Recent reviews by feederguy

It's addicting just like Civ... "Just one more cycle..."

Best value for money rhythm game on Steam, with waifus to boot

A delectable slow-baked ham that offers a new dimension on the classic Don't Starve formula. Even years after the original, this newest Dish of Love and Care brings the same bittersweet challenge of surviving, dying and doing it all over again.

Ingredients:
-Capitalist pigs
-Sentient vegetables
-Indiana Jones secret spice blend
-A huge ass turkey

"Labour of Love" nomination for Steam Awards 2018

> Be novice alchemist
> Spend hours trying to design an elegant solution
> Finally come up with something that isn't a clunky Rube Goldberg machine
> hey, thats pretty good
> Go online to see other designs
> Someone else did it in half the space, time and cost

Guess I'll go back to equivalent exchange

100% Meme Orange Juice is a zesty and refreshing multiplayer experience if you're weary of the unhealthy toxicity plaguing most titles today.

The game shares great similarity to Mario Party. There's so much randomness and luck involved, whether or not you win essentially boils down to whether RNGesus-sama is beaming down on you that round. Resigned to the predeterministic fate of their 2d avatars, players don't type nonsense like "gg ez" or "git gud", since they're more than likely to wind up at the bottom come the next round.

The game is very relaxing and easy to play. All each player has to do is roll a dice and watch their waifus duke it out in a battle for numerical supremacy. No need for exp grind, trained reflexes or mechanical skill. There is minor strategy involved in terms of cards you can play, but Lady Luck can easily ruin your illustrious keikaku on a mere whim.
*Translator's note: keikaku means plan

The art serves to draw in a niche community of anime fans, so there's plenty in common to talk about whilst playing. Last game I played everyone was spouting JoJo memes and the inevitable omae wa mou shinderu.

All in all, this leads to a chill and friendly gaming atmosphere that's almost impossible to find in an online game. I recommend this game to all the weebs out there.

Had Supergiant Games lost its spark in making Pyre? I think even a few stalwart fans of the studio raised eyebrows when the football-like gameplay mechanic was shown. (That's soccer to you Americans.)

In this medium-sized review I'll be covering some of the most acclaimed aspects of Supergiant's past games and seeing how they fare in Pyre. All the while highlighting what I personally perceive to be the newfound strengths of their latest work.


Yet another homerun on the musical scoreboard. I would have thought it near impossible, but Pyre's soundtrack confidently holds a candle to the beautiful tunes of Transistor, featuring ambient string/percussion pieces and a few songs with vocals as well. Of course, Red's humming remains sorely missed...



If you enjoyed unlocking those little bits of lore via the various functions and characters in Transistor, you'll appreciate that Pyre features a massive tome, which grows thicker with pages as the story progresses. You'll slowly learn more about the backstories of the wide cast of characters, the origins of the Rites, the grim histories of the nation of Commonwealth and the barren Downside where the story resides.



Absolutely no complaints here.
The character designs are some of the best I've seen. With the same lovingly hand-painted style seen in Bastion and Transistor, breathing personality into the cast of characters, from a dapper mustached dog to a mono-eyed chivalrous serpent knight.

There is a nifty change in artistry when it comes to the backgrounds and landscapes. Navigating the Downside is a thoroughly breathtaking and enjoyable affair, with a somewhat medieval-like, hand-drawn flair reminding me of Jotun and The Banner Saga.



Beneath a deceptively simple ruleset of "get the ball into your opponent's flaming goal-thingy", lies a good amount of depth, skill and strategy. During rites, you may only control one character out of three at a time, each with their own unique attributes and skill tree. This character is able to run about while the others remain stationary. Besides picking up and shooting the ball, you may cast an aura to banish opponents, after which they will disappear from the field for a set period of time.

Using a controller, I was able to pick up the basics quite quickly. Video game veterans will be glad to know that they can readily adjust the game difficulty settings at any time throughout the campaign - the AI at harder difficulties is nothing to be trifled with. While I quite fancied the rites' gameplay, it is indisputably different from the combat gameplay featured in Bastion and Transistor. One must recognise that it may not be for everyone.

In between rites, the story unfolds mainly through discourse between characters and with the Reader. You are given the freedom to choose which routes to take, and what dialogue options to pick when conversing with your companions. Quite similar to the Persona series in a way, integrating bits of visual novel elements into the core game.



Supergiant does favor the strong, silent character trope, as reflected in both past protagonists Red and The Kid, but they have always been harmonised by the presence of other imposing voices - the monotone yet emotional voice within Transistor, or the grizzled narrator Rucks in Bastion.

Unfortunately, in Pyre the only voice-acting we get is the grandiose announcer that narrates the Rites. He comes across as a bit of a **** though (even more so than Royce in the Transistor), unabashedly putting down the Reader and his triumvirate. I did not find his commentary to offer much towards the game.

Not a single other character in the game speaks legibly, they all mutter in fantasy gibberish. In a game featuring so much well-written dialogue between characters, I personally find this to be a quite the letdown, a forgone opportunity for better story immersion.



On the topic of protagonists, there is a lack of a clear main character. Rather, it is yourself, the faceless "Reader", that links this ragtag team of exiles together.

In my opinion, this is the greatest deviation of Pyre from its predecessors. No longer do you have the player rooting for Red or The Kid, and a full storyline dedicated to their character's development.

With Pyre's sizable roster, emotional investment in the characters is spread more thinly. (Just look at any visual novel, where some character routes are found to be more enjoyable than others.) In a similar vein, you will inevitably find yourself far more vested in some characters in Pyre much more than others, and possibly losing interest in carrying on with the game after they are liberated from exile. (P.S. Nae best girl.)



For me, Pyre still remains a phenomenal game, running in close contention alongside Hollow Knight for my favorite indie game of 2017.

However, it may have alienated part of its playerbase with its divergence from action-RPG combat, and adopting a more reading-heavy style of storytelling. That said, if you're even checking out this wordy review right now, you're more than ready to delve into Pyre!

Many of us remember Bastion and Transistor for a memorable story. Believe me when I say that Pyre is no different, it just might require a little more effort in reading on your end. I pre-ordered the game and have zero regrets, and I thoroughly recommend any Supergiant fan to give Pyre a shot. For all you know, it might even drag you down the rabbit hole of visual novel games, from which you'll never return :D

Platformers have never been my forte, the desire of beating many tough-as-nails titles like Super Meat Boy and They Bleed Pixels perennially lie beyond my old man reflexes.

Thankfully for me, Slime-san caters to both the hardcore and casual crowd, thanks to its "slime" mechanic. Holding the left trigger on your gamepad slows down the game speed, so you don't need twitch precision to make tricky jumps and dodges. If you're a speedrunner though, you can't abuse this mechanic since getting in-game trophies and leaderboard rankings demands much faster timings.

Similar to Stealth Inc, there's plenty of devious ways to die, but the levels I've played thus far are quite fairly designed and not frustrating to overcome. Add on top of that a NewGame+ mode, a catchy chiptune track, adorable slimy pixels, an intestinal microeconomy full of nifty buyables like cosmetics, slime playstyles and artwork - and you've got a platformer that's going to take up plenty of your time.

ChronoClock is an charming visual novel featuring elements of time travel. Don't expect the mind-bending plot of Steins;Gate though, this is purely a romantic comedy.

The main protagonist, Rei, possesses a magic watch that can turn back time by 5 minutes at his command, up to once every hour. He doesn't see much value in it, only using it to confess to girls and rewind time to see if any of them are interested in him. (Hell, if I had such a watch I'd be hitting the tables in Vegas.)

One day, Rei sees a girl fall off the school roof to her death. He uses the watch to stop this from happening, but inadvertently gets caught up in much worse than a love triangle - a "love rhombus". Even your magic watch can't save you from this mess - indeed, the time travel shenanigans make things even more complicated! Introducing all the heroines involved:

Miu: The hopelessly shy bubblehead who fell to her death from sheer embarrassment, while trying to confess to Rei's male friend. Rei thwarts the confession in spectacular fashion using the watch. To make it up to her, he promises to help make Miu's confession a success, becoming a big brother figure of sorts. Miu has a rather unfortunate backstory, and her hopeful and courageous attitude to overcome her anxiety really makes you want to root for her!

Cro: The goddess who inhabits Rei's magic watch. Only Rei can see and talk to her. She gets bored easily and often teases Rei over him being a pathetic virgin with no romantic ability. FeelsBadMan.

Michiru: Rei's younger sister, who has gone blind from a childhood illness. She harbours an absolutely massive brother complex. Although she is very refined and ladylike for her age, she still tries her hardest to get Rei to dote on her as a little sister.

Misaki: Miu's protective senior, and a highly competitive tsundere who sees Rei as a rival.

Makoto: Rei's classmate who is secretly the daughter of a Yakuza head. Due to her family upbringing, she is very strong and prone to violent tendencies, which Rei bears the brunt of once he discovers her identity. She is at heart really kind and feminine though.

Dorothy: A blonde foreign exchange student who ends up staying at Rei's residence as both his maid and fiancee, much to Michiru's ire. She is incredibly passionate over all forms of Japanese culture, even surpassing that of otaku. Whoever was in charge of translating her dialogue did a bloody fine job, she speaks a downright hilarious mix of British slang and Japanese.

Distinct routes and endings are available for all 6 girls, even Cro and Miu. I'd expect to spend a good 20-30 hours to clear all of them! That said, personally I wasn't too fond of the Miu route, I really think that they should have just stayed platonic friends...

The soundtrack is pretty good, with varying tunes to fit the silly comedic moments, as well as the more melodramatic portions of the story. Michiru's theme in particular is really pleasing to the ears, with a tranquil traditional Japanese atmosphere. The art is also stellar, it reminds me of cutesy style of the Corona Blossom games.

Just like other visual novels on Steam, this is an "all-ages" version with the 18+ content cut. I really don't think it has any bearing on the story though, even in the original Japanese game such content was standalone.

If you're looking for a VN offering entertaining romcom instead of "feels", Chrono Clock makes an excellent choice with a colorful cast of characters and lots of funny moments.

What's in a name? Trillion features a boss with 1,000,000,000,000 HP. That's a lot of zeroes, huh - looking forward to the grind?

Trillion marries the elements of strategic jRPGs together with a visual novel/waifu-raising hybrid. With the boss Trillion at the gates of your castle threatening to annihilate your realm, you as the Demon King must quickly prepare one of six female Overlords of your choosing to face this behemoth.

Despite all your best efforts, she will fail. And she will die. And you'll have to choose the next girl to send on a probable suicide mission.

It's this sense of urgency, trying your darnest to avoid your chosen Overlord's inevitable demise that makes the game much more emotional to play.

The writing and voice-acting is fantastic, even the dubbed version. (Seriously, it's better than lots of dubbed anime series out there.) Together, they bring the Overlords' differing personalities to life. Each Overlord is uniquely memorable in their own right, wielding their own crest representing one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The art reminds me of Disgaea, and for good reason. Quite a few members of the Disgaea team from Nippon Ichi Software were on board this game - expect their signature mix of large eyes, elf ears, lolis and huge boobs. There's a Compile Heart spin on the character designs though - just as with the Neptunia gals, each Overlord has indivdualised costumes that complement their personalities very well.

With regards to the process of preparing your Overlord for battle, there's so many things to take care of that you might feel overwhelmed. Thaknfully there's a nifty tutorial that you can replay at anytime to get you up to speed.

First of all, you'll be tasked with micromanaging plenty of variables of your Overlord such as training regimens, research, stats, affection, money, equipment, skills, fatigue etc. I found myself having flashbacks to playing Long Live The Queen while fiddling around with the many different menus.

Secondly, there's the mandatory dungeon raid component to add to the grind. You can find various useful materials in the dungeons to augment your Overlord.

Thirdly, there's a visual novel element featuring lots of dialogue and interaction options e.g. gift giving. This is my favorite part of the game, it really serves to flesh out the story and provide character development. All to make you grow more attached to your Overlord, and the loss much more painful ;_;

The actual combat with Trillion (or the training dummy Mokujin) isn't anything too special. You navigate your Overlord on a grid towards Trillion and his smorgasbord of OP moves, which are telegraphed well in advance. He/She/It? is just such a giant meatsack of HP that you would never be able to dish out enough damage within the limited timeframe of the first few Overlord training cycles.

Considering how you'd quite definitely lose at least your first 3 Overlords on your first playthrough, there's quite a bit of replayability if you're seeking to unlock every single character ending.

Trillion is undoubtedly an innovative game concept, incorporating so many different game mechanics under its wing. Whether all of these were successful is pretty open to intepretation. I did find myself enjoying the story much more than the half-baked combat. Wanting to avenge my fallen waifus, to finally see that S.O.B. Trillion get rekt, was the main reason why I persevered through the relatively boring grind.

There really isn't any other game quite like Trillion out there on Steam. Fans of Disgaea or Compile Heart, or anyone looking for a emotionally invested waifu-raising game, would do well to take on this title.

A little slice of zen in this meme-infested world