Recent reviews by Solstice

Devil's Hunt is a 3D hack n' slash action game where you play as Desmond, an underground boxer and the son of a wealthy CEO. Betrayed by his friend and almost losing everything overnight, he chose to end his own life and found himself in hell. There, he met Lucifer and formed a pact with him, becoming an executor.

The game features a hack n' slash combat system which seems to be unpolished still. The combat is overall unsatisfying as most of the time when you attack enemies, it doesn't feel like you're actually hitting them as there's a visible lack of impact and the enemies don't even flinch most of the time when you hit them. The game also offers several combo systems and three skill trees for you to advance from, however as time goes by in the game, you'll find yourself not relying on the skills and combo system but key-mashing instead, making combat boring and monotonous. Overall, the combat system just feels clunky, from the lack of feedback when attacking an enemy to skills missing due to a bad targeting system, it just doesn't feel enjoyable at all.

Also, the game still requires some serious optimization work as I experienced many FPS drops and lag spikes throughout the game in specific areas of the game, while most areas I explored in the game run completely smooth.

However, the game offers a very well-designed environment which is very pleasing to the eye. From the different landscapes to the stunning visual effects, travelling through both Hell and Earth has been really enjoyable. You can see how much work the developer has put into designing each and single area down to the smallest details. Also, the sound effects used throughout the game greatly complement the well-designed environment and the narration put into each character are really well-made too.

Besides the environment design and the sound of the game, the one thing that kept me captivated the most was the story of the game. There are times I just wanted to stop playing the game due to the bad combat system, however, what kept me going was the story. Every time I felt like giving up on the game, I would ask myself, what's going to happen next in the story and that kept me going until I completed the game. The game has many cutscenes throughout the game that aren't too lengthy and are well-placed to fit the pace of the game.

Overall, Devil's Hunt is a game that could've been so much more but suffers due to a poorly executed combat system and optimization issues. For 4-5 hours of gameplay and at its current price point, I'd not recommend the game as there are so much better titles you could get at this price that you'd probably enjoy much more than Devil's Hunt. However, if you're a fan of the hack n' slash genre, you should give this game a try if it ever goes on sale.

Forget turn-based card games, Overdungeon is a real-time card battle game where you can attack the enemies upfront, summon animals to your aid and even construct buildings and towers to stop enemies in their tracks!

At first glance, Overdungeon might resemble the very popular roguelike deckbuilder game "Slay The Spire" where you traverse through a randomly generated dungeon, picking up new cards and power-up relics along the way to strengthen your deck. However, compared to Slay The Spire's slow and methodic approach to the combat, Overdungeon offers real-time, fast-paced combat which requires to think on the spot where the enemies would attack you if you take too long during your turn and also, in Overdungeon, there isn't a mana system but you get to play as many cards and your turn will end when you're left with 2 or fewer cards in your hand. Overdungeon currently features 3 different characters which all have their own starter relic and set of cards to obtain along the way, each with their own unique playstyles, you will surely find one that suits you!

Besides the standard dungeon mode, Overdungeon also offers other game modes for you to tackle! For example, the "Arena" mode allows you to battle bosses with decks from your play history and the "Daily Challenge" mode challenges you to start the game with a set of random rules which will reset every morning, making the game more challenging than the standard dungeon run, there's even an endless dungeon where the enemy would keep getting stronger and stronger! There's definitely enough replay value in Overdungeon for you to explore every single combination of cards possible!

I feel that Overdungeon still requires some balancing in certain aspects of the games as there are certain overpowered combinations of cards/relics and also many cards that are visibly weaker than the other cards. Finding the right combinations through your dungeon run is the key to clearing the game, with the right combinations, you can stack up your attack powers, construct tons of defensive buildings and even pile up hordes of animals!

The music used in Overdungeon sounds pleasing to the ear overall but what really stands out is the goofy sound effects used for the animal summons, the animals all have their individual sound effects when summoned and it's funny to listen to when you pack on tons of cats, alpacas, and even dogs.

Overall, Overdungeon is a refreshing addition to the growing roguelike deckbuilder genre. While it still requires some balancing work, it definitely gives you a bang for your buck at its current state right now with the high replayability value and it's different game modes to explore. If you're into roguelike games or card games, you should give Overdungeon a try!

Monster Sanctuary is a monster-taming RPG game where you play as a Keeper, hatching new monsters and collecting equipment upgrades for them along the way. The game is currently in early access on Steam.

The idea of monster-taming and RPG might remind you of more mainstream games such as the Pokemon franchise, however, Monster Sanctuary has many unique features that sets it apart from such games. In Monster Sanctuary, you don't catch new monsters but every battle you win has a chance of landing you a monster egg which can then be turned into a new monster for your collection! The monsters in Monster Sanctuary have a level system that provides a skill point every level which can be used to unlock new abilities for your monsters! The game also features a combo system that has an effect on a damage multiplier during combat and also a rating system at the end of every combat which determines the chances of you getting a rare loot.

The game has a Metroidvania style exploration which involves several puzzles along the way which you must solve to either get to a treasure chest or to progress in the game. It also features you using monsters with their own unique abilities to progress further in the map. There are also teleporters located all around the world of Monster Sanctuary and you can teleport freely to each of the teleporters once you’ve activated them.

The combat system of Monster Sanctuary is a 3v3 turn-based combat where you can choose to either attack or use an item. However, on occasional NPC fights, you'd not be allowed to use items during combat, and you can have up to 3 backup monsters. Abilities all have different amounts of hits and they all contribute to your combo count for the turn, so it's important to plan the sequence of your attacks well, there are also several buffs/debuffs and healing abilities which also adds on to your combo count. The only downside of the current combat system is I can't seem to find a way to forfeit a hopeless fight and have to sit through the whole process of watching my monsters dying one by one.

The game stated that a controller is recommended; however, I did just fine playing using a combination of mouse and keyboard. I had to adjust some keys in the options, and it takes some getting used to, but after you get used to the controls, it feels pretty smooth overall. What I'd like is if I could assign my right-mouse button to something else other than cancel which the control settings don’t allow right now.

Throughout the game, I faced many challenges which require me to rethink my strategy or turn around to power up my monsters furthermore. However, some of the bosses have really big power spikes compared to the previous ones and it just feels frustrating to die to it over and over again when you thought you've powered up enough to face it. Nonetheless, these challenges provide a positive experience for the most part, players who enjoy challenging themselves will definitely love this aspect of the game. I feel that the game could use a difficulty system when starting a new game which allows players to choose their desired difficulty mode.

For someone who grew up playing Pokemon games, I'd say I really enjoyed Monster Sanctuary a lot, from the animations to the monster design, everything about Monster Sanctuary is very well designed. Even if you're not a fan of Pokemon games, you should still give Monster Sanctuary a try as there are more features in the game that distinguishes itself from the other monster-taming RPG games. For a game that is still in it's early-access stage, Monster Sanctuary did not disappoint and I’d strongly recommend this game to anyone who likes monster-taming games and I can't wait for more content/features to be added to the game!

Cat Quest II is a 2D open-world action-RPG where you either play single-player as both a cat and a dog or local co-op where you and your partner take charge of one of the two featured characters. Unlike the first Cat Quest where you play as a Dragonblood, in Cat Quest II you take on the roles of a cat and a dog with the Dragonblood, following their journey in averting the war between cats and dogs.

Having played the first Cat Quest not long ago, I can say that Cat Quest II made a huge improvement over Cat Quest. Everything in Cat Quest II just felt smoother, better and more aesthetically pleasing. From the world design to the combat, Cat Quest II is what I would consider a sequel done right.

Like the original Cat Quest, the developers at The Gentlebros made many clever wordplays inspired from the cat language, what's new in Cat Quest II is that with the inclusion of the dog race, it opens up more rooms for more goofy wordplays. The world design and graphics in Cat Quest II is significantly better than the original Cat Quest, everything is more detailed and feels less "flat" as compared to its predecessor.

There are so many more functions in the UI right now compared to the first Cat Quest where you only had an inventory, and a menu to adjust the volume and resolution of the game. In Cat Quest II, you now have a full menu that comprises of the world map, inventory, skills and also the options. You can now select appropriate keybindings to suit your likings.

I cleared the game solely in the solo-play mode, in this mode, you control one of the two characters at a time and you can switch between them at any time you like and the character which is currently not-in-use would be controlled by an AI. The inclusion of a second character created more depth to the combat system as compared to the first Cat Quest, with Cat Quest II introducing new weapon types and elements, you can gear your two characters up with different equipment sets and switch between them to counter different types of enemies. The combat animations also look much more aesthetically pleasing compared to the first Cat Quest and overall the combat just feels a lot more fluid than before.

The solo-play mode was enjoyable overall, however, I feel that the game would be a lot more enjoyable in the co-op mode. The only reason I did not try out the co-op mode was that there's only a local co-op at the moment. It would be nice if the developer would include an online co-op soon or maybe in the next installment of Cat Quest. The AI controlling the idle character just feels a little weak and would often just standby not doing anything, only attacking and casting spells every so often.

Overall, Cat Quest II is a huge leap in terms of improvement over the original Cat Quest and I can see how much effort the developer has put into the game. As a Singaporean myself, I'm very proud to see a local game studio producing games of such caliber. It is worth your every cent as it's current price point, with a huge world to explore, a captivating story to follow and even new game modes that will be released in the future, you should definitely give Cat Quest II a try regardless of whether you're into the action-RPG genre or whether you've played the first Cat Quest. I can't wait to see what kind of surprises The Gentlebros will bring to the table in the next installment of Cat Quest!

" Love heavy metal? Love hack n' slash? Down To Hell is a side-scrolling, 2D hack n' slash game where you play as a lone swordsman, fighting through hordes of demons in a heavy metal-inspired world while collecting various upgrades for your character along the way. The game features a hellish and dark environment that is well-designed to match the theme of the game accurately.

The graphics used in Down To Hell are generally appealing to the eyes at first, but the more you look at it, the more straining it is to the eyes. The choices of colors used for the traps along the floor is also not ideal as they blend it too well with the background, with no indicators that they are there, making it possible for you unknowingly step on a trap which is almost invisible to the eyes. The game also doesn't have a proper UI for you to check on your progression and also a lack of minimap, most of the time during the playthrough I had to blindly look for the path forward and occasionally jumping into pits not knowing there's no ground below, falling to my death. The only way to check your stats in-game is if you come across a checkpoint in the game which also acts as a refill for your potions.

The music used throughout the game is all heavy metal music with different tracks used in the boss fights, if you love heavy metal, you'll probably enjoy the soundtracks used in the game.

The combat system of Down To Hell is pretty much your generic hack n' slash game where you use a combination of light strikes, heavy strikes and magic to fight your way through the demons you encounter along the way. In general, the attack animations feel smooth except for the magic spells used and also the "finishing blow" mechanic which both feels really clunky to the point using them would only result in you taking more damage from the enemies than you need to. There are several boss fights in the game which are really challenging to the point it's quite frustrating that you have to die to the boss a few times before you figure out the attack patterns of the boss. Even after you figure out the attack patterns of the boss, it's still pretty hard to dodge everything as the dodging mechanics in the game, the "dash", requires stamina, which means you can only use it once before you run out of stamina.

Overall, Down To Hell at its current state still needs much polishing in both it's graphics and combat. It's often more frustrating than fun to play throughout the entire 2 chapters which the game currently offers right now. The sense of the progression of the game isn't there at all as the upgrades you pick up along the way just feels really lackluster. However, I feel that with more polishing and content added to the game, it'll definitely be a game that you'd enjoy if you're into hack n' slash games. "

Hype.

In Plantera, you own a garden. You can acquire coins by either harvesting fruits and vegetables or picking up the stuffs your animals drops. These coins can be used to purchase new plants/animals or to unlock new perks for your garden. As you level up your garden, you'll acquire more helpers along the way to help you harvest and pick up stuffs as you progress. Levelling will also unlock new purchasable plants and animals. You can also hire watchdogs to chase away pests as they try to steal from your garden.

Pros:
+ Cute graphics
+ Relaxed playstyle
+ Addictive
+ Everything is controlled with just your mouse

Cons:
- Repeative gameplay
- Takes abit of grinding/waiting

Overall, for such a low price, i believe this game is worth a shot if you're looking for a casual idle game to play while you're busy with something else.

OH! RPG! is a JRPG where you don't play as the hero, but as the NPC instead, guiding the heroes along the way.

Pros-
+ Great artwork
+ Great story
+ Challenging Puzzles to solve
+ Stuffs to unlock along with " User Rank "

Cons-
- Can take some tries to complete certain chapters.

Great game to get for a really cheap price.

Good.

decent