Recent reviews by GAR

Roguebook is a deckbuilder with some more unique elements that add a bit more strategy to optimize play. Each run consists of using two characters where you try to synergize actions by swapping positions and trying to find combos. In additions, there's a unique "exploration" mechanism where you use brushes and inks to reveal tiles on a hex map. It adds just enough over other deckbuilders that it offers some fun for a few runs.

I did find that this game is pretty polished in some areas, but unpolished in others. There's no option to speed up movement or animations, so you can count on maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of every run being time waiting for animations to finish. The problem with the fight animations for each card you play is that sometimes when you play cards too quickly, there are lag issues with having the HP totals and other items getting updated. There are also a number of unnecessary clicks required to access the merchant and start each game at the gate, again pretty much a waste of time after you've seen these portions once or twice.

There are still a number of bugs with the game - anything that changes a card cost to 1 actually changes the cost to 0. Also some issues with combining cards and gems - most noticeably with Aurora's card Empower - if you insert certain gems in this card, it makes Aurora attack instead of her partner, which ruins some strategies.

My enjoyment levels were basically:
Hour 1: There are some serious issues with this game, why is everything so slow?
Hour 5: Okay, I'm liking the mechanisms a bit, having a bit more fun. Already finished my first run. Progression cost is pretty much exponential, but the rewards are also exponential. Kind of balances out.
Hour 10: On E4 now, playing different character combinations is nice but honestly not hugely different.
Hour 20: On E7, but things are getting stale. I have too many games in my backlog to continue playing.

Not as polished compared to competitors, missing a lot of tooltips and equipment statistic information, among other things. The game becomes a bit too grindy too fast: usually these types of games allow you a couple of runs before it really starts getting grindy, but in this game, you start feeling it in the first hour or two. Loop Hero offers a bit of fun with a strong vstart so it still gets a thumbs up, just not a very strong one.

Starts off with a quirky and somewhat charming premise, then pretty quickly descends into boredom. Not nearly enough enemy and item variety, you just keep seeing the same groups of 3-5 enemies over and over again. The maps are largish and there's some nice hidden surprises around, but ultimately the landscapes all look pretty similar, the environment, decor, and buildings are all pretty much identical. Again, not enough variety. I did get 15 hours of decent entertainment out of it and another 9 hours of some fun, but mostly drudgery. It's the fastest I've ever dropped on Obsidian game and I believe the only one I've played that I never finished. Three words can describe this game: boring, repetitive, forgettable.

Storyline not bad, kind of generic fantasy, but good enough.
Wish there were more character interactions. More for the core set of characters.
Other than a couple of story/scripted chapters, the gameplay is fantastic.
Deserves a better engine that RPG Maker. Troop organization is way too clunky due to the engine, requires you to constantly navigate in and out of menus to compare artifacts and units. Makes it a bit of a pain.
Lots of time spend on troop management. If you love management, you will love this game.
I recommend not spending too much time on the arena. I grinded bronze for leadership and coin and let's just say I got burnt out on this game. Had to force myself to actually finish.

Hour 1: Wow, this is fun! Great art style, love how unique the characters are and how they have so many voice lines. So much stuff to do! Unlocking stuff slowly but surely. The only negative so far is that Tara's stamina bar is horribly low, you can barely do any work on the farm at all.

Hour 3: Yay! Unlocked the mine and on the first day already got to level 3! I'm joining the coven, that should be interesting. I also basically filled out my entire beginning farm area with composters and garden boxes. How much does it cost to make another farm area? Oh… that will take a while.

Hour 5: Hmmm.. To unlock the next part of the main story, I need copper? Where do I get that? I guess in a lower level in the mine? Still stuck on level 3 though. Also, what's with wood being so hard to get? The kids have started to repeat their lines, uh oh.

Hour 7: Still stuck on level 3, what's up with that? I guess I might need a shovel so I can dig up those mud patches. Also, I noticed that Francis sells gold bars, so if you have the money you can upgrade directly to gold tools. Why even bother having Copper and Silver tools then? My goal is to get the Gold Pickaxe first to help with mining. A lot more lines are starting to be repeats now.

Hour 9: Still stuck on level 3, shovel didn't help.

Hour 11: Still stuck on level 3, just grind, grind, grind with no reward in sight.

Hour 13: Almost all lines are repeats now. It's been like a month+ since people had their "it's almost summer" line and I haven't gotten much closer. This feels like a chore now and I'm losing interest.

Hour 14: I'm only about half way saved up for a Gold Pickaxe. This is ridiculous. Weeks upon weeks mining on level 3 and still haven't found the key yet. There's no way I'm going to spend another 10+ hours in this game just so I can progress a single step further. Time to look up a guide on the best way to earn money. I'm guessing fish sticks considering there is an option on the menu to embargo them. If there's not a fast way to earn money, I quit.

Hour 15: Got lots of money quickly, then in a single day went from level 3 to level 13. The progression in this game is ridiculously bad. I love the characters, story, setting, and dialogue in this game. I just don't think I can deal with how bad the progression feels. Not sure if I will continue playing.

Relaxing little game. Super short - I wouldn't buy it anywhere near full price for sure. Unique storytelling method. Worth a playthrough.

If you like death game or detective visual novels (Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Ace Attorney, etc), you will likely enjoy The Zodiac Trial. Just be aware this is more of an amateur production, so expect things like spelling errors, bugs, logical inconsistencies, etc.

Collect them all

The first couple of hours are nice, but then the story devolves into a nonsensical mess. If you play this visual novel, be prepared to have your suspension of disbelief broken at every turn.

Walking simulator with light puzzles. Story is decent, still a lot of unanswered questions at the end. Puzzle mechanics are fine, but setup is strange - it's like Norah's husband is secretly setting up some of the puzzles. Who is the one who is closing off all of the routes if not for him? Walk/run speed is a bit slow, especially if it takes you a little bit of trial and error to figure out the puzzle mechanics. Good enough to recommend but not the best in the genre.