Brodrian
2022
Super "meh" shooter with the most egregious progression system I've seen in recent years. Cosmetic skins literally come with stat upgrades to guns (faster reload speeds, increased accuracy, etc.) and you need to play literally hundreds upon hundreds of matches to unlock the actually strong weapons.
The PvE mode is incredibly weak and janky with it mainly being, "run to this place and shoot a couple generic bad guys" over and over.
The PvE mode is incredibly weak and janky with it mainly being, "run to this place and shoot a couple generic bad guys" over and over.
2022
Super fun foundation with some flaws that keep it from being truly great. The main issues being WAY too much randomness and an overall lack of polish.
As it stands, it's a fun novelty for a few hours with friends. It lacks the depth I was hoping for when I heard the "roguelite" label slapped on. I'm excited to see what it looks like after some updates.
As it stands, it's a fun novelty for a few hours with friends. It lacks the depth I was hoping for when I heard the "roguelite" label slapped on. I'm excited to see what it looks like after some updates.
2016
THE FACTORY MUST GROW.
Factorio is a formula perfected. Constantly trying to juggle expansion, production, and defense can be completely overwhelming and confusing at first, but it's one of the most rewarding games I've ever played.
Near endless replayability, an incredible modding community to keep things interesting, and one of the best foundations ever laid for a genre. There's a reason people talk about this game consuming your time... It'll sneak up on you and then BAM, 1000 hours are gone.
Factorio is a formula perfected. Constantly trying to juggle expansion, production, and defense can be completely overwhelming and confusing at first, but it's one of the most rewarding games I've ever played.
Near endless replayability, an incredible modding community to keep things interesting, and one of the best foundations ever laid for a genre. There's a reason people talk about this game consuming your time... It'll sneak up on you and then BAM, 1000 hours are gone.
2022
I think this game has an unbelievable amount of potential. The art, music, and premise are all SO excellent that they carried most of my playthrough.
Where the game falls short is in the shallowness of its systems. Neither the cult nor the combat ever feel truly deep or engaging once you've figured out how they work.
I'm super excited to return to this game after a year or two of updates!
Where the game falls short is in the shallowness of its systems. Neither the cult nor the combat ever feel truly deep or engaging once you've figured out how they work.
I'm super excited to return to this game after a year or two of updates!
2021
Deathloop takes a little while to get rolling, but once it does, there are some SERIOUSLY high highs. The gunplay is fun, the world is packed with interesting places to explore, and there's some genuinely incredible voice acting to bring the main characters to life.
Things fall apart as the game progresses, unfortunately. And endless amount of fetch quests and tedious time wasters near the end of the game puts a huge damper on the mood. The lack of enemy variety also starts becoming a downer.
Probably the biggest thing that let me down was the fact that there is only a single "correct" solution to beat the game. It feels like there should be a wide variety of clever solutions you can discover based on the way the game presents itself.
Things fall apart as the game progresses, unfortunately. And endless amount of fetch quests and tedious time wasters near the end of the game puts a huge damper on the mood. The lack of enemy variety also starts becoming a downer.
Probably the biggest thing that let me down was the fact that there is only a single "correct" solution to beat the game. It feels like there should be a wide variety of clever solutions you can discover based on the way the game presents itself.
2015
One of the most memorable and impactful stories in any game I've played. The questions it raises are truly fascinating and watching your character's mental turmoil as they dive deep into this hellscape are worth experiencing.
Unfortunately the gameplay and pacing are at odds with how excellent the storytelling is. It boils down to a walking sim with a couple unimpressive scares and puzzles.
Unfortunately the gameplay and pacing are at odds with how excellent the storytelling is. It boils down to a walking sim with a couple unimpressive scares and puzzles.
2017
"Micromanagement" the video game! This is another colony-sim game that demands a LOT of learning to enjoy. You'll be looking up YouTube tutorials, blueprints, and doing a huge amount of homework to truly wrap your brain around this one.
Despite that, when things start running smoothly and you've played enough to really master your environment, it's hugely satisfying. It can be a chore, but it's a chore with payoff.
Despite that, when things start running smoothly and you've played enough to really master your environment, it's hugely satisfying. It can be a chore, but it's a chore with payoff.
2020
This is a title I was really hoping to love more than I actually did. The concept is fascinating and a lot of the presentation here is solid. Ultimately it moves a little too slowly and falls into tedious territory a bit too often.
If you're looking for something to chill out with and appreciate in a purely zen kind of way, this isn't at all a bad choice. It simply doesn't nail the execution of its idea in a way that's satisfying.
If you're looking for something to chill out with and appreciate in a purely zen kind of way, this isn't at all a bad choice. It simply doesn't nail the execution of its idea in a way that's satisfying.
2021
This is a great place to start for players new to the auto-battle genre. It's charming and well-polished, but lacks some of the complexity and depth of similar games. As a result, it can feel very repetitive over extended play sessions.
I think this is one title that will benefit from continued development. I could absolutely see this becoming more fleshed out over time to a point that it fully captures its goal. For now, it's solid but nothing too special.
I think this is one title that will benefit from continued development. I could absolutely see this becoming more fleshed out over time to a point that it fully captures its goal. For now, it's solid but nothing too special.
2009
Comically bad title that does at times wrap back around to being "so bad it's good."
This is a title you gift to your friends on Steam as a joke and little more than that.
This is a title you gift to your friends on Steam as a joke and little more than that.
When people talk about games as "art" I think there are few better examples to point to than Disco Elysium. A masterclass in storytelling, an incredible visual direction, and some of the best writing and voice acting I've ever experienced in gaming.
It can be slow going at times, but when you start piecing together the puzzle of what's going on in this world, it absolutely clicks in a way I haven't felt with many other games.
It can be slow going at times, but when you start piecing together the puzzle of what's going on in this world, it absolutely clicks in a way I haven't felt with many other games.
2021
If you approach this game a VALUE perspective, it's hard to beat. $3 for a truly absurd amount of content and replayability is amazing.
That being said, it becomes more shallow over time as the difficulty curve actually works downwards as you power up your characters. After 100 hours I could practically AFK and make it through 30 minutes of survival.
It's a fun distraction if you need to turn your brain off for a while and it absolutely nails the visual spectacle of mowing down hoards of creative enemies. It's not a whole lot more beyond that, but it doesn't necessarily need to be.
That being said, it becomes more shallow over time as the difficulty curve actually works downwards as you power up your characters. After 100 hours I could practically AFK and make it through 30 minutes of survival.
It's a fun distraction if you need to turn your brain off for a while and it absolutely nails the visual spectacle of mowing down hoards of creative enemies. It's not a whole lot more beyond that, but it doesn't necessarily need to be.
2014
An extremely memorable experience with a great mix of hard decision making and engaging gameplay. TWOM is at its best when you're pushed to make hard calls and make sacrifices to survive.
It truly shows the horrors of war in a tangible way. Nobody "wins" here even if survival is possible.
It truly shows the horrors of war in a tangible way. Nobody "wins" here even if survival is possible.
Fun novelty game to play with a couple friends for a day. Doesn't have enough content to justify extended play and it's definitely a little buggy and clunky at times.
Still had some fun with this one, but it lives in the shadow of better games in the genre.
Still had some fun with this one, but it lives in the shadow of better games in the genre.
2021
Really solid factory sim! Greatly enjoyed the visual style of the game and there's a lot of great quality of life features here that make building a giant, galaxy-wide production network a blast. Seeing your Dyson Sphere finally start to assemble around a sun is unmatched fun.
That being said, the ultra late game grind is pretty rough and it becomes a major slog at points. Outside of that, I enjoyed my time with DSP!
That being said, the ultra late game grind is pretty rough and it becomes a major slog at points. Outside of that, I enjoyed my time with DSP!