Recent reviews by Ataroth

Review and tips.
Fun fishing game with Lovecraftian story and boat upgrades.
1. Aim for JET ENGINE upgrade (single tile). I provides great propulsion at the smallest of sizes.
2. Smaller engine are better than larger engines as damage can disable a large engine just as easy as a small engine. Plus, only the Final huge engine is better than stacking the single tile Jet Engines.
3. The longer you're awake, the more you go "insane,," but 2 hours resting at dock, clears that up. It might be worth it to save at dock and allow insanity to reach maximum just to see the Leviathan in action when it eats the boat.
4. Saving at dock resets all spawn points except for the Coelacanth (only 1 in entire game).
5. As saving at dock resets all spawn points, its a great way to Save&Quit then Continue for grinding spots.
6. Explosives are obtained from a quest at the Gale Cliffs. You'll need them for many refined metal spots and more.
7. I never, ever used the last 3 RODS upgrades. Found them useless because of their size and lack of versatility.
8. The Rock Slabs quests provide great equipment, especially early on. Food for thought.
9. Crab Pots are easy to drop and forget. Use the map to find them again.
10. Creatures in crab pots don't rot, You can leave them alone and come back at your leisure.
11. Focus on having great engines. Engines save your character's life, specially if you need to enter port before a big freaking Leviathan swallows you whole.

Enjoy the game. it's simple, clean, relaxing, quick, and fun.

This demo is a Lovecraft fan's joy. I am, for the most part, optimistic and hope for the best.
Good points:
1. Atmospheric.- It has a deep late 1800s, early 1900s Victorian vibe to it that embraces grotesque details to exalt the alien, abnormal, and heretical.
2. Visually detailed - Almost everything has detail, from the filigree on doors and ornaments, to the wet, slickness of toilet water.
3. General Sound - it's on point. There is an underdone of bass tonalities that adds tension to almost every scene in this demo.
4. Damage: There is damage and sanity in the game. Thus, I hope there are creatures to avoid. Currently, only seen traps or creature-traps (get close get hit).
5. A lot of hidden things: There are a lot of corners to explore for items, many of them are not obvious.
6. Setting: It's in the 2020s despite the gothic, victorian feel. There is a reason for it.

Workable points:
1. Controls - Opening drawers, doors, etc. requires A. Point B. Select. C. Drag The drag part is unnecessary and becomes a shore quickly. Dragging should be reserved for specific events/scenes, not as a matter of standard, monotonous gameplay. It adds bulky complexity to the mundane.
2. Very detailed items that seem to do nothing. They're atmospheric, but I hope that in the game itself these have a reason. Some insight into a character, a quest/plot line, something. Anything, even a voice line or text line will suffice. The more disturbing and alien the item, the more it needs a purpose.
3. Character Voices - Hmm. Maybe it's just me. The voices feel detached from the world. They resemble actors in a theater practicing their lines instead of people with real concerns, wants, and personalities. Every time I heard anyone speak, I knew I was in a game. Not sure that explains it well. Sorry about that.
4. Journal: I didn't see one in the demo. I hope the game includes a Journal, so that things read are kept in an accessible database.
5. NPC off screen movement: NPCs don't move around. They remain in 1 single position and change places out-of-view from the player. NPCs that actually move around would add something to the game.

This is a rather unique experience. It's all about the journey and WHO you journey with. Imagine finding someone on the path to... whatever... and that person takes time to just... linger, and help. No political BS. No drama, just... existence, together. Nothing romantic. Nothing sexual or banal. Just sharing space. Sharing the burden of the path, the journey. That is this game. Find that person/player/unknown existence and see if they are willing to just help along the path, to the very end of the journey. To your death. To your rebirth. Through the wheel of karma and back again. Welcome, Goodbye, and... and... and...

Enjoy.

Fun game. It is still in development, but I still put it a good chunk of hours into it. There are a lot of visual bugs, like floating structures, metal platforms that don't link well with metal stairs, and see-through mountains. Nevertheless, the game is quite engrossing for its genre.

Hello,

Stray is a platform game with a few survival encounters along the way. The game focuses on world exploration and a few easy 'fetch' puzzle games that unlock the backstory. It's quite lovely, relaxing, and, overall, pleasant. This is a game aimed at the casual gamer.

A game with grand visuals, a compelling main story, and ability customization that satisfies the core of my gaming needs. Without a doubt, this is one of the games that will go down in industry history as one of the best of its time.
A quick tabulated list:
1. Open world - Many secondary quests, contracts, and treasure hunts are available. The only limitation being the players ability to complete them given the lvl of the character and gaming skills.
2. Horse riding - Yes, you can ride horses.
3. Horse combat - Yes you can attack from horseback. Its a little limited, and tricky, but satisfying.
4. Ability customization - melee, magic, potions, and general skills. A lot of options open for choices.
5. Compelling story - A very strong story. Remember, this story is NOT about Gerald of Rivia. It is about Ciri of wherever the heck she wants to be from.
6. Choices have consequences - An offshoot of a compelling story is the fact that your choices affect who lives and dies.
7. Multiple endings - Enough said about this.
8. Seamanship - Yes you can navigate on a boat.
9. Underwater - You can swim above and below water. Underwater combat is lackluster, almost whimsical.
10. Jumping - I have played 1st-3rd person games where a character can't jump. The player can on this one.
11. Multiple Dodging Techniques - This game offers rolling dodges and side-steps. I like that, it provides flexibility to combat.
12. Option to Scale enemies - The developer provided the OPTION to scale enemies (Its a choice). At no moment will enemies become so weak the fights lack an element of risk. (Though the best fights are with 3+ enemies to make it challenging)
13. Solid Bestiary - I enjoyed the creatures in this game, a mixture of mythology and creativity.
14. Irritating but realistic grooming - Gerald grows a beard, and, if you want to be clean shaven, you have to visit a barber. No bull. His beard grows back. ARRGH! But a lovely detail.

The touching conclusion to a great story.

This isn't a game. Is a lifetime in snapshots.

The Long Dark is a survival/exploration game with desolate icy vistas that stretch out for miles on end. What's the point of the game? Survive for as long as possible. That's it. There is nothing more.

As a survival game, The Long Dark is beautiful. Punishing weather changes, hungry wolves, irritable bears, and scarse resources make this game a survival lover's extravaganza. A player has to truly plan ahead to survive 200-300 days in a row, but also has to really like the genre. Otherwise, well... you'll get bored.

To survive, its a rinse and repeat process. After 65 days, I had so much meat in my main base I didn't have any more space to fit the food and water. I could, in theory, sit in my base for 3-4 days until my water ran out, melt 5-10 liters of water, and do the whole thing over again. After a week or two, I'd go out (in theory), shoot the respawned bear in the head with arrows or bullets, grab 30kg of meat, and sit tight again. A few outings for sticks and the occasional easy to kill wolf would help things along.

In short, I simply didn't see the point. This after days upon days of gaming. So I did get my money's worth.

Things I would have liked to see. Melee weapons. I don't understand why there aren't any spears, spiked clubs, or mechanics of the type. The instant a wolf attacks, you're on your back tapping the mouse to kill it with your hunting knife. That's it.

So, is it a good game. Yes, for the right crowd of survival enthusiasts with the patience to repeat the same process over ... and over ... and over, while exploring to maintain interest. Don't expect anything else.

The Legend of Grimrock 2 is a throwback to the time of Ultima: Underworld, but with better graphics and deliciously enjoyable puzzles and secrets.

The 40+ hours I spent on this game were enjoyable, nostalgic, and satisfying in equal parts. The puzzles are not designed to be extremely difficult, PROVIDED you find the proper clues for them. Backtracking is a necessity in this game, which focuses in a more messhed approach where the entire map offers secrets in the early, middle, and late game. In fact, there are TWO endings, which I found very interesting.

Though the game allows for a playthrough with any character class, I observed that a mage/wizard/spellcaster of some kind makes the game a lot more playable and, more importantly ---> you MUST have someone with the ability to cast spells (or at least invested 1 point into Concentration, the main spell casting requirement and have a low requirement wand) if you want to find the 2nd ending.

That I didn't enjoy, the fact that if I had chosen all non-casters that I wouldn't have been able to get to the 2nd end.

Also, the last 3 boss fights are monumentally more survivable with long range attacks.

These are not reasons to avoid the title. It is such a rewarding experience for the genre. If you love puzzles, secrets, and old school dungeon crawling remniscent of table-top maps, this is the game for you.

Buy it. Play it. It is a darn satisfying game.

Heroes of Steel is a retro, dungeon exploration game, with simple quests, yet challenging adversaries. This is an Android Port game, and I play it on my Samsung S4 regularly. (You’ll notice it doesn’t seem like I’ve played the game on STEAM. That’s because I haven’t. Not really.)

If you're a graphics addict, then this is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you can forgo graphics for the joy of story and gameplay, this might just hit the spot.

When I first played HoS, it reminded me of a much better version of GURK II: retro, a party of 4, exploration, random monster encounters, loot, turn-based combat on a top-down view.
Some details of the game:
1. Party of 4. You can choose alternate classes. (Basic is Warrior/Barbarian, Rogue/Archer, Wizard, Priest)
2. Party is permanent once the character members are chosen.
3. Turn-based combat.
4. Resembles a D&D board game.
5. Characters level up with experience.
6. Characters gain points to buy character stats, character skills, and/or character spells.
7. Character icons ARE NOT static. They actually fidget on the screen (This little detail I love. Adds a lot of realism)
8. Character portraits are static and are obvious amateur art, yet they are VERY detailed.
9. Equipment gives stats/skill bonuses/magic bonuses.
10. Equipment IS character specific. I like that. It adds a little extra hiccup to deal with. Spices things up.
11. Like Gauntlet, the game has Health Potions, Mana Potions and Health+Mana Potions.
12. An EXTREMELY long main quest. I kid you not. You’ll spend MANY HOURS exploring content without finding an end.
13. The game has more than a few side quests to explore. Up to you to do them or not.
14. This game has 4 full episodes and the final episode is finally out. The game is COMPLETE. Thus, there were hours of gameplay before the 4th episode, and now there are more.
15. The game pacing was vastly improved by increasing the general speed the characters travel on the overworld (underworld?) map.
16. Nightmare mode difficulty setting. This is my favorite setting. It’s so dangerous, difficult, and plain challenging that I have to pay attention to everything: from money, to potions consumed, to where I put my stat points.
17. The interface has seen a lot of revamping to streamline it and make it easier to navigate. I, honestly, didn’t like the first version. Now I marvel at the changes that I never considered which improved the game considerably.

Now. Added value to the game:
1. EXTREMELY responsive developers. I mean this. The developers answer questions directly and constantly communicate with the clients via their proboards Star Traders forum. These guys are so dedicated to making their games work that they don't stop updating. That's a LOT of value for your $$$.
2. The community is super helpful. I mean this one. It’s like a dream place, never seen anyone flamed or abused.


So, Yes I recommend this game.