Also, card games can tend to have some serious difficulty spikes so maybe I haven’t seen that yet. However, I think the second character feels overpowered so far, which usually means I’m wrong and they’re the weakest.
Pick this up if you enjoy card games. The narrative is set with minor choices throughout the game, but the leveling means your deck of abilities can grow. It’s a strange idea but I’m going to mention the audio again because it did a great job making the entire game come together and it kept me engaged long enough for me to see some of the unique depth of the poker-style combat. I’ll probably return this weekend.
Patch Quest. A rogue-lite focused on capturing monsters.
Patch Quest has players exploring a large branching map, which has elements of Metroidvanias, Bullet-Hell Shooters, and rogue-lites, however, the map layout doesn’t appear to change. Players can lasso and capture enemies to use their abilities as they explore the world. This is supposed to be a decently difficult game focused on exploration.
However in my first hour here, I didn’t find it that hard, I died only twice, both times due to my own mistake that likely won’t happen again. The player is decently powerful and while there’s a lot to collect and the art is good, the gameplay is just easy enough so far that I’ve found myself a little bored, rather than engaged by the game. A lot of reviews talk about the difficulty and maybe I just need to play further.
Pick this up if you like Bullet-hell games. There are also some interesting ideas with collectibles, and maybe some base building, but like I said I didn’t see too much as I was able to get decently far in my play-throughs. The concept of capturing monsters to ride them and use their powers was pretty interesting though.
Foretales. A narrative card game based on exploration and abilities.
Foretales is a different type of card game. This is a combination of resource management and a discovery or exploration game. Players have to navigate through a sea of cards. Each mission has a specific story associated with it, usually with a couple of ways to complete the task. Players will use character abilities, as well as items they find to achieve various goals, such as freeing their friend from a jail cell or trading for a necklace. There’s also a combat system where players can negotiate around enemy encounters, rather than be forced to fight their way through the enemies every time.
Foretales is a hard game to explain but for the right people, this will be great. But at its heart, it’s a card game. Also, the first two missions were well designed but the third mission I reached had a bit of a “Where do I go” vibe to it. I’m sure certain cards had to be combined to get to the right location but it wasn’t clear how to. There’s a hint system but it was vague enough that I could imagine the game may become a bit frustrating at times.
Pick this up if you like Hand of Fate. This is trying to be in that same vein, but it lacks a bit of that level of polish, but with the combat system being purely card-based, this also might win over some people who didn’t enjoy Hand of Fate battles. The narrative design is solid here, and the entire game is an overarching story, with what feels like a few decisions based on time management as well, but also allows players to fail without a penalty.
Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? A family quiz night involving attempted murder.
Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus is about a woman whose Uncle Marcus has been poisoned, she has to try to find out who poisoned him in the family, but needs to figure it out based on learning about what happened in a recent family gathering. This is all acted out over what appears to be Zoom calls, with an array of colorful characters, and a dysfunctional family that constantly seems to be fighting in a silly but enjoyable way. It’s a lot like a trashy Soap Opera or Teen Drama. But I like trashy Soap Operas and Teen Dramas.
With that said, there’s limited gameplay, mostly choosing between two or three options. It appears the story needs to be played multiple times to learn all the evidence and figure out who committed the crime, and while it’s well acted, it’s a bit limited in what it can do with everything focused on Zoom calls, likely because it was filmed during the pandemic. While the concept is good, this will likely only take people a few hours to see everything. However, I will say that the game does allow players to skip scenes, which is very much appreciated.
Pick this up if you enjoyed Five Dates, or at least saw the promise in it. This is a better game, and with the story and concept, it’s more interesting, but it’s by the same company. However the production values here are a bit higher and the story has me more entertained, also there are a few recognizable actors here.. This is also a bit like Late Shift, or most of the FMV games that Wales Interactive puts out. I did finish one playthrough but need at least a couple more to uncover the truth.
Also just a heads up, there’s a decent amount of swearing in this game, and bad behavior, it is a mature soap opera after all. So this is definitely for mature audiences.
Autonauts vs Piratebots. An Autonauts sequel now with combat.
Autonauts was a game where you programmed robots with simple Scratch-based AI to do simple tasks and automate your base. Autonauts vs. Piratebots appears to be the sequel, now with combat and enemies. Truthfully, just like the first game, I haven’t gotten through the tutorial yet, but so far it feels like the same experience. This will add combat eventually but it takes a while to get a base built and start seeing the differences between the games.
I’m a huge fan of Zachtronics games, as I’ve said a few times and I love programming. So Autonauts should be up my alley. But there’s something about how the programming is done in a monkey-see, monkey-do pattern that feels like it takes far longer than I want. I probably could type in instructions far quicker than showing them, but that’s not allowed. In addition, this is a sequel that builds on the original, and with this game so automation-focused, it’s going to appeal more towards a programming mindset instead of a survival mindset.
Pick this up if you liked the first game but want combat. At least that’s what I’m assuming. So far this feels like a better version of the original, but that was already in Humble Choice, so if you have that, check that one out and then consider this one based on your opinions on that one.
And that’s the eight games this month.
Before we get into my opinions, let’s take a peek at Is There Any Deal, and the answer is yes, there is a deal. Tiny Tina’s price is a little deceptive though, because that’s the complete package, but even the base game has never been below 16 dollars, so that’s a pretty solid price.
Aces and Adventure, Foretales, and Deceive Inc. hover around the 12-dollar mark, so that’s not bad if those are the games you want.
Autonauts vs. Piratebots and Patch Quest have been bundled before, but only in a few of Fantical buy three game type deals which are bundles, but kind of different. Though Patch Quest was available last month in their Platinum Collection for August which is a little close.
As for the bundle, I’m mixed on this one. Tiny Tina is a big game, but I don’t see myself returning to it, at least not until I play through Borderlands, and even then I’d probably only do that with friends who were passionate about it. Deceive Inc. isn’t dead for a multiplayer game, but I’m struggling to get any excitement for it, and the microtransactions… I just hate that’s where the industry is.
Still, there are a few good narrative games. Forgotten City is great. Like I said I’ve already played through it, and am even considering another playthrough to remember the small pieces of the story. Aces and Adventures have impressed me so far, and they also have released two challenge updates in the last three months, including what they call a Slay-The-Spire-inspired mode, which looks pretty interesting for fans. And Foretales has an interesting design, and if there’s any issue with that title, it’s that it’s in a month with another narrative-based card game, which for people who like that type of game, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just got a touch over shadowed
Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus though is also coming out at the same time Wales Interactive has a bundle called Tales from Wales Interactive. Clever name, and for 10 bucks you get 6 games in that same style. Again not a huge negative but if you’re specifically looking for that genre, that’s probably a better deal. That ends in a couple of weeks though.
With that said, let’s take a look at the tier list and this month. As always we separate the games worth the Full Bundle price, Strong Contenders, Average titles, and Misses. And I’m torn on a lot of games this month, but I don’t think I can honestly say anything deserves a miss so we’ll just skip that tier.
Starting at the bottom of the Average tier. Deceive Inc. I’m sure people will enjoy this title, I just don’t know why. It has all the issues a battle royale has, without the massive number of players, it also really lacks an idea about deception other than moving around like an NPC. Someone explain it to me and others in the comments, I’m sure this has fans and I just don’t get this one.
Next up is Autonauts vs. Piratebots, I’m surprised by this being as low due to being an “automation game” but I just don’t feel the pull towards it and what I find strange is this is the type of genre I expect to just go crazy for. Maybe it’s a programming game not for programmers, but again, check the original game, and if you like that, this will be right up your alley.
Then we have Patch Quest. Another title that I fear might need a few hours to get decently difficult or that I’m missing something. The art is really good, I just don’t feel a desire to collect a bunch of plants or monsters here. There are additional harder difficulties, but I don’t think my main issue is the challenge, more just not getting hooked into the game design. Though I will say I’m probably missing something on this one. My tier list, my ranking though. And there is Co-op mode, so maybe it’s that?
Finally for the Average titles, Fore Tales. This is teetering on the border, but that last mission where I was struggling to figure out how to advance the story, even with the hint system, gave me flashbacks to a lot of bad game design. Still, if you’re thinking about this and Aces and Adventures combined that would probably push both games up to worth the full bundle price.
And this is what we look like after half the games. Like I said, this is my tier list, my opinions, but also none of these games are terrible, just not amazing either.
With that said let’s look at the Strong Contenders. We’ll start with the bottom of the list, Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus. This is a guilty pleasure, it’s that bitchy throw your drink in someone’s face and make a scene type of writing that I eat up, as long as you don’t call it reality tv…. And sometimes then. It’s a good concept, and I will be returning to see more just to see all the pieces of the story and the way the game delivers it.
Middle of the Strong Contenders is Tiny Tina’s Wonderland. If you like this game, it’s worth the full bundle. But man, I really didn’t enjoy this game, and maybe I was not in the best mood, but the jokes are so painful, and after so many Borderlands games telling this style of joke, maybe it’s gotten to be too much. Still, with friends, this would get a decent bump.
And the top of the Strong Contenders list. Aces and Adventures. This is a strong title, I enjoyed the narrative elements to tell the stories, and the card battles clicked for me about 30 minutes in. Where this belongs is going to be dependent on how the rest of the game is, but after unlocking the second character she feels very powerful, so I’m itching to get back to this one.
And this is what we have after three tiers. Yeah, I guess there’s no surprise left, so let’s finish this off.
The Forgotten City is the game of the month. I highly recommend this one, it’s an impressive title, and like I said, I’m probably going to just replay it for the story. There’s something special about the writing. The story is an interesting one, and there’s a lot to discover throughout the experience. It’s not the longest tile, but it’s one I enjoyed a lot and was happy to finally get a copy on Steam this month.
And that’s what I have. Now I did mention earlier but I’ll call it out again. The Tales from Wales Interactive is currently on Humble so if you just want FMV games that’s a decent deal at 10 bucks, but it is a specialized genre.
With that said, we come to the end of the video, my friends. I could lie and tell you I’ll have a video out soon, but I’ll be honest, I’ll probably take a bit of a step back outside of the Humble Choice videos at least for a short while, I’m enjoying playing games for myself, Lost Judgement has been really good. I do have an idea for a video, but I have some other pursuits I might try to tackle this month of a Retro variety.
However, if you enjoyed this video and want to see what comes out next month, consider subscribing. Ring that bell if you want to be the first one to see my video next time. Liking, commenting, and sharing the video always helps, and don’t worry, this isn’t the end of the channel, I still have that sick enjoyment of the hell week of putting out a Humble Choice video so I’ll be back in about 28 days.
I’m Kinglink and it’s August… So it’s time for Humble Choice August 2023 Review. This is my birthday month and this bundle is a great present, it’s amazing, except for a minor thing I will talk about later.
I’ve covered half of these games previously, most on Game Pass, and played them all on stream for an hour, so I’m ready to dive deep into these games and tell you, how they play, what is worth checking out, and who will probably enjoy it.
I’m excited to talk about them, so let’s start with what’s already on the screen.
I’m Kinglink, I’ve played a lot of Roguelites over the years, but when I got my Steam deck, there was one that really stood out and still gets a lot of playtime. That title, of course, is Brotato. But what is Brotato?
Brotato comes from that line of games that are similar to Vampire Survivors, almost casual rogue-lites with simple control schemes, usually just a single control stick. And while there are a lot of imitators, Brotato stands out for quite a few reasons. I mean, the first thing is you’re playing as a potato.
I want to call something out as I play, keep a close eye on my characters, while you can select your character, every upgrade your character buys seems to appear on their body which reminds me of Mr. Potato Head and can be quite funny.
Anyway, back to the genre, where Vampire Survivors and most of its similar games are endurance survival mode, Brotato is about surviving 20 waves of enemies with a simple shop that appears between each wave. It’s a relatively fast game to pick up and play, but also has enough moments where players can put down the title and take a breather, or in the case of the Steam Deck, turn it off for a while.
I’ve been thinking about this game a lot, even before it left early access, but now that I’ve put in some hours into the official release, it’s the perfect time to look into what makes this game stand out.
Kinglink Reviews 