Recent reviews by spectreSD

This is the ultimate unwind game. There's no resources to gather, no population to manage, no enemies to fight or trade with It's just you and your island, pretty much. The regular game has minimal challenge with the requirement for score (based off placement of buildings) to unlock the ability to continue with new build packages and islands, but once you figure out what works with what, it is hardly a challenge. Then there's the sandbox, wherein you're free to do whatever you want without restrictions.

Nice vibes with that chill soundtrack, fun art style, easy to pick up and put down. 8/10, would play with virtual LEGOs whilst drinking beer again.

I picked this up for $1 in a GMG mystery box during a flash sale about 5 years ago. I am really glad I did not just throw the key out onto the community board like I usually do when I get random games from bundles/mystery boxes/etc. I am pleasantly surprised by this little gem which sat in my backlog for years.

Key things you really need to know about Betrayer:
1) It's mystery game set in early colonial America with a decent story (that you have to actually search for).
2) It may look like a horror game, but it is not particularly suspenseful or tense in my opinion. It's more...desolate, than anything else. At least there are no cheap jump scares.
3) It is what I would call a walking simulator with light combat. Despite the achievements requiring a lot of kills, the combat in this game is pretty simple and not very tense. There is really no downside to dying other than perhaps having to hoof it back to where you died.
4) It is black and white by default, but it can be tweaked all the way to full color if you like. I played just a very muted color scheme (barely visible beyond grey) just to take some harshness off my eyes whilst maintaining that otherworldly feel.
5) Sound is extremely important. I recommend playing with headphones. One of the primary features of the game for navigation requires sound, not to mention a fun mechanic wherein you can muffle your movement with timing the prevalent winds.

I really don't want to get into much detail as to avoid spoiling the game, but if you are looking for a laid back sleuth adventure, this a great way to spend a few bucks and hours of your life.

7/10...would star in Law & Order: Special COLONIAL GHOSTS Victims Unit again.

I recommend this game not because it's great (it's okay), but because I appreciate the fact Firaxis is clearly experimenting with new ideas. Some of them are pretty good (breaching missions would be fun to throw into the mix for XCOM 3), some are bad (removing permadeath takes away any sense of tension or urgency in the game), and some are meh (giving your team actual personalities is interesting, but takes away from your connection of creating them and runs the risk of not using a character simply because you find them lame). I just appreciate the fact they are looking for new things, however.

That is not to say there is no fun to be found. There are plenty of nuances I haven't mentioned which add or take away from the experience, and overall I found this game to be much easier than regular XCOM, but it was still enjoyable. A more laid-back experience.

Plus, a lot of the ideas that came off as bad really were just not implemented well, and I think could work if some of the parameters were changed. For example, the personality characters could just be hero units, and the concept of unique weaopns found on missions would be sweet if they made them a little more unique and interesting. I do like the idea of a wider variety of gadgets and tools, but make them useful. Mostly, I love how you can capture an enemy simply by beating them down as oposed to requiring a specialized device with the horrid RNG curse.

Anyway, if you love XCOM, you will probably find some enjoyment in this...so long as you do not expect your typical XCOM experience. This truly is a spinoff in every sense.

I wish more devs would make cheaper, experimental games like this to test out new stuff instead of letting fear of failure having them churn out the same thing over and over year after year.

"SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! IN THE FAAAAAAAACE! DO IT! SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! FACE FACEFACEFACEFACE! NOW! BULLETS IN THE FACE! WANT EM! NEED EM! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME! AT THE SOUND OF THE BELL IT WILL BE FACESHOOTING O'CLOCK! BONGGGGG! KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S THERE SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! END OF JOKE! I'M GONNA SING A SONG! SHOOT ME AT THE END OF IT! DA DA DA DA DA DA DA! BONG!! ...I NOTICE YOU HAVEN'T SHOT ME IN THE FACE! CURIOUS AS TO WHY! Maybe you're weighing the moral pros and cons but let me assure you that OH MY GOD SHOOT ME IN THE GODD*MNED FACE!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!" - Face McShooty (2012)

All kinds of mindless shooty fun, especially with friends. Would shoot in the face again/10.

I've been on the fence with this game for a long time. Clearly, there is much to do and fun to be had, but it has never really drawn me in like other FO game or RPGs in general. Normally, I like to make different characters and complete all different kinds of playthroughs, but I haven't been inclined to do so with this game. I did start many characters, but I ended up quitting a lot of them out of boredom.

The map is good sized, and it is packed with all kinds of stuff to do, but much of it seems like a chore. For me, the game is missing something, although I can't quite put a finger on what it is. I suppose it just does not have the same charms as previous titles, and for me, at least, it never left me with the usual "I'll just play 5 more minutes" syndrome.

I still recommend it because you get your money's worth of gameplay, and like i said, there is plenty to do and fun to be had.

It is something special when a game can simultaneously infuriate you and yet wholly entertain you. The RNG gods seem to frown upon us all regularly, but that's XCOM, baby! You create all these characters, give them personality and a backstory, maybe a spiffy hat, then watch them survive grievous injury and pull off daring victories. They get better, faster, stronger, promoted to officers, becoming your captains in practice and in your heart.

Then they die. Horribly. From a shot that should never have even been attempted. A nearby rookie panics at seeing his commanding officer's face melted, so he runs off crying for his mommy, only to set off two more patrolling pods of enemies. Now you're surrounded, so of course here comes the parade of misses from your troops. Oh yes, the RNG gods are especially spiteful today. 95% chance to hit flanking shot with a shotgun from 3 tiles away? Obviously that is a miss. 98% chance sniper shot against a robot the size of a van? Not today...but you did manage to hit and destroy the crate of valuable cargo 7 tiles away from your target. No worries, though; your sniper is halfway across the map and behind full cover--oh, he got one-shotted by a sectoid. And your grenadier just got mind-controlled. That's fine, your ranger has flashbangs--and he just got stabbed to death by 3 chrysallids after missing all 3 of his bladestorm attempts. Guess you just need to cut your losses and evac your specialist next turn--oh...never mind.

If you've never played XCOM, that may sound like a devastating experience. However, once you learn to embrace the RNG gods and the inevitably of untimely deaths and the occasional team-wipe, you'll realize that's half the fun. Even though you do get stronger and better, you never know what is going to happen. The smallest mistake could cost you a mission, and all your troops. You have to stay frosty, kids.

I love this game, even when I hate it. 10/10, would rebel against alien overlords again.

This is Civ. Sure, it's a reworked Civ5 with a lot of ideas borrowed, stolen, and/or improved upon from Endless Legend, but that's hardly a bad thing. It's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun, and will steal days from you life.

Eleventy/10, would "one more turn" again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

This is a well-written sci-fi adventure with interesting puzzles and a little bit of humor peppered into a both physically and metaphorically dark environment.

I do not want to give much away, but he basic gist of the game is you play as an AI trying to follow your core programming, all the while realizing you must often bend or break the rules you are bound by in order to achieve this goal. It is very much like watching the philosophical development of a mind with the unique perspective of being synthetic. Which is to say, fascinating, if you ask me.

I have to say, I really enjoyed it. The controls could use a little work, but the only real issue I have with the game is how short it is (2-3 hours). Some same it is incomplete, but I do not agree with that. It is more like short story than a novel, however, and it does leave you wanting more. The good news is the dev has updated recently a sequel is coming soon, and I look forward to it.

As it stands, $10 bucks is a bit much to ask for such a short game, but you would be remiss to pass it up on sale for $5 or less.

I originally owned this on a console, so really my time with this game is close to 1000 hours I would think. After all that time, I have 3 conclusions:

1. Mages are OP, whether as NPCs, teammates, or your own character (probably most so as your own character)...but isn't that what magic is supposed to be?

2. Swooping is bad.

3. This is one of the best RPGs of all time. The writing, characters, gameplay, pacing, customization...everything, is just top notch. This is BioWare at its finest. Plus, after all this time and so many playthroughs, I still get surprised by funny banter between party members I had previously never really paired up before, such as this gem from my last playthru:

Shale: So here is a question for the painted elf...
Zevran: Painted elf? Oh, that's me! I do like that.
Shale: Am I to understand correctly that the painted elf is a "crow"?
Zevran: Not literally, but... yes. I am a Crow.
Shale: As in a bird.
Zevran: Is there another sort?
Shale: So the painted elf assaults helpless statuary with its feces?
Zevran: If given sufficient cause, why not?
Shale: That is outrageous! The painted elf will stay away from me. Or else.
Zevran: (Sighs) I get a lot of that.


+Epic story with rich lore.
+Awesome characters all around.
+Multiple origins and endings keep things interesting with a new playthrough.
+So much replayability
+Requires actual strategy to your team building to not get massacred at key points.
+Unlike so many other RPGs today, you actually do start to feel stronger and more heroic as the game progresses, but it still stays challenging.
+Awakening expansion is nearly as good as the main game

-General BioWare RPG gripe: it's always pretty lame how you so easily get wrapped up into awkward, immersion breaking conversations because of how the romance system works. Namely, unless you're mean to--or outright ignore--a romanceable party member, they're going to fall in love with you.
-Minor gripe: wish there was a sell junk button in the PC version (but I'm sure there is a mod for that).
-No griffons.

Even if the combat style is not quite your thing, you would be remiss to skip such an expertly-crafted game.

The game starts with some guy (the guy I'm controlling, maybe?) rambling on about a shipwreck. I look around a bit, and I see a house just up the path. As I enter it, the game automatically turns on the flashlight despite having literally no other controls for me to do other than walk and look. Seems like they could have let me do that. Anywho, the house was devoid of anything meaningful. Okay, well, that's just the first place, and I literally just got here. I shouldn't expect them to reel me into something interesting so quickly. You know, like a well-written story.

So I continue up the path to a cave, and I start babbling about a legend of some guy in the cave. Awesome, but I wonder why my flashlight did not come on this time. Maybe it's supposed to be dark because something sweet is going to happen. I reach the dead end of cave expecting...something, but alas, the cave, too, is empty. The narrator/internal monologue/crazy guy talking to himself finishes the story with something along the lines of "like everyone else, I suppose he deemed me unworthy." Ha, I get jokes. Well played, game. You totally got me.

I turn back to my beachhead, at a casual stroll, of course. There is no run button either. Just walk, look, and what I like to call "squint," because it's kind of like a zoom, only not really. But I leisurely walk down the beach, wondering why there are no footprints in the sand. I guess not only is Jesus not with me today, but also I can levitate. Am I a Jedi? They can fly right? Oh wait, I'm thinking of David Blaine. That guy is legit.

I spot was appears to be a drawing in the sand. I study it for a minute, but like most artists, the elusive Sand Blaster is not going to be appreciated in his lifetime. I suspect it is actually a map of sorts, seeing as there is what appears to be an arrow swooping down towards...something...from the main part. I become wistful for a minimap or compass, or the ability to do anything, but I resign myself to pushing onward.

Further up the beach, the voices in my head mention finding the ship's manifest amongst some paint cans. I remember seeing those in the house. Did I say the house was empty? Well, I lied. It did have empty paint cans in with all the other debris. I feel terrible for keeping such a vital detail from you. Forgive me? Sweet. You're the best. I <3 you. But the manifest! Surely that will have some pertinent information. I don't have an inventory, nor did I actually pick anything up, but the voices in my head would not leave me hanging...

I reach the end of the beach. There is a rocky creek of sorts leading off the beach, but I can clearly see that goes nowhere. I look around in every direction. Another dead end, it would seem. Plus, the voices in my head have gone silent. They didn't even enlighten me as to what was on that rad manifest. Bummer. I guess I should walk back to the start again...

Suddenly, I find myself overwhelmed with a desire to walk into the ocean and end this waking nightmare. To silence the demon of boredom in my head. I step into the water and feel a sense of relief. I keep going at my usual sprinter-on-tranquilizers pace. Steadily the water rises to eye level, only to stop. Ah, such are the invisible walls of existence that keep us eye-level with the sky and the texture-less blackness below, with the soothing sounds of dunking your head over and over again. Much like the juxtaposition of my zoom/squint button, I find myself drowning but not drowning.

I stare off into the ocean abyss and contemplate the decisions I've made with my life.

10/10, would play for 9 minutes and uninstall again.