Recent reviews by Gawain112

Calluna is only the third game I’ve accepted through Steam Curator Connect. The reason? It looked different to the usual games I see or play, and it had a rather unique/niche theme. It looked like a simple and pleasant way to learn about things I likely wouldn’t have learnt about via any other medium. I can’t imagine I would have watched a documentary or read a book or even a Wikipedia page about the life and experiences of Norwegian composer and violinist, Ole Bull.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655827763

As a game, Calluna is short and simple, having taken me around 2.5 hours to finish, although I did accidentally skip some tasks in the first chapter. I feel I made up for that skipped time while searching for some milk later in the game though. You begin as young Ole Bull, running simple errands while learning about the area and time he grew up in. You spend the rest of the game exploring and ticking off various tasks throughout various key points in Bull’s life, learning more about Ole Bull, alongside different historical and cultural aspects.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655827059

The graphical style is rather unique and pleasing to the eye, and there are nine different visual effects to play around with, including retro, black and white, grain, and old brown. I loved some of the added details too, particularly the works of art to spot in different locations. The musical accompaniments throughout the game, changing with setting and helping set the mood, really added to the whole experience.

There were some extra features in the game too, expanding on some of the tasks, like finding additional items to those required for the basic story progression, but there’s not really any need or reason to find most of the extras, although that may change once achievements are added.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655828469

While I liked the idea of the unique theme of Calluna prior to playing, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, and I had no idea whether I’d actually enjoy it or not. Fortunately, I really enjoyed it and, as I mentioned already, I doubt I would have learnt anything about Ole Bull through any other medium, so Calluna has certainly succeeded in that area! There was only one time I got a little annoyed and that was a particular task involving milk, mostly because it was right where I thought it was all along and I just kept missing it, so I don’t think I can blame the game for that!

If you want a short and chilled gaming session, and/or fancy learning some new things, I would certainly recommend giving Calluna a try.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page!

Even before its release on PlayStation in 2019, I really loved the look of Days Gone! I was actually pretty gutted it was a PS exclusive, as I have been with a few other games too. Fortunately, Sony have been seeing a little sense lately and decided to bring some PS exclusives to PC, making their games more accessible (platform exclusives are not accessible to anybody outside of that platform and shouldn’t be winning any accessibility awards (*cough* TLOU2 *cough*)). Fortunately, one of the games that came to PC was Days Gone, which released on PC a few months ago!

I’ll start with the gameplay which, quite frankly, is nothing new or special to gaming, but don’t let that put you off! While the mechanics are all pretty standard things that most gamers will have come across before, one of the core differences with Days Gone, at least that I found, is that the various mechanics fixed together incredibly well; much better than many other open world RPGs out there. The mix of ammo and material management, weapons, melee weapon durability, level (and other) upgrades, stealth, and general timing of progression were great!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2591108139

The general plot, similar to the gameplay, is, for the most part, pretty standard and predictable. However, due to the strong characters, dialogue, and storytelling, Days Gone really excelled in this area. I became incredibly connected to certain characters, and we all know that strong connections can really complement an unravelling story, leading to a whole load of emotions throughout the game! Some characters were completely lovable while others were despised! There were still a few good surprises while progressing through the story too, so it wasn’t all predictable, at least not for me. Experiences are likely to vary for many in this department. Predictability isn’t always bad though, especially when twists and turns get you doubting yourself from time to time. That actually helped pull me into the game, increasing the immersion and making me even more invested in the characters and story!

I enjoyed the soundtrack throughout the entire game, but I really fell in love with around two thirds of the way through, during a very specific scene! The songs in some of the scenes are perfectly fitting and sound amazing! They brought some real, extra emotion to the game! The general sounds throughout the game, with the environment and creatures, are mostly great too. My only criticism is with, what I assume were, crickets. I was often questioning whether there were electrical faults in game, and even with my headset at times. Other than that, the sounds were great!

The graphics were pretty great throughout, helping create a truly stunning world to explore. The only issues I had were with HDR. While HDR made the game look pretty great on my monitor, it washed out the colour in any screenshots and streams/videos. I’m someone who enjoys taking screenshots, and I’ve recently began streaming, so this was quite an issue for me. Eventually, I simply turned HDR off. It didn’t alter my personal experience all that much, but it improved the quality of screenshots and streams a lot!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2560709522

As one would expect in any open world game like this, there were some bugs, but they were pretty minimal when compared to other open world games. There were a couple of bugs that required a restart of the game, another that required a save and reload for NPCs to appear, one more where the terrain failed to render and I fell through into a pit of nothingness, but that was pretty much the extent of the bugs I encountered, minus a couple of very minor ones.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2591107676

Days Gone is far from perfect and certainly has its little quirks, but all the different aspects and mechanics gelled together in a rather spectacular and enjoyable way! I became super invested in the characters and story, and I had a blast while playing through the game, completing all stories, side and main, in around 50 hours. All that remains are some collectibles and challenges! I answered a question on another site that asked if Days Gone was anything like Dying Light, and I replied “No. It provides a distinctly different zombie experience”, and I stand by that. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Dying Light, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing Days Gone, despite being very different to each other.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page! You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

Confessions is only the second game I’ve accepted through Steam Curator Connect. The main reason I accepted this is because it looked very different to the general idea or concept behind most games, as was clear from the message from the developer. The dev described it as “Kind Words’ twisted brother” and, after playing a little, I can see where they’re coming from. I loved the idea behind Kind Words, and it played out much better than I expected too, but, unfortunately, I’m not so sure about Confessions.

To understand the dev’s description, you have to know that Kind Words is a “game” where you can anonymously write down any problems or issues you may be having in life and other users can provide anonymous messages of encouragement or advice in response. It’s a rather positive and beautiful concept and, to my surprise, it received minimal abuse or trolling. It provided easy reporting for any occasions where abuse or trolling did occur though.

Confessions, on the other hand, allows users to write “confessions” or any other issues, but there’s no means of providing support or reporting users. Don’t get me wrong, just getting something off your chest can work wonders at times, but providing and receiving words of comfort and support can be much more powerful, especially when the general themes seem so dark. I’ve seen various messages regarding suicide, many more regarding depression, and some of murder; all of which, if real/true, could really benefit from a response or two from others who’ve been in similar situations or shared similar feelings.

The idea behind Confessions seems pretty great, allowing people to get troubles, guilt, and anything else off their chest without the judgment of others, but at the same time, it’s dark and depressing to read through, knowing there’s absolutely nothing you can say or do because the features aren’t there. While knowing there are others who have similar feelings out there can be comforting, I fear the inability to respond could lead to a feeling of uselessness, making life even more depressing. Of course, others may feel it’s much more beneficial. I may have even found it more beneficial at a different time in my life, but right now, it fits no purpose other than to make me feel down. On the less crucial side of things; once you’ve clicked to write your first confession, it won’t let you leave that page until you write and submit something, unless you force quit via the Steam app, task manager, task bar, etc. The box to write in also displays above the Steam overlay.

If Steam allowed for something between recommended and not recommended, I’d likely put this there (like how I use “informational” for curator reviews), but as I’m forced into one or the other, I’d have to go with not recommended.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page! You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

Atlantis VR is the first "game" I've played using the Valve Index. I use quotations because it's not really a game. It's essentially a roller coaster simulation/experience, but underwater. That's nothing against it though; I went into Atlantis VR knowing this already. The experience lasts around 5 minutes.

I really like the idea of these little experiences, if they're done right. They can allow people to experience things that they potentially wouldn't be able to do by other means. Unfortunately, I can't say this was "done right".

The general scenery in Atlantis is alright, but the creatures/fishies were pretty disappointing and certainly removed a lot of the immersion. There wasn't much variation in creatures either. The audio side of things were just “alright” too. Nothing special.

I'd also like to warn that it made me feel "funny" in the head. Kind of dizzy but not dizzy at the same time… I'm not someone who suffers from motion sickness, vertigo or anything else like that, so I found this a little unusual. That said, I’ve since started Saints & Sinners and felt a little off with that too, so I may just be acclimatising to VR. I expect these feelings to subside with time, and once they do, I’ll give this another shot.

I received this in a bundle a couple of years ago, so I didn't spend much money on it. I would recommend others only get it when it's in a bundle or discounted too, due to it being short, having little interaction (only looking around), and the creature details being pretty poor. Basically, there was nothing particularly impressive, but there wasn’t anything terrible either.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page! You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

Door Kickers, as you may expect, involves lots of door kicking! Kicking doors is fun! End of review.

Seriously though, Door Kickers is a great tactical game where you take control of your very own SWAT team as you embark on whole load of missions, level up your crew, upgrade your crew’s equipment, and advance to hammering down and blowing up doors instead of just kicking!

The standalone missions are where you start, with some simple tutorial type missions to get you started, teaching you the basics. There are a variety of different mission types across many maps, each with its own challenge. Standalone missions also have extra challenges where you can attempt to clear them with a single team member, without real-time pausing, and without adjusting your initial plan mid-mission. Most missions have relatively small maps, but some are much larger and more complex and there are even a few with multiple stories, requiring more thought and planning to complete. While some missions are more challenging than others, I didn’t find them too challenging. I managed to achieve three stars on every mission, although a few of them did take some time to master!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498795528

There are a few campaigns to get stuck into too. They vary between short and long, with difficulties of easy, medium, or hard. The campaigns have a specific set of missions in a set order, and injuries persist between each mission, although only for a short period. Death, however, is permanent in campaigns, leaving you with new recruits to level up after the campaign, unless you click restart straight after the failed mission and try again. My only real trouble with this is that it’s easy to mistime clicking escape. When I know I’m about to fail a mission, I often clicked escape to restart the mission from the pause menu before it ends, but if this is mistimed and I end up on the end of mission menu, clicking escape will exit the mission, preventing me from restarting and rendering any deaths permanent. While it’s clearly my fault, an “are you sure you want to quit” type confirmation would have been very much appreciated!

As you progress, you’ll gain squad levels. This is how you unlock the campaigns and new classes. Each level also provides a doctrine point. These points are used to upgrade the use of handguns, long guns, and shotguns for the whole squad. It’s something you’ll level up quickly and generally forget about after unlocking everything at the max level (21), but some of the improvements are very useful!

Your team members individually gain experience after each mission based on their performance, allowing them to rank up, naturally increasing their marksmanship (accuracy), assault shooting (aiming speed), and field skills (speed of using tools). This is the slowest aspect of Door Kickers, but rightly so.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498793915

There are five classes for your team members (pointman, assaulter, breacher, stealth, and shield) and you can switch a team member’s class before each mission, individually kitting them out, depending on what you feel would be most effective. The copy and paste and set default loadout for each class are great quality of life features in this area! You can unlock new equipment for each class by spending stars which are gained by completing missions and campaigns. There’s plenty of different equipment! The ability to manage each individual member is one aspect I appreciated the most! Stats are even tracked for each member, allowing you to see how many missions they’ve completed, kills, shots fired, accuracy, and more!

I really enjoyed Door Kickers, much more than I expected too! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I took a little extra effort to get all of the achievements; not something I bother with for most games. I also went on to try a few player-made maps from Steam Workshop to extend the gameplay even further! I then went on to play Door Kickers: Action Squad immediately after, but that’s another review! My point is, if you enjoy tactical games, I would highly recommend giving Door Kickers a try; it’s an awesome game!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2498793847

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page! You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

What Comes After is a short (1-1.5 hours) side-scrolling “interactive story”, where you've found yourself on a train full of ghosts, despite being alive. You can have brief conversations with almost every character on the train and I advise doing so to get the most out of the experience. The story and conversations are generally based around life and death, with focus on self-love and making the most of life.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2493514091

Due to the nature of the game, it’s not something you play if you're looking for innovative gameplay or excitement, rather you play it for the story and the messages it tells. There are some lovely and supportive messages about life, self-love, and even the acceptance of death. While the messages are great, I do feel like there was something missing. many of the conversations were lacking in heart and emotion.

What Comes After could have been an emotional rollercoaster, full of powerful life messages, instead it felt like it had been watered down, leaving me disappointed and missing what could have been. I did, however, still find value in many of the messages, and I particularly liked it when it started to focus on other life aside from humanity.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2493514826

Unfortunately, the ending was also quite disappointing, but somewhat satisfying at the same time. I don’t want to go into it because I could easily spoil it for others, but the ending felt just as watered down as the other conversations. While the ending was nice, there was no real reflection or outcome of what had transpired throughout the rest of the game.

While I was quite disappointed with What Comes After, and feel it could have been so much more powerful than it is, I would still recommend it. Why? Well, I didn’t dislike it, and I still believe it provides players with important and powerful messages. Messages that could be of great use to players around the world, hopefully helping them to find and love themselves and others.

For achievement hunters/completionists, it’s a quick and easy 100% game.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page! You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2477099895

Wondering if you're ready to be a parent? Try out this mama badger simulator and take care of your babies as you venture the world in search of a new home (I think?). Keep your fur babies fed, don't let them play with fire, don't let them drown, and don't let them get eaten by big birdy!

If this is anything to go by, I'm nowhere near ready for parenthood yet!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2477100288

On a more serious note, Shelter is far from the most thrilling of experiences, being little more than a walking simulator with some varying pace, but it's full of charm! The simple gameplay, graphics, sounds, music, and the babies all come together beautifully to create a rather surreal experience. I know it won't be for everyone, but I definitely recommend at least giving it a try. It's an incredibly short game for a single playthrough though, taking me little over one hour, so I would recommend getting this at a discount or in a bundle.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page. You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

Never Alone isn’t really much of a game, at least not in the sense of what I would generally consider a game. That’s not to say it’s bad; far from it, actually! Never Alone is more of an interactive story and documentary than a game, but the combination was certainly refreshing, and quite honestly a pleasure.

In Never Alone, you start off with a couple of documentary and interview style videos (insights), introducing you to the premise of the game. You then take on the role of a young girl and her arctic fox companion as you venture out into the land to find the source of all the blizzards in her village. You can play with a friend in co-op but, naturally, I played solo. Along the way, you unlock more insights, providing the background behind something you’ve just experienced or you’re about to experience. These are accounts taken from actual Inupiaq and reflect their experiences, allowing the game to portray certain aspects of their lives, beliefs, and stories.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2435674369

The gameplay is simple. It’s a side-scroller with some basic platforming and puzzle elements, but quite frankly, I don’t think it needed to be anything more than that. I wasn’t expecting an action packed FPS anyway, and the experience was a rather educational and insightful one, and done in a way that kept me engaged throughout. If you’re one of the people who skips videos and dialogue in a game then you’ll likely be disappointed with the gameplay, so don’t skip them; play the game for what it is, embracing all of its content.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2435674572

The Foxtales DLC adds a separate little story with the same characters, lasting somewhere around 50 minutes. It’s not quite as charming as the base game, but the puzzle elements require slightly more thought (not drastically more). It’s certainly worth experiencing if you enjoy the main game.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2435675308

I’d say Never Alone is perfect for all ages, and a great way to relax and learn something new about a different region and people; one that I knew very little about to begin with. I actually made the “mistake” of starting the game at around 23:30, thinking I’d play for half an hour or so and finish up the following day. Of course, I didn’t want to stop once I started and ended up finishing the game in one sitting, somewhere between two and a half and three hours later. No regerts! Of course, for any achievement hunters out there, these ones are quick and easy to get, although the last four do require the Foxtales DLC.

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page and check out the Gawain Games Website[gawain-games.com]. You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

I got Metal Unit through Humble Choice last year and decided to give it a play now it’s out of early access. While it’s not something I would have likely bought outside of a bundle, it was pretty fun to play. Metal Unit is a side-scrolling platformer RPG with rogue-lite elements and a somewhat interesting (very predictable) story. You take on the role of Joanna/Unit-11 as you battle through multiple levels throughout four different regions as you uncover more of the story and the fate/truth of humanity.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434712359

While many aspects of the story were obvious and predictable, and the writing is nothing particularly special, it was still pretty interesting, and it kept me wanting to see more, if anything, just to see if my thoughts were right. Sure, that’s probably a sign of some irrational compulsion within myself, but hey, it worked in favour of this game! There are various scenes and text dialogues, mostly around the start and end of each zone. There’s an option to speed through or skip scenes and dialogue if wanted, but I certainly recommend reading through it all for the first playthrough. Skipping is useful if you intend to play New Game+ or the various challenges though, after completing the game for the first time.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434712577

Metal Unit is a linear story, starting you off in a specific zone. If you make it through that, you’ll unlock the next zone, and so on, until you’ve completed the four zones. If you die, you’ll have to begin again, although all previously unlocked zones will remain and you can start from the beginning of any unlocked zone. There are a variety of levels for each zone, so each playthrough is slightly different, but not remarkably different. There are a few rest points in each zone, allowing you to sell and buy items, craft and synthesise equipment, and rest up before continuing your journey. Alternatively, if you don’t care for a rest, you can explore a dungeon to gain an extra item or two instead.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434712682

There’s lots of items and equipment to be found while venturing through Metal Unit. Many can be found in chests out in the open, but others will require you to have a specific skill, complete certain puzzles, or make your way through various dungeons. Bosses will also drop items, and many regular monsters have a chance to drop items too. Using equipment enough will allow you to “master” them, granting mastery points that unlock more items that you can equip before you next adventures. You’ll need to reach certain milestones in total mastery points to unlock rare, epic, and legendary equipment to select from.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434712841

There are three different skill trees to progress through; one for Joanna, one for her suit/unit, and another for the drone companion. Skills are unlocked and upgraded using Crystal Cores (CC) which can be found in chests, dropped from bosses, and awarded upon death based on your performance. These can also be used to buy equipment and potions at Sun Tail Base, but I didn’t see the point of doing that while I still had skills to unlock. I’ve finished the game once and I’m half way through New Game + and I still need around 300 CCs before maxing out my skills. You can also gain a passive bonus from finding equipment sets and selecting it prior to starting your adventure.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434713842

It seems Metal Unit is a strange mash-up of different features that, for the most part, gelled together really nicely. The writing and story was nothing to shout about, but there’s certainly more to the game than first meets the eye. It’s clear that the idea is to play it through more than once, but there’s really little reason to, unless you’re a completionist or really want to go through it again with increased difficulty. I’m part way through my second playthrough and I’m feeling pretty much done with it. Not that that’s a bad thing; I still enjoyed it enough to complete it once, so it's a successful game in my eyes. It’s no competition for my favourite games, but I’m glad I played it all the same.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2434714504

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page and check out the Gawain Games Website[gawain-games.com]. You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].

Supraland is a spectacular and highly polished blend of exploration and puzzles, with a plethora of external references/”easter eggs”, and a (big) splash of humour. One of the most surprising things I’ve learnt is that Supraland was mostly created by a single developer, David Münnich, making it even more impressive! On Steam, it’s described as a “mix between Portal, Zelda and Metroid”, and I can certainly see where that description is coming from. There’s also a pie chart highlighting Supraland as roughly 45% exploration, 45% puzzles, and 10% fighting, and again, I’d say this aligns with my experiences! Not only that, but they even share the estimated playtime on the Steam page, which isn’t something I see very often. They put Supraland between 12-25 hours, the lower end obviously being focussed on the main story rather than exploring and finding the insane amount of secrets and hidden chests. It took me around 26 hours to complete the game with all the base game achievements.

You begin with an initial cutscene, beautifully introducing the setting of the game/world. Immediately after, you meet some of the initial characters, gameplay mechanics, and the start of the story, while going through what is essentially the tutorial, without it feeling too tutorial-like or feeling like a separate entity as some tutorials can be.

As mentioned on the store page, “the story is minimal”, but at the same time, I felt like it mixed perfectly with the rest of the game to bring out the best of everything. Plus, while it was a simple story, it was still interesting, amusing, and had occasional twists thrown in for good measure. Heck, if you want to look at it more seriously, it even highlights real world problems such as race/colour, and how the words and actions of a single person in power can influence and divide so many. We’re gonna take it for what it is though; simple and fun!

There are lots of different items and upgrades to acquire throughout the world. Many of these can be found scattered/hidden around the world, while others can be purchased with the coins you find and collect from enemies. You’ve got lots of basic upgrades for more health, holding more coins, damage, etc, along with more specific upgrades required for story progression, including new/improved equipment and jumping. There’s even more useful upgrades made available upon completion of the story too!

There’s a fair amount of combat in Supraland, but this is pretty basic for the most part, and certainly one of the weaker aspects of the game. You’re pretty much just spamming with your wooden sword to attack enemies, while moving around to dodge attacks. The speed of attacks seems unreasonably fast too. It led a bit of discomfort to begin with, but I soon became used to it and the other aspects of the game had more than enough charm and appeal, and the later items and upgrades that could be used for combat really made it a “nonissue”.

Puzzles and exploration are where Supraland really excels though! There’s lots of areas to explore, and the more you progress, unlock, and upgrade your items and abilities, the more exploration opens up. You think something seems unreachable? Chances are you can get there at some point, and there’s likely some form of secret or amusing easter egg to be found! I’m an explorer, so any kind of open world game will have my testing the limits and trying to get to insane places. Supraland not only encourages that, but rewards it, and it does it so much better than any game I’ve played before it! I was half expecting to get stuck in terrain at some point, but to my (very happy) surprise, I never got stuck or glitched out.

One of the most surprising things I found was the lack of a map, but I actually learned to love not having access to a map, especially later in the game where you could get up really high to see where you were going. There’s plenty of shortcuts to unlock too, so there’s no real need for a map anyway. It made the exploration side of things even more fun and appealing to me!

Every area will be brimming with different puzzles, whether it’s one of the main ones to progress through the story, or one to find a secret area or new upgrade. The variety and progression of puzzles was pretty much spot on for me! Some took little to no thought, others made me think a little, and then there’s the ones where I was better off having a little break and coming back with a fresh head. I did this a few times, and the solution generally clicked as soon as I came back to the puzzle. One of the great things about many of the puzzles and exploration is that there’s often multiple ways of going about them.

If you hadn’t already gathered, I freakin’ loved Supraland! The combination of world, story, exploration, puzzles, secrets, progression, and humour was simply perfect! While the combat wasn’t anything special, it soon became irreverent once I got into the game a little and everything else worked their way deep into my heart! The fact I could go pretty much anywhere and didn’t encounter any bugs or glitches was also impressive! Supraland is more complete and polished than the majority of AAA games out there. If you enjoy exploration, puzzles, and good humour, I implore you to give Supraland a try!

For more reviews follow Gawain Games Curator Page and check out the Gawain Games Website[gawain-games.com]. You can also find my review on We The Players[wetheplayers.com].